#don't worry nobody died in this exchange

[cotl-flower-crown]

What are your thoughts on the idea of The Lamb being taller than Narinder? I don’t mean like making The Lamb taller,

I mean making Narinder shorter.

Not canon (yet), but I think it would be cute <3

And there's also these two (cw: swearing)

[changetyre]

Broken ⒾⓈⓌ

SUMMARY: You and Max are having trouble trying to grow your family and your daughters are affected by it. Part of the Verstappen Family Verse

WARNINGS: Angst, miscommunication, pregnancy issues, a smidge of smut at the end.

A/N: This was requested over on Wattpad. Despite the angst, this is one of my favorite parts of this series.

Max stretched out, his back feeling painful after carrying all the presents he'd bought up from the parking lot before stashing them in a high cupboard in the house where he was sure nobody would look. It was late and he'd spent most of the day out looking for gifts, although truly it was also an excuse to get some space since the environment at home wasn't the best right now. 

The house was quiet when he arrived, a good indicator the girls were already asleep in their room and you as well probably. Although only a few months ago there wouldn't be a day you wouldn't wait for Max before going to bed, physically unable to go to sleep without hearing his voice but lately things had changed and you and Max often went to bed without exchanging any words at all. 

Once he finally made his way to your bedroom he wasn't surprised to find you were in fact asleep, clothes scattered around the room which you also hadn't bothered to clean up. Max sighed, he was tired having not really had a day of relaxation since the season ended despite imagining he'd spend his winter holidays differently, that things would somehow get better. 

He proceeded to pick up the room a little bit making it a little more presentable before taking a quick shower and joining you in bed. While his skin screamed to feel yours Max didn't feel comfortable enough to do so anymore, not knowing how you'd react to him placing an arm around you like he had done every night since you'd gotten together..until a few months ago. 

The next morning Max woke up to find you'd woken up but stayed laying there simply staring up at the ceiling, he knew your mind was spiraling but truly didn't want to ask anymore knowing you'd shut him out.  

"Hey," Max asked. His voice almost felt too loud for the silence. 

"Hi." Your voice was barely above a whisper, the sound almost strange to him not used to hearing it often anymore. 

"How d'you sleep?" Max asked. 

"I'm gonna go make breakfast for the girls." you ignored his question avoiding eye contact as you left the room leaving no more space for conversation. 

Once Max got himself ready for the day he went out to join you for breakfast finding you'd already eaten and were in the process of washing the dishes. He'd be lying if he said this didn't hurt him but held back from saying anything not wanting to start an argument. 

The rest of the day was mostly spent in silence apart from the laughter and ruckus from your children there were no words exchanged between you and Max. At some point, Max left the house once more wanting space. 

"Mama," Ivy called you as you played with both your daughters in the balcony. 

"Yeah, baby." Your daughters naturally made you smile, probably the only time you showed any sort of emotion lately. 

"Do you and Papa not love each other anymore?" She asked. 

Your heart skipped a beat, the immediate urge to cry reaching your throat and you only hoped your eyes gave no indication to the sudden burst of emotion. You noticed the way Lea's smile also dropped at the question, her attention ready to hear your answer. 

"Uhm, of course we do baby why would you think that?" You asked hoping your shaky voice didn't worry your daughters. 

"Papa doesn't blink at you anymore...like dis mama." Ivy showed you by blinking her eyes hard three times just like her father used to do to you almost daily before. 

The reminder of this almost broke you, you began picking up the girl's toys making sure they weren't able to see your face properly as you began crying. "You don't have to worry girls, everythings okay with Papa and me." You lied to your daughters, and it was evident by the weakness of your voice but you weren't sure what else to say. 

"Mama, are you okay?" Lea asked this time, her voice filled with concern, she was growing up, she of course noticed things, possibly understood things a little more than her sister and you knew you were hurting her, hurting them both and thought of this killed you inside. 

"I'm fine Lea, why don't you take your sister to your room and watch a movie, I'm gonna shower." You tried your best to force a smile wiping your eyes with the back of your hand before facing your older daughter. 

Lea simply nodded not wanting to cause you more distress before taking Ivy's hand and guiding her away. Once they were gone you let yourself cry it out. 

Trying and failing to conceive another child had been more emotionally draining than you had ever imagined it would be. You and Max had tried, tried, and tired to the point making love to him wasn't exciting anymore, it was frustrating, full of desperation, and so eventually, you stopped. You stopped trying, stopped connecting, stopped loving.  

Silence seemed like the easiest solution, not willing to face the reality of it all. Drowning in your own thoughts was exhausting but it seemed like the better option since potentially hearing the way you let down your partner, your family was worse. 

But it was obvious now, it was obvious how much this was already hurting your family so you had to toughen up now, muster enough strength to talk to Max, talk to your husband, and face whatever was next for you, whether good or bad it had to better than letting your daughters see the way things were falling apart between you. 

___________

Max once again came home to silence, he could hear the TV on in the girl's room and he didn't want to go to his room so instead decided to try to wrap up the presents in secret while he had the time. 

Max was semi-successful, his daughters had walked out of their room and been insistent on wanting to know what Max was doing despite him telling them several times to go back to their rooms and his patience was wearing thin. 

He was only able to get them to stay in their rooms after promising them a play date with their uncle Lando on the weekend if they behaved. Finally knowing they would stay in their rooms Max took the time to try to hide the gifts again so he could put them under the tree by the end of the month. 

He'd headed to the bathroom and when he came back anger and frustration flooded him at seeing Lea helping Ivy up to the counter to try to open the cupboard where he'd stashed the gifts. 

"LEA!" Max yelled letting his emotions control him for the first time with his daughters. 

Lea and Ivy both gasped and Max ran to catch Ivy who almost slipped off the counter trying to get down quickly. 

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING! WERE YOU EVEN THINKING!? YOUR SISTER COULD'VE GOTTEN HURT!" Max yelled at his older daughter. 

You heard the commotion from the room running out to check on the situation. "I WANT YOU BOTH IN YOUR ROOMS, NO TV, NO GAMES, GO STRAIGHT TO BED!" Max continued yelling. 

Both Ivy and Lea were in tears at seeing their dad so angry for the first time in their lives, running straight to their rooms. 

"Max calm down." Your heart broke, you knew Max was never like this with your daughters and it scared you to see this side of him come out, feeling partly guilty for it. 

"Oh wow...so now you decide to talk to me." Max scoffed pushing past you and into your room. 

Your heart broke at the action, but he was right. You knew he needed time to cool off so you headed to your daughter's room to check on them. 

Opening the door you had to try to hold back your own tears at the sight. Lea held Ivy in her arms as they both sobbed. You couldn't say anything to afraid to burst into tears so instead sat by your daughter's bed and hugged them both. 

"I-I-I'm so-so-sorry-ma-ma." Lea hiccuped not being able to catch her own breath at how much she cried. 

This time you felt a few tears run down your cheeks. "Hey baby it's okay." You took her face in your hands trying to soothe her. "Lea honey it's okay." You blew gently on your daughter's face trying to calm her down. 

"Pa-pa's- ang-angr-angry." she continued hiccuping. 

"I know darling he shouldn't have yelled like that baby. He loves you so much, we both do." You reminded her kissing her forehead. 

Eventually, Ivy had fallen asleep crying on her sister's lap so you picked her up and moved her to her bed tucking her in. You then went back to your older daughter who was having a little bit of a harder time settling down. 

"Lea listen sometimes people get angry at other things and they feel so angry for a long time that when something else happens they just blow up and scream." You tried your best to explain to your daughter. 

"Like papa?" She asked. 

"Yeah like Papa Baby, Papa's feeling a lot of things because of something else and unfortunately he just took it out on you." You revealed. 

Little did you know Max was listening from outside, after cooling off a little he felt bad and meant to go apologize to his daughters but stopped once he heard you inside with them. 

"But why?" Lea asked. "Why is papa angry mama?" Lea was almost 6, you knew she was starting to get a better grasp of things and you also knew being honest with her would be the best thing for her right now so after thinking about it for a few seconds you decided to just be honest with her. 

"Do you remember on Ivy's 2nd birthday when she wished for a brother?" You asked your daughter. 

"Yeah," Lea replied moving her head to look up at you. 

"Well your Papa and I after that, after talking a lot tried to make another baby..."Your voice broke. 

Max's heart broke at hearing you struggle to speak. 

"Well, we tried for a long time and Mama just couldn't get another baby in her tummy which made both Mama and Papa really really sad." You revealed. 

"Why won't the baby go in your tummy mama?" Lea asked innocently, reaching for her little hand to wipe some tears off your cheek. 

"I don't know baby, maybe mommy's broken." You were full-on crying but you could see your daughter's understanding eyes at the situation. 

"Is that why Papa doesn't say I love you with his eyes anymore?" Lea asked again, oblivious to the impact her question had on her parents. Max fell to his knees outside the room distraught at the guilt he could hear in your voice, and about the fact that his daughters and possibly you thought he didn't love you anymore. 

"I don't know honey...maybe. It's not easy when you want something really really bad and you just can't get it so it can make you feel a lot of things, mommy feels like it's her fault that the baby doesn't want to go in her tummy." You tried to finish explaining. 

"I'm sorry Mama." Lea apologized once more. "But even if you are broken mama I'll still love you the same, I'll even say it with my eyes if you want." Lea smiled imitating her dad by blinking her eyes I love you just like her dad used to do. 

This time your tears were of gratitude at feeling the love your daughter had for you, the simplicity with which her mind understood the situation and tried to make you feel better. "Thank you, baby." You hugged your daughter placing kisses on her cheek. 

Lea settled enough, feeling a little better at understanding why things had been a little weird at home lately. You watched her fall asleep. You took a deep breath ready to have a difficult conversation with your husband praying it might go a little similar to the conversation you had with your daughter. 

You walked out of their room and were surprised to find Max sitting outside, his back to the wall with his face in his hands. You could tell he'd been crying from the wet spots on his shirt and trousers. 

"Maxy." You fell to your knees beside him. 

Max pulled his hands away as you both wrapped your arms around each other at the same time. You both started crying in each other's arms, Max holding you tightly against him. 

"You're not broken, I never thought so either I just wanted you to talk to me." He whispered. "I love you so much and I'm sorry I ever let you doubt it, and I'm sorry for screaming at Ivy and Lea, I'm just- I'm so sorry for everything" Max cried tucking his face in the crook of your neck.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I felt so useless and frustrated I couldn't get pregnant. I know how long you've been trying to hold it together for us, for all of us and I shouldn't have ever let you carry all of it on your own. I'm sorry too for everything."  You also apologized. "I love you, Max, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop loving you I just wanted to give us another baby." 

"I know." Max sighed pulling back and wiping tears from under your eyes with his thumbs. "Look I would love to have another baby with you, I'd have a 100 if it was with you but I'm so enamored by the family you've given me already, our girls...they're the best thing that have ever happened to me and if trying to have another baby is gonna cost us...us...than I don't want it." Max was honest. 

You nodded agreeing with his words. 

"It doesn't mean we stop trying, we can if that's what you want but I just want you back first, I need us to be okay before trying again okay?" He asked you. 

"Yeah." You agreed once more. 

Max rested his forehead against yours. You heard him take a deep breath. "God I missed you." he sighed before leaning down to place his lips against yours. 

You kissed him back harshly almost desperate to taste him again mentally questioning yourself how you were able to survive without this for as long as you did. "I love you," you whispered as you momentarily pulled away to catch your breath. 

But Max kept kissing you not wanting for this to stop, as if his body was trying to catch up on all the time he spent without your touch. "I love you." He whispered back scooping you into his lap, your legs wrapping around him as he stood up with you in his arms before taking you to your bedroom. 

Laying you down on your shared bed it once again felt right, being shared with him. Max was quick to get you naked, teasing you as he prepared you for him.

"I adore you." He whispered as he slipped into you. You'd be okay.

[blueishspace]

Last Life with divine domains

Part 4: Session 5 & 6

Fandom

As there weren't many suggestions last time I'll leave this empty and add them to the next part of this series. So @shortystack75 and @easily-distracted-by-fandom don't worry, your ideas will be in the next one.

Session 5

Etho is chosen as the boogeyman, Grian is notified about there being 1 boogey.

Scar has no reason to link anyone except the Southlands being his biggest enemies so he probably links Impulse and Martyn.

Martyn is given 3 rules to choose from: Everyone must play without sounds, Nobody is allowed to enter the nether, everyone must use showels as their main weapon. Martyn chooses the deaf option mostly because the Nether Is useful and using showels as weapons is a pain.

Grian probably still goes after Scott and Pearls villagers even without being a red, mostly because It's too big of an advantage... Meanwhile Cleo is getting her daily arson done by setting the fairy circle on fire... Lizzie summons a storm to estinguish the flames but if you know how minecraft fire works It's hardly enough.

Grian probably doesn't spawn trap Scar though... especially not alone versus a trio.

Etho doesn't buy Bdubs a life so he doesn't get the chance to get a kill on Scar... unless he goes to Scar to get himself a life and then kills him... But that doesn't seem likely.

So, Etho is still the boogey and Martyn is never summoned to the shadow alliance (because of not sharing resources with Ren)

Meanwhile Jimmy's attempt to buy a life from Scar Isn't twarted by Joel and Grian meaning he gets this sessions Scar bonus life... And isn't red anymore... I don't think Jimmy goes back to the Southlanders though considering that the only thing he can give Scar in exchange of a life is an alliance.

Now, Etho needs to get a kill... He's not going to target Bdubs, Skizz or Tango... Really, only magical mountain is really a target at this point so considering Mumbo is more likely to stay somewhere safe I'm going to say Joel dies at this time.

Etho not killing Scar means Skizz doesn't get the enchanter and Scar doesn't chase him to the Southlanders and doesn't die in a trap... However as strong as this version of Magical Mountain is I doubt they can keep the enchanter for this long so by the end of the session BEST has it.

Scott doesn't have the lives to gift Cleo one.

Lives

Scar has 6 lives.

Mumbo, Joel and Tango have 4 lives.

BigB, Etho, Lizzie, Ren, Pearl, Impulse and Scott have 3 lives.

Martyn, Skizz, Jimmy, Cleo, Bdubs and Grian have 2 lives.

Session 6

Mumbo, Joel, Jimmy, Scott, Etho and Bdubs are chosen to be the boogie, Grian discovers there are 6 boogeymen and panics.

Scar chooses... Well, either Southlands or BEST so *randomizer*...Impulse and Martyn.

Martyn has 3 rules to choose from this session: Everyone must set their game language to lolcat. No one is allowed to sprint or shift. One more boogeyman is added to the session. I think he chooses the boogeyman version over having an horrible and painful session because he has no idea there are 6.

Tango is chosen by the randomizer as the extra boogeyman, Grian is going to be very very confused when he realizes he got the wrong number of boogeyman... wonder how Martyn managed to fool Grian's sight.

Tango is equally confused at becoming the boogey after being told he wasn't.

Mumbo can't get his boogey kill in the same way as he isn't with Martyn and Grian when they listen in to team BEST... however Scar definitely goes after the enchanter and while Joel has already decided to target Lizzie Mumbo can use it as an opportunity to get a kill... Etho, Bdubs, Tango and Skizz are all equally likely to die so... Randomizer says Skizz... Skizz is red.

Meanwhile Joel traps Lizzie's base and still much like in canon accidentally kills himself in the process... Scar gives him his one bonus life.

Bdubs kills Tango in this timeline as well to get rid of the boogey curse... Tango of course can still threaten Bdubs like in canon but he also can do something else as he is also a boogeyman, Tango is rarely a fighter and he often has mire bark then bite but this once I'll let him have the satisfaction... I feel like Tango killing Bdubs also makes sense thematically... After all, the hearth is associated with home and family and betrayal is tarnishing that which the hearth stands for.

In our timeline Etho killed Mumbo as his boogey kill in response to him killing Bdubs... So... Etho kills Tango much the same way. Team BEST splits with Etho and Bdubs going on way and Tango going the opposite...and Skizz being a red is also doing his own thing now.

The Southlanders who are spending this whole reason spying on people for some reason use this to steal the enchanter.

Joel still goes out of his way to kill Lizzie.

Impulse and Grian still try to get the wither skulls which eventually leads to Scott killing Impulse... And Martyn going to red.

Scar still dies to Scott's water elevator, there is no reason for that not to happen.

Jimmy is still killed by Lizzie's trap, seeing similar deals made in canon I thinm he is given a life by Scar to stay with Magic Mountain.

If we consider timing Jimmy probably had the time to create his exile red life shack before trading his loyalty to magical mountain so Lizzie still falls into lava.

Joel and Mumbo don't try to kill Scott so he doesn't die by ender pearl this time.

Lives

Mumbo, Scar and Joel have 4 lives.

BigB, Etho, Ren, Pearl and Scott have 3 lives.

Cleo, Jimmy, Tango, Impulse and Grian have 2 lives.

Skizz, Bdubs, Martyn and Lizzie have 1 life.

Fandom

Again, this is going to be me just asking for suggestions... However I want to say that I just now realized that despite being a conman Scar is the most trustworthy and loyal ally in Last Life.

Previous part

Next part

First part

[sleepyorchidmonster]

Thinking again about the future Interschool Spelldrive competition, what if we get a second boot camp (it almost worked on Book 5, damn you Rook).

This time, things would be a bit more hectic, though.

Assuming the team would consist of all the overblotters + Grim, here's some headcanons:

- After a lot of arguing, they agree to name Vil the leader, with Leona acting as the coach and captain;

- To make things easier, they establish a few rules, only to remember Riddle is there. They settle for "No fighting or it's Off With Your Head for a day";

- Vil creates a skincare routine for everyone;

- Malleus and Leona are constantly bickering;

- There was an attempt to enforce a diet (it was just a ban on Idia's instant noodles), but Riddle got offended and we got this exchange:

Riddle: As you can see, I already follow a strict diet, so no need to worry!

Vil: That's way too unhealthy, you're starving yourself! You need more nutrients!

Yuu: Soooo, is this plus the overblot enough to call the CPS on Riddle's mom already? And revoke her license while we're at it?

Grim: Man, everytime we think we've seen the worst of her, Mrs. Rosehearts just finds a new way to show how she sucks at parenting...

Everyone: WHAT THE ACTUA-

Riddle: MOVING ON!!

(Azul also wanted to say a few things on the diet part, but Leona cut him off with a pointed look and a "You're fine, octopunk, remember, don't let the opinions of a bunch of jerks control you! Be yourself and be healthy!")

- They dealt with the Mrs. Rosehearts problem as soon as possible to avoid a murder on the day of the game;

- They wake up early for practice! Idia and Leona have to be dragged out of their beds. The others started a game over who could wake these two the fastest (Vil brough an orchestra while Yuu brought Adeuce and a kazoo, Jamil won) ;

- I sincerely don't know where Azul or Idia would be on the team due to their low stamina and hatred of brooms. Right now it's Riddle, Jamil and Vil on brooms, Leona and Malleus on the ground. Maybe Idia on the ground while Azul goes through his character arc and flies;

- Game nights for team building. Don't let them play Uno or Monopoly. Jamil is killing it on DDR though;

- To teach them the importance (and how to skirt the rules) Leona created a game where people have to break a rule and not get caught by the referee (Riddle). If you can escape his notice, you're fine;

- They exchange Spelldrive tactics, though most moves are familiar to the rest, Heartslabyul's "Throw the disk and the player into the goal" was new (it was inspired by the chandelier incident);

- Vil is designing a new NRC outfit (team spirit requires a good team outfit);

- They may or may not find a hidden catacomb in Ramshackle;

- Jamil has finally known peace, he just needs a set of headphones;

- Breakfast time includes a lot of yelling. Riddle can be seen drinking tea with the ghosts on the ceiling, trying to avoid the chaos. Malleus sometimes joins the group;

The rest of the cast pays them regular visits to make sure nobody died yet.

[niabang]

The Summer it Came True

Previous chapter

Next chapter

Chapter 3

Pairing: Bangchan × black female reader named Kel

Word count: 2191

More under the cut!

⁷

Two days had passed since you bumped into him at the store.

Two days had passed since you saw his face again after what felt like forever.

Two days had passed since you realised my feelings for him were still very much there.

Two days had passed since you exchanged numbers.

Two days had passed, and he hadn't texted you.

We're you supposed to text first? Was he waiting for you to text him? You surely couldn't do that. You didn't want to seem thirsty. You had to take your mind off all this. You still didn't have designs ready for the collection. Some summer this was.

You were making myself a quick sandwich when you saw your phone light up from a message, and you just knew it was him, so you instantly dropped what you were doing and picked up your phone.

...

Chan

Hey

You

Hi

Chan

I stopped by the old neighbourhood today to visit friends, and your house still looks the exact same way it did before I left. The only difference is that no one was in it. I would have loved to see your parents again. Maybe I'll check back another time.

You

Chan... my parents died in a car crash six years ago. I stay at the beach house every summer now. That's why no one was at home.

Chan

Are you pulling my legs right now, Kel?

What do you mean?

No one told me anything, not even my mom

I'm so sorry that happened, Kel

I shouldn't have said that

I'm so sorry

You

No, don't worry, it's fine.

You didn't know

How could you have known?

Just forget about it. I'm okay.

Chan

So what's going on with you?

You

Well, for starters, after mom and dad died, they left everything to me. The houses, cars, and the entire company. I became the ceo of a multi-million dollar company at the age of 20. And I'm currently drowning in work. Other than that, nothing too interesting. You?

Chan

Oh, that's definitely not what I expected to hear. So, no parties or boyfriends or?

I already told you everything that was up with me when we bumped into each other at the store. That was pretty much it.

You

Oh, so what do you plan to do while you're here?

Chan

Well, I have two weeks here in Sydney and two weeks in Melbourne because of family, so I'm just trying to meet up with old friends, but things have changed a lot. No one actually still lives in the neighbourhood except you, Ryan, and Jade.

You

Yep, everyone did leave eventually. Some of them probably live in other countries now. I didn't keep in touch that much to know what happened to everyone.

Chan

Oh...

It'd be nice to catch up sometime

You

I'm sorry I have to go now

I'm getting a call from work

Bye chan

Why did Angie have to call you now? Why now? She called was probably calling to know how the designs were going and how were you going to tell her that you didn't have anything yet? 

You looked back at your sandwich on the table and reread the chats from your conversation. Why did he ask about boyfriends? Why did he care? He said he wanted to meet up with you. Did he truly want to see you, or were you just his only hope because everyone else was gone?

Hours passed after your little conversation with chan. It was evening now, and your butt had fully merged with your office chair. You had made some progress with the designs, but you didn't really like them, so you decided to keep those and start new ones.

You got thirsty, so you went downstairs for a drink, and that was when you heard a knock on your door. Nobody except Angie, your secretary and CJ knew knew the address to the beach house, and from what you knew, CJ was in Paris for a show, and Angie was still at work. Who could it be? You didn't order anything either, so you weren't expecting anyone.

"Who is it?" You asked, looking through the peephole, but you didn't see anyone, and no one answered, so you threw caution out the window and opened the door.

You opened the door only to be met with no one. Was someone pulling a prank on you? You were just about to shut the door and go about your business when someone wedged their foot in between it, and this wasn't just a random person it was HIM. It was Chan. What was he doing here? Why did he have a box of chocolates in his hand?

"Hi." He said with a smile on his face. You had fully opened the door now, so you just stood looking looking at each other.

"Oh my God, chan, you scared me. What are you doing here? More importantly, how did you find your way here?"

"C'mon kel have some faith in me. Things did change but not that much. Of course, I still remember the beach house."

"Oh." You said, not knowing what else to say.

"Can I come in?" He asked. You totally forgot that you were just standing on opposite sides of your door staring at each other.

"Oh yeah, sure. I'm sorry." You moved out of the way so he could make his way in. As you turned back towards him from locking the door, you were met with Chan handing out the box of chocolates to you.

"Oh, thank you. But why?" You said while stretching out my hands to collect the box like you weren't about to explode.

"It's the least I could do after disappearing for years. It's nothing." He answered your question.

It wasn't nothing. In fact, it was everything. The man you had feelings for just gave me a box of chocolates. You were losing it.

You told him to have a seat on one of the couches, and you made your way to the kitchen to drop the box of chocolates on the island

"Do you want anything?" You asked from the kitchen.

"Just water is fine." He replied. You got a bottle of water out from the fridge and handed it to him.

"Thank you. I honestly came by to see you because everything you told me about you working reminded me of me. You shouldn't keep yourself cooped up in here. I spend so much time working that i barely have time for anyone. Not even myself. I don't want that to happen to you." Chan said when he had taken a sip of water

"Well, you're about six years late, but I'll give you an A for effort." He laughed a bit when you said that and then patted the empty spot next to him on the sofa to signal you to sit down. You honestly forgot that you were still standing. This whole situation was still a bit shocking to you.

"What I'm trying to say is it's summer. You should take a break. Let me take you out tonight. Just to clear your head."

Did you hear properly, or were you having auditory hallucinations? Did he just offer to take you out? All of a sudden? Was this like a date? Of course, it wasn't a date he just wanted to catch up because he hadn't been around, and you were the only one accessible to him.

You stood there not knowing what to say so he told you that if you didn't want to come you didn't have to but you reassured him that you did want to (like you would ever pass on the opportunity to go out with him) and he should give you a few minutes to get ready. He was dressed in black cargo pants, a white shirt, and a black hat, so you decided to mirror him a bit.

You put on black cargo shorts and a cropped white tank, then coupled it with a black shrug, white socks, black platform converses, and a black mini backpack to keep your things in.

You combed my curls out, put on some light makeup, and made my way downstairs.

"Okay, I'm ready. Where exactly are we going?" You asked.

"Is the old amusement park still open at this time? I haven't been there in years." He replied your question with a question.

"Yeah, it is." You said.

"Okay, so let's go there."

"Wow, so so you didn't even have anything planned. What if the park had closed down or something?" You said sarcastically.

"Then we would have driven around till we found something to do. Now stop talking and let's go."

"Let me just grab my keys." You told him.

"Give them to me. I'll drive." He said, stretching out his hand to collect the key

"No, it's my car. I'll drive and you be my passenger princess." That was funny if you said so yourself.

"No. I insist I drive since I'm the one who suggested the outing." It was clear that you were both stubborn, and this debate on who should drive was not going to end anytime soon.

"Should we just rock, paper, scissors for it?" You suggested. He agreed, and he ended up winning. He happily took the keys from your hand and started the car while you turned off lights in the house and locked up.

You joined him in the car through the passenger seat, and he reminded you to use your seat belt for safety. You wanted to tell him that you knew very well how cars worked, but decided it was best not to say anything.

You both ended up talking about his experience in Korea, and you were more than shocked to find out that he trained for seven years without any assurance that he would debut. He only debuted in 2018. He had been a trainee longer than he had been an idol.

"We're here." He said when you arrived at the gate.

You both got out of the car and made your way to the ticketing booth, and there you had another argument about who would put money on the ride and games card.

You ended up agreeing to split the bill half and half, and proceeded to go on the rides. You couldn't help but notice just how much of a baby he still was. The way he squealed and giggled when we got on particularly scary rides, was so precious to you. He even begged for you guys not to go into the haunted house and you almost cried laughing.

It made you think about everything he told you about being a trainee for seven years and how his childhood was basically taken away from him because he wanted to pursue his dreams.

He gave up his youth for his future.

After you had gotten on basically every ride in the park, you found some benches and sat on one together. There was an awkward silence for some minutes, and you were lost in his beautiful features, but you were snapped out of thought when he got up from the bench and told you that he'd be back.

You almost wanted to follow him, but for some reason, you decided to sit back and wait. Some minutes after, he came back with an entire tray of food.

"I didn't know what you wanted, so I just got the same thing for the both of us." He said sitting down.

You looked at what he had got, and it was hotdogs, fries, and milkshakes. You were about to combust. This man was so nice and caring. He was perfect.

By the time you were done eating, it was a little bit after 11, and you definitely couldn't go on rides after eating, so you decided to get going.

He wanted to return the games card to you before you parted ways, but you told him to keep it because he might want to come back sometime before he left, and surprisingly, he didn't argue. He just said thank you and kept it in his wallet.

The Uber that he had ordered to take him back to his hotel room had arrived, so he handed me my keys. we both said goodbye to each other and parted ways.

You didn't want him to leave yet, but what were you supposed to say? Chan, don't go. I have feelings for you?

By the time you got home, you had received a text from him.

...

Chan

Thank you for today

I haven't had this much fun in a while

You

What are you thanking me for?

I should be thanking you. You finally got me to have some fun, and plus, you suggested it

Chan

Hey, I was wondering...

It's kind of lonely in my hotel room, and I have no one to hang out with, but you.

If it's not too inconveniencing, could I come stay in the beach house with you for the remaining time I have in Sydney?

You

Typing...

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK?

Hi guys! ❤️

If anyone here wants to be added to a permanent taglist for this series feel free to tell me. I would really appreciate it. I hope you guys are enjoying it so far!

-Nia

[xxsycamore]

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬

↬ What if Ray Blackwell's biggest trauma never happened?

Ray; Fenrir; Alice; original male characters - the missing army officers • rating: G • tags: Spoilers for Ray's route and backstory; Trauma; What-If; Everybody Lives; Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence; Injury; Injury Recovery; Prosthesis; Scars; Bittersweet • wordcount:  1,565 • masterlist

a/n: This fic came to be in a very interesting way... @the12thnightproject suggested a Reverse Ask game, where we pick a playing card that corresponds to a writing prompt… I went with the King of Spades for Ray Blackwell, because of course I did, and. Well. It didn't expect it to be THAT GOOD.

The prompt I got for the King of Spades is: Nobody Dies, Everybody Lives.

"Ray cheated! Ray cheated!!"

Fenrir jumps from his seat, almost slamming his palm on the table in the process - which would undoubtedly reveal his hand. While trying to sneak a peek of his cards, the other officers seated around the table let out a barely audible snicker.

"Oh c'mon his eyes flashed red! I saw it!"

Frown deepening, Fenrir watches his buddies ignore him as Ray casually robs him of cards he won unfairly.

"I CAN'T be the only one that saw it! Robert? Clyde??"

Clyde shrugs, tapping the fingers of his prosthetic arm against the table as he waits for the next turn - but the former doesn't as much as look at Fenrir's direction. Seeing that even the 9th of spades who is a terrible liar has no concern readable anywhere in his body language, Fenrir sighs. Deeply.

"The cookies are ready!" Alice walks into the room, and the mouth-watering aroma of freshly baked cookies from Luka's recipe walks with her. Seeing that the pink-haired Ace hasn't processed to fill his mouth with cookies yet, Alice is almost concerned. She was so ready to scold him that now the scene looks unnatural...

"What are you guys up to?"

"Fen is being a sore looser again." Ray half-nods in the direction of Fenrir, eyes busy in his hand. In the next second, he's done organizing his cards and throws them on the table. Despite his obvious self-satisfactory, the winning hand is in Clyde, who also reveals his cards. Still, there is no surprise on Ray's face. "And that makes another victory for Clyde."

Fenrir fake-cries into the palms of his hands as Alice places the cookies on the table, where Robert has already swept all the cards towards him and began to shuffle the deck. He blows a tiny emission of air upwards to move the annoying strands of red hair off his forehead, and for a second the scar he hides underneath is visible. "Anyone wants to see a card trick?"

Fenrir slides his hands down his face, revealing a grumpy expression. "Don't bother, Rob, king's gonna use magic to guess the card. The bastard."

"Ahahah." Ray takes a cookie but pauses before putting it in his mouth. "You mad, Fen? I thought you were going to praise me for learning to control my magic so well."

Fenrir scoffs, appetite winning over his pettiness as he reaches for a cookie as well. "...Just don't use it too much."

The serious note in his tone doesn't go unnoticed by Ray. It's hardly about cheating in games anymore, as it's known what the effects of using magic have on those who are born with it. It's so much like his best friend, to worry about him when it comes to that. Ray's smile doesn't leave his lips as he reassures him.

"You know that this is nothing, Fen... but don't worry about me, I'm not going to overdo it."

Alice watches the exchange with interest, feeling the slight change in the otherwise carefree mood around the table. Robert and Clyde felt it too, judging by their expressions.

"Alice, do you wanna go for a walk around the barracks? Let's see those night-blooming flowers Sirius was talking about."

Alice jumps as Kent, the 5th of Spades that is in the habit of appearing out of nowhere, taps her on the shoulder. She didn't even notice him being in the room in the first place... no wonder why the army values his skill to sneak up on enemies. She is about to ask what's gotten into him so randomly, but then the green-haired officer winks at her.

After a warning to leave some cookies for the others, Alice and Kent go outside - but nowhere too far off. There's a small bench situated just under the window of the room where they left the others. Kent sits first, and pats the place next to him.

"What do you want to talk about, Kent? Everything alright?"

The officer nods and props his arms next to him on the bench, looking at the sky.

"You looked a bit lost just now. I guess they haven't told you yet."

"Haven't told me about what?"

"Ever wondered about why Robert, Clyde, Fenrir, Boss and me all seem to know each other since forever?"

Alice rubs the tip of her shoe in the ground, humming a little. "If I'm not mistaken, Fenrir and Ray know each other since their school days. Maybe you guys attended that school too? You're not the same age, but perhaps..."

"That's true. We were in different grades, but something happened one day that led to our fates being ...intertwined, so to speak. Ahhh, I sure hope the guys don't mind me telling you all of this."

"I can keep it a secret if you want, Kent!"

Kent's smile lessens Alice's worry, but it goes away as quickly as it came. His violet eyes tremble slightly as she looks at his side profile, as if thousands of pictures flash behind them. He begins.

"One day, some people in long black robes came into the school. I was alone then, and asked politely if I could help them. But out of nowhere, they grabbed me and tried to kidnap me."

Alice's breath hitches, blue irises filling with the reflection of Kent as her eyes widen in shock. He continues.

"I didn't know a single thing about fighting back then. Truth to be told, I was very scared. I'm guessing you didn't expect to hear this from me, haha... But it's true. If it wasn't for Ray, I..."

"Ray saved you?"

"In the end I was saved by him, yes... but it didn't go as smoothly as that. When I saw Ray approaching, I felt relieved - I was super lucky to be found by the strongest, most popular guy in school. Man. Ray was so cool back then."

Remembeing a bit of what Fenrir shared, Alice hums quietly. Fenrir and Ray were both popular with girls, but other than that, they were one heck of a duo that takes care of the bullies in school. Imaging them fighting back to back, back then, just like they do today, Alice is able to crack a smile.

"But there was something else in his sharp gaze other than fury. His eyes seemed to burn with hatred for the people who attempted to kidnap a student in board daylight - they burned and burned, until they got red. Quite literally. Other students started rushing in the place where we were, and suddenly it was total chaos - I got thrown to the ground and couldn't see what happened, but in the middle of the crowd where Ray was surrounded by those strange men something suddenly started to glow with a strong light. I heard an explosion."

Kent's hands ball into fists, trying to summon a note of lightheartness in his tone for the sake of not worrying Alice too much.

"When I came to, I was okay. Nothing more than a few minor injuries that went away in a week or two. But not everyone had my luck. I still think it's not fair. Ray tried to save me, and those people..."

"So... this is how Ray found out he is a magic user. Tell me Kent, did anyone..."

"Ahh no, don't worry Alice. There were no fatalities. Fortunately. But it was a close call."

Alice lets out a breather she didn't know she was holding into. Then realization hits.

"Is Clyde's hand-"

"Yep, that's what happened to him. And the scar on Robbie's head too. But those guys don't hate Ray or anything like that. Jeez, seeing how much Clyde loves that prosthetic arm that doubles as a gun... I can't imagine a world where Fenrir is the only gun-crazed maniac in the army. These two are tough, they aren't officers for nothing. The guilt Ray felt for them was massive back then, he dedicated himself to caring for them in the very beginning. And I, well, I was there too. I owe him so much. I don't wanna know where I would be, if it wasn't for him."

That explains so much. Everyone among the officers is aware of how hard Ray works on controlling his magic, even if he uses it seemingly without any difficulty. Alice would've never thought something like this happened to him, or to the other four men.

A day that almost went down in the history of their lives as the darkest; an incident not to be spoken of but never forgotten.

Laughter comes through the open window above their heads. It's Fenrir's, this time, and Alice assumes the Ace finally got back at his best buddy for the cheating before. But Ray's own laughter follows, just as loud and hearty, filling the starry night outside the window.

Alice thanks Kent for telling her their story. His own bravery needs to be remarked, but he seems to get shy as soon as she comments on it... well, he's just like that.

A world where Ray doesn't laugh as loudly as he does now.

Where he doesn't use his magic casually over a game of cards, where he doesn't smile as often, and is instead drowning in a sea of guilt noone knows about.

"Let's go inside before they can eat all the cookies!"

Alice is grateful such world doesn't exist.

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran    @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @ravenarld @kimmy-banana @devonares @animeworldsposts @randomanimatedhusbandoseeker @galaxyprison @sadshaxk @starshards26 @pro-cat-stination @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @keen19thcenturygoatsstudent @lordsister @ikemen-banshou   @themysticalbeing @canaria-blackwell @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @coornn @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 ​ @ikemenlover24 @violettduchess @mcofthemansion @tiny-wooden-robot @joy-the-reader @katriniac @ikemen-writer @psychodreamer666 @cilokgoang @maries-gallery @moonstruck-writing @tele86 Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

[roses-in-the-shade]

Submas Born By Death AU Part 4

Want to go back to the beginning? Here's the link to Part 1!

Previous post? Here's Part 3!

So how does PLA happen? Like this:

Arceus spotted a wild Ghost Ingo

Arceus looks at the mess that is Hisui a couple hundred years in the past and comes up with a GENIUS idea.

Hear Arceus out. Nobody really knows about Ingo. Ingo will only be missed by a few people. Arceus SWEARS he'll put him back when he's done. No, really.

Arceus: kidnaps Ghost Ingo

"Lost soul-"

"My apologies, but I was never lost. Perhaps there's been a misunderstanding."

"AHEM. Lost soul. I propose a deal to thee. I wilt gift upon thee a new living corse for yourself, so yond thee may liveth a happier life with thy family, nay longer did force to encave from thy peers.."

"I find that I am rather content as things are, actually."

"IRRELEVANT. In exchange, thee wilt assist me and mine did select hero to unfucketh a time paradox in ancient Sinnoh."

"What. No. I am not agreeable to these terms."

"Too bad. YEETETH." (I don’t actually intend to write it talking like this. But this is funny too. Also, Shakespearean translator is very useful.)

Ingo gets to be alive, but at what cost. :')

PLA resumes as normal.

Ingo still doesn't have his memories in PLA. Since his memories prior to Hisui are bound to his very soul, rather than stored in his new neuropaths in his new physical brain, he's unable to remember anything without something familiar to jostle them loose.

Arceus: "WHOOPS *looks away* I'm sure that'll fix itself. Maybe."

Meanwhile, in modern day Unova, Emmet one day wakes up without Ingo's familiar presence to be found anywhere. (He has to urgently hire another Subway Boss under the guise of overwork.)

Emmet finally mourns his brother, who technically died the day they (he) were born.

Their parents believe that Ingo finally moved on, content that Emmet found a stable and happy path in his life. Emmet refuses to believe that. They worked towards everything together. Ingo was convinced there was no End terminal in Emmet's life and in his own unlife. Emmet is ABSOLUTELY certain that something happened to Ingo. He just has no idea what. And he has no idea how to find him. How do you track down a ghost?

The Pearl Clan find Ingo passed the fuck out in the Icelands because it literally never occurred to him to seek shelter. Or eat food for that matter. He is a very confused, very lost man. And he is a puzzle and enigma to his rescuers.

For once, he is now rightfully the local cryptid of the clan. Or maybe just Hisui in general. Man does not know how to live like a human being and is somehow more comfortable interacting with pokemon. He has glowing silver eyes, what in the FUCK-

Arceus: "Oh shit maybe there's drawbacks to using divine powers for creating a human body for a ghost"

Bla bla bla, Ingo becomes warden, meets protag, red sky incident, yada yada yada, this happens over the course of about maybe three years. Don't worry about the timeline for now. :)

Next post? Here's Part 5!

[damfinofanfiction]

Chapter 21: Here’s Mud in Your Eye

Buster reached the Kingman Hotel at one in the morning. He was still tired after his train ride but still had the energy to carry his suitcase. With a slap on the desk bell, he summoned the clerk. “Welcome back Mr. Keaton,” he said with his pleasant tone. “Did you have a nice trip?”

Buster let out a soft yawn. "Sure have," he managed, his words muffled by his hand.

With a warm smile, the clerk handed him the key to his room that they had held on for him while he was away. "Have a restful night, sir," the clerk bid him farewell.

Ascending a few floors, Buster entered his room. The dim glow of the lamp revealed a cozy space, a welcome sight after the day's travels. After completing his usual nightly routine, he sank into bed, the exhaustion finally catching up to him.

The sun was peeking up when the phone rang hours later. Buster took the appliance with only his arms. He answered to find it was his brother-in-law from the east. “Who died?” 

“Nobody. What is this I hear about the production being halted?” Buster sat up, his mind racing. He had planned to discuss this with Joe once everything was sorted – clearly, someone had beaten him to it. “Well, What the hell is going on?” 

"Just give me a moment," he replied tersely. "I'll fill you in."

"Make it quick, Buster. This is causing quite a stir," his brother-in-law pressed.

Buster explained. “It was Brown Eyes, the cow. She had gone on heat and she’s impossible to obey. You know about animals, they're not always easy to manage.”

“Have you tried to pair her up with one of the bulls?” Joe asked.

“Yes, but it didn't go well and I don't want to replace her so we chose to wait until she gets over it. I had the cameraman film some landscapes but don't worry we’ll get back on track as soon as our cow is herself again.”

Buster felt tense when hearing a pause on the other end, hoping it was at least a what for from his boss. To his relief, Joe responded, “I’m not mad but we cannot afford any more setbacks. We’ll be losing our budget. Please make sure to keep things on track.”

Buster gave a nod, “I understand.”

With that, they exchanged final words and hung up. The sunlight beaming from the window encouraged Buster to start his day. He got out of bed to head toward his briefcase because he was in the mood for a morning swim. He entered a pool room only wearing his swimsuit under the robe. He shed off the outer layer and then dove into the water. His strokes were more tranquil and slow. He spent minutes reaching every corner and taking in the temperature of the water. The peace was interrupted when Buster sensed the presence of another person.

“Buster, welcome back!” the voice came from Lex Neal who had just been in the same room. 

“Hey, good morning!” Buster grabbed the edge to wave at him. “Have you heard any news about Brown Eyes?”

“The ranch hands said she seems improving well so we're hoping we’ll be back on track in the next day or two. Say how did the weekend go?”

Buster thought of the premiere, his encounters at the reception that were pleasant to him, while some others he had to tolerate through his shyness. He spent time with his family as much as he could. He also had to endure the in-laws that came over. He went home Saturday morning with an afterglow due to his encounter with Gail. He hid it so well that Natalie didn't suspect a thing.

A blush reappeared when his mind wandered to Gail, their lovemaking, her lips, tongue, her bosom, and womanhood.

He said with a grin, “It was wonderful.”

***********************

July had arrived when the scene filmed in Sennett’s Studio had the hero (Maxwell) competing in the town’s bike race to impress his girl (Gail). He was wearing mismatched biking gear with a bouquet taped to his back. Crew members poured water on the race track to muddy it, and live chickens in crates were brought in as a gag.

Gail was at the sidelines with the background actors when Del instructed her, as the camera began rolling, “Okay Miss, you are searching for your sweetheart in the race.” On his cue, Gail pantomimed and pretended to look for Maxwell on the line. She smiled while waving. Her reactions had to be filmed 3 times. Del did it to see whichever shot looked good on her. Gail didn't like to ham it up, although she avoided underacting. As Del's exclamation of "Cut" rang out, the cameraman's hands stilled, capturing the scene's final moments. Gail relaxed her facial muscles, her breath slowing as she stepped out of the character's shoes she had temporarily inhabited. She looked to Del, her question reflecting her desire for perfection.

“Is this good enough Mr. Lord?” 

“That should be plenty, Miss,” he answered, his tone carrying a subtle hint of satisfaction.

Later on, another scene had a gag where Gail and the spectators were going to be splashed with a combination of mud and water by one of the racing bikers. They were all notified beforehand, Gail wasn't happy, but she knew in a silent comedy, actors sometimes had to be the butt of a joke. A take was performed where that biker rode close to them but they were only splashed up to their ankles. The crew fixed that situation by dumping excess water into the same area. Another take was done again with successful results as the mud and water landed on their faces. Gail’s reaction was a mix of shock and amusement. Her eyelids kept the wet dirt from entering her eyes, and she sputtered the contents off her lips. It wasn't long until she was given a towel after the take. She looked out for the director to see if he was satisfied with the shot or if they had to do it again.

If Gail had to choose to rehearse for 3 hours in the nightclub where she used to work or to be splashed in mud, she’d pick the latter.

July 4

“What’s he like in bed?” Sally questioned this to Gail when they were in her room in Lenore’s house. She finished painting a star on one of Gail’s bare knees. Hers was drying.

Gail was sitting on Sally’s bed. “Wonderful. He was considerate to me that he avoided hurting me in our lovemaking.” 

Sally stood up from the floor. “Aw come on”, Sally said teasingly. “Tell me the details. Where did he lick you?” Reluctantly, Gail pointed her finger to her clothed breast. A gleeful blonde exclaimed, "Oh wow! Michael has a real knack for pleasing a lady!”

Gail was embarrassed by her answer but smiled anyway, “He has, doesn’t he?” The women were dressed for the festivities of the patriotic holiday. Gail wore a red and white striped day dress and white silk stockings.  Sally was in a blue wrap dress over her white slip. 2 pairs of small-heeled shoes and a couple of hats, red and blue, were put aside until it was time for their outing.

“Did he have a great body?” Sally sat next to her in an anticipating tone.

“Why yes, he has an ideal physique,” Gail recalled. “He’s like a living Greek statue. His behind has even followed suit.”

They shrieked in excitement.

“Is everything alright?” Lenore called them from another room. 

Sally reassured her, “Yes, we're only talking Auntie.”

Gail felt a bit nervous wondering if Lenore heard her niece mentioning ‘Michael’ pleasuring her. "Mike and I are wonderful." She frowned, "But Sterling and you, I'm worried about you. He’s not right in the head. Do you even know why he didn't join you?”

“He has other plans and Auntie still doesn't like him, which is for the best.”

“I’m afraid to mention this but he could be cheating on you.”

Sally took offense, “Bae, Sterling can be a fun fellow but he wouldn't have been having fun with an associate. Look, when we get together I will prove to you that Sterling has changed and is trustworthy.”

Gail hadn't said a word but only gave her a nod.

It was later that day that Gail, Sally, and Lenore were out celebrating Venice Beach. A lively scene featured a man on stilts, dressed as Uncle Sam, a band playing Stars and Stripes forever. Children ran around with wooden toys, and every area was surrounded by American flags.

As dawn peaked, they found somewhere to sit to watch the annual spectacle.

“Gail,” Lenore said to her in surprise, “Your knees are painted!”

Being seated, she noticed the rising hemline revealing her knees, “Oh forgive me, I’ll wash them off before bed.”

“I painted them myself,” Sally piped out.

Lenore raised an eyebrow, “How peculiar that you never practiced your artistry on a canvas,”

Fireworks burst, painting the dark blue sky. Gail was stuck keeping Sally’s secret from Lenore just as she kept hers from them. She wouldn't want to ruin the joyful occasion.

Happy Labor Day everyone!

[phoenixthemenace]

Till Death

Day 27. Heated argument-

Dr. Joe Early is tired. He has four patients suffering from a virus that no one has ever seen. One was slowly recovering. One was at death's door.

Joe Early is worried. His best friend is in one of the isolation units fighting the virus that no one had a God damned clue how to fight.

Joe is fucking terrified. The closest thing he has to a son is in front of him writhing with delirium and there's next to nothing he can do about it.

When Dixie brings Roy DeSoto, distraught eyes filled with tears into the room, the algebra of anger sums up to the breaking point.

Calmly, Joe asks the nurse to let them have a minute alone.

"Go take a break. Grab a cup of coffee. I'll take it from here."

"Thanks Doc." Roy murmurs as he turns to Johnny.

"I don't think so, Roy." Joe's voice is flinty as he blocks Roy's path.

"Doc-"

"Joe." Dixie's voice is sharp, because she is also tired and terrified for nearly the same reasons. "Let him through."

"No. Not until he explains that bruise."

Joe saw Johnny before he fell ill, saw through the explanation that it was just grief, and soon heard Johnny’s side of the story, He suspected there was a lot more to it.

"I…I just did something I shouldn't have." Johnny had said softly. "And…and…we're through. I think."

He hung his head to hide his pain.

"Johnny, are you sure?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know." He rubbed his side and flinched when Roy called down the hall that they had a run. The brief expression in Johnny’s eyes set alarm bells off in Joe's mind which were screaming at him now.

"What bruise?" Dixie asks sharply. Neither man answers her or the ringing phone.

Roy looks sick.

"It was done unintentionally. If I could undo it I would."

"You hit him?" Dixie snarls. "After all he's been through?"

"You know his past, Roy." Joe forges on, his anger evident. "What could he have done that made you think that he deserved to be hurt like that? What if he's lost the will to fight. To live."

"I told you it was-" Roy begins, his temper rising.

"Stop with your excuses and answer the question." Joe cut him off.

"Listen, I don't know what you think you know about Johnny’s past, and I doubt any of us even know half of it, but what happened between me and Johnny is nobody's business, because it involves my past, which is also none of your business."

"If it means Johnny comes to harm it sure as hell is our business!" Dixie growls.

Chaos erupts as the trio burst into shouts, each fighting from the position of love for the man in the bed beside them. The man who is now thrashing about, agitated by more than his fever.

A shrill whistle silences the room.

"What is going on in here?" Mike Morton demands with a mix of shock and anger. When no one answered he pushes on. "We tried calling and no one answered. Now half the hospital is in a panic thinking that you're ill too. Now I've come in here to find you squabbling like children."

No one responds again and avoid all eye contact.

"Tim Duntley just died."

Roy makes an agonized noise, steps around Joe and takes the hand Johnny keeps trying to lift. To reach out, searching. Bending low over Johnny, his other hand strokes the sweat soaked hair.

"I'm here love, I'm here." He says quietly, lips almost against Johnny’s ear. "I'm not leaving you. Don't you dare leave me. I love you. I love you."

"R-royyy…" A ghostly sigh came as Johnny calmed at the touch. Roy reaches for a cooling cloth and begins to sponge his lover's sweat soaked face.

Joe and Dixie exchange a long look while Mike processes what he is hearing and seeing. Dixie finally sweeps Morton from the room.

"Why don't I go talk to Maddie with you." She says as the door shuts in Morton's unbelieving face, leaving Roy and Joe in tense silence.

"Thanks Doc." Roy finally says as Joe checks on his patient.

"For what?" Joe's voice is still sharp as he slips the thermometer under Johnny’s tongue.

"For caring about John. He's had so little of that."

Joe snorts.

"You certainly have not helped."

"Listen." Roy snaps. "Let's get him through this, then we can have it out."

Joe takes a deep steadying breath. Roy is right.

"Fine. Truce." Joe grumbles. "Something tells me that you're the best medicine I can give him right now."

"I probably should go, though, my temporary partner is going to be here soon."

"Sorry. You've been exposed. It's dangerous for you to be out with other people." He says with a slight smirk as he gives Johnny a shot of the only hope they have at the moment.

"You're needed here." He adds softly. "I'll work it out with your Captain."

He claps Roy on the shoulder.

"Keep up with the cooling measures. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

Roy turns back to Johnny and continues to sponge his face, their hands still clasped, as he says over and over, 'I'm here, I love you.'

[endternal]

ANCHORAGE TASK 02 / MIROIR DATABASE

content warnings for death, murder, poisoning, child abandonment, child death, car accident

I : THE LOVERS' MASK

A TALE CALLED THE MOON'S ANGUISH THAT HAS CIRCULATED ANCHORAGE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL DECADES HAS PROMPTED SOME YOUNG LOVERS TO EXCHANGE MASKS AS A PROMISE OF DEVOTION. WHAT DESIGN WOULD MUSE THEORETICALLY THINK FITS THEM ( LOOK BACK TO REVENGE OF KRAMPUS FOR REFERENCE, #ANCHORTASK01 ON OUR SERVER ) ?

A wooden mask, painted a silvery white with sea-blue designs, colours of the moon and sea foam. It would be a full face mask with no discernible features and an expression carved into it, just holes for his eyes. It’s almost ghostlike.

SOME MIGHT CONSIDER THEM LEADING A DOUBLE LIFE IF THEY KNEW ABOUT …

I would say the whole miroir thing but there are two problems with that. First, Karam has not taken the place of his ‘original’ self in the traditional sense so it’s not likely he’s really lying to anybody about who he is. Lying by omission isn’t quite the same as pretending to be somebody else. Secondly, Karam is so private and so unwilling to open up that it would be really hard to say he has a secret second life.If anybody learned the truth about Karam’s background, it might come as a shock but it wouldn’t be a betrayal of what they already knew about him because they probably knew so little in the first place. But still, even with all that said, most people probably don’t assume his formative years were spent memorising the names and properties of lethal poisons or that, when others were worrying about high school exams, he was mixing paraquat into drinks. 

WHAT WOULD BE THEIR OWN DEAL BREAKER IN A RELATIONSHIP ? WOULD THEY DIE FOR LOVE OR KILL FOR MONEY ?

To be honest, Karam’s not really interested in romantic or sexual relationships but, if we’re talking about platonic relationships, anything that can be read as a betrayal, especially of his trust, would be a deal breaker. He’s not very forgiving and he tends to be very forthright so, if you wrong him, you can consider that bond severed. Karam has lived a very isolated life and he struggles to get close to people so it doesn’t take a lot of work on his part to cut people out if he’s no longer comfortable with them. With that in mind, he might die for love, although his upbringing ensured that his natural instinct is escape and survival at all costs, but he’d have to be very, very close with that person. As for killing for money, he’s not really that money-driven so it’s unlikely. However, he did spend most of his life killing for free just because he was told to. Generally speaking, he would prefer not to kill anybody these days but his morals concerning human life might be a little skewed; murder is a last resort for Karam but, if he does have to fall back on it, it probably wouldn’t fuck him up the way it might another person. What’s most likely for Karam is him killing for love. If he were given an ultimatum that either Karam dies or someone he cares about dies, he’d absolutely just try to kill the person giving it.

THEY ONLY HAVE ENOUGH CHANGE FOR ONE CALL AT THE PHONEBOOTH, & SOMEONE WITH GLARING RED EYES & A SPATULA IS STANDING ACROSS THE STREET. WHO WILL THEY CALL ?

Nobody. Karam is very solitary and very much prefers to deal with his problems by himself. He would run. That’s it. Forget the phone booth, he’s getting out of there. If it doesn’t work then maybe he was just meant to die violently but he’s a fast runner and he’s not standing about waiting for death to find him.

II : THE ZEIGEIST OF THE '90S

THEIR FAVORITE SLASHER FILM IS ( IF APPLICABLE ) …

Karam hasn’t actually…uh…watched that many movies, in the grand scheme of things. Slashers don't really appeal to him though. He's read horror novels though and he finds those interesting. Shout out to the library!

IN THEIR FREE TIME, THEY ENJOY GOING OUT AND …

Wandering. His only other real option is staying at the apartment complex and hanging out with pigeons (who, for the record, he has befriended; street pigeons are just feral domestic pigeons, after all). Karam likes being among nature so it’s not uncommon to find him out by the coast or wandering aimlessly through some forest on the outskirts of the city. He also enjoys trying to access places he shouldn’t. It’s not really clear why he enjoys this but, regardless, he’s weirdly good at climbing trees and buildings, granted they have something for him to hold onto. He would probably be pretty good at parkour. I don’t think he has a lot of real hobbies though. Lately, he’s been quite into sneaking around and trying to gather clues about the weird events in the town. That’s not really a healthy outlet though. Someone give this man something to DO.

A FASHION FAD OF THE TIMES THEY ADORE THAT THEIR FRIENDS WOULD DESPISE IS …

You might have already guessed the answer to this one but…Karam doesn’t really keep up with fads. That’s not to say he doesn’t care about his appearance because, surprisingly, he is very particular about it. You don’t consistently keep your hair a weird colour (it’s a silverish-blue) if you don’t care about how you look, right? But, for the most part, he really just dresses in all black. (Perhaps you could argue that his dress sense sometimes mirrors what was seen in the Karasu Zoku movement but that was the 80s and he’s not Japanese.)

HOW OFTEN DO THEY ORDER DELIVERY FROM PEPPY'S PIZZERIA ? HAVE THEY EVER SEEN THE WALLS OOZE GREEN SLIME IN THE PIZZERIA OR THE ANIMATRONICS MOVE ON THEIR OWN DURING THEIR TIME IN ANCHORAGE ?

Never. He ordered it once at his old roommate’s behest and, having never eaten it before, insisted on adding as many toppings as possible. It tasted awful and he hated it and hasn’t touched pizza since.

WHEN THEY BELIEVED IN CHRISTMAS, WERE THEY TOLD KRAMPUS WOULD PAY THEM A VISIT FOR BEING ON THE NAUGHTY LIST ? ( WRITE N/A IF NOT APPLICABLE TO THEIR RELIGION OR LIFESTYLE )

N/A (he did not celebrate Christmas growing up and his original self died too young to have many fixed memories of the season, putting aside the fact his original self was also Korean and didn’t celebrate according to Western traditions.)

WHAT TALL TALE OR SUPERSTITION WERE THEY TOLD AS A CHILD THAT STILL GIVES THEM THE HEEBIE JEEBIES ?

Karam was, from a very young age, expected to learn about the different horrific ways people could die of poisoning and, if he couldn’t stomach that, he was as good as useless. However, when he did catch wind of weird stories, his natural urge was to start picking them apart and questioning the details. He was always more interested in getting to the bottom of why these stories are told, especially if they’re untrue. Based on his keen interest in the current situation in Anchorage, he hasn’t lost this curiosity.

III : THE CURSE OF THE SPIDER

ARE THERE FAMILY SECRETS OR SO-CALLED CURSES THAT HAUNT THEM ? ONES THAT ARE KNOWN PUBLICLY OR FOLLOW THEM FIGURATIVELY ?

Karam has no family. He feels no attachment to his original self’s family. All he knows is that he was the child of a single mother and then he wasn’t anymore. (This is not an answer to this question but, in Karam’s original non-Anchorage plotline, he is a (fraternal) twin but I haven’t decided if I want to carry that over here; in that plotline, he wasn’t raised with his twin so it makes no difference). 

WHICH OF THE SEVEN SINS WOULD CORRUPT THEIR MORALS ?

Wrath, hands down. Although Karam does come off as quite cool and collected to most people, he’s actually quite emotional. It’s just that he doesn’t show or express it well. There’s a side to Karam that is very volatile and, if pushed hard enough, he absolutely would snap.

THE WORLD REMAINS THE SAME FOR DECADES NOW. IS IGNORANCE BLISS ? OR IS THERE THE SHAKY SENSE SOMETHING IS AMISS THAT CAN'T BE IGNORED ?

Karam is suspicious about…uh, just about everything. As a result of his upbringing, he knows there’s a lot going on in the world that most people couldn’t even begin to fathom. Strictly speaking, he’s not somebody who should even exist. He hasn’t got it all figured out and maybe he’s not entirely certain that time is standing still as such but he’s aware of the social stagnation, the way nobody is moving on from old trends in the way they should and that nothing ever seems to fall out of cultural relevance. Karam isn’t the best at communicating with and understanding people so he spends a lot of time taking in his surroundings, trying to learn how to make sense of others, and the lack of apparent progress, outside of certain areas (the medical field, some aspects of technology), is strange to him. 

DREAMS ARE OFTEN INFLUENCED BY THE SUBCONSCIOUS & SOMETIMES DISTORTED. IN THEIR DEEPEST, DARKEST NIGHTMARES, HOW DO THEY VIEW THEMSELVES ?

Most of Karam’s bad dreams these days revolve around the theme of being useless and unneeded, of being left behind and discarded. In these dreams, he is also often the villain, a murderer whose actions have come back to haunt him.

IV : THE CROOKED FRAME

WHAT IS THEIR DEATH WISH ? MIROIRS ONLY ( BASTARDS GANG INCLUDED ) : THE PERFECT CRIME WAS CONSTRUCTED & SOMEONE ELSE TOOK THEIR PLACE. HOW DID THEY ORIGINALLY DIE ?

Karam has no particular death wish but, if he had to settle on something, he’d want something quick and thoughtless. After all, he won’t have to worry about it when he’s dead. Now, Karam doesn’t want to die and, if given the option, he would try to live at all costs but he’s also not actively afraid of death either. He wants to live but he knows he’ll die someday anyway. However, he doesn’t want a slow death, painful or otherwise, because he doesn’t want the chance to learn that he might be afraid of dying after all. He also does not want to be poisoned because he’s seen the worst of that. It’s not a pretty way to go.

He, the child whose name Karam has almost forgotten (whose name he’d decided not to use as his own), had died very young back in South Korea. He couldn’t have been more than about seven or eight years old. His mother, unable to take care of him, had left him at the door of an orphanage. He waited a while at the front steps of the building but, once he realised she wasn’t coming back, he left without ever being noticed by anybody at the orphanage. The boy would spend the next week or so fending for himself as best as he could, running from anybody who might take him to safety, driven by a lack of trust. He died when he was hit by a car, too dizzy from hunger to sense it coming. Weirdly enough, the streets were exactly where Karam wound up when he was abandoned by the program.

MUSE COULDN'T BE THE ONE BEHIND THE TUNNEL OF LOVE OUTAGE BECAUSE WHEN THE POWER WENT OUT, THEY WERE …

Not even in Anchorage! Karam had actually left town to avoid the Valentine’s crowd and the fuss of the carnival on its busiest day of the month. He’d gone out to the coast, just to watch the world go by. The power had already been out a little while when he finally got back to town.

WHAT WOULD THEY CONSIDER THEIR CALLING CARD ( I.E. WHAT SYMBOLS, PERSONAL MEMENTOS, ETC. DO THEY PERCEIVE AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THEMSELVES ) ?

The cuttings of various plants, scattered around a scrap of paper with a crescent moon drawn on it in calligraphy ink.

THOSE WITH INTERMEDIATE TECHNICAL SKILLS HAVE USED CRACKS & VPNS TO IMPROVE THE INTERNET CONNECTION, BUT ANYTHING POST-DATING THE 1990S IS ONLY ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE DARK WEB. HAS MUSE EVER ACCESSED THE DARK WEB ? HAVE THEY USED IT FOR ANY NEFARIOUS MEANS OR TO PURCHASE SERVICES ?

Karam is the sort of person who REALLY delves into a subject of interest and, as stated before, he’s very interested in the weird shit that keeps going on so I would imagine he’s also the type of person who would research something deeply enough to end up discovering the dark web at some point. However, he’s not that interested in technology. His social media is very sparingly used and he doesn’t even own a computer. The wall keeping Karam out of the dark web is his opinion that it’s a dumb waste of time.

[rdng1230]

Ok this is my Sal head canon. I think something went really wrong during the revolving door of captains era. Somebody got really hurt or died and it was as a result of one of those random new captains who were on their way out and was asleep at the switch.

Before Bobby even makes his appearance, Sal's first concern is that Bobby will not have what it takes to do the job well. "LA's gonna look like Mars to this Podunk and we're fresh out of training wheels" and the Little Leagues vs. the Yankees comment.

And Bobby doesn't exactly contradict those concerns. Its not that Bobby is truly bad at the job, he just is a rookie for a lot of the things that are specific to L.A. How to navigate the city efficiently, how to handle the tree trimming call, even Tommy and Chim are exchanging looks like "this guy doesn't know what he's doing." Even Bobby himself when he gets to the Maurice call says "A stabbing, finally something I can deal with" Bobby admits a lot of this is unusual and new for him.

In comparison, Sal is a lot better at those calls, he's got Tommy up in the ladder and Hen poised to respond before Bobby even knows what he's looking at. And it does not strike me as the first time this has happened. No one acts like Sal giving orders is unusual.

I imagine that Sal took whatever happened with rando older captain really hard, and made it his business to prevent it from happening again. I think he sees Bobby as a direct threat to that mission due to Bobby's self admitted greenness.

So when Bobby chews him out for getting the job done (he definitely was a reckless idiot to be fair) I do think Sal still has a right to be pissed. This guy who doesn't even know how to read a fucking map of the city yet is telling him he doesn't know how to do HIS job?!?! Especially when he successfully saved the kids life and executed the safest possible exit strategy?

His words to Bobby I think are particularly telling "That wasn't Luck man, that was skill. The kind of skill it takes to save lives, to lead this house" "you're not my captain, you're just the latest jack hole in a long line of jack holes that come to this house and think they know how to run it."

Yes I do believe he wants the captains chair and isn't yet ready for it, but I think the reason he truly gets angry at Bobby is because of fear that Bobby will screw up "that kid would be dead if it wasn't for me"

I don't know, Sal just seems too genuinely worried about his job and about each call for it all to be just ego about being passed over.

and finally, this is just something I found interesting, Sal's visibly gone gray between HB and BBA, when nobody else has been made to look significantly older.

Anyway, I just think there's layers to the guy. Don't think he's perfect, just that he might have genuine motives that come from a good place behind his pigheaded actions.

a minor 3-min-screen-time character is something that can actually be so personal,,

[lilahisntsadanymore]

Y/n goes to a dinner at Weasleys, where she finds out James Potter has a special effect on her. Unfortunately for her, he could read all her flithy thoughts about him.

My earlier smut was a success so I'm posting another one. Dunno yet how I feel about this one, but I can always delete it oop-

The reader pronouns: she/her

Pairing: friend's dad!James Potter x reader, mentions of previous Fred Weasley x reader

Tw: not proofread, smut with some backstory, age gap (reader is over 18), unprotected sex (but please use protection irl), slight degradation

Words count: 2.2k

Of course it is 18+ but I can't control who reads my stuff so idk just don't read if you're under 18.

This happens in an AU where Voldemort died in 1981, so the battle of Hogwarts in 1998 didn't happen.

All characters engaging in sexual activities are over the age of 18.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Shameful thoughts

Y/n was woken up by birds singing outside, what a bad of an idea it was to sleep with an open window. It wasn't even nine in the morning, yet still it was later than the usual time Y/n used to wake up after becoming Chudley Cannons' chaser.

Despite closing the window, Y/n decided not to go back to sleep. It was the first day "off work", but she didn't want to ruin her sleep/waking up schedule. Half past eight was a good time to start the day anyways. Y/n promised to visit the Weasleys as soon as she isn't busy with work. They were like a family to her and she hadn't payed them a visit in the past year. Or at least almost a year.

Y/n thought that 'after graduating, you lose contact with most people' was a popular lie, a myth, but it wasn't. Adult life was way different. She didn't have much time for herself, let alone for all her friends she'd made at Hogwarts. Sure, they exchanged letters once in a while, but Y/n couldn't remember when was the last time she spent time with Ron, Hermione or Harry. Probably on George and Angelina's wedding, but it didn't count because there were lots of other people too.

The Weasley twins. It was a difficult topic for Y/n. Not the both of them, just Fred. Fred Weasley was a difficult topic for Y/n Y/l/n. They had a past, they used to date, but it didn't work, they just weren't made for each other. As much as their breakup shocked everyone, Y/n was glad they could end the relationship on good terms, so that nobody hated anybody

In the afternoon Y/n decided to go to the Burrow the muggle way, since it wasn't so far and the weather was nice. Instead of the Floo, apparition or a broom, Y/n took a walk. It also helped her calm down from the thought of seeing her ex again. Y/n didn't even know why she worried about seeing him so badly. She tried to remind herself they were on good terms, but it didn't work.

"Good afternoon, Molly!" Y/n said when the older woman opened the door.

"So good to finally see you, Y/n!" Molly exclaimed, pulling the girl into a very tight embrace.

After walking inside, Y/n tried to lightly put her bag on the kitchen table, but it was so heavy it landed with a thud.

"Oh Merlin, what do you have in there?" Molly asked worryingly.

"You'd never guess! Made it this morning, it's still very fresh!"

Y/n pulled out a cake out of her bag. It was really huge and heavy, but Y/n thought baking a cake was a good way of apologizing for not visiting for so long. The cake had to be big, because there were supposed to be more quests at the Burrow that day.

"Thank you, but you didn't have to, it must've took you much effort-"

"I couldn't come empty-handed. You practically raised me, Molly, that's the least I can do."

"It's nothing, sweetheart, you don't owe us anything."

The conversation was interrupted by Arthur coming back from work. He was very happy to see Y/n. Then Ron and Hermione came in, Y/n wanted to catch up in the living room with everything that happened recently.

"I still can't believe you're in Chudley Cannons!" Ron squeaked. "They, you, did so well this season, thanks to you."

"You remind me of back in the fourth year when you were excited over Krum." Y/n giggled. "But if we're talking about things we can't believe, congratulations on getting engaged!"

Y/n pointed at the ring on Hermione's hand. It was truly gorgeous, probably pricey too. They must've been so happy together.

"What about you?" Hermione asked. "Have you got anyone?"

The door of the Burrow opened once again and just like that, the Weasley twins and Angelina walked in. Fred noticed Y/n immediately. For a quick second their eyes locked, but then Y/n turned her head back to her friends.

"No, not really. I don't have time for dating, you know?" Y/n tried to laugh off the topic, but it was partially true. Most of the time, she was busy with trainings and games and the rest of the time she was tired from the trainings and games.

The house lit up with joy and chatter as more people came in. The next quests were Bill and Fleur and later on even Percy appeared. Unfortunately Charlie couldn't be there, but that wasn't anything new.

"The last guests and we can start!" Molly announced when the doorbell rang.

There he was. James Potter. Standing there, next to his son. Despite being quite good friends with Harry, Y/n never really got to know his dad. She saw him a few times before, but she could count those on fingers of one hand.

"Hey, good to see you, Y/n!" Harry said, giving Y/n a hug. "The best Chudley Cannons chaser!"

Y/n smiled. "Thank you, but the others are pretty good too!"

James pulled out a hand for Y/n to shake, which she did.

"The team had been winning much more matches since you've became their chaser, I think it speaks for itself." The man chuckled. He was, obviously, a huge fan of Quidditch. Whenever there was a game nearby, he would go to it either with his friends or Harry, or both.

"Thank you, Mr Potter." Y/n could feel her cheeks heat up. She always could take compliments, why did his compliment have such an effect on her?

"Oh, please, call me James, you're grown up."

Suddenly, Molly interrupted the conversation.

"Now I'd like to see you at the table before the food is cold. You can talk more after or during dinner."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

There was no moment where the room would be quiet. People were talking about everything, but in Y/n's mind the constant chatter faded away when she looked at James. It was the worst when she was fixated on him and someone would ask her a question. Just as if she was splashed with a bucket of ice cold water, Y/n would come back to the real world and stutter an answer.

"...we thought the game would never end, but thankfully our seeker caught the snitch. Although, the longest match in history-"

"-lasted for three months." Fred chimed in, grinning.

"Exactly, thank you."

"Always, darling."

Y/n almost choked on her food. What was that supposed to mean? Did he still have feelings for her? They definitely had to talk about it later.

For the first time that day, the room fell silent. Deadly silent. Uncomfortably silent. Bill attempted to break it.

"Do you remember the ice curse that spread through Hogwarts back when I was there? Well, we've encountered something similar recently at the bank..."

His story seemed to be interesting enough to draw attention of the others. Or maybe the rest also wanted to get rid of the sudden uncomfortable atmosphere.

Y/n didn't really listen, she kept secretly glancing at James, occasionally making up several scenarios with him in her mind. Some more some less shameful. Thankfully there was no one to read the girl's mind.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Darling? Darling?! What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Y/n whisper-shouted, locking herself with Fred in twins' old room.

"Calm down, I wanted to...spice things up!" Fred gave her another one of his grins.

"Spice things up? You're so immature. After we broke up, I had to make sure Molly is okay, had to convince everyone the breakup was nobody's fault and now you're doing something like this-"

"You're my friend, I use nicknames for my friends."

"This one made everyone at the table uncomfortable."

"Not more uncomfortable than your not-so-secret glances at Harry's dad. Really, Y/n? Isn't he like twenty years older?"

"Oh, shut up. I am a grown woman, you shouldn't care about who I like."

"Just saying. If Harry wasn't so oblivious, he would hate you." A chuckle escaped Fred's mouth. This only angered Y/n.

"You're saying this because you're jealous."

"Am not. Y/n, we established we don't work out as a couple, we're good as friends. I want you to be happy, but seriously? Harry's dad?"

"It's not like this silly little attraction could evolve into anything more. Anyways, we shouldn't argue, not today, we can't ruin everyone's mood. Let's get out of here."

Y/n unlocked the door. Just as she and Fred walked out of the bedroom, they almost bumped into James. Without a word, Fred walked downstairs and Y/n stayed there. She didn't even know why. Her brain just didn't work properly when she was standing so close to James.

"Is he your boyfriend or any of that kind?" James asked. He already knew the answer to this question, but it was a way to start a conversation.

Y/n felt as if he appeared out of nowhere, but a little did she know he was there all the time. Not like he was eavesdropping, but the walls were thin and James happened to have good hearing.

"An ex, we're still friends though. Why?"

"Just curious," a mischievous smile made its way to James' face, "a boyfriend wouldn't be very pleased with the thoughts you had about me, but it's all good since he's an ex."

Y/n's eyes widened. He read her mind, she was fucked. The girl's heart was beating so fast. The only times she remembered it beat that fast were before Quidditch matches.

"I- I- I don't know what to say. I'm extremely sorry. I didn't know I could ever see you in such way, but when I saw you today, I just-"

Y/n felt so embarrassed. She thought James was going to be furious, because who wouldn't be? It was so disrespectful. Y/n was disgusted by herself. She heard he wasn't in a relationship after Lily died. And now a friend of his son was making up sexual scenarios in her head with James as the main character.

"I know."

"You- what?"

To the girl's surprise, James was far from angry. He took a few steps forward, causing Y/n to take a few steps back. Her back met the wall and James was still getting closer.

"How about we fulfill those little fantasies of yours?" The man grabbed Y/n's chin, then brushed his thumb over her lower lip.

[!!!SMUT!!!]

Y/n had no idea how it happened, but a few minutes later she was with James in the bathroom, bent over the sink.

"Aren't you scared someone will hear you?" James taunted, pounding into Y/n. She didn't even answer, only sound she was able to make were moans. "You probably enjoy it, dirty slut."

James grabbed Y/n's hair to pull her head up and force her to look in the mirror.

"You're so beautiful," he said and sucked the girl's neck. He would probably leave hickeys, but it didn't matter for now.

Y/n didn't focus on the consequences. She felt so good, it could as well never end. James' dick was hitting just the right spot inside of her.

"I didn't lock the door. Anyone could walk in right now and see you getting all ruined by my cock."

The thought of getting caught made Y/n clench around James' dick. It wasn't moral, it was so immoral, but so exciting, so new. She was close. Her mouth opened wide as she came.

James slowed down, feeling his own orgasm approaching. His grip on Y/n's hips tightened, pulling her even closer. He came deep inside of her. Both of them were panting heavily.

"We should probably get dressed and go downstairs, or the rest will get suspicious." James advised, giving Y/n her clothes.

"Could we repeat that someday though?" Y/n smiled flirtatiously.

"Sure, whenever you're free."

"I've just started my two weeks off from work..."

"Well, then we'll spend a fun two weeks."

[END OF SMUT]

Y/n walked downstairs to the kitchen, James would go there a bit after her. The girl's mind was now clean, without being faded by inappropriate thoughts, she started feeling guilty.

"There you are!" Ron exclaimed. "We were just talking about that one fantastic maneuver you performed on your latest match."

"Ah, yes," Y/n faked a smile, "I love performing Parkin's Pincer. Although I think the bloke from the opposite team ended up in hospital."

"It's so brutal." Hermione shook her head. "How is that even legal?"

"Just don't delegalize it when you become the Minister of Magic, alright?"

Everyone laughed. They were laughing just like back in the good, old Hogwarts days in the common room or on a feast in the Great Hall. Their laughter was so loud, they didn't hear someone coming.

Y/n turned around and saw James. He looked straight into her eyes for a second and then sat back on his seat by the table.

Y/n, Ron, Hermione and Harry continued their chatter. Their little circle was so busy, no one even noticed the glances Y/n was giving to Harry's father. James on the other hand wasn't so discreet. When Y/n looked at him, he winked and then snapped back into a conversation with Arthur and Percy.

The girl blushed. What was she doing? The man was like twenty years older than her, she couldn't understand why did she feel so attracted to him. Not to mention, Harry would probably unfriend Y/n for the rest of their lives if he found out. Which meant he couldn't ever find out. A smirk appeared on Y/n's face when she was thinking about all her future 'dates' with James. She wasn't anymore listening to what her friends were talking about.

[thepokyone]

Good Timing

Pairing: Loki x Reader (ft. Tony, Steve, and Thor)

Content/Warnings: angst; fluff; mentions of injury

Words: 2.1k

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry for such a long delay between posts. I was gone for two weeks for work and ended up having to work way more than I ever expected. However, I'm here with two Loki requests that I decided to combine into one fic from an anon and @fandomsstolemylife00, so I hope you both enjoy! This is in a nice marvel universe where nobody died and everybody got the happy ending they deserved. You're welcome.

"Where is she?" Loki's angry voice carried down the hall, and Steve grimaced.

"You need to stall him, Tony. He can't see her like this," Steve said, casting a worried glance towards the closed hospital door behind him.

"If you think I'm getting between Reindeer Games, who probably looks about as crazed as he did during New York, and his injured soulmate, you got another thing coming, Rogers," Tony said, shaking his head. "We try to stop him and he'll probably get even more unhinged."

"Loki! Loki, slow down," Thor said, and both Asgardian brothers turned the corner into the hall where Steve and Tony were standing.

"You can't go in there acting like this, Loki," Steve said, folding his arms across his chest and not moving from his spot in front of the door.

"You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do, Rogers, especially when it involves my soulmate. It's the negligence of you and your fellow 'mightiest heroes' that landed her here in the first place," Loki spat, shaking off the restraining hand Thor placed on his shoulder.

"Y/N knows the risks going into these missions, same as the rest of us. The only ones at fault are the ones that did this," Steve said levelly. "You need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Loki repeated, a dangerous edge to his voice.

"She doesn't remember anything, Reindeer Games. You go charging in like you lost your damn mind and you're going to scare her more than she already is," Tony cut in.

Loki faltered. "Doesn't remember- what?"

"Amnesia, from the blow to her head. The doctors say it's temporary, but don't know exactly how long it will be until she recovers her memories," Steve said. "We don't want to stop you from seeing her, really, but you need to be calm."

"I can be calm," Loki said, looking faintly ill. "You have to let me see her. Please. All I want to do is keep her safe."

Steve exchanged a glance with Thor, who nodded, and he stepped away from the door. "Alright. But if you stress her out, you're leaving. Soulmate or not."

"Understood," Loki said stiffly, not sparing the three Avengers a second glance as he opened the hospital room door and walked inside.

You were resting in bed, your head partially bandaged and your arm in a sling. Your eyes were glued to the TV, which was tuned to some nonsense reality show, though you looked to him when he entered.

"Y/N?" Loki asked cautiously, his tone soft. The cold persona he had worn when speaking with the three Avengers outside had melted away.

"Yes. At least, I think so. Everything's a bit fuzzy," you said, offering him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but do I know you?"

"It's Loki," he said, hoping his name would spark some kind of remembrance in your head.

"Oh. That doesn't ring a bell. Sorry."

His heart sunk, but he gave you a small smile. "It's alright. The doctors say everything will come back eventually."

"I hope so. It's disorienting, not knowing who I am," you said, reaching up absentmindedly to fiddle with the bandages on your head.

Loki reached out and caught your hand before you could do further damage to yourself. "Don't do that."

You blinked at him. "I really did know you, didn't I? We were friends?"

"Yes," Loki said. No matter how much he longed to, he knew it was wiser to not mention the soulmate bond the two of you shared. He didn't want to overwhelm you. "We were friends."

"You feel familiar. Moreso than the others," you said uncertainly. "Will you stay?" Loki's heart ached; he wanted to do nothing more than hold you until everything was okay again.

"Yes, of course I'll stay. I'll stay as long as you want. In fact, you might get sick of me," he said, and you smiled that smile that you had only ever used with him. Perhaps your memories were not so out of reach as the rest of the Avengers thought.

"Good. I've got nothing to watch but trashy television and Tony Stark - who is famous or something, I think? - won't stop asking if he looks familiar yet. It was getting annoying," you said.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Yes, that sounds like Stark. I can read you something instead, if you would like."

Your eyes lit up. "That sounds great. More fun than... whatever this is." You gestured vaguely to the TV.

"I'll read your favorite," he said, summoning your favorite book to his hand and opening to the first chapter.

You gasped at his display of magic. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," Loki said, smiling. "Perhaps later I can show you more."

You slowly nodded, evidently speechless. "I can't believe I'm friends with a celebrity and someone who can do magic."

"You're friends with several celebrities, actually," Loki said. "And I am infamous in my own right."

"Infamous?" you asked curiously.

"That's a story for another time," he said. He didn't want you to fear him for all he had done, not when there was so much that had occurred between you that he could hardly summarize it. "Back to the book."

"You're no fun," you pouted, and he smiled.

"On the contrary, I am quite fun, and once upon a time you agreed with me," he said, laughing as you rolled your eyes at him. "All will make sense in good time, darling."

Good time, however, lasted much longer than Loki would have preferred. By the end of the second week, you were no closer to regaining your memory, though apart from your amnesia there was nothing much wrong with you. Loki visited you every day for as long as he was permitted (and occasionally longer, if you pouted enough). After your second week, you were released from the hospital under the care of Tony Stark and moved into Stark Tower where you would stay until your memory finally returned.

"You can stay too, Reindeer Games, but only because you're good for Y/N," Tony had said, crossing his arms. "And if you destroy my tower again, I'll shove you off the top like I should have done before."

"Understood," Loki said. He didn't bother mentioning that, should he destroy the tower again, there would be no top for him to be shoved off of.

"Loki," you said uncertainly after nearly a month passed and you were nowhere closer to regaining your memories.

"Yes, darling?" Loki asked idly, flipping a page of his book.

"I- never mind," you said hastily.

Loki looked up. "What is it? There's clearly something on your mind."

"It's not important," you said, but he could tell from your tone that it very much was.

"You can hardly expect me to believe that," he said.

Your cheeks darkened. "You said we were friends, right? Before?"

"Yes," Loki said slowly, daring to hope that he had some idea of what you were trying to ask.

"Were we ever... more than that?" You were determinedly not looking at him, instead staring at your hands.

Relief bled through his system. "Yes, we were. I suppose I haven't been entirely honest with you, so I ask your forgiveness." He rolled up the sleeve of his right arm, where the first words you had said to him were permanently marked on his skin.

"The soul mark?" You asked curiously, tugging up your own sleeve. "Was I your soulmate? Before?"

"You still are," Loki said, voice soft. "I am sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want to overwhelm you."

"It's okay. I understand. It would have been too much at first but now… I'm just relieved it's you." You ducked your head, embarrassed, and Loki found himself falling in love with you all over again. You rubbed the back of your neck, still flustered, and continued. "I had this dream last night, but it felt too real to be a dream, you know. We were walking down the streets of a beautiful city, hand in hand, laughing about something."

"I'd imagine it was Asgard. We would roam that city a lot, you and I. I enjoyed seeing everything through your eyes, how you'd light up when seeing the little shops and bakeries," Loki said.

"I want to remember everything," you said, leaning forward to grab his hand. "You don't know what it's like, not knowing who you are or anything you've done. I want to be me again, who I was before."

"And you will be," Loki said, brushing his thumb across your cheek. "All in good time, darling."

The doctors had said that, when your memory returned, it would be all at once. Not only were they right, but you learned that good timing, it seemed, was something of a cliché.

"And this is where Thor and I learned to ride. It was one of my favorite activities as a child. Thor loathed it," Loki said, the two walking hand-in-hand through the grounds of Asgard's palace. It was your first time back in Asgard since your memory had been lost, and while your memories still remained just out of reach, you had several times felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

"When did you last go riding?" you asked him, the two of you leaning against the fence and watching the horses that grazed quietly within the pasture.

Loki made a thoughtful noise. "A few months ago, I believe. I find myself with less and less time to spare."

"We should go! Please?" you asked hopefully.

Loki, who had long since accepted the fact that he could hardly deny you anything, agreed. "Certainly, darling. One of the horses here is yours, after all."

"What?" The question came out as more of a squeak as he pushed off the fence and strode towards the stables, pausing several paces away to offer his hand to you.

Loki smiled as your fingers intertwined with his. "Yes. A gift from my mother."

"A thank you gift for putting up with you?" you asked before you had the sense to keep the quip to yourself.

Loki laughed, eyes dancing, and squeezed your hand. "Something like that, perhaps."

He waved off the stablehands, saddling his horse as you watched.

"We'll do yours next," Loki said, leading his horse (a tall and broad black stallion named Ebon) out of the stall. One of the stablehands took the reins from him. "Yours is just a few stalls down. You named her Argent."

Argent was dapple gray, tall and dainty, and greeted you with a nicker when you and Loki entered her stall. He helping you saddle her, his cool hands guiding yours through the motions. "Was I a good rider?" you asked him, feeling a sense of familiarity in the actions.

"Quite, once you got the hang of it. I still remember the first time you saw Ebon. I didn't realize your eyes could get so big," Loki said, laughing lightly. "You were terrified he would buck you off, though he is the most well-mannered stallion in these stables."

Your heart held a fierce ache to remember this, these memories that seemed to make him so happy. He finished helping you secure the last buckle, oblivious to your silent longing, and his chest brushed against yours as he turned in the cramped space.

Finally, Loki seemed to notice the odd expression on your face. Whatever he saw in your eyes made his cheeks tint red. "What is it, darling?"

You weren't sure what made you do it. Just that one second you were staring into his eyes and the next you had bridged the space between you, your lips colliding with his in a desperate kiss.

And everything fell into place.

"Oh," you breathed, the silent exclamation swallowed by his mouth as his hand ran down around your waist, pulling you closer.

Argent whinnied impatiently, bringing the two of you back to reality, the two of you breaking apart. Loki chuckled, still holding you close enough that you could feel how it reverberated in his chest. "Making out in the stables like a teenager," he said, just loud enough for you to hear him, still chuckling.

"I remember," was all you could think to say amidst the memories and thoughts and feelings that had flooded your mind.

"You- what?" Loki asked, laughter dying. "Truly, you remember?"

Your mouth was stretched into such a big smile you felt it might split apart. "Yes. I remember everything."

"My Y/N," Loki said, smiling too as he rested his forehead against yours. "I did tell you, didn't I? All in good timing."

[starlessea]

Doctor’s Orders (Daryl Dixon/Reader)

Prompt: “Why’d you always have to spoil my fun?” and “You nearly died!” Requested by anonymous​, numbers #6 and #16 from this post.

Summary: Daryl isn’t too impressed when he finds you with a sling on your arm and a smile on your face.

Words: 1766

Warnings: Language, Injury.

There were many things you feared more than death. There were many things you feared in general. Whether it was heights or small spaces, or even spiders - those spooky, crawly bastards - you would easily admit it when you were afraid.

In this new world, death was inevitable. You didn't want to die; leaving your family behind was out of the question. Though, it didn’t frighten you, either. Rather, you often found yourself scared of the more mundane things - those things that you could control - over something that was completely out of your hands.

There were many things you feared more than death, and Daryl Dixon was one of them.

Denise had gone to get the man, despite your pleas not to. She'd been good enough to patch you up, and mend the small cuts over your skin. They were only shallow, so they wouldn't leave any scars. It was the sling you were more concerned about.

You knew when Daryl saw it, you'd be in for an ear-full. It wasn't that bad an injury, but Denise had still doped you up on some pain-killers before leaving to find the man. It was meant to be an in-and-out job, but things never really did seem to go as planned.

"Who're you trying to kill with that smile?" Denise teased, as she walked back through the doorway to the clinic.

You had barely realised you'd been grinning from ear to ear until she’d said it. She was alone for the time being, so you thought you should take the opportunity to cherish the peace whilst it lasted.

"Myself, apparently." You chuckled, but let out a wince soon after.

The small movement had reminded you to keep still. It was only a broken bone, and you'd had worse before, but it ached all the same. Denise shook her head in return, letting out a huff of air as she stared at you exasperated.

"You are the first person to come into my clinic beaming like that whilst injured." She muttered, and you sloppily shrugged one shoulder in response.

Then you heard the main door fling open, and slam into the wall - and sighed.

"Here he comes." You muttered, and braced for impact.

Daryl stormed into the clinic like he was on a mission. He was sweaty, and you noticed that he was missing his jacket. He rushed through the doorway and whipped his head around the room until his eyes finally settled on you, sitting on the bed in the corner. You offered him a sheepish smile, and raised your good arm to give him a small wave.

The man stalked straight past Denise and made his way to your bedside, standing over you in an instant.

"What the fuck were ya thinkin'?" He yelled.

It wasn't that you feared Daryl Dixon's temper - that, you could manage. What you feared was that certain look in his eyes, and you saw it now as you met his gaze. His chest heaved, and most would probably think it was from anger. But, you knew better than that. He'd probably run over here in a panic. That is what you could see in his expression - pure worry.

"Nice to see you, too." You joked light-heartedly, trying to mask your guilt.

Daryl glanced at you, letting his eyes trail over the shallow cuts on your face all the way down to your arm - which sat tucked away in its sling. He shook his head, and took small paces in front of you.

"Ya leave for a supply run-" he started, almost below his breath. "An' Denise comes to tell me ya jumped outta a movin' truck!"

His voice rose as he spoke, and his final words came out as a loud growl that made you swallow thickly. You were ashamed, but you also thought that the man worried too much. If it were down to him, he'd have you wrapped up in cotton wool everytime you left the gates of Alexandria.

"It wasn't even going that fast." You mumbled back, defensively.

Denise had her back pressed flat against the wall, inadvertently caught in the cross-fire. She was in too deep to leave unnoticed, and stood there awkwardly watching the exchange. You sent her an apologetic smile, before looking back up at the man.

"Why'd you always have to spoil my fun?" You teased, but felt like you might have stepped on a landmine when you saw him scowl.

Daryl threw his hands up in frustration, and narrowed his eyes at your injury again.

"Ya nearly died!" He shouted, his voice guttural as it cut through the room.

"Exactly." You quipped back, but instantly regretted it.

You'd only been trying to convince him that you were fine, but Daryl seemed inconsolable. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or perhaps the pain-killers, but you realised that you may have been acting a little too care-free. You weren't so much scared of Daryl as you were of hurting him.

"It's only a broken collar bone." Denise interjected, once she finally mustered the confidence to do so. "She'll be fine."

Daryl whipped his head around, as though he'd forgotten she was even there. He stayed silent, but you tried your best to help coax him.

"Listen to the doctor, Dixon." You reminded the man, but with a much softer tone this time.

Daryl stopped his pacing, and instead made his way back over to you. He closed the gap as he approached, and your knees knocked together with his from where you were sitting on the bed. You could still see the pain in his eyes, and it made you realised that you must be one of the things Daryl Dixon feared, too.

He rested his palm over your cheek tentatively, careful not to brush up against the fresh wounds that marred your skin. You leaned into his warm touch, and placed your own hand over his in return.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over me." You whispered, giving him a reassuring smile. "I promise I'll be more careful."

Daryl became like putty in your hands at that, and his expression softened like he'd only just allowed himself to relax. The entire time, it was as though the man had been running on pure adrenaline, and nobody could convince him that you were okay - even if he’d seen it with his own eyes.

In your peripheral, you noticed Denise looking at you - but she quickly glanced away when she realised she'd been caught. You could tell that she didn't want to intrude on the tender moment, but was curious to see Daryl so vulnerable at the same time.

The man stayed like that for a few seconds, letting your thumb rub over the back of his hand as he inspected your injuries some more.

"C'mon." He mumbled finally, and took a few steps backwards to let you stand up.

He retrieved your gear which had been left on a nearby chair, and slung it over his shoulder before walking to the door. You followed after him with careful footsteps, feeling as the pain jolted up your body. You sent a smile to Denise, and thanked her, but she shook her head in response - humble as ever.

"Look after her, Daryl." She called out to the man, as she saw the both of you off at the doorstep of the clinic. "Doctor's orders."

Daryl was normally a gentle man. He wasn't the type to have to be reminded to take good care of you. But, sometimes, he seemed to forget his own strength - along with his patience.

"Oww!" You shrieked, and flinched away.

The two of you were in your bedroom, and Daryl had been left with the impossible task of getting you dressed. He'd done a good job of it so far, but when it came your shirt all hell broke loose.

"Stop!" You yelled again, but the man had your arm tightly within his grip. "You're killing me!"

He'd gotten the first sleeve on just fine - but the other one was giving him grief. You'd slipped your arm out of the sling, but had trouble lifting it high enough to get your hand through the hole. The man kept trying to get you to straighten it, but you saw stars every time he did.

"So, wha'?" Daryl grumbled, seeming at the end of his rope. "Dyin' suddenly ain't tha' fun 'nymore?"

You winced as you jolted away too suddenly. At one point, you'd tried to convince him to just button up the shirt with only one arm in it - but he'd shot you a look and muttered something about 'making a fashion statement' under his breath.

"I ain't killin' ya." He continued, noticing your look of pain. "Jus' stop movin' an' it'll be over quicker."

You tried to do just that, but your arm wouldn't bend in the way he wanted it to - and you cried out again.

"It hurts!" You told him, and recoiled away. "You're pulling too hard."

Daryl wore an expression of utter exasperation, and opened his mouth to snap something back. Except, there was a knock at the door before he could.

You jumped again, having not even heard anyone come into the house - and breathed out through gritted teeth at the discomfort it caused.

"What the hell is going on in there?" A voice asked through the wall.

"Glenn?" You replied, immediately recognising him.

Daryl shot you a look, and you could tell he blamed you for all this. You rolled your eyes in response, and Glenn spoke again.

"Rick sent me to get you." He called, still behind the closed door. "Did you forget we had a meeting?"

Daryl let the sleeve of the shirt drop from his hand, and let out a heavy sigh.

"Ain't forget nothin'." He shouted back. "Jus' runnin' late 'cos of princess pain tolerance."

"Daryl?" Glenn asked, and you snorted.

You saw the handle on the door twist slightly, but Daryl quickly elbowed it shut before Glenn could enter.

"We'll be there soon!" You explained. "Daryl's helping me get dressed."

There was silence on the other side for a few seconds, and Daryl returned back to you - looking over at the shirt like he considered just taking it off again. You giggled at his expression, before you heard Glenn clear his throat from behind the door.

"Right." He said quietly, but you still caught it. "There are some things I'd rather not know."

A/N I broke my collar bone before and it was so painful... I remembered the struggles of getting dressed and HAD to write a scene about it.

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[cherryys]

I do get that it falls in line with his character and the circumstances: him suppressing his emotions because he doesnt know how to deal with them, along with the fact that by now he's used to friends dying and him not dealing with that grief well and instead channeling it into something else (like with yuuji, he channeled it into training for the kyoto exchange event), and he'd rather put all his energy into something he CAN do (saving his sister, which is a priority for him now) rather than actually sit down and figure out his feelings (which imo both him and yuuji desperately needed), and the looming threat of the Culling Games and Gojo needing to be unsealed ASAP— i get that they had bigger things to worry about. But like you said i still would've liked a mention of her after or something. Like in that scene when Yuuji brought up the possibility of Hana replacing Nobara, Megumi said "don't be stupid" that probably meant "don't be stupid, nobody could ever replace Nobara for us" but i wouldve liked an extra comment from him about it (though i know it wouldnt really fall in-line with his character) lol maybe im just salty bc i miss her

Maybe in the future we get a scene of how he reacted when he did find out she died but im not holding my breath for it lol

I dislike the fact that no emotional weight on megumi's side was given to nobara's death. Like she's one of his first friends he ever lets down his walls with, the first person he bonds over because of their mutual friend's "death" and they both quietly grieve together over him, he constantly worries about her safety first whenever they're in danger and she's his first priority whenever fighting, he's one of the people that got a chair in her life, yet we get ... Nothing? We just assume he had a reaction off-screen and then it's just brushed off? I know he had his sister to worry about, but i would've really liked if we got any sort of comment about her from him.

[aftgficrec]

AHHH your open!!! could u please recommend some angsty one shots, I'm such a sucker for those. MUCH LOVE

You didn’t specify a pairing, so we tried to provide a little variety, though as usual most is Andreil. There’s some absolutely delicious angst in the previous recs, so make sure to check those out as well for a good cathartic cry! -F

most of the fics in this apocalypse ask here

short angsty Andrew fics here

Neil cheats fics here

‘Won’t you help me?...’, ‘Voicemails to the Dead’, and ‘Break to build yourself back’ here

‘the gods took them back…’ here

‘one more or one less, nobody’s worried’ here

‘The Eulogy’ here

‘Mommy Dearest’ here

‘Cut at the knees (I’ll bash your head in)’ here

‘Witness’ and ‘there’s a niche in his chest…’ here

‘You were seven’ here

‘inevitably, like a car crash’ and ‘the deal’s done’ here

‘I put the record on…’, ‘Truths for the Rooftop’ (series of 3 one-shots), ‘deadweight has-been’ (series of 2 one-shots) here

‘blood is rare and sweet’ and ‘The roots of your suffering’ here (Renison)

Andreil:

you're in a car with a beautiful boy (he loves you) by blafard [Rated T, 2829 words, Complete 2022]

Neil stirs beside him, long dark eyelashes fanning over his high cheekbones and casting shadows and Andrew longs to see him open his eyes, look at him with those incredibly blue eyes, feel the way they strip him bare with just a single look and without Andrew having to explain himself.

He never has to when it comes to Neil, not like he has to with anyone else.

(tw: blood, tw: guns, tw: implied/referenced violence)

Bad Days by maqicien [Not Rated (we say T), 1129 words, Complete 2022]

He lays on that couch in his dorm room and lets the feeling of utter devastation eat him whole.

(tw: suicidal thoughts)

I love you (and If I could've, I would have stayed forever) by Artificiosus [Rated G, 2102 words, Complete 2022]

"Stay," He says, assertively. One word he says, and Neil wants so badly to listen. He would do anything for him, for Andrew.

Anything, he supposes, anything but this.

---

In which Neil gets too attached to what was meant to be another meaningless pitstop in his life on the run.

you were my almost by fatalescorpio [Rated T, 1226 words, Complete 2022]

Neil never made it out.

Stuart didn’t get there on time. Mere seconds, two heartbeats, one gunshot too late.

:*:*:

The one where Neil dies

(tw: major character death, tw: suicidal ideation)

Four Roses, Neat by fuzzballsheltiepants [Rated M, 2378 words, Complete 2019, AFTG Exchange, locked]

Andrew's a reporter who just hit on the story of his life. Neil is his coworker who might not be what he seems.

I don't want to forget by Greenteacandle [Rated T, 4029 Words, Complete, 2020]

Andrew is a successful exy star now, but he still remembers his first love.

(tw: major character death, tw: implied/referenced suicide)

Neil:

How to outrun the mafia, an essay by Neil Josten by anonymua [Rated G (we say T), 1668 words, Complete 2022]

Nathaniel grows up in the nest but not being able to stand the torture any longer he runs away, leaving his brothers behind.

Years later he reunites with one of them.

(tw: implied/referenced major character death, tw: blood)

The Inescapable Past by Artificiosus [Rated T, 4340 words, Complete 2022]

There were no windows in the room, if you could call it that, the cell, no clocks mounted on the wall, or watches strewn about. There was nothing but him, the chains on his wrists, the creaky old stairs and the door that seemed miles away without being very far at all. No way for him to tell the time, whether it was night or day, how long he had even been there, because by now it could have easily been hours or weeks or years, time moved up and down and left to right, in circles and triangles, it moved anywhere but in a linear way, time moved like it would in hell.

......

A dashboard lighter on his face. Lola on his back. A racket with no one to stop it from coming down on his skull. Knives and a gun and a thousand harsh words, all pointed towards him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Neil's nightmare.

(tw: nightmares, tw: violence, tw: torture, tw: abuse, tw: canonical character death, tw: implied/reference rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced drug overdose, tw: choking, tw: suicidal ideation)

Aaron:

church dog by skullcaid [Rated T, 6773 words, Complete 2022]

Aaron Minyard is extraordinarily ordinary. He's unremarkable, in fact, and a few bad days that lead up to his relapse make him lose sleep, patience, and maybe even his mind in the end.

(tw: implied/referenced murder, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: drug use, tw: violence, tw: gore)

Least Favorite Only Child by JayJFox [Rated M, 5676 words, Complete 2021]

He should’ve known all along that this was never going to work. When has Aaron ever wanted something and had it? When has he gotten to keep anything at all?

-- Andrew and Aaron fall out during therapy, Kevin messes up Aaron's head and everything feels like a giant landslide. Maybe Aaron just needs to do some healing on his own.

(tw: internalized homophobia, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: alcohol)

Phoenix From the Ashes by veolie [Rated T, 2177 words, Complete 2022]

The fire, that Aaron Minyard had carried, was finally gone. Trying to stay alive, it had burned down everything that had ever meant something to him until there was nothing left.

Aaron Minyard had been destroyed beyond repair.

He knew, because no one had yet been able to heal his illness.

Aaron Minyard had burned out.

(tw: suicidal thoughts, tw: suicidal ideation)

Kandrew:

even if it takes __ years by nanatsuyu [Rated T, 10677 words, Complete 2022, AFTG Mixtape Exchange]

“So… you weren’t talking?” Nicky shifts to lean back against the counter, brows knitting in confusion. “That’s kind of hard to believe.”

“You make it sound like we didn’t graduate over four years ago,” he remarks pointedly. People move on from relationships of all kinds after a while. Andrew’s not exempt from that, much as he wishes. “We weren’t high school sweethearts.”

Not everyone ends up with the first boy they kiss in college after a drink too many and a bloodied nose. Kevin should have asked first, but it didn't stop Andrew from kissing him again.

(tw: implied/referenced alcoholism, tw: alcohol, tw: implied/referenced drug addiction)

Kevin/Jean:

it's a quarter past midnight (and the sirens are mending some hearts) by maisy_daisy [Rated M, 6345 words, Complete 2021]

A story with four beginnings, and the one inevitable conclusion for a Raven no longer welcome home. But when it comes down to fight or flight, sometimes all it takes is the first gentle touch in the night to remind you why you have to decide at all.

And Kevin Day’s greatest regret will always be who he decided to leave behind.

(tw: abuse, tw: violence)

The Foxes & Wymack:

where you are by @triquetrine [Tumblr Fic, 2020]

in which the foxes, now much older than we first met them, reunite at the funeral of the man who brought them together in the first place.

(tw: major character death)