#Kristi would find her and kill her

[purplehaired-revenant]

Character Birthday time. First up, we have Kristi's mentor, Bruce, who took her in when she ran away from home, taught her to be an engineer and treats her like his own daughter.

and next up we have Azar. Azar is a gang boss who Kristi and Heidi are in debt too. Kristi doesn't understand what being in debt to someone like Azar means. Azar will kill Heidi if Kristi doesn't do exactly what she's told.

[donnydamakkk]

matt simmons is a certified killer n i do love that about him

[delusionalfanficwriter]

burn

“Y/N, we can’t discharge you until we know you are going to be taken care of at home. You can’t handle this by yourself.” Dr. Meed told me as I lay against the hospital bed. 

“Doc, all due respect, I can clean and change the bandages myself. There’s not need to worry anyone.” I try to convince him but I can see him not caving. 

“You’ve been here for almost 2 days and I am pretty sure you didn’t even tell anyone what happened. You don’t have a place to go to as far as I know. So I will not discharge you until I see someone in person who tells me that they will be there for you. You can be out as early as tomorrow morning.” I watch him say before making his way out of my room. I sigh and close my eyes knowing the repercussions if I make the inevitable call. Thinking strategically of a list of people, I figure out who I am going to call. 

As the phone rings, I come up with a script, but it all leaves my head when the voice on the other end answers. “What do I owe this pleasure, Y/N?” 

“Hey, O’Hara, just wondering what you are up to tomorrow?”

“Planning on getting a coffee and furniture shop for the apartment. Want to join? I haven’t seen you since our game a few days ago.”

“I would love to, but I have a favor to ask you.” 

“No, you can’t drive my car or go to the animal shelter. You remember how emotional you got leaving the animals behind.”

She’s not exaggerating and I laugh at the memories. “No, Kel, I actually need you to pick me up.”

“Obviously dummy. You don’t have a car,” 

“From a different location.”

“So secretive. Where is this location I am picking you up from?” She asks, fully curious as if I am giving her tea.

“The hospital downtown.”

“Y/N… why would I be picking you up from there?” I pick at the blanket laying on top of me. 

“Something happened and I ended up here but I am okay. I promise. They just won’t discharge me without confirming someone can come pick me up and care for me.”

“Y/N!!! Why didn’t you call me sooner? What happened? You know what, I am on the way. We will talk.” She frantically yells on the phone before hanging up. I close my eyes hoping to get some shut eye before she storms in here. I groan as I hear my phone constantly vibrate and see messages from both my Gotham FC teammates and USWNT asking what happened and if I am okay…I’m going to kill O’Hara.

A half hour passes and soon enough not only is Kelley coming through my door but Kristie, Ali, and Sonnet. 

“What happened?!” Ali asks, approaching carefully looking at any damage she might find.

“I’m okay. My apartment caught fire and I got burnt in the process, nothing crazy.” I act as if everything is fine.

“Nothing crazy?! Y/N, you have burns!” O’Hara whisper yells. 

“Wait, Y/N, when was this?” Kristie observed knowing well enough I hate bothering people. 

I bite my tongue and whisper, “2 days.” That’s when all hell broke loose. 

The hospital room was filled with a cacophony of concerned voices as Ali, Kristie, Sonnet, and Kelley vented their anger and frustration at the situation. I couldn't help but wince at the onslaught of their emotions, but their presence meant the world to me. They were like a protective shield, ready to battle any adversity, even against their teammate's stubbornness.

"Y/N, how could you not tell us?" Ali's eyes blazed with intensity, a reflection of her passion on the soccer field. "We're your teammates, your friends. You can't just hide something like this."

Sonnet's voice, though calmer, was no less concerned. "And now you're telling us it's 'nothing crazy' when you have burns from a house fire? But two days in a hospital is not nothing.”

As we continue going back and forth, Dr. Meed, returned to my room with a surprised look on his face. He had probably expected a more difficult situation based on our previous conversation.

"Y/N, it looks like you have a support system in place," he remarked, a hint of approval in his voice.

I nodded, feeling grateful for the incredible people who had come to my aid. "Yes, doctor. They're going to make sure I'm taken care of."

Dr. Meed assessed the room, noting the presence of Kelley, Ali, Kristie, and Sonnet. "Well, I believe we can arrange for your discharge tonight if you got this team to care for you. I can have the nurses prepare your medications and instructions. You'll need to follow up with your primary care physician within a week."

My heart swelled with relief at the news. I had been eager to leave the sterile environment of the hospital.

"Thank you, doctor," I said, genuinely appreciative.

Dr. Meed nodded and started discussing my care instructions with the group. They listened attentively, taking notes and asking questions to ensure they were fully prepared.

Kelley stepped forward and shook the doctor's hand. "We've got it from here, doc. Thanks for taking care of her."

The doctor smiled, his demeanor much lighter now. "You're welcome. And you take care of yourself, Y/N."

… … … … … … … … … … … … 

Kelley left me no choice but to move into her apartment until I recovered and since Sonnet was visiting her, they figured two pairs of eyes and hands were better than one when it came to me. They had a routine set from the moment I left the hospital and today is a new day. Teammates have been stopping by and visiting. I laughed and smiled through every encounter after I got a talking to about hiding my injuries. 

“Is Y/N getting a little tired?” Lynn said as I seem to be drifting off. 

“Seems like it. She has had a long first day out of the hospital.” Kelley says and excuses the company in the room and says goodbyes to them and I mutter a goodbye as well. As they leave, Sonnet gets a new set of bandages ready for my legs as Kelley gets my antibiotics and pain meds. 

Sonnet carefully peeled off the old bandages, her touch delicate but precise. The adhesive clung to my skin, making it an uncomfortable experience. As she pulled the bandages away, my breath caught in my throat, and I bit down on my lower lip to stifle any cries of pain. I could feel the slight tug and sting as the bandages left my raw, sensitive skin.

Kelley, sitting by my side, offered an empathetic smile. "We're almost through this part, Y/N," she assured me, her fingers lightly tracing circles on my forearm.

Sonnet continued her work, unwrapping each bandage with the utmost care. Her face was a mix of concentration and sympathy as she revealed the burns on my legs. When the fresh bandages came into contact with my wounded skin, a sharp wave of pain coursed through me, causing me to clench my fists tightly.

"Easy, Y/N," Kelley murmured soothingly, her hand slipping into mine and offering a reassuring squeeze. "You're doing great."

Sonnet nodded in agreement, her expression filled with understanding. "We're trying to be as gentle as possible, but I know it's still painful. Just a bit more, okay?"

I mustered a nod, grateful for their presence. The pain was a reminder of the challenging journey I was on, but the unwavering support of my teammates made it bearable. Sonnet continued her task, her movements swift and precise.

Once the bandage change was complete, Kelley handed me the antibiotics and pain medications. She watched me closely as I swallowed the pills, her eyes filled with a mixture of concern and care.

As I leaned back against the pillows, Kelley and Sonnet took their seats beside me.

Fatigue threatened to overtake me, I clenched my eyes shut, resisting the pull of sleep. I knew that once I closed my eyes, the nightmares would return, vivid and tormenting. The darkness had become my enemy, and my reluctance to face it was exhausting.

Kelley noticed my struggle and squeezed my shoulder gently. "Y/N, you need to get some rest," she whispered, her voice filled with concern.

I nodded, my lips forming a weak smile. "I know, Kel. It's just... the nightmares. I can't handle them."

Sonnet shifted closer, her touch soft and reassuring. "We won’t leave your side, Y/N.”

Despite their comforting words, the fear of what awaited in my dreams persisted. The mere thought of reliving the traumatic experience made my heart race. I bit my lip, fighting back the anxiety that threatened to consume me.

Kelley's fingers brushed a strand of hair from my forehead, and her gaze met mine. "Y/N, you're not alone in this. We'll be here to wake you up if those nightmares come knocking. But you need sleep, okay? You've been through so much."

I nodded, my eyes heavy with exhaustion. The room seemed to blur as my eyelids drooped. Sonnet's hand still rested on my knee, and she leaned in, her voice a soothing lullaby. "Close your eyes, Y/N.”

As much as I resisted, I couldn't hold onto consciousness any longer. My eyes closed, and I was plunged into the unsettling abyss of sleep.

[wosoimagines]

Hoodie - Leah Williamson/Reader

part one | part two | part three | part four

prompt: Leah and Reader’s relationship is still building up together. And more people are catching on.

warnings: none

words: 3936

(Y/N) POV

“Shit! Shit,” I muttered as I threw the clothes from my bag. I could have sworn that I brought the hoodie with me for this camp. Especially since we were going to be in New Zealand.

“You okay there, (Y/N)?” Kristie asks as she comes into our room. “Oooh, that’s a mess.”

“Shut up, Kristie.”

It wasn’t here. Leah was going to kill me.

“What are you looking for?”

“My hoodie.”

“Your US one is right there,” Kristie said as she pointed at the chair behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder to look at the hoodie. It was my blue USWNT hoodie, but it wasn’t the one I was looking for.

“No, this one isn’t a team hoodie,” I said as I shook my head. I had to find the hoodie. “It’s a forest green hoodie. It’s got patches on it. Been adding patches to it whenever we go somewhere for camp.”

“You mean the one like Sonnett is wearing?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Yeah, Sonny’s wearing this green hoodie. It’s got a Hellfire Club patch, an astronaut on a skateboard, a penguin, there’s a couple of memes.”

“Where’s Sonnett?”

“Why do I feel like I shouldn’t answer that now?”

“Kristie! My hoodie! It was a gift!” I snapped. I knew what the hoodie had come to represent for me. For someone other than her to wear it was wrong. “I don’t want anyone else wearing it!”

“Um, I think she went out to get ice cream with some of the others.”

I was immediately rushing out of the room. The last thing I needed was for any pictures of Sonnett to make it to social media in my hoodie.

“I can’t talk right now,” I said as I answered my phone.

In hindsight, I should have looked at the caller id, but I had been too busy trying to dodge the people on the sidewalk.

“Why is Emily Sonnett wearing the hoodie?”

“Shit.”

“Why is Emily Sonnett wearing the hoodie?”

“Look, Leah, she probably came into my room and stole it. I’m literally headed to the ice cream shop right now so I can get it back,” I said softly. I knew that it meant more to Leah than being just some present now. “I would have never let Sonnett take it. I wouldn’t let anyone else wear it but you.”

“You promise?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. Not to you.”

Leah went quiet on the other end of the line.

“Just get it back, yeah? And you have to add an extra patch.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to choose one for you. I’m almost there, so I’ll text you when I get it back, yeah?”

“You better.”

I grinned as I hung up the phone. At least Leah was still going to be talking to me. I made my way into the ice cream shop and it was easy enough to spot the girls. They were the largest group in the shop after all.

“Give me the hoodie.”

The girls all looked up at me as they froze.

“Sonnett. The hoodie.”

“Oh, come on!”

“Hey,” I said as I slammed my hands onto the table. “It isn’t yours. You didn’t ask to borrow it either.”

“If I had, would you have said yes?”

“No! Because it’s my hoodie! And it was a gift! It means a lot to me.”

Sonnett grumbled as she started to pull the hoodie off.

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”

Mal shrunk back as I glared at her. Of course none of them would, because I refused to tell them.

“Sorry,” Mal said as she held her hands up.

“So, what is the story behind the hoodie?” Sanchez asked.

“Nothing that concerns you,” I said as I sent a glare her way as a warning. I turned my glare back to Sonnett since Sonnett had been begging to borrow the hoodie since she saw it in my social media posts. “Take the hoodie again, and you’ll never step on a pitch again. Got it?”

Sonnett gulped as she quickly nodded her head.

“Good.” I smiled as I patted the side of Sonnett’s face.

I held the hoodie in my hands as I headed out of the ice cream shop. I made a point to post a picture on my Instagram story with the hoodie in my hands to show that I had it back. I knew that it might spark some new dating rumors since Sonnett had obviously been seen wearing it on social media.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You were supposed to text me that you had the hoodie back.”

“Yeah, I got distracted. Saw a patch in a store that I wanted to get.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Too bad that you’ll just have to wait to see it until I get back unless I take good pictures in the hoodie in between games.”

“(Y/N), that’s no fair.”

I grinned at the whine. It had quickly become a thing for Leah and I to grab a patch anytime that we were traveling for the hoodie.

“Did you get any new patches? I know you were playing in Milton Keynes,” I said. I knew how excited Leah had been about getting to play where she grew up. “It seems cool getting to play where you’re from.”

“It was amazing. I wish you could have been there,” Leah said. My grin only grew at that. I would have loved to be at the game, but I had my own national team duties. “The game was amazing. We won! 4-0.”

“I saw,” I said as I thought back to their game. “Still makes me pissed that Man Utd. refused to let Alessia transfer to join us at Arsenal.”

“Tell me about it. You know, I’ve been trying to get the team to replace this one forward we have,” Leah started off. I shook my head at that. “You might know her actually. She’s this really cocky American. Thinks she’s better than everyone else.”

“Maybe she is?”

“Oh, my God,” Leah gasped, causing me to chuckle. “It’s almost like I can hear her right now.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Leah giggled at that but I scratched the back of my neck. My grin had fallen in less than a second and was replaced with a frown.

“Hey, Lee?” I asked, causing Leah to hum to let me know that I had her attention. “You don’t actually want the team to replace me, do you?”

“No, I don’t,” Leah assured me. I softly smiled at that. “You might still be a little too cocky in my opinion, but you aren’t that bad... Usually.”

“Usually?”

“Yeah, usually. You got a problem with that?”

“Maybe just a bit.”

There was a knock on the door causing me to raise my head. I looked up as Kristie stuck her head into the room.

“Hey, we’re about to check out,” Kristie announced.

“Thanks,” I said as I smiled at her. “I’ll be right down. Let me just say bye.”

Kristie nodded as she closed the door again. I got up from my spot on the bed. I was wearing the hoodie with two new patches on it. I started to move to grab my bags.

“I gotta go.”

“Yeah, I should probably go too. Kiera’s been bugging me to go out with her at some point today.”

“Leah! You shouldn’t ignore your friends just to call me.”

“I just wanted to hear your voice,” Leah said. I didn’t need someone else to point out how all the blood rushed to my face as I blushed at that. “And to tell you that you did good against Canada. I know you take those games personally.”

“Yeah, well, when they’re the reason you break your leg right before the Olympics, it becomes a little personal.”

“Yeah, but they’re always physical against everyone.”

“You’re more than welcome to put on one of our jerseys and play against them. See just how physical they play when it’s us out there on the pitch.”

“I think I’ll stick with the three lionesses on my jersey, thanks.”

“Yeah, whatever. Look, I really should go. I wouldn’t put it past Vlatko to leave me stranded to prove a point. I’ll text you later though?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Did Katie give you this one?” Leah asked. I looked up from my spot at the island to see that she was pointing to the orange juice box patch that had been added to the hoodie. “Tears of my enemies?”

“No, but I’m sure she wishes.”

“Also, a QR code? Where’s it lead?”

“I guess you’ll just have to scan it to find out,” I shrugged.

Leah rolled her eyes at that. I watched as she headed back to the living room. It wasn’t long though before I heard the song playing through the house.

“Seriously!” Leah’s voice echoed over the song. I couldn’t help as I laughed at her as she came back into the kitchen. “You Rickrolled me?”

I only shrugged at it. Leah scoffed as she shook her head. She turned her attention back to her phone.

“Hey, do you mind if some of the national team comes over?” Leah asked. I raised an eyebrow at that. I had gotten back relatively fast, but that was mostly because we had a game on the 26th against Chelsea. “Some of the girls have tonight before they go back to their clubs in the morning. The house has the most space, but it is yours and I wouldn’t invite them over if you don’t want them to come over.”

“I don’t mind,” I shook my head. I looked at the time on the stove. “I was planning on heading to London Colney.”

“You’re going to train?”

“I usually do when I get back from camps,” I shrugged. My body had adjusted back to USA time while I was in the States and I usually spent a couple of days to adjust back. “I went to a different time zone. It takes a couple of days to get back to time here.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

I looked back over at the clock.

“Want me to throw something together before they get here? I could make some pasta and garlic bread in like 20 minutes tops?”

“You don’t mind?” Leah asked. I shook my head. I really didn’t since I knew that Leah hadn’t eaten dinner yet. “I think the girls would love that.”

“You know where the wine is too, so help yourselves. Just don’t drink it all,” I said, causing Leah to nod. I stood up to start working on the pasta. “Save me some so I can eat when I get back?”

Leah nodded in agreement and I grinned at that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I dropped my keys onto the table by the entrance before kicking my shoes off. I could hear the girls talking through the house. I figured that they were probably still in the kitchen and living room. I ducked through the laundry room to get into my bedroom without being seen.

I peeled my sweaty clothes off before jumping in for a quick shower. Once I put fresh clothes on, I could still hear the voices in the rest of the house. I threw my dirty clothes into the laundry room before exiting my room to make my way into the kitchen. Thankfully, none of the girls in the living room had noticed me as all of their backs had been turned to me.

“Hey,” Leah softly greeted me when she saw me. 

I sent Leah a soft smile as the others in the kitchen had turned to look at me. I ignored the looks that the other English women sent me as I grabbed a plate before getting some pasta and bread and heating it back up in the microwave.

“How was training?”

“Good,” I nodded as I pulled the plate out of the microwave. I moved to sit at the island. “Burnt off a lot of energy, so maybe now I’ll actually get some sleep tonight. Thankfully, Jonas understands if I oversleep, but I don’t think he’d be too happy if you don’t show up on time.”

“Am I missing something?”

I looked up to find Keira Walsh’s eyes trained on me. 

“I thought we couldn’t stand (Y/L/N),” Keira said.

“No, we can,” Leah said. I raised an eyebrow as I looked over at Leah. “I’ve been staying here with her since Jordan and I broke up.”

“Oh, hey, did you get the patches you brought back onto the hoodie?” I asked. Leah nodded causing me to grin. “I still can’t believe you wouldn’t show them to me when I got in.”

“I can’t believe you Rickrolled me with a patch on the hoodie.”

I rolled my eyes at that.

“Hold up,” Lucy said, causing my attention to be drawn to her. “That’s your hoodie? Leah’s been wearing your hoodie?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Shut up, (Y/N).”

“Awwww, look Captain England is embarrassed that she’s my friend.”

Leah threw one of the cloth napkins at me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I caught the napkin.

“No one ate in the living room, did they?”

“No one ate in the living room,” Leah assured me. I nodded at that. It was one of the biggest rules I had and asked Leah to respect while she stayed here. “I think they have wine in there right now, but no one ate there. I know how you feel about it.”

“Thanks.”

“So, you two are living together?” Keira asked

“Until I can find another place,” Leah said.

“Unless you just want to officially move in here,” I said. Leah turned to look at me and I shrugged. “It’s been kind of nice having someone else in the house.”

“Maybe you should get a dog,” Keira suggested.

“No. No way,” I shook my head at that. A dog was a bad idea. “Dogs need too much maintenance. And we are gone far too often. It isn’t a practical idea.”

“Then get a cat.”

“I’m good,” I shook my head. “Don’t even know how to take care of one. Mom was allergic so we never had a cat growing up.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on moving out anytime soon,” Leah assured me. I smiled at that. It was nice to know.

“So, are you two a thing?” Lucy asked.

I froze at that. Leah and I sure acted like we were together sometimes, but I didn’t want to push her with everything that had been going on with Jordan and I knew her breakup was still pretty fresh.

“Honestly? I’m just trying to make sure that Leah has someone right now. If that ever turns into more, that’ll be up to her. But I’m not going to take advantage of someone who’s hurting.”

The women in the kitchen went silent as they took the words in.

“Who’s fucking golden boots are these!”

I looked over my shoulder, but I didn’t actually know the voice. I just turned back to Leah with a raised eyebrow.

“Georgia. Probably looking for the bathroom.”

I sighed as I got up from my spot. I made my way to the room where Georgia was standing looking at all of the stuff that was sitting throughout the room.

“Looking for the bathroom?” I asked. Georgia whirled around to face and her brow furrowed in confusion at the sight of me. “Just one more down. And on the other side.”

“This is all of your stuff?” Georgia asked. I nodded as I shrugged. Sure it was all cool and everything, but outside of the medals, most of it didn’t actually seem that much to me. “Dude, you should have this stuff displayed, even if you are an American.”

“Yeah, sure,” I nodded. My worth had been tied to how I did on the field for so long that I just wanted one place where it didn’t matter what I had won. “Bathroom. It’s one door down on the other side.”

Georgia held up her hands as she started heading on. My eyes caught something missing on the wall.

“Georgia,” I said. She turned around to face me. “My World Cup medal?”

“I just wanted to look at it closer,” Georgia said as she looked at the floor and held it out to me.

I took the medal back as I looked at it. I sighed as I looked up at her.

“How about you go to the bathroom and then you can have a closer look at everything in here?”

Georgia looked up at me with a grin on her face as she nodded. I hung the medal back on the wall as I glanced at the trophies that were thrown in boxes. Some of them were probably pretty cool. I shook my head as I went back to the kitchen. There was no avoiding the players who were still in the living room.

“Everything okay?” Leah asked when I sat back down.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Georgia just opened up the spare room where I keep all my awards and medals. I told her when she gets out of the bathroom, she can look at them.”

“Got anything cool in there?”

I looked over my shoulder at the newcomer.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I shrugged as Alessia moved further into the kitchen. “I mean, all of my stuff is in there. I think Georgia was more interested in looking at the World Cup medals than anything else when she realized they were in there.”

“You keep your World Cup medals hidden away?” Keira asked.

“It’s not like I have people over. No reason to exactly have them on display.”

“Dude! Is this the Ballon d’Or?”

“Oh, my God! I swear, Stanway, if you break it, I will break you!”

I needed to pack it up so I could fly it back to the States with me when I went back during the summer. I heard the feet hitting on the floor before the person came close enough.

“What’s this?”

I looked at the medal that Georgia had in her hands. I furrowed my brow in confusion as I took the medal from her to look at it. It was probably some medal that was worth like 20 bucks painted gold.

“A youth soccer medal.”

“And you have it up on the wall with World Cup medals?”

“I got this when I was 6-years-old,” I said as I held the medal back to her. “That was my first season playing soccer. And I fell in love with it and the championship game where I won that was the moment when I decided that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

“So, why aren’t these up somewhere to show them off?” Georgia asked. I shook my head at that. I didn’t want to get into it. “There’s some pretty cool things in there.”

“It’s kind of personal. No offense to any of you but I literally haven't had a conversation off the pitch with any of you besides Leah and Lotte.”

“Well, if you ever want help putting them on display, give me a call,” Georgia said as she looked back down at the medal in her hands. “I’d be willing to help just because of how cool it all is.”

“Do not invite her to help,” Lucy said as she pointed at Georgia. “She cannot use any tools to save her life.”

I chuckled a little at that. I could handle myself around tools. My dad had made sure of that.

“Also, what’s that huge trophy in there? It says ‘State Championship.’“

“You do not touch that. You will never tell anyone about it either. Do you understand?”

Georgia nodded before she scrambled off back to the room. I turned back to find four pairs of eyes on me.

“In our high schools, we have State Championships for each sport. Think of it like the division you’re in is based on the size of the school you go to and the other schools of the same size closest to you,” I explained. I rubbed the back of my neck. “My school won State four years in a row. My senior year, I kind of stole the trophy? They never figured out who did it. And I need it to stay that way because I go back this summer to announce that I’ve donated the money for the soccer teams to have their own field that they don’t have to share with the football team and their own locker rooms. They’re not gonna invite me back if they know that I took the trophy.”

“Wow,” Lucy said. She glanced over her shoulder at Leah. “Maybe Leah shouldn’t be staying with someone who just admitted to stealing.”

“You would steal it too if you won the championship and then they announced that you wouldn’t be considered part of the team anymore because it came out that you were gay.”

“Oh, shit.”

I ran a hand through my hair at that. It seemed that I was just going to be oversharing with British players lately.

I got up from my seat and moved my dishes into the sink before cleaning them off. I threw them into the dishwasher, but since it wasn’t full yet, I didn’t start it. I looked over at Leah.

“I’m gonna go lie down. If you need me, just come get me. If I’m asleep when you go to bed, just wake me up and I’ll move to the couch.”

Leah only nodded as I moved to my room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Good morning,” Leah said.

I looked at her over my shoulder as I smiled at her. Leah sat down at the island as I plated up the food before I grabbed the plates. I sat one in front of Leah before sitting the other one next to her. I turned back to grab the cups of coffee before putting them by the plates.

“Sugar and cream?”

“Yes, sugar and cream.”

I moved over to the other side of the island as Leah took a bite of her omelet. I took a drink of my coffee before I started to dig into my omelet.

“Did you mean what you said last night?” Leah asked eventually.

I raised my head to look at her. I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant considering we had talked about a range of things last night.

“About... us?”

“I mean, I won’t deny that I like you, Leah,” I said softly. I guess if I was going to tell Leah the truth, it wouldn’t hurt to tell her everything. “I would love to take you out on a date some time, but I don’t want to be a rebound and I don’t want you to go out with me before you’re ready to. You were with Jordan for a while. It would be understandable if you need a while before you’re ready to date again.”

“But what if I wanted to go on a date with you?”

“I mean, if you’re asking...”

“Well, I am.”

“Then you’re planning.”

“Only if I can wear the hoodie.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

Leah grinned at that before she pressed a kiss against my cheek. She got up from her seat and moved over to the sink.

“I’m wearing it today. And I hope you’re good at arcade games, because the loser is buying drinks,” Leah said as she looked over her shoulder. “And I am wearing the hoodie all day today.”

[toournextadventure]

they didn't know

Summary: (An "everyone but her" oneshot from this request) Someone from your past comes by Nevermore for an unexpected visit. When Enid can't calm you down, it's up to Wednesday. And Wednesday is furious.

Word Count: 2.4k Warnings: swearing, graphic blood mention, graphic injuries, mentions of past abuse Pairing: Wednesday Addams x Reader (Masterlist) Taglist: @extinctspino @basichextechml @cfvgbhndun-new-blog @jinxscatbomb @awolfcsworld @n0p35 @suzhiman @gengen64 @eclipsesmoonshine14 @asters-abditory @alexkolax @thenextdawn-backup @cacciatricediartemide @cozwaenot @the-night-owl-blr @natashasapphic @parkersmyth @alilbitlesbian @irish-piece-of-trash

Larissa didn’t know. She couldn’t have known and that was what was killing her.

All she had wanted to do was talk with you in her office. You weren’t in trouble, you had been doing well in classes, she just wanted to talk. It had been a few weeks after your date with Miss Addams and she wanted to know how it had gone. While she assumed it had gone well based on how much happier you seemed, she wanted to hear it from you. She wanted to experience for herself how you were finally healing and living a normal life.

If she had known, she wouldn’t have pulled you into her office. She wouldn’t have unintentionally trapped you as Kristi had walked into the office as if she owned the place. There would have been no chance that she would have frozen for just a fraction too long, giving Kristi the opportunity to speak to you and instill that same fear and anger she so enjoyed striking within you.

“You look rather normal today,” Kristi told you in that posh accent that haunted you so. The moment she opened her mouth, your entire body went rigid and you stopped breathing. “Unlike Nicholas, I’m afraid.”

“Y/N, darling,” Larissa said as she stood tall directly in between you and Kristi, “why don’t you go find Miss Sinclair?” She turned her head just enough to give you a smile that she hoped would calm you for the moment; it didn’t work. “We will catch up another day.”

Not once did you meet her eye, still keeping your eyes glued to Kristi; in fear, in anger, Larissa couldn’t tell. She gave you a quiet “go on” that finally drew you out of your thoughts. You locked eyes with her for only a moment and she could see the glassiness before you dragged yourself out of the office.

You gave Kristi a wide berth when you passed her, flinching and stumbling over your feet when she stared you down as you left. The fake smile fell from Kristi’s face once you were gone and she turned to look at Larissa. 

She needed to watch herself before Larissa followed in Morticia’s footsteps.

—---

There was something so nice and carefree about being in the gym with the rest of the furs. No, Enid refused to get in there with them because it was dirty and they were far too rowdy, but it was nice. It reminded her of the good parts of home, however rare those were. Just watching in mild annoyance and utter devotion as the boys rolled around on the wrestling mats without a care in the world.

She was sitting on the side of the gym with a few furs when you walked in. You frequented the gym as well, usually joining in if the furs were going, so your presence was almost expected. But when Enid raised her hand in greeting and smiled at you, you didn’t even bother looking up. With fists clenched at your sides, you practically stalked over to the speed bag and got to work.

Enid knew something was wrong the moment you groaned in frustration and started rewrapping your hands for the third time; it only took you a minute at most. Your stance was sloppy and your movements were rigid, and she knew. She could see in the way you couldn’t catch the rhythm and would have to restart time and time again. With another frustrated noise, you hit the speed bag as hard as possible before walking over to the thai bags.

She flinched when you landed that first punch. In horror, she watches as you go on a rampage, throwing punch after punch with as much power as you could physically muster. The muscles in your arms strained and your wings begged to be let out as you continued. But when Enid noticed the dark spot growing on your wraps, she knew this wasn’t your usual training session.

“I’ll be right back,” Enid told her companions as she hopped up and did her best to walk casually over to you. “Rough day?”

You didn’t even acknowledge that she was nearby, let alone that she had said something to you. But being this close, she could finally see the dark red blood spots that were still growing under your wraps as you continued. Every few hits, Enid would hear a wet crunch and a wet spot would be left on the bag, but you kept going.

“You need to take a break,” Enid said as she did her best to tear her eyes away from your hands. “We can clean it and wrap you up a little better.”

Still not a word, not even a sound aside from the occasional grunt.

Enid stood back and watched you. It wasn’t like this had been the first time you had done this; the most notable had been after the accident and you broke three fingers and fractured your wrist. Sometimes it was better to let you blow off some steam and patch you up after, but when she saw the single tear roll down your cheek, she knew she had to do something.

With one final look at you, Enid turned around and started making her way through the halls. There was only one person that had even a chance of trying to get you to stop, or at least to let up, but she didn’t know where to look first. It wasn’t writing time, classes were over for the day, there shouldn’t be a Hummer’s meeting. The dorm or the library would probably be the best bet.

When Enid stepped out into the quad, her claws extended and her blood boiled at the sight of Weems escorting Kristi off the grounds. As far as she knew, Kristi and Marcus were practically banned from Nevermore - rightfully so, of course. She felt such a strong desire to just rip the woman apart limb by limb, but the image of your bloody knuckles and teary eyes stopped her.

She had to find Wednesday. With one little growl in Kristi’s direction, she took off back to Ophelia Hall. There was no guarantee Wednesday was there, but it was worth a try. If nothing else, it was the most realistic option; she knew Wednesday had already finished studying for the rest of the week so there was no need to be in the library.

And when Enid threw the door open to their shared room, she was found to be correct. Wednesday sat at her desk with a book spread out before her; was she vandalising Frankenstein? Whatever, Enid let out a rushed sigh before practically running over to her roommate.

“You could try to be a little quieter next time,” Wednesday said without looking up.

“It’s Y/N.” The speed in which Wednesday’s head shot up would’ve been adorable in any other situation. “She needs you.”

Enid had never known Wednesday could move that fast for someone else. She would have to keep that in mind as a teasing topic for later.

—---

“Nicky, look out!”

The deafening sound of bending metal drowned out any other noise in the gym. You lashed out with a roundhouse, ignoring the sharp sting as you hit another bruise. An ache had become far too common in your shoulders as you continued your onslaught. Your eyes fell to the splotches on the bag before another pain stabbed through the back of your head.

“I said to keep those abominations hidden.”

“I told you, I can’t!”

“No child of mine is going out like some sort of demon.”

Your punches were getting harder. One solid punch to the side of the bag made your finger crack; if it was broken, you couldn’t tell. You didn’t even care. Why would you care when they didn’t? She wouldn’t care, she had said multiple times that pain is necessary, pain is required.

“No one will want you now.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

Something slick and warm coated your palms when you pushed your hair back from your forehead; it felt like sweat, but a little thicker. It hurt to breathe, every inhale was a struggle, but you got back into your stance and started again. Hook, hook, upper, jab, cross, roundhouse. Combo after combo, going until every inch of your body hurt.

You just wanted it all to hurt.

“Y/N.”

No.

Every muscle in your body locked up at the sound of her voice. What’s she doing? You swallowed thickly as you stared, unfocused, at the bag in front of you. Make her leave. But you couldn’t, because you couldn’t even get yourself to breathe. No, you just stood there like an idiot.

The moment you felt her small, cold hand on your shoulder, it was like she had released you from some spell. You let out a shaky exhale as your body unfroze and your knees buckled underneath you. All adrenaline faded from your veins, and you finally turned your head to see Wednesday standing there with the most concerned look on her face.

You had never seen her like that.

Please don’t.

You terrified Wednesday, and she wasn’t easily scared. It was the red splattered bag, the stickiness of your fingers as blood dripped to the floor, the red you had smeared across your forehead and in your hair. Something in the droop of your shoulders and how obviously, painfully tense your muscles were.

It was in that faraway, unfocused look in your eyes.

“Let’s go,” she said, far softer than she would ever be with anyone else. Wednesday knew the furs were watching, but right now it wasn’t important.

Your eyes trailed to the side as you nodded once, so slight she almost didn’t even notice. The majority of her brain screamed at her as she reached out and gently took your hand. They’ll see your weakness, it said, you’re vulnerable. Yes, holding your hand in public made her vulnerable. But now, in this moment, she would look past it.

As gently as she possibly could, she pulled you along behind her. She could hear your feet drag across the floor, and you didn’t hold her hand back, but you were following. The blood on your hands was warm and sticky, and for the first time, Wednesday didn’t think she liked it. It was a terrible feeling, sticking not only to her skin but to her very soul.

She hesitated only once as she tried to decide where to take you. There was a lot she didn’t know about the situation, only that someone from your past had shown up unexpectedly. So should she take you to your dorm? It had things from your past, but it was also filled with things you loved and enjoyed.

Or, should she dare to take you to her dorm, where there was nothing that could remind you of whoever that person was. It was new, but you were still familiar with it. Surely that would be the better option, would it not? Wednesday decided it would be and led you to Ophelia Hall.

You still hadn’t said a word, hadn’t even looked up from the ground as Wednesday sat you down on her bed and grabbed the first aid kit. She dug around for the supplies and used that time to study you. There were stains on the legs of your pants, hopefully not wounds. It was hard to tell before taking your wraps off, but at least two fingers were crooked and the amount of blood was telling.

“I’ll be gentle,” Wednesday said. She wanted you to look at her and at least acknowledge her.

You didn’t.

With a single sigh, she reached out and took your right hand first, unwrapping your hand like some kind of horrific present. Each moment uncovered more damage, more absolute carnage. You inhaled sharply as the wraps peeled off the open skin of your knuckles with a sickeningly wet sound. As much as it pained her, Wednesday repeated the action with your other hand until they were bare.

They were no longer dripping blood, now simply caked in the gelatinous, half-dried ooze. She could see the damage, the two now-clearly broken fingers, and she would have sworn she could practically see the bone of a knuckle. Your right wrist was swollen and you just sat there without flinching as if you couldn’t even feel it.

Maybe, in your catatonic state, you couldn’t.

“It’s going to sting,” Wednesday said. Still no reaction.

It was a tedious process, cleaning you up. She wasn’t even looking at the rest of you, simply focusing on your hands. Even when the antiseptic and rough gauze touched the open flesh, you didn’t react. Not even a blink of your eyes. The only thing that proved you were even still alive was the occasional tear that fell down your cheeks.

Wednesday put your broken fingers into splints and finished tying off the gauze around your hands before holding them in her lap. Your face was still marred by dried blood, but she didn’t care. On another day, another time, she would have found it attractive. But this? No, this broke her heart.

She wanted to ask you about it. If you would willingly do this to yourself after simply seeing this person, surely it must be terrible. As much as Wednesday loved the macabre, this was different. This was you hurting, this was your way of screaming out without saying a word. She so desperately wanted to know what you were thinking, what was pulling you apart atom by atom.

But she didn’t. She didn’t say a word as she grasped your forearms and pulled you down onto the bed with her until you were laying your head on her chest. You were so much bigger, she was sure it looked rather comical. But finally, finally she got something out of you as you grabbed her shirt so tightly she could hear the gauze pulled taut.

“You can rest,” Wednesday said, wrapping her own arm around your back and running her fingers up and down the little bit of wing that wasn’t contained.

And just like that, you fell apart. You hid your face in her neck and cried. Loud, painful sounding sobs as you pulled her closer. Crying until your body was shaking and you were no longer making sounds, just holding Wednesday and being held in return.

As Wednesday’s own eyes started glassing over at the sounds, she swore right then and there she would find whoever had done this to you.

And she was going to kill them.

[maklodes]

So, I was biking home from a little shopping. A woman was walking her dog on the same path. I was going to pass her on the left. The dog ran to the left where I was about to pass, and I stopped quickly to avoid hitting anyone. The dog kinda freaked out and attacked me. It was a small dog, though. No serious injuries, although I did later find I was bleeding slightly.

Anyway, I was talking to my parents and mentioned a few things I had done in the day, including the dog, and they started joking about wanting to sic Kristi Noem on the dog. Huh? I had missed some news about Kristi Noem, apparently. They talked about seeing it on the Late Show with Colbert.

I looked up the Noem story, and I also decided to look up the latest Late Show episode see the reference, and, not gonna lie, it pissed me off a little. Stephen is outraged that Kristi Noem shot a dog -- a 14 month old puppy! Although 14 months honestly strikes me as borderline to still be calling a dog a puppy, let alone untrainably young as he implies.

One thing the dog did that factored into Kristi's decision to shoot this dog is that while stopping at a farm, the dog attacked the farm's chickens. Stephen mocks the idea of caring about this:

If there's one thing no one should ever have to witness it's the loss of man's best friend, a chicken. 'cuz when you have a dead chicken, what could you possibly do with it? Rub it with olive oil, maybe a sprig of thyme, some lemon salt, pepper, herbes de provence, lightly cover in foil and roast for an hour at 425? What?!

You see, only a deranged psycho would be so callous with a dog. It would likewise be deranged to see a chicken as anything other than an incipient piece of roasted meat. (I mean, this was a farm, so that was probably its ultimate fate anyway, but still.)

Part of it's partisan hackery, of course. Kristi Noem is a Republican and so on the Bad Team. Probably if a Democratic governor had done what she did, there wouldn't be apologetics exactly, but there would be a pained, wincing discussion of how that's not a great look.

A lot of it's just unexamined, unjustified speciesism, Stephen Colbert channeling the zeitgeist of normie, average Blue Tribe Americans, who think Animal Cruelty Is Terrible But Those Animal Rights Wackos Are Ridiculous If They Think We Shouldn't Eat Chicken.

I don't know. None of it's surprising. It's Colbert being Colbert. Trying to put my finger on why it got to me, I think it's the direct juxtaposition that aggravates me -- it's not lurking in the background as an assumption. It's directly bringing up the topic of animal kiling (as a "look at what these evil Republicans do!" thing), then dismissing the idea of caring whether some animals are killed as ridiculous within the very same topic.

Then on to the next topic: during court appearance, Trump may have farted! (Really.)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

There’s only one thing you need to know about GOP South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem bragging about personally shooting to death her 14 month-old puppy named “Cricket” for being “untrainable” and “worthless.”  She believes telling MAGA voters that she’s willing to cruelly shoot a dog to death will make them support her more. And the most alarming part is that she’s right. Keep in mind we learned that Noem—who is a top contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024—led one of her dogs named “Cricket,” a wirehair pointer, to a gravel pit and shot her because she revealed it her new book. (Below is a photo of a young wirehair pointer.) This wasn’t a story uncovered by a reporter or leaked by someone. Noem intentionally shared these facts with the nation in her new book because she wants us to know this—and she knew what the reaction would be.

For starters, she expected that animal rights groups would denounce her—and they did. For example, Wayne Pacelle, the president of Animal Wellness Action told NPR: "There's no rational and plausible excuse for Noem shooting a juvenile dog for normal puppy-like behavior." And Colleen O'Brien, senior vice president at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), denounced the governor for "punishing her by deciding to personally blow her brains out rather than attempting to train her or find a more responsible guardian."  But Noem also gets that to MAGA, any group that advocates for animals—or decency, for that matter—would be seen as some type of woke organization. That is the backlash she wanted. Plus there is something far more sinister. Noem gets that MAGA loves cruelty. And what is crueler than killing a puppy to show how tough you are to the MAGA scum. (Obviously, if Noem was truly unable to train the dog, she could’ve hired a professional to help her or put this pure breed, expensive dog up for adoption—shooting the dog was about something else.)

[...] The title of Noem’s book, “No Going Back,” is a great way to look at today’s MAGA dominated GOP.  The old Republican Party is dead. After all, even GOP Vice President Dick Cheney expressed regret when in 2006 while quail-hunting, he accidentally shot his friend 78-year-old Harry Whittington.  Three days after the accident, Cheney told the media that shooting his friend—who survived--was “one of the worst days of my life.” Flash forward to 2024 and a potential GOP vice presidential candidate is bragging about shooting her dog to death to show Republican voters she is tough enough to potentially be President one day.  

Noem perhaps included the tale of shooting her dog because she knew Trump does not like these four-legged friends that bring joy to millions.  As Trump’s late wife Ivana wrote in her memoir, “Donald was not a dog fan.” She noted Trump’s hostility to her poodle, “Chappy,” who would “bark at him territorially.” (Studies do note that dogs are a good judge of character so Chappy was right to bark!) That explains why Trump was the first president in 120 years who did not have dog as a pet in the White House, a tradition started by George Washington with his two American foxhounds.  Democratic and Republican Presidents that followed loved their dogs from Abraham Lincoln’s “Fido” to Barack Obama’s “Sunny” and “Bo.” And of course President Biden has a pet dog—although “Commander” has not been the best behaved at times.  But Trump was the exception, even telling his supporters at a 2019 rally that having a pet dog in the White House would feel "a little phony.”

Kristi Noem’s bragging of killing her dog is part of the MAGA Cult’s fetish with cruelty.

[byersbootyshorts]

Revenge is Sweet - Chapter Five

Emily orders the team to take a break from the case. When Harley invites the team over for dinner, JJ finds some incriminating evidence.

Word Count: 2,073

Warnings for this chapter: mentions of drugs and murder, language

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Sure enough, just as Harley had predicted, the team were baffled by the couple’s recent kill.

“Anthrax?” Luke shook his head in confusion, flicking the body bag back over the victim’s head. “And Dilaudid? What is up with these people? Why can’t they just pick a signature and stick to it?”

“Maybe because that’s the whole point,” Spencer thought, walking away from the body.

Luke, Spencer and JJ were at the park where the body was found. It was exactly were Spencer and Harley had left it the night prior.

“Something’s off about this,” JJ mumbled, almost to herself. “It’s almost… familiar.” She looked at Spencer as if she was begging him to just come out and confess right then and there.

Spencer’s throat went dry. The more they killed, the more suspicious JJ grew. Spencer was glad that at least one of his teammates cared about him enough to connect the crimes to his trauma. But he also really wished she didn’t care. How long could they keep getting away with this if JJ eventually voiced her suspicions?

After interviewing the people who found the body, the three of them headed back to headquarters.

“This case is hurting my head,” Garcia complained at the end of the day. “Not even my endless supply of cute cat videos is helping me this time.”

“I think we’re all burnt out,” Emily said. “We need a break. How about tonight you all go home and rest. And unless these unsubs kill again tonight, do not think about this case until the morning. That’s an order.” No one objected to her demand.

Harley was packing up her things when Penelope walked over to her. “I am in dire need of a girl’s night,” she sighed.

“Tell me about it,” Harley replied. “These unsubs must literally be geniuses to be able to stump us this bad.” She tried not to smile as she called herself a ‘genius.’

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Penelope said, beginning to walk away.

She had just turned her back when Harley said, “Hey, Penny.”

“Hmm?” Penelope hummed, stopping in her tracks.

“Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?” Harley asked. Spencer looked up from his desk and threw Harley a vexed look. “It would be nice to hang out with you somewhere where we’re not talking about serial killers.”

A smile spread across Penelope’s face. “Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks.”

“Anyone else want to come?” Harley announced to the rest of the team. “Just to warn you, the menu is whatever you want from the Chinese takeout. I am not cooking for all of you.”

“Unless you want me passed out on your couch you can count me out,” Emily laughed. “Tonight, my only company will be a bottle of wine and a bowl of ice cream.” She waved at everyone and left the room.

“I got nothing better to do,” Luke shrugged. “Sure, I’ll be there.”

“Sorry kids, the old man needs his beauty sleep,” Rossi said. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Matt sighed as he pulled on his jacket. “I wish I could but Kristy’s going out tonight. I’m on babysitting duty.”

“Ok, well that’s four of us anyway,” Harley counted. Then she spotted JJ at her desk, her head buried in a file. “Oh, JJ, what about you?”

“What?” She looked up, confused. She obviously hadn’t been listening to a word Harley was saying.

“Do you want to come to our house for dinner?” she repeated.

JJ’s eyes shifted between Harley and Spencer for a moment before she answered. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

“Ok, great,” Harley smiled. She turned to Spencer and they walked out of the building in silence.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Spencer said angrily when they reached the car, out of anyone’s earshot. “You can’t just invite everyone over. Especially JJ. What if they see something?”

“Calm down, Spence,” Harley replied coolly. “They’re not going to see anything. I’m just trying to make us seem as friendly as we always are. Maybe they’d be more suspicious if we didn’t invite them,” she argued. She started up the engine of the car and placed her hand on Spencer’s cheek. “It’ll be fine, Spence. I promise.”

Later that evening Penelope, Luke and JJ arrived at Harley and Spencer’s house. They ordered some take out and tried their best not to discuss anything about the case. Spencer’s leg bounced anxiously next to Harley’s where they sat on the couch. He didn’t like having his friends so close to where he and Harley had come up with their evil plan. Just a few days ago he had been sitting exactly where Luke was sat, planning his next attack.

“Why’s the little boy genius been so quiet this evening?” Penelope asked, snapping Spencer out of his anxious daze.

“Uh, it’s just this case, you know,” he mumbled.

“Nope, we’re not supposed to talk about that,” Penelope said quickly.

“Yeah, come on, Reid,” Luke smiled. “Loosen up a bit.”

“Heh, sorry,” Spencer smiled awkwardly back.

When everyone was done with their food Spencer helped Harley throw the packages in the trash. In the kitchen, where she was sure no one could hear, Harley whispered, “Spence, you seriously need to calm down.”

“No, I don’t think I do,” Spencer hissed back. “I’m sorry for being anxious that you invited people over to the place where we literally plan murders.” He almost mouthed the word ‘murders’, desperate not to let anyone hear.

“Well, they don’t know that,” Harley said, grabbing some drinks from the fridge. “But if you keep acting like you have something to hide, maybe they’ll start to get suspi-.”

“Everything alright?” JJ suddenly emerged from around the corner. Spencer felt like his heart was in his throat. How much of that did she hear?

“Yeah, everything’s good,” Harley said happily, as though the conversation she’d just had never happened. “You want a drink?” She offered a bottle of beer to JJ.

“Actually, I was just heading to the bathroom,” JJ said. “I’ll get one when I get back.”

Harley smiled at her friend before leading Spencer back to the couch. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Harley was right. The only suspicious thing about this night was him. He forced a grin onto his face and inserted himself into the conversation. For a moment, he felt convinced that everything would be ok. Until JJ walked back into the room holding two ski masks and a bottle of Dilaudid.

“What is this?” JJ asked sternly.

Panic filled Harley’s eyes for a fraction of a second before she remembered to play it cool. She squeezed Spencer thigh, certain he’d be far more anxious than she was. Then, she got up and walked towards JJ.

“What the hell?” she said, plastering a fake look of confusion on her face. “Where did you find these?”

“In your closet,” JJ snapped. “I think you have some questions to answer.”

“Woah, hang on a second,” Luke said, rising from his seat to come between the two women. “Are you accusing them of the murders?”

“Look!” JJ yelled, waving the masks in Luke’s face. “This is pretty damning evidence.”

“Listen, JJ, I know for a fact that we do not own ski masks. And why the hell would I have the drug that my husband was addicted to hidden in my closet?” Harley argued.

“And why were you even in their closet?” Penelope asked.

Harley stepped back and glanced quickly at Spencer. He was still sitting silently on the couch. It was probably for the best. She wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to handle the situation.

“Yeah, Penny, that’s a good point,” she said. “You said you were going to the bathroom. Why were you looking in our closet?”

JJ exhaled sharply. She stuttered for a moment before accusing, “Because I know you’re behind this!” She pointed at Spencer and Harley. “I don’t know why. I can’t even comprehend how you could be capable of it. But I know you did it.”

“You can’t be serious,” Luke almost laughed in disbelief. “These two? How did you even come to that conclusion.”

“Because all the killings have been connected to Spencer,” JJ explained. “All the things he’s gone through. The unsubs put their victims through the exact same things. I can’t believe you guys didn’t notice.”

Luke dropped his head, suddenly putting it all together in his head and filling with shame that he didn’t notice. Penelope, on the other hand, shifted nervously in her seat before saying, “Actually, I did notice.”

Finally, Spencer snapped out of his daze. He looked up at Penelope with an intrigued expression.

“Me, Emily and Rossi noticed it. But we didn’t want to say anything in case it triggered you. I’m sorry,” Penelope said softly.

Spencer just nodded.

“No, I’m sorry we didn’t say anything,” Harley spoke for Spencer, still scared he’d say the wrong thing. “Of course we noticed,” she sat down beside Spencer and placed her hand on his back. “Spencer just didn’t want all the attention on him. But I swear to you, we are not the unsubs. I think we’re being framed.”

JJ stared angrily at Harley, neither of them wanting to be the first to blink. Then JJ turned her attention to Spencer. “Spence, you’ve been quiet, letting your wife speak for you. What’s your explanation for this.” She held up the ski masks.

Spencer twitched in his seat. He was ruminating in his anger towards JJ. He didn’t know if saying something would be the right idea. But it was too late. His anger bubbled over and he leapt off the couch.

“You know what, Jennifer, I think it’s really fucking shitty of you that you would notice something like that, and instead of telling me, or telling the team, you accuse me and my wife of murder,” Luke and Penelope’s eyes widened. They’d never seen Spencer this angry before. “Yes, these unsubs are making all these killings reflect all the shit that’s happened to me. But that does not mean that me and Harley are behind them. And the fact that you, my friend who I have known for twelve fucking years, could even consider that I could do something like that. That’s just insulting.”

“How do you explain these then?” JJ persisted, not backing down.

“Like Harley said,” Spencer sighed, attempting to calm his voice. “Someone must be trying to frame us. And they put those in our closet.”

Harley walked up beside Spencer. “Hell, for all we know, maybe it’s you framing us. You and Will getting up to any extra curriculars lately?” he said snarkily.

“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” JJ snapped.

“Good, now you know how we feel,” Harley replied.

“Ok, ok, everyone, please let’s calm down,” Penelope butted in. “We are not going to fall out over this.”

“Listen, guys, we’ll explain everything to the rest of team tomorrow, but for now I think we should all just go home and settle ourselves,” Luke suggested. “We are not going to make them the bad guys just because someone’s targeting them,” he said to JJ. “They need our help right now. They don’t need to be turned into the villains these unsubs are making them out to be.”

“Fine,” JJ hissed. She grabbed her coat and headed for the door. Without saying another word she left the house with a slam of the door.

“Thank you,” Spencer said to Luke as he and Penelope were leaving. “For not thinking we’re behind this.”

“Are you kidding me? Reid, there is no way either of you are capable of the sick things these unsubs are doing,” Luke smiled.

When Penelope and Luke left, Spencer and Harley could finally let their guards down. They slumped onto the couch, exhausted from upholding their innocent guises.

“I can’t believe they knew this whole time that all this was connected to what’s happened to me,” Spencer sighed. “Well, some of them anyway.”

“Come on, their our team. Of course they care enough to notice that,” Harley responded, putting her head on Spencer’s chest.

They sat in silence for a moment before Spencer’s anxiety started to bug him again. “JJ still thinks we’re the unsubs.”

Harley reached up to cup Spencer’s face in her hand. “Well then, we’re just going to have to be even more careful, aren’t we?”

[sharksa-shivers]

TW: Blood, Max being a little unhinged feral gremlin

(Context shit ig is that The Trio derps all got captured by shadowdemons or some shit anddddd yeah…So our scene's basically Max in a cell of some sort, restrained and he overhears some fuckin shadowdemon convo.)

Guard 1:(amused)I thought the girl one wasn't ever gonna shut up…You think any of em can get out if they have no weapons or anything? Cuz these kids are apparently pretty crafty according to Queen Meforia…

Guard 2:(Nonchalant)I doubt it…Cept maybe the shark one…And i feel like if he gets out, he'll probably try and eat some of us…Sharks and shit, yknow…As long as he doesn't get you entirely, you'd probably be fine…

Guard 1:(thinking)………You really think he could do that??? Like rip somebody apart and eat em??

Max:(tired, looks ragid as fuck and pissed as shit, not happy in any regard)…….He fucking won't actually dumbfuck but i promise you…If i get out…I WILL…I will fucking rip you to shreds and eat whatever the fuck i can get since you bastards have been fucking with us for days now…Haven't had a good amount of food in a bit so i fucking will…Without hesitation…

(Both guards look at the disshelved dog teenager and laugh before talking and walking off…We see Max death glaring…) ------------------------- (Cut to a bit later, Max does find a way out cuz clever little shit and he keeps his word, mauling like the first shadowdemon he sees…Max actually rips them apart enough to where the shadowdemon is tempdead…Max's face is coated in blood and he stands up tiredly as he comes back more to himself)

Max:(to himself)…………Tasted like fucking shit…But least you died in fucking agony…Got at least a couple scraplings of something…Fuckers…(His ears twitch, he hears a shrill voice, probably Kristy, becomes more mission orriented)……..Right, right, goddamnit, gotta get em, gotta find em!!! (darts off to help his comrades) ---------------------

(So this is whenever Max manages to find Kristy…My guess is the shrill voice was Kristy in pain or something so my guess is a guard was not treating her very nicely…Max is more himself at this point thanks to the few bites he got so he just cracks this shadowdemons neck or something, kills them quicker or whatever…Max grabs the keys off their pocket and starts unlocking Kristy's cell and Kristy sees Max bloodcoated face)

Kristy:(Terrified by that)MAX, WHAT THE HELL IS ON YOUR FACE???? IS THAT BLOOD???? WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?????

Max:(distracted, opens the cell, looks up at her)Huh? (realizes, wipes some off his face)Oh thisssssss…Ah, ok, that…Uh, was more uhhhhh what i did to them…

Kristy:(taking that in, very confused but scared all the same)…What…Did you do to them?

Max:(smirks, blood on his teeth)Mighta had a little snack…Not alot though…Shadowdemon i snagged tasted like shit…But also wasn't alot there honestly…Inner wolf came out, eh, what can i say?

Kristy:(terrified still, takes that in)………………………………….Jesus christ Max…

Max:(amused, wiping his mouth some more)Yeahhhhhh, and they always think Sharky's the dangerous one out of us…It's a fuckin laugh riot honestly…Anything bad Sharky could do would be pure mercy compared to anything i'd do…So uhhhh yknow…ANYWAY, speaking of Sharky, we should probably find him!!! Any clue where they're keeping his fishy ass or???

Kristy:(moreso used to Max being an unhinged little shit and not seeing what she could even do about that, she nods, refocusing herself)I think so!!! I think i heard him yelling a bit ago!!! Cmon!!!! (runs out of the cell with Max by his arm and they both start running)

-------------------------------------- Once again, Max ain't the one to fuck with...This dogboi unhinged as shit, he got some shit actually wrong with him fdjkhfdhsjfsdhjsfdhjfdhjfd little feral ass gremlin child, i adore him lol...and again, the Campsite is LUCKY AS FUCK Max is on their side lmaoooooooooo

Max legit the thing people fear Sharky is, like...goddamn lol A reminder too, shadowdemons reform lol, only way to kill em entirely is with fire so Max mauling one? Yeah, not a permakill, only a tempkill lol

[snailsandpuppy-dogtails]

Oh By Gosh By Golly

A Christmas fic? On the 27th of December? *shrugs* It's still December!

Garvez WC: 2935 Ao3 *Exists after S15, but if he never asked her out and she never left the BAU*

“Hey Garcia, you mentioned something about a place with a bunch of lights earlier?” Matt said, by way of greeting, entering the kitchenette. 

His approach, Penelope could tell, while phrased like a statement, was really a question. 

“Yes sir, Candycane Lane. Ohh! You should take the kiddies!” she released her tea, hands flying up, fingers spread, “They’d love it, it’s so fun! There’s little hot chocolate stands and this one house sells churros fresh from their kitchen on a line drawn zeppelin! Another house has a ferris wheel they fill with stuffed animals. And all the lights…It’s just magical!” Matt watched in amusement as Penelope’s eyes gleamed with excitement at the visions surely dancing in her head.

“And it’s pretty local?” he chuckled. “You bet your pretty biceps it is! Most people drive through it, but walking is really the only way to get the full experience.” She said, resuming her tea dressing, “Are you thinking about going? Please tell me you’re going. They’d have a blast!” Scooping up her mug and linking an arm with his, she walked herself to her cave, “You know, Derek, Hank, and I are going. It’s a tradition we started before he met Savannah. She very graciously has allowed us to keep it up and now we take my beautiful godbaby. Really though I think she enjoys the treat of a quiet house around now.”   “Kristy would love that.” He agreed, smiling. Reaching her office door, he slipped his arm from hers. “Ok, Garcia, you’ve convinced me. We might even see you there tonight.” he said, turning to go. Penelope beamed at the prospect of the Simmons clan buzzing joyfully from lawn to lawn, hot chocolate in gloved hands. Just a few more hours of work, then she was off to a winter wonderland with her two favorite boys. And if she was lucky she might even spot a familiar face or six. 

—------------- 

“Derek, come on! Just find a spot, let’s gooo!” The ex-agent gave her a not-so-withering look, grinning, “Woman, you’re gonna regret having pestered me into parking so far away by the end of the night.” “I’m gonna regret letting you come with Hank and me if we get there so late everyone’s lights are out and the hot chocolate’s cold!” She shot back, wrapping her scarf around her neck and tucking it into her coat, then turning to do the same for Hank while making sure his beanie was pulled over his ears.  Morgan finished eeking them into a spot and killed the ignition. “Fine, but I don’t wanna hear a word later.” Penelope smirked, already hopping out, “Oh, you’ll hear more than one, and you’ll like it.”

—------------- 

As they approached the first block, Hank’s eyes doubled in size, his tiny fists squeezing even tighter to the two adult hands he was gripping, body vibrating with excitement. There were houses glowing bright blue and frost white, ones that radiated red and gold, there were life-sized animatronics of a kissing Mr. and Mrs. Claus and large wooden hand painted cut-outs of Santa painting toys, and the Peanuts gang singing around the piano lining yards, all lit up with floodlights seasonally serving as spotlights left on the ground. Some were lavishly coated in bulbs, and some were sleek and modern, a neon green strip of “Merry Christmas” hanging from the porch, each house bringing its own special flair, a small representation of what symbolized Christmas for each neighbor. Apart from the displays, the thing Penelope really enjoyed was the people, the feel of togetherness it brought. Neighbors parking chairs in driveways sharing barbecue and stews, a group of ukulele carolers singing their hearts out for the throngs of passers by. A feeling of love and caring and unity and joy. And there was hot chocolate.  

—------------- 

The trio had made it about three streets in before Penelope finally succumbed to the cold. “Ok, next drink stand we come across, I’m buying. It is freezing!” She said, emphasizing the complaint by squeezing Hank’s hand and playing up a fake shiver.

Hank giggled looking up at her, “Yeah! Burrrr” he mimicked, playing along. Penelope smirked looking from the little Morgan, to Derek, “Hey Hank, tell your daddy I need some hot chocolate.” Derek’s mouth dropped open, eyebrows raising in faux surprise, ready to say something when a voice called from behind them, “Penelope Garcia, that wouldn’t be you I hear, feeding children inappropriate lines would it?”  Derek and Penelope stopped, turning to see who was behind them. Penelope, more than familiar with the voice, was positive she already knew exactly who she was going to find on the other side of her shoulder.  But Morgan was quicker, “Alvez, what are you doing here?” he grinned broadly at the man and extended a hand, tugging him in for a hug. “I’m spending time with my beautiful nieces and nephews, well, Matt’s kids.” he smiled releasing the hug, “Morgan, I didn’t know you were in town.”

The chance meeting took Luke by surprise who thought he’d be helping out a friend, hanging with Matt to keep an extra set of eyes on the brood for a while, he didn’t expect to run across Penelope while out tonight. Penelope who had obviously changed from her work clothes to this more casual and weather appropriate one of flair jeans and black snowflake sweater, peppermint scarf carefully knotted and topped off with a sweeping baby blue wool coat to keep out the chill.     Derek stepped back, one arm wrapping around his baby and the other pulling in Penelope “Here with my Babygirl for our yearly date.” Derek, having his suspicions and hearing the gossip, but never the opportunity to see firsthand, observed every microexpression that flitted over the other man at his actions. The cast of his eyebrows, the tightening of his eyes, and then the downturn of his mouth all arranging for a fraction of a second before sweeping back into his perpetually sunny self. “Savannah's present from me,” Penelope chirped, “I’m here with these two handsome men so she can have a relaxing night of peace and quiet.” A teasing smile spread across her face, jostling Derek with a bump of her hip. 

Luke visibly perked at her voice, shoulders squaring, face lighting up, eyes widening and glossing seemingly sparkling in the light as his pupils dilated. Yep, all the confirmation he needed. “Hey, Morgan! What a nice surprise crossing paths!” Matt wandered up behind Luke, Lily on his shoulders, Rose Mary on his chest, and reached out a hand to shake. “Thanks again for the tip, Garcia, the kids are loving it.” he said looking around, as if by merely mentioning them the missing three should materialize. Penelope wondered if that’s how it worked for Simmons, as with only a slight delay, three miniature animated people came popping out of nowhere. “Hey man, how’s it going? No Kristy tonight?” Derek asked, slapping a hand out to shake. “Not tonight, no, Garcia gave me an excellent idea earlier though,” Matt bent, letting Lily slip off his shoulders to rejoin her siblings, all dancing and shrieking through an impromptu or continued game of tag, Hank joining in. “So I roped Luke here into helping out.” He gave a squeeze to Luke’s shoulder, but winked to Morgan, smiling easily. “How about we all…walk together?”       

Derek, unable to turn it off where his loved ones were concerned, couldn’t help but profile. Yeah, he had his answer within the first 5 seconds of interaction, but he couldn’t help noticing over the hour they’d all been together the way Luke looked at her when she spoke, how he found little ways to touch or brush her, that his focus, though divided, never strayed entirely from Penelope, and he almost never resisted an opportunity to tease and play with her. Something Simmons had obviously noticed too, setting up this little chance outing. 

—------------- 

With Penelope giddily leading the parade, the group of nine merrily made their way to the house she knew to have sweet pastries delivered by air. Children clamoring busily to spot the contraption, they fell into the end of the line rapidly threatening to wrap around the corner. The four adults talked and caught up while keeping a loose eye on the little ones. There were “ooohs!” and “aaahhs!” as the silver blimp flew, but Derek was more focused on how Luke mindlessly played with Penelope’s scarf and how his cheeks flushed red making eye contact when Derek smirked at him, crossing his arms, thinking,‘Yeah, you bet I know.’       

“INCOMING!” was bellowed down from an open window glowing softly at the top of the hill. Penelope squealed and clapped with joy as the zeppelin sailed down the zipline, their order of piping hot churros dangling from a basket below. Sweet, cinnamony confections distributed, and Penelope’s coat saved from certain ruin by Luke who expertly brushed it clean of crumbs, they pushed on with their adventure taking in the various decorations and entertainment. Watching the way Luke was with her and her being so unaware was painful, to see them interact and play off one another was killing him. Why Penelope didn’t see it (or didn’t want to) he wasn’t sure, but he was going to let her know at least one person did. Waiting until they’d gotten back into a flow, wandering from house to house, Derek fell back holding Penelope with him, friends and children wandering ahead just out of earshot, the ukulele group singing about mommy kissing Santa Claus disrupting anything that might be overheard. Risking an eyebrowed glance to where Luke stood, his breath stilted, still feeling dubious about the whole thing, about her willful ignorance. “Babygirl, you’re tellin’ me you have not given this man one ounce of sugar?” Wrapping her arms around him she pushed up on her tiptoes, beaming with pride, “Not one lovin’ spoonful” No, she would not fall into that trap. Though, truthfully, it was getting harder, he was so sincere and so persistent.   “Mama, why on god’s green earth not?! He is clearly head over heels for you!” It was a genuine question, the night leaving no doubt in his mind, if Luke Alvez was not in love with his girl, he really did retire in time. There was no way Penelope couldn’t see it too,  if it was fear holding her back, he hoped his vote of confidence would help ease that. Jason Battle was a one-off psycho, what he meant when he told her to listen to her gut, was just that, she had told him it felt off, and she turned out to be right. This though he knew was not off, could see it, hell he could feel the electricity between them, she had to as well.   What the heck? “N-no he’s not! Oh my god, we are not talking about this right now!” Penelope, thrown at the suggestion and what seemed to be Morgan’s active enthusiasm for the very not happening situation between her and Luke, became flustered, letting go and bolting for their friends where she stood behind them shoving her hands into her pockets with a scowl on her face. Derek, feeling guilty at having upset her, let her go, giving her space. Maybe he’d overstepped… he only wanted her to be happy, he could see Luke making her happy. He just needed her to see it too. He hoped this would get her thinking about it. When it was so clear to everyone else, he hoped she wouldn’t continue to block out something that could be good for her.  

Penelope reappearing caught Luke’s attention and seeing her frustration, he looked between her and Morgan, hand instinctively coming to her back. She twisted from his touch, but didn’t move away. His hand dropped automatically, but his pinky continued contact, brushing soothing strokes against hers in her coat.

One and a half songs later Derek rejoined them, an apology for getting out of line mumbled in her hair. All forgiven, Penelope fell easily back into his embrace and returned it tenfold, most of the party none the wiser. 

—-------------  Crossing the street, the boys lined up, stern, menacing, and friendly faces ensuring traffic stop at their stop signs. Penelope, chain of children in one hand, cocoa in the other leading the dash giggling behind their own personal guard of bollards. 

It was during one of these dashes, post musical concert, that Luke was caught for the hundredth time staring after her in wonder. Matt, feeling enough games had been played between actual children that night, nudged his shoulder and nodded in her direction, “Go.” Pausing for a beat, Luke looked between his friend and Morgan, whose expressive eyebrows were now most of the way up his forehead in a similar manner. Seeing no way around something so obvious, and hoping to avoid the embarrassment of more encouragement and/or blessings, he flickered a ‘thank you’ smile before trailing close behind her. 

With a shwoop, the small hand was smoothly replaced with a large one, Luke’s warm palm effortlessly slipping into Penelope’s. Her pulse catapulted, Derek’s words fresh in her mind. Feeling the shift in texture and size, his thumb coming to brush the outside of hers, her steps came to a standstill facing him. She looked back for Derek, for Chloe whose hand had been in her own, only to spot the group of children bookended by the imposing figures of current and former FBI agents not so covertly directing the group’s attention to a house with their backs to her. Profilers? Pfft. More like planners.   Luke checked his shoulder as well, a small smile appearing before moving closer, twined arm wrapping high on twined arm, shoulder kissing shoulder, and tugged forward, some redirection of his own. “Mind being my escort?” he asked with his usual sunny lilt.   

Penelope looked back to him, head tilting in question to see Luke nod ahead of them. The way they were facing, they were bound for an icicle archway, rhythmically blinking blue and white drips interspersed between swaths of fir garland calling to them. Her steps started then stopped, faltering with her thoughts,body following through with an automatic ‘yes’ while earlier dilemmas were subconsciously processed for her, then thinking brain not in the know shouting a panicked ‘NO’ giving her pause. Her head swiveled from Morgan to Luke, unsure.  Luke stopped just as quickly, curious eyes scanning her face for clues. “It’s just a tunnel, Penelope, just a sidewalk with some poles.”  Her expression changed to exasperated disbelief, head bobbling as she shot at him sarcastically, “Nice. Romantic. I can’t imagine why you’ve only had the one girlfriend this whole time.” “Hey!” he defended at the dig, but his smile only got bigger, face completely incongruent to someone who’d just been insulted. Romantic? Did that mean she was on the same page? That this, them, they, were something she was open to? With a last look to the group, Penelope rolled her eyes, internal battle seemingly forgotten, and jerked him forward towards the arch, “Oh come on, let’s go.”            Luke ducked under the “Let it snow” sign entering the archway, the pair walking hand in hand wordlessly through the bright tunnel, but as she went to exit, she was tugged back, clasped hands stretching and jerking, Luke frozen in place just at the end, Penelope ricocheting into his solid body where he caught her.

Before she could ask, his head tilted and a finger pointed up, Luke innocently explaining as he looked back down, “Mistletoe, I can’t move until you kiss me, bad luck.”

Penelope wiggled in his hold regaining balance, trying to regain space. Despite his tactile nature this was all very new, as in less than five minutes new, as in she could start freaking out at any minute- new. “And if I refuse?” she asked, trying to infuse some levity and calm her twisting stomach.

Luke frowned, brow furrowing and arms tightening around her. “Guess we’re stuck here.” 

Penelope gawked, the flat of her palm working its way between them to smack his chest “What happened to it’s just a sidewalk?!”

Luke made a show of flinching under the hit, but again, was too busy grinning at her to play it off fully “What happened to being romantic?” 

Sighing, her arms looped around his neck, pulling herself up to face level “Alvez, we’ve really gotta work on your definition of romance.” There was a second where she looked at him, and then fingers laced and lips slowly melded, her eyes slipping closed. She felt the strong beat of his heart on her, his warm, firm lips against hers, and the rough scrape of stubble as the kiss became more forceful. She smelled the smokey burn of wood from chimneys and fire pits in the cold air mixing with the earthy leather of his coat. From the east Mele Kalikimaka rang out clashing with Walking in a Winter Wonderland to the west, a Bing Crosby battle between neighbors that was soon drowned out entirely by whoops and hollers. The pair broke apart to see Matt and Derek loudly applauding and whistling, the kids caught up in their parents joy, joining in the celebration, Penelope and Luke each turning beet red attempting to hide in the other. 

Hank, tugging on Derek’s hand, asked, “Daddy, why’s aunty Penelope kissing that guy?”

Derek laughed, stooping down to answer, “Don’t worry about it baby, but tell you what, you can be the first to tell mamma about it when we call her tonight.”

[acciotherapists]

Infinity

Loki x Reader

Warnings: Angst (with a happy ending), thoughts of not being good enough, self-doubt, fluff, mentions of cheating

Based on the mashup of Infinity by Jaymes young and Kristy Lee (Tiktok)

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. We’d promised each other forever but it appeared he had other plans. 24 hours after he’d promised to never hurt me I caught him kissing another woman. I found myself standing there, wondering how I let myself end up in this situation again. I promised myself I would never let a man do this to me again, and here I was, in the same situation yet again… but this time I refused to be the victim. I refuse to let him see that he’d hurt me. Last night when I found him kissing her I simply told him to enjoy his night and left without another word. He’d tried to contact me but I ignored him. I wasn’t going to let him in again… I couldn’t… no matter how much it killed me.

“Where’d you go, love?” Nat asked, pushing a drink toward me.

I chuckled, taking a sip, before answering. “Nowhere important.”

“Thinking about Loki again?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“It’s just so frustrating, Nat!” I huffed. “Not even 24 hours after he was promising me forever and that he’d never hurt me… I find him kissing her.”

“I’m sorry, love.”

Just as she’d finished speaking my eyes found the girl he had been kissing and I felt the bile rise in my throat. She entered the party as if she owned the place, a smirk on her face as she locked eyes with me before making her way toward a group of men in the corner of the party.

“Suchka,” Nat hissed. I placed a hand on hers as she reached for the gun she kept on her at all times.

“Don’t, Nat. She’s not worth it.”

The atmosphere at the party suddenly changed as a slow song began playing and couples partnered off to dance as I downed the rest of my drink, signaling the bartender for another.

Baby, this love…

I’ll never let it die

The bartender placed another drink in front of me just as Loki arrived.

I’m a mad man for your touch, girl, I’ve lost control…

I’m gonna make this last forever, don’t tell me it’s impossible…

My heart clenched as his eyes locked with mine.

Cause I love you for infinity

I took a breath, looking away from Loki, as I grabbed the glass in front of me and downed this one as well.

“Darling?”

I jumped as he spoke, his silky voice filling my ears and making me question my resolve.

“I suggest you walk away, Laufeyson,” Nat hissed. “There’s nothing for you here.”

“My everything is here,” he murmured, looking directly at me.

Oh, darling, my soul…

You know it aches for yours…

“Go away, Loki… I can’t do this again.”

“Please, my love… just let me explain.”

His hand reaches for mine and I quickly stand, knowing if he touches me it will be far too easy for me to give in. “I’m not doing this again, Loki… I can’t, okay? I-I know what I saw.”

“My love, please… it’s not what you think… I promise I’ll explain everything, my darling… just listen to the words of this song… I had them play it for us… for you.”

Cause you’re the reason I believe in fate, you’re my paradise.

Loki took my hand, pulling me against him as his lips brushed my ear and he murmured the words of the song in my ear, his voice lulling me to a sense of calm.

And I’ll do anything to be your love or be your sacrifice…

Cause I love you for infinity…

Suddenly the promise of infinity snapped me back to reality as he’d made that same promise less than two days ago. The song lagged for a moment as the DJ rushed around trying to get the song back on track. As he did I looked to Loki, my heart clenching as he lifted a hand to my cheek.

“I love you for infinity.”

“Right,” I scoffed, no longer able to contain my anger as the lyrics began flowing from my lips at the perfect moment. “Infinity turned out to be a set number of days and when you said forever… Did you mean ‘till seasons change? You really had me fooled. I truly thought that you would stay but I just wasn’t it for you… a new girl’s in my place.”

“Darling, I-.”

“Beautifully done… I thought I found the one. Damn, you did that… you sure had me at infinity… you really got me to believe, oh… you’d love me for infinity.”

With that the song picked back up as Loki’s eyes filled with tears.

“I forgot how beautiful your voice was, my love… the thought of never getting to hear it again… that’s worse than any punishment Odin could inflict upon me.”

“Don’t say things like that, Loki… Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“I mean all of it, my love… Please, just listen to me… She kissed me… you walked in just before I could push her away from me. She’s been after me since I started working for Stark but I love you, darling… all I want is you.”

Cause I love you for infinity.

“I will only ever want you, my darling… please… Please believe me.”

“Why?”

“I never meant to hurt you. I- I didn’t kiss her. I-.”

“No, Loki… why? Why do you want me?” I could feel my voice threatening to crack as I spoke, not understanding why he would choose me over her.

He looked confused before pulling me against his chest. “You saw me when no one else did… my heart beats for you and only you.”

I love you for infinity.

The song slowed as Loki gently swayed us to the music, whispering a thousand apologies and promises in my ear. I only hoped I could believe them.

**********

Nat translation

*Suchka - bitch

A/N: There is a potential for a smutty part 2 if y'all are interested! Let me know!

[hidefdoritos]

Logging back on just to dump out thoughts about a bunch more work and life stuff.

Again, at work, there are 6 managers on my shift. Varying degrees of competence and likability, but I'm for sure on good terms with each of them. We also just recently lost their boss, "Tyler," a man who couldn't find his own nose in the dark. He quit and joined a pyramid scheme. Literally nobody is mad about it.

I have one manager, who I'll call Jeff, who is my biggest cheerleader for sure. He's been trying to get me on seasonal full-time. According to him last night, the admins (a group of people who collectively have their heads so far up their own behinds that they've never seen the light of day) have decided not to offer seasonal full time after all. None of the other managers had heard it yet, though.

I don't know if that means Jeff has a better line in, or if they're giving him the run-around. He's sick of the run-around too. He said, verbatim, "If I had my way, you'd already be full time, you could set your own schedule, and you could show up and do whatever the f--- you want." High praise indeed.

I have a mentor manager, who I'll call Kristy. Her daughter is my age, so she's always had a soft spot for me. Not like she has many rough spots anyway. Kristy elected to not try to win Tyler's position. "I don't want that level of responsibility," she said. I like that she's in a place where she's happy. She lost a parent earlier this year and sometimes I can still see a weight on her shoulders.

I have a frenemy manager, who I'll call Sara. Sara is "just hanging around until she runs this place." She knows how to suck up to the admits. She runs a mean newbie orientation class. I've also watched her be functionally useless in emergency situations and she truly doesn't care if people outside her department live or die. The sad part is I think she's a fine person outside of work, probably. We can talk and joke around. I like her fine when she's not my boss. I don't trust her. I know she went for Tyler's position. She wasn't there last night to confirm. I hope she didn't get it. Then again, I also don't want her directly managing real human beings, so she might be good over the managers.

I have a bestie manager, who I'll call Landon, because that's now becoming my code name for everyone in my life with one particular real name. (Same one who watched me pick up a hundred-pound box and said, in reverence, "You just scared me, CJ" which made me glow for like a week.) (Once, also, I was missing a choir rehearsal for work, and said that my director probably wanted to kill me a little bit. Landon observed, "At least he only wants to kill you a little bit," and I said, "Yeah, well, I only want to die a little bit!" Landon lost it. Jeff (mid-40s?) looked very concerned, which made both of us laugh harder.)

Landon tried for Tyler's position. I was really truly rooting for him to get it. Landon can run the place blindfolded and is genuinely nice to everyone. He compliments everyone's work and shows a belief in our abilities that does us credit. But, after work, he saw that Tyler's position was reposted to the company site. That could mean that none of the managers got promoted and they're looking for an external hire now. Or it could mean that an admin screwed up. Praying so hard for the latter. If it's the former, the admins didn't even have the courtesy to send a rejection email.

[Past child abuse tw for this section. Skip to the three big stars.] I did something so brave last night, something that past me would never have done. Landon has been doing one particular thing that makes my life way harder. Every time I report an equipment defect or something that isn't working well, he says, "Stop breaking s--t!" This is his pat response to everyone, for everything broken, because he can commit to a bit. However, I...well, I have history. Breaking things and being blamed for things are both pretty big triggers. Which I am working on. But it's happened quite a few times now, last night included.

I looped back around to him later when manager Tony (an IRL NPC) wasn't around. I asked a question about reporting broken equipment, and then said, "Hey, can I have a moment?" As best as I can recall, verbatim, I said, "This is not your fault; I'm not mad at you; just one thing. Please quit blaming me for breaking stuff."

His head dropped down but I could see him smiling, that sort of you-know-I-don't-mean-it look. But I continued. "I...grew up getting beat for breaking stuff. So I don't exactly..."

His expression went from come on to oh s--t pretty quickly. "Oh. I'm really sorry about that."

"It's okay. I don't exactly lead with that fun fact when I introduce myself."

"Yeah, but still, I'm sorry. I--"

"--It's okay--"

"I will stop."

"Yeah. Thanks!"

"I'm so sorry you've had to deal with that," he was saying, but I was already turned to walk away because that was overwhelming as heck. I sorta waved it off in the it doesn't matter way that you do when you just talked about trauma out of nowhere.

"I need to be more mindful," I heard him add before I was out of earshot.

Not my clearest communication, not my bravest standing my ground, but I think it was just fine for the situation. If it was almost anyone else, I would've kept sucking it up. But it hurts. And he's also my friend. And I trust him with that information. And it's not like he knew, so I didn't want to bite his head off about it. It didn't need to be a big deal. It took less than a minute to deal with. And it took ALL of my bravery. But I did it. And I didn't die. And now I have this as an anchor point for the next time that I need to tell a person to not do a thing.

Also, even for the rest of the night, he didn't look at me or talk to me one bit different. I'm almost crying just thinking about it. The love shown when people know I'm damaged but don't treat me any differently--I need to lie down.

***

I ended up stuck for quite a while with some paperwork snags about adjusting my schedule for holiday season/semester break. But the managers let me hang out in their office. I filled out the paperwork, hung around for a bit, asked about another thing, waited as Jeff checked some things for me, ate a muffin, and then just hung around on the clock. They all but directly invited me to do so. They value me enough to let me get an extra hour for almost nothing.

During the hour, Landon talked to me about Tyler. Apparently last week, Tyler called him up and tried to recruit him to his pyramid scheme. Could barely articulate what the company is selling, but was talking a lot about how you earn points and they're a big reward to you. Landon told him directly that it's a pyramid scheme and Tyler just doesn't see it, I guess.

I explained my favorite concept (modified from some tumblr post somewhere) to Landon. "See, the problem I find with pyramid schemes is that they concentrate all the money in the top percentage of users. That means most people are losing money. What I think is that if you bring everyone in on the top tier of profits, they all make money. Which is why I'm starting a pyramid scheme that sells pyramid scheme starter kits. That way we bring everyone in at the highest level and ensure their ROI--"

Landon cut me off devastatingly: "Ok Tyler."

I don't know exactly what my face did, but I have NEVER seen fear enter somebody's eyes that fast. His face puckered. Which made me laugh it off, which made him laugh. Of course he knows I'm not going to harm him, but still. The power is going to my head.

Landon also gave me some bonus employee rewards points. And asked me if I'd talked to Tyler after he screwed me over (no; I spent those last two weeks rehearsing "I hope your new position suits you well" as the one polite sentence just in case) and if he'd talked to me (no; the one time we walked toward each other, he crossed the aisle to avoid me). Also, this past week, Landon got a wrong number text for a "Samantha," and so Logan replied, "Oh, Sam changed her number" and gave the person Tyler's number. I laughed and laughed. Then was like, "Oh, you're just going to be giving it out to random telemarketers and signing him up for stuff." Landon's eyes lit up and he pulled out his phone and dictated a note: "Sign--Tyler--up--for--random--and--inappropriate--stuff." I'm glad that I don't have Tyler's number, email, or anything. I would've subscribed him to everything under the sun.

We all together talked about our pets. Landon has a cat. I wonder if it's fluffy. I'm thinking about Landon kind of a lot for someone who doesn't date coworkers.

I let everyone know that I want to get on track for tuition reimbursement as SOON as the paperwork gets sorted out. And that if my $5k doesn't come through, I'm quitting. Period.

I hope so hard that I don't have to follow through on that threat. I really like this job. It would suck massively to leave a job that's so satisfying with people who I care about so much. And honestly I probably wouldn't fully leave. But I'd be getting a second job at another warehouse place in town with tuition benefits, because I can't do this. The Purple Arrow Freight Company admins have already screwed me out of a trainer position and maybe out of a seasonal full-time position. If they screw me out of $5k I'm not dealing with this anymore.

All my managers are on my side. Hopefully they're able to pull some strings with the admins (without rendering themselves obnoxious, because the admins can also fire them). They know I'm an awesome worker, and additionally, they love me. They don't want to lose me because the admins are dumb.

[lumpsbumpsandwhumps]

Absolutely giggling like a schoolgirl. I absolutely love slashers x final girls and it is SO nice to talk abt it with someone bc we are sorely lacking content <3

But yes!! Leslie’s final words are what absolutely cemented me on the notion/idea!! Other slashers would be pissed! Would be angry! Would be rampaging mad and filled with scorn that their weak, feeble final girl has overpowered and out-maneuvered them. But Leslie is soft! There’s something gentle in his eyes as he says the final words and he doesn’t promise revenge, he doesn’t say he’ll come back for her. He doesn’t swear to kill her in the sequel. His final words are a compliment to Taylor!

He probably rigged the cider machine in some way too and knew he’d survive it.

(Let’s not forget that the gasoline canister and matches were in the shed with the cider press. And that Leslie had put on homemade fire-repellent beforehand- or however you say it-)

me, desperately searching every single keyword I can think of that might find me a scrap of fan content between a nasty murder man and their final girl (when I tell you I nearly screamed about Pinhead and Kristy being made into a couple in the comics AHH)

Also!! She was sitting on the bed with a plushie watching him put on his make up!! She was there when he directly explained it was to make him fireproof for the grand finale!! I dunno, maybe she forgot in the heat of the moment or thought he was dead enough with his head smashed, but...persnaps she did it because she knew it was the last thing he wanted for his big plan to be made a slasher legend? hmhmhm...

I wish we could get a sequel, namely because there's so many different tropes they could explore with surviving final girls and the killer coming back, and I think it would be funny if he shows up and is still trying to coach her through it lmao. Like "no, no, no, don't do that, otherwise that guarantees you'll be my first kill before I find a new group to target. You gotta do xyz to ensure you'll survive as a prolonged heroine for years to come (:"

[divorcingjimmatthews]

okay so my mari/kristi/kenny thoughts !! s2e7 spoilers

god i never wanted to give a fictional character a hug and a break as much as i do kenny. rewatching s1 reminded me that this is the guy that was already on the edge BEFORE he actually lost his dad. the night before finding his dad ripped apart by the night creatures he actually said "i can't find any more dead bodies", talking about lauren and megan. and the day AFTER finding his dad ripped apart by those creatures he has to babysit a guy he hates so he won't get himself killed because he thinks it's all a fucking escape room. this is how things START OUT for kenny and they just get worse from there. in s1 at least he had kristi. they were so cute guys. the way they hug and were there for each other... damn. that's a precious pair if i've ever seen one. and he had boyd. he had his trust in boyd. we know how that went.

now he's just like. how much more can one poor sweet bean lose? i was happy to see him and kristi finally talk but it hurt how that went. kristi was disappointed that mari being back changed things between her and kenny, and i get it, but how could it not? marielle got all her attention from the moment she arrived, and that's completely normal, but kenny has obviously been missing the comfort of their relationship (be it romantically or platonically—they've barely interacted since marielle got there).

the way he's desperately trying to keep kristi from putting herself in danger after all the deaths he's already seen... imo he's being completely reasonable. what she and boyd were doing was so dangerous, i think i would have acted like kenny even when i think that kristi was right to want to do the autopsy. the fact that he showed up to help in the end... my heart is so full. heart full of kenny. that's me rn. but i feel really bad for him because i feel like his network of support is definitely shrinking. most of the characters have made new connections since the start of s1 while kenny is more like desperately trying not to lose all of what he originally had and failing.

hell, even the most antisocial characters are making new meaningful connections. kenny is just losing everything. he needs people to lean on because right now i feel like he's just giving a lot more than he's receiving. he's holding on to kristi and boyd when they're not making him a priority and it hurts me. at least he has his mom but :'( it all just hurts. the way everyone stared at him when he broke sara's snowglobe too like he was a bad guy... protect my boy. protect him. he needs all the love help and hugs okay? okay???? good.

now as for mari—i really do like mari. i think she's in a really bad place rn and i'm glad that they addressed that kristi didn't realise that she was going through withdrawal which is a very serious medical situation. it was really sweet to see kristi comforting her but i feel like the relationship is kind of uneven. mari seems to feel bad that kristi needs to take care of her and i get her. kenny and kristi felt more like mutual support but then again, we are seeing mari at her lowest point. she's helping out a lot actually even in her state and that's pretty badass. i think she also can probably benefit from connecting with other people, though she's just got here so it makes sense that she's always with kristi. maybe she and jade can be buddies later on. i know what you're thinking—you can't just throw jade at people thinking that'll fix them. well i can and i will, dear reader. i can and i will.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, September 17

Xander: Angel. Willow: Thank God you're okay. Did you see Buffy? Angelus: Yeah. What's up with the lights? Xander: I don't know. Listen, I think I have an idea. Angelus: Forget about that now. I... I got something to show you. Willow: Show us? Angelus: Yeah. Xander, go get the others. Xander: Okay. Angelus: And Willow. Come here. Willow: What is it, Angel? Angelus: It's amazing.

~~Buffy Episode #26: "Innocence" ~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Weekly Drabbles #29 — Grace (Buffy/Spike, T) by veronyxk84

The Legend of the Slayer (Watcher‛s Council, T, multiple xovers) by [personal profile] madimpossibledreamer

sanguis (Buffy/Spike, M) by muldxr

Happy Birthday Tara (Willow, Cordelia, Tara, G) by 29PheonixLement

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Buffy/Angel, T) by NicHawkins

Dead Girl Walking (OC Slayer, T, True Detective xover) by lucytheecourageous

1,000 Miles (Willow, G, Batman xover) by coulduseprozac

This is Halloween (Buffy/Angel, G) by fatalfae

Tension (Buffy/Spike, E) by The Danish Bird

[Chaptered Fiction]

Vamp for Rent 5/18 (Spike/Xander, M) by forsaken2003

In Another Life Ch. 12 (Willow/Tara, T) by 29PheonixLement

Soul Marks & Other Disasters Ch. 4/5 (Buffy/Angel, G) by bluestarsandclouds

Cultivating Chaos Ch. 13 (OCs, Ensemble, M) by BunnyQuill

Divide & Conquer CH. 54 (Buffy/Giles, E) by Removes_and_Cleans_Glasses_00

To Be Hers Ch. 17 (Buffy/Spike, unrated) by faefawn

In Another Life Ch. 12 (Willow/Tara, T) by riah alice drake

The Prophecy Child Ch. 7 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Yosoy Panqueques

New Normal, Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, E) by holetoledo

Destiny or Choices Made?, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, ) by charmed4lifekaren

The Neighbor's Point of View, Chapter 52 (Buffy/Spike, E) by the_big_bad

Ethan Rayne, Watcher, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Desicat

Under The Rubble, Chapter 49 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Geliot99

A Clash of Comets, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, M) by ashcrashed

Love Bites, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by cawthraven

Awkward, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by ClowniestLivEver

A Place in the Sun, Chapter 35 (Buffy/Spike, E) by honeygirl51885

Autumnal Shorts, Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, M) by VeroNyxK84

Wraith, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, M) by simmony

[Reviews & Recaps]

Slayers: A Buffyverse Story is INCREDIBLE !! (Minor Spoilers Ahead) by PetrosOfSparta

PODCAST: BTVS 501 - Buffy vs. Dracula by Another Buffy Podcast

[Fandom Discussions]

I always blamed joss for my crazy hot vampire sex fetish by starcrysis

happy tara maclay day by tara-maclay-is-still-alive-guys

So I’ve been scouring YouTube to find any video clipping of Anyankadog and it is actually Emma by girl4music

Fred/Gunn vs. Fred/Wesley by AngelBuffy

any fanfic recommendations?? by thevampslayerr

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992) Facts About Kristy Swanson's Original Film by JanuaryStorm

It's 20 years later.... by Present_Woodpecker11

Would a Buffy and Wesley reunion on Angel be interesting? by IntelligentPumpkin74

Fred Foreshadowing?? by sarnic1313

Who would’ve thought the sweet quiet girl would become so badass by D-ry316

what other cases or storyline/monsters of the week that we haven't seen by Current_Ad_9850

Feelings about the ‘Slayers’ audiobook…? by RegularButterfly3910

If Buffy had a mystical pregnancy, who would be subjected to it? by BlueFlameWar

One thing that always pissed me off by D-ry316

Was Willow really gay ? by Syrtion

Instead of painstakingly putting Angels soul in a jar why not... by WhatName230

Why Doesn't Buffy Kill Harmony? by DJArcanist

Wow. Half way through the Slayers Audible and I am in my element! by thrasherbuffy

When did David Boreanaz play the Master? by Both-Artichoke5117

Slayers: Kirgin and his grimoire seem like such an obvious metaphor to me by Massive-Teach-8345

spike slayer kill count by JessicaKylen

Bangel had lots of beautiful moments by Sweet-Siren

Giles is very very attractive by Sweet-Siren

Anyone feel a bit sorry for Doris? by davect01

What new thing did you notice on the latest rewatch? by LGonthego

Season 2! Campaign to ignore the final 4 episodes by FattyBoomBoobs

AtS Season 4 first half by Ok-Isopod1172

Dawn should have been the watcher in training by The810kid

Is there any particular reason for all the slayers being female? by Scribbled_Sloths

I love that Faith came through for Buffy by Oncer93

If you want to get Slayers try audible for free, or with Amazon prime you get a credit to audible. by themustacheclubbitch

No one knows what it’s like, to only wear your earring when you’re at open mic. by gloomloon

Jasmine was right by BlueFlameWar

Slayers on Audible by Ancient_Post_4594

Where to start with Buffy Comics? by kookie_anna3004

Who is the best female character of the BTVS franchise including Angel? by Brief-Cryptographer2

Hands down the best musical episode for any tv show by Sweet-Siren

My least favorite part of season 3 is the random change in Buffy's fashion by jdpm1991

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: James Marsters on Adapting Spike to a Voice Performance in 'Slayers: A Buffyverse Story' by The Mary Sue

PUBLICATION: Slayers: A Buffyverse Story and the Delicate Art of Tie-In Media by Paste Magazine

PUBLICATION: James Marsters on Spike's Relationship With the Slayer in Audible's New Series by Collider

PUBLICATION: Slayers: A Buffyverse Story Almost Had A Very Different Name by Slash Film

PUBLICATION: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: Making [Spoiler] the Big Bad Was the Right Move by Screen Rant

PUBLICATION: Despite Joss Whedon drama, Charisma Carpenter always wants to be Cordelia by UPI

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!UPI

Join the editor team :)

[thehotelpod]

Anne Yatco, Kristi Boulton, and our boys all on this episode of Trespasses!

Isn't it wild how Ben managed to find a sympathetic core to thread through Jacob Withers?? I think so too.

Anne is killing it as the core that threads through our miniseries. What an anchor! (journalist pun)

Kristi had such great energy in her recording too. She plays it so sad, but between takes she is SO SUNNY.

and our boys. always amazing, them. Mark is so damn good, what a treat to hear more from Jacob Withers. And he's kinda nice? Sorta? Once?

So glad I put Graham in. Would have felt weird with no Graham tbh.