#genuinely have never been so pissed off playing a game until I started dust

[corvidcentral]

I think everyone who’s ever wanted to get so angry they blackout should play Fallout: Dust it’s super awesome as well as fair and balanced, as the mod page says 😇😇😇

[of-mice-and-mirth]

Hear me out:

The Weasley household is an ABBA household.

I'm listening to ABBA right now and I literally can't stop thinking about it.

Molly and Arthur dance around the kitchen to their greatest hits - ABBA Gold was the first vinyl that Arthur tracked down when he managed to get his hands on a muggle record player, and it's been the soundtrack to most of their relationship. They slow dance or they really go for it - like, Molly be shimmying and Arthur spins her around and throws out some absolute moves. They like 'The Medley' a lot.

Whenever Fred and George catch them slow dancing, they'll start dancing together very badly to take the piss, and Molly usually flaps a tea towel at them whilst Arthur rolls his eyes and chuckles. The twins secretly love it, but they prefer the more upbeat songs like 'Does Your Mother Know', 'Rock Me', or something silly like the 'King Kong Song'.

Georgie struggles to listen to ABBA after the war, especially the ones that he and Fred used to listen to together, or the ones he knows were Fred's favourites, but he slowly learns to love them again, if cautiously. It takes a long time, but he begins to associate ABBA with love, family, and the good memories he has of Fred, rather than Fred's absence.

Percy absolutely hated it when he lived at the Burrow and always hurumphed when 'Money, Money, Money' started playing (I think Percy was a very bitter person for a long time). But, after he moves out, and especially as the dust begins to settle after the war, he finds that ABBA songs comfort him and remind him of home. He likes the slower ones, I think, the sweet ones.

Ron pretends to dislike ABBA around other people, thinking its "uncool" or whatever, but it's one of his favourite things about coming home from school for the holidays. It's all so familiar to him and it makes him feel warm inside. It's the only time he can visibly enjoy ABBA, in his mind (unless Fred and George start taking the piss out of him, in which case he'll tell them to shove off and make himself look busy doing something else).

Ginny Weasley absolutely eats 'Dancing Queen' on karaoke. Also, Ginny is quite partial to 'Angeleyes', 'That's me', 'Honey, Honey,' and 'Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.'

Ginny definitely has a feather boa specifically for ABBA listening purposes. The twins have definitely stolen it on more than one occasion.

Whenever Ginny is sad or upset, Fred and George will sit on either side of her and quote 'Chiquitita' - not singing it, just taking turns to speak the lyrics - until she either cracks a smile or whacks one of them.

Hermione also vibes with 'Angeleyes', but I think she likes ABBA casually, and doesn't listen to them by choice very often. However, she listens to the sad or breakup songs when she feels down. 'What's the Name of the Game?', 'I Have a Dream', 'I Am Just a Girl' vibes?

The Weasleys always play 'Happy New Year' after the countdown each year. Every year. It's a Weasley Family Tradition. And, where ever he is in the world, Charlie finds a way to play the song each year as well.

Charlie also finds himself absently humming or whistling random bits of 'Gonna Sing You My Love' or 'S. O. S' when tending to dragons. When he realises what he's humming, he smiles to himself and thinks of home.

Bill introduces Fleur to ABBA, who isn't too excited by them at first, but I think they slow dance to some of them. Like, 'Andante, Andante'? Oh yeah. She likes the ones with French in them, obviously, but she begins to love ABBA because Bill loves them.

Harry gets looped into all of this as well, of course, and I think he loves it. Not just because it's a Weasley thing, but I genuinely think he enjoys a bit of ABBA. It's fun music, easy to love, and it brings him closer to the Weasleys. Harry never got to listen to music with the Durselys, other than what was playing on the radio occasionally, so he loves that the Weasley house is always full of noise, laughter, and music.

Is this a lot? Yes. Can I stop thinking about this? No.

Feel free to fight me in the comments about this, or better yet, let me know what ABBA songs you think the Weasleys vibe to!

[bloodletterepicness]

Stormy nights...

Thunder roared overhead loud enough to vibrate to the bone, lightning reached out to all corners blazing in the night sky and the rain felt like jagged rocks pelting against my flesh. I observed it all, taking it in like fuel being added to an already explosive inferno. I fed off every tremble, my black gloved fingers flexed around my blade like a caress. There were two things that I could depend on, my brothers and the steal that I was presently holding.

I wasn’t on patrol but I couldn’t be inside either and yet the idea of being around others, was a hard fucking no. My adrenaline was on hyper drive and every one of my senses were riding high. I had the craving to spill a fuck load of black oily filth and no, I obviously had no fucking intention on taking backup with me. I mean come on, all I was really doing, was taking a night stroll through the city. It’s not my fault if I by chance run into some pale bastards and dispose of them...Hell, I’m just being a good Motherfucking samaritan.

The one thing that I hadn’t planned on, was Mother Nature being a bitch tonight. Before I had Dematted from the Pit, I checked all that standard shit and the night skies were clear. But I wasn’t pissed, my insides felt like a raging storm. Mother Nature and myself were of the same mind this evening.

My shitkickers stalked through the back alleyways. I was staying far away from pesky humans. Those fuckers are quite irritating. The rare times that I went out amongst them, they either wanted to shit themselves or run in stark fear that I might slice and dice them. The latter was always preferable but I refrained.

It was the hairs on the back of my neck that was my first warning then I inhaled and the second one came in sweetly scented. I had to tamp down on the surge that coursed through or else my diamond eyes would be shooting out lasers....Okay so maybe I enjoyed fighting more than the average brother. Don’t fucking judge.

I had a permanent smirk on my face and it was just enough lip action to reveal the lethal fangs that had punched further down.

“Looks like the village idiots are out and about...Yay for me.”

We all had our hobbies, I just got lucky as fuck that mine was beneficial to our people and at that moment, I hit the jackpot. There were three that filled up the opening of the alley, but I could feel so many more on the horizon.

I stopped, letting them come to me. What can I say, I like shit like that. You know, that whole control thing of mine. It was amusing to see the expressions on each of their faces. They were chalk full of confidence and positive this was their night. It pleased me much that I would be the being, to dispel them of all this good fortune.

My head cocked to the side a little, eyeing them as a whole and then it was the one an inch taller, standing center of the other two that spoke first. ‘We were looking for a party. I guess we found it.’ Dumb and dumber chimed in with their own very non fucking genuine puns, laughing and thinking they were the cat that got the canary. There was no amount of control that I had in me that could stop my icy eyes from rolling almost to the back of my skull and coming around again. They took my silence for fear and decided it was a good idea to advance on me all at once. Too bad for them, that everything about their minds were transparent to me and in a mere blink I dematted from their game of ring around the rosey and came to form right behind their spokesman. There was a collective gasp and then my blade slicing directly across his adams apple, added a more enjoyable sound of blood gargled groans and pleas. In that moment I became a top notched dancer and was light as fuck in my shitkickers as I moved in and out between the trio, cutting and stabbing. I took my time, playing with them, taking chunks of flesh or random parts. There was always that euphoria that came when my hand and arm became an extension of my blade, they moved as one, knowing exactly what to do. It felt like it went on for minutes but in actuality it was only seconds that it took for me to take three single jabs and my dagger found its true home, piercing the place where their hearts should have been. I was surrounded in a funnel of dust as each of them vanished in almost unison.

“Never did like the lungs full of lesser junk.”

Coughs out a few heavy breaths.

“Fuck…”

I moved away from the dying particles as I straightened my jacket, holstered my knife and for this next scene I had a desire to hear some beats. They were closing in, that sick scent mingled in my lungs with the vanishing remnants of the previous three. I slid the earbuds in and let the lyrics of ‘Papa Roach, Kick in the teeth’ blare into my ears.

‘We live in a cold dark world with venom in its fangs.

You can spit it in my face but I know I'll be OK, It's on the attack. It's a war, it's a game. A ball and chain chew my arm off to get away. Don't fight, or deny it, invite it 'cause when it feels like a kick in the teeth, I can take it. Throw your stones and you won't see me break it. Say what you want, take your shots.

You’re setting me free with one more kick in the teeth…’

An unnaturally savage grin split my lips as the words soaked into my marrow and when the first two lesser flew at me out of nowhere, I was beyond ready...I craved the attack. I needed the fight. My leather encased hand came up, grabbing one fucker by the back of the head and rammed his skull into the grimy steel dumpster. The second I released him, I went in on the other dumb bastard that thought he had a chance when he advanced on me. I stretched my arm out, and way too easily caught him, closing my fingers around his throat, taking pure fucking pleasure in the few seconds that I allowed myself to watch his eyes widen and start to bulge as I increased pressure . Apparently that was enough time for the other pale fuck to get back on his feet and try for a rear attack. I almost fucking laughed as I heard the rush behind me and I gladly assisted in close lining him and only when he was not so happily lying near to his pale buddy, did I play out the lyrics that were presently screaming in my head ‘What doesn't kill me only,

Will make me stronger in my head. In my head.’ I reared my shitkicker back and let it come forward with all my force, kicking the lesser straight in the teeth until black oily blood splattered across my boot, ground and his face. It was fun to play with the two heads, alternating between them, just ramming my boot into the gaping hole that I was making in each of their faces. Call me a sick fuck, but I got hard as fucking cement as I watched their skulls turn into something unrecognizable and the bodies that were still barly connected to them, twitched and spasmed.

‘Damn, who pissed in your cheerios, Brother?’

My smirk grew by leaps and bounds when I saw Wrath come to form in front of me and I stopped and shrugged.

“You know what happens when I get bored...It’s not my fucking fault.”

[babylooneytoonz]

(A/N- Not my gif. Found this lovely one on Google and have no idea who it belongs to. Let me know if it's yours and I'll credit you.💕)

Warning(s) - ANGST, WAR & mentions of violence, character death.

Quick links- For those who haven't read the Prologue & Part 1, you will find all of them here.

Trip Mines & Broken Hearts [Tommy Shelby x Reader]

Part 2

It wasn't until weeks after that day you saw that blue eyed boy again.

It would have been a lie to say he didn't cross your mind once since then—

When you weren't treating casualties or you were curled in your bunker, your reading glasses plastered to your eyes and an old , tattered book that belonged to your elder brother rested against your thigh, you found yourself thinking of him, wondering if he was doing okay, if he was alive —

A part of you felt guilty— you should have thought of your brothers, prayed for their safety, prayed for the war to get over so you could all go back home, but you couldn't stop yourself from wondering if Thomas Shelby had made it so far, since the last time you saw him.

A few miles away, in a basement of an almost crumbling building, the soldiers of the 8th Service Battalion were trapped. The only exit was blocked by piles of rocks that had come crashing down when a trip mine had exploded, taking the life of a fellow comrade. Tommy stood by the stone wall, leaning against it, holding his body for support, a lit fag in his fingers, his lips belting out smoke as he exhaled. Right in front of his eyes, three of his comrades, which included his brother John, were digging with their bare hands, trying to burrow a hole into the ground so they could get into the other side and get out of this godforsaken place.

Tommy's fingernails were soaked with blood and dust, his nails almost broken for he had been the one trying to dig with his bare hands an hour back and had only taken a break to take a little rest. His observant eyes scanned through the men that were tumbling in and out of his vision, yelling amongst themselves, talking or trying to come up with a plan but his eyes were fixed on one person— Jasper.

He looked just like you, his raven black hair was just the same shade as yours, only shorter. If you decided to one day chop off your locks, you'd pass as his twin. Tommy dumped the cigarette butt to the ground and at the same time, his hand flew to his neck, clasping his fingers against the locket that you had given him. It felt warm against his palm and he knew he should have given it back to the black haired boy in front of his eyes.

Maybe this was meant to be his lucky charm, a token of love from his sister, something that was meant to protect his life. Although he wanted to go and talk to the black haired boy, a part of him did not want to part with the memory he had of you— a part of you that was now clinging to his neck.

Maybe it was his selfishness, or it was just his thoughts of you, the fact that you occupied a corner of his mind more than anyone these days, he bit on his lip hard and kept his mouth shut. He will talk to Jasper, but later — once they were out of this place.

And they did.

Only how—

It was almost twelve hours; the men were hungry, starving beyond their wits and the basement smelt of piss, sweat and blood. Finally, a yell rang through the lads' ears. A hole had finally been dug. They were free— they could go to the other side now. One by one, the men started crawling through the hole and their heads emerged on the other side of the basement, where bright moonlight shone though the glass windows, providing them with respite. There the door was, right in front of their eyes; all they had to do was get out and breathe the fresh air. Anything was better than the stale, bloody air in this place.

Tommy was speaking to his brother when from the corner of his eye, he saw three boys, one of them (Y/N)'s brother. They walked up to the front door, placing their hand on the doorknob, they pulled it open when suddenly, there was a click.

"DUCK!" Tommy screamed at the top of his lungs, as loud as he could, jumping to the ground, shielding himself underneath a table when a loud explosion happened and the screams of the three men in front of him drowned into his ears. His palm flew to the locket that dangled from his neck and a sudden guilt hit him.

"Jasper, no! Fuck, fuck. No." Tommy slid out of his hiding spot, cowering slightly just in case there was any more explosion to happen, making his way through the furniture that was lit on fire around him. There, in front of his eyes, lay the young man, covered in blood and soot, coughing.

Tommy fell on his knees, sliding his hand underneath Jasper's head to lift it up as he could see that he was still breathing, although very faintly.

"Jasper, hold on. We're going to get you to a bloody hospital, you know?"

Breath by breath, Tommy could see life sliding out of the young boy's body and it hurt him.

"Listen, mate, I met your sister, she's at the camp, she's a nurse, a fuckin' good nurse and she will —"

"She has no - no one except m-me and Johnny—" Jasper's breathless voice cut him off, whispering, his voice cracking, his chest heaving up and down.

"Come on, don't you fucking die on me here. I promised her I'll take you to the camp the next time I need fuckin' stitches."

Tommy placed his hands on the young boy's chest, pumping his heart, trying to get him to open his eyes.

"Tommy—" John's voice called out to him but he ignored him.

"Tommy" This time John's voice was loud, causing Tommy to sharply turn his neck towards him. Underneath the layers of blood and soot covering his face, he could see the sadness in John's eyes. "He's gone, Tommy. He's dead." John whispered, his voice barely a whisper.

The darkness surrounded you, but it wasn't peaceful; you could hear the sounds of occasional grenades and trip Mines somewhere at a distance and you could sometimes hear a cry of pain. You had to force yourself to clench your eyes shut and press the pillow tight against your ears to block out any sound. You wondered if life could get any worse than what it already was—

Letting out a frustrated groan, you sat up in bed, rubbing your tired, sleep deprived eyes as you snaked out of bed, your feet touching the floor. Without making any noise, you sneaked out of the bunker, not wanting to wake up anyone inside as you walked out. You looked up at the sky, the moon was shining bright — it was a beautiful full moon; a lovely starry night, but it was ironical how no one could see beauty in it. All we could see was blood, death and cries of pain.

Your arms wrapped around your body instinctively as a chilly breeze hit you, causing a shiver run down your spine. It was then when you heard the sound of the crunching of leaves somewhere across you, causing you to sharply look forward, until the familiar silhouette of the blue eyed boy came in your view.

"Tommy!" You exclaimed, your voice expressing a sudden joy you didn't know you could even feel.

You didn't know why; what connection you had with him but it felt like someone you'd known for ages had finally come back back to you. You ran in his direction, wanting to embrace him.

"You're back! You—" Words stopped from your mouth when you saw him up close. He wasn't happy. His face looked worse than how you'd seen him the last time— yes, physically too but more so, emotionally. You could see a scar in his eyes; you knew something had happened. His eyes were sunken, hollow, his face devoid of any emotion.

"Tommy—" You whispered his name, your words dripping with pain; it was strange to say that you felt it, genuinely, whatever it was that was bothering him. There was a connection and you could feel a pain building inside you as well, looking at him— so distraught.

"Say it," you pleaded with him.You knew he knew that you were in no mood to play games; that you knew that something had happened and you weren't the type of a girl to beat around the bush.

Your eyes moved along with Tommy's hand as he slid it into his pant pocket and pulled something out. Within the next second, you felt his fingers brush against your hand, his hand finally taking a hold of your hand and turning it so your palm was wide open. He then placed something cold against it and you looked down, the silver glistening against your now tear clouded eyes.

Your locket—

You bit your lip.

He was dead, of course he was.

You didn't cry or break down. You looked up at the sky and your lips curled into a weak smile. He was finally free; free of the torture, of watching countless people die and he had died a martyr. You were proud, needless to say. But your heart felt heavy. It didn't matter if he'd died a martyr's death, what mattered was that he was gone— your baby brother was gone and he was never coming back.The next minute you knew, you were on your knees, your face buried against Tommy's chest, his arm holding you gently as he let you whimper against his chest, his hand stroking the back of your head.

"I'm sorry, I'm fucking sorry. It should've been me maybe. I didn't give him the locket, I thought—"

You kept listening, all the while you had your face buried in his chest, a stabbing pain rising in your chest.

"I wanted to keep it for myself. I should've given it to him."

It didn't matter anymore. He was dead.

You don't remember how long you cried for—

It was probably minutes—

But once you were done, you wiped any traces of tears left in your eyes and put on a brave face. You were still sitting on the ground but Tommy was now standing, wondering, if there was anything he could say to you; to comfort you.

You didn't need it—

No amount of words can comfort you, and he knew it.

So he slid his hands into his pocket and turned away, slowly walking away from you.

"Tommy, wait." You weakly called out, and he froze, not turning towards you. You stood up and with slow, dragged steps, you walked up to him and placed your hand on his shoulder, nudging him to turn towards you and face you. He had to fucking face you, you deserved that much. "Look at me, for fucks sake." You hissed, your voice harsh, his body immediately stiffening in response to it. But he did what you asked him to do. Slowly, he turned around and your eyes met his icy blue ones.

He had expected you to slap him, scream at him and curse him but he had least expected you to do what you did then. You swallowed the bile forming in your throat and brought up the locket to his neck, clasping it around, letting it hang from it.

"Although it didn't protect him, I always hope it protects you."

You took a step away from him but this time, he caught your wrist, pulling you back towards him.

"Y-you don't hate me?" His voice was filled with anguish.

"It wasn't your fault. Maybe this was how it was meant to be. If there's anyone to blame, it's me. Instead of praying for them to be safe, I hoped and wondered if you were okay—" You softly whispered, looking down at the floor.

Tommy left the wrist he was holding reluctantly and this time, you gave him a weak smile and turned away. Watching you leave tore through his heart but your words providing his aching heart with a medicine, your words which he'd heard, the fact that you had thought of him, the fact that you'd wanted him to be safe. The fact that you cared for him. You wanted to be alone; to grieve. So he let you be. But he kept standing there, watching you with awe in his eyes. He wondered what he'd done good in life, to meet a woman as pure as you were. And now, a sudden selfish desire filled him up completely.

He wanted you. He needed you now. And he had to have you.

A/N: thank you for all the love I've received so far. And thank you to the creators of the lovely GIFs. 💕

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Meeting and Dating Don Dawson

(Not my gif)(requested by anonymous)

- Don and you first meet when you’re walking through the halls during class time to go deliver something for your teacher. He was ditching class with a friend when the two of you “bumped into each other” and by that I mean you passed them while they leaned against a group of lockers.

- He does a doubletake when you walk past him for the first time. He isn’t shy about his leering either, he full on turns toward you and stares. After he’s gotten a good look, he turns toward his friend, waggles his eyebrows, and tails it after you.

- It kind of spooks you a little when he comes up beside you with an enthusiastic “how ya doin!” but you smile awkwardly and greet him back. He tries to chat you up while you walk back to class; he’s kind of cute so you don’t exactly mind.

- You pause outside of your class to talk a little more but your teacher cuts your conversation short with a teasing comment to you and a cocked brow to Don. He in response starts to flirt with your teacher, earning himself a smile and giggle from you. He winks at you one last time before he disappears back into the hallway and your teacher closes the door.

- He catches you when you’re walking to your car after school and propositions you in his usual fashion. You say “yeah, no thanks” and get in your car, leaving him in the dust. It was at that moment, watching your car disappear down the road, that he decides he has to have you.

- You thought the ordeal was kind of funny so you aren’t too bothered when he approaches you while you’re out with some friends. The two of you just so happened to go to the same place with your individual friend groups. He doesnt proposition you this time, thankfully.

- Now Don, at first, just thought you were hot and was trying to shoot his shot and to weasel his way into your pants. But as he’s talking to you he realizes that he really likes you, like you’re fun to talk to and you’re really interesting. He starts to feel this connection with you that he’s never really had with anyone else.

- Even though he doesn’t want to “admit it” he forms a little crush on you. He starts to talk to and hang out with you more; making it kind of obvious that he likes you with his flirting and innuendos. And you like it, him and the attention, so when he says “Hey why don’t we go grab a bite to eat sometime.” You tell him to “name a date and you’ll be there.”

- It takes him only a few seconds to respond.

- For your first date he gets a few beers and sodas and takes you out to a field where you sit in the bed of his truck and stargaze. He goes to kiss you once or twice but you don’t let him, you know how he is with girls and want to test him a little before you give in. Either way everything goes well and you agree to go out with him again.

- Although he accepts your refusal he probably still complains to the guys that you aren’t letting him “do anything”. But your refusal is more entertaining rather than anything else, he likes you as more than a lay so it doesn’t bother too much. He’s more determined and excited than annoyed.

- For your third date you’d gone to a concert together and the two of you had your first kiss as the band played. Definitely a very memorable experience and one you’re glad to remember. After your first kiss he knew for sure that you were the one.

- For the most part you have a very playful relationship.

- A lot of nicknames although most of the time he’s joking when he uses them. Like he’ll say a bunch of them in a row to get your attention or when he’s smothering you in affection.

- A few genuine ones still slip out sometimes.

- He kind of just lets you do whatever you want to him. Put his hair in pigtails, put make up on him, do his nails, crawl all over him, climb him like a monkey, anything you want as long as the evidence can be erased or go unnoticed.

-  He loves affection and touching you and all that but he isn’t all that into pda. He likes the joking, quick funny stuff but keeps most of what he does behind closed doors unless you’re hanging around some of his good friends who also have their girlfriends there.

- He likes to lay his head in your lap and have you play with his hair.

- Lots of hugs.

- Piggyback rides.

- Double dates with Simone and Pink.

- Matching overalls.

- You’ve probably put flowers in the pocket of his overalls and he secretly finds it so precious. You’ve definitely snuck little notes in them without him knowing and when he finds them he can’t help but smile.

- Smacking his arm and giving him looks to get him to behave, you try your best to keep him out of trouble even though he makes it pretty difficult.

- He watches you a lot, especially whenever you walk away...he likes the view.

- He’s usually pretty animated and goofy, its kind of just how he is so you get to observe all of his adorable and funny quirks.

- You’re nearly always smiling or laughing when you’re with him.

- Playful flirting.

- Him trying to jokingly yet not so jokingly proposition you.

- Lewd jokes, he laughs hysterically whenever you grimace at them.

- Going to his football games and cheering him on.

- Meeting him after football practice and kissing behind the bleachers.

- Hanging out in the back of pickup trucks.

- Dawson’s kinda cool with everyone so he has a lot of friends around the school and subsequently everyones pretty friendly to you. All your friends probably like him. 

- Going to parties with him and getting invited to others just for being his girlfriend.

- He always has a beer ready for you or shares his own with you, if you’re into that sort of thing.

- Going on little adventures with him.

- Hes pretty much down to do whatever you have in mind.

- Concert dates.

- He’ll play tackle/pounce on you and start kissing all over your neck and face; he’s pretty fond of that move.

- Secret handshakes.

- He’s a good listener, he likes hearing about what’s new in your life and things that you’ve done recently.

- He hates seeing you upset; he’s not very good at comforting you but he tries to get you to forget about whatever’s bugging you.

- Play wrestling.

- If you mention wanting something he’d 100% go out and grab it for you.

- He’s got major big brother vibes, do with that what you will.

- He gets involved in a lot of crazy shit so be prepared for some killer stories. He thinks its cute when you look worried for him.

- Constant compliments.

“Looking good.”

- Making fun of each other.

- Play arguing and punching.

- Tricking you into doing something suggestive; mostly when you’re alone, he doesnt want to completely embarrass you...or give his friends a free show.

- He admits he’s an asshole so be prepared. Although to be fair a lot of his asshole behavior is just a front. He’s actually really sweet once you get to know him, especially when you’re his girl/he likes you.

- He does think its kind of funny when you get mad at him...well it depends on how mad you get and how mad you stay. If you grumpily trudge off, rolling your eyes at him in front of his friends then he’ll probably laugh and joke with them.

- A lot of “oh come on babe it was just a joke!”

- It isn’t until you really stay mad that he no longer finds it as funny. He doesn’t like fighting with you but you always inevitably do. In a fight you’ll argue for a while before he tries to just end it as painlessly as possible. At that point he isnt even really sorry nor does he think you’ve settled things, he just doesnt want to fight anymore.

“Okay, okay,okay, alright, so-”.

- Sometimes his attempts to calm things really just backfire for him, like if you feel like he isn’t really listening and just trying to brush you off. It really depends on what you’d fight with him about.

- When you’re holding a grudge he’ll make jokes and bets with his friends, condescendingly saying how you “think you’re mad at him”. He says it himself: he’s an asshole. Although in these moments a lot of his asshole behavior is just him being spiteful because he’s hurt that you won’t talk to him.

- He does know how to apologize when he’s done something wrong or upset you. Like I said he’s usually really sweet even if he doesn’t act like it sometimes. It’s the reason you can come to forgive him especially during the “trial” part of your relationship (up next).

- He flirts too much, thats always been his problem, that and he’s sort of a hypocrite about it; he thinks he can flirt with other girls but you arent allowed to flirt with other guys. He doesn’t understand the injustice but after your first really big fight and subsequent breakup; most likely where he sees you go out with another guy, he finally learns his lesson.

- He’s a pretty coolheaded guy but he definitely doesn’t like people flirting with or having a thing for you even if he’s a playboy and would usually partake in the locker room talk with them. When you came along he was kind of like “Well I’ve finally settled down and I like this one a lot so back off.”.

- He gets a lot of girls coming after him so you’ll probably get a little jealous every now and again. He tries to assure you as best as he can that he isn’t interested in them.

- He’s a football player so there’s at least a little pent up aggression in him. He’s ready to bust a lip to get a guy off your back or stop him from trying to get with you.

- He wants that nuclear family type of future, with a nice house, picket fence, and son to play catch with in the yard. He never thought he’d imagine a future with a girl before but here he is, and he... kinda likes it.

- He’s definitely dropped a “Mrs. Dawson” on you after you teasingly called him Mr. Dawson. You’d just been trying to mess with him but then he had to go and make you all flustered and giddy.

- Dawson will probably go to college on a football scholarship. Before you came along he was planning on screwing a lot of chicks but now thinks “I’d be pissed if she screwed a guy while I was gone” and stops the temptation where it starts. He comes a long way during your relationship.

- I can see him proposing to you after he gets out of college and settles down with a nice job. He’d make a personal kind of special occasion out of the proposal, something that involves a sentimental part of your relationship.

[hjbender]

Hi it's that Donald Blake au anon, and I agree I don't like Donald in general it's weird and sometimes in the comics he has a stick that he's always holding onto then he bangs it and somehow becomes Thor, idk. But the au is something that really interested me cuz it has so much potential, like is Thor an Avenger in this au, does he have to wait til Loki is not looking to go and save the world? Or is he not worthy yet and somehow choosing to reveal himself to Loki the real way to be worthy?

OH HAI AGAIN, ANON. THANK YOU FOR RETURNING

Yeah, I’m kind of glad the writers and directors decided to leave out the whole “mild-mannered human alias” from the Thor franchise. Really, so many superheroes already have alter egos—Peter Parker is Spider-Man, Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool, literally every single one of the OG Avengers except Thor has another name—that for once it’s nice to just have Thor be Thor.

But as far as that brilliant idea you pitched, in the first couple drafts of my answer, I actually started to rewrite Thor (2011) to make your idea fit with canon. However, after getting stuck a couple times, I started thinking it might work better away from canon (specifically Earth 616), more like a true alternate universe, no Avengers or Thanos or anything. Or, to make things simpler, it could just be a Porn With Feelings deal where the story is driven by characters and drama (and, of course, porn).

For the PWP approach, Thor masquerades as an MD on Earth because he genuinely likes to help people and having a human form helps him escape detection, or possibly keep his powerful electromagnetic radiation field from harming humans. In any case, Loki is unaware of his brothers super-secret human identity.

Somehow Loki bites off more than he can chew or pisses off the wrong supervillain—it’s practically his hobby, isn’t it?—and ends up getting his ass beaten and thrown to Earth. Miraculously, Thor (as Don Blake) is there to help him, and Thor can’t risk getting his cover blown, so he just plays along while Loki regains use of his limbs and/or powers (a perfect opportunity for some hurt/comfort whump sickfic type tags). Thor brings Loki to his apartment until he can fully recover, and in that time, Loki finds himself bonding with this disabled and good-natured human man who reminds him so much of his brother… and thus begins the forbidden romance and angst-ridden relationship drama.

...okay, so the PWP setup actually has a lot more plot than your average smutfic. (But just think of all the opportunities for medical kink in this one. Like Loki pretending he feels hot and achy and insisting that Blake give him a thorough, private exam… on the kitchen table… with stethoscopes and tongue depressors and lots of poking and prodding and pelvic exams. Anyone? No? Just me?)

The actual canon setup is the one I tried (unsuccessfully) to write out, but here’s a bullet list of the basic plot (get comfortable, this gets kind of long):

After defeating the frost giants in Norway in 900-something, Odin secretly makes a deal with Laufey to raise Loki as his own son, then marry him off to Thor so they can establish everlasting peace with Jötunheim (just like Odin and Frigga did to stop the Æsir-Vanir war). Thor and Loki’s children will be heirs to both royal houses. Upon Thor’s ascension to the throne, Odin will then return the Casket of Ancient Winters to its rightful place, and Jötunheim will flourish again with Asgard as its protector/ally

Loki is a lot more autonomous and independent than his original cinematic depiction, traveling the realms to learn seiðr and be an ambassador (and cause mischief, naturally, but nothing that can’t be fixed or used to his advantage). He’s always held a secret torch for his brother but knows there’s little/no hope of it ever being reciprocated, thus he stays away from Asgard as much as possible

Thor loves and misses his brother (perhaps too much). Their parents would surely disapprove of their relationship, gods or not, and besides, Loki is too much of a free spirit, a wanderer, content with his own company. Asking anything more of him (like a grounded, committed relationship) is something Thor could never do

Loki returns to Asgard on the eve of Thor’s coronation with gifts and smiles, and Thor embraces him with deep affection. They almost confess their feelings to one another, but shy away at the last moment (damn!)

Meanwhile, Malekith the Accursed (comics version Malekith, who is a lot sexier and generally more interesting/diabolical than his MCU counterpart) doesn’t like that Laufey is planning to make peace with Asgard and sever his alliance with Svartalfheim, and somehow breaks into the Vault on Thor’s coronation day just so he can frame Laufey and sour the arrangement with Odin

Odin decides not to act, sure that something else must be going on. Loki decides to take the intellectual route and do some investigating while Thor and his warrior companions sneak into Jötunheim to kick some ass

Thor accuses Laufey of wrongdoing, just as Malekith wanted, and almost incites a war with the frost giants. Odin banishes him to earth to live as a disabled human man until he can learn some humility

After much screaming at the sky and manly weeping, Thor finally accepts his fate and his new human identity

Enough time passes (months? A year?) that Thor eventually learns to be humble and considerate, helping other humans physically and emotionally in the medical field (I imagine him becoming an orderly at a local hospital since being a doctor requires years of education and money. Also, being thrown to Earth without a penny to his name will help Thor work through some of his entitlement and privilege issues. I headcanon he was aided by some good-hearted humans who were able to find employment for him and a place to stay, help him get on his feet, basically)

With Thor out of the way and the royal family torn apart, Malekith begins preparing for his attack on Asgard

Loki doesn’t know that Thor is trapped in a human form, only that he was banished and all contact forbidden. Loki is suspicious of the frost giants and goes to Jötunheim alone, where Laufey reveals everything to him—including Loki’s betrothal to Thor

Loki is stunned at first, unable to believe that the thing he’s wanted most was always meant to be his, and he hurriedly leaves Jötunheim

He tries to sneak to Midgard without using the Bifrost, but Malekith catches him en route and they fight. He throws a binding spell on Loki to render him powerless and then beats the living daylights out of him

Loki crash lands on Earth not far from where his brother was banished (he had been following the last known path from Asgard to Midgard), and is rendered temporarily powerless and amnesiac, not remembering anything about his fight with Malekith, Thor’s banishment, or why he was on his way to Midgard

Loki wakes up in a hospital bed with a kind human man looking after him. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, he settles in and finds himself comforted by Donald Blake’s presence. It’s… soothing, somehow familiar…(maybe it’s the drugs talking)

Thor instantly recognizes his brother but he cannot reveal himself, either because he’ll look insane/lose his job or maybe Odin made it so he’s unable to even speak the name “Thor” until he’s worthy again. In any case, Thor decides it won’t hurt to beat Loki at his own game just this once (Loki has played this prank on him more times than Thor can count). He ends up taking Loki back home with him once he’s discharged from the hospital

As his memories and powers slowly return, Loki is surprised that Blake listens to and believes everything he claims to be, and soon grows to trust and even like the man. He’s never really had a true friend before… except for his brother, Thor, of course. Blake reminds him so much of Thor…

While things gradually heat up between Loki and Blake-Thor, Malekith disguises himself as Loki (just as he did in the War of the Realms comic arc) and returns to Asgard. Odin and Frigga learn that Loki had indeed traveled to Jötunheim and confront their “son” about what he might have learned there

Not knowing it’s actually Malekith they are speaking to, they reveal the truth about Loki’s parentage and upbringing, and the reasons for his betrothal. Malekith is shocked, then amused at his good fortune. He decides to use this information to his own advantage

Malekith plots to bring Thor back to Asgard and insist that they be married at once. Thor will be crowned king, and when Thor finishes swearing his oaths, Malekith will steal Gungnir and kill Thor with it (and the entire royal family of Asgard). He will then steal the Casket of Ancient Winters, return to Jötunheim, kill Laufey and all the rest of his clan, and then head to Midgard to finish off the last of that bloodline: Loki. Then, with the power of Gungnir, Mjölnir, and the Casket of Ancient Winters, nothing will be able to stop him from bringing war and chaos to the Nine Realms

My brain is smoking and on its last cylinder right now, and I know this post is already decades long, so I’m gonna cheat and skip the whole part where Thor and Loki somehow learn about Malekith’s plot (maybe the Warriors Four come to Earth to warn them), and Thor becomes worthy again, revealing himself to a stunned Loki, and they all go flying back to Asgard, beat Malekith in an epic battle, and save the day

Once the dust has cleared, Thor is crowned king to an audience of Æsir and Jötnar, followed immediately by his and Loki’s wedding. Everyone cheers, Volstagg weeps and uses Fandral as a handkerchief, and Malekith gets a tiny slice of the wedding cake down in the dungeons

The end 🍰

[piperemerald]

Olive Branch

@lawlightweek Week Day 7: Renewal 

The orphanage was smaller than Light had expected. Truth be told, he didn’t know what he’d expected. L had given him so little to go on. That was fair. Light would argue that was the only thing about this that was fair.

“We’ll do the tour later,” L informed him as they entered Wammy’s House. “You’re jet lagged, you should sleep.”

“I’m fine,” Light said. 

That was a lie and they both knew it. Light was confused. He was frustrated, and relieved, and scared at the same time. He was not fine.

“It’s better if you rest before you meet anyone,” L went on. “Trust me, you’re going to want to be at the top of your game when you do.”

“If you say so,” Light shrugged. If there was anything he’d gotten used to over the past few days it was going with what L told him. Right now, L’s word was the only thing he had. 

“Our rooms are this way,” L lead him down the empty hall.

The house felt like something Light would have read about in one of those British novels Sayu had briefly been obsessed with. From the vine covered walls, to the stain glass windows, stepping inside felt like he’s stepped into another century. 

It was almost comforting to see all of the computers and lack of decor that L’s room was furnished with. Light’s room was connected to L’s through an adjoining door. It didn’t look like it locked. 

That was fitting for a convict. Light just didn’t understand what kind of prison this was supposed to be.

L hadn’t sent him to jail. Instead, he’d informed Light that he was going to be accompanying him back to England and that from now on he wanted Light to assist in the education of his successors. Light thought L was going to give him to the gallows, instead he’d given him a job.

Nothing here made any sense.

—

“I’m Kira.”

For a moment, Light didn’t know if L could heard him over the pounding for the rain. Then L looked at him and that expression silenced any doubts. Light could count on his hand the amount of times he’d seen this man genuinely shocked. This was one of them. 

“Why?”

Why tell him this? Why confess now? Why when they both knew he was so close to winning—to actually winning after so long?

Light felt a smile break across his lips. It was the same smile he’d worn for every little victory he’d been able to succeed over this mental war. It was Kira’s smile. 

“Thanks,” he said out loud. 

Because even if he was surrendering, even if he was letting go of everything he’d worked so hard for, at least he’d be able to keep this with him. At least he’d know that at the very end, he’d stumped L. 

That felt close enough to winning for him.

—

Light was sitting in what he had to assume functioned as L’s office. In the back of his mind, he’d wondered if L had instructed the staff here to add a second desk for him. It didn’t make sense for there to be two, Light was certain that whatever was going on with him was the first this had ever happened.

In front of him was the computer L had given him.

“You can’t bring any personal belongings with you,” L had said before they left.

“Of course,” Light had replied as if he understood any part of what was going on.

Light had just finished the lesson plan L had tasked him with creating. He had a few days before he was supposed to start teaching, but L had stressed that it was important for him to prepare since the children he’d be working with were high maintenance.

Well, no, that wasn’t right. L had briefly mentioned it. Watatri had been the one to give Light a solemn expression and tell him that this was going to be a very challenging experience. L hadn’t offered much guidance. 

“Are you done?” L’s voice broke through Light’s thoughts.

Light turned his gaze to him.

“You look absent minded,” L explained the questioning. “I assume that means you’re either finished or bored.”

“Actually, I was thinking,” Light started.

“I’d be concerned if you weren’t.” L closed his own computer and focused his attention on Light. 

After everything they’d been through, Light would have liked to think that he could read L. It was difficult task, but there were times when Light was certain that he knew what was going on in the detective’s head. He wouldn’t have gotten as far if he couldn’t understand his opponent. 

Only, since the moment Light had waved the white flag he had no idea what game L was playing. Every time he’s reached for answers, L had brushed him off. It was infuriating, but he didn’t know how to get mad at the man who had made the choice to keep him alive.

“You’re concerned about the amount of trust I’ve placed in you.” L apparently had no trouble reading him.

“This place is important to you,” Light said. “These kids are your heirs—and even if they weren’t, Ryuzaki, they’re kids for fuck sake.”

“And?” L knew what he was thinking. Of course he was going to make Light say it.

“And I’m a murderer.”

“Yes,” L seemed disinterested now. That pissed Light off.

“How do you know this isn’t part of my plan?” He demanded. “How do you know you’re safe right now?”

“Well, the fact that we’re having this conversation goes at the top of the list,” L answered.

“L, I don’t know what’s going on!” 

Light never called him that. He always used the alias. Everyone did.

“While you’re here you’re under twenty-four hour surveillance,” L informed him. “Everyone is, it’s safer that way.”

Light didn’t ask what that meant. That was a conversion for another time—another time that he shouldn’t be alive to get. “Still.”

“If you try to hurt anyone in this building, I will kill you.”

L’s voice held no emotion. His eyes were the same cloudy gray that the sky had been the day Light gave up everything so he wouldn’t have to give up the only thing that mattered. It grounded him. Knowing that L wouldn’t hesitate grounded him.

“Is that what you need to hear?”

Light nodded. 

“Well,” L sighed. “Now that we have that out of the way, let me see your lesson plan.”

—

Light hadn’t realized the building had a cell until now. He sat behind the metal bars, on the other side was L and the rest of the task force. He looked at his father’s face once. The disappointment there should have cut through him, but Light just felt numb right now.

He was just going through the motions he’d already calculated. Honestly, he just wanted this part to be over already. He wanted all of it to be over.

“The thirteen day rule is fake,” Light told the group and the running camera. “I had a shinigami add it so I would have an alibi.”

“Who is the second Kira?” L asked.

“There is no second Kira,” Light told the only lie he’d worked into his story.

He’d made Misa give up her Death Note and all memories of being Kira. Then he broke her heart. She’d stay away from him and anything having to do with Kira now. That was the only way he’d be able to ensure that Rem didn’t kill either him or L. 

“There is another notebook,” Light said. “I made other people use it with my notebook. When their time ran out I gave it to someone else.”

“And the evidence we found in Misa Amane’s apartment?” L asked.

“Was planted,” Light lied. “By me.”

“You framed an innocent girl?” It was surprising that it had taken this long for Matsuda to speak. Light figured he’d be the most angry. He’d trusted him too much—they all had. There were all fools.

“As I said before, I think it would be best if I conducted this interrogating alone.” L only sounded mildly annoyed.

The shocked look had long since faded, but each time L met Light’s eyes (he was the only one of the group who seemed to have the stomach to do so) the question was still there.

Why?

—

Light’s first day of teaching was the most exhausting day of his life. His class consisted of only three students, all of which went by fake names. The youngest seemed to be around twelve, while the older two couldn’t be older than fifteen. The loudest seemed to make it his personal mission not to give Light a break.

That was fine, Light hadn’t expected one. He was slightly surprised when L informed him that he wouldn’t be monitoring the class.

“It disrupts their focus if they know I’m watching,” he had explained.

By the end of Light’s three hour class he was ready to pass out. The older students left the room as soon as they were dismissed—they at least gave him the respect of waiting til then—while the younger lingered in his seat.

“Everything alright?” Light asked Near.

He was the age Sayu had been when he would constantly help her with her homework, though Light doubted any of the skills he’d learned from teaching his younger sister would help with L’s successor.

L had given him a briefing on each of his students. Light knew facts about this boy, but that didn’t mean he knew how to talk to him.

“Mello will get used to you,” Near informed him. “He doesn’t like change.”

“Yeah, I got that impression.”

“He also doesn’t like his position as L’s favorite being compromised,” Near’s voice held no emotion. It reminded Light of L’s. Maybe that was why Light knew there was no point in arguing to this child that his mentor didn’t have favorites. 

“I thought you were L’s favorite,” he said honestly.

“I’m the most likely to succeed,” Near replied. “There’s a difference.”

“I see.”

Light turned to the chalk board behind him and started to erase the equations he’d written on it through the course of the class. Dust littered the air, settling on his black shirt in little white clumps. Light had a theory that the other classrooms had dry-erase boards and L had purposely given his this room to torment him.

“Are you Kira?”

“What?” Light turned back to the boy calmly sitting at the little wooden school desk. 

His expression was relaxed, he looked like he’d just asked Light what his favorite food was. Light hadn’t expected this. Maybe he should have given this was L’s successors he was dealing with, but why would this kid think that L would let a mass murder into his home? Well, that conclusion could only be ridiculous if it wasn’t exactly what was happening. 

For a moment Light considered denying it. He considered calling this kid crazy or riddling this off as an attempt to upset him. But that would be pointless. If Near had the resolve to ask him, he was most likely already certain that he was correct.

“How long have you thought that?” Light asked instead.

“I was suspicious when Roger said L was going to be staying for a while,” Near told him thoughtfully. “The timing is odd.”

“So that made you assume he was bringing a serial killer with him?” Light raise an eyebrow.

“No,” Near shook his head. “Meeting you did that.”

“I seem like a serial killer?”

“You seem like Kira,” Near said. “You’re not denying it.” 

“L said I’m supposed to take you seriously,” Light shrugged. This was his new normal. He might as well get used to it. “Did you finish your assignment?”

“No.” Near glanced at the paper in front of him. Light had noticed him working on it at the end of the class. He hadn’t stopped him, knowing full well that some students could work and listen at the same time. 

“You should be working on it, then.” 

“I’m stuck.”

“Really?” That surprised him. 

“It’s not that appalling.” Near deadpanned, the first emotion he’d displayed so far.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,” Light crossed the room to sit in the desk next to Near. “What’s confusing you?”

—

“I should be on trial by now.”

It was the fifth day since he’d given up. Light was still in the same cell. He was still waiting to die and L was still asking him questions he already knew the answer to.

“There’s more I don’t know,” L hummed. He was the only one on the other side of the bars. Light hadn’t seen the rest of the task force since that first day. He wondered how his family was, then had to stop himself from thinking about that.

“I confessed,” Light didn’t need to remind him. “You found the second notebook in my room. What else do you need?”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“That’s why you’re keeping me here?” Light was angry now. 

“This could be a plan of yours,” L said. “Until I know why you’ve turned yourself in, it would be unwise to place you under arrest.”

“I’m sure the rest of the task force loves that,” Light spat.

“The rest of the task force trusts my judgment and is none of your concern.” 

If there was one thing they’d all been forced to accept it was that L had been right from the start. Light was sure that stung their pride. No, they weren’t like him. It wasn’t their pride that had to be wounded right now. Light was sure that every member of the task force was disgusted—especially his father.

“It’s because I don’t want to do this anymore,” Light tried.

“And I don’t understand what lead you to that conclusion.”

“Maybe the fact that I don’t want to be a murderer,” Light said through his teeth.

“It’s unlikely that you would feel remorse now,” L mused. “After all of the lives you’ve ended to get here.”

“Fine,” Light closed his eyes. He didn’t want to do this. He thought that he’d at least be able to hold a little bit of his dignity. “You want the truth?”

“That has been my goal from the start, yes.”

“I’ll tell you everything, but I need you to come here.” Light doubted L would comply, even if he was handcuffed and L was as strong as him when he was at top form (given the strain the past few days had put on him Light doubted he’d last a minute in a fight even with his hands free).

He is chest tightened when L stood and walked to the bars. He produced a key from this pocket and undid the lock, sliding them open with ease. Before Light could say anything, L sat down on the cell bed next to him. They were inches away, but it wasn’t like L had ever cared about his personal space before.

“Satisfied?” L called his bluff.

“You’re insane,” Light breathed out.

“And you’re Kira,” L replied. “Will you answer me now?”

Light kissed him.

Read the rest on AO3

[rubyredsundae]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag!

I was not tagged by anyone, I just really wanted to join in. If you see this and want to as well, please do! I've been loving reading through everyone's :)

I am a fan since… 2011ish? Definitely at least a year before ME3 came out. I remember watching my brother play ME2 and thinking it was so cool. While he was away it was a huge comfort for me to play it in his room, kind of like a bonding or cathartic experience for someone who wasn't there at the time.

When ME3 came out, me and him went to the midnight release at a gamestop like 40 minutes away or something, wearing clothes we threw together to kind of fit the N7 color scheme. Even though we don't talk anymore, those memories are still really precious to me. Also, the nostalgia of playing ME1 after-school or on the weekend, running to get my easy mac from the microwave during a cutscene, stuffing too hot mouthfuls while speeding the Mako towards the conduit on Ilos.

Favorite game of the series: It's a tough call between ME1 and ME2, but I'd say ME2. It's the game I get the urge to replay the most.

MaleShep or FemShep? Femshep all the way. I only play MShep when I want to do his exclusive romances. No offense to BroShep, but ME was the first game I ever played that let me not just be a girl, but customizable. Not just to be the already generated token girl character in a pack of boys. And not only can you play Femshep, but every game you are surrounded by smart, funny, tough women as squadmates. It was such a huge deal to me, and still is. Femshep represents so much. As Jennifer Hale put it, FemShep was a military grade boot to the video game industry glass ceiling.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer? I personally tend to lean spacer in-game, but I tend to use Earthborn when I'm writing fics.

Paragon or Renegade? Usually Paragon, but Renegade playthroughs can be really interesting, especially if I have a detailed background about why Shep is the way they are. My first Renegade, Krystle, is pretty bigoted and anti-alien until she meets Liara. Krystle is naturally guarded and quick to anger, so meeting someone who seemed to accept her and listen to her without judgment really opens her mind.

By the 2nd game, she wakes up in the cerberus lab with new biotic powers, having previously been a regular foot soldier. This makes her seeth, having someone completely take her agency, agreeing with the illusive man on the surface but plotting against him the entire time. She starts to lean more Paragon, if only to piss him off. She has the biggest smirk on her face when she blows up the collector base.

Biotics or Tech? Oooh, this is hard. Maybe biotics just the tiniest smidge because of Jack/Samara biotic bubble throw during the suicide mission. I don't know if we'll ever get a screen adaptation but THAT is a moment I would pay to see done with a big SFX budget behind it.

Favorite class: Sentinel! I don't know how much this reflects on my class preference in gaming in general, but I love the 'jack of all trades'ness of it. By the time I get an assault rifle, I don't really feel the need for anyone else to make up for something I lack. Also, tech armor in ME2? Where your shields regenerate automatically when it breaks, and the cool down is when you initially active it, instead of when you detonate it? Chef's kiss. I understand why it was nerfed in 3 but I'm still mad.

Favorite companion: Ho boy. This is obviously very difficult to choose but I'm gonna say Miranda. I've always loved and identified with her character, I love the accent, and she's always useful on missions. I was so happy when I learned she could be a squadmate in the armax arena.

Honorable mention to Ashley in ME1. Her character is rarely used to exposition lore, so she just gets to have her personality fleshed out. I don't always agree with her but she does seem genuinely willing to listen. ME3 tosses her out the airlock though; partially because her content was bugged and never restored, leaving her inclusion feel half-baked, and partly because Ash and Kaidan have to be able to serve the same plot function as each other and it negatively affects her character more than his. This could also be intentional on bioware's part, to try to flesh out kaidan's personality and tone down Ashley's as a response to criticisms of them from ME1.

Least favorite companion: Also difficult, because I don't really hate anyone as much as I am just less interested in some. I didn't like Zaeed for a long time, but I think he's much better and really funny in ME3. James was pushed on me too much at the beginning and it made me really dislike him, but I think he's greatly improved and also pretty funny in Citadel DLC. I'm also pretty indifferent to Jacob; I don't think he's a bad character, just disappointing because there was a lot of potential.

Not that every character has to go on and do some grand quest to be interesting, but I don't feel like Jacob every really got a big hero moment like everyone else. He is a very calm and introverted person (imo) who doesn't really share his feelings, so it's always been hard for to to connect with him on anything.

My squad selection: Depends on the game, but it usually involves Garrus lol. Typically it's Liara/Garrus in ME1, Miranda/Garrus for ME2, and Liara/Garrus again in ME3. I am very boring and predictable! If you have any suggestions for me to try out and mix things up, let me know!

Favorite in-game romance: Also depends on the game. ME1 it's Liara, hands down. It was the first game, really the first piece of media, where I was told two women could fall in love and be happy and that was okay. The amount of enlightenment and comfort in figuring out that I was bi these games brought me is kind of wild to look back on.

ME2 is a toss-up between Garrus and Thane. They are both wonderful but in completely different ways. I tend to now romance Thane on characters I don't plan on importing to ME3, or if I do, to just have a really depressed fucking Shepard lol. I hate how much Thane was brushed off, especially if you romanced him.

Other pairings I like: l love Miranda so much, but I'm a gay girl so I ship her and Femshep. Same goes for Tali, Jack, Ashley... damn I'm just really gay for straight girls huh :/

I don't really have any other ships for non-Shep related pairings.

Favorite NPC: Shiala is really cool to me, I wish we got to see her in 3. Emily Wong is also cool, also wish we saw her in 3. There's probably a lot more that when I come across them next I'll be like, "you! I love you! You're my favorite."

Oh also Joker! And EDI! But not together. Idk I feel like ME3 threw a curveball at me with "do you support organic/non-organic relationships?" Like m'am please don't ask me, I accidentally drank turian liquor last year, I'm not qualified to be an expert on this.

Favorite antagonist: Tbh I really dig Saren. I think his reasoning is super fascinating, both to set up how someone who's indoctrinated can rationalize to themselves that they are still in control; and as a foil to Shepard, to show what can happen when you become too isolated and the ends justify the means. I think his VA does a great job of walking the line between desperate survivor and madman. He's also the only antagonist in the trilogy that we ever fight 1 on 1 (ignoring squadmates) and it feels more personal. I think he's such a fantastic foe for the first entry in a trilogy and I don't think he gets enough credit.

Favorite mission: Is it cliche to say the suicide mission? It's honestly close to perfect. The stakes, the sequencing, the cinematics, the score. Everything works so well.

Favorite loyalty mission: Kasumi's and Tali's are really cool, as we all know. Samara's is also cool because it is entirely non-combat based. Shepard has to prove they can accomplish what seems impossible without a gun or biotics.

The confrontation at the end with Morinth always haunts me a little, because they are both right in their own way. Morinth's final line, "and they say I'm the monster", as you let Samara kill her, watch her scrambling backwards in fear... I know that she's a remorseless killer, but it gets me every time.

Favorite DLC: It's Citadel, obviously. Turns out what I really wanted was quality time and a party with all my friends. I love mass effect for many reasons, but simulating friends and affection when I had none has always made me bond to this series like other games don't. Is it sad? Sure! But I don't think love and affection for fictional characters should ever be shameful until it makes you hurt other people.

Control, Synthesis or Destroy? I'd say destroy. If the other options were presented earlier and we had time to stew with it, maybe I'd be more split. But all of this in 5 minutes? It's not like the collector base where the implications are obvious and the choice is just down to what Shepard believes. The 3 choices all seem like space magic out of nowhere, and none of them seem to really offer any insight on what Shepard should believe. So I say destroy, just because it's what Shep has intended and is most consistent with their character and their admiration of Anderson.

Favorite weapon: The spectre level assault rifle in ME1. Never have I felt more powerful.

Favorite place: Idk why but I just thought of the creepy lab with all the scientists during the leviathan DLC. I really love when Mass Effect leans into the Lovecraftian horror aspect of things. Talking to Sovereign and Vigil in ME1 gave me goosebumps my first few playthroughs.

A quote I like: I have hundreds, but the one off the top of my head is, "After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began." I have a poster of it up on my wall right now!

[aion-rsa]

10 Best Fighting Game Movies

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Once upon a time, Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly, and John Saxon visited a crime boss’ private island to compete in a fighting tournament and it was awesome. The 1973 movie Enter the Dragon is basically the prototype for the fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. And when those fighting games became popular, they inspired their own movies that either tried to emulate Enter the Dragon or do something completely new.

The ‘90s gave us the cheesy live-action fighting game movies from Hollywood and the animated movies from Japan. There have been several live-action Mortal Kombat movies as well as a few animated ones. There have also been multiple Street Fighter movies, four attempts at Tekken, a trilogy of Fatal Fury films, and more.

Are most of them bad? Yes. But did we pick our 10 favorite fighting game movies anyway? You bet. Here are our picks:

10. ART OF FIGHTING (1993)

Eh…it’s harmless.

The Art of Fighting series is mostly defined by the twist that the first game’s final boss is the main character’s father and the second game’s final boss is a younger incarnation of the villain from Fatal Fury. Take away those aspects and you’re left with a rather lowkey storyline for a fighting game where a teenage girl is kidnapped by a mobster and is rescued by her brother and her boyfriend.

Wait, I said that weird. It’s two different people, I swear! Except in Capcom, where Dan Hibiki is literally both of them merged into one character.

In the 45-minute Art of Fighting movie about Ryo and Robert, who are like chiller and dopier versions of Ryu and Ken, we watch as the duo gets sucked into a plot about stolen diamonds, martial arts criminals, and angry police lieutenants. It doesn’t take itself seriously and it’s a fine, breezy watch.

Ryo’s incorrect hair color kind of irks me, though.

9. STREET FIGHTER ALPHA: THE ANIMATION (1999)

This movie suffers from the same problem as Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture. It features a cast of heroes from a fighting game taking on a villain created for the movie instead of the villains we actually give a shit about. But the movie does also have some brief but awesome cameos (Kim Kaphwan and Geese Howard from Fatal Fury and Dan Hibiki and Akuma from Street Fighter Alpha) to brighten up a less-than-stellar plot.

Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation does at least get by because the original characters play up Ryu’s whole fear about being overcome by “the Dark Hadou.” This leads to some cool animations where Evil Ryu looks like a mindless, shambling zombie but also an unstoppable fighting machine.

The movie’s main storyline is about a kid named Shun who claims that he’s Ryu’s long-lost brother. He too is a fighter cursed with an inner dark side, which is used as a red herring to suggest that Shun’s father (and presumably Ryu’s father) is actually Akuma. That ends up being bupkis and Shun is just linked to some scheme by a mad scientist or whatever.

Probably the funniest thing about this movie is the directors’ infatuation with Chun-Li’s midsection. She’s wearing her form-fitting Street Fighter Alpha costume and there are dozens upon dozens of random close-ups to her lower torso from the front and back. If this were a drinking game, it would kill you.

8. FATAL FURY 2: THE NEW BATTLE (1993)

Of the Fatal Fury movie trilogy, this one is easily the best, even if it makes all the good guys seem like a bunch of overly-serious crybabies. The basic story is that after having avenged his father’s death, Terry hits rock bottom, dusts himself off, and comes out the other end stronger. Good, good. Going Rocky III is the perfect direction for a follow-up.

The problem is that Terry comes off as a bit of a whiner and the other heroes try way too hard to vilify the movie’s main antagonist, who hasn’t actually done anything that terrible. Krauser shows up one day, challenges Terry to a fight, wins, and says, “Okay, when you get better, train and fight me again.” Krauser isn’t trying to take over the world or murder orphans or whatever. He’s just a dude with huge shoulder armor who wants a good fight.

But everyone acts like Krauser’s the absolute worst. Terry starts drinking and falls to pieces while his buddies hope to get revenge. What a bunch of jerks.

While a fun romp, the worst thing about this sequel is how they redesigned Krauser. Gone is his mustache and forehead scar for the sake of making him seem younger. Kind of a bullshit move, considering he’s supposed to be the half-brother to middle-aged Geese Howard.

7. TEKKEN: THE MOTION PICTURE (1998)

This hour-long anime is almost great but just can’t stick the landing. It runs into the same problem as Mortal Kombat: Annihilation where the game series tells a specific overall story but the movie cuts corners to tell the same story. Tekken: The Motion Picture covers the first Tekken while setting up Tekken 3 and skipping Tekken 2 completely.

It means that everything’s well and good until the confusing and rushed finale. Otherwise, the movie is a fine use of the Enter the Dragon formula. Heihachi Mishima has a special island fighting tournament and the entrants include his vengeful son, a couple of cops investigating the situation, a gigantic robot, an angry Native American girl, two feuding assassin sisters, and a bunch of awesome characters who only get about three full frames of appearances each. Really would have liked to see something from Paul, King, and Yoshimitsu, though.

Other than Kazuya being pissed at everything, the best scenes are the over-the-top ones. When Jack does crazy robot stuff, when dinosaurs show up and start eating people, and that memorable sequence where Heihachi catches a hatchet with his mouth and then shatters it with his jaw.

6. STREET FIGHTER (1994)

I know this movie is just a GI Joe script with Street Fighter names pasted over it. I know it’s a cheesefest of dopey ideas and Belgian accents. I’ve long accepted that. Thing is, the movie is still a total blast to watch. What it lacks in faithfulness to the source material, it makes up for with pure camp and ham.

The 16 characters from Super Street Fighter II are represented here, except Fei Long is replaced with the forgettable Captain Sawada. How ironic that the movie star character isn’t even in the movie!

In general, the movie features some head-scratching depictions of classic Street Fighter characters. All-American Guile is played by Jean Claude Van Damme, Charlie Nash and Blanka are the same character, Dee Jay is an evil hacker, Ryu and Ken are comedic conmen, and Dhalsim is a frumpy scientist.

It’s Raul Julia’s M. Bison who keeps this guilty pleasure afloat. He’s to Street Fighter what Frank Langella’s Skeletor was to Masters of the Universe. He gives 110% and his performance is easily the best reason to watch this movie. It’s truly a wonder to behold.

Read more

Games

The Forgotten Fighting Games of the 1990s

By Gavin Jasper

Games

King of Fighters: Ranking All the Characters

By Gavin Jasper

The movie is infamous for inspiring a fighting game based on it, but you know what nobody ever talks about? The Double Dragon movie also had a fighting game based on it made by Technos and released on the Neo Geo. And Double Dragon wasn’t even a one-on-one fighter to begin with!

Anyway, if you intend to sit back and watch Street Fighter, make sure to add in the RiffTrax commentary.

5. DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE (2006)

Enter the Dragon meets Charlie’s Angels is a heck of a concept, but DOA: Dead or Alive is so confidently tongue-in-cheek that it succeeds as an action comedy that’s way better than it has any right to be. Part of why it works is that Dead or Alive has never had much of an overarching storyline, but is more defined by the individual characters (plus, you know, all the cheesecake). Enough of those characters appear in what’s your regular “fighting tournament on a mysterious island” setup.

The whole thing moves with such energy that it’s easy to get sucked in. It’s the opposite of the live-action Tekken movie, where even though the film features accurate versions of all the characters, everything is so drab and lifeless that you just can’t wait for it to be over. In DOA, the combatants spend their downtime playing cartoony action volleyball with Fake Dennis Rodman on commentary, while in Tekken everyone mopes about dystopian capitalism.

Other than Helena’s character being “important dead guy’s daughter,” most of the main characters are charismatic enough to keep your attention during the 3% of the movie when fights aren’t happening. It must suck for Ninja Gaiden fans that Hayabusa is depicted as a total dweeb, but he at least gets to do some cool stuff here and there.

The movie also has Kevin Nash playing a character based on Hollywood Hogan and he’s so likeable that I’m genuinely bummed that he peaces out about halfway into the movie. Luckily, the movie is entertaining enough that I didn’t even notice until after it was over. It helps that during that time, we get more of Eric Roberts, his amazing hair, and his special sunglasses that turn him into the ultimate martial arts master.

Spoiler alert, but the secret to defeating him is, get this, removing his sunglasses!

4. MORTAL KOMBAT LEGENDS: SCORPION’S REVENGE (2020)

It took a while, but Warner Bros. Animation is on fire these days. After that Batman vs. TMNT movie and Teen Titans Go vs. Teen Titans, the studio appears to be hitting more than they miss. That’s exactly the kind of team needed to put together the latest animated Mortal Kombat movie.

This is the umpteenth retelling of the first game’s story. Not only does it have to compete with the first live-action movie, but also the events of Mortal Kombat 9, which depicts the tournament in cutscene format. Fortunately, Scorpion’s Revenge has a few tricks up its sleeve. First, it puts Scorpion in the forefront as the protagonist. He was barely a character in the original movie and the game just had him kill Sub-Zero and feel bad about it for the rest of the story mode. Now he feels like a character in a crossover, making a mark on the original story instead of being put in the sidelines.

We also have the wonderful stunt casting of Joel McHale as Johnny Cage. More importantly, Jennifer Carpenter plays Sonya Blade, which is such a step up from Ronda Rousey’s voice acting in Mortal Kombat 11.

This cartoon has a very hard R when it comes to violence. From the very beginning, Scorpion’s origins are gruesome and grisly. Once Jax is introduced, it doesn’t take long until we realize, “Oh, that’s how they’re dealing with THAT plot point in this continuity.” Then there’s a surprise villain death late in the movie that not only comes as a shocking development, but it’s so graphic and nasty that you can’t help but be taken aback.

Scorpion’s Revenge is a fantastic first chapter of what is hopefully a series of animated movies, but it does have its pacing issues. Scorpion being the protagonist may be a welcome change, but at times it does feel like a square peg being crammed into a round hole.

3. TEKKEN: BLOOD VENGEANCE (2011)

One of the best things about the Tekken series is the endings. While the cutscenes from the first couple games haven’t exactly aged well, these CGI epilogues have become a staple in nearly every installment. What better reward for your time and success than watching a rocking action sequence with Yoshimitsu and Bryan Fury killing each other in the jungle?

And so, to play to the series’ strengths, Bandai Entertainment released a Tekken movie that’s really just one big ending cutscene. It’s not canon, but it feels at home with the games.

Since Tekken’s main conflict is with two ruthless megalomaniacs (Heihachi and Kazuya) and a disgruntled nihilist (Jin), it’s hard to treat any of them as a real protagonist here. Instead, they go with Ling Xiaoyu, who is portrayed as the person who sees the good in Jin and wants him to see the light. She’s given a robotic BFF in Alisa Bosconovitch because Xiaoyu is kind of a tame character and needs someone with chainsaw arms and a jetpack to liven things up.

The first hour or so is good enough to keep your attention and its lightened up by a couple appearances by Tekken’s best character, Lee. But once it gets to the third act, it just becomes a completely awesome Heihachi vs. Kazuya vs. Jin fight, with Xiaoyu taking a backseat to watch all the crazy shit going on. It’s a full-on fireworks factory, as we not only see Devil forms of Kazuya and Jin but a very special final form for Heihachi that’s a true delight for Tekken fans.

2. STREET FIGHTER II: THE ANIMATED MOVIE (1994)

Let it be said that for someone who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, finding a faithful cartoon adaptation of a video game property was not easy. Link and Simon Belmont were unlikable sexual harassers. Mega Man was a more annoying sidekick than Scrappy Doo. Mario and Luigi teamed up with Milli Vanilli. Power Team was…a thing. When we got an animated movie based on Street Fighter II, it was mind-blowing. This was a movie where the very first scene was Ryu tearing Sagat’s chest into a bloody gash thanks to a well-animated Shoryuken.

There’s a lot going on in this movie, but at the same time, nothing is going on. By this point, there were 17 characters in the various Street Fighter II games, and outside of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Akuma cameo, it feels the need to include every single one of them. Some get minor roles, like Cammy and Dee Jay. Then there’s Zangief and Blanka, who fight each other for no reason other than for the sake of giving them something to do. Even Ryu vanishes for a huge chunk of the runtime.

Once everything funnels into the third act, this movie is great. And the earlier fight scenes are straight fire too, including the memorable Chun-Li vs. Vega brawl. Even though the movie already feels true to Street Fighter II, it’s even better when you realize that it’s all supposed to be a prequel to the game itself.

Or at least I hope so. Otherwise, all Sagat gets to do is get his ass kicked by Ryu and get chewed out by Bison.

1. MORTAL KOMBAT (1995)

The stars truly aligned for this one. Mortal Kombat Mania was at its peak, so it makes sense that this movie was a retelling of the first game’s story with added aspects from the second game, all while hyping up the arcade release of the third game. CGI was such a novelty in Hollywood in the ’90s that even if it looked primitive, it still looked cutting edge at the time. It was the perfect time to release this movie.

But Mortal Kombat isn’t perfect. Reptile is embarrassing. Scorpion and Sub-Zero being relegated to goons still stings. I still roll my eyes at the part towards the end where Sonya is suddenly the damsel in distress and Raiden flat-out verbally buries her by saying she couldn’t beat Shang Tsung in a million years. Otherwise, it’s the perfect storm of ‘90s action garbage.

There are so many over-the-top and charismatic performances here. Johnny Cage, Raiden, Shang Tsung, Kano, and even Goro are a blast to watch. All 10 characters from the original game are given something to do and, most importantly, they realize how uniquely weird the game’s story is and actually dive headfirst into it. The movie isn’t embarrassed to be a Mortal Kombat movie but handles itself well enough that we aren’t embarrassed to be watching a Mortal Kombat movie.

Even with a PG-13 rating, the movie was violent enough. Kano talked up seeing a pile of frozen guts in the wake of a Sub-Zero fight, Scorpion got his skull sliced apart with demon brain goo spewing all over the place, and Shang Tsung got impaled to death.

With the reboot being rated R, going for the gore could very well be the right route to go, but for the love of the Elder Gods, don’t forget to have FUN. All I’m saying is, if even Johnny Cage isn’t hamming it up, then what’s the point?

The post 10 Best Fighting Game Movies appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[zankivich]

Comfort: Werewolf! Shawn x Black OC Witch! AU

a/n: idk why I titled this comfort other than the fact that this just felt so warm to me. In fact I think I use just the word warm like a 100 times in this fic. It just felt right. This is my first OC and I love her with all of my heart so please be kind to her. She’s a little angsty, but she means well I promise. This was so fucking fun to write. I hope you like it. Thank you. k bye. 

WARNINGS: Slur usage (n word), sloooooow burn, she’s girth at 19k words, 

If you want to buy me a ko-fi you can do so here:  I also apparently have a permanent tag list now so let me know if you want that. 

There are some perks to being the alpha in town. The general respect from everyone he came in contact with. The support of his pack, and the whole getting to live with his best friends thing. Even the responsibility of protecting the town filled him with pride, even if it was a lot of work. Besides the perks though there were the caveats. There was the whole, random things popping out of the woods every other week to try and kill him. And then the being responsible for a pack of ten other werewolves in their early twenties who were for the most part, especially the guys of the pack, dumb as all hell. Lastly there were the witches.

Pickering’s history was rooted in something straight out of folklore. Centuries ago, the land used to belong to Shawn’s ancestors, but the witches had arrived and put a hex on the land. They would only remove the hex if they were allowed to stay. There had been whole wars between his kind and the witches until his great-great-great-grandfather had come into power. It was he who struck a treaty with the witches in order to prevent any more death. It didn’t mean that prejudice didn’t continue, and most of the town was extremely segregated. You were either a witch or a wolf, or a human and that determined just about everything for you.

Shawn had grown up with that history, so needless to say witches weren’t exactly his best friends in town. However, he also grew up knowing that his destiny was to one day lead the town. His dad raised him on compassion and leadership with the understanding that their town was a town for all, not just one. Even if it was difficult. Especially if it was difficult. His duty as the leader of the town, as the leader of the pack, was to keep the peace. This was certainly easier said than done, but he didn’t exactly have a choice.

That’s how he found himself on their side of town on a friday night, when he could have been at the bar with his friends, or at the gym, or literally doing anything else in the world. It was his responsibility to check in with their elder, a beautiful old black woman who hadn’t aged a day since Shawn had met her as a child except for her hair that turned a stark shade of silver white. She was the most powerful witch that he’d ever come across, and one of the only ones who he had gotten the chance to truly and genuinely know and respect.

He knocked politely on the door, shoes already in hand, because she had a thing about her floors. The door opened and instead of the very tiny woman with a cane he’d been expecting, a much younger woman stood in her place. She had brilliantly dark skin with even darker eyes to match. Her hair was nearly waist length locs with a part down the side that kept a few of them covering the side of her face. He had an innate yearning to move them out of the way so that he could see her better. Her cheekbones were high and prominent on her face and she wore makeup that made her skin almost shimmer in the setting sun. She was maybe the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“You are...not Edna.” He mumbled looking her up and down.

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes so quickly it nearly gave him whiplash. His heart squeezed softly in his chest. Wow.

“That the kind of impeccable wit that the town leader is carting around?”

“And who might I ask are you?”

“Girl, stop playing and let that boy in the house!” Edna called from somewhere inside.

He grinned slightly at her stepping into the house and passing slowly around her as she refused to move from the doorway.

Edna was sat in her same chair she always sat in when he came over. It was in her room with all of the glass windows that allowed you to see her garden in the backyard. She sat there a lot, as she was now a little too old to go out every day and tend to it the way that she used to. When he was a kid simply attending his father’s meetings, she used to do something special where she would have him pick a flower that was nowhere near bloom. With a touch of her finger she could make the flower come to life in his tiny hand. He had thought it was the coolest thing ever at the time. She still had him pick flowers every now and again.

“Ms. Edna.” He smiled quickly joining her in the chair across from hers.

“Shawn.” She nodded handing lifting gently to point to the beautiful woman who opened the door for him. “Don’t mind her none. That’s my granddaughter, Athena.”

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.” He murmured.

“You haven’t. Her mother moved far away from here when she was younger than you are now. Couldn’t handle the way this town treated her. Stopped using magic, ignored her natural born talent.” Edna sighed much to the discomfort of Athena. “Athena here is my successor. That is why I’ve had you come over tonight.”

“Successor?”

“Why yes. Boy, I am old and tired. I can’t keep helping you every time something goes bump in the night. It’s time for me to let go. Athena will have all of my powers and more. She is meant to be the strongest witch this world has ever seen.”

He peered over at her in curiosity. She was leaning her shoulder against the wall, arms still crossed. She wore tattered up jeans and an old band tee. There was this incredibly adorable rose gold hoop ring in her nose. She was gorgeous for sure. But the most powerful witch? He just wasn’t seeing it.

“What can she even do though?”

Athena poked one of her fingers out from underneath her arm and flicked it toward the bookshelf just in time to send one flying towards his head. He rubbed soothingly at his own head where there was sure to be a bump and plopped the book down on the table.

“Wonderful, the next time the town is under attack I’ll be sure to call you so you can book them to death.” He snorted.

Edna and Athena shared a look, Edna shaking her head slowly at her. It wasn’t long before Athena was rolling her eyes and leaving the room with a huff. Shawn mentally added mind reading to her list of capabilities. Oh god, I hope she didn’t hear me call her beautiful.

“I’m sure you two will get along just wonderful.” Edna snorted.

He ran his fingers through his curls and tugged in frustration.

“I don’t think she’s gonna like me much. Are you sure she’s the one?”

“Oh boy, you have no idea.”

He left the meeting with a headache, a little annoyance, and an unfortunate visual of the way the sunset had hit her skin in his mind. Ugh.

***

A few weeks go by before he sees Athena again. It’s a Saturday night and most of the pack is littered around the bar, everyone nursing drinks and having a good time. He was in a really intense game of pool with Brian when the door to the bar opened and everyone sort of froze. It’s hard to describe what a witch smells like. There’s an earthiness to it with a hint of something metallic and something that was just off. Perhaps that's why he didn’t have nearly the reaction of everyone else in the bar, because Athena didn’t smell like that to him. She didn’t smell wrong.

The bar they were at was sort of known as the wolf bar. Some of the humans from town frequented as well, but certainly there had never been a witch in the bar before. Shawn had shared that Edna was training her successor to take over, but no one had met her yet. She was so new to town, and didn’t seem to get out much. She picked a hell of a night to start.

Athena was wearing a jumpsuit that night. It was multi-colored stripes of navy blue, white, and pink, a sharp departure from her ripped jeans. She’d traded her locs for beautiful, tight curls that fell all the way down to her chin. She seemed to get a little prettier every time he saw her. Especially when she was walking up to a bar full of werewolves completely unphased. The bartender that night was Eddy, who happened to have run the bar since his dad’s days. He was more traditional than Shawn liked, and might just be the type to give her trouble.

“Shawn where are you--”

“Hold on a second.” He huffed towards Brian as he headed for the bar.

“Excuse me, I’d like a whiskey on the rocks please?” Athena asked for what must have been at least the second time.

Eddy sneered. “We don’t serve your kind here ma’am.”

“What the entire fuck do you mean, ‘my kind’?!”

“Eddy!” Shawn called alpha mode completely taking over. “Make her a fucking drink, man. Now.”

Athena turned to look at him, her eyes practically sparkling and he almost forgot his own name. She looked absolutely dazzling when she was pissed, and boy was she fucking pissed. Eddy went to make the drink leaving them to just sort of stare at each other. He wasn’t really sure what the right thing was to say here. Yea, we usually don’t serve witches here, but stick with me and I’ll get you in! That sounded fucking terrible even to him.

He placed the drink in front of her and she turned a glare on him so fierce it looked like it should’ve turned him to dust where he stood.

“So, Eddy, is it just witches that aren’t allowed here, or do you frown upon us niggers to?”

Eddy’s face turned bright red at her words. As if to make matters worse she spit into the drink while making eye contact with him and then proceeded to knock it over onto the counter before standing up to leave.

“I’d be careful if I was you Eddy. Wouldn’t want me to get my gang o’ witches to make a soup out of you now would you?”

And then she was gone. And before the door had even closed he was stumbling after her. It wasn’t even conscious. He just needed to.

“Hey! Hey, I’m sorry okay? It’s not even like that. A witch has never even tried to enter that bar since its inception.”

“It’s not like that aye? Whether it’s because I’m black, or because I’m a witch, all you white boys are the same.”

He reaches for her arm and pulls her to a stop. There’s something about her anger towards him that hurts a little bit, makes him uncomfortable. He needs it to stop.

“I do not hate you because you’re a witch. And I don’t hate you because you’re black. I don’t hate you at all, okay? You’re just a little hard to get through to. You have to know that. I’m pretty sure you’re doing it on purpose.”

She tugs out of his grip and puts more distance between the two of them.

He sighed and tried again. “Can I give you a bit of advice? Maybe don’t go terrifying the locals, if you’re gonna take Edna’s place. They need to trust you.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about the locals of this place. I hate it here, and if I had any say at all I wouldn’t even be here.” She snorted. “Any other dazzling advice?”

“Why are you so incredibly angry, huh?”

She just snorted and turned her back on him, quickly heading the way that she came. It didn’t matter how beautiful she looked, or how fucking great her cheek bones were. Shawn had come to a new startling conclusion. Athen was absolutely gorgeous. And he couldn’t fucking stand her.

***

It’s Sunday dinner. Every week his mum made him come back to the house for her famous roast, and to catch up with the family. It had been her caveat to him moving in with the pack at eighteen. They’d kept the tradition up ever since. His dad had never been prouder than when Shawn became an alpha, and had loved nothing more than handing over the next generation of pack lineage to him. He had helped him through his own transition phase, had been there for him every step of the way. A part of him had been scared that his dad might resent him for presenting as alpha so early. When the next alpha presents themself, the current one loses some of their speciality. They begin to age again, lose the abudantant strength while still maintaining the average alpha strength. Eventually his father would stop shifting, and he would just get to live out his life his mum. Shawn would continue on as alpha, at the peak of his youth until he has kids, or until a new alpha arose.

“Smells great mum.” He greeted kissing the side of her cheek as he entered the kitchen. “Got anything for me to test?”

She snorted. “No. It’s hard enough feeding you two as it is. Go help dad set the table.”

She makes enough roast for a family double their size and it just might be enough to feed them. There are potatoes and green beans and rolls. The entire house smells just like it used to when he was a kid. Sometimes he misses it. Especially times like this when he’s frustrated with the pack.

“Edna brought over her granddaughter for tea last week.” His mum notes. “What a lovely young woman.”

He snorted into his potatoes. “That’s certainly one way to describe her.”

“Oh, you don’t like the town’s latest addition?” His dad asked.

“Maybe I would if she wasn’t the biggest asshole I’ve ever met in my life.”

“Language Shawn Peter.”

He rolled his eyes. “She hates the town with a burning passion. I tried to be nice to her even, but it’s pointless. She hates werewolves. She hates me. And I’m supposed to work with her just because Edna says so? That’s ridiculous.”

“Well it’s nice to know you don’t feel strongly at all.” His dad joked.

“Seriously dad. She’s the worst. And she’s only going to cause problems. I’ve worked my ass off to keep the peace in this town, and she walked straight into Eddy’s pub, spit into a drink, and threw it all over the bar. She’s only going to mess things up.”

His dad did a hum that he used to do when Shawn was a child. That hum always meant he was in for some sort of lesson. And never one that he was particularly interested in learning.

“I’m surprised Eddy served her a drink at all. Guy’s a real traditionalist prick.”

“Language at the table guys!” His mum reminded them forcefully.

“Sorry.” They said in unison.

Shawn sighed softly and picked at his potatoes.

“He didn’t. He refused to serve her, and I had to make him do it.” He admitted. “She didn’t know if he was being racist or...witchist?”

“Ahhh, so you can imagine how someone in her position might not be too trusting of us wolves then?”

And here comes the lesson.

“I understand that. But, I stuck up for her didn’t I? I even followed her out to make sure she was alright and she practically spit in my face. If she doesn’t like my town she can get the hell out of it.”

His dad only smiled. “I get how protective you are over this town and its people. It’s was makes you such a great alpha. But I raised you to not see this town as just a place for werewolves. We haven’t been that way in a very long time. The harder you try to fight the witches, the harder time you’re going to have. We share the land now, and if she’s not feeling included here as far as I’m concerned, it's your duty to figure out why and fix it.”

“You want me to fix the rift between the werewolves and the witches? A war that has gone on for centuries?”

“What I’m saying is, you might try to be a little more empathetic. I knew her mother well, and I have a feeling her understanding of this town might be rooted in a lot of pain and a lot of hurt. We owe it to her to try and mend some of that.”

Shawn has absolutely no idea what he means by that. And he knows his dad, so he knows he’s not going to get anything else out of him. He’s on his own on this one.

***

Shawn’s in the middle of doing pull ups in the middle of the doorway to his bedroom when Jasmine and Lily come inside. They were twins, two olive toned gymnasts with bigger leg muscles than him and jet black hair they both always kept braided up. They had been on patrol last, so he figured they were just there to catch him up.

“All good?” He asked.

Jasmine poked playfully at his stomach trying to make him falter in his pull ups.

“Well, we caught wind of a witch actually. But it was about twenty miles out into the woods, and it didn’t seem threatening. Do you want us to go back out?”

He shook his head. “I could use a run anyway. I’ll check it out. Let Brian and Zeubin know just in case though.”

He hops down from his bar and tugs off his shoes, wanting as little clothes to have to worry about as possible. He heads for the garage to fully disrobe, ties his sweats to an ankle with the cord he always carried around with him, and shifts before darting out into the woods. The scent isn’t hard to pick up. He catches it about five minutes into his run. Running is definitely his favorite part of the whole wolf thing. He’s faster than his human form could ever imagine. The wind pulls through his fur, and his sight can catch just about anything that might come his way. It’s the most free he ever feels is when he’s just running through the woods. Just as soon as he picks up the scent is just as soon as he realizes that this isn’t just any witch at all.

He’d yet to figure out why Athena didn’t smell off to him. Why she smelt exactly the opposite. Her scent wasn’t sickening, in fact it reeked of warmth and sun, and something a little sweet. He slows down his running as he comes to clearing in the trees. She’s sitting on the ground, her eyes closed. At first he thought she was just meditating or something. And then the wind began to swirl around her. He felt his fur stand up straight on his back and all of a sudden the trees began to shake around the clearing. Her face grew tight with tension and concentration. The ground shook and her body lifted clear off the ground still in the crossed leg position. He watched as the dirt and leaves began to swirl along the ground as if she was creating a tornado with her mind. It reminded him aimlessly of Edna with the flowers but far, far more intense. Who the hell was this girl?

Suddenly her eyes opened and they were piercingly white, almost like lightning. It made sense because just a moment later the sky opened up to a piercing beam of lightning and a loud crack of thunder that hurt his ears. She let out a blood curdling scream before falling to the ground. The earth all around her became still as her body lie limp on the ground. He was shifting and pulling on his pants before he could even think to do anything else.

She doesn’t come to when he picks her up, and there’s a trickle of blood running down her nose. She must have over done it a bit if the scorched earth from her thunderbolt was anything to go off of.

He carries her back to the pack house in a smooth jog, making sure not to startle her too much. She still doesn’t wake up. When he begins to exit the woods, most of the pack is waiting by the sliding glass doors, easily having picked up her scent. No one else seems to think she smells good. It must just be him. Brian and Zeubin being his Betas quickly step to him as he carries her toward the house.

“What the hell is this?” Brian asked in confusion. “ What’s going on?”

“She passed out in the woods. Go find me a blanket or something. Have Lily make some of that freaky herbal tea of hers.”

“But--But she’s a witch?”

His eyes blaze red and he pauses to let Brian cower beneath the intensity of his gaze.

“And we protect all people on our fucking land, so go get the blanket Brian. That’s an order.”

He carries her into the house and skips the couch entirely to head for his bedroom. He gets her into bed and goes to wet a wash cloth while Brian gets another blanket, and Lily makes the tea. The blood under her nose had begun to dry, so he wiped softly at it to make sure she was done bleeding. Her heart rate sounded fine. Her breathing was normal. But she was completely unconscious.

When it was clear she was going to be out for a while he closed the door to his bedroom and immediately pulled all of the pack into the living room for a meeting.

“What’s going on boss, she okay?” Conner, one of the youngest of the pack asked.

Shawn nodded. “I think she’ll be fine. She was practicing some of her magic in the woods when I found her. She just over did it. We’ll let her sleep it off here and then I’ll get her back to Edna’s. In the meantime it seems we need to have a conversation about what our jobs are in this town.”

He peers over at Brian who thumbs guilty at his nose, eyes downcast.

“If I ever hear a word about one of you denying help to anyone because they’re a witch, you’ll answer to me. Got it?” He snapped.

Everyone nods and agrees quickly not wanting to anger him more than he already has been. Shawn hated being the angry alpha; it felt incredibly cliche to him. But sometimes it was the only way to get them to know he meant business.

“I know that we’ve always kept the peace by letting them do their thing over there while we do ours over here, but we’re the protectors of the town dammit. And that means everyone who occupies it. Tell me you all know that? Tell me I can trust each of you to do that.”

They all stare back at him with open and honest eyes nodding. He trusts them with his life just as they trust him with theirs. It’s the only way the pack will work. It’s the only way they can all stay safe.

He dismisses them all after going over patrol orders for the night, and grabs Lily’s tea before heading back to his room.

Athena was lying on the bed still out cold. He set the tea on the bedside table and took the cloth again to press gently to her forehead. This time when he touched her, she came to although not exactly the way that he would have liked. Her eyes burst open and she lurched forward, her hands coming out to defend herself. One second he was pressing the washcloth to her forehead and the next he was flying back into the wall and landing flat on his ass.

“Shit! Oh my god, are you okay?!”

He grunted lowly, ego taking much more of a hit than his actual body did, and got back up. It’s a good thing he healed super quickly. He had a feeling this one was going to get him into nothing but trouble.

“I’m fine. Although if this is how you thank those that help you, I might have left you in the woods.” He snorted.

Her eyes turned to slits, and just like that her resting bitch face was back.

“What do you mean? How the hell did I end up here?”

“My pack found your scent, and I came to check it out. You were doing some weird shit in the sky and then you collapsed out of nowhere. I brought you back here to let you rest.”

“Oh how kind of you.” She sneered already pulling the blanket off of her body.

“I thought it was extremely kind of me actually! Especially considering how big of an asshole you are to me on a daily basis.”

“Perhaps it wouldn’t be on a daily basis if you stopped showing up everywhere I am all the time!”

“And just what do you suppose would have happened to you if I left you there?!” He yelled back at her.

She rolled her eyes. “I would have been fine! I can protect myself and I don’t need your fucking pity, alright?!”

The alpha in him didn’t do particularly well with being challenged. Even the human part of him was pissed. She seemed to have a particular talent for making his fucking blood boil. So he could feel that part of him lurch towards the surface and his eyes turn red as she managed to make him madder than any other person he’d ever met. In that moment he hated her. Let his father’s lesson be damned.

“You are the most stuck up, evil,  self-centered witch I have ever met in my life! I should have left you there to electrocute yourself . You think you’re so fucking strong, but you’re just dense! No one can do it alone. Not even you! Has Edna taught you nothing?!”

“You shouldn’t even let her name come out of your filthy mouth! What I learn and what I do has nothing to do with you!”

She makes him angrier than he can even stand. He was a seasoned alpha at that point, had far learned to master his emotions and to reign it in when necessary. But she just kept pushing, kept digging, kept hitting at him. He had never experienced anything like it before. It’s not until he’s growling at her and he feels the familiar stretch in his bones that he realizes he’s on the cusp of shifting. He hadn’t shifted out of sheer anger since he first turned. She drove him absolutely mad.

“Get out! Get the fuck out!”

The lights flicker and her jaw is set on edge. They absolutely despise each other and nothing is ever going to change that. When he yells at her her hands come up in front of her as if she wants to choke him. Instead she wreaks havoc on his room instead. His lamp flies and smashes into the wall in a similar fashion to the way his body had earlier. All of the books on his book shelf fly off and the glass to his sliding door that leads to balcony shatters as she let’s the room have all of her frustrations. She opens the door with her mind and practically glides out of the room.

Zeubin and Brian are there waiting, peering into the room where all of his shit is destroyed. After the speech he’d given about protecting witches, reasonably they’re a bit confused as to how to proceed.

“What do we do?!” Zeubin asked peering anxiously from the hallways and back to Shawn.

“Nothing. Just--Just leave it. I’m going for a run.”

He brushes past his friends not even hesitating to shift the moment he’s outside, sweatpants bedamned. He needed to get her out of his system, to get her smell off of him. She made his blood boil. He was filled with anger and disgust and hurt. And he just had to get away.

***

*Athena’s pov*

She stormed into the house with a fury. Her heart hasn't stopped racing since she left his room. She was absolutely livid. The door slammed so hard it rattled on its hinges. And her grandmother was not having it.

“Girl! Whose door is you slamming?!” Edna called. “Come in here!”

She sighed, feet dragging as she slumped into her room. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to go back to before she had even decided to come to this stupid ass town.

Her grandmother takes one look at her and all of the anger melted from her face. She was an empath, among all her other great powers, and it meant she had an innate ability to feel and understand what she was feeling.

“Child come sit. What is going on with you?”

She crawled into her bed in defeat, head immediately falling into her lap.

“I just can’t do it mama.” She sighed. “I can’t be what you are. I can’t find any love for this place. Not after everything they did to my mom.”

There are tears of pure frustration in her eyes, and Edna reaches to tug up at her chin.

“Now wait just a second. What happened? Start at the beginning.”

“I was in the woods practicing just like you said! And I guess I...I might have over done it. I passed out. And that damn man found me.”

At this, Edna chuckles.

“Mama, it’s not funny!”

“Shawn? Shawn found you?” She asked. “Child, this whole you against the world attitude causes you nothing but strife. Please do explain to me how that man helping you caused you to slam my damn door?”

Athena rolled her eyes. “He called me evil. Self-centered. Dense. I’ve never hated someone so much in my life.”

“Girl… you are fighting the inevitable here. This is your destiny. I know it is scary, and I know it is overwhelming, but that is not going to stop it from happening. Now I want you to cry when you need to, want you to scream with all your might when you need to, but it will not change what you are to become. You are the strongest witch this land has ever seen. You will rise to power, and with that power will only come the responsibility of protecting this town and the people in it. And I am sorry to burst your bubble, but you will have to work with him to do that. It is his destiny just as it is yours. You are meant to be.”

Athena tucked her head softly into her grandmother’s arms as few tears ran down her cheeks.

“They were so awful to her, mama. She used to tell me all these stories of the way they treated her and daddy.How ugly they all were. Why should I take care of any of them. They think the same of me. It’s all the same kind of hate.”

Edna settled her fingers into her hair and detangle the strands mindlessly to soothe her.

“So much can change in a lifetime baby. I know even better than your momma how hateful these folk can be. Nothing they said to her they didn’t say to me. She just got it worse because of your daddy. But, something changed with the Mendes lineage a few centuries ago. They stopped caring about power and cared more about peace. And the result has been that with every generation they preach less and less of that hate you’re talking about. Shawn, bless him, is the kindest one I’ve ever known. Takes after his daddy. When he was a little boy, he used to keep his fangs hidden because he was afraid of scaring people. He was more interested in sitting out in my garden than rough housing. He ain’t got a hateful bone in his body. He just loves this town and he wants to take care of it.”

Athena hates when her grandmother is right. And her grandmother is always right.

“I can’t read him.” She mumbled glumly. “I can feel his emotions, but I can’t tell what they’re stemming from. I can’t tell anything. It’s so frustrating.”

“Hmmm, you could always ask him.”

She snorted. “Sure, mama. After I just went all Carrie on his room, i’m sure he’d love to sit around and braid each other’s hair and talk about boys.”

“Well, I’m sure an apology would go a long way. You’ll figure it out.”

She wasn’t so sure she would.

***

*Shawn’s point of view*

He’s at the shop when he gets the call. Couple hiking in the woods mauled by a bear. Brian and Zeubin meet him out there. The police have the crime scene taped off, but he’s let under immediately. It takes one whiff to know it’s not a bear. It’s a wolf but he doesn’t recognize the scent, which means everyone is immediately on high alert. The fact that one of them survived is good because it means they can question him. But, it only takes one look at his face when he realizes his wife is gone to know that there’s nothing good about any of this.

His name was Cole Patterson. He and his wife ran one of the general stores in town. They were good people. He grabs tightly at the man’s hand as they wheel his gurney towards the ambulance.

“We’ll find who did it Mr. Patterson. I swear to you. I’ll make it right.”

But his face is so swollen that in conjunction with the tears, he doesn’t get much of an answer. It hurts his heart. And with the sadness comes the innateness to protect, to defend. He just hated seeing others in pain. And it was his job to fix it.

“What do you want us to do?” Zeubin asked.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Run along to the house. Fill the others in. I want round the clock patrols starting now and want the perimeter expanded fifty miles. We’ll meet first thing in the morning and figure out our plan of attack. You see anything in the woods and you don’t attack. Go the hell home. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

His betas nod before running off to follow his orders. He sticks around to gather more information from the police in the hopes that it might help the pack. He knows it’s his duty to alert the elders to the situation, so his first stop is to Edna’s, and he’s hoping and praying that the stuck up wicked witch of the west had hopped on her broomstick for the night.

It’s raining, so by the time he gets there and shifts back he’s soaked to the bone. He only has enough time to share what he knows with Edna. He needs to get back to the pack, needs to protect his people. She’s sitting on her porch in her rocking chair waiting for him, so he assumes it will be an easy meeting. How fucking stupid of him.

“So, we’ll be running patrols twenty-four seven. Do you think you could make a protection charm for the part of the woods where the attack happened. If it’s a wolf it’s probably going to return to the same place.”

For a moment she just rocks softly in her chair and peers up at him with those eyes of hers he used to be completely mesmerized by as a kid.

“I won’t be helping you this time, Shawn.” She finally murmured.

“What? What do you mean?”

“This is Athena’s time. That’s why this is happening now. It is her test to see if she can handle her powers.”

Oh for fuck’s sake.

“You have got to be kidding me! Edna, I do not have time for your granddaughter to ‘test her powers’ when my people are dying.”

She smiled at him. “They are her people too. She will help you.”

Edna wasn’t one to get angry at. Mostly because she could kick your ass with a wave of her hand. But also just the respect that she had garnered over years and years left him slightly whiny and beggy.

“Listen. She hates me. And that’s fine because now I sort of hate her too. There is no way in hell I can work with her. She hates my kind, and she hates this town. I can’t trust her to protect it. I need you, Edna.”

He’s a little desperate. The town wasn’t just full of wolves. In fact the vast majority of the town was made up of humans with a strong united pack to make sure that everyone was safe when shit went bump in the night. Especially the supernatural bumps in the night. The thing that made a good alpha was recognizing that one needed the help of his fellow pack members, and even other supernatural folks, to be at his best. He’d learned that lesson the hard way when he was younger and more cocky and stupid. But the truth of the matter was magic had kept the entire town safe for centuries now. And he wasn’t about to switch things up when lives were at stake.

He’s about to fall to his knees and just beg Edna to do the fucking charm when the door opens and out she walks. This time her hair is tied up with a scarf, dozens and dozens of tight little curls spilling out from a ponytail high up on her head. She’s in jeans again and a leather jacket and boy does he fucking wish it didn’t do anything for him. He can’t help but notice the skip of a beat in his heart that surely isn’t rage or hatred. And that’s the worst part about all of this.

“I’ll do it.” She said. “I can do it. Just show me where it’s at.”

He raised a pointed eyebrow and settled his hands on his hips.

“And I’m supposed to believe that because? Last time I saw you you told you hated this town and everything in it.”

She rolled her eyes as if he was the over dramatic one and twirled an umbrella in her fingers.

“Look I don’t have time to argue with you. Either I can make the charm and help your ass or not. It’s up to you.”

He stared at her in disbelief. And then at Edna who only smirked at him. This family was going to drive him fucking insane. No doubt about it. But he needed the damn charm.

“ Fine. But that umbrella is going to do you no good. I’m going to have to carry you.”

“Excuse me? I’ll drive.”

He felt his muscles tense and perhaps the first headache he’d had in months descend upon him too.

“It’s in the middle of the woods on a hiking trail. A car is not going to get you there. And a car can’t move as fast as me. You’re just going to have to get a little wet.”

It’s Athena’s turn to stare at her grandmother in disbelief. Her smile never shifts.

“Well you’ll just have to wait while I go cover my hair then.” she snorted.

“Excuse me?! Did you miss the part where someone died!”

“Calm down white boy. Damn. So dramatic.”

Fucking. Insane.

***

The rain makes a real mess of things. It’s muddy and dark and if he didn’t have incredible vision they’d probably be fucked. She’s surprisingly quiet throughout the entire walk and doesn’t even complain when he has to pick her up. It’d different than the last time he saw her. The energy surrounding her isn’t nearly as hostile and aggressive. In fact it kind of seems more like she’s thinking than anything else. The usual look of disgust isn’t even present on her face. Not that he’s looking at her face or anything. Because he isn’t.

So they walk and he holds her and it’s just the world of trees and greenery and rain around them. It’s ten times better than her fucking up his room and yelling at him.

“What are you thinking about?” He chanced readjusting his grip on her as he steps over a fallen tree.

She’s got a bright ass raincoat on and he’d go to the grave willingly before telling anyone that she looked cute in it. Because she doesn’t. She absolutely doesn’t.

“I can’t read you.” She mumbled from beneath her hood. “And I find it very annoying.”

“So you can read minds?”

She shook her head. “Nah boy, what am I Edward Cullen? I’m an empath. I can feel the emotions of those around me. I can usually get a really good sense of what those emotions are stemming from though. Like when mama is angry I can sense what her anger is in reference to. I slammed the door a couple of weeks back and I knew that that was what her anger stemmed from before she said anything. It gives me a really good understanding of people which is really all empaths are. When my power expand I’ll be able to infiltrate people’s feelings, make them feel what I want them too. With you though….I can sense the emotions but I never have any idea what they mean.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know. I have a sense that mama knows why but she’s not telling me for some reason.”

Edna had a history of knowing all and purposely letting you figure it out all on your own no matter how frustrating it might be. Shawn could imagine.

“Well, what am I feeling right now?”

“You feel...calm. But when you showed up at the house you were scared. You were in pain. You felt sad. Why are you calm now?”

He peered down at her as he walked. Her eyebrows were furrowed. She looked at him with genuine concern. It compelled a certain level of honesty that he never thought he would share with her.

“I feel most myself in the woods. Well besides from when I’m in wolf form anyway. I can’t really explain it. The earth and the trees and everything? It’s just always felt like home. I used to spend all my time out here even as a kid.” He explained. “It kind of helps that you’re not throwing books at my head this time around.”

Her fingers tighten slightly in his damp t-shirt.

“Yea… I uh I am sorry about how I reacted. You were just trying to help me and I was just really scared when I woke up. I--I had no idea where I was. And I was very frustrated that I wasn’t able to defend myself. Doesn’t matter. Still sorry.”

He feels incredibly tongue tied. Never in a million years would he have guessed that she would apologize let alone seem so sincere when she did it. It was like talking to a completely different person. A person he might actually be able to stand.

“I can understand that,” He spoke slowly. “I can’t imagine waking up with no idea where I am, and then my big dumb face is staring back at you. Might scare anyone.”

She laughs. And it...it nearly stops his heart. He can’t even explain the way that it makes him feel, so he hopes she can’t tell either. Whatever it is, it’s like a light. Like they’re moving through the big dark forest, but the second that she laughs the sun might as well appear. It’s like warmth and light and something pure. He’s left completely dumbfounded.

“Big, yes. Dumb, no.” She snorted. “I’ll be sure to get you a new lamp though. My bad.”

He keeps his mouth shut just in case he says anything stupid. Before he knows it, they're at the clearing to the trail where the attack took place. He lets her down off his arms and she moves to take in the scene before her. She pulls a jar out of her raincoat and walks slowly and methodically around the space sprinkling something along the ground as she whispers s beneath her breath. When she comes back to the space that she started a bright light emits from the ground and forms a circle around the space. It disappears soon after and then she puts the jar away and skips back over to him like nothing even happened.

“That’s it? It’s just safe now?”

She nods. “No evil energy will be able to penetrate it. Scouts honor.”

The thing about magic, and about witchcraft, was it wasn’t his area of expertise. All he could really do most of the time was trust that Edna was telling him the truth. And when it came to Athena, when it came to all of the things she’s said to him and yelled at him? Still all he was left with was a choice. Either he could trust her, or he could not.

“Okay.”

That was the night he decided to trust her.

He led her back down out of the woods. Instead of carrying her, they walked. In spite of how much slower it was, in spite of him having places to be, and commands to give. He walked alongside her in the woods. And he couldn’t explain what was compelling him to be alright with these circumstances. All he knew was that when she said she’d rather walk, he simply followed alongside her. And that was it.

“Can I ask you something?” She murmured arms in her big puffy raincoat and eyes completely on the ground trying to make sure she didn’t fall.

He nodded. “Sure.”

“The pain that you felt earlier? That fear? Where did it stem from?”

He lets his fingers graze her elbow to lead her over a rock so that she doesn’t trip.

“A woman died tonight.”

“Did you know her?”

“No. Not really. I mean knew of her the way that I know everyone in this town. But she was mine to protect nonetheless. I failed her tonight. And I failed her husband. And I failed all of her loved ones. The least I can do is mourn her death, don’t you think?”

She peers up at him from beneath her hood. Even in the dark he can read her eyes. Confused. Curious. It was like she was looking for something within him she couldn’t find. And he wasn’t sure what it was, or why she couldn’t find it.

“My mama...she says you don’t have a hateful bone in your body. She thinks you love this town more than anyone. Is that true?”

He chuckled softly. “I don’t know about that. I can get very angry sometimes. It’s the alpha in me. I try my best not to be hateful though. This town it...it’s all that I have. It’s all that I am. My genes, my lineage, it was all created so that I could protect all who occupy this land. I love it here. I know it’s got its problems, and I know it hasn’t always been the greatest to your family or to other witches. But I’m trying to change that. I’m trying to take care of everyone here, Athena. Not just werewolves.”

She nods softly and goes back to staring at the ground. They don’t talk for the rest of the walk, but it’s okay. They’re sort of okay.

***

“We found the scent about thirty miles west and followed it. It cuts off through the Ottawa river, and we lose it there. We tried moving to the other side, but we got nothing.” Conner explained.

“Okay. We’ll make a visit to the next pack over city limits. I’ll take Jasmine and Zeubin with me. If we find out it’s not one of theirs then we regroup and we prepare as if we’re under attack. In the meantime, we continue with round the clock patrol. I’ll meet with Edna and Athena to make them aware and ask if they can help us at all.”

Everyone nods and breaks off to their respective tasks. The town hadn’t see any trouble in quite a long time. A lot of people thought that was a testament to Shawn's leadership. He wasn’t that naive. He thought he’d just managed to get a little lucky. After All the best way to manage the way an alpha led his back was in times of difficulty not peace.  

It’s a two day trip to get there and back. He doesn’t want the neighboring pack to get scared by their presence so he only takes two of them with him. He also needs Brian back at home to watch over everyone and everything. And nothing against the kid, but he wouldn’t want to leave anyone in charge of his pack for more than two days. This was his main reason for stopping by Edna’s again. It’s definitely his only reason too.

Athena opens the door. She’s got her hair in that pineapple shaped ponytail again. The real difference this time is that she’s in a sweatshirt and leggings with no makeup on. She looks soft and warm. He completely forgets everything that he came there for. And it’s even worse because Jazmine and Zeubin were right behind him, and she’s staring at him a little bit like he’s crazy. Maybe he is.

“You were feeling fine a second ago. Determined. Now you feel overwhelmed. What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I….Uh--Sorry! I just um. I forgot what I was gonna say for a second.” He chuckled. “Can I talk to you and Edna?”

“Sure. Yea, come in.”

He catches them up on everything that he knows. Even he doesn’t notice but he spends the majority of his time talking to Athena. And she spends all of her time making eye contact with him. It’s clear to everyone in the room that something has shifted. There’s no longer a hatred in the room. It’s something different entirely. By the time they’re caught up, and it’s time to leave, he pulls her to side for a second just to check in separately.

“What’s up?” She asked softly.

“I need you to do something for me, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“What is it?”

“I just...I need you to keep an eye out while I’m gone, please? Just make sure nothing happens?”

Her eyes widened. “Me? Why not mama?”

“Because you’re supposed to be my point of contact now right?” He asked reaching for her arms. “ Don’t worry. I trust you.”

“You do?”

“I do...I haven’t quite figured out why yet. But, I do. You can feel that though can’t you?”

She scrunched her face up slightly as she peered at him in bafflement. He wondered if he could read her emotions if that would be all she ever felt towards him.

“I can. Okay I--I’ll keep an eye out.” She agreed.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

He smiled at her.

“Thank you.”

*Athena’s point of view*

“You’re pacing.”

Athena rolled her eyes. “I’m not pacing I’m just thinking.”

“Well then you’re pacing and you’re thinking. Girl, what is the matter with you?”

Athena paused in her nonstop path of circles that she’d walked around her bedroom to peer at her friend. Taylor was the only friend she’d made thus far in the tiny town. And it was a hundred percent because she was black and a witch too. They had to stick together in this crazy ass town. Taylor was also born and raised in Pickering and was kind enough to give Athena background when she needed it. Although she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to help this time around.

Taylor lied in the middle of her bed, locs long and neatly spread out across her bed, as she stared at her like she was crazy.

Athena rolled her eyes. “I’m just...I’m trying to figure out what the hell to do.”

“About?”

“Shawn asked me to look over things while he was gone. I promised. And now I have no idea how to actually do that seeing as how I have zero contact with the pack.”

“Wait wait wait...Since when did you make promises to Shawn Mendes of all people? I thought you hated his guts?”

Athena paused. “I did. I--I do! I...I don’t know!”

“I can’t believe you’ve let me sit here for over an hour watching you walk around like a crazy woman when you had tea to spill. Sit down.” Taylor exclaimed.

She doesn’t really know how to explain, or what to explain. She didn’t quite get it herself. After her talk with Edna, she had decided to head her advice if only to save herself a little frustration. She had zero intentions of trusting Shawn, or anything beyond being cordial enough to get her job done. And then she had talked to him. And he just wasn’t that fucking bad. She kept looking for signs of the rhetoric her mom used to tell her about,  a sign of anger or hate or rage in his eyes. It wasn’t there. His eyes were unbelievably kind. And everytime she read his emotions she couldn’t find any ill intent once so ever. Add on top of that his willingness to share and be open with her, when she’d been nothing but awful to him, she had found herself in a bit of a conundrum.

“I don’t know what it is Tay, I just...something in my gut is telling me he’s not bad. And mama trusts him with her whole heart. I can feel that. And he trusts me. Like really fucking trusts me. Something is telling me to trust him back.”

Her best friend squinted at her and let her legs flop aimlessly around the bed as she thought.

“And this has nothing to do with him being the hottest man this town has ever seen right?”

“W--What?!”

Taylor chortled. “I’m just saying. If that man carried my ass through the woods and made small talk, I’d trust his fine ass too!”

“I hate you. I am never talking to you about anything again.” Athena grumbled.

“Oh don’t get your panties in a bunch. I was just kidding. So, we going over there or what?”

“Tay what in the hell are you talking about?”

Athena watched as Taylor slid off the bed and walked to stand in front of her friend.

“He told you to keep an eye out on things right? You have no contact with his pack. So wouldn’t it make sense for you to go to their house and get some more information?”

“You want me to walk directly into the lion’s den after I smashed their alpha’s shit to pieces and ask them for what? The hot gossip? Girl is you out your damn mind?” Athena snorted.

“It’s the only what you’re going to get any info! And if Shawn trusts you, they don’t have a choice anyway. That shit’s like sacred. What the alpha says, goes. Kinda hot, tbh.”

Athena let her face fall into her hands. “Oh lord.”

Taylor simply laughed. “C’mon. You don’t wanna let your mans down now do you?”

“He is not my mans!”

“No of course not! I absolutely believe you.”

Athena made a mental note to get some new friends.

***

“You are going to get us killed!” Athena hissed as Taylor knocked loudly on the door.

Taylor snorted. “Girl you are the strongest witch in all the land. Let these wolves know.”

Jesus.

The person who answers the door is actually a woman with olive toned skinned and long black hair that hung loosely in a braid. She was like seven feet tall and absolutely gorgeous. Both women found themselves a little baffled at her very presence. Truly a magical specimen she was.

“Can I help you?” She asked at their dumbfounded expressions.

Athena tried to smile. “Hi. I’m Athena.”

“Yea, I know who you are. You threw my tea with your mind and broke my favorite cup.”

Great start.

“Ahh...Well I am so very sorry about that. I would happily get you a new one.” She assured her. “I’m here actually because Shawn sort of asked me to keep an eye on things while he was gone. But I don’t really know how to do that without talking to you all. And I know I’m probably not super well liked here, so I thought I might come and try and set things off on a better foot.”

The beautiful woman tilted her head and stared down at her with hazel eyes that were just the right side of threatening. They were so different from Shawn’s eyes it was almost unrecognizable to her.

“You want to help us?” She asked. “Why?”

Athen huffed a little. “Because it’s kind of my destiny. Or so I’m learning.”

Somehow, someway, she lets them in. And it’s not like a dungeon or anything. It’s just a house. The woman, Lily, was sitting on the couch watching Stranger Things and eating cereal. One of the younger ones, Connor was his name, was swiping through tinder matches and pretending to watch the show with her. There’s no attack, no name calling, no anything. And it’s so incredibly disorienting. It feels completely different than everything she ever knew. Athena wasn’t sure whether to feel elated or disappointed. She didn’t really know how to feel about it at all.

***

*Shawn’s point of view*

Jasmine and Zeubin crash into the house like zombies, completely ready to fall into their beds and sleep after the long journey. Shawn on the other hand knows he has to stay on his feet just a little longer. He heads for Brian’s room first once he’s sure that the house itself is still intact. His beta and subsequent best friend was still asleep, but jolted awake as Shawn plopped down on his mattress.

“Shit, dude, I hate when you do that.” He groaned.

Shawn snorted. “Nice to see you too, bud. We’re back if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Mazel tov. Can I go back to sleep?”

“No, jackass; get up. We visited the pack. They had no clue what we were talking about. None of their wolves have gone rogue, and they have no signs of any attacks on their land. We need to be on our best defense. Now what the hell happened while I was gone?”

“Absolutely nothing. We did the round the clock patrols just like you said. Never found the scent again, or any other scent for that matter. Plus your witch friends were here, so even if they were out there they probably got scared off.” Brian snorted.

“Witch friends? What witch friends?”

He rolled his eyes and settled back into his bed. “That Athena chick brought one of her friends over here. Said you told her to keep an eye out on the place. Like you didn’t trust me or something.”

“She came here? To the house, in front of you all?”

“I thought it was pretty ballsy of her too. Lily seemed to get a kick out of her though. You could ask her.”

“Hmm...I’m going to take a nap and then I want everyone’s ass in the living room to plan at noon got it?”

“Yes dude. Please. Sleep.”

Fucking Brian.

***

*Athena’s point of view*

She’s in the woods again trying to channel her powers the way that Edna had taught her. Some days it’s easy and some days it isn’t. Today in particular had been incredibly frustrating. Athena had never worked much with her active powers. Her mother had been purposeful that way. When they moved out of Pickering, she wanted to pretend to be normal. So except for the summers when her mama came to visit, she never really got to use them. It was easy to be an empath, that happened no matter what. But, Edna had assured her that she would have powers that she couldn’t believe. She just had to practice.

And that’s where he finds her. Sitting in the middle of the forest like an idiot. She hears the  break in the leaves and immediately turns with her hands up in case she needed to defend herself.

“Hey, I come in peace!” Shawn called.

She sighed and let her hands drop.

“What are you doing here? You scared me.”

His long legs take him to her in far greater strides then he had any right to be able to do. Before she knew it he was standing in front of her.

“I’m sorry. I went to your house but Edna said I could find you here.” He smiled at her. “Long time no see.”

“It’s been two days.” She snorted. “How did things go with the other pack?”

He frowned. “Not great. It wasn’t them. The pack is making plans of defense as we speak. I just want us to be prepared. It might be nothing, but it might be something.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

He eyed her for a second, a smile still plane on his face.

“You’ve been doing a lot lately. I heard you braved the big, bad wolves while I was away.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You all are not that tough. It was fine. No biggie.”

“You went to a place that I know you don’t like just to check in on my pack. I take that very seriously. That means a lot to me.” He told her reaching for her hands. “Thank you, Athena. I mean it.”

She peers down at his hands and then up into his eyes. She can feel the excitement in his veins, and she can feel a little confusion, and something softer...softer like endearment. It’s cloudy because he doesn’t know what it is he’s feeling, which means she can’t see it either.

“You’re welcome.” She murmured. “If i’m being honest it was a lot for me. I didn’t think they’d even open the door after the last time.”

“You’re fine. They know it’s not that simple, they understand the history. You’re allowed in that house whenever you want. Anyone ever gives you trouble they can answer to me.”

It’s a little aggressive, a little… braggadocious. Suddenly Athena gets a random flashback to Taylor’s obnoxious laughter about Shawn’s attractiveness. She bites her lip a little bit.

“Okay. I’ll make note of that.”

“So, what are you doing out here in the middle of the woods again?”

Her shoulders slumped. “Being the worst witch of all time, really.”

“I highly doubt that. You’ve kicked my ass enough times. What’s the matter?”

She groaned in frustration. “My active powers aren’t fucking activating. Mama says I just need to practice more but I’ve been practicing for hours and nothing is happening.”

“You’re probably just overthinking it. Obviously it’s different but when I was trying to shift for the first few months it was hell. I got so worked up about it and didn’t allow my instincts to just take over. You should get away from it for a while.”

“But this is all I have to do.” She whined. “It’s not like I have a job here, or any commitments. I’m just supposed to be training.”

He smiles at her again. It frustrates her. She can never understand when he gets these random bursts of happiness for no reason. It doesn’t make sense. And she can’t read him enough to determine what it is.

“C’mon.” He said reaching for her hand to tug her along.

She raised an eyebrow. “Boy, where are you taking me?”

“To fucking relax. You’re gonna give yourself a stroke before you turn thirty at this rate.”

“And what makes you think I want to relax with you?”

He turned back around to her, hands still pulling her with him as he walked backwards with the cockiest grin on his face. There’s no reason it should’ve made her heart react the way it did. No reason at all.

“You haven’t sent me flying yet, that’s why.”

He took her to a diner that she’d never been to before. Apparently he was a regular though because the entire place greets him when they walk in. He’s even got his own booth. It’s ridiculous. She went to take her jacket off and he was suddenly right behind her tugging at the shoulders of the jacket to help her out of it. From anyone else it would’ve caused indifference at best, and annoyance at worst. So, why in the world does she smile? And why in the hell is he being so nice to her in the first place? Why does she have zero interest in hating him anymore?

“This place has the best mac and cheese in the whole damn country. I’m sure of it. You must try it.” He said pointing the dish out on the menu.

She rolled her eyes. “What do you know about some mac and cheese, white boy?”

“I’m a white boy with the stomach of a wolf. You’ll love it. Trust me.”

And that’s the most ridiculous part of all of this. She does trust him. Almost endlessly so. Maybe not in his ability to determine what some good ass mac tasted like, but with just about everything else. She doesn’t realize until he’s telling her a story of him confronting his childhood bully after he presented as an alpha, that she’s completely forgotten about her powers. Hell she’d forgotten about being a witch entirely. And if the wolf part hadn’t been central to his story, she wasn’t so sure she would’ve thought about that either. For the first time since she’d entered that town it wasn’t about magic, it wasn’t about the greater good, or her “destiny”. He was just treating her like a person. Like a friend even.

“So you just straight up attacked his ass, aye?” She snorted.

He laughed. “I wouldn’t say attack. I would say...spook. I spooked him a little bit. Hey, I went from this lanky unpopular kid who hung out in gardens and shit to complete lean muscle in a summer. Jackass had it coming for how often he used to make fun of me.”

“Poor baby.”

“Yea, well I’m doing just fine nowadays, if you hadn’t noticed.” He pointed out waving a hand over his general physique.

Her eyes widened. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Oh come on! Yes you have.”

She reached for her glass to take a slow, deliberate sip of her drink.

“Was there something to notice?” She asked.

“Ouch, Athena. That hurt.” He pouted.

She giggled quietly to herself and he smiled another smile at her.

The food arrives and Shawn has three plates to her one. Something about needing to stay strong and full just so she could not notice. The mac and cheese is shockingly good. Athena peers towards the back to see if there’s a black person back there cooking. The diner is cosy and warm as it starts to rain outside and he keeps making her laugh with a startlingly ease. It feels nice. So nice.

“Hey I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” He said as you both worked on finishing your meals.

Athena shrugged. “Shoot.”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want. I was just curious...what exactly happened that made you hate it here so much? I’ll believe you no matter what it is, I just thought I’d ask.”

It stuns her for a moment. She hadn’t even told Taylor about her past with the town. She just assumed Athena hated wolves just because she was a witch. No one but her and her mama really knew what happened. What this town had been like. And even then she had only heard the stories, had never actually been there for it. It’s a story she never quite felt like sharing. But, she can feel his earnestness, can feel the sincerity and the willingness to listen in him. He’s feeling confident, and more than that he’s feeling vulnerable. It’s hard to not let his emotions bleed into her own.

“My momma grew up here.” She whispered peering down at her plate. “She lived here her whole life. And i guess the feud between the witches and the wolves was supposedly a lot better at that point. It would’ve been when your dad was alpha. My dad… he was a beta.”

“Wait...You’re part wolf?”

She nodded. “I guess technically. It never presented in me that way though. But my dad, he fell in love with my mom. They were mates.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yea. It was just about as unheard of as it is now. But they couldn’t help it. They were in love with each other. And when the town found out that a wolf was with a witch? All of that peace treaty shit went straight out the window. She--She couldn’t even leave the house. They would scream the most awful things at her. She wasn’t allowed on his side of town or the locals would throw things at her. I guess my dad would come visit her, but the witches weren’t fond of his kind either. It was awful. She can’t even talk about it to this day without crying. When she got pregnant with me, that was the final straw. She left town and she’s never come back. She’s never forgiven this town for what it took from her.”

Her knee bounces sporadically beneath the table. She doesn’t notice until Shawn covers it with his palm to get her to stop.

“Your dad. What happened to your dad?” He asked.

“He...He stayed here at first. You can’t just leave the pack without there being grave consequences.But the pain of being away from your mate is insufferable. They were literally designed for each other. Apparently he ended up leaving the pack anyway, but the damage had already been done. No one’s heard from him since.”

“Shit. Shit. Athena that--that’s so horrible. Honey, I can’t even...I’m so sorry.”

Sometimes she liked to focus on the emotions of others because it meant she didn’t have to think about herself. It’s made easier when he places his hand on her knee. It’s like his emotions are screaming at her. There’s a sadness. An empathy that feels like it’s wrapping itself around her in a thick smoke. And then there’s a guilt, which throws her completely for a loop.

“You feel guilty. Why?”

He frowned. “Are you kidding me,I was such a dick to you. It never even occurred to me to get your side, to ask you what you've been through. Even when my dad told me to. I should have listened. I should have asked you sooner. I--I’m so sorry. No one deserves to experience that. No wonder you hate it here.”

The sincerity to it all baffles her further. She never could have expected that Shawn would show her this kindness. She didn’t even know wolves were capable of showing someone like her that kindness. His hand is still on her thigh and it’s so warm. This town had felt cold to her for so long, had represented nothing but it. And yet he was here, right in front of her, continuously destroying her expectations.

“Well it...it hasn’t been so bad lately.” She mumbled. “But I uh I’m still trying to learn how to feel like I belong here. And maybe now you can see why that’s been a little more difficult to me. It doesn’t excuse my anger towards you, and I’m still truly sorry about it. I just hope you’ll see that I’m trying.”

“Of course. Hey, of course I do. I’m just glad we’ve gotten to start off on a better foot. You do belong here, Athena. We’re just lucky to have you. I hope you can see that.” he murmured.

His eyes are as warm as his hand, so when he removes his grip from her knee, it doesn’t feel as devastating. She bites her lip to ground herself in the moment, to not be so in her own head, to just say how she really feels.

“I never thought I could feel safe here.” She admitted. “You gave me that. So, thank you.”

“You are always safe here with me, Athena. Always.”

She trusts him then too.

***

*Shawn’s point of view*

He still meets with his dad to discuss pack issues. He liked knowing that there was a wealth of knowledge that he didn’t necessarily have, but could always tap into. His dad had never led him astray before. So when another hiker goes missing, and they can’t even find the body, he goes to him immediately. Something has to be done. And it has to be the right something because his town’s safety is at stake.

“I don’t know what it is, dad. This whole thing just feels off. It’s too calculated to be a random incident.” He huffed for the umpeenth time.

“What do you mean, what is it?”

“It’s like...it’s like they’re fucking with the line. First we happen to be able to track their scent all the way to the county line, and it just happens to cut off at the river where our territory ends? And then this time they get someone on the trail that is just outside our reach and the scent cuts off again. What are the fuckin’ chances?”

His dad nods. “It’s definitely weird for sure. I want you to trust your gut. All you can do is prepare and be defensive though. If you think a curfew is necessary to keep people out of the woods, then I’m sure sargent Farah would listen to you.”

“But it is weird right? Did anything like this ever happen when you were running the pack?”

“Not exactly. We had a lot more problems with our own fighting each other than others looking to attack.” He sighed.

It reminds him of his lunch with Athena. He could still feel the sadness in his eyes when she told him the story. He could also still see the way he made her laugh when they got ice cream afterwards and he immediately dropped his on the ground. He could feel the flutter it caused in his stomach. And he had no fucking clue what to do about it.

“Yea I uh...Athena finally told me what happened with her mom and dad here. Were you close to the situation?”

Manny shook his head softly. “It was a terrible situation. The worst I ever felt as pack leader. I couldn’t control anything that was happening. Not the humans, not the wolves, not the witches. Everyone was just livid over it. I was close enough to try to convince her father to leave. Being without one’s mate can cause you to go feral. Then again so can leaving your pack. When he left us, I wasn’t sure what to do. I can only hope that he’s okay.”

He plays with one of the rings on his finger to keep him busy as he hedges his next question.

“Were they really mates? Can a wolf and a witch mate?”

“Yea. It’s rare. Very rare. But, it can happen.”

He nodded softly. “Do they always end like that?”

“No, of course not. A wolf and a witch mating is just like any other mates. It’s intense of course, but it’s ultimately lovely.”

When he looks up his dad is giving him that look that says he sees right through him. It was always like his dad to know him better than he knew himself.

“You wanna ask something.” Manny guessed. “Just go ahead and ask it.”

He shrugged. “I guess I was curious what it felt like with you and mom. How did you know you two were mates and not just...attracted to each other or something.”

“I’ll be honest. I didn’t actually know at first. You hear those stories about first meeting and it being instantaneous, but it isn’t really. It’s a lot like falling in love for the first time. I saw her and I was tongue tied. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I didn’t find out we were mates until her mother passed.”

“How come?”

“When you’re a mated pair eventually your emotions become linked in a way. Specifically pain. Physical. Mental. There’s a catalyst that sparks it. That’s when you’ll know. It’ll probably be the most painful thing you’ll ever go through. The good news is it’ll come with a lot of beauty afterwards.”

He looked back down and shook his head.

“I was just asking. Not like I’m gonna be mated anytime soon. Got the pack to think about.” He mumbled.

“Sure thing kiddo, sure thing.”

***

Traveling with non-wolves is always a pain in the ass. They can’t move as fast, and even if he shifted to be able to carry them, there was no way to communicate. He usually hated it, hated anything that limited his ability to move and be free. Somehow he doesn’t hate this, and that just confuses him the way that everything has lately.

Part of the defense plan for the town was to visit all of the cut off parts of their territory and set up some charms and general hocus pocus shit to hopefully help figure out what the hell was trying to invade his town. Obviously Edna wasn’t quite up for day long journeys anymore. So, it was just him and Athena. It hadn’t even occurred to him to invite anyone else from the pack along, he just told them he needed everyone at home in case something happened. But a part of him, and that part was growing every time she tripped over everything she came across and immediately refuse to let him carry her, knew why he didn’t want anyone else around.

They were friends now. Like actual, genuine, friends. And he kind of loved it. She was so fucking funny and wicked smart. She never took any of his shit and spent most of her time making fun of him. Her sense of humor was inappropriate as hell. He loved every bit of it. That within itself wasn’t a problem. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with their friendship. The problem came when she would laugh and his heart would skip a beat. The problem was every time she complained about the outdoors and it didn’t irritate him at all, it only made him feel softer. The problem was that he had deep, genuine feelings for her and there seemed to be no getting around them.

They camped out in the woods right off of one of the hiking trails because Athena couldn’t do the walking for twenty-four hours straight that he could. She had made a fire with nothing but her hands, her ability to manipulate the elements coming very much in handy. She sat there next to the fire in an oversized sweatshirt pulled over her knees, and it just hurt to stare at her. He kept trying to keep his thoughts under control around her only for her to stare up at him with those soft lips, those beautiful eyes. And he was just meant to not notice at all?

“I wanna ask you something.” She hummed at him after they’d finished their dinner of fire roasted pizza.

His whole body locked up.

“Y--yea? What’s that?”

“Do you think you’ve ever been in love before?”

Shit.

His cheeks heated immediately and it had nothing to do with the fire. He couldn’t make eye contact and he knew his heart was racing in his chest. Even he could read the nerves coming off of him in waves. It must’ve been easy for her to read.

“Love? I--I’m not sure. I’ve had really great, really important relationships before. I’ve told a few women that I loved them. But, I usually reserve the concept of being in love with, what my parents have and I’ve definitely never had that before.”

She smiled at him. His heart rate increased.

“I met them when mama introduced us. They are very complex beings emotions wise. I could read them so easily. They felt so many things at once: comfort, sincerness, kindness, all of that. But no matter what they were saying, there was always an undercurrent of love. They felt it for each other endlessly and relentlessly. I thought it was really beautiful.”

He nodded softly, happy that he could at least be open and honest with this, could let his emotions run wild with what he’d grown up around.

“It is. They’ve known each other since they were twenty. My dad went on a trip to London because he was twenty and dumb and thought that a werewolf in london was too good an irony to pass up. He met her the first day,and they spent his whole trip there together. When it was time for him to leave, he begged her to come to Pickering with him. She told him was crazy. He told her he’d convinced her. Again, she told him he was crazy. I was born a year later.” He smirked.

It has the intended effect that that story always gave. She cooes and aww’s and smiles, and he just wants to kiss her already.

“Well that’s sweet as shit. You’ve got some big shoes to fill, Mendes.”

He scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Haha. Funny. Why do you ask anyway?”

This time it’s her turn to give the deer caught in the headlights look. Her habits are a bit different than his, but he’s been spending so much time with her lately that they all sort of click for him. Her knee bounces at an abnormal rate. She hides her hands away, this time in the sleeves of her sweatshirt. She peers down at the ground and then back up at him from beneath these eyelashes that cause him nothing but trouble.

“No reason. I was just curious.”

“Okay. Have you ever been in love before?” He asked.

She shook her head softly. “I thought I was before. I’ve loved a lot people who didn’t really love me back. But, that soft shit your parents have? I don’t think that’s in the cards for me.”

“Well, why not?” He pushed, almost stubbornly. “Everyone’s worthy of love, Athena.”

“I know. I know that, but that stuff you only read about, that’s a one in a million chance type stuff, Shawn. I’m not losing sleep over it. I don’t need some earth defying romance. I’ll be okay.” She snorted.

“Yea, alright. Sure. I’m gonna...go get more firewood.”

He hopped up from his seat moving to put distance between the two of them. She gave him a strange look but he didn’t stay long enough for her to ask questions.

*No one’s point of view*

Shawn flicks off to the forest to pull at branches and thinking stubbornly about his emotions. Meanwhile Athena sets up their sleeping bags in the tent and struggles to get comfortable. She spends a long while thinking about the look on Shawn’s face. He had felt frustrated, fed up. Hurt even. And she didn’t know why. She never knew why, and it was driving her slowly insane. She liked him. Why the hell did she like him so much? And why wasn’t he like everyone else, why couldn’t she read whether he liked her back?

She kept catching glimpses of things that made her think it might be possible. A rush of warmth in his belly. Utter elation and happiness when they were together. But it always felt circumstantial. They’d be doing something he loved, or just having fun in general. And to be honest Shawn was such a happy go lucky guy in general, he seemed to be the type to say I love you to a really good burger. It never felt like enough. And it wasn’t like she ever caught him feeling love. He was so stupid. This is so stupid.

God she was so stupid, Shawn thought. Women. Oh how he missed the days where girls had cooties and he could just play on the monkey bars. Back when things made sense! Here he was, heart on his sleeve, pining after this woman and she didn’t even want him. And how fucking dumb was he to think that they could possibly, in some universe, actually be mates? Of course they weren’t. Just because she didn’t hate his guts all of a sudden didn’t mean she was gonna fall in love with him.

The wind starts to pick up and he feels the hair on the back of his neck stand up like a storm might be on the horizon. So, he heads back to the campsite in case Athena gets cold as the temperature begins to drop. He’s still a wounded.

Neither of them speak as Shawn crawls into the tent. He tugs off his shirt and tosses it besides his sleeping back as he crawls inside. Athena rolls her eyes at the ceiling. What reason was there possibly to take off one’s shirt in this cold ass weather. It was like he was teasing her at this point. Shawn laid on his back, arm tucked behind his head as he peered over at the girl who hadn’t left his heart alone since he’d met her.

“Are you okay? It gets cold up here at night.” He whispered.

She bit awkwardly at the inside of her cheek. “No. I’m freezing.”

He sighed. “That’s my bad. I should’ve warned you about that. Here, come here.”

She peered over at the boy who hadn’t left her heart alone since she’d met him.

“Excuse me?”

I’m like a hundred and two degrees on a slow day. I’ll keep you warm. You won’t even need the sleeping bag.”

It was a total recipe for disaster. Snuggle up with the guy she most definitely had feelings for? But it was cold. And Athena didn’t do cold. She thrived in straight tropical temperatures, and had somehow ended up in canada. It was a travesty really.

“Are you sure?” She mumbled, fingers peeking out hesitantly from her blanket.

“Of course, I am. I wouldn’t leave you to freeze. C’mere.”

It’s the closest they’ve been since he found her unconscious in the woods. She settles herself on top of him, or at least she tries. There’s an awkwardness as neither of them quite know how to move their bodies with each other. She doesn’t want to smother him, and he can’t quite tell her that he’d happily die that way if given the option, so all he can do is tug at her hips until she falls gracelessly against him.

She groans softly. “Christ, you’re warm.”

“Told you.” He mumbled tucking one of her curls out of her face.

She peered up at him from his chest and they’d never had their faces that close together before. She smelled like campfire and sandalwood and something sweet. He smelled like campfire and musk and something warm.

“You are so odd, Shawn Mendes.”

He chuckled fingers diving in to play with another curl.

“Why is that?”

“You storm off into the woods like some moody teeanger because I don’t see any showstopping romance coming my way? And then you just crawl in here with your dumb doe eyes and your dumb six pack and start playing with my hair? Why? Why are you this way?” She ranted.

“I’m a moody teenager? You’re absolutely oblivious! Oblivious, do you know that? Your cheek bones are dumb.” He huffed taking her face in his hand and caressing her bottom  lip with his thumb. “And your full lips are dumb. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

It provides a clarity that rocks her to her very toes. It’s like he had been purposely keeping just enough puzzle pieces to himself so that she couldn’t see the picture. Suddenly she could see it with startling clear eyes. The warmth in his stomach. The adoration and all of the nerves. They were all for her. All of it.

She feels his determination before she feels his kiss. But oh does she love his kiss. His lips are warm against her cold ones, soft but firm. She can feel her jaw tense against the palm of his hand as he curves it against her cheek. His other hand smoothed down to her back and beneath her sweatshirt, tangling in the fabric until she felt his touch on the small of her back searing and hot. Suddenly it feels like she’s breathing for the first time. Like simultaneously he’s breathing life right into her lungs while it also feels like he’s taking it all away. She’d happily give it all away.

Kissing her feels like sunshine. It feels like warmth and softness and cocoa butter. It feels like something to get lost in, something that has no use in fighting because it could so easily overpower him. Her lips completely capture his own, and he doesn’t feel like he’s in charge even though he’s the one who kissed her. He feels like his heart is exploding and beating a new all at once. He knows it then. Without the need for any pain, or folklore, or history book. She’s completely and utterly his everything right there. It’s instantaneous. It’s immediate. It’s all consuming. And he’s not fighting it once so ever.

“Why the hell did you make me wait that long?” He growled nipping his way down to her throat.

She moaned and it made his hips buck beneath her.

“I--I couldn’t read how you felt. And it scared me. F--Fuck your teeth are sharp.”

He immediately retracts his mouth peering down at her with nervous eyes, all of his confidence vanishing. It reminded her of the story her mama had told her of not wanting to scare people with his fangs as a child.

“No, good sharp Shawn. Very good sharp.” She assured him and tugged him in again.

“Are you sure? Are you sure you want this?” He mumbled rubbing his nose against hers.

“I’m sure. Come here. Please.”

She doesn’t go to bed cold that night.

***

*Athena’s point of view*

The next morning is full of loaded glances and awkward smiles. He turns his back respectively as she pulls on a new shirt for the hike back down. He catches her staring when he goes to do the same. She pretends that her cheeks don’t warm when he catches her, and thanks god for the melanin. They pack up their camp and prepare to leave. The first time, for what are sure to be many, she trips over a rock he finds the guts to hold her hand. His fingers are warm intertwined with hers, and it feels so fucking high school and so overhwelming and perfect all at once.

“Why don’t you just...let me lead you down this time, aye? Don’t want you getting hurt.”

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, big guy. I’ll let you protect me, if it makes you feel better.”

“The sooner you recognize that all those powers of yours will do you know good the second you hit yourself in the head with a rock and bludgeon yourself, the better. There are somethings I can do better than you ya know?” He taunted.

“I’m a little clumsy, so what? I’m supposed to have you carry me down the mountain in your big strong arms?”

He grinned. “If you want, honey. Just say the word.”

Dumb. So dumb.

They scale down the rest of the path together in search of her car with their fingers intertwined. Her mind is still a little blown. She ran her fingers over neck where his five o’clock shadow had rubbed her. She could still feel where his teeth had nipped at her jaw, and the way her thighs tightened. More than anything she could feel the way her stomach had felt like it was floating. How he had made her feel light and open and happy. God.

At the car, they stuff her trunk full, and when he closes it he wastes zero time pressing her gently into the side. She didn’t know she could miss the feel of his hips against hers until she had it again.

“Could I uh drive home with you? I’ll shift and run home from there.” He whispered.

She smiled softly. “How come you wanna come home with me?”

He rolled his eyes and rolled his neck playfully before hiding a chuckle into her neck. It feels so good to be with him in this way.

“I don’t wanna say goodbye yet, okay? I’m just not ready.” He admitted. “Is that okay?”

“Me neither.” She tells him quietly. “Please come with me.”

“Yea? Can I kiss you again first?”

“I think I’d be insulted if you didn’t.”

God they were so dumb.

The drive home is spent listening to the radio and holding hands on the center console. It’s easy. So incredibly easy after all the time they spent fighting and disliking each other. She doesn’t have to be afraid anymore. It’s like a huge weight off her chest, and all that she’s left with is this thing that is new and exciting and comforting. He sings in her ear and it makes her heart feel warm. He just is there and it’s so intoxicating. She doesn’t know how to contain herself. She doesn’t want to let it go.

“I think you should let me take you out.” He murmured.

She peered over at him from the road with a playful grin on her face.

“Yea? Where are you gonna take me? The diner?”

“Noooo. Girl, I’ve got moves you haven’t even seen yet. Things you can’t even imagine!”

Athena found this to be particularly funny. Shawn did not.

“Moves! You’ve got moves, aye?!”

“Keep on laughing at me and you will get none of this loving, do you hear me? None of it.”

She keeps laughing, peering from the road to the face of this adorable ass idiot. One second it’s just them and the road and everything is fine. The next, she peers back from his face to the road and there’s something there.

“Shit!”

She slammed on the break, jerking the wheel to the left to avoid the blur of brown moving into the road. Shawn’s arm is suddenly there across her stomach like a shield as they spin out against the road. Her heart slams just as aggressively against her sternum, and she gasps as her fingers lock against the steering wheel. The car jerks again until stopping in the middle of the road.

“What the hell was that?!” She screamed, dazed and confused.

“That was a wolf. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He asked reaching across the console to touch her face.

She nodded hesitantly. “I’m okay. I’m alright.”

“Okay. Just wait here. I’ll be right back!”

“Shawn, wait--”

He threw himself for the car peering over at the space where the animal had been. He was only out there for a few moments before he began tugging his shirt off in the middle of the road and running back to your car.

“It’s the scent! It’s the fucking wolf that’s been terrorizing the town. I’m gonna go after it. Drive back to my place. Tell whoever is there. I’m gonna follow it.”

“W--Wait. Shawn, you don’t even know who that is. Maybe we should just drive back together!”

He shook his head. “Sweetheart, we can’t risk it. I’m gonna be fine. Listen to me, okay? I’ll be fine. Just go.”

“But...But Shawn!”

“Go!”

Her nerves are absolutely frazzled the rest of the drive back. She can’t stop thinking about what the hell Shawn could possibly be doing. And sure, he was an alpha; he was the alpha, but that didn’t mean he had any clue what he was up against. Whoever or whatever was out there had been masterly avoiding them for weeks. Now, all of a sudden they just plop straight in the middle of the road in front of them? What the hell were the chances of that?

She gets back to his house somehow without crashing and is barely out of the car before people are greeting her outside. It’s Brian, Jasmine, Connor, Zeubin, and Lily all having heard her tires screeching on the asphalt.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Shawn?” Brian asks.

She points out into the woods where she’s fucking hoping they can hear them and tries to explains without passing out. But, her heart is hammering in her chest, and something is telling her that this isn’t right. It doesn’t feel right.

“Okay. Jasmine, Zeubin, and Lily with me. Connor you stay here with Athena. We’ll go make sure everything is okay.” Brian ordered.

“Excuse me? Fuck that. I’m going too!” Athena challenged.

Brian’s eyes flashed gold, a sign of his betaness and general assholerly.

“You will stay here. All you’ll do is get in the way.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m more powerful than you. That is a fact. And I’m not sitting here like a fucking limp rag while you go out and defeat the bad guys. It’s my town to protect too. Now stop fucking arguing with me and let’s go!”

Everyone peers between the two of them, no doubt trying to figure out who has the higher rank, Shawn’s right hand man in the pack, or the most powerful witch in the town. She’s not interested in the time it’s going to take them to figure it out though, so she stalks off into the woods until everyone else follows.

“You can’t just go walking there! You’ll slow us down. You can climb on my back when I shift and I’ll take you.” Connor offers.

She smiles at him. And they say maturity comes with age. Not always.

The rest of them must decide for themselves that she’s not taking no for an answer, because they all spring into action. She watches them shift and it’s a little more unsettling than she cared to admit. Suddenly she’s surrounded on all sides by wolves that are taller than her head on all fours. Except for Connor who quickly barks and kneels down in front of her. The kid standing before her just minutes ago could have never taken all of her weight on his back. Now, she feels tiny climbing to nestle herself in his fur. Her fingers dig into his fur for something to grab onto. He barks at her and at first she thinks she hold on too tight, but as soon as he begins to move she realizes he’s asking her to grab tighter.

As a group they all tear into the woods. She keeps her face hidden in Connor’s fur to ignore the blur of trees that was sure to give her whiplash. Athena can only imagine that everyone is running based off of smell, of Shawn’s scent. She on the other hand is going strictly off fee. Something had changed the moment he kissed her. She could send him even now, even while they were apart. At her prime that wasn’t something that she could do with other people. Maybe a few feet away, but nothing this great of a distance. She could feel every emotion going on inside of him and they were miles apart. It didn’t make any sense.

Just fucking wait for me, she thought to herself. She can feel his confidence, tilting a little over the edge of cockiness. There’s this straight edge focus that comes with being the alpha, along with this crippling need to protect. The wildest thing about it all is that underneath all of those emotions, she can feel love. She knows that it’s love because it’s almost like a color in her mind. A brightness that shines through all of the other emotions running through him like a current. Only now, his emotions are no longer hidden from her. She can see what’s behind them. And it’s her. He’s thinking of her even now, even in the middle of a fight. And he’s thinking of her with love.

And that’s when it happens. One second she feels elated, overcome with emotion. And the next she’s in pain. Like heart stopping, blood curdling pain. Hers fingers lock down on Connor’s fur and she lets loose a scream that rips through her chest and out into the world. It’s the most painful thing she’s ever felt in her life. It feels like a hole is being punched through her chest, like someone is trying to rip her heart out. Tears pour hot and fresh from her eyes and she nearly loses herself on Connor’s back. She only knows that it’s not her because she feels that she’s linked to him, tethered so tightly that the bond between them feels taunt enough to snap. It’s him. He’s in pain.

“SHAWN! SHAWN IS IN TROUBLE!” You sobbed.

There’s a chorus of whimpers amidst the whooshing of the air against the trees. And then suddenly they’re all moving faster. The closer she gets to him the more his pain resonates within her And the more it does the more she begins to feel hot. The pain is searing and it’s bone deep, with a heat that begins to boil in her gut alongside it.

They make it through the woods and into the clearing and she practically tumbles off of Connor and onto the grass.

He’s there. She can tell it’s Shawn because of the shade of his fur, a chestnut brown close to his own hair color. The pain now is rippling hot in her. There’s another wolf on top of him that seems to take a bite out of his shoulder. Shawn lets out a wild bark that leaves her crying into the dirt. The other wolves run to intervene, but the wolf on top of Shawn is massive. And it looks nothing like everyone else. It’s hair is dark and matted. And its eyes are a sickly yellow color. When it bares its fangs, its teeth are sharp and yellow and huge, and Athena realizes where she had seen an image like it before. In one of the books her grandmother had shared with her for her training. That wolf was feral.

The wolf sinks its teeth into Shawn again before, Brian and Lily run head first to pull him off. As the others engage in battle, Shawn is left whimpering with these sad little mewels. It’s bad, she knows enough to know that it’s bad, can feel enough to know it’s bad. Her fingers dig into the dirt as she pressed her forehead into the earth and took a deep breath. There was a need for her to make it all better somehow. She felt a raw energy that was trying to climb it’s way out of her. One second she was just feeling all of Shawn’s pain and the next she just made a decision to end it.She works to visualize it in her mind, an outline that surrounds him on all sides in bright red. It’s just as unwavering as she could imagine, and it took so much out of her to even reach out and took it. She gritted her teeth and tug deep into the ground as she flexed a power that she’d never used before. Shawn’s whimpers died down almost immediately, and instead it was her who was left panting on the ground from the exertion.

When she came to, Connor was kneeled before Shawn nuzzling his head against the much larger wolf in an attempt to keep him company. But the other wolves were in the thick of a fight and it didn’t look like it was going well. The feral wolf was bigger than all of them, just smaller than Shawn, but more aggressive and less calculated. It was all brute force. Everytime one would launch themselves at it, the wolf would just slam them back. It didn’t look like it was three on one at all. Her connection to Shawn is now two fold. She can feel the anxiety and the fear for his pack, which translate into her own fierce need to protect. When the feral wolf throws Brian so hard into a tree that it snaps and falls over, Shawn howls and struggles to his feet. He can’t put any weight on his legs though and quickly falls over. All that he can do is bark and howl, and the frustration of this is enough to leave her feeling like she must do something.

She loses herself in it so quickly. Consciousness slips and all that she can feel is the power radiating from her fingertips. The air around them stills. The trees go silent. Her body ascends from the ground as the earth begins to shake from beneath her wrath. The wind that was nonexistent before comes roaring back, and her chest gets this odd sense of calmness before she lets lose another shocking scream as she directs all of her energy, all of her magic, all of everything that she is directly at the wolf. And then it all goes black.

***

Her head hurt like a bitch. That was the first thing she remembered. Her eyes fluttered open and the light in the room was so bright that she decided to just close them again. It felt like a long time before she opened her eyes again. This time when she did it was her mama standing over her with a washcloth pressed to her head. It was the washcloth that made her think of Shawn, and she immediately went to sit up only to get a whoosh of vertigo that sent her right back down to the bed.

“Lay back, girl. You’re exhausted.” She murmured pressing the cloth to her forehead again.

“Shawn, mama. W--Where is he?” Athena whimpered.

Edna rolled her eyes. “He is taking up all the space on my perfectly good couch. Something about not being able to be away from you. I take it you two finally figured out your mates then?”

“Mates?!”

“Woops.” She chuckled. “You’re mates, alright? All that frustration you were feeling, all that anger? Probably had more to do with the fact that you were fighting some very inevitable feelings than anything else. I meant it when I said it was your destiny.”

“But...But, if you knew we were mates why didn’t you just say something?”

“Because where’s the fun in that?” She snorted. “I can’t tell you nothing Athena. You have to learn your own way, and from what I hear about your little stunt in the woods, it worked.”

“What happened? I can’t remember any of it.”

“You got your active powers that’s what happened. You were able to manipulate the elements to basically create a giant tornado that knocked enough space between all of them. You saved their lives, child.”

“Me? I did?”

“Mhm. My baby.” She grinned playing with the blankets that were tucked around her. “There’s something I need to tell you though.”

“Okay, what is it?”

Edna sighed. “That wolf that attacked you all, the wolf that was responsible for the killings? That wolf was your daddy.”

“W--What? But you said...you said he ran away after my mom left town.”

“And he did. But remember when I taught you about feral wolves? The consequences for leaving one’s pack, for going without one’s mate, can lead to it. H--He wasn’t even himself anymore, baby. He hadn’t been in his human form for years and years. He probably didn’t even know what he was doing; he just felt pulled to this place because of everything that happened here.” She explained.

Athena picked anxiously at her blanket, eyes welling up against her will.

“Did I . . . Was it me?” She whispered.

Edna quickly leaned over and gathered her granddaughter up in her arms as the sobs began to rock her body jerkily.

“Shhhh. It wasn’t you, sweetheart. I swear.”

It felt weird to get emotional over a man she had never met. Her mother had only spoken good things about him when she was growing up, even though he hadn’t been able to come with her. She had only even seen him in pictures. Even as a child she’d been able to feel the love her mother had for him. As an empath it was her first glimpse at what that kind of love could feel like. And somehow she couldn’t help but feel like she’d played some sort of hand in taking it away.

There’s a knock on the door a few minutes into her crying spell. And it is amazing how instantly she can feel him there, on the other side of the door. In her heart she knows he’s there for her, just as the need back in the woods had consumed her to be there for him.

“You want me to let him in?”

She sniffled and nodded allowing her grandmother to kiss her forehead before she got out of the bed.

The door opens and the second she hears his voice, her heart calms.

“H--hey I’m sorry, I just couldn’t--”

He peers over Edna’s head and makes eye contact with Athena. He sees her tears and has to stop himself from moving around Edna. She can feel that

“Hi. Can I please come in?”

It’s a request for him just as much as it is for her. He needs her to feel better, because it’s the only way either of them are gonna feel better.

Edna left the two of them alone and he immediately crawled into bed beside her. When he took her into his arms it was immediate relief. Her face took refuge in his neck as the tears burned her eyes but he was there. There was so much to talk about, so much to learn. But, for now, this is all that they have and it’s all that they need. Just the comfort of each other. Nothing else.

***

Six months later

*Shawn’s point of view*

“We are going to be late.” She giggled.

“Mmm...just a few more minutes, baby please?”

His lips traced lines along her neck and trailed up and down her cleavage. This was his happy place. His oasis. His heaven even. Why on earth would he ever leave?

“You know I hate making your mother wait.” Athena whined while still arching her back to push her chest closer to his mouth.

“Mhm. Of course.”

“You know I can feel when you’re lying right?”

“Stop using my emotions against me! It’s not fair.” He grunted teeth finding a new patch of skin to latch onto.

They were thirty minutes late to Sunday dinner. It wouldn’t have been a problem if his shirt hadn’t been buttoned wrong, and his dad hadn’t caught them on the porch not wanting to go in if they could kiss some more instead. You win some, you lose some.

Sunday dinners had become much more enjoyable with her in attendance, and not just because she let him kiss her in his childhood bedroom while his parent’s cleaned the dishes. In the time that it had taken them to come to terms with being mates they had adjusted with incredible ease. The strongest witch in town and the alpha. It was kind of a duo. An incredible duo at that. And it certainly helped that they loved each other more than anything in the world, in a way that was so vast and consuming that it could sometimes feel overwhelming. The good news was he had this amazing person to lean on, and who actually understood him better than anyone ever could. She made his heart soar.

He cornered her in the kitchen after dinner, arms wrapped tightly around her waist so he could hide his face in her braids. He was just as obsessed with her now as he’d been the second he figured out they were mates. Perhaps even before. Definitely before.

“You have no idea how happy it makes me when you come to dinner with me.” He breathed.

She hummed softly. “I think I do actually. Just a little bit.”

“Funny. You know...it might be a lot easier to get us to these dinners if I didn’t have to go to Edna’s to pick you up every time.”

Her fingers inched underneath his shirt to draw shapes that made his knees weak somehow.

“Just what do you suppose I do? We’d get here a lot quicker if you weren’t so handsy.”

He peered down at her and rested his forehead against hers.

“Maybe if you moved in with me, I could learn a little time management.” He grinned. “What didn’t feel that one coming did you?”

She head buts him playfully, her full lips forming quite the gasp. The things that she did to him. He was so gone.

“You want me to move in with you and a bunch of messy wolves, aye?” She smiled.

He shook his head. “Want you to move in with just one messy wolf. There’s a guest house on the property. It’d be just you and me.”

Her eyes got all wide and her lips made this small little “o” that honest to god was the cutest shit he’d ever seen. Surprising her was his greatest accomplishment.

She bit her lip. “Just us?”

“Just us. What do you say?”

“Yes! Of course, yes! Are you kidding me? Yes.”

She hops up into his arms crashing their lips together passionately. It felt like a really important step to building their life together, to creating something sustainable for the two of them. She had caused all of his goals and his needs to change so drastically in such a small amount of time. He only wanted her happiness, her safety, her pleasure. It was all that mattered to him. And he could always rest easy knowing that she would feel the exact same way about him. They were all that mattered now.

The End.

A ko-fi would really be lovely as I’m poor tbh lol. 

taglist: @simpledomain @liliane106 

[sparda3g]

Kimetsu no Yaiba Chapter 166 Review

Kokushibou is no joke whatsoever. If his calmness and lack of any expression other than curiosity didn’t tell you that, I don’t know what does. Actually, this latest chapter will certify that claim. It was horrifying enough with Tokito easily overwhelmed; it only gets worse from here, unless that man pulls a miracle. This chapter was damn riveting with yet another horrifying display and surprisingly, a heartwarming scene that instantly changed my mind.

I like that Gotouge sometimes uses the chapter’s cover to illustrate a moment from elsewhere, instead of using multiple pages. It’s not necessary to exploit it with exposition; it can be shown in one image. In this case, we now know Tanjiro is reading the letter about a huge possibility to defeat Muzan. It could be the deal breaker, though we won’t know until he goes for it, let alone learn it. With that out of the way, it’s back to the horror story.

Kokushibou easily impressed me the last time. We’ve never seen his sword yet, so more shock value is on hold. It only makes me even more worried. It’s good for interest level, but bad for me that truly cares about these characters. Even if Tokito doesn’t die, him becoming a demon is bad enough; fate worse than death. The first page was sort of convincing that it was going to happen. The second page helps the nerve, but the tension remains high.

I’m mixed about Genya appearing. I’m happy for he will have a moment to shine and save Tokito, somehow, someway. I’m upset because he’s about to go up against Upper Moon 1 who singlehanded defeat a Pillar. It’s telling when Genya is scared to pull the trigger. One move, one fail, God help them all. That alone got me nervous. But that feeling is nothing compared to the follow-up.

Kokushibou is scary as hell, all thanks to well thought-out sequence. Your nerves were running wild with Tokito about to convert to a demon. Kokushibou explains in an eerie fashion, as Genya takes aim from behind. Then the very next page, Kokushibou appears instantly behind him, asking if he agrees. That’s so unnerving. His dialogue flow perfectly, as if all three were always in the conversation. That’s how you display a serious threat. I haven’t felt this frightened since Arima from Tokyo Ghoul. The hype, the atmosphere, and overall presentation had me convinced.

The last chapter was tough to watch Tokito losing badly. This one however is even worse. I gasped hard when I saw Genya’s arm sliced off, and you can’t even see it happen in motion. He’s a demon, so he should be fine. Still, the way how the scene plays out gives you damn chills. Genya goes for a swing and that arm gets sliced off as well. Again, you can’t see the motion. It’s so instantaneous, his Demon Art might as well be Time-Travel.

Genya should be fine, but good God almighty, Kokushibou wasn’t done. Cutting his arms weren’t enough, so he just cuts him in half. I’m all out of gasp. This is brutal; no, it’s insanity. I don’t know what to believe anymore. You have Genya trying to reach for his arm, which by the way, a nice subtle development compare to the last arc. He is more of a real fighter now, and I respect that. You have Tokito trying to remove the sword, and he’s the only hope to save Genya. “Live or die” is the name of a game. It’s hell of an intensity that leads to a hell of a surprise.

Sanemi comes to save his little demon brother. Now, this is surprising to me because of couple of reasons. One is that Sanemi appears out of nowhere with a badass attack, Rising Dust Storm. Hell, he even has a one-liner moment. Second is how happy I was to see him, and yet, this is the same guy that I detested a lot in the past, especially the time when he was harming Nezuko. Lastly, he never comes to my mind because his impression has been rough, and for writing perspective, that’s a good thing.

I was under impression that Sanemi was a total prick. Even Tanjiro don’t like him. I didn’t think of him as a possible savior, because he looks like a guy who wouldn’t mind his brother getting killed. Fans would be deceived to think him as a cold brother who wants to kill all demons; nothing more, nothing less. It is now that we get to see him in a more shockingly sentimental side, and honestly, I am so shocked that I feel stupid for my dislike for him.

I’m not saying everyone should feel the same, but you should reconsider his character as a whole after he expresses his genuine feelings. It’s worth mentioning that he has been stroke hard with sad and dark reality as of late, which is probably why he’s more collective. When Ubuyashiki died, he was legitimately broken up. It’s like his insane persona is what keeps him alive and motivated, and judging by his words here, it really sounds like it.

The flashback with Tanjiro’s words of wisdom is touching; adds more to the drama that needs to bring them close once again. By the way, Tanjiro sitting on Inosuke’s back is so funny to look at. The point is, despite Sanemi being rowdy and bashful at Genya’s action, nothing has changed. He’ll always love him. Take it from Tanjiro; he knows sibling love all too well. Amazing how these characters can benefit from each other. If his words weren’t convincing enough, Sanemi will settle it.

I was surprised about him caring about Genya, but I’m even more surprised when he speaks in sincere tone. His words are strikingly heartfelt. It’s his deepest regret that his little brother has become a demon. He couldn’t save his family. He couldn’t save their future. That hits me hard. Genya makes the scene warmer with his only reply, “I’m sorry.” I mentioned this in another series that I reviewed, but brotherly love always gets to me, and this is no exception. To sum it up, Sanemi is more or less a tsundere, and that’s fine. I really like the fact you don’t see his face during the tender moment. You don’t know if he’s sad, smiling, or anything. You can only judge by his words and its tone, and that enough makes this scene so heartwarming.

You can damn well tell he’s pissed when you do see his face however. The action has just started and already, it’s promising as hell. The glimpse of the main course is stellar with its solid sequence. The baseball slide from Sanemi is slick, but couldn’t get Kokushibou, even with Dust Whirlwind Cutter. At least it looks awesome. It’s a relief that finally someone is able to force Kokushibou to draw his sword. I thought his design is great, but now I can say the same for his sword. Nasty, but a great complementary to the overall.

This was a great chapter. The tension remains strong and believable. I was cringing badly during Genya’s downfall. Sanemi was a character that I really didn’t like because of his attitude. Now that we got a clearer image, it’s a lot more understandable. You don’t have to forgive him, but I am willing to give him a chance. Plus his brotherly love was heartfelt and sincere. I believe his sorrow, even without seeing his expression. The artwork is solid and the action looks very promising with a slight of hope showing. I should note Kokushibou mentioned about brothers; I wonder if he had one. Three slayers should be fine to take on him; or is it? We could only wait and see.

[jvsiie]

﹤𝙻𝙴𝙴 𝙼𝙸𝙹𝙾𝙾, 𝚂𝙷𝙴/𝙷𝙴𝚁, 𝙲𝙸𝚂 𝙵𝙴𝙼𝙰𝙻𝙴﹥; * - hello JOSIE LEE. long time no see. i know a lot about you. like how you're TWENTY-TWO, how you're a ARCHITECTURE major,  and in fact.. how you PAY YOUR WAY THROUGH SCHOOL BY BEING A CALL GIRL ON THE WEEKENDS. would be a shame if it got out, wouldn't it ? so let's play a game. 𝚃𝚁𝚄𝚃𝙷 𝙾𝚁 𝙳𝙰𝚁𝙴 ?

BACKGROUND:

josie comes from a family of a long line of doctors and naturally, her parents have expected her to follow the path herself, as both her brothers did

when she said no and proceeded to send in her university applications for literally everything but medicine, her dad said he’s not paying for it. she said fine because she didn’t think he  would really do this to her. so when all her accounts were frozen and she’s received the 3rd notice for unpaid tuition fee, she was pissed. 

see its not that she is overly spoiled, but at the same time... she is and she felt betrayed and scandalised and very petty, swearing she would finish school with flying colors without help from anyone just to show her parents she cannot be controlled through money

the thing is, josie is not naturally talented in anything, especially not when it comes to basic skills like serving coffee or dusting books at the library and she’s especially not willing to put effort in once she gets yelled at. so when she got fired from the 3rd part time job she had,  she decided enough is enough and signed up to one of those weird sites where you get matched with old dudes / ladies who want some company

naturally, she gagged at the idea at first, especially when she thought it would most definitely involve all kinds of sexual favours from her part. it does too, from time to time but its been three years now and she’s learned to push through it with the imagine of shoving her perfect grades in her parent’s face at christmas floating before her eyes

she’s stubborn to a fault and takes offense very easily when someone tries to insert themselves in her decisions

used to being the pretty girl, genuinely thinks people will just do things for her just bats her eyelashes

doesnt care if people think her shallow, on the contrary, she plays on it, likes being the mean girl so people keep out of her business

started out with no interest in her major, until the start of her second year when one of her teachers had the biggest influence on her

i AM braindead and cannot think of anything else atm but 😔✊

CONNECTION IDEAS:

platonic and negative.

— childhood friends — unlikely friends — classmates — sibling like — good influence on her  — her as a bad influence — friendzoned — budding friendship — frenemies — confidant — opposites attract — friends who drifted apart — your muse just can’t stand her  — family friends — rivals — enemies — ex friends

romantic & co.

— fwbs  — someone who hired her as a call girl — recent exes — first loves — on again , off again   — unrequited crush — childhood crush — opposites attract — feelings that never went anywhere — love / hate relationship — friends teetering on the line of something more — ended on bad terms

[chanxoo]

Marked Territory

→ Pairing: Yunhyeong x Reader

→ Genre: smut

→ Word Count: 3.050

→ Warnings: car sex, spanking, marking, oral, overstimulation, facial, aftercare

→ Summary: All you want to do is finally decorate the house but Yunhyeong clearly has something else in mind.

Carefully placing the last small box in the trunk, you slam the door shut, dusting off your hands as if it were the most difficult task in the world. Albeit being your own suggestion, you can’t deny that furniture shopping had been far from easy. In fact, it had been a straight eight hours of absolute hell. In the end, the only things you managed to pick up were a few pieces to hang on the walls and a small chest for the main room. Other than that, everything else had been postponed.

 “Tomorrow we’re picking up the dining table I showed you. I told them to hold it for us.” He states, shifting the car into drive.

“I don’t know… It doesn’t match anything we have.” Pulling your hair into a sloppy bun, you try to suppress the headache beginning to form at your temples. The last thing you want is to start another argument, but there are only so many times he can get his way before you’ve had enough.

“I think it’s nice. Plus it has enough seats to host both of our families if we wanted to. I don’t see the problem with it.” Rolling your eyes, you return your gaze to the road ahead. Something so insignificant always seems to be the most difficult for you to get through.

“Is that a no?” He challenges, knowing that by the end of this, that exact table will be sitting idly in the dining room, exactly how he imagines it to be.

“I’m just saying… that it’s a nice table. But… I don’t know if it’s the best one for the house.” Despite the decision having already been made, you continue to pursue the conversation. See how long it takes before one of you finally snaps.

“The table you chose wasn’t the best either. I don’t understand why you would pick laminate when we could very easily get the real thing.” Hidden beneath his words, you can sense the annoyance. Both of you are exhausted and the last thing either of you need is to bicker over a piece of furniture.

Deciding to say nothing more, you simply stare out the window at the passing street lights. You are approximately a twenty-five minute drive from home, and if you are going to survive the rest of the ride, then you need to drop it and accept the outcome. Even if you know you’re right.

The moment you feel his palm on your bare leg, all of your muscles tighten underneath you. There hasn’t been a moment in time in which that gesture meant anything innocent. Really, you’re surprised he’s managed this long without bothering to make a move. At least until now.

The way he subtly squeezes your thigh draws your attention, and despite maintaining your nonchalant demeanor, he knows exactly how he’s affecting you. Even with just a small touch, he can feel your skin burning underneath his fingertips. It’s always quite the game. As he moves his fingers closer in between your legs, pulling at the flesh as he reaches the center, you swear in that moment that you stopped breathing entirely. The air that’s caught in your chest pains you, the way your heart beats rapidly without oxygen. It’s addicting to have him touch you like this.

 Without forewarning, his fingers make contact with your clothed heat, your dress adding to the layers that you wish didn’t exist. He doesn’t bother to fix it but instead continues to rub against you, alternating between pressure and none at all. You don’t dare rip your eyes from outside the car window, knowing the chase is what gets him the most. He will get your attention. Even if it means punishing you.

“Look at me.” Feigning deafness, you barely manage to retain your composure. In the reflection, you notice the way he shifts his eyes, torn between the road and his hand between your legs.

“Now.” Removing his hand, he waits for you to comply, but when he notices the stillness of your figure, he realizes just how difficult you are going to be. Honestly, he should expect it by now. You’ve never been easy. When he returns his hand, he holds nothing back, rubbing your clit frantically to elicit some type of response. The more pressure he puts, the more you can feel yourself falling apart. He just feels too damn good. When the moan slips from your lips, you can already know a smirk has begun to spread across his face. He actually thinks he won.

Deciding to play along, you glance in his direction, just long enough for him to notice. He doesn’t dare stop his ministrations though, too engrossed in the sound of your whimpers. Neither of you can break eye contact, despite his desperate need to drive in a straight line. Just the adrenaline of it all is enough to get you off. But you suppose you’ll have to hold out just a little longer.

Looking down, you watch as his fingers play against your dress, molded between your folds as he spreads your essence across your skin. At this point you’re nothing more than a mewling mess, seconds away from coming undone. If only he didn’t know. When he removes his fingers, you swear you see nothing but white, the jolting of your muscles in his absence becoming extremely uncomfortable. Having been on the verge, you’re even more inclined to make his life miserable. It’s the least you could do.

Returning his gaze to the road, he tries to ignore your blatant glare, pretending not to hear as you curse underneath your breath. You call him all the names in the book, like the piece of shit that he is, but when you land on one particular trigger, you realize you should have just kept your mouth shut.

“What did you call me?” Slamming on the breaks, you fly forward in your seat, catching yourself right before you hit the dashboard.

 “What the hell! Are you trying to get us killed?!”

“What. Did you. Call me.” The horrified expression on your face does nothing to deter him, completely ignoring your question in light of one small word he hates more than anything else.

“I called you a pussy. Because that’s exactly what you are.” At this point you aren’t sure if you’re genuinely pissed or simply doing this to push at his ego, but either way, the blood is coursing through your veins all the same.

Pulling the car aside and parking it, he sits in the seat a moment with his eyes closed. It’s as if you can see the smoke billowing from his ears.

“Get out.” He commands, hands gripping the wheel.

Not wanting to anger him more than he already is, you silently step out of the car, closing the door behind you. You already know exactly how this night is going to end.

It will end with your face deep in the leather of his backseats, screaming his name while he pounds into you from behind.

God how you’ve missed this. Satiating the desires that neither of you can keep in check whenever you are near each other.

Never once have you complained, perfectly complying whenever he feels the need to dominate you and watch you squirm as he works every inch of your body to both his and your own satisfaction. He knows you like he knows himself – intimately.

Waiting patiently, you hear the driver’s side door slam shut, the footsteps across the wet asphalt until he is finally by your side. Neither of you say a word. Opening the door to the back, he nudges for you to get inside. You don’t dare hesitate, knowing full well how he gets when you take too long.

Closing the door, he doesn’t waste a moment before ravaging the skin on your neck, sucking aggressively as he grips the flesh of your thighs. To him, your thighs are everything, the place that he can touch to make you moan the loudest and squirm the most. Any reason he has to punish you, he will use it. Especially if he gets to hear the sweet whimpers that are nothing but music to his ears.

“Lay back.” Following instructions, you lie down until you are flesh against the seats, dress riding up higher along your thighs. Taking a moment to take it all in, he massages your muscles, thumbs inching in between your legs as he returns closer to your heat. With hooded eyes, you can’t help but admire him from this position, the pure concentration etched on his features enough for your mind to wander into dangerous territory. Inching the dress farther toward your waist, you can only lie patiently, putting all your effort into keeping your mouth shut as he works himself up. You are the artwork that fuels him and he’d be a fool not to appreciate what he has. Not that he is ever one to ignore such opportunities.

With your dress around your hips, lace showing beneath the hem, he feels satisfied. You on display for him is everything he could ever want and need, and for a moment, you watch as he contemplates his next move. He could change the game and be sweet or he could be harsh, your fate typically determined by a flip of a coin in his mind. From the way the smirk grows, you can already tell which side it had fallen on for the night. For now, you only pray that he will let you cum.

Placing his palms on your knees, he slowly spreads open your legs, watching as the soaked fabric against your heat pries itself from your skin. He has yet to do much of anything else yet you are nothing less than putty in his hands. The cold air that hits the sensitive area only causes you to shiver, your breath hitching as his eyes scan the entirety of your body, from your core to the lust-filled expression on your face.

“Do you think you deserve to cum tonight?” He asks, placing small kisses on your knee as he awaits your response. As much as you want to say something, the words won’t come out, only leaving you to nod in hopes that it will be good enough. You are a fool to think it would work.

Lifting up one of your legs, he smacks his hand against your bare ass. The sound that reverberates from inside the car sends shivers down your spine, the thought that this is only the first of many doing nothing to ease your racing mind.

“What was that?”

“Yes.” Without hesitation, he smacks once more.

“Yes what?”

“Yes, sir I deserve to cum.” Satisfied with your answer, he releases your leg and returns his attention to your core. Grabbing the waistband of your panties, he slips them off your legs, tossing them toward the front seat and out of the way. With your legs still propped up, he has full view of everything, and the way he licks his lips at the sight only makes you ache more. Taking two of his fingers, he slips between your folds, filling you up in one swift motion. The sigh that falls from your lips earns a satisfied hum from him, watching the pleasure build in your expression as he pumps his fingers at an agonizingly slow pace. He knows better than to give you what you want so quickly, but from the way his erection is painfully pushing against his pants, he realizes he’ll just have to take extra measures to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Even if it means waiting on his own release.

Picking up pace, he watches as your mouth falls open, hand immediately covering it to prevent any noise from coming out. You need so badly to moan, the respond in kind to the way his fingers curl subtly within you, hitting that spot that he knows so well. It takes every bit of power to control yourself, but you can only hold it in for so long before a string of whines make it through the barrier. Removing his fingers, he immediately lifts your leg once more, smacking once for every noise that managed to slip by. In total, it was four. Four glorious stings of pain that now outline your backside.

“More. Please.” It’s not very often you defy him, but when you do, you try to make it worth his while. This time, he doesn’t even question it. Flipping you over entirely, he pushes your hips up until they are directly in front of him. Taking a moment to appreciate the marks on your skin, he kisses them gently, sucking until purple begins to outline the pink. Satisfied with his work, he slaps not only once, but three times more, watching avidly as your flesh bounces in response. The harder his hits, the more he can feel himself needing to cum, and he knows you’re suffering just as much as he is.

 “Fuck.” Taking a spot on the floor, he maneuvers your ass toward him, licking a long stripe from your clit to your entrance. With your face in the seats, you find it easier to keep yourself quiet, but the only problem is that you can barely breathe. It seems like he doesn’t notice your predicament, too engrossed as he sucks down on your clit. The more rounds he makes, the closer you get to orgasm, instinctively leaning back against his face. Taking it as a hint, he sucks more harshly than before until your muscles shake uncontrollably in front of him. Coming up for air, you moan as you please, no longer able to hold it in as he pleasures you. It seems to egg him on though, the sounds that you make, and before you even realize, the shockwave courses through your entire body. Without mercy, he continues to abuse your hypersensitive bud, stars beginning to outline the periphery of your vision. Your mind goes numb as your body aches in response to his relentlessness, but it all comes to a halt when he can no longer keep himself in check.

“Sorry baby I can’t wait any longer.” Undoing his belt, he pulls out his erection, already leaking with precum. From the way it throbs, you can tell he’s been holding himself together for quite a while, and the thought only turns you on more. Aligning himself, he pushes himself inside, stretching you out as if he was befittingly made just for you. The amount of love you have for him is insurmountable.

Gripping onto your hips, he continues to pound into you, his movement becoming sloppy the more into it he becomes. Neither of you are able to control yourselves, with him being more expressive in his grunts as he inches toward his orgasm.

“Fuck, come here.” With a simple command, he removes himself from your entrance, hand gripped tightly around his erection while he waits for you to turn around. Once in front of him, he hastily strokes himself, no longer able to keep his eyes open. From your spot underneath him, you watch as his face contorts with pleasure, the veins on his arm bulging as he concentrates on the feeling of euphoria. Grabbing onto his thigh, you open your mouth as you wait, the image alone finally bringing him over the edge. The moment his hot seed lands along your lips and your cheeks, you feel a sense of relief. Not that he wouldn’t have cum either way, but because it often results in growing fondness toward your lover who really does nothing more than drive you crazy most of the time. It means that above everything, you still love each other obnoxiously, so much that he’s often willing to jeopardize the nice seats of his car just to make you feel good.

“You okay?” He asks, already pulling out the wipes from underneath the seat. With one eye closed, in protection of your assets of course, you nod slightly, instead choosing to sit as he delicately wipes the mess from your face. With the most important part cleared, he leans in for a kiss, the molding against your lips only pulling a moan from him. All you can do is smile as he pulls away, his overwhelming cuteness just making your heart grow in size. Giving you another wipe, he lets your clean yourself, knowing he’s probably done enough damage to last the next few days.

“My ass hurts.” You state, cleaning in between your legs.

“I’m sorry babe. Want me to kiss it?” Before he can even move, you quickly hop into the front seat away from him. The last thing you need is him going anywhere near your sensitive skin.

Leaning over, he places another kiss on your temple, sliding in the driver’s seat as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Considering how many times you’ve done this, you’re surprised neither of you pull this stunt in your sleep.

“You hungry? I’ll get you whatever you want. Milkshakes? Fries?” Nodding your head frantically, you can’t seem to hide your excitement. You both had been on a budget the past few months in order to save enough money for furniture, but the idea of eating guilty pleasure food is far too enticing for you to pass up.

“You’re perfect, you know that?” Even though he’s said those words a million times before, there is something about this instance that makes it feel special. Maybe it’s the post-sex glow, or maybe it’s the fact that you finally bought your first house together. You aren’t entirely sure what it is, but all you know is you feel it, too.

“I think you’re more perfect. Together we’re super perfect, don’t you think?” Chuckling at your logic, he nods in agreement. With the car finally back on the road, you can relax in your seat, but not before holding his hand tightly, staring out at the moon as you ride to the land of shakes.

“We’re still getting the table tomorrow right?” From the corner of your eye, you watch as he tries to hide his grin.

“Yes Yunhyeong... we’ll get the damn table.”

[themyskira]

Amazons Attack! - part 5

Previously! Circe and Fake Sarge Steel orchestrated an Amazon invasion of DC. Diana, newly escaped from her imprisonment, has just come face-to-face with her resurrected mother for the first time. Except she hasn’t, because continuity means nothing any more.

I dunno, guys. I'm not even at the halfway point and I’m so tired.

Part 4: Wonder Woman vol. 3 #9 — Jodi Picoult (writer) and Terry Dodson (artist)

Two issues ago, we ended on a cliffhanger, with Diana coming face-to-face with Hippolyta in the ruins of the Lincoln Memorial.

Last issue, we rewound a few hours to see the way the invasion of DC unfolded from a range of other perspectives, before arriving back at that same moment in time — Diana, Hippolyta, and the smouldering wreckage of an iconic national monument.

It would stand to reason, then, that this issue would give us some payoff on that cliffhanger. That we’d get to, you know… find out what happens next. How Diana’s first, emotionally-charged encounter with her resurrected-mother-turned-mass-murderer goes.

But ‘Amazons Attack!’ cares nothing for reason.

So instead, we open on this.

Later, at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

The first time I read this page, I genuinely thought I’d opened the wrong issue. I spent a couple of minutes flicking back and forth between comics, trying to find the missing chapter in between Wonder Woman #8/Amazons Attack! #1 (which are concurrent) and Wonder Woman #9. There isn’t one. Not only does Picoult skip right over Wondy and Hippolyta’s reunion on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, as we will see in a few pages, she acts as though it never happened.

I'm starting to suspect that the editors on Wonder Woman were afraid to so much as touch Jodi Picoult’s scripts because they were intimidated by her bestselling author status or something. I’m imagining the behind-the-scenes conversations going something like

‘So... Diana and Hippolyta are meeting for the first time in this issue, right?’

‘Yeah, looks like.’

‘But didn’t they already meet for the first time last issue? In a cliffhanger? Is that not going to be... addressed?’

‘...well, uh. Huh.’

‘You know what, don’t worry about it. She’s a New York Times bestseller, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.’

So, okay. For some inexplicable reason, Hippolyta is now hanging out in the National Air and Space Museum, surrounded by antiquated fighter planes that are still centuries ahead of the Amazon army’s chariots and catapults. She prays to Athena to grant her wisdom for the battle ahead.

Athena tells her that waging war on humanity is a super unwise idea. Cut to Hippolyta striding out to her waiting army, all, ‘OKAY NEW PLAN: WE DON’T NEED THE GODS TO FUCK THIS CITY UP.’

Random Amazon: My queen — will the gods aid us? Hippolyta: We don’t need their help.

Then she commands her army to destroy the Washington Monument, which… hoooooo boy.

This is the Washington Monument at the end at the end of WW #8, when Diana confronts Hippolyta. It’s still intact, as you can see, so no problems there.

Except… this is the Washington Monument at the end of AA #1, when Diana confronts Hippolyta. This panel depicts the same moment in time as the panel from WW #8 — but in this version, the monument is in ruins.

And now, “later”, in WW #9, a conspicuously undamaged Washington Monument gets toppled by Amazon catapults.

Essentially, through some combination of poor coordination and abject incompetence, Jodi Picoult and Will Pfeiffer managed to accidentally have the Amazons destroy the same iconic monument twice.

While Superman prevents buildings from being crushed by the falling obelisk and Tom saves a civilian from  being flattened by rubble, Wonder Woman… saves a cat?

At least the art is cute.

Also take note of Tom’s line: “Great— Hero Tutorial 101 from the face that launched a thousand pissed-off Amazons.”

Tom does not know that the Amazon invasion was prompted by Diana’s incarceration. Nobody knows that the Amazon invasion was prompted by Diana’s incarceration. At this point in the story, the only people who have that information are Circe and the Amazons themselves.

(That said, even if he did know the reason for the Amazon invasion, blaming Diana for it — and citing it as evidence that she’s a shitty hero — would be a dick move. She didn’t ask to be kidnapped and tortured by a villain masquerading as a government agent, for fuck’s sake.)

With Tom in tow, Wondy flies over to a waiting Superman, Batman and Canary for a quick exposition dump. Superman and Batman get Diana up to speed on the Amazon invasion; Diana gets them up to speed on how she was wrongly imprisoned. Somewhere in the intervening issues, she’s forgotten that Fake Steel explicitly told her that she would be imprisoned and tortured until she handed over the Purple Death Ray technology, and she instead frames it to her friends as ‘well, he said he was arresting me for Max Lord, but I dunnooooo, he was asking a looooot of questions about the PDR, guys, I’m starting to think that something might be up.’

Make a note of that PDR reference, by the way. That will become relevant shortly.

Diana is certain that Hippolyta is an impostor or something, mostly because Hippolyta’s being written so wildly out of character.

Black Canary ignores the entire conversation and instead chews out Tom for almost landing on her when he flew over with Diana. This isn’t technically his fault, because he wasn’t the one driving, but it doesn’t matter because the whole argument is just a pretext for Tom to be a sleaze to Dinah.

Dinah: Why don’t you watch where you land? Tom: Well, you’re probably softer than Superman, sweetheart. Dinah: Call me sweetheart again and I’ll kick your butt so hard you’ll be gagging on my boot until Christmas. Tom: Will you quit focussing on my butt? I know it’s sexy, but we’ve only just met.

At least somebody in this comic recognises Tom Tresser for the gross, sexist creep that he is.

Noticing what Tom is up to, Diana hastily drags him away while announcing that that she’s going to confront her “so-called mother”.

Diana: “Sweetheart”? We’re at war, and you’re flirting with Black Canary… Tom: Sometimes it’s easy to believe you were raised on a remote island populated only by women.

Ho ho! It’s funny because men are slaves to their sexual urges who literally cannot stop themselves from making unwelcome advances towards women! 

They arrive at the Air and Space Museum and are met by a pair of Amazon guards.

Amazon: [Hippolyta] has been expecting you. The man must be left behind. Tom: I’ll wait right here… sweetheart.

Fifty bucks he says something to get himself stabbed in the face before Diana has even made it through the door.

Picoult continues to completely ignore last issue’s cliffhanger confrontation, treating this scene as Diana and her mother’s first face-to-face meeting since Hippolyta’s resurrection.

So, blah blah embrace. Blah blah conflicted internal monologue. Blah blah ‘join me and help kill all the men’.

Hippolyta: Those “innocent people” want our weapons technology! All they crave is power! Diana: Who told you that? Diana [narration]: Sarge Steel was alone when he questioned me about the Purple Death Ray…

‘HUMANS WANT TO STEAL OUR ADVANCED WEAPONRY’, Hippolyta shrieks, while swinging around a sword.

And a second mention of the PDR. Followed immediately by…

Hippolyta: Circe did not just rescue me from Hades. She brought us a secret weapon, with which we will win this war. […] A poison, which affects those of human blood, but not those who are Amazon. With it, we will be safe.

There is. just. so much stupid in this page, I don’t even know where to begin.

‘Humans want to steal our advanced weapons technology, including a LITERAL DEATH RAY, so we have come to fight them with spears and catapults! That’ll sure show ‘em!’

‘The surest way to protect ourselves from the humans who want to steal our LITERAL DEATH RAY is to poison… anybody who happens to be out of doors within a ten-block radius… using these killer bees that our enemy gave us.’

They didn’t think to deploy the killer bees (or, you know, just maybe the LITERAL DEATH RAY) before launching the full-scale ground invasion?

Or just extract Diana and then deploy the… you know what, I can’t even say it again, it’s too embarrassing.

‘The only way our unreachable, extradimensional island will be safe is if we kill all these humans who have no way of reaching us!’ At this point in canon, even Diana can’t reach Themyscira.

Look, if you’re going to have an army attack DC with pointy sticks and swords, maybe just… don’t keep mentioning all the futuristic weaponry they are conspicuously choosing not to use?

This culminates in a hamfisted stand-off in which Diana is challenged to choose between humanity and her own people. Blah blah ‘you’re a disappointment’, blah blah ‘don’t you love me?’, blah blah ‘should we be allowed to defend ourselves from these humans (who are defending themselves from us)’.

Hippolyta: You could have been the greatest queen the Amazons ever had.

Uh. Sure. Maybe. I guess. If you hadn’t personally abolished the monarchy in favour of democratic governance.

Outside, there’s a confrontation with DOMA agents, led by Fake Sarge Steel. Tom — who’s somehow figured out that Fake Steel is, well, fake — decides that two can play at that game and, in a moment of confusion, uses his still-never-actually-explained disguise tech to impersonate Steel himself. When the dust clears, there are now two Steels, each insisting the other is a fraud. Both are taken into custody until the situation can be straightened out.

Naturally, Tom can’t pass up one last chance to creep on Diana before he’s escorted away.

Diana: [whispering] Tom? Is it you? Tom: [whispering] Birthmaaaaaark! [winks]

Circe shows up, and there’s another tiresome scene where Diana demands to know what Circe did to Hippolyta, and Circe gloats that maybe Diana just doesn’t know Hippolyta as well as she thinks she does, and they fight.

In a minor continuity fluff, Diana throws her tiara at Circe in one panel, and in the next panel Diana is still wearing the tiara.

Circe speechifies about how everybody is really an impostor and nothing is real “except love and murder”. Boo. BOOOOOO.

Meanwhile, the two impostor Steels are being interrogated, side by side. Seems like it’d be far more sensible to interrogate them separately, and maybe bother to handcuff them to prevent what Tom’s about to do next, but the DOMA agents are clearly struggling here. For a government agency that polices metahumans — including people with various powers of deception, illusion, shapeshifting and mind control — and employs at least one person whose specialty is impersonation, they’re curiously ill equipped to deal with infiltrators.

Rule of cool, though — and Tom’s next move is, I’ll admit, pretty cool. He points out that the real Steel lost his hand years ago, as everybody knows from the mechanical prosthesis he uses. Then, before anyone can react, he grabs a pen and slams it down through Fake Steel’s supposedly prosthetic hand, eliciting blood and a scream of pain.

Everyman is unmasked as the Fake Steel and — because nobody expects there to be two impostors, and because, again, DOMA is incompetent — Tom is presumed to be the real deal.

Tom, still as Steel, interrogates Everyman, who says that shit’s about to go down and then disappears right out of his cell. Oh, sure, they have a cell that Wonder Woman can’t break out of, but they can’t contain a friggin nobody like Everyman.

Steel!Tom races to the control room to discover that DOMA is preparing to launch a nuclear warhead at Themyscira.

Back to Diana and Circe, who are still stuck on the same repetitive ‘that can’t be my mother!’/‘lol, u sure about that?’ argument.

Of course, Picoult is never one to pass up a chance to make a crack at how much Wonder Woman sucks:

Circe: I’m thinking that when this whole thing is over, we can go into crime fighting together. Travel the globe, saving women from oppression… what a team we’d be! I can be the funny, sassy, sexy one… and you can be the dorky square one who says dorky square things like “Great Hera!” Diana: [mutters] I rarely say that anymore…

Tom arrives on the scene to warn Diana of the plan to nuke Themyscira, and Circe gloatingly reveals how she’s going to achieve this. Themyscira is in another dimension, but Circe can open the portal — which she will, the moment the warhead is launched, enabling it to destroy the island. The Amazons will be left homeless and at the mercy of the humans.

Then a spear plunges through her chest from behind, because guess who was standing right behind her and is pretty pissed off about being betrayed?

Before teleporting away, Circe tells Diana to usurp Hippolyta’s throne and call off the war. “Usurp her throne?” Diana gasps. “To do that, I would have to kill my mother!”

That is not the only way to usurp a throne. As Amazons Attack! #2 will make explicit, not all Amazons support Hippolyta’s war, and already her top generals are questioning her judgement. By AA #3, Artemis and Philippus outright say that Hippolyta is not fit to lead. Theoretically, if Diana had the support of the Amazons, she could overthrow Hippolyta without resorting to murder.

THERE IS NO THRONE THEMYSCIRA IS A DEMOCRACY YOU IGNORANT FUCKSTICKS

The issue ends on Diana and Tom facing down a hail of spears.

[expectopxtronxm]

So I recently tried my hand at some Drarry fic writing and it’s been an interesting and exhausting experience! I’ve got two fics on the go at the moment (bc I can never finish one thing before moving on to another) and I’ve been suffering from severe writers’ block. And out of that, this little drabble was born! I posted it a little while ago as the caption below one of my sketches but I thought I’d repost it by itself as well. Hope you guys like it!

xxx

Harry left the locker rooms, his broom slung over his shoulder, and began making his way towards the castle. Malfoy had left before him, with a wave over his shoulder, that Harry tried to return while still half-tangled in his jumper, earning him a snort and an eye roll. Getting that reaction - getting any reaction - out of Malfoy pleased him far more than he cared to admit.

He’d also had far more fun during their impromptu Seekers’ game than he’d care to think about. He tried to tell himself that it was the joy of being on a broom, the exhilaration of speeding through the air, the giddy weightlessness of flying. And that was all certainly part of it. But a part of Harry, a part that was much easier to stifle and ignore during the day, when he was surrounded by people, than it was in the starlight, alone on the Quidditch pitch, insisted that a much larger part of it had to do with Malfoy.

Malfoy had changed after the war. They all had, but Malfoy was just…it was like he wasn’t even there anymore. Harry had found himself far more unsettled by this than he should be, far more unsettled than he could justify to Ron or Hermione, or himself. It sounded ridiculous, but after having watched so much about his life change for good, one thing he never thought wouldn’t be there, was his rivalry with Malfoy.

And yes, they’d just lived through a war and things had happened and people had died and a schoolboy rivalry had turned into something far more deadly. But for some reason, Harry had thought that when they came back - when the dust had settled and the castle was rebuilt and when they came back - that Malfoy would be waiting for him on the top step of the entryway, his face set in a scowl and an insult ready on his tongue. And when he wasn’t there, when Malfoy just wasn’t Malfoy, Harry was struck by the realisation that he missed it.

And whatever that said about him, he didn’t particularly care to examine. What he did know, and what he could freely admit to himself, with courage borrowed from the stillness of the night, as he made his way through the frost-covered grass, was that he had enjoyed Malfoy’s company, even though they hadn’t been at each other’s throats. Perhaps especially because they hadn’t been at each other’s throats. Harry’s newfound courage allowed him to admit that Malfoy looked…nice, when he wasn’t scowling. That his smile was…nice. And that it suited him more than any other expression Harry had seen on him. And that his laugh was nice too. And that Harry wanted to hear it again. Wanted to be the one to charm that sound out of him. Wanted to be the reason that Malfoy forgot himself long enough to look truly, boyishly happy, like Harry had never seen him before.

Harry sighed, running a hand roughly through his hair and kicking at the ground. Something was wrong with him.

He was met by an answering sigh to his right and he froze, scanning the pitch for the source of the noise.

“Malfoy?” Harry squinted into the dark, eyes picking out that familiar shock of white blond against the grass, glowing in the moonlight.

Malfoy hummed in response. Harry took the fact that he hadn’t been told to piss off as a sign to join him, stepping off the path and walking towards where he could just make out Malfoy lying in the grass. There was a hazy cloud of something hovering over him, and it wasn’t until Harry settled on his back next to Malfoy that he realised it was smoke, from a cigarette, that was perched between Malfoy’s lips.

Harry couldn’t help it; he gave an undignified snort that had Malfoy turning his head to glare at him. Harry had to remind himself to concentrate on what Malfoy was saying and not on the undeniable joy he felt at being on the receiving end of that glare again.

“Something funny, Potter?”

“No, not really. It’s just you, with a Muggle cigarette.” Malfoy fixed him with a cold look and Harry shrugged a shoulder. “Just unexpected, is all.”

Malfoy frowned, opening his mouth to say something, before snapping it shut. He hitched a shoulder too, the one closest to Harry, and it brushed against Harry’s arm. He turned back to the sky, blowing out a puff of smoke. “I like it.”

That sounded like the only explanation he was going to give and Harry didn’t push it. He didn’t really care why Malfoy was smoking. What he wanted to know was why Malfoy was lying in the grass at four in the morning, staring at the sky. What he wanted to know was why Malfoy had been flying in the middle of the night anyway. What he wanted to know was why he stayed when Harry arrived, why he agreed to Harry’s insane suggestion that they let the Snitch out, for old times’ sake. Why he laughed with Harry, rather than at him, for the first time in their lives. Why he’d genuinely seemed to want Harry’s company, to enjoy it.

If his chest hurt in a way that wasn’t altogether unpleasant, too.

But he didn’t ask any of that. He didn’t need to. Watching Malfoy watching the smoke curl in front of his face was answer enough. He looked tired. He looked older than his 18 years. He looked just as lost as Harry felt, and Harry knew the need, the longing, for someone to understand, knew that it was part of what kept him awake at night, knew that no matter what they felt about each other, no matter their past, he and Malfoy were two sides of the same coin, and whether they liked it or not, they knew far more about each other than anyone else and maybe lying in the grass in the middle of the night with your sworn enemy was the closest either of them were ever going to get to understanding.

Harry only realised he’d been staring at Malfoy for far too long when Malfoy turned his head towards him and quirked an eyebrow. Harry felt his face flush involuntarily and turned away quickly, hoping Malfoy couldn’t tell in the dim light. He focused his attention on the sky instead, trying and failing to spot the constellations.

He heard the grass ruffle as Malfoy turned his head back to look at the sky too, felt him sigh, taking another drag on the cigarette before stubbing it out on the grass.

They were silent for a long time. It was strangely companionable, and Harry found that he didn’t mind. That he kind of liked it. After a while, Harry began to wonder if Malfoy had fallen asleep. He snuck a glance at him out of the corner of his eye to find that Malfoy was still staring blankly at the sky.

Harry shivered, the cold suddenly seeping into his skin through his jumper. Malfoy looked at him again and rolled his eyes. Harry frowned and opened his mouth to speak, when he felt a thick blanket of warmth envelope him. The sudden warmth after lying on the cold ground for so long was heavenly, and Harry groaned appreciatively.

He opened his eyes to find Malfoy looking at him strangely, sort of smiling, and Harry found himself grinning back.

“Wandless Warming charms? Impressive.”

If Malfoy was caught off guard at the compliment, he didn’t show it. The fact that he didn’t immediately assume Harry was being sarcastic and bite back with a barbed retort of his own made Harry wonder exactly how much had changed between them, and whether it was as a result of the war, or that night. And exactly when he started thinking of there being anything between him and Malfoy.

Malfoy smiled, and Harry, delirious with lack of sleep and giddy with left over adrenaline, found himself thinking he’s beautiful.

“Do you see that?” Malfoy’s voice pulled Harry out of his thoughts. He was pointing up at the sky. “That right there. That’s my constellation, the one I was named after.” Harry watched as he traced a finger through the air, following a path of stars. When Malfoy dropped his hand back down, Harry mimicked his movement, tracing the constellation with his own finger.

“Draco,” he whispered, his voice a little hoarse. The word felt strange in his mouth.

Malfoy hummed in reply.

They fell back into silence and Harry felt his eyelids drooping, suddenly aware of how tired he was. He turned to Malfoy again, to tell him that he was going head back to castle, to try to get some sleep before class. Only, Malfoy was already asleep, and Harry was transfixed.

His face was completely relaxed, the lines on his forehead smoothed out, his mouth hanging open a little. His eyelashes fanned across his cheeks, casting delicate shadows, and his hair was spread around his head, still damp from the shower.

Harry had to blink hard, several times, shaking his head once to clear it. He considered his options. Malfoy seemed deep in sleep and would likely hex him if he woke him. He wasn’t likely to be too pleased if Harry left him sleeping on the pitch - for Madam Hooch to find in the morning - either.

He could stay, Harry mused. He could stay right there, stretched out on his back on the frosty grass, blanketed by Malfoy’s warming charm. He could slow his breathing to match Malfoy’s, could fall asleep to the sound of his gentle snores.

He could do that, and risk Malfoy killing him in his sleep. Or killing him when he woke up in the morning and found that they’d fallen asleep together. And if that didn’t happen, there was still the unrelenting questions Harry would undoubtably have to face from Ron and Hermione in the morning.

No, he was being ridiculous. They’d played a game of Quidditch, they’d laid on the grass in what Harry thought of as companionable silence, they’d even enjoyed themselves a little. But Harry had to draw the line at falling asleep next to Malfoy. This was Malfoy.

But then Malfoy shuffled in his sleep, sighing softly, and his head lolled gently onto Harry’s shoulder, and really, his decision was made for him, wasn’t it? He was going to fall asleep next to Malfoy, with the other boy’s head on his shoulder, their sides pressed tightly together and Malfoy was most probably going to kill him and Harry didn’t give a toss what it meant that he didn’t care.

He shuffled a little, trying to get comfortable, careful not to jostle Malfoy, and closed his eyes.  

[alpaca-writes]

Mystics : FlashBack Fever #1

When Lyrem Met Paimon

Inspired by a character ask from @myst-in-the-mirror which was originally "Make your character tell a lie"... but it turned into something very different... Sorry. xD

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CW: Suicide attempt, swearing, depression of a main character.

When Lyrem Met Paimon

“You will never know true love.”

The Eastern Oracle glanced up from the bowl of still water, perched atop the short table from where the three sat on the pillows and watched her client with interest. His dark brows were neatly knit together in a scowl and clearly disappointed. The client did not understand what she had spoken. She could tell.

She glanced to the translator next and then looked back to the man who began to speak.

“Oh…” he quietly accepted. “I see.”

He swallowed. The incense smoke drifted up through the air, condensing their little area in a thin fog. The Oracle said something else in her native Cantonese; her tone rather insistent this time. Urgent, even. Lyrem could tell.

The translator paused, then spoke: “she says that your fate was never to be loved, only to be respected. It is the only thing that matters to you.”

Lyrem blinked. Respect was a value of his, yes- but the only thing that mattered to him?

“But… love, true love…” he started feeling silly even before he uttered the words. “It exists?”

The translator repeated his words and then the Oracle watched him carefully.

“For you.” the Oracle spoke in Cantonese. Unfortunately, Lyrem was not well versed in the language at all. “Only for you does true love exist.”

Lyrem glanced to the translator.

“She says, ‘Only for very few, does true love exist.”

He sighed. At least he wasn’t the only one, he thought. He stood up, paid the two in full, and bowed before making his exit.

Thankfully, there was a local merchant of alcohol nearby. Lyrem stopped there first to buy himself a case of sake before returning to his hotel room. Eight floors up, he was.

It would be quick and easy to find his way to the ground.

He cracked open his first and played himself in a game of solitaire on the table by the window. Reflecting there on his last several weeks of hunting for a sacred stone in the Himalayas. It had already been delivered unto Cáishén, a Chinese god of wealth and prosperity several days before now. He wouldn’t get anything in return for his sweat, tears, and blood- only his clients would. At least they paid him well enough. But it had been several days since he returned from the peaks and Lyrem hadn’t bothered to book himself a flight back home to receive his cheque.

At his second bottle, he ordered dinner up. It didn’t matter what was on the menu, but he was craving something richly flavoured and warm. Pork buns, he thought. They were often his favourite and would do well as a last meal. He had finished his second bottle before it was delivered.

Yes, they smelled heavenly.

And then he lost his appetite.

He opened a third and flicked the bottle cap across the room- damn- he missed the trash bin.

At some point, he had sat on the bed to read a paper he had picked up from a stall that day. It was mostly in English- except for the ads.

President Bush signs $166-Billion-dollar corporate bailout, the article read.

“Didn’t trek across the mountains for nothing then. You’re fucking welcome, everybody,” he muttered rudely to himself.

He opened his fourth drank it, and then got up to take a long piss. He washed his face and ran a wet hand through his head of soft brown hair. His face still burned with the cold from an altitude he was not accustomed too- it left his cheeks pink and dry.

The wind had pick up. The mustard yellow curtains flipped around wildly bringing in the stale scent of dust and inner-city smog along with it. Lyrem didn’t remember opening the door to the balcony- at least he hadn’t bothered to, yet.

But now was a good a time as any… Wasn’t it?

What was the point of living if not for love?

He heard the rush of traffic below and the honking of horns, and then he tried to remember what the point of making any sound was, if no one cared for what you had to say. He flipped on the radio that was bolted into the side table. Tuned to a station catering to American music, it crackled through the middle of Hotel California with great effort.

He stepped over the threshold and looked out across Beijing and their neon lights with his hands tightly gripped to each other behind his back. He sniffed and considered his next move.

Hands forward, he gripped the railing tight.

He bit his lower lip as the lights blurred ahead of him.

He became angry with the Oracle, but only for a second.

He lifted a leg and found his own perch.

The sake had really done a good job of calming his nerves. Lyrem was actually quite surprised that he wasn’t more unstable. Perhaps that was the unique charm of the drink. Or perhaps a bit more adrenaline was pumping through his veins than he cared to realize.

Lyrem held his breath at the edge of the railing, and then closed his eyes.

He tipped forward, welcoming the rush.

He was caught. His eyes opened, and he was suspended in mid-air staring down at the busy street below. Life, he saw, flashing by… but not his own.

He was lifted back by a pair of strong arms and then the savior let him fall to the floor with a sudden thump!

“You sad, sorry bastard,” the voice of the saviour said. “You need help.”

Perhaps a neighbor saw him attempt suicide, came to the rescue. But Lyrem could have sworn he locked his door- and he didn’t hear a soul break in. The guest sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against a cane to support himself on the way down.

Lyrem grunted against the floor.

“Go away,” he groaned out.

The guest rolled his eyes.

“What is wrong with you?” he asked. Part of him may have been genuinely asking, but he didn’t wait for a response. “You have everything you could ever possibly desire in this world! How old are you? Forty? Maybe? You still have a long life ahead of you to do absolutely anything you want!

Women! They ought to be climbing all over you- unless of course, the men are more your thing- I don’t mean to judge of course, love is love. You have probably more stories than could fill the Library of Alexandria- if it was still around- stories are great for making friends and forcing people to care about what happens to you”-

The guest continued on as Lyrem struggled to his knees.

“Riches! You’ve got that! Wine, cocaine, parties, travelling the world? My man, you have yourself a slice of heaven on Earth! You’re like a bloody rock star!”

Lyrem glared up at the black-bearded wonder sitting on his bed, in his room, who opened the fifth bottle of sake that was sitting next to him.

The guest grimaced at the taste, but kept it balanced on his knee.

“I guess, what I am really wondering,” he continued. “Is what the hell drives a man like you to the edge of existence like this?”

Lyrem struggled to stand, and leaned against the chair, slowly and shakily, he climbed into it, and then studied the stranger best he could. His eyes drifted away from him each time he tried to focus. He swallowed carefully. Feeling sick, he might not ever answer the man.

“L-love. True love,” he managed.

The stranger balked.

“True love?!”

“Fuck off.”

Teetering on the edge of the bed, the stranger leaned forward.

“It’s just so funny though, isn’t it? Love… you’d think a man like you could find it anywhere”-

“I don’t want to find it just anywhere,” Lyrem reasoned, cradling his head into his hands. “I want it to be real. I want it to be true. I want it to be perfect.”

“No love is real, or true, or perfect. It’s just… Love.”

“Is that supposed to be encouraging?”

“It’s supposed to snap you out of this depressive episode. It’s degrading. Just by looking at you, I want to throw myself off this balcony.”

Lyrem scoffed, managed a smirk and looked up.

“You’re an asshole.”

“The name’s Paimon,” the stranger grinned. “And you’re right, I am an asshole- but I’m also exactly what you need.”

Lyrem shifted his head back. He wasn’t a man with a variety of tastes. He preferred wom-

“A demon,” he finished.

“Pffffft.” Lyrem opened his mouth. “You think I need you? A demon?”

“You’re human, aren’t you?”

“Obviously.”

“Then we were always meant to be.” Paimon surmised. “Listen, I know you’re a man of many talents, gained the favors of many gods, and many human souls- I’ve been tracking you for quite some time.”

Lyrem rolled his eyes up at the ceiling where watermarks dotted around in various sizes.

“Here’s my proposal- and if you don’t like it, then you are free to fling yourself off the balcony again and this time, I won’t stop you”-

“I don’t consort with demons. I have a rule about that,” Lyrem said, beginning to sober up at the mention of something more work related.

“’course, you do,” Paimon winked at him. “But what if I told you that I could find you your true love? What if I could promise you that? What if I told you that all you would need to do is sit beside her on this flight”- He pulled a plane ticket from the inside of his jacket pocket. “-from Beijing to Lisbon, tomorrow afternoon?”

Lyrem stared suspiciously from the ticket and then back to Paimon’s unearthly aura. He didn’t notice it until now.

“This is a trick,” Lyrem stated. He then turned it to a question. “What do I do for you in return?”

Paimon’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head.

“Nothing at all,” Paimon could see that Lyrem knew he was bullshitting. “Alright. Here’s what I require in return: your… friendship.”

Lyrem reached out, pulled the ticket from the demon’s hand and stood. Studying it in the light, it was real. It was the very same company he had traveled with to get to China about a month back.

“If I don’t give you the true love that you desire,” Paimon proposed. “Then I will leave you in peace and never return.”

“Still sounds like a trick.”

“Some deals are just too good to pass up,” Paimon chortled. “Trust me, I know.”

Lyrem took a deep breath. Paimon wanted his friendship in return for giving him true love? He scratched his chin, stubbled and dry. If he refused, the demon might only return one day when he was even more desperate- and Lyrem couldn’t exactly guarantee he would say no then and Paimon would almost certainly raise his expectations for him.

“You have a deal,” Lyrem settled with nothing to lose. “Friendship it is. Name’s Lyrem.”

Paimon smiled, knowing that the money he had spent to bribe the translator was well worth it, and clasped the man’s hand tight.

“Lyrem… You won’t regret this,” he grinned through shining eyes.