#also got in trouble for not getting the knife I was being threatened with in the picture frame

[pandorxxx]

A fatal attraction…

Lo’ak x Omatikayan fem reader (all aged up)

Warnings: DARK/dom/delulu/rough lo’ak, manipulation, knife play (threatening reader) , p in v, oral (M receiving), cursing, blood.

Final warning: This fic has very serious themes of toxic behaviors. There is knife play which involves the reader being threatened, and wounded. Please do not continue with this fic if you do not feel comfortable with the warnings above. Thank you kindly.

Synopsis: Lo’ak was a bad boy. He had a mean streak that could make anyone scared. Anger issues that made everyone shy away. So you could imagine his surprise when you decide to show him some kindness. But him being a delusional mess meant that he couldn’t see your kindness as anything other than your undeniable love for him. What happens when he confronts you about his feelings, but you don’t quite feel the same way?

🔞Mdni🔞

It was no secret that lo’ak sully was often misunderstood. He was hardheaded, liked to follow his own path, even if it lead to absolute disaster. He often got compared to Neteyam a lot, and that also fueled the fire within him.

He fought a lot, he was a hot head. And if someone talked to him, even looked at him the wrong way, he would lash out. This was one of the main reasons he didn’t have many friends. Who would want to associate themselves with an outcast like himself? No one. So in turn, he became a loner.

You, on the other hand, were on the opposite side of the spectrum. A good girl, always did what you were told. You were very popular, super nice, and a helping hand to anyone who needed it. So you could only imagine lo’aks surprise when you started to talk to him. Befriend him, so to speak.

It had finally felt like someone saw him, for who he was. Like someone excepted him, flaws and all. You two would meet up once a week at his secret spot. Just to talk about life, or to let him vent.

The forest was still at this time of night. Very peaceful and inviting. You two had just wrapped up talking about your days.

“Good for you. Staying out of trouble for an entire day? I’m so proud of you.” You spoke sarcastically, shooting a friendly smile at the young boy. He chuckled, realizing your playful antics.

“You’ve got jokes, huh?” He started. “No one stepped to me today. I can’t promise I’ll stay this way.” He confessed, sitting back on his hands.

“Just because someone says something to you, doesn’t mean you can FIGHT them, lo’ak. You have serious anger issues.” You joked, however you were very serious. You would often downplay your criticism to him, because you knew he could snap at any second.

“Maybe. I only get angry when people fuck with me. Or when I don’t get what I want. I think those are pretty valid reasons, no?” He asked, his eyes involuntarily scanning your entire body. You shifted on the ground, the look making you feel alittle nervous and uneasy.

“You can’t always get what you want, lo’ak.” You spat. “Yes I can. And speaking of….getting what I want. I wanted to talk to you about something.” He spoke, scooting alittle closer to you.

You couldn’t deny how good looking lo’ak was. So your natural reaction started in your loincloth. A pool of slick forming as you felt his leg next to yours.

“Go on.” You joked, turning your head to face him. He smiled, gently pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. His hand trailed all the way down to the band of your loincloth, and your breathing escalated.

“Lo’ak?” You asked, watching his strong hand trail down to your thigh, caressing it gently. God, did that feel good. But you refused to go down this road with a trouble maker like him. You just wanted to be friends with him, even if your body was telling you that you wanted more.

“You’ve been nothing but nice to me. And it’s kinda hard for me to understand why.” He started, his hand trailing up to your waist, forcefully bringing you into his lap to straddle him. You gasped, eyes widening as his hands made their way to your plush ass, squeezing it firmly.

“But then I did some thinking. And it’s obvious now….you like me. You wanna be with me. And baby, I want that too. I’m in love with you. We can finally be together, you know?” He finished, pecking your cheek lovingly. You were shocked. Your mouth was slightly agape as you stared at him with so much confusion.

“Lo’ak, I-I was just trying to be nice. I like you, yes. But as friends. I could never be with you. We’re opposites.” You confessed cautiously, trying your best not to tick him off. You knew how dark and angry he got with others, and you didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.

You tried to lift off of his lap, but his lock on your hips was too strong for your little strength to go up against. “Oh! come onnnn. You’re telling me you don’t love me? Why would you say that baby?” He asked, leaving small kisses on your neck. You let out a sigh of relief, as if you’d been waiting on somthing like this. It felt so good, you started to become consumed by it.

You let your head go back to give him more access to your neck. His hands trailed up to the small of your back, holding you tight. So tight that the veins in his arms were protruding.

Maybe you did want him. Maybe this was meant to be. It felt so right, so good. Too good to stop. But he was a bad boy, you were a good girl. Those stories never end well. He would get you into trouble, bring you down. Did you really want that?

“Fuck, L-Lo’ak stop.” You whispered. And he obliged with one last kiss to your now bruised neck. However, he still wouldn’t let you go. “You’re gonna tell me that you don’t want me? Hmm?” He asked, glancing at your lips before meeting your eyes.

“Lo’ak let me go. We’ll talk tomorrow.” You spoke, using his shoulders to lift off of him forcefully and quickly. And to your surprise, worked. You stood before him, adjusting your loincloth and clearing your throat. His eyes never left you as he sat on the ground. He wiped his lips with his thumb, clenching his jaw in restraint.

“Really? You’re just gonna leave me? Like everyone else, right?” He asked, his baritone becoming very dark and scary. His braids shielded his eyes, but you could still see that intimidating glow.

You stood there in silence. In reality, you WERE leaving him. You weren’t thinking clearly, and you didn’t want the undeniable tension between you two to cloud your genuine feelings for him. The truth is, you didn’t know if you wanted to be with him. There were pros AND cons that you had to take into consideration.

“You know what? Go on. LEAVE.” He growled, fanning you off. He was visibly angry with you, and you didn’t want any parts of that. So, you did what you were told, and walked away from him. With not even a glance back.

And God, did that make him furious. You really left him. And he wasn’t expecting that. At least an “I’m sorry.” would’ve calmed him down. But it was clear to him that you really didn’t care. Not as much as HE did. You were just like everyone else. But he’d be damned if he let you just walk away from him.

You didn’t even make it 10 feet before you felt your hair being pulled from behind. He had forcefully pinned you to a tree. Your hair wrapped around his hand. You winced, pushing on his stomach, but of course he didn’t budge.

“Atleast you know how to listen. Alittle too fucking well though.” He growled, shifting his hand to your neck, gripping it tightly.

“Lo’ak please! I-Im sorry. I just thought you might’ve needed some space. That’s all! That’s all, I swear!” You rambled, holding his wrist to ensure that he wouldn’t squeeze your neck any tighter.

“Yeah, right. Don’t lie to me! Not right now.” He spoke through a clenched jaw, shaking your neck with every syllable. You squealed in fear, realizing that might have just sent him overboard.

“Fuck! I-im not trying to scare you. But you make me so fucking angry sometimes! What makes you think you can LEAVE ME? I won’t let you. I am IN LOVE with you! You’re not going anywhere.” He spoke, his deep voice rattling your eardrums. It was clear that he wasn’t going to let this go, and you didn’t want to piss him off further. So you did what you had to do, hoping it would get you out of this situation.

“I love you too, lo’ak! I do!” You nodded, a fake smile plastered across your trembling lips. He titled his head, scanning you from head to toe. His eyes met yours again, searching for some kind of bluff. And of-course, it was written all over your face. He let out a small chuckle, licking his lips.

God, he looked so good like this. Taking what’s his. His angry demeanor had your head spinning. Scared out of your mind, but turned on, nonetheless. What is wrong with you? Why would you be attracted to such toxic behavior?

Maybe because you always followed the rules. Never had any excitement in your life, never any thrill. And lo’ak provided that for you in this moment. As sick as it may be, you were attracted.

“You’re such a good liar, y/n.” He smiled, reaching his free hand down to his knife, the sharp sound of him pulling it startling you. He held the dull part to your cheek, rubbing it across the soft skin.

“Lo’ak please! Please, don’t do this. IM NOT LYING TO YOU!” You screamed, tears blurring your vision. “Yeah?” He asked, trailing the knife down to your top. “YES!” You spat.

“Prove that shit, then.” He growled, tightening his grip on your neck. Making you tighten your grip on his wrist. “I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything, I swear lo’ak!” You cried.

“Anything, hmm?” He asked, the knife trailing down to your waist. The cold blade barely touching your skin. You hated to admit it, but you secretly wanted more. You never knew how much the element of danger could turn you on. The fact that your life was in his hands made the slick pool into your loincloth. You rolled your hips slightly, just to feel more of the cold metal caressing your soft skin. You let out a small whimper, looking down at the source.

He glanced down as well, before meeting your eyes again. He squinted, studying your expression. That’s when he realized…

“You like this shit, don’t you?…. I thought you were a good girl?” He asked, tilting his head as he awaited an answer from you. You turned your head stubbornly, letting out a cute little huff in frustration.

“I AM a good girl.” You spat, directing your attention to him again. confident enough to talk back because you knew he wouldn’t truly hurt you now that he knew the truth.

“Yeah, like hell you are. I see right through you. You want this so badly.” He whispered against your lips, creating a dangerous amount of tension. You wanted nothing more than to kiss him right now.

“I don’t have much of a fucking CHOICE! You’re threatening me with a KNIFE!” You hissed, growing angrier by the second.

“Hmm. You’re right.” He smiled, letting your neck go harshly and backing away from you. You coughed, rubbing your bruised neck for a moment while you caught your breath. “You’re free to go. Sorry.” He said, a sarcastic grin plastered across his face as he watched you finally catch your breath.

You stood tall, chest heaving up in down in anger. You watched him grin, eyeing your small frame. A few moments of silence falling between you two. He motioned for you to walk off sarcastically, knowing damn well that you wouldn’t. You hated that he was right. You weren’t leaving anytime soon. You were too hot for him. You wanted it so badly that it made you mad. And before you knew it, you pulled him in by his arm, lips meeting his harshly. A kiss so passionate that it was deadly.

He grabbed the small of your back, bringing you closer to him. A few low hums from you both in satisfaction. With one hand he lifted you up, and you immediately wrapped your legs around his torso. Once he backed you into the tree, he let you go, the lock you had on his waist being enough to keep you up.

“Shit, j-just push it to the side. I can’t wait another second.” He spoke between kisses, using two fingers to push your loincloth to the side, exposing your dripping cunt.

You reached down quickly, trying to steady your hand enough to push his loincloth to the side as well. Exposing his huge cock.

“Need it in me. Please.” You moaned, rubbing the tip against your aching hole. Making him let out a low groan.

With a little push and pull from you both, he began to slide into you slowly. Earning a loud, pornographic moan from you. With another push, he bottomed out inside of you. He bit his lip, trying his best to be quiet. Instead letting out an intense growl before he started to thrust into you forcefully.

The rhythm he set was nothing short of satisfying. A steady pace with deep, firm thrusts. His mouth was slightly agape, letting out breathy moans with every stroke as he admired the source of pleasure. A thick layer of slick coating his cock, as the excess dripped down his warm sack.

You, on the other hand, were completely overstimulated. Every merciless stroke knocking the wind out of you. His cock expertly playing with your sweetspot. Your beautiful face was balled in pleasure. Your head flailing around, while your breast jumped from every deep stroke. Your sweet voice rippling from the force as your shaky hand pressed on his abs to slow him down.

“No, no, no.” He teased, holding the knife to your neck while the other hand held your hip in a bruising hold. You let out a whimper, holding his wrist to ensure that he wouldn’t go further than just a simple threat. “I want you to be a big girl for me. I want you to take every *thrust* fucking *thrust* inch *thrust.” He moaned in your ear, his fangs grazing over the skin.

“I-Im trying lo’ak. P-Please, mercy!” You whined. Your mouth was saying one thing, while your body was contradicting yourself. Your walls started to flutter around him, signaling that your orgasm was already nearing.

“Mercy, huh?” He asked, quickening his pace. Holding the knife alittle closer to your jugular. You let out a shameless moan at the action, making Lo’ak smirk. “Naughty bitches like you don’t deserve mercy.” He spat, eyeing you up and down.

Maybe he was right. Maybe you weren’t the good girl that you claimed to be. Because last time you checked, good girls didn’t like being called out of their names, nor did it make them cum with such force. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you began to spazz in his tight grip.

“Cumming! Cumming!” You screamed, that euphoric feeling washing over your entire body as your cream coated his cock. He continued his pace to let you ride out your intense high.

“Mhm, making a fucking mess on me. Look at that, fuuuck.” He spoke in a low tone, watching his cock disappear into your sensitive little cunt one last time before he pulled out slowly. When he pulled the knife from your neck, trickles of blood began to fall down your chest, to your plump breasts.

A high pitched agonizing whimper left your lips at the throbbing pain. But it was short lived once lo’ak began to lick the wound clean. In fact, he licked every line of crimson off of you. He started at the source, trialing down your chest all the way to your breasts. Using his tongue to swirl circles around your stained nipples, leaving dark hickeys along the way.

The scene alone was enough to make you cum again. He finally finished cleaning you, and his gaze met yours. A dark lustful gaze that lingered for what seemed like forever. Remnants of your blood on his plump lips and sharp jaw.

“Comere.” He hummed, grabbing your bruised and battered neck to engage in a sloppy kiss. So hot and sexy that your walls began to clench around nothing.

He let you down gently, still swapping spit with you like his life depended on it. Once you both pulled away for air, a line of spit connected the two to you.

“I want your pretty ass on your knees…now.” He commanded, running the cold metal blade along your waist line. You bit your lip, slowly falling to your knees as your eyes stayed on his.

“Yeah. Juuust like that.” He nodded, palming his still very hard cock. Stroking it in the direction of your swollen lips. The blade found your cheek, the cold, hard metal grazing your skin before it made its was to your mouth.

“You got my fucking blade dirty. Clean it.” He commanded. You whimpered in arousal, your skin radiating sex all over again. You opened your mouth, sticking your tongue out for him. He turned the blade to the side, rubbing it across your tongue gently as he jerked off to the site beneath him.

You closed your lips around the metal, letting him slide it out of your mouth slowly. He let out a soft groan as he watched you swallow and lick your lips clean of your own blood.

“Open your mouth.” He commanded, using the knife to tilt your head up. “Say please.” You challenged, rubbing his thighs gently as you glanced at his hard cock, then back up to his eyes seductively.

He titled his head, eyes narrowed at you, and tail swaying behind him in an excited manner. He took a few seconds to think about it, as his jaw clenched and unclenched with restraint.

“Open your mouth…please.” He obliged, smacking your cheek a few times in a gentle manner. You opened your mouth, sticking your tongue out for him.

He tapped his mushroom tip on your tongue a few times before plunging his entire length down your throat. Your eyes began to water as he set yet another merciless rhythm. You started to gag, your throat muscles contracting around his shaft.

“Mhm, cry for me. Come on, let me know how deep I am.” He nodded, one of his hands being tangled in your hair, using it as leverage to Fuck your pretty face. The other hand holding the knife to the side of your neck as a friendly reminder, that he was still in control.

Tears began streaming down your face. You were loosing air, and your throat was burning. But God, none of that mattered when your view was nothing short of amazing. Short breathily moans escaped his mouth ad his abs flexed, signaling that he was close.

Your hands slid up his chiseled abs, tapping on his stomach lightly in hopes that he would let up. You whined, giving him puppy dog eyes to soften him up. Instead, he held the knife closer to your neck once again.

“You’re such a whiny bitch, you know that? I’m almost done. Keep sucking.” He commanded with a devilish grin. Seeing as you weren’t getting out of this, you let him use you completely. Your eyes began to roll back, exhausted hums leaving your lips as he continued to abuse your throat.

“Gooood girl. You’re g-gonna make me cum, baby. Is that what you want?” He teased, on the brink of his release. You nodded lazily, letting out a strained whimper.

“You know you’re mine now?” He asked, watching you flutter in and out of consciousness. Another lazy nod from you. He chuckled, so turned on by your fucked out state.

“Mhm, I’ll fucking kill you if you try and leave me.” He moaned, a little laugh hidden somewhere in that fatal threat. And it seemed as if the idea of your life in his hands, mixed with how pretty you looked on your knees was all the motivation he needed.

“Shiiit…” he moaned, mouth slightly agape as his eyes rolled back in pleasure. His thick seed spilled in the back of your throat. So fucking deep that it was no need to swallow.

You hummed in satisfaction, a delirious giggle escaping your filled mouth. He rocked you back and forth on him slowly as he let out a few strained grunts. After one final thrust, he pulled out of your mouth. You gasped dramatically, finally catching your breath as pools of spit flowed down your chin and chest.

He let your hair go roughly, letting you fall flat to the ground. A few groans in agony escaped your lips as you laid there, eyes heavy and tired.

He stared at you for a moment, surprised by what he had done to you. He squatted down, his fingertips grazing your bruised neck, and over the wounds he had left on you.

“I- umm. I’ve gotta clean you up. Tend to your wounds.” He spoke with a hint of disappointment in himself for doing this to you.

“I-I can do it.” You strained, trying to lift yourself off of the ground. To no avail, ofcourse. He clenched his jaw in anger, looking away from you briefly. The sight of you struggling beneath him was just too much to bare.

“No. I’ll do it.” He commanded, lifting you off the ground bridal style. Your lifeless body going limp in his arms as he walked out of the forest with you. He hated who he was sometimes. Hated that he was capable of such actions. But all that really mattered now, was making sure that his girl was ok. Even if you didn’t know that you belonged to him yet…

Taglist: @number1gal @loak-bae @tiredmamaissy @neytirishottie @terrorthewolf @lethargicluv @reyzzsostellar @m0nst3rfk3r @agelsully @jakescumdump @wekiamo @st-cass @loaksslut @cleardonutangelwagon @tsireqas @satanlovedays @afro-hispwriter @urfavgirlmakenna @fanboyluvr @iameatingmyhair @secretflowerobservation @violet-19999 @xreadersstuff @sweetllamaparadise @lia-nath @sullymenrhot @dotheyevenknowmars @xdbluesky @slay-nt @domino-x3-blog @ladylovegood-69 @itssomeonereading @sweetirilly @skxawngmia @j-jinxee @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @cumikering @pxndorasdream @itsaleidasworld @atxxokirina @yeletta @blue-slxt @eywascall @valeriearriana37484 @avatarsslut @bee782916 @atxxokirina @sweethoneycn @luvv4j4ybe11

[starhvney]

𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟕: 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐏 𝐃𝐀𝐘

𝐂𝐖: more blackmailing lol, minor mentions of anxiety from both aphmau and reader, reader’s dad suggests self defense with a pocket knife but he’s not serious, possible bad translation of spanish pls if anyone is fluent let me know if it's wrong lmao i only know beginner level

𝐀/𝐍: next chapter is finally out guys!! i hope the obnoxiously long word count makes up for how long it took to come out lol

𝐖𝐂: 7,300 +

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒

despite your better judgment, you didn't mention a thing to your mom about gene when you got home yesterday. what were you supposed to tell her?

"oh, hey! sorry i'm late today, i went to buy cigarettes with a delinquent from school who holds the outcome of the rest of my high school career on his phone! no biggie, mom!"

yeah, that would go insanely well.

you did text aphmau about it, and she reacted exactly how you expected—reaffirming exactly why you weren't going to say anything.

aphmau: we have to tell our moms!! that's awful!!

you: no!!

you: i already know it was bad, i don't need the biggest lecture of my life and possibly being grounded on top of already knowing it was a bad idea.

you: i usually tell my mom about these things but not this time

aphmau: :(

aphmau: well we can't just let him get away with it?? what if they get us in more trouble

aphmau: that would be just as bad if the pictures got out

you: i know i know

you: i don't have a plan yet but we'll work it out.

you: sorry that's not super reassuring but

aphmau: no it's okay

aphmau: i don't want to tell my mom either

aphmau: knowing her she might pull me out to be homeschooled again

you: the good thing is we at least are with each other on this

aphmau: yeah, that's true :')

aphmau: okay, i'm going to try to forget about it and get some sleep

aphmau: good night!

you: good night aph

laurance also texted you later that night—of course—with how observant he is and how loyal he's made himself out to be you'd be shocked if he didn't ask you more about it.

laurance: hey :) how are you?

you: hii! i'm good :) 

you: how are you? did you win against o'khasis? 

you: sorry i didn't come back to see the game after school 

laurance: not gonna lie i was a little sad you weren't there :,) but it's okay

laurance: T-T and no

laurance: but i already knew we wouldn't

you: that's why you lost!! 

you: you should've believed you'd win!!! 

laurance: hey!! tell that to my teammates lol i know i'm the best

you: wow cocky much

laurance: nuh uh it's not being cocky if it's true :P

laurance: hey

laurance: can i ask a question?

you: what's up??

laurance: i just was thinking about the whole thing that happened at lunch

laurance: i know i can't tell you who to hang out with, but i genuinely really don't think you should hang out near them at all

laurance: they can be very

laurance: influencing

laurance: i know cause when i hung out with them i ended up getting into some bad stuff

you: bad stuff? 

laurance: just stuff i'm not proud of

laurance: like pressuring me into vandalizing and smoking and drinking

laurance: i thought they were cool so i didn't say no when i should've

you: i know you said you had a history with them but i had no idea 

you: they made you do that? 

laurance: technically i had a choice??

laurance: i just made the bad ones

laurance: i really regret not saying no to them sometimes

you: well i can tell you're nothing like that now laurance 

you: it was a year ago but you were also a freshman 

you: i think it's really respectable that even after that you choose to be a really good person now who makes the right decisions 

laurance: that means a lot actually, thank you.

laurance: but that's why i wanted to ask you about it

laurance: cause i know you're also nothing like them so

laurance: i just wanted to make sure they weren't like, pressuring you or trying to threaten you to do something?

...shit. you can't go around or avoid the question now. should you really lie to him about this?

you: yeah i get why you're worried now 

you: i promise i haven't been pressured into anything and if they try i'll completely drop them 

laurance: hey if something bad happened and they're making you hang out with them

laurance: everyone knows by now that you're a good friend and a good student

laurance: so don't be scared to say something

the thought is comforting, but he doesn't know that it involves one of the most influential girls in the school.

you: it's just, complicated

you: i don't want to get into it right now but i just think i can handle the issue on my own

you: for now 

laurance: i really don't like this

laurance: but if you think you're fine then i won't stop you obviously

laurance: just know that i'll trust you over anything they try to hold over your head, okay? you can always come talk to me

you can feel your heart painfully twist in your chest.

you: thank you. you're an amazing friend laurance 

you: if i need help i promise i'll let you know 

laurance: okay, if you say so

laurance: and i know i'm pretty cool B)

you: the coolest B) 

you: good night laurance! see you tomorrow 

laurance: good night :)

while laurance was pretty popular, how much clean up work on rumors could he do compared to ivy and gene's influence? not everyone would believe him, and who's to say he wouldn't be affected by the rumors for sticking up for you?

you've already been friends for a few months now, but you don't want him to suffer because of you. and who's to say he won't get tired and drop you because of it? he seems like a super loyal friend, but would he die on a hill for a girl he just met this school year?

the walk to school with aphmau was quiet. you could practically feel the anxiety looming in the air around the both of you, zapping any urge to start a conversation. you hadn't felt like this since the first day of school here, your fingertips and cheeks feeling like pins and needles while your chest felt heavy with a sense of dread.

maybe a part of you was hoping that if you simply acted like it didn't happen, everything would blow over and be dropped. after all, messing with you couldn't be that fun, right? right??

wrong.

"leave us alone." aphmau says, her voice surprisingly quite firm as she glares up at the three delinquents, who had blocked the two of you off in the empty hallway.

how did you always manage to end up alone in the hallways?

"nuh uh." zenix quips back, laughing with a teasing smile at your friend.

"aw, c'mon. after our bonding walk you're already mad at me again?" he directs his question at you, mocking fake sadness. "tell the smaller kitty that we're friends now, kitty."

"don't call either of us that!" she protests, her grip she had on your hand tightening. a quiet comfort to you, but probably mostly her.

"why not? kitty's a cute nickname. when people give you a nickname it means they have a special affection for you."

"oh, so you like us?" she sarcastically raises a thin eyebrow, lips forming in a frustrated line.

"hm," gene hums, seeming to seriously consider her question, dark eyes darting between the two of you. "you? not really. i kinda like her, though."

aphmau huffs. "then why did you go out of your way to bother us?"

"i just like messing with people. thought that was pretty obvious, no?" he scoffs. "and you two, especially you little missy, make yourselves the perfect targets."

you suppress a tense sigh.

"which is exactly why you two are skipping with us today," gene says simply with a shrug, face smug as he leans on the wall, hands shoved in his pockets.

"excuse me?" you ask incredulously.

"you heard me. let's go." he lifts himself from the wall, not opening the conversation up for any more questioning as he leisurely walks away from the classrooms.

aphmau sends you a panicked glance, amber eyes round. the trio walks ahead of you once they see you both uneasily following along, beginning to whisper among themselves when a looming tall boy nearly runs into the two of you from around the corner.

you recognize him as that aaron guy, who outside of aphmau's stories had gained an even larger reputation of getting into fights and winning. he gives you a once over, making you tap your thigh nervously before you watch his nearly black eyes dart down to aphmau.

the short girl gives a very direct "hmph!" before turning away from him, grabbing your arm, and dragging you closer to the group. her distaste for him seemingly was much larger than what she held for the shadow knights.

you glance back to see aaron watching you two walk away from him, his eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly agape in shock. truthfully, it was an amusing sight, and you have to stop yourself from laughing at his expression when his eyes dart back to yours.

his mouth snaps shut and he rolls his eyes, quickly turning away and stalking off down the hall without a single word being muttered.

gene huffs out an amused laugh. "see? that's so funny. no one but you of all people is able to look that guy in the eye. now c'mon."

you and aphmau stare at him, faces unamused.

"if not, i'm sure your friends and the rest of the school would love to see my photography skills!" he grins, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

soon you find yourself following the group down the sidewalk, with aph clinging onto your arm. you could feel her hands tremble nervously against your blazer, and every once in a while her head would dart around with a guilty look in her eye.

"if you get us into any more trouble than just skipping—" she starts, only to swiftly be cut off by the leader ahead.

"relax. you're both just going to get to know us better. we're gonna hang out and then get some coffee later. no biggie."

"you drink coffee?" aphmau questions.

"yep. dark and bitter."

"calm down, edge lord. drinking black coffee doesn't make you any cooler." you grumble, earning a tiny chuckle from both aphmau and surprisingly zenix.

"after our last little walk together and you still don't like me?" gene sighs, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

"i can't say buying cigarettes is a fun bonding experience for me, sorry to say." you quip back.

"...you know what, fair enough, kitty. i get both of your little goody-two-shoes attitudes—well i don't really get it, but—i'll strike you both a deal." gene turns to look at the two of you as you cross the street, walking towards an older park. "if you two still don't like us after skipping today, i will never ask you two to skip class again."

"you promise?" aphmau stutters, leaning forward with hopeful eyes.

"i promise!" he concurs. "i just want you to know us outside of the rumors you've heard."

you think you'd believe laurance's "rumors" over these three's catty smirks any day.

"we're not all that bad." gene shrugs, before turning to see sasha and zenix ahead going off the path into some shrubbery.

aphmau glances up at you, before looking back to gene with a resigned sigh. "ok, fine. deal."

"great!" he grins before waving a hand towards the shrubbery. "ladies first."

you stare at him as aphmau walks forward, raising an eyebrow. "and what if this is an elaborate plan to get us alone and murder us?"

"oh, kitty, if i wanted to do something to you i would've done it when you walked home with me." he scoffs, throwing an arm around your shoulder and guiding you with him after the rest of the group.

"uh-huh." you deadpan, earning a carefree chuckle from the boy.

when the shrubs part for a clearing, you look up to see an old brick bridge for a train track. it was likely abandoned a long time ago based on the trees and plants overgrown on the top and the layers of graffiti plastered on the sides. under the bridge ran part of the large river that goes through the whole city, though this part seems to be a thinner and slower-moving part of it.

gene releases you from his arm, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks ahead a few steps.

truthfully, it was a really cool spot. you'd even hang out here alone to draw or read in your free time if you had come across it on your own. you doubt that's what the shadow knights did here, though.

suddenly, your phone buzzes, and you look down to check the notification.

kate: hey, you're not in homeroom today?

kate: you sick?

you curse under your breath, looking to aphmau who was distracted by something sasha was saying, before looking back down. your fingers hover over the keyboard as you contemplate what to say.

you: ugh yeah sorry i didn't tell you 

you: probably just ate something bad, i'll be better by tomorrow 

kate: ohh alright then

kate: i'll see you tomorrow then, hopefully?

kate: feel better! and rest up!

you: thanks kate! i will!

guilt eats at you from the inside of your chest, screaming at you how wrong you were, how you need to tell your friends the truth.

you slide your phone back in your pocket.

"alright, you two. make our new friends here feel welcomed. they'll be joining our group here pretty soon." gene muses, holding his hands out to prompt zenix and sasha to actually talk.

"join? they said yes?" sasha raises her eyebrows, eyes shifting to aphmau and you in mild surprise.

"not yet." gene shrugs. "i'm not gonna force a good thing. they'll join on their own, but they've got to get to know us, first."

"ah, i see." sasha's eyebrows relax to rest in their usual unimpressed position.

zenix scoffs. "neither of them are hardcore enough."

"shut up, zenix."

the boy comically huffs in response and crosses his arms, like an annoyed kid who just got told off. aphmau seems pretty uneasy by his aggressive demeanor, slowly shuffling to stand closer to you again.

"i swear zenix has the same temper as that zane kid. speaking of him, why don't we let him in the group?" sasha looks over at gene.

your eyebrows furrow at her words, the middle ro'meave brother popping into your mind. he was rude to you last time, for sure, but him? in this gang of kids? the thought of it makes you feel strangely... protective over your friend's bratty younger brother.

"zane is just a poser. plus, he's no fun to play with. he was so eager to join us it made him look pathetic." gene rolls his eyes, and you can't help crossing your arms. "i'll give him until next semester to see how he does on his own, then maybe i'll think of it."

you look at aphmau, who is also looking at you with an unappeased expression on her face.

"make him work for it, huh?" sasha muses.

"what's the point of us having an exclusive group if we just let any emo kid in?"

"we're not emo, though," sasha says, dark purple fingernails ironically raking through her chopped side swoop bangs.

"not us. zane."

"oh, whoops. my bad."

gene ruins his fingers through the mess of dark curls on his head as he starts walking back where we just came from. "anyways, i'm going to get the stuff. i forgot it. keep them entertained."

"kay. hurry up." sasha says, stretching her arms out before sitting down on a soft patch of grass by the river.

the stuff?

"stuff?" you repeat, lip curling up and eyes squinting in accusation.

gene snorts. "don't worry, kitty. it's not drugs if that's what you're thinking."

he walks off, not giving any further explanation before he's gone.

"it's stuff for our art. you'll see." sasha looks over to you and aphmau, waving you both over to sit next to her as zenix stalks off closer to the bridge.

"i don't think i like the sound of that." aphmau whispers before you both settle onto the grass.

sasha turns to look at you both, a small amount of interest shines in her deep purple eyes. you want to laugh at how cliche it sounds in your head, but they really looked like someone had carved out two amethysts and stuck them into her eyes. black eyeliner lined her eyes, one side a little smudged on the corner. she managed to pull it off, somehow still looking like a little doll with her smooth porcelain skin.

"so, what kind of grades do you two get?"

"huh?" aphmau blinks.

"are you a straight-a student? average? dumb?" sasha presses.

"oh, uh..." your friend stutters, picking at her fingernails. "so far i've gotten all a's and some b's. i'm not that great at math though."

sasha hums, her eyes lazily drifting over to you.

"...pretty much all a's." you say, curiously looking back at her. why did she want to know? was she gonna try to get you to do her homework?

"cool. good to know we're not letting in anyone with bad grades."

"you mean you guys don't?" aphmau unashamedly asks, her face baffled.

sasha doesn't seem offended by this, the corner of her lip lifting. "nah."

"but you guys skip almost every day? that doesn't make any sense, i don't get how that works." she insists.

"we're not dumb. we get bad grades because we miss class and tend not to listen to the teacher, so that obviously reflects on our records. it's an attempt for the "man" to control us with these letters that we find such validation in." sasha returns.

so they do make bad grades.

"huh...? that was really a mouthful."

oh, aphmau.

"just words, sweetheart." sasha returns with a tiny smirk. "honestly, gene, zenix and i are very smart when it comes to our studies. we're just bored because nothing challenges us in academics anymore. hence why we skip class. if i'm going to be bored, i don't want to be bored in that building we call school."

"oh, i see. well, that doesn't make any sense." aphmau says.

sasha hums with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to elaborate.

"it's just... if you're so smart that you don't feel challenged, why sacrifice your good grades to do nothing? why not go the extra mile and challenge yourself by making a presentation? or writing a report on how the teachers can help you more?"

sasha quietly stares at her, expression blank—though eyes seemingly deep in thought.

"the teachers don't know everything, they're trying to figure life out, too. so if you're super bored, why not teach them back?" you add, bringing up your knees for your chin to rest on. "not caring and being lazy every once in a while is fun, but i think everyone should have a goal. otherwise you'll find yourself stuck in the same place."

"hm. i can see why gene took an interest in the both of you." sasha looks out to the river as she says this, lips pursed.

suddenly she reaches out a hand, the dark metal rings and bracelets she wore clinking together. "give me your hands."

"what, why?" aphmau asks cautiously, watching as you place your hand on the older girl's one.

"i do palm readings as a hobby. just a little thing i like to do." she says, her thumb already tracing over the lines in your hand as she brings it closer to her face.

"you're not going to do something weird are you?" aph leans back.

"just give me your stupid hand." she flicks her free hand demandingly.

aphmau goes quiet, nervously giving up one of her hands to the girl. sasha brings both of your hands side by side, pursing her lips as she compares the two.

"interesting." she says, a few moments passing before she continues. "both of you have lots of creativity. i'm not shocked by the lack of openness for feelings and emotions on your hand—" she nudges up your palm. "—but apparently aphmau is more open. which isn't a lie if we were comparing you both together... but neither of you are open. otherwise you two wouldn't be here in the first place."

you and aphmau make the same little noise of surprise.

sasha's eyebrows furrow, as she stretches out both of your hands. she focuses on yours, humming in stumped confusion as she mutters to herself. "that's weird. i haven't seen a fate line like yours. it's all... broken up. what does that mean? interesting..."

"quit holding hands with them, sasha!" zenix suddenly shouts from where he had scaled up to the top of the bridge, looking down over all three of you.

"quit being emo, zenix!" she shouts back without a second of thinking, looking up at you with an eye roll. "so glad there's girls now. he's—"

"don't tell me how to live my life!"

sasha ignores his response, looking at aphmau's palm. "your life is pretty dull. according to your palm."

"uhh..." aphmau's shoulders slump.

"i don't need a fake palm reader who learned all her lessons from the internet to tell me how to live my life!" zenix continues.

"ignore him." sasha rolls her eyes again. "he's just yelling to yell."

"i like yelling!"

"i like when you shut up!"

"come make me!" he challenges, puffing out his chest.

"kitty." sasha coos at you, batting her eyelashes. "be a dear and go shut zenix up for me? i want to relax and take a nap before gene makes you do the hazing initiation thingy."

aphmau flinches. "hazing? initiation? what initiation?!"

sasha lays down, closing her eyes and ignoring both of your protests.

"what—are you serious?" aphmau huffs, as sasha continues to ignore her words. "great. we didn't even agree to join and they're talking about an initiation. what even is the initiation?"

aphmau looks up to zenix, before her round eyes slowly drift back to you. "...can you go ask him?" she whispers.

"huh? why can't you?" you cross your arms, hushing your voice back

"because he scares me! you go talk to him!" aphmau complains back.

"i'm not gonna talk to him. you do it."

"no, you!"

"you!"

"oh! suddenly i'm feeling really sleepy..." aphmau fake yawns, lying down in the grass like sasha and closing her eyes.

"oh my—whatever! he's not even scary, you baby!" you quietly shout, standing up with a huff and ignoring the quiet snickers from sasha.

you turn to march over to the bridge, looking up to the top where zenix was kicking stray rocks into the river. "um, zenix?"

"what do you want?" he looks down at you, eyes narrowing. "did sasha get you to do her dirty work for her already? of course you'd listen to her." he snorts.

"no. i was just wondering what this initiation thing was about?"

"i can't spoil the surprise." he grins, and you deadpan. "just know that if you do it, you'll be super hardcore in my book."

"right, because i'm so desperate for your approval." you raise your eyebrows, resting a hand on your hip. "what, skipping class isn't hardcore enough for you?"

zenix huffs, flustering rather immediately at your words as he turns to kick a rock rather harshly into the water. "skipping class isn't hard. it's whatever."

"why are you so huffy and angry?"

"why are you so calm and happy?"

you shrug. "cause it's better."

"says who?" he quips, tilting his head at you in a challenge.

"says me."

"well aren't you important." he sarcastically huffs.

"so are you."

he looks down at you with a strange look.

"yeah? says who?"

"says me."

the shrubbery rustles and leaves crunch, signaling gene was back from wherever he had gone off to.

"looks like you all are getting along well." he says.

"she's weird," zenix says, still looking at you with a confused expression.

"well we like weirdos, don't we?" gene raises an eyebrow with an amused chuckle.

"...i guess," zenix says, walking along the bridge to find a way down.

"you two, come here," gene says, the bag in his hand rustling as he waves you and aphmau over.

"so," he starts when you're both standing in front of him. "how do you like our group so far?"

you glance at aphmau, before speaking up first. "you guys are fine, but we aren't into the whole skipping school and breaking the rules thing."

gene raises an eyebrow, looking over to aphmau when she pipes up.

"yeah, we're not interested in joining. i just want to finish this day of skipping and leave."

he hums quietly, looking off in thought. "...alright. i'll let you two go."

"really?" aphmau eagerly says, eyes wide and hopeful. "and you'll delete the pictures?"

"who said anything about deleting the pictures?" gene shoots down the second request in a heartbeat, snorting in amusement. "i'm keeping them, i just won't make you two skip school again, is all."

aphmau scoffs in displeasure.

"now now, no need to get too worked up." gene tsks, waving the bag in front of you two. "there's still something else i need you both to do for me before i let you go."

"what is it?" aphmau huffs, crossing her arms.

"you're going to tag a wall with the shadow knights logo."

"what?!" she squeaks, jaw dropping in horror, and you feel your face drop.

"you heard me." gene snickers watching your eyes drift to the hidden bridge that had a ton of graffiti on it already.

"no no. not there." gene smirks, nodding his head for you two to follow him.

your group walks back to the more polished part of the path, where gene points to a clean concrete wall that would most definitely be seen by people going by on their walks.

"here." he grins, gesturing to the wall.

"no way!" aphmau stutters, stepping closer to you with that same horrified look on her face.

"we're not criminals. that's illegal." you say, glaring up at gene who merely widens his smile, leaning down by his torso and tilting his head at you.

"you're a criminal as long as you're mine."

you wrinkle your nose. "you don't own me or aph just cause you have those pictures."

"oh? then i'm sure garroth and the rest of your friends would love to see said pictures of the school's precious sweet ivy getting the shit beat out of her by two rando new girls." he shrugs, straightening his back and dangling the bag in front of him. "it's up to you..."

you snap your mouth shut, before yanking the bag from his hands. "just shut up."

gene ooh's in amusement, stepping aside with a smirk as he watches you march to the wall, crouching near the bag as you drop it and pulling out the spray paints from inside.

"...if i do this, does it mean i'm part of your group?" aphmau nervously asks from behind you.

"nope, it just means that you're doing the work of tagging this place for me. plus, if you do this one time, i'll never ask you to tag this place for me again."

"tag any place." you interject, looking back to send a harsh glare at him.

gene looks you up and down, before quietly chuckling and raising his arms. "any place." he concedes.

"okay, fine." aphmau shakily agrees, coming up beside you to help.

you've never spray painted before, and neither had aphmau, but surprisingly the logo ended up looking pretty good. if it was done in a place you were allowed to tag and not vandalizing, you'd probably be proud of it.

but you were vandalizing, and you felt the opposite of pride as you and aphmau backed up from the wall, smelling like spray paint as some of it dripped from your fingers.

"not bad." gene grins, hands on his hips as he observes your handiwork.

"looks pretty great." sasha's voice pipes up, she and zenix appearing behind you two.

zenix crosses his arms as he analyzes the logo. "...maybe you two are hardcore enough." he admits.

"you're both free to go home now. we're gonna go to the coffee shop down the road if you two want to join us." gene says, snagging up the bag and cans to likely use later.

you and aphmau shake your head no at the same time.

"no thanks..." she stutters quietly.

gene shrugs, leading his two accomplices along the sidewalk. "suit yourselves. let's go."

you and aphmau silently watch as the group leaves, glancing back at the graffiti you both did with dejected looks on your faces. aphmau suddenly snatches up your hand, quickly walking away.

"i don't wanna be caught next to that." she mutters and you agree, keeping in pace with her if not speeding up.

you both walk in silence for a bit longer before you feel aphmau's hand tighten on yours and hear a quiet sniff. glancing over in surprise you see her round eyes filled with tears, her nose red as she looks away from you.

"i'm sorry i'm crying, i just feel so awful that we did that and so mad too..." she stops talking when her voice shakes a bit, burying her face in her hand with another sniffle.

"me too..."

your nose tingles as you rapidly blink to make your own urge to cry go away, breathing in a frustrated sigh. suddenly your feet stop on the sidewalk and you're tugging onto aphmau's hand, bringing her in for a hug.

"it's gonna be okay." you reassure when she hugs you back. "i'm sorry i let it get this far—"

"it's my fault, too." she interrupts.

"—we can go back and clean off the paint tonight. then we'll tell gene we're done with him and deal with the consequences." you finish, patting her back and pulling away from the hug. "we shouldn't let people like him make us cry, right?"

she looks up at you, blinking away the mistiness in her eyes and gulping down her urge to cry as she nods. "yeah! we can go clean it! that's a good idea. then no more shadow knights and... we can deal with the rest later."

you smile at the optimistic look in her eyes, patting her shoulders as you both continue to walk home.

☆

cleaning concrete without a pressure washer or at the very least a strong hose is extremely hard. you honestly wouldn't force a prisoner to do this as work.

you and aphmau had been at it for ten minutes already, and you'd barely even scrubbed off a layer of the graffiti.

"dang it. i should've brought paint thinner." you groan when your hand slips and you scrape your finger against the rough surface. "this sucks."

"we're gonna be here all night," aphmau whines, focusing in on one spot and groaning when there's no difference under the sponge. "but we have to get it off. this is horrible."

you hear quiet footsteps nearby, and before you can react to it a bright light shines over the two of you, blinding the two of you.

"hey!" a man's voice calls out, the tone so stern and aggressive that you knock over the soapy water bucket and drop your sponge with a gasp.

"uh!" aphmau startles, before she realizes who it is, her words tumbling out of her mouth. "oh, officer! we—"

"we've been looking for the kids who've been tagging this place with that logo." he cuts her off, tone completely accusatory.

to be fair, you both decided on wearing black hoodies and sweatpants, making you look much more suspicious than you already did. but didn't he see the sponges and literal soap bucket next to your feet?

"wait! that's not how this happened! we didn't—"

"save it! the criminals always return to the scene of the crime. come on, you're both coming with me." he says, pacing over to you both and snatching you both by the arms, likely thinking you'd both run away.

you find yourself at a loss for words, mouth gaping and eyes filling with tears as you're dragged along with the cop. you couldn't even defend yourself, completely in shock that you were getting in trouble in the first place.

being in the back of a cop car on a tuesday night was never a possibility in your mind. yet here you are, at the ripe age of sixteen, being escorted to your parents on a school night.

aphmau hasn't stopped sniffling, the only thing keeping her from bawling her eyes out was likely the fact that you were in this with her.

to aphmau's relief and to your chagrin, the cop stops at your house first, marching you right up the sidewalk to your door and knocking, looking down at you like you had kicked a puppy and laughed. you knew nothing would change this guy's mind, so you merely watch your front door and hope it was your mom who opened it.

it wasn't, and dread fills every fiber of your being when your dad's figure stands in the open doorway. he looks at the officer in confusion, then down to you, his eyes blown wide open. his jaw clenches as he whips his head to the staircase where you were supposed to have retired for the night, before looking back at you with an immense amount of disappointment.

you shrink in on yourself when he doesn't say a word to you, turning to look at the officer who greets him. eyes drift and zone out on the floor as the officer explains why he's here, only to be startled by dad's deep voice.

"do you have any proof?" he asks, stopping the officer in his tracks.

"i... sorry?"

"do. you. have. any. proof? or do you like throwing around little girls into your car for a little power trip instead of catching actual criminals?" your dad grits, making you lean back against the doorway.

"that is not—sir, i—" the officer stutters, taken aback by the sudden accusation.

"let's talk." your dad yanks you inside as he steps outside next to the officer and shuts the door.

oh shit.

you hear a call of your name and turn to see your mom staring at you in confusion, her arms crossed over her robe.

"um..." you start, looking to the ground in shame.

"was that an officer?" she asks, eyes wide as she shuffles over to you.

immediately you burst out crying, leaning in to hug her while every emotion you had kept in about the situation tumbled out in fat tears that dripped down your face.

"i'm sorry! i didn't mean to do anything wrong!" you hiccup as mom shushes you, wrapping her arms around you and rubbing your back.

"just take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

and you do. from what you told her about ivy to the things she didn't know about gene, from the pictures to the gas station and the vandalism. the disappointed look on her face stings as you talk, but at least she was listening. with how distressed you were behaving and the fact you had never done anything like this before, mom clearly was open to hearing your side of the story on this.

as you finish your spill and calm down from your hysterics, the front door opens. aphmau comes in first looking uneasy, with your dad following behind.

"call sylvanna to come over here." he says, huffing and giving you a stern look as aphmau sits next to you on the couch.

"...what did you tell the cop?" you ask, eyebrows pinched together as you glance at the window to see the cop car not even parked in your driveway anymore.

he huffs. "don't worry about it."

...that's incredibly unsettling.

mom makes the call as you two wait in tense silence on the couch, and it's probably only a minute later tops that all hell breaks loose.

"¡aphmau!" sylvanna bursts through the door, hair a mess and pajamas crooked as she hops on one foot, sliding her flip flop off of her foot. "¡te juro que si estuvieras besando a un chico te golpearía con mi chancla tan fuerte que volarías hasta el año que viene!"

aphmau squeaks, shrinking into you like she was planning on using you as a shield.

"sylvanna, calm down. while what they did was disappointing, they weren't rebelling against us or being deceitful." mom says, interrupting sylvanna's heated rant and placing a hand on her shoulder. "actually, let me explain it to you in the kitchen."

aphmau sighs in relief as both of the moms and your dad go into the kitchen, voices quiet and hushed.

"she is so terrifying." she whispers to you, staring at the coffee table and tapping on her leg. "this day has been the worst."

"yeah..." you sigh, wringing your hands together. "i wonder how much trouble we'll be in when they're done talking about it."

"i don't want to be grounded." aphmau groans.

"me neither."

more tense silence passes, hushed voices barely heard from the kitchen before they all return to the living room.

sylvanna steps forward, arms crossed. "mija."

aphmau tenses. "yes ma'am?"

"i am," she inhales. "very disappointed that you didn't tell me about this when it was happening—"

the girl's head drops.

"—but. you did try to fix your mistake. and for that... i'm proud. pero si esto vuelve a ocurrir te juro que estarás castigado hasta el día de tu muerte. there will be no next time!"

aphmau cringes, before nodding. "yes ma'am..."

the two soon are out the door and on their walk home, seeming as it had already transitioned from late tuesday hours to the early hours of wednesday.

after a good talking to from both of your parents and truthfully some more crying on your end, you found yourself lying on your bedroom carpet, arms spread out as you tapped your feet on the ground.

it was just difficult to sleep now, your mind racing with what to do when gene will inevitably confront you again. your phone buzzes.

aph: are you still up ;-;

you: yeah, can't sleep 

aph: me neither...

aph: i'm so glad my mom didn't overreact

aph: i was sure i was a goner

you: yeahhh 

you: good thing my mom talked her down 

aph: yeah she's a life saver

aph: speaking of which i think both of them are talking to zianna on the phone right now about everything

you: what!! 

you: oh no i really hope garroth doesn't overhear the details or anything if they're talking loud 

you get halfway up from your floor, crawling over to your door and pressing your ear against it, straining to listen while glancing down at your phone again.

aph: oh crap i didn't think about that!

aph: hopefully not

aph: if he hears it from his mom i think he'd take it well, but that's still kinda awkward

you: yeah no kidding

you: then he'd probably tell the rest of our friends too

you: which wouldn't be the worst if they believed us

aph: yeah

aph: surely they would

aph: right???

you: i think they would 

you: the thought of drama with ivy veleno being public knowledge in the school makes my stomach hurt though 

aph: ugh i know me too

aph: i guess our faces look extra victimy to the bad kids

aph: because why are all of them out for us

aph: literally what did we do T-T

you: that's what i'm saying!! like since day one 

the conversation outside of the door is too muffled, so you slowly crack open your door and crawl towards the staircase to get a better listen.

"i swear if any boy puts a hand on either of my girls i'll go up to that school myself so help me!" you hear zianna shout over the phone.

"he didn't put his hands on either of them or trust me my husband would be in jail right now for murdering that little boy." mom says.

"i would be too!" sylvanna shouts, sounding the most heated of the three.

you: omg did you hear that??

aph: yeah

aph: we're zianna's girls ;p

you: and your mom is completely down with murder it seems

aph: i feel like we knew that already though

"oh, that just makes me so mad! they're so sweet and innocent, they shouldn't be having to deal with that punk ass kid! i swear i'll murder him too!" zianna huffs.

you: zianna cusses?? hahaha

aph: out of our three moms she seems the least likely lol

"well all i know is that if i find out either of them, especially my mija was covering up the fact that she was smooching with some boy i swear!!!" sylvanna gripes.

"i know when my daughter is lying and she would've told me if something like that happened. and i know you know aphmau was telling us the truth, too." mom sighs.

sylvanna sighs loudly. "yeah, you're right. i just worry about her!"

you: your mom is still stuck on the boy thing?

aph: yeah :/ she's kinda crazy about that stuff

you: my mom is protective over that kinda stuff too

you: but geez

aph: i know right?

you flinch as the door across from you opens, revealing your dad from behind it. he stops when he sees you hunched by the stairs, raising his eyebrows at your behavior.

"what're you doin', kiddo?" he asks, taking a step forward and sighing when he faintly hears your mom on speakerphone.

"...i couldn't sleep." you whisper back, clutching your phone to your chest.

he sighs again, pointing to your bedroom door. "well, sitting at the top of the stairs on your phone won't help. go to sleep."

"...okay..." you mutter, getting up and staring at the floor as you scurry back to your room.

a gruff call of your name stops you, and you turn back to see dad's contemplative face.

"and put away that phone."

"yes sir..."

"and..."

you stare at him, rocking on your feet. "...yeah?"

"...i put a pocket knife in your backpack."

"wha—" you guffaw. "dad, i can't bring a knife to school?!"

"says who?"

"oh my—says me! dad, that's illegal!"

he huffs. "not if no one knows."

"i just got in trouble for illegal stuff now you're encouraging me to stab people?"

"just one, possibly."

"dad, i am not taking a knife or weapon of any kind to my tenth-grade english class that is insane."

"i did it when i was picked on."

"you stabbed someone?" you ask in horror.

"no... but the threat worked well enough."

"okay well, i am a lot more likely to go to jail for that now than when you were a kid."

he sighs. "alright. but i won't be mad if i get a call from the school saying you kicked that boy in his balls."

"okay, dad! i'm going to sleep now." you back up, eyebrows raised.

dad's hardened eyes soften to amusement as he chuckles. "goodnight, baby girl. i love you."

"love you too, dad."

you shut the door behind you with a sigh.

you: got caught eavesdropping

you: gonna go to sleep before i get in more trouble

you: and before my dad suggests another torture method or weapon to use on gene

aph: your dad is so scary

aph: that seems like something he'd suggest

aph: and good night!

you: haha well he was just kidding

you: i think

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

[deanbrainrotwritings]

— the politics of knife fighting

SUMMARY : tom tried to live a normal life after getting away from his hometown, but he should’ve known his little slice of heaven would go bad eventually. 

PAIRING : tom hanniger x fem!reader

CHARACTERS : emmeline kipling (OFC), klaus cassidy (OMC), donald white (OMC), gilly fawkes (OFC)

WARNINGS/TAGS : explicit(18+), angst, gore, blood, murder, DID (dissociative identity disorder), set after the events of MBV

WORD COUNT : 4.5k

A/N : title from jamies elsewhere song. this fills the on the run square on my @jacklesversebingo card. I listened to every MCR song to finish this 😭✋🏻

TOM’S POV

It was pretty morbid, if he thought about it too hard. 

You, getting so worked up after a funeral. 

To be fair, Gilly and Don weren’t even your friends anymore. In fact, there was an intense animosity between the three of you that reminded Tom of himself, Sarah, and Axel. 

Except it was much more complicated than that and you weren’t interested in dating Donald. It was more… a case of unrequited love, but much darker. Donald didn’t want you to have the choice to not be with him and Gilly hated you despite not wanting to be with Donald herself. 

Gilly and Don made your life hell for two whole years before he met you. 

He opened his eyes, his vision blurry. His head was pounding and something warm, soft, and wet slid across his face. 

He saw you, your face pinched in concern as you wiped his blood from the wounds you’d sewn up for him. 

“Hey, you’re okay,” he remembered your soft voice and reassuring smile, right before he passed out again.

That was the day he found out that Harry Warden hadn’t returned to get him, Harry Warden was a part of him and had done all those horrible things. The only good thing about it was that Harry had an interest in keeping him alive and got him out of the mine before he was found and arrested. 

When he came to, two days later, he was on the couch in your living room wearing new clothes—clothes Donald had left at your place and you wanted to get rid of. 

You let him stay, you respected that he didn’t want to share much about himself, and you allowed him to stay in your home until he was ready to make it on his own. Despite knowing nothing about him, you took care of him. But you did also threaten him by telling him your dad was an ex-Marine. He figured that’s the reason you knew how to properly stitch up a bullet wound.

After a few months of your arrangement, his temporary stay at your home became permanent. And he went from being a stranger to being your lover. 

Within months, miles away from his hometown, he finally felt like he’d established a sense of safety with you. He finally felt that his mind and his life had stabilised. The blackouts and the fear of Harry taking over his body reduced to nothing.

With your help, he was finally able to find a neurophysiologist who could treat him and help him with his condition. He confronted what was wrong with him while he was with you. 

Hell, he thinks he may have matured drastically since he’s known you. He used to be so arrogant and cowardly. 

You didn’t know the specifics about his past or his condition at first, but you seemed happy that he was getting help for whatever it was that was troubling him so profoundly. He started working through his trauma, who he was, what he wanted for himself—it was easier knowing you were back home waiting for him. 

He was finally able to share most of his past with you. Most of it. Because he just couldn’t bring himself to tell you his diagnosis or the fact that the bunkmate in his head was a murderer. 

It took a few years, but eventually, he was able to integrate those traumatic memories and he taught himself to not be afraid of Harry coming to ruin everything he’d built for himself.

He didn’t know if the medication was actually helping or if being far away from Harmony and Hanniger Mine made Harry Warden stay down and out of his way. 

He only knew that he was grateful to have met you.

You were gentle and patient with him. He felt that you understood him. Profoundly. Not knowing him as he was back then and not having expectations of him like everyone else back in Harmony did, it helped, too. 

He was getting to learn who he was on his own and you were part of that journey. The rediscovery of himself. 

You accepted him and all that he was, but he didn’t know if you’d still love him knowing there was someone else living inside him.

He pushed it to the back of his mind and focused on you and your wandering hands, but you caught him, once again, in the middle of his thoughts.

“Tommy, you okay?” You murmured against his jaw as you worked on loosening his black tie. He felt himself get warmer the lower your hands wandered and his heart pounded loudly in his chest when you got to his belt.

He smiled at you and buried his fingers in your hair to bring you up for a slow, long kiss. He finally felt you fumble for the first time, your fingers slowed at his belt, and you moaned into his mouth softly.

“Yeah, I was thinking about you,” he reassured you when he pulled away. His hands moved out of your hair, slowly sneaked up your warm thighs, and beneath the soft black dress you wore.

You gazed into his eyes and bit your lip. 

He could see your concern and your curiosity. He knew he appeared to be distracted these past couple of weeks, but especially today at the funeral for both Gilly and Donald. You asked him about it, but he would dismiss it, and you hesitantly accepted his response every time. 

He dreaded the day you found out the truth about him. 

But it seemed the universe believed he was asking too much for wanting to be happy with you.

He squeezed your bare hip beneath your dress, the absence of underwear excited him. You must have slipped them off in between kissing him senseless and pushing him into the couch you both currently rested on. He helped you get his belt off and kissed you passionately. 

You finally conceded and cupped his face to kiss him back with as much fervour, and successfully managed to ease his mind of his concern and amend the lack of control he was starting to feel again. 

READER’S POV

As you turned the corner into the street leading to your home, the sight of red and blue sirens instantly made your heart speed up.  

You hoped it wasn’t your home. That Tom was okay. That nothing happened to him. But those thoughts didn’t comfort you and your breathing picked up so that you almost felt your lungs burning.

You slowed your car as you drove closer to your home, the source of police cars. Your neighbours stared at you and murmured to each other and your stomach ached, nauseous.

You parked nearby with your hands trembling and managed to get out of the car without stumbling on your weak knees. Your eyes fell to police officers standing and talking around your house, but there was no ambulance in sight. 

“Please, please, please,” you murmured shakily. 

You pulled the yellow tape that kept you out over your head to enter your front lawn, and looked around for Tom, but he wasn’t outside with any of the police officers.

You hoped to talk to someone who might know something. Where’s Tom? 

“Miss, you’re Tom Hanniger’s girlfriend?” You recognised the woman’s voice behind you. 

See, usually, you’re not one to hold a grudge if things happened before the age of 14, but Emmeline Kipling went from being your middle school bully, to a bully of a police officer. Way to beat the stereotype. 

“Fiancée,” you muttered before you turned to face her. “What’s happened? Where’s Tom?”

“He’s wanted for the murder of Donald White and Gilly Fawkes,” she answered bluntly. Your mouth dropped open and you blinked at her. You shook your head and looked away from her, stared intently at your home, and wondered why or how it was possible that you could’ve missed this. 

“No, he wouldn’t do that, that’s-that’s not-”

“We’ve got the evidence to back it up,” she interrupted you, laying her hand on your arm instinctively. God, can everything just stop? “We found the murder weapon and his clothes with Don and Gilly’s blood in your basement.” 

Tears stung your eyes, but it wasn’t because you felt bad about what happened to Gilly and Don. They had it coming. You were afraid of what would happen to Tom if they found him. Would they shoot him on sight? Would he be sent to his death if they captured him alive?

“You’re playing detective now? I mean.. it could be… mine, for all you know,” you rambled nervously, stepping away from her touch as your knees became wobbly.

“No, it’s mining clothes in his size and we’ve taken the murder weapon to check the prints. We both know you don’t have a bone in your body that could hurt a fly,” she smiled at you, but you sensed some malice in her tone. Did she forget that you choked her for physically abusing your other friend? You wanted to do it again. Your fists clenched along with your jaw, but you stopped yourself from making a move. “Did you know about his past in Harmony? He was wanted for nine murders there… They thought he was dead… until now…” she watched you but you remained as calm as you could possibly be with the information she dumped on you. “If you know where he is, tell us… you know, this case will help me get to detective.”

You laughed in disbelief and blinked your tears away. “Well, then, I hope you don’t catch him.” 

“I don’t like you either, but it doesn’t change the fact that your… fiancé is a bad person. Worst of all, a murderer.”

“He’s not a bad… He-”

“I’ve dealt with plenty of cases like these. Most people who’ve lived with evil always tell me the same thing: He never could, never would. That’s not possible. He’s so good to me. But they always find out that they’re wrong in the worst way possible. And it looks like you know nothing about Harmony. There are witnesses. He’s the guy.”

You looked around silently at your neighbours and wondered if they’d already heard about Tom. That he was a murderer. Could he be? Could he really be the one that did it?

“We’ve found an address for a cabin, Emmy,” an officer took the silence between the two of you as a go. He looked at you with empathetic eyes and a comforting smile. You tried to return it, but it was an awful lot of work, especially after hearing about your aunt’s cabin. 

Tom offered to help you clean it up for her.

You hated your aunt for the way she treated your mom… but he’d been adamant about it for weeks after you vented to him about her audacity. How could she ask you for anything after the way she treated your mother? 

Emmeline took the paper from the officer to read it.

You stared at the torn paper that was once stuck to your fridge with a magnet containing the location. You should’ve just put “cabin”, but Tom occasionally went alone after he convinced you to stay home and relax. 

You always wondered why he was so interested in getting it cleaned for her.

“Could he be there?” Emmeline broke your train of thought. Barley.

“I… I don’t know,” you lied and shrugged. Being overwhelmed helped you cover whatever your tell was, that’s all you knew for sure. For all you know, Tom was up there… 

How could he hide this from you? How could you be so blind? Were there signs that you missed? Why were you helping him?

“Let’s check it out,” she told him anyway. He nodded and paused for a moment when he looked at you, but he changed his mind and left. Emmeline did the same and followed him after shoving the piece of paper into her pocket.

“Wait!” You turned to follow her to the car her partner was getting into. “Let me come.” Emmeline turned around and hesitated. “You owe me for that fake-ass apology you gave for how cruel you were.”

“You’re not gonna let that go?” She chuckled. You narrowed your eyes. 

“Don’t act like you don’t victimise yourself to this day for what I did to you after all the torture you put me through. I’ve heard plenty from your fellow officers who know better than to believe your lies…”

“Fine,” she replied begrudgingly and rolled her eyes at you. You resisted the urge to hit her with your clenched fist and opened the door to get into the back.

You had a hard time believing that Tom could actually murder Gilly and Don. He was always so gentle and loving. Soft. Quiet. Kind.

Was that only for you? 

Was it an act? A cover for his real life as a murderer?

You imagined: if he did do it. Would that change anything? Would you love him less? And those people he supposedly murdered in Harmony. Were they innocent? Were you actually thinking this? You felt awful, but part of you needed to believe that he had a good reason for committing murder. 

He can’t be a bad man. He can’t be. 

It was hard for you to believe it. So damn hard, but you knew him. He had problems he didn’t talk about with you completely. If he had some sort of breakdown, he just needed help and you weren’t giving up on him. 

You don’t know how long you were in your thoughts. Or how much time you spent thinking of a way to get Tom to safety. To think of words that would convince Tom to stand down if he was still out of his depth. Or to think of words that would convince Emmeline and her partner to stand down. 

The car came to a stop as the sun began to set behind deep green trees. They reminded you of Tom’s eyes. The wheels crunched on the dirt and twigs, and then there was complete silence as Emmeline looked around from inside the car.

She was afraid. 

You hoped that wouldn’t make her do something stupid that would put Tom’s life in danger. 

“Stay here with her,” Emmeline told her partner after a few moments. She inhaled deeply and exhaled before opening the car. 

“Um… okay?” He looked back at you, leaned forward to shout, “shouldn’t we call for backup first and wait?” Emmeline stopped for a beat or two.

“No, I don’t think he’s armed,” she reassured him. When she smiled at you, it made you nervous. Something was off…

“But you don’t actually know… that…” he trailed off after she slammed the door on him. He turned to you and you couldn’t help smiling nervously at him. He didn’t seem too bad. “I'm, uh… Klaus Cassidy,” he offered, but your mind instantly drifted off to Tom.

You didn’t trust Emmeline for a second. You could just be paranoid because she was an awful person, but you were done with making excuses for people. You had to trust your gut.

Just like you should’ve trusted your gut and done something to help Tom. He had been so jumpy, on edge, and distant ever since Gilly and Don’s death were announced on the news. 

You really thought he was doing well in therapy.

“I… I need some air,” you whispered shakily.

“Yeah, okay,” Kalus frowned at you. 

You stepped out of the car to breathe in the crisp air of nature. Silence. Branches. Animals in the distance. Peace and space. You couldn’t stand being trapped in the car anymore.

Klaus made his way around the car and stood close to you. Protectively. You saw his gun, his nervousness. It was a quick thought, but you knew you probably wouldn’t get another chance. 

“Klaus,” you felt guilty and genuinely bad, but you needed to do something about Tom. Klaus turned to look at you and you didn’t think twice about hitting him square in the jaw like your dad taught you. 

He fell to the ground and you apologised to his unconscious body. You opened the car, quickly rummaged through the glove compartment where you found some surgical gloves. 

You put them on and apologised once more as you took Klaus’ gun and legged it in the direction of the cabin. You knew this place better than Emmeline did, you just hoped you’d make it to Tom before she could hurt him.

TOM’S POV

He wasn’t quite used to this sensation. 

Seeing himself outside of his body, something else… someone else using it to move around, it was horrible.

He shouted, begged, and just about did everything he could think of to regain control, but Harry didn’t give his body up.

Harry didn’t speak to him.

All he could do was watch as Harry put a new disguise on. A clean, black miner’s uniform. He could smell the newness, the softener that reminded him of you. But there was the old gas mask on his face again, filled with the hellish stench of sweat, dust, dried blood, and firesmoke.

From inside the cabin, staring out the window as he cursed and swore at Harry, all he could do was watch as some police officer approached. Harry grabbed an axe he found lying around, his gloves squeaked slightly with his tightened grip. 

Harry was excited at the sight of her with her gun and flashlight pointed in his direction.

We’re not immortal, dammit!

“Tom Hanniger!” She shouted at him, but Harry tilted his head indifferently. “Put the axe down or I’ll shoot you.” 

She fired at the cabin, the bullet hit the wooden wall close to the window he was staring out of. He flinched, forgetting that he technically wasn’t inside the cabin. 

Harry angrily put the axe in one hand and held it stiffly in the middle. He breathed through the mask, deeply inhaled, a long exhale. Completely calm, which was not the way he was feeling about adding another person to the list of people… he’s… killed.

“That was a warning shot, Tom! Put it down now, I won’t miss you next time!”

Rustling within the trees made the police officer lower her gun and turn slightly to the source. Her guard was down and he felt like he could breathe again, but unfortunately, Harry began to charge menacingly towards her.

“Klaus?” She turned her flashlight in the direction of the sound of what could only be something getting thrown onto the ground and skipping across a few times before stopping. 

“Tom?” 

No. 

God, no, not you. Not here, not now. Not like this. 

Your voice called out from a completely different direction, but he looked opposite to where the police officer faced. At least it was enough to bring him back to himself. You. Your voice calling his name.

He murmured your name and released the breath that began to make him feel lightheaded. His grip loosened on the axe, but he didn’t let go of it completely. 

He could see you faintly as you stepped out from the thick trees. He stepped towards your voice and the police officer turned in your direction, sadly for her. Her gun was ready, her flashlight lit you up like the beautiful star you were. 

“Tommy, please don’t make things worse for yourself. Put the axe down, please,” you tried to speak calmly, but he could hear the tremble in your voice as you walked the rest of the way towards him. 

His eyes fell over your body. Your work clothes, uncomfortable heels, and surgical gloves loose on your hands. You were vulnerable, unarmed in the middle of a gunfight. The police officer lowered her gun again after a moment of hesitation as she watched the events unfold. 

He’d completely forgotten that you’d eventually catch wind of it all. Of what he was accused of… of what he’d done. He just never expected you to do this, to involve yourself with his other side. 

“Tom… what did you do?” You asked quietly. He could only feel the warmth of your hand seep through the glove and the mask. Your fingers gently threaded into his hair and your other hand took the axe from him.

All he could do was say your name, his voice cracked with his heart at the sight of your tears. All your dreams shattering, your hopes, your future together. From shards, to dust. Irreparable.

He felt the police officer taking his wrists carefully to place the cuffs on him. He struggled for a moment, wishing he’d gotten to touch your face one last time, to kiss you, to take the costume off and feel you for the last time. 

“Don’t do that!” You tried to stop her, subsequently dropping the axe on the ground.

She relented briefly before coming to her senses. “I have to arrest him and take him in.” 

You pushed her away and the cuffs fell to the ground with a clink against the axe. You rubbed your eyes with the back of your hands and Tom took the chance to remove the gas mask and finally took a deep breath outside of the suffocating mask underneath it. 

“Please, baby.” He grabbed your arms, hoping to calm you down, but you moved away from him. 

“Don’t move, Tom!”

“God! Shut up and let me think, Em!” You shouted in frustration.

“There’s nothing to think about!” She argued with you, getting down to retrieve the cuffs, but you kicked them away. She instantly stood up straight and pulled her gun on you, cocked and ready. Tom stepped in front of you protectively. She looked between you and him for a moment, then laughed dryly. “You’re working with him! Aren’t you? Yeah! You wanted him… no, you told him to kill them for you, didn’t you?”

“What? No! That’s not true!”

“Doesn’t matter,” she smiled and shrugged. “I can just say that you admitted it. You told him to kill Gil and Don for you. Then, you attacked me once we got here. I defended myself and shot you and you died. I’ve been looking for a way to get rid of you ever since-”

You lifted Klaus’ gun and fired it, the bullet flew straight through her forehead before she could speak another word. Tom flinched and gasped in shock, he opened his eyes once her body hit the dirt. 

He stared in disbelief and horror at the hole in the police officer’s forehead, the light spatter of blood from the entry wound. Her eyes were opened to the sky, dead as the stars above. 

He heard you moving around him and saw you put her cuffs back in her pocket. He couldn’t believe you did that. No second thought, no hesitation. And you knew her. Em—that's what you called her.

“Tom!” You shouted at him desperately. “Come on, Tommy. We-we have to get to my dad’s place.” The tremble in your voice reminded him that you were quite shaken up after all. 

“I thought you didn’t talk to him anymore,” he commented distractedly, hoping to hide his distress. But he could tell, now that you took him by his hand, that you weren’t as put together as he imagined. 

He felt the weight of the axe in his other hand and wondered how it got there. He didn’t care. He just watched you lead the way as he tried to collect himself, but he couldn’t do it without giving Harry control. He pushed away his distraught and squeezed your hand.

“Well, no, but I’m still his daughter and he’s not going to let anything bad happen to me.” He remained quiet and suddenly he stood in front of a cop car where you planted the gun on an unconscious officer. 

You apologised to the man and removed your gloves, but shoved them into your dress pants. He watched you wipe your hands on your shirt as if somehow the blood got on you. You did it multiple times as you multitasked: hid your footprints and walked in the direction away from the cop car. 

This was such a mess. 

He didn’t want this for you. 

He didn’t want this for himself. 

He deflated. He let your hand go and stood a few metres away from the road, defeated. “Why are you doing this? Just leave me, I’ll-”

“I can’t!” You frowned at him and took his hand in your once more. Your beautiful wide eyes full of fear and love made his heart wrench. “Okay? I… I love you too much to just leave you alone with all of… this. You’d do the same for me, wouldn’t you?”

“I guess I already did something stupid…” he murmured, dropping the axe to hold your waist and pull your body flush with his. You were also angry— it seemed, because you crossed your arms and glared at him. 

“Yes! You did! You absolute… melon!” He felt bad for laughing at that, but you looked so cute when you angrily shoved him away. “God, Tommy! What were you thinking?!” You tangled your fingers in your hair, overwhelmed, frustrated, and confused. 

He took your hands and brought you in for a comforting embrace, hoping to somehow calm you down. He kissed your hairline and you slowly softened in his arms. He felt you cling tightly to the back of the miner’s uniform he wore. 

“You had to see them every day. After what they both did to you- I don’t know, I’m having a hard time feeling sorry that they were… that I…” 

“How did this happen? Why did you do that? Tommy… you’re such an idiot,” you whispered. He pulled away just to cup your face in his calloused hands. He kissed you once, then a second time, and on the third try, you finally kissed him back. 

“It wasn’t… me… it was, but it wasn’t. It’s hard to explain, actually,” he laughed wryly and breathed against your lips. You shivered and kissed him firmly. He wanted to drown in you, to be covered in your stars and your heart and your body. 

His entire body lit up and turned hot like an overpowered bulb about to burst. 

You pulled away from his lips just in time and he pressed his forehead against yours. “Let’s just get out of here and talk about it outside of these creepy fucking woods.” 

You wrapped your arms around yourself, making you way deeper into the forest. He quickly picked the axe up again and made his way to you, nervous, but ready to face whatever the future may be like on the run with you. 

“It can’t be that creepy here,” he smiled hesitantly. You rolled your eyes at him about to argue your case to demonstrate why the woods were scary. “We fucked against that tree over there after you thought I got us lost.” 

He pointed across to where a red ribbon was wrapped around a tree. He did that to remember you whenever or if he ever found himself in this part of the woods. 

You stopped dead in your tracks with your mouth agape. He joined you and smiled shyly when you smiled at him in surprise. “Shut up,” you couldn’t help laughing. 

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[dalekofchaos]

If Max never left Arcadia Bay au

So I came up with an au where Max never leaves for Seattle.

Basically Ryan Caulfield got a better job offer from the Prescott Foundation and something he just couldn't refuse. So the Caulfields stay in Arcadia Bay.

Max staying in Arcadia Bay means Chloe has a better influence in her life, stays in Blackwell and could help with Joyce to be the peacemaker between Chloe and David.

Vanessa and Ryan help Joyce through her grieving while Max and Chloe heal together

Max would be friends with Steph, Mikey and Samantha.

During the D&D game sessions, Max's character would be a Dwarven Sorceress. Name? I'm not sure. Let's go with Marcella Stormbreaker

Because of her dad's position, Max and Nathan would've been encouraged to befriend each other. Combine that with Max's friendship with Samantha, than there's a guarantee that Nathan's mental stability would've turned out for the better.

Max meeting Victoria earlier on would've helped Victoria loosen up and be nicer and help influence what the Vortex Club would later become.

Max and Rachel would get along, but Max would help Chloe and Rachel make better decisions, that way they can catch James in the act while none of them get busted or in trouble at Blackwell.

Max would be in the audience as Chloe and Rachel propose perform at the Tempest and Max is speechless and BLOWS up Chloe and Rachel's phone. "OMGOMGOMG YOU MADE IT SO MUCH BETTER"

Bonus points. When Chloe and Rachel kiss, Max takes the picture and titles it "Arcadia Baes"

Because of Max's help to get Chloe and David to get along better, Max tips David off about Damon, they stake out the junkyard meeting and when Damon pulls his knife out, David takes him down and saves Rachel from being stabbed. Rachel steals Damon's phone and finds out where Sera is.

Max, Chloe and Rachel investigate James' office and finds out the truth.

When Eliot threatens Chloe in James' office, Rachel calls the cops on him and is caught red handed with Eliot's fist raised while Chloe's hands raised in a defensive position. Eliot is arrested while Rachel embraces Chloe with Eliot swearing revenge.

James is exposed and is fired as a DA and his license barred.

Oh, and they give James' money stash to Sera. Afterwords Rachel moves out and moves in with Sera and they get to start fresh.

Throughout the three years, leading up to her entry into Blackwell, Max meets Warren and there's an immediate spark. Chloe and Rachel tease Max about him relentlessly. "Our little wallflower is in love" "So precious, nerd love!" all while Max turns shades of red that aren't scientifically possible. And Max finally gains the courage to ask Warren out on a date. By the time they both enter Blackwell, Max and Warren are in a committed relationship.

Max also befriends Kate Marsh before Blackwell. One day while Max was passing by the church taking pictures, she bumps into Kate and they're both apologetic, one thing leads to another and Kate offers Max on a tea date, they hit it off and become best friends.

The events of LIS: Because of Max's influence, the following changed.

Chloe graduated from Blackwell

Chloe and David get along like Joyce always wanted

Chloe and Rachel are still very much in love

Max and Warren are in a committed relationship

Because of Max's influence on the Vortex Club, the Vortex Club is more nice, less elitist and does more to uplift Blackwell than make everyone to be ashamed of Blackwell.

In this version of the story, Max can gently push Kate and Victoria to be friends or something more

Kate never goes viral, but she is still drugged

Rachel gets a complete scholorship to ULA, but is postponed because of reasons you'll find out.

Rachel doesn't seek comfort in Frank or Jeffershit

Nathan doesn't fall under Jeffershit's abuse

Eliot becomes Jeffershit's partner. He wouldn't meekly fall in line like Nathan did, there is no abuse or gaslighting that got him to do this. Eliot's in it on his own free will and because he's as vile as Jefferson. Eliot can help replicate the formula that creates the drugs that Frank sells. Jefferson either kills Eliot for always challenging him or Jefferson keeps him in line by promising to let Eliot kill Rachel and "keep" Chloe, but Jefferson is planning to pin the whole thing on Eliot as he's way to eager and bloodthirsty.

But where things change is that Samantha is the one who disappears, not Rachel.

Samantha's disappearance and Kate's drugging is what propels Max, Chloe, Rachel, Warren, Victoria, and Nathan to work together and figure out what happened all the while finding out dark truths about Blackwell and the Prescott Foundation while Ryan Caulfield is an unwitting accomplice to Sean Prescott's plans for the storm and Pan Estates.

Long story short, Rachel is the key to the Storm happening. If Rachel dies, the storm conjures and wipes out Arcadia Bay.

Rachel is abducted during the events of Episode 4 while Max and co look for her. which results in Eliot and Jefferson drugging and kidnapping Max and Chloe.

Warren would call in David and the police and provides the evidence from the investigation to help find the Dark Room.

There are choices that would determine Rachel's fate.

If you have enough influence on Nathan, then he stands up to Sean and ends the "Prescott destiny" by finding the Dark Room in time and shoots Eliot dead before he can kill Rachel.

Failing to have enough influence on Nathan results in Rachel's death and the oncoming storm.

David arrests Jefferson and saves Max, Chloe and Rachel. The storm is prevented and Arcadia Bay is saved.

Sean Prescott is arrested and the Prescott Foundation shuts down.

But, Ryan Caulfield has acquired enough funds to start up his own business and uses his own wealth and influence to heal the damage caused by The Prescott Foundation. The Caulfield Institute provides education, wildlife and environmental protection and helps Arcadia Bay heal.

Epilogue.

Chloe and Rachel head to LA. Rachel goes to ULA, Chloe follows her angel to their Santa Monica Dream

Max and Warren head to UO to fulfill their dreams in the pursuit of science and photography and plan their future together.

Max, keeps in contact with Chloe and Rachel and never grow apart. They text, do video calls and visit each other now and then. Hella best friends forever!

Nathan finally free of his father and the Prescott shame of a reputation leaves and plans to visit his sister Kristine and hopes to find a career in Marine Biology that helps him be closer to the whales.

Victoria leads her family's gallery while pursuing her dreams of photography

Kate writes books for children and does podcasts to help teenagers and young adults with bullying and any trauma they may be suffering from.

[deathbxnny]

YQ's Mother Requestor Anon here! I think you're already expecting some angst request so here's the currently first one! Mother!Reader almost gets assassinated because let's be honest, someone would dare try to harm Jing Yuan's reputation and who would be better than his pregnant partner? Don't worry though, Yanqing manages to apprehend the assassin and in turn Jing Yuan apprehends Yanqing for his own good bc the poor boy is FURIOUS and probably would unalive the assassin if let go...

And oh yeah, Reader and the baby survive!

-----♡

A/N: I absolutely love this idea, Anon! You're once more showing me how creative my dear followers are and I love it haha! Also sorry for the wait, you probably know how busy things are by now lol-

Content: Fluff, established relationships, mentions of pregnancy, failed assassination attempts, mentions of battles, Jing Yuan being a menace, hurt/comfort, turns into a crackfic by the end, sfw

Reader is reffered to as Yanqing's mother and is pregnant!

((Not fully proofread))

-----♡

You knew, that it was too risky to go out on your own. It's why Jing Yuan always had guards surrounding you at all times or at least keep Yanqing with you, whenever he had nothing better to do. You were not only the generals esteemed lover, but also carrying his child, which made you even more important than you already were.

But alas, you also wanted some time to yourself as well, which event led you to finally sneaking off, when no one was looking. You were quite proud of it too, as you giggled to yourself about your small victory. You knew, that you'd get in trouble once Jing Yuan finds out. But could he really blame you? You couldn't remember the last time you took a walk on your own and whilst you understood why, a nice break was also good at times. Even if it made you completely vulnerable to people, that wanted to rid you and your child from the world, in order to weaken the generals resolve.

An assassin attacked you out of nowhere, practically missing you by an inch, as you cried out in fear and stumbled back. He tried slashing at you again with a knife, relentless and heartless with his attacks, when he was blocked from doing so by some familiar swords. You gasped, turning your head to see your son, who was practically fuming in rage.

He had come back early today and quickly hunted you down, after he noticed you gone. He didn't want his mother and future sibling to get hurt after all. And to see someone trying to hurt them made him blind with rage. He took down the assassin quickly, practically threatening his own life now, when he was suddenly peeled off him by some panicking cloud knights. Jing Yuan helped you up with worry in his eyes, though you knew, that you'd get a scolding later.

As the assassin got apprehended and taken away, Yanqing was suddenly put into handcuffs as well. He was shocked and appalled by this, angrily asking his general what he was doing. The older man claimed that it was for his own good, lest he tries to rightfully kill the assassin himself. But at the little smug smirk on his mentor's face, Yanqing knew that he found the sight of him like this funny.

As he was dragged away cursing and screaming, you couldn't help but swoon over Jing Yuan coming to "help" you and your children, which however was cut off by a stern look from the man. He took you home swiftly afterwards and made a medic check up on you just in case.

As for Yanqing? It took suspiciously long for him to finally be released and when he was, Jing Yuan got a good kick to his knees, which brought him down long enough for the boy to run away with his own smug smirk.

-----♡

A/N: I genuinely hope that this is coherent, because the word exhausted doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling...

[postmakerkiwi]

Just gonna start compiling a list of some. Choice Kazami Shiro moments. Starring Kazami Shiro. Don't mind me.

Pretended to be unconscious in an ambulance on the chance that the ambulance called after the third attempt on his life was actually Also the guys trying to kill him

When it turned out that was indeed a fake ambulance full of fake paramedics and one was about to stab him with a syringe of poison, he got the jump on the guy, grabbed the needle, and threatened to stab him unless he talked

His family died in front of him and his almost immediate reaction was to ask his friend whom he Just learned is actually a karate bug man to turn him into a karate bug man in order to avenge his parents and sister

Punctuated his intent of the prior point with "I'm done with being human."

While everyone else focused on the cyborg that escaped through the manhole he was booking it after a single goon

Once he had that goon cornered he held him down by the throat and when the goon said he was crushing his neck Kazami's response was "Too bad, I don't know my own strength now! So start talking!"

Tried to get the only other survivor of the attack that got his family killed to stay away by responding to her promise of "I won't cause you any trouble" with "Yes you will."

A computer analyzing video footage of him begged to be put down before attempting to comprehend V3 caused its hardware to violently explode and catch on fire

In an unrelated event V3 caught on fire fighting a Squid Man and just casually somersaulted into the ocean to put it out

Got placed, unconscious, into a wooden coffin nailed shut, which was then doubly locked into in an incinerator. He then isn't in there when they open it all up with the only explanation being "the heat from being cremated alive spun his turbines enough to transform" (this does not explain how he got out)

Got shot by a Machinegun-Snake and tried to solve this by removing a bullet from his own leg in his barely-lit apartment using only a warm knife

[typingatlightspeed]

TF2 Fanfic - The Extreme Path Chapter 4

Spy witnesses the Makai family's threats firsthand, and with no doubt left in his mind, has to reconcile with the fact that a promise made to him almost forty years ago was being broken. Yoko is horrified about this revelation of Spy's past, and poor Sniper, Scout, and Kazuhiro are caught in the crossfire. Good news, however, the team's final member has arrived, and man oh man is he immediately gunning for the team's gunman.

Ao3 Link! Part of Monstrous Intent!

I promise I didn't mean to rip off a major plot point of Ryu Ga Gotoku/Yakuza 1, it just ended up happening that way! o-o Also warning for domestic violence, as well as murder but this is ostensibly a TF2 fic so murder is part and parcel yanno?

---------

Yamamori Ryokan, Izumisano, Osaka, Japan. June 6th, 1970.

The crash of splintering wood woke Spy with a start. He heard men yelling, and sprung to his feet. Snatching his balisong and watch from beneath his pillow, he tore out of his room in his underwear, skidding barefoot to a halt in the lobby, where Yoko stood. Her hands were clenched into fists as she watched Kazuhiro charge outside with a wooden practice katana clutched in one hand.

"Yo-chan?"

"They're back again. Those Makai family assholes."

Spy made to follow Kazuhiro out, but was stopped by Yoko's hand on his bare shoulder. He turned to see her holding one of the yukata from the rack behind her, and looked down at himself. "Ah, yes. Merci."

A loud crack filled the air as wood shattered and broke, creaking as the sign for the ryokan toppled over, its supports broken yet again. A burly hibagon, an ape-man covered in shaggy black fur and wearing a suit with an ornate lapel pin, hefted his sledgehammer up over his shoulder, laughing at the destruction he'd wrought.

"Oi, Aniki! Looks like you got the bird-man's attention," called a man with white cat ears and a long black and white tail that split into a Y-shape, standing beside a car that had been haphazardly parked halfway up the walkway from the road. He was a nekomata, and he too wore a suit with a lapel pin, and a gold chain around his neck, shown by the open buttons of his garish purple shirt.

"Looks like I did," the hibagon replied with a chuckle, turning to stare down Kazuhiro as he approached, practice sword in hand. He widened his eyes. "Decide to pay up yet?"

"Get off of our property, or I will throw you off," Kazuhiro threatened, bringing the sword to bear.

The hibagon bristled. "See, that worked last time: your little samurai routine. But this time you're a little outnumbered." He motioned to the car, and two more thugs, both human in appearance, climbed out, grinning. They were dressed similarly, all glaring with wide eyes, looking wild and eager to fight.

Kazuhiro held his ground, his face stern.

"You got two options, tengu. Either you pay up, or we beat your ass and burn this cute little onsen to the ground while we carry off your woman." He dropped the sledgehammer down to just above the ground, ready to bring it to bear.

"You'd have to fight her first. May as well cut your own throat and save yourself the trouble," Kazuhiro countered with a smirk. "I'm out here to be the nice one."

"Don't think the whole nice approach is workin' for you, bud."

A knife pressed to the hibagon's throat, and in a puff of smoke, Spy decloaked, wearing the shape of his Frenchman self. "Oh good. I hate the nice approach."

"Aniki!" the nekomata yelled, holding back from charging forward as Spy forced the hibagon to turn, giving him line of sight to everyone involved. He snarled, fangs on display. "Who the fuck is this white boy?"

"I'm the guardian kami of this spring," Spy snorted, holding the knife closer, cutting through a chunk of fur to press the blade to skin. His eyes flickered to the pin on the thug's lapel, taking in its details before returning to the nekomata.

"Real fuckin' funny," the hibagon grunted. He dropped the sledgehammer and looked to Kazuhiro. "You think hirin' muscle's gonna help you? We know what you are, and some hired goon ain't gonna save you from your customers findin' out. You got 'til the end of the week to pay up, or Captain Nagoshi's making sure all of Osaka knows what you two are."

"You're makin' an awful lotta threats for a guy with a knife to his throat," Spy hummed, smirking.

"You gonna murder me on the doorstep of this ryokan? Sure that'd be great for business."

"Nobody would miss a lowlife chinpira like you."

"You talk a lotta shit for a foreigner."

"You talk a lotta shit for a dead man."

"Stop!" Kazuhiro called, looking pleadingly to Spy. "If we kill the messenger, do you think they're going to hold back on exposing us?"

Spy scoffed and pulled the knife away, shoving the yakuza thug away with an annoyed, "Tch."

Rubbing at his throat, the hibagon backed up to the car, nodding to his companions, who all climbed back in. "Friday," he growled. He stalked over and got in, slamming the door loudly. The car backed sloppily out onto the road, knocking over a jizo statue on its way and crushing a lantern, and sped off down the mountain road from whence it came.

Spy sagged. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Kazuhiro replied, sighing as he beheld his re-broken sign. "They would've beaten me bloody if you hadn't showed up."

"I'm surprised Yoko wasn't out here backin' you up."

"I don't want her dealing with them if I can avoid it," Kazuhiro reasoned. "Unlike you, she wouldn't have moved the knife."

Spy flipped his knife closed and shifted back to Shigeru. "That's true. Either way, I got a look at those lapel pins. No mistake, that really is the Makai family. Which doesn't make any sense."

"Why not?"

"Because Patriarch Ugaki swore an oath to me that the family would never touch the Morimoto foxes."

*

Sōemonchō, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. April, 1932.

"Han!"

"Are you serious? This is fuckin' bullshit!"

The clacking of gambling tokens and clattering of dice filled the smoky room of the little gambling hall. Tucked away in a side alley, it was a large, mostly unadorned room with old-fashioned decor, a wall with a sliding door separating it from the back of the house. Upon the tatami floor sat a host of gamblers sitting across from a few dealers running cho-han, shaking dice in small baskets and upending them in games of guessing evens or odds. An angry young man dressed in an ill-fitting suit jumped to his feet, pointing accusatorily at the dealer in front of him.

"This game's rigged! No way it's han five rolls in a row!"

"Sir, please be seated if you wish to continue to play," the dealer—a pretty young woman dressed in a kimono—asked, lifting the dice between her fingers and dropping them back into the basket.

"The fuck you mean 'sit down'?" the young man barked, leaning in angrily, towering over the seated woman. "I want back all the money you fucks stole from me!"

"Sir." The dealer looked past him and flashed a hand sign, then looked back up to him. "Sir, I understand losing is difficult, but I must ask that you calm down. You're making a scene."

"Makin' a scene?! Good! You're straight-up fleecin' me!" Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a pocket knife, flipping it open to a chorus of gasps and the thumping scramble of other patrons moving away. "I oughtta cut your tongue out for takin' to me like that!"

The dealer stared at him, looking exhausted.

The wet thump of impact interrupted any further threats, as the man fell to the ground in a heap, his knife clattering to the floor beside him. Behind him, Shigeru tucked his blackjack back into his pocket and smoothed out his jacket, which bore a lapel pin showing the Makai family crest. He took a drag from his cigarette. "Dipshit."

"Thank you, Morimoto-han," the dealer said, bowing.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Shigeru replied, stepping over the unconscious patron and past the line of dealers. He slid open a door behind them and poked his head into a room with a low table, where a group of men in finely-tailored suits were seated on the floor around it, sharing sake and chatting. "Captain Ugaki?"

A slim man with a wide nose, rounded eyes, and close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair lifted his head, smiling slightly at the sight of him. "What's up, Morimoto-chan?"

"Guy out here makin' a ruckus, drew a knife. He's takin' a nap right now. Should I take the trash out or should I make sure it's properly disposed of?"

Captain Ugaki shook his head with a laugh. "Just toss the asshole in the street. Take his wallet as a warning shot. If he decides to start shit with the family again we'll put the boots to him."

"On it, Oyaji," Shigeru said, slipping out and sliding the door closed.

*

Yamamori Ryokan, Izumisano, Osaka, Japan. June 6th, 1970.

The sliding glass doors to the ryokan were locked. A pair of sliding wooden doors were locked in front of them. The broken sign still laid in the rock garden beside the path. In the lobby, the phone rang unanswered.

On the second floor of the main building, in Yoko and Kazuhiro's small apartment, the team sat on the living room floor around a short, square table. A sake cup rested in front of each person, a small jug at the middle of the table.

Yoko stared at Spy, not breaking eye-contact as she slugged back her sake and set the cup on the table, clacking it loudly.

Spy picked up the jug and refilled her cup.

Yoko's brows furrowed, and drank her cup again, clacking it down a little louder.

"Yo-chan..." Kazuhiro started, but was silenced as Yoko held a finger up to shush him, not sparing him a glance. She kept her eyes firmly on her brother.

Spy refilled her cup again. Yoko drank it in a single gulp and slammed the cup onto the table, rattling the other cups, making Scout, Sniper, and Kazuhiro jump.

"So tell me, Shigeru. What the fuck were you thinking?" Yoko barked, tails lashing in annoyance.

"It was after I got into espionage, but before the war. The guy I was working for had been blackmailed by someone on the extreme path—"

"Yakuza."

"What?"

"Don't use their words for themselves. They're fucking yakuza."

"You're awful venemous about them considering how much crime you've done yourself over the years."

"There's a difference."

Spy scoffed and continued. "The blackmailer was in the Makai family. Guy name of Daito Shigeki. So I came back over to get into the family to get close to him."

"Using your real name?"

"Not at first. I was goin' by Sawamura Kazuma at the time. Turned out Daito wasn't just blackmailin' foreigners who did business with the clan. He was a mole in the family, workin' on a plan to assassinate the family captain, Ugaki Goro. My employer just wanted Daito dead. The family, once I gave them a small mountain of evidence I'd gathered over a year, made that happen. But to prove all of that to Captain Ugaki, I had to play my hand about bein' undercover. Captain was so grateful anyway he made us sworn brothers, and asked if I'd stay in the family." Spy shrugged. "The Makai family targeted youkai businesses and interests, both to keep 'em as turf and to keep human families from causin' 'em trouble. The protection money was in exchange for actual protection, for the most part. Still extortion, but they at least walked the talk. So I stuck around, 'cause I knew bein' a kitsune named Morimoto on their payroll might put other kitsune named Morimoto on their radar. So if I were in the family, I could keep 'em away from anythin' you and Ken-chan might be up to."

"Don't play like you did this for our sakes."

"At first? No. Once I realized I'd fucked up royally by being exposed? Believe what you want, but I'm tellin' you that's why I stuck around."

"How long were you with them?"

"Two more years. Then it all went to shit. The patriarch, Kanda, was dating Captain Ugaki's sister, Rie. Always on the bubble of not treatin' her good, but nobody saw nothin', and even if we did, what could we say to the patriarch? But we all got the feelin'. He didn't put much respect in his mouth when he talked to her. Well one day they had it out, and he ended up hittin' her somewhere you could see it. And her brother found out."

"What'd he do?"

*

Sōemonchō, Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. April, 1934.

Everyone had heard the screaming. By the time Shigeru had arrived, he could hear police sirens in the distance. Drawing himself up, he charged up the stairs to Ugaki Rie's apartment, his guts drawn tight.

The door was ajar, the frame broken by forced entry. Splinters of wood were everywhere. He could hear a woman sobbing. Steeling himself, Shigeru pushed the door slowly open and crept inside into the darkened, single-room apartment.

Moonlight shone in from the balcony, reflecting off of a darkened puddle on the wood floor, silver-white on shadow-blackened crimson. A woman, Ugaki's sister Rie, was curled up against the side of the kitchen cabinets, holding her knees to her chest and crying. Her skirt was ripped, her hair a mess. In the middle of the room lay the body of Patriarch Kanda, dead. Deep, ragged gouges covered his body, slashed by claw and fang, his throat torn open. Hunched over him, a man-shaped otter youkai—a kawauso—knelt, blood dripping from his claws and soaking his suit.

Shigeru stopped, choked on his own breath, barely croaking out, "Captain..."

The kawauso turned, blood splattering his face, and slowly shifted into human shape, agony creasing his tear-stained features. "Morimoto-chan..."

"Captain, what—"

"I... I couldn't stop myself. When Rie called me, said he was yellin', gettin' violent, that he hit her before and she was afraid he was gonna do worse this time..." Ugaki shook his head, looking down at his hands, "I snapped. I ran the whole way here, and ripped his fuckin' throat out. I... I'm sorry, kyodai."

The sirens grew closer. "Sorry?"

"That you're gonna have to deal with a patriarch like Lieutenant Nagoshi. If the family don't just dissolve."

"The family ain't dissolvin'; what're you talkin' about?"

"The patriarch's dead. Ain't no way I ain't goin' down for this, Morimoto-chan. If the cops don't get me, the clan will. Patricide..."

Shigeru knelt beside Ugaki and looked down to the lifeless body of Kanda on the floor. "No." He shook his head. This was his sworn brother, defending his family. He'd have done the same or worse if Yoko had been in Rie's position. Panic welled in his heart as he realized the decision he'd already made, with absolutely zero deliberation. He slammed his hands down into the puddle of blood and began to wipe it on himself, soaking his hands in it, smearing it on his arms, his face, his suit.

"What the hell are you doin'?" Ugaki barked, grabbing hold of Shigeru's wrists.

"My duty as your sworn brother. The family needs you. Rie-san needs you. And you know there's not a prison that can hold me. You need to run, before the cops get here. Get to the river, ditch those clothes. Lay low, and get back to the family." He dug in his jacket pocket, pulling out a large pearl, about the size of a tennis ball. It glowed softly, subtly, barely lighting the hand that held it, and he handed it to Ugaki. "Hide this somewhere I'll expect. I'll need it once I break out."

"Your hoshitama? Shigeru, no..."

"Look, I discovered my sworn brother's sister was bein' brutalized, and I went to take matters into my own hands before the family even found out. I—I'm a new swear-up. Kasuga Akira." Shigeru shifted his face to something generic, an everyman who didn't stand out, and looked to Rie. "Rie-san? Do you hear that? My name is Kasuga, and I came here to defend you! Your brother had no idea!"

Sniffling, Rie nodded, eyes blackened and swollen nearly shut, her nose bloody. Shigeru looked back down to Kanda's corpse and snarled. Being mauled was too easy a death for what he deserved.

Ugaki nodded, clearly unable to change his subordinate's mind. "Fine, okay. I'll get you an identity, a-and I'll lawyer you up and make sure you don't hang. But you better get outta prison like you said."

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, a sad smile crossed Shigeru's lips. "Just promise me somethin'."

"Anythin'."

Shigeru leveled a severe glare at his captain. "The family never touches the Morimoto foxes."

Ugaki took Shigeru's hand and clasped it tightly. "I swear you this oath. Nobody touches the Morimoto foxes."

Satisfied, Shigeru gave his hand a squeeze, then released him. "Thank you, kyodai. Now go! Get outta here before the cops show up!" With a wave of his hand and a flash of magic, he pushed an invisibility spell onto his captain and shoved him away, staring at the empty air as his unseen sworn brother took flight, his footsteps retreating until sirens drowned them out.

Looking back down at Kanda, Shigeru let his hands slip into claws, and gave the son of a bitch one last gouge for good measure.

*

Yamamori Ryokan, Izumisano, Osaka, Japan. June 6th, 1970.

"You went to PRISON for them?!" Yoko yelled, slamming her hands on the table and pitching up onto her knees. The other cups on the table clattered, and Kazuhiro recoiled in shock. Sniper and Scout shared a nervous look, while Spy remained nonplussed.

"For three months. Their security was a joke. Captain Ugaki hid my hoshitama on the roof of the family office, which I took and left without contact. I was back in Paris before the season changed."

"NOT THE POINT!"

"Then what is the point? Yo-chan, the amount of morally suspect shit I've done in my life, both before and after leavin' Japan the first time would turn your fur white."

"If my fur were white then I'd be able to get a job workin' for Inari-okami and I wouldn't be here puttin' up with your bullshit!"

"She's awful mad," Scout mumbled, leaning in to Sniper. "Should we..." he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, wordlessly suggesting an exit.

Sniper nodded, and looked to Kazuhiro, who made eye contact and slowly nodded in agreement. Each slugged back their sake and quietly made their egress.

*

"She's a spitfire," Sniper muttered as the three descended the stairs into the ryokan proper, the 'staff only' door at its bottom left open.

"Like gettin' yelled at by Ma. Same kinda attitude, like 'is this the time I finally push 'er over the edge an' she stabs me?'"

"Yo-chan is often more calm," Kazuhiro replied, his English hesitant, and thickly-accented. "She hate yakuza."

"I mean, can't say I blame 'er," Scout replied, carefully hopping down the last step to avoid scuffing the hardwood with his hooves. "They keep rollin' in an' wreckin' 'er shit. If I built all this up by hand I'd wanna light the fuckers on fire too."

"Strewth."

Scout winced as a tirade he couldn't understand echoed down the stairs in Spy's voice. "You think they're gonna be okay?"

"I think they will. Lot of emotion," Kazuhiro assured him, looking nervously back the way they'd come.

"Tadaima!"called a man's voice from the entryway, startling all three men.

Kazuhiro dashed through the lobby, sliding to a halt on his socks as he saw a man dressed in a business suit stepping out of his shoes and onto the hardwood floor, both doors closed behind him. "Kenji-san! How did you get in here?"

Sniper and Scout trotted in after Kazuhiro, eyes on the newcomer. He was about Scout's height, but broader, athletically built even under the concealing lines of his navy suit, which bore a lapel pin in the shape of a rounded sunflower with a balance scale at its centre. His face was narrow and clean-shaven, with golden-brown eyes and an aquiline nose. His short salt-and-pepper hair was parted to one side. From his backside, three orange tails trailed, the white at their tips more pronounced than Spy's and Yoko's. He had a duffel slung around his torso, with one hand resting on the strap.

"Well I knocked for about ten minutes, then just gave up and picked the locks. Don't worry; I locked up behind me. You know, if you're expecting visitors, you should really be listening for them to arrive," the man, Kenji, explained with a chuckle. He looked to the foreigners, lifting an eyebrow, tensing and almost-instantly relaxing the moment he saw Scout's antlers and cervine legs. "You have guests?"

"Oh, these are friends of Shigeru-san, from his work in America."

"Of course Shige-chan surrounds himself with gorgeous men," Kenji snorted.

"He's a man of taste. This is Mun—"

Kenji surged forward and offered Sniper a handshake and bow together, his eyes roving the taller man, checking him out without any attempt at concealing it. "Morimoto Kenji, a pleasure to meet you," he said in English, flashing him a winning smile, complete with fangs.

Sniper smiled in return, taking his hand for a hearty shake and bowing in addition, making sure to make an obvious show of appraising him in return. "Mundy," he replied. When Kenji released him, he gestured to Scout. "And this is Scout."

"Nice to meet you," Kenji offered, affording Scout a far less lacivious but still pleasantly flirty handshake and bow combination.

"Yeah, right back atcha," Scout replied with a wink, glad he was willing to talk to him rather than just let Sniper translate. "Your English is real good!"

"Thank you," Kenji chuckled, releasing Scout. "I don't speak as many languages as Shige-chan, but I like to think I'm no slouch. And in my line of work, it's more helpful than you'd expect."

"Whatcha you do for a livin'?"

"I'm a defense attorney," Kenji chirped proudly, tapping his lapel pin. "I specialize in representing youkai in court, since we have differing needs compared to humans." He looked to Kazuhiro. "Speakin' of youkai, where are Shige-chan and Yo-chan? I brought some sweets from the city."

"Upstairs. It seems Shigeru-san has a more... intimate knowledge of the situation than any of us had thought."

[almostangrything]

Even More!

Floui- Hurt/Comfort

      It was a normal day in the statehouse. Everybody was minding their own business and being quiet, well, except for Florida. He was busy gathering his supplies to go and get Loui, so that they could do some crime. This was normal, so nobody really cared anymore. As long as he stayed out of the house. Once he got his equipment ready, Florida ran to Loui's room, excitedly knocking on the door.

      But there was no answer. Florida could hear talking, it sounded like Loui. His voice sounded sad. Florida opens the door by a sliver and peeks into the room.

      "Mais, why you gotta do that?" Loui's voice was heartbreaking. He was sitting on the floor, tears streaming down his face. "I'm tellin' ya, you ain't gotta come up here..." By the tone in Loui's voice, it was evident he was talking to his father, France. Loui sighs and says, "Fine, fine... But nobody's gonna be very happy to see you." The other phone hangs up. Louisiana sets down his hone and sighs.

      Florida immediately rushes to Loui's side. They were quite similar, with Florida only being an inch shorter than Loui. Louisiana sees Florida and hugs him tightly. "Sha, didja hear? France is coming over," Loui says with emotion. "I-I heard," Florida replies. France, Loui's father, was an awful man. Loui had the scars and stories to prove it. Florida hugs Loui as tight as he can.

      The dreaded day had come. France shows up to the statehouse. A quiet and tense dinner follows. Loui decided to cook since it would be more busywork to take his mind off things. A few other states like Texas and New York helped. They also had rough childhoods, so they understood and wanted to help Loui. France wasn't causing trouble yet, so that was good. But Loui was a nervous wreck. He didn't eat much and his hands were shaking.

      Finally, dinner was over. Loui decided to wash the dishes, as an excuse to get away from France. As everyone started to drift away, Loui was left in the kitchen. He thought he was alone, so he was muttering to himself about France. However, France was in the next room. He heard the muttering, and although he couldn't make out the exact words, he knew from the tone that it was nothing good.

      "What are you mumbling about, boy?" France asks rudely as he steps into the kitchen. Loui's under-his-breath insults immediately stop as he turns around, his hands wet from washing dishes. "Oh, uh... Nothing..." Loui keeps looking at France, hoping he'll go away. France did not, and approached Loui instead. "Your cooking has gotten even worse since I last saw you," France sneers. "Well, sorry. I cook what I know my friends will like." France scoffs, disgusted. Your 'friends' are vile and uncouth. I don't know why I haven't dragged you back home already." Loui gets a little angry, saying, "Mais, this is my home. I got people here who love me, and I love them."

      France's eyes narrow. "I saw you exchanging glances with that one barbarian in the hat and the tank top." He slaps Loui in the face. "I did not raise you to be a gay sissy!" Loui steps back, now more scared than angry. France pushes him to the ground. "Do I need to teach you what it means to be a man?" France asks rudely, grabbing a kitchen knife.

      Just then, three people, namely Florida, New York, and Texas, tackle France. Florida nicks the knife away from France and points it at him while Texas and New York hold the country in place. "Don't you threaten my bro, you scumbag!" Florida shouts angrily. "Get out! And remember than nobody wants to see you again!" Florida, along with New York and Texas, walk France outside before unceremoniously throwing him out to the curb. Florida returns quickly to make sure Loui is alright.

      Loui is sitting on the kitchen floor, shaking and crying silently. "Loui... He's gone." Florida's voice fills with concern for his best friend. "Mais, sha, I-I don't know what I'd do w-without you." Loui's voice is only slightly shaky now. Florida helps Louisiana up. New York and Texas come back to give Loui a brief hug before finishing washing the dishes. Florida takes Louisiana up to his room. Loui collapses onto the bed, and Florida slides right up next to him, Hugging him and whispering softly. "Don't worry, he won't be here ever again..." Loui wraps his arms around the slightly smaller state and pulls him close. "I love you, sha."

      "I love you too." Florida traces the scars on Loui's arms, peppering them with kisses. Loui slowly falls asleep, still holding Florida in his arms. Florida wraps his arms around Loui and falls asleep soon after.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  It's a little bit shorter than the last one, but I still enjoyed writing it. Hope you enjoy reading it!

Word count: 803 words.

[aanylah-101]

Zdinarsk Headcanons

Ok so- I was watching AWOTW on my Macbook again when I really paid attention to Zdinarsk. 

I feel like Zdinarsk was a lot more gentle with Tuk than the other recoms, yeah yeah Tuk is a baby and she's more fragile and younger but still Zdinarsk didn't have to be so patient.

*THE FACTS;

At the point where Zdinarsk is fighting and shooting at Neytiri Z is still holding Tuk back from running away but just like Lo'ak Tuk bites Z's arm until she lets go of her. 

Zdinarsk says "AH YOU LITTLE SHIT" and also while Tuk & Lo'ak are running away Z tries to grab Tuk again saying "Get back here!"

This had me thinking like "Oh no she doesn't like kids-" 

BUT NO

When the kids got captured in the net you can see Zdinarsk In the back putting whatever weapon she had away and quickly tended to Tuk first because she KNEW they would rock her shit 

Tuk threatened to attack her with her baby knife when Z gently grabbed her arm telling her to "Drop the knife, drop it!" 

Notice how she softly shakes at her wrist to her hand to get her to drop It, you may think she's being rough because Tuk is throwing a tantrum but kids are just like that.

When spider runs down to stop them from hurting Lo'ak you can see in the back that Zdinarsk is lifting her up to turn her around. Yes, she swings her but that's not being rough. She places her on the ground gently while saying "Down" 

ZDINARSK IS OFF SCREEN AT THIS SCENE When Quaritch is getting off his ikran you can hear Zdinarsk In the back saying "Shut- down!, shut up, be quiet" She does mess up on her words but you can comprehend what she's saying and doing nonetheless

When Quaritch says "Cuff 'em to the rail. All of 'em" Zdinarsk gets up and has a bit of force in bringing Tuk up as well, she brings her to her side so she won't have any trouble walking with her. She says "Let's go, Move!" 

A more known scene is Zdinarsk saying "Watch 'em, They bite" a little throwback to when Tuk bit her in the mid-beginning of the movie. Yes, Tuk is screaming and throwing a fit, not to mention going limp as well. She drops to her knees while in front of the rail.

This is my favorite part <3 // Zdinarsk says such In a motherly tone "Give me your hand"

SHE DOESN'T WANNA HURT HERRR SHE LIKES KIDS AHHHHH

Tuk openly said "No!" afterward, she gently EVER so gently puts the clip on her hand then says, "Now the other" she does say this is a more annoyed tone but still soft 

Visibly, while clipping her hands to the rail Tuk once again openly says "No!" 

In the scene where Quaritch threw Tysireya into the water she looked up and saw Quaritch throw Tuk to Zdinarsk while doing so, she said "I got her" I found that so sweet. 

*THE HEADCANONS;

I feel like Z is great with kids but the kids would get on her nerves honestly, i know it was a tense moment because of the shooting & stuff and also how she trys her best to be patient she is awesome with younger little shits <3

The other recoms didn't put away their weapons, they used them to scare the kids but Z puts hers away when hurrying to get Tuk first. She shuffles to get her out of the rope and shakes her hand to get her to drop the knife. The other recoms nearly break the kids arms to get them to drop their knives.

Back to what I was saying about how kids can get on Z's last nerve you can hear her off screen telling Tuk to get down or to shut up. It would have been cute instead of her saying "Shut up" she said "Hush" Instead lol. It is cute how she she's giving Tuk commands though "Down" "shut up" all that junk lmao.

SHE WAS SO GENTLE WHEN CUFFING HER TO THE RAIL 💘😖 She can be heard telling Tuk "Give me your hand" she doesn't sound aggressive at all!

I feel like If Z could she would keep Tuk away from anyone else saying things like "I got her" "Give her to me" she knows they would hurt poor little Tuk <3

+Bonus; I like to think that after the whole mini battle Walker helped bandage Zdinarsk up from Tuk's vicious bite. Definitely girl pals <333

Welp, that's all! Hope you enjoyed, Bye Angels! 🕊🤍 @dyingofcookies

[sharpth1ng]

(Assuming Billy and Stu live and are way older) Do you think Stu would try to get in contact with his nephew Vince? If he did, what relationship would you think they would have? Stu would be like the “cool but has murdered many people” uncle. Dunno if Leslie Macher would be happy about it tho. Also how do you think uncle-in-law billy would do with that. They ain’t raising the child so that’s good but you would not want the macher-loomis influence on your kid. Especially since Vince is canonically already an aggressive, knife-wielding asshole.

Anyways Stu and Billy are NOT invited to family gatherings, but it would be funny if they did, you could make something comical out of that: the gay uncles that murder people on the weekends showing up to the family BBQ or whatever and acting like everything is normal lol

So to me all this depends if they’re caught or not. If they get away with the murders and no one knows it’s them I think they do probably continue to have contact with family. If Leslie doesn’t want them around Vince it’s because Vince starts saying and doing fucked up stuff after hanging out with them, not because she knows they’re murderers.

Tbh I don’t think Billy is good with kids, like, he just doesn’t know how to interact with them and treats them like small adults, which is a big contrast to Stu who is incredible with kids. I feel like they probably don’t hang out with the family all that much, and they probably spend even less time with Vince one on one, but Billy warms up a little over time and sort of figures out how to hang out with this one kid.

If they’re out as a couple (which they would be at an older age) I don’t think they hang out with Stu’s parents much because even if they aren’t being outwardly homophobic it’s just awkward, but I do think Leslie would be around more. It’s the way siblings with neglectful and/or otherwise abusive parents end up coming together almost protectively once they’re old enough to be out of the house.

If they got caught and went to jail they’re getting 25 to life (that’s the sentence for premeditated murder in California) or the death sentence (which is currently suspended in California but would have been active in the mid-90s). Assuming they do 25 years and get out on good behaviour they’re in their mid 40s when they get out.

I don’t think Billy would be particularly interested in connecting with anyone other than his mom when he gets out tbh, but I can see Stu contacting Leslie, and I do think she might have been in contact a bit when they were locked up.

In this case I think Leslie is incredibly suspicious of Billy, who the media would have portrayed as the driving force behind the murders. She sees Stu as a troubled teen who got led astray and Billy as a really bad influence. I think she would be worried about him getting Stu into trouble again now they’re out (although let’s face it, Stu would be getting into trouble regardless).

Stu would be vehemently against this view of Billy, and might threaten to drop contact with Leslie if she doesn’t chill, which could actually lead to the “Gay uncles that just got out of prison for murder showing up to the family BBQ”.

[krewssleuth]

# _ this is the crime kitchen after all.

ib:: their video (i work at a criminal kitchen) content:: murder, crimes, illegal stuff, it isn't as dark n very generic soo note:: first post let's go! (btw i'm still working on a better post design) help why was this so good?! why do 2am works turn out better than when i'm fully awake. also, i need to find proper ages for them to make it make sense.

The Killer ; Painting Rainbows

- An infamous 'alien hunter' in the community. Lunar knew of her as the head honcho in dealing of illegal items. Rainbow then got in touch with Funneh and thus got hired.

- She used to work at the sandwich store until the owner was arrested. Rainbow wasn't arrested due to the government wanting to hide the truth of aliens existance. She also harvests organs which are mainly hearts but doesn't tell how she got them so as to not get anyone else in trouble for her crimes, which I find pretty sweet (Rainbow being sweet is a canon event!)

The Knockout ; Golden Glare

- A fashionable ex-model, now hired at the Sandwich Store due to her ties with Rainbow. Gold knew her from school as Rainbow was called a 'lunatic' for believing that aliens exist. She didn't mind Rainbow as she found her quite 'normal' and understanding when it's just them two.

- She bought her fame, until one day her manager threatened to expose her. The man has helped her too much and demanded a higher pay. Gold being the greedy woman she was, declined and her manager launched at her with a knife. She was able to kill him out of defence, still traumatised by her actions, yet craving for more. The ex-model served her years for manslaughter, then losing her popularity.

The Mastermind ; Funneh Cake

- A young, avaricious money launderer who continued the business out of fun. Funneh hired Lunar, slowly bonding over time. After Funneh bought the place, she had Lunar and Draco invest in the Sandwich Store. She did find it strange that Gold and Rainbow wanted to work there but didn't question it much.

- She found out about the place from rumours that the place had 'aliens'. The thing that truly caught her interest was guns; a popular illegally-bought item. Who on Earth would buy alien bodies or human hearts? Some Science geek who is unafraid to get arrested? Funneh later got in touch with Draco, a man who could cover up their tracks when needed.

The Mule ; Lunar Eclipse

- A blood-thirsty money mule who knows too much about the dark web. Lunar had searched far and wide for quick cash, for unknown reasons. She was only a few years younger than Funneh, deciding then to be her money mule.

- She started off buying illegal items off of the dark web then selling it to classmates and schoolmates, making sure to make profit. She then crossed paths with Funneh while dealing in an alleyway, until Funneh hired her. Lunar found it strange but wanted the money, and since then they have become two peas in a pod.

The Silencer ; Draconite Dragon

- A quick-witted intelligencer that will do whatever it takes to protect his co-workers. Draco met Funneh through the heads of their respective crime families. She found him useful to the team, while he found her and the group interesting. Almost like he knew them, for a long a time. As though he had talked to them every day, had shared great memories with them, lived happily with the team of five.

- Draco is often at a nearby bar or library, eavesdropping on any information that the police knows about him and the others. He would of course report back to Funneh on anything urgent, not wanting to kill off too many people but still, he makes sure to get rid of any person that could risk the group's lives. The four women were very important to him. He never knew why but will never question his heart and soul.

[ Dyaa M_'s LOG Ended. ]

[the-whispers-of-death]

man oh man i had an idea. what if once IRIS collapsed Romanas joined the shadow company and subsequently met the lions. it would be so funny but also so sad because like.

Romanas: *getting the bare minimum of decency* wow they really love their soldiers here huh

or the food situation

Romanas: what do you mean you get three meals a day? like for free? you don't have to kill an extra 20 people by yourself or give out favors(you can guess what kind) to superiors?.... that's insane

someone goes to touch Romanas in a completely no threatening way

Romanas: *flinches so hard he almost falls over*

there's also the wole can't feel pain thing

Stone: *trying to patch Romanas up*

Romanas: *was shot three times and scooped the bullets out with a knife* tis but a flesh wound

Romanas gets in trouble for tossing sparring partners like sallads

Romanas: what do you mean i "can't fight for blood"? this a sparring match not a game of pattycake.... i didn't even hit him that hard.... what the hell is a "holding back"? why would i do that? you don't.... fight until one of you is in the infirmary?..... that's weird but ok

the beds and sleep would also be a separate matter

Romanas: yooo these beds are nice (it's the most basic ass barack bed in existence) and y'all got fancy pillows and blankets too? (it's the most threadbare pillow and blanket, most people on base don't even use those).... what do you mean they let you sleep more than three hours?... doesn't that... make you lazy? when do y'all wake up?

the interractions would be funny with Romanas thinking the most basic things were luxury and that basic decency was some big kindness (but it's also sad but oh well Romanas spends lots of time in the meatgrinder)

Cerberus & Romanas 🤝 being thrown off by the amount of luxury they now have.

Cerberus and Romanas can fawn over the fact they have nice beds now and have a steady source of food.

Meanwhile the rest of The Lions are like "So they both need therapy, okay." Kali is dialing the therapist and psychiatrist that are on Shadow Company's payroll.

I love the fact that you added Stone in this despite him not even being in the Shadow Company base because he's being lent to the 141 and doesn't even know Sarabi, Simba, and Nala are alive.

[myeyesblurry]

STOP TELLING SHERLOCK JOHN DOESNT LOVE HIM YOU DINGUS

ok if u want seriousness john was so much nicer after that they got along well and idk what the hells going on right now like even if one of them didn't love the other romantically that they were still good friends so why deny that there's *SOME* form of caring? like they still care about the other. sherlock ignores that. and john ignores that.

like guys youre friends stop arguing you do both love the other??? like what does the rest matter??? i mean yeah it's bad if john were still hitting him but no he's not. usually when he's upset he'll kiss him until he stops being annoying or whatever it's sweet and romantic like johns not hurting him now he's not some abuser the others are acting like he is

but also he's not completely innocent lmao like the others are saying like "he was hurt emotionally when sherlock came back so he attacked him!" like no that literally not acceptable to attack him, however, it's not like the world is black and white. he for real was upset and emotionally wanted to hurt him, and he did. not a serious crime like murder, but a lesser crime that if not wanting to press charges, you go off like nothing happened.

did he deserve to get attacked like that? no. did john have a right to do that? no. did he anyway? yeah. proibably felt good and helped him process. was it okay emotionally? yeah! animals attack each other for various reasons too. he was just expressing himself. sherlock didn't take personal offense to it, and didn't press charges. so it's fine.

when there's a pattern of abuse or it's out of nowhere (if it's your partner) that's horrible, but that's just not the case with john. the first time was unacceptable, the second time was quite justified. punching someone when defending another person? (physically, when the other pulled a knife?) acceptable. punching him to the floor? acceptable. *kicking* him? a bit much, but when people are in fight or flight, after such an event (sherlock pulled a knife.) people can go as far as killing the person in their defense, and often get off legally because their life was directly threatened and it was in quick succession. not enough time to make an escape plan, so to speak. legally in the clear, legally not in trouble.

it was a fight and acceptable, the first time was inappropriate but generally acceptable since the victim didn't press charges.

most of us would never be in a situation where we were being attacked by someone after being away for 2 years of faking your death anyway. it's a unique situation, most of us would react differently. i would accept if someone punched me for it, probably. in most any other situation where someone punches me for something (if my something was non harmful, or an accident) i would walk away, or advise others to walk away.

it's never been like that with john and sherlock, and john has apologized for both. and sherlock explained for both. and john accepted the explanations, and or sherlock accepted johns actions. - Why do they have to say "I've already apologized" every time, it's annoying. So they get defensive, maybe, since all they get is more criticism. So then it's "i was upset!" needing to explain, so maybe *that* stops the criticism. it doesn't work. Because he did apologize, and sometimes all the ask says is "YOU NEED TO APOLOGIZE!" over and over, and that's an insult to insinuate he hasn't and that sherlock accepted it. things hurt when brought up over and over, words get twisted. -John reacts to a world Sherlock creates for him, he's not perfect, he's a human. They both know they're both human.

So they should really accept that the past is the past, and current events show they love each other, and aren't generally trying to hurt the other. If they could accept the other does *at least care, if not love*, the other and they aren't trying to hurt the other, they could continue a real, meaningful, friendship, in the very least.

i'm sure if they could heal their friendship, go back to what it was before people took to criticizing john every 2 seconds for something that was frankly acceptable and making sherlock think john doesn't love him every two seconds, they may even find out more in a relationship than just friendship.

don't show either of them this, obviously. god forbid anyone see genuine advice from a psych major

Another thing, I guess. It's a cycle, john gets criticized for "abusing sherlock" sherlock gets sad thinking maybe they're right and john obviously can't love him because he hit him john feeling the need to defend something that again they already resolved sherlock getting sad because john defends it instead of idk, a gentle reminder that they've resolved it before, and he is genuinely sorry it can be taxing to remind "we've already resolved this" all the time. stop asking, you're (the askers who bring it up) tiring them down and helping cause this rift.

or the other is john getting criticized for staying with mary after he was already about to propose to her. when she saw it and what, he was supposed to say "never mind"? he did love her, you know. and we all know why, she was amazing! it just so happened she was also a bit of trouble. break up with someone you love just to go back to being roommates at least with the guy you love and aren't with? he didn't know he loved him back, otherwise the story might just be different. but it's not different, so why think about that? it is what it is.

So that gets brought up, and bam, makes sherlock think "maybe they're right, he chose her" when it wasn't a choice. he didn't know there was a choice.

a cycle of those situations when it's not needed. leave the past. don't forget mary, obviously, but don't think of a choice that you didn't know existed, at least not in such a negative note as if it *did* exist and you lost.

is it really toxic right now? yeah. does it have to be? no :sob: thery should maybe ignore all talk of when john beat up sherlock, and they should ignore the disrespectful mary asks. if they ignore those two asks maybe things would start smoothing out more.

maybe they need a real chat about it first, though. again, anyway. face to face or something rather online.

for the askers part they should stop asking those two things. but yes foir sherlock and john they need to ignore those asks. never answer them, unless idk it's been awhile and you just need to remind people to stop asking about it.

again you didn't hear this from me man i don't wanna take credit for any accidental happy relationships

[emmacreatures]

Different introduction of AU with Ter'ran/LYLE

I dont have much energy but god I want to write all the time! Thought of this small bit for our au (made by and the fantasfic nina) of the time between Ter'ran and lyle seperated👁 bit how ter'ran processes.. and yes this AU is very new and a new 'era' for me and nina so hoopla! also a bit insight of how Ter'ran and ka'am become better friends, more like brothers. Having the same understanding

The years after the RDA left their world, both Ka'am and Ter'ran had more frequently started to hang around more. Their minds that at first seemed comparing two clmpletely different men, ended up being more similar than they thought. They both had a grudge against eywa, for nothing seemed to have worked out for them so far.

Ka'am's rightful place was taken away, everything he worked for, so he made his ways towards the shadows. And Ter'ran's love was crushed because of eywa's help? but most importantly, jake sully was the reason for the two not getting what they deserved. It was jake who took Ka'am's place.. It was jake who called eywa for help which resulted in Lyle having gotten smashed by a hammerhead titanothere.. It made them almost understand more than well how badly the humans wanted jake dead. He ruined everything for them too.. betrayed his own kind. And while being at it, crushed both Ka'am's and ter'ran's dreams.. Figuratively.. and well. we rather not talk about ter'ran's side of the party.

It took ka'am a while to realize what was ongoing between the two. Meaning the human and Ter'ran. Ter'ran even at times got rather angry if Ka'am referred to him as human.. Ter'ran saw the man as equal.. More than just that.. Was Ka'am surprised by the fact Ter'ran ended up falling in love with one of the sky people. absolutely.. Did it surprise him how close yhe two had gotten. Absolutely not.. But he could feel the pain Ter'ran had, something despite he was very well advanced, did not expect it to have such a massive impact. He saw a more mature Ter'ran all the sudden, someone who was dealing with an almost trauma.. heartloss.. Growing up from it and becoming more mature despite the man had his special ways of doing things. But how did Ka'am figure it out.. Well~

Often of times ka'am went to hunt on his own, especially after the way, not wanting anything to do much with Jake, considering he became olo'eyktan. but Ter'ran asked if he could join at a certain point, which the man allowed. As soon as they went on their hunt, Ka'am noticed a major anger in ter'ran's body, just growing worse and worse, something he didnt think could go so deep due to the man's nature. In his act, he killed way too many animals for what they needed.. Not even doing it the way eywa wanted to, whispering the animals their souls to the ground.. Telling them they went to eywa. No.. Ter'ran was in a terror mode, highly dangerous as he was so focused, nothing seemed to break his barrier. Ka'am had to approach him quick and powerful, knocking him down on the ground as he noticed the specific eyes. As if a prey was murdering their predator without remorse.

Ka'am had to shake the man out of it.. Noticing Ter'ran swallowed as his pupils had been decreased, like little spots that insane animals would have, hungry for kills that wouldnt fuel. "Whats wrong with you- TER'RAN" He said as he had his knife at Ter'ran's neck, threatening him to get out of it for the man was a danger to his surroundings.. seeing his eyes altered before he breathed in and out, getting back to reality.. As if his deep down.. Murderous ways from hundreds of years ago appeared all the sudden. It had to be a massive happening, since he could see the anger of Ter'ran seemed to be fresh, as he'd like to call it.

"You're going to explain to me why you behaved like that.. Or you'll become an even worse menace that even I would have troubles stopping" Ka'am said threatening, stepping away with his knife from Ter'ran who took some time to stand up and regroup himself. "Like you?" Ter'ran said, referring to Ka'am who was the most dangerous man he personally knew. Ka'am folded his ears in a threatening way, as a warning not to be so comfortable with words.. "What got into you.." Ka'am said after a while, his tail swishing like a snake on the ground, slow but steady. He wanted answers. Now.

"Why would you care how i'd hunt.. You and me both know we're not so fond of our deity" Ter'ran said as he felt himself come back out of the trance he was in.. Feeling this sour wound in his heart. "But this is a waste of food Ter'ran. I saw terror, fury.. A fire that cant be put out" Ka'am said in a low voice. "Sounds familair?" Ter'ran had the nerve to be like 'sounds familliar to you huh Ka'am.' being a bit sassy in his own way before he felt a knife back on his neck.. Sighing as he knew he at times went too far. He was surprised to still be alive around ka'am.. but he also knew they had a mutual understanding unlike all their other friends.. "You really want to know.." Ter'ran said as he tried to stand powerful, but he felt his heart ache.. Folding his ears.

"I lost.. The thing most dear to me that I didnt even know I could have, or deserved.. Or existed, because of our deity. and I cant just forget that." Ter'ran admitted, not going into much detail, but it gave Ka'am a better insight. He lost his partner that he wasnt aware off. He immediately wandered and tried to connect the dots on why he was hating their deity.. Who was that partner. But for now... He felt like he needed to teach the younger navi, even if they were only 3 years apart.. "you'll have to control that anger" Ka'am said as he pushed onto his chest, right at where his heart was, understanding this was tough, but that it shouldnt define him. "Put it to use. I'm not saying to forget, but if you wouldnt watch out, many more can get hurt, those that might not deserve it" Ka'am said trickily.. Not meaning that he shouldnt be killing, but be watchful of who.. "Lets continue.." Ka'am just said as a leader, making Ter'ran feel unjudged by the man's approach.. being thankful. Despite Ka'am wasnt aware of the details yet, he knew his friends seemed to understand him, giving it a soft spot..

From there on, Ter'ran slowly dared to explain he ended up being in love with one of the sky people. he was heartbroken over the fact he lost him.. But he did not mention the programme that Lyle explained to him. The so-called Recom project.. Ka'am was a listener, and noticed the two became more like brothers to each other rather than friends. They helped each other, relied.. Well, Ter'ran did more than ka'am, for the man stayed a loner in his own ways. Ter'ran just appreciated him a lot. He was dangerous, well thought to say the least, and someone that would promise and not break a word.. Ka'am ended up learning more about ter'ran and his ways. They sure were unhinged at times, but the man seemed genuine about his connection to this man called lyle. he just saved all info that he explained in his head..

It was just another night at pandora. the two were sitting. Ka'am was leaning high up in a tree.. Whereas Ter'ran, really sticking to what his name referred to, terrain, always likes to stay on the ground, as well against the same tree, but nice on the surface. Ka'am's eyes were shut, listening to the noises outside as Ter'ran kept on rambling..

"you'd think it would grow less... But I miss him, worse.. more each day. " Ter'ran said as he fiddled with the metal cross around his neck. sighing.. No one came close to what lyle was to him nor did he give it another chance.. Despite his heart was yearning for such closure. "i know you dont like to talk back and thats more than okay. Trust me, i just appreciate being able to talk about it and have someone who.. might be the only one understanding me" Ter'ran said as he let the necklace rest on his skin again, softly sitting more comfortably against the tree.. "I dont even know if you're asleep already, since no noises come from up there.. But. I can see why you'd distance yourself more from our own kind... I'm still sorry for that spot you didnt get ka'am" Ter'ran said as he understood Ka'am's fury as well, but he was a more closed off dangerous man in terms of expressing it. Ka'am sighed as he heard it. He appreciated his friend understanding.. But he had his ways of expressing. "do not expect me to get all emotional" He said as Ter'ran slowly hummed.. Slowly getting ready to sleep a bit as they were far away from the tribe, perhaps even at the other side of the whole forest.. It was the middle of the night.. For Ter'ran had fallen asleep, but for some reason, Ka'am's senses activated for he opened his eyes, looking around him before noticing.. a new star.. High up in the air. "Ter'ran." The man said strict for Ter'ran woke up from it. "What?.." He said before looking in which direction Ka'am looked into. "what is it.." He whispered, tilting his head before Ka'am jumped down.. Letting Ter'ran stand up next to him. "Sky people.. they're coming back" Ka'am said as Ter'ran's ears perked up. "the humans?..." "Come, we must go". Ka'am said, wanting to have a better look at what was happening, calling for his Thanator for Ter'ran grabbed his direhorse, having to get to a safe spot, seeing many of these alien ships land on the ground very soon... Full of fire...

[tewwor-moving]

🎰with my Axis, Basille, Li Hua, and Sebastian. + any other OC fantasy muse that you find appealing ^^.

SEND 🎰 FOR ME TO PUT OUR MUSES INTO A RANDOM LIST GENERATOR THEN POST THE FIRST FIVE AS POTENTIAL SHIPS! ( accepting )

axis & walter — .. first of all, i'd like to say i'm so sorry. second of all, i'd like to say good luck. i'll forever love to throw this crotchety idiot anywhere he doesn't want to be ( which is literally anywhere outside his motel ). he will throw a fit. he will threaten all sorts of things that he'll most likely follow up on. he will not tolerate any sass thrown back to him. but as i said, it's my bread and butter when it comes to walter. but! walt's been around for long ass time. never wants trouble, but trouble always seems to find him. somehow that means he not only ended up giving a ton of favors, but there's a few he owes as well. axis could be on either side of that, but either way — walt'll be pissed about it.

basille & beatrice — oh c'mon now. two aquatic adjacent beings randomized? i'd say that beatrice could've met him in the water ( wherever that is ), but she's rather flimsy with a tail. kind of the opposite of when basille's on land, she spends the majority of her time with two stick legs. she'd definitely be interested in any stories / just the way of life below the surface, though. never got any of that from her mother growing up. plus, it might even influence a song or two!

li hua & danny — all i got is that they have vastly different backgrounds. but if she wants some wilderness and/or freedom, danny will always instigate / support that. could even set their encounter back when he was a seafaring pirate and wasn't tied down to a pub

sebastian & oryn — .... well at least oryn doesn't hunt dragons? i mean, sometimes he'll take on the occasional miscellaneous supernatural creature, but he loathes stepping outside of his expertise ( aka demons ). that being said, he's not the nicest hunter out there. even if he won't fuck with killing dragons. although, he's known to offer some place to crash at when safety's needed ( it will come with 1000 angry words though ). this also means there's a very high chance sebastian will come by his two pseduo adopted folks, adela & her weird knife, suhyeon.

fergus & jie — honestly, jie's probably mistaken for a werewolf a lot. he's got all the characteristics of one and technically turns into a big ol' wolf adjacent... thing. except he's not really tied to the full moon via forced shifting. although, he does tend to get more agitated during that time and can still show a lot of similar traits. what i'm saying is the plot of being hunted by mistake is out there for grabs. other than that, could do the 'we're both hunting the same thing' or 'oh no, we have to work together on the same job', etc.

[i-am-beckyu]

BRICK! I AM SO FLIPPEN LUCKY!

I accidentally thought I deleted your ask which instead got posted and then deleted, but I got lucky and had copied the questions to answer qwq. I've been using control z too much... So thank you thank you for all the questions on Jornos and here you are! (Sorry I took so long to answer lol) @brick-a-doodle-do i can see a lot of awkward conversations between tommy and emduo + wil. like a lot of sarcastic comments towards tommy that have a secret meaning to tommy! lots of tensing up at the softest of questions

Yesssssssssssssssssssss! Many many awkward times! Tommy just a lil anxious boi :3

for the thing with tommy knowing things he shouldn't, how about a scene with tommy accidentally humming a tune he'd heard wilbur play before? maybe even accidentally murmuring the lyrics while wilbur only plays the melody! :0000 *yoinks this idea for later* Oh I likes this a lot >:3

do you have any design ideas for tommy's borrower home? is it very innovative with crazy cool designs, or something more basic that he'd thrown together with whatever he could find? I have many ideas for his home but nothing specifically made or set yet. Been thinking about that a lil bit atm lol. While I don't have any designs for Tommy's room, I have made a floor plan of the Crafts house to make sure I'm being coherent to the story and scenes so have that!

how does tommy react to the internet? does he find a means to conquer it after seeing how intimidating it is, or does he immediately fall victim to social media? maybe he finds some good ole schlatt videos and bonds over them with wilbur! Oh he's infatuated with it. He loved to try and watch Tv of Beans in the past but actually gaining access to the internet blew his mind! Learning so many new things and not understanding how some stuff was possible was insane for him! And Canon! Def bonds with Wilbur over the old vids!

does wilbur absolutely drag him into the world of music? i can see wilbur making a mini-him with his new younger brother! 100%. To Wilbur, Tommy is free blank slate brother. Time to educate the child in the world of music and properly!! (as well as everything else lol)

in a lot of fics, techno has swords n knives pinned up on his walls or leaning against his walls, do you follow through with that here? lalalala *yoinks another idea* :3

that also leads me to the question does tommy, as a borrower, find this threatening or interesting? and similarly, when he's a human, does he struggle with hiding his interest/fear of them depending on his borrower-selves reaction? Boi is both terrified and drawn to the blades. There's one sword displayed on top of the book shelf that Tommy often likes to marvel at. It's part of why Tommy tried to go for the craft knife that Techno left out on the table when he first moved in because he wanted to wield a sword like that too.

i bet tommy might have a strong reaction to flavorful things, especially something spicey, sour, or even really sweet, since borrower's grow up mainly on grain with the occasional addition of fruit or dessert. does this spark interest between emduo + wilbur or do they just bond with him and call him a child over it? I think I mentioned in a previous ask that Tommy just goes into sugar rush overload when he gets access to sugar so in a similar way, he'd have an extreme reaction to spicy, sour or bitter things too. If given any of those things tho, I'm pretty sure once comfy with the rest of sbi, would scream: ARE YOU TRYING TO POISON ME?!?!?

tommy using his skills as a human! i can see him offering to fix the craft's ripped clothing with his sewing skills orrr maybe they go hiking or smth and tommy's climbing instincts kick in and he just fucking climbs a tree like it's nothing lol Yesssssssssssss. That was one of the only things he could do at the colony and not get into trouble for it. Often he'd hide out and fix clothing for others so he loves to get his hands on stuff to mend for sbi. When they notice this, they actually get him proper sewing equipment and nice fabric for Tommy to experiment with and he goes wild with new clothes and bags. He adores it!

on the note of instincts, how are tommy's instincts? i always see borrowers listening to their instincts more than humans but still not always listening to them. does he got like really good reflexes that earn him the nickname spiderinnit? (to which he is extremely confused cause huh? maybe that leads to a movie marathon :0) Brick. How? How are you having all the amazing ideas?? *yoinks this too* He is spiderinnit damn it and they watch every spider man movie. So Tommy's instincts are a bit nuts atm. Normally his first thought when in danger is to run and get back to the walls or somewhere safe, but when he shifts he is so out of it, he kinda just shuts down because he can't just run back to the walls. Later on when he kinda works out the sizeshifting abilities, it takes a lot of will power to not let himself just run from everything and hide. But he will often react a lot to footsteps of people coming or animals because he still semi associates it with danger.

birthdays! i don't know about you or this au, but i like the idea of borrower's not really celebrating birthdays, and even if they do not every single one. so what's tommy's reaction to possibly having a party thrown for him? Sometimes Individual bdays are celebrated within small family's when borrowers see fit, say they turn 1 or 13 but yeah most of the time bdays aren't really celebrated. The celebrations are more of a celebration of surviving to an important point in life, not making it another year older in age. (that makes no sense becky. Good job :'D) Colonies will usual celebrate a borrowers coming of age for all the borrowers going on their first successful borrowing trips (of course Tommy isn't allowed at those though)

^^ on a similar note, does tommy know his own birthday? and if he doesn't, how the hell do the craft's react to that ?? He does not. He was abandoned by the colony and they kind of just guessed he was like 2ish when found so they make his bday just sometime in April because that was the time he was found. Tommy doesn't even really think about not having a specific day till he's asked and the Crafts are just so shocked that this kid has probably never had a party in his life and literally throw him a party within the next few days. Tommy is just so touched that he decides the date is April 9th because that was the date. (Even if it was actually *enter different month here*)

I have no idea what else you said about the ask but at least I had the questions so thank you for sending them in and your continued interest in the story! Jornos chapter 2 is almost done and then just needs to be proof read so keep your eyes peeled :3