#he buried over 20 of his family members. my heart breaks for him

[catboysalmon]

Hello!

I had the honor of attending a film screening today held by the 2 creators of the 2012 film project "the roadmap to apartheid" (linked below!) And I really implore you to watch it too, especially if you are a white, Westerner, young adult like me, who was not taught of Palestine's existence until maybe late high school. Our education keeps us in the dark about these things on PURPOSE and it is our individual responsibility to educate ourselves better.

What I really appreciated about this film in particular is how well it spells out the context, and by God there is a lot of it. It's also incredibly useful to see these issues through a pre-october 7th lens, because it illustrates just how long this atrocity has been in the making and just how intentional every step has been. It draws many comparisons to the apartheid state of South Africa and opens up a side of information and history about this genocide that we are intentionally deprived of. I feel like I understand things better now. Evocative footage and first hand interviews with gazans and Palestinians and even Jewish scholars breaking down exactly WHY the occupation is apartheid, why that's not only immoral but illegal, and how they put these borders up in the first place.

[l-r-christian]

Can I request a fic where Elijah has to marry the daughter of the leader of the human Faction, much like Hayley having to marry Jackson, and Hayley is jealous seeing Elijah with the girl who is pretty much naive and innocent?

Arrange marriage + Elijah Mikaelson + An innocent naive young lady? Yes, I am getting so many ideas.

Warnings: Fluff, A bit smutty, Innocent!Reader, Protective!Elijah, Jealous!Hayley, misogynistic behavior

There was stillness in the air as the members of the Factions stared at the human, John Hale, that was leader of the human Faction. Hayley looked at Elijah who was staring at the man as John offered up his only daughter to marry Elijah or John will pull the human Faction out of the peace treaty.

"What?"

"Marry my daughter or the humans pull out." John said smirking, John was a man that wanted power and was willing to sell off his only daughter. Y/N Hale had just turned 20 and John had came from an old fashioned family so once his daughter hit 20 and talks of the peace treaty between Factions lined up. John saw it as a chance to get power and the Mikaelsons had it.

"You can't be serious! Elijah don't....."

"I'll have to meet her first." Elijah said cutting Hayley off as Marcel looked at Elijah knowing what the Original was thinking let John believe the power was in the human's reach. John stood straight still smirking sliding over his card.

"Come by the house this afternoon Mr. Mikaelson."

"The meeting has came to an end then." Elijah said as everyone left but Hayley and Marcel. Hayley looked crossed her arms looking at Elijah wondering why he was going along with the human.

"Why did you agree?"

"Because Hayley, we need the humans to play nice. Marrying John's daughter will give us an edge as he didn't realize he gave us." Elijah said looking at the hybrid a smirk playing on his lips as Marcel smiled placing his hands on the table.

"The vampires get access to the stakes and wolfsbane." Marcel says as Elijah fixed his cufflinks smirking.

"Yes so if I am stuck in some loveless marriage then fine at least the girl would be useful for something." Elijah says as Hayley saw just how much Elijah was always ten steps ahead and just because he'll be married didn't mean Elijah wouldn't see her behind the human's back.

Y/N stood dressed in a baby blue tea dress that was long sleeved laced up back and a maid had done up her hair, Y/N slipped on white heels and she was ready to meet her future husband.

"There you are princess! Now daddy needs you to bed a good girl okay? Mr. Mikaelson is gonna be here soon."

"Of course daddy." Y/N said softly as the doorbell rang, John quickly headed down stairs. Y/N followed pausing seeing Elijah stepping in as her face flushed seeing how handsome the vampire was.

"Mr. Mikaelson, welcome this is my daughter Y/N. Sorry the boys are working." John said as Elijah looked to Y/N smirking seeing her flush and heart skipping a beat. Elijah looked her over finding her adorable as he could practically smell the innocence on her.

"It is alright. I would like to get to know Y/N alone."

"Ye....yes go ahead."

Y/N walked with Elijah in the garden as John watched from the window seeing how his daughter and the vampire were smiling talking. Elijah was surprised to find that he kinda liked the young woman as he saw how innocent and naive she was making him have an urge to keep her safe.

"You are aware why I am here, yes?"

"Daddy says you are going to be my future husband. Don't worry I know what my place is as your wife." Y/N said smiling looking at the roses as Elijah frowned not liking how that sounded.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh you know. Don't speak unless spoken to, make sure to have dinner ready, house stays clean and.....to always serve your husband's needs." Y/N tells Elijah as the Original took note that John was old fashioned and Rebekah needed to be kept away from the man or else his future father-in-law would end up dead.

"There be no need for that."

"Okay..." Y/N sounded unsure but she was told to never questioned her husband then took Elijah's arm when he held it out to her and continued their walk. For a month Elijah was seeing Y/N as John was having his daughter's things packed up when Elijah said the young woman was going to be living with him.

"Today is the day Elijah." Hayley says and Elijah swore he heard a hint of jealousy in her tone when he turned seeing Hayley dressed in a gorgeous lavender dress that boarder on being white. Hayley looked at Elijah finding him devilishly handsome wishing it was her and now she knew how Elijah felt when she married Jackson.

"That it is."

"Well don't want to keep John waiting."

The bridal march started and Elijah looked to the end of the aisle and Elijah felt his breath stop as he swore he never seen such a beautiful woman before. Y/N dressed in a lovely strapless mermaid dress hair done in a low braided bun makeup done naturally. In all the words Elijah thought of he couldn't form the words with how gorgeous Y/N looked.

"You alright Elijah?"

"Just fine Niklaus." Elijah said as the wedding ceremony went on and Elijah became Y/N's husband. Elijah noted how shy Y/N got when he kissed her and he also noticed how mouth watering her scent was.

"Welcome to the family Elijah. Now princess be a good wife for Elijah now." John says as Elijah frowned still not liking the undertones of John's words.

"Of course daddy." Y/N tells her father when Klaus came to ask the bride for a dance leaving Elijah with John.

"Don't worry Elijah she is a virgin. Like a good wife should be."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, made the mistake with my wife so I made sure Y/N was going to be a virgin for her husband which now you." John said unaware that his words stirred something in Elijah.

The idea that his little wife was virgin, awoken a corruption kink Elijah thought he buried years ago as Elijah unconsciously licked his bottom lip watching Y/N with Rebekah. Hayley moved next to Elijah frowning a bit seeing the dark look she knew all to well.

"Elijah?"

"Yes Hayley?" Elijah answered being pulled from his thoughts and undressing his wife with his eyes. Hayley prided herself on knowing Elijah and she could tell that Elijah was falling for Y/N.

"You okay?"

"Yes." Elijah said walking to Y/N his hand falling to her waist gently taking her hand kissing it watching her flushed out of the corner of his eye.

"Go easy on her tonight, Elijah." Klaus teased smirking devilishly as Elijah chuckled helping his flushing wife in the car.

"I will."

Y/N felt nervous as she felt Elijah help her untie the boice of her dress while peppering her neck with kisses. Elijah heard her heart racing and he tilt her head back his hand slowly trailing down her thoat.

"We don't have to do anything."

"But my duty as wife is to please my husband." Y/N said softly pulling away from Elijah and he watched her take her dress off then layed on the bed in white lace. Elijah decided he was going to break his wife out of her father's ideologies.

"Alright then." Elijah said taking off his suit jacket and tie licking his lips as thought of ruining her made him growled. Y/N squealed when Elijah had pulled her to the edge and was between her legs.

"El....El....Elijah?"

"Don't worry, my dear." Elijah purred kissing her thigh just above her thigh high and began teasing the skin there pulling small whimpers from her. Y/N trembled feeling Elijah's mouth move higher kissing her lace covered mound making her snap her legs close.

"Now don't be shy, darling." Elijah said rubbing circles on her thighs spreading her thighs again.

"B...b...b..but." Y/N squeaked out as Elijah ripped her panties off and the sound she made Elijah growl against her as Y/N whimpered feeling heat pool in her lower abdomen as Elijah was making her feel things she hadn't before. Elijah groaned when Y/N cummed on his tongue and he continued to pull more sounds from her as she shook.

"Look at you, pretty baby." Elijah said seeing tears in her eyes and face flushed looking at him trembling feeling his hands moved taking off the white lace bra she had on. Y/N with shaking hands reaching up gripping his shirts he dipped his head to her neck placing soft kisses on skin.

"That's it little darling, go ahead and touch me." Elijah purred when he saw Y/N's small hands removed his shirt looking up at him with innocent eyes making Elijah try hard to not fuck her hard.

"We have all night my little darling."

Hayley walked into the compound a month after the wedding and a week earlier Elijah had returned from his honeymoon. Hayley noticed Elijah wasn't up yet which she found odd as the noble vampire was always up early.

"Elijah still in bed?"

"Yes, he and his wife had a long night." Klaus said smirking as Hayley huffed sitting down waiting for Elijah as Klaus knew why Hayley was upset.

Elijah woke groaning looking at his clock seeing it was 8am and rolled onto his side smiling seeing Y/N asleep on her abdomen. While at first Elijah was only planning on using Y/N, the vampire found hisself adoring his wife.

"Oh! Goodmorning....I'm sorry I should have gotten up more early to set out your clothes."

"It's fine my little darling." Elijah said moving closer kissing the bare skin of her back making her flushed. Since their wedding night, Y/N was confused by Elijah seemly placing her needs first and not forcing her to do things.

"But.....I'm.....your wife.....and I should."

"Shhhh, I already told you that you are perfect. My cute innocent little wife." Elijah said rolling Y/N over onto her back making her flush as her bare body was on display for him. Y/N was littered with love bites, her hips bruised, her lips still a little swollen as she looked up at him.

"But....Eli..." Y/N was cut off by Elijah kissing her deeply slipping his tongue into her mouth swallowing whatever moans she made. Elijah pulled away seeing her flushed trembling as Elijah leaning down kissing her neck.

"Such a sweet good wife."

"Eli.....I...we." Y/N tried speaking but Elijah turned her mind to mush as his hands moved up her legs. Elijah's mouth moved to her breast as Y/N bit her fist trembling feeling overwhelmed by pleasure.

"Let's get you cleaned up little darling." Elijah said softly pulling away from Y/N giving her one last kiss. Elijah drew a bath and picked Y/N up having her in his lap as warm water relaxed Y/N as Elijah began washing her. Elijah didn't know how it happened but he was slowly falling for Y/N and was going to do whatever he could to keep her safe.

"Humm that feels nice my darling." Elijah purred relaxing as Y/N washed Elijah's hair as he rubbed her back. Y/N's heart fluttered at how relaxed Elijah looked and afterwards he helped her dress.

"Elijah, hey." Hayley says getting up seeing Elijah walk down with Y/N seeing him having a possessive hand on the human's waist.

"Hayley, came to drop off Hope?"

"Yeah. So busy tonight?" Hayley asked when Y/N went to get them tea and Elijah sat down knowing why Hayley was asking.

"Yes, I have dinner with John." Elijah said smiling softly and for a moment Hayley thought Elijah was looking at her but saw Y/N walking in with a tray holding tea. Hayley frowned seeing Elijah being soft with the human woman treating like a wife. Hayley knew Elijah was in love with Y/N or at least falling for her.

"My brother has always been a sucker for a pretty face. A woman that needs him." Klaus tells Hayley with a smirk seeing that she was watching Elijah with his wife.

"Really?"

"Why else would he have fell for you? But this one is different."

"Are you saying Elijah never loved me?" Hayley growled tearing her eyes from Elijah and Y/N, looking at Klaus.

"He was blinded by the fact you were carrying my child, a woman in need of help." Klaus said making Hayley angry as she glared at Klaus.

"Elijah loved me."

"No, he loved the idea of playing father. I know my brother better than you do Hayley. Sure Elijah loved you at some point but it broke when you chose Jackson over him."

"I did that to protect our daughter."

"True but ask yourself did you really Jackson or Elijah? Which one did you lie to?" Klaus questioned leaving as Hayley snapped her head hearing Y/N laugh at as joke Elijah told her. Hayley swallowed thinking over Klaus's words hating that he might be right as she watched Elijah kiss Y/N's hand as both enjoyed one another's company.

[literaryfic]

Chapters: 1/?
 Fandom: 빈센조 | Vincenzo (TV) 
Rating: Explicit
 Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong/Hong Cha Young
Characters: Hong Cha Young, Vincenzo Cassano | Park Joo Hyeong
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Italian Mafia, (i know nothing about the mafia so this will be very inaccurate!!!), basically vincenzo & cha-young being mafia bosses in italy


Summary: When Vincenzo Cassano came back to Italy, no one expected to see someone by his side. Or how Cha-young and Vincenzo became the head of the Cassano family. a mafia couple au inspired by a discussion with @ourgalaxybangtan @ghostrights & @whovie-reloaded

  Vincenzo had been handling most of the family business since their adoptive father’s health had started to decline. As the consigliere of the Cassano family, he was Fabio’s most trusted man, his advisor, his lawyer but also his second-in-command.

It hadn’t been easy, all these years, to climb the ladder. He wasn’t a native, he wasn’t blood, and so not many people had welcomed him at first. That’s why he had to become ruthless, so that no one could deny his authority or even dare to try. He had killed and tortured many men, broken their minds and their bones, burned their flesh and cut off their limbs, ashes and screams trailing behind him. If he wasn’t proud of the blood on his hands, he was at least proud of his work. All the hours he’d spent training, fighting, preparing, scheming, studying, all his efforts to erase Park Joo-hyung from the face of earth had paid off. The scared, weak little kid was gone, buried with all his other victims. ‘An eye for an eye, and then some’, Vincenzo lived by that, and he would stop at nothing except killing the innocent. There was no doubt he was the best at what he did and anyone who did not respect him feared him enough to not threaten him. His success was the Cassano family’s success, yet he knew that members of his own clan would not hesitate to have him killed if they could. Two clear factions had formed in the past five years, those who supported Vincenzo as the next head of the family, and those who supported Paolo, his brother. Paolo and Vincenzo had never gotten along, and Paolo’s inferiority complex and jealousy grew deeper every time his older brother had to clean up after one of his rushed job. Paolo had a particular taste for violence. Whereas Vincenzo killed and tortured because he had to, Paolo got a kick out of hurting others, be it children, women or elders. He loved to assert his dominance, to feel almighty. Vincenzo didn’t think himself much better than him, (regardless of the reasons behind his murders, he’d probably killed way more than him), but he wanted Paolo to be punished for his sins. It was only a matter of time before some influential family members whispered plans of assassination and of ‘restoring the rightful heir’ into his ear. Paolo was an angry, frustrated man who wasn’t particularly good at his job, an easy puppet to control. He’d been watching them carefully but he knew that as long as his father was alive, no one would dare to touch him. Back then he had thought he would take care of them when it came to it, become the head of his family, and continue to rule the underworld. Then, the incident happened and everything changed. He hadn’t been able to sleep for weeks, his victims’ screams haunting his dreams. He started avoiding mirrors, his reflection taunting him. He barely ate anymore, and Fabio had reminded him to get a grip. So he had done just that. He drank himself to sleep or took sleeping pills, and he went on. He knew, however, that he could not go on like this much longer. He had to get out before he buried himself next to Park Joo-hyung and all the others whose lives he’d taken. He’d started to plan his escape secretly. He would wait until his father died, staying loyal to him as long as he was alive. When the time came, he knew Paolo would try to kill him. The power struggle between them would start as soon as the head of the family would die, but instead of destroying his opponents, Vincenzo would seize the opportunity to leave. He would go back to South Korea, get the gold and leave to an island, where he would spend the rest of his days. The death of his previous Chinese client was perfect timing. As expected, Fabio, his boss and adoptive father, had named him the next head of the family in his will. It came to no surprise to most members, but murmurs spread quickly, “Can you imagine? A foreigner, as the head of our family? What has the world become?”. After wrapping things up in Italy, Vincenzo promised himself to never return, throwing away the key to the graveyard of his sins. …. There’s no going back from this, he thinks. Vincenzo is still holding Cha-young’s face, unable to look away from her lips, still wet from the kiss. Her pink cheeks, her smeared lipstick, the freckles under her fondation. Her. Hong Cha-young. His heart is soaring in his chest, all the emotions he had desperately tried to silence erupting all at once. There was no point in denying it, he had fallen in love with her. All he could do now was break his own heart, hoping it would heal. …. He realises he can’t live without her after she gets injured. They’re trying to get more information on Jang Han-seok’s paper company, and this time they’re trying to prove that some of the transactions made to European bank accounts were bribes. They’re breaking into none other than the Minister of Economy and Finance, Cha Do-won’s house. Miri had made sure to deactivate the security system and cameras, and Vincenzo was in charge of securing the place while Cha-young searched for the secret ledger the Minister kept hidden in his office. Cha Do-won was making a speech right now, and they had assumed most of his personal security would be with him. Vincenzo had quickly incapacitated the few men around the house and Cha-young looked for the ledger. After a few minutes, she found a hidden drawer in his desk. There it was, a thick documents labelled 'Accounts’. Subtlety wasn’t one of his strong points, apparently. They were about to leave when suddenly, a dozen men started to raid the place. Vincenzo fought them off as best as he could, and he was grateful that Mr. Lee barged in to help. They thought they had them all beat, and so Vincenzo made a mistake. He turned his back to the door to look for Cha-young, who he thought was behind him. “Vincenzo!”, he heard her shout his name. He sees her across the room, about to get struck by a man. He rushes to her and knocks him out quick enough. “Oh my God”, she says, “Did you see that? I almost died! He had a knife as well, and I dodged it, and then I ran—”. She keeps rambling while they get out of the house and into their car, clearly in shock. She’s getting paler as time passes, and he only notices the blood that pooled on the seat when she tries to get out of the car. She was stabbed, but the shock and adrenaline had prevented her from feeling any pain. “Oh”, she says, looking down at her wound. Vincenzo jumps out of his seat and rips the bottom half of the T-Shirt he’s wearing. “I don’t think now’s the time for that, Darling.” Even in a life-threatening situation, Cha-young is joking around. Vincenzo’s mind stops, he feels paralysed by fear, the fear of losing her, of her dying in his car, because of him. He pushes those thoughts away as he holds the fabric to her wound. “Hold this, as hard as you can.” The rest of the car ride to the hospital is a blur of running red lights, speeding in between traffic and repeating “Hong Cha-young, stay with me.” Vincenzo had faced death everyday for the last 20 years. He had killed, had seen people kill and had almost died countless of time. “There’s no limit to fear”, he’d once said to Jang Han-seok’s informant. Only now, waiting for Cha-young’s surgery to be over, does he understand what those words truly mean. During 6 hours, Vincenzo pleads and begs God, the devil, anyone willing to listen (Don’t take her. Everyone but her). He makes empty promises (I’ll do anything. I’ll stop hurting others, I’ll disappear from her life) and meaningless threats (Don’t you dare take her. I’ll kill you, too). In the end he doesn’t know who answers his prayers, and what promises seals the deal, but Cha-young wakes up and he doesn’t care. He holds her hand, stays by her side, and vows to never leave her. He starts to plan for an escape route shortly after that. In case they can’t stay in South Korea and need to take off. First, he thinks of Malta, or another island. But they would need to go somewhere they have allies, somewhere with an easy access to emergency money and resources. Italy. He contacts Luca and sets everything up, a two bed-room apartment, two bank accounts, and everything they could ever need like cash, some guns, and a car. “Consigliere, will there be another person with you?”, Luca asks. “Hopefully it won’t come to that”, he avoids the question. He knows he promised not to come back, but some promises need to be broken out of necessity. He needed to make Cha-young was safe, at all cost. His brother’s betrayal had made it easier. He’d been caught in the crossfire of their fight against Babel, killed by Choi Myung-hee in order to frame Vincenzo. But they had proved his innocence, and sent back his corpse in Milan. After Fabio’s death, Paolo hadn’t been the best replacement, and after he was killed in South Korea, they’d put in charge one of their cousins who had neither Fabio’s experience, nor Vincenzo’s mastermind. The family was in a crisis, which didn’t go unnoticed by their rivals. Soon, business started to slow down, their clients stolen by the competition and their allies started to switch teams. Money ran low. For that reason, Vincenzo didn’t run into much opposition when he came back. Most members and people in their business thought he had killed Paolo after he’d unreasonably followed him to South Korea and tried to finish him. Paolo only left disappointment and resentment behind him, and so no one missed him much. What they had not expected, however, was for Vincenzo Cassano to come back with someone.

[ateezmakemeweep]

omg omg i just saw this trend going around and I thought that having an ateez reaction to it would be amazing! could you please do a reaction to ateez being in a very important zoom meeting and their significant other walking in on them semi naked? thank you!

❥ kim hongjoong

“well if we’re gonna do it that way, i think we should just-“

the door squeaking open causes hongjoong’s words to die in his throat, looking up at you and his eyes widening at you standing there in a towel. you wince and mouth an apology, jumping over the bed so you don’t walk into the view of the camera as you make your way to the shared closet. 

he had warned you he was gonna be on a video call today with the producers, probably to avoid a situation like this. but you’d been in the shower for nearly an hour and thought for sure he’d be done; it’s also far too cold in the air conditioned house to just stay in your towel. 

so you creep around the room quietly and carefully, covered up securely as you fish through your drawers for sweatpants and your boyfriend’s shirt. but before you can even move your towel off an inch, hongjoong lowers his laptop and shouts your name. 

“what!” you squeal, jumping in surprise. and thank god he moved his camera down and turned his mic off because your towel slips from your hand and falls at your feet. a laugh threatens to bubble out of your mouth when you see the expression on hongjoong’s face, a mix of amusement and anger that you know all too well.

“the fucking mirror, y/n!” 

❥ park seonghwa

you were rushing around the bathroom trying to get ready for your lunch date, your phone pinging with your friend’s demand to get downstairs before they come up and drag you out by your hair. with it still wet from the shower, you throw on your shorts and bra before realizing stupid you had forgotten to bring in a shirt. 

the same way you forgot that seonghwa had a scheduled zoom call today with the members and their company, everyone on a break visiting their families but trying to get everything settled for the next comeback. so when you barged in, lace pink bra and all, you couldn’t help the tiny squeal that left your mouth when you took note of the seonghwa’s back to you and the computer screen just a few feet away. 

your boyfriend turned around at the sound, his eyes widening before he quickly moved to turn off his mic and camera. you don’t even have the time to feel embarrassed, hearing the loud pings from your phone as you jump over the bed and grab a shirt from the closet.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry, i’m sorry,” you say frantically as you rip your favorite go-to shirt off the hanger. “they’re harassing me to come down and i forgot a shirt and-“

his spins you around so you’re pressed flush against him, the material of his shirt against the bare skin of your stomach and causing you to swallow nervously. you meet his hardened gaze with a soft look, an innocent smile and look in your wide eyes. 

“everyone just saw that,” he growls lowly, a smirk fighting at your lips at the possessiveness creeping into your boyfriend’s presence. and usually you love to tease him and poke fun at it but today you just have no time, pressing a kiss to his lips before throwing on your shirt. 

“i moved out of the way and you turned off the camera, it’s fine,” you whine, pressing another kiss to his cheek before telling him you’re leaving. but he has other plans, wrapping an arm around your waist before pushing you down on the bed roughy. 

“no you’re not.”

❥ jeong yunho

he’d been on this boring call for almost two hours, his shoulders tense and cramping from the amount of time he’s been sitting in this uncomfortable desk chair. it feels as if they’ve been talking about the same thing for the past 20 minutes, mingi having fallen asleep three times in his screen before hongjoong yelled at him and scared the boy awake. 

“yunhoooo, are you almost do-“ 

you walked in expecting to see yunho sprawled out on his bed the way he was when you went to watch tv in the living room, his camera off as he sat atop his bed and rested on the headboard. but he must’ve changed positions at some point, given the way his camera is fully aimed at the door and you’re standing there half naked. 

but it was only you and him, what did it matter if you were just in a t-shirt and underwear? yunho sees you in the camera before he registers the sound of your voice, letting out a surprised gasp before blocking your figure. 

you hear the unmistakable cackle of wooyoung through the speakers, his teasing voice asking if y/n had joined followed promptly by your embarrassed squeal of an apology. yunho only fights the smile on his face, shaking his head as he insists there’s nothing to see back there. 

❥ kang yeosang

your boyfriend had just ended the call and immediately threw himself down on the bed, his face buried in the pillow as embarrassment takes over him. you couldn’t help but laugh and roll your eyes at him, raising an eyebrow because- 

“i’m sorry, were you the one just exposed on camera?” 

but you suppose it’d been your own fault, forgetting about the early morning call and running back into the room for your lotion that left you staring at the rest of ateez and their crew just in your short robe. 

you let out a gasp and jumped out of frame immediately, profusely apologizing as a red-faced yeosang turned his camera off. and then you hadn’t returned until he texted you that it was okay, your clean body still covered in your robe because there was no way you were going back in there. 

he says something but the pillows muffle it, your eyes rolling as a huff leaves your mouth and you daringly jump on his back. he makes a pained groan and you giggle, laying down next to him and poking at his pink cheeks. 

❥ choi san

san was just as upset as you that he had to spend the night on a zoom call, a designated two hours that could’ve been used for watching a move or two episodes of your new drama. but instead, he was in the living room and you were in your room, watching tv and playing on your phone with a pout on your face. 

that was until the exact two hour mark hit, springing up from bed and tiptoeing into the living room. you smiled hearing san laugh at something seonghwa said, his shoulders shaking back and forth; he has so many different laughs but this one is your favorite, right from his gut as he throws his head back and-

“oh, my god, y/n! where are your pants!?” 

your eyes widen and an embarrassed laugh leaves your mouth as you jump away, san’s head snapping back and the smile immediately dropping from his face. he narrows his eyes as he takes in your figure, just his oversized sweater covering your body and leaving your legs exposed. you smile innocently at him but he can only shake his head, noting the time of the meeting has overlapped. 

he points that out to hongjoong and the boy only lets out a sigh, running his hand through his hair because it’d been impressive enough that all eight of them sat down for this long; but the second the call ends, san jumps up and charges over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist as a squeal leaves your mouth.

“baby, did you really have to do that? they all just saw you.”

you look up at him with a small pout, wrapping your arms around his neck as you pull him down to place a kiss on his lips. 

“i’m sorry but i just missed you,” you whine quietly, his heart softening and dimply smile appearing as he drags you over to the couch.

❥ song mingi

mingi only noticed you behind him in nothing but a towel courtesy of san’s high pitched yelp. he threw his hands over his eyes and asked what the hell you were doing, mingi jumping in his chair and shaking his head of drowsiness. 

“what?” mingi asked, his deep voice low and full of sleep; this call had been way longer than he anticipated but just as boring as he suspected. this all could’ve been settled in a phone call, he thought, not some long drawn out zoom call. 

“not you! y/n!” 

mingi’s eyebrows pull together before he hears you plop down on the bed, snapping his head over to see you laid out in your towel. your face is pulled into a grimace and you quietly mouth “sorry,” ripping him right from his tired daze.

he turned off the camera and made his way over to the dresser, throwing a pair of his sweatpants and a shirt at you as he demands for you to put it on. 

❥ jung wooyoung

“where’s y/n right now?” hongjoong asked him, completely baffled by the fact you weren’t in his lap right now. it’d been a known fact since you guys started dating that you were inseparable, wooyoung’s lap or shoulder rarely free of you.

“in the shower so if we can speed this up, that’d be-“

his door creaking open causes him to turn around, your hair in a bun with just the bra and underwear you creeped out of the bathroom in; you’d forgotten your brush and this shower would be about 20 minutes longer if you used your fingers to get the knots out. 

“oh, my god!” wooyoung squeals, the other’s laughter and shouts muffled when the boy dramatically slams his laptop shut. “what the hell, y/n!” 

“i’m sorry, you were facing the other way three seconds ago! and i needed my brush!” you whine, your pink cheeks threatening laughter to bubble out of his chest. he shakes his head as he gets up from his chair, grabbing the brush off your dresser before making his way over to you. 

you look at him with a small frown as another apology falls from your lips, his hand moving to your cheek to press a kiss to your lips. 

“it’s fine, you got me out of it,” wooyoung says before a smirk crosses his lips as he looks over your body. “now i can join you.” 

your eyebrow raises as you look at him, a smirk pulling at your lips before you tongue peeks out. “oh? when did i invite you?”

❥ choi jongho

“i warned you about it and you still managed to come in with the smallest pair of shorts you own. how is that even-“

“don’t remind me!” you whine, burying your face in his chest as your cheeks warm. “i’m so embarrassed.”

jongho laughs against your head, still hearing the screams of san and wooyoung when they noticed you back in the kitchen; they’d never seen you anything but a long dress or jeans, completely thrown off by seeing you in such revealing clothing. 

“y/n! you should dress like that more often!” wooyoung teased, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively that caused jongho to roll his eyes and growl a few curses at him. he liked that you only wore those shorts in front of him and when their vacations end, he thinks he’s gonna have to kick wooyoung just a little too roughly in the leg. 

more reactions here 💛

[spencers-renaissance]

Pull Me Out of the Glowing Stream

Summary: Spencer develops bacterial meningitis and Hotch sort of forgets how to breathe

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Protective Hotch, Spencer Reid Whump, Major Illness, Angst, Fluff, Medical Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending

Pairing: Gen, Paternal Hotch

Word Count: 3.8k

Read on AO3

A grotty police department in rural Illinois was really not the time and place for Spencer’s body to decide to have a minor breakdown, but really, what was he expecting at this point? For things to go right for once? 

It’s the kind of headache not even two paracetamol and a cup of coffee can shift and he sort of feels like his head might split in two. Not ideal when he had a complicated geographical profile to work up to help the team locate an enraged killer who was flitting between various small towns in the northwest corner of the state. 

“Spencer?”

He’s shaken out of his depressing thoughts by Derek’s slightly concerned voice, causing him to pull his hands away from his head and force himself from squinting against the light. He’d felt fine this morning and he can’t really put his finger on what exactly is wrong besides the headache he just feels… off.

If he can help it though, Derek will most definitely not find out. His coworkers don’t need to think he’s anymore weak than they already do. 

“Sorry,” Spencer says, feigning a weak smile. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.” 

Derek doesn’t look completely convinced, but he nods anyway. “JJ and I are headed to interview the most recent victim’s family but Rossi and Blake will be back from the ME’s office shortly. Hotch is just in the break room talking to some LEOs, alright?” he says, grabbing his leather jacket from the back of one of the chairs. “See you in a bit, Spencer.”

Spencer has to stop himself from physically falling on the floor and rolling into a protective ball as soon as Derek leaves the room. He’s so exhausted and in so much pain, the last thing he wants to do is gather around the table and have to propose valuable theories about the case to build the profile. He just feels like such an outsider sometimes, and it’s been even worse recently. He’s felt himself withdraw from the group, sheltering himself from the prying glances and teasing comments, but he just can’t help it; he doesn’t even know why, really. 

Honestly, he’s desperate to crawl back to the hotel room and bury himself under the covers and never resurface again, but he can’t. The only time he really feels valuable is when he’s working, when he’s tangibly contributing to solving the case, and he can’t sacrifice that for a little head cold or whatever’s going on. Besides, nobody needs to hear him whinge about his stupid problems. Everyone has enough to deal with without him as an added burden.

Hotch is shooting him concerned looks and it’s only making him feel worse. He really doesn’t need to be berating himself for making his team members worry on top of already feeling at death’s door. The real problem, however, is that it’s only getting worse. He’s struggling to concentrate and feels hot under the collar, and it’s getting harder and harder to ignore the swirling nausea in his tummy. But his health cannot be the priority right now and surely Hotch must realise that: there’s a killer on the loose and he knows that he can be an immensely useful resource, headache be damned. 

Focus. He tries to look back towards the board -- he knows there’s something in one of the pictures that’s not quite right, not that he can remember which one or what it was -- but his neck protests as he tries to move it, stiffening up in response to the pain. Keeping his head down instead, staring at the case file he has open on the desk in front of him, he notices his pen quivering a little in his hand as it shakes. His glance upwards to check if anyone saw is immediately met by Hotch, whose muted concern has clearly morphed into full-blown distress, and he quickly looks away. 

“Spencer?” Hotch says gently, trying not to attract the attention of the other team members who are quietly discussing the case at the other end of the table. 

It’s the jerk of his head to look back up at him that does it. He feels his head loll and his stomach drop out from under him, nausea pouring into his insides as his eyes lose their focus. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles, though it comes out far too slurred to be intelligible, and everything fades to black. 

★

Hotch is pretty sure his heart stops beating for a moment as he watches Spencer slump forward in his chair, falling to the side a little as his muscles give in to what’s clearly been plaguing him all day. The others snap out of their conversation fast, Alex rushing to his side. “Spencer?” she asks, voice insistent and full of anxiety. “Spencer, wake up, come on.” She pauses to press two fingers to his pulse point as her other hand feels his forehead before looking Hotch in the eyes, urgency filling her voice. “His pulse is weak and he has a serious fever.”

“Call an ambulance and explain what’s going on,” Hotch says, feeling the colour leave his face as he takes in the situation. “Dave, I need you, Derek and JJ to carry on working the case, Blake and I will go to the hospital with Spencer.”

The paramedics arrive quickly, by which time everyone in the PD is nosily peering through the windows, eager to watch the macabre theatrics of a medical emergency. Hotch backs away from where he’d crouched to hold Spencer’s hand, as does Blake and Spencer is quickly hooked up to the portable monitor. Hotch didn’t miss the grave glance that was shared between the two of them; he’d given and received enough of them in the course of his career to know they meant not good.

“Blake, you drive behind,” he murmurs softly as he watches an oxygen mask be placed over Spencer’s nose and mouth. “I’m riding with.” 

He hasn’t felt so sick to his stomach since he was driving to his own house to meet his wife’s dead body, and God, did he absolutely not miss the feeling. Spencer’s hand is freezing cold, and he’s still shaking slightly through the deep slumber that has overtaken his body, though luckily he’s stable enough that the paramedics don’t seem to be able to do a lot more for him until he is admitted to the ER. 

Seeing Spencer lie so small and frail under all the wires as he’s jolted about slightly by the ambulance’s fast pace cuts deep into an area of his heart he usually keeps so closely guarded, reserved for moments with his son and the grief that lingers cold and heavy from Haley’s death. Spencer is family: he’s watching the man he considers a son teeter far too close to the edge of death, and all he can do is remind himself how to breathe. 

“Hang in there, Spencer,” he whispers, gently pulling the cold hand he’s holding to his face and holding it there a moment. “You’re going to be okay.” He has to be.

The nearest hospital is thankfully close, and Hotch sends up a prayer of thanks that they were sent to a city and not on a rural, buttfuck nowhere case. The paramedics waste no time wheeling Spencer’s gurney into the ER, reeling off his stats in code Hotch couldn’t hope to understand to the awaiting doctors, admitted immediately for further tests to establish treatment while he’s steered by a patient nurse to a quiet waiting area. 

Alex rushes in less than five minutes later, filling with relief when she clocked Hotch sitting in the corner. “Any news?” she asks, cautiously optimistic. 

Hotch grimaces in response. “No, he was only just admitted,” he sighs, emotion creeping into his face in a way he usually staves off at work. A hurt Spencer Reid warrants that much, at least. “He was stable in the ambulance, though. They’re running tests now for a diagnosis.” He looks down at his clasped hands. “I should have noticed it sooner.”

Alex sits down next to him slowly and sighs. “There’s no use in blaming yourself,” she says gently. “Spencer wouldn’t want that. We all could’ve picked up on the signs sooner or been more persistent in asking what was wrong, you’re not in the wrong here. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20.”

“I know,” Hotch says eventually. “I just feel so responsible for him. He’s still so young and has so much in front of him, if-- if something happened to him, I’d never forgive myself.” 

“Yeah,” Alex whispers, pressing her lips together. “None of us would.”

“I just couldn’t live in a world where Spencer doesn’t exist.” His voice chokes off as the dam breaks and he cries quietly into his hands, pain blossoming in his chest as the thought of Spencer dying and the crushing agony of muffled sobs collide. 

“Oh, Hotch,” Alex murmurs sympathetically as she watches her boss crumble in front of her. “No-one’s told us to prepare for Spencer dying, okay? You said yourself that he was stable in the ambulance and aside from a thready pulse and a fever we don’t know anything else about his physical state. Don’t torture yourself with a future that frankly looks unlikely as of now, it’s not worth it.” 

Hotch nods, taking a deep if shaky breath in and wiping his eyes one last time, looking back at Alex. “I’m sorry for panicking.”

“Don’t apologise,” she dismisses him gently. “It’s a scary situation, and Spencer is like a son to you.”

“This must be even harder for you,” he says, looking up and meeting her eyes. “I should have stayed stronger for you as well as Spencer.”

“Please,” Alex scoffs. “We all have our ways of coping. Ethan died a long time ago and although the grief I feel for him is like glitter I can’t brush away, I’ve learned how to move forward with my life, carrying that gorgeous shimmer with me.”

They share a small smile over that, and Hotch pats her upper arm with his hand softly before patting his knees and standing up. “I’m going to step outside to call Dave,” he says, a new resolve and determination finding its way into his voice. “I expect that it might be a while, but find me immediately if anything happens, I’ll be just outside the entrance.”

“Aaron?” Dave asks, voice a little tinny and muffled down the phone, swept away slightly by the midwest wind. “How’s Spencer?”

“Not sure yet,” he replies, voice grim. “He was admitted immediately for tests but he was relatively okay the last time I saw him, I think. Alex is here now, and we’ll keep looking over the files while we wait, seeing if we can build on the profile. Ring me with any developments, alright?” 

“Yeah, no problem,” Dave says. “Morgan and I have come to follow a lead we got on a possible associate, and I’ll give you a ring when we leave. Sit tight and give my love to the kid when you see him, Aaron.”

They don’t have to sit in vigil for long before a middle-aged doctor calls Spencer’s name in the waiting room. “Unfortunately, Spencer has bacterial meningitis,” she explains gently as soon as they approach her. “It’s been caught relatively early so his chances are good, but this is a serious disease that needs to be monitored closely so he’s been moved to the ICU. He had a seizure shortly after the lumbar puncture we performed which is a sign of an escalation, but we’ve adjusted his meds accordingly and I can assure you he’s getting the best treatment possible. The ICU is limited to one visitor at a time, but you can see him now; he’s awake though a little drowsy.”

Alex smiles at him and ushers him forward while she goes to sit back down without a word, leaving Hotch to follow the doctor. He wishes desperately to have Spencer walking next to him, rapidly reeling off statistics and fast facts about the disease, because he feels a little in the dark, here. All he remembers is that bacterial is the most serious manifestation of meningitis and it has a high fatality rate. The same heavy sickness from the ambulance sinks deeper into his stomach, weighing him down. Spencer could die. 

He looks small on the hospital bed. It’s such a cliche but it’s true, his already small frame and the spacious bed combined with his pale face and outfit of wires make him look so tiny and all Hotch wants to do is climb into bed with him and wrap him in a protective hug and never let him go. 

“Hotch?” Spencer murmurs as he approaches the bed, smiling gratefully at the doctor before she leaves them to it. 

“Yeah, Spencer, it’s me,” he says gently, sitting down in the chair next to the bed and scooching it as close as possible. “How are you holding up?”

“Hurts,” he says, voice weak. “A lot. Bacteria sucks.”

“It does,” Hotch chuckles. “It definitely sucks. Big time. I’m sorry this is happening, Spencer. And I’m sorry we didn’t catch on to you sooner and get you here faster.”

“Please,” he laughs, wincing a bit as the movement settles an ache deeper into his muscles. “I wouldn’t have let you. I can be a little stubborn.” 

Spencer’s voice is slurred slightly but the relief settling into Hotch’s bones at how lucid he is feels almost euphoric. “You’re definitely stubborn,” he says fondly, caressing Spencer’s hand with his thumb. “Our stubborn little mule.” 

“Not little,” he pouts in response, eyes drooping slowly closed.

“No,” he reassures him. “You’re not little. You’re strong, and you’re going to fight this, Spencer.”

“Yeah,” Spencer mumbles. “Fight it. Hotch… stay with me?”

“I’ll stay as long as they’ll let me stay, Angel.”

“Angel,” Spencer whispers, a happy smile playing on his lips as he finally gives in to the sleep tugging at his body. 

★

It takes Spencer another three and a half days before he’s awake for more than a few minutes at a time and satisfactorily lucid. Thankfully, the anticonvulsants had staved off another seizure and his temperature was slowly but surely dropping as his body fought off the infection, aided by the intravenous antibiotics being steadily dripped into his bloodstream. His oxygen mask had been swapped for a nasal cannula and he was no longer trembling. 

Hotch spends the majority of visiting hours sitting beside his bed, texting or phoning the team while working as many angles as he could with only a laptop and the case files Alex is bringing him, but it seems so trivial everytime he looks up and Spencer is lying there looking small and peaceful as he sleeps, meningitis ravishing his body. He’d been worried for the first day at how much Spencer was sleeping, but a kind nurse explained that it was normal; his body was just fighting off a brutal infection and could do that best when he was asleep. Now it just makes him happy to see him dreaming away, knowing that his body is doing the best to help him get better.

He’d tried to avoid googling ‘bacterial meningitis’, but he gave up on the second day and scrolled through endless sites, torturing himself with statistics and facts and prognoses. It gave him a newfound respect and empathy for Spencer: he knows these about pretty much everything and has to live with them all the time. He knows his own survival chances very well, can probably recite specific cases and studies and has no escape at all. 

Spencer manages to sit up on the third day and Hotch pulls out a portable chess board that Dave had gone out and bought specifically for this moment. 

“You play?” Spencer asks sceptically, raising his eyebrows.

“I’ve dabbled,” Hotch replies lightly, a smile playing over his lips as he takes in Spencer’s doubtful but eager expression.

“I’ll probably win in under twenty moves,” Spencer challenges, matching Hotch’s smile. 

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Hotch chuckles. “But I’ll put myself through it anyway.” 

Spencer stays true to his word and wins in 17 moves, making Hotch throw his hands up and lean back in his chair, smiling at the other man before packing the board back away. Spencer looks miles healthier, the antibiotics clearly starting to do the trick, but he’s still seriously fatigued and shuffles down the bed to lean his head back and relax a bit more, sitting up for a few minutes tiring him out. 

Hotch pauses for a moment before deciding to broach the subject. “Spencer,” he starts softly, meeting the man’s hazy gaze, “why didn’t you say anything to us sooner? You clearly had a crashing headache, muscle pain, nausea. You said you felt the fever come on. You could have said something sooner and I would have helped you. Your health should come before a case.”

Spencer closes his eyes in shame for a moment, a blush blooming over his cheeks as he looks back to Hotch. “I’m sorry, I just-- It was a grisly case and I thought that was the most important thing, I guess. I’m no use stuck in a sick bed. I just felt bad making everything about me when in the grand scheme of things, a headache is pretty menial. Felt… isolated, maybe.”

“Oh, Spence,” Hotch says sympathetically, reaching back over to grip Spencer’s hand in both of his. “This is really serious, okay? If we’d left it much later or you hadn’t passed out but continued to suffer in silence, you could have died.” He has to pause for a moment as he chokes on the word. “Missing one case and being better for hundreds more is better than working yourself to the bone on this one and then not being around for anymore, isn’t it? You are so valuable, Spencer. Not just your eidetic memory or IQ, you. Spencer Reid is special and loved and important, and I don’t want you to ever think that a case is more important than you, or that we’ll be annoyed by anything that you need to talk to us about. If you ever feel alone, you come and find me and I’ll do my best to banish that feeling, okay?”

“I’m sorry,” Spencer murmurs again. “I guess I just find it hard to believe that people care about me for more than what I can offer them. I never had anyone value me the way you do, and I still struggle to wrap my head around it. I’m sorry for scaring you, but I promise I already feel better. I’m not going anywhere, I promise, Hotch.”

“You’d better not,” he replies, letting himself smile a bit. “I know it’s hard for you to trust us, Spencer, but we’re your family, okay? Any of us would drop anything for you, stubborn little mule.”

Spencer doesn’t correct him this time, opting instead for a wide smile. “Thank you, Aaron,” he whispers intimately. “For being here, I mean. It’s scary on my own and having you next to me makes me feel safe.”

“Good,” Hotch says, smiling at Spencer’s use of his first name. “You’re always safe with me. You should rest now, you’re tired. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

★

Once Spencer’s moved out of the ICU on day five, the team are finally allowed to come and visit him, bringing Penelope, presents and smiles and noise. And reprimands. Many reprimands. 

“If you ever put a case above your own damn health again, it won’t be meningitis you have to worry about but Penelope’s wrath, alright Spence?” JJ scolds as she gives him a gentle hug, though her smile betrays her. Penelope is stood at the foot of his bed trying her best to look scary, but like JJ her eyes are far too soft and relief colours her body language. Plus it’s hard to look domineering in a bright orange floral dress and flowers in your hair. 

“Sorry, Pen, JJ,” he says sheepishly, looking at each of them apologetically. “Bacterial meningitis will definitely teach you to listen to your body.” 

“Well if that’s the only good thing that’s come out of this then so be it,” Penelope says with finality, before she melts away her faux stern look and smiles at him. “Now, we bring you gifts and cookies.” 

He opens each of the presents with the wide, open smile he doesn’t let cross his face very often, feeling deeply loved and cherished by his found family. His hospital room is covered in flowers and chocolates and academic books as well as endless gift bags and wrapping paper by the time he’s finished, and although he’s still in a lot of pain and knows he might never fully recover, in this moment he’s the happiest he’s been in a long time. 

The doctor tells Spencer and Hotch a week and a day after his admittance that he’s been lucky enough to escape relatively unscathed. “You need to look out for any of the long term effects of bacterial meningitis such as concentration issues, hearing loss, visual disturbances, chronic pain etcetera but our tests seem to suggest you’re in the lucky c50% of survivors who escape without a permanent disability and we’d most likely have caught it by now. You need to take it easy for two weeks, make sure you’re resting and drinking plenty of fluids, and if you feel any symptoms coming back or becoming more severe you need to get to a hospital as soon as possible,” she says, handing him the discharge paperwork. 

“Spencer, I think you should come and stay with me for those two weeks, okay? I’ll be there to take care of you and keep you company while you finish recovering. How does that sound?” he asks as Spencer signs the sheet of paper and hands it back to the doctor who smiles at them before turning to leave.

“Are you sure you’re okay with that?” he asks. “I don’t want to impose on you and Jack.”

“Don’t be silly, I’m offering. Besides, Jack will love having his own personal encyclopedia in the house. He loves you.”

Spencer grins widely at that. “Then that sounds like a plan.”

He sleeps for the majority of the two hour flight home, leaning against Hotch’s shoulder buried under the blanket JJ always carries with her in case anyone gets cold while the older man fills in some paperwork for the case they’d wrapped up a few days prior. The gentle noise of his family chatting around the plane and the comforting smell and feel of his protector surrounding him lull him into a sense of safety and reassurance, resting in the knowledge that his family loves him unconditionally. No matter what happens next, even if a long term condition was going to hit him like a ton of bricks, they weren’t going to leave him, and he was valued. Not for his brain, but because he was Spencer Reid, loved and cherished member of the BAU. 

[nancylou444]

Real life “United States of Al”

(x)

A Stranded Interpreter, and the Soldiers Who Would Not Let Go

Many Afghans who helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan are now in danger. One spoke to us about his battle to get his family out alive as he hid in Kabul.

By Farnaz Fassihi

The Americans called him “Mikey,” and as an interpreter for the Special Forces he did not just bridge language gaps. He did everything from easing negotiations with local Afghans loyal to the Taliban to warning a convoy away from an ambush.

“Mikey wasn’t just a regular interpreter,” recalls Sgt. First Class Joseph Torres, a Texan who served in the Special Forces. “He was our lifeline. He went everywhere we went on the most remote and dangerous missions. It was because of him that we returned home alive after deployments.”

But the day after Kabul fell to the Taliban, the 34-year-old Afghan was on his own.

Determined to get out of Afghanistan, he was making a desperate run to the airport with his wife and two young sons when they were caught in gunfire amid the crush of people who had gathered there to escape. His wife and one son, 6, were both shot in the foot.

As he carried the bloodied and screaming child in search of a hospital, Mikey says, he flashed back to his time on the battlefield with American forces.

“I kept thinking, after everything I did for the Americans,” he said. “After all my hard work and risking my life, now this is what happens to my family? They are leaving us to die here.”

Mikey — who is being identified by his American nickname only for safety reasons — is one of tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the United States and have applications pending for expedited visas allowing them to resettle in America. President Biden has pledged that Afghan allies will be welcomed to “their new homes” and called the situation on the ground “heartbreaking.”

But the evacuation of U.S. citizens and green-card holders remains the immediate priority of the military operation underway at the Kabul airport. That means that for many Afghans who worked with the United States, there is little to do but wait — and try to keep out of the sights of the Taliban.

Mikey worked as an interpreter for the Special Forces from 2009 to 2012 in Kandahar, and from 2015 to 2017 in Kabul. He was once so badly wounded in an explosion that he had to be airlifted to a field hospital.

The night his wife and son were shot, Mikey got them into a hospital and then went into hiding. Preferring rooms without windows, he switched locations four times in one week.

He was waiting for the U.S. government to give him an evacuation plan. He was waiting for the approval of his visa application.

And he was waiting for the Taliban to find him.

In interviews from his bunkers in Kabul as events unfolded over the past week, Mikey talked about the ordeal of trying to keep himself alive and his family safe in the chaos left behind by the U.S. exit from Afghanistan. With no word from the U.S. government about when or how he might get out, he realized that the bonds he had forged with U.S. soldiers might offer his only hope for safe passage.

That is where Sergeant Torres, who now lives in Pecos, Tex., came in.

He had worked with Mikey on multiple deployments, and now he had a new battle: leading a global operation to get him out.

To coordinate those efforts, Sergeant Torres and a group of about 20 former and current members of the military formed a WhatsApp chat group and an email thread. They reached out to military and State Department contacts, along with members of Congress, to try to get Mikey and his family onto a military evacuation plane.

They say they understand why U.S. citizens are getting priority when it comes to evacuations. The outrage is over the lack of a clear plan for all those Afghans who worked side by side with the Americans, who may have targets on their backs now that the Taliban is in control.

“It’s infuriating,” Sergeant Torres said. “My heart breaks for everyone who doesn’t have the support Mikey has.”

It was not the case that Mikey tried to get out of Afghanistan only when the danger became clear.

He started his special visa application in 2012, when he was in Kandahar with the military. He had his interview, one of the final steps in the process, in November 2018 when he worked at Camp Duskin in Kabul. He is still waiting for medical tests and approval. Emails he has sent to follow up on his application have gone unanswered.

Across the United States, members of the armed forces are leading their own campaigns to pressure the Biden administration to scale up the evacuation of Afghans who worked as their interpreters. They have taken to social media and created fund-raising campaigns such as “Help Our Interpreters.”

Military interpreters are among the most vulnerable of Afghan allies. The nature of their work required that they accompany military personnel in the battlefield and be present during interactions with locals. If residents of the areas where they worked were hostile to Americans, the interpreters could be easily identified for the Taliban.

Mikey was a teenager in Kabul when the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001. In high school he worked hard to learn English, and his language teacher suggested he work as an interpreter for the Americans after graduation.

He was dispatched to Kandahar airfield, one of the largest U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, and from there to multiple remote outposts, quickly working his way up to become a lead interpreter.

“Mikey was always fun to be around, very open-minded with a very big heart,” said Sgt. First Class Raymond Steele, an active member of Special Forces who has stayed in regular contact with him over the years.

Mikey listened to communications to intercept threats, talking to local tribal leaders in person and on his phone. On one patrol, he got word of an ambush and of insurgents burying explosive devices in their path.

“I felt proud of my job because it felt like I was helping my country,” Mikey said.

Between stints in Kandahar and Kabul, Mikey got married. He bought a car and worked as a taxi driver in Kabul. He and his wife had children.

But the U.S. era in Afghanistan was ending — and the Taliban’s resuming. That left countless Afghans feeling helpless and adrift, as Mikey was when we spoke by phone last Saturday night.

“We are in the dark,” he told me. “My American friends say just wait, wait to see what happens. Be ready to leave when we tell you.”

Then on Monday around 4 p.m. Mikey received an astonishing text from Sergeant Torres: We are going to get you out, it said. Get ready now. Wait for instructions.

The mission to rescue Mikey, with the help of current and former military contacts on the ground, was in motion — and things were moving quickly. In a space of two hours, Mikey and his family were hidden in a car, their documents stashed, heading for a gate at the Kabul airport where members of the military were expecting him.

They welcomed him, taking his family to a clinic so his wife’s and son’s bullet wounds could be treated. The children got candy.

When Sergeant Torres got the call that Mikey was finally in the clear, he broke into sobs. He never cries, he says. Sergeant Steele called Mikey and shouted, “I love you, man.”

On Tuesday, Mikey and his family flew out of Afghanistan aboard a U.S. military plane, his initial destination withheld for security reasons.

It was his son’s sixth birthday.

“I am extremely relieved and happy,” Mikey said during a call from the tarmac in Kabul as he waited to board the plane. “My infinite gratitude for the help and kindness of my American brothers. You gave us a second chance at life.”

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

Biden should have gotten everybody out before PUBLICALLY announcing he was pulling troops from  Afghanistan.

This is heartbreaking. 

[curiosi-tea-writes]

Letters from Home (One Survivor pt. 2)

Pairing: Din Djarin  Cobb Vanth

Setting: Survivor AU / Modern AU (My previous fic of this AU can be found here.)

Warning: This is 3036 words of almost pure angst! Also, some cursing.

Summary: Din and Cobb are excited to go to a reward challenge together with Fennec and Boba until it’s reveled that part of the reward are letters from home. Then, Din asks Fennec to help him with a lie to Cobb that would advance one of them in the game while taking the other out of it. 

@i-dnt-know-either helped me a lot with the last bit of this fic and @intricatecakes is very likely to put me in angst jail for this. I refuse to be sorry.

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

“It wasn’t long after the merge. The final eight Survivors were split up into groups of four for a reward challenge, chosen by drawing colored rocks. Fennec, Boba, Din, and Cobb had ended up on the same team - Fennec and Boba rolling their eyes impossibly hard as the two younger men smiled brightly at each other.

“You’ve chosen your teams. Want to know what you’re playing for?” Jeff asked with a grin. When all the contestants nodded excitedly, he clapped his hands together. “By now, I know you would all like a nice break from the game. There are beautiful waterfalls just on the next island over. Winners of today’s challenge will take a boat over to see one of them.” There was ooh-ing and ah-ing amongst the Survivors. “And- because you’re all hungry, and I’m sure missing the states at this point- a BBQ. Hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, the whole deal.”

Din laughed as Cobb excitedly wrapped his arm around his shoulder and gently shook him. 

“And one final thing,” Jeff began again. He pulled a cloth off of the table revealing a stack of brown envelopes. “Letters from home.” 

Cobb stiffened quickly, his smile dropping. Din found it impossible to miss the look of near pity that Jeff threw to Cobb. He watched Cobb give a short nod in return as he pulled his arm off of Din’s shoulders. 

“You okay?” Din whispered, leaning close to him. “Letters from home, that sounds amazing! I’m sure everyone back home misses you a lot.”

Cobb cleared his throat and forced a smile, one that quickly turned genuine when he met Din’s eyes. “Yeah,” he choked out, “I’m sure you’re excited to hear from your son.”

“Kiddin’?” Din scoffed out, looking away. “I miss him like crazy. Meanwhile, I’m sure he’s having the time of his life with his aunt.”

“Nah,” Cobb shook his head. “He misses you. And I’m positive you got a letter in there from him tellin’ you as much. Which is why,” he nudged Din’s shoulder to make him look at him again, “we gotta win this one.”

Din had the brightest smile Cobb had ever seen him give as they lined up to begin the challenge. It filled Cobb with the sort of energy that he felt like he could run a marathon. Which was kind of what they had to do, run a marathon- in an oval- in the water- carrying 20 pounds of sand each.

"For reward:," Jeff called from his tower at the center of the oval, "a taste from home with a BBQ by a waterfall and letters from home. Survivors, ready!"

Din and Cobb shared a smile of good luck as they had during every pause before they started a challenge since the merge. It always gave Cobb a lot of hope.

"Go!"

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

"Cobb, Din, Fennec, and Boba win reward!" Jeff called as Fennec managed to tag a member of the other team.

Cobb cheered loudly in Din's ear as he threw his arms around his neck with a bounce. Din stumbled backwards with a laugh, wrapping his arms tightly around Cobb's waist. He buried his face in Cobb's neck, taking a deep and calming breath.

The promise of good food, a letter from his son, two of the best friends he had ever made, and the man who had somehow managed to win his heart. What could be a better afternoon?

The other half of the tribe was dismissed back to camp. The four friends boarded the small boat, Jeff following in behind them, stack of everyone's letters in hand. It was a quiet trip and Cobb was thankful for it. It gave him a chance to breathe and enjoy the feeling in his chest when Din slowly slid their hands together, interlocking their fingers. Cobb gave a soft squeeze which earned him a smile in return.

They were at the island far too quickly for either of their likings and everyone was leaving the boat.

"Before you go," Jeff said, separating the first few letters from the stack. "Letters from home, you can either share these with each other or keep them to yourselves." Fennec gave a small laugh of joy which made everyone chuckle. She was normally so serious.

"You'll notice, however," he continued, "there's only three letters here." He passed the stack of letters over to Boba who took them questioningly. Jeff turned to Cobb, the same look of pity on his face that he had before the challenge. "Cowboy, I'm sorry to say we didn't get a letter for you. I'm not sure if it just wasn't sent in on time or what happened, but I'm sorry."

Cobb nodded, straightening his shoulders. He tried to focus on Din's hand on his shoulder and not on Fennec and Boba's apologies towards him.

Jeff nodded and clapped his hands together. "You four enjoy your reward. See you at the next challenge!"

And then Jeff was gone and the four friends were left to walk the trail to the waterfall. Because it wasn't wide enough to walk even two across, Cobb let the three of them take the lead, choosing to stay a couple paces behind Din. He tried not to pay mind to the way Din glanced at him over his shoulder. He tried not to care that he had the same look of pity that Jeff had given him and, for the first time ever, Cobb wished he hadn't been voted back into the game. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have made it to this challenge and wouldn't have to be attempting to ignore looks and words of pity.

The sight of the waterfall was a welcomed one indeed. The four Survivors stopped and gazed at it, eyes wide, truly thrilled for the first time in so long.

Once sat around a small picnic bench, food laid out in front of them, Boba jumped right into strategy. The game never really stops. Cobb was the "outsider" of the tribe. All but Boba from the old Marseydotes tribe hated him because he got voted back in, while most of the old Noyapara tribe wasn't thrilled that he pulled Din into a separate alliance. Boba, Fennec, and Din all firmly believed Cobb could win the whole game and had decided right at the merge that they were going to make it happen. It was almost all Boba would talk about at this point.

Once the latest game plan was decided, the four of them fell into silence. Cobb knew that he didn't have it in him to keep them from the part of the reward they truly wanted to take part in. Everyone watched quietly as he stood and gave a small smile. "I'm gonna go up the trail a bit more, look around." He gave a small awkward wave up towards the waterfall. "You guys do your thing," he sighed, now gesturing at the stack of letters on the table.

Without meeting any of their eyes, he quickly walked away from the table and started up the path. He was happy that they all got their letters. But it still hurt.

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

Din found Cobb sitting on a rock at the top of the waterfall, fiddling with his scarf. He took the moment of being hidden from Cobb's sight to appreciate the way the sun hit his skin and the soft breeze pushed his hair to the wrong side.

He sighed softly and walked slowly to join him. He took a seat next to him and the rock and bumped his shoulder, which got him a chuckle.

"You didn't have to leave," Din commented quietly.

Cobb let out a shaky sigh. "I know. But you guys weren't going to open the letters unless I did."

"You know us too well." Din turned and looked up at Cobb who was only giving him a side glance. After a moment of silence, Din finally risked saying what was on his mind, "Jeff said it probably got lost in the mail or-"

"Nobody wrote to me," Cobb interrupted, taking his eyes off Din and putting them back on the scenery. He heard Din sigh beside him and could almost feel the questions that were surely running through his mind. Cobb took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I didn't have anyone to write me anything."

Din watched as Cobb's fingers tightened around his scarf the way he did when he was nervous at tribal council. He slowly raised his hand and brushed his fingers lightly along Cobb's. He smiled when Cobb quickly let go of his scarf in favor of Din's hand.

Cobb knew he could let it go. Din wasn't going to push him for any more answers than he was willing to give. He could leave it at that and they could get on with the game and Din didn't need to know. But it was Din. He was the most understanding person Cobb had ever met. If he couldn't tell Din the full truth, who could he tell?

With another deep breath, Cobb continued, and Din listened carefully, his thumb running along the side of Cobb's hand softly. "My parents aren't around anymore. They died a few years ago. I was an only child so it’s not like I had any siblings to write to me. The only real friends I have are at work and I lied to be able to get time off to come here so I couldn't tell any of them where I was going."

"So nobody knows you're out here?"

"Nobody but the show crew and the 15 other players," Cobb mumbled with a nod. He finally opened his eyes and turned to look at Din, expecting to see the pity. But instead all he saw was love.

Din tilted his head a little. "Why the confused look?"

"You-" Cobb stopped and shifted how he was sitting, facing Din more straight on. "You get it," he stated simply, knowing Din would understand.

And he did. Din nodded with a soft smile. "My parents died when I was a kid. Grogu is the only family I've ever truly known."

Cobb gave Din's hand a small squeeze and smiled, admiring the way Din's eyes always lit up when he talked about his son. "Did he write to you?"

Din grinned and nodded. "Yeah, Peli helped a lot, he's just learning to write. He drew some pictures too which were cute." Din's smile drooped a little and he looked away back over the waterfall as he realized he could have just answered Cobb with a "yes" and it would've been preferable. He couldn't imagine Cobb really wanted to hear Din go on about his son's letter right then.

"Could I see it?" Cobb asked, nudging his shoulder with a smile.

Din snapped his gaze back to Cobb, surprised. When he saw the soft look Cobb was giving him, he breathed a sigh of relief knowing he hadn't said the wrong thing. He nodded and pulled the folded up papers from his back pocket. He unfolded them carefully and passed them over to Cobb who took them and scooted closer to Din.

Their legs were pressed together as Cobb opened the papers. Din wrapped his arms around Cobb's middle and rested his chin on his shoulder, allowing him to look again at the letter.

The letter was written in green crayon which made Cobb chuckle, remembering Din mentioning Grogu's obsession with green. It was shaky handwriting but surprisingly readable. On the second page were small doodles of Grogu and Din and a few of Din on the island.

Cobb smiled and he refolded the papers and handed them back to Din. "He seems like a really sweet kid," he spoke softly. He turned his head just enough to place a small kiss to Din's cheek. His smile widened when Din turned and nuzzled his nose into Cobb's neck.

"He's going to love you," Din replied, voice muffled against Cobb's scarf.

Cobb froze for a moment, wondering if he had heard him right. They had never talked about what would happen after the game was over.

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

That night, Din and Cobb laid together in the shelter. They had spent every night since the merge cuddled close to each other and this night was no different. Cobb had his chest resting on Din's chest, listening to his heartbeat. He was sure that Din was asleep already, as most of the players were, but Cobb was wide awake thinking of Din and the game.

Would they still be together when the game ended? Were they together even now? Pairs can make it to the final two, but lovers can only go so far in this game before they have to decide if a potential relationship is worth a million dollars. But Cobb also knew that neither of them were in it for the money. Cobb just wanted an adventure and Din just wanted to make his son happy. Cobb supposed that was going to be something they would have to talk about sooner or later.

For now, he supposed, he could just be content knowing that he was in Din's arms and cared for in the moment.

But what Cobb didn't know was that Din was also awake, and thinking of Cobb, but not the game.

He was picturing loading Grogu into the car for a road trip to go see Cobb once the game was over. He was sure that Grogu was going to love him and not because Grogu loves everyone. Cobb was funny and smart and Grogu was going to adore that. He knew his son would hear him talk and ask him if he's a cowboy which will likely make Cobb laugh. Cobb would probably say yes just to amuse him.

He knew they hadn't talked about what would happen after the game. But he knew that he cared for Cobb so much that there was no way he was letting this relationship be just during the game, even if it meant not winning. He didn't really care about the money anyways, but he knew Cobb did, even though he wouldn't admit it even to himself. Din saw the way he talked about wanting to open up a photography studio and he knew the money would help him with that.

In the cold air of the night on a nearly deserted island, his arm tightly wrapped around Cobb while the other man traced soft patterns on his shoulder, Din made his decision on two accounts. He wasn't letting Cobb go so easily. And he would take the fall if it meant Cobb had a chance of winning this game.

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

Four tribal councils later, they were down to the final four. Boba had won immunity and, as a group, they had decided they would tie the vote between Cobb and Din. Or, that's what was discussed in the open. Before the day was over, Din pulled Fennec aside and told her what was really going to happen.

"So you're screwing me," Fennec nearly yelled. She was furious. "I don't have a chance in Hell if you quit."

"I'm not quitting, Fennec! Don't you think I've thought this through?" Din ran a hand through his hair and sighed when Fennec didn't answer.

"They're gonna kill me when we get back to camp," she whispered. "I'm the next one to go."

"No, I'm a sympathy vote. Tell them that, it’s the truth. You three have pissed off a lot of people these last few weeks. A teacher who's a single dad with a young kid sounds like a better winner of a million dollars, if you ask me." Fennec stayed silent. "Hey," Din whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If we tie, and we draw rocks, there's a chance it’s you going home tonight too. This way, you have a third of a chance of winning rather than a third of a chance of going home."

She scoffed. "I still have a third of a chance of going home."

"Then win immunity." He sighed deeply. "Look, you’re my friend, and me and Cobb, we’re- well, I’m not exactly sure what we are. If you win, if Cobb wins- I'll be happy. I just want to see people I feel deserve to be up there winning the prize."

“If we make it to the final two, you’d have to choose between me and him,” Fennec pointed out.

Din sighed. “I know, and it will be the hardest decision I’ve ever made.”

She pulled him into a tight hug. “You’re gonna vote for him,” she whispered.

“Fennec let’s just-”

“Din.” She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “If you end up on the jury and he doesn’t. Regardless of who is sitting next to him, you are going to vote for him, do you understand?” 

Din could just nod and give her another hug before they broke apart and headed back for camp. They had to prepare for tribal council. 

That night, Cobb and Boba voted for Din, Din voted for Cobb, like they had planned. And-

"Eleventh person voted out, and the sixth member of our jury: Din. That's three, that's enough, you need to bring me your torch."

Din grabbed his bag and shook Boba's hand. He kissed Fennec on the cheek and finally turned to Cobb who stood. The betrayal was written clear on his face and it broke Din's heart. He was expecting a cold shoulder and was surprised to tears when Cobb threw his arms around him.

"I love you," Din whispered in his ear before pulling away quickly and grabbing his touch before Cobb had the chance to reply or even process what he’d said.

"Din," Jeff said sadly. "The tribe has spoken." Din watched his torch be snuffed and nodded. "Time for you to go."

Din turned and waved. His heart broke impossibly more when he saw Cobb wipe his eyes with his scarf. Din blew him a kiss and his eyes watered as Cobb blew one back.

He turned and walked down the steps. At least he would get to see him in the next evening where, for as much as he liked Boba, he hoped Cobb or Fennec would be the one wearing the immunity necklace.

[blackypanther9]

Part 39 - Stories about the past Destiny...

No one’s POV...

Laufey mentioned for you both to go outside, you nodded and you both made your way out of the house.

"So..it worked ?", Laufey asked.

"Yes it did."

"What did you see ?"

"....Before we start about my past...We need to change my plan about the Infinity Stones. They have a strong gamma radiation, Thanos can detect them with that. So the Guardians got a fake gem and will say a spell to make it look like the stone never left. It will weaken my magic and maybe this body won't be my host for long. This gamma radiation will also be stronger than the originals. And they will all go to Midgard into my hide out."

Laufey stared at you and nodded slowly.

"Now...I believe that I knew Lena once...your wife...", you mumbled.

"How ?"

"I lived once, long before even the Midgardians existed. I believe I should be over 65 million or so years old...Which means in my old home that I am maybe...22 years old...And still we look young. We won't age until we are in our own home 10 000 years. And in...I believe 18 years you start to be a teenager.  With 20 years I got send into exile. For 1 year and...In space flashed millions of years before my eyes...It was scary..."

"WAIT ! 20 years on your home planet are almost 61 million years and 8 months long ?! How is that even possible ?!"

"Time...The deeper you are in space the slower you age."

"Holy...shit..."

"Yeah...Asgard is an example. Most of them count in Midgardian years, newly. If we would go for Asgardian years...Loki wouldn't be 362 years old, but maybe 19 years old now...If I calculate correctly. Soon turning 20... When I was still there, as little kid, I just handled with Asgardian years...Now not anymore."

'Lena ran maybe to her lover. She never told me what race he is, but she said his name was Laufey.', you heard yourself whisper.

"LENA !!", you screamed.

Laufey jumped.

"What is with a Lena ?"

"Your fucking wife Laufey ! She was an eternal being just like me ! Is there something you never told me ?!"

Laufey looked taken aback. Then sighed.

"She never told me, what she is. The only thing she said was that our son is very different from everyone. He is something special."

"Laufey...Loki is half Frost Giant, half eternal being ! A being with immense power ! He is a dangerous weapon ! Like me !"

Laufey stared at you shocked.

"WHAT ?!"

"He could control the Infinity Stones. I bet Loki or even somebody else never knew or found out ! Odin would have raised Loki like Hela ! And if Thanos would have known, he would never let him still live ! My kind is standing above Thanos' kind and Loki is half of that !"

"What means...!"

"He lives longer than even Thor and his heir. He would outlive them all and see them all die."

Laufey stared into space.

"I need time to let that sink in...", he said breathless.

"Laufey...Odin can never find out about this. We both know what he would do to Loki if he would know."

"Kill him..."

"No. Worse. He would torture Loki until he is agreeing to cause chaos in all realms and make them tremble under Odin’s mercy. Odin would make a monster out of Loki, like he did to Hela."

"We need to tell Loki.."

"No ! Loki can't know it ! He isn't ready for that. He just found out that he is a fricking Frost Giant, he got tortured, forced, manipulated, beaten, almost got killed, almost imprisoned and is traumatized. He is too broken to know ! We firstly need to fix him. He hates himself enough already."

You started to look even more sad.

"And he will soon hate me too..."

"What do you mean ?", asked Laufey confused.

You sighed.

"We need  the Soul Stone and it is practically cursed. I cursed it...and...I can't undo it. It wouldn't work..."

"What wouldn't work ? And why are you pulling Loki into this ?"

"To get the Soul Stone you need to sacrifice what you love dearest. We can't let Odin know anything. Thor wouldn't have the ass to sacrifice someone he loves dearest. Leaves only Loki, because I can't sacrifice anything. And even if I could sacrifice anything, it wouldn't work, because I put that spell on the Stone. It wouldn't react by me."

"Who does Loki loves dearest ?"

"You know who. It's a woman, family member also."

"Frigga...", Laufey whispered.

"Yes. Loki has to sacrifice her in Vomir. The thing is...it is a big price. A Soul, in exchange, for the Soul Stone. Which makes us come to the conclusion..."

"Loki has to kill her...", Laufey mumbled.

"Sadly yes. He has to kill her. Frigga is the person, Loki loves dearest. He has to push her off of a cliff. And Frigga's soul will never move on, nor you can bring her back with all stones. An exchange is an exchange."

"Never move on ?"

"Her soul will forever stuck in the Soul Stone. Once done, no turning back. It will be hard for him and Frigga, but we have no other choice. I don't know how I shall teach that to them..."

Little did you both know that someone eavesdropped on you... The person ran quietly and quickly back in the house. Loki opened the door and awoke Frigga with panic. As she was awake, she stood up and Loki told her to follow him. After they were in the living room they sat down and Loki let his facade fall, breaking down crying and hugging Frigga. Tight.

"I don't...I can't...Mother !"

Frigga looked at him worried. Loki never acted like a 5 year old child before. Not even when he was five. She hugged him back, rocked back and forth with him and humming a calming tune. After Loki calmed down again Frigga asked Loki worried.

"Son..what happened ?"

Loki slid down on his knees and buried his face into Frigga's stomach. He cried harder again.

"They want me to get the Soul Stone !!"

"Who, son ?"

"Destiny and Laufey !!"

"That is great ! They trust you."

"No ! You don't understand !! The gem wants a sacrifice !! You need to sacrifice what you love dearest !! A soul in exchange for the gem !! And I love you dearest, Mother !! I can't do this ! They can't do this to me ! Please !!", he screamed into Frigga's stomach.

She heard every word he said and then understood. He has to sacrifice her for the Soul Stone in exchange. She rubbed Loki's back, trying to calm him.

"Shh, Son. If you have to sacrifice me then so be it."

"No ! You could never move to Valhalla ! You would stuck in the gem forever ! I can't let that happen !! We can't even bring you back then either !!"

Frigga frowned for a second then smiled and lifted Loki's chin up with her finger.

"Loki. If it is the only way, then so be it. Also I do not think that Destiny wouldn't find a way to get me out of the gem. She made so many impossible things possible, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. I will never be mad at you, no matter what you did."

Loki's tear stained face broke Frigga's heart.

"What did she do ?"

Frigga smiled and created a little video screen then she told him...

Flashback Frigga's POV...

Many things. Like I said she made the impossible, possible. Without much trickery, lies or murder. I remember that one time when she ran down the halls with a determined expression. Many of our people just disappeared and didn't return in a couple of days we started searching. Destiny had a firm lead that day and ran to King Bor. She was still a freshman but was still better than anyone else.... for causing very much mischief. *chuckles*

"King Bor ! King Bor !"

As Destiny spotted Bor she yelled after him and he stopped in his tracks.

"I think I know where they are ! They are in a cave not far from here ! I saw 2 people go there ! Please let me go there with a few men."

At first Bor didn't believe her and shook his head.

"I am sick of your tricks, Destiny."

"B-but king Bor, I am not lying ! I saw Augustus Verlan go in there ! One of our guards ! King Bor please-!"

"Enough !! Guards ! Bring Destiny Dust in the dungeons ! For trying to lie to me again."

"But King Bor ! I swear on my life I am serious ! I saw- Hey ! Let go of me !"

"Lady Dust, you are herby a prisoner and you will stay there chained on a wall for 20 years and are fired as a guard ! After your years in prison, you aren't welcomed here anymore and get thrown out of the castle ! Take her away !"

She struggled to get away, but it was no use. The last thing she screamed was a warning, which Bor didn't took serious.

"THEY ARE AFTER YOUR SON ODIN !! WATCH OUT OR HE IS NEXT !!"

It didn't take long, maybe 2 days after that and Odin was gone. No trace left. At first we thought he comes back...but the next day we grew worried...Bor ran down the dungeons to Destiny, in anger. He still didn't believe her and thought that she was still pranking him. But I knew she wouldn't dare go that far.

"WHERE IS MY SON ?!"

Destiny knelt there in chains on the ground. Never touched her food, never spoke, she just knelt there. Her head hung low and Bor was even more furious he banged on the glass.

"ANSWER ME !!"

As Destiny lifted her head, you could see black, very visible, circles around her eyes and her body was very skinny, her face a deep frown. You never saw her like this. She still didn't speak.

"Destiny AnDrEa DUST !!! ANSWER MY QUESTION !!! NOW !!"

Destiny just looked at him and then opened her mouth. Bor saw what he thought couldn't be.

"What happened ?!"

Someone cut out her tongue. He send healers and me inside there and we gave her something, so that her tongue is growing fastly in her mouth and after that we tried to give her water, but she refused and glared at Bor.

"Why should I tell you ? I warned you, I told you that I think I know where they were and still you stand here and ask me again ? You said I no longer serve you, so be it. Have fun finding him alone. And never heal me again, so I can't 'lie' to you anymore !"

Destiny spat and then just like that, she bit through her freshly new tongue and it fell out of her mouth. We all were disgusted, but I understood her too and pitied her. The next day more of our people disappeared and Bor again went down, just to find Dest gone. She broke out. Bor send out many guards to find her, the traitor. Later 10 guards saw her and chased her, in the end they lost her, but heard screams from afar. They followed and were on a cave, as they went inside they were shocked what they saw and that was all the Asir's who went missing. With Destiny on a wall trying to break free. She send out illusions to come to them. Not every trick was a trick. More a signal for help. As they killed the kidnapper, who were cannibals, Destiny was gone again and wasn't seen for a long time. The guards told Bor what had happened and he felt terrible, he was begging that she would return. And she did. She got captured, while she was sleeping in the dirt of the forest in Asgard. Thanks to Heimdall. She looked absolutely terrible. Her clothes torn, very skinny you saw every bone and very dirty. We healed her tongue and were shocked that she tried to kill herself with starvation and thirst. She was almost there. Bor quickly brought her back on her feet. He forced her to eat, drink, talk and lastly listen to him again. We even found out that the chains she was in, were blocking her magic. We still don't know how she made illusions of herself, without magic. After Destiny was fit and on her feet again, Bor gave Destiny's reputation back to her and she was a guard. And she was allowed to cause more mischief.

End of flashback No one’s POV...

Loki stared at the magic and was amazed from the story.

"What did she do also ?", he asked.

"She came back from the dead more than 2 times. Once against the Dark Elves, then against Hela and then against the Frost Giants. Because of Destiny we won all 3 times, sadly...she didn't return after the Frost Giants in war, like we expected.

"How did she defeat the Dark Elves ?", Loki asked curious.

Frigga smiled a soft smile.

Flashback Frigga's POV...

It was a dark time. Everyone was worried and afraid that Asgard can't safe anything this time. Bor broadcast desperately many men to Svartalfheim to stop the Dark Elves. No matter how many he sent...they never made it back alive. It was the first war with them.

"Wait ! You had a second war with them ?!", Loki interrupted.

Yes. Yes we had. Anyway ! Destiny was sick of his failures and planned a plan. Her job was to train a newbie. His name was Jackson. He did everything without getting it said twice. Without doubt and questions. But she gave Jackson to someone else to risk her luck and ask Bor to handle that herself with a few guards.

~Knock ! Knock !~

"Come in !" (King Bor)

~Door creaks open slowly~

"King Bor ? Am I interrupting something important ?"(Destiny/You)

"Who is this beautiful servant, Bor ?"

Bor was in a meeting, planning a big war. One of the men had to be a pervert. Destiny told me how the man stared her up and down. It was giving her goose bumps. If some random men just compliment her and stare at her like a pervert she snaps...

"First of all, I am not a servant ! Second I am not beautiful ! And third my name doesn't concern you ! Now...Can I speak with you king Bor ? Please in private ?"

Bor got a wolf whistle as he nodded. She glared at the man and slapped him across the face.

"Shut the hell up ! Get yourself together or leave !", she yelled angered.

After that they both left and Destiny told him her plan. He refused it and said they will go tomorrow with all guards and kill the Dark Elves. Destiny argued with Bor that he is doing it again.

"But I know that it'll work !"

"No is no, Destiny."

"You are doing it again ! You don't trust me ! Just like last time !!"

"Why should I trust you ?! All you do is causing mischief ! All you do is trick and lie to us !"

"That is not fair, Bor ! I once before showed you that I am not kidding if it is about Asgard and shit about going down ! Who do you think is always doing your fricking paper work ?! Odin ?! He gives it to me and I finish them, so he can rest ! Who is still polishing weapons, shields and armor ?! Do you really think I let the Newbie do all that ?! Who do you think is never really sleeping to work all around the palace ?! Huh ?! YOU ?!"

"Destiny that is enough !!"

"I hate it to always prove myself to you, Bor !! Then go there ! Die like everyone else ! I quit !!"

With that she stormed out of the hall and into her room, packed her stuff, some money and left, before Bor could talk to her again. The next day they went and Bor just took a half of the guards with himself. He returned with dead guards and badly injured ones. His plan didn't work. And now Destiny was gone again. He told Jackson to try and find her.

"Jackson try to find Destiny and bring her back to us. She was right...if I would have taken everyone with myself they would be already dead.  If her plan works...I will never doubt her again and do what she asks of me. Never proving herself to me again. That I swear."

And like always...Jackson did as he got told. Meanwhile Destiny saved a little girl in a forest, from a beast and brought her back to her family.

"Joanna !", a woman screeched in happiness.

"Mom !!"

They hugged each other tight, crying in happiness. The woman looked up to see Destiny.

"Thank you ! H-how can I ever thank you enough for saving my daughter ?"

"The words 'Thank you' are enough for me. Just watch more out. The forest is dangerous and not for kids to play there. Next time I may be not there to safe her. Have a nice day ma'am."

"Destiny !!"

She turned and saw Jackson running to her. He was smiling, but she started to run away.

"No ! Wait ! I have a message for you !!"

"I don't wanna hear it ! Go home Jackson !"

"Destiny please ! I NEED YOU !! YOU ARE MY ONLY FRIEND !!"

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. Now they stood face to face. She crossed her arms.

"What is it ?"

"You were right."

"About what ?"

"About the Dark Elves and all. If Bor would have taken everyone with himself they would be dead. He is sorry and needs your help now. If your plan works...you never have to prove yourself again. He will do everything. That he swears. He wants you back as his guard. And my...teacher."

Destiny was touched but also still angered. She turned her back to Jackson.

"I won't return. He always thinks he is better than me. I am sick of it. He can use my plan, but I won't be there. That is my last word."

With that she was gone and Jackson alone. Jackson fell on his knees and cried silent tears.

"But we need you...I need you...You promised to never leave me..."

Later he returned and told Bor what Destiny said. Bor was shocked that she didn't join them this time again. He just then realized that he crossed her line. He sighed and said that tomorrow the plan will be in action. The next day was on and guards stood at the Bifrost. Armed from head to toe, on different places will they get set. Always a 10 men group will be on a different spot of Svartalfheim. They will trap the Dark Elves like that and win. It almost went all as she planned, but Bor didn't watch out for Jackson and he almost died. A hooded person pushed Jackson out of the way and stopped the weapon to pierce through themself, in a close catch.

"Keep fighting and look everywhere you idiot ! What did I train you for ?!"

"Dest...?"

"....Hello....Jackson.", the person whispered.

"KING BOR WATCH OUT !!"

As Jackson and the hooded person turned around, Bor was at the mercy of the Dark Elves.

"Go back or your king will die !"

"Not under my watch !!", the same hooded person yelled.

Malekith turned and saw 6 more hooded people, all the same. Suddenly someone tapped his shoulder and as he turned he had a dagger pressed against his neck.

"Kill our king and I kill your dear leader, you bastards !", the now un - hooded person yelled.

"Destiny !!", Jackson yelled happily.

"You were right, Jackson. I promised you something. And to be frank...you are also my only friend. I thank you for making me to see my wrongs."

"Let the king go ! They have our leader !", one of the Dark Elves yelled.

Bor was released. But Destiny didn't release Malekith.

"Drop your weapons. Or else !"

They really listened to her and let their weapons fall.

"Now...IF YOU LITTLE SHITHEADS EVER DARE TO START A WAR AGAIN I AM AT YOUR DOOR AND KICK YOUR SORRY ARSE'S !!! UNDERSTOOD ?! YOU REALLY ARE BRAINLESS DUMBSHIT'S !!"

They all nodded and Malekith shuddered at her outburst.

"Mmh...Someone is stressed, should I help you out ~?"

"Eww...Heck no !"

She then pushed Malekith from herself and went home with the others. On the same day she became General. Irrevocable. Not even Odin could undo it. And if Destiny doesn't follow Odin, then the guards and fighters don't follow him also. As their General they have to follow Destiny.

End of Flashback No ones POV...

"That's why you are not in prison. Her name appeared and he knew that he can't do anything against her agreement, or else she would stand up against him with all the guards. He isn't allowed to banish her and everything else. Or he has to live with the consequences." , Frigga finished.

Loki stared at her in shock.

"That means she is like...my...guardian ?"

Frigga smiled at him.

"Yes. She and I. We both are your guardians, sadly I am a little trapped...but Destiny ? She can do what she wants. She escaped so many times death or punishment. And she saved so many times Asgardians...I lost count after 10 000, on her second rescue of Asgard. All the stories I told you and Thor...were mostly from her."

"Wow..."

"She once brought someone back from the dead too. I believe she can do it again, with me this time. Don't worry Loki. She always finds a way. Like she found one to safe you and let you grow up, knowing what life means. And you just learned a part of all this. Wait until you find your true love and have your own little family."

"I don't think I deserve love and a family...I am a monster, mother. Nobody will ever forgive and accept me, for who I am. Not even Thor."

"Loki...You tell that yourself. I love you as my son, no matter the race. I love you as what and who you are. Destiny loves you as a friend, dearly. And Thor...he does too, but because of what you did and tried to gain...he loses his trust in his younger Babybrother. Yes, you aren't related or connected by blood, but you were raised together. Means you share a bound. You both just need to find the way to this bound and accept it. Fighting and hating the other won't help you both. One day Odin and I won't be there anymore and Thor and you are all alone. While you maybe can live on your own...Thor couldn't. Without you there is a hole in his chest, he can't fill. He tried as you were gone for 2 years, but couldn't. He never celebrated and swore to celebrate when you are back and well."

Loki was surprised to hear this. Frigga stroked Loki's leg stood up and went back to the room to go back to sleep. Loki laid down on the couch and quickly fell in a deep sleep.

Part 40

Masterlist with all Chapters of this Story click here !  

[the-roanoke-society]

boys and girls of every age...

wouldn’t you like to see something strange?

happy halloween, my flowers!

this year hasn’t been the best--and the list of reasons why is as varied, as wide and as deep as all of creation.

it has, essentially, sucked on a truly cosmic level.

but!

it doesn’t help anyone to look at the big picture and only focus on the dark parts. because for all the truly horrible, disastrous events we’ve had to slog through together (first time crying every day for months, first time being taken by ambulance to the er--truly a year of firsts, at least for me, personally), there have still been good things.

for example, did you know that this year we celebrated the 6th anniversary of the release of kingsman: the secret service? and the 3rd anniversary of the release of kingsman: the golden circle--which means next month it’ll be the third birthday of the ronaoke society!

our house might’ve gotten quiet--but it still stands.

i love all of you very, very much, and halloween is still my favorite holiday of all time. so all this month, i worked on the aus you’ll find below the cut. i’ll have to post this in parts over the next while, as there’s thirty-one total--one for each day of the season, of course.

honestly--it felt fantastic to dig back into my horror roots. roanoke’s entire conception was inspired by the fact that for as much as i love the kingsman universe, i also love things that go bump in the night.

and i don’t like having to choose between one thing or another.

be forewarned: if you choose to look into the source material for these aus, be prepared for possible graphic violence, gore, disturbing themes, explicit sexuality and jumpscares. i sort of walked through the proverbial garden and just grabbed fruit where i could find it--you’ll see what i mean. and as always, the endings are in your hands. these ideas are gifts, to do with as you please.

so journey below the cut... i̷̛̝͎͎̝̣̹͊̓̂͛̃̋͟f̛̯̟̱̖͔̌͊͐̏̃̓̇̎͠ y͈͇̙̘̬̓͌̑̈́͛̿͌͠ở̴̢͉͉̳͙̞͈̻̀́̎̄́̈͢͡ȗ̵̬̳͙̫̥̜͍̲̔̐̽̃̀͒̑͜ ḑ̙̩̼̤͓̫̟̥̈͑̐̚͡a̧̢̦̟̙̤̠͐͌̾̆̑͌͡͞r̷̡̰̲̣͓̣̝͒́̿͊̉̀͒͠͝͠ͅe̫̯̣̰͍̤̬̭̺̒̿͊̾͊.

blackbird on the old church steeple - a butterfly knife au inspired by the silence of the lambs

rae clementine doesn’t frighten easily. in her line of work, fear is not a friend. so when she’s abruptly pulled out of her fbi training at quantico to interview none other than the notorious harry hart, known for his--let’s say unusual appetites--she’s less intimidated and more annoyed.

but women are being taken, and found without their skin, if they are even found at all.

if hart’s insight into the mind of a psychopath can help her find the infamous buffalo bill, who has repeatedly evaded arrest--then she is more than willing to sit across from the gentleman in a pristine cell, and be continuously surprised that for a murderer, his gaze is surprisingly gentle.

in the back of her mind, she remembered all the things her mother had ever told her about lucifer--how the king of hell himself was utterly wicked, but catastrophically beautiful.

charm could hide blood. polished etiquette could hide bodies.

“most serial killers keep some sort of trophies from the victims.”

“i didn’t.”

“no. you ate yours.”

she’d felt this kind of intrigue before, and given the face it wore this time... well.

focus on the case, she thought. find buffalo bill. watch yourself. get out alive.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: ajr, ‘bang!’ + tame impala, ‘the less i know the better’ + barney bigard, ‘readdy eddy’

dogs & deadbolts guard the night - an au featuring @roanoke-after-dark​‘s the gremlin and @agentjotunn​ inspired by resident evil, particularly the released imagery for resident evil: village

santi’s first thought was that the rumors were just blatantly untrue. an entire village of people? suddenly vanished? he doubted it. besides, winters this far north were brutal--and could be fatal, if you weren’t careful. they had probably just all tucked in for the season, he reasoned. the snow and ice would’ve made travel impossible, anyway.

weeks passed. the stories faded from his thoughts as he minded his garage, and people spoke less and less about it.

until one evening, when an old friend knocked on his door with blood on his jacket and no color in his face.

“bradley? jesus, what hap--”

“grab your gun. something’s happened, and we need to leave now.”

“but what--”

“i’ll explain on the way, just go!“

right before he slammed the passenger side door of bradley’s jeep closed--wheels appropriately chained to keep a grip on the iced over roads--he heard a deep, long howl from some distance away.

there hadn’t been wolves this close in fifty years.

santi broke the silence in the car gently: “... you look like you’ve seen the face of the devil. what exactly happened?”

mini soundtrack sampler includes: ac/dc, ‘highway to hell’ + think up anger ft. malia j, ‘smells like teen spirit’ + marilyn manson, ‘sweet dreams’

the light under the door - a body shots au inspired by dark skies

the blacks weren’t superstitious. jason wasn’t, just like his father wasn’t before him, and now that he’s finally settled down happily married to joanne--finally, he thought, finally married to his jo--he is more than ready to see what the next chapters will bring. they moved into a house not too far from his parents, so he could still see his siblings regularly.

and he did.

which means he and jo both noticed when his younger brother christopher began to act a little--off.

they noticed when the bruises appeared.

they noticed when he kept copying the same strange symbols onto papers in crayon over and over and over and over--

and jo definitely noticed when she walked into their own kitchen in the middle of the night to find every single cabinet door open, with all the contents arranged into an impossibly perfect pyramid on the center island.

“i--are we being haunted?” she wondered out loud, the next morning. “this--and weird things are happening at your parents’, too, jason, something isn’t right here. i know you don’t believe in ghosts or anything, but...”

and this wasn’t a haunting.

it was something much worse.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: kennyhoopla, ‘how will i rest in peace if i’m buried by a highway?’ + cannons, ‘fire for you’ + days, ‘the drums’

permission access eternal - an au featuring @siggy-the-meme-master​ and technical officer wyvern, inspired by a.m.i.

it was supposed to be the world’s most cutting edge ai software. and since jeremy and dodger were both at the top of their class at m.i.t., of course, nobody was surprised when both their names were on the finished product--even if there was just one prototype to start.

and it wasn’t an ‘it.’ it was a she. jeremy insisted. repeatedly. “let’s call her ami!” he’d been flush with booze but his eyes were so bright and his expression so sincere, dodger just let him have it. and jeremy clapped his shoulder, “we did it, man! we have built the jessica rabbit of ai programs!”

they had one last test run to prove they’d metaphorically kicked the ass of everyone else in their field before they began the work to begin mass production. so, dodger set ami up as a sort of overhead assistant for their shared lab. she controlled temperature, lights, she could make phone calls, keeps schedules and most importantly of all, place takeout orders. the more she proved she could do, the more power, and control, she was given.

two weeks passed. they gave ami a voice, gave her a large proverbial eye to see through, making tweaks as they went to polish her off.

dodger was so proud of his work his heart could’ve exploded.

so imagine how he felt when he realized he’d left his cell phone in his car--and realized he couldn’t open the door.

“ami? ... ami. can you unlock the front door please?” he stared up at the red lens, and a silent point of light stared back at him.

“... i’m sorry. i cannot do that. dodger.”

“... uh, jeremy?”

mini soundtrack sampler includes: cage the elephant, ‘social cues’ + sneaker pimps, ‘6 underground’ + saint motel, ‘preach’

in hell i’ll be in good company - a lies & lessons au inspired by underworld

for centuries, a war has raged between vampires and lycans, completely outside the notice of the general human population. lauren is a death dealer, a lethal and beautiful member of an elite squad of vampiric assassins who have been charged with finding all the remaining lycans in the city and taking them out one by one.

when she realizes the lycan pack seems to be looking for an ordinary man--a medical student named jack daniels--she tracks him down herself, narrowly escpaing lucian in the process. (as soon as they were in the car he was already screaming, “what the fuck is goin’ on?!” with a southern twang she hadn’t expected) she takes him under her wing, still baffled at why the lycan pack could possibly want him.

he’s only human, after all.

... right?

as it turns out, vampires and lycans have a single common ancestor.

jack is a direct descendant.

and after being bitten in an attack--becomes a hybrid, carrying the powers of both species.

between unraveling the truth surrounding the death of her family, what really happened between lucian and kraven, and her growing feelings for jack--who is rapidly trying to understand his role in the story that’s been unfolding without his knowledge for generations--lauren finds herself at a crossroads, and her loyalties tested to a breaking point.

but as long as jack is at her side--perhaps it doesn’t matter where the road goes from here.

as bullet-riddled and blood-soaked as it will turn out to be.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: wallows, ‘are you bored yet?’ + cage the elephant, ‘shake me down’ + puscifer, ‘rev 22-20′

ash, fog & rust - alternatively titled ‘@gaygent​, @agent-judas​ and agent seraphim finally take that road trip to pennsylvania’

it was time to hand over the torch. that’s what lilith had finally decided. between the white patches in her hair, the strain it was putting on her relationships (especially with hamish)--morgan only had to return to the hills one more time as envoy.

and she wasn’t going alone.

“after this, anything that comes through this area, anything that hits our radars, is going to end up on both your desks,” she began, glancing at z in the passenger seat, and meeting cillian’s eyes once in the rearview mirror.

“so this is--what, a test run?” z asked, head slightly tilted. morgan hummed.

“this place--this town--it--” she huffed, frustrated. cillian could hear the leather wrapped around the steering wheel creak as her grip tightened. “it’s hard to explain, to someone who hasn’t been there. and i’m glad that neither of you have had to go before this, but...” another sigh. “i couldn’t think of any other duo that i could entrust this to. not something this big. you--” she pointedly lifted her brows at z, “--have experience with creatures that aren’t from around here. and you--” this time her gaze went to cillian. “--do too. just in a different shape. it’ll take both of you to handle centralia. and i couldn’t introduce you without coming along.”

“how long, exactly, has roanoke been keeping tabs on this place?” cillian asked. he’d spent hours going over everything he could find--mission logs, reports, feeds and images housed in the media room. morgan looked at him again. her eyes were still kind--but very, very tired.

“... a long time.”

i’ll admit that this is less an au and more a canonical event that i just haven’t gotten around to writing more about. but i couldn’t make this list without at least one entry paying homage to a franchise that’s had a huge influence on not just me as a writer, but on roanoke’s canon as a whole.

for the sampler, i will simply redirect you to this post here.

the devil’s gonna set me free - an anchored hearts au inspired by horns

joseph moretti had been in love with louise franz since fifth grade.

granted, he didn’t realize it until he almost drowned because of that stupid dare--a dare that not only almost killed him, but took two of lee’s fingers when that goddamn cherry bomb went off in his hand.

the same cherry bomb he’d traded to him for fixing louise’s broken necklace--a small silver pendant, shaped like an apple. she’d worn it every single day since he could remember. the image of her and snow white were eternally tangled in his head.

that necklace--it’d been the start. he’d woken up because of an apple. louise, did, too.

the hours they spent in that treehouse, listening to david bowie and memorizing every scar and curve of the other--he wished that could have been his eternity. just him. and her. ... well, and bowie. every good love story needed a soundtrack.

but... but...

his head pounded as he lifted it off the counter in his parents’ kitchen. his mouth was dry, and he blinked, causing a half-empty bottle of vodka to come into focus.

louise is gone now, he thought.

and they thought he was the one who did it. he, the one who loved her more than anyone else on the planet.

he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

he was going to prove his innocence even if it killed him. no matter what happened.

even if he sprout horns.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: machine gun kelly, ‘bloody valentine’ + the black keys, ‘go’ + david bowie, ‘heroes’

moonlight rising from the grave - alternatively titled ‘that time @agent-nightcrawler​ and agent iuniore found a haunted mansion,’ inspired by disney’s haunted mansion

“hello? ... hellooooo?” the massive door let out a huge groan as sylva pushed, putting one hand on tina’s shoulder as it swung open. “uhm--i’m really sorry to bother you, but we hit a deer and we just...” sylva sighed, her voice lowering in volume. “... need to use the phone...”

“this place is gigantic,” tina whispered, close at sylva’s side as they stepped out of the pouring rain into a very quiet, very elegant foyer. “and look! there’s lights, and all these lit candles... someone has to be here,” she continued as the door came to a gentle close behind them, muffling another roll of thunder.

“good evening.”

both of them yelped, sylva immediately yanking tina closer to her and whirled around in time to see--a butler? he was dressed like a butler.

and his clothes were... he was...

“sylva! why is the butler see-through!” tina whispered harshly, all while the spectral gentleman just looked at them expectantly. sylva clamped a hand over her mouth.

“hi!” she answered brightly.

this is a ghost. i’m talking to a ghost. this is fine. everything is fine.

“uh,” she coughed, beginning again, “we’re just having a little bit of a car emergency, is there a way we can call our head office? so they can come get us?” this is what i get for being out where i have no bars, and neither of us have our specs...

the ghostly butler nodded. his hair, glowing faintly, waved around his head as though he was underwater. “of course. please--follow me. the master of the manor will want to meet you.”

mini soundtrack sampler includes: the chordettes, ‘mr. sandman’ + bobby pickett, ‘monster mash’ + bastille, ‘survivin’’

mercy no more - a magic & mischief au inspired by the evil within

aly had been kieran’s partner at the krimson city police department for years. she’d walked with him through the death of his daughter, the disappearance of his wife.

neither of them acknowledged the spark. they didn’t then, and--as she met his eyes once in the rearview mirror, trying to pay attention to connelly and joseph as they talked about beacon--they wouldn’t acknowledge it now.

as soon as the hospital came into a view, a high-pitched ringing overame every other sound in the cruiser, every other sound period. aly slammed her hands over her ears, but it didn’t seem to help.

as soon as it started--it stopped. connelly had to swerve to avoid getting into the wrong lane.

“what--what was that?” aly asked, her palms still hovering by her ears.

“it was probably just a problem with the radio,” joseph suggested, pushing his glasses up as they drove pass the established police barriers.

the last dispatch team, they said, hadn’t come back. it was up to the three of them to find out what happened to their colleagues.

aly was close by kieran’s side as they walked through the rain. her gut twisted at the sight of the entry doors.

the smell of the blood and the slaughter hit her nose before she saw the bodies.

“what on earth happened here?”

“i don’t know. stay close. let’s find the surveillance room. if we can find the security cams, we’ll find out answer...”

if only that had been the end.

mini soundtrack sampler includes: all time low, ‘monsters’ + bastille, ‘what you gonna do???’ + gary numan, ‘long way down’

and the wind will be my hands - an au featuring @agent-sentinel-official​, @agent-chimera​ and @gaygent​, inspired by session 9, with a special appearance by @agent-thorn​

walter vaughn was an expert in abestoes abatement. so when he put in a bid to take on the entire danvers state mental hospital, the owners of the rotting estate welcomed him on board.

and as they did, he brought on two crewmates--xander, and z--to help him.

“we’ve got three weeks, so, no need to rush,” he explained on the first day, the sun beating down on his broad shoulders and half his hazmat tied around his waist. xander and z trailed behind him as they approached the massive building. “and i know, i know it’s still a big undertaking--but the money will be worth it. trust me.”

“you fellas our cleanup crew?” a tall, thin man in a suit with dark hair and a pair of ray ban sunglasses walked towards them, smiling broadly. he extended a hand, “carter jensen. the ah, danvers’ estate board sent me on their behalf to give you a tour of the building, let you get a good assessment of what you’re dealing with. i’m not entirely sure what they’ll do with the property when this is done, but we know for sure nothing can happen until this part’s complete. come on, the entrance is just this way... i’ll make sure to give you a master key ring.”

xander leaned down by z’s shoulder, muttering, “dude this place gives me the creeps... but maybe there’s still some cool old stuff left in there. like maybe, possibly, the trapped souls of the damned. you think it’s haunted?”

z answered, murmuring, “if not by ghosts--then maybe by something else.”

mini soundtrack sampler includes: the talking heads, ‘psycho killer’ +  lou barlow, ‘choke chain’ + sublime, ‘doin’ time’

[carewyncromwell]

5, 13, and 20 for the potter asks?

Pro or anti Marauders?

Pro overall, but let’s break this down by characters --

Remus Lupin is my favorite male character in the entire book series. He not only reminded me of my best teachers growing up, but I felt so, so much for him as a character too. I always felt kind of marginalized and different from my peers growing up, so it’s kind of unsurprising that I’ve had a soft spot for “outcast” characters since I was very little, and Remus is no exception. I completely understood why his friends meant so much to him and therefore felt SO much for him that, in the end, he had to lose all three of them and end up alone. Even his flaws, showcased best in the Snape’s Worst Memory chapter of OOTP and especially in Deathly Hallows, only serve to make him more real and human -- it broke my heart when he considered leaving Tonks and Teddy to help the Trio with their Horcrux hunt, but Remus wanting to “bury himself in his work” (which, honestly, this was -- he was a member of the Order, after all!) rather than face his worst fear of possibly dooming another person (namely, his son) to live a life like his made perfect sense with the characterization established, however horrible and wrong of a choice it was. It made me side with Harry so much in scolding Remus, yet I also felt compassion for the feelings behind Remus’s initial impulse. And of course, I was so proud of him when he overcame that fear and stood by Tonks and got to know his son before he died. I’m still not over the fact that my bb Remus had to die, AUUUUUGH, he and Sirius and Harry should’ve lived together as one happy makeshift family togetherrrrr. DX

Peter Pettigrew...that bloody rat. >> I’m sure just about everyone feels a lot of justified resentment toward Peter for what he did to the Potters, and I definitely agree with that sentiment...but at the same time, there’s still a part of me that finds him very interesting. Mainly because...I’d love to see him at his best, now that we’ve seen him at his worst! He was a Marauder, same as Sirius, Remus, and James, and we should never forget that -- he might have been a bit of a tag-along, but none of the other three, Lily, or anyone else thought that Peter would ever have been the type to turn on his friends. McGonagall disparaged Peter for his magical talent, but she openly grieved for him when she thought Sirius had killed him. Everyone was ready to believe Sirius -- who clearly adored James -- could be the traitor, before suspecting Peter. Sirius even suspected Remus before Peter...and this is when their connection in the books is so strong that HP fans have shipped Wolfstar since POA was first published back in 1999! Even when you read the books, you can see flickers of remorse in Peter at points, if you’re reading carefully. In Goblet of Fire, Peter seems noticeably uncomfortable around the rest of Voldemort’s supporters -- his efforts to bring Voldemort back to his body really seem to be out of obligation rather than any kind of enthusiasm. And of course, as we see in Deathly Hallows, Peter even as a Death Eater still retains enough honor to hesitate when Harry reminds him that he owes him his life. Gryffindor house does preach chivalry as well as courage, and in a twisted way, one could read Peter’s “loyalty” to Voldemort not just being about desperation as his friends now want nothing to do with him, but also because Peter’s standing by the choice he made...not unlike how Percy stood by the Ministry as long as he did, rather than by his family. This doesn’t justify what Peter did at all -- he is a despicable coward who destroyed so many lives and is responsible for bringing back the Dark Wizard whose return resulted in even more deaths -- but it does give his characterization as a villain interesting nuance. There’s a well-established internal logic to how Peter behaves, one I would frankly LOVE to see more of in a future Marauders-centric property.

Sirius is arguably the most polarizing of the Marauders, but honestly? I love him to pieces. He is a very, VERY flawed character -- he’s got a real mean streak, a hot temper, and more aggression than the average person. Him encouraging Snape to “go after Remus” was an indisputably terrible, stupid, callous thing to do, not just because of the endangerment to Snape’s life, but the flagrant betrayal of Remus’s friendship. The way Sirius treated Kreacher was completely uncalled for, regardless of how much the elf reminded him of his terrible home life. Sirius also can be really immature and can get really surly and passive-aggressive when he’s upset. But despite all of this, I love Sirius anyway. In a lot of ways, Sirius reminds me of my father, who I also love a lot despite his many flaws. Sirius lacks empathy for those different from him, but he’s also the only member of his immediate family who rejected the idea of pureblood superiority and fought in the Order of the Phoenix against Voldemort. Sirius was a bully and even as an adult could be incredibly petty and mean-spirited, but he also was the first person in Harry’s life who really felt like family to him -- who he could write to for help when he was sad, afraid, or insecure. Sirius was a hot-tempered, rash person who rarely thought through the consequences of his actions, but he also would’ve done absolutely anything to protect the people he loved. He without question loved James, Lily, and Harry more than his own life. Despite being raised in a cold, hate-filled, prejudiced, unaffectionate, abusive home, Sirius understood unconditional love, and he understood his godson in a way no one else could, not just because he was such close friends with the parents he’d lost at such a young age, but because he’d lived Harry’s experience as a neglected, unloved child himself.

And now we come to the often maligned James Potter. Honestly, this guy gets such a bad rap in the fandom, almost exclusively based on Snape’s memories, and I don’t think it’s really fair. Snape is really the only person who has a sour image of James, and even if we disregard the testimonials of fellow Marauders like Sirius and Remus, people like McGonagall, Dumbledore, Mad-Eye Moody, and even Cornelius Fudge had nothing but nice things to say about James, and those people don’t have reason to speak well of James at Snape’s expense. And of course, even Snape’s perceptions are bound to have their own slant to them. Pensieve memories are just that: memories. A Pensieve is not a pocket dimension that perfectly recreates the past, hence why Slughorn was able to badly modify his memory, Hokey the house elf’s memories were tampered with by Riddle, and even in Snape’s own memory, we follow Snape throughout the memory and we’re only able to hear what the Marauders are saying because he was close by. And if we judge James solely based on his no-doubt worst moment in Snape’s Worst Memory, we’re bound to get an incomplete picture -- just as we did for Hagrid, after seeing Tom Riddle’s memory of him confronting Hagrid for supposedly opening the Chamber of Secrets. Would we judge Harry solely for Malfoy’s recollection of the Sectumsempra incident, or Hermione solely for Marietta’s recollection of the time Hermione hexed her face to read “SNEAK” across it? Of course not. James was a bully and what he did in Snape’s Worst Memory was no doubt horrible -- but this is also a young man who without hesitation gave Sirius a home after he ran away from his terrible family, who supported Remus financially when he couldn’t find work, and who selflessly put himself between Voldemort and his family just to give them a chance to escape, even though he didn’t even have his wand on him. I would frankly love to learn more about James and see more of the arc he must’ve gone through as a character for someone like Lily to have fallen in love with him and for people like Remus and Sirius to feel such strong platonic love for him themselves, if a Marauders-centric property was ever created.

Who was the bravest character in Harry Potter and why?

Oh gosh...hm...that is a real challenge. There are a lot of very brave characters! Harry, Ron, Hermione, Remus, Sirius, McGonagall, Hagrid, Dobby, Cedric...but I think I’m going to nominate Neville. While Hogwarts was taken over by Snape and the Carrows and the students were no doubt being brainwashed a la the Hitler Youth to regurgitate blood-purist talking points rather than learning anything that could defend themselves against the Dark Arts or that was even remotely true about Muggles, Neville decided to face that undeniable hopelessness -- worsened all the more by the students’ lack of independence and freedom while being housed in the castle’s walls without their families and the threat of losing both their families and all hope for a future constantly dangled over their heads -- head-on and reform Dumbledore’s Army with Ginny and Luna to stand against it. Then, even as his group’s members got picked off one by one and were forced to hide in the Room of Requirement, he stuck to his guns and kept resisting because he knew -- as a Pureblood -- he was in a position he could use to fight for others and wasn’t afraid to stand up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves and others. It was only when his grandmother was forced to flee and the Carrows realized that Neville was too much of a threat to keep in check that he went into hiding himself. Then, when everyone thought Harry was dead and many others would’ve despaired, Neville fearlessly and fiercely stuck both by Harry, his parents’ memory, and his own convictions and refused Voldemort’s offer to join him, even keeping his head enough after getting burned by the flaming Sorting Hat to fulfill his promise to Harry and kill Nagini. And this was the kid who people said shouldn’t have been Sorted into Gryffindor at all, in his first year! What a beautiful transformation.

Favourite Death Eater?

*cringes* Mmm...well, character-wise, I’d say I’ve always found Lucius a very compelling character, in the books. The Malfoy family in general struck me as interesting anti-villains, since they are indisputably unpleasant, prejudiced, awful people, but their one silver lining to me is how deeply and sincerely they love each other. That aspect is really lost in movie!Lucius, since the films try to portray him much more two-dimensionally bad and that interpretation has since colored the fandom’s view of Lucius as an abusive father when there is NO textual evidence of that in the books. And I kind of find it a shame, because as much as I adore Jason Isaacs in his role, it did serve to make Lucius a bit less complex and interesting in the films than he was in the books. Admittedly as well I have a bit more of a soft spot for Lucius after taking on the challenge of writing the guy and his family a redemption arc in my way-too-long AU fic Harry Potter and the Lack of Lamb Sauce. XD

HP Ask!

[lokikingofasgardslover713]

Crushed Pumpkins & Delicate Hope

Masterlist

Pairing: Stucky x Plus Size Reader OFC

Warnings: ABO Verse, SMUT, knotting, all that kinky ABO stuff, fluff, a bit of angst

Summary: This is the first outing Bucky makes with his and Steve’s new mate. After months of working with the newest member of he and Steve’s home an outing to the local pumpkin patch almost ends in disaster, but we get a perfect end to a rough day.

A/N: The OFC, or reader, was taken in by Steve and Bucky to help her work her way back into the real world after she is found in the basement of shield, or what was once HYDRA. All this said the two end up falling for her and making her part of their family. Steve is an omega that they serum turned into an alpha, but he still is prone to heats but not like extreme in most ABO verses. I explain throughout the writing and tried not to info dump. There is more to this fic as well, this is just an excerpt. My first Stucky x Reader fic! I went more with a seasonal, fall feeling fluff and smut than spooky. This got away from me, not sorry.

Writing Challenge: @devilbat Halloween Marvel Madness

Prompt: 25. “Are you telling me I have an obsession with pumpkins?”

Words: +4,500

________

 This had been the first time Bucky had ventured out with he and Steve’s freshly bonded, and very timid alpha mate. Normally it was the three of them or Steve himself who took her out alone, the blond seemed better at reassuring the hesitant creature it was OK to be out in the open since having been cooped up in a basement for God knew how long.

Bucky still felt awkward, the two of them being alpha’s was tricky in itself, but after months of slowly bonding and Steve’s heat less than a few days ago, it appeared she and Bucky bonded well after a quickie in the shower.

Pulled tight into the soldiers side, Bucky felt she was trying to appear small despite her larger frame. Walking with his metal arm outstretched behind him to tug along a flat cart while he looped the other around thick middle, not minding the closeness nor the heavy cart he tugged without any effort. Every now and then, her stronger alpha aroma mingled perfectly with Steve’s subdued omega scent wafted towards him, making the brunet smile.

It was a shock when passing a pile of ornamental pumpkins she paused their walk, even pulling away to look the colorful gourds over. Stopping the cart and assuring it wouldn’t roll away, Bucky paused and watched her close, curious to her plans.

“You’ve already picked out two pie pumpkins bigger than us doll,” Bucky began, carefully stepping behind her, making sure his moves were unhurried, and running flesh hand over the small of her back as he pulled close.

“What are you planning with these,” he asked quietly, hinting to the greenish-grey gourds that appeared more for decoration than anything else. 

“I don’t know, I think there pretty,” she admitted, titling her head as he dipped to scent along her jaw, pressing his nose into the glands there. 

The flood of pheromones told Bucky this was progress, having been working hard to help the shy alpha gain back the confidence she had been robbed of. “You're obsessed with the things doll,” Bucky chuckled, but if it made her happy, the alpha would eagerly buy the entire stand out to see her smile. 

“Are you telling me I have an obsession with pumpkins,” she spoke as if hurt, Bucky had drawn attention to a possible nervous habit. She had been trying to break all the odd coping mechanisms with the help of her alpha and omega but began to worry she had let them down.  

Taking a quick look around to salvage the situation, Bucky noted the hay bales done up with pumpkins and corn stalks. That would work, anything to let her know it was OK and she had done no wrong. The brunet scented the change in her pheromones, one he knew all too well as stress over wrongdoing. She was very timid for an alpha and he hated to fathom what they had done to make her this insecure. 

“Pick out what you want doll. I have an idea,” he whispered against her neck, feeling tense body relax into his. Bucky was glad he brought the truck at this point, releasing the shy alpha who proceeded to pick out five more pumpkins to add to the cart. 

Tugging close to his side after loading the pumpkins, Bucky rubbed along her flannel covered side as they walked towards the booth to pay. The brunet sure to add two bales of hay along with two large bundles of corn stalks. He didn’t want to think about how much he paid for items that were going to rot, but if it made their shy alpha happy it was worth it. Bucky was glad for this chance to bond with her minus Steve.

The blond appeared to have bonded with her quicker, but then again Steve was the omega of the three though the serum made him scent alpha. Seemed like it was hard to break the nurturing side in the omega. 

Tugging the wagon to the truck with her happily carrying yet another bright orange and white stripped gourd beside him, Bucky paused to let the tailgate down. Giving the quiet creature a reassuring smile, he informed her to stay put while he went to grab the bales of hay and corn stalks. It was less than 20 foot away and wouldn’t take long. 

But it was just long enough for a young alpha to catch scent of her and decide to show out to say the least. Hurrying back the moment he seen the other approach, Bucky heard the timid creature let out a low warning growl when the younger alpha stepped almost flush to scent of her.

Instantly it dawned on Bucky the shirt she wore belonged to Steve, the blond had just gone out of heat a day or so ago. It had been a habit of hers to take one thing from which ever mate wasn’t with them as comfort. 

Dropping the bales, Bucky was at her side in moments, but she had managed to forcefully throw the young male into the dirt on his ass. The younger alpha realized his mistake when she moved to retaliate, rushing to his feet to attack the once hesitant alpha that was now standing her ground.  

“Hey,” Bucky snarled, tugging her behind him protectively before the other could reach her. The shock of the other was truly hilarious the moment he noted she was mated to another alpha. 

Quickly the other backed off and left. Bucky hurriedly turned to lift her thick frame effortlessly onto the tailgate, wrapping his hands around her face to assure she was OK. Lovingly the brunet nuzzled over her, marking the shy alpha blush at his care before pressing his forehead to hers. 

“Ok,” he questioned quietly noting she scented perfectly of all three of them. A smiled tugged at his lips, noting the blush heating her face, it was obvious she had never had another alpha care for her this way.  

“I’m ok,” she breathed, nervously letting out a breath she didn’t know she held and glancing down to his feet were a pumpkin sat splattered on the hard ground.

Shaky hands went to his forearms, grounding herself as Bucky pulled close, his scent engulfing her in a since of serenity. Quietly he let out a low rumble, almost a purr from his chest that made her calm even more. 

“Let’s get this loaded and we will walk back to pick out another one,” he reassured before moving to load the rest as she remained on the tailgate.

Once loaded he gave a smile to the nervous creature before helping her down and guiding her back to the stand, an arm tight around her thick waist. 

Pulling up into the driveway, Bucky wasn’t surprised Steve was waiting for them on the front porch. They both got out to head to the back of the truck, the shy woman grabbing one of the massive pie pumpkins to carry into the house. 

Once sitting foot on the top landing, Steve stepped close for her to pause. Gingerly he pulled flush to her side while facing Bucky and she faced the front door, dipping close along her jaw. The blond was worried about her, but it appeared it was just the outing needed, her scent clouded with both of theirs made his heart flutter.

This wasn’t the way he envisioned bringing her here would play out but was glad it did. Carefully Steve released the woman as she returned the nuzzling and gave her own low reassuring purr that he had come to love about her as well.

Propping on the post as their shy alpha went inside, Steve watched as Bucky started to pull more things from the back of the truck.  

“Get your ass out here and help punk,” Bucky yelled to Steve who stepped off the porch with a smirk as he went to help unload. 

“Jeez Buck you buy out the place,” Steve chuckled helping with the pumpkins and hay bales. 

“She enjoyed it. It’s all that matters,” Bucky murmured as he and Steve carried what they had next to the front walk. 

“Good to hear,” Steve admitted, setting down what he held as Bucky stopped before him.

The brunet pulled close to Steve, scenting the last of the blonds heat had finally dissipated to the usual alpha scent. Carefully Steve nudged under Bucky’s jaw. “Go check on her, I’ll finish up,” the blond admitted wanting to give the two a little more time. 

“There was an altercation with another alpha, but it wasn’t her fault,” Bucky admitted, stepping back to note Steve’s worry.

“It only cost another pumpkin, and she took up for herself was all. You would have been proud of her and me for not tearing the guys throat out,” Bucky tried to make light of the situation, catching Steve smirking at the fact Bucky didn’t kill the younger alpha or rip him to pieces.

“She shaken up,” Steve asked quietly, realizing why she scented strongly of alpha more than usual.

“Yeah, stayed buried in my side the entire way back,” the brunet admitted, looking to the front door worriedly.

Steve had noted Bucky worried over her the first time they brought the timid creature home. Having been with the brunet alpha basically their entire lives, Steve knew when the other was concerned and as of late it had been her. “Go on Buck,” Steve spoke up, hinting he go check on the other. “I know what she means to you as well us, it's OK.”  

Hearing Bucky step through the kitchen where she was studying over the oversized pumpkin and at this point trying to decide what to do with it. She really hadn’t thought this through, the thing was huge and was going to take a while to process, and when Bucky sat the other one next to it she really did realize she hadn’t thought this through.

Looking to the alpha who inched close, the timid creature gave a small smile. “I didn’t think this through,” she admitted as Bucky slipped behind her to pull flush, resting his chin on her shoulder.  

“It’s fine, Steve and I know what to do with them,” he breathed across her shoulder, nosing the soft flesh under her ear before giving it a chaste kiss. “These can wait, but you can’t doll,” his gravelly voice echoed before tugging her from the counter.

Bucky was far gentler with than Steve, the brunets lips pressed to the flesh under her ear, making her shiver. Pressing back into him apprehensively, Bucky gave a reassuring kiss to his bond mark along her hairline. “You did perfect, no need to be anxious,” he cooed, turning her to face him and shyly she buried her head into his shoulder. 

Lovingly he ran his hands down plump sides to thick thighs, looping his hands around the warm flesh before jerking them around his waist. He chuckled at her small yelp of surprise, legs wrapping tight around his hips and arms around his neck as he kissed pebbled flesh, metal arm looped under buttocks and the other around her torso.

Carrying her back to the sitting room, they were met by Steve who appeared to have finished and came to check on them. Without a thought the blond stepped towards them with a knowing smirk, pressing the shy alpha between them while Steve reached out to wrap a hand around Bucky’s neck to pull the alpha close.

Tenderly the blond pressed his nose into Bucky’s throat to flood his senses with an urgency to knot the alpha clinging to him, and Steve had no words for how excited this made him. Releasing Bucky, Steve done the same to her, except the blond raked fangs along her jaw, flooding his senses with even more longing that made his own need coil tight in his lower abdomen.  

“Such a shy alpha,” Steve chuckled low next to her ear, nuzzling at his own mark on her flesh. 

Both males were thankful this wasn’t the 40’s, and this was no longer illegal or frowned upon. As long as it was consensual, in certain states, fortunately New York; two males were allowed to mate one female, or one male allowed to mate two females.

Their situation was odd; not because they appeared as three alphas sharing the same space but were in reality a male and female alpha with a male omega in disguise.

There literally weren’t male omegas any longer thanks to genetic research. Male omegas accounted for many birth related fatalities in the world. Thankfully the rate of male omegas had dwindled but it caused a spike in female alphas, but none like the creature pressed between them. The two men had S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA to thank for that.

Easily, Steve guided them to the fireplace, the three sinking to their knees in front of the hearth where Steve had gone to keeping a fluffy pile of blankets and pillows for them. It appeared the blond had refreshed the small nest with clean blankets, last night having found the three a tangled mess of sweaty naked limbs in the pile. 

“You’ve had her all through your heat,” Bucky spoke hotly but still didn’t take her away from the blond whose hand found the hem of her shirt to run it along plump side. 

“As I remember, so did you,” Steve chuckled, meeting the others gaze as she kept her face buried in Bucky’s shoulder. 

“Don’t be such a punk,” Bucky snipped playfully taking the kiss Steve offered. 

“When it comes to her I will,” the blond smirked as they parted to give all attention to the shy creature between them. 

"Would you like me to knot you doll," Bucky spoke, feeling her nipping along his jaw and grinding against him. Bucky hadn't knotted her yet, not even when he took her with him to the shower after both helped Steve through his heat.

They both had been tired when the brunet had led her to the shower; Bucky knew she was sore. Her knot internal, locking Steve’s cock deep in her core while the brunet knotted Steve from behind. Bucky assured he himself was clean before turning to the naked female alpha with him in the shower, the two pulled close to scent one another, silently asking for permission as he done now. 

"Please, knot me," she whispered, moving as it was Steve who tugged the flannel off her and she leaned back on the blond to look up at Bucky with lust blown orbs.

"You don't know how long I have wanted you to tell him that," Steve spoke darkly in her ear, the blonds hand slipping into the back of the leggings she wore, toying with wet hole as Bucky’s fingers looped in the band.

Leaning down to place his lips to hers, Bucky whispered across them he would buy her another pair, making her gasp as he ripped them from her lower half while Steve pressed two digits into her. She whimpered and keened her neediness before Steve removed them, the zipper of Bucky’s pants exciting her.

"Alpha," Steve uttered quietly, meeting Bucky’s lust blown gaze, the blonds hand wrapping around the brunets cock to give it a stroke before lining it up with the shy alphas core. "Allow me to help."

Bucky lunged forward, taking Steve’s lips with a tang of copper as his cock sank into the woman pinned between them. The kiss only broke so the brunet to take her lips next, nipping hard with fangs to make them part.

Slowly Steve settled into the nest, holding to the alpha female who was panting heavily as Bucky fucked into the writing creature slowly. Bracing back on his heels, Steve rucked up the shirt along with the bra she wore to expose heaving breast, pinching and teasing a pert buds while nipping along her jaw to flood his senses with her ecstasy. 

She had never been knotted before, the thoughts of finally finishing the bond with Bucky had her begging for more as the brunet rocked his hips between thick thighs and Steve kneaded her breast. Impatiently, plump hips moved, panting when Bucky released her lips, stormy blue gaze holding hers until Steve uttered something ecstasy clouded brain didn't catch, but had Bucky looking to where his cock fucked into her. Hips jolted when warm fingers pressed against her clit, eliciting a wonton cry.

Gazing up drunkenly, watching a kiss between Steve and Bucky break before her head was jerked back for the blond to take her lips harshly enough to taste copper and Bucky. Steve was always needy, a bit rough at times but still gentle compared to others. The blonds tongue pressed it's way past sore lips to caress over her own tenderly while Bucky nipped the flesh along her jaw before Steve broke the kiss.

"Were going to finally make you ours sweetheart, you like that," Steve panted, fingers pressing harder over needy nerve to make her whimper while his other hand continued to knead her breast. Feeling the blond rut against her back as Bucky’s knot began to press into her made the desire to be knotted overwhelming.

"Yes," she whimpered, arms unraveling from Bucky’s neck for hands to brace against Steve’s thighs as the brunet moved more erratic, desperate, as she turned attention to the alpha before her. 

"Our shy alpha, all ours, all mine," Bucky growled across heated flesh before moving to take her lips, his hips slapping between thick thighs and feeling him nudge her cervix. Bucky was all alpha, Steve had nothing on the brunet who pressed her head back into the others hard chest as his knot finally worked its way in, making her break the kiss to whimper out at the burn it caused.

"Ok," Bucky panted in question, feeling her nod she was. Tenderly Bucky forced himself to slow, he didn’t want to hurt her, it was the last he wanted to do; to either of them.

Pushing back so the brunet could watch the woman close, Bucky was unprepared for the affection between their omega and the shy alpha he rocked his hips into. Tenderly Bucky observed Steve lean close to her ear, the blond cooing to the whimpering creature, assuring she was OK, encouraging her and pressing gentle kisses along marked neck. This was calming to Bucky, their omega being so caring over the other alpha in the group, it was an omega’s nature, and no cubs appeared to make nurturing stronger. 

The feel of her moving against his hips as before eased the brunets anxiety. Bucky moved to press his head into the crook of her neck opposite Steve who was still talking to her kindly. 

"I'm gonna-," she spoke so low neither almost heard. This was the first time ever not being able to control the need to cum. The care, the gentle motion of the alpha between her thighs, fingers pressing delicate nub and Bucky’s knot filling her was mind blowing.

"Go ahead doll," Bucky’s voice gritted, the alpha had been holding back for her.

The feel of velvet walls fluttering around his knot had Bucky spilling deep as they became locked together. This wasn't at all like either had been told this would go. First knots, they had been told were terrible, painful, but it appeared if an alpha cared enough he could disprove that.

She saw stars, breath hanging in her throat as thick body arched uncontrollably into Bucky and Steve who lessened pressure on overstimulated nerve. The feel of Bucky collapsing onto her shivering form had her going lax into Steve while the brunet peppered kisses along reddened and marked neck.

A shaky hand laced into her sweat matted hair, massaging the scalp as they felt Steve shifting from behind her for Bucky to lay them to their sides. Gingerly the brunet cradled her close, nuzzling under her neck, marking himself with her scent before doing the same to mark her.

The shy alpha was still except for her panting, Bucky feeling Steve moving her leg over his hip, assuring she was comfortable. Both had a feeling this had worn her out, first knots could do that. Tenderly Bucky shifted to watch Steve fret over her, the blond moving to mark her in his own scent and placing a hand to the one Bucky had laced into her hair to give it a squeeze.

Sitting back on his knees, Steve assured she was covered before getting up and disappearing down the hall. Moving to kiss over the shivering creature before him, Bucky couldn’t help but smile at the fact the bond was complete. The brunet couldn’t express how calm this made him, the shy creature nesting deeper into him to press her nose into his throat made him hold tighter.

In moments Steve returned, kneeling behind Bucky to speak to him. "I'm going to start dinner," the blond spoke, petting over her shivering form. “There’s clothes in the bathroom for both of you.”

Letting out a grunt he heard, Bucky only tugged her tight as if she was an omega in heat. Steve couldn’t explain how happy he was the two were taking to one another. So happy in fact, the blond had to change his own pants. Getting to his feet, Steve kept it quiet when he reached the kitchen so the two could rest.

As Bucky’s knot subsided, the brunet slowly rolled to his back, tugging the dozing alpha with him. Bucky looked up as the sleepy creature pushed up on his chest, the blanket pooling behind her as she sat up straddling his hips, hair a fuzzed mess that made him smile.

Looking around the room drunkenly, she spotted Steve in the kitchen cutting up a pumpkin. Heated hands flexed out over the alpha’s clothed chest under her, feeling him chuckle as she looked to Bucky and bed hair fell into her eyes.  

“Come here doll,” Bucky rasped, sitting up with cock still buried inside her to tug the shirt over her head and unclasp the bra bunched up under her chin. 

He could only smile as plump hips ground against him, the motion making him hard in moments. Tenderly Bucky wrapped a hand around the nape of her neck to pull her lips to his, the kiss gentle as hips rocked slowly. This time was slow, Bucky working his swiftly swelling knot back in place, making her pant out but this time she didn't tense in his hold as both finally came.

"God I can't get enough of you doll," Bucky whispered as she feel limp into his chest again, locked together once more. Slowly he nipped along her trembling jaw to flood senses and make him want more.

The flesh along her jaw was tender due to the men having nipped it every chance they had gotten when tangled together. It was to taste her arousal, nature's way of assuring the other was taking to the bond, scent mingling perfectly with theirs.

"I’ll go get you cleaned up when we release," Bucky murmured, feeling her nod against his chest. Kissing her fuzzed head as he tugged the blanket back over her naked body, calloused hand rubbing along sweat soaked spine for the shy alpha to melt in his touch.

It was a relief she was finally allowing the brunet to touch, let alone knot her. Leaning on the pile of pillows, Bucky rubbed over thick curves covered in the thin blanket, massaging the flesh and noting her dozing off once more. Laying his head back on the cushions, the shy alpha moved to rest so her nose pressed into stubbled cheek while Bucky looked into the kitchen to note Steve had made quick work of one of the pumpkins.

Stormy blue watched the blond as he moved about the area to realize both alphas had been at it for close to two hours. Giving a lopsided smile as he met Steve’s gaze, the brunet cradled the limp, dozing creature close as their omega stepped into the room to check on them.

"You done with her yet," Steve spoke up, stepping beside them to kneel, brushing disheveled hair out of her face. Steve leaned in to place his forehead to both theirs, nuzzling at the two gently.

"Sorry 'mega," Bucky whispered to Steve who paused, sensing the others apprehension at the thought he may have just betrayed their bond.

"For what? I love sharing you with her, this is perfect, you're both perfect," Steve reassured pressing a kiss to Bucky’s lips before doing the same to her. 

"Could you be any sappier," Bucky’s voice rasped, hand going to the nape of her neck to massage the flesh as she nudged along his jaw.

"I can actually, but I need you two to go get cleaned up. Dinner is almost ready," he smiled getting to his feet.

"Ready doll," Bucky asked the quiet alpha laying on his chest. Carefully she nodded as he placed metal arm under plump buttocks and another around her back as he got to his feet to head to the bathroom.

His knot releasing in the shower, the brunet fretted and worried over the shaky creature held close. Ensuring she was clean and clothed comfortably, Bucky scooped her into his arms to carry back to the kitchen. Without hesitation, she cuddled into the alpha as he done so.

Giving a gentle kiss, Bucky placed her on the bench next to Steve as he took a seat on her opposite side, positioning their new mate between them. 

"Pumpkin soup," Steve spoke up, wrapping his hand around her neck, careful of reddened flesh as she turned to take the kiss offered. The woman not expecting it to be so deep but went with it.

Reaching out to wrap her fist in the shirt Steve wore, the blond pressed her into Bucky who could only smirk. Steve could be aggressive like an alpha when the mood arose and apparently she warranted it.

"I'm the lady killer," Bucky chuckled as Steve released her to meet the brunets gaze.

"Hey, I love the ladies as much as you, her especially,” the blond spoke, remaining close so his lips tickled over hers. “Sorry alpha, I may love her more than you," Steve spoke, giving puffy lips another kiss before Bucky wrapped a hand around the front of her throat, stroking the soft flesh as he wrapped the other around Steve’s neck to take a hasty kiss before placing his lips to hers.

"It's just fine," Bucky began, pulling away but kept close, not releasing she nor Steve as stormy blue held her gaze. "She deserves it all," Bucky smiled, the three sharing a quiet moment before turning to the food on the table before them, their shy alpha nestled safely between them.

[thebiasrekkers]

Make It Right [BTS Mafia!AU]

Plot: “It’s always darkest before the dawn…” It’s a dog-eat-dog world in Seoul, South Korea. One has to dwell in the shadows in order to reach for the light. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to feel the sunlight on your face? What will it take to drag you back into darkness? How long will the journey be to make it right?

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Genre: Series | Mafia!AU | Crime!AU | Angst | Romance/Fluff

Pairings: Jin x OC | Taehyung/Hoseok x OC | Yoongi/Jungkook x OC

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Heavy Language, Angst, Slow Burn, Smut

Previous Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || Admin E’s WP || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 2,868  

Chapter 21: Jamais Vu

“I just wanted to be good. I just wanted to make you smile...damn.”

Five Years Ago Seoul – Cheongdam; Gangnam District South Korea

The heavy downpour roared in Hoseok’s ears as he struggled to see, his eyes blinking rapidly. It was dark and only the single light pouring over an abandoned warehouse’s parking lot illuminated everything around them. Shouts and grunts sounded off in a loud chorus as glass shattered and wood splintered. Chains rattled and Hoseok spun just out of reach from the metal. The ground was thick and muddy; his shoes sloshed into the ground as he crashed to one knee. He spat blood, wiping at his mouth with the back of his forearm.

The opposing gang member raised his arms high, the chains clattering at his back just as he swung down. Hoseok crossed his arms over his head and cried out in pain when the metal smacked into his back. Twisting his wrist, he grabbed the chain and pulled down hard. His enemy stumbled forward, slipping in the wet mud, and Hoseok took advantage as he stood up to smash his knee into the other man’s gut. Just as he was about to double over in pain, Hoseok grabbed for the back of his hair, pulling his face toward the sky before dropping his elbow right onto his forehead.

The man’s legs collapsed under him and he fell to the ground. He heard a body slamming against sheet metal, and he whipped his head around to see who it was. Just to his right, he saw Yoongi’s body fall – spraying muddy water in every direction.

“Yoongi Hyung!”

Yoongi spun out of the way just as a metal bat smashed into the spot he’d just occupied. Hoseok tore across the lot, his legs springing up to lift him into the air as he felt his heel bury itself into the man’s spine. There was a sickening crack as the man tilted to his left, gravity continuing to take care of the rest. Hoseok reached out to grab Yoongi’s arm and pulled him back up onto his feet. Within seconds, Yoongi spun Hoseok around and he coughed when his back slammed into the wall.

His vision blurred for half a second, refocusing in time to see a plank of wood break across Yoongi’s shoulder.

“HYUNG!”

He watched Yoongi stumble forward, using the weight of his own body to spin around and he lunged forward to tackle the person who’d attacked him. Hoseok took a step forward, wiping at his eyes so he could see where everyone else was. They were all fighting and holding their own and he swallowed a mouthful of air to regain his senses. His gaze shifted to where a single person was standing and holding an umbrella, the rain falling around him as the rest of his upper tiers stood and waited for the perfect opportunity to attack.

His eyes narrowed. “Changkyun-ah,” he muttered and, as though he’d actually heard him, Changkyun smirked from under the shelter of his umbrella.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his switchblade and flicked it out. The blade gleamed under the fluorescent lighting. Hoseok roared, the sound covering up the noise of the rain for a split second, before he charged. Several others jumped in his way, but all he saw was Im Changkyun standing there. Hoseok’s body crashed into someone, his arms reaching out to grasp their arm and he slid the blade over their bicep before bringing it up and under their armpit. He sliced away from him, blood spraying from the wound and he quickly dropped the person in his arms.

Another jumped in his way and Hoseok wasted no time plunging the knife into their gut, pulling the blade out rapidly only to bury it into their thigh. He couldn’t hear their screams over the war drumming of his own heart and he brought the knife up and over their neck to bury it into their shoulder blade.

Spinning just out of someone’s reach, he snatched their arm with his free hand and issued multiple stabs into their forearm. Blood gushed freely and he slid the blade over their flesh like a well-trained butcher. They collapsed to their knees, cradling their mangled arm, but Hoseok spun on his heel and crashed his knee into their face so they hit the mud with a sickening squelch sound.

“Hoseok-ah!” he heard Namjoon calling for him, but Hoseok didn’t stop moving. He pushed forward and jammed his knife into another person’s collar bone without batting an eyelash.

“Hoseok Hyung!”

This time it was Jimin, running forward and smashing his shoulder into a gang member who was trying to impede Hoseok’s path. He kept marching forward, his pace increasing with each step. He saw Jin flip someone onto their back and Taehyung picked up a discarded bat to smash it into another Jade Fang member’s chest. Jungkook kicked and punched his way through anyone who tried to stand in his way, clearing the way for Hoseok.

And then his legs began to pump harder into the mud, his eyes zeroing in on Changkyun. His blade and hands were covered in blood – so thick that the rain couldn’t wash it away immediately. There was a madness that danced in his depths and he dropped two more Jade Fang members with a punch to the throat and a stab to the rib – the blade scraping over bone inside.

One by one, they all dropped like flies.

Hoseok ran full speed, his legs curling under him as he soared into the air – his mouth opening to scream as he prepared to strike.

“IM CHANGKYUN!”

He saw Changkyun’s smile fall, watching as the umbrella tumbled to the ground. But before Hoseok could land his strike, pain exploded over his ribcage and he flew onto his back into the mud. Water and rain sprayed over his lips and he coughed, the wind knocked from his lungs as his knife flew from his hand. It disappeared into a muddy puddle before he could recover it. Hoseok rolled onto his side and pushed his upper body from the ground with his forearms, glaring up at the one who’d struck him as their leg slowly went back to the ground.

It was Sohn Shownu.

“You…you bastard,” Hoseok coughed, blood staining the wet ground.

A leg shot out, slamming into Shownu’s shoulder. The body stumbled forward, immediately righting itself. Jungkook locked eyes with Hoseok momentarily and he bared his teeth before spinning around. Hoseok felt arms helping him back up onto his feet just as he watched Jungkook’s head fly backward from a punch he’d received. Jungkook staggered a few steps back, a line of blood spilling from his lip.

And then Hoseok saw Jungkook jump into the air, his right arm pulled back for a downward punch at whoever had managed to hit him.

Hoseok stretched his arm out, watching as two more people flanked Jungkook from the side.

“JUNGKOOK-AH!”

Present Day Seoul – Hannam; Yongsan District South Korea

“Hey, this is Jungkook. I can’t come to my phone right now so just leave a message and maybe I’ll think about calling you back. Later!”

Hoseok sighed as he lowered the phone back into his lap. He lifted his head to see that Namjoon was standing in the doorway, as if he were hesitating to come inside. He motioned for him to enter and his friend did so, slowly closing the door behind him. Hoseok tried calling Jungkook’s phone again, disheartened when it went straight to voicemail once more.

Still nothing?”

He shook his head before slumping forward to rest his elbows across his desk. Hoseok cradled his head in his hands, his eyes staring at the glass surfacing but not really seeing it.

“He’ll come back eventually,” reassured Namjoon, causing Hoseok to lift only his eyes to look up at him, “just give him time to cool off.”

“It’s been three days, Namjoon-ah,” Hoseok said through clenched teeth, “I’m worried something might have actually happened to him.”

Namjoon folded his arms across his chest. “Jungkook can take care of himself.”

Hoseok knew this as well, but it didn’t help his swirling worries any. He couldn’t erase the look that Jungkook gave him that night; that look of anger and betrayal. He’d said that everyone was focused on their own families and it was like the gut punch he’d given Jungkook was delivered back to him ten-fold. Hoseok’s anger almost superseded everything that was being spoken that night – his desperation to get everything in order his topmost priority. Truth be told, it wasn’t that he didn’t care for his entourage – for those who served under him.

But like all steps toward folly, Hoseok simply assumed that everyone was well prepared for the coming changes. A new dawn would soon be reaching their horizon and he was ready to put their horrible past behind them. It was the goal they’d strived to achieve these last five years. And it was a final destination they’d set for themselves before they left Hwaseong.

“How could I have forgotten about them?” Hoseok pressed a hand to his forehead as he sat back in his chair. His face turned toward the ceiling; he covered his eyes with his forearm. “How could I have done it so completely, Namjoon-ah?”

Even though he couldn’t see it, he heard Namjoon sliding into the chair across from him. “You can’t blame yourself. To be honest, I think we all did.”

Hoseok’s arm fell from his face and hung limply at his side. He craned his neck to look at Namjoon whose brows were furrowed in a mixture of what he could only assume was concern and shame. Was there even a hint of guilt in his expression? Hoseok sighed, sitting up a little more in his chair.

“But how could we have done that?” He averted his gaze, his hand curling into a fist on his desk. “Jungkook was right. We weren’t preparing to help them transition. We were just going to give them a fuck ton of money and send them on their merry way.”

“Hoseok-ah…”

He buried his face in his hands. “…we’re no better than Jungkook’s parents.”

Jungkook’s words echoed in his mind again, causing a deep pain to rise into his chest. He’d done his best to hide it all these years, but it was clear that Jungkook still had lingering abandonment issues. It was almost like he was afraid that, at any moment, they were all going to cast him aside like he didn’t matter to them anymore. Money and power changed people; it was true.

But had they all changed so much?

Once more, Hoseok’s hands fell to his side. He looked at Namjoon and neither of them said anything for what felt like a small eternity. He reached up to touch his chest where the pendant was hidden away from view. Then he stood from his chair, Namjoon following his motions.

“…I need to see her.”

Namjoon’s lips pressed into a thin line before sighing. “Hoseok-ah, do you think that’s—”

He looked at him. “Please, Namjoon-ah,” pleaded Hoseok, his brows knitting together as if he were in pain, “I need to see her now.”

Seoul – Cheongdam; Gangnam District South Korea

Hoseok made Namjoon remain downstairs in the main lobby. He had to do this. He had to see her and know that she was alright. Hoseok needed to see it for himself; a reminder of why he was trying so hard to accomplish his goals in the first place. If it meant her being safe and her reclaiming her freedom, then it would have been worth it. All the separation and the pain; the anxiety… It would have been worth every single second of it.

His hand reached up to press the button by her door – the buzzer ringing to life within her dwelling. It was late. He knew she would have just gotten home. Or maybe just getting off another late shift. Hoseok remembered many nights when he showed up, busted up and bleeding on her doorstep.

The security lock beeped, and the door latch clicked as it slowly opened. Raelyn rubbed at her eyes sleepily, squinting to see just who was at her door. She blinked once, then twice; like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“Hoseok-ah?” she said, her voice thick with sleep and her thick curls fanning out in various directions, “what are you doing here?”

“…I needed to see you.”

She blinked again, resting a hand on the flare of her hip. “See me? For wha—”

“I’m sorry,” he said, interrupting her.

Before she could finish or even ask what he was apologizing for, Hoseok took a step forward and crossed the threshold of her home. His arm shot out to wrap around her waist, lifting her with minimal effort and spinning inside. The door shut behind him and he pivoted on his heels, pressing Raelyn’s back against the surface.

Her eyes widened in alarm and she opened her mouth to protest. But Hoseok leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own as he pressed his chest against hers. He slipped his leg between hers, his thigh pressing against the warmth of her lower body and he slid one hand down to capture her wrist – only to raise it up so that it was pressed against the door parallel with her head.

Muffled sounds of protest came from her mouth and she tried to push him off her, but Hoseok was stronger. His need was stronger, and he needed to see her; to feel her; to taste her all over again.

His tongue urged her lips open and for a moment, she seemed to relax. His arm was still holding her around the middle and he lifted her up so that her legs could wrap around his waist. He felt her other hand thread through his hair, grasping at the back of his head and gripping with unspoken desire. Raelyn moaned and that was the end of it.

Hoseok flung his arms away from her, holding her aloft with his upper body strength alone as he shrugged out of his coat. His blazer followed suit; soft whispers that touched the ground. He licked and teased her upper lip, urging her to open up to him so he could slip the muscle in to scrape along her canines and press against her own tongue.

And then he felt her gripping onto his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin beneath the fabric – a sharp pain bringing him back to awareness.

He looked up at her; pupils blown wide and he gasped as she, too, took a deep breath of air.

“W-We can’t do this, Hoseok,” she whispered, breaking his gaze to look down at the floor.

“…Raelyn,” he whispered, his voice husky with need but he tried to rein himself back in, “are you still…?”

“I can’t do this again,” Raelyn half said, half sobbed, before she buried her face into her hands, “…I’m sorry, Hoseok-ah. I just…I just can’t.”

For a long moment, all he could do was hold her against him. His heart was pounding with a heavy cadence against his chest and he sighed, gathering Raelyn into his arms. He pulled her close, cradling her head against him and he slowly pet the back of her head.

“…it’s okay, Choseungdal,” he said, shushing her as she tried to stifle her sobs, “I’m sorry.”

Hoseok took a moment to pull her away from him, wiping her tears away with his hands. He cradled her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then he lifted her into his arms bridal style, carrying her to her bedroom. He pulled the blanket back and tucked her in, brushing his hand along her forehead. It didn’t seem long before she was starting to drift off to sleep, apologizing to him repeatedly as her voice grew more and more quiet as she faded away.

For a few minutes longer, Hoseok just watched Raelyn sleep. He watched her sleep peacefully and wished, more than anything, that he could join her in that restful sleep – to hold her against him as they fell blissfully into a world of dreams.

Instead, he reached behind his head and unhooked the clasp at the back of his neck, removing the silver crescent moon pendant. He held it in his hand, his thumb stroking over the grooves on the pendant, and then set it down on her nightstand.

“Goodbye, my Choseungdal,” he whispered. Tears brimmed his eyes and he breathed slowly. His hand swept the small tears that threatened to form, and then he headed toward her front door.

Hoseok gathered up his blazer and coat, draping both over his arm, and exited Raelyn’s apartment. The door closed behind him, the security lock beep indicating that she was safe and sound. He sighed, brushing his fingers through his hair in frustration, and then started toward the elevator. As he entered, he pulled out his phone and called Yoongi.

“…Yoongi Hyung? I need you to find Jungkook,” he said, the elevator dinging as he reached the ground floor, “whatever it takes.”

[motherovernature]

Past to Present of the Life of Seraphina Pitchiner

This is the established timeline of my Canon Divergence that has been created over time since 2012. There are many events that divert from canon but have some events that still point to what happened in the books (separate from Jack’s book... I’ve yet to read it). 

The people tagged have been part of this story and it’s development as well. It does leave room for canon and original lore of others. Her perspectives and experiences are separate, and I hope you enjoy this read.

It answers how Seraphina became a Titan of Earth, and part of the energies of its very threads, and a bit about what she is because of the past choices, who she was, and what she will be. An individual who is focused on Balance and is herself Grey in a world of Light and Dark.

Golden Age

Birth- Born under Pisces to General Kozmotis Pitchiner @piratekingpitchblack​ and Lady Luthien Dorremacea and given the name Seraphina Dorremacea Pitchiner

Age 0-6- Early childhood with her family in Orion’s belt

Age 6- Tragedy on Orion’s Belt- Seraphina lost, Luthien dies, Kozmotis loses his love and light

Age 6-7 - drifts in star skiff for an undetermined amount of time from Orion’s Belt to Argo where she is taken in by the elder Constellation Titan, Typhan

Age 7-14 - under the protection and tutelage of Typhan, hopeful that her family will find her again. Typhan is able to identify the Celestial blood in her veins, helps her develop powers of controlling the Cosmic Winds. Teaches her about the ascension of Titans. Sets in her mind the goal of becoming a Titan. She fosters a disposition of bitterness towards the Golden Empire and her father, thinking that they have stopped looking for her. Typhan’s manipulations succeed in keeping his protege with him and not leaving. 

Age 14- A vessel is spotted, Sera is hopeful it maybe her father's ship. Typhan points out that Kozmotis and the Empire stopped looking ages ago. Sera comes to a realization that he’s been hiding her from them. He does not deny it, claiming she is his child, his possession. Sera’s pent up anger and rage are unleased in a catastrophic Cosmic Storm. The passenger's vessel is destroyed and Typhan becomes imprisoned in a shell of the home he had built for Sera. She flees, in anguish.

Age 14-15 Travels back to the Golden Empire, gains a little Star Fox as a companion and is determined to find her father. When she arrives she meets the Captain of the Gaurd Noah @acopyoflight​ . She is made a ward of the Tsar and Tsarina.

Age 15-20 gains an education in the Empire and joins the Star Pilot Academy. Graduates from the Academy and becomes a Star Explorer. During that time she becomes close friends with Hevel of Sextans @lordsextans​, Princess Ariana of Aries @warrior-princess-aries​, and Noah @acopyoflight​. Hevel develops and builds Sera’s Star Ship. Sera fuses with a comatose star as the ritual of the Pilots.

Age 20-23 Balances life as an Explorer and a member of the Council. Has a partnership with the Hunter Pilot Theo, develops a unique relationship with the Singularity Lord Nero @lorddevourer​. Visits Typhan’s prison to find the tombs of knowledge he had eluded to her having when she was ready. Lots of crazy things happen that have Sera making progress towards becoming a Titan, politics, and other juicy things. Sera uncovers a piece of her Heritage pointing to her Mother as a Keeper of the Trees. This becomes a goal of hers to find and understand.

Age 23-26 Leaves the Empire after deciding she has reached a crossroads, pursue her goals and change the Empire herself, or stay and let things be as they have. She is joined by other Pilots in support of her, they leave the Empire. They come across the Nightmare Galleon, the pilots perish, and in an attempt to take out the Galleon Sera collides her ship with it. Sera effectively becomes apart of the crew with @piratekingpitchblack​ and more complex things happen that lead to stars being consumed, artifacts found, and secrets unraveled about the Keeper of the Trees. Typhan awakens as she gains energy from the stars consumed he too siphons some of this force from her. He becomes a problem, a big problem. Manipulates Sera to try and pull the shadows from the Nightmare King, that backfires poorly and she flees.

Age 26 Typhan and Sera clash as she seeks to find the Keeper of the Trees. The stars she has consumed are not balanced well and cause great discomfort and literally tearing her apart at the molecules, breaking her down. Typhan decimates her, with energy restored to a greater strength he strips the stars from her she consumed. All but one, a volatile one, the one she fused with as a Pilot. It has not been able to grow as it needed because the older ones she held sucked most room up, and it began to pull at their energies, pulling it to them. Creating a supernova and imminent death. Typhan leaves the obliterated ship and pilot to die. In those moments close to death she is found by unfamiliar beings. They stabilize her condition, but she is mortally wounded and her star is still at risk of a supernova. They bring her to the Cosmic World Tree, a place that can only be found when you are truly lost with no direction. In her state, they briefly teach her that she is the Scion of their Keeper, Luthien, her mother, whom they lost before her time. She was to be the guardian of the new Tree, as the old is dying and plagued by shadow. How they have found her though is not ideal, death is inevitable and soon to come. The Ancient Titan has seen their actions and will seek to obliterate her further, and them in the process. Mutual agreement, though concerning, is to have the World Seed germinate with her dying star, and life and death balance... hopefully. Sera dies as the seed germinates, finding purchase in the core of the star. Typhan finds the Keepers and the World Tree and burns it entirely. The Seed Pod is flung across the cosmos and Seraphina Pitchiner disappears from all existence. 

This star-like pod is what Sandy finds and sails, connecting to a disembodied consciousness that is Sera.

Highlights of the 4.5 billion years of Earth

The Seed Pod collides with a distant planet with a black burning, gaseous rock.

The Seed Pod explodes and the energies of both the Pod and the dying Planet clash. Their primordial energies clashing fiercely, violently, catastrophically.

The planet shapes over time, with or without outside help these energies are not aware. Their clash creates friction and new energies, a new entity is developed and creates a sea that tempers the flame and disaster of the Gold and Red. 

The Primordial Energies all develop into Primordial Titans; Earth, Destruction, and Sea. Earth and Destruction violently clash and the Sea grabs each and flings them violently away from each other. Earth is drug to the seafloor and Destruction buried under a mountain.

Together Sea and Earth begin to experiment with odd life forms in the sea. All three Titans begin to develop an identity and self during this time.

When life in the sea begins to get complex Earth leaves, taking what is known from that time onto the dry land.

Earth creates, and Destruction clashes again with her. He is ravenous primal rage, but so is she. 

Ages span again, Earth becomes Gaia, Destruction becomes Ru Udai, and Sea becomes Levyathan.

Complex life is established, but the tides are imbalanced. Much life is lost repeatedly.

A moon appears in the sky and life stabilizes, a dark meteor crashes to Earth and wipes out life again.

The three Titans (in varying animal/beastial forms) contain this darkness deep into the crust of the planet. 

Life stabilizes again, the cycles repeat. More stabilization is gained by the presence of the Moon. Gaia and Ru clash, and eventually Gaia establish herself as superior, she is the protecting ruling entity. Won by superior force, strength, and prowess. Ru makes his dominion in the volcanic systems beneath the crust, Levyathan the depths of the seas, and Gaia, a realm that is at the heart of thriving life and land. The Tree of Life sprouts, and in this lush landscape humanity begins to grow.

Civilization develops, gods, begin to surface, discord and fighting among the gods and Titans reign with conflict. Humans develop towards war and conquest. Disruptive is the way of life now.

Gaia pulls her realm back when humanity tries to overpower her with the gods, creating a pocket realm that is cut off from them and protects her tree. Creating an oasis and garden that will someday be the future of the world her way.

Atlantis rises to existence. Levyathan draws close to this civilization as a parent and guardian. The Atlantians rise in power and hubris, steal his giant, oracle eye and he disappears into the depths to recover from his wounds. When he awakens Atlantis is destroyed, all history lost. He sinks back to the depths and makes himself a haven away from humanity in his own pocket realm.

Ru thrives off the conflict of humanity rising and their conquest, volcano’s and disasters cause unstable environments and Gaia quiets him.

As the Titan’s quiet and pull away as Rome ascends, Gaia begins to recall an old identity as the Tree grows stronger. Seraphina. 

Seraphina begins to emerge and explore the planet, learning of the different creatures, cycles, and realms. She makes alliances, establishes her power, and regains memories

More present events, the Core of Earth shakes and shudders. The memories pouring through Sera’s consciousness causing instability for the core and her own self. She finds connections to anchor her in others, and meets faces from an age so very long ago. She dwells in Shangri La, The Glen with her budding World Tree of Life.

Some she remembers well, others not. A pact (not sure what we refer to it right now) is formed between a unique visitor, Lord Nero @lorddevourer​, friendships rekindled in Hevel and Ariana, new ones developed with Toothiana @flossinspector​, and the world turns as it always does

The core of the Earth cracks and rumbles, a difficult period where both Seraphina and Nero realize the state of existence she holds, a death of a star held in stasis by a force of life determined to grow. A Singularity rests at the core of Earth, a revelation of what will be the future of the planet and of it’s Titan when it fully develops.

Typhan found Earth ages ago and has kept a keen eye on it. His interests lie in it’s Titan who persistently remains and finds that both interesting and useful. His sights also are aware of the Singularity King, and would rather separate the two indefinitely from each other.

The world turns as it does, more webs tied to this planet that it’s sovereign Titan desires, but it is her home, her shell, her work. A wish to change the cosmos, to have a world that balanced light and dark... oddly enough came to fruition. She has her goals in mind but prepares for the future in a much different way than she could have ever foreseen.

PS: image is the distance between little Orion and the MASSIVE broken Argo Constellation that she would of traversed.

[starbuck09256]

Hope

It’s Fictober!!!!

Post Ep Emily

tagging @today-in-fic @fictober-event @fictober @suitablyaggrieved

from the drabble prompts

Prompts “Don’t shut me out.”

She traces the images of a smiling 3 year old. Whose short hair mimics her sister. The scattered tissues that barely hold her tears mingle with the dried blood under the floorboards. As she sits against the hard wood door in a heap of convulsing sobs. She was so strong at the funeral, her sadness contained in the shell of her broken down body. Everytime she closes her eyes she sees a scared little face begging her to stop the tests. She sees Mulder clutching yellow flowers too tightly as his own sorrow for her pours from his eyes. He knows what this tiny child was to her. He knows that she wanted another life another path, not because of him or their quest. But because fate had chosen her to live on, she had been returned survived the incurable and yet her destiny wasn’t to find the joys that she had forsaken it was as if she was being punished for fighting. She lived but she will never live on in the form of another, she will never have a child that bares her dna. She will never get to feel a baby rolling around in her womb. Never have to worry about labor pains, morning sickness. She will never be able to give Mulder the family he has sought after for 20 plus years. When she was dying it didn’t matter what she did, it was almost easier not caring for the consequences, because in 6 months she would be dead and it would be someone else's problem. That they would have to see how she shattered herself, shattered her relationships, pushed people away so that when she died the pain would be less. Her mother, her brothers.. Mulder. She pushed back and worked and focus on things that were tangible and lacked the emotional connection, a connection she wasn’t interested in forming when death's door was all but a breath away. But now she is here in a world that has cursed her to relive a walking nightmare, happy families practically taunting her, Mulder trying to be closer but yet still keeping his distance despite her practically throwing herself at him. He knew when she told him she couldn’t have children, he knew and that was why he pushed her away months ago. Now she knows why she never realized it, never realized that all he wants is a family. The way he speaks of Samantha of a life lost in time. He is frozen there, in this disillusionment of the perfect happy family and he craves it so badly. She should have known, should have realized when he was talking about baseball and small towns. Saw how his eyes lit up with Emily. He thought there was a chance, a chance for them and this little girl. He didn’t care if it wasn’t his he just cared that it was hers. He wanted to do everything he could to protect them, Emily and her and in the end as always they both lost. Her heart breaks a little more as she squeezes the tissue in her hand. She knows the human body can’t possibly run out of water from tears, but in moments like this she feels like it's as much as anything. She feels the knock on her door against her head. The lights are dimmed and if she doesn’t move perhaps her will let her suffer the pain alone, like she should. It wasn’t his daughter that died, it’s not his chance for parenthood that is on the line. Just hers. Just her that will forever see Emily's face in tiny toddlers, her that will envision an entire life for a girl she barely knew. 

Mulders voice comes through “Please Scully, don’t shut me out.” The last of the words are barely audible and she keeps thinking I have to, I can’t have us both broken at the same time. How will we save one another if both of us just want to die? 

Her breathe heaves in and out of her lungs as she tries desperately to control her emotions for just enough time to tell him she is fine, cursed and miserable, but fine. But he is whole, safe, able to share his beautiful genes with any woman who would be so very lucky to have him. Deep breath. 

“I’m fine..” her voice practically shatters at the word and she can’t help the tears that mingle with her lips as she repeats it to herself in a whisper, ”I’m fine, it’s fine… everything is ….” and the door clicks and before she can even figure out how to control her tears she is in his arms and they are both crumbling to the floor as her sobs wrack through her body in uncontrollable spasms. He’s there not reassuring her but stroking her back like he did to Emily in the group home. God, Emily those tests how could she as her mother ever make her child needlessly suffer for the small glimmer of hope of what could of been. 

“Mulder, I was such a terrible mother to her, I let them test her, I made her suffer just so that I could have a few more moments with the only child I will ever have. I failed her, the one person in the world that mattered.”

 Mulders hand continues up and down and her face gets buried in his neck. 

“You showed her love Scully, and tried everything to save her, to give her the life she deserved, to love her unconditionally. You are what all mothers strive to be,” he stares deep into her water filled eyes and continues “a protector, who had to make the hardest choice imaginable, and you chose to set her free from the confines of a world that would have only caused her more pain than anyone should ever experience.” 

He cups her face in his hands kissing her tears as she hiccups in sorrow. He takes them to the couch and she is so mentally exhausted she barely notices. Barely registers the warm blanket that he drapes around both of them before her body finally gives in to a dreamless slumber. 

When she wakes he has a small cup of tea for her. She rubs her eyes and mutters her thanks. 

“You don’t have to stay, thank you for coming over, I just..”

He pursues his lips stares at her paintings, and sits next to her taking her hands in his.

He clears his throat “I know you think that my mother was terrible to me, that she neglected me and that my family life was horrible. But the problem was.. It wasn’t. Before Sam was taken it was perfect, it was the perfect life. Summers on the vineyard, baseball, peanut butter sandwiches, endless hugs, family barbecues. It was like your family, everyone was just happy to be together. Sure Sam was annoying, but she would play stratego with me. My mom would try to make pancakes in the shape of the Enterprise. My dad would throw a baseball to both of us, from the second his feet hit the driveway until well after the street lights came on. He never even got to go inside and put down his briefcase. Over the years, after, the baseball gloves collected dust the pancake mix went bad and all that was left was two people who were shells of their former selves. They weren’t my parents they were people who were so broken that no amount of love or devotion or success would put them back together again, and I was there and watched it all. I saw what losing a family member does to people. What it did to me, what it did to them. So I know you will be fine, because you need to tell yourself that, need to believe it like you believe in god and science. But you will wonder, you will wonder if Emily would ever have loved ballet, if she would be good at soccer, if she would love math and science like you or history and art like me. There will be moments where you will swear that you see her on the street, moments where a candle will flicker out and you feel her breath on your skin. You will hear her laugh in wind and feel her tears in the rain, and in every single one of those moments you will not be fine, and you need to accept that those moments Scully, those are the moments that prove that life is worth living. I want you to tell me when those moments happen Scully. I want you to tell me because being shut out, taking it all on your own, doesn’t make you strong, it makes you hate the world. It makes you into the shell of a person, and there is nothing worse than living life with deep seated regret and pain. I can’t watch another person I love become… hopeless. So I need you to tell me, so you and I can work on it together. To grieve together for the life we could of had, and for the pain we must endure. Can you do that for me Scully? Please?”

As the tears stream down her face she can’t help but nod. Because he’s right, of course he is, and years from now, when she still can’t get rid of him and him of her they will see a girl who they swear looks exactly like Emily, playing in puddles in her ballet outfit. They will see a kid with her smile looking at a science project. They will feel her presence in the darkest of circumstances and know for a glimmer of a second that hope endures. 

[maaaaaatryoshka0325]

Arcane - Lee Know Mafia AU Part 20

(Part1) (Part2) (Part3) (Part4) (Part5) (Part6) (Part7) (Part8) (Part9) (Part10) (Part11) (Part12) (Part13) (Part14) (Part15) (Part16) (Part17) (Part18) (Part19)

“Stop!” You yelled, rushing between them.

“Y/N?!” Kyuhyun gasped.

“”Kyuhyun don’t shoot, please.” You said, tears filling your eyes.

“Wait, he-” He stared at Minho for a moment, then at you.

“Y/N, what the fuck is going on?” Kyuhyun asked.

You looked at Minho, whose eyes were glaring right into yours.

“Did you set this up?” Minho asked.

“What?” You asked, shock filling you.

“Your bestie here is a cop, and was in Busan when we were. And you so happened to hear shit from cops, and now he’s here.” He hissed.

“Minho I wouldn’t-” You were cut off by another voice.

“You betrayed us Y/N.” Changbin said, holding Felix’s arm over his shoulders.

“Oh Felix.” You gasped, seeing the gunshot wound to his side.

“How could you betray us?” Jeongin asked, his voice small.

“I didn’t!” You said, tears filling your eyes.

“I was right when I said this was all a coincidence.” Woojin hissed, his eyes full of anger and hurt.

“What should we do Chan?” Changbin asked.

Chan was staring at you, his eyes dark. He grabbed the gun from Minho’s belt, the one you had used to practice, and approached you. Kyuhyun raised his gun, as well as Stray Kids as they pointed it at him.

“Lower your gun Kyuhyun.” You said.

“But-”

“Just lower it!” You snapped.

Chan looked down at you, his eyes looked so sad. He looked at Minho, who had his back turned. You closed your eyes, then felt the gun fall to your feet.

“I haven’t forgotten what you’ve done for us, and how you saved me last night.” Chan said, turning his back to you and walking away.

You watched him with shock, tears flowing from your eyes. Minho walked by you, and you went to grab his arm.

“Minho-”

He whipped around, his eyes holding more ice than they had when you first met.

“Don’t come near us again, or next time neither of you will be so lucky.” He snarled.

Tears flew down from your eyes as he walked away. You dropped down on your knees and covered your face as you felt your heart breaking.

“Don’t go.” You sobbed.

You felt Kyuhyun hug you tightly, rubbing your back.

“I’m so sorry Y/N.” He said softly.

Why did this have to happen?

You felt Kyuhyun lift you into his arms. You wrapped your arms around his neck tightly and cried into the crook of his neck as he walked you to the open road where the cops were cleaning themselves up and getting themselves together,

“Kyuhyun!” You heard his dad call.

His dad was the chief in his department, having gotten Kyuhyun the job.

“Is that Y/N?” He asked.

Kyuhyun nodded and walked past him, holding you tightly. You whimpered as he cradled you in his arms, his big hands holding you securely to him.

“It’s okay Y/N, I promise.” He whispered.

He put you in the front seat of his car as he drove back to the police station, rubbing your thigh and your arm as much as he could along the way.

Kyuhyun’s dad questioned you as much as he could, but you refused to give out their location.

“I don’t understand Y/N, you were such a good kid, what happened?” His dad asked.

“They’re not bad people Mr. Kim. They... They’ve saved me multiple times. They could’ve killed me if they wanted too, and they didn’t.” You said.

“They brainwashed you.” He said flatly.

“They did not!” Your voice raised with anger.

“They saved me. THEY saved those girls from that pyscho fucking sex trafficker. They tried getting a hold of that damn drug that’s killing people to get rid of it! Do what you want with me for not talking, but I won’t allow good people to go down.” You said.

He stared at you then sighed, running his finger through his balding hair.

“I won’t do anything to you Y/N. You’re a great kid. Thank you for your time.” He said, walking you out of the room.

You walked out, feeling absolutely exhausted. And on top of all of this, you had no where to go. You’ve been living with Stray Kids for months, surely your apartment was taken by the bank. You sighed and walked into the lobby. You looked up from your feet to see Kyuhyun waiting there. His eyes brightened when he saw you, and he stood up to walk over to you.

“Come here.” He said, opening his arms.

You ran into his arms, burying your face into his chest as a sob shook your body. He rubbed your back and held you tightly, hushing you softy. No matter how comforting it felt, it still wasn’t Minho’s arms around you, which made you cry harder. He pulled away and wiped your tears with his thumbs.

“Come on,” He said, grabbing your hand. “Lets go get some bubble tea and food.”

You both sat at a booth in the bubble tea bar, but you hardly touched anything he got you.

“Y/N?” He asked.

You looked up at him as he softly pushed some of the hair out of your face.

“I’m so sorry.” He said sadly.

“It’s not your fault Kyuhyun.” You said softly.

“I know but still,” He said softly. “If I had known I wouldn’t of been there.”

“Really?” You asked.

“Yeah... Was it true? That they saved you?” He asked.

You nodded and told him the story of Mr. Lim, and that’s how you met them. You told him how you were always stuck with Minho, who was ice cold at first, then turned sweet, and how he taught you how to use a gun, and how he saved you from being raped and saved you from being hurt by Seungri. You told him about Felix and Jeongin, and how Jisung is a pervert and Changbin being scary despite his size. You told him about how smart Seungmin is and how Woojin is really good in the medical field and how much of a warm bear he is. 

“And... I fell in love with Minho.” You said softly.

His eyes held sadness in them as he listened to the way you talked about them.

“I really wished they would’ve listened to you, Y/N.” He said softly.

“I do too... This hurts.” You whispered, your eyes filling with tears again.

“Hey... Don’t cry.” He said, wiping your eyes.

“I’m sorry,,, They were like a big family to me.” You sniffed.

“I know. Myabe your paths will cross again. I just hope it doesn’t end up the way lover boy said it would.” He said.

“You used to have such a strong opinion on them, what changed?” You asked, shocked.

“The way they were with you made me see them differently. Any mafia guy would’ve just shot me, Minho didn’t. Any mafia leader would’ve killed someone they thought betrayed them on sight, Chan didn’t. They looked so... Hurt when they thought you betrayed them, and lover boy was crying when he saw Chan raise the gun to your head, and they all looked like they wanted to cry.” He said.

Tears slipped down from your eyes and you quickly wiped them away. He rubbed your arm and pushed a cake towards you.

“Sweets always make you feel better.” He said.

You smiled and took a bite, trying to swallow it, but the lump in your throat was in the way. He rubbed your back and thought for a second.

“Why don’t we have a movie night at my apartment? You can stay as long as you want.” He said with a big grin.

You sniffled and nodded as he lead you out of the bubble tea bar and to his car. He drove you over to his apartment, which was high end, courtesy of his father.

You both stepped in and took off your shoes. It didn’t feel real being in his apartment, as the last time you were was before you were taken. 

“Why don’t we build a fort?” Kyuhyun asked, running out of his room with heaps of blankets. You laughed and nodded, taking some from him and started to put them over the couch, on the coffee table, tucking one under the back of the T.V so that it was in the fort. After you both had finished, his whole living room was covered in your blanket fort. You both looked at each other and smiled as he walked back into his room and pulled out another heap of blankets, setting up a comfy bed under the fort. He grabbed his fluffiest pillows and a couple movies and finished setting up the bed. He pulled you under and you laughed, seeing how it was neatly set up, a little lamp between the pillows with multiple movies sprawled out for you to choose from with snacks on the side.

“Welcome to Villa Y/N.” Kyuhyun said, giggling.

“That’s cute Kyuhyun.” You giggled.

“I know, I’m your cute best friend that knows how to cheer you up.” He laughed.

He put on a movie and you laid down, trying to pay attention to it, but your mind kept going back to earlier. The look on Minho’s face made your heart break all over again, he looked at you with such disgust, and such hurt.The members looked at you with sadness and betrayal, and you instantly felt sick to your stomach.

“You okay?” Kyuhyun asked.

You shook your head and let out a small, choked sob and he pulled you into his chest. 

“I’m sorry Y/N.” He said, rubbing your back.

You don’t know how long you cried for, but you had fallen asleep to Kyhyun comforting you.

You wok up the next morning to a throbbing headache and groaned, getting up to pee. You saw Kyuhyun standing in the kitchen, his uniform on. 

“Good morning.” He said.

“Good morning.” You mumbled back.

He handed you a tooth brush and something that looked familiar.

“Is this mine?” You asked.

“Yeah, your old landlord was throwing your stuff out so I grabbed your favorite clothes and took them, I knew something had to be up cause you’d never throw some of these out.” He said.

“You know me so well.” You said, letting out a small laugh.

“You’re my best friend, I have to know almost everything about you.” He said. “By the way, I can’t take off today or tomorrow, but I’ll take off the next couple days so you’re not alone, okay?”

You nodded as he walked by and ruffled your hair before walking out the front door to start his day. You decided to shower and go to your favorite cafe again, thinking some caffeine would take away the headache. You felt glad Kyuhyun had grabbed one of your bags that had your (months old) make up in it. You covered the dark spots under your eyes and headed out the door.

The cool breeze made you shiver under your light sweater, but you ignored it as you walked into the cafe. 

Lets see if Chan canceled this card.

You ordered and surprisingly enough, he hadn’t. You had a few years worth of pay on that card. You sat down and swirled your coffee around, playing with it more than drinking it.

“Y/N?” You turned to see Rina standing there, a smile on her face.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Minho?” She asked.

You felt tears spring to your eyes and she gasped.

“Oh honey, c’mon, we’ll take a walk, okay?” 

You told her everything, from Kyuhyun being a cop, to Minho and Kyuhyun almost killing each other. Her eyes were soft as she stroked your arm.

“I’m so sorry honey. I know where they’re coming from, but they should’ve listened to you.” She said.

You nodded, wiping the tears from your eyes. She rubbed your back and pulled you into a hug.

“You’re lucky though, they usually kill anyone who betrays them.” She said.

“Chan threw my gun on the ground and said because I did so much for them and saved him the night before he wouldn’t do it.” You said.

“What happened the night before?” She asked.

“One of Seungri’s men broke into the mansion and killed one of Chan’s guards. I got to him before he was able to sneak into Chan’s room. Changbin got him to talk afterwards.” You said.

“That’s scary.” She breathed.

You thought for a moment, then your eyes widened. She tilted her head a syou whipped your head over to look at her.

“Do you think Suengri set it up?” You gasped.

Her eyes widened as she gasped.

“He wanted him to either kill Chan or get caught!” She gasped.

You watched her dial a number as she held her phone to her ear.

“Jinyoung? Have you talked to Chan recently?” She asked.

You heard Jinyoung talking on the other end of the phone.

“When you see him tonight, tell him Seungri set him up yesterday. The man that broke into his mansion was either supposed to kill him or set them up.” She said before hanging up.

“We’ll have this sorted out sweetie, I promise.” She said.

You both walked around the river for a bit, trying to avoid the topic of Minho.

‘Excuse me ladies, I’m gonna have to give you a fine for jaywalking.” 

You both turned to see Kyuhyun, his eyes shining with amusement.

“Oh, hey Kyuhyun.” You giggled.

“What’s up? I didn’t expect you to be out of the house.” He said, smiling at you. His eyes flickered to Rina.

“Oh, Kyuhyun this is Rina, Rina this is Kyuhyun.” You said.

“Ahhh, so this is the famous Kyuhyun.” Rina said.

“Yep! That’s me.” He smiled. “Awwee, Y/N do you talk about me?”

“Uh- you could day that.” You said.

“So how did you two meet?” Kyuhyun asked.

“It’s a long story.” You said.

“Wait a minute...” Kyuhyun said, leaning down to look at her face. “She was one of the girls that was taken to be sex audited.” 

“Yeah, but Y/N and the Stray Kids members saved me.” Rina said.

He nodded and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I guess they did better at finding you than we did.” Kyuhyun said.

She gave him a warm smile and shrugged.

“I’m sure you guys did the best you could with such little evidence.” She said.

Kyuhyun nodded with a smile before throwing an arm over your shoulder.

“Why don’t we all go to lunch? On me. I have an hour lunch.” He said.

You and Rina shrugged and followed him into a diner. He sat down and you all order drinks.

“This place makes AWESOME burgers.” Kyuhyun said.

“Really?” Rina asked.

“Yeah, to die for.” He said with a smile.

You and Rina took his word for it and both ordered burgers and fries, as did he. When the waitress brought you your food, both of your eyes bulged at the size of the burger.

“That’s huge!” Rina gasped.

“No comment.” Kyuhyun giggled.

You threw a fry at him for being perverted and Rina arched a brow at him.

“Something you’ve never heard, hm?” She said.

Kyuhyun started cracking up and smiled at her.

“She’s funny.” He said.

“You have no idea.” You giggled.

You all ate and you huffed as you struggled to finish.

“You can bring it home too Y/N.” Kyuhyun laughed.

“I know, it’s just so good!” You laughed.

In reality, you weren’t hungry still. But you didn’t worry him or Rina.

“Rina.” You both turned to see Jinyoung approaching the table.

“Hey babe.” She said.

He sat down beside you and Rina, seeming awkward about Kyuhyun.

“Everything okay?” Rina asked.

“Yeah.” He said.

You leaned into Rina’s ears.

‘Does he know?” You asked, meaning Kyuhyun.

“Yeah, he knows.” She whispered back.

“I’m Kyuhyun.” Kyuhyun said, reaching his arm across to shake Jinyoung’s hand.

Jinyoung shook it firmly and nodded.

“I’m Jinyoung.” He said.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Kyuhyun said with a big smile.

“Like wise.” Jinyoung said back.

“Do you want some? It’s huge.” Rina offered him some of her burger.

“Nah, I just went out with the guys.” He said.

The waitress put the bill on the table and Kyuhyun looked at it before he and Jinyoung both reached for their wallets. Kyuhyun raised his hand up to stop Jinyoung.

“I told them it’s on me, I hope it’s not weird for you.” He said.

“Are you sure?” Jinyoung asked.

“Yeah, Y/N and I are close so I don’t mind.” He smiled.

“You’re pretty cool, for a cop.” Jinyoung said.

Rina smacked his chest and he jumped.

“You’re pretty cool too, for a mafia member.” Kyuhyun said.

You and Rina both went pale and Kyuhyun laughed.

“Do you guys think I’m dumb? Don’t worry, I don’t care.” Kyuhyun said.

“Really?” Jinyoung asked.

“Really. Just don’t have me doing over time because you want to cause trouble. I don’t get paid for overtime.” He said with a big smile.

Jinyoung smiled back and stretched his hand out.

“Deal.” He said.

They shook hands again and RIna looked at him in shock.

“I’m surprised you’re not all over him.” She said.

“Nah, he isn’t causing trouble. Now if he were Seungri I’d be all over him. I’ve been after that bastard since day 1.” He said.

“Haven’t we all.” Jinyoung said.

“You too?” Kyuhyun asked.

“Yea, we don’t tolerate sex trafficking. It’s disgusting and dishonorable.” Jinyoung said, holding Rina’s hand.

“I like that. Maybe one day we’ll all join forces and bring down the whole industry.” Kyuhyun laughed.

“Maybe.” Jinyoung said with a smile.

You all walked out of the diner and you hugged Rina and Jinyoung goodbye.

“I’m gonna try and talk to Chan, okay?” Jinyoung said.

You nodded and watched them leave.

“I’ll see you when I’m off.” Kyuhyun said, waving to you.

You waved him off, then went back home.

It felt like so long since Kyuhyun had left to finish his shift when he came back into the apartment.

“You’re still awake?” He asked.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.” You said, a book in your hands.

He sat next to you on the couch, looking at all of the blankets.

“There’s no way in Hell I’m allowing you to sleep on this uncomfortable ass couch.” Kyuhyun said.

“I’ll be fine.” You said.

“No, you can sleep in my bed. It’s a lot comfier, we’ll get you a bed for the guest room.” He said.

“Why?” You asked.

“I mean, you don’t have a place right now. And you need a big buff guy like me to protect you.” He laughed with a big, goofy grin.

“Yeah, so buff.” You smiled, rolling your eyes.

“No but really, take my bed. It’s really soft.” He said.

“I’m not taking your bed Kyuhyun.” You said.

“Fine, then we’re sharing it.” He said, hauling you over his shoulder.

“Kyuhyun! Put me down!” You squealed.

He flopped you on the bed and wrapped you up like a burrito in the blankets.

“See? Comfy.” He said, plopping down next to you.

You laughed and laid a little away from him, and he noticed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t take advantage of you in your sleep.” He laughed.

You tried to laugh too, but that sentence made you think of Minho and the last night you two slept next to each other. The lump came back into your throat, and you tried to push it down. You fell into an uneasy sleep, Minho still on your mind.

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Moving Metal #5: Maniacs Don’t Cry

📑 Table of Contents | ◂ Previous 

Author’s Note: I wrote this while listening to Bebe Rexha “I’m A Mess” on repeat, so it’s a good theme song for this chapter.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

THUMP!

I jolted awake, my glassy eyes squinting in the darkness. I glanced at the clock, wondering if it was time to get up but the bright red digits were flashing, waiting to be set. I could’ve sworn it was set before I fell asleep.

I rubbed my eyes and listened for the sound of the realm alarm, but I was greeted only with complete silence. I shrugged it off, falling back onto the bed and stifling a yawn.

You know that strange sensation of being awake yet being asleep at the same time? It’s kind of like you’re teetering between the two. That’s where I was at, about to completely cross over when my brain picked up a faint whisper. It wasn’t enough to pull me back, but it was certainly enough to prevent me from advancing.

Another whisper, this time more clear.

My name. It was my name.

I groaned tiredly, rolling over so that my back was facing the source of the sound. I figured it was just Mark, so I muttered for him to get lost.

A few moments of silence and then another whisper. It was different this time, though. It sounded angry, demanding even. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up as goosebumps erupted across my skin. I was completely yanked from sleep.

My body was now alert and ready. For what, I couldn’t be sure.

I slowly sat back up, turning towards the door. I could feel my blood run cold like ice in my veins. My heart hammered against my rib cage as if it were trying to escape. I honestly didn’t blame it. I tried to speak, but it was as if something was lodged in my throat.

“Hello, Jae. Surprised to see me?”

Surprised was the last thing I was feeling right now. “Kadeem…? Is that… is that really you?”

“You should know. You did kill me, after all.”

I swallowed hard, shifting so that my back was against the wall. “No… I… I didn’t have anything to do with that…”

His eyebrow rose as he approached my bed. “Perhaps you’re right. You didn’t actually pull the trigger, but you certainly did nothing to help.”

“There was nothing – ”

“Don’t!” He growled in anger. “You saw me go over the edge. You could have said something. So tell me, Jae – ” he leaned down, face inches from my own. “ – why didn’t you?”

My heart clenched tight inside my chest and I snapped my eyes shut tight, clutching the dragon pendant in my hand. It took so much effort for me to answer, and when I finally managed to speak, it was nothing but a whisper. “I’m so sorry, Kadeem.”

“Let me tell you why.” He stood straight, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “You’re a coward. You’re weak. You knew you couldn’t save me and you were too afraid to try, too afraid to show your precious Taro how weak you really are. Just like the swamp realm.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, vines appeared out of thin air. They wrapped around my wrists and ankles, dragging me down flat against the mattress. I couldn’t move no matter how hard I struggled against my binds.

Kadeem threw his head back in laughter. “You’re too weak to break free! This is why your family threw you away. Why all of your friends threw you away. Did you honestly think things would change here? Soon, the Metal Maniacs will come to realize how weak and pathetic you really are and they will abandon you just as everyone else has.”

“You… re… wr… on… g…” I managed to gasp out. It caused the vine around my neck to tighten, making it harder to breathe.

“You think so?” He leaned down again, his lips right next to my ear. “Your own father killed himself just to get away from you.”

A scream ripped from my throat and I squeezed my eyes shut tight, begging for him to stop. My hands balled into fists so tight that I could feel my nails breaking the skin. I could hear Kadeem’s laughter grow louder and louder, threatening to burst my eardrums.

A cry of pain left my lips.

And just like that, everything stopped.

I shot up in my bed, breathing heavy as a thick layer of sweat drenched my forehead. My eyes darted around the room, looking for any sign of Kadeem or the vines. I found nothing to indicate their presence.

My eyes shot to the red digits illuminating the darkness. Half past two in the morning.

I swallowed hard, bringing my knees to my chest. My arms wrapped tight around them and for the next thirty minutes, I sat there chanting the same phrase over and over again in my head.

It was just a dream.

I felt fear at the thought of lifting my head. What if it wasn’t a dream and he’s just waiting for me to lift my head? The thought had me frozen to the spot.

You’re a coward.

Kadeem’s words echoed through my head. He was right, I am a coward.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly forced my head up, eyes quickly darting around for any signs of life. Once again, I found nothing but the clock digits basking me with a faint red light.

3:20 am.

I knew there would be no getting back to sleep for me which was perfectly fine. I lowered my feet to the ground, slipping my boots on before leaving the room. I didn’t know where to go, but I knew I couldn’t stay in that room a minute more.

The other members aren’t like me; they can’t function properly without sleep and I really didn’t want them to see me like this, either, so I decided to leave the dorm area for the garage.

I went straight to the Maniacs side. All of the cars are beefed up and mean looking. Metallics in faded browns and orange, black and red. They’re tough just like their owners, but as I ran my fingertips across the black metal of my car, I didn’t feel the confidence that it usually offered me.

It felt cold and distant.

I held back a sigh and approached the Teku’s side. It was a great contrast between the two styles. The Teku cars are bright and vibrant – shades of white, blue and orange mingling together like old friends. They’re shiny and look brand new – unlike the faded and rustic colors of the Maniacs.

I ran my fingers across them as I walked by.

Vert’s car. Nolo’s. Kurt’s. Karma’s.

My fingers hovered near the car belonging to their shortest member. It felt kind of sacred, like it was taboo to touch it without asking. I took a second to admire it for the very first time.

It’s actually a really beautiful car.

Even though it felt wrong, I let my shaking hand rest on the hood. The sleek metal was cold, but it felt nothing like my own had. I didn’t feel a sense of rejection or disgust. I just felt… a sense of calm rush over me, but it didn’t last long. I felt as if all the negative emotions I had been burying over the years were bursting from the dirt, demanding to see the light of day.

I stared at my reflection in the window – at the tears sliding down my pale cheeks. I can’t believe I’m crying…

I sunk to the floor, leaning my head back against the car.

I’m actually crying…

The last time I cried… I can’t even remember.

Crying makes you weak.

Maniacs aren’t weak.

Maniacs don’t cry.

Maniacs don’t feel anything but anger or excitement.

If Tork saw me right now…

Oh god, if Taro saw me like this…

They’d all get rid of me, just as everyone else in my life had.

I flinched at the pain shooting through my hands. Unclenching them, I found dried blood around half-moon cuts lining the length of my palms. Great, now I have a physical reminder of how weak I am.

I groaned, throwing my head back as I held my pendant up towards the ceiling. The stainless steel shined brightly, even under the dim lighting in the garage. My thumb ran over the engraved features from memory, having followed the same path a thousand times before.

A sigh passed my lips and I closed my eyes, letting the pendant drop back against my chest. And everything faded away.

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I grunted in annoyance as I felt a hand on my arm. I swatted it away, but it continued. My eyes peeled open, blinking repeatedly until my vision stabilized. I expected to see Mark and I was prepared to chew him out for waking me up, but I stopped short when I noticed who was actually in front of me.

The shortest of the Teku was kneeling in front of me, looking at me with curiosity. His headphones, usually on his ears, were around his neck. This struck me as odd.

“Are you okay?” He questioned.

I sent him a strange look. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re sleeping on the ground next to my car.” He smiled lightly, almost as if amused.

I quickly sat up straight, almost hitting his forehead with my own. True to his word, I was sitting on the cold cement beside his car. I don’t even remember falling asleep. I groaned, rubbing my face with my hands. “I can’t believe I fell asleep here. Totally gonna feel this later.”

“What happened to your hands?” He asked suddenly.

“What?” I glanced at my hands. “Oh, forgot about that. It’s nothing, Teku.” I pulled myself to my feet too quickly, losing my balance if not for the music-loving guy that grabbed my arm. “Why are you being nice to me?”

He smiled, releasing my arm once I was steady. “I don’t care if you’re a Metal Maniac. I have nothing against you.”

I scoffed, thinking he was joking or playing a trick on me. When I looked into his eyes, though, I knew he was being honest. It caught me off guard and I looked at him with a blank expression. “You’re serious.”

“Is that really so strange?” He laughed. “You’re friends with Vert.”

“Who said we’re friends?” It was an automatic response I had built up to avoid conflict with the other Maniacs. They all know I talk to Vert, but friendship? That changes things.

“Vert did. He talks about you a lot.”

He considers me a friend? He even talks about me to the other Teku?

The Maniac side of me wanted to deny it, but something stopped me from doing so. All I could respond with was a soft, “Oh.”

“You should go to the infirmary.” He suggested, motioning towards my hands.

“Yeah. Yeah, I should.” I moved around him but stopped after only a few steps. “Hey, what’s your name?”

He looked back at me with surprise. “Shirako.”

“Shirako.” I tested the name out on my tongue before offering him a small smile. “I’m Jae.”

And then I walked away.

I honestly don’t understand why I asked for his name or why I was being nice to him. I just… I feel like I can’t be mean to him.

Or rather… I didn’t really want to be.

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