#as long as there’s people willing to listen to him and help him we’ll be ok

[rickybaby]

Ricciardo is underselling himself as being “back to normal Daniel”, though. Having stayed in touch with him through this period since leaving McLaren, seen his ups and downs through his Red Bull, Renault and McLaren stints and heard how he’s used the time away from the sport (in a racing capacity) to recharge physically and mentally and ease the pressure that had constantly been on his shoulders for around a decade, it feels – if anything – like he’s levelled up.

He himself says he’s “not really scared of anything that is going to be thrown my way” having “been through a lot the last few years”. Those sentences alone show how far he has come.

[…]You can tell he’s relishing the challenge of not only jumping in mid-season (last time he did that, he made his F1 debut with Hispania) but finding a way to scramble some points in a car that is currently the slowest of all and rooted to the bottom of the constructors’ championship. He knows it’s going to be really hard – but he’s backing himself to get the job done.

[…]That might still only mean points here and there, but those points will be crucial in what is a tight fight in the constructors’ championship from seventh through to 10th.

And that kind of good job would make a return to the Red Bull works team a genuine possibility. It’s a heck of a challenge – but he says with impressive conviction that he’s up for it. Yep, the confidence and belief is certainly back. This is going to be fun to watch.

Ricciardo is falling back in love with F1 and is ready to go again – this is going to be fun to watch

[strawberry-halla]

something so amazing about solas is that he is very good at predicting his enemies and his allies moves. he’s always thinking 5 steps ahead, even varric says this. (long post incoming!)

but when it comes to lavellan, he could never predict her. when he first meets her, solas thinks she’s just another dalish elf that is unwilling to listen to his advice. nope turns out she can be willing and not only that but asks him about what he knows so she can better understand the fade/spirits/ancient elves.

and then the haven dream kiss! she’s the one who initiates and solas is once again thrown off guard because he never expected that. and then he just gives into it with so much passion and fade tongue.

in all new, faded for her, solas is once again surprised lavellan agrees with his plan to free his friend, the spirit of wisdom. because nobody in the entire inquisition (except cole) would be down for this?? like all the world knows about spirits is that they don’t ever come in contact with people unless very rarely. they’re an enigma, something to be feared even because they can become demons. but nah lavellan is like ‘yep sounds good let’s go save your friend!’

and solas after this tries to rationalize lavellan’s bizarre behavior as something the anchor changed about her. because he has always known how to read people. he can’t understand her. he thinks her ‘spirit’ has changed due to magic’s influence.

but no, lavellan surprises once again by pointing out that her choices are her own or that if the anchor did change her, wouldn’t she notice? like no wonder solas is so fucking down bad. lavellan subverts everything he thought about the modern people, not just exclusively elves. she’s constantly showing him new points of view and challenging his whole mission. and so the cracks start to form.

“you show a wisdom i haven’t seen since…*pause* my deepest journeys into the ancient memories of the fade.”

“your mind, your morals, your… *pause* spirit.”

“it would be kinder in the long run. but losing you would- *cuts himself off*”

and then if lavellan drinks from the well, this conversation and the previous quest itself (what pride had wrought) just cracks solas wide open (even if she didn’t drink). he’s visibly upset because he’s afraid the well will change lavellan and he knows first hand what it’s like to do everything for someone who made the wrong choices! so solas asks what she would do with the power of the well and he’s ONCE AGAIN thrown off guard by her answer. i really like the “help the world move forward” option because it almost aligns with solas’s plan but it doesn’t.

s: “you would risk everything you have in the hope the future is better? what if it isn’t? what if you wake up to find the future you shaped is worse than what it was?”

l: “i’ll take a breath, see where things went wrong, and then try again.”

s: “just like that?”

l: “if we don’t keep trying, we’ll never get it right.”

you’d think this would be an affirmation that solas’s plan is right, but it’s not. lavellan is wanting to fix things now and shape a better future with the well’s power. it’s eerily similar, but once again a path solas didn’t consider. she surprises once more. using the wisdom from the well to help, rather than command. sound familiar? this conversation just solidifies solas’s want. to be himself and to be solas, not fen’harel, with lavellan.

so he takes her to crestwood. somewhere intimate and quiet just for the two of them. a place where the veil is thinnest because it’s easy for spirits to cross and be comfortable. solas is going to tell lavellan the truth. he’s going to abandon his plan. but then solas gets in his own head. he fights with the possibility of her rejecting him because why wouldn’t she? he’s the very god in her culture that ruined everything. what if lavellan sees him for the monster history painted him? and then he realizes why he even wanted to tear down the veil. to avenge his oldest friend and right the wrongs he did to the elves. and it all comes crashing down in not even a second.

“then what i must tell you… *pause* …the truth.”

solas backpedals so fucking hard. the reality of everything just hits him. so he quickly redirects to the vallaslin topic because it’s familiar as he looks down at lavellan’s face and sees the markings of the very gods he locked away.

remove the vallaslin or not solas still loves her no matter what. and the sad option is still my favorite here because once again solas is slipping.

s: “you have a rare and marvelous spirit. in another world-“

l: “why not this one?”

and then at the end of veilguard, lavellan does one more thing solas doesn’t expect. after hurting her, betraying her, leaving her alone without any answers, killing one of her friends, and almost succeeding in his plan, she forgives him. lavellan abandons thedas and everything she knew to be with him. to the very end, she is subverting his tragic expectations.

“this journey is not yours alone. we make it together, always.”

[demonsslayersstuff]

Hair Washing (Levi Ackerman x Gender Neutral Reader)

Description: Just a little slice of life story about helping Levi wash his hair post war.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, nudity, suggestive content (nothing too graphic), and comfort.

A/N: Here’s the first of my end of the year fics that I am writing. I’ve always liked the idea of a soft Levi so I decided to go with that in this fic. Anyway Enjoy!

P.S: Working on chapter 7 of my Gojo fic so keep your eyes open for that!

You hear the all too familiar clatter of what you assume is the shampoo bottle followed by the not so quiet, “Fuck”, that spills out of Levi’s mouth. It had been a never ending battle for Levi in these past few weeks, trying and often failing to shower properly on his own. His injured leg made it near impossible to stand anymore and his lack of fingers on his one hand made gripping soapy slick things extremely difficult.

You sigh, before going to stand awkwardly at the door too afraid to knock. Levi and you had argued bitterly about this predicament, while he was grateful for your offer of help, he didn’t want to feel like an invalid. You respected his feelings and were supportive of him doing things on his own. In fact, you’d always let Levi do things on his own, only helping when he begrudgingly asked you for assistance (after failing to complete the task multiple times on his own).

But today you as you stand near the door you feel a difference in the air, hear a quiet cry of pain and you decide then and there you were done with this situation the two of you were in. You fling the bathroom open and catch the grimace of pain on Levi’s face that he was trying to mask. “I thought I told you that I can do it-”, Levi starts, anger clear in his tone, but for once you don’t care and soon two words that you never thought you’d say to your partner roll off your tongue. “Shut up”, you tell him before you lean down to grab the shampoo bottle you knew he had desperately been trying to pick up, before placing carefully back in its usual place as you flick the shower off for a moment.

Levi stares at you with a shocked expression, eyes blown wide open. In all the years of being in the Scout Regiment together he knew you to be a bit temperamental at times, but never once had you ever spoken back towards a higher ranking official. He watches as you run your palm over your face, fingers rubbing the sides of your temple and sigh, a clear indication of your frustration. “Levi, I know you can do it on your own, I do”, you begin after you remove your fingers from your head, your eyes locking with his.

“You are and will always be one of the strongest people I know. But remember sometimes even the strongest need help and there’s no shame in that”, you finish, tone a bit softer. You watch as Levi huffs before closing his eyes for a long time as he was trying to think of a counter argument. You use the opportunity to squat down near the stool he was sitting on before reaching out to gently cup his cheek, your movements forcing him to open his eyes. “I have an idea in mind, a sort of compromise if you’re willing to hear it?”, you ask him, your voice gone of any previous anger. You so desperately wanted to help him and fighting wasn’t going to solve this.

“Well seeing as you told me to shut up, I don’t really have a choice”, Levi gruffly responds. Your cheeks go red with embarrassment, guilty that you’d let your anger get the best of you. However you hear the lingering trace of cheekiness in his words and know that he’d forgiven you. “Listen, how about for the next few weeks I help you shower”, you start, but Levi doesn’t look too happy with your words. “Let me finish”, you tell him with steely eyes and watch as Levi swallows whatever words were in his mouth. You grab his hand and give it a gentle squeeze before continuing. “As I was saying, I’ll help you shower the next few weeks. But during that time we’ll see what we need to change about the bathroom in order to make showering alone easier for you to do”, you finish with a small smile on your face.

You watch has Levi ponders your suggestion. It was a fair idea, he had to admit and if the two of you managed to change up the bathroom to be more accessible, then he’d be able to gain a sense of independence he’d been trying retain. “Ok, let’s do it”, Levi finally says and you jump up with an excited squeal as Levi sighs quietly, though there was a barely there smile that graced his features. “Now, may help you?”, you ask Levi sweetly. He nods his head in ascent and you get straight to work…by taking off your own clothes.

“What are you doing?”, Levi questions, the tips of his ears turning the faintest shade of pink. “Oh please, it’s not like you haven’t seen it before, if I remember correctly last night you were the one practically begging me to lose my clothes”, you quip back, making his ears turn a darker shade of pink. “Besides I don’t want my clothes getting wet”, you continue before turning on the warm water. “You could have just started with that”, Levi mutters though his good eye clung to the curvature of your body, a sight that would never bore him. You were the most beautiful thing on the planet and as you lean down to kiss his forehead, Levi begins to question why the two of you have never showered together in the first place. My stubborn pride, he muses internally.

“Ok, what’s the most difficult thing for you?”, you question as you move to turn the water warmer, the temperate spray falling on both of your bodies. “Reaching for things”, Levi admits honestly, though his tone was thick with embarrassment, which you politely ignored. “Could you please reach for the shampoo so I can make a note of where we need to move the shelf?”, you ask him softly as the water continues trickle down your bodies, its heat creating a steam that swirled around the room. You watch carefully as Levi moves his arm and you make a mental note of where it hovers in the air. “Thanks, I’m gonna start washing your hair”, you murmur as you grab the shampoo, slathering the soap in your hands.

Once they are covered in suds you place your hands onto Levi’s head, fingers working with a meticulous pace as you work the soap into his dark locks and onto his scalp. Levi leans his head back slightly, lost in the touch of your fingers on his head, he moans quietly as your fingers scratch around his ears in a delicate manner. Levi cracks an eye open, to look up at you, your head blocking the water that falls from the shower head. His good eye focuses on your face, capturing the determined yet, soft expression of your face as you continue to wash his hair. Levi can only guess the look on your eyes was the overwhelming love you had for him, something that makes his heart beat a little faster.

You catch his eye watching you, causing you to give him light smile before you lean down and capture his lips with a soft chaste kiss. “Let’s rinse your hair now”, you tell him as you move your head out of the way, letting the water fall across Levi’s face and hair. Your fingers work quickly to rinse out the soap as they thread through his hair, though you are mindful of the potential knots your fingers catch from the earlier scrubbing. You move to stand in front of Levi, hands moving to cup his neck gingerly as you straighten his posture. “Ok, body washing time”, you begin, but Levi cuts you off. “Wait”, he mumbles quietly, voice nearly catching in his throat. You look at him, eyebrows raised, your question spoken through your eyes. “I want to wash your hair”, Levi tells you, voice firm, though his face holds a different emotion.

“Ok”, you murmur as Levi hands come to grip your waist, pulling you onto to his lap. Your thighs come to rest against his hips as your feet rest on the tile floor, brushing up against the stool’s legs. Your hands are splayed on Levi’s shoulders as you straddle his waist, your ass firmly planted on his strong thighs. The two of you get lost in the intimate embrace for a moment, his stormy blue eye holding your own eyes at attention. Levi uses this opportunity to then softly brush his lips against your own, a small gesture riddled with so many unspoken words. Soft Levi was his way of expressing his love without him having to explicitly state it. Your hands release their hold on his shoulders as they creep up back into his wet locks, your arms moving his neck forward gently forcing his face closer. You part your lips, allowing the kiss to deepen, moaning faintly as his tongue swipes against your own. Levi’s grip on your waist tightens, his internal battle of desire brooding on the surface. As much as he’d love to take you here and now, Levi knew that intimacy wasn’t just sex, it was other things, so he resolved to complete his stated task.

With a hushed sigh, Levi begrudgingly pulls away from your heady lips. “Let me wash your hair”, Levi reminds you as he pecks your nose for a brief second, letting you catch your breath. You let out a muffled “Mhmm”, as you grab the shampoo bottle, pouring out more soap, this time into Levi’s palm. You duck your head down as Levi’s fingers work the soap into your hair. You close your eyes as his fingers massage your temple silently, the only sound that could be heard was the water steadily rolling down into the drain. When he was finished, Levi’s fingers moved to help rise the suds from your hair as the still warm water continued to flow across your bodies, almost as if the two of you had been caught in a warm summer rain shower.

Once Levi had completed his task, you reach to grab the body soap, lathering your hands as you rubbed the bar between your fingers. You stand, sad as you removed yourself from your comfortable position on Levi’s lap, but as much as you wanted to remain there and kiss him senseless, the two had now been in the shower for quite some time, your pruned fingers a clear indication of just how long you’d be in the water. “Ready?”, you ask him as you lean down, hands freely roaming his body, layering his skin with a delicate line of soap. Levi wraps his arms on your shoulder as you carefully hoist him up for a moment, allowing himself to clean the parts of him that he couldn’t whilst he was sitting down.

As Levi rinses his body you work quickly to wash your own body before rinsing off yourself, letting the last of the warmth wrap you into a gentle embrace before you finally turned off the water. You step out of the shower to grab two towels from the cabinet across from the sink, handing Levi one before wrapping the fluffy fabric around your body. You watch Levi dry himself of, eyes continuously trained on his sculpted body. “What?”, he asks, bringing you back to attention. “Nothing…I just…you’re, striking”, you mumble, before turning away to dry your hair. Your words cling to Levi, he enjoyed making you flustered, but this time he felt something deeper within your words.

“Thank you”, Levi murmurs as the two of you finish getting dressed, you helping him sit down in his wheelchair. “You don’t need to thank me”, you tell him, picking up the dirty clothes and towels before placing them in the hamper. “No, I do, I’ve been stubborn about this for a while, but today was nice”, Levi continues, sincerity laced in his words. “You’re welcome”, you answer back. “Now, what do you want for dinner?”, you ask him, stepping out of the bathroom. You hear Levi sigh, “No way in hell am I letting you cook again”, he calls after you. You laughter rings through your home and as Levi follows you into the kitchen he can’t help be feel a sense of gratefulness that this is the life he gets to lead now.

[caplanbuckybarnes]

Tension Logs (Steve Rogers, Tony Stark)

gif sen to me by @krirebr back in october, just now going through my inbox full of gifs, sorry my love <3

Summary: overhearing an argument from Steve & Tony, you grow worried and with awe at the pure strength Steve possesses.

Warnings: none?

WC: 1K

A/N: there's no pairing in this and i honestly debated on posting this as is, or rewrite it a million more times lol.

Read On Ao3!

--

The farm was a welcome sight after everything that had happened. After the chaos, the battles, and the tension of saving the world yet again, Clint Barton’s peaceful farmhouse felt like a sanctuary—a place to breathe and maybe, for once, pretend things were normal.

You sat on the porch, your legs curled beneath you, watching the others as they scattered around the property. Natasha was keeping an eye on the kids while Clint and Thor discussed something about farming techniques—likely for a laugh, given Thor's complete lack of experience with Earth crops. Bruce was in the barn, tinkering with gadgets, and Vision was seated nearby, reading.

But your attention was drawn to the tension rising between two men who seemed to clash constantly: Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.

You could hear them before you saw them—loud, angry voices. Steve, usually so calm, was pacing, hands running through his short blonde hair in frustration. Tony was standing a few feet away, arms crossed, his expression tight with annoyance. The words were muffled from the porch, but the intensity between them was unmistakable.

"He's just not listening," Tony grumbled, rubbing his temple. “I’m trying to save everyone, Steve! But you keep acting like I’m the enemy here.”

Steve’s jaw was tight as he shook his head. “You think I don’t want to protect people? You’re not seeing the bigger picture here, Tony. If we keep going down this road, we’ll have no choice but to fight against ourselves.”

“Yeah, and how long until we’re fighting for our lives, huh?” Tony shot back, clearly exasperated. "You’re just blind to the fact that the rest of the world isn’t always going to play nice.”

You could feel the tension rising from where you sat. The last few days had been a whirlwind of emotions, battles with no real winners, and personal grievances that were still being worked out. But watching Tony and Steve argue like this... it was different. The anger was raw, not just from the situation, but from something deeper, something that neither of them was willing to admit.

You sighed, turning your gaze back to them, uncertain whether you should intervene. But before you could make a move, something unexpected happened.

Steve had stopped pacing, his face flushed with frustration, and Tony was busy running his hands through his hair, his back turned. That’s when Steve walked over to a large, thick log lying near the edge of the property, one that looked almost too heavy to move. Without saying a word, Steve dropped to one knee, grabbed hold of the log, and—without any visible hesitation—ripped it in half with his bare hands.

You blinked, certain you had imagined it, but when you saw Steve’s arms straining, his muscles tensing with the force of the action, you realized it was real. He wasn’t using any tools or anything to help him. No tech. No super-soldier serum enhancement. Just pure, raw strength. The snap of the log cracking in half was deafening in the stillness of the farm, and for a moment, you were sure even Tony had frozen in place.

For a long second, there was only the sound of Steve breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling as he stood over the splintered wood, his eyes unwavering. His gaze locked with Tony’s, and the tension between them suddenly felt different—more grounded, more purposeful.

Tony’s jaw dropped, his usual sarcastic wit faltering for a moment. “Jesus, Cap. You trying to kill me or just make me feel inadequate?”

Steve didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he straightened up, wiping his hands on his pants as though the task had been as simple as pulling a thread from his sleeve. His face was set, but there was a softness behind his eyes, something you recognized as tiredness—not from age, but from the weight of the responsibility that he carried.

“You can’t fix everything, Tony,” Steve said, his voice quieter now, though it still held that unshakeable determination. “But you can try to do the right thing. I need you to understand that.”

Tony didn’t say anything at first, still staring at the broken log, clearly in shock at what he had just witnessed. Slowly, his expression softened, and he nodded, though you could see the struggle in his eyes.

“I know,” Tony replied after a moment, his voice rough. “I just… I don’t know how to stop screwing up.”

The vulnerability in his voice was something you rarely heard from Tony Stark, and it made your heart ache for him. But then, to your surprise, Steve stepped closer, clapping Tony lightly on the shoulder.

“You don’t have to be perfect, Tony,” Steve said, the warmth in his voice unmistakable now. “None of us do. Just don’t give up on trying.”

You couldn’t help but smile softly, watching the interaction unfold. In that moment, you realized just how strong Steve Rogers truly was—not just in his physical strength, but in his unwavering belief in people, in their ability to change, to do better.

You knew that strength now extended beyond just his shield. It was in his words, in the way he carried the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, and in how, no matter how many times Tony fell short of his own expectations, Steve would always be there to pull him up again.

You stood up quietly, unsure if they even realized you were there. The argument had defused, and now, Tony and Steve were standing side by side, silently processing everything that had just happened. The tension between them was still there, but you could see the cracks beginning to heal, just a little.

With a quiet breath, you stepped back inside the house, letting the door swing closed behind you. There was still a lot of work to be done before the world would feel right again, but for now, you felt a flicker of hope. Steve Rogers, in all his strength, had proven once again that the world wasn’t just saved by punches or tech. It was saved by the quiet power of believing in each other.

And maybe, just maybe, that was the kind of strength that would carry them all through the rest of the storm.

[edges-of-night]

Hello I noticed you were taking requests and I had a little bit of an angsty request if you're willing.

Could you perhaps do how the lotr characters react to their reader SO opening up about having a bad childhood.

Please don't do if it makes you uncomfy.

Have a nice day,

led

I’m sorry you had to wait so long for your request – I hope you enjoy the post!

I would also like to thank you for requesting this topic so politely. It admittedly wasn’t easy to write for me, but I really appreciated your understanding tone! Have a nice day as well!

･ﾟ✧ Aragorn.

Aragorn shows great understanding for what you have told him. He would quietly thank you for trusting him with such knowledge and instantly offer to care and comfort you, should you need it, like holding your hand as he presses a tender kiss to your head. It is needless to say he would treat anything you told him very discreetly and respectfully.

･ﾟ✧ Arwen.

Arwen would feel with you. No matter where you opened up to her, she would instantly offer to go take a walk with her. “I may not be able change what happened to you,” she’d whisper as she took your hand. “But I can make sure that such things will never happen to you again.” Though her voice may seem sombre, she always has a comforting smile or hug for you!

･ﾟ✧ Boromir.

Boromir would have great empathy for you, remembering his own difficult childhood – especially in consideration of his brother. Although he isn’t too talkative when it comes to this subject, he is in tune with his own emotions. It helps you come to terms with your own past. You two bond over what has been and take refuge in the knowledge that you now have each other and are faraway from the past.

･ﾟ✧ Elrond.

Elrond would quietly listen to what you told him and offer you comfort with a stern expression. But inside, he is quite upset – as a father himself, you would not be able to bear what you had told him. He would treat you even kinder afterwards, looking out for you and trying to avoid any triggers that could remind you of your childhood hardship.

･ﾟ✧ Éomer.

After listening to your story, Éomer would tell you how much strength it takes to open up about such things. He is deeply impressed with how you handle your past – even if you thought you did a poor job at it. He will have none of that self-loathing in his company! “I do not want to hear you speak so ill of yourself again. You were but a child. Look how strong you became despite what happened! I am endlessly proud of you.”

･ﾟ✧ Éowyn.

What you tell Éowyn is something she carries around with her for a long time, even if she doesn’t show it. She cannot understand how someone who went through such hardship can still come out such a kind and noble person. She now tries to bring more joy into your life and shield you from possible harm. She won’t bring up the topic anew, unless you ask her to talk again, of course.

･ﾟ✧ Faramir.

With Faramir, you could very easily bond over difficult childhoods. You simply understand each other, more than other people could. With him, you could even talk regularly about what had happened to you. Faramir helps you put everything into perspective, or offers you words of advise and comfort. You can do the same for him and always feel relieved afterwards, when you cuddle in silence, content with your quasi-therapeutic conversation.

･ﾟ✧ Frodo.

Where Frodo comes from, people do not talk about childhood problems or trauma. So you opening up to him comes as quite the surprise. That said, he does understand – not everything. But he doesn’t have to. You are content to just have someone say, “I’m really sorry that happened to you.” Frodo offers you help whenever he can and is careful and considerate to keep possible triggers away from you. “We’ll manage this together. Right?” he’d say with a soft smile, stroking a gentle thumb over your hand.

･ﾟ✧ Galadriel.

Galadriel is a very empathetic Elf, so she feels alongside with you. If you cried during your conversation, it is likely she would shed a tear as well. That said, she would of course have wise words of advice and healing for you. “You have my sympathy for what happened to you. Just know that your past does not define you. Each of us makes their own destiny.”

･ﾟ✧ Gandalf.

Gandalf may not have had a childhood himself, but he has seen enough to know that such a thing isn’t easy to live with. Though he may not answer you immediately – maybe he wonders what to say after all? – you can feel that you have his empathy. And somehow, you really do believe that things will be fine when the one saying that platitude is Gandalf the Grey.

･ﾟ✧ Gimli.

Gimli is a surprisingly good listener, you learn as you open up to him. He is silent and probably saddened by what he heard, but afterwards, he would definitely tell you how proud he is of you for not only surviving your past but putting it into words now, years later. He’d also give you a soft smile and promise you that things will get brighter.

･ﾟ✧ Haldir.

Haldir is probably the last person you wanted to tell about your bad childhood – but it happened anyway. You simply couldn’t bear his snarky and jealous comments about your ‘perfect upbringing’ anymore. Needless to say, he would fall entirely silent after your retelling. He would now see you in a new light and respect you even more for having survived all that you told him about. Somewhere along the line, he’d even offer you a hug!

･ﾟ✧ Legolas.

You and Legolas would bond over your parents and hardship as children and young adults. As an Elf, Legolas is not very much in touch with negative memories and emotions, as they are literally unhealthy for him. Together, you work through what you experienced. Even though your conversations leave him pensive, he would always thank you the next day for the knowledge you shared.

･ﾟ✧ Merry.

Merry would be an exceptionally good listener. He may be childish from time to time, but he recognises the sincerity of your conversation early on. He also has unexpectedly wise words for you and encourages you to speak less derogatory about yourself. “You were just a child. And these things weren’t supposed to happen to you. To no one, really. Come on. Be kind to yourself.” He’d also take your hand sit in silence with you for as long as you need!

･ﾟ✧ Pippin.

Pippin would need a few moments to understand what you said. His childhood has been great, he has no bad feelings or memories for it. That does not mean that he would be ignorant to your feelings though. Sharing your story with him not only helps you process what has happened to you, but also teaches him to seek out new perspective. In the end, Pippin would offer you a big pot of ice cream as comfort ♡

･ﾟ✧ Sam.

After hearing your story, Sam would sit in silence for a few moments, thinking about what he heard. Then he would try and comfort you with an allegory or comparison that reflected your childhood – he is a poet at heart after all. Though he struggles to find the right words, his care and sincerity soothe you. Somehow you know that, no matter how dark your days may get, there is always sunshine in your life when you’re with Samwise Gamgee.

[ambers-archive]

what if all i need is you?

2 times the universe conspires against Spencer and the 1 time it doesn't. no use of y/n pt 2

"I think we’re lost," Spencer mumbled, stealing a glance at you, you’re in his passenger seat and you look like a dream he thinks. 

He hates driving, usually avoids it, but watching you smile next to him and hearing you sing along to his favorite songs makes him think it’s not all bad.

"You think?" You laugh, meeting his eye.

He had the date perfectly planned in his head – a tour around the city since you just moved here. Showcasing his favorite bookstore, two tickets to his favorite museum's exhibit, the whole thing.

However, things were not going as planned. He found himself driving in circles, twists and turns multiplying at every corner.

The universe was taunting him.

"I swear, these street signs are conspiring against me," he muttered.

“In the meantime, we should enjoy this,” you suggested, pointing to a barely visible café on the corner, proposing an impromptu coffee stop.

With a slight smile tugging his lips, Spencer nodded.

“You’re in Med school?

Spencer asked, trying to hide his amazement.

It all makes sense now, he thinks. Rarely does he find someone who matches him intellectually, even rarer for him to enjoy conversations with them.

“I am! I know it’s a cliché saying, but I just want to help people, I want to make a difference in the world.”

“It’s not cliché at all, that’s really noble.” Spencer replied, a genuine smile forming on his face. The passion in your voice is like a breath of fresh air for him.

You blushed at the compliment, warmth spreading across your cheeks. "Thank you. It's not easy, but it's worth it if I can make a positive impact, even in a small way."

As if you took the words right out of Spencer’s mouth, hearing you made him realize the reason he started the BAU. 

And oh how beautiful it is to have that passion.

For so long, his work had only consisted of repetition; the work that had brought him happiness was now draining him of it all. His thoughts are audible emanating from your lips.

To make a difference, and just for a little while, listening to you happily describe your passion, the horrors of his job, which once clutched his heart so deeply, slowly started to fade.

“Where to next, Doctor?” 

“I hope you like museums, I was able to get us tickets to one of my favorite exhibits.” 

“Lead the way.” 

“I agree; the universe is not happy with you right now,” you laughed, both stranded in the middle of nowhere as his car broke down under the afternoon sun.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” he sighed, opening your car door. Taking his hand you led him towards the field, there were worse places to be stranded in you thought. 

“If we call for a cab right now, we can reach the museum in an hour, depending on traffic. We’ll miss the first half hour or so, but—”

“Spencer, look! The sun is setting.” You walked off into the distance, taking a seat near a tree.

“We’re going to miss the show.” He said disappointed. You looked up at him and the orange glow casted a beautiful hue over your face. Just when he thought you couldn't get prettier.

“No matter how much you try in life, you’re bound to miss something. Just take in the moment right now.” You say, patting the seat on the grass next to you.

To his own surprise, he obliges. 

He doesn’t mean to profile you, but it’s a reflex, a defense mechanism. Being around serial killers and rapists, he needs to know their every move. But right now, being in your apartment as you give him a tour, he lets go.

Realizing he doesn’t have to know everything about you right away; he can take his time.

He expected your room to be something like a catalog magazine, but books, plants, and paintings you've made surrounded you.

Messy maximalist, you called it.

Spencer learns you hate minimalism, you hate gray white empty spaces that don't feel like home.

He is almost envious of how carefree you are, willing to wear your heart out on your sleeve. Your guard has been down the whole time, a luxury Spencer can’t afford.

“Can I offer you some tea? I recently perfected my mom’s recipe for chai,” You asked, already boiling the water and getting your tea bags together.

“Tea sounds amazing.”

He looks around, forming a profile in his brain.

You’re messy, but you somehow find beauty in it. It doesn’t bother you; it makes sense, he thinks.

Artistic people are commonly messy.

“What books do you like?” Spencer asks, watching you get two mismatched cups out.

“I love classic literature, Persuasion is one of my favorites. I love Jane Austen and the way she captures love in its most pure form."

“How would you define love?” It’s a question that has been nagging him, he wants to pick apart your brain and know every thought.

He can tell you’re a hopeless romantic, and he now wishes he had accepted Garcia’s movie night invitation to watch Jane Austen movies.

He already has a sense, knowing you love classic period pieces, but he just wants to hear your explanation for it. 

“In Med school they teach us that love is a complex emotion, a bunch of hormones: dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin in the brain. I can’t say much about hormones but love is life, and it's just peaceful like the slow water going down a stream. But an immediate phenomenon, much like life itself. It fills and empties you all at once, swirling like a river's water after a storm. Your hands, heart, stomach, and skin are just a few places on your body where you can feel it. And it overtakes you so intensely. You don’t even realize it until you’re in it. You can’t exist without it, love is like breathing.” You sigh, a shy smile overtaking your lips “Sorry i tend to rant a lot.” 

Spencer meets your smile. It feels nice to be on the receiving end of someone rambling.  “I don’t mind one bit. I knew you were an artist but I didn’t peg you for a writer.”

“Have you been profiling me, Doctor Reid?” you ask, he smiles avoiding your gaze.

“Most writers are artistic people; that is, they are imaginative, creative, and productive when working in an environment that promotes self-expression. Not to mention you mentioned journalism being your minor, also I saw you had a typewriter.”

“You're amazing, Spencer,” you say, taking the kettle off the stove, pouring two cups of chai.

Spencer whispers your name, and you look over, your name falls so easily through his lips. This is what was missing from your life, you think.

“I think you’re one of the most unique people I’ve ever met.”

He says, taking your hand, interlocking your fingers.

You graze your thumb over his knuckles squeezing his hand, meeting his brown eyes. And as if the universe was on his side for once you lean forward, your lips meeting his. Lips meddling into each other as if it was made just for you.

The morning sun is beating down on his small car, and there you are sitting in his passenger seat laughing at his horrible jokes.

Your favorite songs playing in the background. You smile at him, and Spencer is lost again, but not because of the street signs. He's just lost in your smile.

This is what was missing from his life Spencer thinks.

[rose-pearls]

mentor!finnick x tribute!fem!reader

maybe this is a year or two after finnicks victor

maybe reader had to be extremely brutal in the games and when they come back theyre covered in blood and just traumatized and finnick has to comfort them

Hi! Thank you for the request here it is, hopefully you like it!

The arena is in a blur in front of you, the last tribute dead at your feet while your hands tremble so much that the knife falls out of your hand.

“Hey, listen to me. Are you okay with having blood on your hands during the games?”, the words of Finnick come back to you and although you had assured him before, that it wouldn’t be an issue. You can’t seem to be able to hold back the want to wash your hands a thousand times at the sight of them.

There was blood on your hands, thick dark red blood from the female tribute of district one. But you knew that there wasn’t only her blood on your hands, blood of the other tributes you killed but also the ones she killed. In the end you had the blood of every dead tribute on your hands and suddenly you wished you could go back and tell him you couldn’t do it. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner of the 68th Hunger Games-”, they announce your name loud and clear but the only thing you can see is the blood, nothing else is making sense.

A helicopter sound makes you aware that you are still in the same spot as when you gave the female tribute the final blow and you look at her. The blond hair along her shoulder is covered in blood and her eyes are wide open, wounds litter her body just like yours, but she is dead, and you’re alive. 

The strategy had been simple, entering the usual career pact and staying around for as long as needed, your district partner had died quite early and that had left you more defenseless in their eyes. You had found some poisonous plants and had decided to use them when cooking dinner, three careers died. The only survivor was the girl from one, but you hadn’t known that until the evening. 

The rest of the games were a blur of killing people and nearly dying but somehow you made it, you had just won the Hunger Games. It should be a pride, that is why your parents had set you up at the academy in district four, and yet the only thing you felt was disgust.

If someone had to ask you if it was worth it winning the Hunger Games, you would tell them that it wasn’t. Not when you felt like you couldn’t breathe without seeing their faces, their pleading eyes to not kill them.

Someone helps you up the helicopter and you don’t what happens around you; voices are screaming everywhere, and people try to take the blood of your hand, but it seems difficult.

It had dried up on your skin, under your fingernails leaving a trace that even if they took it off of you, you would still remember it on your hands. 

The door opens up as you leave the helicopter, not sure how you are even able to see or make your feet move but one voice manages to break through the daze.

“Hey! Hey!”, Finnick is looking at you with wide eyes, worry can be seen in them, but you aren’t able to read them like before. Too busy trying to wrap your head around all of the bodies that will be returned to their parents because of you.

Your knees buckle and you nearly fall to the ground before a panicked Finnick manages to catch you.

“Listen to me.”, his voice says clearly and after a moment you nod slowly.

“They are going to take you under, to heal your wounds and everything and after that we’ll talk. Alright?”, his tone is pleading, like he is willing you too go along with the plan so you just nod, just wanting everything to stop turning around in your mind.

A doctor comes to you, and you don’t hear what he is saying, looking at Finnick��s shoulder but you feel something puncturing your skin and you feel drowsy before falling on Finnick.

--

Everything is a blur when you wake up, the smell of hospital makes his way to your nose, and you try not to feel sick. You start moving your fingers before looking at your arm in surprise, the last time you had seen your arm it was open due to a knife wound but now it looked perfect. All the scars that you had during your childhood seemed to have been taken off your skin. 

“They take off every scar you’ve ever had to make you look perfect as the winner.”, a soft voice says next to you, and you turn to see Finnick there.

“Hi.”, you manage to croak out and your mentor smiles at your attempt.

“Hi yourself. Here drink something and try to eat.”, he says and after giving you a glass of water and helping you drink it you turn towards a small plate of food, a frown appearing at the sight of it. 

“It might look lite it’s nothing right now, but your stomach got smaller because of the games so you won’t be able to eat much.”, Finnick says after chuckling and you slowly start to eat, quickly feeling like your stomach is full and not being able to eat the rest like he had said. 

“How are you feeling?”, he asks after a moment, looking unsure at the question.

“I don’t know.”, and it’s true, deep down you don’t know how you are feeling.

“I wanted to win, because it’s what I’ve been taught to do but the moment I won I felt like it wasn’t worth it at all.”, he nods at your words and looks at you sadly.

“it’s not going to be easy after the games, but I know you can do it.”, he tells you and you know he isn’t going to tell you everything just yet, so you sit back down.

“How do you sleep at night?”, you can’t help but ask after a moment, memories of the games coming back around, and you don’t know how you are going to survive the nights full of them.

“By trying, even though there will be nightmares I still try to sleep and sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn’t. Talking to people helps you but only for so long.”, you know he is trying to be honest with you and even though it hurts you can’t help but be grateful.

“I know what you feel like right now and I can’t tell you that every day will be easy, but I can tell you that you are not alone. You have your parents, Mags, the other victors and me.”, he whispers the last words a bit later and you turn to look at him.

“I think I realized that I cared more for you then I thought I did.”, you whisper and Finnick smiles softly at your answer.

“I did too. Seeing you in there was hell.”, he whispers back, and you feel emotional at his words, not knowing if it’s because of the lack of sleep or the drugs. 

“You mean so much to me that it’s scary.”, he says after a few minutes while chuckling, looking at his feet with a smile.

“Why is it scary?”, you ask him, wanting to know what was holding him back.

“Because it’s the things we love the most that destroy us. Or so I’ve been told.”, he says, and you can’t help but feel happiness bloom in your chest at the words love. 

“Love is dangerous, but there is more to life than staying safe.”, you tell him after a moment, and he chuckles at your words before taking your hand.

“I guess it’s time I’m the brave one in here.”, you smile softly at him while looking at him and taking your time of noting every detail.

“You’ve always been brave, just in your own way.”, Finnick squeezes your hand, and you squeeze it back. 

The two of you stay there, holding each other’s hands while talking about anything you can talk about, not wanting to think about what’s to come. You don’t know what you are just yet, just that the two of you love each other and for the moment that’s enough.

And although there is darkness to come and darkness in the memories it would show you with time just how important Finnick will always be to you. 

[andvys]

We’ll burn the sky | E.M.

Warnings: none yet, this is just the teaser!

Pairings: rockstar!Eddie Munson x rockstar!fem!reader

Summary: Eddie left his life in Hawkins behind to live the one he always dreamed about but there is a missing piece in his life and in his almost perfect band; you.

Author's note: Daisy Jones & the six inspired me to band au fic, so here we are. I hope you guys will like this! Also shoutout to @littledemondani thank you for helping me choose the title and for letting me rant about my ideas, you’re amazing

-

“They don’t want us.” 

“What?!” 

“They don’t want us! They don’t even want to record the album!” 

After months of pouring tears, blood and sweat into this album, their record label suddenly decided that the songs aren't good enough, that the band isn't good enough, that Eddie isn't good enough.

“We worked our asses off– what do you mean they don’t want us?!” Jeff cries, throwing his hands up as he follows Eddie, who almost ran into an old man on the sidewalk, quickly apologizing to him before he keeps on walking. 

“They said that we’re not good enough!” Eddie mumbles in annoyance, “told me to come back when we got something better to offer.”

“Not good enough? Sam loved our songs!” Gareth says as he looks at Eddie in confusion. 

“He did but apparently something is missing, the label refuses to record the album,” Eddie sighs as he halts in his tracks, placing his hands on his hips, he looks up at the blue sky and lets out a long sigh, “they said some.. some freshness is missing, whatever that is supposed to mean. Told me that there’s enough bands like ours out there already. They want something different, something new. It's too 'old fashioned'.”

Gareth stares at his best friend, shaking his head, he plops down on a bench, running his hand through his messy hair, “freshness?” he mumbles, furrowing his brows. 

Eddie clenches his jaw as he thinks of his conversation with their producer. 

‘You’re good, amazing even, your voice is great but there’s a missing piece.’

“Missing piece,” Eddie huffs, shaking his head, “he said that there’s a missing piece.” 

Jeffs stares at him, “like.. like what?” 

Eddie shrugs as the doubt begins to creep in. They all left their life in Hawkins behind, dropped everything to come out here to Los Angeles with the goal of becoming big, everyone laughed at them, told them that it would never work out, that their dreams are ridiculous but things went well, for a while. 

All four of them worked hard, they worked extra hours, saved up enough for money for them to last out here for a few months. Eddie wrote the song texts and they put all their blood and sweat into each song, hours and hours of rehearsals paid off and after a long search for a producer who was willing to work with them, they found Sam, who instantly took a liking to the boys, he gave them a chance, arranged some gigs for them before they were finally given the chance to make the album but suddenly, something is missing and they aren’t good enough anymore. 

“I don’t know, I think nothing is missing,” Gareth mumbles, “the band is perfect as it is.” 

Eddie sighs, “I don’t know.. maybe there is something missing,” he mumbles, eyes falling on the bar across the street, “I need a drink.” 

“Yeah, me too.” 

-

They knock back one drink after the other, listening to the awful karaoke performances and making fun of all the singing drunk people, a distraction is what they all needed after the stressful past months and who knows, maybe they’ll find inspiration here, though Eddie doubts it. 

As entertaining as it is, Eddie can’t concentrate on it for too long. His mind goes back to the conversation with Sam. If he refuses to make the album then they can pack their things and go back home to Hawkins, pick up where they left off. Eddie would work at the garage again, Gareth and Jeff would try to get back into the community college there, Johnny would work with his dad again, they would give up their dreams and go back into a town they wanted to leave behind. 

Sure, Eddie has Wayne, all his friends and girlfriend there but Hawkins is a part of his past, something he doesn’t even want to go back to, not even for his loved ones. He is fine to go back for holidays or birthdays but that’s all. 

This is what he wants, he wants the band, he wants the concerts, the tours, the life he always dreamed of. 

But what choice does he have if the album won’t even get a chance? 

Fear fills him, anxiety takes hold of him and his hope begins to dwindle.

The music stops and only the loud chatter in the bar fills the room for a moment. Eddie stares down at his drink, ignoring the laughter of his friends. 

He downs the rest of his drink, running his hand through his messy curls, he leans back and turns to look at the stage to find a young girl reaching for the microphone. After all the old drunk men, the girl is the first female to sing tonight. He can’t see her face yet but he recognizes the band shirt, he has a similar one lying in his closet, somewhere. Clad in a short leather skirt and chunky boots, she already looks like she belongs on a stage but he doesn’t have much faith in her voice, after all, karaoke bars are just for drunk people who want to have fun, right? 

“Damn,” Gareth whistles, “she’s hot,” he says, staring at the girl. 

Jeff and Johnny chuckle but agree with him nonetheless. 

“Look at her, man,” he says to Eddie, who only shakes his head, “totally your type.” 

“I have a girlfriend,” Eddie mumbles, glaring at his friend. 

Gareth rolls his eyes, “whatever,” he mumbles, not even hiding his distaste for his best friend’s girlfriend. He never liked her and he never will. 

The One I Love by R.E.M starts playing and Eddie’s friends immediately start to bop their heads to the music. Staring at the girl with curious looks on their faces. Eddie chuckles at them, shaking his head. 

The smile falls from his lips and his eyes widen a little, both the lyrics and your voice catch his attention. He looks away from the awestruck expressions of his friends and turns to look at the singing girl, you. His breath hitches in his throat when he looks at you, truly looks at you. 

Your eyes are closed and you hold the mic tightly in one hand as you sing with the most beautiful voice he has ever heard, it’s soft yet husky and low; it’s just perfect. You look like you’re in your own little world, like only you exist. 

A girl in front of the stage whistles and you crack a smile as you open your eyes to look at her and the other girls around her who are no doubt your friends. 

Eddie’s heart makes a weird jump in his chest when you look his way as you sing. Eddie can’t help but stare at you, he is in awe. The way you sing, the way you hold yourself, the way your voice seems to get prettier and prettier to him.

He can’t tear his eyes away from you, you sing as though it’s the only thing you are meant to do, like this stage is meant for you and the people are here just for you. You own the stage, you own the heart of all the people watching you, you stole it with just your voice. 

“Holy shit,” Jeff mumbles, he stares at the way you move your body as you sing, “she’s a hot piece of ass.”

Eddie gives him a disapproving look but then his eyes widen when he looks back at you. 

Piece. A missing piece. 

This is the missing piece. 

Your voice. 

Eddie blinks as Sam’s words echo in his mind. 

He looks back at you, watching your performance in awe. He is impressed by the way you look and sound like a professional, like you are already a famous singer and how you seem to capture everyone’s attention in this room. 

Your performance is effortless, there is not a single pretentious thing about you, you are just a natural. You are a star, born to be one.

The people in this bar cheer for you, whistling and clapping even as you get off the stage and your friends embrace you. 

“You’re a star, baby!” one of your friends yells with a slur in her voice as she smacks her lips against your cheek. 

“Damn, I wanna kiss her too,” Jeff mumbles as he watches you with dreamy eyes. 

A smile tugs at Eddie’s lips as he stares at you, you blush and giggle as one of the drunk performers from before pretends to ask for an autograph. You wave him off with a chuckle before you make your way towards the bar. 

“That was one hell of a performance,” Gareth says with an impressed look on his face. 

“Yeah,” Jeff mumbles, “do you think that she’s maybe.. I don’t know, a singer already? We’re in L.A. after all, there’s plenty of singers we don’t know.” 

Johnny shrugs, “I don’t know–” he stops, raising his brows as he watches Eddie get up and walk away from his friends, “but we’re about to find out.” 

Gareth and Jeff follow his gaze to see him walking towards you. 

You smile at the bartender, thanking him after he takes your order. Your heart is still pounding in your chest from your little performance. It took you a lot of courage to sing in front of such a crowd, your friends did a good job at convincing you and cheering you on. You were nervous and anxious but the moment the music started and you began to sing, you forgot everything and everyone around you. 

You lean against the counter, smoothing down your skirt a little and brushing through your messy hair when someone comes up next to you. 

“Hi.” 

You raise your head and you feel as though you have been punched in your stomach, your breath is stolen away and goosebumps arise on your skin as you lock eyes with the prettiest chocolate brown eyes you have ever seen in your life. 

He grins, showing off his pearly whites. He stretches his arm out, offering you his hand to shake, “I’m Eddie.” 

A small smile appears on your face, you take his hand, ignoring the way his touch seems to make your heart flutter in your chest. You tilt your head, squinting your eyes as you stare at him. You have seen him before, not up close but.. Oh! 

“Eddie,” you smile, “from Corroded Coffin, right?” 

His eyes widened in surprise, lighting up, “you know my band?” he asks, still not letting go of your hand. 

“Yes,” you say, licking your lips as you stare at the tattoos on his arm, “you played at the twilight zone last weekend, I was there with my friends. You’re good,” you smile, “amazing even.” 

Eddie blushes, smiling at your words, “thank you!” 

“You’re welcome,” you chuckle as you see the flushed cheeks. 

He finally pulls his hand back, laughing awkwardly, “uh so, I think you’re amazing, your voice is pretty– pretty fucking good!” 

You smile at him as you look into his pretty eyes, “you think so?” 

“Yeah, I totally think so,” he grins, “that’s uh– that’s why I wanted to talk to you.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” he nods. 

He doesn’t know what comes over him but he can’t help but check you out. It isn’t just your voice that caught his attention it’s also– No, Eddie. Don’t go there, don’t go there. He looks away for a moment and takes a deep breath. 

“Do you do that for a living or something?” he asks, “I mean, singing.” 

You shake your head, “no..” you mumble.

He nods, trying not to stare at your lips as he looks back at you, “would you like to do that for a living?” he asks, tilting his head as he looks into your eyes, noticing the pretty color; his favorite color as he just realized.

You furrow your brows and shrug, “I mean, I would love to. I-I grew up with music. I sing and play bass."

Eddie raises his brows, “you play bass?” 

“Mhm.” 

Wow. 

Not only are you an excellent singer, you also play one of his favorite instruments.

“That’s.. that’s amazing!” 

You chuckle. Your eyes trail down to his hands, eying the many rings on his fingers. 

“So uh– you know, my band might be missing a member,” Eddie says as he takes a step closer to you, leaning his elbow against the counter, “and you are really talented so…” 

Normally, Eddie wouldn’t make an offer like that, he was content with the band and he wasn’t interested in having any new band members— especially another singer but he is desperate and his chances of becoming a rockstar are getting smaller every day but something tells him that you and your voice are the key to success— hopefully.

You blink in surprise, “you’re looking for another band member?” 

He shrugs, sighing, “we weren’t looking but apparently something about our music is not good enough and the label is about to drop us. We need something new.. something that might make our music better— don’t get me wrong, I think it’s good already but apparently not everyone thinks so.”

A smirk appears on your face, “oh, so… you want me to save your band?” 

He rolls his eyes playfully, giving you a coy smile, “I guess?” 

“Aren’t you a heavy metal band?” you ask, skeptically, “I do rock music, not heavy metal.” 

“I mean, we lean more towards rock right now, so..” he says, shrugging.

You raise your brows, crossing your arms over your chest, you shrug, “I don’t know, what am I gonna be? A background singer?” you ask, “background bass player? I’m not interested in being in your shadow.” 

“No…. we just need another singer.” 

“The lead singer wants another singer?” you ask in confusion, “who would want that?” you chuckle, shaking your head. 

“I want that,” he shrugs, “I play guitar and I sing so I have no problem with sharing the spotlight.” 

“Really?” you laugh, “you don’t mind sharing the spotlight, why is that so hard to believe?” 

He chuckles, “listen Sweetheart, I would never ever make an offer like this to just anyone but I’m really desperate here, I really want to make this album and I’m willing to add another singer to the mix, your voice is fucking beautiful and something tells me that you could.. make things better so… are you interested in joining the best band in the world?” 

The smile on your face gives him the answer he was hoping for. And just like that, his confidence is back.

This isn’t over yet, not for him and not for the band.

Corroded Coffin is gonna go big and Eddie’s dreams will come true, he just knows it, he can see it, in your eyes.

-

[kikyoupdates]

Indebted ⭑˚🥀⭑ 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡

yandere!ocs x f!reader

yandere, reverse harem, yandere reverse harem, original characters x fem!reader, slowburn, isekai

Following your mother’s recent passing, you are visited by a group of men claiming that your father abandoned all his debt and obligations, leaving you to take his place.

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The car ride was unsurprisingly tense. You were crammed inside the same vehicle as Ryu, with his broad shoulders pressed up against yours in the back seat. He’d said that he intended for you to work and pay off your father’s debt, but you wouldn’t be surprised if he changed his mind and decided to kill you instead.

And yet he still had the nerve to try and make small talk with you.

“Oh, I suppose I should apologize for how sudden our visit was,” he commented offhandedly. “I am sorry for your loss. You must still be in the process of grieving, but life goes on, as they say.”

His tone was dripping with insincerity, and you had every right to want to knee him in the balls, but you also had no desire to accelerate your death. So, you stayed quiet. Avoided eye contact, avoided his questions. You just stayed as still as possible and tried to keep from breaking down.

After a little while, the car parked right outside your apartment. You couldn’t even pretend to act surprised. They’d looked into your family’s background and tracked down the location of the funeral; it went without saying that they had an idea of where you lived too.

Well, not for much longer, by the sounds of it.

“Pack a few belongings, and then leave your keys with one of my men,” Ryu instructed. His dark eyes narrowed. “And don’t even think about trying to run away. You don’t want to find out what happens when you test my patience.”

You nodded briskly. Two of his subordinates followed you up to your apartment and waited as you grabbed some clothes, your laptop, and a few other valuables. You didn’t want to drag this out too long. Ryu had already hinted that he wasn’t a particularly patient guy.

Once you were finished and had everything packed up in two suitcases, you looked back over your shoulder. It was a small, cheap one-bedroom place, but you’d been living here for a while now. Leaving so suddenly just didn’t feel natural. Well, not that any part of this arrangement was natural to begin with.

One of the men extended his hand out. “Give me the keys,” he ordered. “We’ll make sure the lease is settled.”

“What are you going to do? My contract isn’t up yet.”

“None of your business. All you need to do is listen up and keep your mouth shut. If the boss says to do something, you do it.”

They didn’t seem to care much for your company. Then again, you hadn’t really expected for a group of yakuza to be all that friendly.

Keeping your gaze low to the ground, you stepped out of the apartment, dragging your luggage behind you. They loaded all your belongings into the trunk, and then you were back in the car again, right by Ryu’s side. Much to your immense dismay.

“All good?” he asked.

You nodded.

“What, are you mute all of a sudden? When I speak to you, you’d better answer properly.”

“Everything’s good,” you affirmed, swallowing uncomfortably. Ryu stared at you for a few moments before eventually scoffing in your face. You didn’t really know what he expected. Your mother had just recently died, and you were scared for your life. It was taking all your strength not to cry in front of these people again.

The drive took a while. You had no clue where you were heading, but it wouldn’t have made a difference anyways. Ryu’s lackeys had taken the liberty of confiscating your cell phone, so you couldn’t call for help even if you were willing to take the risk. Ironically, the most frustrating part in all of this was not that you were being taken against your will, but that your father’s words from all those years ago were playing in your mind on a loop.

“Those men are going to take care of us. Once I become a fully-fledged member, things will turn around.”

What a fucking joke. In the end, he couldn’t even commit to the group he’d chosen to abandon his own family for. He’d messed everything up and destroyed your life in the process. He wasn’t even around anymore, and he was still ruining things for you.

Your expression shifted into a scowl without you even realizing it. Beside you, Ryu let out an amused chuckle.

“There’s finally some life in your eyes,” he hummed. “You look upset, sweetheart. Are you upset with me?”

“No. Not with you.”

“Really?”

“You’re only taking care of business,” you reluctantly admitted. “I know it isn’t personal. It’s just about money. And I… don’t have any money to give you.”

His lips curled into a smile. “Who are you upset with, then?”

“My father. He was a terrible person back when I knew him, and it seems like that still hasn’t changed.”

“It looks like that’s something we can agree on. It’s good for you to have someone to direct your anger towards. Anger, resentment—those are all things that will make you stronger. But don’t direct those emotions towards me,” he warned. “Never towards me.”

You pressed your lips together. You hadn’t exactly been completely honest. You did resent him, but he was a criminal to begin with, so you couldn’t expect for him to do the sane, rational thing. It didn’t matter how you felt about him, anyways. He was the leader of a group of dangerous, violent individuals. You didn’t stand a chance against any of them.

The trip dragged on, to the point that you were starting to feel quite groggy. All of the adrenaline that had kept you going until now had just about run out. It was late in the night, and you were exhausted. You just wanted to lay down and sleep, wherever that may be.  

“We’re here,” Ryu finally said. “Get out of the car.”

You did as you were told. The area didn’t look too familiar, but you tried not to panic immediately. You were in front of a large, traditional-style home. It was possibly one of the biggest you’d ever seen.

“Are we still in Yokohama?” you asked.

“What did I say about asking questions?” one of the men snapped.

“Yes, we are,” Ryu mercifully answered. “It’s a ways off from your old apartment, but we haven’t left the city. Come on. Let’s go inside.”

You grabbed your suitcases out of the trunk and followed behind him. It would be your first time staying in a traditional home. Most of your friends had gone on vacation to seaside inns and hot springs, but you’d never had the money growing up to take any trips like that. If nothing else, you would at least get to see what you’d been missing out on. Disregarding the fact that you’d basically just been kidnapped.

It looked even bigger inside than on the outside, and you could already predict that you would be getting lost trying to navigate the long hallways and countless sliding doors.

“In here,” Ryu gestured, sliding one of the larger doors open. He looked back over his shoulder, addressing his subordinates. “Wait around for a while longer. I need to deal with her first.”

“Yes, sir.”

He patted you on the lower back and roughly pushed you inside the room. You yelped a bit, nearly tripping over your own feet. Ryu slid the door to a close behind him.

It was just the two of you now. Granted, the place was very big, but you didn’t much like the idea of being left alone with him. At least in front of the rest of his group, you could tell he was acting out the part of a leader. Now… there was something eerily sinister about his expression. You didn’t like it one bit.

“This will be your room,” he said. “Mine is right next to yours. There’s still some stuff I need to clean out, but it should be more than big enough. Any concerns?”

You shook your head. “No. You’re right, this is plenty of space for one person. Thank you.”

“Thank you?” he repeated, laughing a bit. “You’re thanking me? After I basically told you that you have no choice but to work for me in order to pay off a debt that isn’t even yours in the first place?”

“I just meant… thank you for giving me this room. It’s a nice room. I’ve never had such a big place all to myself before.”

“Hm. Well, it’s certainly easier than having you struggle and try to make things needlessly difficult. We still need to figure out how exactly you’ll be earning my money back, though.”

“I have two part-time jobs,” you perked up. “It’s not a lot, but once I pay off my loans, I should be able to send you my earnings.”

Ryu stared at you in disbelief. “Seriously? You think two measly jobs that a university student qualifies for are going to be anywhere near enough to cover your debt?”

“I-I’m not sure. How much did he steal?”

“You don’t want to know, doll. I can guarantee it’ll only freak you out even more.” He brought his hand to his chin, dark eyes scanning you over from top to bottom. “Well… come to think of it, you’re very cute. You have a pretty face, and your figure is also nice, from what I can see in that dress. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who’d be willing to pay a nice sum to get better acquainted with your body.”

At first, you were dumbstruck, but the gravity of his words quickly set in.

You stared at him in horror. “Y-You want to pimp me out?”

“I’m considering it. Granted, it may be somewhat of a hassle given your lack of experience, but we could have someone show you the ropes. Get you settled in real nice.”

“No!” you cried out, easily the loudest you’d spoken since being kidnapped. You thought of your mother, who was still fresh in her grave. If she was watching over you from a better place right now, her poor heart would break to see you selling your body out. “Please,” you begged, dropping to your knees before him. “Anything but that. I’ll work as many jobs as you need—I’ll go without sleep, without rest. Just please… please don’t make me do that.”

Ryu stared down at you, eyes filled with mirth. “You can be really adorable at times, you know that? Look at you, already so docile and submissive. That’s a good selling point. The customers will like that.”

“Please,” you cried, “please don’t make me…”

“You seem to be forgetting something. It’s not for you to decide. From this moment onwards, I own your life. You can either do as I say, or I kill you.”

“I would rather die,” you told him defiantly. And you meant those words. You were no stranger to hard work, sleep deprivation, struggling not to buckle under all the stress. But this? You weren’t going to cling to your life only to live on in humiliation. You would rather go out with your dignity still intact.

Ryu gave you an unimpressed look. “You say that now, but that’s only because you haven’t looked death in the eyes yet. You don’t know the pain of torture, the fear of fading into nothingness. So, don’t get smart with me. Whatever you do, it’s my call, not yours.”

You dug your fingers into the fabric of your dress. You felt so small before him, so insignificant. Even more so when you were kneeling. It was true that you knew nothing of the world of the yakuza. But even as misinformed as you were, you weren’t completely ignorant. You saw full well the cruelty in Ryu’s black eyes. That wasn’t the look of a man—it was the look of a beast, a predator hunting for its next kill.

You were nothing to him. Absolutely nothing. He could kill you in a heartbeat and forget you’d ever existed the very next day.

“Relax,” he said, crouching down before you. He reached his hand out towards your head, and you involuntarily flinched, but held your ground. Ryu smiled coldly, running his fingers through your hair. “I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do. If you work hard, maybe you’ll change my mind. As long as you obey, I have no reason to hurt you.”

You were full-on glaring at him now, no longer trying to hide your animosity. He chuckled, clearly amused at your little show of defiance.

“Unpack your things and try to get some sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll show around our main office.”

He turned away from you, and you felt a small sense of relief knowing that he was finally about to leave you alone. He didn’t leave, though. At least, not right away. His eyes scanned the corner of the room before he reached over and withdrew what looked to be a yukata.

Without warning, he began changing out of his suit. Your eyes widened, and you hurried to avert your gaze. He probably didn’t even care. As far as he was concerned, you were just an object to him, not a real human being. Still, you waited for some sort of signal that he was done changing, but that signal never came.

Cautiously, you peered back over your shoulder, just in time to see him pulling the yukata up over his shoulders. His back was exposed for a few moments, long enough for you to make a very big, discernible tattoo. It was a dragon, in black and green ink, coiled around itself as if it were dancing through the air. Bright dashes of crimson stood out amidst the dark ink, snaking around the dragon’s body and burning as vividly as a flame.

Ryu tightened the belt of his yukata and stepped out of the room without another word.

The next morning, Ryu stayed true to his words and brought you along to the group’s offices.

As members of an organized crime syndicate, you’d always known that the yakuza didn’t really bother with hiding from the public. If anything, it was a thing of pride for them to display their organization’s identity on nameplates outside the buildings. They skirted on the wrong side of the law, but were able to get by through their connections and the sense of fear they instilled in the authorities.

Still, you were surprised to find out just how normal everything looked.

The offices were no different than what you would see in any ordinary corporate building. Dressed in their suits and working at desks, they almost gave off the air of your day-to-day salarymen. Of course, you knew better than that. You couldn’t say for certainty, but you had a strong feeling that the majority of the members had killed someone before.

Everyone bowed as they greeted Ryu. You had to admit that the respect he commandeered was impressive. He walked with a quiet, strong sense of confidence. You could tell by looking around the room. No one would ever think of opposing him.

Except for your shithead of a dad, apparently.

Ryu eventually stopped in front of a desk. “Here we are. Yuki. I’m putting you in charge of [Name] for now. Show her around the place and teach her how to file all the paperwork. And make sure she doesn’t get any funny ideas. I don’t need another headache to deal with.”

The young man he’d just addressed stood up in a hurry. “Of course, boss. I’ll take care of her.”

“Good. Get to work.”

Ryu walked away, heading to what appeared to be his own private office near the back. You were relieved to know that he wouldn’t be supervising you himself. It felt you could finally breathe again.

“You’re [Name], right?” the man said. He turned towards you and extended his hand out, smiling pleasantly. “I’m Yuki. Maeno Yuki. It’s nice to have you on board.”

He looked to be around your age, much more boyish than the majority of the members. He had wavy golden hair that was practically shining, and pretty emerald eyes. You knew first impressions could be deceiving, but for now, he was definitely much more welcoming than the scary, buff middle-aged men that were all glaring you down.

He looked normal. You liked normal.

You shook Yuki’s hand and forced a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ll do my best to keep up.”

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But I Shine So Bright - Rafe Cameron x Reader

Dear Reader Duology: Part 1, Part 2

Summary: You wake up hungover from the previous night’s party, and are struck with the realization of the conversation you’d had with Rafe prior. You decide that, yes, you should actually have that conversation with him sober like he’d suggested. So, that’s what you two do. Word Count: 5.1k+ TWs/CWs: Adult/profane language, she/her pronouns used for reader, brief descriptions of a hangover, OOC Rafe in that he's only a little crazy and is actually willing to admit he was wrong, unrealistically fast relationship re-establishment, Rafe still wants to kill that guy lol, bad example of a healthy relationship but hi this is Rafe be so for real here, Rafe obviously has pretty privilege Note: Yeah so I just decided to do the part 2 lmao so here she is. And now it has me thinking Thoughts about doing more Dear Reader inspired fics for OBX babes...like a Dear Reader duology collection sounds like a fun little project hehehe

Waking up was more painful than you’d anticipated. When you’d gone out, you never intended to get that drunk. Decidedly, you’d drank more than you had in a long while. A stupid choice all around, but especially stupid considering you didn’t have the built-in protection of…him anymore. Your girlfriends had dutifully tried to slow you down, but you didn’t listen to them.

Fuck’s sake, even his friends had tried to stop you. To be fair, they’d been more successful. Yes, the first memory you woke up to was Topper and Kelce, your ex-boyfriend’s best friends, stopping you from doing a fucking keg stand. And that was just something special considering you knew damn well that you’d been wearing a skirt with nothing underneath. So clearly your night had been just full of good choices.

“God,” you groaned, rolling over on your side. Your eyes landed on a water bottle on the side of your bed. You blinked once, twice, a third time, and then lurched up into a sitting position. “Shit.” While the sudden movement made you nauseous for a moment, you managed to resist the urge to vomit. You scrambled for your phone. It was noon already. Fuck. You saw that a group chat with your friends had blown up and you had a slew of other texts.

Where the hell did you go?

Why did Topper come tell us that fucking RAFE took you home??

Hello?? Girl what the hell are you thinking?

You better call us and tell us that you’re safe.

Dude you better not fucking sleep with him I swear to God I am SO serious.

Be like Dua Lipa and remember the new rules bitch.

Be safe I swear to GOD bestie I’ll fuck you up if you get hurt.

If you fuck him you better not let him hit raw.

BYE don’t let him hit AT ALL.

“Shit,” you hissed.

You’d thought you’d had a dream that Rafe had been the one taking care of you. A pleasant dream minus the blubbering you’d been doing. But no. It turns out you actually had been blubbering on him. On the ex who left you for no reason and with no discernible guilt outwardly shown. This just had to be a joke. It had to be. The pit in your stomach wasn’t from the aggressive hangover, it was literally just the dread that had an iron grip on you. Looking down at your phone again, you saw a text from Kelce of all fucking people too.

Lmao I know you’re gonna be hurting this morning but let me or Top know if Rafe did anything stupid yesterday and we’ll beat the shit out of him fr.

You couldn’t help but let out a high-pitched, borderline hysterical laugh at the very idea. You run a hand down your face, grateful that Rafe had forced you to take the makeup off the night before. You felt sick and awful and still somehow better than you had before. It was pathetic somehow, on some level, that spending even an hour with Rafe had the ability to make you feel so much better and so much worse all at once. So, with trembling hands, you made a move to answer.

First, to your friends.

Not yall acting like you don’t have my location. I got home safe. Nothing happened fuck off.

You then immediately silenced the group chat so you wouldn’t have to deal with it. You looked at Kelce’s and cringed, letting your fingers move.

Yeah definitely got a hellish hungover. Thanks for keeping me from doing a keg stand like a dumbass last night btw? Idk what the fuck that was about. And nah, Rafe didn’t do anything. Even if he did you wouldn’t win that fight, Kelce, be so fr lol.

The response from him came quickly.

Ah, she lives. Well, you didn’t choke on your vomit so that’s good. And hurtful, I could definitely beat him.

You rolled your eyes.

Yeah, maybe if he were tied to a chair bro. But fr, thank you for helping me out. Thank Top too for me btw.

The response took longer this time. And was punctuated by an immediate follow-up.

Course. I’ll let him know. You’re still our friend. We weren’t gonna let you get that messed up.

You should talk to your boy though. Let him know you’re good. Pretty sure he’s worried about you.

You bit your lip. Instead of replying, you instead closed that text thread and looked back to the rest of your messages. But, you were thrown for a loop when you saw Rafe’s name appearing at the top, texting you just now. You weren’t proud of it, but you had to throw yourself from your bed and empty your stomach. You blamed the hangover, but you also knew that the anxiety of facing him after the night before was nerve-wracking enough to be the culprit alone.

Once you finally cleaned yourself up, you felt a bit more human again. Only then did you return to your phone. You stared at it for a few minutes before even daring to pick it up. Then, you stared at your background - still a picture of you and Rafe, one where his smile was so big from a laugh that it crinkled the corners of his eyes and you had buried your face in his neck while also laughing. You hated that you hadn’t changed it yet, but every single time you tried to, you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You put the phone down again.

Sighing, you reached over and grabbed the water bottle he had left you. Then you noticed he’d also left out some meds for you to take. Not letting yourself think about it or the way it turned your stomach, you took the pills and drank the water completely before letting yourself even think about your phone again. At least that was the lie you spun yourself, ignoring the way that the stupid piece of technology wove through every thought and every damn breath you took.

In an effort to pretend like that wasn’t true, you walked down to your kitchen and got a Liquid I.V. knowing damn well that Rafe would be telling you to if he were here. And, yeah, even now, the little things he did to show he cared still stuck to your bones. You hated it. Or, at least you hated that he wasn’t actually here. Some days it was hard to tell which was true and which was the lie. You wanted him, you didn’t, you wanted him, you didn’t. You definitely did—that was the truth and you knew it.

Steeling yourself, you eventually went back upstairs and picked your phone back up. Clicking Rafe’s name, you were fully prepared to ignore whatever the message was like you knew you should if you were going to get over him. But somehow, you could feel the familiar love and affection punching you in the gut.

Take the pills I left. Drink some liquid iv or whatever if you have it. Don’t forget to eat.

You inhaled shakily, thinking if you should even respond or not, worrying at your lip and tapping your fingers anxiously against your knee. But, as you did, another text came through from him.

Lmk if you need anything.

Short, sweet, and to the point.

You, your brain supplied unhelpfully. I just fucking need you.

You thought about the night before. About the words he said. About the stark honesty in his voice that you hadn’t heard in months from him. You thought about the simple promise he made. He said that you could talk about it when you were sober if you still wanted to. Did you want to? Yes. So, before you could talk yourself out of it, you clicked his contact to call him and brought the phone to your ear.

“You okay?” were the words that Rafe greeted you with. Not hello. Just concern.

“I…yeah. I’m fine,” you said when your brain finally caught up with you again. “I…thanks for getting me home. You know, and everything else too,” You paused for a moment, finishing with, “You really didn’t have to do all that.”

“Of course I did,” Rafe said, sounding surprisingly serious. “I’d never leave you like that. Ever.”

“I’m sorry I was such a mess,” you said, reflexively apologizing. “And sorry I was like…pawing at you like some animal.”

Rafe let out a dry sort of chuckle that betrayed he was at least slightly amused by some of your antics the night prior. It made your heart flutter, which just felt utterly ridiculous. He made a noncommittal noise. “I just wanted to make sure you, you know, were good.”

“No. Seriously, I can’t imagine how much worse that would’ve gotten without you there. So really, uh, thanks. I was…not thinking last night obviously,” you said. There was a pregnant pause over the phone and you realized how that sounded. “I mean I, like, really don’t drink that much!” You were rushing to clarify, anxious to make sure that Rafe knew you didn’t mean your conversation with him. “I seriously don’t even know how much I drank. I’m lucky I didn’t, like, die in my sleep.”

“I’ve seen you worse,” he said flatly. “You’d have been fine.”

“That’s when I had you, though,” you pointed out before you could stop yourself. You heard Rafe inhale sharply, saying your name but you cut him off. “Did you mean what you said?”

Rafe paused. “What?” he asked cautiously.

“That we can actually talk,” you clarified.

“Are you not too hungover for this?” Rafe asked, sounding tired already.

“No,” you said bluntly. “I want to talk to you.” You huffed out a sigh. “Rafe, I need to talk to you.”

You heard him let out a sigh of his own. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

“I want to do it in person,” you said, willing to push your luck here. “I don’t want to do this on the phone. I want to see your face so I know if you’re lying to me.”

Rafe gave a similar sort of dry chuckle to before. “Have never lied to you, Princess, but sure. Fine. Today?” he asked shortly.

“Yes,” you agreed. “Today. I think waiting two months was long enough.” Rafe didn’t rise to the bait, which you were partially glad for and partially disappointed by. “How about we meet at the country club at like…six?”

“You want to do this in front of people?” Rafe asked, surprised.

“No. We’ll go down to the beach. Just easier to meet there,” you said vaguely.

The reality was the country club gave you a way to chicken out last minute that the beach didn’t. At the country club, you could hide in a bathroom. On the beach, unless you were planning on drowning yourself or burying yourself in the sand you were stuck with him.

“Okay, Gorgeous,” he said lazily, the nickname slipping easily from his tongue. “Do you want me to pick you up or…”

“I’m good,” you denied. “I’ll get there.”

“See you later then,” he said.

“Okay. See you,” you said, hurriedly hanging up before you said something stupid like I love you or just tell me now why you left me.

You spent the next few hours panicking about what you’d just done, torn between hating yourself for making that choice and being relieved that it was finally happening. You gave all of your friends in your group chat a short version of your plan. You were met with a mixture of approval and disapproval from everyone—mostly born of a desire to make sure that you were alright. They offered to come and do recon so you’d have an easy out, but you denied the need. Then, they offered to come and slash his truck tires, which you declined just like you had the first hundred times they’d offered over the past two months. After that, they settled and just insisted that you text them an update later to let them know what was going on. It was easy enough to agree to.

You make your way to the country club a little bit before six and were shocked to see Rafe already waiting there. He was sitting at the bar, knee bouncing with anxiety, tapping at an empty glass in front of him. His eyes met yours, and just for a moment, you froze in place. Slowly, you drifted over to his side and were pleasantly surprised to see that he appeared entirely sober.

“Hey,” he greeted when you found words hard to formulate.

“Hi, Rafe,” you replied after a few breaths.

He looked you up and down, an undercurrent of amusement passing through his eyes. “I’d ask if you want a drink but I have a feeling that you’d rather swallow a bucket of sand right now,” he said.

You nodded, grimacing. “Pretty much,” you confirmed. You glanced towards the door. “Wanna…go?”

God, how could this be so fucking awkward? you asked yourself. This was the man you fell in love with and knew like the back of your hand and still somehow this was wildly uncomfortable like you didn’t know each other at all.

Rafe nodded slowly, rising to his feet. He gestured for you to go first, eyes habitually roaming around the room. They landed on the guy who had been touching you the night before at the party, gross hand on your leg as if he had any form of claim to you. Rafe felt his blood boiling for a moment and had to resist the urge to go and pummel the guy’s face in. It was hard for him, at least until the guy looked over, noticing Rafe. Immediately, the creep paled to a near-ghostly white shade. Satisfied by the obvious fear, Rafe offered the guy a condescending smile, with a harsh edge to it, teeth set. He put his hand on the small of your back as you walked, guiding you forward and opening the door for you as he went. As he passed through, his eyes did not separate from the guy’s until you had exited. The message was clear, even though you hadn’t even noticed the interaction at all.

She is Rafe Cameron’s, she is not available.

As you started to walk down to the beach, almost immediately, Rafe began to feel guilty for thinking that. He’d already done enough to hurt you in his eyes. But, then again, he couldn’t deny the part of him that desperately did want a second chance to reach that famous happy end. The kind that he knew only you could give him. The kind that only came with you beside him. No, he couldn’t ignore that part of him. It made up most of him. And he knew that it made up most of you too. And that was the part that made him loathe himself all the more.

On and on down the beach the pair of you walked, alternating between a few feet and barely a few inches between you. The silence continued on until you realized you didn’t even know how to approach this conversation. You sighed, stopping in your trek, evidently having decided you were far enough from other people to have this conversation now. 

“I don’t know how to even start this,” you admitted quietly. “I miss you. I meant that. I meant everything I said last night except that I hate you. I don’t. I wish I could, sometimes. But I don’t. I love you. And…and last night you said that you loved me too, still.”

“I do,” he said, shrugging, then setting his jaw to shut himself up.

“Then why are we doing this? When we love each other and we both want to be together? Why?” you asked, the words simple but desperate.

“You’re better off without me,” Rafe said, staring at the horizon, refusing to look at you.

“I’m not,” you denied. “And you’re not better without me either. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that either.” He’d been spending an egregious amount of his time high or wasted since your break up and it was impossible not to notice. Rafe glanced down at you and then back out over the water. The sky above you was morphing from its crystalline blue to the golden hues that promised night was coming soon. “I think we’re past lying to ourselves about that, don’t you? Or at least we should be.”

“I know that I’m not. But you are,” he reiterated. “I’m…an absolute fuck up. And I am only going to drag you down. That is all that I will ever be good for. You may not get that now. But you will.” He sighed and looked over at you. “I’m trying to do the right thing here, Princess.”

“Well look at that, wrong as usual,” you muttered, shaking your head. “You’re not any of that! You’re not a fuck up. You’re not going to drag me down. You are…” You gesticulated wildly, trying to have your brain magically summon the words to describe how you felt. You settled for shaking your head and gesturing around you. “You’re like a…like a fucking beacon or something.”

Rafe snorted. “Fuck me, if you think I’m some sort of guiding light you’ve lost it, Princess,” he said sharply. “I’m literally the opposite of that. I don’t…I don’t help people. I just hurt them.” He gestured towards you. “Look at my family. Look at my friends. Dragged them all down. And…I mean, just look at you. How could you think that I’m anything good anymore?” He shook his head. “No, just…no. I’m not.”

You groaned. “Stop talking about yourself like you’re some hideous monster that has to hide in the dark,” you insisted, voice growing louder. “You’re not. You’re just a man! That’s it! A fucking stupid man, who I love more than anything…who I hate to see tearing himself apart like he does. An absolutely idiotic man who I miss so much it hurts to wake up in the morning.” You deflated, shoulders slumping, and this time you were the one looking out over the water while Rafe stared intently at you. “I’m not better off without you.” From the corner of your eye, you saw Rafe’s hand run over the bottom half of his face while he shook his head. You saw him bring his hand towards his lips and your head whipped over to look at him. “Don’t bite your damn nails, when was the last time you washed your hands? You’ve touched doors and railings! This is a public beach!”

It was like a bubble of tension cracked at that and Rafe laughed. Honest to God laughed. Laughed like you hadn’t heard in months from him. Laughed in a way that made your heart flutter and your lips turn up. The laugh kept going like he couldn’t stop it, and before you knew it you were chuckling yourself, which morphed into a hysterical laugh. You swatted at his arm in the midst of your laugh, but he caught your hand and held it. After a few moments longer, you both stared at each other, calming down. His easy smile and the crinkle of his eyes disappeared, replaced by a frown and concern.

“You…you should really find another guiding light if that’s what you’re looking for. A real beacon. Someone you can count on,” he said.

“Rafe,” you said seriously, taking a step closer to him. “Look at me.” He sighed but met your eyes. You squeezed your still-joined hands and he looked down as if he’d forgotten you were even touching. “You kept me from making myself look like an idiot last night. You got me home when I actively was trying to make it difficult. You held me until I fell asleep. You owed me nothing and you did that. I didn’t even have to ask you to, fuck I didn’t even want you to be there, but you knew what was good for me. And you left out water and pills and then texted me in the morning.” You let out a short, weak laugh. “I don’t think that I can count on someone else more than you.” He looked at you as if to say your name without having to actually speak it and you rolled your eyes. “Tell me something. How often do you get second chances in life?”

Rafe looked away, tongue running over his cheek, and then he looked back. “More than I deserve,” he said shortly.

Again, you rolled your eyes. “Stop being a self-sacrificial bitch for a second,” you said. He looked at you, scandalized and you had to resist the urge to laugh, soldiering on with your point. “Tell me, without the shit, how often you get second chances in life for something that you really want?” 

“I don’t,” Rafe said after a moment.

“And yet here I am. And I know that you still want to be together. And I am trying to give us a second chance. Why are you trying to refuse it?” you demanded.

“Because you actually are a fucking beacon of light,” he snapped, hand flexing like he was about to squeeze yours but stopped himself. “And I don’t want to…to fucking ruin that. I would never forgive myself if I ruined you. If I…made that fucking light go out? No, I’d never forgive myself. And I don’t want to risk you like that. Ever. And considering I’m this fucking black hole of bullshit…that is definitely risking it.”

His words resonated as if they were a tuning fork that struck and vibrated at the exact frequency of your very soul. He sighed and let go of your hand. In your shock, you let him. He moved away a few steps and paced back and forth. This time, when he brought his nails to his lips, you didn’t speak for a moment. You saw the glint of tears in his eyes and you didn’t know if they were from frustration or from sadness—both most likely.

Your brain caught up with you after a few moments of just staring at him. You walked forward and took his hand away from his mouth, moving your hands to rest behind his neck, forcing him to stop moving. Reflexively, his hands landed on your hips, holding you rather firmly to ground himself. You played with the ends of his hair, waiting for him to measure his breath once more and meet your eyes with his own.

“You’re not a black hole, idiot,” you said fondly. “You are not an irredeemable monster. You’re just scared.”

Rafe’s jaw clenched and he looked away, then back again. “I’m not fucking scared. But if I were, Princess? It’d be for good reason,” he said. “I have a lot to lose if I keep fucking up.”

“Everyone does,” you pointed out. You moved one hand to cup his cheek. “For now, if you think that I’m some mythical fucking beacon of light, then let me do it for both of us…be it.” He shook his head, blinking away tears he didn’t want to fall. “Rafe…I can handle you being stupid. I can handle your fuck ups. I have this long. What I can’t handle is losing you.” He was silent and you shrugged. “Look at me and tell me that if I walked away right now and started dating someone else you’d be okay with that.”

His eyes snapped back to you, visibly disturbed and angry. “Fuck no,” he admitted, practically spitting the words out.

“Exactly,” you said softly. His hands moved slowly to wrap around your waist more, no longer just resting on your waist. “I know that there are things we have to work on. Believe me. But we make sense. We work together. Let’s try again, Rafe.” You took a deep, shaky breath. “If you tell me you don’t love me. If you don’t want this…I’ll walk away. I won’t bring this up…won’t bother you again.”

“No,” Rafe said immediately, more firmly than even the last time. “I do love you, of course I fucking do. And yes I want you.” His voice almost immediately became choked up. “I want us. I just…”

“Are the words you’re looking for ‘am scared?’” you suggested.

“No,” he denied, using what was obviously his new favorite word once more. “Not scared. Just…hesitant to risk hurting you.”

You gave him a flat look. “Rafe, is loving me worth the risk of me hurting you?” you asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I don’t care if you hurt me.”

“So then why can I not feel the same way about you?” you demanded. “It’s worth the risk. So let’s take it.”

“You’re more important than me,” he murmured, leaning your foreheads together, initiating the touch he obviously desperately craved.

The noise that escaped you was somewhere between a scoff and a snort. “That’s the dumbest thing you have ever said to me,” you declared. “And you told me that for two years you didn’t believe that dinosaurs were real.”

Rafe laughed, weak but true and a sweet sound to your ears. As he did so, he pulled back just enough that your eyes were able to meet. “I was a child,” he defended, a tiny smile on his lips.

“You were twelve,” you corrected. “You started high school not believing that dinosaurs existed. You had to take an earth science class to realize that fossils were real.”

Turning his head, Rafe moved one of his hands to your face, holding your cheek, just like you were doing to him. “Can I kiss you to stop you from making fun of me again?” he asked softly, eyes darting down to your lips and then back up. “Or is it too soon to tell you to shut up without being an ass?”

You smirked. “Don’t worry. I know you’re an ass,” you said, leaning forward.

He met you halfway, your lips brushing together. The kiss was soft at first, sweet and featherlight as if trying to ascertain if it was really happening. That didn’t last for very long though. Quickly, Rafe’s grip on you tightened and he pulled you closer and deepened the kiss. You happily let him take the lead, letting your hands travel to the back of his neck again, longing to just sink into his embrace. When you broke apart, you both were breathing unevenly, looking at each other with vulnerable gazes.

“I missed you,” you said, voice strangely shy considering who you were talking to and how well you knew him—not to mention the fact that his tongue had been practically down your throat moments earlier.

“I love you,” Rafe said. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead that lingered, then tipped your chin up to meet his gaze, his other hand keeping you pressed firmly to his body. “You gonna be my girl again, Gorgeous?”

Even though you rolled your eyes, your smile gave you away. “I never really stopped, did I?” you posed.

He hummed, half-frown on his face, and shrugged. “Dunno,” he admitted.

“I didn’t,” you said, wanting to wipe away the insecurity from him in one assurance even though you knew you couldn’t. “I never stopped. And, for the record, I love you too. Even though you’re a jackass.” You paused. “And a little bit on the stupid side.”

Rafe’s lips cracked back into a smile that grew into something far more relaxed. “Well that’s good to know,” he murmured. 

“You just have pretty privilege is all,” you murmured quietly, voice serious despite the words being joking. You looked at him as though you feared he might disappear. 

He stroked your cheek, wiping away a stray tear you hadn’t realized fell, and then reluctantly pulled away from you, forcing his hands into his pockets to keep from touching you. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“We do,” you confirmed. You offered him your hand. “Wanna go get something to eat and actually, you know, do that?”

Immediately, his hand was out of his pocket, and his fingers were laced with yours. “Yeah, Princess, I do,” he agreed. “Let’s go before it gets dark.”

“How could it get dark when I shine so bright as our beacon?” you asked, teasing, grabbing his arm with your free hand and squeezing it in a half-hug.

“Jesus Christ you’re lucky that you’re so damn easy to love,” Rafe said laughing. He pulled you closer, letting go of your hand in favor of throwing his arm over your shoulder. He pressed a kiss to your temple, lips lingering, his voice going serious this time. “I love you.”

“I know you do,” you assured him. “I love you too.” He nodded, still not moving away yet. “Come on, Cameron. Let’s get a move on here. You’ll be thrilled to know that I didn’t listen to you and drink or eat much of anything today, so I am desperately in need of water or something.”

Rafe groaned. “Of course you didn’t,” he said dryly. “Come on, can’t let my girl stay dehydrated or hungry.”

With that, he started pulling you back up the beach towards the country club. And, in the back of your mind, even with the lingering uncertainty and unsaid words, you felt better than you had in what felt like an eternity. You stared at Rafe’s face—your Rafe, your stupid, sweet, annoying, perfect boyfriend—as the golden hour’s light hit him. The angelic glow that it cast on his infuriatingly perfect face was always breathtaking. But, something about him at this moment, after being so vulnerable and honest, struck you differently. You took your phone out and snapped a picture of him before he could notice or refuse and smiled down at it, ignoring the delayed groan when Rafe realized you’d already captured it.

“Come on, Gorgeous,” he complained.

“Sorry, I just had to capture the day Rafe Cameron admitted he was wrong. It’s a historical event,” you said, grinning, sending the picture to your friend before turning the phone off wanting to focus only on him.

He rolled his eyes at the jab, but you were pleased to see the way that his lips twitched up in an amused smile. The sight lightened your heart and made your lips stretch into a wider version of your own smile you’d already been sporting. And in the slowly fading light of day, there were only two things that you were certain of.

Rafe didn’t give himself nearly enough credit.

You weren’t going to make the same mistake as him.

Taglist: @joselyn001 @caughtinthetides @proactivetypaperson @abbybarnesstuff @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @fangirlfree @antagonize-me-motherfucker

[cho-aaacho]

Stupid fucking idea that me and my sister made up:

Evil Wesker but with energetic henchman reader. Kinda cartoon villain like but it was too funny me and my sister kept giggling about it.

Imagine Wesker and the reader are trying to infect the world with Uroboros and Chris keeps fucking up Wesker’s plans.

Reader is like “Cheer up boss, we’ll get Chris next time! You’ll reach godhood in no time!”

Wesker hates, but also loves the fact that they’re willing, and energetic to help him achieve his goal. Kinda protective over them.

But imagine at the end of RE5 instead of dying, Wesker is just locked up in some maximum security prison.

But it’s just a little more bearable with the reader with them.

“Aw shucks. Well we didn’t get it this time. But i’m sure next time we’ll get it! Have faith boss!”

A very small, smile itches its way onto his lips. Maybe life imprisonment wouldn’t be so bad with you around.

Haha. What a fantastic idea! I have a scenario about this. I hope you love it!

Wesker is really good at being a leader. We can see how he carries S.T.A.R.S. and how he has a good relationship with them. Despite only acting, no one can detect that at all. So he's a good actor or just a psychopath?

He has charm and charisma, and everyone seems to depend on him. His charisma allowed him to entice people to do his dirty work. Narcissists are known to be charismatic, intelligent beyond the human realm, and highly manipulative.

Even no one notices when he's hacking a Bravo team's helicopter, which is the end game for them.

However, during his days in Tricell, he found someone interesting. And it's you. He barely talks with anyone at the Tricell facility; it's not because he hates them. He just doesn't have time to chit-chat.

At the time, his mind was consumed with Spencer and, of course, Uroboros. But one day, you told him something, and it was simply a strange conversation.

You say, "Let go of anything holding you back and die. There's nothing wrong with harboring dislikes toward others."

Realizing that he was only wasting his time, he started tracking and eliminating Spencer while ambitiously pursuing the Uroboros project. You've never seen him like this before; even Irving and Excella were upset by his unusual behavior. 

Wesker even tells you about his Uroboros plans, including a backup plan in case he fails. You could not help but listen to him. Because he appears to be pleased with how you respond to him and reply to him. 

"Okay, boss, do as you wish. Even if you try to burn everything down, the world around us remains the same. But it will feel different if you are not beside me."

After facing defeat by Chris and imprisonment, he doesn't hate or feel upset. It contradicted his nature, as he despised being defeated, especially by his archenemy.

Nothing else matters to him as long as he has you...

"Hey, Wesker... it's impressive that BSAA was able to lock us up. But don't worry; it's only a mild prison. After this, Chris will lose interest in us and eventually retire. At that moment, we will shine and return. If Chris wants to stop, he will. It's human nature."

He just... smiled. It was the first time you saw him relaxed like this. Though you are not worth it for that smile, you were really happy with that little detail about him.

"It appears I have your attention, Wesker. I am pleased to see you smiling. Let us try again and see if we can defeat Chris or those who support him, friends, and families."

[awkwardtickleetoo]

Double Trouble

hellooo everyone :D and happy birthday to our baby boy sapnap!!! 🎉🎉

i know i said this was gonna be out a few days ago but uh…. i may have gotten… a little carried away…. so it took me a little longer…

but!! we shall prevail. and hopefully everyone still enjoys it even if it’s like nearly 7k words long lmaooo woopsiessss

thank you to the wonderful @sleepy--anon for sending this ask with the concept for this fic, this wouldn’t be possible without you so everyone say thank you sleepy 👏👏👏 and also shoutout to @mushiewrites for helping me plan this fic as you always do

and like i mentioned when i answered the ask, if people are interested in it, i’m totally down to make this a mini-series and do a version of this for dream and george’s birthdays when they come around, so let me know if you guys would want that!!

other than that, enjoy <3

lee!george, lee!dream, ler!sapnap, 6.5k words

--

A sudden knock on his bedroom door pulled Sapnap out of his focus, and he reached for the TV remote to pause the episode of Death Note he was watching from his bed.

“Come in!” He strained, stretching his arms above his head and groaning, sitting up and rubbing his eyes as the door to his bedroom opened.

“Hey,” Dream greeted as he walked in, George following behind him, and they both walked over to Sapnap’s bed. George wasted no time, jumping up onto the bed next to where Sapnap’s legs were under the covers, then pushing himself over to the head of the bed next to Sapnap, sitting cross legged. Dream chuckled at the action, but sat on the edge of the bed. “We just had a question for you.”

“Sure, what’s up?” Sapnap asked, adjusting himself to give the other two more room to sit, and Dream pulled one leg up onto the bed and left the other hanging off, touching the floor. Sapnap rested his hand on George’s knee, something he’d gotten into the habit of doing whenever George sat next to him, rubbing his thumb over the material of his pajama pants as Dream began to speak.

“So, I know we already have plans for your birthday, but we just wanted to ask if there's anything else special you wanted to do, since our plans are kinda an unspoken tradition thing,” Dream explained, earning a nod from Sapnap. “Is there anything else you had in mind to celebrate or did you just wanna do gifts and dinner like we usually do?”

“Hm…” Sapnap furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “Uh, I’m not sure, I don’t really think so? I didn’t really have anything in mi…” He began, but trailed off, his thumb pausing its movements as it rested right in the dip on the inner part of George’s knee.

Just as an evil idea formed in his head.

“What?” Dream asked, tilting his head in confusion as he watched Sapnap’s expression change to one that was significantly more sinister.

“Did you think of something?” George cut in, looking just as lost as Dream. Sapnap smiled over at him, pressing his thumb into his knee with light pressure.

“Yeah, I thought of something,” Sapnap said, adjusting his position again, folding his hands in his lap and leaning forward– to show he meant business, of course. “I want to tickle you both,” He continued bluntly, watching Dream’s eyes widen and his lips part in shock, and listening to George’s scoff of disapproval.

“Wh- uh…” George stuttered for a moment, sounding like he wanted to speak, wanted to say something snarky in response, but couldn’t find the words. “W-what?” He ended up with, quite well spoken, if Sapnap were to say so himself.

“I want to tickle both of you. At the same time. I get free range of any spots and any techniques that I want, and I get to keep going until you each can’t take it anymore. We’ll have a safeword, of course, I’m not a monster,” Sapnap said with a smile, earning an amused chuckle from Dream and another scoff from George. “And I want it to be completely willing. No restraints, no pinning– okay, well, maybe a little bit, because I know some of us can get a little too squirmy to stay still on our own…” Sapnap teased, raising his eyebrows and looking over at George, who promptly threw his hands over his face and curled in on himself with a groan, making the other two laugh fondly. Sapnap moved his hand to George’s back, rubbing up and down soothingly for a few moments to calm him, before letting it drop back down to his knee. “But I want it to be completely voluntary. I want you guys to let me tickle you for as long as you can stand it,” Sapnap finished, smiling as Dream stared at him nervously and George dropped his hands to reveal his blushing face, looking at the comforter below him, refusing to make eye contact.

“That’s… you– so, we…” Dream stammered, swallowing shakily, pouting slightly as he tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. “You just…” He closed his eyes, letting out a soft breath, looking back down at Sapnap with pinched eyebrows. “I-I thought you would’ve picked, like… watching a movie or something.”

“Well, you thought wrong, baby boy,” Sapnap teased, giggling at the way the pet name made Dream’s cheeks turn a light pink color. There was a moment of silence again, before Dream continued.

“And that’s… that’s really what you want?”

“It’s really what I want,” Sapnap said confidently, watching as Dream looked over to George, raising his eyebrows. George’s lips parted, a subtle pout still on his face, and he let out an uncertain sigh, shrugging his shoulders in a way that would be just barely noticeable if you weren’t looking for his reaction.

George seemed more uncertain of his answer than Dream, though he wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable with the idea. Dream, who knew George better than George knew himself sometimes, seemed to make the decision for him, a mischievous smile gracing his lips as he turned back to Sapnap.

“Okay.”

“WHAT?!” George yelped, voice squeaky, curling in on himself in both embarrassment and nerves.

“You’ll do it?” Sapnap asked, the same mischievous smile on his own face.

“We’ll do it.” Dream nodded, smiling as he watched George shift against the pillows.

“NO?! No, no! We will not! We’re not– I’m not doing that, no!”

“George,” Sapnap said firmly, looking over at him, making him freeze in his place under Sapnap’s knowing look. “If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. Just say the words. We won’t be upset.”

“No, I…” George began, before clamping his mouth shut and letting out a breath through his nose. He pouted again, slumping down against the pillows behind him, bringing his knees up and crossing his arms over his chest. “Whatever.”

“Mm, thought so,” Sapnap said with a smile, earning another scoff from George, followed by an eye roll and him looking off to the side to avoid eye contact. “Alright then…” Sapnap said, moving out from under the covers and off to the side to give Dream a clear path to the top of the bed. “Let’s go.”

“…Let’s go, what?” Dream asked in confusion, glancing over at George, who ventured a look back as well. He still seemed nervous, but he was still pouting and his eyes were big and glossy, so Dream could tell he was fine, and he was sure Sapnap could as well. George glanced between the two, staying silent, waiting for things to unfold. Sapnap smiled, gesturing to the bed, before clarifying.

“Lay down. I wanna get started, I’m not wasting any of my tickle time.”

“Wha– now?! You– you meant now?!” Dream asked, nervousness settling over his features as well, squirming slightly where he sat and bouncing his foot that still rested on the floor.

“Yeah, of course I meant now! C’mon,” Sapnap said, patting the middle of the bed. “Lay down, Dreamie.”

“But– that’s– I didn't–“ Dream stuttered, his cheeks burning, biting his lip to force down a smile. Sapnap gave him an expectant look, raising his eyebrows at him, and Dream let out a sigh before wordlessly moving himself to lay down. He situated himself the best he could, adjusting the pillow under his head and settling down against Sapnap’s ruffled sheets, one hand messing with his hair and the other resting on his own chest.

“There we go. That’s perfect,” Sapnap praised, gently patting Dream’s knee and smiling down at him, receiving one in return as well. Then, he turned his attention to George, who looked back at him with wide eyes, curling further in on himself under the pressing gaze. “George.”

“Mm-mm,” He mumbled, shaking his head.

“You know it’s your turn.”

“I can’t.”

“C’mon, Georgie, you know you’re gonna let me,” Sapnap coaxed, sitting up on his knees and resting one hand on George’s knee. “Don’t try to start a fight you know you’ll lose.”

“I’m not–! It’s not that, it’s just– I just– Sapnap, c’mon–“ George stammered, squirming in his seat, looking up at Sapnap with wide eyes as the younger boy began to push in closer. He loomed over George, making him lean further back into the pillows but not budge to lay down yet, the proximity making his lip tremble nervously as he took in a shaky breath. “Sap– Sapnap…”

“You know what I have to do.”

“No, Sapnap, pl–EASE–!” George yelped as Sapnap suddenly grabbed his ankles, yanking him forward by his legs and pulling him down the bed to be almost flat. “NO, don’t! Stop, STOP!” He protested, yelling and complaining, frantically trying to push himself up, bending his legs to put his knees between him and Sapnap’s bodies to keep the distance.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Sapnap threatened when George managed to prop himself up on his elbows and slide back. He grabbed George again, this time by his hips, and pulled him back down flat, swatting his hands away every time they tried to grab him.

“No, nonono, NO! SAPNAP!” George continued to yell, much to the entertainment of the other two, and Sapnap giggled as he wrapped his arms around George’s calves, shifting him down to lay on an even level with Dream. “LET GO, let go, let go, let go!” George tried everything to yank his legs free, attempting to pull, push, turn to either side, but nothing worked. Soon enough, Sapnap was pushing George’s legs against the bed and throwing himself over him, straddling his thighs and keeping him fully pinned. “NO! No, no! Sapnap! C’monnnnn, Sapnaaaap…” George whined, groaning in frustration, still arching his back as he pushed at Sapnap’s legs and bucked his hips up.

“Hey,” Sapnap said firmly, grabbing George’s wrists and pinning them to the bed by his sides, making him gasp and stare up at him, wide eyed. “Are you done?” He asked, and George twisted his wrists in his hold, not budging at all.

“Wh– I…” He clamped his mouth shut and nodded.

“Are you gonna behave yourself?”

“Mhm.” Another nod, and Sapnap smiled and let go of his wrists, watching George immediately cross his arms over his chest and pout.

“Good. Now quick ground rules before we start, like I said, I get to do whatever I want, however I want it, and you have to let me. Okay?” He said, earning an eye roll from George, but a nod and hum in understanding from both of them. “Good. And whenever you want me to stop, for any reason, whenever you’re ready to be done, you say, uh…” Sapnap thought for a moment, deciding on a safeword. “I dunno, you say ‘minecraft’, does that work? Safe word is minecraft?” George scoffed, letting out a quiet laugh at the silly choice, but he nodded and hummed anyway.

“Minecraft is good,” George said.

“Yeah, minecraft works,” Dream agreed, smiling up at Sapnap. Sapnap smiled and laughed as well, nodding his own head.

“Alright, perfect.” With that, Sapnap’s smile turned evil, and his hands were immediately on Dream’s sides, scratching his nails over the area on top of his shirt, adding in a few pinches and pokes here and there to make Dream squirm more. Dream gasped, the smile on his face turning bashful before he broke into a wide, toothy grin, his giggles and squeaky laughter spilling out despite his attempts to stop it.

“Oh, gohohod…” He said as he tensed his shoulders. Instinctively, his hands flew to grab Sapnap’s, yanking them away from his sides, but this only stopped him for about one second before they returned to continue their motions anyway. “Ah!” He gasped again, then grabbed the hands again, pulling them away, but still, they just jumped back into action. “Naha! No, nohoho, no!” This happened a few more times, Dream’s giggles growing more frantic each time, until Sapnap spoke up.

“Hey. No. None of that today, you have to let me,” He reprimanded softly, making Dream groan and cover his face with his hands for a moment before dropping them down on the bed and gripping the sheets in his hands. “See? Not so hard, is it?”

“Fuhuck yohouohou! You knohow thahat’s not truhuhuhue!” Dream replied, making Sapnap giggle and nod, and he decided to form his hands into claws and scratch at Dream’s sides that way instead, even slipping under his shirt to scratch and poke at his bare skin instead, making him squeal and arch his back. “OH, fuhuhuck! Gohohod, NOHOHO!” Dream’s laughter grew louder when Sapnap skittered his fingers over the sides of his tummy, his hips jolting and his knees drumming against the bed underneath him, making the whole mattress shake with his movements. Sapnap chuckled, tweaking the center of Dream’s ribs, making him squeal as his hands grabbed onto his wrists again.

“Hey,” Sapnap began, but Dream only squeezed tighter, not pulling them away but just holding on, even as the fingers went back to scratching cruelly at his sides.

“I knohow, I know Ihihi know I knohohow,” Dream mumbled through his laughter, biting his lip and letting out a quiet whimper before breaking down again. He squeezed his eyes shut, his giggles turning breathy as Sapnap’s fingers migrated downwards, scratching ever so gently on the sides of his lower tummy. “Sahahapnahahap!” He whined, knowing the other boy was aware of how bad that spot was, but Sapnap simply smiled and kept going.

Until Sapnap felt the hips underneath him shift, and he heard a small sound from the boy they belonged to. He slowed his hands to a stop, looking down at George, just in time to watch him turn his head away and close his eyes, attempting to keep his cool. Dream’s laughter fizzled out to soft residual giggles, quiet enough that George knew something had changed. He blinked his eyes open, starting to turn his head back, stopped when he caught Sapnap’s gaze staring down at him with a knowing smile on his face. He shut his eyes again and groaned, tilting his head back exasperatedly.

“What?” He mumbled, pout still present on his lips, but his fidgety hands still moved to rest on Sapnap’s knees, the contact clearly helping calm him as he swallowed his nerves and waited for a reply.

“Does someone want my attention?” Sapnap asked teasingly, and George immediately whined and squirmed at the question, his hips shifting as much as they could with Sapnap still sitting on top of his thighs. “I think my kitten might feel a little left out.”

“Shut upppp,” He protested, but he didn’t deny the accusation. Sapnap cooed, making him whine again, turning his head to the side and trying to hide in the pillows as much as he could. “I hate you.”

“Aww, it’s okay, George, I didn’t forget about you,” Sapnap reassured, pushing his hands up under George’s shirt now, quickly choosing his first choice spot. His palms rested on George’s sides, fingers curled around his torso, and his thumbs rested perfectly in the dip of his waist. Then, he curled his thumbs, using his nails to scratch right at that spot, as lightly as he could.

“Nohoho, no, nonono, nohot that–!” George protested, his hands gripping Sapnap’s knees even tighter, breathing heavily through his nose. He tensed up, his entire body going rigid and still, determined to hold his laughter in. His hands jumped up, grabbing onto Sapnap’s wrists and trying to pull him away, but the way his hands curled around his sides made his grip nearly impossible to loosen. “Sapnap, noho!”

This spot– perfectly in the dip of his waist– had always been one of Sapnap’s favorite ways to torment the poor man. It wasn’t his worst spot by any means, it probably wouldn’t even make the top ten, but both of them knew that it was the exact spot where, if Sapnap stayed there for an extended period of time, it would very, very quickly become completely unbearable.

Which was exactly Sapnap’s goal. And it took all of thirty seconds to start breaking down the wall George held up with all his might.

“Sahahap–“ He warned, biting his lip, his giggles starting to escape between whimpers and squirms. Once his squirming started, he couldn’t seem to stop, leaning away from whichever side felt worse and pushing into the opposite, repeating the motion over and over again. The same thing happened with his laughter, and once the first breakthrough was made, it wasn’t possible for him to home anything else in. “Oh myhy gohohohohod, oh my gohohod, stohop! Stohohop, I cahahan’t!”

“Does Dream even know about this spot?” Sapnap asked, looking over at Dream and getting an enthusiastic nod in response, his smile widening at the sight of George already getting lost to the tickles so early on.

"I dohohon't knohow! I don't knohohohow!" George responded without thinking, his laughter picking up further, growing more and more frantic as Sapnap kept going. His brain felt numb already, his head heavy when he tried to move it, like it was filled with lead. He was dizzy- this spot made him dizzy, the absolutely maddening sensation that just kept growing and growing, constant in that one tiny, tiny area, it made him feel light headed.

“Yes, you most certainly do, Georgie,” Dream said, but he knew George likely wouldn’t even process what he was saying. His hips bucked up suddenly, his laughter turning into more squeals and labored breathing as he truly hit the point of no return for one of the tiniest, most specific spots he had.

“NO, plehehehease! Plehease, Sahahap, PLEHEASE– I cahahan’t!” George begged, smacking his hands against the bed, before grabbing Sapnap’s hands again and pulling. He got nowhere, so he wrapped his hands around Sapnap’s thumbs to stop him instead, which worked for barely a few seconds.

“Hey!” Sapnap scolded, shifting his hands, now using his pointer fingers to dig in harshly to the same spot.

“AH! NOHOHOHO!” George squealed, shaking his head frantically, squeezing Sapnap tighter and squirming under his evil fingers. “SAPNAHAHAP!”

“What did we say about letting me do what I want?!”

“I’M SOHORRYHYHY! Plehehehease!” George begged, and Sapnap decided to finally take some pity on him, pulling his hands away and giving him a moment to breathe. “Oh my gohod…”

“You okay?” Dream asked softly, reaching over and taking one of George’s hands in his, smiling when George laced their fingers together and squeezed.

“Yeah…” He said, bringing his other hand up to run through his hair, dropping it next to his head afterwards.

“Good, ‘cause I’m gonna keep going,” Sapnap said, and without any further warning, he had a hand on both of their tummies, clawing at them over the t-shirts at the same time.

“AH– nahaha!” Dream immediately let out a squeal, maybe the most adorable sound Sapnap had ever heard, as he slammed his free hand over his mouth and yanked his other away from George’s to cover as much of his tummy as he could manage. Sapnap didn’t let this stop him, though, and he instead just settled on scratching his nails all around Dream’s hand, getting wherever he couldn’t cover, even as he kept moving his hand around to try to stop him. “No– ah! Sahap! Noho, Sahapnahap! No– NO! Stohohop ihihit! Stohohohop!” Dream kept up his squealing and squirming, batting at Sapnap’s hand,his legs kicking out against the bed as he giggled freely.

“I can’t stop when you’re so cute!” Sapnap teased, and Dream shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut again.

Sapnap turned his attention to George, who had covered his face with both hands to try and hide his reactions, clearly embarrassed by how breathy and high-pitched his gasps and giggles were. His tummy fluttered with each touch of Sapnap’s nails, his hips jumping as he flinched and squirmed away from the hand.

“This is really getting to you, isn’t it?”

“Shuhuhut uhup!” George whined, and suddenly both hands were clawing at his tummy instead. “AH! Sahahapnahap!” He squealed, sliding his hands up and grabbing his hair, clearly trying his best not to grab at Sapnap’s hands to stop him. Sapnap heard Dream giggle, and suddenly he switched to clawing at Dream’s tummy with both hands instead.

“OH– gohohod, noho waharnihihing?!” Dream yelled, jumping at the sudden change.

“Hm… nope!” Sapnap jumped back to George, making him squeal and whine again, shaking his head and reaching down to grab at Sapnap’s legs again, still squirming his hips and taking in grateful breaths when he went back to Dream a few seconds later. Though his relief didn’t last long, as the hands inevitably came back to him again.

“Nohoho, Sahap!” George whined, finally breaking and swatting at his hands. “Stahay over thehehere! Stahahay thehere!”

“Stay here? Okay!” Sapnap teased, making George shake his head helplessly.

“Nahahaha!” Sapnap was thrilled with how pliant he had managed to get George already, knowing his weakened and whining state would help him out immensely in the future. Still, he decided to take some pity on him.

“Yeah, you’re right, I have to give Dream another turn, don’t I?”

“Yehehes, yes!”

“Noho!” Dream giggled nervously, crossing his arms over his tummy and trying to protect the area as much as he could. Sapnap giggled, pulling back his hands, giving them both a moment to breathe. After he felt the time was sufficient, he spoke again, this time to Dream.

“Hey,” He said quietly, resting his hands on Dream’s arms, getting his attention. “Lift these up.”

“What?!” He asked in shock, his eyes wide as he tensed his arms to his sides instead. “No!”

“C’mon, Dreamie. I know you can do it, you’ve done it for me before.” Sapnap pushed on Dream’s arms, and he watched Dream’s eyes soften, seemingly considering his options. “C’mon. Put your arms behind your head for me.”

“But, I–“ He tried to fight, but the smile on Sapnap’s face was too caring for him to want to say no, as well as a reminder that he promised to let Sapnap do whatever he wanted. He sighed, crossing his arms behind his head and laying back against them, shifting around to get comfortable before looking up at Sapnap, and the excited look he had made everything worth it.

“Thank you, Dreamie,” Sapnap said, before gently scratching at Dream’s underarms, giggling along with him as he immediately tensed up and began to squirm.

“Gohohod…” He mumbled, bending his knees and swaying them in the air to keep his upper body still. “Thihis suhuhucks.”

“I know, but I’m really happy you’re letting me do it,” Sapnap said sweetly, making Dream whine and bend his elbows in to try and hide his face. Sapnap chuckled, gently trailing his wiggling fingers all the way down Dream’s sides, then back up again, over his ribs, sides, above his hips, and back to his underarms where he stayed for a moment longer. “This is good.”

“Shuhut uhup.” Suddenly, there were two fingers digging into Dream’s highest ribs on each side, making him yell out in shock and slam his arms down. “AHAHA, WHYHYHY?!” He asked, completely caught off guard, grabbing Sapnap’s hands and pulling him off, wrapping his arms around himself so he could breathe while Sapnap laughed at his reaction.

“I just wanted to see what would happen,” Sapnap explained, getting an eye roll and an amused smile from Dream, before he turned his attention back to George. “Your turn now.”

“What?! No, no, I can’t, no you–“ George denied, shaking his head, crossing his arms over his chest and holding his opposite shoulders to keep himself closed off. “Noho, you know I– you know–“

“Georgiiieee…” Sapnap sang, mirroring George’s position just to mock him. “You know you promised to let me do whatever I want.”

“But I–“

“Arms. Up.” Sapnap grabbed George’s elbows, pushing on them, but George just clamped them down tighter.

“Noho! No, no, plehease, don’t, Sapnahahap, DON’T–“ George continued to fight, pushing against Sapnap’s strength until his arms shook, but he could only go for so long. Sapnap was quickly able to pin his elbows down next to his head, squeezing his arms as he did.

“There!”

“C’monohon, that’s not fair!”

“You’re right, it’s not. You’re supposed to keep them there. So keep them here.”

“Noho!” George yelled, slamming them down against his sides as soon as Sapnap let him go. Sapnap raised his eyebrows, giving him a stern look, and George whined helplessly. He moved his arms again, getting about halfway up before slamming them down, nervous giggles making their way out of his mouth. He groaned, trying one more time, and that time Sapnap managed to shove his hands under his arms before he slammed them down again, making George squeal and clamp down even harder, shaking his head uselessly. “NAHAHA– nohohoho! PLEHEHEASE, plehease, Sahahap, plehehehease!”

“You’re such a baby, oh my god,” Sapnap teased, pulling his hands out and latching onto George’s ribs instead, making his laughter turn more frantic than ever, squirming so strongly it could convince someone that Sapnap was actually killing him.

“SAPNAHAHAHAP! STOHOHOP, PLEHEHEASE!” George pleaded as he held onto Sapnap’s wrists, trying desperately to pull him away, but he was too weakened by the tickles to be able to grab much more than one finger at a time. “IHI CAHAHA–!” Sapnap laughed along with him at his reactions, tightening his knees on either side of George’s hips to keep himself steady, his constant bucking and kicking nearly flinging him off. After a moment, he decided to give the poor boy a break, pulling his hands back and pressing down on George’s shoulders to stabilize him, giving him a chance to breathe and contain himself.

While also making it harder for him to squirm around to get rid of the ghost tickles.

“Oh myhyhy gohohohod…” George’s giggles continued at a constant pace, his torso jumping and flinching with the hopeless attempt to squirm away. His hips shifted under Sapnap’s body, pushing his shoulders up to try and get his hands away, but nothing worked. “Lehehet goho of mehehehe.”

“But this is so fun.”

“Sahapnahahap!”

“Ugh, okay, whatever,” He said with an eye roll, letting George’s shoulders go and sliding back to sit further down on his thighs instead.

Suddenly, he reached over to latch his hands onto Dream’s legs, squeezing right above his knees without any mercy. Dream absolutely screamed, yelling out in shock and jumping so hard it knocked Sapnap’s headboard against the wall.

“AH– GOHOHOD–!” Dream arched his back at the sensation, his legs kicking out against his will and attempting to dislodge the hands. When this didn’t work, he jolted upwards, attempting to sit up and reaching forward to grab at Sapnap’s hands to pull him off that way. In retaliation, Sapnap simply shoved him backwards so he'd fall back down and grabbed onto his hips instead, squeezing cruelly at the area right above them. “NOHOHO! SAHAP, STOHOP!” He protested, letting out a loud yelp when Sapnap’s thumbs dug into the sweet spot above his hip bone, bucking his hips and flinging Sapnap’s hands away.

“Holy fuck, Dream, you’re supposed to be the one who can stay still!” Sapnap commented, grabbing Dream’s hips and pulling him back down into his place. Dream covered his face in embarrassment, his cheeks bright red where his skin peaked between his fingers.

“Ihi cahahan’t hehelp ihihihit!” He defended, making the other two laugh, and Sapnap dug his thumbs in again. He let out another squeal, bringing his legs up in an attempt to fold himself in half, but one quick squeeze to his knees made him kick back out with another laugh.

Then, Sapnap moved back to his tummy, quickly grabbing the hem of Dream’s shirt that had already ridden up to show his lower tummy and pushing it the rest of the way up. Dream caught on immediately, his tummy jumping at the new air in his skin, shaking his head and protesting.

“Nohoho, nonono, Sahapnap, dohohon’t–!” He was cut off when Sapnap’s hands touched down, scribbling up and down the sides of his tummy and scratching all around his belly button, making him suck in his tummy and simultaneously arch his back, against his own volition. “Nahahahaha!” Dream’s laughter was high pitched and squeaky now, quickly turning breathless the longer the tickling went on.

“You’re doing way better than I expected you to,” Sapnap praised over his laughter, earning a groan in response.

“Shuhut UHUHUP!” He replied, trying to sound as angry as he could while giggling his head off, making Sapnap snort. The tickling migrated down to Dream’s lower tummy, and he gasped and threw one arm over his face, holding in his laughter as much as he could. It only lasted a few seconds though, before he broke out into helpless, high pitched giggles, taking in hiccupy breaths between every few as his hips twitched with each touch. His other hand landed on the bed, hitting the sheets a few times to expel any extra energy he couldn’t get out by squirming and kicking.

Then, suddenly, Sapnap dug his pointer fingers into the spot just next to his hipbones, another sweet spot that he knew was sure to make Dream scream, and he leaned down to blow the biggest raspberry he could manage right in the center of his stomach. As expected, Dream let out a loud yell, both hands immediately jumping to tangle his fingers in Sapnap’s hair, pulling him off and shoving at his hands.

“OKAHAHAY, OKAY, MIHINECRAHAHAFT, MINECRAFT, STOHOP, PLEHEHEASE!” Dream pleaded, and Sapnap did immediately, tugging Dream’s shirt back down and placing one palm flat on his tummy.

“Okay, Dreamie, okay, we’re done. We’re done,” He reassured, rubbing the ghost tickles away for him with firm pressure so he didn’t tickle him more. After a few moments, he leaned over George to reach down beside the bed, taking a water bottle out of the mini fridge he had next to his bed, twisting it open and handing it to Dream. “Here, drink this.” Dream took it gratefully, taking another big breath before propping himself up onto his elbow to gulp down the water he desperately needed.

“Thank you,” He whispered, smiling at Sapnap, flopping back down and continuing to breathe heavily.

“You okay?” Sapnap asked, amused, earning a nod.

“Yeah. Just gotta catch my breath. But yeah, I’m good…” Dream explained, and Sapnap hummed in understanding, taking Dream’s hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles before turning his attention back to George underneath him.

“Alright. Your turn again, baby boy,” Sapnap teased, his smile turning sinister, and George's eyes widened immediately.

“What?! No! No, I thought you were done!” George’s squirming began again, trying to push at Sapnap’s knees. To his surprise, Sapnap did move, but it was clearly by his own choice, and he shifted to sit cross-legged next to George instead. George moved to squirm away, but he didn’t get the chance, because Sapnap simply grabbed his ankles and pinned them under his arm, trapping them in a headlock position. “No, Sapnap, don’t–“

“You don’t even know what I’m gonna do yet, idiot. You’re so squirmy over nothing.”

“This is not over nothing!” George argued, pulling at his legs, twisting his ankles leaning up onto his elbows to try and get a better angle– anything he could think of to get free, but nothing worked. Sapnap simply held tighter, yanking him closer so George’s legs were over his lap and he could hold further up his calves, knocking him off his elbows and back down flat. Before George could even think to sit up again, there was a hand between his thighs, squeezing the inner part of his right leg with absolutely no mercy. “NOHOHO! DOHON’T, PLEHEHEASE!” George screamed, his body thrashing, legs kicking desperately in Sapnap’s hold.

“There we go!” Sapnap exclaimed happily, thrilled with the reaction and how tortured George was sounding. “That’s what I wanted to hear!”

“NAHAHAHA!” George protested, shaking his head so frantically Sapnap was worried he might’ve given himself whiplash. The hand on his inner thigh continued squeezing, moving up and down his leg, staying at the spot right in the middle that made George scream out. “NOHOHO SAHAHAPNAP!” George reached forward to try and pull at Sapnap’s arm, but he couldn’t get a good grip, and his hand kept slipping away. It only became harder when Sapnap’s hand moved downward, squeezing the back of his thigh as he did, his entire hand curled around George’s knee, now digging into the back of it and making George arch his hips off the bed as his leg kicked helplessly. “FUHUCK, STOHOP! AHAHA, STOHOHOHOP!”

“I’m not hearing the safe word yet, George, you know when to use it,” Sapnap reminded, both to tease George about not stopping him yet and to make sure he still remembered it was an option. Quickly, he slid his hand back up, digging into the crease between George’s hip and thigh just a couple times, to make George flail and squeal– which is exactly what he did.

“NO– AH!” George yelped, his whole body jolting at the feeling that was gone as soon as it started.

Then, Sapnap switched arms, holding George’s ankles as tightly as he could in the opposite arm’s headlock, and then scribbled his nails up and down the soles of his socked feet without warning.

“OH SHIHIHIT– NOHOHO, SAHAHAPNAHAHAP, STOHOP IHIHIT–!” George’s voice was frantic, his body language desperate and hopeless, arching his back off the bed and turning himself to the side to bury his face in the pillow under him. He felt a hand touch his, gasping at the sudden touch, and he whipped his head around to see Dream lacing their fingers together gently to keep him grounded. Everything was just too much for him– his hand being held, the attention on him, the fingers tickling his feet, fast and rough with it, not giving George a second to breathe– it was making him dizzy. “PLEHEHEASE- PLEASE, IHI CAHAHA– I CAHAN’T–“ He took in a breath, swallowing against his dry throat, whimpering at the scratchiness he felt and slamming his free hand against the bed, gripping the sheets in his fist.

He couldn’t take any more, and Sapnap showed no signs of slowing down.

“SAHAP, STOHOHOP! MIHINECRAHAHAFT!” He yelled, and the immediate removal of the unbearable tickling filled him with so much relief he collapsed against the bed, jaw dropped as he took in as much oxygen as his body could, as quickly as he could. Sapnap broke into loud laughter as soon as the room went silent, Dream following quickly after, and George couldn’t help but laugh as well, whining in embarrassment. “It’s nohot funnyhyhy! Leave mehe alooooneee…” He complained, grabbing the pillow behind his head and pulling it over his face.

“It’s a little funny, Georgie,” Dream said, making George groan angrily, muffled by the pillow. Sapnap and Dream laughed again, but gave George a second to calm down still.

“I’m sorry, baby boy, I’m sorry. We’re done, it’s okay,” Sapnap soothed, patting George’s tummy gently, sliding his hands up his sides to his arms, pulling them down and taking the pillow away. “C’mon, you’re alright now, you can just chill. Here,” Sapnap said as he pushed George’s legs off his lap and leaned over to the fridge again, grabbing another bottle of water for George. George rolled his eyes but took it, pushing himself to sit up so he could open the water and drink some. In the meantime, Sapnap turned his attention to Dream, running a hand through his messy hair and cupping his cheek, rubbing his thumb gently under his eye. “You did really well. Both of you did a really good job. I really appreciate you letting me do that, even if it was really mean.”

“Hm…” Dream hummed, closing his eyes and melting into the touch. His hand came up to rest on top of Sapnap’s, almost comically large in comparison, but neither of them seemed to notice. “Of course. Anything for you. We love you.”

“Aw, Dreamie…” Sapnap whispered, smiling softly. “Turn over, I have an idea.” Dream fluttered his eyes open and nodded, trusting Sapnap wholeheartedly. He turned onto his tummy, wrapping his arms around the pillow and settling down against it, closing his eyes again. Sapnap smiled, fussing with his hair for a moment again before shifting over to straddle the backs of his thighs. Dream looked back at the sudden weight, but stayed relaxed. “Okay perfect, now you, c’mere,” He said, motioning to George, who looked over at him with wide eyes but slid over anyway. He let Sapnap pull him into place, and he ended up with his legs draped over Dream’s body, his head on Sapnap’s shoulder, and Sapnap’s hand on the back of his neck, running through the front of his hair before resting there and scratching at the soft curls.

George would never admit it, but all three of them could feel how instantly he relaxed into the hold, leaning against Sapnap’s chest.

“There we go,” Sapnap whispered, and his free hand dropped onto Dream’s back, gently scratching up and down his spine the way he knew Dream liked– even though it tickled like crazy. Dream gasped at first, shoulders tensing, but he relaxed even further after barely a second, letting out soft giggles and tiny kicks and squirms whenever Sapnap passed a good spot. “This is good, right?”

“Mhm,” George mumbled, nodding, Sapnap’s fingers practically putting him to sleep– and Dream was no better. “You had fun with that?”

“Oh my god, of course I did. How could I not when you’re both so cute?” Sapnap replied, making George hide in his neck and giggle, squirming to get closer. George always tended to get shy after tickles, and sometimes– if Sapnap was lucky– he’d get clingy too, only wanting to cuddle and nap and never let go.

It seemed Sapnap was lucky that day.

After a long while of silence, Sapnap took his hand off George's neck to reach for the remote, turning Death Note back on and lowering the volume, knowing George liked to have something on as background noise so he could relax easier. He took George's hand in his, bringing his palm up to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss to it. George giggled at the feeling, scrunching his nose up and shaking his head.

"Whahat are you doihing?" He asked through giggles, his hand flinching when Sapnap did it again.

"Giving you kisses," He said, doing it again. "Duh." Another kiss, each one making George flinch and giggle more.

"Yohou're duhumb. Let go." George tugged on his hand. Sapnap pulled his wrist closer, placing another kiss, and George's entire body jolted at that one.

"Stohop," He said in a fake stern voice.

"Nah. Bet my beard is tickling you too, huh?"

"Noho!" George denied, but Sapnap simply held his hand up to his mouth with both of his, making sure George couldn't pull away. He then continued to kiss at George's palm, over his fingers, up to his wrist, making sure to scratch his beard against his hand as he did it. "Nahaha! Sahahap! Thihihis ihis stuhupihihid, stohop!" George said through his giggles, his voice breathy and high in his throat. He squirmed at the feeling, pushing at Sapnap's head with his free hand, tapping his toes against the bed as he did so. After a few moments of this, George whined again. "Okay, okahahay, stohohop, it feels weheheird on my hahahand, c'mohon–“ He explained, and Sapnap let him go with one final, overdramatic kiss that he punctuated with a silly 'mwah!' sound effect. George giggled as he wiped his hand off on his pants, shaking his head and scrunching his nose at Sapnap, before leaning back against his shoulder again.

A moment later, Sapnap leaned down slightly, and he could see that Dream had fallen asleep, he smiled softly, wordlessly motioning for George to lay down as well, and he pulled his special Houston Rockets blanket over all three of them as he pulled George in to cuddle closer.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, knowing George’s mind could either go racing or go completely blank after tickles, and George hummed contentedly.

“M’good,” He replied sleepily, curling up against Sapnap’s chest and tugging him in by his hips. Sapnap giggled at the sudden pull, pressing a kiss to George’s temple and reaching over to make sure his hand stayed in contact with Dream’s arm behind George’s head, and they both joined Dream in a quick nap soon after.

And of course, the next day was filled with plenty of glorious revenge birthday tickles– after all, it was still Sapnap’s birthday.

[oldiesstationlover11607]

Hihi! Newly assigned 🥁 anon here!! I love the emoji choice lol. Little Bishop was so cute! I liked how Josh was willing to just get roped into the readers obsession with Halloween (this will totally be me with whoever is my partner, I love Halloween). Such a great fic! :D

Following the Josh theme, may I request one where the reader and Josh are trying to decide couples costumes for Halloween? The final costume choice can be up to you! Thank you so much for always writing amazing stories for other people :)

Yours truly,

🥁

Not in the mood - Josh Dun x Reader

Warnings: umm a bit of anxiety/burnout

Word count: 1819

A/N: Sorry I haven't been writing much recently! My exams start in a week and a half and I'm in my last few days of high school so it's been chaotic. However, it is a long weekend so I'll definitely be writing more and posting more :)

Josh knew Halloween was going to be a challenge this year. Normally, I was the spearhead of the holiday chaos, the one everyone counted on to throw the party for our friends. For the past few years, our costumes had been legendary, always coordinated down to the tiniest detail—pirates, vampires, pop culture icons, you name it. Our house was usually the pinnacle of spooky décor, a haunted masterpiece with all the creepy bells and whistles. But this year, I just couldn’t summon the energy. Work had been a never-ending grind, my friendships felt like they were unraveling, and I was barely holding it together. 

“You really should get up, Y/N,” Josh’s gentle voice pulled me out of my fog. He was standing over me, his face a mix of concern and patience, while I sprawled across the bed like a zombie.

“I know, I know,” I mumbled, tugging the blanket tighter around my shoulders. “But I just don’t feel it this year, you know? I don’t have the energy... I feel like I’m letting everyone down.” My voice wavered, and I felt that familiar spiral of anxiety start to tighten its grip.

“Hey, hey,” he interrupted softly, his hand brushing my cheek. “It’s okay. You’re not letting anyone down.”

I managed a weak nod as I listened to the quiet hum of music playing from the speaker, one of my favorite playlists—normally a source of energy, now just a gentle buzz in the background. On any other Halloween, I’d be up at dawn, racing around with lists and bags of decorations, organizing everything. But not today. Today, I felt heavy, like I was carrying around the weight of every unfinished project, every strained conversation, every sleepless night. And worst of all, I knew I was letting Josh down too.

“I still think,” he said carefully, with that hopeful spark in his eye, “that even if you’re not up for decorating, you should come hang out with me. Just for a bit. You don’t have to help—just be with me, okay?”

“You’re right,” I exhaled, forcing myself to sit up. I shoved my feet into my old Uggs and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders like a makeshift cape.

“Perfect,” he said, smiling as he grabbed my hand. “Bring the blanket and the speaker. We’ll keep it chill, I promise.” He led me into the kitchen and hoisted me onto the kitchen counter, right next to a plush spider that had survived multiple Halloweens with us. It was one of those goofy, fuzzy ones that seemed more cute than creepy, and it made me smile. Josh started pulling out our favorite decorations—fake cobwebs, old skulls, ghost lights, and our coveted witch's hat collection—spreading them across the counters and floors.

For the next few hours he worked to hang things up, our house slowly morphing into a makeshift haunted house. We chatted about anything and everything, our conversation flowing in the easy way it did when we first started dating—back when decorating together was just an excuse to be close to each other.

“Put the spider web between the lamp and the wall,” I suggested, watching him struggle with the sticky material. “It’ll look more like a real cobweb that way.”

“Like this?” He turned to show me, and I couldn’t help but shake my head, smiling. No. Not like that at all. 

“No, no—here, let me show you.” I got off the couch and gently took the web from his hands. “Like this,” I said, stretching it between the lamp and the wall just so, achieving that perfect draped effect.

Josh grinned, a knowing twinkle in his eye, as he leaned back to watch me. “What?” I asked, catching the amused look on his face.

“Nothing,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “It’s just... I think you’re finally getting into the spirit of things.”

I paused, mid-stretch, and realized he was right. I was starting to feel it—the tiniest flicker of excitement, that old Halloween magic stirring somewhere inside me. Maybe it was the decorations, or maybe it was the comfort of doing something familiar with Josh by my side, his steady presence bringing me back to life. Whatever it was, I was grateful.

I turned back to him, a real smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Alright, alright... maybe I’m getting into it a little,” I admitted, surrendering to the moment.

“Well, we really need to figure out what we’re doing for our costume, so at least you’re in the mood for that!” He beamed. 

“Yeah,” I sighed, taking out my phone to check the notes app I’d created earlier in the year as a place to put my costume ideas. I scrolled through the list, trying to find something that fit my mood. 

Woody and Jessie

Mickey and Minnie Mouse

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Jack Skellington and Sally <3

That was the one. Jack and Sally. We had most of what we needed at home anyways. My mom had just bought me a multicolored patchwork dress and Josh had a large number of black clothes in our closet. The Nightmare Before Christmas was one of the first films we watched together, sitting at Josh’s house on the couch pining for each other while we maintained just enough space so we weren't crossing the little boundaries we had at that point. It was one of our favorite films. 

“Jack and Sally, that’s a good option,” Josh commented. I could feel his tall figure standing behind me, his warm breath brushing the skin on my neck as he wrapped his arms around me, the blanket I was wearing serving as a barrier between us. I nodded, tilting my head to the side so he could press a soft kiss to my neck. 

“It’s not too hard either,” I explained, leading us through the house and back into our bedroom. “I’ve got that dress my mom bought me and you’ve got so much I’m sure it’ll work fine. Surely you have a suit laying around in our closet?” 

Josh nodded, sliding open the door and rummaging through our clothes–most of which were black minus a couple of band tees and pairs of denim jeans. 

“Yeah, what about this?” he asked, pulling out a worn black blazer that somehow had survived every fancy event we’d been to over the years. He held it up with a triumphant grin, and I could already picture him in it–tall and handsome, with the effortless charm of Jack Skellington. 

“Perfect,” I said, taking it from him and holding it up to get a better look. “I can sew some white stripes on it if we really want to go all out.”

Josh chuckled. “You’re already making adjustments, huh?.”

“Shut up,” I laughed, tossing the blazer back at him. “I’m just trying to do it right.”

He smirked and gave me a playful nudge. “Of course you are. What else do we need?”

I thought for a second, then tapped my chin. “I have some striped tights from last year, and we can get a couple of cheap wigs from the costume store down the street. I’ll need red yarn to braid into Sally’s hair, and maybe some face paint to get your skeleton makeup just right. We should have everything else lying around.”

Josh’s eyes sparkled with that familiar mischief, the kind that always meant he was about to do something to make me laugh. “Face paint, you say?” he asked, a wicked grin spreading across his face. Before I could stop him, he darted to the bathroom and came back with a handful of eyeliner pencils.

“Josh, don’t you dare—!” I shrieked as he tackled me onto the bed, pinning me down with his weight. “I am not doing the makeup right now!”

“Oh, come on!” he teased, holding one of the pencils up like a sword. “Just a little test run! I promise I’ll make you look amazing.”

“No way!” I managed to wriggle free from his grasp, rolling off the bed and holding up my hands defensively. “The costume is supposed to be a surprise, remember? We’ll do it later.”

He feigned a disappointed sigh, dropping the pencils onto the bed. “Alright, alright.”

“Good,” I said, grabbing the pile of eyeliner pencils and tossing them back into the bathroom drawer. “Now help me dig out the decorations for the front porch. We can’t have people showing up to a half-decorated house.”

Josh’s face lit up, and I knew I’d said the right thing. Maybe it wasn’t the same level of manic energy I usually threw into Halloween, but it was something. It was enough.

We spent the next few hours working side by side, stringing up lights in the trees and hanging ghosts from the rafters. The late afternoon sun started to dip behind the rooftops, casting long, flickering shadows across our yard. The air grew cooler, and the neighborhood started to take on that crisp, cozy feel that only came once a year—when the leaves crunched under your feet and the smell of woodsmoke hung in the air.

As we worked, we talked about everything and nothing—our plans for the winter, the latest episodes of our favorite shows, the dumb things our friends had done the last time we all went out. Slowly, without even noticing it, I started to feel lighter. The heavy fog of the morning had lifted just enough for me to breathe a little easier.

When we finished the porch, Josh stood back, admiring our work. “Not bad,” he said, a satisfied smile on his lips. “It actually looks pretty spooky. Think the neighborhood kids will be scared?”

I looked at our display—the glowing pumpkins with their toothy grins, the eerie blue lanterns casting ghostly shadows, and the fake tombstones half-buried in the flower beds. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t nearly as elaborate as what we’d pulled off in past years, but it felt... right. Like a small piece of me had been stitched back together with every fake spider web we hung and every decoration we placed.

“They’ll love it,” I said, leaning into Josh’s side. “And I think I’m definitely in the mood now.”

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “That’s all I wanted. Just to have you here. The rest doesn’t matter.”

I nodded, swallowing the sudden lump in my throat. “Yeah,” I whispered, feeling the warmth of his arm around me, the chill of the October breeze on my face, and the electric hum of anticipation in the air. “Me too.”

As the first stars began to peek through the twilight, we went back inside, the house glowing warmly with our makeshift decorations. It wasn’t the grand Halloween extravaganza of past years, but it was enough–and it was going to be a great night.

//

REQUESTS OPEN

[aldryrththerainbowheart]

In their defense

Fandom: Vampire hunter D

Tags: D x reader

Note: local dragon still struggles with titles, more at 7

You felt their eyes the moment you two walked over the bridge, by the time you made it to a square there was a small crowd following you.

Curiosity is oftentimes stronger than fear.

D and you finally made it to the stables and while he was bargaining with the mechanic on the repair of his cyborg steed, you scanned a yard of the rest stop. It didn’t take long and you saw four figures approaching the shop. Words travel fast you thought to yourself as you spotted plasma rifles in their hands. There wasn’t a reason for four armed men, probably the sheriff and his henchmen, to target you. But you could take a guess as to why are they here.

“Hey!” the man in the middle called out to D, but he kept his back turned to the group.

When D didn’t acknowledge their presence, the sheriff pointed his gun at him, “I’m talking to you!”

The only response he got was a turn of the head.

The sheriff regarded him in disgust “we don’t tolerate Dhampir in this town.”

D kept silent. He made a single step towards them, but that action alone made them point all their weapons at him. You saw the fear in their eyes as clear as day. Even though the hunter did nothing that would indicate aggression, they were terrified by his presence alone.

The atmosphere was so thick one could cut it with a knife, and you realized that if somebody don’t do something things could escalate quickly. And that someone has to be you, apparently.

With sweaty palms, you slowly step between D and four plasma rifles, now pointing directly at you. “How about we all calm down,” you chuckled awkwardly raising your hands in placating manner. “We’re just dropping by and we’ll be out of your hair.” The only thing you’ve managed was that the man’s accusing glare was directed at you now.

“I don’t want trouble in this town-”

“And neither do we!” you interrupted and walked over to D. Patting the dhampir's arm, you exclaimed, “the truth is, we’re on an important mission to get rid of some vamp…so if you want to have your day saved once more let us do our work,” you finished your speech with a charming grin.

You don’t know who was more taken aback, whether the lawmen at your flippant and bit arrogant statement or D when he listened to you talk about your mission as if you contribute to the hunt in any way.

When the sheriff got out of his confused stupor, he loaded the rifle and put it right between your eyes. You’ve never been eye to eye with the barrel before and needless to say, you didn’t like it one bit. The fake confidence you plastered on a minute ago started to falter. You felt a hand on your shoulder as D silently prompted you to stay out of harm’s way but you were sick of this.

Whenever you appeared they gave you ostracized glares and shunned you for no other reason than fear and ignorance. Supplies suddenly ran out when you needed them, all inns were empty the moment you stepped into a town, and whenever D investigated the details of his current case no one was willing to work with him. All the while he risked his skin to help those who had nothing but a scornful word for him. He’d tell you he’s used to this, not realizing or ignoring the fact that this is the problem.

“Listen to me kid.”

“No you listen to me.” with a firm voice that didn’t concede any argument, you held the man’s gaze as if you had a gun barrel aiming at your forehead.

“We’ve been traveling for two weeks now. We’re exhausted and hungry and our only means of transport is broken. D’s used to being treated like shit simply because he’s in a position that he had no choice in, but the last thing you can do is treat him with enough respect to leave him the fuck alone!” Your voice was getting louder, but you couldn’t stop. “Need I remind you that this guy is risking his neck, fighting the most dangerous creatures in the entire Frontier, saving sorry asses of people like you!”

D noticed a few citizens started to gather at the front gate of the repair shop, trying to catch a glimpse of the dhampir vampire hunter and his companion. This is starting to turn into quite a scene.

He put his arm around your shoulders and dragged you to his new cyborg horse, dropping a coinpurse in front of the confused mechanic. Before you had a chance to complain he grabbed your waist and hoisted you on the horse. As he mounted the sleek black steed, he tipped his hat at the mechanic, and then you were off. He galloped through the streets out of the city and when you looked back, the sheriff and his men were standing there. Not running after you or shooting at you. You counted as a success, even though you’d rather not imagine what names they were calling you now.

D slowed the horse down to a trot once the city was a small speck in the distance. The mad dash was replaced by awkward silence. You didn’t want to wait for D to scold you, so you started talking first.

“Listen here, I-” “Thank you.” That was the first time he spoke during this whole ordeal, you didn’t know to react so you let out a confused “Huh?”

Hunter kept his eyes on the horizon as he said, “no one defended me like that before,” and you could swear there was a hint of a smile on his face.

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝑮𝒐 𝑻𝒐 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑷𝒕. 2

A/N: After almost a year, I finally got the inspiration I needed to finish this. PT.1 HERE

Warnings: +18 ONLY (let’s go with a general warning because I cannot remember everything that’s in here)

Tag: @theworldofotps , @writtingrose , @letsgivethisonemoreshot , @aerynscrichton , @daddyhausen , @melissahausen , @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin , @sophiewolfheart-blog , @sultryfandoms , @new-zealand-chic , @crowleysqueenofhell , @thealliasylum , @legit9thlunaticwarrior , @baysexuality , @josiewrites , @seeingstarks , @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch , @whenimakeitshine1234 , @moxkindagirl , @sunshinevirus , @im-just-a-mississippi-girl , @tahiri-veyla

A small plea left your lips “Nick, please” before you felt the soft fabric of his tie against your tongue.

“Enough” His voice was stern and cold as he tied the soft blue fabric behind your neck making it go over your mouth. The improvised gag made you whimper and the more you tried to talk, the more Nick’s cologne oozed out of the fabric and inebriated your senses. “From now on you’ll refer to me as ‘Sir’ and you’ll just sit pretty, listen and obey. Nod if you understand”.

You nodded twice and looked up at him.

“Good girl” He praised before softly brushing back a strand of hair that fell in front of your eyes “Now, let’s get one thing clear: Matt was an amateur who was following tips and advice. Unlike him, I’m not a wannabe dumbass reaching out to my brother for help, so don’t expect me to be as sloppy as he was” Nick leaned down and his tongue darted out, licking a stripe from your chin to your partially open lips “And don’t expect sweet, angel boy Nick to come over, tell you how much he loves you and suddenly stop a scene just to make sweet love to you because that shit ain’t happening. Like I said before, sweet little Nick is far, far away, so don’t make the mistake of pushing me as you would push him because you won’t be able to sit for a week! Understood?”

You nodded again before he smiled “Good girl, angel. Now we’ll have all night long to properly introduce ourselves” He twirled a strand of your hair with his fingers “And learn a few little things before we start to have some fun. So what do you say? Let’s start testing your limits, shall we?”

A shiver of excitement ran down your spine and you eagerly nodded back, making Nick chuckle in amusement. He pulled the tie down so you could answer when he asked “Is there something you tried that you don’t wish to try it again?”

“Not really” A soft blush paired your cheeks when the next words left your lips “Matt was never too…risky”

Nick rolled his eyes in annoyance “Of course not” He sighed “Boring” His attitude earned a small giggle from you and he smiled before caressing your hair. The touch so soft and familiar still held a foreign dominant hint to it, and you instantly felt yourself leaning into his touch.

Nick’s blue eyes sparkled with devotion and love, feeling so proud to see you already being willing to submit to him. “What are your favorite plays, angel?”

“I like breath play, although Matt didn’t feel confident enough to do it all the time…impact play is nice too but with hands or a paddle, the rest is a bit of a hard limit for me. Degradation, DDLG and that’s about it, I guess…at least is all I can remember for now, sir”

“Okay, that’s good, baby. How do you feel about anal?”

You honestly didn’t know why you were feeling so shy all of a sudden, this is Nick for Christ's sake! - a very dangerous and domineering version of him that almost made you cum with every word that left his lips - but Nick nonetheless! Your husband. Who was suddenly talking about anal sex - or as he and Matt used to call it: “butt stuff” - so naturally that had you, of all people, embarrassed.

“I’ve done it before, but never really felt anything beyond this world to get into it”.

“Alright. Do you think you’d be willing to try it out with me in the future?”

The mere thought of having this Nick in your ass suddenly sounded very appealing to you for some reason “Yes, sir” The subtle sparkle of need behind your eyes made Nick’s cock twitch in his black dress pants and a low moan left his lips “We’re gonna have so much fun together. But first, safe word. Which word do you want, my angel?”

“Tomato” You smirked

“Is that because I fucking hate tomatoes?” Nick chuckled as you nodded. “Alright, then. Tomato” He stated with a smirk as his hand slowly closed around your neck and he pulled you to stand up before him. His eyes were fixed on yours the more he added pressure around your neck. Your eyes instantly semi-closed in pure bliss as the raw need of being choked was finally being given to you.

A small whimper was your silent beg when Nick's free hand cupped your mound and two of his expert fingers slowly circled your clit. Your warm arousal formed a pool in your white sheer lace panties, making Nick grab the small front piece of fabric in his hands and pull it up, causing your outer lips to swallow the cloth.

The rough pattern of the lace scraped against your slick folds the more he tugged and pulled on the fabric, his fingers applied more pressure to your neck as he now tugged on the fabric up and down, making it scratch against your clit and causing you to become even slicker with need.

“I can feel how much you love this” Nick’s finger softly brushed against your clit through the huddle of lace “Fucking soaking my fingers like a good little whore” He smirked “If you keep going at that pace, we’ll have to move to the bathroom to prevent you from ruining the hardwood floor” His eyes trailed down your body until they stopped between your legs “Can’t have the cleaning staff knowing how much of a slut my sweet little wife is”

His words made a soft moan leave your lips.

“Or maybe you do” He chuckled as his blue eyes looked up at your face. “Maybe you do want them to know how dirty you are. Is that what you want, angel? Do you want them to go around saying just how much of a dirty whore the woman from the chalet is? Or should we show them, huh? Get you nice and pretty on all fours on the bed when they stop by for housekeeping?”

The vision Nick was putting in your head was devious and sinful in every way. You knew deep down the words were meaningless, Nick would never surprise you with something this serious before thoroughly talking about it with you beforehand, but their lack of realness didn’t seem to affect your body’s growing need.

The coolness of Nick’s wedding band settled around your neck once again, the foreign feeling added more wetness to your already soaking core.

“I can’t wait to finger you with this wedding ring on. I wanna feel your pussy warming up the metal and your wetness sticking to it” His hand pressed the sides of your neck, suddenly cutting off your oxygen flow before quickly releasing it again a few seconds later. “Every time I put this ring on after a match, I wanna remember how my sweet little whore came all over it countless times” Nick’s left hand tugged on your scalp, pulling your head back and making you look up at him as his other hand squeezed your cheeks together in a pout. His voice was low and menacing as he growled “I want to be able to taste you on this fucking ring even when I’m away from you”.

Nick pushed you down on the bed with such force that your body bounced on the mattress.

“On all fours and spread those legs wide for me”.

You felt overwhelmed. This, until then unknown, version of Nick had your knees trembling with adrenaline, need, and excitement. You couldn’t think straight, let alone move, and he seemed to notice because the next thing he did was ask: “Tomato?” Worry was written all over his sapphire eyes

“No, sir. I’m good”

Relief briefly crossed Nick’s features before his cold demeanor came back to the surface “Are you fucking deaf then? I told you on.all.fours!” He pulled you up in a doggy position as his chest covered your naked back.

“I’m s-sorry, sir. I’m just…overwhelmed”

“Aww, we didn’t even start yet and she’s already overwhelmed, how sweet.” Nick mocked “It’s alright, angel. The only thing you have to do is keep that pussy spread wide open for me. You don’t need to be conscious to do that, silly” He chuckled as his hand pushed your head further down on the mattress. Nick’s left hand caressed your spread-out ass cheeks before his fingers came down to your soaked center.

Nick’s fingers pushed the white lace to the side and toyed with your entrance, circling your opening before two fingers slid into your void.

He thrust his fingers slowly for the first minute “Now that we warmed up that tight little pussy, let’s see how much she can take it”

The soft pacing of his fingers changed in a second. The slow, sweet, and caring pace got replaced by a relentless one.

Nick’s fingers moved at an inhuman pace, crooking at the right places, seeping further in whenever your knees failed beneath you. The sounds filling up the room, which would make your cheeks feel hot with embarrassment any time, now only caused your arousal to build up.

Nick pulled back and watched as your wetness slowly dripped from your lips down to the sheets.

“Oh what a good little toy you are for me, angel. Just look at how much that pussy is drooling for me right now” Nick pushed his fingers out slowly, and the thick, white cream that covered his digits made him growl “Fuck me, she’s creaming too?! Damn, I’m a lucky son of a bitch” A wide smirk took over his lips as he leaned down to whisper in your ear:

“Do you want me to show you, angel? Here, I’ll show you”

Nick pulled back and reached for his phone in his back pocket. He opened the camera app and put it on the video setting before pressing the red button on the screen.

“Just look at how much of a good little slut Mrs. Jackson is” He kept the phone aiming at your soaked core as his fingers dipped in and out. “Would you look at that? She’s soaking wet, tight like a sweet little virgin, and now dripping with cream. And all of that’s just from having two fingers inside that little cunt. Imagine what a dick will do to her”.

Nick pressed stop on the screen and tossed the phone at you.

“There you go, angel. Watch that” He giggled and aimed his tip against your entrance. Nick entered you with one sharp thrust as your eyes kept glued to his phone screen, watching the short homemade porn. A loud moan escaped your lips at both the sight on the screen and the feeling of your husband buried so deep inside you.

“Fuck” You whined lowly, and Nick’s lips came to rest on your ear shell once again.

“See? Choosing the predictable boy has its perks, doesn’t it, my angel? Now, be a good girl, keep that pussy warm and wet for me, and when I tell you ‘go’, press play on the screen and put the phone on the nightstand aiming at us, ok? I wanna get best angle possible”

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Hollow Leads

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 30

First Part | Previous Part | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Thirty chapters done! Whoo! With every chapter we get closer to a part of this AU that I'm really excited about but that is probably a long, long ways away. But enough about the future, back to the present with this. Jackie continues trying to find Dahlia, to help her and get JJ out of jail. But it's not that easy, as his leads aren't following through. Afterwards, he lets the others know about the little progress he's made, and Schneep has something to tell him, as well. Hope you enjoy this chapter ^-^

===============

“Well, at least you remembered to call the non-emergency line this time, kid.” Ace’s voice said from the other side of the phone line.

“I did say sorry,” Jackie said defensively. It was shortly after dinner, and he was pacing around his room. Loose clothes and paper fluttered as a nervous breeze played around the room. “And you did say to call you back in the evening.”

“I did, I did, that’s fair enough,” Ace said. “So. You want to know about that tape, then.”

“Of course I do!” Jackie barely managed to keep from shouting. “This is crucial information! There could be another villain running around! Someone who, for whatever reason, wanted to spread chaos in the city and control people. We don’t know what they want or when they’ll next attack. We’ll need to investigate!” He held himself back from mentioning getting JJ out of jail again. Anti-Virus could be listening in; he needed to think that Jackie had given up on that particular goal. This was already pushing it enough.

“That’s true enough,” Ace said. “Well. We’ve run it through some tests, and we do think it’s authentic. Other than the fact that it’s a copy you made, I mean. Now, if worse comes to worst, would you be willing to share the original?”

Jackie hesitated. “Y-yeah.” It wouldn’t be his first choice. He wouldn’t want to share Dahlia’s secret while she was still missing, but if it was absolutely necessary, he would do what was needed. Maybe he could just start the tape at Jameson’s section.

“Good. That lends some credibility to this,” Ace said. “I’m sure you’re aware of the contents. Of this Jameson Jackson claiming that someone was blackmailing him for the safety of his sister.”

“Yes.” Jackie nodded, despite knowing Ace couldn’t see him. “Anti-Virus. You saw him call himself that in the texts Jameson filmed.”

Ace snorted. “Super names get stranger and stranger. I guess a ‘virus’ sounds intimidating, but all I can think of are those annoying pop-ups the department computers sometimes get.”

“So the police are going to go look for him, right?” Jackie continued. “This guy is still on the loose.”

“Of course we are. Michaelson and I are already putting together a plan. This guy is a technopath, so we don’t have a paper trail to go off, but he can’t have gotten far. He probably has some interest in this city.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Jackie muttered.

“Windstorm.” Ace’s voice shifted. It was all business before, but now there was a heavier serious tone in his words. “About the Puppeteer. This Jackson guy.”

Jackie’s heart jumped. “Yes?” he asked, trying to sound disinterested.

“They’re probably not going to let him out of the Vault.”

His heart immediately dropped afterwards. “Wh-what do you mean?” he asked. “Clearly, th-this is—if he was being blackmailed, that warrants a trial. To sort out all the legal, uh... a-all the legal stuff. Like, what exactly his crimes would be called.”

“They’ll get to it,” Ace said grimly. “But think about it. Even if the Puppeteer was forced to do this, even if that lessened his charges officially, even if the trial manages to reduce his sentence... he’s still very powerful. And his abilities are the sort that can only be used to hurt people.” Jackie bristled at that, but he had to admit, there was some truth to it. Creating strings that controlled people’s bodies... He couldn’t think of a way to use those that didn’t harm someone. “The Vault is the only place in this country that’s equipped to deal with someone who could control so many people at once.”

“Well, I guess that’s true, but—” Jackie stopped himself from protesting.

“You really think he doesn’t belong there?” Ace asked.

“Y-yeah...” Jackie said slowly. “If a man was being blackmailed, shouldn’t that... absolve him of some of the blame? Enough to get him pulled out of a prison that houses the worst supervillains in this area? Sure, he might be capable of doing terrible things, but... but... that doesn’t mean he will.”

Ace sighed. “I get where you’re coming from, kid, I really do. I’m going to work on getting the Puppeteer a proper trial for this whole mess. I just need you to understand this realistically. I doubt there’s a panel of judges who’d be okay with letting him out of the Vault, even if it’s just to another prison. Not to mention the League runs Byrthon Vault.They have the final say on the villains kept there. Even if the courts proved the Puppeteer was being blackmailed, they’d have to appeal to the League to get him transferred.”

“Right. The League runs it.” Jackie sighed.He wasn’t sure what to say. There was a part of him that was simmering with rage—JJ is his friend, he doesn’t deserve this!—and there was a part of him that was just so, so disappointed.“Well... thank you for telling me all this, Ace. You’re... really sure about this?”

“I am,” Ace confirmed. “What about you, Windstorm? Now that we’ve got your evidence verified, you gonna be charging after this Anti-Virus?”

He really wanted to. He really, really wanted to. But he couldn’t go at it from this angle. “Honestly, Ace, I’m not sure I’m capable of tracking him down,” Jackie said slowly. “That’s not really my skill set, you know? I’m sure you guys can handle it.”

“...huh.” Ace paused. “You, uh... you sure, kid? Don’t want to help at all?”

“I mean, this guy’s powers are to spy on people through tech,” Jackie said “Not exactly something my wind powers can fight against. And besides, he’s probably not that tough to take down. Just tough to find. The police can probably handle it.”

Ace was quiet for a moment. “This isn’t like you,” he finally said after a long silence. “And you were just getting all up in arms about getting the Puppeteer some justice and tracking down this guy. Everything okay, kid?”

“Y-yeah,” Jackie said. “I just really think I won’t be much help here.”

“Hmm.” Jackie could hear the suspicion in that single hum. Honestly, he sort of hoped Ace would figure out something was up. The more allies he had with this, the better. “If you’re sure, Windstorm,” Ace finally said. “Call the department back whenever you want for progress. Or stop by. It’s not like we’re going to kick you out.”

Jackie laughed nervously. “Yeah. Not like you’d do that. I’ll stop by the station if I want to. See you later.”

“See you, kid.”

The call ended and Jackie put the phone down on his desk. He wandered over to the window and stared out at the evening sky, its dusky blue lit up by the light from skyscraper windows. His room really did have a good view of the city. He leaned his head against the glass and looked down at the cars moving on the distant street below, thinking.

Was Ace right? Would the League just... leave Jameson in the Vault? A few months ago, he wouldn’t believe it. But now... his whole world had been shaken. His first thought was that they would. After all, wasn’t someone who could mind control a hundred people very dangerous? Weren’t they... still a villain?

...maybe he should go out for a quick fly around the city. Maybe that would clear his head.

He ended up flying around the city for a long time before heading back home to crash. He probably should’ve gone to bed earlier. After all, he’d have to go to the hospital again to talk to Dr. Simmons about Dahlia. To maybe find a lead that way. But... it took a while for his thoughts to settle. Or at least, to be overrun by exhaustion. He barely had time to take off his suit and put on pajamas before tiredness caught up and he fell into bed.

===============

The next morning, Jackie was awoken by the bring bring! of the Red Line. Groaning, he rolled over to check the time and grab it—1:00 pm?! Holy shit, he better wake up and start the day soon! He quickly answered the call without looking at the ID. “Hello?”

“Hello Windstorm.” It was Magnify, his handler. “I have some big news.”

“Huh? Big news?” Jackie forced himself to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

“Kinetics would like to have a word with you.”

...

...

...Jackie didn’t answer for a solid ten seconds, just processing what Magnify just said.

“Windstorm? Are you still there?”

“When you say Kinetics,” Jackie said slowly, “you don’t mean... one of the Council members... do you?”

“I do indeed,” Magnify said, sounding completely serious.

“...what the fuck?” Jackie whispered.

“Windstorm? Please don’t swear while on the Red Line.”

“I just—Sorry, I—I just don’t—wh-why would—why would a Council member want to see me?” Jackie asked. “I haven’t even been in the League a year yet!”

“It has to do with the Puppeteer,” Magnify said.

“Huh?!”

“Well, the Puppeteer and this possible mastermind villain behind him,” Magnify clarified. “The Daindover police let the League know about the tape you’d found.”

“A-and it traveled all the way up to the Council?” Jackie repeated. He laughed nervously. “Tha-that was fast.”

“The Council takes mind control villains very seriously,” Magnify said.

“Well, uh, Anti-Virus isn’t a mind controller—”

“But they were able to control someone who is,” Magnify interrupted. “And their powers are concerning. The Council is afraid they were behind the data leak.”

Jackie’s stomach dropped. “So... Kinetics herself is coming here... to ask me about this whole case?”

“Precisely.”

“I... didn’t know the Council had... the time for that... I-I thought they were busy,” Jackie stammered.

“The timing must have lined up. Kinetics will come to Daindover early tomorrow morning. She requests that you meet on the rooftop of the East SepTech building at 7:30.”

“I-I’ll be there.” The East SepTech building, huh? The place he’d confronted the Puppeteer. The place his worldview had been shaken for the third time and finally shattered. Seemed... fitting.

“Great. Contact me if you have any further questions.” And with that, Magnify hung up.

Jackie just stared at the Red Line for a solid minute. There was no way this was real. He had to be dreaming. He pinched himself just in case. “Ow!” Nope, it was real. 

Kinetics was THE telekinesis Hero. So much so that her name was taken from ‘telekinetic.’ And she wanted to see him? What was next? Him getting called before the whole Council?

Quickly, he ran through the members in his head—partially to make sure he was awake enough to remember details like that. Other than Kinetics, the most powerful and well-known telekinesis Hero in the world, there was Red Huntress, the Shadow, Shockwave, Bolt Runner, and Eagle-Eye. All of them with equally great reputations. All of them well-known anywhere the League of Heroes operated, and even beyond. Were they really so concerned with Daindover? It may have been a big city, but it wasn’t the capital of the country or anything. Surely there were more important cases happening elsewhere in the world.

Well, it didn’t change the fact that the Council was interested, and interested enough for one of them to stop by to talk to him. If someone had told him last year that he’d be meeting one of the Council of Heroes in the next twelve months, he would have laughed in their face.

Jackie shook his head. He has to get up and get ready for the day. He still had that meeting to prepare for. But before that—he grabbed his phone from the dresser and opened up the group chat he had with Chase and Henrik—and Jameson, too, but... well, he didn’t exactly have access to his phone in prison. Jackie typed out a quick message. Hey dyou guys want to meet up at Neun Park later today?

Then he got up and headed into the bathroom. He would get ready and immediately head to the hospital. He had more business to take care of.

===============

St. Ellen’s Hospital was the same as it was yesterday. The waiting room was slightly more empty, but that was it. Ryan was even at the reception desk. “O-oh! Um, hello again, Windstorm!” Ryan said.

“Hello.” Jackie smiled at him reassuringly. Even though they’d spent a lot of time together yesterday in the archives, it seemed the young nurse was still nervous around him. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just here to follow up on some stuff from yesterday. The doctor’s offices are on the fifth floor, right?”

“Y-yeah.” Ryan nodded. “You can go right up.”

“Thank you.” Jackie headed towards the elevators... then thought about riding in one with strangers who would probably stare at him, and changed his mind, shifting his path towards the stairwell. He flew right up the spiral staircases and landed on the fifth floor landing.

He pushed open the door and found himself in a much more comfortable area than the clinical feeling of the lower floors. It had carpet (dark brown with a curling, lighter brown pattern) and wooden doors that were visibly nicer than the ones downstairs. Now, he was looking for a Dr. Eric Simmons, a neurologist. The doors had plaques next to each door with names on them—wooden ones with gold lettering, not the simple plastic ones in Greengate General where Schneep worked. Benefits of being an older hospital, maybe.

There. A plaque with the name he was looking for. Jackie stopped outside Dr. Simmons’ door and knocked. A moment passed. Jackie knocked again. Another moment passed. He knocked again, and finally heard footsteps inside. The door opened, revealing an older man with slicked-back black hair and a pointed goatee lined with gray. “Do you have an ap—Windstorm?!”

“Dr. Eric Simmons, right?” Jackie said. “I need to ask you some questions.”

Dr. Simmons had previously looked strict and slightly annoyed, but the moment he took in who he was talking to, his expression shifted to bewilderment. What was that word Jackie’s mom used sometimes? Oh yeah, gobsmacked. It was actually kind of funny, but Jackie managed to maintain his more serious expression. “O-of course. Come inside.”

“Thank you.” Jackie stepped into the office. It was a bit nicer than Schneep’s with some shelves that had some plants and small statuettes and a red tasseled rug underfoot. Well... Schneep probably didn’t spend as much time in his office, since he moonlighted as a master thief.

“Would you like to take a seat?” Simmons asked.

“No, this shouldn’t take that long,” Jackie said. “I’m going to have to ask you to do something a bit strange, though.” He nodded towards the desk, where there was a computer and monitor. “I need you to shut that down, and also shut off your phone.”

Simmons looked like he wanted to protest, but nodded. “Alright. Give me one moment.” He walked around the desk. Jackie stepped up to the other side of it, leaning over to make sure that Simmons turned the computer off. He did, and his phone as well. “Now... to what do I owe the... honor?”

Jackie laughed a little. “Honor? Um, you don’t need to do that. I’m just... someone trying to do the right thing. You don’t need to be so formal.”

“I... see.” Simmons nodded. “Well... how can I help you, then?”

“I need to know more about a patient you had,” Jackie said. “Over two years ago, there was a super fight that knocked down one of the Septech buildings.”

“Yes, the east location, I remember it clearly,” Simmons said, nodding some more.

“You had a patient who was injured in the collapse,” Jackie said. “Do you remember Dahlia Jackson?”

Simmons’s head tilted back, concentrating. “Dahlia Jackson... Dahlia Jackson... oh yes, that one. The one in the coma.”

“Yes, her.” Jackie narrowed his eyes slightly. He wasn’t sure he liked the tone in Simmons’s voice. It was a bit dismissive. “She was supposedly transferred to a hospital in Evoritch.”

“Ah, yes, that.” Simmons’s face scrunched up. “The transfer was done at the request of the patient’s relative. A brother, I believe.”

Jameson? Well that definitely didn't make sense. JJ didn’t know anything about the transfer. More evidence towards it being a trick. “You don’t seem happy about that.”

“Of course not. The transfer order came in without me having any say in it.” Simmons folded his arms. “I tried to protest it—the patient was under my care. But I was directed to go along with it by the head of the department.”

“Why didn’t you want to go through with the transfer?” Jackie asked.

“Because the patient was under my care,” Simmons repeated with more emphasis. “You can’t just take a patient from a doctor.” He sounded strangely... possessive.

Jackie’s eyes narrowed further. Simmons probably couldn’t see that through the white lenses on his mask, but he must have caught onto some sort of vibe Jackie was giving off, because he subtly leaned away from him. “Right,” Jackie said in a dull monotone. “So. Tell me more about this transfer. Was Dahl—Was Miss Jackson picked up by someone for the transfer? Did she leave in an ambulance or some other form of transport?”

“Well, this was a long time ago—”

“It was less than six months ago. Surely a doctor would have a memory capable of remembering something so recent.”

Simmons blinked, taken aback. “That’s a... that’s a fair point. Give me a moment to recall.” He paused. “I believe the patient was transported in a special van from the Overridge Hospital. Not an ambulance, but something more advanced. Able to keep the occupants perfectly steady and stable.”

Jackie nodded. “What did it look like?”

Another pause. “It was white, with the hospital’s name on the side. The interior was padded for comfort. That’s all I can think of.”

“I see...” A van. Jackie knew how easy it was for villains to disguise a regular fan as a commercial van for some business. He’d pursued enough criminals’ getaway vehicles. All you had to do was slap a decal on the side. Hearing that the interior was padded and somehow more advanced did make it a bit more complicated... but it was possible that Anti-Virus had access to resources to make this van look a bit more legitimate. “Was there someone there who helped with the transfer? Maybe multiple people?”

“I insisted on handling it by myself, but... I believe... I believe there was a man,” Simmons said slowly. “From Overridge, he said. He loaded the patient and drove the van.”

Jackie felt his adrenaline spike. “Do you remember what the man looked like?” He asked urgently.

“Hmm... he had brown hair. Maybe lighter-colored eyes. A beard, but not a thick one.”

Jackie blinked. With such a vague description, Simmons could be describing him. Or any of his friends. “Were there any defining characteristics at all?”

“He was a... thinner man, I suppose?” Simmons said. “Average height.”

Great. Very helpful. “Well, thank you for your time, Dr. Simmons,” Jackie said slowly. “One more question. Do you know which direction the van went? Did it look like it was truly going to Evoritch?”

“My sense of direction is not the best,” Simmons admitted, “but I believe so.”

That didn’t mean anything, to be honest. The man could’ve turned around as soon as he was out of sight. Or it could mean that Dahlia really was taken out of the city. There was no way to know for sure just yet. Jackie nodded slowly. “I see. Again, thank you for your time. I’ll be leaving, then.”

“W-well, if you ever have any other questions, I’d be happy to help,” Simmons said. “May I ask why you wanted to know all this?”

Jackie shook his head. “Sorry, but it’s better if you don’t know. This is important Hero business. I can’t share the details.”

“Of course. Of course.” Simmons backed away. “Goodbye, then.”

“Yeah. Goodbye.” Jackie spun around and left the office, closing the door behind him.

That whole conversation had left a vague sour taste in his mouth. Simmons hadn’t made a good first impression. There was this arrogance to him that got on Jackie’s nerves. But he pushed that away, focusing on what he’d learned. So... Anti-Virus must have arranged the transfer through emails or something, pretending that Jameson requested it and that Overridge was going to send someone to get Dahlia. He didn’t know if Anti-Virus would have done that himself or sent a henchman of some kind. Either way, all he had to go off now was this van and a vague description of a man. That... wasn’t a lot. But he would figure something out.

For now, though, he had to go home. He’d left his phone back in the bedroom and was waiting for a reply from Henrik.

It didn’t take long to fly back and check the group chat. Yes, there it was. I can meet around four, Henrik texted. And I will contact Marvin.

Howre you gonna do that? Chase had asked.

I will check his workplace. Not the safest, but I just need to tell him about the meeting.

Sounds good, Jackie replied, his message thirty minutes late to the conversation. We’ll meet up then.

===============

I didn’t see you yesterday. JJ stared across the table at Soren, who was looking down at the tray of food in front of him. He coughed, and Soren looked up. I didn’t see you yesterday, JJ repeated.

“Oh? Were you expecting me?” A hint of a smile traced Soren’s mouth.

I suppose I was, JJ said. Maybe he shouldn’t have expected him. After all, he and Soren hadn’t known each other for that long.

“Hah.” The smile faded. “I’m... sorry. I shouldn’t have...” Soren shook his head. “I just... was tired.”

JJ nodded slowly. I understand. His head had been hurting for the last two days straight. The constant pain was really wearing on him. He was even starting to get a bit nauseous. Instead of eating the mashed potatoes on his tray he just played with them with his spoon, unable to bring himself to eat it. These damn neutrinalin side effects. He was beginning to understand why most of the prisoners here were practically zombies. Is there anything I can do to help?

Soren blinked in surprise. “Ah... Um... Well, I’m not... sure.”

JJ raised an eyebrow. I must have really taken you off guard. You sound so awkward.

Soren laughed. “I suppose I’m just not used to people offering something so earnestly. And I suppose that I wasn’t expecting it from you.”

Why not? Did I give you the impression I didn’t care? 

“No, it’s not that.” Soren shook his head. “You just... you’re still adjusting to all this. I didn’t expect you to think about it while you’re in such a fucked situation.”

JJ laughed silently, then became serious again. Everyone in here is in the same situation, though. Shouldn’t that make it easier for me to feel for you all? Shouldn’t I want to help someone through something I’m also suffering in?

“...yeah, I think so,” Soren said quietly. He glanced down at his own tray of food. “Well. Any plans for what you want to do today?”

Go in the courtyard, I suppose, JJ said. If you’re feeling up to it... maybe introduce me to some others?

Soren smiled. “I can do that.”

===============

This time, they met up in front of the concrete sculpture in the middle of the park. Jackie and Chase arrived first. Chase looked up at the sculpture and all its strange angles and curves. “What d’you think it’s supposed to be?” he asked.

“No clue.” Jackie shrugged.

“Didn’t you guys notice the plaque?”

It turned out that Marvin and Schneep were right behind, now approaching the two of them. Jackie turned to Marvin. “No, I didn’t notice the plaque, smartass.”

“Really? You’ve definitely lived here longer than I have, though.” Marvin raised an eyebrow. “And you never looked at it?”

“Maybe I just got used to it!”

While the two of them argued, Schneep and Chase leaned over to look at the plaque in question. “It says that the statue is titled ‘Tenacity,’” Schneep reported. “And it is a monument to how the city of Daindover always bounces back from any obstacles.”

“Huh. Neat,” Chase commented.

Jackie sighed. “Okay, okay, it’s a statue about ‘tenacity,’ I guess. Doesn’t really look like that... but I don’t know what tenacity would look like. Anyway. Are we ready to go?”

“Phones?” Marvin asked.

“Yeah, we left them at home,” Chase said. “Crazy to go out without one in this day and age. I feel... weirdly isolated, I guess. Cause like, what if I need it, y’know?”

Schneep shrugged. “I suppose that could be valid. If you suddenly need to call someone in an emergency.”

“Oh god—what if there’s an emergency?!” Chase gasped.

“Um—d-don’t worry about that, we can—we can... take care of it,” Marvin said slowly. “If something bad happens.”

Jackie stared at him. He would’ve thought it was a brag about how powerful he was, if he hadn’t been so painfully awkward about it. “Did you... just try to reassure Chase?”

Marvin folded his arms defensively. “I can reassure people.”

Chase laughed. “You know what? Thanks, Marvin. That means a lot. I guess I do have three superheroes here. Or uh—a hero and two other people with powers. Villains? Nah, that doesn’t feel right. And I also have Frosty.” He patted Frosty’s head, who was sitting by his side as always, and Frosty’s tail wagged as he smiled. “He’s trained for some emergencies.”

Schneep smiled. “Yes, he is a good boy.” He turned to Jackie, smile fading to a more serious expression. “Now. What did you want to talk to us about?”

“I thought I’d tell you all about everything that happened so far,” Jackie said slowly. “And, um... get your opinion on... some stuff.”

The other three all looked at him seriously.

Jackie quickly explained everything that happened yesterday and today. The visits to the hospital for information about Dahlia, the police verifying the evidence and slowly starting the trial process, and the League scheduling a meeting with Kinetics. The others all reacted to different things in different ways.

“What do you mean they probably won’t let him out of the Vault?!” Schneep repeated, aghast.

Marvin laughed darkly. “Of course they wouldn’t! He’s a villain. It’s totally forbidden for them to show him mercy. Unless, you know, he has something to offer them.” He sighed. “Kinetics, huh? In all my time there, I only saw the Council members once, at a group meeting. Weird that one of them is going to talk to you personally.”

“Kinda cool though,” Chase mulled. “Was that doctor guy as big a jerk as you’re making him sound?”

“I dunno, he was definitely an ass but it maybe wasn’t as big a deal as it felt like at the time,” Jackie said. “That bit about JJ potentially staying in the Vault, though—” He shook his head.

“I cannot believe this,” Schneep said angrily. “Those—those motherfuckers! Jamie isn’t going to harm anyone! Even if he is capable, that does not mean he will!”

“Well, uh... I guess the League wants to be safe?” Chase guessed. “I don’t, uh, think that justifies it, but it explains it.”

Schneep growled and looked to the side.

“The League is always cautious until they’re not,” Marvin said drily.

Jackie sighed. “I never thought about the Super Laws before, really, but uh... If the Laws allow the League to have a prison, and maintain a prison, with complete control over it regardless of a court decision... that’s a bit fucked up.”

“No, really?” Marvin drawled.

Jackie normally would’ve made a snappy comment in response to Marvin’s sarcasm... but... maybe it was justified this time. More than maybe. “Uh, look, I was also wondering,” he said, changing the subject. “Marvin, Schneep, you guys have underworld contacts and stuff. D’you guys think you can find any information on the van that took Dahlia in the fake transfer?”

Schneep raised an eyebrow. “I would love to help, but what do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Marvin, Gwen’s related to some tech dealers, right? Maybe they know something about someone who got a bunch of tech for a fake van?”

“Maybe?” Marvin shrugged. “Her father mostly deals in weapons. Especially since Pathos got arrested.”

Jackie blinked. “Uh... I don’t see the connection.”

Marvin hesitated. “Pathos is... Gwen’s uncle, remember? Her mom’s a Moizone. They got support from a lot of Pathos’s crime family. Without it, now that Pathos is gone, they have to move some more expensive items to make up for the lack of funds—and that’s usually weapons.”

“...ah.”

“My point being, Gwen might not be able to help as much,” Marvin continued.

Schneep sighed. “I know some people I can ask about. I was planning to talk to them about... some other things anyway.”

Jackie blinked at him, then narrowed his eyes. “I know you’re my friend and all, but if you’re selling tech on the black market I think I’m obligated as a hero to give you a, uh... at least a stern talking-to about that.”

“Ah, no, I have nothing to sell at the moment,” Schneep said casually. “This is about... other things.” Was it just Jackie’s imagination, or did Schneep’s eyes flick towards Marvin?

Jackie narrowed his eyes further. “What other things?”

Schneep hesitated, then sighed. “Yes, I suppose I should tell you. But do not get mad, okay?”

“That’s not a good sign.”

Schneep stared at him silently.

“Fine, I’ll try not to get mad,” Jackie said. “What is it?”

“I snuck into SepTech last night.”

“You wha—?!” Jackie cut himself off mid-angry-shout. He cleared his throat. “Why... would you do that?”

“I can explain that later, this is more important,” Schneep dismissed. “In the North location, there is an underground lab belonging to Dr. McLoughlin. I believe you have been there before? Did you know that in one of the side rooms off the main laboratory there are a bunch of SAMs equipped with weaponized attachments?”

“...huh?” Jackie stared at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that they had guns and other such objects that would pop out from the sides,” Schneep explained. “Many of which I did recognize as being from the black market.”

“What?! Why the hell would something like that be in McLoughlin’s lab?!”

“That’s a good question, isn’t it?” Marvin muttered.

Jackie turned to glare at him. “I know what you’re going to say. This is not proof that McLoughlin purposefully messed up the scan of the Puppeteer mask.”

“Oh come on!” Marvin threw his hands up in the air. “The guy has fucking flying machines with guns! You can’t deny that that’s a bad fucking sign! What possible reason could he have for making those?!”

“You don’t know he’s making them,” Jackie insisted. “Maybe he confiscated them from criminals? And is taking off the attachments?”

“For fuck’s sake, Jackie!” Marvin looked at him intently. “I know you want to think the best of him, but this is just getting ridiculous! You can’t blindly deny proof that something fishy is going on!”

“I—” Jackie hesitated. He took a deep breath. “I’m not blindly denying it. I just want to have a chance to check it out for myself. McLoughlin said I could stop by whenever I wanted. I could just head in and check out the room. Give him a chance to explain himself.”

“Give him a chance to lie,” Marvin grumbled. “And manipulate you.”

“Uh...” Chase cleared his throat, drawing attention back to him for the first time in a while. “Marvin, you’re making some good points. And, uh, I do agree that having weapon SAMs in his lab is pretty fucking suspicious. But... don’t you think you’re being a little... Are you projecting a little?”

Marvin blinked. “H-huh?”

“I mean... you’ve clearly been lied to in the past,” Chase said. “I don’t remember the details of it, but I know it’s why you don’t trust the League. And I remember you said you’ve never gotten proper, uh... help with that. With... how much that hurt. So... you’ve never looked too deeply at that. But... you might be so insistent that McLoughlin is up to something because you don’t trust that anyone is genuine.”

Marvin stared at him, completely shocked. Jackie and Schneep also stared at Chase, only slightly less shocked. “That is... very insightful, Chase,” Schneep said slowly.

Chase shrugged. “Just something I thought about.”

“W-well—” Marvin stammered for a moment, then straightened. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about it. What matters is being safe. This McLoughlin guy might not be involved with the Puppeteer shit, whatever. He still has weapons in his lab that seemingly no one knows about. And if I had weapons in my lab that nobody knows about, and a Hero asked about them, I would say anything to make sure they didn’t investigate further.”

Jackie hesitated. “That’s true... but... I-I can’t do that. I can’t do that. I refuse to judge this man before I even know what the full story is.”

Marvin stared at him with a slightly softer expression than usual. “I just... don’t want... you to...” He shook his head. “Be careful, Windstorm.”

“I will be, I promise,” Jackie said. He took a deep breath. “Now. Any other advice? Or sudden revelations?”

The other three were silent.

“Great.” Jackie nodded. “Well... if we need to meet up again, we’ll just... do the same thing we did today?”

“Sounds good,” Chase said, making an OK sign with his hand. Schneep and Marvin nodded silently.

“So... let’s just... go, then,” Jackie said slowly.

The four of them unceremoniously parted ways—though, of course, Chase and Jackie headed in the same direction. As soon as they left Neun Park and were on the way to the train station, Chase nudged Jackie. “You okay?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I guess.” Jackie shrugged. “I just... I dunno. It really shook me to hear that Jameson might not have a chance to get out of there.”

“Well you can’t give up on him now!” Chase said.

“I’m not going to!” Jackie formed a fist and punched his open palm. “It’s not right. And I-I wanted to become a Hero to do the right thing. Hell, before I even joined the League, that’s why I started out on all this.” He paused. “Though... you know, sometimes I wonder. Did I really think that joining the League would help me help people? Or... did I just think it was cool?”

“It could be both,” Chase said quietly. “You’re a good person, Jackie. You really want to help people.”

Jackie was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. “You’re right. R-regardless of, uh, what the League is like, it’s not gonna stop me from... from trying to help.”

Chase smiled. “There we are! That’s the Jackie I know.” He patted his shoulder. “Now—can we talk about dinner?”

Jackie burst into laughter. “That’s still at least two hours away, man.”

“I like to be prepared when it comes to food.”

Down the street, Schneep and Marvin were walking together. They hadn’t meant to, they were simply just also walking that way. Schneep didn’t even seem to notice that Marvin was next to him. He was staring down at the sidewalk, glaring with fists clenched. After a while, Marvin cleared his throat. “You seem angry.”

“Oh, do I? Upon hearing that my cousin is probably going to rot in maximum security prison for something he was forced to do?” Schneep drawled. “And that my other cousin is still missing and the only lead is a flimsy fucking description?”

Marvin blinked. “That description, by the way—do you think it sounds familiar?”

“What? Are you saying it was McLoughlin who took Dahlia?” Schneep rolled his eyes. “With the broad characteristics that doctor described, you could have taken Dahlia.” He paused. “Wait, do you know—”

“Fuck, man. I know you’re upset—and for good reason, your fucking family got kidnapped—but you can’t seriously believe I know anything.”

Schneep sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But you see the problem of going off something that vague.”

“I guess.” Marvin nodded.

They walked in silence for a while. Schneep was heading to the farther train station—the one where the yellow line stopped, which was the train line that ran to the edge of the city where Schneep lived. He wasn’t sure where Marvin was going, though. And he didn’t ask. His thoughts were spinning in circles around one subject: Jameson. He really didn’t deserve to be stuck in the Vault. Schneep knew he was already doing something to try and get him out. Finding out if McLoughlin was linked to Anti-Virus, and from there, stopping Anti-Virus altogether. But—none of that would matter if the courts or the League or whoever just didn’t let Jameson out. What if this was for nothing?

“Marvin,” Schneep said slowly. “You know how I am helping you with this McLoughlin thing? What if I wanted your help with something in return?”

“Hmm?” Marvin blinked. “Like what?”

“What if—and I know how impossible this sounds—what if we broke JJ out of Byrthon Vault?”

Marvin stopped walking. “What.”

“I know, I know, it sounds insane,” Schneep said. “But—I—” He shook his head. “N-nevermind. It is stupid. I was just thinking, there are so many different types of superhumans out there. Surely, surely some combination of powers—Forget it.”

Marvin stared at him. “It’s not... a bad idea,” he said slowly. “Just... very, very dangerous. And something you’d need to thoroughly plan. Very, very thoroughly.”

Schneep nodded. “Yes... i-it is not something I... need to do. Not something I need to plan for. But... if the trail goes cold...”

Marvin leaned closer. “If the trail goes cold, we’ll do what we have to.” He grinned wickedly.

After a moment, Schneep grinned back, with a similar sharp edge. “We’ll do what we have to.”