#i kind of lost it when it turned to the forced kidnapping plot like

[youkaiyume]

I am watching "My Happy Marriage" for the first time and I really want to like it but it's hard to get past the amateur level writing, and the unnecessary magical element. As a period romance it also seems to lack any adherence to the time period it chose, and it's a shame cuz I think it would be far more interesting if it solved it's drama by adhering to the societal rules surrounding marriage and laws at the time.

I'm powering through it but it feels like I'm reading a poorly researched fanfic.

[syndrossi]

Okay, HERE's a what if question for you -- What if original timeline!Daemon, after killing Aemond and drowning in the God's Eye, wakes up young again/time travels/realizes it was all a prophetic dream/etc. and finds himself in Resonant verse?

Ooohhh, now there's a wrinkle! I wonder if it's actually worse that way. Resonant!Daemon has a desperate, lonely longing for love and family. OG!Daemon had a family; they'd lost Jace and Luke, but his own blood were still alive at his death, as was Rhaenyra. Do Jon and Rhaegar seem like strange imposters? Inconvenient bastards of Royce blood that would interfere with his "real" family? OG!Daemon was a bit hardened by the end, I'd say.

Ultimately, I think he does go get them, and even pushes Rhea for them to be trueborn as well. And the circumstances of their kidnapping are such that they do kind of naturally lead to immediately caring about them. But I think you end up with Jon and Rhaegar having to be the ones to soften OG!Daemon's fury/hatred toward the Greens and break down his walls. Which is hard when they themselves have just undergone some trauma, and OG!Daemon is even more like Aerys. On the other hand, their plight does force OG!Daemon to be more gentle, so it's a two-way thing.

OG!Daemon gladly takes the Laena match, since he did love/care for her, and probably engages in a great deal of plotting/maneuvering to improve Rhaenyra's position. Does he resort to murder/kinslaying of his nephews? I think his time with Jon and Rhaegar causes him to turn away from that extreme. He may do what Rhaenys advises in the most recent chapter and instead try to position himself for more power+influence with Viserys. What influence does the candle have in this scenario? Because it could change quite a lot of things.

Once we get further along with the candle plot, I'll have to revisit this, TBH.

[vodika-vibes]

I just read your One More Moment Cody x reader fic and I absolutely ADORED IT and am here to request something similar with Fox x Fem reader please, and can the reader be a mermaid with a shark tail? You can add whatever details you think would work, but Fox is definitely quite intrested considering he's kind of an outcast in Atlantis, and reader is classified as an outcast too?

Thank you! And I absolutely adore your writing 🥰

Born This Way

Summary: Atlantian Prince, and Military Commander, Fox is an outcast among his people and his brothers. Oh, sure, people respect him. But his closest friend also happens to be his twin brother. At least, that’s the case until he’s kidnapped.

Pairing: Commander Fox x F!Reader

Word Count: 1783

Warnings: Mentions of slavery, implications of torture

A/N: So, I'm not sure if this is what you were wanting, but I had an idea and it seemed like a good one. I hope you like it!

Click HERE to be added to my taglist!

The room he’s been locked in is dark, the only light coming from the bioluminescent stones being used as lanterns down the hall. It’s almost too dark to see, even with his eyes.

Of course, it’s not so much a room as it is a cell. 

An actual cell, with bars. Rather than the more modern cells used in Atlantis that offer the people in the cell some privacy.

Fox rubs the side of his head and tries to remember how he ended up in this situation. He can feel his heartbeat in his skull though, so he’s pretty sure that he was hit over the head by someone.

What does he remember?

He was at home, he remembers that much. He had just been eliminated as a viable option for the throne after punching an arrogant Atlantean and planned to retreat to his room to hide from his brothers who were going to rage at him for having the nerve to remove himself from the running. And then…nothing.

Fox isn’t even sure he made it to his room. 

His brow furrows as he tries to force the memory to clear. He left the greeting chamber, walked through the portrait hallway, and clearly remembers opening the door to the sleeping wing. 

But after that, everything is murky. His next clear memory is waking up in this cell.

Fox huffs and kicks the cell door.

He knows that he’s no longer in Atlantis. The fact that he’s surrounded by water makes it kind of obvious. But Atlantis is a rather small city, comparatively speaking. Knowing that he’s not in Atlantis isn’t helpful in the grand scheme of things.

He kicks the bars again in frustration. 

“That is enough of that, your highness.” Fox moves away from the cell door as a door at the end of the hall opens, pouring light into the darkened hallway. The voice is familiar, and Fox scowls when he sees who stops in front of his cell.

Sheev Palpatine is an Atlantean, like him, and had been a judge for years before he was banished from Atlantis for planning the murder of King Jango. The only reason that Jango didn’t kill him was because of political pressure from the Jedi Monks.

Fox kind of wishes his father had ignored the Jedi if he’s being totally honest.

“Palpatine.” The amount of contempt dripping from Fox’s voice would have made a lesser man flinch away. But Palpatine has never seen the vod’e as actual people.

“Prince Fox,” His smile is almost slimy, “You honor me with your presence.”

“As if I had a choice.”

“True enough. I am fortunate that there are still people in Atlantis who hold me in high enough regard to help me.” Palpatine holds his hands out, “You’re probably wondering why you’re here.”

“The thought had crossed my mind,” Fox bites out sarcastically.

“I find myself in need of capable soldiers—”

“If you think that I’m going to help you, then you’ve lost the god-damn plot.” 

Palpatine pauses, “Then you will remain in your cell until you change your mind. I will return in a week.” He turns and pulls something out of his pocket. It almost looks like a bell.

He rings it and a moment later a mermaid swims into the hall. She’s a shark-based Mermaid, Fox realizes almost immediately. Her kind hasn’t been seen around Atlantis since before his Grandfather’s time.

He moves closer to the bars to get a better look at her. She’s tiny, though his memory helpfully supplies that there are over 500 different variations of sharks, so she’s probably a mer-variant of one of the smaller sharks. 

As Fox moves closer, he realizes that she’s covered in ragged-looking scars. All over her arms and tail, all across her torso…and one long scar across her eyes.

She’s blind.

She turns to face him, and Fox watches as her nostrils flare so she’s able to catch his scent. She’d be able to find him anywhere now, he knows absently. 

It’s at that moment that he sees the brand on her left shoulder. A series of numbers and letters, raised on her skin so that even he’s able to read what they say in the dim light.

And his heart sinks.

He knows why no one has seen any of her people in decades.

“She,” Palpatine gestures to her, “will ensure that you are fed and well-cared for while you are a guest. Do not try to run. She’ll catch you.” And then he’s gone, and Fox is left alone with his warden.

“What’s your name?” Fox asks after a moment when he’s sure that Palpatine is gone.

There’s a flicker of uncertainty on her face before she offers her name. “I am afraid that I am unsure as to what Atlanteans eat,” She admits, “If you could tell me—?”

Fox sighs and leans against the bars, this is going to be a long imprisonment.

It’s been several months since he was kidnapped, and Fox is no closer to agreeing to help Palpatine than he was when he was first taken. He’s pretty sure that Palpatine is starting to give up on trying to convince him.

Or, well, he hopes so at least.

The one good thing, the only good thing, is that he’s made a friend. Or, he thinks of her as a friend, she’s a little more hesitant about it.

He doesn’t blame her, in the slightest, though.

Any mistakes on her part are punished with lashes. And she’s often punished for his misbehavior. 

It’s sickening.

It’s unfair.

And he can’t do a damned thing about it.

“You seem quiet today, Fox.” Her voice is raw, and Fox can see she has burn paste coating her tail this morning. An accident, maybe. Though punishment is much more likely. 

“I’m feeling contemplative,” Fox replies as he follows her through the hall to the small, enclosed, garden he’s allowed to spend his time in. “That is still allowed, isn’t it angelfish?”

When she speaks, there’s amusement in her voice, “That is true. Lord Palpatine has yet to make thinking illegal.”

Fox grins, though he knows she won’t see it, and he swims over to settle near some coral.

The coral is almost healthy. Fox finds that totally valid. How could any living creature thrive under Palpatine’s specific brand of bullshit?

He watches her swim around a bit before she settles on the sand on her stomach, resting her chin on the palm of her hands. “Where is the illustrious Lord Palpatine, anyway?” Fox asks.

“I do not know.”

“So he’s not in?”

She shrugs as best as she can while lying on her stomach, “So it would seem. No one has seen him in weeks.”

Fox hums thoughtfully and then moves so that he’s lying on his stomach in front of her. Close enough that his arm bumps hers, and she starts in surprise, having not heard him move. 

“Fox?”

He scans her face silently for a moment, “You know, with Palpatine gone we could just leave.”

Tension shoots through her frame, “Fox, my people will be slaughtered—”

Fox stops her by pressing his hands against her cheeks, and she flinches away from him slightly. He knows that it’s not an intentional reaction, he knows that she knows that he would never hurt her. But some habits are hard to break. 

“I’ve met some of your cousins,” He reminds her, “Some of them are built like buildings.”

“...well, yes.” She agrees, “But the manacles…if we do anything they don’t like they’ll inject the poison—” She frets, “And even if we manage to get them off, where would we go?”

“Atlantis.”

She scoffs, “Atlantis,” She shakes her head, “No offense to you, Fox, but Atlantis looked the other way when my people were enslaved. Why would we ever go there.”

“I know that you and your people have no reason to trust my people,” Fox replies, “I know that you’ve all been suffering under the watch of people like Palpatine for generations.”

“You can’t fix that.”

“I want to try.” His hands move so that one cards through her hair while the other one slowly moves down her arm to grip her hand, “I’m not asking you to trust my people, cyar’ika. I’m asking you to trust me.”

“And then what? What happens if Atlantis won’t accept us?” She asks, “It’s no secret that no one missed us when we left.”

“Then we’ll find someplace new for your people to settle.” He leans in and presses his forehead against hers, “Like it or not, cyar’ika, you and your people are still Atlanteans and are deserving of my service.”

She’s quiet for a long moment, and then she sighs, soft and wistful.

“What’s wrong?” 

“I just…I wish I—” She pauses and shakes her head, “No. Nevermind.”

He smiles at her, takes her hands in his, and presses her hands against his cheeks, “It’s hard for you to tell if I’m lying because you can’t see me, isn’t it?”

She frowns, “That’s part of the problem, yes.”

“Then look with your hands,” Fox replies. He pulls his hands away from hers and waits while her hands lightly trace his face. Her hands are remarkably soft for someone who spent her whole life doing manual labor. He’s not too proud to admit that he likes the feel of her hands against him. “Ready?”

She nods.

Fox looks her in the eye, “I promise that I will help free your people and I will help you find a place to settle if you’re not welcome in Atlantis.”

“...you mean that.”

“I do.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and then she slowly pulls her hands away from his face, and Fox has to fight the urge to pull her hands back, “We’ll have to be quick.” She warns.

“I can do quick.”

And then she smiles at him, it’s small and soft, and the only thing that Fox can think when he sees it is, fuck. I’m done for.

“Can you be my eyes until we escape the palace?” She asks.

“Cyar’ika, I’ll be whatever you need me to be.” Fox blurts without thinking about it.

She looks surprised and then a startled laugh falls from her lips. It’s the first time he’s heard her make a sound of genuine joy, and Fox realizes, with a start, that he would destroy entire nations to protect her smile.

Wolffe, he decides as he gets up from the ground, is never going to let me live this down.

And then her lips press against his cheek, and Fox stops thinking about everything that isn’t her soft, warm lips. 

He’s so fucked.

@bad4amficideas

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@trixie2023

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[em1e]

bedless. | 2.5 k

╰ maybe your feelings aren't the worst thing in the world. ⚠︎ and there was only one bed c:, kidnapping ? :p ♡ series m.list

you reach the halfway mark in your trip and you are beyond exhausted. 

despite stopping countless times to rest and eat, you find yourself sick of being on the saddle for any long period. baji and chifuyu seem to be doing far better than you, though it’s expected considering they frequent such trips; you have just been pampered with the luxury of chariots with expensive upholstery and comfortable seats. 

this saddle is anything but that. 

you lean against baji with a pout, unaware (or perhaps unconcerned) at how his arms flex from the contact, fingers gripping at the reigns harsher than needed.

“can we rest at the next village?” you frown, head lolling against his shoulder to glance at chifuyu. 

the mercenary doesn’t show any sign of hearing your question, busying himself with looking at a map he’d picked up from the last village to ensure you’re on the right path. 

“hello?” you sit up, waving a hand in his direction, unhappy with having to repeat yourself, “i would like to rest in a bed if possible. the ground is not suitable for-” 

chifuyu sighs loudly at your complaints, folding the map and tucking it into one of the pockets of his bag, “we have a schedule to maintain,” he dismisses, “you may sleep in a bed when we arrive at the black dragon’s kingdom.” 

another whine passes your lips, back to pressing yourself against baji with a frown. 

“i don’t see why stopping for one night would kill us.” baji agrees with you. as much as he’d hate to admit it, his ass was aching from the leather of the saddle, and he agrees that the ground is nothing short of uncomfortable compared to a bed, “we’d be stopping anyways, would we not? it seems stupid to not go to an inn and be well rested at least once on our journey.” 

chifuyu returns to ignoring the both of you, digging his heel into his horses side to pressure it to move a little faster, forcing it into a gallop that you and baji soon find yourselves following. 

your head goes back against baji’s shoulder, looking at him through your lashes, “i think if the both of us go to an inn without him, he’d be forced to join.” 

baji glances down at you, a small grin playing on his lips at the thought, “or we could leave him out altogether - i’m certain he’d be able to find us tomorrow morning when we are well rested and he remains grouchy from the ground.” 

you giggle, hand coming to your mouth to cover the sound. 

“i can hear the both of you,” chifuyu doesn’t move his body to face you as he says the statement, head barely turning so the words aren’t lost to the wind, “and i do not enjoy being plotted against.” 

“then maybe it should be reconsidered where we rest tonight.” you cross your arms over your chest with a huff. 

and decidedly, you do end up at an inn. 

the two draw sticks for who rests first while you sorted out rations for dinner. baji pulls the shortest, meaning after eating he was to stay up in the lodge's entrance, keeping watch while you and chifuyu rest. 

upon entering the room, both baji and chifuyu’s shoulders deflate at the sight of the single bed in the corner. 

“so much for not sleeping on the floor,” chifuyu grumbles, taking his bit of bread and meat you’d put together for him. 

baji makes a noise of agreement as you pass him his own portions, the two ignoring your small comment of, “i offered to pay for another room.” 

you did. they denied the idea, preferring to keep close if possible; even if that meant they’d be on the floor for another night. you feel a little bad, that the promise of sleeping somewhere decent has been robbed from them so quickly, but the pair stealing half of the meat meant for you revokes any pity that’d begun to fester. 

and though you do offer the option of the bed to the mercenary, he denies your kindness and insists he’s fine with the floor. every blanket and pillow you can spare, however, finds its way to the ground with him, setting up a makeshift cot with the materials to the best of your ability. 

you’re unsure of the exact time when baji pushes open the door to shake chifuyu awake for the switch, but you can see how tired your knight is as he discards himself of his sword and shoes once chifuyu is out the door, fixing the makeshift bed how he feels it would be most comfortable. 

you sit slightly and rub at your eyes, “baji?” 

he freezes at the sound of your voice, you can see how he glances at you, illuminated by the moon. 

“it’s late,” he comments softly, letting the blanket fall from his fingers to stand, “what’s got you up? are you in need of something?” 

you’re unsure how well he can see you in the dark, but it doesn’t stop you from shaking your head softly, reaching for him blindly. your fingers find purchase at the hem of his shirt and he exhales sharply at the contact. you wonder if he hears how your own heart thumps in your chest. 

“i’m worried.” you admit quietly, voice wavering. 

he takes a step forward, knees hitting the edge of the mattress. the tips of your fingers still hang loosely in his shirt, “what for?” 

you lose the grip when he sits down, though your hand remains dropped by his side as you look down, “that this may be futile, or kazutora may hate me for leaving,” the confession burns, grasping at the blankets to steel yourself, “i wouldn’t blame him, but . . i don’t want to hurt him with this.” you add after a moment. 

it’s quiet, only disturbed by the sound of the two of you breathing, and you shake your head with a small sigh, “perhaps it’s stupid, i apologize for bringing it up. i’m sure you’re tired-” 

“hey,” baji shifts, hesitating only a second before taking your hand into his own and squeezing softly. he’s warm, you note, soothing touch pickling your skin, “there’s no need to apologize. i’m sure everything will be fine, kazutora will do just fine as king and kisaki won’t have the opportunity to defile your kingdom.” another squeeze to your hand, and he’s standing, taking his hand from your own. 

he stops when you reach back for him, fingers around his wrist to prevent him from moving far. 

a small noise bubbles in the back of his throat, a question of why implied from the sound. you don’t look up from your lap, though your grip remains. 

“will–,” you pause, faltering a moment as your resolve crumbles. you take a breath to steady yourself, “i know it’s . . improper, but . . will you lay with me? o-only until i fall asleep-” 

baji pulls his arm from you, and you fear you’ve crossed a line in asking. 

but he laughs, a quiet rumble from chest with a nod you can barely make out in the dark, “‘f course princess. just ‘til you’re asleep.”

it’s not the first time baji’s ever laid with you; when you were a child, you would sneak into kazutora’s room with pillows and blankets in tow (despite him having a plethora of his own already there) and create a fort out of the many fabrics to lay under. the three of you would tell stories of cryptids and myths, things that surrounded the woods of the many kingdoms that would leave you unable to sleep for the few nights that’d follow. 

this was different, you must know that as much as he. 

neither of you voice the contrast as you pull the covers back, scooting over to make room for him. he waits for you to settle back against the mattress and you turn on your side to face away from him when he begins the climb in beside you. 

it’s quiet, but not uncomfortably so. baji pulls the covers until the edge is resting on your shoulders. mindlessly, you reach behind you until your fingers make contact with his own on his chest. his hand twitches, flexing for a second under yours, before he intertwines them together. 

“thank you.” you whisper into the dark, eyes fluttering closed from the warmth radiating from him. 

your thanks is returned by him squeezing your hand gently, always so gentle with you, and you find yourself falling asleep to the sound of him breathing. 

the following morning, you’re awoken by hushed whispers in the room. sunlight peeks in from the curtains, cascading the mercenary and your knight in light as the former shoves things into one of the packs you’d brought in. 

“it’s not as if we’ve told anyone where we’d be going-” baji scowls, voice sharp. he pauses when you shift in the bed, sitting up and rubbing your eyes with the balls of your fists. 

“nice of you to join us, princess,” chifuyu chastises, tossing you your bag, “hope you slept well – s’a shame we gotta get a move on. heard there’s some people out searchin’ for you.” 

you stiffen at the words, throwing the blankets from over your legs and searching through the bag to ensure everything that was previously in it was still there, “what do you mean ‘searching’ for me?” 

“i mean as i say,” he tosses the blankets that were previously on the floor on the bed (and consequently, onto you. you voice your complaints with a groan), “word of mouth travels fast and your brother seems none too happy of your disappearance.” 

you frown, eyes flitting to baji. he avoids your stare, busying himself with the remaining items needed to be collected and offering you your shoes. you pull them on wordlessly, standing only when you’re finished. 

“the horses are already saddled and ready to leave, and i’ve gathered enough materials for us to skip the next two towns to arrive straight to the kingdom,” chifuyu explains, “it’s better for us to avoid the main areas and trails to ensure you arrive safe.” 

he pulls the mask over his face, knocking shoulders with baji as he makes his exit. you remain in the room alone with baji, looking down at your feet. 

“do you suppose kazutora is really upset?” you ask quietly. 

he pats your head gently, then places that same hand in between your shoulders to ease you towards the door, “let’s just focus on getting you to the black dragon’s kingdom, yeah?” he says in favor of replying. 

you find you don’t care for that answer very much. 

the next day's travels go fine; nothing remotely interesting happening in such a short period of time. 

as chifuyu mentioned, you stay in the trails remaining in the woods, following the map as closely as possible and resting mainly when you deem it necessary for the horses. baji’s hardly spoken a word to you since you departed from the inn and that paired with him deciding to walk with the horse rather than sit on the saddle with you leaves you wondering if you’ve done something wrong. 

as you make it to your final stop for the night, baji excuses himself to gather some wood for the fire chifuyu busies himself with building. 

“have i done something wrong?” you ask chifuyu with a frown, pulling your legs to your chest. 

chifuyu pauses, flint sparking but not igniting from the previous swipe against steel, “pardon?” he looks to you from a kneeled position. 

“have i done something wrong?” you repeat, “to baji.” you clarify when his brows don’t unfurrow. 

“um . . i don’t believe so. is there something the matter between the two of you?” he’s intrigued now, head tilting. 

you rest your chin atop your knees, frowning, “he’s hardly spoken to me since the inn and preferred walking to riding with me; i don’t smell, do i?” you question aloud, leaning down to sniff at yourself. you don’t think you do, but who’s really to say. 

the mercenary laughs at that, “we have been out in the heat for almost a week, princess, i’m afraid we all smell,” you kick at his thigh with a scowl, but he continues, “though i don’t believe that to be the reason for his . . detachment.” 

you refrain from continuing your onslaught of kicks at this, “how do you mean?” 

he goes back to attempting to light the fire, grinning when the spark catches the moss and ignites into a flame, “is it not obvious? he’s enamored by you.” 

you flush at the words, kicking again, “don’t say something so ridiculous-” 

he catches your ankle before you can deliver another kick, sending you a bored look, “he told me as much himself that morning when i walked in to find the two of you together in bed; although he made me promise not to say a word,” he adds the last bit as an afterthought, releasing your leg to scratch at his head before shrugging, taking in your expression, “don’t look so surprised, it’s not as if you don’t share his sentiment.” 

you open your mouth to argue, brows furrowing, but ultimately have nothing to say. your shoulder drop, defeated. he pats your knee with a small chuckle before standing to his full height, “this should be exciting news. i’m sure he’d be elated to hear you feel the same.” 

you perk up at the thought, looking up at chifuyu curiously, “you’re certain?” 

he grabs at some sticks to add to the fire, now less interested in the conversation than before, “hm? of course; anyone in your position would be to know the person they care about has mutual feelings – where are you going?” 

you scramble to stand, dusting your hands on your skirt with a hop in your step, “to go find baji!” you answer with a smile, before you’re disappearing into the woods, following the path you watched baji take.

chifuyu clicks his tongue, calling back, “don’t wander too! . . . far.” he sighs, poking at the fire with a stick, then adds it to the pile. 

you wander around the dark, following the trail illuminated by the moon while pushing back branches and bushes that get in the way. 

“baji?” you call out, hyper aware of the crunch of leaves and sticks under your foot. he’d been out for a few minutes, but surely he hadn’t made it too far into the woods, right? 

“baji?” you try again, peeking your head around trees that block your vision. if you remembered correctly, there was a small lake nearby where your horses drank before you found your final resting place - perhaps he decided to take a dip? your skin prickles with heat at the thought. 

a twig snaps behind you and you turn at the sound, “baji? it’s not funny to sneak around in the dark-” 

you approach him as he emerges from the shadows, scolding ready on your tongue only to stop when your eyes fully adjust as to who’s in front of you.  “i’m afraid i’m not the one you’re searchin’ for, princess.” hanma grins with a giggle.

[babygirldabi]

Runaway Part 7- FINAL PART

CW: MDNI, smut with some plot, implied PTSD, domestic violence, female reader, kidnapping, attempted murder, ACTUAL murder, major character death, unprotected sex, creampie, just a lot of violence really, let me know if I've missed anything

A short note, before part 7; when I started writing this last year, it was just a fun hobby. A lot of things happened this year that I never saw coming including the unexpected and tragic death of a close friend, and most recently, emergency surgery (Appendix tried to kill me, it was super fun).

I want to sincerely thank everyone for their patience, kindness, and enthusiasm for this little project that i started, just to start writing again. I can never explain how much it means to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Moving forward, with the completion of this project, I want there to be more. I have been thinking hard about what else I can give you. Thank you so much again. You, reader, gave me reason to write again.

Part Seven 

He’s had too much. Entirely too much. 

The room spins as Dabi stumbles over to the bar to refill his glass for the… seventh time? Eighth? He’s lost count. Kurogiri is gonna call in an intervention when he sees how much whiskey he has to replace. He giggle-snorts at the thought, crashing down on one of the bar stools, his head lolling in one hand. 

What time is it, anyway? He squints at the clock above the bar, it’s 3 am already… he wonders what you’re doing- who you’re doing- no. He stops himself there, literally shaking the thought from his head. Not going there. Can’t. 

He thought drinking would help, but it’s only brought him closer to the precipice- a fine line between drinking into oblivion and drinking to the point of vulnerability. He scratches his head, sighs. Before you, it would’ve just been oblivion. 

The crew is still out- Shig and Kurogiri are off on some business and unlikely to return until morning. Toga, Twice and Compress went to the club after their mission, so they haven’t been home, either. Nobody knows except him. And he’s gonna have to tell them. 

Tell them that you’re gone, something whispers. That you’ve left me. That I’m alone again. 

He doesn’t know how to help himself here. He could go to the club, find some easy pussy and lose himself in it, but it doesn’t feel right. In fact, he’s a little worried what he might do to some villain-chaser right now. Clearly his headspace isn’t great. 

He can’t tell them all yet. He just can’t do it. The words are stuck in his throat, like glue, making it hard to swallow. 

But you are gone. 

And it’s his fault. 

Dabi throws the glass of whiskey at the wall, watching in satisfaction as it bursts into a million messy pieces, whiskey dribbling onto the floor. Then he puts his head down on the bar, folds his arms over it, and wills himself to sleep. 

Dabi isn’t sure how long he sleeps before rough, cold hands grasp the back of his shirt and begin to shake him, frantically. Groaning, Dabi doesn’t even open his eyes before he begins to shove at whoever has hold of him.  

“Gettoff,” he moans. “Fuckin’-stop-!” Oh Jesus, he’s gonna hurl if they don’t stop- 

“Dabi. Wake up.” Hawks’ clear, cold voice is enough to force Dabi to crack his eyes, gazing up at the winged hero blearily. 

“The fuck- get offa me, bird brain-"

“Dabi, she’s gone. They took her.” 

Dabi’s eyes widen, suddenly sober, already turning on the barstool to face Hawks. “What?”

“Inferno- or his men- they have her- they left this.” Hawks shoves a crumpled note into Dabi’s hands. 

Dabi smoothes it out on the bar, reads it. 

Come after your plaything, and I will make it a thousand times more painful for her than it need be. 

“Well?” Hawks is watching Dabi, still frantic, expectant, wings shaking. “We need to move. We only have so much time-"

Dabi leans over the bar and wretches, the contents of his stomach spattering across the tiled floor. 

Before you even open your eyes, you can feel the pounding headache radiating from the back of your skull. Fuck. A whimper tears itself, unbidden, from your throat. 

“Boss, she’s waking up.” 

“Good. He’ll have questions.” 

Opening your eyes is no use; you’ve been blindfolded, and your hands are restrained; they feel weak, useless. 

Quirk-cancelling cuffs, you realize, as fear takes hold and begins to grow. 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

No Hawks. No Dabi. No Quirk. 

Fuck. 

You know you’re in the back of a car; you smell cigarette smoke, feel cold air blowing on your face from an open window. Shadows and streetlights flash by, disorienting you to a world unknown outside of the blindfold. You lick your lips, test your voice. 

“Hello?” It comes out in a croak. 

Someone cuffs you hard in the back of your already-throbbing head, and you jump, half cowering in your seat. 

 “Shut your fucking mouth. You’ll have plenty to say when we get there.” 

You don’t recognize these voices. They are rough, deep. Nothing like Inferno’s smooth baritone. 

Hired hands, you figure, as you clamp your mouth shut. He wants to scare me. 

You resolve to show no fear. It’s likely you’re going to die, you’re not stupid. At least you tried. But you won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing you afraid. Straightening your spine, you settle back against the seat and wait. 

Another twenty minutes feels endless as the car twists and turns along the roads. How far are they taking me? Panic threatens to bubble up, but you swallow hard, forcing it down. Panic won’t help anything. You can still see the flashes of streetlights, so you’re at least still in the city. 

Maybe there’s time- no. You won’t let yourself believe it. You won’t let yourself hope. They’ll never find you in time… this is it. The very least you can do is try to remain calm. 

The vehicle comes to a slow halt, brakes screeching. You feel the shift as the driver gets out, rocking the vehicle, and slams the door, making you jump slightly. Someone laughs, alarmingly close to your ear. 

“Scared, sweetheart?” It’s a mean, gloating voice. “Don’t worry, the fun’s only just beginning.” 

“Fuck you,” you bite out. A surprised silence comes, followed by a sudden and ringing blow to your right cheek. 

“Talk to me like that again-" the voice threatens, but is cut off as the vehicle door opens on your side. A sudden cool rush of air hits you in the face as you try to straighten up. 

“Hey, hey- we can’t hit her. Boss wants her untouched.”

This would be relieving, except… “yeah, so he gets all the fun,” is muttered sullenly by your assailant. “C’mon then, bitch. Can’t be late,” he continues, pushing you out of the vehicle so hard you nearly topple over. 

Another set of hands grasps your shoulders roughly, keeping you from falling, and then seizes your right arm and steers you straight ahead. “Let’s go.” The second voice leaves no room for negotiation. 

You are led through two sets of doors and into an elevator; your blindfold has shifted slightly, allowing you to see from a very bottom corner. Three seats of black shoes surround you. 

The buttons sing their staccato notes cheerfully as one of your assailants punches them, and then you are being whisked up, up, up.  It’s not until the elevator doors open again that a cold blast of wind hits you, and you realize you’re on a rooftop. Fear floods your belly, makes you squirm in your bindings. 

“Please- just tell me who you are-" 

“I said shut the fuck up-" the man who hit you before begins to shout, and you brace yourself for another blow. 

“There’s no need for that,” a voice says, and your blood runs cold. “Let her go.” 

Hands instantly release you as the blindfold is lifted off of your face. 

 In front of you stands- Jesus, it’s really him- Inferno, taller than you remember, larger than life and twice as hideous- and smiling down at you triumphantly. 

“Hello, darling.” 

The wind is cold up here. Shivering, you glance around and instantly get dizzy. You are on a rooftop- which one, you’re not sure- but it’s a skyscraper. You can see the whole of the city from this building. It would be beautiful if you weren’t frozen in dread. 

“Husband,” you greet Inferno formally, tamping down the icy chill of your fear. Swallow it. Don’t give him the satisfaction. 

 His lips twitch in dark amusement as he gestures to a chair leaning against the wall. “Please, have a seat. There’s so much I need to ask you.” 

Head held high, you turn and walk, sitting neatly down on the chair before facing him expectantly. He watches you, raises one brow. 

“Something different about you,” he observes, musing. 

You strive for a look of polite indifference. “Oh? How so?” 

His eyes burn into yours. “You always used to be more afraid.”

You stare back at him, trying to remain cool, aloof. “I’ve learned some hard lessons, Husband.” 

He makes a mental decision; one to play along with your demeanor. After a moment's hesitation, he joins you, sitting in a chair across from you. “You don’t look very afraid,” he says, as though he’s confiding in you. “That’s the biggest, anyway. Difference, I mean.”

You shrug. “Maybe there were several lessons.”

“Such as?” He asks, politely, keeping up the facade. And why shouldn’t he? You think. He’s won. He can afford to play along, get some sick twist out of this. 

You lift your chin again, staring him straight back in the eye. “Such as… I’m not the little mouse you always wanted me to be. I’m actually quite strong.” 

He smiles, kindly. “You realize you have to die.”

You nod. “I do.” You wonder briefly, how you can possibly sound so serene… but common sense is long gone now. You’re just playing a part, a role, until it’s time. You only pray that it’s fast. 

Inferno nods slowly, taking in the calm across your face. “I thought about how I would have to do it,” he adds, conversationally. “The media sees me as this frantic, adoring husband. So it couldn’t be anything too public; knowing you, if you had any time at all to try to save yourself, you’d lose your senses and start screaming to anyone within earshot that you’re innocent. Which you’re not, you’ve never been.”

He’s watching your face carefully, waiting to see any flash of emotion betray your cool features. You merely sigh, contemplatively, then shrug. 

“That’s probably fair,” you allow. He smirks. 

“I briefly considered a mass murder… your whole family, framing you. A bomb in the house, perhaps. Cut brake lines on a family trip. Which they have gone on, since you’ve been gone, by the way.”

That one hurts. You can’t tell if he’s lying or not. Probably not a family trip; probably getting out of town to avoid the shame of being related to you after all of Inferno’s stories hit the press, but still. He wants to hurt you. If he can take your family’s embarrassment and consequential fleeing and twist it as a way to cause you further pain, of course he will. 

All this reasoning flies through your mind as he watches you carefully. “They didn’t come looking for you,” he concludes.

You shake your head. “They always liked you better than me, anyway.”

Inferno laughs loudly at this, tossing his head back. “Well, they’ve always had a distaste for weakness.” He resumes eyeing you closely, almost contemplatively. “They might like you more now. The y/n I knew before would have been hysterical by now, crying for mercy.” 

You recognize it in his tone; he’s disappointed. A sudden rush of euphoria comes over you; he may be about to kill you, may be about to take you away from Dabi, from Hawks, from everything you’ve ever known- but he’s not getting the reaction he wants from you. 

A small victory, but an important one, nonetheless. 

You hold eye contact with him and let the smallest smirk play out from the corners of your mouth. “The y/n that you knew was beaten down after years of abuse and your pathetic,” you say the word slowly, let it drip with disgust, “male fragility.”

Inferno’s face barely registers, except the familiar spark of violence flaring just behind his eyes as he listens to you insult his ego.

“The y/n before you, however…” you let your voice trail off, considering. “Well, if given half a chance, she would kill you where you stand.” You smile at him benignly, and then add, “slowly, so that you suffer.”

He backhands you before you see it coming; you’re thrown from the seat, unable to cover your face with your still-bound hands. The coppery taste of blood fills your mouth as you’re hauled to your feet by one of his snickering henchmen. 

���Enough playing around,” Inferno is muttering, mostly to himself. “My patience has run out.” He reaches into his back pocket and for a second-you flinch, expecting a gun, a quick shot, and then nothing. Instead, he pulls out an envelope, flicks it open to withdraw a letter and waves it under your nose. 

“This is your goodbye to your family,” he shares, calmer now that his triumph is so close. More so, your suicide letter.” He pauses, letting you take this in, before he continues. “In it, you apologize for the monster that you became. For being an abusive spouse and a worthless daughter. For never amounting to anything worth speaking of in life. You were so ashamed of yourself and all the trouble that you caused, that you simply could not bear to live anymore. It will go here,” he reaches around you and places it in your pocket, “so that when they find your body, it will be one of the first things they see.”

You spit the blood that’s pooled in your mouth at his feet, missing a shiny leather shoe by just half an inch. “I’d rather die exactly as I am right now then spend another living second as your wife.” You bare your teeth in a snarl. “And I will haunt you for the rest of your miserable fucking existence, you coward.”

He smiles again. “What sweet sentiment, darling. I hope you remain this brave when you’re falling fifty stories and splattering against the concrete.” Before you can process this, he’s turning to the lackeys. “Take her.”

“Fuck you,” you roar, as filthy hands began to drag you to the edge of the building. “Fuck you, you miserable fucking cowardly piece of shit-"

You’re dragged still further to the edge. The sounds of traffic waft up, horns honking, people shouting, completely oblivious to the fact that a murder is taking place above their heads. 

You close your eyes, swallow hard.

I’m sorry, angel. Please don’t blame Hawks. 

Please know how much I loved you. 

It all happens so quickly. 

You are waiting for the shove, for your feet to leave the ground, when a flash of blue fire and a surge of heat nearly knock you to the ground. A scream sounds to your left, high pitched and desperate; The man who was dragging you to the edge of the roof, who was right next to you a second ago, is gone. You spin to see Inferno, whose face is a black mask of rage, stalking towards the opposite end of the roof. 

“Seize her! Nobody gets away tonight!” He roars, and begins throwing flames at random, aiming for some unseen target.

There’s no time to process any of it.  

 Next to you, still smoking, is a rather large pile of black ash. 

“What the fuck-”

The familiar whoosh of wings drowns you out, and suddenly Hawks is there, landing beside you and frantically looking over your cuffs. His lip is bleeding, golden eyes narrowed, focused. 

“Hey, kid-” his voice breaks with relief as you struggle to comprehend what’s happening. 

“Thought we lost you there for a sec,” he continues, gloved hands fluttering over your wrists as he tries to figure out how to undo the cuffs. You’re speechless, buzzing with adrenaline, when you’re distracted by another blue burst of light to your left. 

You whirl to see Dabi, beautiful, glorious Dabi, his face murderous with rage, killing anyone and everyone he can get his hands on. Henchmen scream and scatter, running for the door and dropping to the floor amidst flames as they try. Inferno stands opposite of him, trying to blast Dabi with wave after wave of fire, to no avail. Dabi’s flames are bigger than you’ve ever seen them, so bright they’re almost blinding. 

“What-how…”

“That doesn’t matter right now. We need to get you out of here. Out of the country, probably.” Hawks mutters, more to himself than to you. And then, “Goddamn it! Where is the key to these things?” And then “fuck, shit, hold on-” he turns just as a henchman sneaks up on him, knife in hand, and shoves you to the ground as he dodges. Just as quickly, you jump to your feet, ignoring the ache pounding through your skull from a culmination of hard hits this evening, and chase after the two, now engaged fully in hand to hand combat. 

The man swipes here and there with the knife; Hawks cold-cocks him directly in the face, and then whips out a couple feathers to pin the man to the ground. 

“Kill him!” You yell, but Hawks turns to face you, looks over your shoulder, and blanches. 

Someone grabs you by the hair and throws you back down. “On the ground where you belong, you fucking bitch.” 

The voice from the car, the same man who hit you, now stands above you with a gun. “I promised the boss I would finish this-”

He doesn’t get to finish anything, not even his sentence. He lets out a guttural groan as Hawks stabs him in the back, pushing the knife through his chest, and drops, nearly on top of you. Shoving him aside, you scramble up. 

“How did they get into the hotel?” Hawks yells, throwing himself into a defensive crouch in front of you and wielding a feather like sword. 

You want to answer him, but another henchman is heading your way, eyes wild. 

“Doesn’t matter right now,” you parrot Hawks, using your bound hands to swing out at your attacker, hitting him straight in the face and knocking him to his feet. Hawks finishes him off as you whirl to watch Dabi and Inferno. You’re not sure when it began to rain, but it’s raining nonetheless; coming down fast in cold, unforgiving sheets. You watch, feeling as though you are in a dream, as bursts of blue and orange fire burn against the downpour. This doesn’t feel real. 

If I make it through this, you think, I will never make the same mistakes again. 

This fight- this raging, bloody battle- is a culmination of what your life was, and what it will be. No longer will you be the one who runs away. If only you or Inferno get to leave this rooftop tonight, it’s sure as hell going to be you. 

You are done running. You are done hiding. Forever. 

“Toga, do you see anything?” Hawks yells over his shoulder.

What?

 You blink in disbelief as the little blond scurries across the roof, presumably out of nowhere, several backpacks in hand.

“Nothing yet. Hi, honey!” She chirps, as if this isn’t quite literally a life-threatening situation. “Don’t worry about a thing, we’ll get you loose in no time.”

“Toga- hurry-” You’re watching Dabi and Inferno dance across the roof in a frenzied battle, blasting at each other and dodging the other’s fire. “I have to help-”

With a quick scan of the rooftop, you can see that all of the henchman are either gone- escaped, dead, or close to it; several bodies lay charred and smoking on the concrete. It’s down to Dabi and Inferno. 

Dabi practically dances as he moves, fighting with skills beyond anything you’ve seen yet. For one brief moment, his eyes connect with yours and hold you there, a thousand unspoken words flowing between you, and the world goes silent. 

And then you see it.

Inferno has been pushing Dabi back towards the edge of the roof. Dabi’s steps are a little uneven, as though he’s been drinking- oh god, you realize, as your heart drops into your stomach. He probably has. Not enough to be incapacitated, clearly, but enough not to notice some small, but very important details…such as being backed into a corner…or rather, a ledge.

Now that he’s so close to it, Inferno is increasing his fire, pushing Dabi back inch by inch, little by little, to his impending death. 

“NO!” You scream, and Dabi’s eyes flash to yours, and you know that he’s realized it, too. “Toga, get me out of this NOW-”

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it-” Toga’s hands scramble against the cuffs, a loud, clear click finally freeing you from your Quirkless prison. You turn back to the fight just in time to see Dabi fumbling, dangerously close to falling to his death, and Inferno, manic and beyond all reason, lifting his hands to administer one last blast of fire-

“NO,” you scream again, and without hesitation, throw your hands forward. Inferno is thrown into the air like a rag doll, struggling as his body lifts into the air and sways, fighting your power with all he has. 

Months ago, your fear would have trumped your Quirk, and you probably would have lowered him back to the ground, afraid of what he would do to you if he survived.

Now, you have no such qualms. 

 You hold him there, in the air, watching as the force of your Quirk turns him slowly to face you, to gaze down at you with panicked contempt, and you hold his gaze. 

There. Look at me. 

Look at what you’ve done to yourself. 

With every ounce of strength left in you, you heave your arms to the left. 

Inferno screams as his body is tossed from the top of the skyscraper. He screams all the way down. 

The sickening thud of his body hitting the sidewalk below is what breaks you from your reverie, panting. 

Dabi is frozen at the edge of the rooftop, staring down at what’s left of Inferno. You can just barely hear Hawks speaking to you as though he’s a mile away.

Exhaustion hits you like a bus, dragging you back down to earth.  

And then; 

You are vaguely aware of your legs giving out beneath you, collapsing and landing hard against the wet cement on the roof. Through the rain and the blood and the blinding pain, you can’t see anything. You can feel your consciousness slipping through your fingers, hurtling you towards blessed, peaceful darkness, when from far away you hear Dabi. 

He sounds a million miles away, echoey, vague. The rough sandpaper of his voice scratches at you, tries to keep you awake. 

“Hey, baby, hey-”

“Tired,” you mutter, feeling warm hands wrap around your upper arms, pulling you into his lap, his belt buckle pushing into your left shoulder blade. “Hurts.”

“I know baby, I know it hurts- look at me baby, look at me, don't go to sleep, baby, okay, don’t-” he pleads; breathless, his voice cracking. “Please, baby, don’t do this to me, don’t do this to me baby please, don’t you dare do this to me…” his voice rises in octave, you can hear this panic in his voice and want more than anything to stay awake just to calm him down, but your body pulls you towards sleep with the seductive drag of quicksand, pulling you from him, no matter how hard you try to stay. 

“Love you,” you whisper, and then everything goes dark. 

When you wake up again, you’re in Dabi’s bed. You sigh, automatically going to stretch and then letting out a sound of distress when you feel how sore you are. 

And then you remember. 

You bolt upright, wincing, gasping as you take in the room. 

“Baby.”

You look down to see Dabi, roused from sleep, lifting his head from the side of the bed. 

“Dabi- what…?”

“He’s dead,” he says abruptly. “You finished it. He’s dead.” 

You don’t know what happens- one second you’re staring at Dabi, blankly processing. The next, your body is wracked with sobs. From relief, from fear or from guilt, or maybe a combination of all three. 

“Hey, baby hey…” Dabi’s arms go around you. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”

You lean into his chest, unable to stop sobbing, chest heaving, your fingers curling into his T-shirt and clinging to him. 

“What happened?” You choke out. “After I-”

“Hawks told the commission that it was a villain.”

“WHAT?”

“He told the commission that he had been on patrol- which, technically, he was- and saw Inferno fighting with an unknown villain. He said he was flying in to help, but before he could get there, the villain threw him from the roof.” Dabi slowly shakes his head, mournfully. “Just couldn’t get there in time.” He peeks at you, his eyes glowing. 

You let out a long, slow sigh. “Will he get in trouble?”

“I doubt it. He had to be interviewed a few times by the commission and gave the police a signed statement. I doubt they'll look much past that.”

You nod slowly, letting this sink in. “So they have no idea that I’m still around?”

“No. Nobody even mentioned you. I’m sure if you wanted to come forward now, and tell the truth, the media would eat it up, but I’m not sure how much you want to do that…”

“I don’t.” The thought of the media makes bile rise in your throat. “Ever.”

Dabi watches you carefully. “So that means…”

“I’m okay with staying missing,” you finish for him. You look up into his brilliant azure eyes. “I’ve found my family. If they’ll still have me,” you add, quietly. 

Half a second later, Dabi’s arms are crushing you to his chest, almost knocking you off the bed entirely. 

“I’m so fucking sorry, baby.” His voice breaks. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“I’m sorry. I put everyone at risk, I wasn’t thinking, I was stupid.”

Dabi grasps your chin and forces you to meet his eyes. “You are never stupid. I was angry and said shit I shouldn’t have and never will again. Forgive me, baby, please.”

You stare at each other in silence for a few seconds, Dabi’s eyes searching yours. 

“Yes,” you breathe, and he kisses you, gently. Too gently, in your opinion. You lean forward, pushing more forcefully against his mouth, sighing when he gives way and lets you gently bite down on his lower lip.

Dabi groans into your mouth, his whole body stiffening against yours, before he begins to pull away. 

“No,” you whine, but he sits back anyway. 

“You’re still healing. We shouldn’t.”

“Yes, we should. I’m fine.” You sit up straight as though to prove this, only wincing slightly. He laughs ruefully, then leans down to kiss you again. This time the kiss is harder, more urgent- from both of you. Bravely, you shuffle into his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck.

Doll, I don’t know if…” He’s torn, debating between showing you how he feels or letting you rest, knowing you need both. 

“Please. Need you,” you mutter, fingers ghosting his cheeks, his jawline, his collarbone. “Please, Dabi.”

Something inside him breaks. 

“Touya,” he breathes into your hair and he slips inside you. A gasp strangles your throat, hands scrambling for purchase against his arms as he fills you gently, slowly. “Call me Touya.”

“Touya,” you whisper, and Jesus fucking Christ he whimpers, forehead pressed against yours as he gently fucks himself into you. You’re only too aware that this is a gift he’s giving to you, the ultimate trust, the only thing he has to protect, his real name. Gently, you cup his cheeks and lift his half-lidded gaze to yours. “Thank you, Touya.”

 He lets out a ragged gasp, pressing his lips to yours, hard, urgently. 

“Missed you. Missed you so much,” he chokes between kisses, and begins to move inside you. 

This is nothing like it’s been before. Instead of pounding, biting and punishing you, Touya moves softly, insistently; easy, shallow thrusts that keep you on the edge as melds his mouth to yours. One hand twists in your hair, the other cupping your breasts one at a time, squeezing softly. 

“Tou-hah, Touya,” you whine, lifting your hips to his, encouraging. “Harder- please.”

He groans, daring to thrust just a little bit harder. “My girl, my baby,” he pants. “Never losing you again. Never, baby. ‘M so sorry. ‘M so sorry.” 

You want to tell him to stop apologizing, stop feeling sorry but you can’t- can’t do anything but sigh as he fucks you steadily, clinging to his shoulders as he wraps his arms around you, gasping into your neck, whispering apologies and sweet words of praise. “My good girl, you feel so good baby, never losing you again….” 

It’s too much. Your walls are beginning to tighten, and he almost loses himself then and there, pausing to whine against your collarbone, hot breath fanning over your neck as he pants desperately. 

“Please, please, Touya- I’m s-I’m so close.” You’re crying, overwhelmed by the gentleness he is giving you, your need to cum overshadowing any worries you might have for your healing body. “‘M so close, please I-”

“Don’t wanna hurt you,” he gasps, long fingers grasping your hips as he moves hesitantly. 

“I’m not gonna break,” you promise against his lips, and when his mouth opens against yours, gently biting down. “Need you, please-”

A deep, guttural groan tears itself from Touya’s chest; One hand wraps gently around the back of your head, holding you against his shoulder, the other grasping your hip to keep you still, concerns for your injuries still in the back of his lust-fogged mind. He begins to fuck you in earnest, thrusting harder, deeper, listening as your muffled cries reach fever pitch before reaching down to rub your clit with his thumb. 

 “Come on, baby. Need you to cum for me, need you to cum on me,” he begs, watching as your eyes roll back in your skull. “Wanna feel you. I need it…. Please,” he begs, his breath rapid and ragged as he falls apart against you. “Let go for me, baby.”

You shatter around him, keening, your back arching so that you are flush against him, and you sound so pretty and look so heartbreakingly beautiful that he can’t help but follow you quickly, gushing inside your fluttering walls, painting them with cum as his whimpers reverberate against your collarbone. 

“Never losing your again,” he gasps, letting his hips buck into you, fucking you full. “Never.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Not without you,”  you pant, carding your fingers through his hair as he nestles his face into your neck, still shaking from the aftershocks of his orgasm. “I’m not leaving, Touya. I’m here.”

You stay there for a long time; Touya collapsed on top of you, arms wrapped around each other, even as he softens inside you. 

 He mutters something, so quietly you can’t catch it. “What, baby?”

He turns his head so that he can talk low, directly in your ear, close enough to hear the exact moment his voice breaks. 

“Love you,” he mutters. “I love you so fucking much.”

Tears leak from your eyes at this admission, blurring everything; the room, him, your fears. “I love you, Touya.” 

“Say it again,” he begs, and you feel his cock twitch inside you, coming back to life. You whine at the feeling; your cunt is sore, your body is tired, but you want him so badly in this moment of raw confession that you don’t care. “I love you,” you coo, letting your hips buck against his, pleading, encouraging him. “Love you so much, baby. Need you.” 

“Fuck,” he breathes, and begins to move again. 

Epilogue 

You decide to attend Inferno’s funeral. 

Not right up front, of course- it would be far too easy to be recognized. You don’t even get close to the main crowd- despite knowing the real Inferno, he had a lot of people fooled. The main crowd attending the funeral, the ones who are close enough to surround the gravestone with armfuls of flowers are all upper level Pro Heroes. You linger, in a black mask and sunglasses, towards the gate of the cemetery, nearly trailing out to the road, with hundreds of civilian fans. 

Touya is not with you. In the event that someone does recognize you, despite all your precautions, Touya waits across the street in an inconspicuous getaway car. You glance over your shoulder several times to make sure he’s still there. Every time, he meets your eyes calmly, reassuringly.

He’d told you to take your time. 

Make no mistake; this is not an act of love, grief, or regret. The way you’d explained it to Touya was the best way you could sum it up; you have to do this, to be here, to be sure he’s really dead. Otherwise, you’re sincerely worried that you will be looking over your shoulder the rest of your life. 

I need that part of me to die today, too, you’d told him. This fear, this trauma, must be buried with him today, never to haunt you again. 

Despite Touya telling you to take your time, you don’t stay for long. You listen to the priest begin his speech, reading from a book you’ve never believed in, and then turn, wending through the crowd, and make your way across the street. 

Touya has left the car running; he flips the locks and watches you climb in, smoothing your black dress over your thighs as you settle against the leather seat. 

“Good?” His voice is soft, gentle.

“Good.”

He nods, pulling the car into the road, and squeals the tires as loudly as he can as the car accelerates. You smirk at him as heads whip around to stare.

“Always have to have the last word, right?”

He shrugs, smirks back. “ ‘Course.”

Reaching over, he threads his fingers through yours, rests your intertwined hands on your knee. You sit in companionable silence for a while as the roads flash by. 

“So.” You squeeze his hand. 

“So?” He prompts.

You turn to him, smile. “What’s next?” 

End.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I realise this is subjective but what's the straight-up most batshit (derogatory or complimentary) thing you've ever read in a book? This doesn't even have to be a rec list, i'm just curious about the Things You've Seen

Good question!

Morning Glory Milking Farm seems so normal now, but when that premise came out it was so crazy. I mean, tbh, the book is actually a pretty normal cozy romance in a lot of ways, just with a really wacky framing (which has kind of become C.M. Nascosta's signature). I'm kinda meh on it, but not because of the premise. Run, Run Rabbit is my Nascosta of Choice.

I began reading Immortals After Dark because I heard of Lothaire's premise, tbh. "3,000 year old vampire (who has been a Big Bad in the other books) finds out hillbilly coed is his fated mate, is like 'oh God, that is SO embarrassing, I can't' and convinces himself that his actual fated mate is the demonic goddess possessing said coed's body, so he puts the coed on DEATH ROW for safekeeping, and five years later shows up to slaughter everyone in prison, rescue the heroine from the lethal injection, and go 'WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME YOU IDIOT???'"

It was the death row element that got me reading. And that's over with in like, the first two chapters. And then it gets CRAZIER. God, I love that book.

The Thornchapel series by Sierra Simone was SUCH a big swing, even by her standards. Six friends try to figure out the creeping, looming darkness in an ancient chapel...? While following ancient sacrificial rites and hooking up with each other? There are two romances (MMF and FF)? How does she juggle all that?

The answer: really, really well. I love that series. Perfect Gothic vibes.

I mean. The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath. Gorilla Twins. And she pulled it off to perfection.

The All the King's Men duology by Kennedy Ryan does not seem that bonkers in theory (long-term back and forth between a billionaire oil guy's rebellious son and a Navajo environmental activist-turned-political-operative) but the books are actually iNSANE lol. He's lost in ANTARCTICA at one point????? She's kidnapped by masked men??? There are hostage videos??? Honestly, this duology is kind of like... Scandal vibes, if Scandal hadn't gone completely off the rails. It really may have been Kennedy Ryan watching Scandal and going "... I could do that better". And boy does she.

The Wolf and The Wildflower by Stacy Reid has a gloriously insane premise. The hero is a duke (the Duke of Wolverton or something too??) who was stranded in the Yukon for years and basically became a part of a wolf pack and developed incredibly wolfy habits... So his family hires a father/son pair of psychiatrists to help him adapt back to society... And then he smells the "son" and realizes he's actually a woman in disguise (genuinely, this isn't a gross transphobic plot, the heroine fully identifies as a woman and just disguises herself as a man for Romance Reasons) and detects her WOMANLY SCENT. It. Is. Insane.

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez. Lady billionaire offers to financially bail out a small principality on the condition that the heir (who has a genius-level IQ) a) marries her for a year b) gets her pregnant so that she can have a hot, smart royal baby.

Speaking of baby stuff, Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips!!!! The heroine is a genius college professor who graduated from college or got her phD at fourteen or something insane, and she's really socially inept because she never had a normal childhood, so she wants a baby of AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE. Which, despite being a genius, she thinks means having a baby with a dumbass to balance out her intelligence. And she identifies an aging quarterback as a dumbass, so she literally like, seduces him into getting her pregnant. And then he finds up and shows up in her classroom, leaning against the door entryway and going "CLASS IS OVER" lol. God I loved it.

Kiss an Angel by SEP is also insane. Begins with a contemporary forced marriage, then the heroine finds out her new husband (who hates her) is taking her on the road working at a traveling circus??? Where she develops like, a psychic bond with a tiger. His circus trick is the whip trick where he cracks the whip to zap off a flower she's wearing or something.

And he's descended from the Romanovs

[theskoomacat]

I wrote "i'm not obsessed with anything atm" in that ask game and then lost myself completely in Remedy content not even a day later. clown behavior

Anyway Max Manpaynes 1 and 2 were ok, ppl say 3 was also okay but it's too far from other Remedy stuff so i'm not dissecting it. So here's the easter eggs from MP1 and 2 for people who haven't played them (reverse easter eggs rather because the stuff they were referencing did not not exist yet. what's first, an easter egg or an easter chicken?)

(at this point i realized that i've lost all my screencaps to a power outage. aye killing meself.)

The biggest most obvious thing were the TV shows. I guess the one thing you can trust Remedy to do is to put a fictional TV show in their game. Address Unknown was a wild ride. In MP1 the show is an obvious reference to Twin Peaks, it features the main character, a mental hospital patient, witnessing his double conversing with a backwards-speaking pink flamingo in a place with red drapes.

In MP2 this story evolves: we learn that the main character is tormented by his evil serial killer double, John Mirra, who frames mc for his murders. (hmmm sounds familiar)

(The fact that Sam does "acting" for all the series is the icing on the cake. draw Scratch like this challenge)

He is forced to look for Mirra, following the trail of his murder scenes into an alternate Noir York City, because Mirra has kidnapped his gf. He gets put into that mental institution from MP1's episode and is forced to kill his doctor self-defense and flee. He laments that through killing he has become John Mirra himself - maybe he has been Mirra the entire time. The series ends with him receiving a phone call from himself. (Naturally, the entire series is heavily focused on the concept of mirrors, including citing a poem by the poet Pool on the same topic).

Watching all this made it all click for me because I have seen but have not processed a snippet of an interview with Sam Lake where he said that he enjoyed Twin Peaks season 3: The Return (hello??) that also featured an evil double plot and the mc returning from another dimension after many years. The only thing that is different is that afai remember, evil Cooper was not Cooper himself - unlike how it happens in Address Unknown and Alan Wake 2. So it's extremely fun to see that after 20 years Sam has managed to turn these doodles on the margins into an entire AAA game, love it for him.

Another pretty fun meta moment when Max get heavily drugged:

(There is another note that tells him that he is a computer game character, to his dismay, but I like it less.) I know it was just a typical 4th wall-breaking joke back then but in the context of AW this becomes way cooler.

Other minor stuff that made me go leo_dicaprio_pointing.png:

665 and 667, the neighbors of the beast, are used as codes in both games.

one of the characters seemingly gets shot in the head in the first game, and in MP2 this conversation happens: "I saw you take a bullet to the head." "Maybe it's still there. Keeps me focused." - kind of taking a note of this for AW3.

MP1 constantly references the American Dream, the first part is called that as well - in contrast with the American Nightmare.

The whole thing with "Odin" - no real connection with AW but just fun to see Remedy putting heavy scandinavian mythology symbolism in the game unprompted.

man i can't remember more without the screencaps, this is so tragic. Nightingale was mentioned but iirc with no hidden meaning. here you go.

Anyway, I hope I have at least managed to enlighten the people who haven't heard of Address Unknown because in the context of AW2 this stuff is bonkers

[itsbenedict]

Two-Faced Jewel: Season 1 Recap

Sometimes I post session logs from Two-Faced Jewel, a formerly-D&D tabletop campaign I've been running for my friends @eternalfarnham and Zero. There's like a lot of them now, though! Maybe you thought they were interesting but didn't want to catch up on 20-odd longposts of someone going on about his D&D game. Wouldn't blame you! So I'm gonna do you a solid and compress the entire first "season" of the campaign into one cliffsnotes summary, so when I start posting the second season you can just pick up on the middle. Here goes!

This is Looseleaf! She is a magic moth, and she's going to school!

This is Saelhen! She is half-elf, half-crime, and she wants to steal from school!

School has a magic arm thing! Saelhen pretends to be a Fancy Lass Indeed, and gets the school to give her the magic arm thing!

But uh-oh! Now it's stuck, and she can't flog the magic sleeve for Loads of Money! Also, the school thinks someone should follow her around to study the magic sleeve, so now Looseleaf is following her! This is bad news for crime!

The magic sleeve says "go over there", so they Go Over There, and…

…oops! It opened a hole and made infinite bats from nightmare hell! Maybe this magic sleeve is bad news.

The school says "pshaaaaaaw, naaaah, it's fiiiiine", and when the sleeve says "now go over here!" the school sends them to do that again! Cool plan!

Problem is, this time "go over there" means "go really far away to a dangerous jungle", so Looseleaf and Saelhen need help! Let's meet help!

This is Orluthe! He has a halberd and is friends with God! Or, one of the gods! But secretly, he's not friends with that one! He's friends with a different one! Chicanery is afoot!

This is Oyobi! She has a bow and arrow and is friends with Looseleaf! But secretly, she's RUDE. Elf rude! It's like an invisible kind of rude only elves know about.

So they leave town to follow the sleeve and go over-

-Oh, hey. Uh��� this guy's coming too, I guess! School says so! His name is Vayen, and he's friends with [NOBODY]! But secretly, he's, uh… he's secretly… he's definitely secretly something. I guess… that's fine…

So they go follow the arrow!

On the way, they stop by a town! The town's feuding with another town, because of murders!

Luckily, Looseleaf is magic! Her magic is really special, and she uses it to solve the crime! Turns out, this guy living in a torture wizard's evil torture tower did it! Huh! How 'bout that!

The guy tells them that a scary dragon was forcing him to do it, though, so the real problem is the dragon. But how are they gonna stop a dragon?! That's way out of their pay grade. They're gonna go call the fantasy cops instead.

So they go to another town, and they go grab a pack of high-level dragon-slaying adventurers, and have those guys do it. Very sensible!

(By the way: those guys apparently work for a shadowy conspiracy that's trying to hide from the gods themselves. So did the torture wizard! So does Looseleaf's long-lost sister, apparently! That's- that probably isn't relevant! It's fine! That plot can wait!

They go back to town, which has some monster problems to solve, and while the adventurers fight the dragon, the party… kidnaps a child! Rescues a child? She has a complicated relationship with her mom, which is definitely grounds to invisibly sneak her out of town to go adventuring with strangers! Yeah! Sure!

The party, plus a child, move on with their main quest- which means they all have to get on a boat! No, not this fancy boat- this other one. The fancy boat is way too fancy. They can't afford something like that! A different boat will be fine.

Guess what? The different boat gets attacked by a bazillion sea monsters! Including a dragon!

Luckily, they make friends with the dragon, who's really interested in the magic sleeve for some reason. This is yet another thing that's probably fine!

Finally, they reach Fantasy Bahamas Las Vegas, and it's time for a vacation while they wait for the ferry to their destination! They split up and stay at different resorts.

The next morning, oh crap! Fantasy Jimmy Buffett killed the other resort guy! At least, that's what the cops think, so Fantasy Jimmy Buffett hires them to investigate and prove his innocence!

Turns out, Fantasy Jimmy Buffett didn't do it! They prove that super good, by proving that he's a vampire and all his staff are enslaved vampire thralls and one of them did it to frame him as revenge for the slavery thing! Congratulations, Vampire Jimmy Buffett! You are innocent, and also, toast.

Now that Jimmy Buffett is dead, there are definitely no more problems ever- WHOOPS all those vampire thralls are now no longer under orders to not eat the guests. Oops. Better do something about that.

While fixing the vampire situation, they meet Miriko, vampire middle management, who turns over a new leaf and helps them wrangle the thralls and gives them all of Jimmy Buffett's stuff, under definitely no duress at all. The party offering to smuggle her off of the island to evade punishment for vampire crimes had nothing to do with it.

The little girl they kidnapped wants to go to the fashion school on the island, though, so… Saelhen pays for that! All kidnappings well that end well! It's very expensive, but they have all of Jimmy Buffett's stuff now, which includes a lot of money. And would you look at that! All of Jimmy Buffett's stuff ALSO includes that very fancy boat from before! So… now the party has that!

They re-christen their new boat the Two-Faced Jewel, after its secret smuggling hold and definitely not to squeeze in a title drop- and now, they're off to the very dangerous jungle!

Next: adventures in the ghost dryad mafia jungle city, Thunderbrush!

[girltomboy]

Last week I started watching Yellowjackets

Since Succession is ending I will be left with nothing to watch regularly, and my bf is starting exams soon so we will not be able to hang out as much, I figured I'm going to need a replacement for my little solo evenings. I was ambivalent towards the pilot but it was entertaining regardless of my petty gripes with it so I kept watching (imagine my disappointment when I logged in the next day to see people shredding the season 2 finale). And last night I finished the first season and I just want to say so far this show blew my hair back. Like it got me staring at my screen, hand stuck in my hair, mouth hanging wide open. The plot got me thinking it was going to be some kind of 90s Survivor Euphoria with cannibalism, but it's really more like teenage Hannibal if it was Stranger Things for the kids, and Desperate Housewives in Orphan Black for the adults.

Initially I criticized it (in my head and my notes app) for not-great acting at times - I saw the post that said Juliette Lewis plays Natalie like she's constantly drunk and I can totally see it and it's kinda bugging me now - AND for playing too much music. Like, I appreciate needle drops when they have a purpose, but here I think the frequency is just excessive. I thought Nicholas Britell has turned me into a spoiled TV watcher with the Succession soundtrack, but honestly there are times in Yellowjackets when I'd just prefer silence. Anyway, those things are too minor to matter in my watching experience at this point because the show is too good so I got over them quickly.

I have a lot of thoughts about it; first of all, is it ever revealed that Callie is really Jeff's daughter? Or that she's the daughter Shauna carried and birthed in the wilderness? So far I'm just not entirely convinced. It is not lost on me that she seems to have a wonky relationship with meat, so I wonder if there's more to that or not.

Second, we still don't know if Adam was for real with Shauna or if he had any hidden intentions. Like, okay, he wasn't involved with the blackmailing, and also he's dead now and apparently his friends and family are looking for him, but that still doesn't mean he was fully honest with Shauna about who he is/what he wants, especially because she caught him lying a few times already, and his whole existence around her was excessively coincidental. By the way, the whole Jeff thing with the blackmail and stealing Shauna's stuff and everything was SO FORCED and weird like I would have preferred the cheating arc instead of this goofy stretch.

Moreover, young Taissa is shown to be skeptical of Lottie's visions and Van's faith, but adult Taissa is implied to have used the cult symbol/sacrifice for professional gain - at least that's what I gathered from it. So I assume this means her skepticism will be dropped in s2 or her sleepwalking takes a freaky turn. I already believe Lottie actually saw her eating dirt in the forest at night and it wasn't a dream or a vision, because when Taissa was bathing with Van in the lake, Van points out how dirty her nails are, and Taissa doesn't know why.

So far Van and Misty seem to have joined Lottie's little church, and at the end of the last episode, Nat's former sponsor Suzie implies Lottie is connected to the blackmail and the kidnapping, and ofc the cult. But if Van, Misty, and Lottie were first in the cult, why is adult Misty apparently clueless about it? I feel like she of all people should have a slight idea, or should be able to draw a connection, even as a theory.

I'm concerned by how little everyone seems to care that Javi straight up disappeared while he was tripping on shrooms. I did think Adam was Javi for a split second (when Shauna goes to his house the second time, the shot of his face fades into a shot of Javi at doomcoming) but apparently that is not the case, and it was a complete stretch (mainly because Javi would not be much younger than Shauna, and also they would probably recognize each other as adults) but just a lightning bolt thought I had. I think perhaps he went to his father's burial place, or maybe the lake, but after the snowfall I have very little hope of him still being alive.

Speaking of snow, I think Jackie died way too soon and too suddenly. I thought the whole Shauna's pregnancy with Jeff's baby - secret thing would drag on for at least a little bit longer. Like, it was just ridiculous, but also I assume the girls who were at the reunion (and Travis) were the only ones that made it back home? Or maybe the rest just didn't come? I know there's an adult Van from what spoilers I accidentally read from s2, but I'm curious to find out why they don't *all* stay in touch.

Anyway, I am enjoying the hell out of it, Flight of the Bumblebee was one of the best TV episodes I've seen in a while, and I'm going to start s2 today, but I've seen people complain about it so I'm not sure if it's the drama in the show or straight up the quality of the season that they were complaining about. So I'm going in with lower expectations.

[shadowscommand]

Can i ask if u have any thoughts on the current campaign and the way it's executed, the storyline and all that? So far I've only liked the way they handled Ghost and Soap where they bonded and shows a bit of character arc but even that seemed a tad forced, dunno maybe its just me but sometimes I can't help but think that some directions were thought out poorly despite writers passionately speaking of their story telling and all. Especially with them supposedly being interested in creating a Ghost spin off but im personally taking that with a grain of salt. Any constructive criticism??

uhh idk I feel like it was a downgrade from mw19 personally. i think the game was a ton of fun and i liked the plot fine but i rly do like mw when its like more serious. i don't like how absolutely no one has died. laswell literally got kidnapped and she lived thru it and we had to do that filler mission w farah. like it doesnt add anything except a farah and nikolao cameo + showing the new car mechanics. i do love the farah and nikolai moments and i think its fun of course when gaz is upsidedown and shooting but the mission literally didnt add anything. like why even have laswell get kidnapped. and like yea graves' turn was like. idk i dont totally agree it was out of character i just think it was done really poorly. and it was just a stupid plan like a new level of stupid from shep bc that would literally be like. a declaration of war to take over a military base? like they would not be able to stay there. or get away w that. so. idk. mws plot has never really been able to withstand looking at it very closely but i feel like this one was one of the worst ones even tho i do really like all the character moments. i like the banter between everyone i think it rly brings life into the game. i really really liked ghost in it i think they literally wrote him perfectly im taking him away from everyone actually and only letting him b in canon. newsoap is also fun i like when babies are smug. the pricegaz was mwah chefs kiss so cute. laswell was actually enjoyable i did not care for her in mw19 at all i didn't like enjoy her being the middleman for missions. i miss alex of course but I understand farah needs someone 2 clean her house and make her dinner while she is out doing hot girl shit w nikolai so I understand. also severely upset by the lack of nikolai in the campaign thats literally price's bestie and he wasnt his pilot for retaking the las almas base ??? iw should kill themseves for that. thats why price lost his cigars when the heli crashed. so like overall kind of mid but a really fun mid

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Fatal by Design by Cara Devlin

Bow Street Duchess #5

Excellent addition to the series with the ongoing slow burn sizzle of attraction between Audrey and Hugh finally catching fire as they solve another mystery. I couldn’t put it down and cannot wait to see what happens next!

What I liked:

* * Audrey: dowager duchess, married in name only for four years, has been attracted to Hugh throughout the series, loves solving mysteries, intelligent, impulsive, possesses paranormal psychometric abilities, has a big secret that she will share with Hugh

* Hugh: ex-principal Bow Street officer, scandal in his past, good friend of Dr. Thornton, well-educated and eloquent, protective, intelligent, accepting, intriguing, in love with Audrey, dealing with being the new Viscount Neatham after finding out he and not another was the legitimate heir

* Sir: born with the name Davy Given, a young man from the streets befriended and employed by Hugh as his assistant, savvy, capable, resourceful, look forward to seeing more of him in future books * Thornton: physician, Hugh’s friend, compassionate, volunteers time to the underprivileged, capable, supportive, widow that loved his wife, intriguing, might be ready to leave mourning and perhaps might be interested in Cassie

* Cassie: Audrey’s sister-in-law, had a misfortunate situation to deal with in the previous book that has left her less than willing to trust men, looking forward to seeing what her future holds in store for her

* Audrey’s in-laws who seem supportive, kind, and caring

* Millie: Audrey’s sister, widow, mother of four children, loved another but married off to someone else, has potential for true happiness, isn’t as horrible as she seemed in previous books

* The supporting characters Greer, Carrigan and Basil

* The plot, setting, pacing and writing

* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* The person doing the kidnapping, Audrey’s mother and uncle, and thinking about bigotry must have impacted people of color

Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Definitely!

Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

BLURB

A summer house party in the countryside takes a deadly turn after the abduction of a viscountess. After the shocking events of the spring, Audrey Sinclair and Hugh Marsden are adjusting to their new lives when an apparent highway robbery ends in the violent abduction of Audrey's sister. As callous as Millie has been in the past, Audrey can't turn her back on family. She'll do whatever it takes to find her sister, even if it means working with the man she's been avoiding for months: former Bow Street officer Hugh Marsden. Unsettled with his new role in society, and being deemed one of London's most eligible bachelors, Hugh is happy to fall back on his Bow Street skills to track down Lady Redding-and to see Audrey again. But the viscountess's disappearance is only half of the puzzle. A long-lost ring worth a fortune could be the driving force behind the deadly events, and as Audrey and Hugh unravel the truth-along with the secrets and complications surrounding their future-a killer closes in on the house party...and selects a new victim. The Bow Street Duchess Mystery continues with Fatal by Design, the newest Audrey Sinclair and Hugh Marsden investigation. Perfect for fans of the Lady Sherlock mysteries, the Veronica Speedwell mysteries, and PBS Masterpiece's Miss Scarlet & the Duke. Series Order: Book 1: Murder at the Seven Dials Book 2: Death at Fournier Downs Book 3: Silence of Deceit Book 4: Penance for the Dead Book 5: Fatal by Design (releasing Oct. 21, 2023) Book 6: Nature of the Crime (coming Jan. 2024)

[creppersfunpalooza]

here’s like the top ten and most are for koi and little aus i’ve done w him but i’ll specify when it’s not

tw: body horror/mutilation, list of autonomy, mention of chronic illness, stalking, drugging (nonconsensual), implied kidnapping, starvation, manipulation, mental and physical torture, emotional abuse/exploitation, bad parents/parental abuse, unconventional torture

- got ball jointed/turned into a living doll. This immobilized him. the whole process was painless however he was not put to sleep, only given a numbing and paralyzing agent. the person who did this is also someone koi does not get along with very well and does not trust in any sense of the word. they later threw him off of a balcony btw!! for like the second time!! except he couldn’t move this time!! it’s like a 50 feet drop!!! this was a rlly fun rp won’t even lie

- rosé’s whole process of becoming a “god” was incredibly painful both mentally and physically and considering how that all ended that makes it at least 10 times worse

- before the revamp maizaya was stalked for months and knocked out at random (mainly just to scare her, but she didn’t know that) and brought back to her house or locked in some random but relatively close location with no way out until someone would find her. that’s far from the worst but i thought it deserved a quick mention

- speaking of being trapped, probably the entire whiteout au!! just being forced to be someone you’re not for a good while and after your one failed attempt to escape, it’s brought into a literal sense. yes that doesn’t make sense and is vague but that’s because not everyone knows about the whiteout au and i like being mysterious…. literally my brain was like “how can i make a classic like royalty au canon and also filled with mindfuckery” and boy oh boy i could not be prouder of the result.

- come to think of it koi has it bad in like any au. his easiest is probably antitwin. so anyways next on the list is stainedrose. it’s mainly filled with tons of psychological torture, but there is physical stuff in it too. it’s once more one of the things i wanna be vague about both because it’s a little heavy (nothing too terrible if you’re used to my plots but if you’re not i would rather not have concerned mutuals) and because once more i like being vague and mysterious but the gist of it is koi ends up pretty much trapped for almost a year after doing literally nothing to deserve it and when he finally is “released” anything seems better than what he had. this makes him incredibly easy to manipulate! he also developed an emotional bond with the perpetrator which made it impossible to leave. there were plenty of opportunities for him to do so, but he just couldn’t and eventually lost any will or urge to escape.

- cruelstone in general. if you know anything about cruelstone you know why. it’s definitely the closest to the main timeline/story with the primary difference being that it’s less professional and instead of manipulating people around him through acts of conditional kindness, TBR uses more excruciating tactics and wastes no time developing “emotional connections”. it’s important to keep in mind that in the main plot the only reason koi stayed in the d.a. is because they convinced him that he was important and actually meant something. not here! nuh uh. also he never had his memory wiped and was taken by force and threatened into doing what they needed him to do. all around not fun. after everything is said and done, he asks to go home and lashes out when he’s told no. this does not end well for him.

- fun and not very well known fact: vian is adopted! except this fact is actually not all that fun. His adoptive parents had a very authoritarian view of parenting and obsessed over his success. they prioritized things like academics and achievements over his own happiness and health. he was already naturally gifted, but they pushed him just as hard. they wouldn’t let him sleep until he mastered a concept or skill and even used powerful stimulants to keep him awake. in the end, congrats, your kid got a highly respected and well paying job. only price you had to pay is now he can’t form genuine emotional connections with people and has a very warped perception of love and affection and constantly needs a sense of control over himself (which he cannot find) or another person. yippee.

- part of the whiteout au but tightlacing (like corsets) as a form of torture. definitely one of my favorite little contraptions. love those organ shifts and permanent changes in the bone structure!!!

- 90% of interactions between roman and koi end in one of them being severely injured in some way shape or form so those two are getting an honorable mention on this list. the ball joint thing was an example but i’m trying to think of more.

- i know it sounds silly but astir’s whole boarding school experience was fucking brutal. like that man was not left alone for five seconds. he went through some severe bullying and nobody really took it seriously or passed it off as hazing despite it going on for years. like the fact that he has minimal scarring from everything that happened to him is a miracle in itself. yeah he was not treated very kindly there. rich kids are wild……

i’m definitely like missing a few major ones but i can’t remember them or they were just scrapped ideas sooooo yeah here’s your list :333

most of these that aren’t backstory stuff were actual roleplays and i think that’s so funny for the people who just know me through hypercluster somehow stumbling across one of the other things. like hypercluster has its own level of Fucked Up Shit but that hasn’t entirely been discovered yet.

what's the worst thing you've put your oc through?

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 180

Freaks and Geeks/Asylum of the Daleks

“Freaks and Geeks”

Plot Description: Sam and Dean investigate some recent vampire kills and are surprised to learn that teenage hunter Krissy Chambers is involved

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: No non-supernatural-beings died, so thankfully I’m not a vampire

Dean’s so protective of everyone he adopts as a younger sibling. Bet this will IN NO WAY tie in to the trials Sam’s going through at the end of the episode

Ugh, I don’t like this guy in Krissy’s hunting team

It’s very funny to watch the differences between these teens way of hunting and the Winchesters’ way…and what resources each group has and can make use of. Yeah, the kids have the technology, but…….not saying the boys are rich by any stretch of the imagination, but they have access to money in ways these kids don’t

I’m fascinated by the two sides in this Krissy v Dean argument…they’re so alike.

This house is absolutely dreamy…

Ok so I was wrong about the resources thing. This dude Victor is providing them with all they could need to be hunters but also…almost normal teens, hunting aside

You shut up about Garth, Victor

Wait. Does Dean think that Victor see all this up? That…somehow the vampires aren’t to blame for all this?? I wouldn’t be super surprised

Is the blue van hoodie guy working with Victor?? Creating vampires for these kids to hunt? Fuck. Looks like it

What the fuuuuuuuuuuuuck. No. Victor had all these kids’ families killed by a vampire to get the kids to start hunting, then recruited the kids, had the vampire turn others INTO vampires as easy kills for the kids as part training, part manipulation (telling them these newly made vamps were responsible for their families’ deaths even though they couldn’t be). That’s fucked up.

Well, I suppose that’s ONE way to resolve how to deal with Victor

Krissy just told Dean he wasn’t so bad for an old guy…Now, I’ve kind of lost track of how old Dean is supposed to be, what with “do his four months in hell and full year in purgatory count as time being ALIVE??”, but Jensen at this point is a year younger than I am now. And so that feels like a bit of a gut punch, but also Krissy’s like 16. I’m glad she sees someone twenty years her senior as old. That’s fine

Oh no. Oh actually ok. I ALSO thought Dean was gonna give that guy the “I’ll kill you if you ever hurt her” speech…jokes on both of us, Krissy will kill that kid if he ever hurts her

“Asylum of the Daleks”

Plot Description: when the Doctor is kidnapped by his oldest foe, he is forced on an impossible mission

That IS the way to kidnap the Doctor though…make him believe there is someone in need of help

Karen I’m so sorry I paused at this second. You’re still so pretty

I’m not ready to see Amy and Rory separated…now divorced, as long as the paperwork gets turned in

But, uh, the Daleks took them too

That’s…a LOT of Daleks…

But truly……..yeah, I’d be confused too, were I the last Time Lord and being asked to save the Daleks

CLARA!! (I know she’s Oswin or whatever in this episode but 😝)

The Daleks have such absolutely CUTTING lines. Nothing the Doctor says to them even COMPARES. He just told them his disgust in them has somehow deepened because they won’t kill Daleks they can’t control because of their exquisite hatred. And how terrible it is they find hatred beautiful. And the Prime Minister of the Daleks goes “maybe that’s why we’ve never been able to kill you” like…I am KICKING MY FEET

Rory, I love you. He can somehow find it in himself to be fair to the Daleks’ plan to fire the Doctor at a planet and expect him to fix it. Yes. That’s exactly his M.O. but should you say that?? Questionable

This guy’s a Dalek too, right??

The way it’s so obvious NOW that Oswin/Clara is a Dalek, but it was such a good twist back then

The way Rory always gets the short end of the stick…gets fired onto a planet and blasted to the core of it, it seems, and into a room of Daleks

It took you scanning them with your screwdriver to be able to see that they’re dead??

Amy lost her get out of being a dalek free bracelet…..doesn’t Rory end up giving his to her??

Ahhhhhh Rory…no. Why/how’d you wake them all up???

God…literally all the signs are there. Amy seeing the Daleks the way they’re seeing themselves instead of as Daleks

I know I should be grateful for a bigger budget for this show but…I miss the low quality version

Omggggggggggggg. You say cold and logical but you’re talking about how much love you have for Amy, Rory.

Why was this time period the big era of “I can’t have kids so I’m not good enough/not enough of a woman/etc etc etc” in media? Maybe I can only think of two instances (this and the MCU) but damn, those were and still are big properties

How bad did she get that she had to be put into a room past the intensive care Daleks and then also chained down???

Omg she erased ALL the memories the Daleks have of the Doctor

I really thought the Amy and Rory drama lasted at least one more episode but I’m not mad

[thewrongmoon]

Interview with the Vampire and ST analysis

TL;DR concrete parallel only version:

I'm pretty sure the visual inspiration here was how Henry looks post-being burnt to a crisp and Lestat looks post- being killed and thrown into a swamp.

Full narrative analysis + more speculation:

Character Parallels:

So I can say pretty confidently that Lestat was inspiration for Henry/One/Vecna.

Not only are they extremely similar in appearance, but they also kind of serve to be the antagonist for their respective series.

They have a very similar energy and demeanor-- they can be softer and charismatic in one moment and completely angry and unhinged in the next. They're both manipulative, egotistical, and intelligent.

I think it's likely that the directors had Jamie Campbell Bower study Tom Cruise's performance in this film for reference. And Tom Cruise absolutely killed it btw I've never really cared about him before but he's great in this movie. Like he's not the main character but he's definitely the best part.

He's the first vampire we see in the film. He's mysterious but intriguing.

I think that out of all the characters, Louis parallels the best with Will. You could also find some similarities with El too I think, especially because El has a more established connection with Henry in season 4. But in terms of personality Louis matches Will better.

Louis and Will are both "pure" souls. They don't like to harm living things, humans especially. They see the best in others. They have an air of innocence to them, especially in contrast to characters like Lestat and Henry. They're kind, nurturing and gentle.

Actually, I'm just realizing this now, but El might be more similar to Claudia. (Both child protégées, trained to kill, revolt against their mentor figure, both lost their mother and later regain a new mother figure.)

Plot similarities:

SPOILER WARNING!! but the movie is free and also almost thirty years old, so you have no excuse to have not seen it at this point tbf

Lestat attacks Louis after spending time watching him. Henry kidnaps Will after spending time watching him. Lestat kills and turns Louis. Henry possibly kills and turns connects Will to the hivemind.

Louis agrees to join Lestat in vampirehood but hates killing. Lestat tries again and again to force him to kill, but Louis refuses. Louis would take eating rats or chickens over harming an actual human. Lestat is frustrated, and finishes his kills for Louis, but it angers him.

Similarly, we see Will try his hardest to fight off the mindflayer. He's weak, traumatized, losing weight. Despite this, he still resists.

In a moment of weakness, Louis kills his first victim: a young girl who's mother has died. He's terrified of what he's done, but Lestat is downright giddy when he sees what Louis has done. Louis goes in the sewer and sulks and eats rats.

Lestat ends up saving the young girl by turning her into a vampire. He guilts Louis into co-parenting her with him, seeing as Louis was the one who killed her.

It's hard to find a parallel to this at the moment, but seeing as Henry is so manipulative, it's likely that he will find something similar to force Will into cooperating with him to extent.

Claudia is extremely attached to Louis and favors him as her parent. This causes tension between her and her other dad, especially when she learns that she can never age.

Claudia plots to kill Lestat. Louis also wants freedom, but he's been with Lestat so long that he doesn't think there's even a way out.

Claudia kills Lestat by poisoning him and slitting his throat. She and Louis then throw him in a swamp.

But, surprise, he's not actually dead, he fed off the frogs and alligators in the swamp to regain his strength.

El was also pretty sure she killed Henry, but she later learns that he survived and actually became even stronger.

Louis sets Lestat on fire, thinking he killed him, and they flee to Europe.

Louis and Claudia meet another vampire when they're there: Armand.

Armand is tricky to find a parallel to? He can parallel Henry, but he also might similar to Mike, or maybe even Owens.

Louis and Armand have some weird little homo-erotic scenes together, Armand tells Louis that he's special, that he's not like other vampires. He's not as apathetic as other vampires, not as cruel. He has "the heart of a human."

Claudia, jealous that her dad has a boyfriend, forces Louis to turn a woman, Madeline, so she can be Claudia's new parental figure.

Claudia ends up being sentenced to death after the Paris vampires learn she killed one of their kind. Louis gets a lighter sentence, getting buried inside the catacomb walls. While he's buried, though it's not for long, the Paris vampires have enough time to kill both Claudia and Madeline.

Armand frees Louis. Louis is upset by Claudia's death and seeks revenge. He sets all the Paris vampires on fire, killing them.

Armand plans on running away with Louis as his companion. But Louis refuses, not wanting to change for Armand and also blaming him for not doing anything to stop Claudia's murder.

Louis comes back home to New Orleans. Miraculously, Lestat has survived, barely, but he's still there.

Lestat and Louis share some more gay-ass dialogue together. Lestat tries to convince Louis to join him. He thinks that with his help he can return to his former glory.

Louis refuses. He's not mad at Lestat. He's actually felt guilty for betraying Lestat for centuries. But he still doesn't want to join him. Lestat's goals are just fundamentally different from his own.

Louis leaves alone to ???? and Lestat ends up trying to turn another man at the very end of the film.

If the parallels were to be super 1-to-1 (which they obviously aren't lol) this could foreshadow El's death. And also the fate of Will and Henry's relationship. No hatred or aggression on Will's part. Desperation on Henry's part. But still they do not join forces.

Again, super speculative. The only things for certain is the visual parallel (and even then there's other possible visual parallels for that particular scene) and Lestat's inspiration for Vecna/Henry/One's character.

tiktok version of this analysis here !

[astaroth1357]

Brothers React to a Demigod MC 

So, I've gotten some interest to do a Brothers follow-up to a previous request of mine (Undateables React to a Cute, Badass MC), however, I've thus far refused to write one. Honestly, this HC actually plays on a trope I personally dislike and had it not been a request I would have never done it to start with. I just can't see any reasonable way a non-magic human can beat a bunch of demons, I just can't, and that hinders my imagination quite a bit. …But someone who’s not so human? That I can get behind. Fair warning, I grew up with the Percy Jackson series so that’s going to paint quite a bit of how I see modern demigods. Ready for things to get super-ultra fanfic-y for a bit?

Intro:

The day to kidnap bring the exchange students to the Devildom has finally come and the demons have all gathered in the Council Room to open their portal to the human world. Really, things started without a hitch - the portal opened with and their future student dropped down out of it and landed on the floor… before they suddenly leapt up, pulled out a weapon, and lunged at them!

… This isn’t your normal human, it is?

Lucifer

Oh Devil, this couldn’t have been any farther than what they wanted… They were looking for a human and they managed to pull out a halfling! A divine halfling no less!! Why wasn’t this in their file?!

Look, Lucifer might not be on good terms with his father, but even he knows he had it better than any children of the pagan gods… The levels of petty vindictiveness that run through that bunch are literally the stuff of legends...

After he and Barbatos were able to restrain the MC before they hurt themselves or anyone else, Diavolo explained everything to them and gave them a pardon for attacking the Demon Prince on sight… After they identified themselves and their parentage, Lucifer knew they were in for some shit…

He and Diavolo had to iron out an apology letter to their godly parent for days just to keep from saying anything that could accidentally cause a second Troy or worse... It was a mess...

But on the bright side, the “human” came pre-prepared for fighting monsters and demons, which honestly took a bit of a load off his shoulders. That’s less responsibility for Mammon - and in his experience, the less responsibility Mammon has, the better things usually turn out.

… Though their ability to actually hold their own in a fight did make things complicated sometimes - like whenever he was their perceived opponent... 

He wasn’t expecting to have to manage a being that was actually capable of meeting him toe-to-toe on the battlefield and it did hinder his intimidation factor to some degree…It was hard to be threatening to someone who’s likely faced worse than you could ever offer.

In the end it probably worked out for the best, as a live exchange student is better for Diavolo than a dead one - but man did it get on his nerves until they made their pact together… Be scared of him, dammit!

Mammon

The first time he tried to threaten the human, they straight up pulled out a weapon and looked like they were ready to whip his ass!! Didn’t they know he wasn’t being serious?? 😫

He really didn’t know why he had to be on babysitting duty, anymore... This huma-er demigod could handle themselves just fine!

When he first ditched them with Levi, he later found out they managed to cleanly toss his brother over their head and make a break for it all by themselves! And Levi’s no pushover either!!

Later, he saw them getting ambushed on their way back from school and they soundly knocked out about five demons before he even caught up to them… and he’s, like, fast and stuff… 

Their strength is kind of unreal at times, but he could tell they were still far from a mindless killing machine. They were more or less a normal person, they had wants and dreams like anybody else, but they just happened to be a long stronger than the average mortals around them. 🤷‍♀️

After he eventually got to know them and a bit about how their life worked, he felt a little bad for them... Who wants to be hunted down just for being born?

After learning about their struggles, Mammon ended up resolving to help keep them safe (even if a part of him knew they didn’t need him that much).

I mean, if the whole world’s against you, then you can use all the help you can get... right?

Leviathan 

Levi found out exactly one thing about them within the first two minutes of meeting them… their reflexes were killer.

After Mammon ditched them on Day One, he tried to drag the human to his room to tell them his genius plan but they broke out of his grip and threw him flat on his back like was just second nature! 

He was stuck on the ground for a full minute, trying to process what just happened, while they ran off into the House all alone…

Did he just get tossed around… by a human?? Was he really that pathetic!?!

Finding out later that they were actually half-god certainly helped out his self-esteem because, man, if he had lost so easily to a human of all things... He might have just never left his room again…

Levi pretty much kept his distance from them until they finally made a pact together and then he discovered that the MC wasn’t so scary after all. If he’s being honest, being in the same house as a demigod was actually kind of cool...! 

Like, it was almost exactly the plot of the show: “Wait, I Thought I Was the Son of a Pagan God So What Am I Doing in a Christian Hell??” but their MC seemed to know a lot more about fighting than the protagonist of that show ever did…

Plus, because he never had to worry about their safety, he had even more excuse to never leave his room. Win-win!

Satan

A demigod, eh…? He had done plenty of research into human world mythologies in his spare time, frankly he thought the old gods had died out - but it seems they were still up and kicking… and making babies for whatever reason? Horny bastards...

Satan's original interest in the MC was purely academic. It’s not everyday that you get to meet someone of such a unique heritage and he fully intended to learn if all the legends about their greatness were true… and well...

He could say that the MC was certainly different than how he pictured humans being. He’d never met very many before, but from what he could gather they were a weak race that really got by on wit and persistence… However, nothing about the MC was weak.

Their aptitude for combat was surprisingly sharp, both in skill and reflexes. He had once blown up at them in anger and not only did they dodge his swipes but they got in a good few hits themselves with a nearby lamp… He never once thought a mortal could give him a black-eye but, somehow, they pulled it off. 🤷‍♀️

Combine their physical skill with what magical gifts were granted to them by their godly-half and they were a force to be reckoned with… Even Solomon seemed to hesitate and think more about his actions around them (which is saying something for a sorcerer of his strength).

It’d be fair to say a part of him grew to respect the MC long before they ever made their pact and that respect only grew afterwards. If he had to be bound to any master, human or otherwise, he’d rather it be one that he could right about consider an equal not only as a friend, but in strength as well.

Asmodeus 

A demigod…? Oooo, he hadn’t come across one of those since he bedded Aeneas all those centuries ago… Such a gorgeous man, got all his looks from his mother~! 🤭

Asmo was probably the most interested in their godly heritage, but it felt like he was treating them like a zoo exhibit for a while… Something pretty and new to look at, but not exactly someone he wanted to know personally...

He openly and readily admitted that watching their little demigod in action got him hot and bothered (or well, more hot and bothered than usual ) but it didn’t take him to see they weren’t interested at the time…

He decided that he just had to have a pact with them after they saved him from Henry 1.0! It was before he noticed the giant snake and he was lurching back to strike, but the human swept in to knock him out of the way. They probably could have made mince meat of the creature themselves if Levi weren’t begging for them to spare his former pet...

Post-pact Asmo treated them with a lot more respect… but also still fanboyed over their fighting skills hardcore. 

Like, their body had to be fit to keep up with all those monsters, right?? What was their training routine? Could he watch?? Oh please say he can watch!! He just can’t get enough of that fighter’s physique…! 😍

Beelzebub 

So… the human isn’t a human but only part human? And the other part is a god? Does that make them any sturdier than normal humans…? Call him curious…

Beel was probably one of the few brothers who was legitimately weary of the MC from the beginning… He can get a certain feel for a person pretty quickly and something about them just felt…frankly, kind of dangerous.

But they also intrigued him a little… Beel’s used to being one of the strongest demons in any room he walks into (not a boast, just a fact) so for him to get that feel from a mortal was pretty impressive. A part of him just wanted to test them… you know?

So. He did. He asked them to help him train his martial arts one day and even with his awareness, he was not expecting the results that he got.

The MC was strong. Very strong. They were not only able to keep up with him and dodge his blows, but they were able to predict his moves and counterattack in kind. They didn’t even need to tell him that they had actually been fighting for their life for years, he could tell. They had a skill you don’t get from practice matches...

After that point, the two would go to each other to train and keep their skills sharp… but also just to spar for fun. Their fighting styles made a pretty good match and they bonded pretty damn quick because of it. 

If anime tells us anything, when you find a good fight buddy, you stick with them. Even if one’s part god and the other is a demon. 🤷‍♀️ 

Belphegor 

A demigod is still human enough to hate, sorry MC. Not that he knew about their godly heritage at first…

Really, he should have been a little more suspicious of how easily they seemed to take to life in the Devildom... Weren’t demons supposed to scare humans? Why did they seem so comfortable down here...?

His confirmation only came when he tried to enact the final part of “Use the MC to Escape the Attic!” plan and take their life to seal the deal… but oh boy, was he outclassed real quick… 

The MC had already socked him in the jaw by the time he got his full demon form out and then they threw him across the room by the tail… the TAIL!! And it hurt like a bitch, too!! Even during the full blown fight that followed, he could tell they were holding back and it pissed him off something fierce...!

Why was the MC so strong?!? Humans weren’t supposed to be strong!!!

His brothers heard all the commotion and the Lilith confrontation ended up happening up in the attic between a somewhat beat-up Belphie and a barely-scratched MC. Had Beel not come to his defense on instinct, it might have turned out worse for him in all honesty… Something about that human just wasn’t right…

He only found out about their god-half after everything settled down and he promised not to try killing them again (not that anyone thought he could...) and that put some things into perspective. So the Lastborn Ruler of Hell isn’t as strong as one mortal demigod…? Ouch. Okay, fine then... Whatever...

He does think it’s too bad he missed them beating the crap out of the rest of his brothers, though (minus Beel)... That would have been fun to see. 😔

So I tried to keep this one God-parent neutral, but I’ve upgraded this to its own series! Check it out if you’re interested! 😊

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes

[blackkatmagic]

Ferus's items keep showing up in the Coruscant Guard Lost & Found, and Fox gets suspicious, thinking it's some kind of a conspiracy (it is, but it's the other Guard commanders conspiring to set Fox and Ferus up)

“Your lightsaber,” Fox repeats, bland.

“And two 434 Deathhammers,” Ferus say, polite but mildly desperate. Fox is judging him for it, but—Fox is also the one who left him sitting in the waiting area outside his office for almost four hours, so maybe he’s judging a little less than he could. Repeatedly making eye contact with him through the window whenever he stood up to get some caf was probably uncalled for.

Fox makes a show of checking his pad, though they only have five suspicious weapons in their “seized and held” locker right now, and at this point Fox can pick Ferus's weapons out of a lineup. They're usually more well-cared-for than the average smuggler’s kit. “Any relation to the two 434 Deathhammers someone took of Cad Bane last month?” he asks, maybe just a little pointed. Cad Bane is a pain in the ass. Cad Bane tearing through the undercity looking for whoever stole his weapons and left him hanging after an apparent seduction, however, is funny as hell.

Ferus looks more or less unrepentant, which—if he seduced Bane into meeting him in a sleezy hotel, stole all of his sensitive information, his clothes, and his blaster, and bailed before things could get heavy, it’s an expression Fox will admit he earned. If it didn’t make Fox want to punch Bane in the face so much, he might even give Ferus a standing ovation.

“They might,” he says evenly, “have a passing resemblance, yes.”

“Did you know,” Fox says conversationally, “that vigilantism is illegal, even for Jedi?”

“Former Jedi,” Ferus corrects, like he isn't the most Jedi bastard Fox has ever met, right down to the fact that he’s unreasonably pretty and inclined to give Fox a migraine. “And I'm quite sure I don’t know what you mean, Commander Fox.”

Fox narrows his eyes at Ferus. This is the fourth time in six weeks that he’s had to come fetch his lost weapons after a Guard raid managed to scoop them up. Fox is beginning to suspect a conspiracy, though he can't quite tell what the point is. Figuring out the layout of the Guard office, maybe, though—well. If someone wants to steal all of his paperwork, Fox won't exactly put up a fight.

He pretends very, very hard that he’s not distracted by every perfectly-pressed line of Ferus, or by the desperate need to rumple him just a little. It’s unbecoming. It’s unproductive. Fox is probably going to have to toss him in a holding cell at some point, and having slept with him will make that unbearably messy.

“If you keep losing your weapons, I'm going to start charging you rent,” he warns, and turns the pad around for Ferus to sign. Ferus grimaces, faintly rueful, and leans in—

Above his head, Fox locks eyes with Thorn, who’s staring. Who’s watching, and his face is Fox’s face; Fox knows exactly what dastardly plotting looks like, and that’s it. That’s it exactly, and Thorn is watching Ferus like he’s about to drag him into something ridiculous.

Fox doesn’t feel protective. He doesn’t. Thorn breaks hearts from ten paces, has a list of past lovers longer than Fox is tall, and all of them have broken hearts and would throw themselves down naked in front of Thorn the moment he crooked a finger at them. The thought of Ferus becoming the next name on that list makes Fox see red, just a little, and it’s not the red of Thorn’s helmet impacting Thorn’s kriffing face.

Never before has Fox wanted the ability to move things without touching them, but if he could tip Thorn’s insouciantly tilted chair all the way over without moving away from Ferus, he’d die a happy bastard.

Normally, this is the point where Fox would hand Ferus off to Thorn or Stone or one of the other clones kicking around the office, but in light of recent developments, he gives Thorn a look that could kill a lesser man and pulls his pad back, then deliberately plants a hand on Ferus's back.

“Come on,” he says. “You can tell me how you forced Cad Bane to run twelve levels in a pillowcase on our way to the locker.”

Ferus flushes faintly, but he doesn’t even attempt to protest. “I don’t know what you're talking about,” he says with dignity, but when Fox slants him a narrow look he relents with a wince and says, “However, if I did, I would assume that he was drunk and told me all about a plan to kidnap Force-sensitive children, and he had it coming.”

Fox is going to like this story, he can already tell.

[On AO3]