#It's gonna lighten up on the next three episodes

[stevie-petey]

episode seven: the mind flayer

Steve, who is leaning next to Dustin and you, snaps his finger. “Like the Germans?” “Uh… The Nazis?” Your brother looks at you, silently urging you to shut the teen up, and you pinch your nose again and sigh. “Oh, buddy.” You loop your arm through his and pat Steve’s shoulder. “Let’s just listen, okay?”

Summary: jonathan is back and has a lot of questions and you have even more for him, the gang gets back together and ties will to a chair, you tell the kid a story to distract him from his demons, steve is a confused mess but at least youre with him, and someone makes a surprise appearance (her name rhymes with shell).

Rating: general, cursing

Warnings: use of y/n, fem!reader, talk of death and grief, violence and blood

Words: 12.1k

Before you swing in: long time no see ! lots has happened, and this chapter was a pain for so many reasons, but shes here and i love her and i so sincerely hope yall enjoy :)

-

Stumbling blindly through dark woods while holding your bloodied ribcage has never been your favorite activity. Neither is following after a bunch of Demodogs to probably once again sacrifice your life to save others, yet here you are.

Steve has a gentle hand resting on the small of your back as he helps you navigate the woods. Dustin is to your left, scanning for anything that could possibly trip you as the three of you walk in a line. Lucas and Max follow, both of whom watch you with weary eyes.

Sure, you probably don’t look too good, but honestly. You’ve been objectively worse.

“You’re positive that was Dart?” Lucas asks, breaking the silence.

“Yes,” Dustin sighs next to you, kicking at a twig in your way. “He had the same exact yellow pattern on his butt.”

“Why do you have his butt memorized?” You mumble under your breath, which Steve chuckles at.

Max shakes her head. “But he was tiny two days ago.”

“Well, he’s molted three times already.” Dustin kicks at another twig, this time with more anger behind it. He’s on edge, and you know he’s worried that somehow Lucas will figure out that he kept Dart all this time.

You’d help the kid, but he dug his own grave.

“Malted?” Steve asks, looking over to you to see if you’re hearing what he’s hearing.

“No, buddy.” You shake your head at him, slightly endeared by the confusion on his face.

“Molted,” your brother clarifies. “Shed his skin to make room for growth, like hornworms.”

“I don’t think Steve knows what hornworms are, Dustin.”

The boy sighs, knowing you’re right, and continues to walk.

Max, however, won’t let the topic go. “When’s he gonna molt again?”

“It's gotta be soon.” Dustin responds, now looking around tiredly. He doesn’t have to tell you, but you saw how quickly Dart grew overnight; he’s grown at an alarming rate. “When he does he’ll be fully grown, or close to it.”

“And so will his friends,” you say grimly.

It’s quiet for a moment after that, your words unnerving the group. Everyone but Max had to deal with a fully grown Demogorgon last year, and none of you have forgotten how terrifying it had been. You all still have scars from it, both metaphorically and physically.

After a minute or so, Steve tries to lighten up the situation. “Well, at least there isn’t another cat for them to eat–”

“Steve–” But you’re too late, Lucas has already picked up on what the teen is saying.

The boy shoves past you and whips around to face Dustin, angrier than you’ve ever seen him. “Wait, a cat? Dart ate a cat?”

“No, what? No!” Your brother is a terrible liar.

“What are you talking about? He ate Mews–” Your elbow digs into Steve’s side, causing him to hunch over and wheeze. “Shit.”

You force Steve’s head up so that he looks at you while you forcefully whisper, “Stop. Talking.”

“Mews? Who’s Mews?”

You turn to Max. “It’s nothing–”

“It’s their cat,” Steve wheezes out, still not at all understanding the situation.

“Steve!” You and Dustin screech at the same time. God, maybe it does make sense that he’s barely graduating high school.

“I knew it! You kept him!” Lucas shouts at Dustin, before turning to you with hurt in his eyes. “And you let him hide it from the party?”

You wince. “I had a suspicion, but by the time I found out it had already been too late and–”

“He missed me. He wanted to come home… and Y/N just happened to not know about it for a while.” Dustin interrupts, trying to appease his friend, but it doesn’t work.

“Bullshit!”

“I didn’t know he was a Demogorgon, okay?”

“Oh, so now you admit it?”

You try to intervene, you’ve always hated when the boys fight. “Listen, what’s done is done and it’s too late to be angry now.”

Lucas scoffs. “I crawled into a dumpster to find Dart!”

“And that was a conscious decision that you made–”

“Guys!” Max steps in. “Who cares? We have to go.”

“I care!” Lucas faces Dustin again. “You put the party in jeopardy! You broke the rule of law!”

“So did you!” You’ve never heard anger like this come out from Dustin. It isn’t an anger that spills over from a regular argument. Your eyes flicker to Max and you know that the anger is one that stems from hurt.

You remember how excited Dustin had been to tell you about his crush on the girl. Now, after she came here with Lucas, you fear you may have to have a code blue soon with your brother about young love and heartbreak. Unrequited crushes suck.

The kids all begin to scream at one another and you’re too tired to try and intervene again. Technically, they’re all right. Lucas shouldn’t have told Max everything, Dustin shouldn’t have hid Dart, and both boys shouldn’t continuously treat Max like some weird outsider.

As they argue, Steve rubs small circles in your back, sensing how exhausted you are. While your bleeding may have stopped, you still feel woozy from the blood loss and could really go for some water and food right now.

“They’ll figure it out,” he assures you, breath warm against your ear, and all you can do is sigh.

You’re about to tell Steve that maybe you should all walk back home, it’s late and the kids are all too mad at one another to be of any help, but then you hear screeching coming from the distance.

You both freeze.

Slowly, the two of you step away from the kids to follow after the sound. They’re too busy arguing to notice, but the screeching continues to grow louder and you share a look with Steve. This isn’t good.

“Hey guys?” Steve calls towards the kids, hand never leaving your back.

The kids continue to argue, ignoring him, and you bring your fingers to your lips and let out a high pitched whistle. “Idiots!” Lucas, Dustin, and Max all go quiet, looking over at you. More screeches fill the silence, and you tilt your head towards the sound. “Hear that? Shall we continue to fight or are we done here?”

Steve flashes his light towards the source of the sound and beckons for the kids to follow. You stay behind, both of you silently agreeing that he’ll lead and you’ll make sure everyone is safe. Lucas and Dustin immediately follow, but Max lingers.

“Hey, you comin’?” You ask, motioning towards where the boys have all gone.

“Why are we headed towards the sound?”

“Because it’s what we do,” you shrug. “Welcome to the party.”

Max blinks at you, in disbelief, and it breaks your heart that she has to come to terms with all of this. Taking the risk, you reach towards her hand, offering her time to pull away, but she doesn’t. She lets you grab her hand and you squeeze it, giving her a soft smile. “I’m right here.”

The girl exhales, still guarded, yet she finally nods at your words. She seems to believe you, which you’re thankful for, and together the two of you follow after the others. The five of you approach the overlook, all of Hawkins visible. There’s a layer of thick fog covering the town, the screeches ominous as the town is blanketed.

“I don’t see him,” Dustin mumbles next to you, though he slowly links his fingers through yours, quietly confessing to you that he’s scared.

You squeeze his hand. “Lucas, do you think your binoculars can see that far?”

The boy brings them up to his eyes, and within a few seconds he seems to have spotted the source. He swallows, lowers the binoculars, and says, “It’s the lab.”

“They’re going back home.” You whisper, feeling defeated more than anything else. It somehow always comes back to that fucking lab. Will’s episodes, Mike’s silence, Nancy and Jonathan taking the burden of bringing the entire lab down themselves.

You now understand the immense anger Nancy felt that day during lunch, when you had all been at Jonathan’s car and she created her genius plan. How badly she wanted to make the assholes pay for what they did to Hawkins. To Will. To Barb. To sweet El.

“We have to follow.” You say, an edge to your voice. Your side sears with pain, your ankle sending phantom pains up your leg. Dustin clings onto your hand like his life depends on it. You’re sick of suffering the consequences that Hawkins Lab has brought upon itself.

You begin to walk down the overlook, steps slow and careful, and while the kids glance uncertainly at one another, Steve doesn’t hesitate to follow after you. –

As you approach the gate to the lab, you see a car with headlights parked in front of it. Two figures stand at the edge of the forest line, watching.

Other people are here.

You bring your knives out and flick the handle so that the blades extend. Steve stands next to you, his own bat raised after seeing your fear, and you nod at one another to slowly begin approaching.

“Hello?” One of the figures shouts, their voice oddly familiar.

You stop.

“Who’s there?” The voice shouts again, and this time you recognize it.

It’s Jonathan.

Immediately you start to run, damning the pain in your side, and when you break through the tree line and see Jonathan standing there with Nancy, both of them safe and sound, you start to run even faster.

When Jonathan sees that it’s you, he starts to run as well and within seconds the two of you are a tangle of arms and limbs. He hugs you fiercely, his cologne familiar and you hadn’t known how homesick you were until you felt his arms around you.

“Bug,” Jonathan exhales with relief, squeezing you even tighter. He brings a hand to your hair and cradles your head, his fingers sure and strong and familiar as always. You bury your face in his neck, feeling all the pain and exhaustion from today begin to dissipate.

Nancy walks over and lays a hand on your arm as you’re still wrapped around Jonathan. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you guys are okay,” you sniff, you’re not sure why you’re crying. “God, I’ve had the weirdest two days of my life–”

“Steve?” Jonathan and Nancy suddenly say at the same time.

You pull away from your friend and let out a chuckle. Steve and the kids have now joined, confusion on all of their faces. “Like I said, it’s been a weird few days.”

“Nancy?” Steve walks over, his eyes going back and forth between you and the girl. He feels an overwhelming mixture of emotions overtake him. He notices the way Jonathan’s arm is still wrapped around you as you stand close to his side, and he notices the way Nancy avoids his eyes. Something burns within his chest.

“Jonathan?” Dustin narrows his eyes at the boy, and you can’t help but laugh.

Jonathan and Nancy approach the others and you slowly follow, taking your time. Nancy reaches Steve first. “What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here?” Steve retorts.

“We’re looking for Mike and Will.”

You grab Nancy’s jacket. “Are they okay? Did something happen?”

“They’re not in there, are they?” Dustin motions towards the lab, fear in his voice.

Nancy lowers her voice. “We’re not sure.”

Jonathan senses there’s something else going on. “Why?”

Right on cue, the Demodogs begin to screech from the lab. Next to you, you feel Jonathan stiffen with fear. You know, without having to ask, that his family is stuck inside the lab. Suddenly the gash in your side stings in pain and you clutch at it and let out a wince. Hearing this, Jonathan finally realizes that you’re covered in blood.

“Oh my god,” his hands fall to your side as he scans for any other injuries. “You’re bleeding, oh my god.”

“I’m okay–”

“Fuck, bug. It looks bad–”

“Had a minor setback, we’re all good now though.”

Jonathan shakes his head at you, his eyes dripping with guilt; you know he’s already placed the blame upon himself long before he speaks. “I should’ve been there. I knew something was wrong when you didn’t call, and then Nance and I came back to my home being wrecked and you weren’t at your place and I was worried sick and thought you were dead–”

You grab his hands, forcing him to slow down and breathe. “Hey, look at me.” Slowly, his eyes meet yours. “I’m okay, bee. I had to protect the kids, and I had Steve. I’m right here.”

Jonathan looks over at Steve, who is stuck in some argument between Nancy and the kids, and he lets out a tired laugh. He can’t believe that he’s here right now, tired and delirious from a long trip with Nancy as you hold his hands, your own blood covering them, while Steve spares you worried glances. “Friends with him again, then?”

“It was inevitable.” You sigh, knowing how heavy your words are. Truly, it was inevitable. He’s too much like you, your wounds a matching pair, and you never stood a chance against the inevitability. He’s an extension of you now, you can no longer deny this.

“Are you really okay, though?” Jonathan asks you, still concerned about how much blood is on you. He feels this tug within him, pulling at his chest to encase you within his arms and to never, ever let you out of his sight again.

There’s still a slight limp in your step that Jonathan sees when he thinks you aren’t looking, the scar on your upper arm is harsh against the smooth skin he’s come to memorize, disrupting the topography of your body. Now, you’ve once again gotten hurt because of him. Your favorite cardigan is ripped and bloodied and Jonathan knows it’s one more scar he’s inexplicably given you.

The scars may fade, but he knows he’ll never be able to forgive himself. It’s the same heavy weight you feel within yourself over Will’s disappearance.

You notice that Jonathan’s eyes have glazed over in despair and you kiss his knuckles, bringing him back to you. “I promise I am.”

He nods, though he still looks unsure, but he pulls you in again for another hug. For a moment, everything is still. It reminds you of when you had been in Jonathan’s car last Christmas as he drove you home, the memories between you had gone still. You close your eyes, like you had last year, and for a moment nothing has changed.

“The power’s back!” Nancy exclaims, effectively shutting everyone up about who has seen what when.

You pull away from Jonathan. The urgence in her voice reminds you that everything has changed. There’s a scar on your upper arm that now has a matching scar on your ribcage. Jonathan has bags underneath his eyes that seem like they'll never go away.

You look away from him and look over at the kids and see, in Dustin’s and Lucas’ faces, the familiar fear and acceptance that they’re inevitably in danger. Steve catches your eye and he nods, indicating that whatever happens next, he’s ready whenever you are.

The seven of you quickly make your way back towards the lab’s gate, and Jonathan is the first to get there with you following close behind. The two of you stand in the patrol panel, Jonathan aggressively hitting the button designated for opening the gate, but nothing seems to be happening.

Suddenly Dustin barges in, roughly shoving past Jonathan and mumbling a soft sorry to you.

“Let me try.” Jonathan doesn’t move, which only aggravates your brother further and he flings the teen back. “Let me try, Jonathan!”

Jonathan looks at you incredulously, still having no idea why Dustin seems to suddenly hate him, and you stifle a laugh as you watch the boy repeatedly hit the button while nothing happens.

“Son of a bitch!” Dustin groans, still trying and failing to open the gate.

“Move over,” you shoulder past the kid and start pressing the button yourself. “It probably just doesn’t like you guys.”

Dustin and Jonathan both scoff at you, but you ignore them as you continue to press the button. You were mostly doing it to distract yourself, give your anxious mind something to do, but after a simple few taps, the gates unlock.

You cheer, immensely happy with yourself. “I did it! You guys just really do just suck!”

Jonathan shakes his head at you but offers his hand for you to high five, which you gladly do. As for your brother, he sticks his tongue out at you in retaliation. You ignore the kid and follow Jonathan outside to join the others.

Once the gates have fully opened, you, Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve all begin speaking at once.

“I’ll go,” you all say in unison.

The kids all stare at one another, wondering how this will go. It didn’t escape their notice that Jonathan and Nancy were alone together, and that Steve’s worry over you has strings attached to unspoken truths.

They may be young, but they can sense the tension between you and the teens pretty easily.

“No, someone has to stay with the kids.” Nancy reasons, looking over at Jonathan to back her up, and his eyes draw to hers naturally.

You see this, and you wonder when they became such a cohesive team.

“Bug, what are you thinking?” He asks, knowing that ultimately it’s your call. When it comes to the kids, you’re the one to turn to.

You bite your lip, unsure. Max, Lucas, and Dustin all stare at you, and you know the two boys want you to stay with them. They’ve been through hell tonight, so have you, but then you think about whatever has happened in the lab to Will and Mike.

Sighing, you walk over to Jonathan. “Nance is right. I’ll stay behind with Steve while you and her drive to the lab. They’ll need all the help they can get, and I’m currently in no condition to fight.”

Jonathan’s eyes once again fall to your wrapped side, uncertain if you’ll be safe enough out here. “You sure?”

“I’m sure, bee.” You kiss his cheek, fucking terrified something will go wrong. The lab is crawling with Demodogs. “Promise you’ll be careful?”

“Always,” he cups your face and brings his forehead to yours. “I’ll come back.”

You relish in the warmth and let out a shaky exhale. “Go get Will.”

The moment between you two is intimate; everyone around you looks away. Nancy stares down at her feet while Steve clenches his jaw.

After a few more seconds, you finally release yourself from Jonathan’s hold and turn towards Nancy. “That goes for you as well, Wheeler. Stay safe.”

She nods at you, spares Steve one last glance, and then follows after Jonathan into the car. Within seconds, they speed off down the road, towards Hawkins Lab as more Demodogs screech in the distance.

“Well that was awkward.” Max breaks the silence. “Sensing there’s a lot of history there.”

You snort, admiring the girl’s wit, and tiredly lean against the gate’s post. “Still have a lot to catch up on, Max.”

Steve doesn’t say anything, he just gently leans next to you against his own post and flips his flashlight in his hand.

Dustin starts to pace while Lucas stares at the sky, as if willing away every problem from the day, which you want to do yourself. However, your best friend is currently very close to a death lab that Will and Mike are inexplicably trapped in.

You try to calm your breathing, knowing it’s no use getting yourself worked up, but you’re terrified. Steve sees your unease and does his best to comfort you. “Hey, they’ll be okay. Jonathan is a smart guy and Nancy is tough as hell.”

Hearing Nancy’s name coming out of his mouth makes you realize that you haven’t asked him how he’s feeling about all of this, which makes you feel even shittier. He confessed to you last night how he still loves her, and here you are, worried about your friend who the guy’s ex girlfriend showed up with.

“Are you okay?” You ask him softly, worried you’ll scare him away.

Steve doesn’t ask what you mean; he knows and lets out a dry laugh. “Not the most ideal situation.”

You’re about to say more, but something seems to catch Max’s attention. “Guys?”

You look towards where she’s pointing and you hear the faint sounds of tires squealing against concrete. The same sound Billy’s car had made in the school parking lot days ago. As you piece this together, headlights light up the gate and the honking starts.

Immediately you and Steve rush over to the kids and push them away, narrowly avoiding being hit. As soon as the road is cleared, Hopper’s familiar truck brakes in front of you.

“Let’s go,” the man gruffs out, and you’ve never been happier to see that obnoxious cop’s face.

Steve runs over to the passenger door and holds it open while you usher the kids to go inside. “Come on, let’s go! Go, go, go!”

One by one you get the kids seated in the truck, and once you and Steve make sure they’re in safely, he motions for you to go next before he climbs inside and slams the door shut. You end up squished up front, in between Hopper and Steve.

“Drive!” You scream, and Hopper doesn’t need to be told twice before he stomps on the gas and follows after Jonathan’s car.

It’s silent for a few minutes as everyone steadies their breathing, processing what’s just happened. You rub at your side, the rough movements from earlier having upset the wound. Hopper notices this and raises an eyebrow at you. “Lose a fight?”

“Mhm,” you see that he’s dressed in hospital scrubs and raise your own eyebrows. “Got checked into a psych ward?”

Hopper lets out a short laugh and you can see the exhaustion behind his eyes, but he plays along and you’re grateful for it. “Yeah, figured it was time.”

–

The Byers’ home is a disaster when you walk in. The walls are covered with pictures drawn by Will, a map that he somehow came to piece together, of an entire underground tunnel system that the Demodogs now reside in.

You sit on the ground next to Will, who has been placed on the couch while he’s still unconscious, and you hold his cold, limp hand as Jonathan kneels next to the boy and strokes his hair.

“I’m sorry, bud.” He whispers, voice breaking. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I should have been there.”

You grab Jonathan’s own hand. “He wouldn’t blame you. You couldn’t have known.”

Nancy places a hand on his shoulder as she watches over him, a certain concern in her eyes that you’ve never quite seen before. She’s always been the most guarded out of the three of you, but now she’s rubbing comforting circles into Jonathan’s back; you’ve never seen her so open before, so affectionate with someone.

You noticed how much closer they seemed earlier at the lab, how the tension between them now appears to be gone. You know that something happened on their spy adventure, you know they’d been alone together, probably gotten a motel room, even. Your stomach twists at the thought, but Will’s cold hand is a reminder that none of that matters right now. Like last year, he comes first.

“We’ll figure it out, bee. We always do.” You kiss Jonathan’s cheek, not knowing how many more times you’ll be able to do so, and you try to memorize how his face feels pressed against yours, the way your nose buries into his skin and the way he leans into the kiss each and every time.

Jonathan sniffles and thanks you, pulling you into his side as he continues to stroke Will’s hair. Nancy remains standing, and when you look up to offer her to sit next to you, you finally notice Steve standing in the corner, watching.

He’s holding himself as he watches the three of you and, despite how he tries to hide it, you see Steve wipe at his nose and blink away tears; he’s never looked so small before, and your heart breaks for him as he walks out of the room.

You excuse yourself to follow after him, bypassing Hopper who is angrily trying to contact some government people to alert them about Hawkins Lab.

Steve walks into the kitchen and faces the drawings on the wall, his back turned away from everyone in a pathetic attempt to gain some privacy. Slowly, you approach him and stand to his left. You know he senses your presence, but he continues to stare straight ahead.

“You want to talk about it?” You ask, voice low so no one else in the kitchen can hear.

Steve closes his eyes and shakes his head, it’s all of a response he can give you right now. He’s worried that if he tries to speak, he’ll start crying. His worst fear has come true. He’s been replaced.

Tentatively, you grab his hand and bring your lips to his ear. “Can I?”

You feel Steve shiver, his breath is shaky, and though he isn’t quite sure what you’re asking him, he nods anyways.

He will always say yes to you.

The moment Steve nods, you tug at the hand you’re holding and bring his arms around you; he practically melts in your arms. Releasing another shaky breath, he buries his face in your hair and inhales your perfume as if gasping for air. He brings a hand to your hair as he cradles the back of your head, bringing you even closer together.

For the first time in Steve’s life, his mind goes quiet.

You’re aware of everyone else in the room, you know you’ll have to deal with the kids’ nosy questions later, but you don’t care. Steve needs you, and the way he’s clinging onto you as you hug tells you everything you need to know.

He’s barely holding it together, so you discretely shift so that the others can’t see as you attempt to piece him back together with your arms tightening around him and your fingers intertwining through his hair as well.

Your ribs scream in protest as you lean against the boy, but the pain reassures you that you are alive and sharing this pain with someone you’ve come to care deeply about.

“I’m here,” you whisper, feeling Steve’s body shake at the reassurance. “It’s just you and me right now, okay?”

He nods, still too scared to speak. The two of you remain interlocked in the kitchen you grew up in, surrounded by Will’s drawings and memories of early morning breakfasts with Jonathan, and Dustin watches from the kitchen table.

Lucas watches as well and shares a glance with your brother, who can only shake his head and sigh. He knows, sooner or later, that he’ll have to ask you about Steve, he’s never seen you like this before, not even with Jonathan, but for now he leaves you both alone.

When Hopper angrily hangs up the phone, Dustin uses it as an opportunity to distract himself. “They didn’t believe you, did they?”

“We’ll see,” Hopper sighs, tired.

“‘We’ll see’? We can’t just sit here while those things are loose!” Mike exclaims, his foot tapping nervously underneath the table.

The chief sighs again, now spotting you and Steve still holding each other in the corner. “Hey, Henderson and pretty boy, get a room. Mike, we stay here and we wait for help.”

Hearing your name, you finally break apart from Steve and send Hopper an embarrassed glare, clearing your throat. Steve clears his throat as well and takes several steps away from you. His cheeks flaming red.

“Did he call me pretty boy?” Steve whispers to you, but you shush him, instead walking over to Mike, who has now started to tap his foot even more aggressively.

Standing behind the boy, you rub his shoulder, unsure how to help the boy. You know he’s worried about Will and he’s always hated waiting almost as much as you do. At your touch, Mike turns his head to look up at you, and the fire that’s always been in his eyes has died.

You look around the table, it’s quiet. Max is playing with her fingernails, Lucas is staring at the table with tears in his eyes, and Dustin is watching as you try to comfort Mike. All the kids are in their own state of shock and grief. They’re too young for all of this.

Meanwhile, Steve hangs back by the corner, knowing that this is what you do best: you take care of people. He watches as you furrow your brows for a second, a slight quirk he’s picked up about you, and slowly he sees you piece together how to help the kids you love so dearly.

You start with leaning against the table, wedged between Dustin and Mike, and somehow–Steve has always wondered how you do this–you light up the cold room with warmth.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all of this by yourself,” you stroke Mike’s hair, it’s rare that you get to do this, but he remains numb to your touch. “Had I known any of this would happen, I would’ve made you more fudge brownies.”

Though it’s small, almost imperceptible, Mike lets out a tiny huff, a placeholder of a laugh.

At least it’s a start.

You whisper more words to him as Dustin leans against your back, grounded by your presence, and Max watches this with interested yet envious eyes. She still has yet to grow used to your kindness, to the love you share with the boys: a sibling relationship she’s never had before.

As you’re comforting Mike, his eyes wander towards the living room and suddenly he gets up. You watch, curious as to what he’s doing, as he grabs a cube and delicately rolls it around in his hand.

“Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?”

At the mention of Bob’s name, you bring Dustin closer to you. With everything that’s happened tonight, the reminder of the man’s death fills you with raw, unfiltered grief. When you arrived at the Byers home and found a distraught Joyce, you knew.

Bob is dead, and he has taken all the kindness he shared with you. He was a sweet man, one who took you in without any question as soon as he started dating Joyce, a man who offered you rides to work and encouraged you to stop by his own job any time. The same man who brought the woman who is like a second mother to you, back to life.

Your heart breaks for Joyce, for Will and Jonathan and all the other kids.

Bob Newby truly was a superhero, everyone he ever interacted with came out a better person because of it. He never left anyone without a smile on their face, and now he’s gone.

Once you’ve managed to swallow down your grief, you voice from the kitchen, “I didn’t know that.”

Mike turns to you. “He petitioned the school to start it and everything, and then he had a fund-raiser for equipment. Mr. Clark learned everything from him.” There’s light in his voice as he approaches the table again, a spark as if the fire is trying to relight itself. “Pretty awesome, right?”

Dustin and Lucas nod, faint smiles on their own faces. “Yeah.”

Mike sets the cube down. “We can’t let him die in vain.”

You agree with him, but how could you possibly accomplish something like that>

“What do you want to do, Mike?” Dustin lifts his head up, frustrated. “The Chief’s right on this. We can’t stop those Demodogs on our own.”

“Demodogs?” Max finally speaks up.

You sigh, tired of hearing your brother’s explanation of his made up name. “Please don’t ask–”

“Demogorgon, dog. Demodog.” Your brother explains, and you pinch the bridge of your nose. “Demodogs. It’s like a compound… It’s like a play on words–”

“Okay!” You and Max say at once, cutting off his spiel.

“I mean, when it was just Dart, maybe…”

You snort at Dustin. “Tell that to my ribcage.”

The boy glares at you and Lucas takes over, reigning you both back in. “But there’s an army now.”

“Precisely,” Dustin sighs in defeat.

Mike, who has been quiet the entire conversation, realizes something. “His army.”

Steve looks around, confused. “What do you mean?”

“His army!” Mike faces everyone, and the fire behind his eyes now fully alive, and you know he’s come up with some genius plan like his sister always does. “Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army too.”

Dustin and Lucas share a glance and seem to be understanding what Mike is saying, but you look to Steve, equally as lost as he is, before Mike runs out the room while the others follow.

“Any idea what that kid is saying?” The teen asks you, but you shake your head.

“On a good day, I understand maybe a quarter of what Mike says. However, with significant blood loss and no real meals in me, I’m afraid I have no fucking idea what’s happening.”

“Cool,” Steve steps closer to you and motions for you to guide the way. “Let’s follow, then.”

You find the kids in Will’s room, all standing over a picture that the boy drew. In it is a looming figure with four long limbs, its figure thin and haunting as it stalks over the picture. Seeing the drawing, you get an uneasy feeling.

“The doctor said it was like a virus, it infected him.” Mike is explaining, speaking so fast you can barely keep up as you and Steve stand in the doorway.

“What virus?” You ask, now standing next to the kids.

Mike hands you the picture. “The shadow monster, it got Will that day at the field.”

“And this virus… It’s connecting him to the tunnels?” Max seems to be following along better than you are, which is quite depressing.

“The tunnels, monsters, the Upside Down, everything.”

Something within your stomach drops, the familiar weight of guilt follows it. “Will is still connected to the Upside Down?”

“Whoa, slow down,” Steve steps in now, sensing your panic, and tries to rectify the situation. “Let’s all just slow down.”

Mike groans. “The shadow monster is inside everything, and if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will.”

Again, guilt throws itself against you with all its weight, and you feel each thud against your body like a hammer feels a nail.

Lucas nods. “And so does Dart.”

“Like what Mr. Clark taught us. The hive mind.” Mike follows.

You’re silent, staring at the picture still in your hands.

Steve crosses his arms. “Hive mind?”

“A collective consciousness, a super organism.” You hear Dustin clarify, but it’s all beginning to blur together for you.

All you can think is that you’re the reason Will has become entangled in all of this, in alternate dimensions, infected with a monster so powerful that it can create vast tunnels underneath your feet and monsters bred to kill.

Mike is on a roll now, it’s all clicking together. “And this is the thing that controls everything. It’s the brain–”

“Like the mind flayer,” Dustin realizes, which causes both Lucas and Mike to stop in their tracks.

It seems the boys have figured it all out, then.

And it seems to you that old scars will never fade, not in the way that they should.

Swallowing down your nausea and tears and guilt, you finally speak. “Explain everything to me.”

–

Dustin throws the DnD book onto the Byers’ kitchen table, beginning to explain everything as everyone gathers around.

You stand next to him, Steve to your right, and watch as your brother commands the room as if he was born to do so. As he explains, you look around and everyone. Jonathan stands next to Lucas, facing across from you, and Nancy finds herself standing to your left, worried.

“Oh my god, none of this is real,” Hopper is already over the entire situation, which annoys you. “This is a kid’s game.”

“I’m sorry, but those Demodogs that just attacked us are logical to you?” You snap at the cop, completely baffled that he for some reason decided to draw the line at a DnD reference rather than literal demons from another dimension.

Hopper narrows his eyes at you, but before he can say anything, Jonathan shrugs his shoulders. “Y/N has a point, you know.”

“Okay, before we all start fighting, I just want to point out that this,” Dustin points to the book on the table. “Is a manual, and it’s not for kids. Unless you know something that we don’t, this is the best metaphor–”

“Analogy.” Lucas interrupts.

“Analogy, that’s what you’re worried about?” You grab at Dustin’s jacket to try and settle him down, but he’s angry and annoyed and you know it’s been a long day for everyone. “Fine. An analogy for understanding whatever the hell this is!”

Nancy sees you struggling with the boy and tries to step in. “Okay, so this mind flamer thing–”

“Flayer,” you gently correct.

“What does it want?”

Dustin bites his lip. “To conquer us, basically. It believes it’s the master race.”

Steve, who is leaning next to Dustin and you, snaps his finger. “Like the Germans?”

“Uh… The Nazis?” Your brother looks at you, silently urging you to shut the teen up, and you pinch your nose again and sigh.

“Oh, buddy.” You loop your arm through his and pat Steve’s shoulder. “Let’s just listen, okay?”

Steve tries to say more but you hold your finger up, indicating that you won’t listen to whatever he’s about to say, and he rolls his eyes at you but rests his free hand against the one you have on his arm.

However, when Lucas announces that you could all be dealing with the end of the world, Steve lets out a dry laugh and tries to pull away from you, freaking out. “That’s great! That’s really great, Jesus!”

You pull him back by the arm, forcing him to stand next to you and calm down, and he doesn’t try to fight it. Though he’s scared out of his fucking mind and in over his head, he listens to your silent command and comes back to you. Once he’s still, you unwrap your arm from his and bring that hand to the back of his neck, playing with the baby hairs there to try and soothe him.

Steve leans into your touch, his shoulders start to relax, and you know he’s slowly calming down.

Jonathan sees this interaction and catches your eye, and when he has your attention, he flashes you a knowing smirk as he mouths, friendly, aren’t we?

You narrow your eyes and subtly point between him and Nancy, mouthing back, you’re one to talk, which effectively shuts Jonathan up and he diverts his eyes again, going back to focusing on what Dustin and the others are saying.

“No, no fireballs,” Dustin is explaining to Hopper. “Instead, you–uh. You summon an undead army and… Uh, because… Zombies, ya know? They don’t–uh, have brains and the–the mind flayer, it, uh, likes brains.”

When your brother sees you shaking your head in disappointment and Hopper’s barely controlled anger, he quickly finishes with, “It’s just a game.”

You nudge his shoulder with yours. “You did well explaining, buddy.”

Dustin gives you a weak thumbs up as Hopper angrily throws the book down. “What the hell are we doing here?”

“I thought we were waiting for your military backup.” Dustin retorts, and you quickly raise your hand for a high five, which he gladly accepts.

Hopper sees this and rolls his eyes. “We are!”

“But even if they come, how are they gonna stop this? You can’t just shoot this with guns!” Mike quips, and you give him a high five as well.

“You don’t know that! We don’t know anything!” Hopper roars, and it takes everything within you not to flinch at his raised voice.

“We do know, actually.” You say, voice quiet but stern as you try to steady your heartbeat. You’ve never, ever been able to hear a man yelling at you without some form of panic clawing at your chest. “Ask Nancy about the guns. We fought a fully grown Demodog last year, you seem to conveniently forget that.”

Hopper clenches his jaw. “Every time I start to like you, you piss me off again.”

“It’s a skill.”

Everyone begins to argue again, Hopper with you while Dustin, Lucas, and Mike take your side to try and reason with the cop, before a frail, broken voice silences you all.

“They’re right.” Joyce stumbles from her room, her face still wet with tears as grief overtakes her.

“Mrs. Byers,” you breathe out, immediately walking over to the woman to stand by her side, but she gently pushes you away.

“We have to kill it.” Anger slowly spills into her voice. “I want to kill it.”

Hopper joins your side now, the two of you surrounding the woman. “Me too, Joyce. Okay? But how do we do that? We don’t exactly know what we’re dealing with here.”

“We don’t know what could happen to Will,” you urge, understanding Joyce’s anger but terrified of how it may affect her son.

“If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it’s Will.” Mike begins to walk over to the boy, who is still knocked out cold on the couch. “He’s connected to it. He’ll know its weakness.”

Everyone stands in the living room now, and dread encases its hand around your throat. You don’t want to make Will any more involved in this than he needs to be, he’s been through too much.

Max cocks her head. “I thought we couldn’t trust him anymore. That he’s a spy for the mind flayer now.”

“We can always trust Will.” There’s an edge to your voice, and Jonathan has to grab your hand to steady you.

Mike nods, understanding what you’re trying to voice. “I know, Y/N. We can always trust him, and he can’t spy if he doesn’t know where he is.”

–

Somehow, Steve gets paired up with Nancy to cover the inside of the Byers’ shed with tarps.

One minute Steve had been standing behind you in the living room as Mike explained his plan, and the next minute he was being auctioned off to join his ex in a small shed while you got to happily team up with Jonathan and his mom.

It was unfair, really.

While he’s moping about his luck, Nancy hesitantly looks at Steve, clearly also as equally uncomfortable in the silence. She lingers as Steve begins to hang up another tarp and she tears a piece of tape for him, waiting.

She watches as Steve’s body stretches the length of the wall and realizes that this is the first time they’ve been alone together since their conversation at school, and that his languid movements are foreign to her.

Nancy hasn’t seen him so at ease in a long, long time.

She thinks about how you’d been with him these last few days while she had been with Jonathan, and she wonders what else may have possibly changed in such a short amount of time.

“Hey,” she finally says, the silence clawing at her. “What you did, um… Helping the kids, that was really cool.”

Steve still looks at Nancy with such sincerity and warmth, something that makes her stomach twist with guilt. He doesn’t know what she’s done just yet, and she doesn’t know if he has a right to even care at all.

“Yeah,” he exhales, breaking the eye contact first. “Those little shits are real trouble, ya know?”

Nancy finds herself laughing, grateful he seems open to talking to her. “Believe me, I know.”

“It’s a miracle that Y/N survived so long on her own.” Steve says absentmindedly, returning to hanging up the tarp.

Hearing your name causes Nancy’s stomach to twist again. Steve may not have pieced everything together just yet, but she knows that you have. You’ve always been able to read people well, too well, even.

Jonathan wasn’t yours and she wasn’t Steve’s, yet Nancy feels an overwhelming sense of guilt for the two of you.

“It’s nice that you were there for her,” Nancy avoids looking at Steve again.

“Y/N has been there for everyone else, so I figured it was time that someone was finally there for her?” He shakes his head, unsure what he’s even saying. “I just… I wanted to help her.”

Nancy doesn’t say anything, she only nods and continues tearing off more pieces of tape.

You’re too good, everyone knows this, and sometimes Nancy finds herself resenting you for it, even though none of it is your fault.

–

Jonathan tears down another bedsheet from the clothing line and tosses it into the growing pile of sheets and bedding in your arms; he yanks them down, you catch, and then he cuts the lines with the knives you loaned him.

“You sure this is gonna work?” Jonathan asks his mom, who has joined the two of you to collect her own pile of sheets to cover the shed.

Joyce nods, the familiar frantic look in her eyes from last year is now back. “He knew who I was. He’s still in there. It’s gonna work, it has to.”

You peek from behind the pile of cloth you’re holding. “Who knows, maybe we can finally prove whether or not Freud’s theory of consciousness is correct.”

Jonathan doesn’t understand what you mean, but Joyce sends you a grateful smile, appreciative that you’re trying to remain optimistic despite the situation, and then leaves before her son can question the plan once more.

As soon as the two of you are alone, Jonathan puts your switchblade in his pocket and then faces you, not wasting a second to finally have you to himself. “Okay, tell me everything I missed while I was gone.”

His eager curiosity makes you smile. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, but aren’t we on a time limit?”

“I think we can spare a few minutes, bug.”

“Fine, but at least grab some of these sheets so I can actually look at you while I talk.”

Jonathan laughs and does as he’s told, grabbing some of the cloth you’re holding and lessening the weight of it for you. Once he’s able to see your face, he smiles warmly at you. “Hi,”

“Hi, bee.” The greeting drips from your mouth like pure honey, and with two simple words, Jonathan can feel himself finally begin to relax.

“So,” he wiggles his eyebrows at you. “Go on.”

You take a deep breath, knowing that what you’re about to tell Jonathan will remove the carefree smile on his face. He’ll only blame himself, and you hate the responsibility he seems to feel for you.

“The only major thing, well… Besides the Demodogs, is that I spilled milk all over Billy, the guy you punched at the Halloween party.”

Jonathan gapes at you. “What?”

“Yeah, it was kinda awesome, honestly. He was being a bitch, accusing me and Steve of getting together to piss you and Nance off, and he was just being an overall creep, so… I spilled milk on him to get him to shut up so that Steve wouldn’t end up knocking the guy out.”

“Wait, Steve was there?” He tries to keep his voice level, but even Jonathan can hear the underlying hurt within his voice.

He’s not sure why the hurt is there, or why the thought of Steve being the one now protecting you sends a punch to his throat.

“Yeah,” you frown at him, confused by his sudden shift in mood. “He was with me in the lunchroom, wanted to know where you and Nance had run off to.”

Jonathan swallows. “I’m glad he was there, bug.”

And he is, he knows he is, but he also knows that it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the shift that has come between the two of you. How it was only thirty minutes ago that you had wrapped your arm around Steve’s, not Jonathan’s.

He clears his throat. “So, about Steve…”

“What about him?” You feign ignorance, but Jonathan sees the blush that has started to spread across your face.

“You’re blushing, bug.” It hurts him to tease, but he knows he has to. Jonathan has to play the role he had been given when he was twelve and had met you that day on Nancy’s front porch.

The same girl he slept with last night, who he has come to love with such devotion that he still struggles to accept within himself.

They haven’t talked about it, at least not yet, but all the unsaid truths between you and Jonathan hang over him. He can feel the lines and threads and strings all closing in on you two, and he knows you can also sense it as well.

“It’s nothing, bee.” You start walking towards the shed, uncomfortable now. You don’t want Jonathan’s teasing, not when it comes to Steve; it’s too painful, you still haven’t quite come to terms with your newfound feelings for the boy.

Not when you haven’t laid your feelings for Jonathan to rest, yet.

It wouldn’t be fair to Steve.

Jonathan steps in front of you, blocking your path. He feels as if he’s about to lose you, and for the first time since he’s met you, he doesn’t know how to make you stay. “Hey, I’m sorry. It’s just… I know you.”

His words burn.

“Let’s just get back to the shed–”

“Bug,” he blocks your path again. He’s not ready to lose you just yet, but he knows he will soon. It’s inevitable. “I know you, and when you’re around Steve, you just… You’re different, a–a good different, and–”

“Jonathan, I really don’t want to talk about this,” you plead, but he hears the at least not with you that goes unsaid. “Why don’t you focus on your newly formed relationship with Nancy, okay?”

Jonathan stumbles over his feet. “You–you know?”

“I know you,” you echo his words from moments ago, with its melancholy and all.

He sighs, steps to the side, and lets you go.

It’s quiet after that.

–

In the shed, everyone busies themselves with their tasks.

You, Steve, and Lucas run around with nail guns and tape for those who need it. The rest of the kids work as a unit, helping one another with covering every inch of wall they can find. Meanwhile, Nancy wraps newspaper around the poles while Jonathan carries Will through the door.

Seeing Will, limp within Jonathan’s arms, only reminds you of the dead body that had been pulled from the quarry last year.

Only this time it really is Will.

Together, you and Jonathan gently place the boy in the chair and tie him. You ignore the way your heart clenches as you knot the cords together; you’re doing this to save him. Joyce prepares the medicine needed to knock Will out, in case anything happens, and as you watch, Lucas and Mike switch on the overhead lamps, blinding you.

“Christ,” you mumble, holding your hand up to shield your eyes from the light.

“It works,” Mike looks at you, hopeful. “It’s gonna work.”

Hopper steps forward, facing everyone. “If you aren’t related to the Byers family, get out.” While everyone begins to leave, you and Mike remain where you are. When Hopper sees this, he frowns. “What did I just say?”

Dustin and Steve linger in the doorway, both silently asking you what the plan is, and you give them a slight nod to indicate that it’s okay. You’ll join them later, right now Will needs you and you sure as hell aren’t leaving Mike and Jonathan alone to deal with this.

“Y/N is family, Hop.” Joyce stands next to you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

You smile at her before facing the chief. “I’m staying.”

“Me, too.” Mike echoes, standing his own ground against the man, and you refrain from giving him another high five for his bravery.

Better not to upset Hopper too much more.

The man in question groans, too tired to argue. “Fine, you two can stay, but only because I know that if I don’t let Henderson stay then Jonathan will probably have a panic attack or something.”

Jonathan shrugs. “Probably.”

Dustin rushes over to you and gives you a tight hug. “Be careful.”

“I will,” you kiss the top of his hat, catching Steve’s eye in the process. “Take care of him, please?”

Steve nods, without any hesitation to do as you’ve asked. “Of course.”

And with that, the door to the shed closes as the last of the group leaves.

It’s silent after that, and you take a second to admire the work everyone did. The shed is completely unrecognizable, and the lights will only further limit Will’s vision. A part of you truly believes that this plan could work, but you’ve long since stopped letting your hope get the better of you.

“Alright, you ready?” Hopper looks over at Joyce, holding the ammonia needed to wake Will up.

“Yeah,” the woman crosses her arms, and you want to reach out and hold her.

Everyone is quiet as Hopper crouches in front of Will and dabs some ammonia onto a cotton ball. Then, slowly, he brings it up to the boy’s face and waits for him to inhale. When he does, Will’s eyes snap open and he inhales so sharply that you’re worried he’s hurt himself.

You stand in between Mike and Jonathan, and seeing the pure fear on Will’s face brings tears to your eyes. He reminds you of a deer, small and frail, with eyes so full of fear that it makes you ache.

Will’s eyes dart around the room, and when he notices that he’s tied to the chair, he begins to tug at the cords. “What–what is this? Why am I tied up?”

“Will, we just wanna talk to you,” Joyce softly tells him, now eye level with the boy as she does her best to calm him down. “We’re not gonna hurt you.”

“Where am I?” The fear that had once been in Will’s voice is gone, now replaced with an anger that seems so foreign to associate with the boy.

Hopper joins now, showing him the picture of the mind flayer that he drew. “You recognize this?”

Will shakes his head and looks over at you, now realizing that you’re there, and you force yourself to look away. He’s always been the sweetest boy, but he killed so many innocent people today, even if he hadn’t meant to.

You trust Will, you do, but you remind yourself that the boy in front of you isn’t really him.

“We wanna help you,” Joyce tries to reassure him again. “But to do that, we have to understand how to kill it.”

At the mention of killing, Will’s eyes widen as more anger seeps through him, now shouting at his mother, “Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up? Why am I tied up?”

He begins to thrash around, throwing his head back against the wall as he repeatedly screams and begs to be let go. The lights are now flickering and immediately you draw Mike into your chest, trying to mask your own tears as you comfort him.

Jonathan clings behind you, his arms wrapped around your waist as he buries his face into your shoulder, and blindly you reach behind yourself so you can hold him as well. When you feel his tears spill against your skin, you wrap your arms tighter around Mike and cry.

Will continues to scream, becoming more and more violent, and something demonic seems to crawl into his vocal chords as he screams.

You hold Mike and Jonathan tighter against you, doing everything you can to be there for the boys. You knew this would be difficult, but as the lights continue to flicker and Will’s pale face quickly becomes paler with every plea, you feel weak.

With Jonathan behind you and Mike in front of you, both boys clinging onto you as sobs wrack your own body, it becomes unclear who is being held up and who is the one holding.

Hopper has his own arms wrapped around Will, and slowly, miraculously, his pleas begin to fade off. Exhaustion seems to overtake the boy, as he starts to mumble more than scream, and with every exhaled breath, the light’s flickering settles down.

Finally, silence.

The only sound in the shed is Will’s labored breaths, alongside your own.

Joyce sits in the chair placed in front of Will, takes a moment to find her words, and then asks the boy, “Do you know what March 22nd is?”

You do, it’s Will’s birthday, and you listen as Joyce talks about his eighth birthday and how she had gotten him a giant box of crayons and he had used all the colors to draw a rainbow ship. With every word, more despair and love fills the woman’s voice as she reflects on how proud she is of him, how much she loves him, and you have to turn away for a moment to wipe at your eyes.

After Joyce has finished her story, you all see something within Will. As if he’s coming back to himself, his eyes no longer holding the malic from earlier.

Jonathan detangles himself from you and wipes his eyes as well, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Do you remember the day dad left?”

You turn around, already knowing the story that he’s about to tell, and you press a soft kiss to Mike’s forehead before joining Jonathan at Will’s side. He can’t be alone when he retells this story, because he hadn’t been alone when it happened.

“We stayed up all night building Castle Byers,” Jonathan reflects, nudging you as you crouch down in front of Will as well. “It was Y/N’s idea to build it just the way you drew it.”

“You loved the idea,” your voice cracks, but you try to hide it so that you don’t scare the boy.

You remember how Will’s face lit up when you surprised him with the idea. He hadn’t left his room in hours, blaming himself for Lonnie leaving, and Jonathan had shown up at your window, in tears as he confessed that he didn’t know how to help Will.

After yanking the teen into your room and sitting him down on your bed, you had told him that Will simply needed someone there for him, to remind him that he was good and lovely and that everything that Lonnie had ever said was wrong.

Later that day, the two of you showed up to the hardware store; two young teens with only pocket change as currency, and you’d bought all the supplies needed for Castle Byers.

“And it took so long because you were so bad at hammering.” The fondness of the memory causes Jonathan to laugh, and you do so as well as you remember just how many times Will had accidentally hit his fingers rather than the nail. “You missed the nail every time.”

“I thought you’d lose a finger, honestly.” You add, which Joyce laughs at.

Jonathan continues. “And then it started raining, but we stayed out there anyway. All of us were sick for like a week after that… But we just had to finish it, didn’t we? We just had to.”

You squeeze the teen’s hand and lean in closer to Will, sensing that it’s now your turn to speak. “Do you know what my nickname is for you?”

Will slowly nods, his eyes going to Jonathan and then back to you, indicating that he understands he’s your little bee.

“Little bee, that’s right.” It isn’t difficult to reminisce on your favorite memory with the boy, it comes to you immediately. “After we all had gotten the cold, do you remember the awful flu that Jonathan and Dustin somehow got like a week afterwards?”

Jonathan snorts, remembering how annoyed he had been for being so sick for so long. He had missed two whole weeks of school, and you were the one who had to bring his assignments to him and help with his homework.

“That weekend, our moms decided that it made more sense to send Jonathan to my house so he and Dustin could quarantine together, so I stayed at your house and we spent the entire weekend alone. Just you and me.”

You smile softly, the memory fresh and warm like an early spring day. You love Jonathan and Dustin endlessly, but being alone with Will was special. A rare occasion that the two of you always relished in. “That weekend, we watched all your favorite movies and I taught you how to bake the cookies you love so much… You taught me how to draw, and together we were happy.”

Your voice breaks again, the warmth of the memory slightly stings as you gaze into Will’s sunken eyes. Two years ago you had all of Will, his happiness genuine and his heart kind, and now you’re terrified you’ll never have that version of him back ever again.

Jonathan notices your hesitancy and strokes your face gently. “Go on,”

You grab the hand on your face and kiss it, grateful for the strength he’s loaning you. “We–we were almost sad when Dustin and Jonathan got better, because we had enjoyed our little weekend getaway.”

Joyce lets out a shaky breath as she reaches for you as well, her hand landing against your shoulder, a place she has long since inhabited for herself whenever she wants to express her love for you. She knows how fiercely you love her sons, and she remembers all the laughter and joy she heard that weekend within her home, a home that had long since stopped being warm for her.

“That weekend…” You force down the sobs that threaten to spill over. You have to finish the story, to remind Will of who he is again. He has to come back to you. “That weekend, you became my little bee.”

As soon as you say Will’s nickname, you lean away from the boy and try to collect yourself. You’ve said all that you physically can for now, and you hope it was enough. You hope, more than anything, that it will be enough to bring Will home again.

Mike steps forward now, and Will turns his head to him. “Do you remember the first day that we met?”

You notice the tear that falls down the boy’s face, and you lean your head against Jonathan’s shoulder in exhaustion as you listen to his story. It’s one you’ve never heard before, and it’s rare to see Mike so vulnerable with his feelings.

“It was… It was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody. I had no friends, and–and I just felt so alone and so scared but–” More tears come. “I saw you on the swings and you were alone, too. You were just swinging by yourself.”

Jonathan’s hand finds your hair as you both listen, and you know he’s thinking the same as you. How finding your person in a world so vast and lonely can bring you to life.

“I just walked up to you and… I asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend, and you said yes.” Mike swallows, now diverting his eyes away from everyone. “You said yes, and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Mike finishes with more tears, and you walk over to him so that he can hide his face against you. You know he wants to be alone right now, that he hates how exposed his emotions are, and as soon as you’ve wrapped your arms around the boy he buries his face in your chest and softly cries.

You do your best to shield him from the world.

Meanwhile, Joyce tries again to reach Will. “Will, baby. If you’re in there, just please… Please talk to us. Please, honey, can you do that for me? I love you so much.”

Something seems to collapse within Will, he fights back tears as his breathing becomes labored again. For a moment, you think it’s worked, that he’ll finally come back and you’ll have your little bee again.

“Let me go.” Will demands again, and you feel everyone’s heart in the room drop.

It’s quiet for several moments, but there’s a faint tapping that you hear. You don’t know where it’s coming from, but you’re sure that it hadn’t been there moments ago. You look around the room and see Hopper doing the same.

When your eyes meet his, he tilts his head at you as if to ask if you hear it too. You nod, and Hopper looks around once more before he freezes.

“Out,” Hopper suddenly orders, leaving no time for anyone to argue as he flings the shed door open and marches towards the Byers home.

–

“What happened?” Dustin immediately asks as soon as you enter the house.

“We think we found something,” you inform him, pointing to Hopper, who has now sat down at the kitchen table with a pen and paper.

Everyone gathers around him as he starts to scribble a series of lines and dots. “I think he’s talking, just not with words.

“What is that?” Steve asks, lost as to how lines and dots are so important.

“Morse code,” all the boys answer in unison.

Steve leans over you and whispers, “Why do they always do that?”

“You get used to it. Now shush.”

Hopper spells out the letters he remembers Will tapping. “H-E-R-E.”

“Here.” Everyone says out loud.

“Will is still in there. He’s talking to us.” The chief says, looking at Joyce.

Your eyes meet Jonathan’s and an idea comes to you. “If the memories we’re telling him are working, then what about music?”

Hopper thinks for a moment, but Jonathan has already run to his room to grab his stereo and cassette tapes, understanding exactly what you’re thinking.

A plan forms from there.

You, Jonathan, Mike, and Joyce all take turns telling Will stories while his favorite song plays. Should I Stay or Should I Go? Plays within the shed as memories fill it with warmth and Hopper taps out on a walkie everything that Will taps.

Inside the house, the kids, Nancy, and Steve all listen to the walkie and write down the morse code to decipher what Will is saying.

Jonathan tells him about real music, Mike recounts the time Will saved the party during one of their campaigns, Joyce talks about a kind moment from his childhood, and you tell him about the wonderful drawing he made for your birthday. The one of you, Jonathan, and the party fighting a dragon.

“You drew me as a princess and Jonathan laughed when he saw it. Said it was very fitting.” You say, nervously watching as Will frantically taps against his chair. “When you gave me the picture, I think I almost squeezed you to death when I hugged you. It’s still the best birthday gift I’ve ever been given–”

The sound of a telephone ringing cuts you off, and Will snaps his head up, no longer paying any attention to you.

You freeze, now realizing that the music has shut off. Will has to have heard it, and you know he’ll figure out where you guys are. His eyes droop shut and you slowly back away into Jonathan, who grabs you and pulls you even further away. He’s tense, you both are.

“Hey, can you hear me?” Joyce tries to draw Will back in, but he’s starting to pant as his eyes flutter rapidly underneath his eyelids.

“It knows. It knows where we are.” Hopper says as Joyce reaches for the sedative.

With one fluid movement, she injects Will and immediately he knocks out. His head falls forward, his breathing now back to normal. You pull at Joyce so that she faces you. “Did we knock him out in time?”

She doesn’t say anything, and Hopper runs outside while Jonathan and Mike join. The two of you stand in the shed alone, silent, both filled with dread.

Jonathan comes running back in. “They’re coming!”

“Shit!” You scramble to help him untie Will and you and Hopper use your knives to speed up the process. Your hands are shaking, but there’s no time to steady them.

Once Will is untied, Jonathan throws him over his shoulder and runs to the house. Joyce and Hopper follow and you grab Mike’s hand to make sure you don’t lose him. As you run, you hear the familiar screeches of the Demodogs and the hair on the back of your neck stands up.

They’re close.

Inside, you take the lead and shove everyone out of the kitchen. “Get to the living room. Now!”

“Y/N, what’s going on?” Steve is at your side now, his voice soft with fear.

You’re about to reassure him that it’ll be okay, to lie through your teeth, but then you see the kids by the windows and groan. “Get away from the windows!”

They scurry away and Hopper steps in, holding a shotgun that he offers to Jonathan. “Do you know how to use this?”

Jonathan looks around as if Hopper has asked someone else. “What?”

“Can you use this?”

While Jonathan stumbles over his words, Nancy confidently walks over. “I can.”

Hopper nods and tosses her the gun before turning to you, “I saw the switchblade earlier. Use it.”

You flick your wrist and extend the blades, doing as you’re told.

Everyone gathers around, with an assortment of weapons, and you get the insane urge to laugh. Of course you’re back here a year later, standing in Jonathan’s living room as monsters from another dimension threaten your loved ones.

Jonathan stands in front of Joyce while you stand in front of Dustin, knives raised to your face. Steve stands in front of you, his back facing you as he wields his bat, ready to defend you and your brother.

You make sure to keep an eye on Lucas and Max, who are to your left, trusting that Nancy has Mike as she and Hopper raise their guns.

All eyes are on the windows, no one says anything as you all wait. With every passing second, the howls and screeches outside get louder. Then, a loud screech comes from your right, and everyone turns around.

“What are they doing?” Nancy asks no one in particular, her voice shaky but her aim firm and strong.

You see the bushes rustling through the windows, and another snarl comes from the other side that causes you all to scream. There’s commotion outside, a series of screeches and thuds, and your body tenses, preparing itself to fight.

Suddenly, the screeching stops, and through the window a giant body gets thrown.

You scream and Steve shoves you and Dustin further behind him, but your brother realizes before you do what’s happened. “Holy shit.”

The Demodog lays motionless on the floor, its body limp, and you realize with a relieved sigh that it’s dead.

“Is it dead?” Max asks, as you all begin to approach its corpse.

“It is,” you confirm, too scared to ask the question of what the fuck killed it.

As Hopper pokes at the Demodog with his shoe, the front door creaks open, and everyone turns in alarm with weapons at the ready. The lock turns, and you feel a familiar sense of static. It’s been a year since you’ve felt the sensation, a year since the girl who could control things with her mind disappeared and left her memory behind.

It’s El.

She walks in, and you drop your knife in shock when you see that it’s her.

She’s grown so much since you last saw her, her hair is longer and she’s gotten taller. Her clothes are all black, her eyes smudged with makeup. Mike steps forward, you see the way his eyes fill with adoration.

You let out a soft cry, all the guilt and grief you’ve felt over the girl finally lifts, and you can breathe again.

She’s back.

El is alive.

-

⌑ series masterlist

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⌑ thank you for reading ! feel free to like, comment, reblog, or send in an ask so we can chat <3

[quack-quack-snacks]

Time Will Tell - Chapter 1.09

My Time Will Tell Masterlist

My Cha Hyun-su Masterlist

My Navigation and Masterlist

The Time Will Tell Glossary

Warnings: Hyun-su being sweet with the kids, Hyun-su having a monster episode. Word Count: 1,113

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“Where’s appa? And noona?” Yeong-su questioned his older sister tearfully. His nose sniffled every few seconds as the tears refused to stop. “I’m scared. Su-yeong, it’s too dark in here.”

“It’s okay,” Su-yeong tried to console her brother. “We’re gonna be alright. Unnie will come and save us.”

“And appa?” Yeong-su asked again. Both kids were too young to truly understand how fatal the fall of their father was, Yeong-su only recently even learning what death was. Su-yeong had hope for her father’s safety, one that was born of childhood innocence and a need for guidance. 

“Yeah, he’ll be back soon,” she reassured. Her own tears soaked her cheeks and she cried quietly, trying to stay strong for her younger brother but only being able to do so for so long. She was only nine. She wasn’t supposed to be doing all of this at such a young age. 

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Both kids flinched and stayed quiet. Su-yeong pointed her flightlight at the door when it knocked again. She could just barely see the silhouette of a man through the glass but didn’t want to risk it. Not until she heard him speak. 

“Kids. I’m here to help you. I know you’re scared but I’m not a monster. I’ll get you to safety,” he promised. Su-yeong got up and walked to open the door, cautiously at first but then opening it fully for the stranger to enter. 

He walked in, looking at the two kids and sighing in relief when he saw they were unharmed. He helped set up some candles to start with before the three of them sat around the wax fires on the floor. 

“Please, sir,” Yeong-su was the first to interrupt the silence that had settled over them like a blanket. “Do you think you can save our dad?” He asked. His voice was devoid of any hope but he still desperately needed the answer to be a yes. 

“What?” Hyun-su asked them, momentarily forgetting how their father fell from out their window on the 12th floor. 

“Our dad fell down the building and hit the ground,” the young boy explained. 

Hyun-su looked down at his lap, wishing he didn’t have to be the bearer of bad news for these two kids. “I know.”

“Maybe he’s still-” Su-yeong said hopefully only for that hope to be crushed by his next words. 

“I’m afraid nobody can survive a fall from the 12th floor,” he confessed. Both kids started to sob softly, mourning the loss of their father. Hyun-su took a moment before trying to lighten their spirits with some good news, no matter how small that news was in comparison to everything else. “There’s a man on the 14th floor that has a lot of food for both of you. You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Both kids nodded in agreement and he continued. “You don’t want to stay here by yourselves, am I right?” 

“But what about noona?” Yeong-su asked quickly, his voice wobbly from the tears he continued to shed. 

“What?” Hyun-su asked.

“What about our sister? What if she comes back here?” Su-yeong elaborated. Hyun-su took a moment before coming up with an idea. 

“What if we left her a note to tell her where we went? That way she can head there too if she comes back,” he offered. Both kids looked content with that idea and he smiled softly, trying to reassure them. 

“In order to get there, we’ll have to go into the hallway. There might be monsters,” he continued with the explanation of his plan. “How old are the two of you?”

“I’m nine…” Su-yeong started. “And my brother is six years old.”

He looked between the two of them before smiling softly again. “You know, those are perfect ages to fight monsters,” he assured. Another moment of silence went by as he looked between the two of them before reaching over to gently squeeze the younger boy’s shoulder since he was still sobbing. “Don’t worry, okay? I’m gonna protect you, I promise.”

He ignored how his hands shook when he promised them that. He wasn’t lying about that promise, he would protect them no matter what. No matter what it took, he wouldn’t let any harm come to them. 

That didn’t mean he wasn’t scared though. 

After placing a sticky note on the wall directly next to the front door of the apartment, Hyun-su led them out of their home, down the hallway, and to the entrance of the stairs. After opening the door and letting them go through first, he took a step to join them until he felt his legs freeze in place. A jolt of pain rushed through his body but the one he focused on the most was the one on his right forearm, right over his scars. His eyes widened and his breath staggered when he saw a hand - that had to be his but was not one of the two attached to his body - run over his arm. 

‘Protect them?’ He heard his own voice question him. The voice sounded like it was spoken directly into his ear, as if a clone of himself was standing behind him and whispering it like a secret. ‘Is that what you want to do?’

He stumbled, dropping his weapon and falling against the wall. The same type of nosebleed he had gotten hours ago in his apartment happened again. Blood streamed out in an almost comically exorbitant amount. It stained his skin and his clothes, soaking everything within its path. His eyes squeezed shut, images flashing through his mind without his consent and making his head pound. 

He knew what this meant. 

He knew this meant he was infected.

He just wished it came after he had saved the two kids in front of him. 

“Are you okay?” Su-yeong asked cautiously when she didn’t hear or see him following them.

“Get away from me,” he warned, his voice strained. “Leave, now!” And he slammed the door to the stairs shut, separating them from him. 

“You always liked to act cool in front of the weak, didn’t you? Now look what happened,” the other version of himself asked. Other voices, ones he knew from the past, bounced around and echoed through his head. 

“It was my fault…”

“Fucking dumbass! Haha!”

“Come out!”

“Hyun-su? I’m not related to him! Who told you that?”

“Just let it go, please Hyun-su?”

“It was my fault.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Bastard!”

“It was your fault!”

“Just let it go, please Hyun-su?”

“You’re a sad case. It was unfair.”

“Just die already.”

“It was unfair.”

“It was unfair.”

“It was unfair.”

[haddonfieldwhore]

ghosthunting - rhea & dom

rhea ripley x gn!reader x dominik mysterio

word count: 4k words

warnings: haunted jail, language, can be read as platonic if you want <3

despite the hot florida weather, your hands trembled slightly as the cameras started rolling. shotzi and scarlett had invited you, dominik, and rhea to be the guests on the first episode of their new ghost hunting series, Chamber of Horrors. you were excited, but also nervous about the idea of exploring a haunted jail, so you were relieved to have two of your closest companions by your side.

“hey guys,” scarlett introduced the three of you as you stood next to her and shotzi. you all greeted your two hosts, and they asked if any of you had encountered any ghosts before. dominik and rhea each shared a story, but you didn’t have one. you weren’t a sceptic, you just hadn’t experienced anything you would consider paranormal activity.

the five of you followed the tour guide inside, a few camera people following close behind as you stopped in the first room, the sheriffs office.

“you okay?” rhea whispered to you, and you nodded, smiling as you felt dom standing behind you, his chin resting on your shoulder.

“yeah i’m good,” you assured her, as scarlett and shotzi set up their equipment in the centre of the room. they had a few rem pods, which would light up different colours and beep if something got close or touched them, and scarlett had a spiritbox on her phone that allowed spirits to communicate using white noise and radio channels.

“how many spirits are in the room right now?” she asked, and a voice on the radio replied ‘eight’. rhea scratched her shoulder nervously, and leaned into dom’s side, as scarlett and her both repeated the number out loud. another device they had could supposedly answer yes or no questions, and it lit up green, confirming the number.

“is that how many spirits were hung here?” scarlett asked, and over the radio came a short ‘yep.’ dominik laughed nervously, and you felt rhea grab your arm and pull you behind dom, sandwiching you between the two of them, not that you were complaining. it was comforting to have them in either side of you.

“oh man,” dom said, crossing his arms in front of him.

“i know it’s weird right?” scarlet laughed, and you admired how she didn’t seem scared at all.

“i don’t my brains, shot. it’s mush,” dom said, looking at you and rhea. “i’ve never experienced anything like… this is above my pay grade. i don’t know what’s going on.” he scratched the side of his head, trying to find the right words to explain how he was feeling.

“i thought we were wrestlers,” rhea joked, and you all laughed, and you mentally thanked her for being able to lighten the mood.

“yeah, let’s get out of here, i’d much rather take a power bomb right now” you played along, and rhea pretended like she was gonna walk out, grabbing your hand a dragging you a few steps towards the door.

“my eyes keep getting randomly like.. teary,” dom said, rubbing his eyes.

“yeah i keep looking around, thinking i’m seeing shit,” rhea said, glancing around the room, her hand still holding yours. scarlett and shotzi were still using the necrophone app to ask questions, when a chill ran up your spine at the words ‘come here’ on the radio.

“you heard that?” scarlett asked, and you all nodded. “are there any child spirits here?” all of the rem pods went off, lighting up and beeping at the same time, and your chest tightened. you wrapped your arms around dominiks waist, hiding your face in his shoulder as rhea, still holding your hand, was pulled towards you by your actions, and she hugged you from behind.

“i feel very warm,” dom noted, and rhea nodded.

“yeah idk if i’m sweating because i’m nervous, or because this one won’t let go of me,” rhea teased you affectionately.

“sorry,” you mumbled, but she wouldn’t let you out of her grip.

“do you guys want to ask it a question?” scarlett asked the three of you, and you all frowned, staying silent. “you’re good?” she laughed, and it got another laugh out of the room.

“yeah, this is a lot. i heard leave,” dominik suggested, and scarlett and shotzi laughed harder as he pointed to the door, but shotzi agreed that she had heard it too.

“do you want us to leave?” she asked, and the green light lit up meaning yes. you took a deep breath, and dominik made a cross sign over his chest.

“let’s go into another room,” scarlett suggested. “there’s a cold breeze behind me,” she added, and a laugh came over the radio, making shotzi giggle.

“it’s laughing at you.”

the rem pod lit up again, and you all decided it was time to move to a different room, scarlett suggesting the general population area next. as her and shotzi moved the ghost equipment, the camera man stayed with you, dominik, and rhea for a short interview.

“yeah, i mean i’m terrified. but you know… i… someone’s gotta do it,” dominik laughed nervously. “and why not, the double champs and the future, nxt champion?” he said, pointing to the three of you, and referencing your future title opportunity that was coming up.

“exactly,” rhea agreed.

•••

you stood behind dom and rhea next to where the equipment was set up outside one of the jail cells. scarlett held the necrophone in her hand, and the hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you swore you heard a voice behind you.

“did you guys hear that?” you said, and dominik turned to look at you.

“freezing,” scarlett echoed what the voice on the radio say, and rhea wrapped her arms around herself.

“yeah, i just got the shivers,” she said to scarlett.

“what is it?” dom asked you, the only one who had heard you, and it drew the attention of the others. your throat went dry and you swallowed hard.

“i don’t know, i thought i heard someone say something behind me a second ago, just before it got cold in here,” you explained. dominiks arm snakes around your back, pulling you into his side. “you guys didn’t hear anything?” everyone shook their heads, rhea mumbling a soft ‘no’.

“would any spirits like to communicate with us?” scarlett asked, and the device lit up green for yes again. “yes, the spirits would like to communicate with us!” she smiled, and both her and shotzi raised their hands in the air. you admired the positive attitude they managed to keep throughout the night.

“my eyes just got teary again,” dominik said, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his t-shirt.

“are you okay?” rhea asked, placing a hand on his back.

“yeah i’m good,” he laughed.

“is it bringing back memories?” shotzi asked him, referencing the time he had spent in ‘jail’.

“nah, this is just.. different,” he said, and rhea put her arm over his shoulder as he stood between you and her, dom still holding you close to his side. all of the sudden, rhea flinched, scratching her shoulder next to where her mic was clipped to her shirt.

“you okay?” dom asked softly, and rhea laughed nervously.

“thought i felt something touch me,” she replied.

“why do you choose to stay here?” scarlett asked, and over the radio the voice spoke ‘lucifer’.

“lucifer!” shotzi repeated, everyone laughing as dom turned around and pretended to walk out, raising his hands up in surrender.

“there he goes,” the cameraman said, as you pulled dom back to the group.

“you’re not allowed to scare us,” shotzi reprimanded the spirits. “we know you’re not lucifer; you can’t trick us.” rhea hid her face in her hand as she curled into dom’s side, you clinging to his other arm. scarlett was explaining how the necrophone worked to the camera when dom spoke up.

“so, quick question - not to be rude,” scarlet nodded telling him to continue. “so h..how do we know it’s not like a south park episode and there’s like a big dude behind the screen, just like..putting noises or something?” and shotzi laughed.

“well i mean, it is answering our questions pretty good.. so.”

“we’ve gotten very clear photos of faces, where there shouldn’t be anything. we’ve gotten like - figures on our sls camera,” scarlett explained. suddenly you heard another noise behind you, and dom and rhea must have heard it too because they also turned around to look for the source of the sound. your knuckles had turned white from how tightly you were holding onto dominiks hand, and could feel his finger tips digging into your side.

scarlett noticed that the three of you were distracted, and dom and rhea pointed in the direction the noise had come from, and the tour guide had heard it too.

“we heard something,” dom and rhea said at the same time, and the tour guide described it as a growl.

“i don’t know what the hell it was,” you said, your voice trembling.

“you guys are not allowed to touch dom, rhea, or y/n,” scarlett scolded the ghosts. “you’re not allowed to touch any of us.”

“he asked how we do we know there’s not someone behind the scenes, i swear to you i heard a growl and it came right over there,” the tour guide said, pointing behind you. “you all heard it right?”

“yeah, yeah, yeah,” dom repeated nervously, and you and rhea agreed.

“what was that growl? who was growling?” shotzi asked.

“what that the creeper growling?” scarlett asked, getting another laugh out of everyone.

“i don’t know if it was a growl or - it was just like a ‘rahhh’,” dom scratched the back of his neck as he imitated the noise you had heard.

“you heard another noise?” the tour guide asked.

“no no no, when we all heard it just now,” he clarified, and rhea stole you from his grip as she nervously fiddled with her necklaces.

“i just saw something over there,” scarlett said, pointing at where the noise had come from. “there was something over there, what was that? i saw a light go through.”

your were starting to feel a little overwhelmed, and you turned around, closing your eyes and burying your face in the crook of rheas neck, her arms wrapping around you. you instantly felt safer as dominik noticed the two of you, and hugged you both in his arms, gently stroking the back of your head with his tattooed hand.

“are you okay?” rhea asked, and you nodded against her collarbone.

“i just need a minute,” you admitted, and dom squeezed you and rhea tighter.

“you’re okay, we’ve got you,” he mumbled. when you felt like you could breathe again, you mumbled a soft ‘ok’, and they let you out of the cage they had made around you with their arms, but they each still held one of your hands.

•••

shotzi and scarlett were now sitting in one of the cells, and dom and rhea stood outside it. you had taken a step back for a moment, just looking over the shoulder of the camera man. dom seemed nervous as you heard scarlett say to shotzi that there was definitely a ghost in the cell with her, and the offered her hand for him to hold, which he took. suddenly shotzi yelled out in shock, and stood up off the bed.

“what! what just happened. are you okay?” scarlett asked, concerned. “wait wait, are you okay? what happened?”

“i’m fine, i just felt the bed shake,” shotzi said, laughing, and dom and rhea clung to each other.

“oh god.”

“i’m not going over,” rhea laughed, content with staying far away from the cell.

“can you not scare my friend, please?” scarlett asked.

“no, it’s okay, i allow you to touch me,” shotzi offered.

“why would you say you want it to touch you?” scar laughed.

“but respectfully! like don’t hurt me but a little,” she tapped her shoulder to demonstrate.

“i would not like to be touched,” dominik said.

“please do not touch me,” rhea agreed.

“i feel like i’m scared, but i just don’t know what going on, like-“ dom was interrupted by scarlett yelling to him and rhea.

“do you want to come in here with us?”

“nah, i’m cool,” he smiled, and the girls laughed.

the laughter had lightened the mood once again, and you had calmed down, deciding that you were ready to get back on camera. you snuck behind the camera man to head back over to dom and rhea when suddenly, you felt a stinging sensation on for back. dominik smiled as you approached him, but his face dropped when he saw the concerned look on your face.

“what’s wrong, did you hear something?” rhea asked.

“no, i thought i felt something on my back though,” you replied, trying to feel for the spot with your hand.

“want me to look?” dom asked, and you nodded, turning around so he could see if he could see anything. his hands were warm on your skin despite the chill in the room, and he rolled your shirt up slightly, and you heard rhea gasp.

“what? what is it?” you panicked, and went to turn around, but felt her manicured hand touch your back.

“wait wait wait. let me take a picture so i can show you,” she said.

“what the fuck, guys,” dom muttered, and your heart pounded in your chest. dom let you turn around, but his hands remained on your hips as rhea showed you her phone, on it a photo of a scratch on your back, about four inches long.

“what…. how did i get that?” you stuttered, and scarlett and shotzi noticed the commotion and came over.

“what happened?” scarlet asked, concern in her voice as she placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. your eyes were wide and you couldn’t form words as rhea showed her and shotzi the picture.

“oh my god, how did that happen? guys?” shotzi asked, covering her mouth in shock.

“i don’t know, maybe i bumped into something,” you mumbled, trying to rationalize; it was possible you could have, but wouldn’t you remember it?

“are you okay to keep going?” scarlett asked, and despite the sinking feeling in your stomach, you nodded. dom and rhea clung to either side of you again, and you were grateful that they refused to let go of you. scarlett and shotzi had gone back into the cell, and called for the three of you left outside to come join them.

“come sit with us,” dominik said, and him and rhea pulled you to sit just outside the cell door with them; none of you interested in actually going inside.

“come in, you guys. we’ll scooch over, there’s room for everybody,” shotzi invited.

“i’m good here,” dom said, and the two in the cell continued asking the spirits questions as you rested your head on dom’s shoulder, rhea doing the same to yours.

shotzi offered her hand for the spirit to touch as she and scarlett were talking about the boo bear, another device of theirs that was going off.

“are you sure you’re okay?” rhea whispered next to your ear.

“i think so,” you replied. “or i’m just blocking it out.”

“am i on video?” shotzi repeated what the spirit had said. “yes you are, and we want to tell your story,” she explained, before the radio said dom’s name. you felt his body tense against you, and you and rhea both held onto his hand.

scarlett suggested going to visit the isolation wing, and once again as they went to set up the equipment, the camera man interviewed you, dom, and rhea.

“i’ve never done anything like this, so this is my first time experiencing..like… this sort of like.. energy wise?” dom tried to explain.

“yeah, especially going into it and expecting something,” rhea added.

“yeah like, knowing… there’s just a lot of beeping going on,” dom said, gesturing with his hands. “i don’t know - we heard our names, and then y/n got that weird scratch…”

“can we show the camera?” rhea asked, and you nodded, turning around to let her lift up the bottom of your shirt.

“it got cold before too - and hot,” rhea continued recounting everything that had happened so far.

“yeah i’ve been going through like a mixture, but again, that’s probably just me cause i’m nervous, and scared. so like my body’s probably just fluctuating with all sorts of temperatures,” he raised his hand up and down to demonstrate. “but i don’t know, this is all very interesting, but fun in a very new way.”

“yes,” rhea agreed.

“except the maybe getting scratched by a ghost part,” you added, and they both laughed.

“except for that,” dom clarified.

•••

“to the wardens room!” shotzi exclained as dom went first into your next location, a quick pit stop on the way to isolation. he jumped slightly, getting scared by a coat rack as he turned on the light. you and rhea laughed at him as he held his chest, taking a deep breath as you all walked into the room.

“do you feel the heaviness in here?” scarlett asked.

“wow, it is - woooah. oh my goodness,” shotzi agreed, and you could also feel a weight in the air.

“it is very heavy,” dom said, and rhea expressed how warm it was in the room.

“it’s hard to breathe in here,” shotzi added.

“yeah a bit actually,” rhea replied, and you nodded.

the rem pod in the ground started freaking out, and scarlett asked who was touching it, when a voice over the radio clearly said ‘find my body’.

“where are you?” rhea asked.

“don’t,” dom whispered to rhea, either not wanting her to interact with the ghosts, or not wanting to go looking for a body. she smiled, pulling him close to her as scarlett asked more questions, before she held her forehead, complaining of head pressure.

“yeah my face is tingling,” rhea said, holding either side of her face in her hands.

“my head hurts too,” you agreed.

“if you can touch one of the rem pods we’ll leave this room, scar offered, and a voice on the radio replied with ‘want us to leave’. the rem pod lit up, and scarlett and rhea both mentioned how it had gotten even hotter in the room.

“yeah my foreheads a little hot,” dom replied, rhea once again resting her head in his shoulder.

“i just got cold; it’s like a total fluctuation,” the camera man added.

“i think we should try downstairs,” scarlett suggested, and you all moved to solitary confinement. you tugged on dominiks hand and gave him a look that thankfully he understood.

“we’ll let you guys handle business, ya know?” dom said, getting the message that you had had enough.

a brief stop in the women’s wing had left you and dom standing outside a cell while rhea sat inside.

“are you sitting next to rhea?” shotzi asked.

“are you on the bed?” rhea asked when no reply came. a voice said ‘move’, and rhea asked if it wanted her to get if the bed, to which it replied ‘do’. rhea raised her hands in surrender and you leaned against the wall, letting your eyes close as your head fell back. as much as you had surprisingly enjoyed yourself, you were just about at your limit for being scared for one night.

“fam, ima listen to you,” rhea clapped her hands together as she stood up, more than happy to get out of the cell. “you call the shots; it’s your bed, bruh.”

scarlett complained of a smell that the tour guide explained was sulphur, and shotzi mentioned that sulphur meant demons.

“yeah, i’m gonna go outside,” dom joked, getting another laugh out of everyone. “yeah that’s uh... that’s where your boy dom.. dirty dom-“ he stopped when you, him, and rhea all heard a noise coming from a cell down the hall behind you.

“i heard that too,” she assured him, and you nodded.

“right?” dom asked. “is there anyone over there?” he asked, pointing the the direction the sound had come from.

“no, we’re all in here,” the tour guide replied.

“i just heard footsteps,” dom said, as him and rhea tried to see if anything was over there.

“dom has crazy hearing,” shotzi commented, before over the radio a voice said ‘she’s coming’.

you stepped away again, dominik following after you as you stepped out of view of the camera.

“are you okay?” he asked, and you nodded. “you can tell me the truth.”

“it’s just a lot,” you admitted, and pulled you into a hug. rhea looked over, concern in her face, but dom gave her a thumbs up to let her know you were alright.

“we’re leaving soon. i think i’ve had enough for one night, too,” he said kissing the side of your head before the two of you walked back over to rhea. she held your face gently in her hands and you nodded to let her know you were ok.

you were pretty checked out by this point, blocking most of the sounds out as scarlett’s phone starting acting wierd, and her and shotzi talked to a spirit in the solitary confinement cell.

“we can watch a movie or something fun when we get back to the hotel, okay?” rhea suggested, holding your hand once again. you nodded, still not completely present. “maybe paranormal activity?” she joked, and you focused on her again, slapping her shoulder lightly as her and dom laughed. “kidding!” she pleaded. she got a wierd look on her face, and dom stood in front of her.

“what is it?” he asked.

“i had like -“ she gestured to her neck with her hand. “my throat got like.. clogged. and then it got really warm and then like rushed to my head. it freaked me out,” she explained.

the five of you decided that that was enough ghost hunting, and shotzi and scarlet gathered their equipment while you stood with dom and rhea as they filmed an outro.

“yeah i’m ready to get out,” dom said, and rhea laughed nervously, muttering a soft ‘please’.

“you wanna use that big light of yours and guide us out of here? good sir, please and thank you?”

you filmed another short outro all together outside the jail, before the three of you said goodnight to shotzi and scarlett and the crew, thanking them for having you on their show. an uber had arrived to take you back to your hotel, and the three of you sat in the backseat, you in the middle as you curled into dominiks side, happy to have made it out in one piece, and ready to go to bed.

•••

rhea shook you awake as you pulled up the hotel, and you rubbed your eyes as you sat up. dominik had also fallen asleep, his head resting on top of yours, and he sat up at the feeling of you moving.

“we’re here, sleepyheads,” rhea laughed, and you all got out and headed up to the hotel room you were sharing. you kicked off your shoes, and got changed into your pyjamas, before immediately getting under the covers, pulling them high up under your chin. rhea laughed at you, before she sat down on the other bed.

“guys?” you said softly.

“yeah?” dom replied, taking off his t-shirt, leaving him in a black tank top, his gold chain reflecting in the low light from the lamp on the nightstand.

“can you come here?” you asked, and they both laughed, rhea jumping on top of you and pulling you into her arms. dominik laid on the other side of you, and you became trapped between them.

“if i have nightmares tonight i’m blaming shotzi and scarlett,” you said.

“don’t worry. we’ll protect you,” rhea promised, getting under the blankets, her legs tangling with yours and dominiks, becoming a mess of limbs.

“goodnight you guys,” dom mumbled, already half asleep as he kissed the side of your head, reaching out and entwining his hand with rheas.

“goodnight,” you murmured, before drifting off to sleep, safe in the arms of your two favourite people.

[farfromharry]

The night we met | Dating Stiles Stilinski

pov: you’re dating Stiles Stilinski

Summary: The formal was meant to be a fun, carefree evening between you and your boyfriend. However, after growing concerned for your new redhead friend when she leaves early in search of her ex, you follow her. You could never have imagined the pain and chaos that would ensue after making such a simple deviation.

Word count - 7802

Warnings - language, heavy mentions of blood, injury and hospitals, mentions of minor character deaths

Based on: season one, episode eleven + twelve

. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ The night we met, Lord Huron ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ .

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

Your weekends were officially being ruined by Scott and his ridiculous ideas. First it was babysitting Jackson, now it was spending hours searching for his seemingly missing phone, you could only imagine what he so wonderfully had in store for you the next weekend. And you were sure it’d be just as great as the last two– Note the heavy sarcasm.

You’d given up, resorting to lying on his bed and just resting your head in Stiles’ lap to watch your friend search through every inch of his bedroom for the device, getting your boyfriend to call it every few minutes in hopes of hearing it ring. But after the hundredth time you and Stiles’ had concluded it wasn’t there and he was wasting his time. “Call it again,” he demanded. 

“It’s not here,” you whined, sick of hearing the same conversation over and over. Stiles just rolled his eyes at Scott’s comment, pressing on his contact yet again. He let it ring, none of the three of you, even with Scott’s wolf hearing, able to hear it. “So you lost your phone, why don’t you just get a new one?” Stiles asked.

“I can’t afford a new one. And I can’t do this alone. We have to find Derek.”

Stiles frowned, raising his hands like he was shocked. “Well, A, you’re not alone. You have us.” You nodded, flashing him a smile when he spared a glance at you and Stiles. “And, B, didn’t you say Derek walked into gunfire?”

You perked up. “Sounds pretty dead to me,” you muttered. 

Scott didn’t appreciate you joining in to agree with the brunette, especially considering your comments weren’t helping. He headed into his closet next to search for his phone, rather angrily if you had to assess his body language. “That wasn’t the Argent’s plan, they’re not gonna kill him.”

He really wasn’t understanding why this was such a big deal to his friend. It all seemed pretty obvious to him, just don’t get involved and then everyone’s safe and gets what they want. “Then just let them do what they’re planning. They use Derek to get to Peter, problem solved.”

“Not if Peter’s going after Allison to find Derek.”

“He has a point,” you mumbled, eyes flickering up to your boyfriend’s face. He glanced down at you in mock offence, bringing his hand up to cover your mouth so you couldn’t make any more comments in Scott’s favour and not his. “I can’t protect her on my own.”

“You probably lost it when you two- Y/N!” He pulled his hand away with a small groan of disgust, staring down at your smirk as he wiped your spit off of his hand onto his jeans. “You probably lost it when you two were fighting. You remember that? When he tried to kill you.”

You added. “While you tried to stop him from killing Jackson.”

He growled quietly under his breath, growing sick of Stiles’ comments about Derek. He didn’t understand why he a, hated him so much and b, had no faith in who he was as a person. Scott thought Derek seemed like a pretty cool guy, and he was trying to be as helpful as possible. 

“He wasn’t going to kill anyone. And I’m not letting him die.” He had clearly made his mind up on this decision. He seemed incredibly tense, so you tried to lighten the mood a little bit. 

“Could you maybe at least think about letting him die?” you questioned. His head snapped in your direction, assuming a question like that would’ve come from Stiles not you. You continued with a sickly sweet smile that was meant to try and persuade him. “For Stiles.”

He didn’t say anything, but he suddenly paused, his head tilting closer to his bedroom window. You and the brunette next to you shared a look before you sat up from where you’d been resting in his lap, eyes focused on Scott’s stiff figure. 

“What?” Stiles asked.

“My mom just got home from work.” He was acting strange and you didn’t understand why. You were growing increasingly concerned. He was listening in to whatever she was doing but that included him going quite for minutes on end while she did whatever it was she was doing. He sighed loudly and slouched back against his wall when he finally turned his head away.

“Scott, she okay? What’s she doing?” you asked. 

“Crying.” You frowned, glancing over at Stiles sadly as Scott came and sat next to you on the end of his bed. You sweetly placed your hand on his arm, squeezing gently to tell him it’d be okay. Your boyfriend tried to reason with him a little bit, but both of you knew your friend wouldn’t take the advice.

“Scott, you can’t protect everyone.”

He shook his head, responding quietly. “I have to.”

»»——⍟——««

Stumbling upon your friends sneaking glances at Allison and a terribly nervous looking Jackson from behind a wall honestly didn’t shock you anymore. You just sighed and approached them, your curiosity being piqued on whatever they were doing. You lightly placed your hand on Stiles’ backpackless shoulder. “What are you two up to?” Your sudden voice startled Stiles, the boy bringing a hand up to clutch his chest where his rapidly pounding heart lay. 

“We need Jackson to take Allison to the formal cause Coach just banned Scott from going.”

You frowned, Scott had told you recently how excited he was to ask Allison if she’d want to go with him, and you could only imagine the disappointment he was feeling having to ask him of all people to do it. You could see the irritation written all over Scott’s face, but it wasn’t exactly justified knowing he was the reason behind the encounter anyway.

Stiles’ could obviously sense his friend’s discomfort too. “Hey don’t worry. I’ll still be there.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, this being the first thing you were hearing of Stiles confirming he was going, considering he had yet to ask you to go along with him. You'd gathered he just wasn’t going. “Oh you will, will you? Who are you planning on going with?” 

Stiles brought his hand up to his face, pinching his nose as he sighed frustratedly. “Y/N, can we please talk about this in a second?”

You moved to protest, opening your mouth to tell your boyfriend you wanted to talk about it now considering he’d been putting it off for so long, but Scott beat you to it, bringing the subject back to him. 

“I’m still going,” Scott announced, drawing both sets of eyes back to him. Your conversation had apparently been forgotten, pushed to the side for later just like he’d said.

“Is that such a good idea?” Stiles asked. You huffed at how he’d just brushed you off. You’d been trying to hint to him for the last couple days that even though you were dating you’d still liked to be asked to the Formal by your boyfriend, but he had yet to pick up on a single one of those hints. Without a word you left the pair to whatever dumb plan they were going through with, heading over to your locker where you could busy yourself with absolutely anything else until they stopped being dumb. 

In Stiles’ case it actually took a lot less time than you thought it would, the boy sliding his arms around your waist to announce his presence. His lips quickly brushed your cheek, but you still hadn’t turned to face him or even look at him yet. “So, miss Y/L/N, do you have any special guy you might want to go to the formal with?” 

You were still slightly pissed at how easily he’d brushed you off earlier, so you weren’t planning on letting this conversation go the way his boy brain was expecting, at least not simply.

“Not unless he hurries up and asks me,” you muttered. “I don’t think Isaac Lahey’s got a date yet, maybe he’ll ask me.” 

You felt Stiles' body back up from yours, his hands shifting to your shoulders to spin your body around so you were facing him. “Y/N, what’s that supposed to mean?”

You huffed, frowning at him at how obvious you thought you were being, yet he still didn’t pick up on the issue. “You haven’t asked me to go to the formal.” 

His face dropped, his eyebrows drawing together in intense confusion. “B-But we’re dating. Who else would you go with?” He really hoped you’d ignore the second part of his question, he didn’t want you to even think about listing off possible bachelor's you could go with when he was standing right there.

“No one,” you confirmed. “But I’d still like to be asked, Sti.” He could sense the upset now, it was practically smacking him in the face so how could he not? He sort of just gathered you would. You hadn’t really mentioned it so he thought you were either going with him or not interested in going at all. He was too dumb to realise you were actually waiting for him to bring it up.

A sense of guilt settled in his chest, but he’d go as far as getting on his knees to beg you to go with him at this point if he had to. Whatever it’d take to make you feel better.

“Well, Y/N Y/L/N, most beautiful girl I’ve ever met,” he took your hand in his, bringing it up to his lips to press a quick kiss to each of your individual knuckles. “Will you do me the honours of going to the formal with me?” 

The way you shuffled nervously was adorable to him, clearly he was making you nervous and although not his intention he still wanted to bask in the way he could make you feel.

“I’d be honoured,” you chuckled. His face lit up, hands landing on your hips so he could press a celebratory kiss to your sweet lips. He pulled back a moment or so later, your lips still puckered and your eyes delayed in their flutter open as you slowly arose from your daze.

“So, now that we’re officially going together, do you already have a dress?” he asked, leaning in closer to brush his button nose over the skin of your cheek. You tried your best not to flush, forcing the heat threatening to take over your cheeks back down so he wouldn’t know how flustered the littlest of his actions made you.

“Maybe,” you answered, shrugging your shoulders. He cocked his head. “Do I get to see it?” 

“Not until the dance.” 

That was the last thing you said before compiling your stuff together and heading off down the hallway to your next class, leaving your boyfriend standing there in the same spot with a slight gape on his lips. He called after you. “Don’t just leave me hanging!” 

»»——⍟——««

Actually, you didn’t have a dress already, you just didn’t want Stiles finding out you were going dress shopping with Allison and Lydia later, mainly because he’d insist on coming with you. Or he’d make some comment about you hanging out with Lydia, and you didn’t feel like trying to explain why you were doing that. 

You’d only really agreed to go to try and get over this petty dislike of Lydia you had, she deserved to make another impression that wasn’t blurred by an incorrect piece of knowledge that was overwhelming you.

That’s how you found yourself behind them on the way into the mall where Lydia was planning on buying Allison a dress. You barely heard it being something to do with her upsetting Allison in some way and this was her way of apologising. You supposed it was fair depending on whatever she did, but you weren’t going to pry and ask. 

Allison wandered off quickly, leaving you alone with the other girl with a knowing smile. You’d never outright told her your feelings about her, but she could probably pick up on the anger and tension you felt whenever you were around the redhead. 

You actually would’ve been happy dress shopping alone, what with how many Lydia was currently looking through, but you kept reminding yourself you were doing this for her. You had to get over this petty attitude. But she was really making it difficult with how many dresses she kept thrusting into your arms.

“You’re going to try all of these on?” you asked, the pile growing by the second. She hummed quietly, saying she’d help pick out a few for you too, although you believed you were more than capable of doing it yourself. Speaking of, she pulled one of the racks and you could physically see the way her eyes lit up, lifting it up by the hanger to hold in front of your body. A grin formed on her lips and she rapidly nodded. “You’re dating that Stiles kid, right? The weird one.”

You frowned, deflating slightly. You thought she was being nice for once, but hearing her try and diminish your boyfriend irritated you a little. You felt the need to defend him. “He’s not weird.”

She gave you a stern look like she didn’t believe you. Of course Lydia would think anyone who wasn’t in her friend group was weird. “But you are dating him?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, once he sees you in this, he’s going to literally die.”

The thought made you Stiles. You having the power to make Stiles so weak in the knees that he literally couldn’t do anything but blush and stutter, sounded pretty appealing. You were snapped out of your thoughts when you felt Lydia locking her fingers with yours, tugging you along with her to the changing rooms. This was your time to have a little girl fun for once. You loved your best friends, but constantly hanging around with no other girls didn’t leave you much chance to do typically ‘girly’ things. At least with the two girls your day wouldn’t be spoiled by werewolves or other supernatural creatures.  “Come on, let’s go try it on.”

And that’s exactly what you did. You had to admit she had good taste, you were pretty in love with it yourself. It looked good and made you feel good, and you were sure that would mean Stiles would love it too. You admired it in the mirror for a little longer before you were planning on letting Lydia judge it. It was a beautiful shade of red, tight in the right places, loose in the others, god this was gonna drive him crazy. 

You couldn’t wipe the smile off of your face when you stepped out of the curtain for Lydia to see. She squealed quietly, nodding her head rapidly as she confirmed that was the dress for you. You’d never been around Lydia long enough before to see this side of her, the side that actually seemed like a genuinely sweet girl. She wasn’t shy with the compliments, telling you stuff like if you weren’t already taken then she might have to snatch you for herself some time.

“You look so hot,” she said. All the sweet words were going right to your head, and your face as you felt it heat up. “I think this is the one then.” 

You changed out of it with the intention of buying it, so you could see Lydia try on the array of dresses she picked out to try. You knew it’d take a while but you were already having much more fun than you expected, so you didn’t think it’d be too bad.

She tried on dress after dress. Of course every one of them looked amazing on her, but there was one specific one that just stood out from the rest, it was definitely the one.

She obviously thought so too, as she didn’t spare a second thought before purchasing it and dragging you around the store to find Allison.

“I’m really glad I came today. I hope we can hang out again some time,” you told her honestly. It wasn’t that everything you felt towards her from before had gone, not all of it, but you hoped with more time that it would. She grinned, nodding her head and giving your hand a squeeze as you approached the girl you’d been looking for.

“I’d actually really like that. You’re a lotta fun to be around, and I’m sorry for brushing over you for the last few years.”

Now was your chance to put everything behind you. You stared at her with eyes drenched in hope. “Friends?” you questioned.

She confirmed. “Friends.”

»»——⍟——««

You were the one to ask Stiles to text you on his arrival, not wanting to give your family, specifically your little brother, the chance to embarrass you when he showed up at your door. So when you got that exact message you’d been waiting for, you rushed down the stairs and offered your parents a quick farewell.

They of course followed you to the door though, wanting to see their little girl go. Even if you wouldn’t let them gush over you and Stiles to your face, they could still do it from a distance.

Stiles’ eyes were on you the second you stepped out of your front door, giving him the perfect full body view of your outfit for the night. He straightened himself up from where he’d been leaning against his car door, a quiet gasp leaving his lips at the mere sight of you.

You were his girlfriend. Holy hell how did he manage that.

He was in such a trance at the sight of you that he barely registered how long had passed, or that you were speaking to him. You were feeling the same-ish way about how he looked in his simple, yet adorable, suit, but you still had the ability to speak. So you supposed you were doing better than him.

“You clean up nice, Stilinski.” He was still frozen in his spot as he watched you approach where he was standing outside his jeep, his jaw gaped slightly. You finally met him in his spot and he reached out for your hands, interlocking your fingers together sweetly.

“Wow. You look fucking incredible.” He didn’t waste a second before he stepped forward, planting a loving kiss on your lips that left you wanting an endless amount of more. You tried to ignore how warm he was making you feel inside just with the way he was looking at you. There was clearly so much love in his eyes when he looked at you and you just wanted to scream from the rooftops about how much you loved this man.

“I’d kiss you more but your parents are watching,” he whispered. You groaned, leaning your head against his shoulder through embarrassment as he just laughed at you. “It’s not funny, Sti.” 

After composing yourself, you turned your head over your shoulder, glaring at your parents to try and silently tell them to go back inside. Your mother rolled her eyes, listening to your wishes, while your dad stayed standing there.

“Have her back at a reasonable time, Stilinski.” Stiles nodded, opening the passenger door for you to climb into his car. He assured your dad you were perfectly safe with him before he hopped into the driver’s side.

“You ready?” he asked, grin on his lips as he flicked the engine on. You took the chance to place one more quick kiss to his irresistible lips, nodding your head happily. “Let’s do it.”

Pulling up to the school you let out a content sigh. You were about to spend the whole night dancing with your lover and just having a good time. To make matters better, the boy even hopped out of the jeep to open your door for you, pulling a laugh out of you that was music to his ears. “M’lady.” 

“Such a gentleman.” This time you didn’t hesitate, pulling him in close by the material of his shirt and kissing him, hard. Now that there were no prying eyes you couldn’t help it, relishing in the feeling of his slightly chapped lips on your lip gloss covered ones.

You only pulled away long enough for him to shut the car door, and for you to see Jackson leading Allison towards the building. “Oh, hey Allison.” You purposely didn’t greet the boy on her arm, a certain distaste for him having really built up over the last few weeks.

“Hey, you look great,” she complimented. You ignored the clear eye roll from Jackson, holding back one of your own at how much you wanted to punch his dumb face. “Thank you, so do you. Have fun tonight.”

She nodded, flashing you another smile before heading off inside with her bore of a date. You couldn’t imagine she was actually going to have any fun unless Scott showed up. Not that you really understood what was going on with them anymore. One minute they were together, then they weren’t, who knows what they were now. 

“God, I hate him,” you muttered. Stiles agreed, holding out his arm for you to take. You gladly did so, pushing any thought of anyone else to the back of your mind for potentially the rest of the night. Tonight was yours and Stiles’ time. 

In no time you were finding yourselves grabbing drinks at the refreshments table, Stiles’ hand never leaving your waist as he shot glares at practically every male that walked past you both. “What are you doing?” you giggled, referencing his anger. “They’re looking at you funny. I don’t like it.”

You rolled your eyes, hearing the intro to a familiar slow song beginning to play over the speakers. You linked your fingers with his, abandoning the drinks and dragging him onto the dance floor to dance amongst groups of other students. “Come on, cutie.”

You spent most of the night in your own little bubble with him, dancing away, taking a couple breaks when your shoes started to hurt your feet. But here you were again, dancing to a slow song that’d been on over the speakers. 

You could hear Coach yelling Scott’s name, your eyes being drawn to him as he barged through the crowd to try and find your misfit of a friend who he’d banned from showing up tonight. They were drawing quite a bit of attention to themselves throughout the gymnasium of teens, but it made for an amusing sight you had to admit. “What is that idiot doing?” you laughed. 

You couldn’t deny Scott was smart about it, pulling Danny to dance with him to put Coach under pressure. When he found the two you and Stiles were biting back laughter, watching the older man stutter and blush as he tried to explain as well as he could to all the prying eyes that he had no issue with Danny and Scott dancing, and that wasn’t why he was trying to pull them apart. 

He was just making it worse for himself until he eventually gave up, scowling at the brunette who’d found a loophole to his demand. “God, he’s evil,” Stiles muttered. 

After all that settled down you let yourself be fully emerged in Stiles. The slow songs were back and you wanted nothing more than for this moment to never end. 

His hands were resting firmly on your waist, your around his neck with one occasionally drifting to rub his arm affectionately. His head hung beside yours, his eyes closed as he focused on you. Your scent, your gentle breathing, the feel of your body against his, all of you. Your chin was resting on his shoulder, tipping your head so it could rest against the side of his as the two of you swayed to the slow beat of the music. It was heaven. 

Every now and then you’d place a kiss to his neck or jaw, just to let him know you were still thinking about him, even through your comfortable silence. You were both just as wrapped up in each other as the other was.

You were snapped out of it though when you saw Lydia across the room. She looked rather panicked and like she was looking for someone, and with your newfound friendship it felt like you should go and check on her. You just didn’t know how to tell Stiles.

Thankfully he noticed you were a little off, more fidgety than you’d been since you’d found a comfortable position to dance in earlier on. You felt his head raise, turning your own so you could lock eyes with him, worry clearly present in those hazel eyes. “You okay?”

You tried to calm his worries with a smile, but it probably didn’t turn out as convincing as you’d intended. “Yeah, just- Lydia looks pretty panicked and I-I think I should go check on her. Just to make sure she’s okay.”

The pout he donned was adorable, tempting you to stay here with him, that is if your concern for your new friend wasn’t as large as it was. “I’ll be right back.”

He sighed, accepting that you were doing it whether he was happy about it or not. “At least take my jacket, you’ll freeze out there.” You grinned at the concern, allowing him to slip the material onto your arms. 

She was shockingly difficult to keep up with. Although she’d got a head start, you still didn’t expect her to be so fast. You were basically running down the hallway to get to the exit of the school where you watched her leave a mere minute ago.

You could hear her calling for Jackson before you even stepped outside. Although you didn’t make it in time to catch her before she was running off in some direction to find him. You followed her, calling out her name though it fell on deaf ears.

Stiles had been right, it was freezing even with his blazer covering you, so you couldn’t imagine how she was feeling. You followed her all the way out to the lacrosse field, stumbling over to the bleachers by the time she found herself in the centre of the pitch, still yelling her ex’s name. You were about to call hers again when you were startled from the lights all suddenly turning on, illuminating her figure standing there. You were both equally confused. 

You only managed a few steps forward when you saw a figure approaching her. In one final attempt she muttered Jackson’s name, though you could tell it wasn’t him. 

“Lydia,” you called, making your way over to her in a pathetic hope of protecting her. She didn’t dare look away from the figure, though she felt you place your hand on her arm to let her know you were there. You were right too, she was icy to touch. When you could finally make out the figure clearer you gasped, it was Peter Hale, Derek’s uncle, the fucking Alpha.

“Oh my god,” you muttered, wrapping your hand around Lydia’s wrist just as you heard your boyfriend’s voice. 

“Y/N! Lydia! Run!” You tried to do as he said, seeing him running in the direction of the two of you, but Lydia was frozen with fear, and Peter was faster. “Lydia, we have to move!”

But of course it was too late. You’d glanced away to look at Stiles for one second and Peter was already sinking his teeth into the strawberry blonde, and his claws were slashing at you in the process. 

You cried out, falling with the girl as pain seeped through your body, spawning in the large wound on your stomach that was quick to start seeping with the blood he’d pulled from you. You lay there with the girl you’d made friends with, she was completely motionless as Peter fell to his knees above her. You backed up, pathetically trying to create some distance between the older man and yourself. You knew you shouldn’t have tried to abandon the girl like that, but you were scared too, and you knew somewhere behind you you could seek your boyfriend’s comfort.

Stiles couldn’t do much to protect you from a werewolf, just as you couldn’t do with Lydia, but your brain was convinced that his arms were a safeplace for you. Your body was screaming at you and you finally gave up with the crawling, but two familiar arms were quick to engulf you. You both stared at Peter as a low growl sounded in his throat aimed at the two of you, your heartbeat scarily unsteady for multiple reasons.

You hadn’t thought to do it until another wave of agony was ripping through your body, looking down at your blood soaked dress, the material that hadn’t been torn under the strength of peter’s claws turning a darker shade of red, to find Stiles’ large hands pressing firmly against the wound. “I know baby, I’m sorry.”

The two of you looked back to Lydia, tears springing to your eyes at how he was lurking over her still body like a predator. “Please, don’t kill her,” you begged. 

Peter just watched you, drawing out his answers, teasing you as you both feared for yours and Lydia’s lives. “Of course not.”

You would’ve felt relief had you not also felt like there was some kind of ulterior motive. He wanted something, of course he did. “Just tell me how to find Derek.”

“W-What?” Stiles’ brows furrowed.

Peter repeated himself. “Tell me how to find Derek Hale.” His claw traced down the side of her face, a short cry coming from you as everything started to feel so real. Your boyfriend didn’t know what to do. He was so fucking scared. All three of you could die right now and he didn’t know how to stop it. And at this rate, either Peter would kill you or you’d bleed out from your wound, another thing he was scared off considering the quantity of it that was covering his hands. But one way or another if this wasn’t quick, you were going to die. 

“I-I don’t know. How would I know that?” You could hear the panic in his voice, the way his words shook with pure, unfiltered terror that you���d never seen from him before. You were sure if you opened your mouth you’d be the exact same way though. 

Peter cocked his head like it was obvious. “Because you’re the clever one aren’t you? And because deception has quite the specific scent, Stiles.”

The boy didn’t say anything, just stared at the older man in a little bit of shock. “Tell me the truth. Or I will rip her apart. Both of them.” His eyes flickered up to you, a scared whimper sounding in your throat at the threat. You didn’t want to die, especially not at the hands of Peter Hale. You didn’t want to become just another unsolved animal attack murder on the Sheriff’s desk because your friends couldn’t tell them the truth.

Stiles didn’t want that either. If you died and he knew what happened, but couldn’t tell his dad, he thought he’d go insane. 

“I don’t know, okay? I swear to god, I have no idea.” You were starting to grow light headed. You didn’t know whether Stiles was telling the truth or not, you just knew you needed help, medical help as soon as humanly possible. You barely registered the intense growl Peter let out, scaring Stiles enough for him to spill anything he knew. It felt like you were fading in and out of consciousness through their conversation, hearing bits and pieces about a GPS and Derek. It wasn’t enough for you to piece together to make sense, so instead you just shifted your focus to Lydia, letting your thoughts be consumed by her. 

“Stiles,” you whispered, trying your hardest to look up at him to see his face. He glanced down at you, nodding his head. “I know, I know. But I’m gonna get you help.” 

He turned back to Peter, practically begging at this point. “I told you what I know. Now you said you wouldn’t kill them if I told you, and she needs help. Please, she’s gonna bleed out.”

Peter pushed himself to his feet, standing at his full height as he watched you and Stiles. “You’re coming with me.”

The boy rapidly shook his head. “I’m not just letting you leave them here.”

“You don’t have a choice, Stiles. You’re coming with me.”

He couldn’t honestly think of anything worse right now or ever. 

“J-Just kill me. Look, I don’t care anymore.” Peter approached you both slowly, his fingertips coming to settle under your boyfriend’s chin. The man’s strength and threat of his claws in Stiles' throat forced him to stand, his bloody hands leaving you and leaving your body no choice but to fall back now he was no longer holding you up. 

“Call your friend. Tell Jackson where they are. That’s all you get.”

You could hear him panting as Peter marched away. Through your cloudy eyes you were able to make out the sight of Stiles pulling his phone out of his pocket. While doing so he fell to his knees by your side, his free hand cupping your cheek to make you look at him. He talked to you gently while the phone rang. 

“I need you to stay with me, okay? Jackson’s gonna get you help, you’re gonna be okay.” You were pretty sure even he didn’t believe what he was saying, but you wanted to keep hoping. You weren’t ready to die now. “Try and keep pressure on that,” he instructed, guiding your hands to Peter’s deep claw marks. He could feel your body shivering from both the cold and the fear, pulling his jacket tighter around your body. 

You were blinking back tears as you listened to his voice speak to Jackson in a panic. You heard him say something about bringing someone with him to get both of you, but it was all very muffled. All you properly registered was that he was talking again. “Hey, I’ve gotta go, but I’ll be back for you,” he promised. “I love you, Y/N.”

He placed a teary kiss to your lips and was then taking off to follow Peter in a haste. The next thing you remembered was being in someone’s arms, specifically Danny’s if you’d worked it out correctly. He was following quickly behind Jackson who was carrying Lydia, screaming at the people outside of the school for help. They begged for someone to call an ambulance, Danny setting your body down as gently as possible to make sure he was able to keep pressure on your wound. “Danny..?” you whimpered.

“You’re gonna be okay.”

»»——⍟——««

You didn’t remember anything else until you woke up in the hospital. You knew nothing about anything at that point. What time it was, how long you’d been there, where your clothes from the night had gone, how you even got there; you knew nothing and you hated it. But what you did know was there was still pain shooting through your body every now and then, although you assumed you were probably on some kind of painkiller. Clearly they didn’t help soothe werewolf related injuries.

Sheriff was the first one you saw when you opened your eyes, his soft smile similar to your boyfriend’s bringing you a warm comfort. The more you surveyed the room the more you realised more people were in there. Your parents were sitting on two chairs beside your hospital bed, your brother curled up against your legs asleep. You smiled weakly, slowly shifting your hand to run your fingers through his messy hair. 

“Oh thank god,” you heard your mother cry, her lips being pressed to your forehead. The movement had alerted her you were awake, finally letting her breathe now that she knew you were really okay. She could’ve just believed the doctors, but until she saw her baby looking right back at her, telling her she was okay for herself, she just couldn’t listen to them.

“Had us all worried there, kiddo.” Your dad ruffled your hair affectionately, just as your brother began to rouse from his sleep. It was the noise other than the constant beeping off your heart monitor that let him know something in the atmosphere of the room had changed.

He nearly leaped at you, until he remembered you were injured and probably shouldn’t. Then he settled for a gentle hug, telling you he was so glad you were okay, and that your scar would look so badass (but you couldn’t tell mom he’d said that).

A commotion of yelling out in the hallway was what alerted Sheriff that Jackson was here and looking for Lydia, exactly the person he wanted to talk to. He looked back at you in the bed surrounded by your family for a second, he knew Stiles should’ve been there, unfortunately he didn’t know where his son was though. Your attention was drawn to your boyfriend’s dad as you watched him glance at Jackson through the window of your room. 

“I’m glad you’re okay, kid.” He gently squeezed your hand, telling you he’d be back before he hurried off to talk with Jackson. The gesture was sweet and reminded you of one of many reasons you loved Stiles’ dad so much.

Your eyes were glued to him as he stalked his way over to the teen, hoping to listen in on their conversation. That plan didn’t go very well though. You could see their lips moving and you could make out what he said when he yelled, but not when he spoke only to Jackson in a soft tone. You were sure it was just routine questions considering he’d been the one that had first rushed into the crowd with an unconscious body in his arms. Even though you couldn’t hear, you continued to watch, so you were shocked when you watched the older man grip the richkid’s shirt, pushing him against the wall of another room. 

You could faintly make out something about him saying it wasn’t his fault, that Stiles had been the one to call and tell him where the two of you were, and he’d simply acted on that. You watched Noah back off, your heart aching for him that you couldn’t explain what had happened. But it all suddenly made you realise that Stiles wasn’t back yet from wherever he went off to with Peter, and that terrified you. Your mother was the one to notice your heartbeat was climbing, setting her hand on your shoulder. 

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Your chest was rising and falling more rapidly as she reached out for you, seeing the tears lining your eyes in your sudden state of panic. “Stiles. Where’s Stiles?”

Your parents didn’t know what to do, your mom grabbing your hand and your dad preparing to call in a nurse if he needed to. Your heart rate was getting dangerously high and they could all see that on the monitor, but they didn’t know why thinking about Stiles had you so panicked. They obviously didn’t know he’d gone off with the psycho killer that’d put you in the hospital in the first place, so they didn’t understand the sudden freakout. 

“He’ll be here, sweetheart. We just need you to calm down.” It took a little longer to get you to copy her breathing enough to lower your heart rate, and you had to be honest it did help you feel better. Though you wouldn’t be completely relaxed until you received some confirmation he was at the minimum alive.

True to your mother’s word he did show up eventually, finally letting your body relax as you knew Peter hadn’t killed him. You didn’t see him when he first got there, not until you saw Noah pushing him back from making his way to you. It made you slightly angry that his interrogation couldn’t wait, especially when Stiles didn’t know if you were okay. But you understood he was confused about what the hell had happened tonight. 

“Dad- I- Is Y/N okay? Is Lydia gonna be okay?” He couldn’t see you from where he stood, but he could see clearly into the other girl’s room where she was clearly asleep. You didn’t hear what he told his son, but you hoped it was enough to calm his anxiety, you didn’t know if you could emotionally handle seeing one of Stiles’ panic attacks right now.

Before you knew it the door to your hospital room was opening, Stiles rushing in with relief written all over his face. “Hey,” you quietly greeted. Your dad was the one to usher your family out of the room, wanting to give you a few minutes alone together. He had a feeling after seeing younger Stilinski’s reaction upon entering the hospital that this would be emotional. He wasted no time, pressing his lips to yours intensely.

It stole your breath away for a few seconds, the amount of pure, raw emotion from him making your head spin, but in a good way this time. He barely pulled away, his nose still brushing yours and his hands still cupping your face as he spoke. “God, I’m so glad that you’re okay.”

You wanted to skip the reunion for the moment, concerned about where he went and what happened after he left you on the lacrosse field. “What happened with Peter?”

He shook his head. “That’s not important right now. ‘M just glad you’re okay.”

You didn’t want to argue with him, you didn’t have the strength, so you moved on like he wanted, hoping he’d tell you the Peter story when you were feeling better. “And Lydia?”

He frowned, not quite the answer you were wanting. All you knew was that she was alive, but you didn’t know anything else about her current state. “M-My dad said they don’t know.”

There was a beat of silence before he was speaking up again, but not with words you wanted to hear. “I have to go talk to him again, jus’ wanted to come see you first.” You frowned, gripping his wrist as tightly as you could. He’d only just got here, you weren’t quite ready to see him go yet. You’d hoped upon his arrival he’d stay and hold you for a while, maybe stroke your hair while you tried to get some sleep; Not that your current memories of the night would let you. “D’you have to go?”

“I’ll come back. I promise.” You smiled softly, accepting his sweet kiss. “You better.”

»»——⍟——««

True to his word he did come back later that night. Your family headed home for the night with the knowledge that Stiles was going to stay with you so you wouldn’t be alone. He’d changed clothes since he’d been gone, probably taken a quick shower too, and ever the angel had even brought you your favourite stuffed bear from your room at home. 

You thanked him with a grateful smile, scooting over in the hospital bed as gently as you could to not hurt yourself in order to make room for him.

Once he got the okay from you, he climbed in, wrapped one of his arms around your shoulders, letting you nuzzle into his chest. It wasn’t the most comfortable of positions or places to sleep. But it was what you had to work with, and you supposed sharing it with Stiles was better than sleeping in it alone. 

“How do you feel?” he asked, lips grazing over your hairline. You hummed quietly. “Hurts, but I’ll live I guess.” 

The two of you delved into a comfortable silence. His hand was stroking over your hair, an occasional subconscious kiss being placed on your head every few minutes. Your eyes drifted a little, catching sight of the girl laying in the hospital bed in the room opposite yours, a frown curling on your lips.

“Any updates on Lydia?” you asked quietly. You were honestly scared to know the answer. He smiled softly, telling you what his dad had told him. “She’s gonna be okay.” 

A weight felt like it was lifted off of your shoulders. You’d been waiting to hear that news all night and you underestimated the amount of relief you’d feel knowing she was alive and well.

“I should also probably tell you, Peter’s dead, and Allison’s aunt.” Your eyes widened, head whipping around to look at him. Why wasn’t that the first thing he told you? Not only was the man who’d put you here dead, but one of your friends was also grieving right now. Was that why she hadn’t come to see you yet? He was just sitting here making innocent conversation with you this whole time when something big had clearly happened while he’d been gone. 

“And you’re only just telling me?”

He tried to defend himself but not much of an answer really came out, ending up with him just shrugging shyly as he sank further into the bed beside you. “Wanted to know you were okay first. That’s more important to me.”

His answer made you pout. He was so cute and you hated the hold he had on you because of it. You couldn’t be mad at him when he was that adorable. “What happened?” 

He explained the story of the arson, the Hale house fire unravelling and all about Kate, then the necklace she’d given Allison as a birthday present and Jackson going with him to the Hale house. He didn’t miss out the chance to tell you he’d manage to convince Jackson to let him drive the Porsche, adding in that it was so awesome. 

It was kind of all over the place, with the makeshift fire bombs, the Peter killing Kate, the Derek killing Peter. All of it was really confusing, but all you knew was that the nightmare you’d been living was over; at least for the most part. Scott was still very much a werewolf, you couldn’t change that and Stiles said something about Scott and Allison not being together again, but who knows.

“‘M glad it’s all over,” you whispered, nuzzling your face closer to your boyfriend. He hummed quietly, agreeing with you. He just felt more calmed knowing Peter couldn’t hurt you again, he never wanted to have to experience that level of fear he felt seeing you bleeding out in his arms.

“It’s over,” he muttered, more like he needed to convince himself more than confirm for you. “And everyone’s okay.”

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

[respectthepetty]

So . . . Ji jumped in the middle of the fight and got hit by Achi and then got upset about it?! Call me Pear because I am just as confused as homegirl was.

Make it make sense, Mary! Pear called Ji because Achi was in a fight. Ji ran into the middle of the fight while Achi was swinging, got hit, and got upset. Ask girlie in the back for the recording because I need this replayed and zoomed in, so Ji can see HE IS THE PROBLEM!

I am 100% on Achi's side about everything. Even if Achi left in the middle of the night to Chicago without telling Ji, I can't blame him because I'd leave this Blue Boy too!

It's obvious Achi is in love with Ji. HE WEARS JI'S COLOR!

His entire room was blue!

They were even gonna raise a dog together which would have been the perfect time for Ji to tell Achi that he wasn't dating Pear pero nooooo, homie kept his mouth shut!

Achi keeps lightening up from his usual black, bringing Ji food in color-coded containers, and being an all-around good guy.

But Ji couldn't even tell Achi that he wasn't dating Pear yet demanded Achi always tell the truth! Achi was IN LOVE yet Ji was being a hypocrite.

Ki better not treat his Green Guy the same way his brother has treated Achi. He better apologize to my boy for snapping at him. RIGHT NOW!

And Ji better apologize to Achi too for being a jerk ALL THE TIME! Sleeping on the bed like that warrants at least three apologies!

Yet he is probably gonna eff up next week by avoiding Achi because of Achi's manager. Once again, I do not care if these two slept together, said they loved each other forever and ever, then Achi ghosted him in the past. With all the certainty in my body, I KNOW Ji messed up somewhere to make Achi leave.

Only two more episodes, yet I need Ji and Ki to spend a full episode in timeout thinking about their bad choices.

Oh, brother!

[angelyuji]

a gift from the horse's mouth

cw // some spoilers from Harley Quinn and the Joker: Sound Mind, some dialouge from episode 4, joker is a creep, nothing too crazy

hehee im on my 18th relisten of my favorite podcast show ever. this is a niche interest in the harley quinn fandom but i just love love love this version of harley so much (if people like this, i might write more idk)

"come on, doc. one ride." joker's hand goes around your waist. he starts to the pull you to the carousel, gesturing to harleen to follow him. you let him drag you onto the ride, not wanting to ruin things for harleen.

"money, mr. j. i need the money." her voice was firm, but her eyes followed you, aware of your predicament.

"yes, yes, money, shmoney. what am i, chopped liver?" joker mumbles. he moves to pick you up, but you step back.

"what're you doing?" you try to put some distance between yourself and the clown.

"we're taking a ride, (y/n). isn't that obivious?" he tilts his head. he notices your hesitation and steps closer, "or.... if you want, we can do something else... you know what they say," he smirks, "save a horse, ride a cowboy."

you roll your eyes, "nevermind, just help me onto a horse." he picks you up by the waist to place you onto a horse. he kisses the back of your hand before hopping onto the same horse, pressing himself against your back. you look over to see harleen, watching the two of you interact.

"doctor quinzellllll, get on! i robbed a bank for you, y'know? godd, the things i do for love... just one ride." he grins and leans his chin on your shoulder. he murmurs into your ear, "you're sooo nice and warm," his arms wrap around your waist, "i can see why our harleen loves you so much."

"she's not "ours" and she's not some thing to own, joker." you try to move away from his chest, but joker just laughs at your weak attempt and pulls you closer to him.

"come on, baby, lighten up. i'm just saying, i'm okay with being shared between the two of you." he presses a kiss to your shoulder and you flinch.

"don't touch them, joker." harleen manages to get onto the moving ride, annoyance clearly written on her face.

"uh oh, nurse (y/n), i think the doctor is jealous." he giggles as harleen gets onto the black horse next to the two of you. you hear her huff, getting onto the horse. “good girl.” he smiles, joyfully. joker starts to go on about his mother.

harleen interrupts, "what do you want, joker? what do you want from us?" she speaks firmly, not interested in his talk. you feel his arms get tighter around you in frustration before relaxing back.

"it's not about what i want! it's about sharing a moment, all three of us! getting..." he leans in close to whisper into your ear, "real." shivers go down your spine and you elbow him in retaliation. he laughs, loud. "easy there, tiger. i'm very fragile." he lets go of you to mockingly rub where you hit him. he wraps his arms around you again, pulling you closer onto his lap.

"joker." her rage is thinly concealed and she gets off the horse. "this!" she claps, "has been really great." she lets out a breath, gesturing to you to come to her. "but we've got to get back. my father-" you feel his grip loosen and you scramble off to harleen's side.

"godddd," joker groans, "snoreee. what about us?" joker practically whines, reaching out to the two of you dramatically. "when's our next hang session? when are we gonna get that threesome scheduled?" he pretends to flip through a notebook and looks to you for a laugh.

you roll your eyes and harleen heisitates, you speak for her, "harleen needs to be with her father right now, joker." she nods.

"ahhh, you two want to take it sloww. a couple dates, walks in the parks, i see i see." he nods, "sooo no threesome... at least not yet." he smirks.

"i just need to be with my dad so, if i could just get that money..." harleen tries to placate the jester.

"i see how it is. i'm just a dollar sign to you, huh?" the both of you try to deny it, "no no! i give you the money and bam! you're gone, abandoning me!" he gets off the horse, dramaticaly leaning on the pole

"no, no! harleen and i, we are so grateful, mister j!" you force a smile, reaching to touch his hand. he grabs it and pulls you into a crushing hug. you let out a muffled yelp in surprise.

harleen pauses for a second before contining, "how about this, give me your name and number and i promise- we promise to call you. after my dad's surgery, i'll be fully present and we'll get together a-and we'll have all the time in the world." you could hear the quiet desperation in her voice as you, and the money, were held hostage by the clown.

he hums, rubbing your back, and lets go, "it's a deal. here." he hands the both of you a card from his back pocket. 'dirk mcdongle's pleasure palace' you don't ask for an explaination, eager to get out. harleen asks for the money once more and joker pats himself down. "i don't have it! you do!" he laughs, "or at least... your horse does." he starts to ramble on about some phrase, but you watch as harleen practically scrambles to grab the bag of money from the horse's mouth. she practically collapses from relief and you hold her by the waist.

"we should get going." you interrupt his insane ramble and he smiles, reaching out a hand. you force yourself to hold your hand. he presses a small kiss on the back and straightens it to bite your finger lightly. you snatch it back and help harleen walk out.

"don't forget! dirk dongle's! we put the ass! in pal-ass!" you could hear his cackle ringing in your ear even as the two of you drive away.

[justinewt]

False Victory - THE 100 REWRITE Chapter Twenty-Nine

[THE 100 MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter (07/23/2024)

Summary: The battle was over. Alie was no more, but that wasn't necessarily good news for the survivors. There was no real victory as they were already faced with the news of an impending doom, another praimfaya. They had to find a way to survive, or in a few months, the remnants of humanity will disappear completely, leaving no one behind. And it fell to Clarke, Bellamy and Michelle, to go figure out a way to survive what was coming.

Words: 4.4k

Warnings: The 100 season 4 spoilers (episode 1 "Echoes"), blood, aftermarth of the battle, fluff (but sad lol)

Bellamy, Clarke and Michelle got down the tower and upon stepping outside, and the first thing they came across was the body of a man lying on the ground, a large pool of blood spread all around his head. They saw the survivors piling up bodies, either distressed, crying over their dead, or completely disoriented and confused, having a hard time processing what had happened, after they had been chipped and mind controlled. This was a sad and unnerving sight. Michelle was thankful she hadn’t lost anyone, but she felt for those who weren’t so lucky. She could never have lived with killing her dead, because she would have done in a desperate attempt to save Bellamy. She wasn’t chipped and wouldn’t be able to tell herself that it wasn’t her doing.

“She’ll be okay. Octavia can take of herself.” Clarke told Bellamy, wanting to be reassuring. Michelle saw the girl kneeling next to Indra down the street. Bellamy didn’t meet Clarke’s gaze and shook his head.

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“She won’t be charged. Everyone will say that Pike had it coming.”

“Maybe we all do.” He said, eventually looking at her. Their three faces were all tainted with worry and concern. This whole day felt so strange. After what Clarke told them, it felt nothing like a victory. Clarke’s pulled her eyebrows together, the corners of her lips turning downwards. Michelle was listening to them, still watching the grounders gather their dead in the square.

“How do we tell these people that the world is ending after everything they’ve been through?

“We don’t,” Bellamy declared. “not until we know Alie was telling the truth.”

“It was the truth.”

“Still, we keep it to ourselves until we know what we’re dealing with and how to stop it.”

“Damn. You’re afraid of how people will react.”

“Yes.” He wasn’t about to try and deny it, but his seriousness quickly lightened as a smirk appeared briefly on his face. “Besides, I could use a break from keeping you alive. You gave them back their pain, Clarke. Let’s not add to it by telling them they’re gonna die in 6 months.”  She quiertly nodded. “Good. Once everyone’s down, we go home, we get to work. We didn’t survive this long just to let a little radiation take us out.”

“Thank you, for keeping me alive.” Clarke then said softly. Unfortunately, the peace was short lived when a woman wailed nearby, leading to Clarke running towards her as the latter was kneeled next to the body of a man just sat there, his head falling forward. “He didn’t fall. He chased me in the city of light. Lexa killed him.”

“Wanheda.” The woman stood up, glaring at Clarke, accusing her of doing this. People began staring at the trio, surrounding them.

“Well, this isn’t ominous at all.” Bellamy and Clarke both gave her a look from the corner of their eyes. Michelle’s quiet observation wasn’t supposed to be this sarcastic, but Murphy was probably rubbing off on her, as he did when they were together in the beginning. They walked around and found Abby and Kane had come downstairs.

“Good. You’re down. We have to go.” Clarke exclaimed. “The rover’s in the north woods.”

“What about the wounded?” Abby asked.

“Grounders don’t want our help. Our people we’ll treat at Arkadia.” The girls agreed, nodding at Bellamy’s statement, when Raven’s voice came over the radio, trying to reach out to him. Michelle looked at her two peers’ step away to take her call and knowing they would tell Raven about the fate of the Earth; she went to join them. Raven was reporting to them. Telling them everyone was okay on their side. Bellamy spoke close to the radio. “There’s something we need you to look into.”

“First, tell me how my friends are. Did everyone make it? Clarke?” The latter took the radio to make herself known, thanking her for her help. Michelle assumed Raven somehow helped her in the city of light.

“Did Alie ever tell you why she created the city of light?”

“No... Why?” They looked up as they heard a grounder proclaim that King Roan was still alive. He had been shot by Kane himself before chaos unravelled in the throne room, but apparently survived. He needed a healer ASAP. Clarke sent Bellamy to take care of filling in Raven with the news while she looked back to her mom, and they ran toward where Roan had been carried. Michelle and Kane followed them there. They got down to his side and after she was told he was shot trying to help Clarke, Abby checked for an exit wound but there was none. They had to get the bullet out quickly but then, a blade was suddenly drawn to Clarke's throat, and she had to step away from Roan. It was an Azgedan woman, given she called Roan her king. Abby tried to reason with her, saying she could help if only she would let her, but the Azgedan dismissed her offer. They had their own healer and she seemed dead set on not letting them, Sky people, touch the king. Bellamy came rushing towards them, calling her by what was probably her name, Echo, and Michelle wondered how he even knew her already. Maybe he met her back at Mount Weather, among the emprisoned grounders. That was her only guess. Kane grabbed his arms, stopping him in his tracks.

“Let her go, Echo. Let her go.” He repeated through gritted teeth. He wasn’t playing when Clarke’s life was at stake. Echo wasn’t keen to talk with him, telling him off. Panting, Clarke attempted to speak with her.

“Your king is my friend. Let us help him.”

“I saw you in the city of Light. I know you destroyed it. Thank you for that.” She then uncermenously pushed her towards her peers and she stumbled, catching herself on Bellamy. “Look around you. Skaikru did this to us. Because of them, Ontari, your rightful commander, is dead. This imposter stole her flame.”

“No.” Michelle looked at her father as he rose his voice angrily. “Wanheda saved us, all of us – grounders and Skaikru.”

“There would have been nothing to save us from if not for you.”

“Azgeda has no authority here.”

“We do now.” She argued. “In the name of King Roan, as rightful caretakers of the throne of the commanders, Polis is now under Azgeda rule.”

Another grounder woman chimed in, walking towards her, challenging the claim she made, demanding where her war chief was, but as she then replied, the latter was dead. Michelle noted she called the woman ambassador. Echo, being apparently a member of the queen’s guard – the late mother of Roan who was previously Queen of Azgeda – informed that command of the army had fallen to her, until the king woke and came to his senses. If he even did.

“Until a new commander can ascend, Polis is to be ruled by ambassadors of the coalition. If Azgeda wants it, they must take it by force.” As she was speaking, Echo swinged her sword across from her, slitting the woman’s throat and Michelle’s eyes twitched, taking a step back in shock. Her father put his arm in front of her, grabbing her shoulder and making her move further back, bringing her closer to him in protection. Feeling her father pull her back, she reflexively brought her hand upwards and held onto her father’s arm and stared as blood poured heavily from the woman’s neck, her eyes wide as her body collapsed to the ground in a thud. With this act, Echo made it clear that Azgeda had taken the city. And she then declared that no Sky people was to leave the city, trapping the lot of them once again. And it would be so until Roan woke up, as he would, hopefully, restore and uphold the coalition and make Skaikru the 13th clan again, as Lexa did before she died, and it all went to shit. He people shouted in unison.

“Looks like saving the world will have to wait.” Bellamy mumbled to Clarke and Michelle. The two slowly turned their heads towards him, looking at each other with a concerned frowned. Roan was transported in a room inside the tower and Kane told one of Arkadia’s guards that came with them to gather the others. They couldn’t enter the room where Roan was so they stood in another, with candles all over the walls.

Michelle was standing near Clarke as the latter looked at the flame in her hands. She looked up upon hearing her mother talk to Kane, and so did Michelle. His wrist and hands were hurting, and Abby softly lifted the top of his bandage, peeking at his wound. Michelle’s heart sank at the though of her father out there on the cross, until he gave in and took the chip. And to think she was going to kill him… She desperately wanted to not think about it, but it was all she could think about, and the guilt it brought. He held Abby’s face softly as he spoke to her. Michelle and Clarke glanced at each other, a tiny smile raising the corner of their lips. They grew up together, their mothers being best friends and they became best friends themselves, and they always considered themselves to be like sisters, but seeing their parents be together, they really were a family, and it was a nice, recomforting thought in the midst of all these troubles. Indra and Octavia then came in and he walked towards them. They looked at each other and bringing an arm behind his back, she pulled him into a firm but friendly hug. Michelle took her eyes off her dad and turned around upon hearing someone walk behind her. It was Bellamy. He stopped by her and Clarked, his arms crossed.

“You’re not gonna like it.” He instantly told them.

“When you destroyed the city of light,” Indra spoke up. “there were a thousand Azgeda warriors inside the city of Polis.”

“Good timing.” Octavia commented.

“Only way to remove them is by force.”

“Then let’s remove them.”

“Slow down. You’re talking about a war.” Abby tried to talk to her daughter.

“Yes. Rockline, Flokru, and Broadleaf will join Trikru without question, but we’ll still be short.” Indra’s addition didn’t convince Abby, who still thought this was madness and while the idea of a war was indeed madness, they had to do something about the Azgedan hold onto Polis. Clarke wanted to act; her mother wanted them to leave the city with the others while they still had time. Michelle agreed with what her father then told her, because he was right. The Azgedan knew their whereabouts, they knew where Skaikru lived, and fleeing would only lead them to follow them back to Arkadia and attack their camp and they wouldn’t be able to fight an entire army.

“There are 8 other clans.” He continued. “How do we get them to join us?”

“I can do it, but I’ll need the flame.” Indra turned to Clarke, but the latter refused to give it to her.

“Clarke, the clans will follow whoever has the flame.” Bellamy said.

“Azgeda won’t.”

“Then we fight.” Octavia spoke. “That’s the point.”

“No. No, it’s not. The point is, there’s no time for a fight. We have to save Roan.”

“Save him? They won’t let us near him.”

“Wait a second.” Abby stared at Clarke, sensing something was wrong.  “What don’t we know?”

“The reason Alie created the city of light.” She paused, glancing at Michelle and Bellamy before telling the rest of them. Pinching their lips, they gave her a nod. “Nuclear reactors inside the power plants that survived the bombs are melting down. Radiation levels are already rising. If we can’t figure out a way to fix it, all of us will be dead in 6 months.” Both Kane and Alie were somewhat doubtful of what Alie had told her but they had Raven looking into it and in any case, Clarke believed that the AI had said the truth about what was happening to the power plants.

“Even if it’s true, that’s 6 months away.” Indra noted. “There are thousands ice nation warriors on the street who want to kill us today.”

“They won’t kill us.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Octavia asked Clarke.

“Because we’re gonna surrender.” Everyone looked at each other, clearly baffled, not knowing what to say to that. It seemed there was really no other choice for them anyway. The group exited the room they were kept in and met Echo and the Azgedan warriors outside, pushing Jaha in front of them. He looked like he was in pain, and it was easy to assume they had beat him. He was, after all, the one who initiated this whole Alie situation, bringing the key with him and encouraging people to take it. Echo grabbed him, said something to his ear and threw him their way. He fell on the ground, held his side as he winced from the pain as he struggled to get up. Kane was the one to come forward and he helped Jaha as the latter stumbled in his direction. He spoke to him as he hugged him, because this whole encounter was actually just a distraction. Michelle carefully looked up to the side, to where she knew Bellamy was posted with a sniper. Michelle knew Jaha had brought them a body, supposedly Ontari’s, so that she would be with her people, but it was really Octavia being sneaked in the room to take out everyone there and clear the way for Abby and Clarke so that they could take care of Roan. Michelle knew she wouldn’t be of any use to her friend, and they didn’t need multiple snipers watching over them out there, so she just stayed with her dad.

Night had fallen. Michelle and Bellamy were talking with Indra and Kane, standing around the other guards from Arkadia, by the light of the torch. Michelle was quiet, leaning against the wall, starting to feel somewhat tired, barely listening to the conversation the others were having, and she stared into space, until she saw movement from the corner of her eyes, to her left and she looked yo, realizing it was Murphy walking towards them. He was accompanied by that girl she saw him hug back in the tower. She hadn’t paid much attention to her back there so she barely noticed her, but she could take a real look at her then. She had markings on her face, like some grounders they had seen before. They had stopped in their tracks, the girl telling him something, but Murphy crossed Michelle’s gaze. It seemed his girlfriend didn’t want to go towards them, so Murphy went ahead and approached Bellamy and Michelle. She slightly nudged him and motioned towards Murphy with her chin. Indra saw him look away and called him back to the conversation which revolved around Echo and the Azgedan. She was apparently part of the royal guard, which were literal spies, untrustworthy.

“That’s why she’s not marked. Very dangerous. Very loyal.”

“Not to the people who saved her life.”

“Bellamy, I know how you feel about her, but you can’t lose control.” Kane said. “You offer them technology, guns, whatever it takes to keep her talking. Is that clear?”

“I didn’t agree to give them guns.” Indra argued.

“Well, that’s probably because you’re not an idiot.” Murphy joined the conversation. Kane then assured it wouldn’t get that far, they only really wanted to buy themselves some time for Abby to save King Roan.

“If you want to help, grab a weapon, stand a post.” He then told Murphy and Bellamy handed his gun to him. He gave him a nod, but Michelle was staring at him, and she might be standing somewhat in Bellamy’s shadow, the flame’s light flickered in her eyes. And she actually knew Murphy quite well, and she knew he hadn’t walked up to them to simply offer his assistance. She knew he had his own agenda and with his girlfriend standing a few feet away, who she crossed eyes with for a second, she was sure of it, and then it was as if a light turned on in her head and she subtly shook her head. Murphy and his girlfriend wanted to take off, but the guards were in the way. That was the only possible reason why he even came to talk to them in the first place. She wasn’t disappointed, she expected something like this, and she stopped looking at him, kind of ignoring his presence, which he noticed because she felt his eyes on her but didn’t look back. Bellamy walked ahead of them, she stayed behind with her dad, Indra, Murphy and the guards as he headed towards the Azgedan, sat together in the distance. They immidietaly all stood up as he came in their area. Michelle saw Murphy go to stand in a corner as he was supposed to stand post and cover for him, but with everyone moved out of the way, he could leave if he wanted and as he turned around, he almost walked into Michelle as she stood right behind him. She wasn’t even going to stop him, but she wanted Bellamy’s gun back. She had a smaller gun in her hand and turned it around, putting the gun’s butt against his chest. He apologized, though he didn’t precisely say it was because he was leaving without a word, yet again, but they both knew she was already aware of his intentions so there was no need to say anything else.

“Just fucking go.” She spoke under her breath and grabbed Bellamy’s gun and watched him sneak away from the corner of her eye as she stood post in his stead. She leaned against the stone wall, in a corner and watched as Echo walked down the stairs to meet with Bellamy. After a few minutes of watching them talk, Echo turned around and Bellamy grabbed her wrist to stop her, prompting both sides to step forward, her warriors raising their swords. Michelle tightened her grip on the gun’s handle. She still didn’t take aim, keeping its butt against her shoulder, the cannon facing down. Echo didn’t take kindly to him grabbing her and immobilized him on the ground, putting her knife to his throat. She rose her voice to Michelle and the others.

“Guns on the ground or he dies.”

“We disarm, we’re done.” Indra told Kane, quietly.

“Abby’ll come through. Do what she says. Guns on the ground, now.” The guards obeyed, and Michelle came out of behind the corner, standing right beside her father as she put down the gun. No one had realized Murphy was gone. It really all happened the exact same way as months ago, when it took people an entire afternoon to figure out, he was gone. They had more pressing matters to tend to anyway, she wasn’t eager to tell anyone about him leaving. They had to watch as Bellamy was unceremoniously picked up by a guard and dragged away as Echo headed for the room where Roan was kept. They heard some yelling, but it subsided. No screams or ruckus. Roan had probably woken up. Azgedan guards then came for the rest of them, some fled, but Michelle, Kane, Octavia and a bunch of the guards were put in a cell, shackled to the walls. Sat on the floor, curled up with her cheek crushed against the wall, her eyelids twitched and opened as she woke up with a subtle jump after having a nightmare about the grounder strangling her back in the elevator. She sighed and frowned at the daylight coming through the barred window at the top of the wall. She lifted her head and kinda looked around before standing up, with Bellamy and Kane chained on both sides of her.

“Your cheek’s red.” Bellamy said, almost in a whisper, smiling softly.

“At least there’s no blood on it.” She was used to getting blood on her at this point, as she always managed to get herself hurt. She got on her tiptoes to try and look out the window but ended up just glancing at her chains after she pulled on, unconsciously bringing her hand to her neck. She kept to herself about her bad dream and stared at the wall until they heard noise coming from the cell door. The grouder keeping guard opened it and a whole bunch of them walked in with a determined step.

“Wanheda, on your feet.”

“Where’s the king?” Clarke stood up as Echo came to face her while the guards held their blades up to the prisoners. She cried out, asking to see Roan but a cloth was thrown over her head. Bellamy and Michelle immediately reacted, with Bellamy trying to call out to Echo but no one got any answer. On their way out, the grounders threw a punch at Bellamy, making him bend over, his arms pulling on the chains. Michelle instantly went for him, grabbing his arm as they watched their friend being taken away, helpless. But they were soon reassured when grounders came to free the rest of them and everyone joined the crown outside as Roan stood before them, with his bone crown on his head, addressing his people. Michelle knew he was a king but that was the first time she actually saw him as such.

“I know you’ve all come here for an execution, but no one else will die here today. The city of light has fallen… and there is no commander left to rule us. Until another Nightblood ascends, I – King Roan of Azgeda, eldest son of Nia, grandson of Theo – am caretaker of the throne, and keeper of the flame.” As he spoke, he raised his hand, showing the flame in between his fingers. Some people seemed to protest, though Michelle didn’t quite catch the meaning of their words, but she understood their tone. “Until another ascends, Azgeda honors and will defend the coalition of the last true commander – Lexa Kom Trikru, including the 13th clan. Let it be known that an attack against Skaikru is an attack against us all.”

After his speech, they were met by Echo. Bellamy walked up to her. She was impassible but her annoyance still transpired as she barely pronounced a few words, handing him something from the king. She unfolded the leather wrapping the small object and revealed Roan’s seal, allowing them free and safe passage in any of their lands. He grabbed it and she took a step towards him, her mask cracking. She didn’t look so threatening but Michelle had no idea what they were saying to each other. She could see in the spy’s eyes, the anger or annoyance or whatever emotion she previously had was gone and she seemed somewhat unsettled or disappointed or maybe both as she stepped back, glancing over his shoulder at the group standing behind him, her lips tight. “Welcome back to the coalition.” And she walked away. Bellamy turned on his heels and went back to them. It was time to leave the city.

“We’ll do our best to keep the king on his throne.” Kane assured.

“We’ll find a way to beat the radiation.”

“If either of you screw this up, we die.” Octavia then added, looking at Bellamy, Clarke and Michelle who were standing side by side in front of them. “No pressure.”

“This is serious, O. If anyone finds out why Roan helped us, it’ll be every clan for itself. The king will fall, and they’ll come after us.”

“It’s getting dark. Let’s do this.” Clarke spoke again, before the siblings came for each other’s throat again, or rather, before Octavia felt like it. At first, Michelle watched Clarke and her mother hug and wish each other goodbye, and her eyes then went to her own father. She didn’t want to say goodbye to him again, after having just reunited, a day prior. Sadness tainted her eyes. He shared a handshake with Bellamy, tightening his grip on his hand, the other on his shoulder, to make him look up at him.

“You turn the page, and you don’t look back. You do better than you did yesterday. You understand?” Bellamy subtly nodded, without saying anything. “Before you know it, you’ll deserve to survive.”

“I hope so.” With all that happened, it was understandable that he wasn’t sure he was worthy of surviving. Kane let go of him and turned his head to Michelle, looking at his daughter tenderly, tucking strands of hair behind her ear, before they drew each other into a tight embrace. He softly kissed her temple, stroking her back and she rested her face on his shoulder, closing her eyes, hoping this moment would last forever.

“May we meet again.” She finally uttered, opening her eyes again, a tear rolling over the bridge of her nose. She reluctantly stepped back, his hands holding her shoulders. It pained him to see her sad, and for her he held it together, but he was no less affected by the fact they had to go their separate ways again.

“May we meet again.” She knew how much they had come to mean to each other, and he was now, without the shadow of a doubt, the person she loved most but it really hit her in this moment. She saw in his eyes, how much love he had for her. She felt guilty for ever giving him the silent treatment when she was mad at him, or blaming him for the death of her mother. Later, she would apologize for it all, and he wouldn't even need to think about it before forgiving her. He cupped her cheek in his hand, “I’m proud of you.” and added in a whisper, only for her to hear, “I know your mother would be too.”

She nodded, her lips sealed tight so they wouldn’t quiver, and she lowered her eyes as they got watery again, taking in a deep but shaky breath before she took a step back. Bellamy put a comforting hand on her back and locked eyes with Kane. The two men looked at each other understandingly, giving each other a somewhat solemn nod before they turned around, and left Polis with Clarke. Michelle wiped off her tears and held her head high, looking straight ahead of her.

“Okay, princess. What now?”

“Now we survive.”

[To be continued…]  

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter (07/23/2024)

Published (07/19/2024) by Andrea

Taglist:  @mirellef2001

[nobodysdaydreams]

Doug Eiffel is hilarious and deserves his own series of radio shows

(Or my reaction to Wolf359's three untitled mini episodes!)

Welcome back dear readers! I wish I could react to more full length episodes, but life in terms of health and work load has not been kind to me (yep. I'm sick again). Fortunately, I was informed that these mini episodes can be listened to at any time and they are fairly short, so I'm gonna give it a shot! (If I was misinformed and am about to have a ton of plot spoiled for me, I apologize in advance!)

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom

Mini Episode: Adventure of a Lifetime

Ohhhh... a field trip into the mysterious rooms!

...this might not work out for you Doug, but I hope you find something useful.

Huh. Empty rooms. ...why do I get the feeling they aren't all empty?

Different shade of grey paint? Doug have you never played a video game? I mean, I haven't either, but even I know what that means.

Great, now he's locked in.

"I'm hungry, I didn't have breakfast, It's been five hours." WHY AM I DOUG 😂

Doug yeah the grey spot sounds pretty bad.

"Did you try pushing?" Hilbert is so done with him.

19 minutes? I'm not sure if that's funny because Doug is dramatic, or spooking because these rooms actually mess with time perception.

"You never mention this to anyone and I won't ask you what you're doing on this part of the station" Doug you really oughta be asking though.

Oh. That was it? Huh. Very short. I wonder what the next one has in store...

Mini Episode: Step One

Ah! More Doug! Why IS he going outside?

Hey, Doug. Do not speak badly about the commander. Trust me, the day will come when you realize Minkowski is the best commander you could ever have.

He stole her diary? Oh Doug...

"If this tape shows up in my murder trial, you'll know why I made this recording"

Imagine if Cutter tried to use this audio to frame Minkowski for Doug's death (he would. He'd drop it off at her husband's office like "sorry about your wife becoming a murderer. Apparently a disgruntled employee took her diary and she snapped").

Poor Doug. Scrambling to solve a mess he created in a very unsafe way because he can't ask for help or else he'll get caught? Why is he so dang relatable. Someone get this man to a doctor. He needs Adderall. And his daughter back.

"I have the perfect plan" oh dear. Doug, those words never go well for me either.

"Doug was great, I need to lighten up a lot" 😂

"She somehow saw through my forgery" oh poor Doug.

Are these episodes just Doug getting himself into situations? Because that's hilarious and wonderful.

Mini Episode: Space Rage

"Badass McAwesome" Is that Doug doing a southern accent? I love his radio shows.

Is he talking about Minkowski? Is he broadcasting that through the ship?

"Our God given American right to free speech and funny jokes!" Amen Doug 🫡

Oh my gosh he's talking to himself 😂.

"I'm stuck in this crappy job searching for alien life for 14 hours a day" "we've all certainly been there" I can't, please 😂😂😂

"There's this script you're supposed to broadcast" "sound like command trying to keep you down"

"I've been reciting every Simpson's treehouse of horror episode from memory" / "That's the way Abe Lincoln would have wanted it."

I love this. I love patriot cowboy Doug. 🤠 You can't be taking his freedoms!

"Fighting the good fight" aksjkfjsdlf;kj

Oh who is the sponsor this time? Oh Dr. Hilbert's seaweed coffee. "It's the only thing we have. It's the only thing we have."

"You're live. Let freedom ring!" Doug is the best honestly.

Oh dear.

"Okay you're taking me alive. That's all the time we have for today folks!"

Doug is iconic.

These were great. Short, but great. Maybe I'll try to listen to the Mission Mishap ones a few at a time so that I can still give you reactions, even if I don't have the time or health to give you the full length reactions you deserve dear readers. But don't worry. As soon as I have time, I will react to the rest of the series. Thanks for reading!

[jmflowers]

Would you want to do a recap of Stefania's amazing episode? I'd love to hear your perspective from a technical standpoint!

We’re doing it my sweet, enabling anon! Apologies for how long it has taken for me to truly organize myself and my thoughts with this.

There's gonna be two versions of this, because my jot noted, unhinged version is much more on brand for tumblr fandom space. But I only really realized that after writing out 3500 words of thoughtful film-school style analysis.

Below the cut, please find that version. And I'll post the fangirl edition that breaks down my thoughts scene-by-scene later.

The goal of Station 19’s 7x04 ‘Trouble Man’ was, put simply, to just fucking break everyone. Each one of the characters on screen needed to, or at least appear to, reach rock bottom by the time the credits rolled. Which is, honestly, why I love that they chose Stefania Spampinato as the director for this one. If you’ve seen any of Stefania’s directing work (you can view Zita Sempri here), you know that her strength (and interest) lies in emotional storytelling. I think, because Peter Paige and Stefania have clearly had a mentorship/friendship relationship, that he recognized this episode would be the type of story she would and could excel with.

(This differs greatly from what they chose for Danielle Savre last season, whom we know describes herself as organized and a Type A sort of person. They played to her strengths, as well, and gave her a challenge with an episode that would require a lot of technical organization and strong leadership for such a large on-location scene with so much additional equipment.)

As fans, we all lucked out with Stefania’s episode because it didn’t harbour the additional technical challenges that Danielle’s did and so the showrunners didn’t decide to lighten Stefania’s load by writing her out of most of the episode. (I’d wager, too, that all of her scenes being strictly with Danielle and their rapport with each other also supported that case.) I’m honestly so proud and happy for her (and Danielle) that she was able to have the best of both and experience the feeling of directing herself on screen, alongside an acting partner that she trusts and has worked with for so long.

So, the story is set up as a version of the 7-Point Plot structure (or maybe a Save the Cat, if you’re fancy) and we begin with Andy at what we will later discover is her rock bottom moment. Because we already know the formula of first images in the show is a lot of quick cuts, Stefania made a really excellent choice here in how she shot this specific moment to keep on brand. What she could’ve done is a bunch of different angles of Andy and hoped that when they got to the editing room, there was enough there to avoid the dreaded jumpcut – or enough to lean into a purposeful jumpcut.

[A jumpcut is when a final edit showcases two shots back-to-back that are not precisely the same but are similar enough to cause a jarring effect for viewers. For example, a shot of a person’s face head-on, followed immediately by another shot of that person’s face at the same level with both of their eyes still visible. To make that not jarring, you would want the next shot to be from a lot lower or higher, or directly from the side or behind. Jumpcuts can be used effectively to show the passage of time, for example, such as in Vic’s hospital room scenes or in the bunk room after Andy’s assault, but they need to be proven purposeful by happening at least three times or more in a row.]

Instead, this moment was shot several times with a dolly around Andy. As the momentum of the start of the episode builds, so does the speed with which the shots cut between each other. This was such a cool, smart way to create tension right off the bat and I think it worked really effectively as a hook for the episode.

Truthfully, I think this choice was the biggest faux pas of the episode. Hear me out; this doesn’t match the Station 19 font. It doesn’t lend to the theme that’s already been set on the show regarding text on screen. There are no other episodes in this season (thus far) that have text on screen as part of the storytelling… it was just all off for me.

In my ideal world, this would’ve been exactly the same text style as the show’s logo (perhaps even underlined in the red) and they would’ve pulled something a la Alias, where the scene appears through the text. (Or just stuck it over a shot without the black, like they did with the rest of the time updates???)

This will just forever feel like it was tossed in during editing as a placeholder and then accidentally left there. Maybe they didn’t have enough money for someone to come in and do text editing? I don’t know. I need to stop thinking about it eventually or I’ll drive myself crazy.

But moving on! There were a lot of fascinating and technically challenging moments right from the beginning of this episode. I love that Stefania chose to visibly have the trucks returning to the barn (something she spoke about here) because it isn’t something we’ve really seen before, as it would be challenging to shoot. I’d love to know how they balanced how much ND filter would be needed to block out the light coming in through those open doors without losing visibility on the trucks and the characters. This would’ve been a full team effort to set up this sequence, especially considering it’s (nearly) a oner from this moment until 30 seconds later, when Vic tells Theo she doesn’t care that he kissed Kate. (There is a tiny cut while Beckett is walking across with his axe that they hid really well in their editing, but is still technically a jumpcut.)

[A oner or one-shot is a term to describe a scene filmed in a single shot. They are very, very difficult and time-consuming to do as everything must be synchronized and rehearsed and one little mistake can send you all the way back to the very beginning of the scene. The first one I ever remember seeing was Miley Cyrus’ music video for Start All Over in 2007. Director Mike Flanagan has killed it with two incredible/epically long ones in The Haunting of Hill House episode 6 and Midnight Mass episode 2. There’s also a great one in season 19, episode 12 of Grey’s Anatomy, which was directed by Kevin McKidd, and which Stefania herself was in. If you wanna know more about oners, hit me up as I have a plethora of links and behind-the-scenes information regarding how they’re done because I think they are sooooooo cool.]

I just gotta say, I laughed out loud at this moment. Solid editing aligned the whip of Travis’ head with the end of the backing music that was hilarious and so on brand for the show. Something like that wouldn’t have been planned on set, most likely, and would’ve occurred instead in the editing suite. But I so dig that the choice was made because it’s perfect. Kudos to Stefania if she had any involvement with it other than saying ‘keep it’. (I’m presuming the editor, Eli Nilsen, is who I have to thank for it.)

Also, the movement of this scene was gold, which is entirely up to Stefania’s direction. I loved the switch of Travis from the chair to the couch beside Vic. There was so much great coverage, the pans from outside the room were beautiful; all-in-all I thought it was a really excellently executed scene, from a purely technical standpoint.

In Stefania’s directing interview with Shondaland, she spoke about starting with more wide shots at the beginning of this episode and gradually getting closer and closer. Which I love, of course, as an artistic choice. What I found most consistently, however, was a subversion of the TV formula of establishing shot to character shot.

To break that down, most shows setup new scenes with a wide, establishing shot of the new location (think Friends, where you see the outside of their apartment building before any scene with the characters in their apartments – this is very sitcom) before going to the characters.

A lot of the scenes in this episode, though, start with a closeup of the characters before moving to a wider shot of where they are. The scene with Maya and the drill, for instance: we start on that drill and the window frame before we pull back to see its her, that she’s in the nursery, that there are boxes stacked up, that Carina is trying to change Liam’s diaper, etc, etc. I think that choice lends a lot to the emotionality of the episode and is really intelligent editing, but also really intelligent coverage of each section of the story on set.

Specifically, my notes said: “It keeps you pulled into where the character is at mentally, emotionally, versus where they are physically.”

As we move into Maya and Carina’s house, I have so much to say about colour. This shot is a great spot to dive into all the tiny little details. I will say, I don’t know if Stefania would’ve had as much say regarding colour and set design or dressing on a singular episode as she would if she were directing a film. But! Whoever made choices for this was so, so on.

Just… look at this for a moment. Carina goes with this house. Everything in this shot blends cohesively. The yellow of the counter and backsplash is balanced with the yellow clothes in the basket atop the dryer. The blue of Carina’s jeans pulls the blue stripe from the dish towels hanging on the stove. The pink of her shirt goes with her shoes and the pink flowers on the wallpaper around the window. Everything belongs here. Even the stripes of Carina’s shirt are reminiscent of the Carina we first met in Grey’s Anatomy six years ago.

For me, this lends so much to the dynamic occurring between Maya and Carina in all these scenes. While Carina fits visually, Maya still appears just slightly off – the red of her sweater doesn’t quite match anything, her jeans are darker. As she talks in the kitchen with Carina, she’s cast more into shadow than Carina is.

My inner film theory geek was rejoicing at all of these choices, simply because they’re a prime example of the importance of all departments involved in film and television production. Big ups and shoutouts to the production designer (Sandy Getzler) and art department on this episode (Carissa E. Mitchell, Jorge Rodriguez, Alisha Rothman, and Kennedy Taylor) and the costume department (Meesh Daranyi, Veronica Teong, and Cleo Trifonidis).

There’s a lot of really, really strong framing choices in this episode. I could (and might) rant for a bit about all that. But this scene struck me, both from a writing standpoint and the execution.

Choosing to do this call with voiceovers not only saves so much money and time, it also builds a ton on the emotionality of this moment for all of these characters. I love that Stefania brought in a bit of that constant moving energy we know and recognize from Grey’s Anatomy here, too.

I screenshot this specific frame because we have this moment where we see so much of what we know of Chief Ross – her power, her importance, how put-together she is. And then the shot pans up to her face, as we’re listening to these awful things happening on the other end of the radio and it’s her breaking point. This scene is her rock bottom – her inciting incident where she has to, ultimately, decide to act or react. I’m hopeful, as a viewer, that this is telling of her story for the rest of the season being a battle with the mayor for funding.

Anyways, I love Stefania for this framing. I love the panning. I love the movement. I love the cuts and all the angles. I love that she chose the lenses she did, cause girl clearly loves a short depth of field. Just, she knows what she’s doing and I am here for it.

Let it be said that the pan shot of Andy and Beckett in the front seat of the truck, which is the start of this scene, is probably my favourite shot of the episode. It made my breath catch the first time I saw it. Toss in the exquisite, gut-wrenching coverage of the bloody boot print and the pan over Herrera written on Andy’s turnouts and it’s all chef’s kiss. Directing Queen Stefania is coming for the jugulars with the emotionality of the episode by this point.

Especially considering, this boot print is not important to the story at all – this is entirely stylistic. There is one shot, however, where she covered the Jaws of Life being placed in the truck after a call and that was very important to the story.

I wrote a lot about this shot, so I’m going to talk about it, too. I think it was a cool choice to start this scene with a head-on closeup of Theo. From a technical standpoint, a shot like this is challenging to do because you want to see more of the bathroom behind him, to help establish the location, but the lens needed to make that possible distorts faces a bit when it’s too close.

As a viewer, I found that here and when you notice it, it’s a little off-putting. Especially considering everything else in the show is shot true to reality. (One other great example of a time when shot angle/framing/lens didn’t align correctly for my eyes is in season 3, when Maya and Carina are on vacation together and they kiss before going to the pool.)

I will say, the unnervingness of this distort might have been intentional. Throwing viewers off-kilter is a great way to build emotionality and unease. It just sticks out here, because it doesn’t really occur anywhere else. (She used the same framing later in the episode for Vic, too. I think it was less unsettling there because Vic was moving, whereas Theo was just looking at himself.)

Gold star at the end of this scene for the continuity department – a department of one, Sharon Cingle on script supervision – for making sure the shower curtain was left open that little crack to make the closeup pan of Ben make sense. How many times can I say I loved a shot?

My first note for this scene says: “Can’t say Stefania doesn’t love an ECU and a rack focus… beautiful establishing for this scene from the hands to Beckett’s feet.”

[A rack focus is when the focus of a shot visibly shifts from one point in the frame to another, typically from closer to further away or vice versa. It is more obvious when done with a short depth-of-field, which means a smaller amount of space that is in focus at a time – such as in the shot above.]

This episode was a lot of fun for me because it felt like Stefania was playing with parts of the set we haven’t scene before. The communal bunk room, for starters. A different angle of the station, where you could see the balconies outside and houses behind the building. And this moment – with the sink and the back of the barn. I can’t even imagine how tricky it must’ve been to maneuver and set up shots in such a tight space.

But she did it, of course. We’ve got this gloriously tight angle of Beckett’s face, where we could watch the tears roll down his cheek. And that pinprick of light is visible in his pupil, which you want present when lighting human faces for on screen.

And I mean, the levels here are so interesting. There’s rule of thirds happening in these shots. There’s balance of characters in the framing. Most importantly, there’s something unspoken happening with the swap of power. This is Beckett’s breaking point in the episode – he’s literally sitting at rock bottom, the lowest he can get in the station. With Sullivan, who was once his lesser, above and looking down to him. That’s powerful body language – you’ll find a lot of people feel a need to stand when they’re asserting their authority in a situation, trying to gain the higher ground. (It’s almost like this thing burned into our DNA from years of building castles on hills and shit.)

But this is a turning point in the episode for Sullivan, too. He once tried to help Beckett and was refuted and now he’s being faced with a choice to either extend the offer again or turn away from the problem. I like that his decision is echoed in helping Beckett up off the floor. Kudos to Stefania for staging it this way.

Now’s probably a great time to dive into Stefania’s framing choices, cause she did some crazy beautiful stuff. My notes say: “Queen of the two-shot!” here. It’s fascinating to me how she used reflections in this episode – the first couple times we see Andy get out of the engine, we see a flash of her face in the side mirrors before we actually see her face-on. She also played with the mirror in the bathroom with Vic and Kate’s confrontation.

[A two-shot is when two characters are visible in the same frame.]

But, at least for me, the two shots and reflections work because she consistently picked lenses with a shorter depth of field. The rack focuses between characters make these shots so much more visually interesting. There were so many of them that I nabbed in my screenshotting that spoke to me or got me excited or were examples of a really good eye.

Exhibit a, b, c:

And while we’re talking about two- (and three-) shots, let’s discuss foreground. Because I was so struck by a few shots, specifically because of the choices of things Stefania kept in the shot in front of the characters.

From screenshots already above: the wall outside the kitchen in Maya and Carina’s house and the engine with Beckett’s feet behind it. Please see exhibit a, b, c, d for more that struck me:

I don’t know how to explain this really technically, my dudes, but it’s so visually pleasing. It’s so interesting. It kept my eyes so invested in what was going on. I love when directors give us a chance to really explore the set design and feel really immersed in the location with characters. There were so many times this episode where Stefania chose a framing through a window – from inside Maya and Carina’s house while they were outside, through the blinds into the gym and Andy’s office and the conference room, into the engine and the ladder truck through the windshield. I can’t sing enough praises about that.

Let’s wrap this up with Andy. There are two scenes in this episode where she’s having important, serious conversations with men that she holds authority over. And Jaina is short, especially when next to Boris and Carlos. A different director might have chosen to frame these scenes in a way that made Andy appear smaller than these men – but not Stefania.

There’s a really conscious effort here to keep Andy’s authority visually present – the shots pull in closer on her and the guys’ heads are cut off. She doesn’t look shadowed by them and their height because of this framing. It makes it very, very clear that this is her story and she is the most important character in the room.

And honestly, I think that’s a great example of this show – and Stefania’s direction – not being a male gaze interpretation. There is no passivity to the way she has shot the women in this episode. They are not presented as weak or small or not in control, even when the emotionality of a scene is overwhelming. Andy, Ross, Vic… they are very human in this episode, even when they’re crying. For me, that’s what makes the entirety of the work here so strong.

I am endlessly proud of her and this episode. One of the best of the show for me.

You go, Stefania Spampinato.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

Oop uuh ohhh o.o

Dealing with politics in a TV show is uncomfortably reminiscent of real life right now xdd

Probably not lol

Imagine if she did XD

Well at least she's being civil

Hmmm but also no witnesses xdd

Not like I think she's gonna kill you lol

I don't think that's gonna work honey :((( grief is crazy

She's already had her taken, idk if this'll help :(( I hope but

Personally I would be writing that stuff down not recording it but yk lol

Maybe she wanted to send her a video specifically :))

Awww

LOL

xD Karen

So real

Awww :')))

If she says something like so was my son I'm gonna lose it-

Imagine if she did have compassion rn 😭 and this was all over 😭 consider xdd what then 😭

Aww yeah :'( :')))

It helped her live again <33

True :'((

I don't think it'll work but-

YEP 😭😭😭🥺🥺

Yeah but you're an ADULT who had her child (and it's awful and I'm sorry and no one should have to deal with it but that's besides the point), this is a CHILD who needs her PARENTS

SHE 👏 IS 👏 A 👏 CHILD 👏👏👏!!

I'm gonna lose it <3

Good staying calm Hen I'm losing it lol

She really would :((

She's always been sorry that someone died even if she was angry with him

Oop 😬

Roughhh

Girl I know you're grieving but also I hate you <33

Oope o.o

OH HEEECKKK NO

I KNEW IT

Wait girl you didn't know O.O

Gonna screeeeam 🥰🥰🥰

Hate him hate her hat everybody (not everybody) 🥳🥳

At least he's funny sometimes even if he's awful 😑

Ope okay we're transitioning here but same music- kinda messing with me lol

Aww Bobby :((

Ope hi Hen :o

Guess that's why the music transitions

Can we start a secret plan to take her down :D please :D

A little difficult since she's like a fr politician not just in your work but yk we'll make it work-

Ahh three times is like the number of serious lol

Aww this little apartment :'/ :') they do need a house back <3

He doesn't sound happy about itttt lol

I mean I know he's not but xD

I mean yeah but also-

Yes she's the problem but he does suck-

(for context I paused)

Oh wait she's probably gonna say he's not her captain lol-

Yep xD

Ahh yeah fair ://

Although yeah he did resign he just hadn't left yet

Oop o.o

I forget that like they don't know that's probably the reason

Gosh a deep dive 😳😬

I hate herrr 🥰🥰🥰

Councilwoman Ortiz lol

Yeah true!!

OPE WHAT HELLO

Hi Buck :O

Ohh okay

Bobby like, having straight up sessions with the 118 and got that patient confidentiality between each: 🥲

Oh gosh Buck

Yeah ://

I

HELLO???!?!

BOBBY'S FACE XDDD 💀 EXACTLY!!

I know that's not what he means but 💀 O.O

(I will say I saw that as a gif and I was like H U H O.O knowing what he probably meant and also hoping it was played as that and I wasn't just crazy xD I was pretty sure by now but nice to know for sure lol)

Thank you for the immediate clarification Buck 😭😭 SLFJFHDKS XDD

Gosh that was crazy

See I just wanna know how we go from all this serious stuff (probably not getting solved in the next 20 minutes lol) to a Halloween episode next week 💀 xD

Next episode that is

LOL fair xD

I mean technically he can quit

Fair Buck, that sucks :((!

You shouldn't be out in that position, and it sucks because everyone's going through it so you probably feel guilty too

Like through it in a different way, not being the favorite lol

Exactly Bobby :(( but it's not about what should be, it's about what is

SDKLFJDHKS WAIT STOP EDDIE'S HERE TOO XDDD OH MY GOSH THAT'S AMAZING LOL

I know Chim probably won't be since these are the established stories so far this episode but like hey, there's stuff with Mara he could slip in for xD

Awww Eddie yeah :(( exactly, that must suck

I'm sorry Eddie 😭😭

AWWWW HONEYYY 😭😭

And still calling him cap :'(((

That just sucks xdd 😭��😭🥺💔

I'm so sorry Eddie :'((

I'm glad you want to respect his wishes and he deserves that but it just sucks for both of you :(( I'm sure he misses you too

Ope?

BOBBY XD LOL

Is he trying to lighten the mood or just slip it in there while he can xD

Aww Eddie's tone LOL

ADLFJDKHGAJKS CHIMNEY IS HERE!!!

Oh my gosh this is amazing xD

Poor Bobby going through all of these like 👁️👄👁️

All talking about different but juuust slightly related issues xD

LOL he's talking about the house 💀 xD

Exactlyyy

True!!

NOT WHERE I WAS GOING WITH IT XD

Like needing your guys' own house xD

Also a little rude to bring it back to you Chimney unless that was the original intention

But still lol

Ohhh interesting interesting :o

That's good information to know

Maybe he'll die xdd or get injured

I mean though we did try that already 😭

Also the Ortiz thing though

Lol Bobby's head following his xD

LOL the impression Chimney 💀💀 XD

Because he knows facts- BECAUSE BUCK IS DUMB 💀💀💀😭😭🥺 RUDE CHIMNEY

Kinda right sometimes but he's just a little silly goofy 😭 Buck is very smart <333

Maybe it's just that he doesn't seem like it xD

Crazy thing to say though kinda funny but 😭 XD

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

Alright, so if you've been following along with me, Supernatural season 3 starts out on a trio of episodes that are Really Fun, slides into some episodes that are Pretty OK, then takes a real nose dive into Bummersville. Hoo boy guys, I really hope that this season picks up. I mean, it won’t, but I can still dream. 2021 was maybe not the year to start watching this season. Fair warning.

The next three episodes for this season are just, like, real downers. First we get “Fresh Blood,” which, aside from the terrible title, starts out on a high note. Gordon (gross) somehow manages to catch up with Bela (HOW??) and threatens her if she doesn’t hand over the Winchesters. Bela, in all of her class and grace, won’t give them up because she has a high price point and Gordon is really lowballing her here. Just like, yes, ok, please stay forever, you’re amazing and I love you. And what a scene this is! You have two characters, one with a strict moral code (albeit one that allows for violence and winning at all costs) and the other with almost NO moral code, but an allegiance that can be bought with the best price and it’s such a fun back and forth until Gordon pulls out a gun. And then she pulls out her phone and just has Dean on speed dial and that’s maybe my fav part. Bela has run into the Winchesters twice and they maybe legit hate her but she’s very much like, oh yeah, my BFF’s the Winchesters, I love those idiots!

I love that we come back to this moment later in the episode when Bela, like, three days later, is like, Oh! I guess I should warn the Winchesters that some crazy guy is after them! She’s just so casual about it you kind of get the feeling that, even though technically Gordon was threatening her life, she doesn’t view him as A Threat. She gives the Winchesters a heads up just to be like oh yeah, you might want to watch out for this mild inconvenience, and she seems legit shocked when Dean freaks out. There’s this moment that plays across her face like, oh shit, did I...did I fuck up? And it adds a nice bit of depth to her character. She’s seems honestly worried, both for the lives of the Winchesters but also that Dean won’t like her anymore and that is just a charming bit of A C T I N G!

I am gonna miss her SO MUCH when she dies at the end of this season. WHY did we CANCEL HER???

But despite the fun beginning, this episode is about monsters and how people become monsters and how other people are probably the reason. Because our main baddie is a vampire who hunts to...well, listen if we look at the facts that he lays out in his monologue, it’s a little more tragic - he’s trying to replace the daughters that he lost hundreds of years ago, cool motive, still murder. In practice though, he goes around turning hot blonde coeds into vampires and then ?????? Who knows. I’d like to believe that this was a problem with the CW executives or maybe casting/directing and not with the writing, but it’s SPN and you really can’t be sure with anything. The fact is, this is a CW show from the early 2000’s and a lot of their extras are cast to type. And that’s maybe me exhibiting some girl-on-girl crime, but there are other episodes that did a much less blatantly gross job casting their extras/Very Special Guest Stars.

Anyway, the POINT of this guy is that he’s a monster because someone killed his daughter and he’s just been trying to fill that grief hole inside of him for centuries. This is not unlike Gordon, who ALSO has been trying to fill a grief hole that he’s had for decades, except he’s not killing people and resurrecting them as blood suckers, he’s just killing them. And then, when the Vamp decides to turn Gordon it’s a real sweet moment of comeuppance for like, a HOT second and then you’re like, awww dude, ya done f’ed up. That was a bad idea. You’ve made a HUGE mistake.

More importantly, our Vampire In Question finally runs into the Winchesters and get’s to say things like “I was desperate! You ever felt desperate? I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?” and also “I just ... I didn't care anymore. Do you know what it's like when you just don't give a damn? It's like ... it's like being dead already.” and Dean’s v. much like, THIS IS TOO REAL ROY.

Sam may ALSO be feeling Too Real feelings because he is DONE dicking around with Gordon and honestly yes, I like this, this is good Sam development. It’s nice to know that Sam has a breaking point. And I admit I’m of two minds about this moment because 1) I love the idea of Dark!Sam this season and that maybe Sam’s decision to actually kill Gordon is just one step in that process but 2) I ALSO love the idea of Sam Lite finally having a breaking point and Gordon is IT. I don’t know which theory I like more in this scenario, but they are both good theories.

I think as much as this episode wants to draw parallels between the monsters and Dean (thank you artful editors), you can’t look at the “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved,” line and not think of Sam? Cuz he’s got one (1) person left in his life that hasn’t died horribly, so how desperate is he about to get through the end of this season? I’ve definitely been watching this season with eyes on all the ominous Dean foreshadowing, but the Sam foreshadowing is also there, just buried under the heavy weight of a thousand smulders and suicidal levels of denial.

And also, FUCK the tag on this episode! Guys, it is CUTE but it is also HORRIBLE. Dean starts teaching Sam how to fix the Impala and at first it’s all, “Oh! Adorable Brothers Being Brothers!” and I loved it but then I almost immediately hated it because you realize this is about making sure Sam can get along without him once he’s gone and Dean just accepts his own death with such casual ease that it’s just...INFURIATING!

This scene was rude and I HATE IT!

Cut to - “A Very Supernatural Christmas” Special!

Guys, I was so excited when I got to this episode. THIS is Classic Supernatural Shenanigans. Plus, you know a Holiday Special is the ultimate sign that this show has Made It, right? Or it could be a sign that they’re selling out, who knows, but I think we can say that at this point in the series, SPN is established enough to start having fun with their fans. That’s what this says to me. BUT THEN what we get is like...oh boy.

First - like, I’mma beat this horse to death, but what is WRONG with this FAMILY? John Winchester very quickly devolved into the sort of father that forgot about every single holiday and did not ever, even a little bit, make up for it. It’s not a surprise, but it kind of wrecked me seeing a flashback where Baby Dean is just so attached to a father who can’t be bothered to actually care for his children. I know he’s not in this episode because Jeffrey Dean Morgan was tied up in other projects, but the fact that John doesn’t show up at the end to button the flashbacks with a But then he DID show up for Christmas! just makes this plot line that more gutting. And despite Dean’s hero worship of their father, this is maybe the Christmas where Baby Sam stops believing in his own father. The only bright side to this is that it continues to enforce the fact that Bobby should have sued John for custody. Bobby should maybe STILL Sue for custody so that Dean at least would feel like someone wants him for once in his life, damnit.

And then we wrap this episode up with the Best Worst Christmas of all, because we see Sam start to...also?? accept that Dean is about to die? Cuz that’s what this episode is really about - Dean’s Last Christmas. And everything about that makes me ~ u p s e t ~.

So Sam decides to put his curmudgeonly grinchy attitude aside in order to make it a special day for Dean and ugh. UGH. UGHGHGHG. Season three is the worst guys, and I can’t believe I didn’t realize that until right this second now.

So let’s wrap this up with "Malleus Maleficarum", honestly an episode that is mostly forgettable until we get to, like, the last five minutes. Sure, witches and curses and selling your soul, woohoo whatever.

But then we get some real Ruby centric reveals and like, WHAT is happening?? First off, the scene where Ruby and Tammy have a moment is a real Moment. There is some baggage and tension here and it is heavy. And then Tammy drops the mic when she reveals that Ruby used to be human.

THEN, Ruby legit saves their asses by killing Tammy with a fancy magic knife. Ok, Dean does the actual killing, but Ruby brought the fancy magic knife. So between the hot and heavy tension with “Tammy” and her repeated attempts to keep the Winchesters alive, we’re left wondering what IS Ruby’s deal? I personally wonder how much of the show’s mythology the show actually has figured out at this point? Because interviews with Kripke definitely walk the line between “Oh we definitely have this whole thing worked out,” and “yeah, we’re sort of finding things as we go along,” which is maybe why it’s able to last as long as it does. More on that later.

Of course the big kicker is the final scene between Ruby and Dean. Dean is almost on board with Ruby at this point in the season, and much like his scene with the demon in “Sin City”, they share a kind of vulnerable moment together where Ruby admits that, yeah, she was human once and yeah, Hell will destroy you, body and soul, and yeah Dean’s worst fear will probably come true - he will become the thing he hunts, no ifs, ands or buts about it. And Dean knows that Ruby knows that Dean knows that there’s no way to save Dean from his fate, but they both agree that they can’t take Sam’s last ounce of hope away from him because, for both of them, Sam is their hope. Ruby and Dean both see the war happening around them and they know that with Dean gone, Sam’s maybe the last guy holding back the tide to save all humanity.

Which, honestly? Bull shit. Do you know how many hunters are out there? Neither do I, but this season seems to indicate that there are a LOT. We have barely scratched the surface on the hunter community and it’s a damn shame that they are all weirdo loners because there is a war going on. You know what works great in a war? An ARMY. Buncha mentally unstable, martyr-complex ijits who can’t put their differences aside for one damn MINUTE so that maybe, JUST maybe, the could actually defeat the evil they’ve spent their entire lives dedicated to fighting. And if Ruby and Dean wanted to help Sam, what they should probably do is get him plugged in to that community. I do believe that of all they backasswards, self-obsessed, painfully anti-social crazies out there, the Winchesters are THE WORST.

Listen tho, this was like, a solid scene between these two. Just a lot of work goin' into this and it paid off.

Anyway, back to the mythology for a hot second - This sort of loosey-goosey stumbling into your own world building is probably another one of those things that you’ll only really get in a show with this many episodes per season? It’s that room to play and experiment and just make stuff up as you go along. I think the slow drip method of releasing episodes ALSO helps in this scenario because you’re able to see what fans are reacting to in almost-real time. When viewers are binging episodes, I think you're less likely to see what specifically they’re reacting to and more wholistically they’re reacting to. And that’s not to say you won’t see those specific things that they like/love eventually, but by the time you get there, your season’s been produced in its entirety and you’ll have to bear that in mind for (hopefully) next season. But with SPN, they were writing and producing the show at the same time that some of the episodes were airing. That’s why they were able to make decisions on the fly, based on what fans responded to. And definitely by this point in the show, there was a sizeable and vocal fan base that made their feelings VERY well-known. We’re only in season three, but they’ve already had a number of con appearances and a pretty active online presence. That kind of feedback has got to be helpful, from a writing perspective, but it also allows for things like characters getting cut because nobody liked them for some dumb reason. BUT, if you’re fighting to stay on the air for 100 episodes or longer, responding to fan reactions is what’s gonna do it and that’s a fact.

[ynscrazylife]

Ok so I was thinking about that scene with bucky when he realized he no longer had the words and boy do I need fluff after that 😭 So could u do a Stucky fic where its the reader and Steve being there for Bucky after he comes back with Ayo. I need fluff after todays episode 😭😭

Free | a stevebucky x reader fluff central fic 

Summary: Y/N and Steve support Bucky when he is freed from the brainwashing that was done to him.

Permanent Taglist: @natasharomanoffismywife @hehehehannahthings @paulawand @blackbat2020 @sybil-moon-is-a-mess @cerberus-spectre @marrymemcgrath @celestialbarnes

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Request to be on a Taglist (or multiple) here!

MCU Masterlist | Main Masterlist

(header c @/greenieicons)

“Steve, you’ve been pacing for the past five minutes, I’m starting to get dizzy,” Y/N observed in an attempt to lighten the tension in the air as she watched her blonde boyfriend walk back-and-forth continuously. 

Steve came to a halt, slumping his broad shoulders in relaxation and finally sitting down next to her on the ground. He leaned back, grabbing Y/N’s hand to hold it. The Captain looked up at the sky, connecting the few stars that were visible into loose constellations. “You don't have to watch me,” he grumbled lowly. 

Y/N briefly smiled, squeezing his hand and not taking her eyes off him. “Bucky will be fine, Steve,” she reassured him, tone soft and soothing. 

Steve sighed. “What if it doesn’t work? What if we goes into Winter Soldier mode? What if-?” He began to ramble, letting out the worries he had bottled up. 

Another squeeze of his hand from Y/N quieted him. “They have protocols in place, Stevie,” she reminded him. “This will work, okay?” 

He took a moment to gather his thoughts and nodded. Finally looking over at her, they sat in silence, content with each other’s presence, both trying to calm their own anxieties. 

It was a couple more minutes until footsteps were heard and the man and the woman sat up, only to look over and see Bucky emerging, tear stains on his face. Not knowing whether these were happy or sad tears, Steve and Y/N scrambled to their feet and hurried over to him. 

“What happened?” Y/N asked at the same time as Steve said, “Did it work?” 

Bucky gulped, not meeting their eyes for a moment. With a shaky breath, he grasped both their hands. “It worked. Wakanda freed me,” he revealed in a whisper, his voice nearly breaking.

Big smiles spread across both Steve and Y/N’s faces, in happiness and relief, and they wrapped their arms around their boyfriend, engaging him in a loving and safe embrace. Bucky wasn’t crying because it hadn’t worked, he was crying because after decades of being under someone else’s control, he was in control of himself again, he was out of Hydra’s grip. 

“Buck,” Steve murmured, burying his face into the brunette’s shoulder while Y/N let her happy tears come and ran a hand through his hair. Bucky smiled, relieved to be in their arms, and wrapped his arms around them both, pulling them close. 

After nearly a minute, Steve and Y/N pulled back, the three just looking at each other. “As happy and as grateful as I am, I . . . I don’t know who I am or how to live without being under Hydra’s brainwash now. I’ve lived as their soldier for so long, I’ve forgotten how to live as me,” he admitted, looking at the ground. 

Y/N, after wiping her eyes, cupped Bucky’s cheeks in both her hands. “Hey,” she whispered, sniffing quietly. “You’re gonna figure that out and I’ll be there to help you, okay?” 

Bucky practically melted, needing her touch. He nodded, and Y/N stood on her tippy toes to kiss him softly. When she stepped back, she noticed the almost heartbroken look on Steve’s face, and instantly knew what was wrong. 

“I don’t want to leave you two,” he said, looking at them both. Wakanda had agreed to house him and Sam briefly when they got word that Wakanda had figured out how to remove Bucky’s brainwash. Now that it was successful, he and Sam would have to back on the run while Y/N and Bucky stayed there. 

Y/N cupped Steve’s cheek with one hand and leaned over to give him a comforting kiss, before leaning back to let Bucky do the same. Bucky wrapped both his arms around Steve and Y/N smiled, thinking about how much she was in love with her boyfriends. 

“Let’s just enjoy the night while we have it, okay?” Y/N said to them both, recognizing that there was not much she could say to comfort Bucky, Steve, and herself. 

Her boys nodded and the three of them wrapped their arms around each other, walking back to the beautiful house Wakanda had graciously offered Y/N and Bucky. When they arrived, no one bothered to turn on the lights, since they were all tired, and they just all got into their bed to cuddle before going to sleep.

Bucky laid in-between Y/N and Steve, wrapping both arms around them while Y/N leaned her head on his head and held hands with Steve across Bucky’s stomach. Steve just leaned his head against Bucky’s arm.

“I love you two. Thank you for helping me through this,” Bucky murmured, kissing Y/N and then Steve on their foreheads.

Y/N and Steve both murmured “Of course”, sleep beginning to overtake them. Y/N was the first of the trio to fall asleep, murmuring something incoherent in her sleep (which her boyfriends thought were adorable). Bucky carefully moved her off of him and he and Steve got her under the covers, whispering to each other how cute she was. Bucky then laid on Y/N’s right while Steve laid on Y/N’s left, and not long after Steve fell asleep before Bucky did, too.

[myriadimagines]

Chips and Orange Soda

Brooklyn Nine-Nine One Shot

Pairing: Reader x Jake Peralta

Other Characters: Raymond Holt, Rosa Diaz

Warnings: theft

Summary: When a series of bodegas are robbed, Holt assigns Jake and Rosa on the case. You, a cashier, become a suspect, but Jake has a gut feeling that you’re not a suspect at all. In fact, he thinks you’re the key to solving the case. 

Part Two: Chips and Orange Soda (part ii)

Word Count: 2,697

A/N: my submission for @locke-writes​​‘ writing challenge! i know everyone wanted me to post the whole fic at once but then it ended up being 5k+ words i made the executive decision that it was probably best for everyones sanity to split it up into 2 parts. think of it as a commercial break in the episode <3 i’m gonna disclaimer this by saying that i’m not a cop or in law enforcement. idk how this shit works. i tried my best but this isn’t legally accurate. anyway! based on the prompt: “You come here often?” “Well, I work here. So I think I’d have to say ‘yes’.” 

reblog/feedback/comments are very much appreciated!!!

“Not late! I’m not late!” Jake announces, rushing into the briefing room with his bag still slung over his shoulder. He ignores the eye rolls from Amy and Terry, and plops down in the seat Charles has saved for him. He leans back, dumping his bag on the floor as he tries to catch his breath, before noticing Holt’s disapproving stare. “I’m not! Look, I’m right on time!”

Jake points over at the clock hanging on the wall, and Holt glances over his shoulder before turning back to Jake. “You’re fifteen minutes late, Peralta. That clock broke down two days ago.”

Jake takes a proper look at the clock, which, sure enough, is frozen at three minutes past two o’clock. 

“Okay, well…” Jake cringes. “I had a flat tire?” 

“As I was saying,” Holt ignores Jake’s excuse, reorganizing the case files on the podium as the squad quickly focuses. Pulling up a few pictures on the television, Holt curtly explains, “Two bodegas were robbed last night, and we suspect it may be the same person, or group or people, who robbed the three bodegas last week. Thankfully, no one was injured, but we need to crack down on this case before it happens again.” 

The squad nods in agreement, and Amy taps her pen against the desk as she takes notes. Gesturing towards Rosa, Holt asks, “Diaz, you were investigating last week’s robberies. Where are you in solving the case?”

“Nowhere, sir.” Rosa begrudgingly admits, folding her arms across her chest as she shakes her head. “Forensics dusted the place for prints but found nothing, and the security footage was crap. Couldn’t pull any good images because it was so old. All I know is that it looks like at least two individuals are involved.” 

Holt slowly nods, pressing his lips together as he deliberates this. Pointing at Jake, he orders, “Conduct some interviews around the block, see if anyone saw anything. Perhaps you’ll have more luck this time. And take Peralta with you, you’ll be able to cover more ground. Everyone, you’re dismissed.” 

Jake looks over his shoulder to exchange a nod with Rosa before everyone gets to their feet. Holt closes up his file, and quickly stops Jake before he can leave the room, “Oh, and Jake?”

Jake pauses in the doorway. “Yes, sir?” 

“While you’re out, you can get some new batteries for the clock.” Holt points back at the defunct clock. Raising an eyebrow, Holt continues, “So next time, you can actually take a look at how late you are.” 

Beside him, Amy can’t help but snort at Jake’s expense, and he resists the urge to roll his eyes. 

—

Jake jogs over to the bodega, a cup of coffee in hand from the nearby food cart. He ducks under the police tape bordering the store, and he gingerly steps around the shattered glass scattered on the pavement. He can already see Rosa inside, taking off her sunglasses and hooking them on the collar of her shirt, and he can see that the forensics team have already marked up the scene. Rosa looks up as Jake approaches, and she informs him, “This one’s different from the others; they actually broke in instead of picking the lock. Otherwise, they took all the cash, and it doesn’t look like anything from the inventory was taken.” 

“Which is kinda weird, considering this place has pretty cool chip flavors and orange soda.” Jake points to a nearby shelf, and Rosa shoots him a look. Shrugging, Jake looks at the rest of the shelves and the fridge as he mumbles to himself, “I’m just saying.” 

“Security footage from this whole week is missing too.” Rosa continues. She groans, shaking her head as she takes another glance around the scene. “I don’t know how we’re going to get anywhere with this.”

The two of them make their way back outside, where a small crowd is now lingering outside the store, curiously trying to peek inside as the cops try to corral everyone. Pointing at them, Rosa suggests, “Maybe we can find a witness.” 

Jake follows her gaze, quickly sweeping over the individuals before his gaze lands on you. Your eyes momentarily meet, but you quickly look away and turn your attention back to the smashed glass. You’re cute, Jake thinks to himself with a grin, all bundled up in a denim jacket that, and when you turn to look at something over your shoulder, he can’t help but notice has a cool design of some planets stitched on the back. Rolling back his shoulders, Jake holds out his cup of coffee, and he says, “Allow me to handle this, Rosa,” 

Rosa rolls her eyes at the annoyingly confident tone Jake quickly adopts, and pointedly refuses to hold Jake’s coffee for him.

“Alright then,” Jake awkwardly takes his coffee back, and he gulps down the rest, fanning his tongue as it burns his mouth. Tossing it aside into a nearby trash can, Jake quickly composes himself, readjusting his jacket before approaching you. He offers you his hand, and you hesitate before shaking it, and Jake introduces, “Hey, I’m Detective Peralta. Cool jacket, by the way.”

“y/n.” you introduce yourself with a small smile, shaking his hand before you pull away to self consciously tug at the sleeves of your jacket. “And thanks. My friend made it for me as a birthday gift.”

“Nice,” Jake grins at you, before gesturing over his shoulder. “You come here often? It’s a pretty awesome bodega.”

“Uh, well, I work here.” you slowly respond, and you can see something in Jake’s expression falter as his cheeks get red. You bite back a smile as you continue, “So I think I’d have to say ‘yes’.”

“Cool, cool, cool, cool,” Jake nods, fumbling to come up with a response. His palms suddenly feel sweaty, and he scrambles to think of his next question. 

“I’ll let our owner know, by the way.” you pipe up, and Jake blinks at you. Nervously chuckling, you add, “That you think the bodega is awesome. He’ll appreciate it.” 

“Oh!” Jake laughs, and you can’t help but smile. Gesturing to the store, Jake continues, “I’ve gotta say, your snack selection is the best I’ve ever seen. I mean, you’ve got every flavor of everything in there! Also, any place that carries orange soda is automatically awesome in my book.” 

“Well of course,” you respond with a smile. “It’s the best flavor!” 

“Right?!” Jake perks up, and the both of you dissolve into laughter before Jake looks over his shoulder and notices Rosa glaring at him. Quickly clamming up, Jake attempts to focus himself, and his eyes widen as he remembers the fact that you work here. “Are you the cashier or something?”

“Yep.” you nod, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your jacket. “I just worked yesterday, too. I can’t believe someone robbed it last night.” 

“What time were you here until?” Jake asks. 

“The shop closes around midnight, and I was the one who locked up.” you answer, shifting your weight from one foot to another. Jake can’t help but notice as you momentarily break his gaze, and you glance at the store before back at him. “Usually our owner, Gabriel, closes up, but he’s been sick this past week, so I’ve been helping out.”

“Got it,” Jake nods, mentally taking note of all this information. The both of you look up as Rosa joins in on the conversation, and Jake continues, “And I’m assuming you didn’t see any sign of suspicious activity before you left?”

You shake your head, uneasily glancing over at Rosa as she looks at you. “Sorry, Detective.” 

“No, you’ve actually been super helpful.” Jake reassures you, and he offers you a friendly smile that puts you at ease. You relax, and Jake continues, “It helps us roughly estimate when the crime took place. Do you know anything about your security footage, by the way? This is my partner, Detective Diaz, and she noticed the footage was somehow erased.” 

Something in your expression shifts, and Jake can’t quite read the look on your face. Rosa narrows her eyes at you, and after a pause, you respond, “I think our cameras have been down.” 

Jake and Rosa exchange an uncertain glance, and you can feel your stomach twisting into knots as you know they don’t look convinced. The atmosphere becomes intense, especially as you feel yourself under Rosa’s stern gaze, and Jake quickly tries to lighten the mood as he tells you, “I think that’s it. Thanks for answering our questions, y/n.”

You nod, and Jake’s eyebrows furrow as your gaze lingers on him, your lips moving as if you want to tell him more. But you stop yourself, taking in a deep breath, before responding, “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.” 

You turn on your heel, and Jake watches as you head down the block. He looks over to see Rosa studying you, before she shakes her head. “I don’t like it, Jake. They seemed suspicious to me.”

“They were just nervous.” Jake finds himself defending you. “And probably a little frazzled, too. They were the last one in the shop, if they had stayed any longer, they could’ve been in danger.” 

“Or they could have something to do with the crime.” Rosa counteracts, and Jake lets out a sigh. Leaning towards him, Rosa continues, “I know we don’t have solid evidence, but I just have a feeling something’s up, Jake. Plus, it doesn’t help that you were flirting.” 

Jake gapes at her. “I was not flirting!” 

“Look, we need to solve this before Holt gets on my case about it.” Rosa insists. Jake lets out a sigh, before glancing down the direction you walked, and he can just barely see your figure heading into the subway station. 

“I’ll be right back.” Jake tells her, and before Rosa can stop him, he jogs after you. By the time he’s entered the station, he’s terribly out of breath, and he manages to catch you before you enter through the turnstile. “y/n!”

You look up upon hearing your name and you pause as Jake stops in front of you. He bends over, trying to catch his breath, and you patiently wait for him. Through heavy breaths, Jake manages to puff out, “Yeah, sorry, super unfit. The chips and the orange soda clearly don’t help.” 

Jake tries his best not to cringe at what he feels like is the lamest joke he’s ever made, but to his surprise, you laugh. A genuine laugh, not a cruel, teasing one, but one with a wide smile that makes Jake feel like he’s on top of the world. Tilting your head, you manage to say in between chuckles, “You’re pretty funny, Detective.” 

“Call me Jake.” Jake insists, finally regaining his breath, and you grin at him. “Hey, any chance I could get your number? For professional reasons of course, in case we need to contact you again. Or I could just give you my number if you feel better doing it that way.”

You seem hesitant, but you nod. He fumbles through his pocket, pulling out an old receipt and a pen that barely has enough ink in it, and you scribble out your number before handing it back to him, “I work every day but Tuesdays, too, so you’ll be able to catch me at work if you need me.” 

“Got it.” Jake nods, tucking the receipt into his pocket. “Thanks for your help, y/n.”

The expression that Jake can’t decipher crosses your face again, a look of pensiveness, of hesitation. But you shake it off, quickly plastering on a smile, and you nod, “Have a good day, Jake. And… good luck.” 

—

Jake and Rosa sit in the break room, a laptop open between them as they flip through countless CCTV videos from the blocks nearby the bodega. Rosa becomes increasingly aggressive with the keyboard with each video she clicks through, and Jake impatiently shakes his head. He groans, rubbing his fingers up against his temple as he complains, “This is killing me. If I have to look at one more minute of another grainy video, I’m going to lose it.”

Rosa rolls her eyes, leaning back in her chair as she folds her arms across her chest. She kicks Jake’s chair with her boot, and she points out, “This is all we have, Jake.”

Jake sighs, but nods. Rosa had interviewed some people in the neighboring apartments, some of which reported hearing smashed glass around three in the morning, but hadn’t called it in on the assumption it was a clumsy accident from a downstairs neighbor. It at least gave them a time of the crime, but as Rosa unfortunately pointed out, it didn’t give them much else. The CCTV didn’t seem to pick up on anything interesting, no speeding cars, and a brief moment of footage that might’ve captured the suspects only showed their retreating backs. The forensics team had also swept over all the evidence from the bodega, but had yet to find anything incriminating, not even a single fingerprint which could help lead the investigation somewhere. 

“These guys clearly know what they were doing.” Rosa grumbles, jabbing her finger into the screen. “They know to avoid all the camera spots.” 

“I hate smart criminals. Why can’t they all be dumb and just make it easier for us?” Jake whines, and Rosa rolls her eyes. 

“Have you talked to y/n lately?” Rosa asks, and Jake shakes his head, hoping Rosa doesn’t notice the faint blush that lights up his cheeks at the mere mention of your name.

“No, Rosa, who do you think I am? That’s way too forward.” Jake scoffs, before his expression turns serious. It’s been a little over a week since your interaction, and he looks at Rosa before continuing, “Unless you don’t think it’s too forward. Should I text them?”

Rosa resists the urge to punch Jake’s arm, and she deadpans, “Talked to them about the case, Jake, not for a date.” 

“Right.” Jake nods, clearly flustered, and Rosa rolls her eyes again. Wiping his slightly sweaty palms on his jeans, Jake corrects himself, “No, I haven’t talked to y/n.”

Rosa leans her elbows forward on the desk. “I think we should call them in again. You know, see if there’s anything we can get out of them. Kind it seems like they’re the only lead we have.”

“You don’t still suspect them, do you?” Jake asks, eyebrows furrowing, and he lets out a sigh as Rosa shrugs. Shaking his head, Jake insists, “I really don’t think it’s them, Rosa.” 

“Jake…” Rosa starts, shooting him a look, and Jake quickly waves his hand, brushing her off as he already knows what’s coming next. 

“Alright, I’ll reach out to them, see if there’s anything more they can tell us.” Jake reluctantly says, and Rosa nods. Pointing back at the computer, Jake asks, “Does this mean I can stop watching these boring videos?”

“Fine.” Rosa grumbles, angling the laptop towards herself as Jake grins. He grabs his jacket hanging off the back of his chair, and he sneaks one last glance at the grainy video before darting out the room. He pauses, his eyes narrowing, and he points at the screen. 

“Wait, what’s that?” Jake points at the corner of the video, where a figure rushes down the street. Rosa squints, and she pauses the video for Jake to get a better look. His eyes widen, and his expression pales slightly, and he asks, “What time was this footage from?”

“Five in the morning.” Rosa replies, checking the timestamp. Looking up at Jake, she asks, “Why? What is it?”

“Nothing.” Jake hurriedly remarks, and Rosa frowns. Before she can demand an answer from Jake, he’s already rushed out of the break room, swiftly exiting the bullpen as he dodges Terry on his way out.

It’s not nothing, but Jake knows he can’t tell Rosa that. Not when the figure in the video was wearing a distinctive denim jacket with planets stitched on the back.

tag list: @myfriendmagislit​​ / @thedamagedcne / @real-fbi​​ / @writinqss​​ / @thisismysecrethappyplace​​ / @natalia-helena-alianova-romanov / @dontjudgemepeepswrites​​ / @hauntedpocdreamer / @locke-writes​​ / @lgbtonystarks​​ / @fangirlsarah16​​ / @kittensanddarkclouds​​ / @randomfandomimagine​​ / @ofthedewthesunlight​​ / @bravelittlesunflower​​

[symphonic-scream]

Hey did someone ask for

Differences in the Jocks Kwami Swap AU?

Season 2 edition!

The Collector

Ooooh boy do we got a doozy

Firstly Fu has a run in with Kagami to hand over Trixx as she's returning to school after being kidnapped at lunch

Then everyone turns up to a distraught Chloe and Nino cause Adrien's grounded for losing that book he didn't know he had

So the class decide to collectively ditch (while Bustier "runs to the washroom") to find the book so they can give it back

Meanwhile Collector becomes a thing and goes around trying to make a collection saying he's gonna grab the heroes and all that

Chartreux and Crimson show up first and are actually kinda struggling when suddenly a flute flies in and knocks the book off course and bam KITSUNE IS HERE

They take a moment to sus her out but she mentions her Kwami and that's enough for them so they get to fighting. Only Kitsune is actively pulling them back and scolding them for acting rashly

While this is happening, Master Fu realizes he has to part with the book again to return everything to a calmer state, and slips outside to sneakily put it somewhere for the class to discover

The fight ends, the class finds and returns the book, and Adrien is allowed back to school all's well that ends well right?

Only Kagami and her mom have another talk here at the end, and Kagami is starting to feel like maybe moving to Paris was actually good for them and their relationship

Prime Queen

Who wants an awkward interview? I do

Kitsune just answers no questions whatsoever

"no" "classified" "you don't need to know that" "I don't have to tell you that" "no"

Crimson and Chartreux are trying to get her to lighten up but then they get asked if they're dating and they burst out laughing

They probably take some questions and it's Adrien being a fanboy and Alya trying to ask them about their next interview and Chloe simping

When they leave the og duo try to get Kitsune to open up and relax but she tells them she's supposed to keep them in line because they clearly weren't doing well before her or something

Then bam akuma

It's pretty similar only they have mirage and stuff

Adrien probably gets kidnapped as their biggest fan, he gets all flustered when he gets rescued by Kitsune

But yeah pretty much the same I guess

Glaciator

Oh Kay so the ice cream thing is slightly different cause I need it to make sense to me

Everyone has a soul flavour that their partner would get, and they can be combined for the soulmate mixes

They class decide that since it's a hot day that they should take Kagami seeing as she's new to the city and never heard of it before

When they arrive Andre is doing his thing serving up mixes and singles but then oh god he comes across Kagami-

This is before he gets a chance to "evaluate" Marinette and Adrien btw

He pauses and says something's not right and he tries to narrow down the three he keeps coming up with to one cause there's no way she can have three perfect matches no way

Kagami is a little distraught at basically being told she's not normal, and some of the class jump in to her defence, saying Andre must be having an off day

This has him upset cause he doesn't have an off day he always knows he's the master of his craft

They leave to go get snacks at the Dupain-Cheng's, and he gets akumatized

They fight the akuma, and Kitsune still won't let them rush in without an actual proper plan but the duo are slipping past her more and more

The fight ends and Kagami goes back to Andre one more time, on her own, to give him one last shot

He smiles all soft and gets her a bowl with three small scoops- at her confusion he says it took him some thinking to realize what it was

"you're not broken, there's nothing wrong with you. You just have more love to give, and so do your matches"

Plural

Despair Bear

Chloe is preparing to have the girls over for a bit of a slumber party, in an attempt to bond and show that she doesn't need Adrien there to keep her in line she can be good on her own

They do a few things around the hotel and it starts off awkward but slowly, with lots of nudges from Alix and Sabrina, things start to smooth out

That is until they go up to Chloe's room to get some nail polish to use while they watch a movie

Jean is in there, and believing that the others wouldn't be coming into Chloe's room, he's taken Mr Cuddly out of his little hiding place and is tucking him under the blanket on the bed

Someone kinda snickers like "wow Chloe nice doll" and because of how stressed she is mixed with mortification of being embarrassed in front of the people she was trying to win over she kind of snaps

Alya probably made the comment and meant it to be teasing but Chloe isn't used to her tones and she's had a long night of frayed emotions

She's very emotional and kinda shuts herself away in the bathroom after lashing out at Jean, who exits the suite with the bear only to be akumatized

Alix and Kagami have to slip away awkwardly and Alya starts recording, sending Kim the notif that he needs to transform and help out

There's a small moment with maybe idk either Juleka or Marinette with Chloe alone, comforting her while she tries to calm down, believing she just undid all of her and Adrien's hard work

Talk of blah blah we all make mistakes, you didn't mean it, you can't change what happened but you can own up to it and all that

Of course then the fight happens

During the fight Kitsune's plan nearly fails, only succeeded when Crimson and Chartreux give it the good old Jocks Improv shit

After that's all over Chloe and Jean share a moment, Chloe telling him about how she didn't mean to snap at him it was a build up, and about how much she appreciates how much he cares for her

He apologizes for not asking her before moving her stuff, and nudges her back to her party while he tells her how proud he is of her progress (notably he doesn't say how proud Mr Cuddly is)

The girls go to watch their movie, Chloe taking Mr Cuddly proudly. This prompts some of the others to bring out their little comfort items too

So yeah here are the plans for the next few Jocks episodes! I'm excited, I've watched season 2 and some of 3, and I've got big plans ahead! I'll probably drop the next Differences post before I get to writing the Collector at this rate but oh well

Let me know how y'all feel about these and if you have any suggestions

[toricrypticice]

The Golden Scarred

CHAPTER THREE (Fixed Perspective) 

“Wait what?” Hunter nervously glances at the Owl Lady gulping. “Uh I don’t think that's-“ He looks back to where Luz was “and she's gone” He grumbles. 

He glances back at the older woman feeling nervous and a bit uneasy. He fumbles slightly, his vision blurring. He yelps when his vision focuses in time to see Eda reach towards his face. He tenses, shutting his eyes tightly waiting for the expected blow. Eda frowns as the male flinches back. Rolling her eyes as she sighs. 

“Relax kid, I'm not gonna hurt ya.  Got no magic to anyways” Eda jokes, resting her hand against his hot forehead to which; he lets out a pathetic whimper leaning into her cool hand before growling, grabbing her wrist and pulling away. He opens his eyes looking angry for showing weakness.

“Don’t. Touch. Me. “ Hunter says through clenched teeth as he glares at the female, he sits up straighter as to intimidate her. Eda just stares, 

Hunters’ grip felt ..so weak. 

She frowns, concerned as she watches him shakily let go, holding his head in pain as he gets another dizzy spell. 

Hunter frowns as his head spins, wishing more than anything to just disappear from here, of course he’d get left with this wild witch when he was in such a state. He needed to get out of here and figure out how to redeem himself. 

“Okay okay. Look I just have to clean the cuts on your face, is that alright?” Eda says calmly, her eyes glancing to his torso where he shielded what looked like a worse injury from what the dark-stained shirt could tell her. She looks back to the males eyes offering a gentle smile. Hunter was confused but kept a harsh glare on the female.  

No one ever asked him if it was alright with him before. 

The question made him feel off and wrong.

 In the emperor's coven he was used to things just happening, he didn’t get a choice. 

But what made his stomach turn was the offer for someone to help with his wounds. 

It was unheard of!

 Getting hurt was a sign of weakness the Emperors coven didn’t get the luxury to enjoy. 

Especially Hunter.

 If anyone got hurt they were expected not to show any weakness, hide away if they had to. 

But Hunter's confusion seems to leave him as he remembers who she was. 

The Owl Lady.  

The once most powerful witch on the isle. 

She uses wild magic. 

She was a crook. 

She wasn’t to be trusted. 

It was almost laughable that he almost fell for it. 

“No I don’t want your help” Hunter mutters angrily as he looks away rolling his eyes at the female. Eda couldn’t help but snort, causing the male to glance back quickly looking a bit more agitated, his face going slightly red, even the tips of his ears burning as Eda laughs at him. He lets out a slight growl clenching his teeth. 

“Alright. alright, how about this then? I’ll give you the supplies and you clean them? “ Eda smirks confidently. Hunter nods slowly, almost unsure, confused. This was some kind of trick right? 

He narrows his eyes at her trying to read her eyes for any type of clue.

 This had to be a trick. 

The Owl Lady practiced wild magic.  

Wild magic is dangerous ergo so was The Owl Lady. 

“Good!” Hunter snaps with attitude before taking the first aid kit from her hands aggressively, a bit too quickly, his head spinning at the rapid movement.  He bites his lip.

 If he ignored the dizziness then he could do this, 

yeah?

Yeah. 

He’d done this for himself plenty of times in the coven. 

This wasn’t any different. 

And as his Uncle always told him, things like this would only make him stronger.  

He lets out a breath and picks up a bottle of what he hoped was the cleanser. He holds it close to his face trying to read the contents as his vision blurs again, his head suddenly pounding worse making his stomach do a somersault. He overall did not feel good. He just wanted to lay down and forget all this.

 He shakes his head grumbling, almost dropping the bottle as he blinks to try to sort his vision. 

Eda watches the male smirking, knowing he would give in any second. 

Hunter gulps as his vision focuses, he can feel The Owl Ladys’ gaze and he couldn’t help but glance her way seeing the smug expression.

This causes his face to turn slightly red in embarrassment, the blush spreading to the tips of his ears as he growls loudly. 

‘She knew!’

‘She knew he couldn’t do it’

‘She just wanted to rub it in his face!’

Hunter felt angry as his thoughts screamed. 

 “Fine! I need your help!” Hunter snaps bitterly, he spat out the word ‘help’ in distaste, grumbling as he looks away from the Owl Lady with a scowl. 

Eda chuckles “Ha Don’t worry about it kid” she smiles softly before getting a clean cloth ready. She dabs it slightly on the area below and around his eye. Hunter gasps slightly before he bites his tongue to keep from whimpering, the area stinging.

“Warn me next time “ he huffs “A-and stop calling me kid” He mutters through gritted teeth trying to hold onto what little dignity to the coven he had left. 

He was the golden guard. 

He just-.. needed to earn the title back. 

He shudders softly, his fingers gripping onto the couch, trying his best not to show weakness as he sits completely still. 

Though Eda seemed to take notice of the tense witch. 

“Just relax,” She reassures. Hunter glares at her frowning . 

“I. am. relaxed. “ He pauses, taking a breath, feeling agitated. 

She was teasing him on purpose, 

Unbelievable 

“You’re just clearly bad at this!”   Hunter bites back before he can stop himself, his eye throbbing badly from the stress. 

Eda clicks her tongue, shaking her head about to say something and then stopping with a heavy sigh putting the cloth down. 

Hunter felt his heart skip a beat in terror but he didn't dare move as his eyes twitch slightly with fear. 

He was going to be punished for talking back wasn’t he?

His breath stopped short and he bows his head quickly. 

“I apologize. It won’t happen again” the reply came swift before Eda could even open her mouth, like Hunter was used to biting his tongue and apologizing. 

And titan, he was.

 Or at least when he was stupid enough to get mouthy.

But he learned very quickly not to get mouthy with Belos.. 

Eda frowns, feeling bad for the kid. Belos really did torture them in the emperors coven huh? She felt bad for when she assumed they had everything handed to them. That they were Belos’ star children and were loved unconditionally even if they fucked up. They were his coven after all. But Eda realized now how stupidly naïve she was to think such a thing. The Emperor really was merciless, and with his own nephew too? She could really tell Belos did a number on the boy. Faded scars lined his arms, not to mention his cheek and clipped ear. And now there was the damage from the days prior. Belos was a monster. 

“Look, kid, seriously relax. If we were going to hurt or turn you in we would have done it already” Eda hums, joking to lighten the mood. But when she notices Hunter is still tense she sighs out “but like we won’t, you’ve been through a lot plus we’re criminals” she assures gently. Continuing to clean the area around his eye, being careful going a bit slower this time. Hunter scoffs, rolling his eyes looking away. Her words annoyed the male, he didn’t need her pity. 

“Wooow I feel so much safer “ He mutters sarcastically but his shoulders seem to actually relax, only tensing slightly every now and again. 

But Eda was right. 

They all could have done away with him easily, especially during his episode. And it’s not like they really could turn him in anyway if they wanted to, they all had their own wanted posters. Though he had expected these wild witches to be harsh with him, much like Belos was.  But so far The Owl Lady’s touches weren’t harmful or ill intended.  

She was just …

 taking care of him. 

This left a bitter taste in his mouth. He gulps feeling guilty for the small part of him that enjoyed it. 

Eda carefully wraps the area, being gentle. Hunter couldn’t help but let a soft smile grace his features.   

This was.. 

...Different.  

To have someone else clean his wounds and not himself for a change. 

To have someone be gentle and caring with him. 

 It was kind of…

Nice. 

“Thank you for your assistance Ms. Clawthorne..” Hunter mumbles softly, maintaining his composure as he straightens his back letting his smile fall. 

“No problem but you can just call me Eda kid. “ She laughs softly. 

Hunter looks away embarrassed as he rubs the back of his neck. He wasn’t used to getting help. 

It felt so.. 

Unnatural. 

And for this witch of clearly high rank to want him to call her Eda. 

This all made his stomach turn. 

This wasn’t right.

 His mind kept screaming ‘Run get out!’

Eda was the ene—The Owl Lady!!

 The Owl Lady was the enemy. 

He growls as he has to mentally correct himself. He couldn’t use their names. That would only make him get attached- not that he could get attached to these lowlifes.

 Comfortable. He wouldn’t get comfortable. And he knew he wouldn’t fall for whatever façade The Owl Lady was pulling. 

Eda ties off the bandage. 

He was tired and glad this was all over. He could go back to his cave and -

 “ Alright onto the next one.” Eda hums but frowns as she watches the color drain from the small males face, his eyes widening as a few beats of sweat fall from his brow. 

Hunter coughs, grabbing his side, clenching his teeth at the feeling as it throbs badly. 

Dammit why did he let himself believe it was over? 

He let his guard down!

 He felt angry but more nervous about Eda looking at something a bit more serious.

 His vision swims as he looks back at the female and he shakes his head. 

“Er um how about we don’t and I leave?” Hunter laughs nervously looking down, fumbling as he scoots back slightly looking uneasy. He sits straight as he remembers his status. He couldn’t show he was scared. “I-I’ve overstayed my welcome long enough” he says strictly trying to hide his fear. 

Eda frowns, she knew that meant it was most likely really bad and with the fever the boy had...    

She really needed to look at it. 

“Kid I just need to take a small peek I promise I won’t hurt ya as I said before“ Eda reassured and yet Hunter felt more nervous..

Could- Could he actually trust her? 

No, No of course not!

But on the other hand ..

This was more serious…

Then again..

But Belos had always taught him to keep his guard up, even in friendly company..

Rascal pecks his leg, tweeting loudly. 

“Ow hey!” Hunter growls startled. He scoffs at the bird as he glares at the boy. 

He hated to admit that he did need her help and he hated that he had to show it. 

He hadn’t really looked at it since— what happened..

He gulps, deciding he had no choice (like usual),  he shakily starts to remove his shirt, wincing badly as it barely grazes the area on his torso. 

Edas’ frown worsened when Hunter revealed the darkly red-stained cloth wrapped tightly around his torso.  

Hunter coughs a bit harshly, feeling his vision swim again. He closes his eyes to steady himself. 

Eda watches, having to stop herself from moving forward to help the male knowing he needed time to adjust to them. 

But she felt so worried, she just wanted to help him.  

Hunter looked so weak. 

So tired. 

So Pale. 

So frail. 

The Golden Guard was but a small child.

And He did not look well. 

Eda hated herself for caring but.. she couldn’t really believe it. 

The Golden Guard. 

One of the Heads of The Coven 

A child.

Just a child.  

And Belos did all of this. 

To a child 

She felt angry.

So angry. 

 She couldn’t believe Belos would-! 

well yes she could but she was just shocked he’d do such a thing to family. She felt sorry for the boy. 

Hunter opens his eyes slowly before carefully starting to peel the bandage off. He gasps loudly, clenching his jaw as he pulls the stuck gauze from his flesh. A few tears started to build, blurring his vision and he quickly blinks them back. The fabric almost seemed sealed to his skin as he rips it off, blood dripping down his stomach. Hunter’s breath hitches as he finally tears it off, a small whimper leaving him as he shields the area gritting his teeth, shaking slightly. 

It hurt

It hurt so much.

“Hunter?” Eda moves her hand to his shoulder carefully before rubbing his back softly, concerned. 

Hunter shutters softly at the small touch but nods. 

“Sorry I know i just- right” Hunter didn't feel ready but he slowly removed his hands revealing the giant gash in his side which was bleeding a bit badily and now oozing a small bit. His stomach flips and He feels a slight tickle in his throat, he coughs harshly before he quickly supports the area after the first cough, a strained sound escaping him, a few tears falling as well. His side pulsing with every cough that shook his being. 

”Ah mm ah ahh” He grips the area, slightly his vision swimming. The pressure the cough created made the pain a bit unbearable, he shudders.

He just wanted to give up at this point. Just lay down. It hurt too much.  But he knew he needed to suck it up. 

“S-Sorry” he shakily removed his now blood stained hand slowly, his voice was soft and his eyelids shook weakly. He bites his lip nervously as his side pulses again but he grips the couch instead. 

Eda felt her heart break at the sight. 

“Stop apologizing already, Look before we start, because won't lie that looks real bad, if i gave you some sleeping nettles and maybe some-” 

“No.” Hunter's reply came fast and stern, Eda seemed a bit taken back by this. She pauses as she looks at the male confused. 

Was he used to high end healing?

Eda didn’t really have anything like that. 

“Look i know its no healing spell or healing potion but it can help you-”

“If you had healing potions i wouldn’t take those either” Hunter rolls his eyes as if it were obvious and she was an idiot for even thinking of offering. He glances down at the hole in his side gulping uneasily. 

Eda looks confused but then frustrated.

“Hunter, why are you being so difficult?” Eda groans in slight annoyance, I mean when she found out about her elixirs she had been so happy to find something to help her deal with the owl beast curse. 

So why was this young witch, who’s clearly in immense physical pain, take nothing to help deal with the issue?

But Hunter only seemed confused by The Owl Lady’s question. 

“Belos says that truly strong witches don't need such trifle things”. Hunter states matter-of-factly gripping the couch cushion. “I mean how will I truly get stronger with assistance?” He laughs and scoffs as he shakes his head at the woman who stares in disbelief. 

Eda stopped and stared for a moment. It was painful to watch the male suffer, she felt angry that Belos had fooled the boy so well. The fact that he fully believed such a thing. 

“Hunter, you don’t have to suffer to get better or to get stronger! that's not how this works.” Eda seemed exasperated that she even had to explain this to the young male. 

How dare Belos! 

She felt so so angry but sad as she stared at the clueless child. 

“J-just let me get my magic nettles cream at least so I can numb the area slightly before its cleaned. You're lucky to be alive with no stitches-“

“S-Stitch” Hunter gulps feeling a bit sick at just the thought and he quickly shakes his head. “I-i really don't think that would have been necessary i mean look,” he looks down at his oozing, festering wound “its- not that bad” he says quickly, his voice cracking making it not so convincing. He felt a bit sick to his stomach just looking at the wound, dizzy. He looks back at the woman smiling. 

Eda stares at him blankly. 

Hunter frowns as he realizes she is not buying it. 

“Okay yeah stitches probably were the best idea but” he mumbles defeated, putting his head down staring at his hands as they shake slightly.  He really didn’t like stitches, back when he got his nick in his ear he fainted mid-stitch and well he didn’t really remember anything else beside the panic of having a chunk of his ear missing when he woke up. Hunter lets out a shaky breath. 

“Alright relax kid and lay back “ Eda grabs her cream unscrewing the cap. Hunter gulps carefully laying on his back, gasping in pain as his side throbs. He bites his lip before gulping. 

“We’ll numb the area first then i’ll start cleaning” 

Eda hums walking him through the process

“Yeah yeah okay whatever” Hunter mumbles less bite in his words. He felt tired and he was in so much pain. 

Eda carefully spreads the cream, it glows bright yellow as Hunters body absorbs it. 

“Ah-“ He gasps gripping a nearby pillow. 

“Now before we continue you sure you don’t want some sleeping nettles or-“ Eda hums careful wetting a cloth with cleaner. 

“No I don’t need anything else I’m sure it's fine” he mumbles lying. 

Hunter's hands balled into fists at his sides, feeling scared.

 No no he was The Golden Guard. 

He scoffs at himself letting out a breath as he releases his tight grip.

 “Alright well then do it” He snaps slightly. 

Eda couldn’t help but chuckle at the boys agitation, it reminded her a lot of herself. 

 “Alright alright sheesh kid” she rolls her eyes before gently cleaning around the wound first. 

The male immediately tenses badly, his breath hitching as his eyes widen. He shakes his head shutting his eyes trying to maintain any of his composure. The Owl lady stops slightly. “Numbing cream will only go so far. Are you sure you don’t-“

“No! just clean the stupid gash!” Hunter growls, cutting her off with a snap as he glares.. 

Eda frowns but sighs softly. “A-alright “ she says a bit shakily. “But you asked for it” he carefully touches the actual area starting to clean but Hunter fully sits up covering his mouth as he cries out in pain, tears blurring his vision before he scoots away putting his legs up to block his stomach.  

Eda puts her hands up immediately, eyes wide. She had expected a reaction but-

Hunter grits his teeth as a sob escapes his person and he looks down shamefully.

Eda clicks her tongue sighing.

“Kid?” Eda tries gently. 

“I’ll take the magic assistance..” His shoulders sink in defeat as he gives in disgracefully. 

Oh what Belos’ would say..

Eda seemed a bit taken back. 

“A-Alright” 

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

[callemreine]

Heart-Shaped

I should warn you that this was not proofread at all but I just had to post it cuz I said I was gonna do it but then I got distracted by a million other things so it took a long time and there's this au august by @/tsshipmonth2020 next month and I wanna do a few of the prompts there so have this poorly written oneshot that was based on this post by @aplethoraofquotes

Ship: Prinxiety(I mean what else do you expect from me) and a little bit of implied logicality

Word Count: 2017

cw: caps / mention of something on fire / tentacles mention / swearing (just one)

“WHAT IS UP EVERYBODY?” Thomas exclaims for the video intro.

“FINALLY!” Roman angrily but excitedly shouts after. The two other light sides pop up to also complain about the lack of videos in production in the past year, all the while attempting to calm down the royal side.

“Ok, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m doing it now, ok?” Thomas shouts over the complaining sides to divert the issue at hand. “It hasn’t been particularly easy. You know that guys, right?” He continues as he glances at the empty spot at the bottom of the stairs. They all silenced with a guilty look on their faces aside from the logical side, as he has been the one trying to compose the internal panic Thomas continuously endures within the past year. “Okaaaay! Let’s lighten things up a bit! I’m so glad you guys are here because we are having another Q&A!” Thomas excitedly announces to the three sides present.

"Not to put your siren to sleep but, you can't just repeat an episode, Thomas," Roman interrupted.

"I do concede with Roman's opinion here, Thomas. Haven't we talked about the originality of your videos before? Continuously repeating concepts not only bore viewers but also lessens the probability of their engagement to any or all of your future content," Logan discusses.

"I don't think 'all' would be possible, Logan. But, Thomas, isn't there anything else we could do today, maybe? We have been gone for a while, kiddo, so maybe there's other stuff we could do?" Patton adds.

"Calm down, guys. You're all starting to sound like Virgil. But, let me explain first. We're doing a Q&A because, as you said, it's been a long time since the last video AND even longer since the last Q&A, and so much has changed since then," All the sides present appear to be content with the explanation provided.

"Plus," Thomas adds. "This one has a twist," he says directly to the side to his right. Logan slightly nods in approval but remains skeptical. "And, what might that be?" asked Roman.

"The questions will be provided by each of us," Thomas states with pride seen on his face. Roman and Logan met eye to eye with worry and slight fear in their eyes. "I'm sorry. Can you elaborate more on that, Thomas?" Patton worriedly asks.

"Well, we have to think of a question that we want everyone to answer. For example, I think of a question and each of you has to answer it,"

Now, all three sides share glances with worry seen in their faces. "Why do you all seem worried?" Thomas asks with a nervous chuckle. "Roman has been bothering me with this idea for a few months now, I thought you all would be okay with it," All eyes were on the royal side. "I didn't think of that idea…" He trails off.

Realization falls to the four after a few seconds. "Ahh. I forgot. I'm not your only 'imagine dragon'," Roman confirms their suspicions.

~*~*~

"Which one of us scares you the most?" Thomas asks the four sides present.

They all agreed to the concept Thomas has presented and seem to be convinced that 'playing wouldn't hurt.' They eventually got the anxious side to play as well after a few minutes of convincing(and bribing).

"I used to be scared of Janus' scales before but I'm fine with it now. Hmm... Oh! Remus' tentacles really creep me out," Patton answers and shivers a little with the mention of tentacles.

"I'm offended you're asking me! I AM A PRINCE! I have nothing to fear. And none of you can do actual harm to me as far as I'm concerned," The four give the royal side a 'refuse to take that answer' look. "Fine," he sighs in defeat. "Remus," he says with an unexplainable expression on his face. They all agreed before that they're allowed to not explain their answer if they aren't comfortable with it. So far, until the current question, only the anxious side's answers remained without explanation.

It's now Virgil's turn to answer and they wait for it even though they already seemed to know. "Roman," he stated. All the sides were taken aback but refused to ask him to elaborate. Roman's expression was unexplainable and distracted for the duration of the entire game.

~*~*~

After a few, they were now on the last question, and it was Patton's turn. He suggested that it should be a little personal but not too much, and they were still allowed to refuse to explain their answer. They were all skeptical, so they agreed that if the question Patton thought of was too personal for them, they'll just rethink another question and edit out that section for the final cut of the video.

"Okay, what was your worst romantic gesture?" Patton asked. They all nod to signal that they were all comfortable answering the question.

"Well, I am the romantic side so I don't think I even HAVE a bad romantic gesture..." Roman answers but continues to think of an incident. "Oh. One time, I had a crush on someone and I didn't know how to handle it, so I filled their room with heart-shaped confetti…" Roman answered while rubbing the back of his neck from embarrassment.

Virgil's head shot up to look at the royal side. "That was YOU?" He didn't mean it to be that loud. He immediately covered his mouth with his hand and lowered his head back down, avoiding the others' glances.

Roman blushed and froze in place. He forgot that Virgil was right next to him.

Thomas made a mental note to cut the video from after Roman's answer to before Virgil's answer.

"I left them flowers but I never told them it was from me" Virgil tried to make his answer as vague as possible to prevent any more mishaps. Thomas and the other two sides could almost hear the cogs turning inside Roman's head as they heard Virgil's answer.

~*~*~

After their recording session was finished, the four sides sank down to return to the mind palace. They all rose up in their living room except for Virgil as he is the only one allowed to rise up anywhere directly from the real world. An ability Logan plans to learn about soon when Virgil allows him to. Roman retreats to his room, still processing Virgil's answer earlier. While Patton asks Logan to help him prepare their dinner, he also processes Logan's answer to the last question of their game earlier.

*time skip brought to you by Roman's band references*

Virgil was, no surprise, wide awake in the middle of the night, still reading the little notes written on the "confetti." Apparently, Roman thinks that tons of pieces of paper, three inches in size, are considered confetti. Some of them have lines from song lyrics. Some with lines from poems. While some were just plain feelings. How Roman described Virgil's eyes and how beautiful he looked in his makeup that day in small letters written on the piece of paper (front and back) almost made him melt. And how Roman apologized for how he treated Virgil before made him regret not putting a note or not giving the flowers to Roman personally instead of leaving them on the royal side's bedside table.

*flashback brought to you by my hopeless romantic ass*

Virgil just finished his shoot with Thomas for his "80s-Glam-Virgil" look. At first, he wouldn't stop complaining about why he gets to have a glam look while Logan and Patton got the casual look. Eventually, he let it go cuz' he slowly was starting to like the look. After the shoot, he was so exhausted that he couldn't bring himself to rise up in his room directly so he rose up in the mind palace living room and dragged his limp body to his room.

As he opened his door, pieces of paper flooded a small portion of the hallway in front of his room. He looked inside and saw that his entire room was flooded too. He went inside and snapped his finger to close the door and to get the papers outside back into his room. He was too tired to deal with the suspected "prank" at hand so he snapped his finger once again to gather all of the papers into a giant box to keep in his closet for the time being.

The box remained untouched for months.

*end of flashback*

Roman sat on his bed, staring at the red roses he kept in a vase on his dresser. It was made of red heart-shaped pieces of paper glued together to the shape of a rose. Something about it seemed familiar yet mysterious. Roman could sense it was made with the magic from the imagination, but it wasn’t his. And, it definitely wasn’t Remus’, for obvious reasons. There was a bit of dark but endearing and comfortable aura. Roman laid his back on the bed in defeat. Covering his face with his hands as he blushes and groans at the same time. He tried to get some sleep but couldn’t keep his suspicions off his mind.

His knuckles hover on the purple door for a few moments before fully knocking, knowing the side behind it was also wide awake. He heard some paper shuffling and a sliding door closing after, presumably a closet door. A few moments pass before the door opens just enough for a part of Virgil’s face to peer out. “Please tell me this is as important as something burning on fire or I am slamming this door on your face,”

“Uh… Not really but-” Virgil resumes to close the door only for Roman to grab the door frame at the last second. “Ah, shit!” Roman whisper-shouted.

Virgil returned to his bed, leaving Roman in his current state, not even bothering to close the door anymore. Eventually, Roman let himself in, clutching his hand. He sat down on the beanbag in the corner, glaring at the other, while Virgil stayed on his bed with a blank expression. Virgil, then, gestured to Roman expectantly as if to let him continue what he was going to say.

Roman, then, slowly lowered his hand but continued to glare at Virgil. “Was it me that you gave the flowers to?” Roman asked skeptically. Virgil seems to have lost his confidence and slowly lowered his head, unable to look at Roman. “I'm gonna take that as a yes. You know, you could have easily gotten away with giving me flowers if you told me that you also gave the others flowers, seeing that it was Valentines that day,” Roman, amused, grinned smugly.

“Still not as sappy as your stunt,” Virgil snickered, glancing at his closet door. “Yeah, about that… I’m actually glad you didn’t bring it up anymore cuz’ it was actually a spur in-moment kind of thing,” Roman confessed, averting the other’s gaze. Virgil admitted it was actually kind of sweet and that he hasn’t finished reading each of the notes.

“Sooo…” The anxious side trailed off. The tension was so thick that both of the sides were staring at the floor as if it was a fireworks display. “Sooo…? You like me too…?” Roman started. “I mean, I thought I made that pretty clear when I answered the question about our worst romantic gesture,” Virgil chuckled and blushed as he attempted to catch the other’s eye. “Well, I like you too,” Roman blushed, and the two fell in comfortable silence before Virgil patted the spot beside him to invite Roman to sit with him.

Virgil’s smile fell suddenly as he looked at the taller side next to him and asked “So, what now?” Roman looked back at him with a small smile and gently reached for the other’s hand, “You tell me. I’m down with anything you’re comfortable with,” Virgil laid his head on the other’s shoulder with a sad smile, “Can you just stay here for a while?”

“I can do that, Mr. Darkside,” Roman replied with a quiet voice.

Yeah sorry this has "written at 2 am" vibes. Cuz half of it is. Also I just found out that I don't know how to write dialogue by Patton or from his perspective at least. And I am very proud of the band references my 2 am brain thought of

Also thank you to @thethreeunity for the last-minute comments before my sorry ass posts this without giving it a second thought XD love you lots Trin <3

Bonus:

“What is it with you and your band references today?”

“I was hoping you’d notice,” Roman answered with a chuckle.