#he went into the force just wanting to help other people

[nosyp]

Mask On, Fuck it Mask Off

Warning = smut🔞, murder, badly written smut (sorry)

Pairing = Front man x reader

Summary = You have sex. With the mask off ofc.

Word count = 1k

Part 2

“You really think doing this is fair for those people?” you ask him. 

The view before you was undeniable. There was a group of people put in a room together to play a wretched game for their lives. They all had terrified looks on their faces as they were forced to play the game of survival. They didn’t even know they had it coming either. You saw the list of people, mostly consisting of people who had nothing going for them. Either they were deep in debt or… you honestly don’t know. Helping a serial murderer wasn’t something you’d expect yourself to be doing… much less dating him.

“...” he doesn’t respond but instead, he moves closer to you. And closer… and closer. Until he closed the gap between you two.

You shiver slightly at the unexpected touch, his fingers grazing your skin with a calmness that felt entirely out of place. He didn’t say a word, but his silence said everything. The air between you both thickened, filled with something you couldn't quite figure out.

“You know it’s wrong,” you pressed, your voice a little more strained now as your heart started to race.

He finally met your gaze, his eyes dark and unreadable. “Fair?” he repeated, as if tasting the word. “Fair has nothing to do with it.”

Before you could react, he was somehow even closer, his hand now resting gently on your shoulder, his touch deliberate. “But you’re right about one thing,” he murmured, his breath warm against your ear. “This isn’t fair. Not for you.”

Your pulse quickened. You could feel the heat from his body invading your space, the way he loomed over you, taller and imposing, yet somehow gentle in the way he leaned in. His lips almost brushed your earlobe as he added, “But that’s what makes it more exciting, don’t you think?”

The tension was palpable, swirling between the two of you. A dangerous game, and you couldn��t help but feel drawn into it.

His fingers suddenly tugged at the buttons of your shirt, and he looked straight into your eyes. Reluctantly, you nodded and his fingers started fiddling with the buttons of your shirt. He slowly unbuttoned them one by one, as if he had all the time in the world.

His touch was much gentler than you thought it’d be. His fingers brushed lightly against your body, sending a sense of heat straight to your core. You tried to steady your breath, but the way his eyes focused on you made it impossible to ignore the growing tension between you two.

“Are you really going to pretend the game isn’t entertaining?” His voice was low, almost a whisper, sending a shiver down your spine.

“Talk to me with your mask off,” you demanded, completely ignoring the question of his.

He then proceeded to pull the black mask off his face, revealing the one and only– Hwang In-ho. He had a dead look in his eyes, the look of someone after doing something immoral. You knew he didn’t really want to do this… 

You could feel your pulse quickening, a wave of warmth spreading through you as he leaned in just a fraction closer. His breath brushed against your ear, and the subtle scent of his cologne mixed with the lingering tension. You should’ve stepped back, should’ve told him to stop. But you didn’t.

Instead, you turned your face toward him, your lips brushing lightly against his as the space between you seemed to disappear. He wrapped his arms around you and held you tightly, keeping you in place.

He pulled away from the kiss and lifted you up before placing you onto the cold marble table. You moaned at the cold sensation on your skin, causing a bulge to start growing in his pants.

Gently, he took off your clothes. Honestly, with you, he wasn’t as much of a cold-blooded killer as he was with others. Then, you heard the belt unbuckle and his zipper open. Without warning, he slid the tip in. 

“Mmh…” you moaned as he went inside you. “To- ahh- to- answer…mmh! your question… no- ah! it’s not entertaining…”

“Don’t- lie…” he mumbled as thrusted in and out of you. His pace was loving and he clearly didn’t want to hurt you in any way. His grip on your thighs were tight, but not tight enough to hurt.

One of his hands moved from your hips onto your breasts, squeezing it lightly still while moving his cock in and out of you. The sound of his hips slapping your skin echoed through the room as he continued. The feeling of him inside you made your mind spin. Pleasure was coursing through your veins as you felt every vein. 

“Ahh- I’m close!” you squealed. 

Hearing that, he quickened his pace and the sound of his thrusts got louder. Thwap Thwap Thwap

The jolt of heat caused you to squirm against his touch and he got quicker. Now his thrusts were brutal and you swore your skin was getting red. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as he got faster and faster, chasing his high. 

Your breathing grew faster, more erratic. Each inhale felt shallow, like your lungs couldn't quite keep up with the rapid rhythm of your heartbeat. The air around you seemed to thicken, the tension almost tangible as you tried to steady yourself on the table. But it was impossible. Your chest rose and fell in quick, uneven breaths, betraying the way his proximity had completely unsettled you.

His breathing was not any better than yours though, he was panting, his stamina clearly depleting right in front of your eyes. The longer he was inside you, the more agonising it felt. You felt the feeling of ecstasy nearby, but you couldn’t reach it. Somehow, on instinct, you started moving your body along with his. Almost rhythmic. 

Both of your bodies were sweating at that point, the table was covered in fluids. Fuck. You felt so close. So close. You could feel it.

It wasn’t long till you finally reached it, releasing all of your cum onto his thick cock, causing him to follow with his orgasm as well. 

Then you heard the speaker say, “Player 196 eliminated.”

[bonesxbows]

Infection (Arthur Nightingale X Reader)

You can't get sick...right? You're a child of the void, immune to simple bacterial viruses. But yet when you pull into the Mall's garage one day, head throbbing and body aching, you can't help but wonder if that's actually true. To make matters even worse you've been so busy running errands and missions for the Hex that you haven't been keeping an eye on the calendar; it's closer to the end of the time loop than you thought. Arthur's the first to remind you, and the first to notice your change in health.

(WARNINGS) - Graphic Descriptions of Flu like symptoms

Guess who got sick right before new years eve and wrote this as a way to make themselves feel better because they're missing out on all the fun parties

I'm still getting a grasp on Arthur's character and I also wrote this while extremely sick so sorry for any mistakes/out-of-character moments

Banners by @strangergraphics

The mission had gone as usual, no kinks or hiccups, smooth sailing as you and your squad mowed down techrot hoard after hoard, the smell of burnt acid and chitin-filled technological carapaces burying the under levels of the old mall. But at some point, your trigger finger began to lag, your steps became staggered and you could feel phantom sweat coat your forehead from within the safety of your warframe. You were falling behind. They wouldn’t leave you, but they wouldn't wait for you either. So you forced your feet to keep moving, willing the energy to keep flowing through your warframe to fend off the techrot surrounding you. By the time you made it back to the garage, you wanted to collapse.

You left your frame next to your atomicycle, not having the energy to pilot the suit even another step. The bundle of supplies you had brought back for the Hex felt like a bag of concrete on your shoulder, threatening to topple you over as your knees screamed in protest, your muscles aching right down to your bones. You were so ready to just trudge up to the backroom and fall into the nearest couch you could find. Luckily, by some small grace, help had arrived. You heard the sliding doors that separated the garage from the rest of the mall glide open, metallic footsteps clicking against the tile floor.

“You’re not usually gone this long. Everything go alright?” You heard him ask, his accent coating over the forming headache in the back of your mind like warm drizzled honey.

You sighed. You didn’t want to snap at him, but you were in so. Much. Pain. Standing on your feet physically hurt. “Everything went fine, Arthur. Can you take these and distribute them, please? I need to...lie down. For a moment.” You kept your voice sweet and plastered a soft smile on your face as you handed the bag of supplies in his direction. He hesitated, his brow furrowing as he studied you. He knew you; ever since you had first arrived you never stopped, never slowed down, always bouncing to the next mission or next bounty, so why now, of all times, were you stopping to take a rest? There was something off, but it was so hard to tell with you. You weren’t built like him, or like he used to be anyway, you weren’t exactly human. He couldn’t read you like he could other people.

“Are you…feeling alright, love?” He took the bag from you, lessening the weight on your body, and immediately you sighed in relief. Your eyes flickered to the door, eager to book it towards the backroom now that you were free from your last responsibility and could finally crash, but Arthur stood in your way, and it was clear he had no intention of moving until you answered his question.

“I’m fine, really. I’m immune to everything, remember? Child of the void and all that. I’m just tired. After some sleep I’ll be right back to normal, promise. You worry too much.” You spoke quickly and then kissed him on the cheek, getting a satisfactory answer out as fast as possible and leaving him no room to argue as you dashed off towards the door. Hopefully, he wouldn’t chase you down so you could actually take that nap you so desperately wanted.

You made it to the backroom in record time, flopping face-first onto the nearest soft surface you could find and passing out as soon as your head made contact.

It wasn’t long though before you woke up retching, a wet cough rattling your chest and scratching your throat on the way out. You groaned, sitting up and leaning back against the back of the couch. You blinked against the lights above you, pulling the blanket that covered your arms up over your head…which definitely hadn’t been there when you had fallen asleep. You poked an eye out, looking around the room, but no one else was there with you. Well, no other people. Your eyes landed on your kubrow who had snuggled up next to the foot of the couch nearest you, curled into a ball, a note laid next to their feet. You reached down to pick it up, scritching their fur as a reward for safeguarding the note for you when you did so. They sighed contently in response.

The white of the paper was blinding to your straining eyes, your headache having only increased from earlier, and his fancy scrawled handwriting didn’t help -you figured it had to be a Britannic thing, Eleanor wrote the same way-, but you managed to decode the note.

You looked cold. Text me when you wake up, team’s taken off the rest of today. I’m all yours. -A

You couldn’t help but smile underneath your little blanket cocoon. It took an extraordinary amount of effort but you stood up, your knees wobbled and your back ached but you willed yourself to stay upright, stumbling your way over to your POM-2 PC. You pushed the on button, the screen flickering to life, making you outwardly hiss as the blue light assaulted your eyes and shot to the very back of your skull like a laser. But you pushed forward, ignoring the pain, and clicked on Arthur’s chatbox.

Hey, A <3

Broadsword is typing…

You’re awake. I take it you got my note then?

I did. Something special going on I don’t know about? You never let the team take days off. 

Broadsword is typing…

Check your calendar, love. 

Broadsword has gone offline.

You squinted in confusion, a small flash of panic grabbing hold of your heart. Had you forgotten something important? You clicked off of the chat page and onto the built-in calendar with the PC, the boxes flashing onto the screen. They were all greyed out, you had reached the end of another month, nothing special there. But then you saw it. December on the top of the screen. December 31st. Today was the end of the time loop. New Year’s Eve.

Metallic footsteps sounded off of the wooden floorboards behind you. You were still facing the PC, dumbstruck by your discovery, nothing but a mass of blanket from his point of view. He came up behind you and snaked his hands around your waist, slotting his head into the crook of your neck, though he was met with a mess of fluffy blanket instead of your warm skin. His eyes flicked between your face and the PC’s screen still brought up on the greyed-out calendar. “Figure out what today is, then?” He whispered.

You leaned back into Arthur’s chest, the heat radiating off of his warframe a welcoming comfort through your blanket.“I didn’t realize.” You spoke, answering his question, but yet you didn’t recognize your own voice. Your eyes widened at the unexpected sound, a hoarse croaking noise as the words scratched out of your throat. Arthur pulled his head away from your shoulder and spun you around as soon as he heard it too, forcing you to face him, his hands now on your shoulders and a concerned look on his face as his brow furrowed. A chill ran over your body at the abrupt removal of his warmth from your back, causing you to shiver, a motion that didn’t go unnoticed by Arthur. He was looking over you, studying you. You pulled the blanket closer around you, becoming sheepish under his gaze. He took in everything he hadn’t noticed before in addition to your recent shiver and scratchy voice; the way your eyes seemed to sink into your face surrounded by dark circles, the unusual dullness in your complexion, and the way both your shoulders and your spine seemed to slump towards the floor as if the weight of a million bricks rested upon you.

A small smirk crawled over his face, his assumptions from earlier now being undeniably confirmed. “So, ‘child of the void that’s immune to everything’ huh?”

You sniffled, sticking your nose into the air. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Your voice scratched out like a destroyed record, the words catching in your throat and making you hack and cough, breaking whatever semblance of composure you were trying to feign. You brought your elbow up to your face to catch the cough, the fuzzy blanket encompassing everything as you moved. Arthur carefully dug his fingers into the muscles of your shoulders and neck as you coughed and retched up the fluid in your lungs, the gentle pressure a soothing distraction from the pain coating your throat with every new breath you took. Eventually, you stopped, now looking exhausted from the effort, and you couldn’t help but collapse against his chest, your head finding the crook of his neck. Your breathing became ragged against the metal platings and exo-flesh of his neck, though he couldn’t feel it the sound of it alone made concern worm its way to his heart. He didn’t think about it often, he didn’t want to unless he had to, honestly; but moments like this were blatant reminders of just how fragile you were compared to him. He sighed and curled his arms around you, holding you against him and running his hands up and down your back comfortingly. “Hm. Sounds to me like you’re sick, if I had to guess.”

“Ugh.” Was all you could muster for a response, the sound reverberated through your chest instead of your already painful throat. He reached down and hooked his hands under your thighs, pulling you up and bundling you into his arms so he could carry you. You made no protest to his actions, immediately wrapping your legs and arms around his torso, albeit weakly. He carried you back over to the couch, settling down with you in his lap, the blanket not forgotten about and cocooned around your shoulders. You huddled into the warmth radiating off of his mechanical body as another shiver crawled over your spine, causing you to shake. He let his hands roam your back absentmindedly, working his fingers against your muscles gently and every so often letting one of them wander upwards towards your hair, carding his fingers through the strands soothingly.

Though the quiet moment didn’t last for long as his ears twitched, picking up the sound of footsteps coming up the metal staircase that separated your living space from your workshop. He instinctively tensed, his eyes whipping to the doorway as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, ready to protect you at a second's notice. The mall was a safe zone, he knew that in the back of his mind, but he always prepared for the worst. The need to protect you, especially now given how weak you were in your current state, greatly outweighed any rationality to his thoughts. You were oblivious to everything happening, your eyes long since being closed ever since he had sat down with you.

“You two are adorable.” He heard in his head, his guard dropping as he saw both his sister and Aoi poke around the corner. She had been listening when his instincts had kicked in.

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you two knock?”

“Don’t you two answer your comms?” He heard in his head again, a teasing smile on Eleanor’s face.

“Didn’t hear them go off. Sorry.” He explained.

“You, not paying attention to your comms? What’s got you so sidetracked?” Aoi retorted, though her face showed she was teasing as well. Eleanor, however, had already found the answer to Aoi’s question. Her face fell when she saw you clinging onto Arthur’s chest, your breathing harsh and unnatural and your hair plastered to your forehead by sweat. She knelt down in front of him, studying you for signs of something she had long since forgotten even existed.

“Is she sick?” She asked him telepathically.

Aoi had also heard the question, catching up on the details laid out before her. She sat down on the other side of the couch, her brow furrowing and a small frown adorning her lips. “Can she even get sick?”

“Apparently,” Eleanor answered in their minds, half sarcastically. “Is there anything we can do?”

“What could we do? We don’t have a cure, she’s in no condition to go back to her time and retrieve one, that’s even if they’ve discovered one.” He ran through options in his head, none of them seeming feasible.

“So…what? We just let it run its course? She seems…miserable.” Aoi’s voice was laced with sympathy. You had done so much for them, it felt awful not being able to help you in return.

“I don’t think we have any other choice, unfortunately.” They could hear the pang of guilt in Eleanor’s words as they echoed in their heads, her lips parting in a regretful sigh as she stood up.

“What did you two stop by here for, anyway?” He asked, his eyes flicking to you as you shifted in his arms, but you were still fast asleep.

“We were going to gather in the commons to celebrate the countdown, you know, since we avoided annihilation and all that this year, we figured why not, and we were going to ask if you and Drifter wanted to join us, but…” Aoi explained, her voice trailing off towards the end as her eyes landed on the bundle of blanket that was you in Arthur’s lap.

“I doubt she’d feel up to a party and I’d rather not leave her here alone, so if it’s all the same to you lot I think I’ll stay here with her for the night.” Both women gave him looks of understanding to his reply, but as soon as Arthur had answered your eyes fluttered open and your head shot up, instantly causing you to go dizzy from your sudden movement and you had to place a hand against his chest to stabilize yourself. But that didn’t stop you.

“No, Arthur, you should go.” You looked at him, your words croaking out just the same as they had before, startling the two women who hadn’t heard the severity of your sickness yet.

“I’m not leaving you here by yourself.” He retorted, brown and white eyes burrowing into yours. He knew it was selfish to argue with you when you were less than healthy, you stood no chance at winning, but he didn’t care. Not when it came to looking after you.

Eleanor and Aoi took that as their cue to leave before the conversation got any more heated. “If you do decide to join us, you know where you can find us,” Aoi told the two of you before standing up and making way for the door.

“Take care of her,” Eleanor told her brother inside of his head, a message only he could hear, as she followed Aoi out.

You waited until you heard the familiar click of the backroom door shutting before trying to bicker with the man in front of you. “You deserve to celebrate.” You told him, fighting against the hoarseness in your throat to get your point across.

“And you don’t? We'd still be dead on the floor of that reactor room if you hadn’t intervened. I won’t leave you here to celebrate alone if I have a say about it.” He brushed the sweat-stricken hair off of your forehead as he spoke.

You huffed, the noise sounding more like a wheeze. “You’re stubborn, Nightingale.” You wanted to cross your arms, to pout, to argue back and force him to spend time with his friends instead of wasting his night away in a stuffy old room. But you barely had enough energy to keep your head up as it was.

He couldn’t help but laugh, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips. “So I’ve been told.”

You didn’t remember falling back asleep, or even when you had laid your head back down onto Arthur’s shoulder, but the next thing you knew he was gently squeezing your hand, trying to wake you. You stirred for a moment, your eyelids fluttering as you came back to reality. “Wake up, love.” You heard him whisper into your ear. But it was then that all of the pain came flooding back, hitting you all at once. You groaned, feeling the stiffness in your bones and the aches throbbing in your muscles. Though you were grateful that your headache had at least subsided, you discovered that your throat still felt like sandpaper every time you swallowed, causing you to wince from the pain. You slowly raised your head up, coming face to face with Arthur. He had a small smile stuck on his face and you were caught off guard when he tilted his head and kissed you, his lips gentle against yours, as if too much pressure would shatter you like glass. You quickly leaned into it though, weakly wrapping an arm around his neck and inwardly smiling as you felt his hair tickle your cheekbones. He pulled away far too soon for your liking. “Happy New Year, love.”

You blinked in confusion for a moment before turning your head towards your POM-2; sure enough, the usual black screen was now flashing big green numbers, “00:00”. The loop had been completed. Soon it would all start again. Whether or not Arthur would still be there with you come morning was now a decision left in your hands.

[persevereforahappyending]

A Beacon in the Dark |12|

Pairing: Joey x Reader

Summary: Joey likes helping people, it's what she's best at. Hunting down the monsters of myth and legend might be the best way to save people.

Warnings: None?

Word Count: 3.3k+

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12

Joey sat in the living room while you went to get Grace, she couldn’t stop replaying everything you told her. Saying your story was a lot, was an understatement; she couldn’t imagine surviving all that. She survived Abigail’s wrath only because of the others and because she ended up developing a connection with the girl, plus having a common enemy in Frank definitely helped the situation. You were, for the most part, on your own, one stranger by your side, until he wasn’t, she couldn’t imagine someone sacrificing themselves for you like that.

You survived all of that in one night, losing a new friend in the process, and then a month later you learned you were now one of those creatures. Frank tried to turn Joey, it was strictly to control her, but she didn’t want to be a vampire in general. She didn’t fully understand how the whole thing worked but she always considered herself lucky that it didn’t work. She could probably deal with the not going out in daylight thing and even the blood drinking part, but she’d never be able to see her son again. Even if she could have controlled herself like Abigail, she never would have trusted herself around him, couldn’t trust that she herself, or that life wouldn’t hurt him.

You weren’t lucky though; you got bit and now every month you were forced to turn into one of the monsters that did that to you. Joey clocked the self-hatred pretty much right after meeting you, you hid it well, but it was the way you talked about certain things and how you reacted. Honestly, Joey was surprised you were still alive considering how much you seemed to despise what you were. You stopped talking after getting to the part where you met Grace, Joey couldn’t begin to imagine what those first few months were like together, how Grace got you to where you were now.

“You ready?” Grace asked, breaking Joey out of her thoughts.

Joey nodded, a part of her was disappointed you weren’t taking her home, but she wasn’t sure she’d get in the car if you even offered. She wasn’t the biggest fan of Grace at the moment either, but she didn’t have to worry about Grace trying to rip out her throat, at least she didn’t think she did.

Joey followed Grace to her car which was a nice simple black one, nothing like your Jeep. It was definitely nice, the seats were leather, but it looked like any car the average person would drive, it didn’t scream money like the ones Joey saw in the garage. Grace seemed to have cars for every occasion, but this one seemed to be all her, who she truly was, not the mask she showed everyone else.

“I do want to apologize for lying to you,” Grace said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “That’s not something that’s easy to tell someone without them overreacting.” Joey scoffed at that. “I only wanted to protect them.” Joey looked over at Grace, she could see the care the other woman had for you. You were fiercely protective of Grace, but it was reciprocated just as much. “But I truly am sorry for dragging you into this.”

Joey nodded, she believed the apology was sincere, but she wasn’t sure about forgiveness yet, this lie almost got her killed. “Why did you save them?” Joey couldn’t help but ask.

Grace snapped her head to the side and then quickly back to the road as if she remembered she had to focus on driving. “They told you that.”

“You said they’d tell me everything.” Joey furrowed her brow slightly; she wasn’t sure why Grace was shocked that you told her about that part of your story.

“I was prepared to shoot them, had heard reports of werewolves before, they run in packs, not easy to go after on my own.” Joey nodded along; she gathered that based on what you had told her. “But then there were random reports of one in New York. I packed my stuff and took off, couldn’t pass up going after one that was apparently alone.”

“So, what changed?”

“I found them,” Grace whispered, she got a distant look in her eye, probably remembering that day. “They’re hard to kill when they’re transformed.

 Joey scoffed. “That’s one way to put it,” she mumbled.

“They killed someone before I found them.” Joey sucked in a breath, she knew you must have had killed people before, but assuming and knowing were different things. “I found the body,” Grace shook her head. “Completely shredded. Then tracked them the rest of the way and waited.

“You waited?” Joey’s mouth fell open. Every mission she’d been sent on had been about taking out the threat and saving the innocents, but here Grace was telling her she waited to shoot you, after discovering the body of someone you killed.

“I was more than prepared to shoot, had them in my sight and everything. If they went after anyone else, I would have taken the shot.”

“But they didn’t.”

Grace shook her head. “When they finally shifted back in the morning I approached, placed the gun right at the back of their head.” Joey tried to ignore the feeling of hearing someone put a gun to the back of your head, how close you were to dying, and she didn’t even know you at the time.

“Then they looked up at me,” Grace whispered. Joey glanced over to see tears had filled Grace’s eyes. “They weren’t like the others, they didn’t lunge at me trying to get another kill in, they didn’t try to run, they didn’t even beg for their life,” she let out humorless chuckle. “They begged me to pull the trigger, they saw the blood on their hands, and they wanted to die instead of risking something like that happening again.”

Joey sat in silence the rest of the way, taking in everything Grace told her. Despite hating what you were, you were always in good spirits. You were protective and liked to joke around, you were more considerate than anyone else Joey had ever met. She didn’t understand how someone like that, who made sure she was safe and always got back to her son, who felt guilty about pulling her away for a job, how someone like that could be in such a dark place like Grace described.

Joey looked up when she felt the car come to a stop, they were outside her apartment already. “Thanks,” Joey mumbled and reached for the door handle.

“Wait,” Grace said, resting a hand on Joey’s arm, which she was quick to take away when Joey looked down at the hand. “Don’t do anything rash.” Joey furrowed her brow at that. “I know you’re not happy with us, with me, maybe we’ve broken your trust completely.” Joey looked down at the sidewalk, mutual trust was the most important thing in a partnership, especially when it came to trusting someone with your life. “But just consider everything you’ve learned before you make any decisions.”

Joey didn’t say anything, she just nodded and closed the door. She didn’t look back as she made her way into the apartment building, but she knew Grace didn’t drive off until Joey was fully in the building. She trudged up the stairs to her apartment and once she was inside, she slumped against the door, mindlessly tossing her keys onto the kitchen counter as she pressed her palms into her eyes. She looked at the clock on the stove and saw she had a bit over an hour before she’d have to pick up Caleb, just enough time to shower and change.

Ana stripped her clothes and hopped into the shower. She scrubbed herself clean, finding bits of twigs in her hair as she ran her hands through it. She closed her eyes as she let the water run over her, she saw flashes of the night before, of a monster slaughtering everyone. Her eyes snapped open and then she saw your face, the complete opposite of the monster she had seen, the shame that weighed down on you, how it was as if you were afraid to look at her the majority of the conversation.

She finally hopped out of the shower when the water started to turn cold. She quickly changed, throwing on a clean pair of jeans and a plain white shirt. She looked down at the pile of dirty clothes on the floor before balling them up and tossing them in the laundry basket. She glanced at the clock one more time, she had a few extra minutes. She grabbed her leather jacket before heading out the door, making sure to bring the basket of dirty laundry with her and down to the bottom floor so she could toss in a load, she didn’t want Caleb to come home and see her clothes covered in blood and mud.

She made her way down the street, walking quickly to make sure she got to the school before the bell rang. She hadn’t talked to Caleb since she dropped him off at school yesterday morning, he got picked up by her neighbor and spent the night at a friend’s. She had told him she had a late shift and she’d be there to pick him up from school, he seemed excited to stay the night at his friends, but she didn’t miss the forced smile, as if he still didn’t believe she’d be there waiting for him when school got out.

Ana got to the front of school just as the bell rang. She glanced over the kids as they ran out the front door until her eyes landed on Caleb. He had his head down and looked up, glancing at the spot Ana always waited for him and seemed to have to do a double take when his eyes landed on her. Ana gave him an awkward smile as he made his way over to her. “Hey,” Ana greeted when he got to her side. “How was the sleepover?”

“It was fun,” Caleb said with a small smile. “How was work?”

Ana tensed up at the question, but she tried to brush it off as they walked back to the apartment. “It was okay, I’m not sure if it’s going to work out so much anymore.”

She didn’t want to tell Caleb everything obviously, she wanted to protect his innocence as much as possible, but she couldn’t stand the thought of lying to him. Caleb was quite observant; he would notice if anything changed, and she didn’t want him to worry. She didn’t want him to go back to wondering why she was suddenly waiting around to hear back from employers and relentlessly applying to places.

“Oh,” Caleb whispered. “Did something happen?”

Ana let out a long sigh as she pushed open the door to the apartment building. “Sort of,” she admitted. “Let’s just say I’m not sure I can trust my boss and my partner anymore.”

“Did they do something wrong?” Caleb looked back at her curiously as she closed the door to the apartment.

Ana rested her arms on the kitchen counter as she thought long and hard about Caleb’s question. She could choose the easy answer and just say yes. The truth was you had lied, you had knowingly put her life in danger, but it was your secret to tell. Ana couldn’t fault you for not sharing your entire life story, what happened to you still clearly affected you, you only told her, not because you trusted her with the information, but you felt bad and obligated for her to know after what happened.

“Not necessarily,” Ana said slowly.

“Then what’s the problem?” Caleb tilted his head, his eyebrows scrunched ever so slightly.

“They kept a secret from me.” Caleb only seemed to scrunch his brow even more at that. “And it affected our most recent job, I’m not sure I can trust them anymore.”

Ana turned and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, she figured the conversation was done since Caleb had been silent. When she turned around, she saw Caleb was still standing in the same spot with a contemplative look on his face. His eyes were glued to the ground and there was a slight frown on his face.

“Are they a bad person?” Caleb asked, tilting his head as he looked up at Ana.

Ana opened and closed her mouth a few times, out of all the things she expected, it definitely wasn’t that. “No,” Ana said easily with a shake of her head.

“Then why can’t you forgive them?”

“It’s not that simple,” Ana sighed.

“But why? You trusted them before; you like your job.” Ana looked down at the counter, she barely trusted you before, you had proven yourself and earned her trusting you with her life, but then you lied to her. “Why can’t you just give them a second chance?” Ana looked up at her son again. “Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?” Ana’s mouth fell open, she missed a lot, she wasn’t sure how she ended up with such a thoughtful and brilliant son, it certainly wasn’t her doing, and it definitely wasn’t his father’s. “I thought it was best to not judge someone based on their past mistakes.”

Ana’s eyes fell to the floor again, she couldn’t stand the look in her son’s eyes. She knew what he wasn’t saying, Caleb was too smart for his own good. She was a shitty mother; she only recently got her life semi together to even come back into his life. She came to him, asking him for not only forgiveness but a second chance, one she still didn’t think she actually deserve. The main difference was you didn’t deserve Ana’s anger. You lied, you put her life in danger, and yet Ana couldn’t fault you for that, she had done worse to her own son after all.

Ana looked up and watched her son walk off towards his room. She furrowed her brow when he stopped at the entryway to the hallway and look back at her. “I like how things are now,” he said quietly. “You’ve seemed happier and less stressed.” Ana wanted to laugh at that, she wasn’t sure how she could be less stressed after dealing with various supernatural creatures she thought were just myth and legend trying to kill her. “And,” Caleb’s eyes suddenly refused to meet Ana’s. “You’ve been around more. It’s been nice,” he mumbled at the floor.

Ana smiled at her son’s words and at the way he took off to his room without another word. She still had a lot to prove she felt, she hadn’t completely earned Caleb’s trust again, but it seemed she was well on her way to it. You had been considerate of her time with Caleb, it always seemed like a priority to you because you knew it was Ana’s number one priority. Grace was even considerate of it for the most part, she accepted it when Ana first told her Caleb came first. Grace and you both seemed to accept Ana probably wouldn’t want to return, you seemed to not want to try and convince her to stay but Grace did. Grace didn’t say anything to try and manipulate Ana’s thoughts, she just asked for Ana to think of everything she learned before making her decision.

Ana grabbed her water and moved to the couch. She had enjoyed what the two of you were doing, she felt like she was actually helping people. She guessed she’d have to ask you, but this seemed like the only secret between the two of you and now it was out. She had nothing to worry about, from now on she’d be able to go in knowing all the information, she could say no if a mission during a full moon came up again.

Ana grabbed her phone before she could second guess herself. She scrolled through her contacts and found your name. The phone rang a few times, and she started to question whether you’d answer her. Ana knew you were trying to keep your distance, but she figured if she was calling you, you’d know she wanted to talk to you.

“Hello?” you finally answered, your voice sounding raspy from sleep.

“Did I wake you?” Ana asked, furrowing her brow as she looked at the clock, it had only been a couple hours since she left the mansion.

“Joey?” You had definitely been asleep, it seemed you didn’t even look at the caller ID before answering. “Is everything okay?” you suddenly sounded more awake.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ana assured you. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d be asleep, I would have waited to call.”

“It’s okay, I usually sleep after….” Ana nodded to herself, that made sense, she was sure shifting could be quite exhausting, it must take a toll on you in some way. “Anyway,” you cleared your throat. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Ana pulled out a sucker from her pocket and began twirling it around in her fingers. She could hear you breathing on the other end of the line, but you didn’t ask again, you didn’t try and push her to talk, you just waited. She was sure she could hang up on you right and you wouldn’t call back, you’d just accept it.

“I want to keep working with you,” Ana finally said.

She heard you suck in a breath then nothing but silence. “Are you sure?” you asked, you almost sounded confused that she’d choose such a thing. “You don’t have to. Grace will more then compensate you for the job. You don’t need-”

“I want to,” Ana cut you off. “I want to give this partnership a chance. Assuming all cards are on the table now?” Ana couldn’t think of what else you could possibly be keeping from her, but she had to at least ask.

“Of course, you know everything.”

“Then yes, I want to continue working with you.”

“Okay. I’ll call you when there’s a new job or,” you quickly corrected yourself. “I’ll have Grace call you.” Despite her calling you, it was clear you were unsure where she actually stood involving you.

“You can call me.”

There was silence for a few seconds, Ana could picture you forgetting she couldn’t see you and just nodding to yourself. “Okay,” you finally said. “I’ll give you a call.”

“Goodbye.”

“Wait!” Ana heard you shout as she started to pull the phone away. “If-if you ever don’t want to work together,” your voice sounded smaller than Ana had ever heard it. “It’s okay, I’ll understand. I’m sure we can find a way for you to still work with us but never have to see me.”

Ana’s mouth fell open at that, you were not only giving her an out but basically telling her she’d always have a job. She had no idea what that would look that, she couldn’t imagine doing this job without you by her side now.

“That won’t be necessary,” Ana said. “I’ll wait for your call and sorry for waking you, get some sleep.”

“Thanks,” you said. Ana could practically picture you smiling, the shy smile you always hid from people, not the one you put on for show. “Bye.”

Ana relaxed back into the cushions, she made the right choice, she was sure of it. She didn’t know what the future held, what monster the two of you would face next, but she knew the two of you would be able to handle it. Part of her felt even more protected knowing what you were and knowing you would be at her side, even if she was still absolutely terrified of your other half. Ana wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to see you like that again, but that was a problem for another day.

Taglist: @thinking1bee @so-to-aqui-pelas-fic @alexkolax @thatshyboy1998 @chxrry-lov3

@bella423 @morganismspam23 @pianogirl2121

[witchthewriter]

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐝

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!

a/n: these ended up being a lot longer than I meant... I hope you enjoy it nontheless

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ | ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ ᴵᴵ

✧˖°. 𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆𝙂𝙍𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿 ✧˖°.

The creatures were becoming more and more intune with life above ground. They knew who cared for who; even if it couldn't be admitted. By and by, they made situations where the pair would be forced to be close to each other...Matchmaking, if you will. Get people to care for one another made the hunt, much more fun...

𝑩𝒐𝒚𝒅 ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

Ever the gentleman, his first instinct is to let you have the bed.

Is it big enough for two people? Yes.

Tight squeeze...also yes.

So you couldn't lie, you felt a twang of annoyance...the feelings you had for Boyd were long standing. Was this not a perfect set up? It goddamn was and you weren't going to let it slip through your fingers.

"Oh god, Sheriff, get up."

"Told you to call me Boyd."

"I'll call you Boyd when you get up off the floor..."

It was silent for a few moments before Boyd groaned nad huffed; acting as if this was the most terrible thing to have happened.

Truth be told, Boyd would rather sleep on the floor, or lean against the wall, or even sit in a chair.

His reluctance has nothing to do with you and everything to do with him.

Sure enough, he groaned and stood up. With hands on his hips, and a half smile, he pointedly looked at you.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor, Boyd."

Slightly shaking his head, he runs a hand through his hair and sits at the end of the bed.

"You sure this is okay?" He doesn't look at you when he asks.

And you don't look at him when you reply, "yes."

So, he slips off his boots, undoes his belt and unbuttons a few from his shirt. Not all the way though.

While he's doing this, you've already gotten comfortable and wriggled over to make space for him.

Turning around, you swore you could see him blush. It gave you a bit of hope. Maybe his feelings were similar to yours?

"I just have to say Boyd, if you snore; I just might push you the bed." You say it with a smile.

With a slight grumble, he replies, “Wouldn’t be the worst thing I’ve gone through—if it’s you.”

Heart fluttering, a blush creeps from your neck, up to your face and blossoms on your cheeks.

"Yeah well, you make this seem a little less horrible as well..."

It's quiet as you both get comfortable in the small bed. There's limited blankets on this Winter's night, the cold air drafting through the small slits in the timber.

Boyd took an embarrassingly long time deciding where to put his arms, how far away to lie, and whether it’s even appropriate to breathe too loudly.

You could almost hear the wheels in his head turning.

For a while, he laid completely straight on his back, arms crossed over his chest. But as the night went on, you both couldn't help the chill.

It took about an hour but with each moment, you both started to work your way closer to one another.

The body heat felt like heaven.

No words were exchanged, but both of you understood. His arm moved and wrapped around you. You sighed in relief.

"Is this okay?"

"Yeah, yes, thank you."

You allowed yourself to be held by the Sheriff, his musky scent was overwhelming in the best way. It was intoxicating. He was intoxicating.

You dreaded when he had to let go.

𝑫𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂 ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

True to fashion, Donna wouldn't listen to anything you had to say. You were having the bed, and it was fine. You didn't want to be selfish, but her stubborn nature was bull-like.

"There’s one bed. We’ve dealt with worse, haven’t we? We’ll make it work." Donna's words were said with an undercurrent of kindness. You knew you were safe. Donna always made you feel that way.

But you loved pushing her buttons, and teasing her was one of your favourite passtimes.

"Finally, I can get you alone," you winked at her and she shook her head.

"You'll be the death of me," she mumbled - not really wanting you to hear. But you did anyway.

You watched as she assessed the situation. Made sure you didn't have any injuries, and practically put you to bed.

"You'll need your sleep," she said, and then so carefully she raised her hand and stroked your cheek.

"You’re safe. I promise."

Your heart clenched, Donna must know what she's doing. Was this her way of teasing?

The night was easy, she made it so.

Speaking softly, whenever there was silence it was comfortable. Donna let you get as close to her as you pleased; she said it was the cold, and the blankets weren't warm enough.

Donna smelled of soil, of the earth; from her gardening but maybe it was because she was down to earth. Logical. Pragmatic.

God you knew this night would make you love her more.

And yet, while she wouldn’t say it outright, the night left an impact on Donna too. She'd feel closer to you - having shared something with you that no one else had.

𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒚 ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

Once the door was closed, both of you shrugged against it. The day had been long and tiresome. You were lucky to find a place to shelter.

Sighing, you moved from the door and walked toward the lone bed.

Kenny stood there awkwardly by the door, glancing at the bed before looking at you with shy smile.

"Uh… I can take the floor. You should get the bed. You’ve had a tough day."

"Oh stop. We've both had a shit day."

Kenny nods but still wants to be a gentlemen. He doesn’t want to impose. He feels protective, but doesn’t want to seem pushy. As if he could ever come off that way.

You shake your head with a smile, knowing that Kenny would rather hurt himself before making someone he cares about uncomfortable.

At first, Kenny lies on the edge of the bed, determined to stay in his own space. He barely moves, afraid of accidentally brushing against you.

"Kenny, you're just making this more weird."

"Oh, okay."

"Just get closer."

He does as you say. Even letting you grab his arm and wrap it around you, making yourself the little spoon.

Surely now he would have to realise you like him, right?

𝑱𝒂𝒅𝒆 ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

With all his genius-ness, he can be quite stupid really. Not picking up on the signs that you were trying to give him.

So you gave up on it. Maybe he did know but didn't see you the way you did him.

Until one night when everything turned into chaos. And the only thing on Jade's mind was making sure you were safe. Not that you knew any of that.

You two ended up in a tiny, cabin. One bed. One blanket, one goddamn pillow.

"Well, this is going to be cozy, isn't it?" You rubbed at your cheek and tried your hardest not to look at Jade. You were too tired to hear a quip. But a quip isn't what you heard.

"I won't lie. At least this is happening with you."

Jade's comment shocked you. He had never given you a compliment, let alone one like this.

Despite his bravado, Jade did have moments where he let you see a softer side of him. But he never ... became soft for you.

You didn't expect Jade to sleep anywhere else beside the bed - and he didn't think of it either.

Later in the night, when you playfully brought it up, he looked affronted.

"It's dusty down there!"

The barely double bed had been pushed up against the far wall. You had gotten in first, and Jade's large form followed suit.

You both lay on your backs'. Arms covering your own chests. Yet, your legs were closer than they should be. Touching, but neither one of you wanted to move.

Jade's voice spoke into the darkness.

"Alright, ground rules. Stay on your side, and we’ll get through this. No funny business." (Mostly trying to convince himself.)

You couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry Herrera. I'm not going to ravish you. Not here. Not my style."

You got one of Jade's pure laughs from that comment. And it sent your heart leaping. No one gets to hear his real, belly laugh.

You can't help but blush.

"Not my style either-" Jade lowered his voice "-but one day I might show you exactly what my style is."

𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒍 ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

The feelings you had for each other were hidden.

Well, to each other...

Everyone else knew good and well that you two wanted one another but neither of you were game enough to say anything.

It was normal for you to spend time with Randall, you'd saved each other a few times - it was like currency here.

Today you had decided to take a walk around the woods. There wasn't much to do but you didn't care; you just liked being around Randall.

But something felt off. Well, more...off.

Randall had grabbed your arm and then they came. The creatures. It wasn't even dark, but they seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

With a smile still on their inhuman faces, they chased you to a small cabin that neither of you had seen before.

You both rushed inside, Randall opening the door and making you go first - he would never let those creatures get to you.

But once the realisation of the situation hit you both. You nearly stopped breathing.

A Talisman.

...was hanging on the wall next to the door...

You both looked at each other with astonishment.

"Fuck is this doing here?"

"Dunno, but I'm glad it is."

Looking around the small shelter, you noticed the one bed and sparse blankets. It was going to get cold tonight, there was no other choice then to get physically close. Scientifically and logically speaking.

Randall coughed, almost as if he was reading your thoughts.

He didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable, so he gives you an uncharacteristically kind offer—but in his gruff, Randall way.

"I’ll take the floor. But don’t expect me to be in a good mood tomorrow."

You huffed a laugh, and looked over at him. Randall was crouched down. He looked up at you in that moment and gave you a slight smile.

"When are you ever in a good mood, Randall?"

Whenever I'm with you. But those words wouldn't leave his lips. At least not tonight.

"C'mon, get in the bed," Randall looked at you and went red. "No I mean, you know-"

"Oh I will," you said in the most overly-seductive voice you could muster. "Only if you join me."

As the night goes on, and the room grows colder, Randall pulls you to him. You know he's asleep, and you let him. You've wanted this so badly, and for so long.

Randall's arms pull you against his chest. Fingers gripping onto your shirt, face against your hair.

You feel as if you could explode.

Slowly, you let your body relax into him. The cold was no longer a problem. But every now and then a twig would snap outside or whispering could be heard.

You clutched Randall tighter.

"It's okay. We're safe. You're safe," he whispers. And you could have jumped from the shock - you thought the asshole was asleep!

𝑬𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔 ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

He had told you to take the bed.

You rolled your eyes, kicked off your shoes and made a big show of how comfortable the bed was. Even though it wasn't in the slightest.

"Wow, I don't think I've been this comfortable since ... ever!"

"Oh, since ever - really?"

"Uh huh."

You wriggled and pulled the blankets up to your chin. Musty but dry, you looked at Ellis with raised eyebrows.

Leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face, you knew he knew what you were doing.

"Guess I'll just have this all to myself then...unless..."

"Oh, unless?"

"Unless there was also another weary traveller that needed somewhere warm and comfortable to lay for the night." You shrugged and threw back the blankets - an invitation for him to join you.

Ellis snorted, he always found you hilarious; it's one of the reasons why he has such big feelings for you. You just make him laugh. You lighten the load.

"Well, how could I not?" Slipping his shoes off and throwing the blankets over himself, he was shocked at how uncomfortable the bed was.

"You are a brilliant liar, you know that?" Ellis whispered, facing you.

"Well I wasn't going to let the Sheriff's son sleep on the cold floor during Winter," you whispered back.

"How chivalrous you are," his voice was low and gravelly.

Ellis looked at you with his perfect face, his stupid stupid perfect handsome face.

[peachhcs]

i love your wonder years works!! i feel like you write young and pining will and samy sooooooo welll 🫶🏽 would love more of them and their friends in highschool they are so cute - (i just reread the jealousy blurbs). you are so talented 😊!!

aww wait i’m so happy to hear that bc i loveeeee writing the wonder years so much and i always feel like people don’t like it as much 🥹🥹 anyways you ask and you shall receive!!

i feel like most of the pining happens senior year because that’s when both of them have feelings for one another so here’s new year’s eve 2022 in samy’s basement where she has a bunch of people over to celebrate and her breakup with kevin is still somewhat fresh but will’s feelings are at an all time high (and so are samy’s!!)

warnings??: underage drinking, will lowkey being a perv by looking at samy constantly but like not because he’s also a 17 year old with a huge fat crush on his best friend

au masterlist

will seriously shouldn’t have come to this because how was he supposed to stay away from samy on new year’s eve with alcohol in his system knowing how good she looked standing five feet away from him, but she just broke up with kevin not that long ago and will was pretty sure it was really wrong to drunkingly make out with her like they sometimes did because she just went through a breakup.

he was so fucked.

the blonde tried keeping his eyes on gabe and drew where he stood with them talking in their small circle, but the urge to look over at the brunette was so much stronger. too strong. he peaked a glimpse and every time his breath hitched in his throat and his brain short circuited for a good five seconds when his eyes traveled the expanse of her outfit. her, marcie, lauren, and riley had a mix of similar outfits on, something they planned. will’s gaze was trained on her black mini skirt that was reused from halloween and her shiny, sequined long sleeve top where he could totally see her black bralette underneath.

he needed to stop looking. he was being weird and creepy and someone was definitely going to clock him on it if he didn’t quit it, so the blonde tore his gaze away again and tried focusing on the words leaving drew’s mouth.

“honestly, i think we’re gonna win the whole thing,” the taller brunette mumbled taking another sip of his drink.

will was pretty sure they were talking about u18 worlds in may. “i mean why wouldn’t we? we’ve got the best lines, the best defense, the best players. we’ve got nothing on them,” gabe listed off on his fingers.

the other thing will couldn’t shake from his mind was that kevin was here. samy still invited him since they were still friends and will knew he didn’t really have anything to worry about with him anymore, but he just couldn’t really shake the feeling of all three of them being in the same room knowing how tense things used to be. kevin was on the other end of the room talking with his soccer friends, very oblivious to will’s erratic heart beat and racing thoughts.

“i need another drink,” will muttered because he couldn’t focus on what his friends were talking about and he also just wanted another excuse to walk past samy and check her out without being too obvious.

he squeezed past her and she happened to look at him as he passed. she flashed a wide smile at the blonde and his knees almost gave out seeing that smile directed at him.

“you having fun?” she turned to talk to him for a second.

“yeah, this is great,” will nodded, forcing his eyes to stay on her face.

“i’m glad!” she turned back to her friends leaving will to continue to the drink table.

he mulled over his options when he got there wondering which one would maybe help him forget the feelings he had and make him remember that samy was strictly his best friend and would never see him as something more than that.

he hoped the high noon would do the trick.

“hey,” the voice snapped the hockey player from his thoughts. kevin stood beside him, eyeing the drinks too.

“hey?” will wondered what he wanted.

“maybe i just see it more now that samy and i aren’t together, but you’re really obvious,” kevin said.

“what?” the blonde was caught off guard.

“come on, man. it’s so obvious you have a thing for her. you’ve been staring at her for the past like..hour,” kevin laughed and will’s face flushed hot with embarrassment. was he really that obvious?

“well she doesn’t like me. she never will,” will took a large sip of the high noon to wash that thought away. he didn’t notice the way kevin grimaced because he actually did know how the soccer player felt, but he wasn’t that shitty to tell her secret.

“i mean how do you know that? you’ve never asked,” kevin said instead.

“you really think i’m gonna go up to her and ask? real funny, man,” never in a million years would will put everything on the line to ask samy if she liked him the way he did.

“i dunno. what’s it gonna hurt?”

“our friendship?” that felt like a given, but kevin just shrugged.

“all i’m saying is that i think everyone at this party knows you like her.”

“why are you being so nice to me? i thought you hated me,” will found this interaction weird because him and kevin have never been able to talk to each other like this.

“i’m just trying to make up for being shitty to you. trying to help is all,” the brunette mumbled and walked away before will could respond. he pinched his eyebrows together, watching as kevin went back to his friends in the corner.

what he didn’t know was that samy had been watching their entire interaction. as soon as kevin approached, her eyes were on the two like a hawk. she knew her and kevin were fine and he promised to leave will alone, but she still worried he’d get set off and do something stupid again. surprisingly, nothing happened and maybe kevin was gonna chill out from now on.

“you’re staring again,” marcie mumbled when she caught her friend’s eyes on will’s back. samy quickly snapped her attention back to the group.

“sorry,” the youngest hughes blushed.

“this is totally your chance. he’s been staring at you all night,” riley poked.

“no he hasn’t. you’re delusional,” the brunette shook her head, never believing her friends when they started saying stuff like that.

“i’m being serious! he totally thinks you look hot at least,” riley continued meaning samy’s outfit. all the soccer play did though was shake her head.

“he’ll never see me like that.”

“what about all that shit him and kevin argued about? wasn’t that about you?” lauren piped up.

“kevin says a lot of shit. will and i are just friends,” samy mumbled, drinking the rest of her “tropical, fruity” punch as marcie liked to call it that was just a huge mix of different chasers and vodka.

“i could not be friends with someone that i kiss when i’m drunk,” lauren shook her head, but samy quickly shushed her.

“shut up. we don’t talk about that,” her and will hadn’t even done that since summer because of her thing with kevin.

“i can’t wait for the day you two finally put your pride aside and realize how much you like one another,” marcie mumbled.

“i’m getting another drink,” samy determined because she desperately wanted to escape the conversation and will still hadn’t moved from the drink table.

she shuffled her way over there and leaned her head on will’s arm. “found you again,” she looked up at him with a smile.

“hi again,” the blonde chuckled, but internally he was freaking out.

“can you pour me so more punch?” samy pointed to the big bowl and held her cup out. will nodded.

“are you having fun at your own party?” he wondered

“i’m having a blast. best new year’s party don’t you think?” she wondered and will nodded again. he handed her cup back, unable to stop his gaze from dropping below her face for a split second to stare some more.

“i don’t think i’ve been to one as good as this,” the blonde admitted because he hadn’t really been to a party like this before. being in michigan with samy meant that she introduced him to a lot of random house parties her high school friends were throwing on the weekends.

“i’m honored. you flatter me,” the youngest hughes giggled.

that urge will’s had all night only got stronger standing so close to samy. he wanted to kiss her so bad, but he had to think better of it because he wasn’t a rebound and they were drunk (not like that’s ever stopped them before though).

“found anyone to kiss on new year’s yet?” samy teased and will flushed.

“i haven’t. have you?” he asked and hoped she would say no because will did not think he’d be able to handle it if he saw samy kissing someone that wasn’t him.

“nooo, i probably won’t kiss anyone. i’ll kiss my myself,” the girl giggled, the alcohol starting to talk for her.

“self-love is very important,” the blonde smiled hearing her little laugh and then took another big drink of the high noon because he couldn’t be having these thoughts.

if will had any new year’s resolutions it was that he needed to stop believing he had a chance with samy. maybe in 2023 he’d finally find someone that would get his mind off of her. (wrong)

“guys, it’s almost midnight!” someone yelled and then everyone turned their attention to the tv stream of the local ann arbor news that did their own countdown.

samy grabbed will’s hand to the tv so she could see better. the boy flushed feeling her hand in his and even worse when she didn’t let go.

“ten, nine, eight, seven..”

the countdown faded out of will’s ears because the only thing he could focus on was the girl beside him jumping with excitement about the new year. she squeezed his hand tighter when they got closer to 1 and everything in the hockey player was short circuiting.

“..three, two, one! happy new year!” the whole basement erupted in cheers as everyone jumped onto one another in excitement.

a few people kissed because of the alcohol buzzing through their systems and will was caught off guard again when samy jumped into his arms screaming in his ear.

“happy new year!” she smiled widely and will couldn’t help but smile back.

“happy new year,” he said and his stomach flipped when he watched her gaze drift down to his lips briefly. was he seeing things or did she actually do that?

he didn’t have time to question it because samy jumped towards her friends before he could even say something. will watched her hug marcie, lauren, and riley when his friends went over to him. they excitedly jumped onto his back and the boy because immersed in their excitement, the thoughts of samy almost kissing him leaving his brain as he celebrated with the boys.

[yanderes-galore]

Maybe a scenario of Javier escuella (rdr2) with Prompts 1, 22 by starbabytae?

Excited to see what other people request

^^

Ah yes, Javier engaging in his delusional little hobby. Here you go ^^

Prompts Here

Yandere! Javier Escuella Prompts 1 + 22

“I saw you last night, you looked beautiful.”

“I know it’s creepy, but I love watching you sleep. It’s peaceful, you know?”

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Stalking, Javier watches you sleep, Creepy behavior, Possessive behavior, Violence (Suffocation), Forced/Dubious relationship.

You had become his latest fixation on the nights he couldn't sleep.

Even when the stars are out and the fire dies down... Javier has found his mind wandering. Usually it's the typical worries, he sometimes wonders about his old home... or where the gang will end up next due to the Pinkertons. However...

He hasn't been kept up due to thinking of someone so deeply before.

It's wrong, he knows it's wrong... Yet Javier can't help it. During the day you have always provided him pleasant company. Even at night, when he's stressed in his tent, he thinks of you to ease the nerves.

The first time he did it... it was by accident. Your tent was fully covered and he kept glancing at you in your bedroll while he tuned his guitar. You looked so peaceful...

So calm....

Since then he had made it a ritual of his. When you went to bed at night he'd wait an hour or two before approaching. Once he did, he'd kneel by your side... maybe even move his own bed closer to yours just to have an excuse.

You could ask him about it, wanting to know why he moved. He grins and tells you not to worry about it. His tent is a bit... worn.

If it isn't he may just sabotage it to sell his excuse.

His touch is gentle when you sleep. He watches you nap with a small smile. He likes to lay beside you, gently touching your skin or holding you close when he can get away with it.

Javier had become... obsessed with this little tradition of his. You made him forget all of his problems... both at day and at night. He hates that you're unaware...

Yet he also can't seem to get rid of the habit.

Soon it escalates to not only when you're sleeping. He knows your nightly routine by heart. He watches your every move... would this make him a creep? Yes...

But he's done worse, maybe even for you.

Javier has always been careful when not getting caught. He had excuses and carefully planned responses. He's like an addict... willing to do anything to keep his addiction.

Unfortunately...

Javier should've known someone wouldn't stay quiet. Someone must've told you about his nightly behavior. After all, he was careful...!

Yet you woke up quickly one night to find Javier standing over you, eyes staring down at you like a hungry coyote.

You go to sleep, but Javier quickly shushes you and covers your mouth. You feel pinned to your bedroll as Javier uses his strength to hold you down. Desperation flashes in his eyes... along with irritation.

"Shhh... be quiet... it's okay... you know I don't mean any harm, love...." Javier whispers, trying to encourage you to stay quiet. "What I'm doing is harmless...."

You stare at him with wide eyes. It reminds him of a cornered deer, defenseless in his hands. It... makes him feel oddly giddy.

“I know it’s creepy, but I love watching you sleep. It’s... peaceful, you know?” Javier murmurs, as though he's embarrassed yet also trying to convince you it's okay. There's a long silence between you...

Only for you to struggle again, making Javier tighten his hold to hide his activities from the rest of the gang.

"C'mon... listen to me, dear!" Javier pleads, forcing your head down even as you try to nip him. “I-I saw you last night, you looked beautiful...”

You freeze when Javier hovers a hand around your neck, grip threatening to suffocate you. You stop struggling... causing Javier to sigh in relief. Afterwards he presses a kiss to your forehead, pulling you closer.

"I couldn't help myself... the first time I saw you, you were adorable. You looked so calm... I said I wouldn't do it again... but..." Javier confesses, tilting your head up to look at him. "I couldn't look away... I didn't want to... You're my guilty pleasure, darling... So, please, don't push me away... You'll sleep better with me watching over you."

Javier's words are ignored by you as you try to pry his hands away. Javier frowns in response, hating you look so tense. He loves it when you're asleep... but you're too rowdy now...

He needs to fix this.

"... Sorry, darling... I'll see you in the morning and maybe we can talk about this..." Javier whispers...

Only for him to restrict your airflow.

You struggle, fight, and kick him... yet screaming is out of the question. You can't get enough air to breathe and struggling wastes what you have. You slowly begin to give in... letting the darkness reclaim you with a strangled noise.

Javier says nothing, eyes dark as he watches you drift into unconsciousness. Once you no longer fight, Javier slips beside your bedroll and holds you close. This is all he wanted...

Now he can continue to see your serene sleeping face... along with kissing your sleepy head...

Maybe he can convince you this was all a nightmare in the morning...?

[laswells-ashtray]

Hii pooks! It’s me again(weapon John ask)

Read your little tidbit and immediately read it three more times because you went above and beyond the original idea I had in my head.

Another idea/question since I’m here; how do you think John and Mac met? I think that with John’s stubborn(and cunt-ish) personality, it took maybe months to get him to be on Mac’s side, and years for Mac to break him from that “weapon” mindset.

I can also imagine that John gets to experience things that he never has, maybe something like fast food or playgrounds or something as simple as puzzles?

Anyhow, that’s it from me. Enjoy your New Year’s Eve and drink carefully!

God, how I wish I had seen that last sentence last night. One day i'll learn to stop combing chronic illness that doesn't mix well with drinking and treating my liver like it's easily replaced.

The first time Mac meets John Price, he takes a boot to the ribs that undoubtedly breaks at least two of them. The lad is a violent little fucker and is actively trying to murder him until he gets a backhand to the jaw for his trouble.

Maybe the boy isn't used to people fighting back or maybe he's just never been smacked across the face before but the way the stranger blinks at him with furrowed brows and mutters "what the fuck." under his breath is something that sticks with Mac.

And then John's handler stumbles upon them both, the very man Mac had been set to meet before he'd been attacked by a lad who barely looks old enough to buy himself a pint and fights like he's done a stretch in Barlinnie.

"Ah, Captain MacMillan. I see you've met my pet project, John. Forgive the lad, hadn't warned him we'd be having visitors on base."

It grates at him, burns across his flesh like accidentally scratching sunburnt skin the way he refers to the lad as some kind of dog. Like a mutt who needs a tug at his leash. And it only serves to irritate him more the way the boy doesn't blink at it.

The stranger, John, he mentally corrects himself offers him a hand and pulls him back onto his feet. He looks repentant as he glances between his apparent minder and Mac, waiting for a nod of approval before offering the Scot a gruff apology.

"Eh, sorry. Shouldn't have pounced on you like that, might've broken a rib or two."

"Probably three, yer a scrappy wee bugger."

"Maybe you're just slow."

By the end of the day, MacMillan comes to two conclusions: one being John Price reminds him far too much of a mistreated wain and two, he's a bit of a prick. Mac likes him.

He sees the lad a lot, works in close quarters with him and the rest of the team he claims to be a part of. One thing is clear, the kid's training is far more extensive than even the SAS could offer. John fights without a care for himself, he doesn't have to. He's yet to see anyone land more than two hits on the boy. But John fights in a way that scares people, it intimidates the other boys his age and none of them will glance at him outside of any missions.

If Mac learns anything from talking to the kid's "handler" it's that it's intentional. Keep John isolated, alone and under his hand to use the poor fucker as a weapon. He's a gun with a man behind the trigger.

From the little interaction they share, Mac learns that John is funny. He's a cunt, he's biting and he has little patience for the typical soldier antics of the people surrounding him on base. And he's got a knack for saying things that leave MacMillan in stitches.

One day it hits him like a boot to the balls, he wants John working under him. Not because the sergeant is some deadly force to be feared but because he wants the younger man to be something more than that. He wants John to be a soldier, not artillery to haul around from base to field.

It takes several favours, a minor amount of blackmail and the help of a CIA lassie that he'd met recently who'd found herself unwillingly trying to befriend the sergeant to get John on his team. The lad doesn't seem to mourn the loss of his handler despite how bitter the man is at the thought of letting John go.

John doesn't settle well and MacMillan doesn't expect him to. He's tense, he's restless and he can't fathom articulating why. Mac offers to spar with him, and he learns how efficient John is with minor injuries when the lad resets his nose for him.

So, Mac enforces "meetings" with the sergeant. He drags John into his office under the guise of missions, paperwork and planning. While John is intuitive and he takes a weight off of Mac's back on and off the field, that isn't his goal with John. He isn't going to use the younger man as a tool to benefit himself, he's going to break open the mental vault surrounding John and his relationship with personhood regardless of whether it takes a crowbar to pry the door open and do so.

It takes four informal meetings until John lets something slip to him, the sergeant is an orphan and his dad was a drunk, a mean one at that. He brushes over the information so casually that Mac almost doesn't catch it, too focused on how John is dismantling his best pen on the desk. He feels for the younger man, truly he does. An abusive alcoholic father who dies and then he's thrown headfirst into an institution that crafts him into the divine executioner. No one who cared, until Mac threw himself tits over toes into the situation.

John has never mentioned his birthday, any past memories or a hint to when it might be. Mac does the next best thing and uses his own birthday to spend time with the kid. When he asks John his usual order from an Indian takeout he's met with an almost comedically blank look, it takes a bit of coaxing to find out that John doesn't have an order. He doesn't particularly do takeout, what good is a fighter if they aren't in their best shape. One day Mac is going to see John's "handler" dead with nothing left to bury.

He orders something simple for the sergeant, garlic chilli chicken and chips. If John doesn't like it then he can pick at the chicken madras Mac orders himself. Hell, if the lad didn't like either of them then he'd order from an entirely different place just so John could eat something he enjoyed.

John finishes his plate before he's even half done. John looks embarrassed, scarlet spreading across his cheeks as he looks down at his empty plate. Mac thinks that's the day he decides that John is his sergeant now.

A couple of years later he'll meet John for a catch-up, a familiar CIA lassie and Russian pilot at the table alongside one Captain Price. John steals Kate's garlic naan and he watches her smack his hand with the back of her fork, John only laughs. When the younger man lets slip that his old handler died a few years prior, some gruesome tale and nothing less than what the bastard deserved, Mac makes eye contact with Nikolai for just a split second before looking back to John and he feigns surprise.

It hadn't been hard to locate the man's address and hand it over to Nikolai when the Russian had asked for it those years back.

[wherenymphsroam]

do NOT think about leon struggling with identity issues. because he totally doesn’t. noooo way.

[dykedvonte]

wanted to say I appreciate your nuanced takes on MW and especially Curly. i don't get the claim that the fandom is full of Curly apologists when majority (esp yt and tiktok) say he's worse than Jimmy. Yes there's commentary about bro culture defending people, he def messed up in trying to placate Jimmy (tbh "we'll fix this" sounded more like trying to keep someone prone to outbursts like Jim calm and not hurt Anya/himself) but I don't think he did nothing to help Anya, since she continued to confide in him and he had less than a week to resolve it before the crash (I also don't get everyone saying he knew for ages when it seems like Anya told him that same week). I get Jimmy's a pos but saying stuff like Curly should've known he'd crash the ship or that Jim had a criminal record he ignored, reducing them to obviously horrible villain and willfully ignorant sidekick feels like a disservice to the game. If your best friend turned out to be horrible, what would you do in a confined space in the span of a few days to respond? I'd say some of the horror comes from trying to do good but ultimately failing, Curly's state after the crash is meant to be tragic horror not revenge/punishment

Thank you and this is what I want to get across.

A lot of information we have to supplement when it comes to how long things have been happening on this current ship. I think people try to add on to the horror and negligence by making things more obvious so it can feel like it was easier to avoid when, true to life, its not. Jimmy clearly didn't deserve or appreciate what Curly did for him in getting him the job, but do you think if Jimmy was that big of a menace on Earth he would've given him a position where he could have that level of power over people's lives? There's something in the fact he specifically chose to pick a position so close to himself where he could watch Jimmy.

I hate the bro code argument because that is a whole can of worms people really don't get. That sort of mentality is born from the general respect and preference of male matter over female ones. Curly is clearly not that guy, he is absent minded about the issue and inadvertently dismissive but he clearly believes Anya, he just can't understand what she's going through. It's an onslaught of information that no one really reacts right to. Additonally, the entire discussion of her assualt plays to heavy into the idea that there is fault outside of the perpertratior when it comes to SA. It's too close if she only did this or if Curly had protected her better but the fact of the matter is Jimmy did what he did. He did it before any of the conversations with Anya about it and it's why her behavior seemed to change so drastically in those last two days.

He has other conflicting thought and while his role as a Captain should've taken over, people act like it's not a very human thing to have such a toxic presence cloud your judgement. It is never easy to separate friend from coworker once that connection is formed, you want to help them, especially if they were friend first and for a long while like in this case. It's not right, but people act like it would be easy when the game clearly points out that no choice is easy to make, especially when you have to make it for more than one person. You have the weigh the consequences, look at all the options and make a plan. People can headcanon and decide how long things where happening, but if we look at what we were presented through the characters eyes, the only person given time to do that was Jimmy.

He waited two months after the crash to appoint himself Captain. Every time a problem was brought up he immediately took action and refused to sit on it and find a better solution. I think it's important to look at the warped way Jimmy takes initiative where Curly didn't as it works as a good contrast of why you don't just run in to "fix" things. The quickest and easiest option may not be the safest or most beneficial. I think some thoughts on the game suffer from the black and white thinking the game doesn't operate on along with us being voyeurs. We see what exactly led to what but the characters don't. They don't have the hindsight and foresight we do and even ours is scrambled by the non-linear story telling.

Like it's hard to talk abuou those grey zones without sounding like an apologist because you're explaining why taking responsibility isn't easy. It's not and it's weird to act like it would be in a scenerio that led up to the events of the game knowing what we know. We see all these characters in such isolated moments with various things before, in between, after and even during we aren't privy too. The idea that Jimmy is worse than Curly heavily banks on the words Jimmy was saying to Jimmy before he crashed the ship. That whatever happened on the ship was his responsibility to bare, which is true due to his position. But, are they not still not responsible for taking the actions Curly then must bare?

Like i feel like people think that these are situation that become easier with age or when you are in a postion of authority and they aren't. You don't lose your biases or gain some sudden knowledge that makes it easier. It just becomes more tiring as you keep dealing with it. I would be first in line to say Curly fucked up and should've done more but the idea he knew how bad it could get or he really saw the worst in the people around him and ignored it pretty much ignores a huge aspect of his character and the game.

[sysig]

If the rules are “Catch them all” ZEX already has a leg up (Patreon)

[someobscurereference]

Insane over the awakening trio again. We fought a war together, saved each other multiple times, and I know for a fact I can trust you with my life. We have never learned to socialize normally so we can't interact in a normal environment for five seconds without dunking on each other. I would follow you through time and space and abandon everything with you. You are the living reminder of every awful thing that have ever happened to me. Our traumas make us hurt each other at every turn. We're the only ones who know what lead to each other becoming Like That. Our jobs are barely in the same area and we don't even hang out that much outside of necessities. You are all I have left. I cannot fucking understand you. I am the only one in this entire world who has the ability to even try to.

x

[tenok]

.

[arolesbianism]

Thinking abt my dupe ocs again... Maybe Quinn does have hashtag issues actually

[pzos-amiserableidiot]

was watching tiktok and a video had the song michael in the bathroom playing and I was vicerally reminded of being in middle and high school and mom always mentioning how much I looked like my dad (his name is michael) and how I slowly was able to start noticing it too and whenever I sang the song it reminded me of him and I felt like we were overlapping too often felt like id never be anyone but a shadow or his mirror and then i began learning i was trans and now the song makes me think of him even more (he’s not a bad dad he tells me he’s proud of me and stuff there’s just two really big moments he unknowingly failed and one long continuous one but he loves me and he’s proud and he supports me and he didn’t mean it and ive learned to make that enough) and the weird flashback I got when I heard that song and overlapping with his face and how if I transitioned I almost fear I’d be his clone and yeah Anywyas banger song

[autisticcassandracain]

Free story idea I'll probably never write but am kind of obsessed with: Scott and Lightray role reversal where Scott grew up on New Genesis and Lightray was traded to Apokolips.

Basic set up: Scott, as a little baby child, was supposed to die when Steppenwolf killed his mother. He survived, narrowly, but Izaya hid that from Apokolips in fear of retaliation. So when the pact happened, Izaya's son, presumed dead, wasn't on the table; instead, (quite literally) the brightest child on New Genesis was traded.

So Scott grows up hidden on New Genesis as the son of Highfather, with his big brother Orion. And the thing is, he loves his home, his father, his brother, but by the time he hits young adulthood he's positively gnawing at the bars. He's going stir crazy from his limited movement; even in New Genesis he has to be careful, because after all these years, he's still hiding from Darkseid, who might change the pact if he hears Izaya's son is still alive, or even flat out kill him, breaking the truce in the process. It's not something anyone is willing to risk, least of all Highfather and Orion.

But Scott is not the type to accept limitations on his freedom, and on top of that, the longer he hides away, the more guilty he feels. He's not stupid, he knows that he should have, by all rights, been the one traded in the pact. But Highfather prioritized his safety and took the out that him being presumed dead offered, and another kid took the fall instead. How is that fair? It's not like Lightray is any less important than him. Scott may have been too young to make informed decisions or understand what was happening when the pact occured, but now, as an adult, he's becoming increasingly dissatisfied with being protected at the cost of other peoples lives.

If only he could help in some way – he's no fighter, but he's crafty and creative. Surely, even if he wouldn't he terribly useful on a battlefield (and has no real desire to enter it to begin with), he could at least do something for the kid that got traded in his place? Help him escape, perhaps? He's already capable of giving even New Genesis the slip, Apokolips can't be that much harder...

Meanwhile, Darkseid was fully planning on pulling the same basic gambit with Lightray as he would have with Scott: torment him until he decides to escape at all costs, breaking the pact. So Lightray was put in Granny's Orphanage, ostensibly a normal student, with Granny reporting back on him to Darkseid. And things would've gone roughly like they went for Scott, if it weren't for one thing: Lightray's intelligence.

Where Scott was, as far as we can tell, a perfectly average student, Lightray quickly proves to be exceptional. His fighting is largely mediocre (relatively peaking, of course), but he still wins a vast majority of sparring matches, even when his opponents far outmatch him in skill, resources, numbers, or all three. He does this by simply outsmarting them, figuring out positively brilliant strategies even under the effects of Granny's mind-altering drugs. Granny reports this back to Darkseid, baffled and annoyed, lamenting about cowardice and rebellion; children in Granny's Orphanage are not supposed to think, after all.

But Darkseid quickly realizes that the pact handed them far more than just a symbolical light, an easy way to end the truce; it handed them a weapon. Child of New Genesis Lightray may be, Darkseid reads Granny's reports of cunning, manipulation, underhanded and even ruthless strategy and sees himself. On New Genesis, Lightray may have been a formidable enemy, but now, Darkseid has the opportunity to mold him into a surprise weapon. A cunning strategist, perhaps even on a similar level as himself, completely loyal to Apokolips, but easily able to win New Genesis' trust if necessary. A perfect potential spy. Lightray still has some of that pesky New Genesis kindness, but nothing a little careful manipulation won't fix. But the brute force of Granny's Orphanage won't bend him into the right shape; a little more subtlety is required here.

So Darkseid takes Lightray from Granny's Orphanage and only lies to him a little bit. He tells Lightray about the pact, about how he was traded for convenience's sake; Darkseid even graceciously admits that he'd originally planned to use Lightray much the same way, but had realized his mistake and decided to give him a chance instead. Darkseid sees how special Lightray is, how much more he could be than just a bargaining chip; Darkseid could make him great, give him power and, more importantly, a place to belong. Lightray could be important, and important things aren't easily traded away, are integral to their home and respected as peers. He could have a place here if he just listens to Darkseid, and why shouldn't he? What has New Genesis, what has Highfather given him? At least Apokolips, Darkseid is giving him a chance, believes he can be more than a bargaining chip. Highfather sees him as nothing but a tool, but Darkseid gets him, believes in him, believes he is more. Between the two of then, who has earned Lightray's loyalty?

So Lightray grows up as Darkseid's adopted son, favored even over Kalibak for his merit, risen above his origins as a bargaining chip, and only feels a little weird about it all. Just a little bit. Somewhere in the back of his mind, there is an instinctive part of him that cringes when a hunger dog rebel begs for mercy while being tortured to death, but that's just his New Genesis weakness, and he's long since overcome it. It's nothing Darkseid holds against him, as long as Lightray fights it. His origins don't define him, and he's grabbed the knife and chosen Darkseid's strength over New Genesis' weakness.

They were planning on having him 'escape' Apokolips and slotting him into New Genesis as a spy, but a golden opportunity drops straight into their lap. A New Genesian manages to sneak straight into Lightray's room, in the heart of Darkseid's home. The only one they know with the skill to pull that of is Himon, but this is clearly someone else.

This is Highfather's son, remarkably alive despite all information to the contrary, and doesn't that just reinforce everything Lightray's ever been taught? Highfather had been unwilling to sacrifice his own son, as Darkseid had done, and had instead cowardly offered up Lightray as a sacrificial lamb. Well, joke's on them, this lamb has grown into a wolf, and is ready to earn his spot in the pack. Highfather's son is called Scott Free (which is really just salt in the wound, isn't it) and is here to break him out, take him back to New Genesis, and it's a little before schedule, but they can't possibly pass up this opportunity.

Scott returns home to New Genesis, having successfully rescued Lightray and feeling pretty good about himself, not understanding why Orion is so spitting mad at the whole thing. He knows this means war, and that's awful, but this truce was never going to last, and they all know it. And now that he's seen the horrors of Apokolips for himself, he can't help but want to do something about it. He may be no fighter, but he thinks he can work with Himon; Himon's methods seem to fit very well with Scott's strengths. He can help, but his father still forbids him to leave New Genesis, and Orion insists that Darkseid is planning something, that it's too dangerous. Scott is inexperienced, naive, and must be protected at all costs, and if they think they can actually successfully keep him in one place they're idiots. It's only a matter of time before he gives them the slip.

Orion knows this damn well, but that's not going to stop him from trying to keep Scott from walking straight into an enemy trap. He doesn't trust Lightray, not even a little bit; he still remembers what Darkseid is like, and he knows, knows that Lightray would never have been allowed to live as his son if he wasn't useful to him in some way. Orion would bet his astro harness Lightray is a spy, but what can they do? Highfather refuses to lock Lightray up without concrete proof that he's a traitor, and they obviously can't send him back to Apokolips. If Scott goes through with joining Himon, he'll be in the middle of enemy territory, with a spy to report back to Darkseid on it. Orion can't allow that to happen, no matter what. But he can't just babysit Scott, even if Scott would've allowed him to do that; with the war starting, Orion is needed on the front lines. He doesn't know how to balance the need to protect his brother with his duties towards New Genesis and the universe at large.

Lightray, meanwhile, is having a bit of a culture shock. New Genesis is, for the most part, exactly what he'd been told to expect: bright, soft, holier-than-thou, all-around fake and weak. But it's still a shock to go from dark Apokolips to bright New Genesis, and to his alarm he can feel the effects already. In the sunlight, he is physically stronger and much more comfortable. He settles in easy, feels content in a way he rarely (never) felt on Apokolips. No matter how much he tries to remind himself that these people betrayed them and he's here to destroy them, he fits on New Genesis in a way he never did on Apokolips, and that scares him, a little bit. Because he knows he'll never have a place here; he'd be a tool at best, and an interloper at worst. Orion's hostility, though a significant hurdle in the plan, is almost welcome; it's familiar, and makes it easier to remind himself that he does not, in fact, belong here.

And then, there is one more complication: Scott Free. Scott Free, Highfather's hidden son, for whose sake he was traded, who is naive and reckless and easy to manipulate, and genuine in a way that completely throws Lightray for a loop. Highfather lies, pretending to trust Lightray despite obviously agreeing with Orion's suspiscions, apologizing for trading Lightray even though he'd surely do it again without hesitation, claiming to respect New Genesis' youth above all despite how obviously untrue that is. It's easy to look at him and see confirmation of everything Darkseid told him about New Genesis.

But Scott tells Lightray he never should've been traded in his place and honestly seems to believe it. He defied orders to come 'rescue' Lightray because he believed it was more important than the continuation of the pact. He's weak, in many ways, but he sees the world how it could be, not the way it is, and has a bright resiliance to him, which Lightray stubbornly refuses to compare to anyone he's met, especially not one Aurelie, the Fury who'd been revealed to be part of Himon's rebels. Scott Free will either die painfully or waste the rest of his life away imprisoned, and Lightray finds himself making just a few too many excuses for why that bothers him.

When Scott Free finally escapes Orion and Highfather's watch to go join Himon, Lightray does not immediately report to Darkseid. He contacts Big Barda instead. It's not treachery, he tells himself. Big Barda is wholly loyal to Darkseid, the leader of the Furies, and will get the job done; besides, he'll report to Darkseid soon enough. He still refuses to think about Aurelie, and how closely Barda stuck to Lightray's side afterwards, drawn to him for reasons they both knew but refused to acknowledge. When he hears back about Barda's defection and her and Scott's escape to Earth, he is obviously very shocked and not even a little bit relieved the plan he didn't have worked.

Then the anti-life equation is discovered on Earth, and suddenly Lightray is told by Darkseid that discovering its location should be his top priority. Orion is sent to look for it as well, to protect it, and Lightray, seeing an opportunity, insists to go along. To his surprise, Orion actually agrees. Orion, for this part, just wants to get Lightray as far away from New Genesis as possible, and is working on a 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer' logic. So off they both go, on the universe's most high-stakes and hostile buddy road trip.

[lxnarphase]

━━ ❝ the way of the househusband ❞

☾₊‧⁺...cw : househusband!fushiguro toji x fem!reader, you are megumi's mom, flirting, playful banter, just overall silly and cute domestic life

☾₊‧⁺...lunar's note : just some simple lil toji hcs of him as a househusband! i need some sweet stuff of him without a lot of sexual stuff in it bc let's be real, in a domestic setting he's probably just a big clingy and mildly annoying bear husband

f. toji is never going to complain about being the one staying home, watching over the little gremlin that is megumi. he's got his own ways of bringing in money with that friend of his, shiu, but he's more than content to being the one in the frilly pink apron, cooking for you and the lil' man.

toji didn’t ever expect to get married, especially after how he was treated as a zenin. he didn't know much about love or how to connect with people, let alone you. but when you handed his ass to him with no struggle and a pretty smile on your face at the gym, he knew he wanted you. two years later and a shit load of aggressive flirting, toji ends up with you as his spouse and he wouldn't have it any other way.

so imagine toji's surprise when he's genuinely excited when you tell him your pregnant. he's excited but scared. him? a father? there's no way in hell he has any idea what to do, his own father was nothing but a piece of shit...so what if he turns out like him? but the moment you pop that big headed little fucker out of you, toji can't help but grin, that excitement of being a father and creating memories with this tiny little thing erasing all his fears.

whenever you come home from work, toji's usually in the living room with little megumi, who forced him to take part in the exercise part of his favorite kids show. you don't know how megumi, your one year old baby who still talked in little babbles, forced his massive giant of a father who could kill a man with a look to do 'exercise for baby,' but you know better than to question it when you see the two touching their toes in front of the tv.

sometimes, he's in the kitchen, however, wearing that 'kiss the cook' apron you got for his birthday. toji always wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you into a kiss, muttering a 'welcome home’ against your lips before poking your side and going back to what he was doing, proud grin on his face at the little screech he gets from you.

he's started to get better at dodging your hands when you go to poke him back, skirting around the table before going to scoop megumi up. “you would never do such an act in front of 'gumi, would you? what if he starts going around poking girls in their sides, hm? then i'll have to explain to his teacher that his mama can't keep 'er hands to herself.”

toji's got you there...so you back off, opting to press a kiss to babygumi’s little forehead, taking him from your husband’s arms when he makes grabby hands at you. you savor the betrayed look on toji's face, sticking your tongue out at him. he scoffs, rolling his eyes before going back to make sure dinner wasn’t burnt. he’ll get you back for stealing his son from him.

despite what people might think, there’s not really a 'dominant' person in the relationship. when together, the two of you give off some of the most intimidating vibes because of the sheer power the both of you carry. it's not even put off by little megumi, because if he notices his parents looking at you in disgust, he's gonna give you one that's even worse.

toji will never forget the day the three of you went to the grocery store, him in his usual black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, you in one of those same shirts and leggings with megumi in the kiddie seat in the shopping cart, eating from the little snack pack toji made for him. toji swears he walked away for three fucking seconds, and he came back to some...fucker getting ready to chat you up. it’s no surprise anyone that he gets pissed, ready to storm over there and make it clear you're taken.

however, it's clear you don't need him to step in, and damn, you look...really hot telling this dude off, angrily flashing your ring when he wouldn't back off. god, he wishes he could marry you again. toji doesn’t even know what you told the guy, and he's tempted to playfully ask megumi what happened, knowing his lil' man would try to respond in babbles and coos.

“he said you crawled out from the trash, toj, i can't stand for that! he could’ve done you some justice and said you crawled out of the deepest pits of hell, so I had to educate him on that. besides, he called you my boyfriend and I almost punched his face.”  “yeah? hm, i’m glad you didn’t, babe, we don’t want to get kicked out the store.”  “i don’t know, i think an imprint of my ring in his forehead would get the message across.”  “well, next time, how about we just kiss like we haven't seen each other in 15 years? not a fan of showing out to some dude, but i'd do it for you, sweetheart.”  “mmn!”  “right, lil' man? mama's so mean t' me, it's a good idea.”  “gumiiii, you're supposed to be on my side!”

occassionally, when you're at work, toji'll just talk to megumi, the little one nice and comfy on his chest.

one habit he'll never get out of is randomly calling you throughout the day when he's particularly bored and missing you. if you don't answer, toji will just leave you a message, usually about how badly he wants you to come home, groaning about how tired he is but he can't sleep without you in his arms, without you playing with his hair until he falls asleep. he's so in love with you, it's almost makes you dizzy.

you'll never forget the day you come home to toji and baby megumi in the front yard, crouched down around...something. parking in the driveway, you make your way over and see what they're looking at. it's...a kitten and a puppy, two tiny little things playfighting with each other. neither one of them say anything, just looking at the two creatures. you sigh, knowing exactly what this means.

"...give them appropriate names and make vet appointments. we aren't naming the dog 'hot dog' and we aren't naming the cat 'kitten'." "i told you it would work, lil' man."

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