#but I didn't even need that to know roman had been hit as a kid. it eminates from him tbh

[rachetmath]

Jaune Revenge

Winter: Ruby we found her.

Ruby: Cinder. Everyone it's time.

Yang: Ruby no-

Ruby: I have to stop her. I am the only one.

Jaune: What?

Ruby: It has to be me.

Jaune: Who the hell- who the hell decided that?!

Ruby: She is my problem.

Jaune: I know this- oh hell no she- Ruby!

Ruby: Farewell my friend. I pray that I return.

Jaune: Oh hell-

After a minute what seemed like hours of fighting.

Cinder: Yes finally.

Ruby: *barely catching her breath*

Cinder: After all this time… you finally die Ruby R-

*Boom*

Cinder: *screams in pain*

Ruby: *looks behind her* Jaune. 

Jaune: *throws the gun away and slaps Ruby across her face* The f*** is wrong with you?!

Ruby Ow.

Jaune: You really think I would let you steal my prey? My kill? After all the bull**** that b**** put me through. The f***!

Ruby: Jaune I-

Jaune: I had dreams. Dreams of when I have this b**** in my sights. As her life is now in the palm of my hands. Having her beg for forgiveness has I take what little breath she has from her now feeble hands. Oh God yes… 

Ruby: …. Um

Jaune: And have you learned nothing from your people? Penny? Pyrrha? Alyx?!

Ruby: Whoa Jaune don't be–

Jaune: Stop running off somewhere, prepared to die. We do not do 1 v 1. We jump people. It is the most effective means to win. You are not built for that kind of time. There is no shame in having a squad, especially for enemies.

Ruby: But-

Jaune: Like your uncle, he sucks. He has lost a one-on-one every time since Beacon. Winter, hit him. Tyrian poisoned him. Hazel could have ended his career.  Your uncle needed two other hunters to take Tyrian in. He even required Tyrian to fight Clover. Your uncle isn't about that action. 

Ruby: Well sheesh…

Jaune: Now you excuse me- *pulls out the sword* I will finish this.

Cinder: You weakling. You piece of crap. What are you going to do to me huh? Kill me. Don't make me laugh. You don't have the- *stab in her arm* Ah! *mouths is covered*

Jaune: Oh no Fall maiden, we are just getting started. 

Cinder: *scared*

Nora: Ruby, sorry we’re late but-

Cinder: *screams in agony* My legs! My legs!

RWBY: *shock*

Jaune: Nah-nah we ain't done yet. This is for Pyrrha.*beats Cinder down*

Cinder: *yells in pain* Help me! Help me! Ruby help me! Please!

NERO: *scared*

Jaune This one's for Penny! *Stab Cinder's chest*

Cinder:  *screams*

Jaune: *healing and stabbing Cinder repeatedly* No, you gonna feel this. Yeah. Yeah!!

NPRA: *Summer and Alyx are shocked while Pyrrha and Penny fist pump*

RHAW: *Glad they never met Jaune*

Adam: Oh it was good that I didn't try to fight him on the train.

Hazel: Even though I know I can beat him…. It scares me that he could have a chance of killing me himself. 

Ironwood: Oh so he finally learned. Thank God. 

Clover: Sir please-

Ironwood: We died because of these kids, Clover, I have a right to be like this.

Cinder: No. No. Not my eye. Not my last eye, please! *screams as her eye is pulled out*

Salem: *watching from a far* Oo she will die. Not my problem.

Jaune: *exiles* 

Cinder: *dead* 

Jaune: Finally. And Oscar.

Oscar: Um… yeah-yeah what is it?

Jaune: Are you Ozpin now?

Oscar: N-no. Nope. I'm still here.

Jaune: Your girl. Your problem. I am tired of being the third wheel. The seventh wheel really.

Weiss: I mean -

Jaune: Figure out what you want in life then we'll talk.

Emerald: Oh my God I have maiden powers. I was Cinder’s last thoughts. I-

Jaune: *readies his sword*

Emerald: Jaune-Jaune calm down. We are good. We are good. Best behavior.

Jaune: You damn right b****.

Emerald: Jesus what have you been through on that island?!

Jaune: Isolation is a b****!

Cinder: *in hell and curled up in a ball*

Rogue: How was your freedom as a slave?

Cinder: Shut up. And why are you here?

Hazel: Are you serious? He left you unsupervised, and in a family where you were put through extreme work conditions to survive. 

Adam: You were a slave and the only thing he did was train you. 

Roman: He didn't even get you out. He abandoned you. He is a monster.

[writeandsurvive]

I'm sorry for this, it's not good. But somehow, I managed to get something done, so I gotta share. Kinda inspired by NCIS S21E08 'Heartless'.

Warnings: age gap, married couple, established relationship, talks of miscarriage, giving birth, jealousy, womanizer!Alden, daddy!Alden, very slight smut

Mine ~ Alden Parker

When you started to date Alden Parker, as he was still an FBI agent, you never considered becoming friends with his coworkers. Especially, after meeting a few of them he would consider his friends and they turned out to be judgmental towards the age gap in your relationship. Not that you wanted to befriend his coworkers anyways, you just agreed to meet them cause he asked. 

However, it changed when Alden joined NCIS. He immediately started to tell you about his new team, and you could he was fond of them all, including his boss - which was extremely surprising since he never got along with his FBI boss, Sweeney. You quickly knew it would be different this time. It did take him a while before introducing you to them, but once it happened, you all hit it off. The guys were quite impressed with Alden wedlocking a woman fairly younger than him, while the girls, even though they wouldn't go for someone older, they agreed that Alden Parker had a little something. "It's the freaking hair!" Jess joked. 

Before you knew it, this new team felt like family. You'd all hang out together - dinners, games night - and sometimes you'd have girls night with Jess and Kasie. You even babysit McGee's twins and/or Victoria a few times. Which, as much as you loved it, did hurt a little since it would remind you of the struggles you and Alden had been having to have a baby. Between not getting pregnant for months and the miscarriages, you had started to think that it wouldn't happen the natural way for you. Also, Alden really felt like he was getting too old to have a kid, no matter how badly he wanted one with you. 

When you reached your third trimester, Alden felt pretty confident that this time everything was going to be alright while you couldn't shut that little voice in your head saying that something bad would happen like the other times. But finally, the nurse put your crying new born in your arms, and everything felt right. "You did so good, my love." Alden cried, kissing your forehead and looking down at his son. "Our miracle baby. He's perfect." 

You didn't want the nurse to take him away from you but you knew they needed to check him up and clean him. "Do you guys have a name for this little guy?" Another nurse asked. You and Alden looked at each other for a second. "Axel Roman Parker." He said, proudly. 

Obviously, the team was in the waiting room. Alden had been at work when you called him to tell him that your water broke. Nick had been the one driving to the hospital, "Torres, I'd like to meet my son before I die, thank you very much!" Alden shouted, holding onto the handle above the window. 

"Don't worry, dad." Nick grinned. 

Your husband went to see them to let them know that mom and baby boy were alright. "Is it okay if you guys only meet him in a few days?" 

"Of course, no rush!"

"Send us pictures though! Please?" 

Alden didn't want to go back to work after his paternity leave. He didn't want to leave his little family. The night before his first day back, he actually felt depressed. "He's changing so much so fast, I'm gonna miss so much." He sadly said, stroking his son's back, who was peaceful sleeping on daddy's chest. 

"I'll take as many pics and videos I can." You kissed your husband's cheek. "And Vance said you don't have to put many hours like you usually do." 

"I know, but still." 

You noticed the tears forming in his eyes and it broke your heart a little. You didn't want him to go back to work either. You wish he could push his leave a little more, but he had pushed it as much as possible already - director Vance had been amazing and made it easy. You wrapped your arm around Alden's neck, carefully so you wouldn't wake up Axel. He nuzzled your neck as you gently stroked his hair. "He loves you and perfectly knows who daddy is. It won't change in a few hours, I promise." 

"I honestly thought it would never happen for me, you know? Before you and then the issues we had, I thought-- I just wasn't meant to be a dad. But now he's here, and I just don't want to be away from him."

"Aw, baby." You cried with him. "I wish there was a way for you to stay." 

The next day, Alden arrived late at work as he struggled to let go of Axel. Jimmy and Tim, who knew how it felt, were very helpful throughout the following week. 

It took you months to separate from Axel, just for a few hours. And even more time to go out for a girls night while Alden had a boys night with his little man. 

"I almost forgot how champagne tasted." You smiled, having your first drink in over a year. 

"Good thing we took a whole bottle then!" 

The conversation between you, Jess, Kasie and Delilah went on as it usually does when you four get together. Jess talked about her relationship with Jimmy, and her dad. Kasie confessed about her new crush - you and the girls immediately hyped her. Delilah talked about her job, and the twins newest obsessions. And you obviously talked about Axel and your husband. 

"By the way, how's Alden's neck?" Jess asked. 

"Perfect! Did Nick really fix him with a bear hug?" 

"He did! It was pretty funny!" Jess laughed, remembering the scene from a couple of days ago. "Doctor Logan probably thought we were crazy." 

"I can't believe that my husband im-so-scared-of-needles-hold-me-hand worked on a heart surgery." You laughed, trying to imagine the scene. 

"Mr I fainted when my wife got her epidural." Kasie teased. 

"In his defense, it's a pretty big needle for this." Delilah said. "Thank god he didn't faint during the surgery though." She joked. 

"Well, if he did, I'm sure Doctor Logan would've enjoyed giving him mouth to mouth." 

You, Kasie and Delilah turned like one person to look at Jessica. "What?" She asked, confused. Then she looked at you. "He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" 

"Um..."

"Jessica Knight."

"The doc clearly developed a crush on him. She practically flirted with him in front of me." 

You let out a deep breath. "Did he flirt back?"

"Not really, he was genuinely confused."

"Did he not learn his lesson with the senator?" Kasie chimed in. 

You finished your drink in one swallow, remembering when he gave you a piece of paper with a number on it. "Whose number is it?"

"A senator." He had said. 

"Alright and what am I supposed to do with it?" 

"You, nothing. But I guess she wanted me to call when she gave it to me." The jerk was smiling while you used to candle flame to burn the paper. 

"I don't care about the 'it's safer for you if people don't know I'm married' crap, I'm gonna glue the wedding band to his damn finger." 

The girls laughed, always enjoying how easily you get jealous when there's a woman around Alden. When you had learned that some women in the office kinda liked your man, you showed up at the NCIS headquarters for the first time and asked for a tour. When his ex wife got involved in a case, you were feeling anxious, even though she knew about you from the beginning, thanks to Alden's parents. The worst actually was when he saw his first love for the first time in over thirty years. He had admitted that it felt very strange, and maybe if he had been single, he'd have pursued something, but he was married to you, and deeply in love with you and he'd be crazy to let you go. It was one of those rare moments when you and Alden were struggling, and fought a little more often. But he never gave you a reason to be jealous or suspicious, it was just a part of your personality. And to be fair, he was such a womanizer, you couldn't help but to think that any other woman would be better than you. 

You got home slightly drunk, which Alden expected. He was happy that you finally let yourself have some fun away from him and Axel. Barely sleeping on the couch, he immediately got up when he heard you come in. "Hey! What are you doing up? Is Axel awake?" You asked, struggling to take your shoes off. Alden kneeled down to help you. 

"He did wake up an hour ago for his bottle but he's fast asleep now." 

"Good, good." You leaned a little and ran your hand through his hair. "I'm so so so so happy you're my baby daddy." 

Chuckling softly, he got back up and wrapped his arms around your waist. "Thank you for choosing me. You made all my dreams come true." You hugged there for a moment, just enjoying each other. "Let's go to bed, baby mama." He started to carry you, grabbing the baby monitor on the way. 

"No sleeping, gimme another baby." He laughed but quickly got cut off as you smashed your mouth on his. He managed to get to the bedroom while you practically assaulting him, holding his face firmly and french kissing him. Of course his body was responding positively. As he put you down on the bed, you dragged him along. He was on top of you and you started to make out. It was long until you felt his erected cock between your legs. You reached for it, forcing your hands under his shorts. "Fuck, baby." He moaned. 

"Yes, fuck me daddy." 

And he did just that. ~

After freshening up in the bathroom, Alden found you in the nursery, looking over Axel. He hugged you from behind. "Do you really want another?" He asked, cautiously. 

"Not necessarily," you admitted. "I mean, if it happens, I'll be very happy but I can't go through the struggles again."

"Okay. We've got him and he's absolutely perfect." You stroked your son's hair one more time before turning around to face your husband. 

"He really is." You grabbed his left hand and stared at it for a moment. "This wedding band stays on, Alden. 24/7." 

"But--" 

"No but. I'm done with women flirting with you cause they assume you're single. You're taken, you're fucking mine. You keep the damn ring on." 

Alden stayed silent for a moment. "Jess told you about Doctor Logan, didn't she?" You only looked at him, arms crossed. "Fine, I won't take off my ring ever again." He reached for your wrists and made you uncrossed your arms as he hated when you strike that pose on purpose. He brought you as close as possible to him. "Are you ever going to accept the fact that you're the love of my life? That I rather be single for the rest of my life than with someone else than you? That losing you and now Axel, would absolutely destroy me?" 

All you could do was kiss him, but he did saw the tears falling down your cheeks.

[pacific-coast-hockey]

Georgi Romanov: A Brief Introduction*

*bc there is not a lot of information about him in English.

Good evening to the greater Sharkudablr community, it has come to my attention on the eve of Georgi Romanov's Possible First NHL Regular Season Start that not all of you know about Georgi Romanov or appreciate him appropriately. This is insane to me as someone who spends approximately 40% of my waking hours thinking about Georgi, but then I realized that as a person with a blog, I can just say stuff to fix that.

This is Georgi Romanov:

He's not exploding you with his brain, he's actually exploding his teammates with his brain, you're just standing there.

This is also Georgi Romanov:

Goaltender Interference with the Barracuda is when Your Goaltender Interferes With You Beating The Shit Out Of Kole Lind 😌

This is ALSO Georgi Romanov:

At beginning of the season, sadly he got a haircut so he looks less like the kind of beautiful Eastern Orthodox saint you'd find in a stained glass window who was like the patron saint of taking poppers at Ultra Europe. Who said that.

Georgi Romanov is so important to me. He was a frequent flyer on the Wichita Express this season which makes it all the more joyful that he made a) to the NHL, and b) saved...uh...a couple of...shots against Edmonton. Fuck Edmonton all my homies hate Edmonton. Anyway, the Cuda signed him this summer thinking they were getting a lil buddy for Beck Warm (in the ECHL) and then he proceeded to kick ass at the AHL level and matched or outplayed Chrona and Mäkiniemi every step of the way and then Jmac way overplayed him and he did amazing anyway. Then I got to experience Jmac and GMJW putting him on the Wichita Midnight Rider bc the Sharks had uh really been banking on Chrona and Mäkiniemi for their goalie prospect pipeline and were NOT expecting some 23 year old kid who had played ONE single KHL game to actually be very very very very good, but like Jmac is incapable of spreading starts evenly between all three goalies, so Georgi had to be removed from the premises.

But he is very very very very good. Even though he suffered severe Strauss Mann-ification, he has risen to the challenge again and again! When Chrona got called up to the Sharks and then Mäkiniemi went down with mono, he basically got called up full-time to be the third goalie in the Cuda and he has been killing it ever since.

Here is an interview SJHN did with him at the beginning of the season, by the only man I trust on this bitch of earth, Nikita Sokolov. It's a good article, here are some fun tidbits:

Had to learn to tie a tie when he came to North America because in his Russian team (TIER 2 RUSSIAN LEAGUE!!) he just wore tracksuits

Stayed in Knyzhov's house for a month before signing a lease, which doesn't help the "Nikolai Knyzhov is the eldest daughter of the Barracuda" allegations but is so so funny to me too

The mattress company never delivered his mattress and he didn't speak enough English to resolve this, so he had to get his teammates and agent to help him out. I love thinking about Nikita Okhotiuk arguing with a mattress company. I think I would just give him a free mattress at that point.

Bought a car here with a loan to build credit bc him and his wife "need to think about the future. We want to be here for a long time.” 🥺🥺🥺

Here are some facts about Georgi from k 18minutemajor, when I asked if they had any fun facts:

Romanizes his name as Romanoff on instagram

It appears his nickname is Gosha!

Cuda fans all love him very much 😭

They also did amazing art of the greatest hits of Situations Happening To Georgi which I cannot overstate has crossed this man from give Georgi a knife to give Georgi several hand grenades. Please look at it and appreciate it and click on the links bc Georgi has suffered so much and still he remains so beautiful and so deadly.

Here are some facts about Georgi that you may only know if you attend games regularly or watch games on AHLtv:

He habitually bangs his stick on the ice when he gets pissed at his team. Or possibly encouraging them but usually it's when defense is falling apart and shots are like 45 to 30 Firebirds/Cuda, he starts slamming his stick against the ice like...a warning...a reminder...he's coming for ALL your motherfuckers.

Cuda stick the back up goalies in the tunnel and MOST of our goalies are so normal and just sit a couple feet back from the glass and hang out. NOT Georgi. Georgi has Emi the athletic trainer drag his chair right up to the glass and then he crosses his arms on the lip of the board and then he rests his head on his gloves and watches the game with his face pressed against the glass.

When we were rocking a line up with Nikita Okhotiuk for a few brief beautiful weeks, I very much watched Georgi on at least one occasion go up to Okhotiuk during a stoppage and take his water bottle from his hands. MY water bottle. And Nikita just let him.

Often the Cuda lose at home. Often the Cuda are trying to get the fuck off the ice as fast as possible. OFTEN Georgi will do a little one man salute of the arena with his stick while the rest of the team is streaming off the ice. Guys I think he really likes us :(

Cuda Goalie vibes this year were INSANE like I do not even know how to explain what was going on there without going full Pepe Silva BUT by the end of the year, things seem to have um. Well. I once watched Mäkiniemi (with mono!!) run -- run!!! -- down the stairs from the scratches box to go stand by Chrona in the tunnel to watch Georgi face a shoot out and when they lost, both of them waited for him to get off the ice. Guys I think they really like each other :(

Signed for one more year which I guess you could look up on CapFriendly, but EYE didn't know that until this week and I spent no joke like the entire season barfing with anxiety that we don't bring him back. But NO. Provided GMMG doesn't give me a 15th or 16th reason, we have ONE MORE YEAR OF GEORGI 🥳🥳 and will maybe (probably) be rocking a Chrona/Romanov tandem. Which is so beautiful to me as an Employee Appreciator.

Also here's some photos of Chrona and Georgi hugging:

It's the way Goosh was waiting for a hug and gave up for me lol

In conclusion: Georgi Romanov is so important and Sharkudablr needs to love him So Much. Thank you for listening 😌

[hughiecampbelle]

Succession Preference: Running Away From Home

Requested: 1st preference: what each sibling would do if their youngest sibling {roysibling!reader} ran away from their home (logan's place) and showed up at their doorstep (maybe with a bruise or maybe just swollen eyes from crying or just generally looking exhausted or upset) - anon

A/N: Screaming!!! I love this so much my love, it is so angsty!!! Just thinking about it makes my heart break for them. I really hope you like it!!! Feedback is always appreciated!!! 💜💜💜

Connor jumps right into big brother mode. You show up at his ranch exhausted, shaking, with a nasty bruise settling near your eye. Immediately, he lets you in, holding you for as long as you need. He doesn't need to ask you what happened, who did this. Roman used to go to him with the same look, the same bruise, the same scared eyes. Connor sits you down, offering tea and an ice pack, pressing it gently to you. He asks if he can call Pops, but you beg him not to. You don't want to hear his voice. You don't want to think about it. You ran the second you could and haven't looked back. He assures you that whatever you need, he's there. He won't call him if it upsets you. He makes up the spare bedroom and reminds you that if you wanna talk, he's more than willing to listen. In the morning, he'll call your other siblings, letting them know where you are, that you're safe. They all want to know what happened, but he knows it's your story to tell. He doesn't even tell them about the bruise, not wanting you to be bombarded with texts and calls. You came to him seeking safety and shelter. That's exactly what he'll be there for. He'd do anything to protect you.

Kendall can't believe it. He knows that your father hit Rome, he still does, but you? He's never raised a hand to you. He's not blaming you, at all, but he knows you must've said or done something to push Dad over the edge. When you swear up and down that you didn't do anything to instigate him, hysterical, deciding that maybe you should just go to one of your other siblings homes, he finally believes you. Sorta. He tells you he does anyways, not wanting to upset you anymore. He offers what empathy he can, but he doesn't know. He's never feared your father like that. He thinks about giving Shiv or Con a call before deciding that isn't the best idea. Kendall is all too aware of what kind of image your family had to uphold. Getting anymore people involved would ruin you, your reputation. You were falling apart over what, a slap? a punch? You're his baby sibling, he loves you, but he can't help but also look down on this behavior. You ran away. Isn't that a little childish for your age? A little juvenile? You regret going to him, blaming your father for the way he is.

Shiv is shocked. She doesn't register that someone's been knocking on the door, too wrapped up in her emails and messages, until you start calling her by name. She doesn't know what to say or do, only that you're standing before her, bruised, crying, reminding her so much of the little kid you used to be. What, what are you - what happened? You just shake your head. You try to say something, but it only comes out in whimpers. Eventually, she just pulls you inside. She leaves you only for a second, calling Logan. His story doesn't match up with what she's seeing, the welt on your head swelling as you sip at your water, finally calmed down. She tells him that you're with him and you're safe, but he doesn't care. He calls you a few names she'd rather not repeat. She offers her guest room until things have cooled down. She's not really sure what to do, how to handle things. She's never seen you this upset and as far as she knows, he's never laid a hand on you before this. She doesn't push it, but she needs to hear it from your perspective. She was your big sister, your protector, and yet in this moment, Shiv felt like she was failing you. Failing her duties as big sister.

Roman plays it off cool, but underneath he's seething. You got into your fights with Logan, they all did, but the bruise he left made Roman himself flinch. There were certain rules and expectations that came with the sibling hierarchy. As far as you'd all known, you were off limits. This isn't the first time he's done this, he can tell, but this is the first time you ran to him. He's not sure what to do, how to help. He's never been any good in these kinds of situations. Offering comfort isn't something he learned growing up. Still, he tries. He tries for you. He makes you up a bed on the couch and gets some ice for your face, making sure you're really okay. You don't tell him what happened, but he's lived through enough of these scenarios to put the pieces together. When you've gone to sleep, or when he thinks you have, he gives Logan a call. It goes straight to voicemail and he can't help himself, he goes off. Blows up. He could do whatever he wanted to him, they all could, he'd made peace with that a long time ago, but you? You were off limits. You were the baby. No one laid a hand on his baby sibling, especially not your father.

[tss-whumper]

*materializes into existence*

Hi :D

Inspired by your whump tss fics!

Anyway, mayhaps an idea: Whumpee is very distrustful of everyone, even after being rescued. The only person who can come close to them without them getting very tense is Caretaker. The rest of the team is... well, unsure about Whumpee at this point. Someone says something that sounds a little too much like Whumper (accidental trigger), and Caretaker is the only one who can calm Whumpee down.

Do with that what ya will.

Have fun :D

hi!! thank you so much for the support, this is an amazing idea! i think i'm going to do my heroes and villains au for this one, it's a really good fit for this particular prompt, plus, father figure janus has my WHOLE HEART he's the best caretaker.

this fic features whumpee roman, caretaker janus, and mentions of whumper patton! also, logan and virgil are there but they aren't really anything they're just chillin'. logan is just trying his best.

also the beginning kinda just offers some general exposition to the au and the dynamics so it's just short little snippets of life before the big angst bomb comes raining down.

(cw -> past parental abuse, flashbacks, panic attacks, brief physical violence)

Roman wasn't a violent dog.

But he knew why he bit.

Every night, he saw the face of his uncle, the man who raised him, the man who taught him everything about the world. And he shivered, because while he never wanted to see Patton again, he also wanted nothing more than to be enveloped in his arms one more time.

When he looked in the mirror, Roman wanted to erase himself and start over from the beginning. Permanent scars that were never going away, endless reminders of what a failure he had been. His gauntlet was the only part of him that was pristine, and even that was so out of his reach.

Janus told him that it was Patton's fault that he didn't know how to use his powers, but Roman just couldn't believe it. He was a superhero. He had to know how to use his powers no matter what. Being a kid was no excuse. Being young and impressionable was no excuse. Being starved and beaten and tortured every time he made the smallest mistake was still not an excuse.

Roman was a hero. He had to be better.

--

"Virgil, come on, how many times do I have to remind you to wipe your feet before walking in?" Logan groaned, "We're guests in this house, we should not be dirtying it."

"Sorry, Pa," Virgil mumbled, "I'll clean it up."

"Thank you," Logan said, "And have half a mind not to do it again."

Roman, who was seated on the couch as this argument occurred, squeezed his eyes shut steeling himself as he waited for the slap. Or the hit. Or a cry of pain from Virgil. But seconds passed, and there was no sound except for the spray cleaner and scrubbing the floor. The mess took all of ten seconds to clean up, if that. Roman didn't understand. When he was under punishment with Patton and had to clean floors, it felt like it took much longer.

--

Roman's face was wet with tears, but he found himself feeling scarily numb as he sat in Janus' lap, fiddling with the gemstone necklaces held loosely around his neck with common kitchen twine.

"Ro...we really need to do something about these nightmares," Janus murmured, nothing but warmth in his voice and body. Roman almost felt safe in his arms. "It's not healthy for a kid your age to be waking up screaming every night."

"I'm sorry, sir," Roman said flatly, still trapped in a hellish haze, "I'll be better. I'll do anything you want, just spare me. Please."

Janus could feel his heart shatter in two. He hugged the teenager close, starting to pet his hair gently.

"Oh, baby..." Janus whispered, "What on Earth are we gonna do with you...?"

--

"If you hate me so much, maybe you should just put me back where I came from! You didn't have to adopt me, you could have just gotten a perfect kid instead!"

It was rare for Virgil to shout, so when Roman heard it, he was shaken immediately. Out of pure self preservation, he hid himself in the blanket he had been wearing. When Logan and Virgil argued, it was difficult, and it was messy. They were both headstrong people, which often led to butting heads more than either of them, or the two people they lived with, liked.

"Virgil, don't be ridiculous, I don't hate you!" Logan retaliated, "I just want you to stop closing yourself off, it's useless to try and handle everything in the world by yourself! You're just a child, when will you get that through your head??"

"Maybe I will once you stop micromanaging me like I'm five years old!" Virgil yelled, "I'm not a baby anymore, Pa, I don't need you hovering over my shoulder! Do you know how hard it is to be known as the tattletale at school?? Do you even care?? No, you don't, because all you care about is making yourself feel helpful!"

"I could strangle you right now!"

"Fine! Do it, see if I care!"

Virgil stormed off, slamming the door to his room, causing Roman to tremble where he sat. Oh, boy. Virgil was going to get it now. Roman waited for Logan to roar, to scream at Virgil to open the door before he regretted ever raising his voice at him. The thought made Roman so nervous. Virgil was injured already. He couldn't handle being strangled too. He just couldn't.

So Roman did the heroic thing: he stepped in.

Before Logan could take another step towards Virgil's room, Roman rushed in front of him.

"Virgil didn't mean it, Virgil didn't mean that!" he insisted, his words spilling over each other.

"Were you listening in to our conversation?" Logan sputtered, his face turning a bit red, "Wh- why would you do that? That was between me and Virgil, it has nothing to do with you!"

Logan side-stepped Roman, coming closer to Virgil's room. In a panic, Roman lunged at Logan, hoping to protect Virgil from any sort of wrath.

"Get off me!" Logan exclaimed, "Roman, what are you doing??"

"Stay away from him!" Roman begged as he punched and kicked blindly, thinking of nothing except weakening Logan, protecting Virgil. Weakening Logan, protecting Virgil. It was his responsibility. "He's still healing!"

"Roman, stop!" Logan pleaded, "Please, stop it, you're hurting me!"

Roman was much younger than Logan. But he wasn't that much weaker. He was a young hero, having trained his entire life to fight people, while Logan was just a civilian. No superpowers, no training. He was a bit fragile, in fact. So it wasn't a surprise that Roman was "winning" this exchange, but the child was too blinded by panic to realize this.

"Don't touch Virgil!" Roman begged, "Don't, please, he can't handle it! He can't handle that, he's good, he's good, he'll be good!"

"Janus!" Logan started to scream, thrashing to get away from Roman, "Janus, help me!"

And just then, Roman's entire world seemed to stop.

Logan's begging and crying for help sounded so much like his own. The way his words would bounce against the wall, hitting nobody as he was forced to endure hours of torture in solitary confinement, no sound to keep him company except for his own fruitless pleading. Logan already sounded so defeated. He sounded like he was ready to die. Just like Roman had been all those times before.

Roman's breathing grew shallow and stuttered, and the second he loosened his grip, Logan scrambled out of Roman's arms, shoving him hard. As Janus raced into the room, he saw his child hyperventilating, and Logan with a scratched up face and broken glasses.

"What- what on Earth happened here?" Janus demanded, "Logan, what did you do??"

"What did I do?" Logan repeated, "Why are you asking me that?? Roman's the one that attacked me, he tried to kill me!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry- I'm sorry-!" Roman whispered, starting to grip his own hair as he curled in on himself.

"He's a little monster!"

Roman's shallow breathing turned into desperate gasps as he wheezed irregularly, his chest rising and falling largely.

"There's ice in the freezer, I'm so sorry, Lo. I'm so sorry. I should have warned you- I'll pay for your glasses."

"No need," Logan said coldly, "I need some space, if you don't mind. I'm getting tired of being attacked from all sides."

Janus opened his mouth to say something to Logan as the angry man left, but he was distracted by the sound of Roman's fight for air. When Janus looked over, the child had tears streaming down his face, his eyes large and wild, as if he was a wounded animal.

"Darling...come here," Janus whispered sitting on the floor in front of Roman and starting to pull him close.

"No, please," Roman whispered, "Please don't hurt me. I'm sorry- I didn't mean to- I- I-"

"Shh...shh, Roman, don't speak," Janus murmured, hugging Roman gently. "Breathe. I understand. I understand you. I do."

Janus saw so much of himself in those terrified brown eyes. Roman just wanted to protect somebody, and it had gone way too far. What was the poor kid to do? Of course, he had to apologize to Logan. But that would have to be at another time.

Roman shuddered, and before he could overthink anymore, he threw himself into Janus' arms, sobbing vehemently into his shoulder. Guilt washed over him like waves, and he almost wished that Patton was around to punish him. It was what he deserved for attacking somebody weaker than him. In that regard, was Roman really any different from Patton?

"I'm bad," Roman mumbled, "I'm bad, I'm a villain- I'm horrible-..."

"Shh," Janus repeated, rubbing gentle circles onto Roman's back, "Shh, darling. You're not bad. You're not a villain. You're a child. You're a child who's scared. Let yourself be scared. I'm here for you. I'm going to protect you, sweet thing. I promise."

"But what about Logan?" Roman asked, staring up at Janus with tear-stained cheeks and round eyes that broke Janus' heart.

"Logan will be okay, darling," Janus reassured, "He will be. I'm going to help him, and I'll take him to the doctor's, and I'll make sure he's doing okay. He'll understand. He will. He's got to."

"I don't know why I did that," Roman whimpered, "I don't know why I kept going, I could have stopped, he cried for help, I could have stopped!"

"I know, baby, I know," Janus soothed, "I know how it feels. I know. You made a mistake. You messed up. But you're not in trouble. You're not going to get hurt because you hurt someone else. What's the use of that? Then, everybody is hurt, and nobody is happy. Does that make sense?

"I- I- I guess so," Roman whispered, "But- Logan hates me. He hates me now, he hates me, he thinks I'm a monster-"

"He does not think that," Janus said calmly, "He was speaking while he was angry. Think about it. Do you say what you mean when you're angry? Does anybody?"

Roman shuddered. Patton did. But he didn't say so.

"It'll be okay, sweetie," Janus reassured, continuing to hold Roman as he rocked the teenager gently on the carpeted floor. "It's okay."

Janus used to be a violent dog too.

He understood why Roman bit.

[zeldahime]

Highway to Pail Day 24

[Day 1] [Prev] [Next] @do-it-with-style-events

February 24: The Middle Ages were called the Dark Ages because there were too many knights.

Wessex wasn't really that great a place to be fomenting, honestly, but after getting kicked out of Ireland after that whole debacle with Pádraig, he was in a bit of a pickle. He needed some results and fast, preferably kind of close to Ireland so he could tell Hell he was working on figuring out the "no snakes or demons allowed" thing but far enough away that they didn't expect him to do something stupid like storm Rí Laighín. And King Arthur was doing half his work for him, annexing kingdoms left right and centre and leaving disillusioned and dispossessed sons of nobility in his wake. Whole island of out-of-work knights, just needing some direction.

He took up as The Black Knight mostly because there were already a few Black Knights out there making trouble and he could recruit them and pretend it was all his idea. Before the year was out, there were fifteen Black Knights under him, popping up to harry the Pricks of the Round Table whenever they bothered leaving their pretty little walled city of Camelot. It worked out pretty well for everybody. Crowley miraculously kept the knights and their squires and servants fed and watered and sheltered, the knights were organized so they mostly hit pricks who really deserved it (a twofer for Crowley: making the rich feel pain so they curse God and making a life of crime and sin appealing by smoothing off the rough edges), and relatively few farmers or whatnot got caught in the middle and could be tempted with something else later.

And then Sir Aziraphale showed up, and Crowley realized that any souls he'd secured for Hell had probably been counterbalanced by the angel's securing souls for Heaven. Just lucky they hadn't met at the points of each other's swords, and wasn't that a sobering thought. He didn't even like carrying a sword, mostly had a human do it rather than touch the blasted thing himself. He certainly didn't want to do a replay of the War nearly 5,000 years later with someone he actually pretty well liked and respected. And he definitely didn't want to do it soggy, foggy, damned damp old Wessex.

And it wasn't even like they were having fun, like they did sometimes; their jobs weren't all bad, but they were still jobs. Crowley wasn't exactly a fan of sleeping in fields, and neither was Aziraphale. Crowley might be good at logistics and politics and could wrangle a group of rich angry fratboys and their households, but that didn't mean this was his idea of a good time, and he knew Aziraphale hated the kind of court politicking, child-rearing assignment he was probably on right now. He'd probably volunteered to go hunt The Black Knight just to get away from some wailing kid for five whole minutes.

Really, it would be in their best interest if they called it even and went and took a holiday in Vichèi or something instead. Anything would be better than setting up a tent in yet another sodding field.

But, well. The angel had gone and called him the wrong name, and he'd gone and offended the angel's sense of propriety, and look where they'd landed. Camping in another bloody field, the both of them, and not even the same one. If Crowley'd played it better, maybe they'd at least be trading work gossip and tips on where to find decent lager now that the Romans had gone and taken all their wine with them. But nope: instead he had to babysit some Medieval frat boys, not that any of them would know what the Heaven he was talking about if he called them that, and try to convince them not to launch an attack on Sir Aziraphale in the morning on the strength of "because I said so." Yippee.

Crowley really did not like fomenting. Or Wessex.

[vodkacheesefries]

Thought it would be fun to do an intro post for each of the three households I'll be rotating through in my historic sims file. Also told my buddy @schitzophrenicrainbows I would make one of these. It'll also help me keep things organized as I play the challenge since I'm committing details to writing.

Up first and beneath the cut, we have a little history dump and our Gladiators.

Gladiators initially started out as poorer people and slaves who were inscribed to fight and train in the gladiator schools, Ludus Magnus. Over time as people began to see the fame and honor that could be won in the arena, though it was more rare, people did start to voluntarily join these gladiator schools.

Due to the popularity of gladiator fights, and how pricey it got to train and house them, not every single gladiator fight was to the death for its contestants. (For the purpose of Finn's story/challenge rules, his fights will be.)

There's debate whether the infamous "thumbs down" actually meant the opponent HAD to die or not. It could have just meant they were disgraced and couldn't compete anymore, but I can't find definitive answers one way or the other, and the opinions I found on this often contradicted each other. (I could probably text my sister with three degrees all about ancient to medieval Italian/Roman history, but how do I explain to her I need to know for my Sims game lmaooo) All that said, gladiators often didn't live past their mid-twenties given the hazards of the job.

Gladiators were also sex symbols (do yourself a favor and look up ancient Roman graffiti. Humans are the same now as they were then lmao). Idk how much that'll play into my game but Finn does have to find a partner and have kids so the legacy continues but we'll get there when we get there.

Rana

Rana is the gladiator who has been at the Ludus Magna the longest. Her traits: Creative, Self Assured, Loyal.

She came from a wealthy merchant family, but the family business didn't interest her much. She left home when she was young to find herself and ended up finding the arena. She picked up sword fighting quickly and proved her aptitude for not only fighting, but teaching others to fight as well. These days she only competes occasionally, as she has proven herself invaluable in creating more gladiators.

She's hitting a point where the losses of her pupils, and more importantly friends, are starting to weigh on her. She likely isn't going to just be allowed to retire, though, so she has to figure something else out.

Apollo

Apollo named himself after a Greek God because he thinks he's hilarious. (This is debatable if you ask anyone who has spoken with him for more than five minutes.) He ended up at the Ludus Magnus due to his sense of humor; turns out a Senator doesn't like it when you make jokes about their philosophical ideas, even if they are stupid.

He doesn't enjoy the gladiator lifestyle much if he's being honest, and is counting down the days until his "voluntary" contract with the school is over so he can use what money he's won and travel the world like he's always wanted to. His self absorption is part him being young, and part it being a front for the fear he has of not living out his dreams and he wears it like a protective front. His friends know better, though.

(He also thinks Spartacus is cute, but he's certain Spartacus is going to stay a gladiator till he dies and that doesn't work with what he wants in the long run.)

His traits are: Loves the Outdoors, Self Absorbed, and Outgoing.

Spartacus

Disclaimer: I did not make Spartacus lmao. I was hitting create-a-sim burnout so I hit up the gallery to find someone else's Roman themed sim. Although I did make some minor changes to his wardrobe, added scars and swapped out a couple of his traits, which are: Athletic, Proper, Loner. I ended up keeping his name because while it's on the nose for a gladiator, it fits.

Spartacus is a former member of the Roman Legionnaires. He was released from his service due to an injury he sustained abroad. Once he had healed, he found civilian life to be difficult to adjust to, so he signed a contract with the Ludus Magnus. He's here for a good time, not a long time.

But lately, he's been spending more time with Apollo, and he's starting to change his mind. But surely someone as handsome as Apollo wouldn't be interested in someone who'd rather spend his time meditating than socializing at a party...

Finn

Finn's traits are: Athletic, Loyal, Ambitious

Finn knew the risks he was taking when he killed Antonius, but he doesn't regret it. He's now plotting his escape, and if his new found friends can survive, he'll bring them with him if they like. He really just wants to get back to Britain to what's left of his family and help them take back what is rightfully theirs and drive the Romans out.

By challenge rules, he has 10 fights to get through first. I also have to receive a silver medal or higher on at least 50 events, and I'll probably use his fights to accomplish at least 10 of those. (I've done six so far).

Will probably go over Laelius' household next along with the parts of the challenge they'll be completing, followed by his daughter's. Who I don't think I've posted so far.

Other households:

The Emperor's Family

The Frugi Household

[hyperfixation-or-death]

bilal is the only one in his friend group without a sibling. and i think there's a lot of comedic potential in that.

because i have siblings, and several of my friends are only children. and like. you've probably seen some of those posts about The Sibling Experience. they're not too far off.

anyways, my point is that i want to write a fic of bilal having to endure his friends being Absurd Siblings.

like:

"Bilal. Did I ever tell you that Sam bit me once?" "He's lying. Ignore him." "I'm not lying! You know full well I'm not lying!" "Okay, he's not lying. But he's leaving out the very important detail-" "You bit him?" "I was five! And he told me to!" "Wait, why would you tell him to-" "I don't know, I probably wanted to see if it would hurt. Not the point. Point is, he bit me. And never apologized." "I don't need to apologize! You told me to do it!" "I'll bite you, see how you like it-" "You don't even remember it happening, you only know because I told you! And you- stop snapping your teeth at me. You look stupid." "I'm not the one who bit a four year old child." "...I'm going to throw you out the window."

and then later:

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." "What?" "Camille found a rat and brought it home." Romane glances at her phone. "She named it Sprinkles." She starts walking faster, and hits the call button on her phone. Camille picks up quickly. "Camille, you can't just- no, I know Mom's allergic to dogs. That doesn't mean-" A pause. "Okay, yeah, the picture was cute. But you can't keep it." Another pause. "Keep her, then. Wait, how do you know if- what do you mean the rat's pregnant?" A long pause. "The rat is not giving birth in our house. Mom's going to- no, I didn't tell her! Have some more faith in me, honestly." A pause. "Yeah, I know. Love you too. I'm on my way back. We're putting the rat back outside when I get there." A pause. "Okay. Bye." Romane ends the call, and turns back to Bilal. "The things I put up with. Come on, we have to get there before my mom gets back." "Wait, you're not going to tell your mom? About the pregnant wild rat that's currently in your house?" "Bilal, there is a sacred code of honor that exists in this world." Romane intones dramatically. "Which is?" Bilal stifles a grin. "Don't snitch on your little sister's latest attempt to adopt wild animals if you want her to continue thinking you're cool." "...how often does this happen?" "Too often. Come on, hurry."

and then one day later:

"Romane?" "Yeah?" "Why are you glaring at your phone?" "Texting my mom. Telling her that Camille was the one who keeps pouring popcorn kernels down the sink." "You've been typing for like, nine minutes." "I'm trying to send video evidence, but it's taking forever to send, so I'm writing down the entire conversation I had with Camille this morning about it. For proof. I think Camille's trying to frame me." "What happened to there's a sacred code of honor that exists in this world'?" Romane scoffs. "That was yesterday, and that was different."

and also:

"Hey, Bilal! Want to see something really, really funny?" "Sure." Victor holds up his phone. "Okay, so I was bored yesterday, right?" "I already don't like where this is going." Victor snickers. "Fair. Anyways, I found some candy, like the hard kind, and I melted it down in a pot of boiling water." "...okay. Why?" "I told you, I was bored. And I ate a few drops of it, and it was fine, just tasted like...I don't know, liquid sugar or something. But, then, I added cornstarch to it. And it became the worst texture. It was so gross." Victor grins. "And I took a video of myself eating a bite of it." "You ate it?" "Yeah, it wasn't that bad. I mean, it's basically just sugar and cornstarch." "Okay, but why?" "So I could send it to Sam, act like it's a perfectly normal jello that I made from a box, and see what he says. And he's texting me back right now." "Okay. Can I see the picture of it, though? For context." "Oh, yeah, right." Victor taps an image on his phone, and shows him. It's bright blue sludge with clumps of cornstarch floating around in it. 'Gross' is an understatement. "Ew." "Yeah." A text appears on the screen: Victor. Are you serious. You're going to die. What is that. Victor types back: jello? i made it yesterday? its still in the fridge, did you want some? A pause. LIES. that's not jello. idk what it is but its not jello. also its gonna kill you Victor grins, and sends another text: i'm not going to die because i'm not a coward. unlike you. Another pause. wow okay. i'm not coming to your funeral. i have better things to do with my time. Victor laughs, and types out: you're not invited anyways. also name one better thing you have to do. A long pause. Victor glances at Bilal. "You don't think it'll actually kill me, right?" "Um...no. Like, you said, it's just cornstarch and sugar. I mean, maybe if you ate a whole-" A text appears on the screen, and Bilal glances at it. i have my own funeral to attend and it's going to be better than yours. watch this. There's a video attached. Victor glances down, and hits play. Sam stares deadpan at the camera, and pans it down to the same bowl of blue sludge that was in the photo. "If I die, Romane and Bilal are in my will, and you are not." He then pulls back the phone sets it against something, and proceeds to eat the entire bowl of blue sludge. Victor gapes at the video as it ends. Bilal sighs.

and stuff like that. (yes all of these are based on personal experience with some creative liberties taken.) i think it'd be funny.

[730jey]

Given how Jimmy got angry with Jey before he went to go talk to Sami, I don't think he went to go tell Sami off completely out of care and concern for his brother. I think, above all else, Jimmy is afraid of losing Jey to Sami.

We already know that if one of the Usos slips up, the other is out of the family too. Roman was prepared to hurt Jimmy because Jey was avoiding them after the Rumble. What happens to one, happens to the other. It isn't just that, though. Jimmy isn't only afraid of being removed from the family, he's afraid of being removed from his family and losing the only other person he has.

The Usos have been together since birth. They've been together their entire careers. Roman said during HIAC 2020 that his dynamic with the twins has existed since they were all kids, meaning the Usos also endured Roman's abuse together from the very beginning.

Jimmy spent less than a year with Sami, and he doesn't like him. Jimmy sees Sami as disloyal and untrustworthy, and besides, what does Sami know about family? He turned on Roman when Roman wanted him to hit Kevin, something that would have been good for their family. It didn't matter if Sami and Kevin had been friends before, it didn't matter if Sami still cared, because family is all about sacrifice for the people you love, right? Jimmy and Jey sacrificed everything so Roman could provide for their family. They love Roman. Roman loves them too, he's only mean because he's under so much pressure from being the champion and providing for their family. (Right?)

But Roman will drop them if step out of line. Their whole family will. Heyman will obviously go with Roman, and Solo... well, who knows what Solo is thinking? If Jimmy was watching TV like Heyman said he was the night of Jey vs. Sami, he would have seen Heyman give Solo the order to drop the hammer on Jey if he didn't win. Jey is the only person who won't leave Jimmy. Jey is the only person who would say "I quit" for him.

In Jimmy's mind, Sami threatens that. Jey refused to hurt Sami at the Rumble and left the ring while Jimmy yelled, "[Sami]'s not your brother! We are!" Aside from thinking he's disloyal, Jimmy just can't fathom that Sami still cares, and that his words aren't anything more than mind games, because he's so used to being on the receiving end of them from Roman that it's become normal to him.

Jimmy thinks Kevin hasn't forgotten that Sami hurt him, and that he's using him just to get the success and prestige of the belts. Who else do we know that never forgets anything? Who only provides affection so long as his cousins are being successful and useful to him? The Usos are only even in the Bloodline because Jey lost a match to Roman three years ago, where it kept getting brought up that it was like this since they were kids. Roman remembers it with something eerily like fondness. Jimmy has been so conditioned to think that familial loving relationships must be transactional and based on what you bring to the table that he can't fathom Kevin might actually care for Sami.

To that extent, Jimmy can't fathom that Sami actually cares about Jey. Jey turned his back on Sami, hurt him over and over and over. In Jimmy's mind, Sami is only trying to use Jey, get in his head about what Roman will "do to them" in order to throw him off his game so they lose. Sami can't be so naïve as to actually care about Jey, because obviously Jey will choose Jimmy. Right?

Except we saw Jey not choose Jimmy, twice. First at the Rumble, when he chose not to hurt Sami, second, the night Jey kicked Sami in the face. Of course, Jey did actually choose Jimmy then, but for a few horrible moments, Jimmy didn't know that. He only watched as his brother walked past him and to Sami's side instead. He believed Jey didn't choose him then, so he surely has at least some worry in his head that Jey wouldn't choose him now as a result of Sami getting in his head.

He needs Sami to stay away from Jey, or else he might lose his brother.

A week ago, I made this post about Jey, with a quote from Catherine Lacey's "Cut": "If you're raised with an angry man in your house, there will always be an angry man in your house. You will find him even when he is not there."

The angry man in their house is, of course, Roman, but in the moments when he is not physically there, they find him in different ways. Jey creates him in his mind, like Roman is a boogeyman always watching their every steps; Jey does to himself what Roman would make him do if he were there: he pushes Sami away, doesn't allow himself the relief of simply talking to him, only hurts him and hurts him and hurts him. This is what Jey has to do in order to keep himself and especially Jimmy safe.

Jimmy, on the other hand, becomes the angry man. Roman has turned Jimmy into an extension of himself. Jimmy yells those things Roman would say, that Jey spent weeks telling himself: don't talk to Sami, stay away from him, you need to focus. He refuses to hear Jey out about his fears. He accuses Sami of playing mind games, while (perhaps subconsciously) doing the same mind games Roman would do himself. He tells Sami he's not wanted, that Kevin doesn't really value him, that he'll turn on him the second Sami doesn't do what he wants.

Just like Roman told the Usos that their family would turn on them if they stepped out of line. It got them to listen. Fear and doubt are effective suppressants of any unsavory behaviors.

Ultimately, he's like this because he's now the person Jey learned to be in Jimmy's absence years ago. Roman has brainwashed him into believing that he loves them, he only hurts them out of love, he's only cruel to keep food on the table. Of course, this narrative by Roman is only a story meant to keep everyone in line, because he's deeply paranoid. That's why Jimmy is using his same tactics against Sami now: he's paranoid, he's his brother's keeper, and he knows firsthand that the things Roman says work. And because of how long it's been going on, he thinks the things Roman says are right, too.

Like Jey's eyes opened, I believe Jimmy's will too, in time. Though Sami's primary focus is Jey, he's always wanted Jimmy to come with them. Jimmy just needs to understand that what Roman is doing to them isn't right. Sami tried to tell him weeks ago that family doesn't test your loyalty every single week, they don't abuse you like Roman has abused Jey for years. Jimmy didn't understand then, but I think with these rematches we're approaching a point where he'll either have to understand, or risk losing everything.

[undertsums]

A sneaky party and first meetings

(NOTE: This takes place before Roman met Joyce, and before Roman got her hoodie. But this Roman has her 2 rules in place of not getting seen and not getting involved)

Grillby's day started normal at first, his regular customers, some new ones with some curious humans. When he closed his bar he thought he saw something by the dumpsters "hello?" He called out, when nothing replied back, Grillby assumed it must be a cat or possibly a raccoon.

He left and when morning came he stared at the graffiti, rude anti monster language was around the store. Grillby is thankful for camera's not that the police will do anything but he would know who to ban. He went to the back and checked the footage from last night.

It looked like a bunch of human teenagers, he watched them and memorized their faces. He watched, once the humans were done with the graffiti he watched as they backed up and were about to throw some bricks.

Then bones were thrown from the back, the teenagers got spooked and ran, Grillby watched as he saw a small figure come from around the corner where the dumpsters were. It was a skeleton, he thought Sans and Papyrus were the only ones. They had a spiked head and ragged clothes. It was hard to tell if they were just a kid or just small.

Still they saved his bar, he watched as the skeleton stared at the rude words. He felt sorry that they had to see something like that. Then he was shocked when they tried to use their ragged clothes to clean the graffiti. But with no water it was useless. The skeleton kept trying and Grillby skimmed the footage, they stared there for a few hours scrubbing only managing to smudge the corner of the writing before moving back seeming to realise it was pointless.

Grillby watched as they went around the corner, he didn't have cameras there since the only thing back there was the dumpsters. Wait...They must have been what he almost saw last night. The poor thing must be looking for food.

Grillby started on cleaning up and back to serving, when Sans showed up in the afternoon Grillby asked him if he was sure he and his brother were the only skeletons left. "Pretty sure Grillbs, I mean I'd notice if there was another skeleton walking about" Sans replied before making a joke that Grillby rolled his eyes at as the other monsters laughed and chuckled that were nearby enough to hear.

When night came, Grillby went around to the dumpsters and placed a box of fresh food down, he didn't mind helping this monster out with food for protecting his shop. And if they were a kid well he'd need to gain their trust so he can help them.

In the next morning Grillby checked the box and noticed all the food was gone, not even a crumb was left. The poor monster must be very hungry.

The routine continued, Grillby would leave fresh food out and in the morning would find it eaten, however he would not see them. He decided to not to set up camera's, after all he knows they must be okay since they keep coming back to eat. This routine carried on for a year, Grillby never mentioned this to anyone, it was his little secret. He decided to do something special.

Grillby set down two boxes, one his normal meal and the other a cake. It's been a year of him feeding this monster and in a way it was to celebrate.

The next day Grillby came back and went to check the boxes, gasping when he saw that a slice of cake was left. Did they get full? He doesn't believe so. Again the box was clean but that single slice of cake was left behind. He smiled guessing in a way that they wanted to celebrate a year too and it was only fair to share.

------------------------------

Roman really liked this world, but she was starting to draw attention. Not that fire one, she didn't mind taking food he offered so long as she didn't get involved. Okay she soooorta broke that when she hit those humans, but no one knew it was her, she was fine.

Well okay she wasn't, lately she noticed the small human of this world seeming to get agitated. Roman kept watch over them the most, she wasn't sure what would happen if they reset or reload while she's here. That wasn't the only thing though, she did leave this world to go back to her void to see her sister and drop off any interesting things she found but she noticed the code of this world was starting to fragment and glitch. Roman didn't know what that meant but it just really made her nervous.

It wasn't until one day when Roman came back from another world that was too aggressive for her tastes that she met him. She stared at the black skeleton, his body glitching and words hovering, she watched as he turned and spotted her.

Roman was frozen, she was utterly terrified. The black skeleton shot some blue strings at her, Roman tensed but a black substance rose up from the ground stopping the strings.

Roman started as the black substance fell away and a skeleton with a huge paintbrush was in front of her "Error, I Ink the protector of AU's is here to stop you" the skeleton proclaimed with pride. Error growled and glitched "ugh-gh-gh s-s-seriously...Yo-o-o-u pai-nt freak" he snarled. Roman didn't like the sound of Error's voice, it skipped and repeated like that time she found that broken music box.

Roman watched as the two started to fight, Error simply ignoring her in place of fighting Ink. Roman was stunned, but not in fear. No this looked...SO COOL!

She's seen fights before but they all had the same patterns, with only slight changes. These two however were NEW! Roman watched even as people around her screamed and ran, she watched until she noticed Ink was growing tired. Roman figured if she stuck around that Error one will attack her again.

So she quickly left, still it was so cool to see, she couldn't wait to tell her sister. The next day she noticed that specific world was gone, there was no trace of code left. Roman frowned, she was going to miss that world. She stared at the coloured smudge on her ragged grey clothes, she was really going to miss it.

Still she'd find a new world in time, food was just going to be harder to come by.

[thr0whands]

seth knew the minute he came out to the shield that that specifically would get to roman. maybe that is what he was trying to get at. he was still the architect. the opportunist who captured every moment as if it was the last. did roman actually think he could get away with retaining his title without seth getting involved? and then it was like the world stopped moving. the chair connecting to his back when he already couldn't get back up. adding insult to injury. roman had always been a master of that and seth should have known that better than anything else since he was the one to teach it to him in the first place. he knew roman was pissed but so was he. he wasn't the only one that lost a title. because of roman and his cousin, seth had lost as well. but did roman have any remorse for that? did he even bother to check on seth the same night the tag team match went down? he didn't. so why was this so different now? because he had come out to a theme that they both had created along side their friend? maybe that was the point. maybe seth wanted him to feel as hurt as he had been. here he stood now in front of roman, knowing full well that another brawl was going to come of it. watching paul heyman leave, seth attempted to walk closer, taking word for word in and listening. ❝ you have to be kidding me, right? i got what i wanted? that's a joke, man. should i refresh your memory on who hit who tonight? you had no right to hit me with that steel chair. NO RIGHT. ❞ as seth got closer, his words got louder and you could tell the crack in his voice as he spoke. he was angry. furious even. he wasn't expecting roman to hit him and the fact that he did and the words he could still hear people saying, that it was because he needed revenge. because his revenge on seth freaking rollins was more important than keeping his title, it made his blood boil to say the least.

the fucking shield music. he could've looked past ANYTHING but that — the horrific reminder of being stabbed in the back by the person he cared about more than anything else. of course all he saw was RED. & payback was infinitely more important than retaining some title that he doesn't need to prove his point. some things just couldn't be forgiven, try as they might. no amount of reunions or false promises could heal what seth had done & nothing roman had done in the past 4 years could even compare to the hurt that he'd caused with that steel chair to the back.

even now, with the title gone & the very future of his career in question, all roman seems to care about is the man in front of him & the unrelenting RAGE filling his bloodstream. nostrils flare & brows furrow as he glares at his ex-partner, teeth biting into the flesh of his cheek before shoulders roll back. heyman is waved off, a bold move all things considered. maybe he just wants the opportunity to lay into seth, again. ❛ 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 ��𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭? 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝. ❜ roman could list a hundred things to say to the man, yet none of them seemed to satisfy the simple urge to lay another steel chair into his back.

[msookyspooky]

It just hit me that Sidney Prescott never got to hug Dewey in 5 like she did in almost every other movie. OUCH. Like, bro wtf. This hurts.

Think about it:

A man that was her best friends brother in the first. He was the young rookie 25 year old cop seemingly watching over all these 17-18 year old kids that probably all grew up together in Woodsboro.

A man she called her and Randy's adoptive big brother and rushed across the campus yard to hug in the second movie. Who was arguably one of the only people that seemed to truly listen to her w/o arguing or judgement or trying to force her to face her emotions or pushing boundaries. He was 100% there for her and she was allowed to express herself however she wanted.

A man she screamed for when she was scared; a girl wanting her big brother to come rescue her on set in 3 and clung onto sobbing when they found her. The same man that hid her location out of fear for her safety, even from the police and facing threats, he still kept her safe. The same man that went feral and threatened to kill Roman if he hurt her. Who SHOCKED himself just to get to her.

A man that she doesn't hesitate to hug in 4 after god knows how long since they saw each other. We don't know! We only know it's been 15 years since the first movie and they're both grown up with very busy lives and adult responsibilities. The man read her entire book and knew exact page numbers to qoute because he was so proud of her and wanted to read every word she wrote.

A man who clearly and sadly hasn't seen Sidney in a long while makes warning her his first priority. Who smiles when he realizes she's not some scared 17 year old or 19 year old or 22 year old anymore. She's not even the vulnerable 32 year old he thought he almost lost 10 years ago in 4.

She's a capable woman in her 40s that won't hesitate and you can just see the relief on his face at her answer...Because he knows if he dies; she'll be okay. She doesn't need him to protect her anymore and probably never did but he still did his best to keep her safe.

A man that was the closest thing to a true big brother Sidney ever had. Who was the emotional glue that held their group of Ghostface survivors together. A woman that was the closest thing to a little sister he had left after Tatum died. Who he made his sole mission in every movie to make sure she was safe.

....

And he didn't get to hug her one last time.

The movie hyperfocuses on who Gale lost but what about Sidney? ...She deserved to mourn over Dewey in 5. Truly cry or hold a picture of him or something I need fucking closure. 💔

[batmanrogues-scenarios]

I have another request if that's okay with you, bestie! Okay, so you've had rogues with a pregnant S/O and then becoming a parent but how would Riddler, Scarecrow and Black Mask manage when said child is getting older? You know, old enough to start going to school, talking back, being a bratty teenager, all that fun stuff? Are they cool parents or do they struggle?

I'm going with teenage rebellion routine.

Riddler

They had problem communicating when they've become 16/17

The kid would find out about him being Riddler and try to do the same

When there's new riddle leaving thief police goes to Edward out of obvious reasons

He gets suspicious why someone is trying to steal his gig, well old gig, you get the idea

After searching and getting clues it hits him and it's the worst thing he could imagine

Confronts his kid about it without telling S/O to not worry them

He's never been more pissed than when his kid Proudly admits it

That is such big fight; kid would argue that he is hypocrite while he would say he just grew

Need to get out of home to cool down and meets Batman who figured it out

He says he can help Kid if they stop

He meets them when they try another heist and kid finally says it because since they don't know what to talk with him so they thought doing what he has done would made him proud

His heart just shatters thinking they would go to this length, when police shows up he tells them to give item to him and run until Batman shows up and tells they both should run

Bat just tells police they once again ran away but he feels they're be less of a problem

Pretty happy ending (also they agreed to never say S/O what happened)

Scarecrow

Wouldn't realize he would miss them when they at school

Likes being father even though his patience might not be the best

His kid is probably also a bookworm but isn't bullied for it since times changed

Spends more time out of house which Jon thinks is fair, they're teenager after all

Gets suspicious when some of his fear gas starts disappearing

Confronts them and they say they just wanted to do some experiments with friends

He gets it but toxin need to be used with caution so he grounds them

Kid gets prissy and talks back, Jonathan says maybe not hanging with those kids would made them think rational

' It's not my fault you didn't had any friend's !' ... Kid just opened pandora box and got even longer grounding

Just snics out later to meet them but Jonathan finds out and yep, they took toxin

When he finds them he is ready to yells at them but then there's accident they got hit with toxin gas and are freaking out

Jon tries to calm them before realizing him screaming is what they're afraid of

Gets bad feeling and tries to calmy take them home to give antidote while they sob in car

His heart hurts

After that tries to talk to kid from the heart and promises to not be mad if they listen

He doesn't want to be what his kid is scares the most

Black Mask

His kid went to private school and was probably spoiled since they were kid of mob/cult boss

Knows how to get what they want and would hang out with kids of other gang members

Roman isn't most present father but he has eyes on them so realizes when they're starting to change

After looking around he finds drugs and is pissed

He might sell drugs but he knows it makes people weak to persuasion

Tells them to kick it off but they talk back and holy shit does hell on earth starts

There would be throwing stuff around, yelling; kid got temper from him

They just ran away and went to one of clubs they've gone with friends

He hates fact that they aren't listening so decides for serious measures

Sends bodyguards for them and just calls rehab

The kid just say they hate him and to fuck himself

This is exactly why having kid was a bad idea! They're talk back and have no respect for him and he? He still for some fucking reason cares! He isn't suppose to care when someone is acting this way towards him

S/O is with him and they're helping each other

After kid comes back clean they're still not talking but with time they're slowly come back to normal

[sirensofiaarchive]

⌝ "Now you wouldn't even need to give me a discount, you and Micah, hottest crystal men around, why would I shop elsewhere when the view is so good?" Sofia teased as she watched him finish off half the Paloma she had ordered for him in one go. The human sure could put it away, no doubt he'd be drunk well before she was though. It didn't seem odd to her that she'd say he was cute, he was handsome, enough, but Gabe had seen her ex Thiago, he'd seen Roman when the man had been a bouncer at Supernatural's, so Gabe didn't exactly look her type since Sofia seemed to like men who looked kind of like they could beat the shit out of someone...until Micah, Sofia unaware how much that might have hurt Gabe.

⌝ "We're talking first impressions, now I know you're too weird to own more than two pairs of shoes," she played further, gentle crudeness. If she actually believed anything she said would have hurt him she'd stop. Well, she would now, maybe not when she first met him and she was just so angry and frustrated with the world and he was just some random guy who was clearly checking her out but now they were friends, now she'd feel bad if she hurt him. "You haven't been chatting with her? Too busy hitting on real people, because if you ask me you and that guy you joke around with are pretty cute." Sofia was referring to Tony, an odd combo but a silly couple? Seemed like potentially happy vibes.

⌝ "The green does suit you, makes you stand out, I could never," because her colouring was perfection, if you asked her. Brown eyes like hers were perfect for royal hues and her dark hair could be styled in any fashion, not to mention her olive colouring make her look wonderfully sunkissed. Sure, she didn't have much cleavage but she didn't need it with a face like hers. "Uh, excuse me, Animated Series Joker is iconic and you could obviously pull off a purple zoot suit," she insisted, half serious and half kidding, Sofia's love for nineties and early two thousands cartoons people well established.

⌝ Still, Sofia took the shot, tequila sliding down her throat before she glanced at the couple he was talking to. "Oh, obvious pre-divorce, they don't know what to say to each other anymore, they've both given up, this is their assigned date night so they're going through the motions but he is hoping they'll drink enough that he can say he has a headache and go to bed the moment they're done," she responded, turning back to Gabe. "Fuck, that was kind of depressing, I should probably drink for being too melancholy about it."

The green haired human chuckled at her agreement that she is a lot more cooler than his first impression of her and he could honestly say that she is a lot better than the love sick woman he made her out to be in his head. There was just something about being unattainable that really attracted Gabriel to someone, what he didn't know was that it was the fact there was no chance of anything happening, therefore he didn't have to worry or panic about confessing or the stress that comes with being in a relationship. He could just admire her and fantasise in his head about what life would be like if she were to miraculously like him back. It was fickle love, but also the only kind of romantic love Gabriel had any experience with, so it was what he was most comfortable experiencing and feeling.

When the woman mentioned that she knew she got the 'hottie discount' he blushed a little, why on earth did he just admit to doing that? He brushed off the feeling of foolishness and put on a confident face, "I hope the discount I give you is better than anywhere else, if not then I'm going to have to ruin my business by giving you everything for free cause I'm not about to let anyone beat me at customer service," he joked, drinking almost half of the liquid in his cup at once in an attempt to drown his shame.

He almost choked on his drink at her next words, She thinks I'm cute?! His mind was racing at the discovery, this was the first time she'd ever called him anything other than funny or weird and it gave him a rush like no other. In the moment he totally disregarded everything else she said, about thinking he might be a good fit for her sister, all he heard was that she thought he was cute and honestly it's all he could think of. It wasn't until she said the line about him having an AI partner that he was brought out of his head, a look of total confusion taking over his features, "I'm sorry - you-" he had to stop talking to laugh before looking at her with an amused look, "You thought my hair was green because I wanted to cosplay? That's hilarious. As if I have the time or the patience to put together a cosplay good enough to ever wear outside. I can barely put together an outfit on a good day, that's why I almost always wear the same ass thing every fucking day."

He burst out laughing again when remembering what she said, "You reminded me that I need to check up on my AI girlfriend, she probably thinks I'm dead or worse. Expelled from studying computer science." He couldn't help but find the whole situation hilarious, she got the nerdy part right but seriously overestimated it. "I'm pretty sure I told you that I only started dying my hair green to try and make people think I was some sort of creature which honestly? Isn't exactly a better reason. The only reason I keep it green now is because I actually like how it looks on me. It's for sure not to cosplay the fucking Joker of all things." Gabriel shook his head and slid a shot over to her, "I think we both need to take one of these as a punishment for both of our assumptions. Also, what do you think the story is between those two people over there that haven't said a single word to each other all night? Make it spicy." He grinned at her before taking his shot, something he did so often that it didn't even make him wince anymore.

[chiliiscereal]

I hate you

Daryl’s adopted daughter

Chapter 1

Summary: Diana is a girl on the run in the apocalypse. Her past chases her no matter where she goes. One day, by chance, she meets Daryl Dixon. Thinking she’s a walker, he shoots her and brings her back to their camp. Shane strikes a deal with her: she has to stay for two weeks before she can decide if she wants to stay. But Diana is determined to keep her past in the past, and never make the same mistake again

Season 1 - I’m not sure yet

—————

Diana sat in a circle with her family. Blood dripped down her neck from her lips.

Everything was red.

 Red

       Red

 Red

How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly?

Her eyes never left the blond man she once knew. She watched him as her fury and fear grew louder and louder, echoing off her skull.

That was, until Negan stepped out of the van. He walked about the circle, until his eyes landed on her.

"Fancy seein' you again, Darlin'."

                               ————————

    Rick stumbled into the street, a hospital gown draping his skin. He knew there was something wrong. There was something off. Maybe it was intuition...

  Or maybe it was the woman, chopped in half, chomping her teeth to get at his ankles.

    He rubbed his eyes, the sun glaring right into his vision. It had been a week and a half since the start, and a day since his IV ran dry. It had been even longer since he last saw the sun.

   Where was everyone?

 Why hadn't he waken up to nurses and doctors?

  Or his family's familiar faces?

  He spotted bodies. Bodies walking. Maybe three.

  He couldn't understand... he couldn't understand any of it...

  The light off a gun reflected into his eyes. He blocked it and moved to see where it was coming from.

  The revolver was placed in the holster on the side of a walker. The man... or whatever he was now... shuffled toward Rick.

 He was deathly pale.

  "Sir," Rick's voice cracked, "sir, are you okay?" He held his hand out, trying to make it a comforting gesture to someone possibly in need.

  Edging closer, the man stared at him with hungry dead eyes. His clothes were torn and draped off his skinny frame, his eyes laid sunken in his face.

   "Sir?" He asked again, stumbling back.

   The man growled and advanced further.

   "Are you-?"

   With a blur, the man was down.

  Nearly tripping over his own feet, Rick let out a horrified gasp.

  On the ground was a little girl, around Carl's age, placing her knife in the mans forehead. Her light blond hair, tucked under her baseball cap, clung to her dirty face. The crunch echoed in Ricks head, reverberating off his skull.

 That was the first walker he had ever seen killed.

  She quickly wiped her knife on the walkers shirt and snatched his revolver. She opened the back to check how much ammo was left. Satisfied, she clicked it shut and began patting the double dead man down.

  "W-why did you do that?" Rick found his voice again.

  She leaped back, her bright blue eyes finding his.

   Quickly, she pulled herself up and began to dash away. If Rick hadn't lunged out and caught the back of her shirt she would have disappeared as soon as she apparated into his line of sight.

  "No. You can't leave yet." He spun her around to face him. It was evident how terrified she was. Especially with her eyes as wide as dinner plates and hands clawing at his arm. "Why did you kill that man?"

  She glared at him and wriggled harder. "Man?" She gasped, "that... that wasn't a man!" Her hands fought to unclamp Ricks grip. "That's a Walker! He would have eaten you if I hadn't stopped him!" She grunted with effort. "Didn't even see you. You already look dead."

  "What do you mean by dead?" Rick questioned, holding tighter.

  "Gone. Deceased. vamosed. Perished." With each word she struggled. "Now let me go!"

  Rick was about to question again, when he felt the stitches on his side rip. With a grunt, he let her go and fell to the ground. His hand cupped his side.

  "Please.." he stopped to breathe heavily as the girl watched him warily. "I don't know what's happening. I woke up in the- in the hospital." He glanced down at his side to eye the bleeding. "The sun will be setting soon... and I need help."

The girl glanced at the lowering sun. Tapping her foot, she glowered at the ground. "How can I trust you." It wasn't a question. It was as if she was challenging him to be wrong.

Rick attempted to stand, only to find himself back in the ground. "I was a cop. My job was to protect the people. ALL people. And I like to think I did a good job of that."

She stuck the revolver in her holster (which was clearly stolen based on how big it was). "Prove it."

"I don't have my badge or my hat. That's at my house. But I'm officer Rick Grimes. I've been on the force for seven years. My partner was Shane Walsh. I was in my car when we got a call about a run away car. I was shot in action and hospitalized." His eyes seemed to beg her to help him.

Diana tried to fight the raging war in her head.

She knew better.

She knew to trust no one.

Her father and mother both betrayed her trust.

Why trust again?

But... she could tell when people were lying. All people have tells. Her fathers tell was him avoiding eye contact. He always looked at the ground. For her mother, she always played with her wedding ring.

But this Cop... sheriff... man... was not lying.

He looked her dead in the eye.

"Fine. Come with me." She hadn't known that she was gripping her new revolver until she released it. "I have a place in the sewers. I know... in most movies that's where walkers would be. But how would someone get down there in the first place? You'd have to move the lid." She walked over to Rick and slung his arm over her shoulder to help him stand in any way. "And most walkers," she grunted "are pretty stupid."

"Thank you...for helping me." Rick stated gratefully.

"I have some house rules, you know."

"Name them." He said confidently as they shuffled down the street.

"One: you're gone when you can walk."

"You don't want someone to watch your back?" Rick was surprised. Usually, kids jumped at the chance for safety. The ones he has worked with in cases of violence had immediately decided he was trustworthy.

"the worlds changed. You can't trust people." He noted the grim expression on her face. He wanted to ask why, but he figured it was better to stay silent.

"I'd argue about that, but I'll hear out your other rules." He wrapped his arm around his side again, fingering the broken stitches.

"Two: you do as I say or you die."

"Yes ma'am."

Rick couldn't help but like her spunk. She was serious, but it wasn't much of a threat coming from an eleven year old girl.

"3: ..." she started only to trail off.

"...3?"

She cleared her throat and resituated Ricks arm. "You repay my kindness if we ever cross paths again. I don't care how."

"Was already planning on it." He grinned. He could feel the conversation beginning to die, so he started it back up again. "What's your name, kid?"

She hesitated, eyes staying on the road. "Diana." She spoke softly. "My mother named me after the Roman goddess of the night."

Rick smiled. "Pretty name."

Diana's thoughts drifted to her mother. Her mother with her honey brown hair and warm chocolate eyes. She stopped her thoughts there. "Well... what about you, officer friendly? You got a name?"

Rick laughed. "My names Rick Grimes. I ain't named after the moon goddess, but I think it has a nice ring to it. Don't you?"

She forced down a smile. "Pretty name."

He chuckled. "Well, Diana, I am glad I ran into you."

~~~~~

They arrived at the sewer lid.

"Here we are. I've been camped out here since early yesterday morning." She slipped under Ricks arm and got down to lift the lid. With a couple tries, and an offer from Rick for assistance, she lifted the lid.

She stood up and dusted off her hands. "I'll go down first and scope out the area. Need to make sure it's still clear. Then I'll help you down."

She began her descent.

Rick watched the top of her light haired head fade into the darkness with each step. He briefly thought she would try and make a run for it. Escape through the sewers.

He immediately dismissed it. Why would she waste daylight by helping him? The sound of her footsteps hitting the water at the bottom and echoing as she walked down the tunnels set him on edge.

Especially when they began to fade.

He sat patiently for over ten minutes, watching the sunlight tick by. He looked down into the darkness, listening for any sound. There was nothing... not even a whisper.

Maybe she did leave.

"Alright, Sheriff, get down here! It's clear!" Her voice reverberated loudly from the tunnels so suddenly, that Rick stumbled back.

"I don't have all day! Unless you wanted to be walker chow, get down here!"

Rick chuckled as he began to shuffle his way down the tunnel.

"Any day now, Deputy Fossil!" She shouted.

"Hold your horses, kid." He slowly lowered himself into the dark. He looked down to see where his feet were going to land, spotting the flashlight that Diana held. Her light hazel eyes reflected impatience.

"Nice place." He said, clearly biting back his truth.

"Don't be fake." She said as she kicked at the water. "It smells like a pig ate dirty gym socks, farted, and died."

"I was trying to spare your feelings."

"Don't bother. I'm leaving this place as soon as you're ready."

Rick finally landed on the bottom of the sewer. "You got a place you're headed to?"

Diana shook her head. "No. Just a place I never want to see again."

Rick stopped moving to look at her. "Troubled home life?"

She thought about it and shrugged. "I guess you could call it troubled home life. It was home once. But this apocalypse changes people."

"I'm sorry kid."

"Don't be. That's just life."

Rick opened his mouth to say more, but Diana beat him to it.  

  "Alright, lets move." She motioned for him to follow.

           The place she had holed up in was dryer than most spaces. There were a couple of dirty blankets placed on the ground and a first aid kit. Some batteries were sprinkled on top.

     "You can sit there. I can stitch you back up." Diana pointed at the wall. Their part of the sewer was a dead end so they wouldn't be surprised.

     "Thank you."

Diana hadn't stitched wounds before, but she did well enough.

 Rick tried starting a conversation again but she told him she needed silence to focus.

                                         ~~~~

    "Are you sure you want to travel by yourself?"

  Diana nodded as she packed her things. "Very sure. You're nice and all, but you don't want to travel with me."

 The Georgia sun had risen already and they both were preparing for departure in the street

   "Do you have any family to find?" Rick questioned.

"I already know where they are. And they don't want me either." The girl looked down, avoiding eye contact.

"If we ever meet again, you better give me more details." Rick narrowed his eyes and pointed at her. "I deserve to know more about the little girl who saved me."

"Once a cop always a cop I guess." Diana said slyly. She looked back at him. "What about you? Any family?"

 She eyed a walker down the street but decided it was too far away to pursue.

"I got a son and a wife. My son's your age actually. 11." Rick looked through the neighborhoods. "I don't know where they are, but I'll protect them. They need me."

Diana squinted in the direction he was looking at, seeing nothing. "You'll find them, chief." She patted his shoulder, having to reach up very high.

"It was nice to meet you, Diana." Rick said, a little sad that they were parting. Possibly that he would no longer have company. Maybe that he didn't have enough time to get to know her well. "I don't know if I'll see you again, but you helped me without anything to gain."

Diana scoffed. "I'm not a good kid."

"You're right."

Diana looked up, confused.

"You're one of the best."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Go. You have people to find."

"From the looks of thangs, so do you."

"I don't have people."

"You'll find them. Just a matter of where and when." He stuck his hand out for her to shake.

She placed a brown bag in his hand instead. "It's for the road. There's batteries, water, a flashlight, food, bandages, antibiotics, and one more thing..." she unbuckled her holster and handed it to him, along with the revolver. "You need these more than I do."

Rick tried to push it back to the little girl. "No I can't take this. You need it."

"No, you do. You're gonna help people, Rick. You're gonna help so many. You gotta find your people." She pushed it back to him. "I'm gonna be fine. I spotted a gun down the road that I'm gonna check out later."

Rick gave her a solemn look before accepting it. "If you can, head to Atlanta. The CDC is near there and there's bound to be survivors."

"I don't need survivors."she rolled her eyes.

"They may need you, kid. Ever think about that?"

She stayed silent for a moment. "Stay safe, sherif fun sponge." She shook his hand, even though he hadn't offered it yet. "I hope we meet again."

"We will." He smiled. "I don't know how or when, but we will. I have a debt to pay."

She wanted to return the smile but couldn't. "I hope you find them."

"You to."

With that, they went separate ways.

Next fifty chapters posted on noandisaidno on wattpad!

[thinkatoryprocess]

I’m interested in what the Stewy/Rava/Naomi dynamic will be like. First love, second love, third love all feeling like the widow. I’m also looking forward to how the press will cover this. Particularly when Naomi starts showing. I’m also thinking about how Stewy and Rava both seem to be coping by finding a Kendall replacement to save. Stewy with Roman and Rava with Naomi (and the baby). Do you think you’ll go romantic with Rava/Naomi? Also really hoping the baby’s a girl and it ends up with a Shakespearean name.

"First love, second love, third love all feeling like the widow" is a fascinating way to put it.

There have been precious few hints of media and crowd response to Roy drama that they themselves didn't create - we have Roman checking out the responses to rumors that Logan's about to die very early in the show, and the talk show that Kendall almost went on - so I'm always fascinated with media/crowd response, which is probably obvious. I feel like this is gold for the tabloids, that Naomi is suddenly a huge commodity for the paps, and that the Roys are going to flip their shit when someone gets too close or too aggressive with Naomi. I digress.

Rava/Naomi has promise as a pairing (words I never thought I'd type, but what do you know). I tend to assume Rava met Kendall when he was kind of a mess, so she's not unused to dealing with addicts and may even be comfortable with the caretaker role to a point - I personally believe that if Rava and Kendall had no kids, she would have held out a lot longer in the marriage. But Naomi is different from Kendall - and I'm sure she'd make that clear. Naomi is an intelligent hot mess who in my estimation dared to think there was a chance in forging something with Kendall. When he dies, she'll shut down, be guarded, and potentially use right up until she realizes that she's pregnant. That'll blow up the relationship between the Roys and the Pierces again, hitting Naomi as the dead center. Rava is, in some ways, a neutral party she can withdraw to. (Love a Shakespearean girls' name. Thinking Beatrice or Desdemona.)

Stewy latches onto helping Roman as hard as he does because he didn't work on the Roy he had, so he's not about to lose another one, even if that relationship wasn't nearly as close. Rava finds another addict in need of help in Naomi, definitely setting off memories in her brain of times with Ken. Naomi needs the baby. She didn't think she'd ever have a kid, convinced herself she didn't want one, and isn't sure she wants this one, but she has to do everything she can for that baby, and maybe that's enough.