#don’t mind me I just lost my shit over there for a sec

[evendimmer]

Thinking about Rio and hurting bad.

Thinking about the love she had for Agatha, a mortal, a love so strong that Rio was willing to bend her own rules—the sacred balance—just because Agatha said one thing.

“I will hate you forever.”

Rio knew that there was nothing to stop what was coming. She did not want to do it, she had no choice. It was the way of life and so was the way of death. It was the way of Rio’s very own being.

And yet Agatha still rejected her. Everything that Rio stood for and everything that Rio ever was, over something that she had absolutely no control over.

Can you imagine how painful that would be?

Still she stood there and took everything Agatha threw at her.

And Rio did try to find a way to work around, she offered time. For Agatha, for Nicky. And for herself.

She bought time for both of them to delay the most unthinkable. For Agatha, it was the death of her (their) son; and for Rio, nothing was more unimaginable than the loss of Agatha’s love and affection.

It was the greatest gift and blessing Death could ever offer to anyone.

Agatha would get what she wanted, at least for a while. She would welcome their son to the world and live out possibly the happiest moments of her life. But for Rio, it was a countdown to the darkest and most sorrowful time ever known to her.

And Agatha would never know any of that.

Rio Vidal, the most powerful yet most tragic character of the show. Who gave her all but at the end, got nothing back.

[hoshifighting]

Could you do svt’s reaction on forgetting their anniversary with the reader?

seungcheol’d been so wrapped up in schedules, meetings, and everything else on his plate that the date completely slipped his mind. the moment it sinks in, his stomach drops. he’s sitting at home, scrolling through his phone when he sees the reminder forgotten on his past notifications—anniversary dinner tonight. “shit, shit, shit.” he stands up abruptly, knocking his chair over as he scrambles to grab his keys. you’d been waiting, and the thought of you sitting there alone eats him alive. when he finally sees you, there’s no smile, just regret. “baby, i’m so fucking sorry.” his voice cracks. seungcheol is a person for whom responsibility is a priority. and the feeling that he failed a commitment and with you. makes him want to cry. “i don’t know what happened, but i swear i’ll make it up to you.”

jeonghan? oh, he knew it was coming. he just thought he had more time. his confidence gets the best of him. but when you bring it up, the look on your face says everything. and it’s like his brain short-circuits. “oh, t-the date,” he mutters under his breath, realizing that he’s been too laid-back about it. he tries to play it off, but the second he sees how hurt you are, he internally crumbles. “i really fucked up, didnt I baby?” he’d spend the rest of the day trying to fix it, probably spoiling you with something over-the-top, even though you’re still a little pissed.

joshua forgot because he was so caught up in helping his family with something important. when he checks the time and realizes what day it is, he freezes. “no, no, no.” he whispers to himself, heart sinking. his first instinct is to call you, but when you pick up, your tone is cold. “josh, where are you?” your voice is sharp, and he can’t even find the words to apologize. “i’m so sorry. i didn’t mean to. i—” he stumbles over his words, feeling like the worst boyfriend in the world. “i’ll make it right, i swear. please, just... let me make it right. im heading to the restaurant baby, just a sec, please”

junhui’s mind was on a completely different planet—he’d been immersed in practicing something new for you, wanting to surprise you, that he completely blanked on the actual anniversary. when it hits him, he laughs out of sheer disbelief at himself. “holy shit, i’m a dumbass.” he’s halfway through a text to you before deleting it, knowing a message wouldn’t be enough. he’s at your door within minutes, out of breath and a little frantic. “i know i’m late. i’m so fucking sorry. i... i was planning something for us, but i screwed up. can we start over?”

soonyoung’s the type to get so wrapped up in everything else that he loses track of days entirely. when it sinks in, it’s mid-dance practice, and he stops dead in his tracks. the date flashing in his brain like a neon sign. “no way,” he mutters, practically throwing his phone down as he rushes to text you. “please tell me you’re still there. please, please.” the guilt settles in hard when he realizes you’d probably already left. he wants to apologize in person, but he’s afraid of what he’ll see in your eyes. “i’ll do anything to fix this. just... just don’t hate me.”

wonwoo’s lost track of time probably because of a gaming session that went on way too long. he’s always been a little absent-minded, and this time it cost him. he doesn’t realize it until late at night when he’s scrolling through his phone, and your messages pop-up nonstop. he freezes, eyes glued to the screen. “fuck, my babe.” he knows it’s bad. wonwoo’s never been good with words, so when he tries to apologize, it’s a little awkward, but sincere. “i really didn’t mean to forget… i’ve just been all over the place.” he’ll make it up to you in quiet, meaningful ways—extra touches, thoughtful gestures.

woozi was in the studio, headphones on, lost in the music, lost in a project, an album, something like this. when the reminder popped up on his phone—the one he had set just because he knew he must NOT forget, he stared at it in disbelief. “no. fucking. way.” he pulls off the headphones, heart racing, standing up from his chair. he didn’t forget on purpose, but he knows that’s not going to make you feel better. he is already imagining how disappointed you’ll be. he hates that he’s made you cry without even being there to see it. without thinking, he grabs his things and rushes out, dialing your number.

minghao is probably halfway through some deep meditation or art project when he finally thinks of it. the date pops into his mind, and he freezes, the calm shattered in an instant. thrown off balance his usual balance. he hates that he let this happen, especially when he’s always so in tune with your emotions and your relationship. minghao will come to you with all sincerity, not trying to make excuses, just wanting to fix it. “i didn’t mean to forget… you know that right? you know how much I love you.” after the restaurant's booking was fucked up, he brings u to another expensive restaurant, trying to cheer you up with a sad smile.

mingyu’s the type to feel absolutely awful about it. he’s so used to being thoughtful and over-the-top with his affection, so when he forgets the anniversary, it feels like the ultimate failure to him. “oh my god, no way,” he groans, running his hands through his hair. he’d feel guilty as hell, probably already planning some over-the-top way to make it up to you before you even bring it up. he rushes to call you, but it goes straight to voicemail. “baby, please call me back. i’ll make this right, i swear.” the thought of you waiting for him with disappointment in your eyes kills him.

seokmin probably gets caught up in meetings, back-to-back phone calls, just grinding through work like he always does. the moment he sees the date on his calendar on the table, marked with a red heart, it hits him like a fucking truck. he’s frustrated with himself, pacing around the room, trying to figure out how to make it up to you. he doesn’t waste time; the guilt’s already settling in. you mean too much to him to leave it like this, so he’s quick to call you “baby im on my way home, wait for me—shit know i've made you wait a lot already, but just give me some minutes, in on the central bridge”

seungkwan was busy with work, thinking about a million other things when he realizes he forgot your anniversary. for a second, he just stands there, processing. “i’m the worst,” he mutters to himself, panic quickly setting in. he dials your number, but when you don’t pick up, the guilt is agonizing. he would probably appear on your door with everything he can, chocolate, plushies, bouquets of flowers, but all of it, with his teary eyes in the middle.

vernon is the type to lose track of time when he’s deep into something. so when he realizes the date, his heart sinks. its already night when he notices that he had sent you “good morning” and not even mentioning the anniversary. he feels bad, but he doesn’t know how to handle it right away. “let’s do something special today, okay?” he promises as he leaves the subway station.

chan feels like absolute shit the moment he realizes. he’s been so caught up in trying to prove himself, so focused on rehearsals, working hard, pushing himself, that he lost track of what day it is. “fuck, i can’t believe i forgot,” he mutters under his breath, hands clenched into fists. he hates that he let you down, and when he comes to you he gives all of himself. his face scrunched up everytime you hang up his calls, but you cant ignore the door since he lives with you. he would just hug you, even though you don't recriprocate, he does it.

[holylulusworld]

SHG for killers (1) - The first meeting

Summary: 6 men meet up to talk about their problems. They soon realize they need someone to help them solve their problems. This person is you. Whether you like it or not.

Pairing: Steve Kemp x fem!Reader, Lloyd Hansen x fem!Reader, Robert Pronge (Mr. Freezy) x fem!Reader, Andy Barber x fem!Reader, God, the bounty hunter x fem!Reader, Ransom Drysdale x fem!Reader

Warnings: mentions of murder/killing for money, serial killers/hitmen, mentions of blood/gore, talk about crimes, self-help group for killers/hitmen, world building, we get to know the men first

Self-help group for killers masterlist

“IT STINGS!” His screams of pain and agony echo in Lloyd Hansen’s mind when he wakes from another restless slumber.

He’s a stone-cold mercenary. Merciless and fearless. Or he was. That was until a certain former CIA lapdog pissed onto everything Lloyd stands for. It doesn’t help that he lost two fingers while hunting Six down.

“Bastard,” he curses under his breath as his eyes focus on his hand mutilation. “Still miss my pussy fingers,” Lloyd grumbles angrily. “Wait until I find you, Sierra Six. You’re a dead man; you just don’t know it yet.”

He closes his eyes, replaying the scene again. Lloyd grits his teeth, remembering how he got into a grapple with Six, who blew off Lloyd's left pinkie and ring finger.

The finger prosthetics don’t make him feel better. Sierra’s win over him, the loss of his fingers and reputation, still stings. His self-confidence and ego were not only bruised but torn in two.

For months, he fails mission after mission. His team is long gone, and so is his patience. Lloyd is angry and out for blood. Preferable Sierra Six’s blood.

He tried anything to find the renegade assassin. So far, he didn’t even find a trace. Sierra Six is a master at hiding from his enemies. Lloyd gives him that.

“One day, you’ll pay for what you did.”

“No drugs. No contact with other offenders. No missing an appointment,” Ransom’s probation officer recites all the rules he must follow. “Mr. Drysdale, did you even listen?”

“All of you are telling me the same thing.” Ransom sneers. “You’re the fifth guy in not four months. I know the rules.” He leans back in the uncomfortable and cheap chair the probation officer offered him. “All of you try to get me behind bars again; I get it. You’re pissed because I got earlier than everyone expected.”

“Mr. Drysdale,” the probation officer replies, watching Ransom munch another cookie. “I really don’t have the time to make plans to get you behind bars again. That’s not in my job description. If you don’t have any problems, we can end the meeting for today.”

“Shit, just a sec.” Robert doesn’t have the time to talk to his ex today. “Listen, you got the money and the car. Let’s part on good terms.” He’s poorly hiding his anger. If she says one more word, he’ll sneak into her new apartment and kill her and the bastard who’s banging her brains out now. “I got a job to do.”

Robert hangs up the phone. He’s not done with the body yet. The client wants proof that her husband is dead. She’s a naughty one, Robert thinks to himself while getting the saw out. Well, all for customer satisfaction.

The doctor is not happy. He tried anything to make sure his business was flowing. Sadly, some people try to stop him from being successful.

“You had to cross me, didn’t you?" He looks down at his former partner and sneers. “We could’ve made so much money. But you had to find your conscience.”

Steve kicks the dead man, grunting as he’s bleeding on the brand-new carpet at his office. Killing his partner wasn’t in his plans for today. It’s not the first time he got his hand dirty.

If Steve were honest, he’d admit that he likes to get his hands dirty. As a doctor, he should save other people’s lives, not take them. Still, he can’t help but feel excited about his latest decision.

Watching the family grieve over the death of their recently killed father and husband, God furrows his brows. He never understood human emotions. The man he killed was a tyrant. He betrayed his business partners, terrorized his family, and cheated on his wife.

The man remains in his hideout to watch the family and friends mourn their loss. Lately, he likes to stick around to watch their reaction. Some scream. Others silently cry.

God likes the ones who put on a show for others the most. He did so all his life. Pretending in public that he’s a normal guy.

The truth is, he feels hollow because he never belonged...

Andy Barber steps out of the courtroom with his head held high. He won another case and can’t help but smirk as his opponent seems to be salty.

“Barber,” the prosecutor says, venom in his voice. “Congratulations on letting another monster go free.”

“If you wanted them in jail,” Andy says, and he dips his head to watch his client smirk at the victims of his cruelty, “you should’ve been a better lawyer.”

Andy walks toward his client, a spring in his step to shake the monster’s hand. He smirks and assures the man he deserves to walk out of the courtroom as a free man. Andy squeezes the man’s hand hard, making him wince. Who would’ve thought a lawyer could be so strong?

The serial rapist ends up dead after the accused was acquitted for lack of evidence. Lloyd recites the newspaper. “I see you’ve been very active lately, Barber. Do I need to remind you to keep it low?”

“No one asked you,” Andy shoots back. He doesn’t know why he’s still coming to the so-called self-help group. Andy doesn’t feel guilty for killing his clients. Who else would punish them for their crimes? “They had a choice, Hansen. It wasn’t me letting him go.”

“He’s not wrong,” Ransom says between munching a cookie and sipping on the expensive mochaccino he bought on his way to the group. “Baber got a point there.”

“Who asked you, amateur?” Robert sneers. He just can’t stand Barber or Drysdale. They are not worth his time, or so he thinks. He’s fine with Hansen and the guy calling himself God. They are like him—professionals. “I don’t even know why you, Mr. Lawyer, are here.”

“I invited them,” Hansen grunts. “If you want to leave, you can go anytime. I founded this group, not you.”

“Man, stop making a fuss!” Pronge shows his palms. “I only wanted to point out that they are not professionals. What if the cops find out about their hobby? What if they decide to get a deal and rat us out?”

Lloyd snorts. He looks at the black leather glove hiding his prosthetic fingers. “No one rats Lloyd Hansen out. We all agreed on complete secrecy. What we discuss here stays within this room.”

Andy rubs his bearded chin. Coming to the group to talk about the crimes he committed helped him improve. Lloyd and God even gave him advice on how to make his crimes look like accidents. “I’m going to therapy now,” he admits. “Not to talk about my hobby, though.”

“Therapy, huh?” Lloyd taunts, while Ransom smirks. God and Robert busy themselves with checking their phones for new clients. “I hope you’re not talking about our little group with the doctor.”

Steve sneers. “Don’t call these incompetent wannabes doctors. They are by all means nothing but pathetic losers trying to tell you how to live your life.”

“No one asked you, Dr. Frankenstein,” Ransom snaps at Steve. “Did you work on some nice asses and tits lately?”

“Shut up,” Steve jumps up, knocking his chair over. “At least I got a job, and I don’t live off my family’s money.”

“Shut up yourself!” Ransom puts his cookies aside and throws the rest of his mochaccino at Steve.

“Gentlemen!” Lloyd yells at Steve and Ransom. “We come here to talk about our problems and help each other improve. I didn’t come here, freezing my ass off on the way to watch you fight like girls over the latest fashion trend.”

“The therapy helps me more than coming here,” Andy raises his voice. “Your advice was good, but I think I’ll stick to her.”

The men stop fighting and stare at Andy.

“Her?” Lloyd licks his lips. “You’ve got a pretty little doctor for your therapist? Why didn’t you tell us before? We would’ve been all ears.”

“Why does this make a difference?” Andy cocks a brow. “She’s got a good reputation and listens to me. I talked to her for months, and she never pressured me into talking about my family.”

“Boohoo, your wife killed your murderous son and is as dead as your latest victim,” Lloyd mocks Andy. “Let’s talk about that pretty ass you’re seeing. Show us her reputation and shit.”

“Why?” Andy sighs deeply. He knew it was a mistake to talk about you and your sessions.

“For science,” Lloyd grins and snatches the phone out of Andy’s hand. Before Andy can protest, Lloyd throws the phone at God, nodding at him. “Unlock it, and look for the doc.”

Steve rolls his eyes. He didn’t come here to talk about some therapist. “Can we go back to business? Barber has a therapist. Maybe he even bangs her. Who cares?”

“Bangs her?” That picked Lloyd’s interest. “Not the worst idea. Maybe as a new version of therapy. Fuck all the bad memories out of her sweet cunt.”

“Got it,” God says and throws the phone at Lloyd. Y/N Y/L/N,” he recites your address and contact information. “She looks cute.”

“Cute?” Ransom laughs. “I didn’t know the word cute in your vocabulary. Show me.” Ransom walks toward Lloyd to look at the phone in his hands. “Not bad. Hey Barber, does she have a cute ass too?”

“Why are we talking about some woman? If our meeting is over, I’ll go back to business,” Steve says as he gets up. He wants to walk past Lloyd but glances at the phone. “Hmm…I’ve seen her before.”

Steve snatches the phone out of Lloyd’s hands. He looks at the pictures of you, licking his lips.

“Stop stalking my therapist,” Andy angrily says. “Can I get my phone back now?”

“I remember now,” Steve exclaims while staring at your pictures. “She accompanied one of her patients. They wanted surgery, but she talked them out of it. I hated her.” He shrugs.

“I bet she’s an uptight little doctor,” Lloyd muses. His smirk darkens as he looks at the men he brought together around two years ago. “Barber, did you already have a taste? I bet she tastes like strawberries.”

“Hansen, that is enough,” Andy grumbles. He snatches the phone out of Lloyd’s hands and turns to leave. “This was a waste of time!”

“Not to me.” Lloyd clenches and unclenches his fists. “I think I found something that will help us improve as a group. You all came here to talk about your problems and to get better at what you’re doing. I think this sweet doctor will be a big help.

Part 2

Tags in reblog.

[j2h5b5]

There was only one thing that could have dragged Steve out of bed at two in the morning when he was nursing a booze-induced headache and an Eddie Munson-induced heartache.

“We need you,” she said.

He didn’t even bother putting on a jacket.

***

Dustin was sloppy, red-eyed and so unsteady that when Steve thunked a strong hand down on his shoulder, he almost lost his balance turning away from the group of asshats he’d taken up with to see who had grabbed him. Some of the drink in his hand sloshed over the sides of the cup and dribbled down the front of his shirt and onto the already filthy kitchen floor.

“Hey, what the—” he began, and then he dragged his gaze up to land on Steve.

There was a time, not so very long ago, when those same eyes would’ve lit up at the sight of his babysitter slash idol slash best friend. He would wrap him in a hug if it had been a day or two since he’d seen him, or sling a companionable arm around him, or punch him good-naturedly in the arm in hopes of initiating a play scuffle, which inevitably ended with him in a headlock getting his mop of curls aggressively tousled because he was just never going to have any kind of athletic edge on Steve.

But now.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” the younger boy asked in a tone so sharp and cold and so very NOT-Dustin that it made Steve’s heart squeeze painfully in his chest.

“Hey, man,” Steve said, aiming for casual if only to keep Dustin from embarrassing himself in front of his new asshat friends. “Can I talk to you? Step outside with me for a sec, okay?”

“Um, no,” Dustin bit out. “This’s my party, i'ss my house. It would be rude to leave my guests.”

“Yeah, since you brought that up … who are these people?” Steve swept his gaze over the Henderson kitchen, which was almost unrecognizable with all of the clutter, displaced furniture, and wasted teenagers. “And Dustin … where’s your mom?”

“Not here.”

“Well yeah, I kind of gathered that. Listen, Dust…”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Are the others here?”

“Oh, you mean the traitors who called and ratted me out to YOU? Who the fuck cares?” His voice lowered to what he seemed to think was a conspiratorial level but was really just an extremely loud stage whisper. “Maybe they tripped and fell and landed their buzzkill asses back in the Upside Down.”

“Okay, that’s it.”

Before Dustin could protest, the cup was plucked from his hand and tossed expertly across the room, over the heads of several unwary drunken youths and into the crusty-dish-crowded sink and he was being towed along behind Steve through the kitchen, the living room, out the front door.

“What the fuck, Harrington? Let go of me! Let go!” Dustin struggled against the vise grip on his bicep but only succeeded in ensuring he’d probably have finger-shaped bruises there tomorrow.

Steve paid him no mind until he had deposited the boy into the passenger seat of his car, slammed the door, and locked it. Then he walked around to the driver’s side, unlocked it only long enough to get in, relocked it, and turned to Dustin.

“First of all,” he began loudly, drowning out Dustin’s sputtering attempts to find the words he wanted to hurl at Steve in his outrage at being manhandled out of his own party. “First of all. Joking about the Upside Down in a room full of strangers? NOT OKAY.”

“They don’t even know what—”

“Not. Fucking. Okay. SECOND, if you ever imply again that one of ours should BE in the Upside Down, you will find yourself with my foot so far up your ass you’ll choke on my shoe, and if you think I’m joking about that, Dustin, try me.”

This time there was only an eye-roll from Dustin, because he kind of didn’t want to try Steve on that point and because he kind of felt bad about saying it.

“Third, your friends are not traitors. They care about you and they’re worried about you; they called me for help because you’re treating them like shit and shut down every attempt they make to help you. Listen, I know I’m not your favorite person right now, Dustin, but you have to let someone help you. You’re not okay, buddy. This isn’t you. And all this shit you’re doing, the drinking and the partying and the pretending not to give a damn? It isn’t going to fix anything. It … it won’t bring him back.”

“Shut up!” Dustin shouted, flinching so hard at the words that he smacked the back of his head against the side window. Steve winced at the sound of skull meeting glass and resisted the urge to reach out and check for blood, or a bump. Dustin seemed not to have noticed that he’d nearly brained himself, infusing his next words with all the venom he could muster. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, Steve. Even if you were right, it’s none of your business what I do! I am none of your business.”

“Don’t say shit like that, Dustin. Of course you’re my business.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! What are you saying?”

Dustin barked out a humorless laugh. “As much as I’d like to sit here with you and have a heart to heart right now, I have to get back to my guests.”

“No,” Steve snapped, reaching over Dustin to slap down the peg lock when the teen yanked it up. “We’re not done here. Now I can go inside and clear out your house and we can talk there, or you can drop the bullshit and talk to me right now.”

“You’re not shutting down my party.”

“Then we talk here.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Right, sure you don’t. Maybe I can give you some words, then. How about this, Dustin? How about: ‘Hey, Steve, you useless idiot loser, you promised to keep us safe and then you fucked it all up like you always do. The plan didn’t work and Max got hurt and Eddie fucking died, and you couldn’t stop it. I hate you for that, for lying and making us feel safe and telling us it was going to be okay. I can’t even look at you anymore and I hate my friends because they don’t hate you for some reason, but we know, don’t we? We know whose fault it is that we came back a man short. It’s yours, Steve. Yours.’” Steve’s voice was cracked and painful, like he’d been eating gravel and chasing it with cheap whisky and cigarettes. It hurt, that voice. “How’s that, Dust?” he finished, staring unflinching into Dustin’s shocked eyes. “Am I in the ballpark?”

Before Steve could react, Dustin unlocked his door and flung himself out of the car. He was drunk and it was dark, though, and he only made it a few yards before tripping and landing hard on the grass. Steve was on him almost instantly, hauling him up by the arms and scanning him for injuries.

He didn’t see the punch coming, wouldn’t have believed Dustin Henderson capable of such an effective hit, right in the mouth, knocking him back a couple of feet. “Jesus, Dustin!” he shouted, touching his lip and staring dumbfounded when his fingers came away wet with blood. “What the fuck, man?”

“Hit me back.”

“What? No! Dustin, what’s—”

“HIT ME BACK, STEVE! You have to!” Dustin’s voice cracked, the sudden violent burst of emotion threatening to unleash something big and scary and unforgivable. A tidal wave that had a name.

Steve grappled wildly with the boy, trying to grab his flailing arms so he could pin him, but Dustin was surprisingly swift in his current state, and he launched another punch, this one landing heavy in Steve’s gut and socking the breath right out of him.

“HIT ME, STEVE! I KNOW YOU WANT TO, JUST DO IT!”

Fueled by a burst of frustration and a sharper burst of fear (what is this?), Steve recovered enough to trap Dustin’s arms against his body, using his own weight to twist the boy around until he was trapped with his back against Steve, the hold immobilizing him so all he could do was squirm and shout out his fury. “LET ME GO FUCK YOU STEVE WHY WON’T YOU JUST FIGHT BACK YOU ASSHOLE?!”

“Dustin, stop. Stop it. Breathe, Dustin. Take a breath. No, hey, stop. You’re not going anywhere until you calm down for me. Breathe. Shhh, buddy. Breathe,” Steve’s hold was unbudging, his tone stern but soothing. Dustin’s violent struggles gradually slowed, and it took a couple of minutes for Steve to realize that the boy was shaking with silent sobs. And then the sobs became words, almost indecipherable in the wrecked, wretched voice that was rough and strained from screaming.

Every sentence Steve parsed from the stream of horrible self-accusations added another crack to his heart, which couldn’t have been more than a mess of spiderwebbing at this point.

It’s my fault.

He’s dead because of me.

I couldn’t save him.

You loved him, I know you did.

Why don’t you hate me?

Why don’t you hate me?

Why don’t you hate me?

Finally, finally, the words stopped and Dustin sagged, exhausted, in Steve’s arms. Only then did Steve ease up on his hold, but only long enough to turn the boy around and hug him properly. He bent down to bury his face in the unruly curls, his own tears falling unchecked and inconsequential.

“Dustin,” he whispered into the mop of hair. “Oh, Dustin, never.”

And when he realized he didn’t have the right words, he just stopped. He just picked Dustin up and carried him to his car, buckled him into the passenger seat, and told him he would be right back. He had a party to break up, some kids to chase away, and a boy—his boy—to mend.

“You loved him, I know you did.”

With a soul-cleansing breath that sounded more like a sob, Steve made his way back up to the Hendersons’ house.

[tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar]

Lesson Learned

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Y/N Female Reader

Summary/Prompt: @eeddiyz asked:hey! So like basically you and Jj are at y/n house and y’all are doing work. Sitting next to each other “in separate chairs” and your mom calls you abt something so you step out. But when you come back, Jj as his feet on your chair. Y/n asked him where do I sit, and he eyes him lap so u sit on his lap!🥹I had a dream abt this I thought it was so cute❤️

Word Count: 886.

Warnings: None.

Note: Hello! Thank you so much for requesting! Don't be shy to share more of your dreams. I hope you enjoy reading!

Hearing another groan coming from behind you, you swirl your desk chair around to face your best friend. His right arm is still in a throwing midair motion.

“Stop wasting my paper, JJ.”

“Just one more!” You have lost count how many times he has said that, but he still swears he can bounce a paper roll up ball off your desk and make it land into your backpack. You have even thought of giving it a try, but your homework is from your first period and since JJ picks you up sometimes late, you need to finish it tonight.  

Another ball hits your ankle. “Your paper fucking sucks!”

“No, you’re just lazy.” From your floor, JJ sticks his tongue out as he wraps his arms around your pillow that he has been using as an arm rest. Secretly hoping his scent will stay on it long after he leaves and you go to bed, you watch him make another paper ball quietly. Your mind runs a mile as you follow his fingers. He licks his middle finger to fold the paper in half before crumbling it, and by the way he looks through his hair at you, both of you know that was unnecessary. But not unwanted….you do prefer for his finger to touch something else that you own, like maybe your-

“Y/N! Can you please help me with the groceries?” With your face burning, you scream back to whoever just screamed for you.  You barely hold the words themselves as you were pulled out of the thoughts you shouldn’t have about the person who’s not even two feet away and looking at you differently. “I’ll be there in a sec!”

As you walk to your door, JJ asks you, “Didn’t you guys just go to the store?”

Rolling your eyes, you tell him about how someone has started coming over more often with an empty stomach. He laughs and shrugs his shoulders. “Sounds like a fun person to hang out with.”

“Only when they do their homework with me instead of fooling around.”

“Is what I was doing what you think fooling around is? Oh, sweetheart. I have so much to teach you.”

“Like what? Basketball? I think you are the one in need of a teacher.” By his smirk, you know the crack in your voice was more noticeable than you thought.

“Damn, didn’t take you to have a teacher and student kink-“

“Nope! No! I need to go help!”

JJ is still laughing when you close your bedroom door.

When you reenter, you’re not that surprised to see him sitting in your chair. He always does shit like that. If you get up to use the bathroom at a bonfire, he will sit down to keep your spot warm. He will take a lot of room in the back of the van when it’s your turn to get picked up and he will just nob the space between his legs. You pinch his ankles until he kicks his legs away.

“Where am I supposed to sit?”

He looks at your bed that’s a pile of clothes, with a disappointed look. “If you cleaned before having a special quest over, you wouldn’t have found yourself in this pickle.”

You don’t point out the fact that he invited himself. Instead, he points at his lap with a goofy smile.

Fuck it.

He chokes on a laugh as you move around to get comfortable on his lap. “Didn’t think you would actually do it.”

Me too. “I know.” 

His arms wrap around you perfectly. He rests his chin on top of your shoulder like it’s not the first time or wants it to be the last. “Now you know what you have been missing out on.”

“I guess.”

“It doesn’t look like you’re dying from touching me, so I’m taking this as a good thing.”

“You have no idea.”

“What?” He leans more into your back to make eye contact; you can feel him all over as you tilt your head low enough to cover your face with your hair. “Y/N. Please.”

Isn’t it bad enough that he can probably hear how fast your heart is beating? Now he can feel how warm your face is from just cupping your chin upwards and towards him.

“If you’re uncomfortable,” you shake your head no. “Or don’t want this,” another head shake. “You will have to drag my ass out of this room or I’ll-“

“You’ll what?”

He kisses you. Slowly. Deeply, moving his hand from your chin to the side of your face. His rings feel so nice against your skin. You tug on his hoodie to pull him closer. He smiles against your lips.

“You can stay.”

“Oh, thank god.” He falls dramatically backwards, dipping you both lower. Your chair lets out a squeak or you do as you move upwards to hold onto him. “JJ, stop!”

“I don’t I want to now I know that makes you climb me like a tree.” Rolling your eyes, you pinch his hip.

“Ow! That fucking hurt! Why do you always pinch me?”

You dramatically fall against his chest. “I just can’t keep my fingers off of you.”

Feeling his inhale, breathe and mumble, “you tease,” you giggle.

“I think that’s the thing I learned from you, babe.”

Taglist (ask to join!)  @jjmaybankzz @afterglowsb-tch13 @moniamaybank @scandalousfemale @heysimps @fives-cup-of-coffee @mahleeyuh @jjmaybanksbaby @maddiebee2019 @softstarkey @pixelated-pogues @mrsmaybankhere @drewsephrry @cognacdelights @ssjiara @jjaybank @ilovejjmaybank @collectiveuniverses @bxllasanosa @jellyfishbeansontoast @dpaccione @jiaraendgame @poguestyleskye @jeyramarie @all-american-fangirl  @obxmxybxnk @talksoprettyjjx @pit-zuh @loveop5500 @jjsbxtch @jjpouggues @jjstoothpick @alanniys @loveyru

[sapphicccici]

Febuwhump 2025 Day 1: Vocal Chords

so this is tidbit that my fiancée ( @kabie-whump ) wrote for me for my birthday back in august and has given me permission to post lol. It is about Makkel (oc intro here) who is from another planet and used to have magical singing, before his voice was taken away when he was arrested.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

“Bloodshot, right?”

Makkel looked up from his book. It was the new guy. Cossim. He’d been scarce over the last few days, but Makkel had still found time to observe him. He had a shocking amount of energy - bouncy but incredibly smart.

Makkel nodded.

“Sorry. I don’t remember your real name, and I guess you can’t tell me. I probably should’ve asked someone before barging into your room.”

He never stopped fidgeting, his fingers running through his hair and then playing with his necklace and then picking at a bit of paint peeling from the wall.

Makkel rose from his bed, going over to his small desk to pick up his ID card and hand it to Cossim.

“Shit, you’re really as tall as you look on camera, huh? That’s crazy…” He squinted at the card. “Makkel Dextri. Cool name.”

Makkel put the card back in its place, then returned to his bed. Years ago he may have been frustrated with his lack of ability to hold up his end of a conversation with this boy. He didn’t want to come across aloof or unfriendly, and he was genuinely curious about him. But he’d learned by now that there were plenty of people around who had no issue at all with talking at him while he nodded politely, and he liked listening more than he’d thought he would.

“I just, uh, wanted to say hi,” Cossim said. “I can leave if you want.”

Makkel turned so he was sitting sideways on the bed with his back against the wall, patting the empty space on the mattress next to him.

Cossim’s face lit up. It took him two tries to jump up onto the lofted bed but he managed it. From this distance, Makkel could hear music blasting from the headphones around his neck.

Makkel touched his headphones, raising a questioning eyebrow.

“Wanna hear?” Cossim passed them over.

It wasn’t Makkel’s favorite kind of music. The song bordered on the genre of ‘just noise’ to him. All artificial. But music is music and it had an alright beat.

No one on Irenius knew what real music sounded like anyways.

He listened for a while before returning Cossim’s headphones with a thankful smile.

“Like it?”

Makkel shrugged.

“Fair enough.”

They lapsed into silence. Cossim produced a length of stray copper wire from one of his cargo pockets and began twisting it into a shape.

“Do you know sign language or something?”

Makkel shook his head.

He could learn to sign, probably. As far as he knew there was nothing against it in the details of his curse.

It’s the principle of it.

“This is just to keep you from singing our little colony to pieces.” They’d told him. “You’ll adapt after a few years. It’ll be like nothing happened.”

He didn’t want to adapt. He didn’t want to settle comfortably into what they had done to him. He refused to erase the evil of what they’d taken from him by giving them the satisfaction of seeing him find a way to overcome it. He was going to stay in this state of loss forever and he was going to make it everyone’s problem.

His manager had begged him to learn to sign as the interview requests came in by the hundreds after his 10th consecutive victory in the arena. He’d put his foot down. They could have his body, his looks, his brutal efficiency with a weapon. But Irenius couldn’t have his words. They’re the only thing he had left that no one else had touched.

No signing. No emails. No text-to-speech.

You want to turn Makkel Dextri into an object? Fine. But objects don’t communicate. Deal with it.

“Makkel?”

Makkel focused in on Cossim, giving a tight smile.

“I lost ya for a sec.”

He nodded sheepishly. He’d gotten better at not wandering off into his own mind over the years, but it still happened.

“Wanna play Smash Bros?”

Another nod.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

@febuwhump

[heyitsaveum]

as an apology for disapearing for like a month have an unfinished huskerdust and oc fic that i'll post soon as a gift (first fic gasp gasp)

The moment Angel stumbled into the hotel lobby, Viv knew she was in for a loooong night. 

“Oh, shit, Angel!” she rushed forward, and caught him just before he fell to the ground. He was unsteady, and put almost all of his weight on her. He was definitely drunk. And most likely high. Fuck. She sighed, and slung Angel’s arm around her shoulder.” Hey, Angie, sweetie, can you hear me?” 

he looked at her, lost. “Vivi?”

 “ Right here Angie.” He looked away, and was immediately lost to whatever drug he was on tonight. She wrapped her arm around his waist, and began to drag him upstairs, to his room. When she was passing the bar, she threw a glance at their resident grumpy cat bartender. He was staring at Angel, an unreadable expression on his face. She stared back, an annoyed expression on her face.” Well, don’t just stand there. C’mere and help me drag him upstairs!” he startled, and stepped out from behind the bar.

Somehow, between the two of them, they managed to haul him upstairs, and set him down in front of his room. “ so, how the fuck are we going to get in?” Husk questioned, staring at the polaroids Angel had taped onto his door, one of him and Charlie titled : This bitch!? , one of him, Niftie, pentious and husk, titled: these bitches, One of him, Vivian, and another girl with a single eye, and messy blond hair titled: My bitches, and the last one, a pictures of a pink pig, titled: My baby, with a small heart. “Can I just, I don't know, look through his pocket for his keys?” Viv’s head whipped around and gave him a glare.” Don’t. I don’t want to accidentally trigger him. I have his spare keys, hang on a sec.” deciding not to question why she has his spare keys, Husk turns to study Angel’s face. He was bruised, and shivering slightly. His eyes were unfocused, staring at nothing. 

”What happened to him?” He questioned, slightly disturbed by the ring of dark purple bruises around his neck

.” Fucking Val happened.” Viv replied, busy rummaging through her pockets, finally producing a keyring with a… concerning amount of keys, all decorated differently. She picked out a key with pink fur and a piggy charm, and smiled triumphantly.” ah ha! Here it is.” She unlocked the door, and pulled Angel inside, beckoning for Husk to follow.

Viv sat Angel down on the bed, Fat Nuggets circling her feet and demanding attention. She picked him up, and shoved him into the arms of Husk, who was standing there, glancing around Angel’s room. “Here, take him and entertain him. I’m going to get the bath started.” Husk stared at the small pink pig in his arms, who in turn, squeaked menacingly at him.” Don’t worry, He doesn’t bite! Mostly. Don’t piss him off” Viv called from the bathroom, Turning the faucet on, and filling the bathtub with hot water and bubbles, She sighed. Watching the water fill the tub. This was getting tiring. She thought. Not that she minded taking care of Angel, she would do that for him over, and over, and over again, but days like this were becoming more and more frequent. Sometimes, she just wished Val would leave him the fuck alone (or die, dying works too). She had offered to angel, once, that she would gladly fuck Val up.But she knew that would just make his situation worse. A yelp from Angel’s room brought her back to reality. 

“ For fucks sake, stop kicking me in the crotch!”She sighed, and turned off the faucet. Let’s do this.

“Alright, Nuggie, c’mere.” She picked up the pig, and brought him away from Husk, who was glaring at him angrily. “ What did you  do?” she questioned.

Husk growled.” I don’t fucking know! I tried to touch Angel, and he just started going crazy!” He stepped away from the pig, who was still squealing at him.

” Yeah, that explains a lot. He is quite protective of Angie when he gets like this.” She set the pig down on his little bed and walked over to Angel.

 “Hey sweetie, are you with me?” no response.”Okay, guess you’re not. That’s great, really.”she pinched the bridge of her nose.”hey Kitty, could you grab me the first aid kit? It’s in the tall drawer, second compartment down.”

“Don’t call me kitty.” Husk grumbled, but obliged.Viv took one of Angel’s hands, and began to pull off his pink gloves, revealing bruises around his wrist. Angel flinched. Oh, shit… She squeezed his hand as a silent reassurance.She began to take off his other pieces of miscellaneous clothes. his hat, the rest of his gloves, boots, a bra?(why the fuck was he wearing a fucking bra outside of his clothes-), but when she tried to take off his bigger peices of clothing, he froze in panic. She immediately stepped back, hands in the air. 

Angel looked around, frantic.”don’t, Val, please, i-” She sprang into action, kneeling down in front of the shaking spider demon. “Hey sweetie, can you hear me right now?” he nodded weakly.” okay. I need you to take a deep breath for me, alright?” he obliged, sucking in a deep breath. “Okay, that’s good. That’s good. Keep going.” she sat down next to Angel, close, but not touching. “Is touch okay with you right now? Can I hug you?” The spider nodded, shaking. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, stroking his fur.”shh, shh… you’re okay. You’re okay. He’s not here. It’s just me.”

Husk watched the girl comfort Angel. Holding him, stroking his hair. How many times had she done this before? Cleaned him up and comforted him? She looked way too used to this. Painfully used to this. Husk can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not. He caught a glimpse of Viv’s face as she held the crying spider. Tired. She looked so very tired. Vivian caught his eye and gave him a soft smile.She murmured something to Angel, and beckoned for Husk to come closer. He obliged, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to them both. What he didn’t expect was for Viv to draw him into her arms as well, right next to angel.”Just go with it.” she whispered.          “ Touch makes him feel better.” her wings (wait when the fuck did she get wings) wrapped around the both of them, and Husk let himself relax into the warmth. It’s been a while since he’s felt this warm. He could feel Angel shivering next to him. Vivian squeezed them both a little tighter, and for the first time since he’d fallen into this shitty place, Husk finally felt safe.

It took a long time for Angel to calm down enough for Viv to continue to take off his clothes. And even then, he flinched every time Viv even brushed her hands on his arm. Her heart broke every time it happened, and had to suppress the urge to murder the FUCKING BASTARD that did this to him. Hurt him to the point that he felt as though every touch aimed to harm him. Once he was bare, she began to gently inspect the damage Val did. So. many. Fucking. Bruises. 

“What did he do to you?” she whispered, and Angel didn’t answer, but he tensed up, shaking still. She hummed softly, and turned to Husk, who was sitting next to Angel still, staring at the bruises on him with a look of pure fury. “Could you stay with him for a while? I’m grabbing something from my room.” He nodded silently. Viv flashed him a grateful smile and stepped out of the room.

Husk mentally cursed  himself for agreeing to stay with Angel. He wasn’t Vivian. He wasn’t used to this. He doesn’t know how to comfort people. He threw an awkward glance at Angel, who refused to look at him. “Sorry…” The spider demon whispered, softly. Husk turned to look at him, confusion etched on his face.

��What are you sorry about?” Angel ran a hand over his face, shaking still. 

“For making ya stay here with me. For bothering ya.” Ah, there goes what’s left of Husk’s heart. He looks so small, sitting there naked. He moved closer to him, pretending not to see how he flinched. “Hey. none of that. I don’t mind sitting here with you. He tried to take Angel’s hand, but he tensed up, and pulled his hand back. “Sorry… “ Angel murmured. “I… don’t think I can handle you touching me right now.

Husk mentally cursed himself for not thinking of that. “That's alright. We'll just sit here till Vivian comes back.”

[themanylives-ofandrea]

11

Department of Missing Persons

Name: Madeline Knight Not my name anymore It’s Madelyn Grace Theodore don’t dox me! Can’t dox someone who technically doesn’t exist you’re an idiot.

Age: 16 Bravo you got it right

Sex or Gender: Female (she/her)

Race: White yeah that’s pretty obvious

Eyes: Brown Their hazel Bro what are you on about I’m bullshitting. I just like mess with you, Mads … you are the bane of my existence

Hair: Shoulder length, black Awe, three years and you haven’t changed your hairstyle yet you haven’t changed clothes since 1896 calm down I’m literally dead-

Height: 5’3 haha short we both know I’ve grown past that hmmm not the point

Weight: ෴ nuh uh none your damn business TELL EM MADS

Wearing: Green cargo pants, black tank top and leather jacket those were so comfy man ..how? you just don’t understand theodore :(

Identifying Characteristics: Birthday mark on her right wrist I need concealer now

Last seen: 3/7/2021

That’s all?

Theodore it’s a missing persons poster, not a tinder profile

What’s a tinder profile?

Jesus Christ…

…

add more

What?

you’re already writing on it. Add more

yeah for comedic effect

it would be funny to just stuff on the back

you’re not going to see the back

great! Doesn’t matter what you put on it then :D

stop grinning like an idiot

you’re so mean

I’m logical

oh lighten up before I throw a lampshade at you

you’re not going to shut up until I do it, are you?

nope! WEEEE WOOO WEE WOOO WEEE-

FINE FINE

yay!

you’re insufferable

:3

Personal details:

Child of Melinoe

has to deal with this little shit and his buddies all the time you love me sometimes I sure don’t

bisexual

let me write something sir you are a ghost let me innnnnnnn wha- no! gimme one sec I ain’t fucking doing that please just let me-

NEW TO CAMP AND NEEDS FRIENDS PLS BEFRIEND HER

BITCH I’M GETTING YOU EXORISED HAHA GOOD LUCK YOUR MOTHER LIKES ME TOO MUCH

Powers:

Divine authority over ghosts (and the dead technically but not really), can talk to ghosts and see lost souls, Can summon ghosts and skeletons, Nightmare authority and control, Umbrakinesis, Mist control, can summon hellhounds, Shadow travel, Mystiokinesis, Mind control, the ability to reanimate ghosts, the ability to let ghost possess them for a period of time and there could be more

holy shit you’re overpowered

i don’t want to be stacked

WHY ON EARTH WOULDN’T YOU WANT TO BE

first of all, ow, my ears. secondly, you’ve just taught me how to use a sword without nearly killing myself

isn’t your mum helping you with your powers

you think i have enough trust in myself to use my ‘full potential’?

okay good point

[endlesslystarlitskies]

Lost and Found- Part 11

,296A/N: Hey guys, here’s the next part! Unfortunately my friend got really busy and wasn’t able to beta read the story within a reasonable time phrase, so I’m going to be honest and say these next few chapters have me really nervous. I just worry about the pacing and if everything is moving too quickly. At the same time, I don’t want things to be repetitive and boring. Hopefully they’re okay. Thanks for being so patient guys! 

Genre: Horror, Action, Adventure, Romance, Slow-Burn,  

Pairing: Leon Kennedy x Named Reader (Named but not Described)

Summary: Ella was one of the missing hikers who was kidnapped by the villagers. She narrowly escaped being sacrificed, but her friends weren’t so lucky. Managing to survive out in the woods with her previous skills and knowledge, she runs into Leon, and that meeting begins the longest, most dangerous adventure of her life as she tries to help him save the girl she saw being taken into the church. What will happen along the way? Only one way to find out.  

Warnings: Canon typical violence and gore, Death, Murder, Monsters, Suicidal ideations mentioned

Word Count: 9,296

Part 10 Part 12  Story Masterlist

xXx

Ella was starting to worry more as the time ticked by, but after a few more minutes, the sound of the gated door above them opening echoed through the room, both Ella and Leon getting to their feet.

Relief washed through Ella as Ashley came out into view, seeming uninjured. Ella had no idea how they would have gotten out of this cage if Ashley had been captured, and now Ella didn’t have to find out.

“Leon, Ella!” She called, happy to see that they were okay as well. 

“Ashley! Are you alright?” Leon asked first and foremost, having been just as worried as Ella, even if he was better at hiding it. 

“Yeah! Give me a sec, I’ll get you guys out.” She looked to the lever, walking over and trying to move the dead body off of it. As she did, something fell out of his robe. A key!

“Hey, try this!” She tossed the key down, Leon catching it before looking back up at her.

“Can you make it down? I can catch you?” Ella was just ready for him to open the door so they could get to her, but her getting down was definitely a big part of that, so Ella waited as patiently as she possibly could. 

“Yeah, I think so!” Ashley nodded, and Leon moved to unlock the door, Ella right behind him. However, Ella spun around when she heard Ashley scream, her eyes widening as she took in the large robed creature grabbing ahold of the young girl.

“Ashey!” She shouted, unable to do anything as the thing carried her away. There was no quick way up to the balcony, which meant there was no quick way to Ashley. Leon tried firing shots at it, but it had no effect, the thing stopping for only a moment to look at him with its glowing orange eyes, before turning back around and disappearing. 

“Shit!” Leon cursed, Ella gritting her teeth in frustration, ignoring the pain it brought her jaw. They had been so close! She had been right there! At least Ella knew they wouldn’t kill Ashley. There was still time to get her back. It wasn’t over yet. Ella took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down as she reminded herself of that over and over. Ashley would be okay. Ella wouldn’t fail her too.

“Just wait for us Ashley, we’re coming.” She murmured to herself. She didn’t know how much time they had left for either Ashley or Leon, but they would figure this out, and get that damned medicine from Luis. Ella was brought from her thoughts when Leon’s comms beeped, and she stepped forward to listen. An unfamiliar female voice sounded through the ear piece, her brow furrowing. 

“Ada?” So that was her name. Ella thought the name was pretty, but she couldn’t help but wonder who she was. The question left her mind for the moment at her tip, the two of them now having an idea where to go, and Ada hung up soon after that. 

“Hey, Ada? Ada!” Leon sighed. “Perfect.” Ella looked to him, hearing something behind his tone. 

“Who’s Ada?” She questioned curiously as they got outside the cage, and Leon looked to her.

“She’s a mercenary I met in Raccoon City.” The way he said mercenary stuck out to her, but Ella was confused about something else. What would a mercenary be doing here?

“What does she want?” Ella voiced her question out loud, as Leon clearly knew her and might have an idea as to what she was here for. 

“I don’t know, but whatever it is, we should probably keep her from getting it.” He told her, giving Ella the idea that he didn’t trust Ada one bit. Ella supposed that was fair considering the woman’s occupation, but it felt like it was more than that. Ella studied him a moment, noticing he was frowning more than usual after the call. He noticed her looking at him. 

“What?” His tone confirmed it, as it was one of a man who’s pride was hurt, and the realization crossed Ella’s features. 

“She tricked you didn’t she? In Raccoon city?” Ella was guessing, but Leon’s reaction told her all she needed to know as the man looked away from her quickly. 

“It doesn’t matter. The point is she can’t be trusted.” The response was vague and it avoided the question, Ella figuring that Ada must have done a number on poor 21 year old Leon. 

“Of course she can’t. She’s a mercenary. They’re usually big on money and not much else.” Ella chuckled as they moved forward, intentionally avoiding Leon’s light glare. 

She quickly gathered that it was a touchy subject for him despite it being six years ago, and she would do well to avoid the topic moving forward, even if she was really curious as to what happened. 

xXx

They made their way towards the throne room, dealing with more knights and puzzles, and the most disgusting bug looking creatures Ella had ever seen (Ella hated bugs), before they made it outside, where the annoying voice of Ramon greeted them. Well, Leon. He still ignored Ella’s existence while simultaneously trying his hardest to kill her.

“Oh Mr. Kennedy, not much of a knight, are you?” Ella found herself mentally pleading with Ramon to not compare Leon to a knight right now. She’s had her fill of those for a lifetime. “Your princess is a. . .Spirited individual.” Ella perked up at the mention of Ashley. “I must say, she gave us a considerable amount of trouble!” Ella hoped she continued to do so long enough for them to get there. They were close, and Ella was ready to get Ashley back and shut Powder Puff up for good. 

Getting the drawbridge down, they got the doors across from it open, being greeted by some cult members and two of the scariest looking monsters Ella had seen yet- and that was saying something. 

“Great. There’s two of them.” Them? Ella wondered if Leon had faced these things before, though she was sure she would recognize them if he had unless it happened while she was with Ashley. 

Ella tried to get a good look at the creatures, before noticing the long razor sharp claws, recognition hitting her. They were the same thing that he faced after falling through the wood. Ella had barely gotten a look at it at the time, but she recognized those claws. At least that meant they were killable. 

The cultists ran forward, and Ella and Leon began taking them down, before the sounds of chains breaking drew their attention, and suddenly one of the monsters was running toward her. Ella ran to the side, narrowly avoiding the swinging claws as her heart pounded with fear. These guys were straight out of a horror movie, and while that could be said about everything they had encountered thus far, there was just something about these creatures that made Ella want to run and hide. 

“They can’t see you! They rely on sound!” Leon shouted, simultaneously drawing the creature's attention away from her and letting her know how to handle them. He must have noticed that she had practically frozen in fear, and she was grateful for him, because it had been a minute since she had been that scared by one of the horrors they faced, and the monster not being focused on her helped her take a moment to breathe and reign in her fear. 

Once she had steeled herself, she moved quietly, going around the wall before noticing the large bell by the gate they needed to go through. Knowing that they relied on their sound, it was the perfect object to help direct these guys the way she wanted.

She shot the golden instrument, the loud sound and vibration seeming to disorient the creatures as they swung around at nothing, giving Leon the perfect opportunity to shoot one of them in the back where the parasite was. Ella moved, following his lead and doing the same to the other one, who was much closer to her. It didn’t take long for it to charge, but Ella shot the bell again, before moving out of the way. 

Eventually Ella got the genius idea to have the creature take out the cult members for them, and when a few members were right in front of her, she shouted and quickly moved away so she wasn’t in the creature's line of fury.

Predictably, one of the creatures came barreling towards the noise, hitting the cult members and making quick work of them, saving Leon and Ella some ammo. Repeating the actions with the bell helped Ella and Leon get shots on the parasites coming out the monsters backs, and soon, they fell to the ground dead, having taken all of the cultists along with them. 

Ella and Leon both took a moment to gather themselves and reload their weapons. 

“Those gave me the creeps unlike anything else. . .” She admitted to Leon, a bit embarrassed that she had almost frozen in fear. She thought she was past that, but no matter what horrors this place threw out her, there always seemed to be something worse waiting ahead. 

“You seem to have handled yourself just fine.” She looked to see him giving her a half smile, and she felt her cheeks warm slightly. She appreciated his compliment and assurance, her embarrassment fading as she reminded herself that despite her fear, she had taken one down.  She didn’t know if he did it on purpose, but Ella was quickly realizing that Leon was good at comforting others in his own way. 

The gate required two unicorn horns in order to be opened, and fortunately, or unfortunately if you asked Ella, the creatures had them on them, Ella grimacing as she cautiously grabbed one from the monster she killed as if it would spring to life suddenly.

That didn’t happen, and she moved to the statues with Leon to put them in their rightful places. The gate raised, giving them access to the large ornate doors to the throne room. The two shared a look, Ella nodding to say she was ready, before they moved to open them. 

“Nooo! No!” The two heard Ashley scream from the inside, panic filling Ella as she picked up her pace, her and Leon pushing the doors open with their guns drawn. 

Ramon was sitting on the throne with his legs crossed, a drink in hand, and Ella took in the two cultists holding Ashley and forcing her into a kneeling position, that damned symbol painted on her face. A now familiar rage filled Ella as both her and Leon ran forward, preparing to attack the men holding her.

“Stop! No! Don’t come any closer!” Leon and Ella halted, and Ella grit her teeth, desperately wanting to go to her and get those men off of her. She took in the hole in front of her, seeing that it was deep, only blackness visible. She had no idea how long the drop would be, but she really didn’t want to find out, taking a step back as she focused back on Ashley.

“Are you hurt?” Leon asked, but just as he did, Ashley looked at something above him. 

“Watch out!” Ella could barely get a good look at the red robed guard that landed on Leon before a strange arm shot out, slamming into her and sending her flying into the stone wall to the side. She dropped her gun, crumpling to the floor as she tried to push away the disorientation and pain that had blossomed throughout her body. 

“Please, continue.” Ashley’s crying and begging echoed in Ella’s ears, and she weakly raised her head, watching as a robed man brought over a large chalice that had black liquid sloshing within it. 

Ella moved to reach for her gun as she got to her knees, needing to do something and refusing to let the pain stop her. However, the other red robed creature appeared, forcing her back down as she let out a grunt at the pressure holding her to the stone floor. These things were unbelievably strong, and whatever they used to hold them down covered Ella’s entire torso, making it impossible for her to get up. 

“Do not resist, my dear. It serves only to make your suffering all the worse.” The men chanted as the two holding her forced her mouth open, and Ella watched in horror as they poured the liquid down her throat, helpless to do anything. Ashley coughed as the men released her, the remaining liquid spilling out of her mouth as she put a hand to her stomach. The dark veins suddenly became much more apparent on Ashley’s skin, Ella’s eyes widening as she watched them spread up the young girl's arms, neck and face, and Ella immediately realized the liquid must have sped up the process of the Plaga’s hold on her.  However, Ella’s attention was stolen as Leon grunted, struggling in the thing holding him’s grasp as it raised him above the large hole in the floor. Ella felt her heart drop into her stomach as she realized what was about to happen. 

“Leon!” She shouted, trying to struggle, but it was no use, the thing only pressing her down harder. Ramon spoke in Spanish, and in the next second, before Ella could even blink, the thing threw Leon into the hole.

“NO!” Her heart twisted violently in her chest as Leon disappeared from her sight, Ashley crawling to the edge with a scream of his name. Silence fell over the room for a moment, Ella’s eyes never leaving the hole as she tried to process what just happened. There was no way Leon had just. . . 

Ella’s breath caught in her throat as she realized what might have just occurred, an overwhelming sense of dread and heartbreak swirling within her. She was snapped out of it when the thing suddenly lifted her, and she wondered for the first time if she was also going to be tossed into the hole behind him. However, the thing brought her closer to Ramon, who looked at her with disdain. 

“You should have never been allowed to live.” He tsk’d. “However, it seems that mistake will now be amended. As much as I wish to kill you now, Lord Saddler believes it would be fitting to have the girl do it when she finally submits herself to the gift instead. A testament that she is finally ours.” Ella’s brows furrowed in confusion, not understanding why they wouldn’t just kill her now. It looked like Ramon was considering it as he watched her closely. The thing holding her let her go enough so the cultists could take all of her gear, though Ella was able to hide something under her flannel shirt. The men moved to grab the two grenades at her waist, managing to grab one just before Ramon continued. 

“But perhaps we could tell Lord Saddler that you resisted, giving us no choice but to kill you.” Ella knew that was her cue as she revealed the flash grenade she had grabbed without the cultists knowing, pulling the pin and dropping it between them. 

“Ashley, cover your eyes!” She shouted, following her own advice as the bright light went off. Saved from the effects, Ella moved quickly, kicking the cultists holding Ashley off of her before taking her hand and pulling her along with her to the door. 

Ashley was sluggish and weak, but she did her best to follow Ella as the girl practically slammed into the doors to open them quickly. Ella was running on autopilot at the moment, having no real plan except getting Ashley the hell out of there. 

Cultists were running after them, and with how slow Ashley was moving, it was hard to not keep the distance from closing little by little, Ella getting to the next door after avoiding the dead bodies on the ground. 

“Ella stop-” Ashley breathed, panting as Ella got the door open. Ella looked back at the girl incredulously, not understanding how she could be asking her to stop when the cultists were  practically right behind them. “I can’t. . I’m too slow and weak. You have to go without me.” Ella couldn’t believe what she was hearing, immediately shaking her head to tell her there was no way she was doing that. Before she could even open her mouth, Ashley spoke first.. “Ella, they’ll kill you! At least if you run you can come find me later. Please-” She tried to reason with her, turning to see the cultists about to close the gap. 

Ella knew she was right. They wouldn’t kill Ashley, but if Ramon was hesitating to kill Ella before, she had just given him the perfect reason to do it now. But how could she just leave Ashley? It felt so wrong, and Ella didn’t know if she could do it. However, Ashley didn’t give her a choice as she used what little strength she had to shove Ella out of the door. 

“Go!” She shouted, before leaning her body against the wood and closing it behind her, giving Ella no time to react. Ella was left standing there, staring at the doors as she heard Ashley’s yelp of fear, Ella knowing they had just grabbed her. 

Guilt had already been swirling inside her, along with many other emotions, but it increased tenfold, Ella’s breathing becoming shaky and uneven as she tried to process everything that had just happened in her head. It had all happened so fast. . .how had so much changed in the matter of minutes? A large weight inside her threatened to pull Ella down, but she knew that if she didn’t get moving, Ashley’s actions would be in vain. Ella’s jaw set as she forced herself to turn away from the door and run across the stone she and Leon had been at not even an hour ago, the thought of the blonde causing a lump to form in her throat. 

Getting to the other side, she ran through the still open gate and into the large and partially destroyed room she and Leon faced the swarm of flying bugs, hearing cultists shout behind her and realizing they were coming after her once more. 

She cursed under her breath, picking up her pace as she ran up the steps and to the door they had unlocked from the inside, squeezing through and wasting no time as she ran down the corridor. 

She ended up going into the library where she and Leon had fought off more knights while going after Ashley, crawling into a small crevice in the bookshelves to hide as she pressed her hand against her mouth, trying to quiet her breathing. 

The cultists hadn’t been far behind her, and she could hear them shouting in Spanish outside the library. It only took a few moments before the door opened, and Ella held her breath as the sound of footsteps entered the room. Light from the cultists' torches filled the room, and Ella pulled herself further into the small nook she was in, holding her knees to her chest and praying she wouldn’t be found. 

It took about five minutes, but eventually the handful of men who had come into the room left, the door shutting behind them as silence filled the room. 

Ella gave it a few more minutes to be safe, but when no other sound could be heard, she released the breath she had been holding, it immediately being followed by a sob before Ella slapped a hand over her mouth once more. 

She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to feel helpless. She didn’t want to feel her heart shattering in her chest again at the realization she had lost someone else. There was no way Leon had survived that fall. . .they wouldn’t have thrown him down there if they believed he could survive it after all.

That meant that just like Alice, Ella had failed in saving Leon. And now all Ashley had left was her. Self-loathing filled Ella’s thoughts again as she berated herself mentally. She wasn’t Leon. She wasn’t a trained agent. She didn’t have his connections. She didn’t even have her weapons on her anymore. She had a single grenade, which could only do so much assuming she used it properly. She had no real way to defend herself except her limited self-defense knowledge, which had failed her twice already. 

How was she supposed to save Ashley? 

She remembered Ashley’s words just before she shut the door on Ella. Ashley had told her to come after her. She was relying on Ella. Despite knowing that, all Ella could feel was hopelessness and self doubt, seemingly unable to pick herself up this time. 

The sound of clicking echoed throughout the library, Ella’s eyes widening as she once again held her breath. There was someone else in this room. But how? Ella hadn’t heard anyone come in? And what was that sound? It almost sounded like heels. That was confirmed when a pair of black boots appeared in front the nook Ella was hiding, and Ella’s heart pounded loudly in her chest as she waited for whoever was standing there to say or do anything. She flinched when a gloved hand appeared, though it was being held out to her in offer. 

Ella’s brows furrowed, her eyes taking in the unfamiliar hand. There were no visible veins along the smooth skin that Ella could see, telling Ella that the person it was attached to wasn’t infected. Cautiously, Ella took the hand, letting the unknown person help her out of the nook. Soon, Ella was face to face with a gorgeous black haired woman, though Ella didn’t recognize her even remotely. 

“Who-” She had tried to ask, but the woman was quick to cut her off. 

“The name’s Ada. I’m sure you’ve heard of me?” Ada. . .She was the mercenary that Leon had met in Raccoon City. Ella took her in for a moment, having not expected to meet the woman on her journey. Especially not like this. 

“Y-Yeah. Leon-” She had to swallow the lump in her throat. “He told me about you. Briefly.” She wondered if Ada knew what happened to him, and if she should tell her. The two had a past after all, and Leon’s reaction to her suggested there was more behind their relationship. 

“Good. Keep your chin up, okay?” Ella was brought from her thoughts at Ada’s words, focusing back on the woman who was giving her a small smile. “And don’t worry about Leon. Trust me, he’s lived through much worse.” The complete certainty in her voice made Ella stop, the slightest bit of hope pushing its way through the flurry of negative emotions still inside her. “You’ll actually be good for him, unlike me.” That last part was murmured under the woman’s breath, but Ella had heard it, though she didn’t understand what she meant. Before she could ask, Ada pulled a combat knife out from behind her, holding it out for Ella. “Take this, and stay alive. You’ve managed to do that this far, so you might as well keep going.” Ada’s tone was almost dismissive, as if she was putting up a front, but considering what she was currently doing for Ella, she knew better than to believe it. 

Ada didn’t have to be here, giving Ella hope and a way to defend herself, but she was. And Ella appreciated it more than Ada could ever possibly know as she took the knife from the woman, nodding in agreement. Ada seemed satisfied with that, and in the next moment, she moved towards the windows of the library, Ella only realizing then that one of them was open. Ada climbed onto the ledge, turning to her once more and shooting her a wink, before using a grappling gun and disappearing from Ella’s sight. 

Ella was left standing there, still a bit surprised about the interaction. She didn’t fully understand it, but she did know that Ada had just saved her from herself, and that was something Ella wasn’t sure she’d get the chance to repay the woman for. 

Looking at the knife in her hand, she steeled her resolve. Ada had clearly known what happened to Leon, and she hadn’t been the least bit worried about him. Ella didn’t know if she knew something Ella didn’t, but either way, Ella would hold on to the tiny bit of hope within her that Leon was okay, it being just enough to keep the fear of having lost him at bay for the time being. 

Ella thought about her next move, knowing that all she could do was try to find Ashley, and hopefully run into Leon. If he was alive, he was already doing that himself, afterall. 

xXx

Ella had nothing to go off of where Ashley had been taken, and she was operating blind. Not only that, but one of those creatures in the red robes that had been behind Ramon were walking about, presumably looking for her. Ella had noticed early on that it made a chittering sound, and that helped her keep away from it and out of sight, as it alerted her that it was near. 

She did not want to face off against it, as they were far too strong for her to take on, especially with just a knife and a grenade. She had wanted to go back to the throne room and see if she could find her gear, but that path was heavily guarded, Ramon probably assuming she would try that exact thing, and it was too much of a risk. She knew the throne room was a dead end, so there was no other reason to risk going back to it. 

That left her wandering about the castle, looking for any signs of Ashley and dealing with the cultists that were patrolling the area as well with just her stealth skills, combat knife, and a single grenade she couldn��t use. Ella had gotten used to sneaking about in the woods, but the castle was a different terrain, and it was a challenge for her to keep out of sight. She had to engage with cultists every now and then, but she made sure to keep it stealthy, sneaking up behind them and stabbing them in the throat before laying them down and out of sight. She only did this when she needed to check a pathway for signs of Ashley or a way forward, as she didn’t want to risk being seen too often. She knew if she did, her luck would eventually run out, and she couldn't help Ashley if she was dead. 

A couple of hours later, it felt like Ella had looked everywhere. Every pathway forward ended in a dead end, and there were cultists still patrolling about. 

At least the chittering creature had disappeared after a bit, though Ella didn’t know if she should be relieved or concerned, being on high alert just in case as she found a place to rest and think about her next move. If she kept wandering around with no direction, she was going to get caught. Considering their numbers were falling, they had to know she was skulking about by now, and they would be even more on guard. She needed a better game plan. 

She looked at her hands, flexing the sore muscles in them. Stabbing people over and over again wasn’t easy, and her hand had cramped up a few times. She found herself wondering if having Leon’s fingerless gloves would help, and wishing the Merchant had some for sale, however she quickly returned her thinking to her next move. 

Ella only thought about Leon in bits and pieces, unable to do so for too long lest she fall down the rabbit hole of worrying he was dead and what that could mean. There was still a heavy weight in her chest, and if she acknowledged it too much, it may just drag her down. 

She took in a deep breath, instead thinking about the creatures with the glowing orange eyes. Why had it disappeared? Where could it have gone? That was what she needed to focus on right now. 

It was quiet a few moments as Ella tried to consider the possibilities, but eventually, realization crossed her features. 

It wasn’t gone. It was blocking the path forward. 

xXx

Ella thought back to when she had last seen the creature, figuring that was as good a clue as she was going to get. 

Fortunately, there weren’t more cultists than before, Ella having worried they would have replaced the ones she had taken care of. It left her way somewhat open as she decided her best bet was to go in the direction the creature had been heading. If she remembered correctly, it would eventually lead her towards- 

Ella remembered the gated doors in the big room that was partially destroyed. It was locked from the outside, making it impossible to get through easily, but Ella knew that had to be where she needed to go. It was the only place she hadn’t been in this god forsaken castle. 

She’d have to worry about getting through it once she crossed that bridge, because she had a much bigger obstacle in her way if she was right. 

xXx

Getting back to the destroyed ballroom, Ella hid behind a wall by the entrance as she listened for the now familiar sound. Sure enough, Ella could hear the chittering of the creature echoing through the large space, which meant she had been right. 

Ella felt both dread and relief. Relief that she finally had a direction to go. Dread, because she knew there was no way she could get that door open without engaging with the creature in some way. 

This would determine whether or not she could save Ashley. She would either kill this creature, or it would kill her. Ella remembered all the times she would joke about turning back, and she could practically hear Leon’s voice in her head right now telling her there was no other choice. 

Not if she wanted to save Ashley. 

Ashley was the whole reason Ella was even here right now. She had told Leon that she had to save Ashley to make up for the fact that she couldn’t save Alice, and while that was still true, she knew it was more than that now. Ashley was her friend, and she was relying on Ella right now. Ella refused to leave her behind, even if it meant dying. 

Leon hadn’t even made these things flinch, the creatures always brushing off his attacks with little concern, and she didn’t know what she could do that Leon couldn’t, but it didn’t matter. She had to try. 

Having prepared herself as much as she could, Ella peeked into the room, able to see the shadow of the creature moving along the top floor, which at least gave her some cover. She kept her footfalls quiet as she walked into the room, hiding behind a pillar and looking around. Maybe there was something she could use to her advantage. 

There was rubble everywhere, but anything big enough to take out the creature was far too heavy for Ella to push, which didn’t leave her much. There were holes in the ground, and if she could make him fall into one of them, then maybe that would work, but she didn’t forget that the creature had strange limbs, and he could probably climb his way out, so she didn’t know if that would work.  

Remembering her single grenade, she paused, an idea coming to mind. It was dangerous, and she’d have to time it exactly right, but if she could use the explosion to knock one of the large pieces of rubble onto the thing, then maybe that would either kill it, or at least pin it in place long enough for her to get out of there. 

It was her best shot, and Ella silently moved to find the best piece of stone for her plan, keeping an eye on the creature's shadow so she knew where it was at all times. 

There was a boulder that was near the edge of the top floor, and Ella knew it would be perfect for what she wanted to do. She just needed to get up there, place the active grenade under the rock, and jump down while the thing was chasing her, using herself as bait and getting out of the way just in time for the boulder to fall on it. 

Easy enough. 

“Who am I kidding.” She whispered to herself under her breath as she went through the plan in her mind over and over again. So many things could go wrong, and she knew it. Timing would be the hardest aspect, remembering that Leon said these grenades took about 3 to 5 seconds to explode, and she only had one shot. There was a very small chance of success, but what choice did she have? 

Ella took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she had to do, before looking to the stairs she’d need to climb. She had no idea how fast the creature was, but she would have to be faster, or at least fast enough to get to where she needed to be before it could grab her. She would also have to bring it to the first floor so that it was behind her, otherwise she would never get to the stone in time. 

She grabbed the grenade off her belt loop, her fingers wrapping tightly around the explosive as took a deep breath. 

“Here goes nothing.” She murmured, before running out of cover and into the open when the creature was the farthest away from the stone. “Hey, looking for me?” She called, though the things eyes had been on her the second she had exposed herself, and Ella barely had any time to react as it leapt towards her. 

With a gasp, she moved around the pillar in front of her, needing to use it and the rubble everywhere to slow the thing down so she could make it to the stairs. She jumped around the rubble, using her ability to maneuver to her advantage as she quickly made it through the rocky terrain, before bolting for the stairs. 

The thing wasn’t far behind her, Ella managing to get to the top of the stairs just as it leapt right over the terrain, landing halfway up the stairs and leaving very little space between them. Ella cursed but didn’t stop, knowing it would cost her her life as she practically slid to the rock, pulling the pin and placing the grenade in the crevice between the stone and the floor as the creature almost flew towards her. 

She couldn’t even look at where she was going to land as she practically threw herself off the edge, landing on her shoulder with a grunt. Pain blossomed across her upper bicep, but as a shadow loomed over her, she had to push past it as she scurried to the side, the explosion sounding just as the creature landed in front of her. Ella hadn’t been able to get far away, but all she could do was pull her knees up to her chest and cover her head with her arms when rubble fell around her, some hitting her in the thigh and forearm and making Ella grit her teeth.

The ground shook as the boulder landed on the floor with a crash, Ella flinching but not looking up as she waited. Whether she was waiting for the thing to kill her, or for silence to follow, she didn’t know, but after a few moments, the latter prevailed, and Ella cautiously removed her arms and looked towards the large rock not even a few inches by her boots. Shock and relief filled her as she saw the robed creature pinned beneath the rock, unmoving. 

She almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and she was sitting there for a few moments as she processed that she had done it. She had no idea if the creature was dead, but she wasn’t going to get close enough to check, Ella quickly reigning in the shock of what she had done as she got to her feet. 

Afraid the thing would eventually crawl out from under the boulder, she wasted no more time as she ran towards the gaited door, her eyes roaming over it and looking for any way through. There was a small vertical opening in the middle, and Ella wondered if she’d be able to fit her arms through enough to pull the lock out. 

She knew it wouldn’t be an easy fit, but she’d have to try, otherwise she didn’t know how she would get past it. 

Ella raised her arms, pushing through the opening and only managing to get to the middle of her forearm before the fit became tight, and she had to start forcing her arms through. She could immediately feel the blood flow being cut off as she got to her elbows, but she could reach enough to push the tip of the sliding lock out, just needing to be able to reach the handle with her other hand. Ella bit into her lip at the pain, but didn’t stop as she pushed it as far as she possibly could, barely able to reach the handle with her other hand. 

Taking a moment break, she prepared herself, knowing this next part was going to hurt. Knowing she couldn’t avoid it, she began to pull her arm out, the metal of the gate roughly tearing at the skin of her arm, and Ella couldn’t help the cry of pain as she kept pulling her arm towards her despite the pain. Tears welled in her eyes against her will, but soon, her arm was free, Ella letting out a breath of momentary relief. 

She was bleeding a bit, but otherwise okay, and soon, Ella did the same with her other arm, pulling the handle with her and unlocking the gate. 

The fresh wounds at her arms stung, Ella looking over the damage with a wince as blood dripped down her forearms. 

So much for not adding to her collection. 

xXx

Ella took only a few minutes to clean and wrap her arms, before looking to the car that would take her across the open ravine and towards a clock tower. The realization that she was one step closer to Ashley crossed her mind, and Ella was quick to get to the car, opening the door and stepping inside. As if the thing had a sensor, it began to move, Ella looking over the edge once there was nothing below her and swallowing down the anxiety. She still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that she had survived the creature and was finally making progress in her quest to find Ashley, on her own. 

In the library, she had admittedly thought she wouldn’t make it five minutes without Leon, but here she was. She had kept hidden and taken down cultists on her own with just a knife, and then, she had taken down the orange eyed creature with just a grenade and a boulder. She was more capable than she realized, despite what her self doubt wanted to make her think.

She didn’t know how far she’d get with her plan to save Ashley, but she had far more confidence in herself than she did a couple of hours ago, and she would take the wins where she could get them. 

xXx

Making it to the other side, Ella stepped off the car, turning to see the trolley begin to go back towards where she had come from on its own.

That was good, because if Leon was behind her, he’d need it to get across. Ella refused to let her mind question whether or not he would be behind her, turning towards the clock tower and focusing on it. 

She pulled the combat knife from her boot, before cautiously moving forward up the steps and inside the clocktower. There was a spiral staircase along the wall, but Ella was more focused on what was in the middle. A stone statue of Ramon was there, wooden platforms all around it as if it had just been built. 

“Wow. . .this guy may be more full of himself than Saddler.” She murmured as she shook her head. There were some cultists further up the stairs, and Ella knew there was no sneaking around anymore, readying herself to fight. 

She knew to be smart and run past who she could, only engaging with the ones she absolutely had to, but as she got to the first platform, that plan was quickly thwarted when Ramon’s statue suddenly starting spewing fire out of its mouth, the flames licking at Ella’s arm as she barely dodged it, moving back down the stairs. 

Now stopped, a few cultists began to surround her, and she knew she’d never get past these stairs with that statue blocking her path. 

She looked to the cultists with a crossbow, dodging the arrow and lunging at her as Ella stabbed the knife into the woman's neck. Having no time to pause with the other cultists reaching for her, she slid the knife into her boot before grabbing the crossbow from the now dead woman’s hands, managing to snag a couple of bolts before she was forced to dodge a hatchet. 

Moving around them, she jumped onto the wooden platform by the statue that had paused its assault, getting behind its head to avoid the flames that would surely come soon. Using the crossbow bolts she had grabbed, she took out the cultists around her, or at least wounded them (she didn’t have amazing aim with the unfamiliar weapon), giving her time to focus on the statue. She waited for the flames to cease once more, before she slammed the handle of the crossbow into the joints of the statue's mouth, hoping to dislodge it. 

Her plan was to dislodge it and expose the pipe that the flames were coming out of so she could break it, making it to where the flames would go up into the head instead of towards the stairs. Flames would still escape from the statue, but they wouldn’t be directly pointed at the stairs, giving Ella an open passage forward. 

She managed to get one corner of the mouth dislodged, but the wood of the crossbow was splintered. Ella still moved over to the other side, hoping it would last long enough to dislodge it as well, and if it didn’t, hopefully it would do enough damage that Ella could pull it off. However, someone calling her name stopped her. 

“Ella?” She knew that voice, her heart jumping in her chest as she moved to look over the edge. Sure enough, Leon was on the bottom floor, and the weight that had almost cemented itself inside of Ella lifted so abruptly she was almost knocked off balance. 

“Leon, you’re alive!” She breathed, her shoulders almost sagging as the anxiety dissipated. The two stared at each other for a few moments, taking each other in. Relief was visible in Leon’s eyes as well, the blond having clearly been worried about her. He had known they wouldn’t kill Ashley, but Ella’s fate had been unknown, even when she didn’t follow him down.

“You weren’t worried about me were you? You know I don’t go down easy.” She joked as she moved to look for a way down. She was ready to pull Leon into a hug whether he liked it or not, needing to let her mind fully accept that he was alive. 

“Yeah I know. Couldn’t really help it.” That made her pause for a moment, Ella’s heart fluttering in her chest. The way he said it, as well as him so freely admitting it, caught her by surprise. Before Ella could really react, however, Leon’s eyes widened. “Ella-” Ella had no time to react as the loud thud of the creature landing behind rattled the wood and knocked her off her feet, its arm shooting out and wrapping around her before she could fall. 

Being distracted by Leon made her miss the chittering sound that was now echoing in her ear, Ella mentally cursing as she realized she had let herself get caught. Her arms were pressed against her sides, Ella having dropped the crossbow, and the creature's grip tightened, making Ella grit her teeth at the pressure as it lifted her up. The body armor she wore only seemed to evenly distribute the tightness around her upper torso, working against her in that moment.  Her feet were no longer on the ground, Ella’s legs dangling in the air and leaving her completely incapacitated and unable to free herself. 

Leon had his gun up, but the sound of boots against wood echoed behind Ella as Ramon stepped onto the platform and into Leon’s sight. 

“Sorry to interrupt this touching reunion. However, this nuisance must finally be dealt with.” He referred to Ella,  though he didn’t take his eyes off Leon. “Are you prepared to watch her die, Mr. Kennedy?” Ramon asked him, before gesturing towards the creature. It was then that it began to squeeze Ella between its claws, Ella feeling the air practically forced out of her lungs as the material of her body armor constricted around her ribcage, the bones closing around her lungs painfully. If she had any air, she’d be screaming, but she could only manage a pathetic whimper as her brain began to pound violently against her skull and her lungs burned as though they were on fire. 

“Ramon!” Ella could barely hear Leon shout over the blood rushing in her ears, and she could only shut her eyes tightly, becoming lightheaded and disoriented as more time passed, and she was sure her ribs were about to snap at any moment as she mentally begged for mercy. “Stop!” The panic and desperation wasn’t well hidden in Leon’s voice, the man unable to do anything but watch as he knew his bullets wouldn’t hurt the creature, and shooting Ramon would only guarantee the creature crushing Ella. 

Without warning, the creature’s grip loosened, Ella sucking in a breath and coughing as she was mercifully given reprieve. Every rise and fall of her chest sent sharp pains throughout her upper torso, but she couldn’t stop herself, her body desperate for oxygen. 

“Do not worry, Mr. Kennedy.” There was something behind Ramon’s voice. He almost sounded surprised, and if Ella wasn’t barely awake and experiencing the worst headache of her life, she might have realized why. “Lord Saddler has a special death planned out for her.” Ella weakly looked up at Leon, her teary eyes meeting his. He looked pissed, but there were other emotions present in his gaze, his usually guarded expression having fallen. “You, however, are at your journey’s end.” Worry and residual fear were the only emotions she could place before the creature holding her jumped up and out of sight, Leon eyes following her until they no longer could.  “Expel this intruder!” She heard Ramon shout as the thing carried her out of the clock tower. Ella was limp in its hold, still suffering the effects of its assault and trying her best to stay awake despite the fact that relief from the excruciating pain in her head  and chest awaited her in unconsciousness. 

xXx

Ella felt as though she was losing time, falling in and out of consciousness as she was eventually handed over to a cultist. He was carrying her over his shoulder, her hands tied even though she couldn’t really struggle.

“Ella!” A familiar voice reached her ears, and it took her a moment to place that it was Ashley. She did her best to raise her head and look up, seeing the girl being walked with her hands held behind her back. She was clearly weak and in pain, but she was still there and fighting the parasite, which sent relief through Ella. 

Ella couldn’t hold her head up for long, not even able to find the strength to respond as her migrain seemed to increase at the simple movement, nausea swirling in her stomach. All she could do was try to stay awake, it being the only thing she could focus on.

xXx

Ella had no idea how much time had passed, but they reached an archway where a relatively normal looking man in a red beret was standing, his eyes raising at the sight of Ella. 

“What’s this?” He asked, his voice gruff and deep. 

“Lord Saddler requested she be brought with the girl.” Ramon’s displeasure at the fact was palpable, and the man only grunted, gesturing for the cultist holding her to move ahead. 

“I have delivered the girl to you, as promised! Do tell our lord to not-” The words faded as Ella got farther and farther away from them. Ashley wasn’t too far behind, and soon the doors in the archway were closing. For a moment, Ella thought she heard the sound of gunshots, but she couldn’t really tell for sure with her headache and lightheadedness. She hoped, however, that she had, and it meant Leon wasn’t too far behind them and he had survived the clock tower. 

xXx

Eventually, Ella was tossed into a cell-like room, barely keeping her head from slamming against the floor and finding herself grateful her hands had been tied in front of her. Even though she had caught herself, the sudden movements had still caused her head to spin further, Ella falling back against the ground weakly. The men carried an unconscious Ashley over to a bed in the corner, laying her down before leaving both girls alone, the only door  in the cell slamming shut. 

“Ashley-” Ella tried, though she immediately had to squeeze her eyes shut and swallow in an attempt to keep the bile from rising in her throat, quickly realizing that speaking was a bad idea at the moment. She wasn’t sure she could wake Ashley up right now anyway, let alone keep herself conscious any longer. 

Leon briefly appeared in her mind, his expression from before ingrained into her memory, and she could only hope he was okay as the darkness finally took over her vision.

xXx

When Ella came to, it took her mind a moment to clear the fog, the pain in her head having faded into a dull headache. She also realized her hands were no longer tied, and her head wasn’t resting against the hard ground anymore. Her brows furrowed as she tried to make out what it was, only able to determine that it was warm in her disoriented state. She took in the room around her, and it was then she realized she was in a different spot from before as well. 

“Hey, you’re awake.” The familiar voice was soft, and Ella turned her head to see Leon looking down at her. It was then she realized her head had been resting on his thigh, though that thought was quickly forgotten as she fully processed that Leon was in front of her. His expression was guarded once more, but Ella could still see the relief he was feeling as he looked down at her. 

She sat up, before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a hug, not caring that the movement had slightly worsened her headache. Leon was surprised, but he didn’t object, his arm eventually moving to return it. Their reunion from before had been cut short, and Ella barely had time to accept that he was alive before being attacked. Now, she could feel the warmth from his body and his breath against her neck, all of her anxiety finally leaving her. “How are you feeling?” He asked her after a few moments, and Ella pulled away to look him in the eyes. He looked exhausted, but otherwise okay, which was all she could ask for.

Ella then considered his question, seeming to come back to her body then as she realized that her torso was extremely sore. It had been before the creature had attacked her, but that was nothing compared to how she was feeling now. Especially in her arms and chest, which had taken the brunt of it. 

Ella shrugged off her flannel, wincing lightly as she did, and it was then she saw the dark, ugly bruising in the shape of the creature's claws across her biceps and right below her elbows, grimacing slightly at the sight. They weren’t pretty, but considering she was covered in injuries at the moment, what was a couple more? She then pressed her hand against her chest, testing out her ribs. A spot on her right side made her grit her teeth and suck in a breath as a sharp pain shot through her, but it didn’t feel broken, which was all she could ask for. 

“I’m alright.” She finally answered after concluding her self examination. “I’ll take a headache and some bruising over what could have happened.” She joked as she looked back up at Leon, noticing that his eyes were trained on the bruises. He looked upset, with his set jaw and hard gaze, and Ella replaced the flannel on her shoulders, having a feeling he was beating himself up at the moment. “Like I said, I’m okay.” She repeated more firmly, regretting her joke now. She really should have known better, but she didn’t blame Leon for what happened, and he shouldn’t either. She was the one who had been distracted and missed the chittering, after all. “How are you doing? Did you get the medicine?” She asked him, drawing his focus away from her. She looked up at Ashley, seeing that she was sleeping peacefully, the veins having receded completely, which answered her question on its own. 

Leon looked to his arm, Ella’s eyes following as she realized his veins were still black. Ella wondered if he had not used it on himself, confused as to why they didn’t look much better. 

“Yeah, but it’s spreading faster.” He answered her unspoken question, Ella’s heart dropping. That meant they were still on a time crunch, but at least Leon and Ashley had a little more time. They just had to get to Luis’ lab for the procedure.

“At least Luis came through, huh?” Ella hummed at the thought of the man, wondering where he was. She had known they wouldn’t regret trusting him. She just wished he would stick by them so they could make sure he got out as well. 

“Yeah, he did.” Leon replied, but there was something in his tone, and Ella gave him a curious look. “He didn’t make it.” He murmured regretfully, and Ella froze, processing what Leon had just revealed as she looked to the floor. She found herself almost not believing it, thinking that surely Leon was mistaken. Luis was always cracking jokes and flirting at inappropriate times, and it had made him seem practically invincible. Ella couldn’t make sense of the news that he was dead. However, Leon, who hadn’t been a big fan of the man, was clearly upset about it as well, which cemented it within Ella. 

Luis was gone. Ella hadn’t known him very well, but he had grown on her, and she had been looking forward to meeting him again, and finally giving him her name.

Now, she’d never get the chance.

[readyandnot]

ready rambles~

sovereign state season one finale

part three thoughts

spoilers under the cut

* well already the thumbnail is basically inversion- so i hoped that they wouldn’t summon in the middle of the stadium cause that’s fucking terrible.

* I CALLED IT

I FUCKING CALLED ITTTT

* STARLIGHT GETTING THEIR MEMORIES BACK LETS GOOO

* let’s talk about the memories cause omg- THEIR FIRST MEETING, it’s so crazy to see that their dynamic really isn’t any different, and avior is the same guy hence why he was sarcastic again when he pulled starlight back in- now of course his sarcasm is limited because he did fall in love with starlight BUT ITS STILL THERE AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN

* next- the HEALING GOD THERES SO MANY HEALING SCENES IN THIS SERIES; i wonder how starlight got injured? they must have tried a plan that didn’t work? maybe got lost in a circle? nevertheless AVIOR STARTING TO GET SOFT WITH STARLIGHT I CANT the fact that he calls them “human” bro come on we all know you have a cuter nickname you can use LMAO; hearing the teasing and laughing from him AFTER SEEING HIM HURTING FOR SO LONG, it’s so bittersweet, i hope we can see him like this again in the future after everything

* also THE PARALLEL OF AVIOR NOT BEING COMPLETELY TRUSTING TO STARLIGHT VS WHEN STARLIGHT WASNT SURE IF THEY COULD TRUST HIM WHEN THEY GOT PULLED BACK IN I CANTTTT

* next- the kissing. i am still not over it. i have listened to this audio 5 times now, and i’m still not over this part. IM IMAGINING WHAT LED UP TO THIS AND WHAT HAPPENED AFTER AHHHHH; the teasing in between kisses. i love them so much. THE PASSION. THE LOVE YOU CAN TELL THEY FEEL FOR EACH OTHER.

* then, the “confession” scene i’ll call it; i hc that this is right after that previous memory (cause let’s be honest that was getting hot and heavy-) but i’d like to think after all that they talked about it and that’s where this memory comes in. HES SO SOFT FOR STARLIGHT, i’m just imagining him grabbing their face and just ADMIRING THEM. he’s such a romantic holy shit

* THE FINAL MEMORY OF THEM TALKING ABOUT THE COFFEE SHOP. OMG. the “starlight, look at me, please.” gets me every damn time. his comfort is soft and so beautiful it truly makes me so happy. i love this relationship so much.

* “i love you. so much.” STARLIGHT LOVES YOU TOO I PROMISE

* also- can we just appreciate the piano music for a sec? BECAUSE ITS SO SIMPLE YET SO BEAUTIFUL. i love using the music as another form of storytelling, it’s such a nice addition and doesn’t take away from anything, i love and have loved it so much. it’s so calming in a way. i wonder what music he used…

* THEYRE HOMEEEEEEE LETS GO; to all you non believers… haha :)

* THE DISBELIEF, THE REUNITING AND HUGGING, THE SIGHS AND SHUDDERS OF RELIEF- chef’s kiss, a wonderful reuniting

* SO STARLIGHT WANTED AVIOR TO GO THROUGH THEIR MIND- the parallel of avior telling them he could use that as a trick- BUT THEM SUGGESTING IT NOW OMG; i mean it makes sense, i honestly would’ve done the same because one- i would want him to see what i saw and two- it is really hard to explain and quote like it’s nothing so it’s a perfectly valid way to explain

* THE HESITATION. THE CONSENT. TAKE NOTES CUTIE.

* “behind this wall, come on.” I IMAGINE HE GRABBED THEIR HAND AND PULLED THEM UP AHHHH

* avior baby i’m sorry you’re overwhelmed but you had to see that. THE FACT THAT HE KNOWS THEY HAVE THEIR MEMORIES BACK, I CAN SEE THE SHOCK AND REALIZATION ON HIS FACE

* “and how do you feel about that?”

* [what i think starlight said]

“like this…” AND GOES TO KISS HIM COME ON ITS PERFECT

* THE KISSINGGGGG SUCH UTTER PERFECTION- THE MELTING INTO IT FUCK

* listen avior, priorities are priorities- kissing your partner after so long before coming to terms with your mission is definitely a top priority. i don’t blame you one bit lol

* “i’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea that you don’t fucking hate me!”

* “i never hated you.”

* so…. it happened on new year’s eve. I KNEW THE THUMBNAIL HAD TO DO WITH INVERSION

* also the fact that they were there for over two years and it was only less than one hour in the real world??? can someone do that math cause i cant-

* THE SIMPLE THINGS LIKE A DARK ALLEY AVIOR I GET IT ITS OKAY

i hate to see characters cry, but this time it’s understandable, and it’s not like a heartbreak cry, it’s a relief. something that avior and starlight needed- relief.

* THEY COULD HEAR THE PORTAL OPEN??? THEY CANT BE THAT CLOSE; AVIOR DO NOT GET ANY CLOSER I DONT WANT YOU TO BE LIKE GAVIN

* and then they stopped hearing the screaming, because that’s how quick the decision was made by david. holy shit. it sounded like it was forever because we heard everyone’s perspectives when in reality it was less than a minute, and we finally saw that. that’s crazy.

* “too late to stop this tide.” SO WHAT ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO DO NOW???

* “we just traded one hell for another” WAIT ITS NOT YOUR FAULT COME ON NOW

wow, all i can say is wow. this series is something i did not expect i would come to love so much when i first listened- but it had me hooked from the first audio. now i was one of the luckier ones and got to catch up before the “confession” audio. but i still had to wait and feel everyone’s pain of the wait LOL

but it was so worth it. getting to this point to where we’re almost caught up in the current timeline is worth it. seeing the character development slowly going from slow burn to not and reuniting was worth the wait.

avior has definitely risen up in my ranks for the characters because his development and arc is a beautiful thing. we saw him at his lowest and highest moments, we saw him make mistakes, learn and love. he is a character that i’ve grown to love and i’m sure other people have as well.

starlight. starlight is truly one of my favorite listeners at this point- they’re such an intriguing person, no wonder avior fell for them LMAO, but they have this personality that’s infectious and a soul that’s admirable; they are a person who is stubborn in the best way possible and it’s been amazing seeing how they dealt with the situation. and how they are with avior back then, when they got back in, and how they are now!

i’m so excited for season two, i have a lot of theories and ideas- for example, how they could possibly meet people working for project meridian, or helping take down closeknit with sunshine and elliott (maybe even sweetheart?), and maybe even colliding with vega and warden at some point! there’s so many options and ways this can go, and i’m so thrilled to see that they’ll do it together.

thank you redacted for such a wonderful series and i speak for everyone when i say that we cannot wait for what will go on in season two.

what’s next- now i believe we would get more updates with the balance after the avior season one finale! that’s going to be something- just back to back angst WE DO NOT HAVE A BREAK LOL, but i’m so excited for the balance and the upcoming simpler videos! let’s see what the next lineup has in store :)

ps- vote for milo for march redactness HE DESERVES TO WIN OKAY SAM ALREADY WON

here’s to the believers o7 thanks for reading <3

[latenightsearlymorns]

Idiots, every single one of them.

Idiots, every single one of them.

Pitter, patter, pitter, patter. 

They could all have what they want, if they only knew. Just how close they are.

Just a few more steps, to the right. To the riiight…

“Hmmmmnph” I groan. The attendee notices and walks over towards me. 

No, the other way stupid! I flutter my eyes, trying to show him the way. I even gesture with my hand. What more does he want me to do?

“Hmmmmnph!”

“What’s up, Jace? Wanted me to come say hi?” The attendee smiles. ‘Shit. Maybe I got too excited.’ He should have kept walking to grab his coffee. Then he would have passed by the waiting room on the way to the break room, and he would have seen the local game playing on tv, which would have reminded him to place his bet on time. There, he could have won $200, easily, and I know he was low on his rent. ‘It was a sure thing.’

“They feed you yet buddy?” The attendee smooths my hair. “You look a little moody.” Concern spreads across his face. 

I smile, put my hand on his shoulder and give him my blessing. Dwayne, the attendee, loves it.

“Big smiles! I thought you were mad there for a sec’, buddy. Did they forget to give you your sauce? Hey, Charyl?”

“What’s up?” Charyl has an attitude today. I love it.

“Have we not given him his sauce yet?” Dwayne asks.

“It’s not time for his applesauce.”

Those fools. 

“It’s past 10:30.”

“He usually doesn’t have his sauce until lunchtime.“

My applesauce time is at a quarter ‘till 3, with my afternoon meds.

“His applesauce time is at a quarter ‘till 3, with his afternoon meds,” says Katie.

Ah. There is still hope. It’s a shame. They just don't know.

They don’t know I can see them; spare moments imposed over reality. The choices brooding over a person, and the possible consequences that come with that decision. Most of them really don’t affect your day, hardly, but how many decisions do you make in a minute? A second? I can see all of them. 

Flittering, like frames in a movie. 

Trouble is, I can’t tell ya. You wouldn’t understand. The words are lost in the process, like most of my motor function. Also, my attention.

You all mean very little to me, truly. You never listen anyways. Having said that, I’ve taken a liking to some of these nice people. 

I tried, for instance, to tell Gary not to go snorkeling. I already knew it was a bad idea, and then I saw him walk in with neon green goggles and the vision hit me. I tried getting his attention, but he thought I just really liked his goggles. Dead within 48 hours. What a shame too, I did like his goggles.

No, I can’t read your mind… I think? But I have plenty of time to study you. What you say, who you’re involved with. It’s surprising what you talk about when you think no one else is listening. Again, I don’t really care. Just please, put my show back on. Arthur’s not paying attention, he’s playing with his tablet. He’s gonna lose that game… He’s gonna be grumpy the rest of the day. Until dinner, of course. 

I don’t have time to feel bad because you can’t take a hint. It doesn’t mean I’m not invested though.

I just about made the orderly shit her pants after she debated sending that risky text. I had already seen the wedding gown she was gonna wear, all she had to do was go for it. ‘Yeah, I love Korean BBQ. What time?’  I saw it on her screen. Wedding confirmed. I yelled so hard she dropped her phone, spiderweb cracks forming across the screen, shattering it; along with any chance of a June wedding anytime soon. What a night. Good. Guy was a scrub anyway.

I’m conflicted though. I don’t understand why, but there is a future that hasn’t been made clear yet. It’s slowly coming into focus, which is odd. Most of my visions are fierce. No one knows I’m having them. I can’t share them, so they are only mine. 

I can’t get past Thursday the 17th.

It’s taken a while to notice. At first, it was just… cloudy. I’m telling you, I can see things MONTHS ahead. With ‘wedding gown orderly,’ she was set to tie the knot almost a year to the text. It was supposed to be “romantic”, or whatever. I saved your life, girl.

No… no it’s too… I know I’m sick. Being the way I am, I never expected myself to grow old. I can hear your conversations. I was lucky to be born when I was. Even being born the way I was, I lived my life. I am grateful, even as I drool on myself and mumble. YOU can’t understand me. I just wanted to tell you I’ve lived a full life, thanks to you.

The 17th is on the horizon. I know it’s the 17th, because your son has his game that day. You keep talking about it. I’ve seen you in his games, in my visions… He has talent. He can move his legs. I’m not jealous. I just know he’s lucky to have you. I do care, it turns out, just a little bit.

Even as you clean me up every night, I wonder if you can understand that my time is close too. I see you getting more and more worried every night, concerning me at least. I can’t see into my own future. It’s never been important anyways, to me at least. I can see you’re expecting something. You check on me more frequently, I can tell. I can hear you enter my door more and more each night. Seeing how well I’m sleeping. I sleep just fine, thank you for worrying.

It’s two hours into the 17th day of November. My breathing has always been an issue, but tonight I cannot sleep properly. I feel something in my lungs. I can’t tell you, but something tells me you already know. I’m not used to being the one guessing. It actually can be quite scary when you’re not sure what comes next. My chest feels tight. I think I’m going to take a nap early, my eyes are growing heavy. I don’t know how or when I’m going to die today, but at least I can choose to fall asleep, on my own terms.

[audioaujom]

22: Succumbing to the Darkening Alt [wrong end 8 ★8]

Corpse Party Hub, < prev, next >

This an alt of last week’s wrong end 8 ★8 from Book of Shadows Episode #5, taking place in Blood Covered’s Chapter 2. I know this can be repetitive, but this section is just too good not to do over and over with everyone I like lmao Only one more alt of this, next time with Charlie!

Pairing: Wilbur and Minx

Word Count: 3382

Chapter TWs: Blood and Gore, Graphic Depictions of Violence/Gore, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mind Manipulation ("Darkening"), Torture

--

Whatever you do, don’t look behind you.

Immediately upon reading the note sitting beside the candle on the steps, Wilbur stood up a little straighter, wondering to himself—What happens if I do?

He didn’t ponder for long, not taking the note very seriously and turning to glance back over his shoulder, only to recognize the female figure coming up the steps behind him. Minx looked up and smiled, jogging to catch up with him. “Wilbur…!”

“Minx…” Wilbur greeted, before realizing that she wasn’t alone when he had left her by the poolside earlier. “Where's Schlatt?" 

“I don't fuckin’ know. He was with me until a short while ago, but then we found ourselves running from a man with… an axe, I think… and we got separated and shit.” Minx explained unhurriedly, looking around the stairwell anxiously.

“I see… That's rather worrisome. I hope he's alright.” Wilbur commented evenly, hoping to calm her worries even a little bit. “How about you? You're not hurt, are you?”

“I'm fine. This isn't my blood.” Minx trailed off awkwardly, wringing her hands out nervously. “But this school… is even more dangerous than I thought. Whoever that man is, I'm fuckin’ sure he's been going around killing anyone who gets lost in this shithole.”

Wilbur paused, thinking over everywhere he’d been and not being able to call to mind anyone matching her description. “I haven't encountered him personally, so I couldn't say, but… I’d guess that’s likely.” 

“Wilbur, I— I'm actually scared.” She admitted after a minute, starting to pick at her fingernail polish. “If I'm by myself, he'll find me…” 

“Then… do you want me to go with you?” Wilbur asked after a moment, and as soon as he saw her light up at the request realized she had been waiting for him to offer.

“Oh… are you sure?”

He ignored her attempt to be bashful, easily caving. “Of course. I don't mind.”

The company won’t be unwelcome, I don’t think.

“Thank you!” She instantly brightened up, her relaxing and grabbing onto one of his arms to press her face against his side.

“H—Hey…!” He quickly stumbled out, easily pulling out of her uncomfortable grip.

“Ah, I'm sorry!” Minx apologized in a rush, her face tinting pink with embarrassment. “You have a girlfriend already, right? Niki, I think you said her name was.” 

“We're not like that.” Wilbur corrected just as quickly as she apologized, his mind still reeling a little from her awkward touch. “She's… like a little sister to me, I guess.”

“I bet life would be a whole lot less boring if I had a brother like you.” Minx teased, but it only caused Wilbur to frown nervously as he motioned for her to follow him up the stairs.

“I wouldn't be so sure about that.”

Methodically checking the next floor as carefully as they could for Niki, the two wandered around for quite a ways before the ambient light of the school seemed to dim greatly.

“It's gotten really dark in here.” Wilbur found himself commenting aloud, squinting at the darkness as if it would help him see. He paused as he saw Minx rummaging around, the hall too dark to tell what exactly she was doing. “Uh… Minx? What are you doing?”

“Hang on a sec. I've got a light.” She dismissed his concerns, her shirt rustling as she was then holding several things Wilbut couldn’t quite make out. “It's not just dark, but cold, too…”

“Yeah. We should head back. I think we might be putting ourselves in danger if we keep going.” Wilbur didn’t like the way the darkness seemed to be pulling him further down the hall, shaking the weird sensation off and turning to head back the way they came.

“But… the way back is gone.” Minx pointed back behind the two, Wilbur’s eyes finally adjusting to the darkness enough to see that yes—in fact—the wooden floor behind them had seemingly rotted and caved in, preventing them from going back short of jumping the gap.

“Shit…” Wilbur glared at the hole as if that would make it disappear, before suddenly a thought came to him and he turned to his companion. “Oh, Minx. Do you still have that alcohol lamp?”

“Er… Sorry, that didn't quite make it.” Minx sighed, before holding her hands out to Wilbur to show off the matchbook and several small candles she was holding. “But I've got plenty of candles.”

“No, I don’t think the candles will be enough.” The darkness in the hallway seemed too dense for a small flame to break it, Wilbur wracking his brain to try and come up with an idea of what to do next. “It’s… well, the darkness is fucking heavy, innit?”

“Yeah… But, look! There's a room.” Minx started putting the candles back to wherever they came from, pointing off into the darkness to something Wilbur couldn’t see. “Let's see what's inside, yeah?”

"Wait! It might not be safe! We need to be at least a little careful—” Wilbur tried to stop her, but in the process of the two of them heading in different directions and grabbing at each other, they ended up topping over the floor with loud shouts of surprise. As soon as Wilbur realized he was on top of her, he quickly tried to scramble away as an uncomfortable blush settled across his face and down his neck. He got up to his hands and knees as quickly as he could, panicked as Minx stared back up at him with a strange look on her face. “Fuck, s—sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I?” 

“I'm just fine.” Minx seemed all too comfortable where she landed, biting a little at her bottom lip—much to Wilbur’s distaste.

“Please, don't misunderstand. I… I didn't mean to.” Wilbur tried to explain, but she shook her head lightly and blinked slowly up at him with a coy smile.

“Never mind that. What say we have a little chat?”

“...what… do you…?” Wilbur wanted to get as far away from her as he possibly could, but stayed rooted to the spot as his brain tried to follow her off-putting offer.

“Don't you like me… Wil…?” Minx’s voice seemed to change pitch suddenly, becoming deeper as her eyes bored holes straight up into him. He felt himself flinch, opening his mouth to shut her down only to notice the first drops of blood forming in the corners of her eyes. 

Any words he had to say died in his throat as tear tracks of blood ran down her face, more blood beading out of her nose and dripping over her lips, a sense of horror washing over him as he came to the conclusion that something was very, very wrong. “Wh—Who… are you?”

“Who do you think I am, Wil?” Despite the blood now pouring out of her mouth, her words weren’t garbled at all, Wilbur shaking his head as the horror gave way to dread in the pit of his stomach.

“Cut that out…” He tried to play it off and get back to his feet as the words of—Don't call me that!—got stuck in his throat, then pushing off of the floor with his hands only for her to tightly grab both of his wrists to keep him down on top of her. “L—Let me go! How do you know about me? About Niki?!”

Whoever this was—she most certainly wasn’t Minx, at least not anymore—only giggled, a swirling panic beginning in his stomach as he tried to pull away from her. Her grip was unnaturally strong as it bruised his wrists, no amount of yanking able to break the grip for several long moments until a particularly hard tug got one of his hands free, his arm then swinging wide and smacking one of the girl’s bloodstained cheeks.

“Oww! How dare you raise your hand against a girl… Wil…” Her voice distorted as she giggled again, thick trails of blood starting to leak out of every available orifice of her face: eyes, nose, ears, and even more from her mouth. The skin of Minx’s face began to peel back like burning paper, curling away from the waterfalls of crimson and flaking off in disgusting, bloody patches. A new, blue tinted face was emerging from underneath the peeling, flayed skin—it was young, child-like, and covered in slimy guts and more blood. Whatever was left of Minx disintegrated to the sides as the rest of the young girl’s figure emerged, though half-submerged in the floorboards. Long, dark hair framed the sides of her face, a long red dress covering her body that began to shimmer in the low light of the hallway to make her seem to glow as she grinned up at Wilbur, his mind finally catching up with the carnage surrounding him as the rank smell of death started wafting up from the piled remains and ever growing lake of blood around him. The girl still held onto him, him swallowing back vomit as the two stared at each other, waiting for someone to make a move.

“You… were you always… her?” Wilbur asked, his voice quiet. “...what did you do to Niki?!”

“Now what did I do to her? I remember she wouldn't shut up. She kept chirping 'Wil!', "Wil!', 'Will!', like a bird.” The girl giggled, grinning widely as Wilbur felt the pit of dread growing larger with a renewed sense of disgust. “But she's not chirping anymore! Wanna see for yourself?”

"No… no! No, that can't be!" Wilbur finally tried to struggle to get away from her again, only to realize this girl was much stronger than she appeared—and even stronger than earlier. “You’re full of shit!”

“I've been watching you, you know. I like you. You've got promise.” Her grip on his wrists seemed to get even tighter, almost painful enough to distract from what she was saying. “People like you do show up from time to time. Freaks of nature who have a real affinity for this place.”

“What are you trying to say?” Wilbur demanded, something in her tone making him uneasy. “What… What the hell are you planning to do with me?!”

“You scared?” She teased, him struggling harder and causing her to pull him closer to where she laid, halfway in the floor. “That's understandable. But the thing is, I get you! You're not afraid of people dying. You're afraid of you dying.”

“Fuck off! Let go of me! I… I…!” Wilbur couldn’t find the words to refute her point, disliking the giggle she let slip.

“Sure. I'll let you go. Maybe I’ll even let you find the person you've been looking for all this time.” The girl actually let go of him, Wilbur looking down at the strange, hand-shaped bruises on his wrists before looking back up at the girl in surprise.

Is this a dream? Or have I just completely lost it at this point? Either way… I need to see Niki. 

She's alive. She has to be! Niki… I'm coming for you!

“On second thought, I don’t think I will.” The girl suddenly changed her mind, reaching up to grab him by his upper arms with a vengeful sneer. “I’ll have more fun with you this way.”

Before Wilbur could even struggle this time, she fell back through the floor and yanked him with her, his head smacking hard off the floor as he then felt himself slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

“—ke up. Wake up!”

...! Niki?! No… It's a younger voice. Who is it?

Wilbur’s head pounded as the young voice yelled at him, blearily peeling his eyes open and lifting his head only to hiss and let his eyes fall shut again as his head thudded back into his chest.

Ow…

“Hey, mister. Wake up.”

The headache was slowly subsiding to a dull ache, Wilbur being a little more careful this time as he slowly lifted his head, cracking his eyes open a fraction and seeing nothing but dull blurs of color. 

“...wh—where… am I?” His voice sounded lifeless and far away, trying to force himself to focus through a thick, dark fog that was settling in his mind.

“Good morning, mister. This is my playroom.” The young voice giggled a little as Wilbur finally managed to get the face in front of him to come into focus. A spike of pain shot through the fog as he thought for a fleeting moment she looked familiar, but everything before he woke up was still a mushy mess. She was clearly young, no older than a primary school student, inching her face closer and blocking his view of the still blurry room behind her. Her hair was dark and a little shaggy, falling in front of her decently cute round face and wide smile, but he was forced to turn his head as the permeating smell of blood and decay from her breath clogged up his nose. The rest of the room didn’t smell much better, stinking of death and antiseptic, but it was all he could do to cling onto the consciousness he had managed to gain.

“Who are you?” Wilbur asked slowly, the words sounding foreign on his tongue as he tried to keep looking away from her until she finally backed away from him.

“I'm so happy!” The girl happily bounced between her feet, the red dress she wore swinging back and forth from the excited movement. “You didn't get all indignant and demand, 'what's going on here?!'. Normally when people wake up here, they get scared and start freaking out.”

The room reeked for a good reason. Buckets of blood and entrails lined both of the walls he could see, chunks of flesh bobbing like ice cubes in some of the buckets. The girl was blocking a large table in the middle of the room, but it looked like it was made of old, rotting wood and stained with about as much blood as the buckets contained—its purpose not hard to guess. Despite the buckets of bodies and odd chain contraptions hanging from the ceiling, as soon as he was relatively adjusted to the awful smell of the room he realized it didn’t freak him out as much as he expected, the panic just a dull pulsing beneath the heavy fog still settled in his entire body.

Wilbur himself was seated in a wooden school chair against one of the walls, his hands both bound separately to the back two legs of the chair with a coarse rope. He didn’t even bother trying to tug against them, instead dragging his gaze back up to the girl as she spoke again.

“My name… is Sachiko Shinozaki!” The girl introduced, curtseying politely by grabbing the hem of her dress and smiling ear to ear.

“What do you plan to do with me?” He asked, though it felt rhetorical after getting a picture of what this room was clearly used for. “Are you… going to kill me?” 

“What a question!” Sachiko beamed, Wilbur watching as she shrugged comically and all but skipped over to the table in the middle she’d been standing in front of the whole time. “I'm just not sure. I'll decide later! I've got something else to play with first.”

An unfamiliar figure—clearly tall and lanky—laid on top of the table, wide straps pinning his body down against the creaking wood as his chest rose and fell rapidly in palpable fear. His eyes were wide as they watched Sachiko’s every move behind the long hair stuck to his forehead with sweat. Sachiko smiled sweetly down at him, running a hand up one of his legs as he tensed even further—if that was at all possible.

“His name… is Ranboo.”

“N—No… stop… please… please, whatever this is, don’t!” The boy was pleading, not even seeming to notice Wilbur as he tried to move away from Sachiko even the tiniest bit.

“No way! You're about to be put through some incredible pain.” Sachiko grabbed his face with both hands, grinning as he tried to shake his head and pull away. “So make sure you squirm like the wretch you are and beg me to spare your life, okay?”

“No!” Ranboo was clearly too scared to even struggle, his body frozen as he continued to mumble. “…no… you—you're joking, right? I didn't… I didn't do anything…” 

“Shut the hell up! You're distracting me!” Sachiko admonished, smacking him across the face to leave a tiny red handprint on one of his cheeks. The sting of the impact seemed to bring him back to his senses a little bit, and Wilbur felt himself almost entranced as he watched the boy pull against the straps holding him down to the table as if his life depended on it—because in this case it probably did. “There we are! Come on, don’t look so excited! The real pain is just about to start, you know!”

Sachiko pulled a pair of scissors out from behind her—More like out of her ass—and began to cut up through the shirt he had on under the already open hoodie, exposing his stomach to the cold air of the basement.

“Ahh! No! Please, no!” His breathing became incredibly shallow at the closeness of the weapon to his body, his hands shaking from where they were pinned to the table. “This is a dream… this has to be some kind of crazy, horrible dream…!”

“I can't say if you're awake or if you're dreaming… but you're about to find out!” Sachiko giggled as she opened the scissors as wide as they could go, positioning the point directly above his stomach as he seemed to hold his breath and panicked tears began to pile up in the corners of his eyes. “What a perfect facial expression! See, I knew you could do it.”

The slightly rusty pair of scissors didn’t cut through his flesh cleanly at all, blood bubbling around the blade as Ranboo screamed and feebly trashed against the table. His voice was panicked and fearful, pained in a way that normally would’ve set Wilbur’s stomach on edge. Brown flakes of rust swirled into the blood as Sachiko yanked the open scissors across the length of his body, the skin of his stomach splitting open with a rush of blood and another near inhuman screech of agony.

Wilbur found himself transfixed, traces of vomit consisting only of stomach acid crawling back down his throat as his eyes focused in on every detail. The edges of the cut were jagged, the skin peeling back from the layer of spasming muscle beneath, Ranboo barely seeming to breathe as a pained fog clouded over his eyes that then stared blankly off at one of the body lined walls. Wilbur felt his breathing hitch.

Why is it so… His thoughts were muddled and incoherent in the dark cloud of his mind, unable to look away or think any harder.

Sachiko stabbed the scissors deeper, another scream ripping out of shredded vocal chords as the cut deepened through the muscle to expose a pulsating mess of internal organs below. She then suddenly lit up, prying the two sides of the wound impossibly further apart to shove her face straight into his stomach.

Whatever scream that planned to erupt from the boy strangled off into a sob, Wilbur watching as the dim lights of the room reflected in every tear that streamed down his face.

“Ihhn't he phwtty?”

Wilbur blinked out of his trance, seeing Sachiko’s bloody face rip back out of Ranboo’s stomach, the spongy hose of his intestines clamped between her small teeth in a surprisingly childish smile. Any words Wilbur had were lodged just out of reach in his throat, his twisted glee instead forming a dark grin that split his face.

Sachiko spit the guts out with a rather disgusting squelching sound, an equally feral grin on her face as she moved to wipe some dripping blood out of her eyes but only serving to smear it around. 

“So how about it? Do you want to play with him too?”

Don’t be ridiculous. 

The dark mist in Wilbur’s mind finally settled on a single, coherent train of thought, him straining forward against the rope with a haggard breath of excitement. 

She shouldn’t even have to ask.

[angelvyxen]

And tell me why he already moaning he was like yeah I’m like shut up! He dick kept jumping everytime I said that so now I’m not as lost I got a pattern in this situation I’m the dominant one he’s the sub and baby you can telllll then I grab this other toy it’s like a flexible anal bead thing it vibrates too in my mind I’m like this man is freaky DOWN so like I said we’ve got a pattern going right? Ok so boom fast forward I’m all in his ear like give me a sec I need a breath y’all be strong. Ok anyways I’m all in his ear like being rough “shut up! you gonna cum for me huh? you like that that’s it good boy” stuff like that and at this point he red af like I knew yt people blushed easily but this man is sweaty and I’m with the toys turning them up I kept going from fast to slow everytime he got louder I’m like be quiet! I spanked him too cause I was like in my mind maybe I’ll get a bonus! So here he go close to cumming and I’m like “you let it out when I say so” like I noticed everytime I got rough with him he liked that shit and then yk I was like “let it go” or whatever and when I tell you this man got so much cum in him like we had a towel down but I’m like damn it’s leaking so this is where it gets bad for me anyway I hear his grandpa or whoever get up listen out side his room you can tell somebody was standing outside the door and im like shit! So I cover his mouth saying all types of crazy shit while telling him to hold it being rough as shit like crazy cause you was crazy with me texting me this so now ima be crazy with you the door was locked but anyways he is like loosing his shit at this point shaking BAD I’m like oh no cause I was scared like what if I killed this man and now I’m being all rough he must could have sensed I was a lil worried he said don’t be it’s like this all the time my mouth over here dropping but I remembered stay focused get the bag! I turn that mentality back on and now I got everything high speed the plug the beads and I’m saying my shit like “uh uh hold it hold it” he whimpering like “please please just let me cum please” and now he getting louder that red face of his scared me so now I’m getting into it I’m like how far can I go so remember the anal beads were flexible right? I bend them shits up and down where the slit is and he like “oHohhOHHH” I’m like shut up! Be quiet so now he’s heaving im yk saying my shit once again like “you gonna cum for me yea” and then im like let it go there was a silence for a minute bitch when I tell you that cum was all over the towel and remember he has a plug in too so this shit is soaked at this point he was like “thank you oh oh” im getting up off the bed scared as fuck I throw him the wipes he had down while im telling him like where’s the money? You did good cause somebody said something about aftercare chile I did my best he get cleaned im on my phone bitting my nails scared he was still shaking while walking going to his drawer getting the money handing me the amount then I say “don’t I get a tip? Like do you not remember just what happened?”

[Part 2 to the YT boy booty hole saga]

You really got into your dominatrix bag, omg—

[buckybarneswannabe]

No Problem :) let me know what you think

———————————

It has been 7 hours since Bucky fell from the train. Steve was at the bar with the Howlies on his 4th glass of whiskey and it still didn’t make him feel better he didn’t even feel numb, damn this stupid serum.

Steve can’t close his eyes with out seeing buckys face, his face when he fell from the train, his face with that stupid smile when he kissed Steve for the first time in their shitty Brooklyn apartment.

No matterwhat he did Steve couldn’t not think of Bucky.

“Hey” Dum dum Dugan says to Steve, placing a hand on his shoulder and startling Steve.

*Steve jumps slightly, startled by Dugan's touch. He turns to look at him, trying to compose himself*

"Hey, Dugan. You scared me there for a sec" *Steve says, forcing a small smile*

“No more of that” Dum Dum says taking the glass from Steve’s hands. The howlies allways knew Steve was the closest with buck out of them. So if losing buck was hitting the others hard, they knew it was hurting Steve even more.

*Steve looks at Dugan, a mix of annoyance and gratitude on his face. He knows what the others are thinking, that he's taking Bucky's death harder than the rest of them. He knows they're right, but he doesn't like anyone pointing it out*

"I'm fine, Dugan. I can handle a few drinks" *Steve says, trying to keep his voice steady. He reaches for the glass in Dum Dum's hand*

“No” Dum Dum says sternly “no more” he says again with a softer tone.

*Steve lets out a sigh, knowing he's not going to win this argument. He sinks back in his chair, looking down at the table*

"Fine" *he says, his voice defeated. He doesn't look up at Dum Dum, but he knows the man is watching him with a mixture of concern and pity*

“Steve” Dum Dum say looking at steve and studying him. “I know you feel like you lost everything but-“ Steve puts a hand on Dum Dum’s chest and stops him.

“No, no you don’t to talk. You didn’t even know him. You-god” Steve pauses his voice breaking and his breath falters.

“I know Steve he is- he was your best friend” Dum Dum says. “But you need to eat some rest- all of us agree you need to go back to your room and just rest. Stop drinking this shit and just drink some tea or something”

*Tea* Steve thinks and he pauses, remembering how Bucky used to tease him for drinking leaf water and a slights crook of the lip shows up on Steve’s face before his eyes flash to a picture of Bucky’s beautiful face frozen over and bloody from where he fell from the train*

*Steve swallows hard, trying to fight back the tears that are threatening to spill. He looks back down at the table, not trusting himself to speak. He can feel the weight of Dum Dum's gaze on him, and he knows the man is just trying to help, but it's too much right now. Memories of Bucky, his laughs, his smiles, his annoying quips, flash through his mind*

"I just... I can't stop thinking. Fine okay ill go back to my quarters"

*Steve gets up from his seat, his movements slow and heavy as Dum Dum leads him to his room. He nods to the other howlies before leaving the bar. He makes his way to his quarters allowing Dum Dum to help him keep his balance , his mind and heart heavy with thoughts of Bucky. Once he reaches his room, he sits down on the edge of his bed and buries his face in his hands. Dum Dum stays in the room and takes a seat on the chair by the bed staying silent.

Steve tries he really does, tries to close his eyes to sleep, tries to to not listen to the voice in the back of his mind screaming at him for not saving Bucky.

*Steve takes deep, shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down. He can feel the weight of guilt and regret on his shoulders and it's suffocating. He lies down on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position, but no matter what he does he can't seem to find peace. He closes his eyes, but all he sees is Bucky's face, frozen and bloody from where he fell from the train. The memories flood his mind and he can't escape them*

Steve takes deep, shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down. He can feel the weight of guilt and regret on his shoulders and it's suffocating. He lies down on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position, but no matter what he does he can't seem to find peace. He closes his eyes, but all he sees is Bucky's face, frozen and bloody from where he fell from the train.

“Steve?” Dum Dum says breaking Steve from his thoughts. “You want to get something to drink or a snack pal?”

Growing up Irish Steve’s mom always made him tea when he was sad, sick, cold, or anything really. Steve thought to himself that he might as well try making him self a cup with the small pot and teabags in his quarters.

Steve gets up from the bed and makes his way to the small kitchenette in his quarters. He fills the kettle with water and sets it on the stove to boil. He rummages through the drawers, looking for the teabags. Once he finds them, he takes one out and puts it in a small cup. He waits for the kettle to whistle and pours the hot water into the cup. As the tea steeps, he watches the dark liquid turn a warm amber hue feeling Dum Dums eyes on him.

Steve picks up the cup and takes a small sip. The warm liquid soothing as it goes down his throat it doesn’t taste good but it’s tea. He closes his eyes, memories of his mom and Bucky flashing through his mind. The comforting touch of his mother and the annoying but loving presence of Bucky.

Huh. He really does lose everybody who loves him

Tears start to well up in his eyes and he quickly blinks them away, taking another sip of the tea. Despite the warmth the tea should have given him, the guilt and regret still linger in his mind. The tea makes it worse honestly.

Steve takes another sip of the tea, but instead of comforting him, it somehow makes him feel worse. The familiarity of the drink only serves as a reminder of the man he failed to save.

*He sets the teacup down on the counter with a thud, the sound echoing through the room. He clenches his fists.

“Hey.” Dum Dum says.

Steve jumps slightly, startled by the sound of Dum Dum's voice. He turns to see the man standing in the doorway, his expression one of concern. Steve quickly wipes away the tears that are starting to form in his eyes. he had forgotten dumdum was still in the room

"Hey, sorry” Steve responds.

“Tea in Europe so much better it makes you cry?” He asks

Steve lets out a small huff of laughter, the hint of a smile on his lips at Dum Dum's attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, something like that," He says, running a hand through his hair.

*Dum Dum looks at Steve, his eyes searching his face. He knows Steve is trying to put on a brave face, but he can see the pain in his eyes. Dum Dum squeezes Steve's shoulder gently before letting go.*

"i brought you buckys uniform" he says, his voice firm but gentle.

“Oh.” Steve says “thanks” He breathes grabbing the uniform from his hands.

When Dum Dum leaves Steve collapses and hugs the uniform, squeezing it until he passes out on the cold floor.

Hey yall send comment a stucky head cannon and I’ll write it!

[callsignrascal]

French Toast

Pairing: Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw/Reader

Summary: In which French toast is the best cure to a hangover. Who knew Rooster could cook? 

A/N: just some cute fluffy domestic established relationship shit bc i want to wake up to someone making me breakfast 😐😐 very short but sweet

-

You woke up to your head absolutely pounding. Fuck, this wasn’t your room. You sat up slowly and your head spun. It took you a moment to recognize that you were in your boyfriend Bradley’s apartment. How the hell did you get here?

“Roo?” You called out, regretting the volume of your voice.

“One sec, darling!” He called back. You didn’t have the energy to get up and look for him, so you lay back on the pillows with a groan and tried to think about what happened last night. 

You closed your eyes and it was just a blur. A party? Yes. You had gone to a party with Rooster. You and the rest of the Dagger squad got together to celebrate the one year anniversary of the suicide mission. It was a good party, with good music, friendly faces. Lots of beer. LOTS of beer. I mean, it was the the Hard Deck. 

Your mouth tasted awful, you had probably puked at some point. You vaguely remembered Bradley’s blue Bronco, and being carried to bed.

The door opened, and there was Bradley. “Good morning, sleepy head!” He said loudly. You groaned and put a pillow over your head.

“Too loud. So hungover.” You grumbled through the pillow. Bradley laughed, and sat on the edge of the bed. He ran a hand along your exposed thigh that peeked out from under the covers.

“Yeah, you were quite the party animal last night. I bet your head hurts pretty bad, huh?” 

You nodded under the pillow. “I’m sorry Roo. I don’t remember much but I think I puked and you carried me and let me take the bed. I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have had to do that for me.” You opened your eyes a smidge to look at him. He had a soft smile on his face.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ve all been there. Plus, you’re a very clingy, cute drunk. I don’t mind taking care of you.” You blushed, which made him grin. “You are adorable when you’re embarrassed. Come on, I made breakfast and it’s getting cold.”

“Sorry, what?”

“Breakfast. I made some.” You sat up slowly and stared at him.

“Rooster, I’ve been dating you for six months and I’ve never seen you in a kitchen. When did you learn to cook?” 

He gave you a mischievous smile. “I have my secrets.“

“You are full of surprises, Bradley Bradshaw. What did you make?” You stretched your arms up over your head and Bradley stood up from the bed and held out his hand.

“Come and see.” 

You took his outstretched hand, and slowly got up from the bed. He led you out of the bedroom and over to the small kitchen table where there were two plates laden with bacon, eggs, and french toast with whipped cream and strawberries. There were two glasses of orange juice as well. 

“See? I can make more than toast and cereal and spaghettios.”

“Aw Roo…” you were almost lost for words. “This all looks so amazing, thank you!” 

You turned to him and wrapped your arms around him in a big hug. You looked up at him and he had an almost smug smile on his face.

“Amazing enough for me to get a good morning kiss?” He held your head in his hands and softly massaged your temples which felt amazing for your headache.

“Hm. I think I’ll have to taste it all first before I deliver that verdict.” You smiled, and pulled away to sit down in your chair.

“You wound me, Princess.” Bradley rolled his eyes, went around the table,and sat in the other chair. You popped a piece of perfectly greasy crispy bacon in your mouth and hummed happily. You swallowed and took a bite of the french toast. Your eyes almost rolled back in your head save for your incredible self control.

“Oh, my god. This is some next level french toast.” You took another huge bite and Bradley laughed at your chipmunk cheeks as he stabbed his fork into his eggs. 

The food was gone all too soon, but you were so happy and full all you wanted to do was lay on the couch and do nothing. You plopped down on the plush cushions with a groan. You were still a little hungover, but the magic of Bradley’s cooking had healed you for the most part. He stood over you with a grin on his face.

“So. What’s the verdict?”

“Huh?” You furrowed your eyebrows.

“You said you would give me a good morning kiss if breakfast was good. Here to cash in.” He leaned over you, his lips centimeters from yours. You giggle and lifted up to give him a soft kiss.

“Best breakfast I’ve had in a while. Might have to make you my live in chef.” You carded your fingers through his hair. He kissed you again, hungrier this time.

“Oh yeah? What is the starting salary for that position?”

“Hmmm.” You pulled away for a minute and tapped a finger to your lips. “Starting at five kisses an hour, plus tips. And if this morning is any indicator I’m sure there will be a lot of tips.” You both laughed and Bradley pulled you into another kiss.

“Sure beats the hell out of the Navy, count me in. Chef Rooster at your service, my dear.”

[doms-fav]

Traitor

Part 2

Shuri x reader

Riri x reader

Warnings: cussing, drinking, jealousy and anything else I forgot to mention.

Sorry if there are any spelling grammars I missed

Word count: bestie I was just writing

Reminder: this takes place after Wakanda forever.

Summary: you caught your fiancé, shuri cheating on you. You leave and meet new people.. what happens when you and your new boo run into shuri…

Your Pov:

After you all made it to the car you put on your music and started driving. Ofc your playlist wanted to do you dirty and play B.E.D by Jacquees but you couldn’t help it, that was your song.

“I know you wanna love but I just wanna fuck…” you sung it like no one was there and when you turn too look at Riri she already looking at you with a smirk on her face.

“What?”

“Nothing” she shakes her head and looks out the window, you look at ace too see him smiling widely.

You flip him off and continue the drive to your house.

Shuri’s Pov:

Y/n hasn’t been answering my calls ever since we broke up, I’ve had a hard time ever since, I isolated myself and buried myself in lab work.

Eventually her calls went straight to voicemail and that’s when I knew she got a new phone.

I knew I messed up and I instantly regretted it I don’t know why I did it in the first place; thoughts constantly ran through my mind, if she was miserable? Did she find someone knew? Did she decided to go off the radar so I couldn’t find her?

I just want my Y/n back so in a couple of weeks when I don’t have anything to do I will find my Y/n.

Little did she know you would be over her..

Your Pov:

We made it to my house and we all had a good stretch we was in the car for about a hour.

“This bitch nice as hell ain’t it” ace says

“Hell yea” Riri finds herself nodding in amusement

You chuckle and start off too you house with Riri and ace behind you. For some reason you felt a pair of eyes on your ass and you smirk knowing Riri was staring. You open the door and walk inside. Ace closes the door.

“Make yourself at home Ri” you say walking towards the kitchen. She blushes at the nickname and follows you as ace walks to his room. “I forgot I need to show you around, come with me” you gesture her to follow you and you give her the tour.

“And that can be your room, right next to mine!” She looks at you in confusion “my room?” You nod and shrug “yea ace practically lives here and if you ever need a safe space this is it!” Riri smirks internally knowing soon this will be her house too.

Riri’s Pov:

Honestly I’m inlove with Y/n I have been since she was with Shuri but I always respected her relationship.I think ace already spotted it from the time we was in the care, he caught me smiling at her and blushing when she doing B.E.D, it wasn’t hard to spot

But now that she’s single and I am I think I’ve got a chance, I love her voice it’s soft and has a small rasp, her smile could light up a whole room and her personality is everything.

We made it to her house and her crib is nice she even told me I could have a room but I got lost in my own thoughts knowing I would be in HER bed soon enough.

“Uh, hey I lost you there for a sec you good?” She snaps me out of it.

“Yeah-” before I could finish ace ran upstairs with a bottle of Hennessy and a speaker ready to turn up.

“Shit you don’t gotta tell me twice” y/n says now looking at me for my confirmation.

“Let’s get it” I say and we walk downstairs.

Your Pov:

After giving ri and tour we go downstairs where we drink and turn up, I’m dancing on Riri as her hands are on my waist and ace is hyping us up, after a little dancing I grab water for all of us just to see ace is gone and Riri is sitting on the counter.

“Y/n?” Riri says

“Yes” you respond

“I have to get this off my chest..”

“I’m all ears” you walk towards her while sipping water and handing her one”

She puts it down “Y/n I’ve liked you ever since your relationship with shuri, but I respected it and didn’t say anything, I know it seems wrong to ask you this but I want to be with you, your smile, laugh, your style, and personality is perfect to me and I hope I can see more of it if you let me in your life from now on”

Your blushing and almost on the verge of tears but you keep it cool

“Are you fr?!”

“I would love that, I just want to take it slow so we can get to know each other and can I kiss you?”

She chuckles “yes you can!”

You walk towards her and move between her legs, you put your hands on her cheeks and kiss her, it was perfect her lips were soft and the kiss was passionate no one was fighting for dominance it was slow and filled with love.

Eventually yall lungs were screaming for air and Riri read your mind and pulled back, you whined when she did. She chuckled “aw look at my needy baby” she says and you blush

Ace on the other hand had started screaming in excitement which startled the both of you making y’all look at him surprisingly but laughed at his shenanigans.

Riri’s Pov:

I had finally confessed my feelings to Y/n and when she asked me if she could kiss me I did 50 front flips in my head and nodded.

She came over and maneuvered her way between my legs and places her hands on my cheeks and kissed me, the kiss was everything I could wish for it was just right.

She whined when I had to break it to breathe and it was adorable “look at my needy baby” she chuckles

But we get startled when ace screams we laugh and she turns towards me “I love you ri” she says and my heart flutters

“I love you more” I say

Litte did the both of you know a small surprise is gonna show up..