#TAKE A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA MAKE HIM A VAMPIRE FUCK WITH THAT VAMPIRE AND SEE WHAT COMES OF IT

[drfurter]

alastor hazbin…..and louis de pointe du lac iwtv…….i am being rather uncouth mixing these flavors but i am cooking….

[stray-slug]

I just watched Sinners, and as any reasonable person does after watching a really good movie, i immediately went online to compare my own interpretations and opinions on the movie with others. And, jesus christ, how are some people so... smooth brained? like, did we completely forget that characters can me multifaceted? i admit that, even though i am brazillian on my mothers side, giving me some features that are obviously not so white that i have been discriminated against for a few times, my skin is pale as chalk from my danish fathers genes, and even i understood the themes.

I haven't gone through nearly the same amount of discrimination as people who are visually very obviously POC, but even i could understand that, though Remmick wasn't very obcciously racist, he still was somewhat racist, which the character himself might not even have realized. The thing that he condemns the british for, erasing irish culture and such, he is doing himself! he's making all of these black people that he turned sing HIS song, dance HIS dance, talk HIS words, for gods sake, he threatened Grace in fucking cantonese, which is a language he stole from the mind of her husband!!!!! are you fucking kidding?? his main goal also loops back to what was said before, about how white people might like and take some of black peoples culture, but they dont like black people. his main goal is literally to STEAL A YOUNG BLACK MANS VOICE FOR HIS OWN BENEFIT AND GOAL. Im sorry but if you dont catch the racism in that you have the media literacy of a brick wall.

and then onto the people that say he's just a racist white fuck. like. no. he isnt just racist. i got the feeling that he didn't even catch onto his own racism, and, by god, people, have you never heard of the term 'generational trauma'?? the opression that he has gone through has shaped him in a way where he might believe that the only way to not continue to go through that or go through it again is to make everyone else like him, which is also!!! opression!!! but also maybe subtle to the one doing it, because like any form of abuse, the victim and/or perpetrator might not realise it, but its much more obvious for the spectators of it. and i think this is a good way to show that anyone, regardless of background, can commit opression. you can be part of the most discriminated group of people in the world and still do opression, its not a thing reserved for only priveledged people. and this is in no way me defending Remmick, it just frustrates me to see or hear people reduce a character to just a single thing.

The way that black culture is shown in this movie, as someone who admittedly doesnt know the most about it, is beautiful. i love how it turns the stigmatism about voodoo and hoodoo being all bad and evil on its head by having a main character literally be saved by it and having it as something that is pushing against this force of evil that the vampires are. and a little other detail, the chinese opera dancer-person-individual that was there for a moment was just a nice detail as well, showing that, though in company of mostly just black people, the two characters that had another culture (in this case, chinese) weren't just asian characters who were just reduced to maybe having been around black people enough to share culture, they were just characters with a different culture sharing a similar situation in america as the black characters, in contrast to how remmick was just a singular person, but he made all of those people of other cultures participate in his culture with literal hivemind-mind-control. and when both rap and african cultural figures appeared within some minutes of eachother? cool as fuck, man, and if anyone could tell me more about some of that, i'd be really interested.

and also just little thing that pisses me off is that, and i saw someone else mention it too, some people just choose to obsess over remmick and make him their sad little wet-cat vampire guy and the point of his character and the movie itself completely flies over their head because they see a white male character in a movie of mostly black people and latch onto him like a leech, like, are we serious right now? can you be any more insensitive??

anyways yeah i like sinners why do you ask .and also please tell me if anything i said here is any sort of wrong or insensitive, i dont wanna sound or be ignorant

[emjee]

“Take a Black man in America, make him a vampire, fuck with that vampire, and see what comes of it.”

[sophie1973]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged over the past week by @taste-thewaste, @stellarm and @onthewaytosomewhere

Have a little flashback ( a second one) from my WIP "Bloodstream" with Philip's pov this time. (I decided to make Philip a good brother in this story because, well, this is my fic and I do what I want. But consequently he might sound a bit OOC for some)

Snippet and tags under the cut

“Am I being clear, Henry?” “Perfectly clear, Gran,” Henry replies, a blank look on his face.   “I hope so. I would hate to have to take matters into my own hands.”  The threat is limpid, and with one last warning look, she leaves the room, leaving the 3 of them in various state of shock and confusion.

“Fuck,” Philip mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose and ignoring the surprised looks his siblings throw at him. It’s true he doesn’t swear often, and certainly not in front of them, but the situation at hand seems to require it. “She certainly did not seem happy to know about Mom and Dad’s involvement with Percy,” Bea says, her voice trembling slightly and her complexion paler than usual. “I should have kept my mouth shut, but I honestly thought she knew. Which, in retrospect, is a bit daft on my part,” Philip sighs. “It’s alright, Pip. You were trying to defend me. Besides, it’s not like they hid anything. It’s only because I spent time with him that she took notice, and we all know why,” Henry chimes in, his face now closed and somber.  Bea takes his hand and squeezes it. “I’m not sure what offends her the most: that you would shag a man, that he is black, or that he is a vampire.” “Bea,” Philip chastises her half-heartedly, but when he hears Henry’s soft laugh, he lets out one too. “Probably all three of them.” “So, I don’t want to sound alarmist, but I still think we should warn Percy. Just to be on the safe side.” Beatrice’s eyes widen. “You think she could….? I know Percy is not a peerage member, but he is still a prominent name in society. His…disappearance would definitely causes some stir.”  “It pains me to say this, but yes. I think she could. And she will. Again, I don’t want to anticipate negatively,” he presses, seeing Henry’s ashen face. “But it’s Gran.” “I suppose we should be more cautious for a while. Percy talked about expanding the shelters to America, maybe it might be the right time. Like you, I really don’t trust Gran to stay idle even if we don’t see each other anymore,” Henry says softly, obviously upset at the idea of having to send his best mate away. Philip knows he’s blaming himself for the predicament in which he put Percy, even involuntarily. “It’s just a precaution, I’m sure all will be fine,” Philip says in what he hopes is a reassuring manner, even though he doesn’t believe one word of what he just said. He sees Henry’s and Bea’s shoulders relax a little, so he feels a little better about lying to them.   Philip has always trusted his instincts, and the fact that he has been so catastrophically right about them will haunt him for the rest of his days. Two weeks later, Arthur Fox is found dead in an alley behind Drury Lane, allegedly the victim of a random mugging. Six weeks later, with the help of Percy, who made arrangements from across the pond, Philip puts his siblings on a ship to America, wishing desperately it won’t be the last he will see of them.

No pressure tag for

@hgejfmw-hgejhsf @theprinceandagcd @inexplicablymine

@piratefalls @underthefigtree777 @happiness-of-the-pursuit

@ash-morrison @itsmaybitheway @tintagel-or-cockleshells @fckngyrs @blueeyedgrlwrites

@kj-bee @yrsacdfox @tailsbeth-writes @firenati0n

[chernayawidow]

“Mainly, you needed to stop wasting it. You were tired of jobs that would pay your bills but not bring you closer to your career.” — Hell yeah! Honestly I also need that kind of clarity but it’s just so harddddd 😓

“And frivolous thoughts of coffee shop boys and…the hope of running into your soulmate.” — See THIS right here is what makes the situation even more painful, is the fact that she hopes to find her soulmate. While on the other hand, he knows about her in a way, and he had the chance to reach out to her, but he decided to let the connection fizzle out because of his revenge driven, neglectful father.

“Yes, make sure it’s not on Thursday,” she said, brushing a finger through her thin blonde hair. “I have to leave early to get my roots touched up before I go away this weekend.” — This bitch needs to get cut down to size 💀 listen I’m all for getting your hair done, but to put that above our baby girls OWN work load is a bitch move. I really hope she gets a reality check at some point…

“Oh. And get me a coffee, would you, dear?” — I choose to believe that our girl proceeded to spit a big ol’ glob into that coffee!

“Really?” Your voice was terse. “It’s one day a year, Dad. You can’t even manage that?” — Oh no, another shitty dad 🫣

“At least you had your car—a dark blue Camaro your uncle had restored and gifted you for your twenty-first birthday.” — OH FUCK YES YES YESSSS!!!! I LOVE CAMARO’S!! Bobby for the win you amazing human being!! Also I immediately thought of Vampire Diaries.

“You didn’t talk to your Uncle Bobby as much as you would like. Between work and school and taking care of the house for you and your dad, you didn’t have much free time on your hands.” — Justice for Bobby!!!

“Your dad had never liked it, you hanging around your uncle. So you didn’t tell him.” — Good thing you’re a 24 year old woman babe, what you do is your choice, and he can’t stop you MWAHAHAHAHAH 😏

““He knows,” Bobby said. The surly edge to his voice made you smile in amusement.” — I love Bobby so much, and Rufus too 🥺💖

“Usually I’d take you up on that, but I’ve got some people coming in pretty soon.” — The Winchesters I bet… 😏

“You shook your head. People drive like maniacs nowadays.” — LMAOOO oh if only she knew who that flash of black belonged to 💀

“You were finally feeling your soulmate.” — DUN DUN DUNNN!! AND THUS IT BEGINS!!

“Part of him thought, if he hadn’t hooked Sam into coming with him to try and find John, maybe Jessica Moore would still be alive.” — I’ve always wondered the same thing. If Sam never went with Dean, and was home with Jess, then would she still have died?

“’Cause it’s not just for you,” Bobby said dryly, then he hesitated. “...My niece might be swingin’ by later.” — Awh he’s so sweet and fatherly 🥹🫶

“Sam finally cracked a small grin as Dean rolled his eyes. “Fine. Jesus. You’d think Miss America was comin’ into town.”” — Nah just your soulmate who you avoided, no biggie at all 🤙

“You felt it now. You could almost visualize it with your eyes closed. In your imagination, it was bright and beckoning. You focused on it, and it grew brighter, thrumming and soft.” — This is such an interesting version of a Soulmate AU! There’s so many different types and I’ve never seen this kind before, but I’m really enjoying it!

“You could say that, he carefully replied. He remembered the way your voice sounded, smooth and pleasant in his mind, and he couldn’t help smiling a little. But not for long, I’m thinkin’.” — WOOHOO!!! CONTACT HATH BEEB MADE!! ITS HAPPENING!!!

“He answered you as he turned on the showerhead and started undressing. I’ll make a deal with you…if you can guess what I do for a living, I’ll come by and introduce myself in person.” — Dean you sly motherfucker 🤣

“When he once again remembered his dad’s warnings, that new warmth in his heart chilled, and it sunk like a stone.” — MAN FUCK JOHN! He really went and turned what should be a happy experience, into a terrifying one that Dean is now not wanting to commit to out of fear 😐 Stupid John! ITS ALWAYS THE JOHNS!!

So now the ball is really starting to get rolling! I just really hope that Dean disregards what John said and doesn’t up and leave her, because I don’t think my heart could handle that angst 🥺 and I can’t imagine how she would feel about that! Keen as to see how he handles this! Love your work as per usual! 🫶

Never Say Goodbye - Part 3

Pairing: Dean x Female Reader

Summary: The first time you and Dean sensed each other’s thoughts and feelings, you were just kids. It would take years to realize that you both were bonded for life, and even longer to finally meet. [Soulmate AU] (Rated M for eventual scenes – 18+)

Word Count: 4,500 Warnings: Language, fluff.

Part 3: Contact

As it turned out, your life started to get better after you missed that shift at the coffee shop.

Oh, you still got fired. But the experience of nearly getting splattered on the pavement by an oncoming truck gave you some unexpected clarity about your life.

Mainly, you needed to stop wasting it. You were tired of jobs that would pay your bills but not bring you closer to your career. And frivolous thoughts of coffee shop boys and…the hope of running into your soulmate.

Maybe one day, you could dare to hope, but from now on, you wouldn’t let it rule your thoughts. You wouldn’t hope too hard either.

It could save you from the disappointment of never hearing anyone’s thoughts but your own.

So you decided to check the University of South Dakota’s career board for jobs, and you discovered an opening in the history department! A research assistant for one of your favorite professors, who was writing their dissertation on the strange, superstitious, and sometimes down-right disgusting social practices of the Ancient Greeks (including bottling up the sweat of their best athletes, because they thought their musky body oils contained magical properties).

Since you were already majoring in history, you were a shoe-in for the job. And working directly with your professor gave you a great resource for future classes.

Four years later, you had earned your bachelor’s degree in History. You even decided to further your education when you were able to get a scholarship for graduate school.

Now you were just one semester away from finishing your master’s. You still worked in the history department, but you had been able to upgrade—to Executive Secretary to the Dean of Ancient Studies.

It sounded fancy, but really, you were a glorified slave. Or at least, your boss seemed to think so.

“I need you to cancel my meeting at two,” said Dr. Birch. She breezed into your tiny office without knocking, startling you from where you were hunched over your laptop.

“Good morning!” came your reflexive greeting, though it was a bit too loud and sharp. You internally winced at yourself and relaxed your posture, like a bird unruffling its feathers. “Cancel your meeting with Dr. Wells?”

Dr. Wells was a nice man, and an important one. He was the Head Dean of the entire History department. Technically, he was above Dr. Birch. It wasn’t a good look to blow him off, but you weren’t about to say so.

“Yes, I have an important lunch, and I already know it’s going to go overtime. Gary will understand,” she replied. She was looking at her phone rather than at you. For all she cared, you were just a calendar with hands.

Dr. Helen Birch was a brilliant woman. She’d published no less than five books, had won awards for her peer-reviewed articles, and she had been your academic advisor all through graduate school.

She could also rival Meryl Streep for “bitchy-ass boss” in The Devil Wears Prada.

“I also need you to grade the final exams for one of my classes,” she said. “Greek Studies this time.”

You held back a sigh. Again? I’ll never finish my own finals at this rate.

But what you said was, “Sure, I can do that. And I’ll email Dr. Wells to reschedule.”

“Yes, make sure it’s not on Thursday,” she said, brushing a finger through her thin blonde hair. “I have to leave early to get my roots touched up before I go away this weekend.”

“That’s fun,” you chatted while you revised Dr. Birch’s calendar on your computer (and sent an apology email to Dr. Wells). “Where to?”

“Oh, I have this tedious conference in Chicago. But then my boyfriend is taking me skiing in Breckenridge.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I simply can’t wait. This semester has been a drain on my psyche, and just terrible for my migraines.”

With the email sent, you took a little breath and gathered some courage as you got up from your desk and gathered a handful of papers you had stapled together. It was a rough draft of your thesis, which was only a bit worse for wear (including a suspect coffee stain that you didn’t remember accidentally putting there).

“Actually, I was going to ask you if you got my email about my thesis. I just wanted to go over some of the feedback you gave me on the draft,” you said, trying to sound more confident than you felt.

Dr. Birch raised a brow. “What of it?”

“Well.” You showed her the front page, which was covered in red ink. “Mainly the part where you crossed out the first three pages and commented, ‘Missing the point.’”

She nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid I have nothing to add about that.”

Well, that didn’t exactly help you. The first three pages was your entire introduction to your thesis, “TV & Film: The Modern-Day Mythology of the Masses.”

You must’ve had a pitiful, lost look on your face, because Dr. Birch finally took pity on you. She sighed.

“You are a creative girl. I’ll give you that, but your degree is not in cinematography. You are a historian,” she said. “And while the ‘Well of Souls’ in Raiders of the Lost Ark may be based on a real historical place in Jerusalem, that does not mean Indiana Jones can, or should be described as a ‘religious experience.’”

My ten-year-old self would bed to differ, you wanted to retort, but you kept your mouth shut and lowered your eyes. Dr. Birch nodded to herself and was about to leave your office, until she stopped short and gave you her Amex card.

“Oh. And get me a coffee, would you, dear?”      

The moment your day ended and you were able to get into your car, you let out a long sigh of relief. While you waited for your car to warm up, you massaged your hand, aching from grading papers for Dr. Birch’s class.

You rubbed your hands together, this time to warm them as the frigid air draining from the car still bit into your skin. A shudder tingled through your body, and not in a pleasant way. Honest to God, I hate the winter.

On reflex, you toyed with the silver ring on your right hand—your mom’s ring. It usually comforted you, but today, remembering her made your heart heavy. Because today was the anniversary. 

You still remembered that snowy day when you were fourteen, could picture it so clearly, like a scene painted on glass.

With one last sigh, you fished out your phone to call your dad. It rang for a few seconds (it always took him an eternity to answer his phone, and it drove you crazy).

“Hello?”

“Hey, Dad,” you said.

“Hey. Just got off work?”

“Yeah, I’m headed back to Sioux Falls. Want to meet at home and go together, or do you just want to meet me at the cemetery?”

The other line was silent for a moment. Longer than you would’ve liked.

“You’re coming, right?” you pressed.

“Look, I’m gonna have to work late tonight,” Jack said. “Don’t wait up for me.”

“Really?” Your voice was terse. “It’s one day a year, Dad. You can’t even manage that?”

“I told you I’m working a case.” He sounded annoyed. You didn’t care.

You were pissed.

“Whatever,” you dismissed. But then, you realized you weren’t willing to let it go just yet. “You know, I just find it interesting. On her birthday, Christmas, today, somehow you just can’t be bothered to visit your wife.”

“Hey, drop it, all right?” your dad snapped back.

“Sure. It’s none of my business, I guess.”

“I don’t need your sarcasm either.”

You silently fumed, but you weren’t willing to hang up the phone first. You didn’t want to look petty, and apparently, neither did he. You both could be stubborn like that, sitting in a tense stretch of silence instead of just…

Instead of just, I don’t know what, you could admit, if only to yourself. Eventually, his voice reached your ears.

“I’ll go when I can,” he said.

“Fine.”

And you really did hang up this time.

What should’ve been an hour drive back into your hometown took almost two with the traffic.

Oh yeah, you still lived at home with your dad. It wasn’t ideal, especially with a long-ass commute every day. But unfortunately, being a full-time student with a part-time job didn’t give you the budget to have your own life.   

At least you had your car—a dark blue Camaro your uncle had restored and gifted you for your twenty-first birthday. You didn’t talk to your Uncle Bobby as much as you would like. Between work and school and taking care of the house for you and your dad, you didn’t have much free time on your hands. You did see Bobby around town sometimes, and occasionally shared a beer with him when your demanding schedule allowed.

Your dad had never liked it, you hanging around your uncle. So you didn’t tell him.

That seemed to work out better for both of you.

In fact…

You reached for your phone again and found your uncle’s number.

“Stop badgering me, Rufus. I’m busy.”

Your lips curved into a grin. “Uncle Bobby?”

“Oh. Hi, darlin’. Sorry, thought you were some riff raff that keeps spammin’ me.”

“What did Rufus do now?” you asked.

“He knows,” Bobby said. The surly edge to his voice made you smile in amusement.

“What’re you doing later? Up for a beer?”

“Usually I’d take you up on that, but I’ve got some people coming in pretty soon.”

You scoffed. “You have people? What people?”

“You’re not the only number in my cell, you know,” he said dryly.

“What, you mean Rufus?” you teased.

“All right, now you’re just runnin’ up my minutes,” he said. “If you really want that beer, you’re welcome to swing by, if you want. I’ve got a stocked fridge full of cold ones.”

You laughed, then you considered his offer. Did you really want to go home and deal with your dad (whenever he bothered to come home)?

“Well, I’m going to the cemetery first, but I could maybe swing by after,” you replied.

“Right, that’s today, ain’t it?” Bobby said. “Give your mom my respects.”

A more genuine smile grew on your lips. “Thanks. Will do.”

You hung up with him just as you got to the cemetery. It was hard not to feel melancholy here, especially in the winter. All the graves were lightly dusted with snow, and it felt like the world came to a quiet stillness here.

You bundled up with your scarf and gloves as you braced yourself for the cold, stepping out of the car. On your way in, you heard the rumble of a car going by. It was loud enough to make you turn your head and see a flash of black speeding away.

You shook your head. People drive like maniacs nowadays.

You were about to continue on your way towards your mom’s grave, when you finally heard it.

Say goodbyeee…never say goodbye-y-aaayy. Holdin’ on we gotta try, holdin’ on to never sayyy goodbyeee.~

Someone was warbling a Bon Jovi song in your mind, and it certainly wasn’t you.

But you did come to a dead stop in your path. Your eyes widened as shock claimed your heart and your brain. Soon enough though, your heart warmed as you became aware of something new. It was like a low hum at first, reverberating inside your chest.

You and me and my old friends, hopin’ it would neeever end. Say goodbye—

The singing continued, but all you could focus on was the thrumming in your skull, the thread of connection you could sense and feel inexplicably. You didn’t realize you were crying until you felt warmth trickling down your cold cheeks. Sniffling, you wiped your tears with the back of your hand and smiled tremulously.

You were finally feeling your soulmate.

Which meant, he was close by…and with that realization came an important question:

What the hell do I do now?

They were in South Dakota again.

Dean knew coming back here was…potentially dangerous. He hadn’t heard his soulmate’s thoughts in four years, since the last time he was in this state.

Truth be told, he hadn’t wanted to come here. After the last hunt though, he could use some R&R at Bobby’s for a couple of days.

This time Dean had his brother with him, albeit the circumstances weren’t…great. Their dad was missing, and Sam had lost his girlfriend in the process of trying to find him.

Sometimes, Dean really regretted going to find his brother at Stanford. Part of him thought, if he hadn’t hooked Sam into coming with him to try and find John, maybe Jessica Moore would still be alive.

A more selfish part of him (one he wouldn’t name) was glad to have Sam with him. Dean was actually having fun hunting with him. And maybe, Dean was having to get to know him again too.

“You think Bobby will have any intel on Dad?” Sam asked from the passenger seat of the Impala. They were about five minutes away from Singer Salvage, the old man’s tow business (and his house).

“Doubt it,” Dean replied, changing the radio station once Bon Jovi turned to REO Speedwagon. He could get down with some pop rock from Jovi, but REO was pushing it.

“Then why are we here?” Sam turned to him with a frown. “We just ganked a poltergeist in our old house and…we saw Mom. You think we should be wasting time right now?”

Dean’s lips pursed. Leaving their old house behind in Lawrence, Kansas was exactly why he needed a minute before jumping into the next case. As much as he wanted to find John, Dean just…he needed a minute to breathe.

Revisiting those old (painful) memories wasn’t easy for him. He wasn’t sure that Sam completely got that.

“Bobby’s got a stack of lore books to Kingdom Come. Who knows, he might have a way to help us find Dad,” he said.

Sam shot him an unimpressed look. “And if he doesn’t?”

Dean resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He got why Sam was so fired up. Really. The fact that the kid was having weird…premonition dreams about the near future was concerning. And he wanted to find the thing that killed Jess, that killed their mom, but this was clearly going to be a marathon. Not a sprint.

“In the meantime, we crack open a couple beers,” Dean said, “get one or two of free nights on actual beds, and then we’re on our way to the next gig. How’s that sound?”

Sam let out a sigh through his nose and faced the road ahead. They both knew he wasn’t happy. Dean couldn’t exactly blame him.

When they finally got to Bobby’s, the old man greeted them with a casual wave, beckoning them inside. He offered them the contents of his fridge—a few beers and a frozen lasagna defrosting in the fridge. Dean scoped it out while Sam dropped off his bag in the upstairs guest room.

“That for us?” Dean pointed to the lasagna with a grin. “Didn’t know we merited the red-carpet treatment.”

“’Cause it’s not just for you,” Bobby said dryly, then he hesitated. “...My niece might be swingin’ by later.”

Dean raised his brows in curiosity. “Didn’t know you had a niece.”

Or any family, for that matter. He knew the old man had a wife, once upon a time, but he assumed she’d passed away. No kids. Bobby had never talked about having an extended family. He didn’t have pictures on the walls, and the shelves only had books and locked boxes.

Bobby took a long sip of his beer after opening a bottle each for himself and Dean. He had one ready on the counter for Sam, who came into the kitchen looking tired. The kid hadn’t been sleeping well for the past few weeks, to say the least. Dean handed him the beer.

“I don’t see her much,” Bobby conceded.

“Why’s that?” Dean asked.

It took a moment for the other man to answer. Eventually, he was honest. “Well, she's grown. Going to school, got a job. But you could say I had a fallin’ out with her dad, a while back.”

“You have a brother?” Sam said.

“Brother-in-law,” Bobby corrected. He didn’t say anything more about it though. Sam and Dean shared a look that said they agreed: There’s something off there, but I’m not gonna pry.

“You still see her though?” Dean asked.

“Every now and then,” Bobby said, sipping at his beer again. “It’s a small town.”

That kind of pissed Dean off. Bobby was a good guy. He’d watched Sam and Dean a lot when they were kids, their dad on a hunt. He’d made sure they had decent food to eat, good movies to watch, and even played catch with Dean a time or two.

So what kind of assholes did Bobby have for family, that they couldn’t be bothered to check in on the old man every now and then? They must’ve been off living their lives, in their own little world. Must be nice.

Dean brought the bottle of Heineken to his lips, only to realize it was empty. Couldn’t have that, could we?

He went to the fridge and opened the cap, only to jump as the beer fizzed and leaked over his hands.

Damn it!

Bobby sighed. “And I just mopped the damn floor.”

“All right, Martha Stewart. Keep your slippers on,” Dean teased. “Sam, get me a paper towel.”

Bobby tried to get by him to get the mop, but beer was still dripping down Dean’s arm.

“Would you move to the sink, already?”

Sam finally cracked a small grin as Dean rolled his eyes. “Fine. Jesus. You’d think Miss America was comin’ into town.”

Damn it.

You heard him again. And this time, you could hear his voice, so you knew the thought belonged to a him. The voice was pleasantly deep, and annoyed. You actually felt his irritation and were able to recognize that the emotion didn’t belong to you.

Excitement bubbled in your throat, almost making it hard to breathe as you drove your car down the road. You had been too worked up to go see your mom, and technically you were supposed to head to your Uncle Bobby’s house, but this was too important.

You needed to figure out how to talk to him—your soulmate.

So you pulled over on the side of the road, and even turned the radio off. Okay, now what?

You didn’t know what you were supposed to do. They taught about this subject in school, sure, but that had been years ago! You’d spent the past six years filling your head with college and work and learning how to be an adult.

Okay, just breathe. You calmed down a bit with some deep breaths, and you closed your eyes. When you first heard your soulmate’s singing in your head, you remembered feeling warmth spread through your body, emanating from your chest. Then in your mind, you’d noticed a…a thread, of what could only be described as energy.

You felt it now. You could almost visualize it with your eyes closed. In your imagination, it was bright and beckoning. You focused on it, and it grew brighter, thrumming and soft.

You thought of what you wanted to say, and you tried it—sending your thoughts and your will through the connection.

Having a rough day?

Dean was still wiping beer off the floor in Bobby’s kitchen when he heard your voice ring through his mind.

Having a rough day?

His entire body tensed, and he paused with a ball of wet paper towel in his hand. Sam had taken the mop from Bobby and was about to finish off the floor, until he noticed Dean blanking.

“Dean?” he asked.

It shook Dean out of his shock, enough for him to look up at his brother. “Hmm?”

“What’s up? You were staring off into space.”

Dean feigned innocence. “Nothing.”

Sam’s brow rose, but he didn’t press the issue and went back to mopping. Dean took the opportunity to toss the wet paper towel in the garbage.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower,” he said, and made his swift exit to the bathroom upstairs, so quickly that he didn’t see Bobby watching Dean curiously from the living room.

“Don’t use up all the hot water!” Sam called after him.

Once again, Dean found himself locking the bathroom door and staring at himself in the mirror. His green eyes were conflicted as he tried to calm down. Maybe his heart was starting to beat a tick faster. Maybe a trickle of nervous sweat was making its way down his spine. Maybe he didn’t know what the hell to do.

His dad’s warning was still clear as a bell in his mind.

“Unless you’re prepared to hang up your gun, and stop hunting, don’t open that door.”

Dean knew why John had said it, and even agreed with him…at least, logically he did. His life was complicated, and insane, and bloody. How could he put someone else through what he went through? What he still went through every day? It wasn’t right.

But his chest was aching. He rubbed at it absently.

He could feel your worry again, he realized. You were anxious, probably waiting for him to respond. Dean could feel you. Having a rough day? you’d asked him.

So as usual, he made an impulsive choice.

You could say that, he carefully replied. He remembered the way your voice sounded, smooth and pleasant in his mind, and he couldn’t help smiling a little. But not for long, I’m thinkin’.

Your relief hit him in a slow, but powerful wave. It almost made him feel guilty for taking so long to answer.

Well, it’s not every day you hear someone else in your head. Maybe you’re going crazy.

She was teasing him. You were teasing him.

It brought an incredulous smile to Dean’s face. You’re one to talk. Maybe you’re just talkin’ to yourself right now.

Hmm. I don’t usually warble to Bon Jovi, but maybe you’re right.  

A beat of surprise, another to remember what he and Sam had been listening to in the car earlier, and then embarrassment prickled at the back of his neck.

You heard that, huh? he asked wryly.

Maybe, you giggled. It was a cute sound, and it cut through some of his embarrassment. He wasn’t used to being put back a step by women. He was good at reading people’s body language, and usually it didn’t take him more than one look to figure out what a woman thought about him, and what they wanted to do with him.

So the fact that he couldn’t see you was a challenge. With that realization, a slow smile spread across his face. He was game for a challenge.

Well, I’m likin’ your voice so far, he said. Think I could get you to sing for me?

He felt you pause, a flutter of warmth through a tendril of shyness. I’ll leave the performing to you, Romeo.   

Come on, it’s only fair.

Who said life is fair?

Dean sobered a bit at that. Ain’t that the truth.

Hmm, so you were having a rough day.

Make it a week, he said.

Yeah, I know the feeling…I wasn’t having a good day today either.

Dean sensed your melancholy and didn’t like the feeling. Well, now you’re talkin’ to me. So it should be smooth sailin’ from now on.

He could feel you brighten at that. It made warmth bloom once again inside his chest, especially because he sensed you were smiling—a bit shy, but genuine.  

…What’s your name? he asked.

It took you a beat, but eventually you gave him your name. It wasn’t what he expected, but he liked it. Your name rolled through his thoughts, and he tested on his tongue.

What’s yours? you asked predictably. Somehow, Dean didn’t anticipate the follow-up.

Suddenly he realized exactly what he was doing: he was talking to you. (Something he’d told himself he wasn’t going to do.) Not to mention, he’d been locked in the bathroom for about ten minutes and hadn’t even showered yet. Pretty soon either Sam or Bobby was going to come knocking to see what the hell he was doing, so he might as well shower for real.

He answered you as he turned on the showerhead and started undressing. I’ll make a deal with you…if you can guess what I do for a living, I’ll come by and introduce myself in person.

Dean felt your shock, so he let you think as he stepped into the shower. Eventually you came back, annoyance coloring your emotions and your voice.

That’s stupid.

Dean smiled. Aw, come on. It’ll be fun.

For you!

Don’t you know, sometimes the best things in life come after some delayed gratification.

You paused for a moment, in which Dean didn’t know if you were in shock again, or just pissed. Maybe a combination of both.

Great, I got a comedian, you deadpanned. …You’re not a comedian, are you?

Sweetheart, I’m hilarious, Dean replied. But no. Good guess, though.

He sensed the equivalent of you rolling your eyes.

Just then, Sam knocked on the bathroom door.

“Hey, you better not use up all the hot water!”

“Twenty minutes of peace, Sammy. That’s all I ask,” Dean shot back. Sam made a sound of annoyance, but he went away, leaving Dean almost alone with his thoughts.

Look, I gotta go, he said regretfully. But I expect you to have some guesses cooked up by the time I get back from work.

You were still annoyed, but you begrudgingly agreed to his terms.

Fine. Just…don’t wander too far off. I can’t win the game if I can’t hear you.

Dean sensed your underlying worry, and your fear. You were afraid he was going to leave.

His heart softened. As a result, he ended up promising things he didn’t know if he meant.

Don’t worry. I’m not leaving town until you win, he said.

He felt your warm smile, along with your excitement.

Goodnight, sweetheart. We’ll talk soon.

Okay…goodnight.

He hung onto the feeling of your presence for a few seconds longer, before he let go of the connection. For now.

Dean caught himself smiling, but it quickly turned to a frown.

“Nobody should be waiting on men like us to come home bloody.”

When he once again remembered his dad’s warnings, that new warmth in his heart chilled, and it sunk like a stone. He leaned against the cool bathroom wall and pressed his forehead against the tile, while lukewarm water beat the side of his face and body.

Shit.

AN: Oh, Dean. What're we gonna do with you? lol

I hope you enjoyed Part 3! I promise they'll finally meet soon lol. What did you think of their first conversation?

To keep reading: Part 4

Series Masterlist

Dean Winchester Masterlist

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Tag List:

Want to be tagged on more Dean fics? Here's my Tag List.

[lonespektr]

SEPTEMBER 10TH HORROR WATCH

The Invitation (2022) specifying 2022 because it's a BUNCH of horror movies called the invitation and they are good but we don't want to confuse anybody

Okay

Old timey days fancy lady

Locked in the house, they chasin her

She kills herself off the fancy stairwell

"it ends here"

Clearly not because this is min 5 of the movie

party server women camaraderie over being groped by men

It's a gala thing for a DNA kit company

They snag a kit

Protag mails it in

English cuz is in NY wants to meet up

He's apparently the whitest man alive

Bestie says hell naw he's going to take her kidneys

She meets him he says she's a family scandal

One guess why

That's right their girl had a baby with a black staffer presumably the old timey woman that offed herself at the start

Black staffer raised her kin on his own

Eventually they moved to America

But homeboy told everybody about her 🤣🤣🤣

Now the whole family wants to meet the black american cousin 🤣🤣🤣

There's a big wedding this makes it a plausible reason for her to visit

Protag bumps the help and drops of bunch of shit the help are woc

The head butler of whatever tells her to to clean it up

Not very tall dark (obviously fucking white why do white ppl call themselves dark cause of black hair) hansom says no shes a vip

Protag like okay so it's ok talking shit to the help??

I realize this is a plot hole because she's fucking American he would know she probably wasn't the help not in a uniform and talking shit

Anyways the house has a bunch of gawdy art sculptures like animals

Is this maid welsh? Can i accurately identify welsh accent?

Fancy room maid says the fancy wrought iron bars are on the windows because of demon shrikes

The bars match the decor there's wrought iron shit and marble shit and carved shit everywhere

Former lady of the house??

Doesn't say yo mama

She know she fuckin dying she crying implying it's about the dead lady of the house it ain't she knows about the set up!!!

Bro y'all not related?? You talking about the home owner.

Nightmare lady of the house

Monster in the hallway

Very elaborate ritual just to see who has a cleaning assignment for a creepy locked room they look nervous

Mostly woc

Maid says not safe out of her room

Head host literally chanting

Wired headphones in the year of our lord 2022?

Got her

Everyone is too happy almost relieved that she is there

Mean girls

Short one doesn't travel much

Fancy pants stole her drink and pulled her into a live performance on a moments notice how romantic

Cuz is kikiing with mean girl constant she was supposed to be the whatever she now it's protag

Confirmation he's fully in on it

Clearly they need a female heir but why

Second? Third?? Time on that sword

Oh shizz monster in the room

Dude is in the room? 🧐

Made another glass mess for maid

Lots of sharp objects being set up

Dude not subtle

Protag not fucking around

I'm poor i want money to do shit bro

He's playing it obviously fake

Excellently done tension with the manicure scene

Keeps breaking shit

Seeggs he proposed because they are already doing a wedding so

She literally juz said yes and he didn't laugh wtf

Lol she checked like bruh I'm nawt serious

Friggin venician masks now

3 families

She's literally all the head of the table with home boy

Hes playing it so greasy

Shes physically repulsed yet she keeps saying yes

He announced they marriage at dinner

Another one bites the dust

Exposition speech teach people made a deal with the devil

Count Dracula (literally numerology obsessed 🤣)

Talking about 3 is the magic number of brides

So thought they were all vampires but it's just ones dude hoarding power

The bridesmaids drank blood??

Wait who's got fangs?

She's expecting the rich people who sell their daughters for infinity to help

He's delusional

Maid is VERY distraught

More exposition

3 is that magic number they all get to be immortal if they cross the three blood lines

Apparently all fangs are day walkers

Lots of screaming begging and crying

Maid rescue

They guy is literally from dowton Abbey righ?

First house trouble

Name dropped the family

Not very smart but observant

Back in

Wedding day

That was always the play

Wild AF the change being instant

Stakes him already

Miss

Girls fight to the death

Show down count v protag

She's already unvamped with the palace buying around her nice and tidy

Daughter surpases the mother in that too end it

You don't maurder yourself you kill the baddie you survive

Lol she goes after cuz later w bestie

[chicalepidoptera]

"Take a black man in America. Make him a vampire. Fuck with that vampire. And see what comes of it."

[gagfadget]

I’m gonna ramble a bit about this but someone in the tag said something along the lines of “Louis could’ve actually helped his community but he killed Alderman instead” and even though I don’t think Louis should’ve displayed his body like that in public for the same reason that unfolds at the end of the episode, saying that killing Alderman wasn’t cathartic would be a lie on my part. I mean…what could Louis’ vampirism do to help his community? How would vampirism help the black community? You could say that he can kill more racists and I’d love to see that to..but racism is a system that’s baked into America. It’s what made America. You also have to take Louis’ mental and physical state into consideration. His relationships are either crumbling or gone completely from his life now. Expecting Louis to make smart decisions when there’s so much happening to him and with him is kinda absurd and missing the point of his character. The story is explicit in how flawed he is, how irrational and hypocritical he can be. It’s also explicit about how insanely hard, confusing and traumatizing his situation is and how Lestat is trying to get him to speed-run through all of it. Daniel said it best, “You take a black man in America, make him a vampire, fuck with that vampire and see what comes of it” and well…this is what’s coming out of it for Louis.

[pedrocomicreviews]

And now for a discussion full of spoilers.

Tony Stark is so cooked, dude.

Right away we establish he's dealing with racists, bigots and fascists, except he keeps talking to them. He has to actively remove the conversation from a place where Commander Hunyadi immediately takes it: he does not simply hate Doom because Doom is a tyrant, he hates Doom because Doom is Romani.

Imagine any other hero character in this situation; put fucking Captain America here and tell me this wouldn't be an action-packed issue where Captain America has infiltrated a guerilla for the sole purposes of taking Hunyadi down, and this is the moment where he says screw the plan, we do it now. It's so interesting for the Stark character that he knows this is bad, he knows this is the worst thing he's done ever since he used to do heroin on the regular, and he still, still sits down and has a conversation. He tries to tell himself it's the lesser evil, he tries to tell himself it's worth it, and that he's not back to his worse days, and that this is the only way forward because it's the only way forward he can see.

And Hunyadi, before the middle of the issue, systematically removes all of these barriers from him, simply by providing him with his side of the argument: he staunchly believes the only thing that could truly make a different right now is Stark missiles, Stark weapons and Stark armors. Tony's best impulses are not what save the world and are not what save Latveria, he argues, but his ingenious death devices.

We've had moments in the past issues where Tony's vices and worse moments come back to haunt him. Sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically, all because of the choices he's trying to make. His lust for power and control has landed him in the sights of AIM and their superior technology, his history of alcoholism and "both sides" takes have landed him on the other end of conversations where people point out how irresponsible he's been with himself and others, and how easy it is for him to sprout niceties after he too was nowhere near where people needed him for so long, because it would have been inconvenient. And now here we are once again: someone wants to buy Stark missiles, hey, what gives? Give me the missiles.

We see Tony try to argue that missiles wouldn't work, that the money he's giving is more than enough, that there's a better way to... destroy a country, essentially, a way that makes him happier, and it just never penetrates. Because the other person knows how this works, up to and including having a plan that Tony eventually accepts.

This all devolves into an action scene as the Winter Guard attacks, Black Widow intervenes, it's very cool it's very wild, but then we go back to that REAL SHIT where Natasha and Tony are stuck in chairs and have to have a conversation about what the hell he's been up to.

And Natasha is the hopeful core here, which is very unusual. She's the one who's advocating for their hero system, the one that has objectively failed in its mission to secure the world from a supervillain's control. She's coming from a place where she has seen these types of people before, knows how they will fail, why they will fail, why their sponsors are wrong, and overall this is mostly a woman who knows what she's talking about being more or less ignored by a man who feels very strongly about what he doesn't know.

But it's not like Natasha really gives Tony a tangible, real alternative to what he's struggling with. Because right now, there is none. The heroes have failed so thoroughly, we are bordering on hiatus until someone finds a crack in Doom's armor. And there have been several-- most every book dealing with him has shown his plans falling apart. He's detonated a nuke over America, he's nearly fucked up the Contest of Champions Cytorakk and Strange have held every year, his version of Doom Academy has dissent in it, his attempts at making vampires pariahs lasted until Sue Storm told her husband to fix it...

... and Tony is not a perfect guy, he's not a good ideas guy; he's an ideas guy, which is a very specific distinction. Most every idea Tony Stark has ever had "for the world" has ended in tragedy, strife or supervillainy; sometimes all three. His MO is looking at the forest and saying some wild shit like "If we put a piece of armor on top of the forest it will be safer", only to watch in awe as every single tree dies because they can get no sun. Which sucks if you love him but like, look, in this era of neo-oligarchy, it kinda fucking rules that Tony is bad at this.

It sucks to have to bring down a character like him every single time, to make him be at his worst before being at his best in such personal, vile ways that some people will never really forgive him, but that's kind of the story of the planet, as well? A character like Tony Stark would be a villain if you created him nowadays; at the very least a satire. The fact that we ended up with a billionaire tech-oligarch genius who explodes brown-skinned people in movies that get massive US Army contracts is entirely a matter of legacy, and of a machine that has not stopped.

So let's use him! Let's use him for shit like this! It's really interesting to have this character be in the place where he would be in real life, but still have to come out heroic at some point. And it's very interesting to see writers struggling with not basically making Iron Man into Elon Musk propaganda, which I feel like some runs ended up unfortunately doing.

All in all, I think this is great. I think this is an amazing way to use Tony and I think his path of good intentions leading to hell is always fun to watch being built. Superhero, yes, but a rich guy who got richer off people's deaths first, and I'm very happy we never let go of that as a piece of characterization. The amount of stories we can tell about an imperfect Tony Stark with holes in his armor is legion compared to the amount of stories we can tell about a Tony Stark who, like, just feels really sorry, and doesn't struggle with that anymore.

Iron Man #6

"If Iron Man has truly come to Dagestan without his armor, borrow my pistol."

T-3 pages until our first slur! We haven't had this since Kitty Pryde last wanted to make a point!

God what a meaty fucking issue where do I begin, let's do some non-spoiler talk and then I'll figure it out.

Iron Man continues to be a book about examining cracks in the armor. This is a heavily political issue about Tony Stark's past, present and possible future as an arms dealer, the type of person he deals with, and the short and long term consequences of his actions in the world.

It reads like both a character takedown and an honest look at what Tony Stark does, as a character, and the types of things he justifies in his own head. Can someone deal in weapons ethically? Is there actually such a thing as a greater good, a lesser evil? Or is it just whatever kind of death makes you more comfortable? Is it really just a matter of telling yourself something is going to work until you believe it?

We also have an IRON FIT UPDATE with one of my favorite looks I've seen these past few years: I was a true believer in the Mysterium Armor, and this has a lot of what I liked about it:

The color contrast harkens back to the Mysterium Armor and also to OG Ultimate's bulkier, red-shoulders-black-torso take. I also really love this analog era's refusal to make the armor's silhouette clean: you still see he has wires everyone and parts that are a little too bulky, and don't quite fit as perfectly as the other suits normally do. Genuinely in love with all these designs, and the sword rules, too.

Ultimately, all I have to say about this book is a spoiler, so I'll cut it off here and say I really liked it, and can't wait to see where it goes.

[howdoyousleep3]

Themed self care story, just because:

It has been a long time since James had given Halloween more than just a passing thought. Sure, there were those at his company that embraced the holiday with both hands-- decorating their spaces, wearing costumes, installing candy bowls in various parts of the office, and so on--but James rarely partook of such festivities. It's not that he hated it or anything, he just never felt the drive to be a part of it.

Then his Stevie stumbled into his life.

And if anyone loves Halloween, it's a college kid.

James had never seen him so animated. New costumes every day, late nights helping set up, and then take down, various attractions across his school campus, chocolate-flavored kisses and licorice-tinted laughter at all hours.

He was captivating. And James couldn't help but be swept up in it.

So when Steve invited him to a party on Halloween night itself, he knew he had to go all out.

Problem was, he had no idea what kind of costume to wear. Vampires and werewolves and Frankenstein monsters were cliché, movie characters and pun-themed costumes weren't his style...he was stuck.

He had very nearly resigned himself to merely donning his old college hockey gear and blacking a few of his teeth, when he stumbled onto perfection:

Steve's comic collection. Namely, a grim anti-hero called The Winter Soldier.

Phone calls were made, fittings were scheduled, and magic was worked.

-

Night of the party, Steve was nearly frantic with excitement. He had no idea was James was gonna be, but he was simply thrilled at the fact the older man had agreed to come at all.

"James!" He called up the stairs as he finished lacing the boots of his own costume--an almost guilty splurge of James' money, a cinematically accurate Captain America--, "we gotta head out soon! Traffic sucks close to the bar, and we gotta find parking!"

"Almost ready," came a muffled reply. "I just need a quick hand with this zipper. Help?"

Steve bounded up the stairs, eager and excited to see the costume James had been hiding from him for days. Was it a fully decked out Victorian Vampire Hunter? Perfectly plated Arthurian Knight? Ripped and stained fighting game character? Maybe a--

The fact the James set the scene perfectly and precisely would make itself obvious to Steve later, when his brain reconstituted from the fried and fizzled mess it made in his skull at the sight before him.

--

Every light in the bedroom was off, save for a lamp that had been placed slightly behind the chair that was now sitting by the window. The light glinted off metal plates and slid over black leather like water. Breath hissed softly through a matte black muzzle, and sharp blue eyes pinned Steve in place.

Steve felt light-headed, almost giddy from the rush of blood coursing downwards. Now he knew why James laughed when he brought up his costume choice. He gripped the doorframe as his knees started to buckle.

"Fucking hell," he whimpered as James uncrossed his legs and filled the chair, the room, and Steve's skull with his presence and the scents of leather and gunmetal. Two hands, one bare, one sheathed in a segmented metal glove, rested on the arms of the chair and flexed, just slightly.

"You're my mission," the words were soft, deep, and tinged with the most mild Russian accent.

--

They never made it to the party.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Happy Halloween, everybody.

[natjennie]

TAKE A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA, MAKE HIM A VAMPIRE. FUCK WITH THAT VAMPIRE AND SEE WHAT COMES OF IT.

[spookiekewchie]

Marvel Masterlist

None of my writing is suitable for minors, do not read or interact with my content if you are under the age of 18. Please be mindful of all content warnings listed on each post.

DO NOT repost or translate my work anywhere. Reblogs are always welcome, and let me know that you enjoy my fics.

🥵 - smut 🖤 - dark fic 💘 - fluff 😂 - humor 🌪️ - angst 💀 - horror

BUCKY BARNES 

never let me go...  🥵🖤

Bucky Barnes has wanted you since the first day he saw you. He has every intention to have you, even if it means taking extreme measures.

the dreadful need in the devotee (vampire!bucky/siren!reader)🥵🖤💀

It’s a dreadful need, and only you can fill it for him.

ETERNALS

untitled Druig x reader x Makkari fic 🥵

the one where you know you fucked up…

LOKI

Too Hot, Hot Damn  🥵

There’s a heatwave and you’re pretty sure this is what hell is like. Lucky for you there’s a frost giant willing to help you cool off in his own special way.

PETER PARKER

worth it (dark??tasm!spider-man x black!reader)

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man decides to make you earn what you've stolen.

SAM WILSON

Daddy’s Girl  😂

You’re Sam Wilson’s girl, but you’re also Nick Fury’s daughter. 

All For You  🥵

Teasing Sam at a party has consequences, but those consequences are half the fun. 

Risk & Reward (mob!sam) 🥵🖤

Breaking up with a notorious mobster isn’t easy, especially when he refuses to accept the words “it’s over”.

Training Day  🥵

Just a simple sparring session with Sam, what could possibly go wrong...or right.

Caffeine Kisses ☕️ 💘

The one where you meet the new Captain America in a coffee shop

Shang-Chi

forever’s gonna start tonight 💘

a drunken night out at a karaoke bar ends with you meeting a mysterious yet sweet stranger

STEVE ROGERS

Fireworks 🥵

The adventures of mean!Steve and one bratty agent that he just can’t seem to get enough of. 

Fireworks , Sky Flyer (1.5), Barrage, Bombette

Music Theory 🥵implied

Steve walks into find you putting on a show, who knew the man would get inspired.

Cap vs the Grey Sweats 🥵implied

The one where Steve goes out looking like a hoochie in some grey sweats

Let me Upgrade You 🥵implied

The one where you get Steve to stop dressing like a grandpa.

look what you did 🌪️🥵mentioned

Steve's choices have consequences that he's too late to realize.

Imagines 🥵

Mean!Steve w/ an overtalkative reader Steve taking back control after losing a bet

Thor Odinson

no church in the wild 🥵🖤💀

You'd made it out of the small town that you'd grown up in, but when you're pulled back by circumstances beyond your control you realize that your grandmother was right. No one ever really leaves here, sweetpea. Something always brings them back.

[fluorescentpipedream]

I kind of like this picture better for Aurelio, it’s more campy but it’s kind of indicative of his personality too. And honestly if I was approaching 1300 I’d be a little weird too. He is apparently preparing to host a “Vampire Ball birthday party” and invited vampires and a lot of his Tiktok followers as well, just told the vampires to behave themselves, it’s not a hunting ground. While most of his followers think he’s playing a character, there are some who know what he is. But he will have a massive cake, themed drinks (and a special bartender for his otherworldly guests) and make it a big thing. He also sent invitations to Ryki & Kristy, since they’re being invited to the Council meeting the same week. One of the other reasons Ryki is invited is because Aurelio wants his band to perform, he has a stage set up for local bands and then he’s going to do a few too.

Now…*cracks knuckles* Skinner Sweet has been telling me things. Skinner’s rebirth into the first American Vampire (not the first vampire from America “there are fucking terrifying Quetzalcoatl Native motherfuckers out in the west”) happened in 1880, around the height of the gold rush. He and his posse were jumped by a group of European blood suckers and massacred for their meal, and in the struggle with Skinner one of them landed a couple of drops of his vampiric blood in an open wound. Since Skinner was subsequently killed moments later the vamp thought little else about it. The two surviving members of the posse carried their leader’s body to their hideout, a buried train car, and left him there to be forgotten about, jokingly saying if anyone in the future found him, they’d think him a king, surrounded by all his treasure. (The two ultimately died, one of them turning into a vampire, eating his former friend and then joining those that made him.) 

Skinner wasn’t exactly dead but it took a little while for his new vampiric strain to fully take over his blood, since he wasn’t bitten and it was only a few stray drops that got into a bloody scratch. In 1885 that Skinner woke up ravenous and angry and it didn’t take him long to hunt down the same European vampires and massacre them tearing them to shreds in his new form. Skinner also found out that a former member of his posse, Gene “Beau” Finely took a good portion of the gang’s gold and has used it to make himself look bigger and better than he is. He’s been trying to hunt the bastard down and thinks it’s high time Beau learns exactly what became of his former leader. In his inability to control the thirst and his bloodlust he leveled the small town in Colorado where he’d tracked the vampires, now leaving nothing more than ghost stories and an abandoned town. He goes there sometimes, and eventually uses it as a hideout when he needs to let some time pass. 

Skinner was on a rampage until 1887 when he happened upon a bloody, half dead Irish woman on the side of the road scrambling for a gun to fight off a massive bear. Against his better judgement, and really for no reason he can put a finger on at first he hops off his horse and shifts his hand into claws, slashing through the bear. As the blood sprays into the air, he looks down at the woman and grins at her, the shock of seeing him and the near death experience with the bear causes her to black out. Skinner finds it funny at first and takes the woman back to his camp, simply tossing her body over the back of his horse and carrying her off. When she awakens again he’s sitting across from her with a fire burning, her wounds tended to and he’s chewing on a long stick of peppermint, talking to the man who keeps his camp running when he’s not around. He had apparently gone back for the bear as well and it’s currently being turned into a coat. After taking to Irene for a bit, they don’t immediately agree to travel together but seem to be going in the same direction most of the time. He finds her company amusing and eventually tells her he’s a bank robber, known as Skinner Sweet (he had been letting her call him Fancy Man, since he’s almost always wearing a gator skin coat, boots and the rest). Skinner ends up settling down with Irene for what remains of her life, though she does know he’s a vampire, he tells her after she sees him turn into a monstrous form while working the bounty mission looking for the Wolf Man. She didn’t run from him, which surprised Skinner a little but instead she seemed to feel safer with him being like that. Go figure. 

Irene is the first time Skinner has been in love, and helped him come to the conclusion that while his heart may have slowed (somehow it never has stopped, but beats so little it might as well be), it’s not dead and he can still feel something for someone else. She passes from the world in the 1920s I think, before he meets his little actress protégé, Pearl, using her to get back at some of the other vampires who made him into what he is. In their time together, Skinner was never tempted to make her, he didn’t want to grow to hate her, but instead they lived up in Canada, far from the rest of the world so no one ever wondered who the man was that never aged. They did take on some young workers and treated them like they were the couples’ children, though eventually those kids would move on before they learned too much about what Skinner was. 

Despite spending a good portion of the ‘30s and ‘40s in Las Vegas and using the moniker Jim Smoke there, Skinner does eventually sleep for a while, returning to that ghost town in Colorado for a time before heading back up to the old cabin in the backwoods of Ontario where he and Irene had once lived. It appears, from the outside to be nothing more than an old, rundown and abandoned cabin, and he prefers it that way. Skinner had a mind to stay there, still as stone but eventually got restless around the early 2000s, and with all the movements of the demons and vampires at the time he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Venturing into New Orleans, he meets Danielle deArithorn (again, it takes him a little before he recognizes her as the Red Woman from his cowboy days) and finds her interesting to say the least. 

[fanficlibraryposts]

Larry Stylinson(1D) Fic Recs

sleeping on our problems by falsegoodnight

I’m in love with you, Louis thinks. He feels empty, weighed down by his sadness and the loss of Harry inside him just moments ago before his knot finally went down. There’s moments where he’s sure Harry feels the same. Like now, when he’s gazing down at Louis with so much adoration and tenderness. It’s like they’re both on the cusp of something more, but neither of them ever say a word. His confession is on the tip of his tongue ready to slide out like honey, and yet he remains silent. They both do, looking at each other and recognizing the reluctance mirrored in each other’s eyes. It’s then that Louis realizes they’re both scared.

-

Or Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about.

*A/B/O au, so soft and fluffy with just a dash of angst*

Foolishly, Completely Falling by dea_liberty

"Now that he’s actually gone and done it, there seems to be no way of going back - no rinse and repeat, no ctrl+alt+del, no abort button, no help to be had. He’s fallen into a black hole and he cannot seem to find a way out. The black hole is also known as Tumblr. More specifically, it’s known as Tumblr’s Larry Stylinson tag."

OR: The one where Louis becomes a Larry shipper by accident.

Put It All On Me by LoadedGunn

 "Yeah, yeah, give it to me, that's it, spread your legs a bit, there you go."

 The camera follows Louis as he does. Maybe if the modelling thing doesn't work out, he could try the porn industry. Then again, he's a bit too stocky to be twinky and a bit too twinky to be anything else. He likes that about himself, though. Well, directors and photographers like that about him. He could pull off pretty and edgy, could do GQ in the morning and a perfume commercial in the afternoon. Right now he thinks he could pull off anything, because it's Harry fucking Styles directing him.

Or, a Top Model AU where Louis is accidentally there to make friends, not become Britain's Next Top Model. (Also Zayn is the supermodel host.)

Promises We Made by thekindofworld

Its been five years since Harry and Louis broke up; they were seventeen and nineteen and it was messy to say the least. Cue Louis, who is worked off his feet making clothes for celebrities, Harry dropping his debut album, Niall who likes to avoid his insecurities by dragging Louis on Holiday, Zayn and Perrie as Louis' right hand stylists, and Liam who wishes Harry would just tell him about his ex-boyfriends before he contacts them about working for him.

Its either going to be a disaster, or the perfect timing they've all been waiting for.

*I’ve been very into fashion au lately*

but me, i’m not a gamble by orphan_account

A Posh & Becks AU in which Harry is a star on the stage and Louis is a star on the pitch, but they're both inexplicably terrible at articulating their feelings. In the end, it only takes a season's worth of failed matchmaking schemes, platonic dinner dates, road trip holidays, and one very convenient David Beckham cameo for them to figure it all out. And if Niall knew all along? Well, he at least has the decency not to be too smug about it.

Boys Fall From the Sky by fookinloosah

Superheroes. America is full of them — complete with masks, nauseating pseudonyms, and neon spandex suits. There’s none of that nonsense in Britain, thank you very much…until Harry Styles’ X Factor audition takes an unexpected turn, and Britain’s first hero is born.  

Also featuring Louis as a man of many masks, Zayn the rebel comic artist, Liam as Britain’s counter-attack to Justin Bieber, and Niall the trusty guitarist.

*I adore this fic, one my all time favorites*

The Last Something That Anything by jaded25

"You know my heart - so tell me honestly, did you ever really want this? So I’ll sing this song for every word that comes out wrong But I’ll be okay – is that what you want me to say?"

In the end, it's neither the fame or the pressure, nor Management or the constant hiding and denying that tears them apart. Or maybe it's a sum of all  and so much more on top. In the end, it's Harry.

When Harry leaves the band - leaves Louis - to pursue his dreams of a solo career, he breaks much more  than just One Direction. It's a gamble and a new start for each of the boys but while Harry walked away smiling, finally having got everything he apparently dreamt of, Louis is left to pick the pieces up.

Some hearts don't break even, some are simply shattered. So can you really learn to un-love someone?

*So deliciously angsty*

no pressure, no diamonds by karamelised

A life of crime means there is no nine to five, no white picket fence and definitely no happily ever after. In a life where lying gets you everywhere and stealing things becomes a sport, there is no place for romantic endings. Louis knows this, and so does Harry. Problem is, they're both wrong.

or

Louis is a thief, Harry a grifter. They are thrown together for a huge diamond heist in Paris, where their past soon catches up to them.

Blood Right by Evina1234

“Is that-him?” someone next to Louis asks. “Who else would dress in red if not for him today?” Beside Louis, Lady Camellia had her eyes locked on the one in red garbs, as same as many around them. Clearly this must be intended, or why dress in such a way today at first place? “My... He looks dashing." the first one licks her lips, eyes darkening in a laced lust. "Who would've known? Thought he'd be in chains, stuck in a dark dungeon." The other scoffs. “Have you been under a rock? He's the most privileged Lycan alive. The King's ward, some go so far as to call him his consort. It’s all hushed, but I have my sources.” she reveals like a dirty secret. In a world where the Vampires have taken over, Humans are just pawns in blood farms, Warlocks are extinct while the King has Lycans under his thumb - eliminating the threat of the lethal bite. The world is falling apart. Louis, nephew to the malistic Vampire King, lives away from it all in blessed ignorance until he gets dragged into the chessboard that traps him in front of a green eyed Prince who is bound to a miserable fate. Or where Louis wants to save Harold, the Prince of Lycans, when Louis' allies want him DEAD 

*super intense, vampire au with political intrigue mixed in*

the one that leads me on through by colourexplosion

Louis was certain that he was done with his tenuous connection with fellow skater, Harry Styles. But then, you know, the universe throws a wrench in all that when Simon takes Harry on for the next season.

Or, an AU in which the members of one direction are actually figure skaters.

Disclaimer: The fanfiction above were not written by me for I am not nearly as creative. However, I am an avid reader and movie buff so these are some of my favorite fanfiction within the fandom. I politely ask that you read the tags attached the fanfiction beforehand so that you know what you are getting yourself into, there may be crossovers. If you don’t like it then don’t read it. In addition, I ask that there be no bashing, the fics are based on my preferences and what I like. Lastly, if there are any specific genre or fandom of fics you want me to get into let me know through my ask box.  

[finitepeace]

this week i read...

Darling, Keep the Lights On (Until I Get Home) by capsicleironman  💙

Summary: When Steve Rogers is awoken from the ice early, he is assigned as the personal assistant to Tony Stark, the man on TV with the strange glowing light in his chest. The plan was simple - protect and gain intel. It was supposed to be just another job, but then again, nothing in Steve's life has ever gone according to plan.

Iron Man 2 Divergence where Steve ends up working for Tony instead of Natasha, and his interest first in the arc reactor and then in Tony himself, leads him through the events of the Avengers, Iron Man 3, and Captain America 2.

17k words 

It's Only Half Past (The Point of Oblivion) by LadyHabren (equalopportunityobsessor)

Summary: "I think it's generally agreed that all of Steve's senses are powered up by the serum? He can hear people whispering on the other side of the room, probably sees a hell of a lot further, etc.

But there are definite downsides. How does Steve control this side effect of the serum?"

Captain America is more than a man - he is a hero, he is an ideal, he is pure muscle held together by patriotism and moral fibre... And not even Captain America can fight it when his own brain turns against him.

4k, sentinel/guide au, not set in mcu, 

Do-Over by gottalovev  💙

Summary: Steve woke up six months ago into a future that leaves him indifferent. There is work, and not much else. His current mission is a basic search and rescue operation to retrieve an American who was kidnapped by a terrorist group ten days ago. He won't let the fact that the hostage is Howard's son be a distraction.

14k words, ironman 1 - 2 but with steve on it!, 

Calls Me Home by steve-capsicle-rogers (adorable_lab_rat)

Summary: Tony can't help but notice the far away look on Steve's face. The visible pain and loss. It wasn't right and giving Steve back everything he'd lost was the right choice. The right thing. And honestly Tony didn't do the right thing near enough.

9k words, post avenger 1, tony time travels to victory day with steve to make him happy 

Memorial by hanyou_elf

Summary: Here rests in honored glory an American Soldier known but to God.

Steve visits Arlington's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in lieu of visting the tombs of those he's lost.

600+ words, steve visits his grave and tony supports 

Damaged by orphan_account

Summary: Prompt: Can you write a story where Tony is having heart problems again even after the shrapnel and arc reactor is removed, like he needs a pacemaker or something please? :)

Steve is worried about Tony after the doctor tells them Tony needs a pacemaker. Tony being Tony decides to build something better.

2k words, arc reactor + health problem 

Warning by laireshi

Summary: Tony's left arm hurts.

100 words, angst post-civil war au 

Told You Dirty Jokes Until You Smiled by ChibiSquirt  💙

Summary: Steve was waiting at light, casually checking out the man in the car behind him, when his phone pinged.

75k words. WIP T_T . steve is cap but tony isnt ironman (yet?). steve is awaken before ironman 1 and meets tony, proceed to have friends with benefits arrangement... 

blood, Lies, and Love by Ridley160

Summary: When Steve Rogers volunteered for Project Rebirth they told him they would make him a hero. No one bothered to tell him that the serum would change him into a monster that needed to feed on the blood of the living for survival. Now he has woken up 70 years in a future where there are more like him and his affliction is now seen as gift. Only Steve is convinced that he is at his core still just a monster.

Then he meets the brilliant, quirky and charismatic Tony Stark, the only person in this crazy new world that seems to understand Steve's misgivings about what he is, but Tony is haunted by something. A secret he has carefully guarded for many years that forced him to push everyone away.

33k words in 13 chapters, steve is cap + a vampire but tony isnt ironman, 

Blood Loss by wisia

Summary: The serum really did work a miracle. It created Captain America, and Tony would like the serum to work a miracle on him too. If only he didn’t fall in love.

5k words, set in captain america 1st avenger, tony is scientist/adventurer looking for a cure for his heart problem 

scientific Heresy by antigrav_vector

Summary: In the process of running the particle accelerator in his basement and fixing the arc reactor, Tony finds himself flung into the past where he has to take on a fight not his own if he wants to get home to stop Vanko. At least he had a chance to replace the old rector that had been killing him with the new one before everything went sideways... But now he has no choice but to face off with family, friends, and old heroes, and none of that sounds remotely appealing. Well, okay, getting to meet them all during their glory days kinda does.

But as it turns out, they're not exactly what he imagined, and his path home is a lot longer than he'd hoped it would be.

And a lot more complicated.

34k words in 12 chapters, time travel au @ cap 1 and ironman 2, steve/tony/bucky 

we will meet in another life by theappleppielifestyle

Summary: Tony is there instead of Howard during Project Rebirth. He ends up following Steve into the Howling Commandos, into the Atlantic ocean and into the 21st century.

6k words, canon divergence. 

Keep on Beating by itsallAvengers

Summary: There were an awful lot of things Steve loved about Tony. But one thing in particular Steve could never get enough of was his heartbeat.

6k words, self-sacrificing tony strikes again and steve is upset.. so tony comes to a solution... 

Coming Up Roses by NobodysBloodyPrincess  💙

Summary: Those with a death wish referred to the High Commander’s infatuation with the late Tony Stark as an ‘obsession.’ They were wrong. It had to be more than that, after all there was no word for what the High Commander was about do in the name of making things right.

No one gets a redo of life… no one except High Commander Rogers that is. Everything is coming up Roses and Sunshine for him. After all, he has a dream and it’s going to come true.

41k words in 3 chapters, beautiful but a bit dark and sad, just like the author said: “‘i’ll be with you till the end of line’ but stony”, definitely one of the best fic i’ve read because THEY ARE HAPPY T_T 

The One With Bucky's Biggest Fan by justanotherpipedream

Summary: Steve still can’t believe how long it took for him to notice. It wasn’t a secret really, just something that no one had cared to ask...it honestly took Rhodey pulling him aside and pulling out an old photo album, before Steve really understood.

Tony Stark was a Bucky Barnes fan.

(aka The one where Tony is the biggest Bucky Barnes fanboy, Steve is a supportive boyfriend, and Bucky is perplexed by it all.)

2k words, it’s all in the summary 

Sins of the Mother by skullshy  💙

Summary: All she could see when her eyes closed was Steve’s face in the courtroom. Stern, pained— with that fucking all-American self-righteousness.

Toni wondered for years whether it would have made a difference. Told him that she was pregnant, that Ultron was to protect their baby, and how sorry she was.

On her worst days, she imagined it wouldn’t have mattered.

23k words in 23 chapters, female tony stark, civil war (or age of ultron?) canon divergence 

So this is bonded life by Captainstark12

Summary: Steve had been protecting the human village from hydra creatures like him for five years. And now he was ready to take his prize as he had the privilege of choosing an omega to bear his child. Hopefully his chosen omega human would want him back as much as he wanted him

4k in 6 chapters, mythology au 

I don't think there's a manual for this by itsallAvengers

Summary: So. His son can stick to things, apparently.

If only Tony had realised this before he'd caught him hanging off the 89th floor of the tower.

Well. Parenting was never going to be a smooth road, was it?

2k words, stony adopts peter parker and then they become superfamily 

For Your Eyes Only by SarahHBE

Summary: Every soldier looks forward to mail call. But Alpha Steve Rogers gets a big surprise with the letter his Omega, Tony Stark, has sent him.

2k words, explicit bcs of sexual content 

It Was Just A Matter Of Time by babynative

Summary: The clock was ticking. And then, black.

719 words, civil war canon divergence, angst 

This Can't Be The Last by MusicalLuna

Summary: Hours after a mission ends, Tony's heart starts to race.

1k words, tony had a heart attack, but not angst! 

The Billionaire and the Army Captain by Neverever

Summary: Facing finanical ruin and needing to care for his sick daughter, Steve Rogers agrees to marry Tony Stark, who needs to get married by his 30th birthday to inherit. It's just a job for Steve until he starts to fall for the enigmatic billionaire.

12k words, non-powers au, 

Adopt by greenteeth  💙

Summary: Steve's life is the same as usual. He goes to work, fights super villains, banters with other Avengers and goes home to an empty apartment. Until the son of an old friend shows up asking for help, well sex first, then help. Suddenly Steve is married, fighting super villains, worrying what Obadiah Stane and coming home to Tony most nights of the week.

42k words in 17 chapters, ABO, tony is not iron man, the story is complete but it’s a part of series that seems to never see the light T_T 

The Act of Creation Will Be Your Salvation  by scifigrl47  💙

Summary: When Tony Stark was seventeen years old, he built his first AI. On that day, he ceased to be his father's creation, and became a creating force in his own right.

That one act likely saved his life, and not always in the most obvious ways.

84k words in 8 chapters, stony but mostly looking through his AI bots a.k.a. jarvis and dum-e, definitely one of the best fics ever! 

Bewitched, Body and Soul by iam93percentstardust

Summary: Almost ten years after joining the British Army, Steve Rogers returns to his childhood home after his mother's death. The house seems quiet in a way that it's rarely been. But the peace is shattered when his oldest friend stumbles into his home and into his life, seeking an escape from an arranged marriage to a cruel lord. Steve provides that escape but finds himself engaged to be married instead. This wouldn't be a problem - except that Steve is, always has been, and always will be deeply in love with Tony Stark.

16k words, regency AU, ABO,  the classic stony misunderstanding trope 

Right place, right time by hkandi, ralsbecket

Summary: An alternate take on the Captain America: The First Avenger movie. Tony is working with his dad to help out the SSR on this new project, though he and Steve happen to run into each other before that, and sparks fly from the start.

8k, CA: First avenger AU with tony stark present

[ot5ismyhome]

33. Destruction Breeds Creation

To read from beginning click here.

*****

Coulson looked at agents- remaining agents- in front of him. They all had the hollow frightened look in their eyes. If he was alone, he would have adorned the same look but he had seen and gone through a lot to know that the team is just the reflection of the leader. When he spoke up, his ever-playful chirpy voice filled the room.

“No Darkhold. Base gone. If anybody has ideas now would be the good time to say it.” 

“Me and Fitz have been looking up about Loki. The normal ways used to kill a vampire will not work on him” started Simmons.

“How fucked are we?” Hunter quipped.

“He is a vampire and a witch” Fitz replied with a tilt in his head. “Sunlight, Holy fire, Stake, I guess even beheading cannot stop that guy. So, I will say very much.”

“That explains his powers. I knew something was up with that guy” Mack said. 

Simmons cut through the banter bringing the focus on the research. “Sir, All the powers, every single thing we saw out there was witchcraft. Actually, he is a winter witch. His powers are more prominent in colder weather. According to the data Agent Romanoff provided earlier, he can bring winter anywhere.”

“He needed the Darkhold to cast permanent winter. If he succeeds, we can’t turn it back. Maybe the book would help us turn it back but it’s just a theory” Fitz said. He sighed and placed his hands on his hips.

“But there is one thing that could bring him down. The Stake of the First Vampire”

“Now, we just need to know where it is” Hunter said looking expectantly at Lincoln.

“I have no idea,” Lincoln shrugged. 

“I will contact Jiaying. Trip and Thompson evacuate the city. Hunter and Elena run ops.”

The agents nodded to their Director’s order and took off. 

“Sir, I need permission to bring my daughter back here,” Mack asked. When Coulson gave affirmation, he left with Trip and Thompson.

…..

The young man walked into the Gothite Industries. He was stopped by the security.

“Who do you want to see?”

“Oh yes. Mr. Malick. You could say I’m his family. Hail Legion.” Nathaniel said the last two words in the guard’s ears. The guard immediately stepped aside.

“Sorry sir. I didn’t know you were... But I have never seen you around.”

“This visit is long overdue.”

…..

“We came across five bloody massacres and we still haven’t covered Brooklyn.” 

Elena sighed. “We need to prepare for the upcoming battle.”

“Hey. You there. What are you doing here?” shouted a man grabbing the duo’s attention. They turned around to see a policeman. “Don’t you know you have to vacate the city?” he shouted. “Fuckers. Making my job difficult.”

Back in the jeep Elena’s mind was racing on what to do. “We need to do something,” she told Hunter.

The policeman shouted racial slur at a black teenage boy who just exited the nearby shop. The police neared the terrified boy.

“What have you got there?” sneered the man, taking his gun out. “You are stealing, aren’t you?” he threatened the kid.

The kid started stammering and dropped the things down. He lifted his arms above his head.

“No sir, I left some mone-”

The kid’s eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t finish his sentence as he saw a man sneak behind the harasser and sucker punch him. The policeman went down to the ground, unconscious. Hunter turned towards Elena and made an ‘okay’ gesture with his hand.

Hunter approached the kid. “Hey are you okay?” he asked, still keeping his eyes on the police.

“You punched him.” 

“Yeah, if I hadn’t, he would have shot you”

Elena making her way towards them. “What’s your name?” she added looking at the boy.

“Flint”

“Flint, the city is in great danger. We need you to get out as soon as possible. There is a bus five blocks away. We will drop you there.”

“No. I can’t leave my sister. She is handicapped. I need to take care of her.”

“Then let’s get your sister.”

…..

Mack went to collect his daughter. When he reached school, he saw that it was a total mess. All the parents and children were running around trying to find each other. Mack joined them desperate to find his daughter.

“Hope” he shouted. There was no response. He called her for her again and again. Finally, he heard a feeble voice answering back.

“Hope” he shouted again.

“Daddy” a little girl shouted from inside the classroom. She ran to him and he swept her in his arms. 

“Daddy, what’s happening?”

“A bad guy had taken over the city. We need to get out soon.”

“You always said we should always fight back. Also help others. Aren’t we going to do that?”

“First, I’m taking my little princess to safety”

As he reached the Quinjet, he placed Hope on the seat. “Be here. Daddy will be back.” He turned to Trip, “Can you watch her till I come back?”

…..

Gideon Malick was on the conference call with the higher ups in the government. He used them as puppets in his master plan. What he didn’t expect was Loki coming back. He needed to put an end to it. For the Legion to grow over here, he needed to have control over The Council. Had Loki not come back, the ATCU would have been a success.

Gideon heard a rapport knock on his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone. He signalled to Giyera to be on alert as a young man stepped inside. The blood drained from the businessman’s face. His eyes widened and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

“You weren’t expecting me, were you? I have always wanted to hunt you down. But Barnes and Wilson were also about letting it go. They don’t know the inner turmoil. They don’t know what you did to me” Nathaniel said pacing the big office. Giyera was on his guard ready to attack on his boss’ order. Gideon had lost the ability to speak as he looked at his so thought dead brother.

“Finally, my time has come. Anarchy is here. The Council would never understand that” Nathaniel stopped his pacing and glanced at his petrified brother. “Gideon, you trapped yourself in the Legion and the government, bound by their history, rules, hierarchy” he spat the last word.  “You go around saying ‘Hail Legion’ and ‘God bless America.’ Say goodbye to all that. Say hello to anarchy.”

“Nathaniel-”

“I didn’t come here to listen to your pathetic pleas.” Nathaniel closed his hands around his elder brother’s neck and lifted him. Giyera ran forward to stop him. But he caught the bodyguard with his other hand and threw him against the wall. Giyera went down unconscious. He turned his attention to Gideon.

“You planned and tried to kill me back then. Just for this Legion. You know what? It all turned out good. Your organizations are all the same. More and more hierarchy. It diminishes one’s true potential. It creates unbalance. I’m going to destroy all that. Destruction breeds creation.” Nathaniel snapped the neck of Gideon Malick. He dropped his brother’s limp body and walked out. 

…..

Flint took the agents to his home. The door was slightly open and there were signs of forced entry. Elena and Hunter shared a look but didn't say anything.

"Tess" called out Flint. Hearing no reply, he panicked as he approached her room. He opened the door to see his sister lying on the bed. At first it looked normal but on closer look he felt something was not right.

Elena and Hunter noticed that Tess was pale. Her skin looked grey. Flint shook his sister awake but got no response. Hunter checked the pulse. He realised she must have just died now. There was no pulse but the body was still warm.

Hunter signalled Elena to scan the house. As she slipped away quietly, Hunter pulled the crying boy towards himself. He tried to get Flint out of the house but he resisted.

“Lad, we need to get out soon,” Hunter urged. But Flint pulled himself away from Hunter’s hold.

“My sister is dead, man. I’m not going anywhere” he shouted as he pushed Hunter further away.

Hunter’s eyes widened as he saw the figure in the bedroom doorway.

“Duck” he shouted as he drew out his gun and pointed at the man. The man came out of the shadows. He wore old crumpled clothes. His face was in contrast. His skin glowed healthy. His eyes were red and his fangs had descended. Hunter shot the man but it was in vain. He kept shooting again and again. Blood poured out of his chest but he kept walking. Hunter protectively pushed Flint behind him.

Elena was in the other room when she heard the gunshots. She hurried back to check on her companions. She saw an unknown man approaching Hunter and Flint. Hunter fired the next consecutive shots but it didn’t seem to stop the stranger. Elena took out her gun and shot the man straight through his skull.

The vampire fell down. Everyone breathed out in relief. Hunter kneeled down to examine the body. He noticed that the bullet was still lodged in the skull.

“Does a bullet kill a vampire?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Why isn’t he moving?”

“Do you want him to?” she said snarkly.

A new person appeared on the doorway startling the group. Elena swung around her gun raised. A man holding a baseball bat was standing there.

“He is a friend,” said Flint, putting himself between the two. Both of them lowered their weapons.

The newcomer was Mike Peterson. He was in the apartment next to Flint’s. He and his son were on the way to the evacuation bus when he had heard the commotion. So, he came to check on his neighbours. Hunter gave his gun and ammo to Mike. He asked them to head to safety.

“What should we do with him?” Elena asked pointing at the wounded vampire on the floor.

“Simmons would have fun cutting him up.”

*****

Chapter 34