#i was truly caught off guard when this started happening & it really upset me!!!

[thebramblewood]

RIP Domino. No one realized he had so little time left, but he was still able to get in one last ride with Declan before going off to jump barrels in the sky. 😢

[dawnrider]

For the bodyguard au prompt, can I please request InuKag:

"You're not paid enough to die."

"Sometimes it's not about the money."

I love all of your stories by the way! You’re an incredible writer!

@somegoodcrumbs you are so sweet! Thank you!🥰

This one-shot... very much got away from me. 😅 I started it this morning and well... 😐

In The Blood || 3375 Words || CW: Injury, blood, villain death

Inuyasha groaned, cursing the way his vision blurred for a moment. He had to pull it together, and fast. Kagome was depending on him. As it was, she was fussing over him, trying to bind his shoulder so it would stop bleeding everywhere and to stabilize the joint a little. “A sword! In this day and age!” She was ranting at an inconsistent volume, sometimes mumbling, sometimes stage whispering loudly in his ear. She knew to keep quiet so as not to give away their position, but she was obviously upset.

“They’re youkai, Kagome. They don’t give… ah… a shit about modern social conventions.” He gasped as she cinched the makeshift bandage particularly tight to add compression to the wound. While grateful for her help, and that she knew what to do, he hated that she was so proficient at it. He was supposed to be strong enough not to need tending, but it had happened enough times in his tenure as her personal guard that it had become old hat to her at this point.

That didn’t mean he didn’t get an earful about it every single time.

“You really should be…” he grunted as he shifted against the wall, twisting his ears to listen for any pursuers, “making a run for it. While you can. I don’t know how long it’ll be before they recover enough to follow.”

She huffed at him. “I’m not leaving you here to die.”

“It’s my job to die for you if it means you are safe,” he reminded her. Except it was far more than his job at this point. His very being thrummed with the need to make sure she was safe. Which really made him want to move, to get her to safety, but his body just couldn’t cooperate yet.

Kagome barely restrained herself from punching him in the shoulder. “You're not paid enough to die,” she reminded him, trying to sound lighthearted. Inuyasha could hear the tremble in her voice, smell the tears collecting in her eyes. He caught her cheek, turning her toward him.

"Sometimes it's not about the money."

She sucked in a breath, swallowing a sob. He both loved and hated that she was trying so hard to be brave for his sake. It spoke to who she was, strong and kind. But it broke his heart that he was so weak that they were in this situation now. “You idiot,” she breathed.

Inuyasha froze when her lips found his unsuspecting. Her breath was soft, shaky, but he could feel the conviction behind it. Why? echoed in his brain, rattling around in his skull. So stunned by her kiss, it didn’t truly register that it was happening until it was over.

He didn’t miss the embarrassment that flickered on her face, but was quickly squashed by a serious frown. “Can you stand at least? I think I can get to a car.”

“Kagome…”

“I remember how to hotwire it and I can pull it up so you can get in.” Inuyasha growled. “Then we can get out of here and…”

“Kagome!” She jolted, turning to look at him. She was wide eyed and a little pale. Inuyasha never wanted her to look at him like that again. She was just close enough that he could tug her shirt, pulling her off balance and into his lap. He tucked her head under his chin, his good arm looping around her shoulders to hold her against him. “Just give me a little more time. I’ll be ready soon.” She nodded.

Inuyasha wasn’t sure how long they sat there in silence, the cold concrete of the parking garage pillar against his back. His ears were constantly on a swivel, listening for any sign that they’d been found by the youkai out to destroy the one geneticist who could finally make it so youkai didn’t outlive their human partners by centuries. Or lose them to illness or injury. A discovery that harmed no one had become the source of a spattering of rallies and attempts to get her lab shut down.

Inuyasha didn’t understand why it infuriated them so much. It would benefit so many. Even other youkai who were not as long-lived! It was rare, but hanyou with youkai partners could stay with their mates as well. There were too many youkai that had withered away after the loss of their mates to ignore the benefit to youkai. Their numbers weren’t exactly growing exponentially… 

A few of the more vocal rabble rousers had been screaming about human vampires stealing their blood, but he had discounted them as anti-science misanthropes. The kinds of people who refused to actually read what the science said, or even attempt to understand it.

Today they learned the hard way that some were willing to take it further than yelling…

In hindsight, the press conference to try to clear up misunderstandings had been a mistake. It had given the enemy a chance to corner them out in public with advanced notice of when and where she would be. The lab had organized a relatively small crowd of journalists, not wanting to overwhelm Kagome. She was a scientist, not a public figure. She was a better speaker than one might have guessed, and she handled all the questions accurately and gracefully. It wasn’t until the end when they were leaving that disaster struck.

Fortunately, the attackers hadn’t expected a hanyou bodyguard.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, one of them carried a sword and knew how to use it.

He managed to beat them off, incapacitate them just enough that he’d been able to scoop Kagome up and make a run for it. After leaping several tall buildings in more than a few bounds, he’d lost too much blood to keep going, forcing him to find a place to hide them until he could recoup some strength.

The itchiness woke him, startling him when he couldn’t recall having drifted off. The soft hands against his chest soothed him enough to keep from jumping up, looking around wildly. “It’s ok. We’re ok,” she whispered. She was still in his lap, still curled against his chest, whispering soothingly to calm his racing heart. “There’s an access door over there. I think I can get it open.”

“How long have you been thinking about that?” He took in a sharp breath as the itching became nearly unbearable. Good, it’s healing. “How long have I been out?”

“Only about twenty minutes, really.” He frowned. That was a lie, but he wasn’t going to call her on it. “Are you alright if I…”

“I can move now, I think,” he murmured, gently shifting her off his lap and taking a minute to press his fingers to the wound to try to lessen the itch. There was only minor discomfort instead of pain now, a dramatic improvement, but he could tell that if he tried to use the arm too much, it would reopen the stab wound. His next goal was to get on his feet at least, a feat in itself, but he managed it without swaying. Mostly.

“Are you sure?” Kagome asked, her lower lip caught anxiously in her teeth. He nodded, then took several steps, making sure they didn’t echo on the concrete. “This way,” she breathed, hesitating before taking hold of his good hand. Inuyasha winced that she was suddenly so wary of him, but he understood.

He realized that she’d taken her heels off and stuffed them in her purse, now walking in her bare feet to make her steps as silent as possible. He wanted to lift her, keep her from potentially hurting herself… but he just couldn’t trust that shoulder yet. 

The door was old, but it was clearly a security access. Which meant a phone.

Benefit of concrete structure: sturdy, blocked scents, muffled youki.

Drawback: Really, really, bad cell service.

Kagome found a small section of pipe near the stairwell and handed it over, Inuyasha using the leverage to pry open the door. There was an ungodly screech of rusted metal bending, but the lock popped in response to Inuyasha's inhuman strength. Grimacing at the racket, he ushered Kagome into the relatively small room, pulling the door shut behind them. It was dark and the lights didn’t work. Inuyasha was beginning to fear any phone they might find might not either.

He covered his eyes reflexively when a light popped up. “Phone’s good for something at least,” Kagome murmured. Shining it around the space, she made a small sound of triumph when she spotted a phone handset in the corner. She was quick to pick it up, sighing in relief when the distinct sound of a dial tone filled their ears. The line ringing was like music and Miroku’s voice on the other end sounded heavenly. “Yes, we’re ok. Mostly. Well…” She glanced at him. Inuyasha gave her a look, wiggling his ears at her. Can hear every word. She sighed, then told him the building address where they were, going off of the information on the dusty old business cards on the desk. “We don’t know where they are, but they haven’t found us yet.” Miroku was silent for a long moment before conveying that the team would be there to pick them up within ten minutes. “We’re on the fourth level down. Can you… Yes I know but… Miroku, we’re lucky he’s standing.”

Inuyasha snarled at that. “I can get us to street level.”

“Inuyasha…”

“I can do that. I wouldn’t risk it if I couldn’t do it.”

Kagome sighed. “Alright. I’m trusting you.”

His golden eyes flashed. “Better be.”

She stayed on with Miroku as long as they could to make sure everything was going to plan until they needed to make their way up. The garage was still silent aside from the occasional drip of condensation from a ventilation unit and the small amount of outside noise that drifted down through the central spiral. Inuyasha insisted on going first, keeping her close at his back so she was behind him.

The warmer air from outside was just barely tangible once they reached the second floor down, the humidity feeling a little sickly. Inuyasha slowed his steps at the sound of something moving, as if shifting through paper. Kagome grabbed the back of his shirt and he lightly gripped her arm to pull her around to his front.

Not a moment too soon as a tail the size of a firehose came flying at them from over the sidewall of the ramp above.

Biting back a yelp, Inuyasha hauled Kagome off her feet into his arms and leapt out of the way. There wasn’t much room to move, and they weren’t high enough in the structure for there to be openings for him to escape through. Damned underground garage!

“You are trapped. Give usss the woman and you live, hanyou.” The sound of what they now knew to be scales over concrete made Kagome shiver in fear. “Ssshe will bleed usss all dry. Even you.” Inuyasha only held her closer.

“The fact that you refuse to understand the science is only part of why you’re stupid!” The snake didn’t take kindly to that, rearing up and hissing at them, baring its fangs. Inuyasha just barely tucked them out of the way as it lunged at them, ready to strike. He needed to get further up the ramp, get them closer to the team coming for them so he could at least pass Kagome off to friendly hands. He got them halfway to the spiral before the stomping of feet stopped him in his tracks. The distinct sound of metal scraping against the concrete made his ears flip back in discomfort.

The damned sword again… Kagome whimpered, turning toward him and instinctively covering his injured shoulder with her hand. “Got off light the first time, dog. Won’t make that mistake twice.” This youkai was more human in appearance and Inuyasha got the feeling he was some form of cursed-human-turned-youkai. Perhaps a warrior who went too far and was overtaken. It was a lot more common in centuries past but, as Kagome said before, in this day and age?

“Keh. You’re just pissed I got the best of both of you.”

The youkai grinned, baring sharpened teeth. “I considered letting you live to wallow in your failure after killing the scientist bitch, but now… I don’t care.” The change in his tone was all the warning Inuyasha got before the youkai was in motion, faster than expected, and his leap to the side went awry. Kagome tumbled from his hold, yelping in surprise as much as pain. Inuyasha felt the heat of blood bloom on his chest. His shoulder screamed as he scrambled to get up, tried to get to Kagome. But the youkai was there, slicing at him so that he had to dance out of the way, putting more distance between he and Kagome. Inuyasha snarled.

“Behind!” Kagome’s call gave him just enough warning to elude the snake trying to lunge for his back, leaping up and catching hold of a pipe and swinging out of the way. The snake couldn’t stop its momentum, sending it headfirst into the blade of its comrade who seemed to hold no regard for his compatriot.

“Stupid,” the blade-wielding youkai spat, flicking the blood onto the concrete and stepping over the snake now still on the ground. Inuyasha used his swing to his advantage, piking himself over the youkai’s head as he tried to take a swipe at him and took off toward Kagome.

“Move!” he commanded her, yanking her into his side as he continued up the ramp. The other youkai was not all that far behind, his heavy breathing and deranged laughter ringing in the echoey space. He wasn’t as fast over longer distances, the strategic part of Inuyasha’s mind noted. “No wonder you lost us before. Stupid and slow!” Part of him hoped the rage would cause the youkai to make a mistake. One he could take advantage of…

“Maybe don’t antagonize the asshole getting ready to swing a sword at you, Moron,” came a voice from above. Inuyasha didn’t believe in angels, and definitely not in the form of mangy wolves, but Kouga’s voice was a godsend.

“Take her, Dipshit!” Despite their banter, Kouga didn’t hesitate to leap down, landing lightly and scooping up Kagome on the fly. She squealed at the sudden change of pace, her eyes wide and face pale over Kouga’s shoulder as the distance between them increased. Inuyasha forced his eyes away from her and increased his speed just enough to outrun the youkai at his heels. He needed a better way to disarm his opponent. He couldn't move fast enough to knock him out the way he had before. Certainly not without getting another hole in his person for his trouble. As it was, his right arm was practically useless.

The blood isn't, the thought came unbidden. 

Inuyasha glanced around, wondering if he was beginning to lose it from blood loss. 

Blades of Blood. It was a command and one he seemed inclined to obey. 

Without realizing, his left hand plunged his claws into his own wound. He rotated, continuing his backward momentum while flinging the blood coating his fingers toward the gnashing face of his pursuer. The youkai howled in pain, slowing to a stop and dropping the sword to the ground with a clatter. Inuyasha was stunned… But not as stunned as when he slammed backward into the sidewall of the ramp and knocked the wind out of himself.

He almost went over too, and would have had a hand not shot out to catch his torn and bloodied shirt. “Miss Kagome will be very upset if you fall, you know.”

“Y-Yea,” he rasped. Pretty sure there’s a broken rib or four in there… “Thanks, Jinenji.” The much larger hanyou nodded his head, hefting Inuyasha up and onto the next level of the ramp one handed. The youkai who had been chasing them was still screaming his rage, but Inuyasha saw the tail end of a black coat disappear around the corner.

A moment later and the youkai was silent.

Miroku wouldn’t kill him… probably. Tempting as it might be when he had ambushed them, tried to kill them both, and even killed his own partner. They needed information, and Miroku was very, very, good at getting it.

Sniffling sobs met his ears when he was able to focus again, grimacing when a soft weight collided with his side. “Inuyasha!” Her eyes were scrunched closed and she had a reddened scrape across her cheek and forehead. But she was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. She was alive, and mostly unharmed. “Now I have to wrap you up all over again!”

Inuyasha let out a weak laugh. Definitely a few broken ribs. “You can wrap me up as many times as you want.” He fought back a grin at the annoyed look on her face. “I know, I know, you wouldn’t have to if I was more careful.”

“Can you move?” Miroku’s voice asked distractedly. His eyes were on the bound youkai being carried out of the parking structure by Jinenji and Kouga, the wolf bitching the whole way about having to deal with a lowlife like this.

“Give me a few minutes?” The monk nodded, peeling off his coat and tossing it to Kagome. She rolled it up and put it under his head, pulling the last of her button down shirt from her purse to rip into skinny strips. “There’s a kit in the van, you know.”

“I’m worried you’re gonna leak out all over the floor before I can get to it,” she sucked in a sharp breath, trying admirably to pull herself together.

“Kagome?” She bit her lips, focusing on her task. “Hey, Kagome,” he said a little more softly.

Finally she let her eyes meet his. He winced as he reached across with his left hand to cup her cheek, bringing her face toward his as he stretched up as much as his position would allow. It was soft, and only a moment, but the press of their lips was exactly the reassurance they both needed. “Oh…”

“Hm. Next time, let’s try it without the near-death experiences, ok?”

She blinked at him, then rolled her eyes, laughing softly.

“Only if you promise to quit trying to die on me,” she scolded. Inuyasha smirked as he opened his mouth to tease her about liking him in this position because it meant she got to baby him, but was cut off by the clearing of a very large throat.

“The perpetrator is under control and the others are ready to leave.”

“Oh. Yes. We’re coming, Jinenji.”

“Miroku has requested that I ‘carry his ass like a baby’ if I have to.” He looked distinctly uncomfortable at the obvious order to repeat what the monk had said exactly. “I really do not want to…”

“Nah. I might need help to my feet, but after that, I’m good,” he confessed. Had the wolf been there, there was no way he would have admitted to that, but current company wouldn’t give him a hard time about it. Jinenji waited for Kagome to finish wrapping his shoulder before offering him a hand up. He had to swallow a yelp when his ribs and shoulder both protested. Loudly. But at least he was upright again. The three made their way the rest of the way up the ramp and to the waiting van, Inuyasha accepting a little more help to get in than he would have liked. Fortunately, Kouga kept his trap shut.

“First stop, holding cell, second stop, hospital!” Miroku called jovially from the driver’s seat. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and groaned, but didn’t argue. Kagome would lecture him about the risks he would be taking for misaligned bone growth or bacterial infections or punctured lungs… He’d happily listen to all of it for the sound of her voice, but he’d rather she do it after she was seen to at the hospital.

Then he could relax and listen to her all day.

Or forever. That’d be fine too.

[ckret2]

Hey hey! LOVED that chapter! (to detail my experience, as soon as soos got the urn and it sunk in fully that there was no physical body i knew that fucker wasn’t dead. my current theory is the suspiciously silent backwards-facing bill cipher in the attic was your classic sitcom pile of pillows dressed up to look like bill and he snuck out and had a Solo Bill Adventure after Mabel left. maybe that’s too obviously what happened to be called a theory el oh el. still, I was completely caught off guard by the ending reveal.) I have always loved the way you write this world, and how expertly you match the voice of the show while covering things it never touched. I think a part of the fic that might go under the radar with how wonderful it all is is the way bill starts the argument with Mabel by demanding her attention. It’s the perfect balance of “ooh i get it, i would be upset too” and “you FOOL you have TOXIC PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR.” The pacing of this redemption story has always been perfect, but this exchange especially feels like exactly where he would be at this point in his arc. He has strengthened an existing fascination with mabel into a true friendship, he has a capacity to apologize that he hasn’t had for 10 million years minimum, but at the end of the day Bill has always had friends and always seen them as his pals first and their own people not at all. Being nice isn’t enough, being friends isn’t enough, you have to be a good friend. As always I am so excited for the next chapter. Poor haunted dipper! my hope is that bill recognizes this as an opportunity to drive mabel apart from dipper irreparably and doesn’t take it, instead choosing to actually really talk to the kid for like the first time. but i suppose i’ll have to wait and see!

Based on how the Quantum Destabilizer works, there was never gonna be a body no matter what... but you're right tho, NOTHING is more suspicious than no body. 😂 I never really expected readers to wonder IF he was gonna come back, just HOW he was gonna come back.

"Being nice isn’t enough, being friends isn’t enough, you have to be a good friend." - Yes!! That's so important to Bill's overall plot arc. Because I truly think he KNOWS how to be nice, he can be a Nice Guy™ (with all the connotations loaded into that phrase), but kindness is on his terms. It's transactional—"I do a favor for you, now you owe me one." Being (or pretending to be) nice is just a way to "purchase" what he wants from someone else, whether what he wants is a portal or a returned display of friendship.

He's a manipulator first and a friend second, and even sincere overtures of friendship are filtered through that manipulator mindset. He can be the sweetest guy in the world when he's getting what he wants—he's always been capable of being sweet when he's getting what he wants—but he still needs to learn how to be a friend when it doesn't benefit him in the slightest.

[ladyapplejackdnd]

I ....l have no words like I have had this happen to me before but I also came up with a second part in my head to this one-shot by @munson-blurbs where basically Eddie finally confesses to Chrissy cause he has heard that her and Jason has broken up and she tells him that she's probably see him as a close friend or like a brother to her and also tells him like "what about your girlfriend?" And his like "Girlfriend... what girlfriend I don't have one.? and she basically talks about how she thought him and y/n seemed like Gf and Bf and with all the stuff y/n has mentioned in this (the story above) but he's like nooo she just my best friend and mean while y/n has been avoiding hellfire club (not Gareth cause he was the only one that noice that she was never there just everyone else especially Eddie) and after a while everyone starts getting worried over where she is and if shes mad at them for some reason but eventually she comes back and everyone is happy to see her back but she seems different and they see that like how close she was with Eddie is now how close she was with Gareth (not as close but the fact she seeked comfort from Gareth and not Eddie seems unusual) and that she's distance herself and hangs around Gareth more often then Eddie and it frustrates him and eventually he finds y/n on her own and he asks "Did I do something?" And she's like what? Cause he caught her off guard and he repeats himself and she tries to play it off like '....I don't know what your talking about." And after getting no where talking with her she finally escape the conversation and he goes to Gareth to see if he knows what he did wrong And Gareth tells Eddie that now he knows how y/n feels and Eddie like what do you mean? and Gareth is gets mad and say "man....for a guy who's I thought was really smart you sound like such a dumbass right now. And he tells Eddie without telling Eddie that she had feelings for him and he stumped cause he didn't think until now that she liked him like that and he at first feels terrible about it and then feels determined to get back on her good side with many different ways all but failing until eventually she starts hanging out with him again more one on one's with him and he loves that he has her back in his life and finally feels like almost everything is back to normal but she still doesn't do those things she did with him before and he starts to get upset every time she mentioned Gareth and he talks to Jeff , Doug, Argyle or all three all about how he feels and they says (Jeff) Eddy it sound like your jealous.(Doug) Yeah man. or (Argyle) man...it's sound to me that your in love brochacho. Once that happens he takes sometime to processes that he might actually like y/n and cause you know he still kinda of denying that he likes y/n and after finally facing the fact that he likes y/n he then start doing the stuff that y/n did with him and (if you need a reminder look that the story above this) after a hellfire club dnd section everyone see y/n and Gareth like talking in a corner and being all secretive about something and everyone asks what their talking about after y/n and Gareth quietly argue about if they should really tell them or what eventually telling them that they are together and Eddie's like "Oh...thats..that's great fantastic even for you guys." trying to seem alright when in reality his whole world is coming down and he doesn't know what to do but he then turns to Jeff or Doug or both of them looking at him like he/they feels bad for him and now he truly feels how she felt all those months back when she used to have feelings for him.

This semi story (if you want to call this that)was based off of the Sting of truth written by @munson-blurbs its a greatly written one-shot I recommend reading

[kuunibal]

Please don’t worry about how quickly you respond—I truly don’t mind at all. After all, I’m the one reaching out, so if anyone should be worrying, it’s me, haha. One of my friends takes even longer to reply, if that makes you feel better.

The word was “lak” (I think? My memory is questionable). They explained to me that it’s meant to be a derogatory slang term in the country I’m currently living in. I’m not sure if it’s used worldwide, though, haha.

Gaslighting myself happens when I need to take action but can’t. I use self-deception, convincing myself to push through tasks or meet goals. I’m tricking myself into believing something that isn’t entirely true to make progress—like thinking, “if I don’t do this, certain consequences, such as this and that, will happen,” when in reality, that’s not true at all.

Dexter’s habit of avoiding conflict is relatable. The poor man truly needs people who understand him without him needing to explain himself—which made his brother’s death particularly difficult for me—at least initially? I think he’d stay guarded at first, but over time, he’d start opening up once he realised that his vulnerability won’t be judged as harshly as he fears. I also find his subtle—well, subtle in a sociopathic sense—love for his sister to be really admirable.

I also thought his brother died too quickly, though I wasn’t entirely surprised. Dexter was caught between choosing him or his sister, and in the end, he deliberately chose his sister. One could see that as selfless, perhaps. He had the opportunity to build a life with someone who truly understood him, yet he chose his sister instead. But was it really selflessness? Or was it simply a reflection of the affection he felt for her, which he didn’t seem to have for his brother? It’s a very complicated matter, I think.

And yes, I finished watching Arcane! Well, first of all, I actually really thought Viktor was dead at the end of Act II, so I was surprised and delighted to see him return in Act III. I found his character development a tad amusing because he has an unhealthy amount of parallels to my favourite character from BSD, which made me predict almost anything he did and what happened to him. The Powder/Vi/Vander plotline was very heartbreaking—they deserved so much better. I liked Jayce’s heroism, and I liked the parallel universe aspect. Did you notice the intro always slightly changing, by the way? I would’ve skipped it after watching it once if my brother didn’t force me to watch it every single time, hahaha.

Somehow, the series began as a political and social dilemma, grappling with issues of power and inequality, but eventually evolved into a blend of witches, mages, alchemy, and magic-infused technology. All mixed in a pot—and somehow, it worked.

Interesting, I do believe "lak" is a regional slang term (Germany, if memory serves me right?), but now I am curious about the definition.

I imagine having false consequences as an incentive would be stressful, seeing how you utilise fear as your primary motivating force. Perhaps motivating yourself with a reward rather than a perceived punishment would be less emotionally taxing, assuming you haven't tried that already?

I believe there are many reasons why Dexter killed his brother, and it definitely is complicated. Dexter almost threw 20+ years of the Code away and told Brian, "Yes. I’m ready to join you. But I won’t kill Deb. I’m very fond of her. Perhaps if Brian was a little less possessive and allowed her to live, he and Dexter could have run off together being Murder Brothers. Dexter loved his sister, but he was very nearly willing to leave her until Brian forced Dexter's hand and ultimately prioritised his own vision over Dexter's wants by attempting to kill her himself (twice, for that matter), essentially trying taking away Dexter's ability to choose any other option but him.

I think Dexter did hold affection for Brian, seeing how he was upset that he "had" to kill him and held no enjoyment in the act the way he did with his usual victims. It even bothered him so much that he had difficulty killing people after. Dexter wanted to be free so bad, but he also cared about Debra. His brother's conditions were too black and white, and Dexter ultimately could not fully embrace his true self with him if it meant killing her.

Yes, Arcane is a uniquely beautiful and incredibly well-made show. I have been forcing my coworkers to watch it. I didn't notice the intro changing (I skipped it after watching it once as well), but I saw comparison videos of all of the hidden shots. There are so many details, Easter eggs, and story even with background characters who don't have dialogue. I am both inconsolable about the ending and in awe. I don't know how familiar you are with the characters outside of Arcane, but there is an endearing official short story League of Legends has for Viktor.

[sodor-spirit]

((Just to be clear, this takes place before they started dating and when Duncan needed to really get his shit together))

“Rusty, wait! How come urr ye ignoring me?!” Duncan called out to the Diesel Earth Spirit, who was heading into the shed with his tools. The Fire Spirit ran over to their side, trying to get their attention. “C’mon Rusty, How lang are ye gonna keep this up? we need tae talk aboot whit happened!”

The Orange Diesel Spirit finally spoke, still not making any eye contact with the Scottish Spirit. “What is there to talk about? You getting pissed on some kind of substance Sir Handel gave? Or when you grabbed me and shoved your tongue down my throat and don’t even remember a single thing after that until I kissed you?” They listed while roughly putting away their tools with a fistful by their side, holding tightly onto their pants. “Take your pick then.”

Duncan bit the inside of his mouth, looking down at the ground. A light yellow blush was beginning to form over his cheeks.

“Rusty… Did ye…like it?”

Rusty flinched and nearly choked. His face started to be taken over by the shade of light orange. The Earth Spirit tried to keep his frustration down, along with his tone.

“Does it really matter?”

The Fire Spirit looked up at Rusty’s back, caught off guard by their dismissive tone.

“What? Of course it matters, you-”

“Just stop it already, Duncan. Don’t keep pretending to care when you don’t remember what happened!”

Duncan was now starting to get frustrated, the air around him starting to get hotter. The sign of his hair about to turn into fire. “This is how come ye'r aye mad? ah already told ye ah wis intoxicated 'n'-

Rusty shook his head, on the verge of frustrated and upset tears. “No, that’s not why I’m mad!”

“Then how come urr are mad at me!?” Now Duncan’s hair was brightly burning fire, showing his utter frustration.

“I AM MAD BECAUSE YOU ARE SO GOLD DUST FORSAKEN UNPREDICTABLE AND IT DRIVES ME INSANE!” Rusty finally screamed and their foot down, causing the floor to break and crack.

“…” Duncan's eyes widened, brows still scrunched and hair flaming.

The Earth Spirit continued. “When you first came to this railway, you were so angry, distant and rude towards everyone. And then sometime after I saved you and your engine from your stupid rock n’ rolling despite calling me ‘smelly’, you kissed me and made me walk on thin ice around you.” Rusty violently ran a hand through his hair. “And to make things even better, you kissed me again. Just to check your Gold Dust Form isn’t broken!”

“Rusty…I-”

“What?! You’re sorry?! Pfft! Of course you are, you didn’t want any of this to happen now would you?! You wouldn’t want anything to do with this Railway, the other Spirits, let alone ME!”

Rusty started shaking, tears beginning to flow from his green eyes. “Did I like it? Of course I did. Because for a second, I thought it meant something… That you might care about someone other than yourself!”

“…” Duncan looked down at the floor, his fiery hair all but burned out from guilt. He rubbed his arm, taking the brunt of the Diesel Spirit’s words.

Sniffles left the crying Earth Spirit, wiping some escaping tears away. “I’m sorry you had to kiss this “Smelly Diesel” and have this conversation in this shed with me…”

Silence filled the whole shed, except for Rusty trying to pull himself together and crossing his arms, turning away from the Fire Spirit. “That’s everything right? Now leave me alone, Duncan.” He said silently, saying the Steam Spirit’s name with a hint of resentment and venom.

But instead of leaving in an instant, Duncan turned around to face the Earth Spirit and gently caressed his cheek, wiping some tears away. Rusty looked up at the Scottish Spirit, his green eyes filled with sad confusion.

“Ahm sorry Rusty. Ah truly am.” With that apology, Duncan turned around and left, head low.

[ikubaes]

i'm not sure if you will ever look back on here after interaction we had on friday, but i want to write this anyway... i wanna answer everything you wrote in your post... and i think this is just me subsequently wanting to talk to you more.

i have to admit, i was a little confused as to why you broke no contact with me first on the 3rd and then writing to me on the 12th... if we weren't gonna talk... this could just be my confusion, but i always thought reaching out first meant having a conversation with the other person? i guess maybe i didn't reply fast enough? the message and post gave me a lot of hope for a future "us" would that look back at this moment in time and just laugh at how silly we were being.

things in your post made me think you did wanna talk, so i was a bit surprised by the reaction i got when i approached you. i knew it was your birthday and there's a million other things you'd rather be doing, but i don't know... it confused me a lot. this isn't me being upset that you didn't want to, it's just the way i was processing everything... it's okay, though. i told you that i wouldn't rush you. not that you ever have to talk to me either... i feel like the ball has always been in your court when it comes to us reconnecting... it's really your call... your comfort. i'll always want to. not because i think of you fondly because you loved me so dearly, i want to because i truly feel as if we're meant to be in each other's lives if we carry holes in us that are entirely shaped like the other.

i want to talk you again, be in your space again, feel you trust me again, laugh with you again, link arms with you while we walk down the street again. i genuinely love you. i never stopped. i guess the problem was that i never really cared what we were, as long as we could fall on each other and talk... maybe that's my fault.

i'll list my contacts here that are quicker than tumblr if you do wanna talk... i won't bother you on instagram again.

discord: mostlyfate / twitter: @idluanymore

i really don’t know how to start this off. i don’t even know how many days have passed since i finally saw what was on your blog. it’s kind of funny, actually. i’ve went back and looked on here a bunch of times throughout the past year but i never felt able to check the stuff on your blog. it felt invasive, for some reason. even though we kind of built this together (didn’t we?) it felt like i wasn’t allowed to go back on there, so i didn’t. but that day i was having a particularly hard time and i was feeling your absence in a way that just saying “missing” doesn’t seem to cut it. i was talking with a new friend who doesn’t know much about you and i guess i said something in relation to you that made them say something along the lines of: i don’t know what happened because you don’t talk about this but i can tell this is still hurting you. it caught me off guard, i guess it’s never nice to be called out. either way, that night i was really looking for your words. i felt silly but i read plenty of tomin and i wanted to remember what you said to me in letters. i vaguely remembered you maybe addressing me at the end of gifts, so i finally checked your blog. imagine my surprise, i wanted just a paragraph of you telling me i was valued and i came across all that. it froze me, it’s frozen me for several days. i find myself in a state where i don’t know where i stand and i don’t know what to do. i regret never getting closure but i didn’t dare to mess with how it was ended.

that is kinda funny that you were never able to look at my blog... i looked at yours a lot, especially the little note you wrote me at the end of tomin's 500 days. sometimes it would make me cry. sometimes it would make me smile. on the tail end of 2023, it would mostly make me cry. we did build these blogs together and now we're here, tip-toeing around each other on them years later. i also miss you in a way that "missing" doesn't encompass either. i'm sorry the thought of me still hurts you, i really wish i could do something about it; i really want to. i don't really say sorry a lot either, so i really mean it when i say it to you. i'm happy my words were able to reach you. i hope you could feel the fondness and love i still hold for you in them. this part "i find myself in a state where i don’t know where i stand and i don’t know what to do. i regret never getting closure but i didn’t dare to mess with how it was ended." is what made me think you wanted to reconnect with me, on top of the message from the 3rd.

with the topic of you talking to your friend who doesn't know a lot about me, i had a similar experience. i made a new friend last year who was also a taylor swift fan, i also kinda delved into her music a lot more after we stopped talking because i always told you i liked her girly, country albums more than her newer stuff and it was also just an excuse to feel close to you in some way. at least we'll be listening to the same songs. so, it was when she dropped her eras tour dvd thing online. we were watching it, making commentary and the song 'the 1' came on. i busted into tears. it was so uncontrollable, we had to pause and all i could do was cry about all of the memories of you flooding through my mind about how you said it reminded you of me.

i’ve thought about you throughout the year. i’ve thought about you, your sister, your brother, your friends. i’ve thought about the “i hope you get everything you’ve ever wanted and i hope i never hear a thing about it” quote. not in a negative way, of course. i wish for your happiness because i still genuinely think you are deserving of love but i don’t think that’s something that will ever include me. i think you remember me fondly because i loved you so desperately and i believe you will be able to find other people, like me, who will love you like that. it just won’t be me, and that’s fine. all the love i showed you is yours to keep and i hope you know that.

i thought a lot about you too. i've thought about those around you and how jealous i am of them. the quote does hurt, but i really hope i do get to hear about everything good that's happened to you even if it doesn't involve me. i still think there's a chance for us, so i do think you could be involved if you wanted to be. i don't remember you fondly simply because you loved me. i remember you the way i do because despite all of the stuff we went through together, we could always smile at the end. i think about you so sweetly because you were my rock, the person i went to everything with, the person who would sit with me for hours, bantering and creating and allowing me to love her. i'm sorry the kind of love i was capable of back then wasn't what you wanted. i truly am sorry. i recognize now that to a person who feels one type of love so strongly, being around the object of their affection that can only give another form of love must've been really hard. we had so many memorable times together... so many of my formative moments in my late teens and early twenties were with you. a part of me grew up with you. i love for for many reasons and not one of them is simply because you loved me.

it does make me feel less lonely to realize you remember me in such kind ways. in my constant self-villanization i feared the occasional aches i felt were one-sided and i was nothing more than just a fleeting memory to you. i wrote this down a lot. do you miss me? do you think about me? are you fine with all this? am i carrying this all alone? i guess i’m not. it makes the burden a little less heavy and then you wonder, isn’t this kinda ridiculous? but i don’t know.. i don’t know. i guess i wanted you to know that i still carry you too. in the small things, the iu and the red velvet, the fromis 9 and the furuba. that silly black cat is still in my bed, but now he wears a cinnamoroll hat and goes by a new name. i changed a lot this past year, mostly my interests. i realized half-way i was just pretending there was a three year gap where nothing happened, avoiding things i shared with you and sheltering myself in things i wouldn’t find you in, even though i always found you. did you know jeonghan from seventeen’s favorite movie is my tomorrow, your yesterday? did you get the 1004 from him? i always think about these things. do you remember when i told you juyeon from the boyz was kinda jeongmin coded? do you remember when we made an idolverse and i ripped off their discography? do you remember jeongmin? a lot of people are surprised i kind of stopped caring about twice. but how could i? i couldn’t even explain it. i walked around with holes i forcibly ripped away until i found something else to patch them up. i made new friends, factory reset my life.

i do miss you. i do think about you. i wasn't fine with it and i still am not fine with the distance between us. you're not carrying anything alone. why is it ridiculous that we both miss each other dearly? did we not love each other for 2 years? do we both not wish we could still be around the other? i never really tried to forget you, if i had to be honest. of course it stung, but i took it as me just simply still caring about you. after the initial pain had waned, i think my love for you simply crystalized in my heart; it was still there, just condensed and solid in place. i never really tried to change my interest either, i thought in retrospect, it was kinda sweet that our voices would echo behind the others' whenever we spoke about common things we shared. i'm happy you still carry the black cat around with you, even if she's different now. to be loved is to be changed, no?

i hope one day you'll be able to enjoy the things you enjoyed with me with yourself again... and if you don't want to, that's okay, too. interests change all the time. i rewatched our beloved summer this past summer because i missed you the most then and all i could think about is how we ended up paralleling yeonsu and ung.

i didn't know his favorite movie was my tomorrow, your yesterday! dang, does that mean we're both basic? /lighthearted and i got 1004 because it means cheonsa in korean! i always thought it was cute, it's cute that that's his birthday, too. i also happen to like juyeon these days. the boyz, not so much, but i do like seeing juyeon's photoshoots. he is jeongmin coded, isn't he? i still remember jeongmin. my favorite muse to ever exist, of course! i remember everything about him, you could still quiz me now and i'm sure i'd get a 100% on a minnie quiz.

coincidentally on the 3rd, i accidentally typed jeongmin's name instead of jeongin for a show i was watching with a friend. i was surprised myself that his name was still engrained in me.

i'm happy that you have a good crowd around you. i'm also surprised you can't find yourself being invested in twice anymore since i remember they were the main group you collected. i hope that changes since they were your girls for so long.

saying it like that kind of makes it sound miserable, but i’m not, or at least i’m not most of the time. i don’t want you to think i am struggling, i think i’ve managed to hold myself up pretty alright. though i am emotionally unavailable in ways that surprise me when i look back at us, the person who i am today vs. the lover girl i was… please always cherish that love because i don’t know if i will ever be able to give it away like that. so devoted the lines blur. my new friend said it’s concerning when i said i let the people that love me do whatever they want with or to me, but i don’t know. maybe one day i will learn, but please don’t let all that i gave you be in vain. if you still have those days where you feel too difficult, always remember there was somebody that really loved you and would’ve done anything for you. i don’t need it to be mutual anymore, i just want it to be acknowledged.

i'm glad you have been living a good life. i truly am. i hope you have brighter days than you have dark. i do cherish all of the love you gave me. i just wish you would let me give it back to you in a manner that i couldn't back then. so devoted the lines blur is a beautiful way to put it. i do still have days where i feel too difficult, that's all i could think about the first couple of months that we didn't talk. how inept i was. how i couldn't seem to get it through my thick skull that you did love me. i wrote about this in my first post to you and a little bit in my second, too. how i couldn't seem to get a grasp on my interpersonal problems that made me feel so unlovable. get a grasp on my sexuality. asking me to believe you loved me back then was like asking an atheist to believe in god. they simply couldn't. i think we argued about how i didn't feel like you cared for me a few times because the way you portrayed it wouldn't register in my worm-infested brain or something like that. the problems we had back then really escape me now. i know a lot of it was because i had a hard time admitting i had feelings for you because of my confusion in my sexuality, how turbulent my life was at one point, how moody i was, too, and how we never really talked about it afterwards. how things just were swept under the rug because we wanted to salvage what kind of relationship we still had with each other. i think we were both really insecure with the other, too. i know i was really immature too. short with you, too. couldn't understand why you kept saying or doing things that upset me. i've healed a lot in therapy, i'm coming up on one year in therapy soon. i've done a lot of work pertaining my family problems and my emotional dysregulation. i think i saw my therapist 3 times a week during the summer because i really needed someone to talk to about everything. my therapist does know a lot about you... i hope you don't mind. i recently came out to a lot of my friends and loved ones, too... learned a lot about my sexuality through other queer south asian women and it was a very healing experience. which is funny because i remember you clocking a long time ago that my man-chasing shenanigans were just me displaying "fatherless behavior" and well, it was true. you clocked a long time ago that i was comp-het and a flaming lesbian in denial, too. i still laugh thinking about how i told you how much i loved women growing up and you just called me gay. i know you said you didn't wanna hear a lot about me, but i did wanna share this with you.

i’ll always remember you. i’ll remember how you said that you liked how i loved you like a puppy, how willing i was to do anything for us. you’re someone i’m always going to remember because you showed me how much love i am capable to have, to feel and to give.

to this, i want to tell you that there will always be a chair, decorated with stickers with matcha bubble tea sitting on it, waiting for you, at my table for you. there's always space in my heart and life for you if you ever decide you want to be there. i wouldn't have to make space because it would simply always be there. i see a future for us. i really do.

p.s.: i tell people you were my ex girlfriend. it’s much simpler that way. is that okay with you? almost one year no contact, can we finally admit we were in a two year long relationship? it’s okay if not. i always felt i would’ve been easier to love if i had been a boy.

i admit we were basically in a relationship with each other. i'll happily be your ex girlfriend. you wouldn't have been easier to love if you were a boy. not in the slightest. i'm sorry if i made you feel that way in a state of how underdeveloped i was back then. i love you for everything you are.

i think about that question, "if you were in a room full of people you loved, who would you go to first?"

undeniably, irrevocably... i would go to you.

i hope you had a fun birthday. i really hope i hear from you soon. if i don't, i hope my words touch you once again.

as always, i love you and i'm always here for you.

[thebrainrotsreal]

It truly will become the infinite post sdjksjdskd if you want to add more and respond on a brand new post just tag me so we can continue!!! I can admit it is getting,,, long. BUT IT'S SO EXCITING TO FLESH OUT THIS AU??? And do not worry take your time, I always wanna reply instantly but life smacks my hands away from the keyboard ugh. I would reply in nanoseconds if I could, but point being, you are all goodie my guy. ♡♡♡

✧✧ something i have always loved is the idea of a hero, or just a super-powered person, chilling in a way that would be weird to others. flash running around town, spider-man reading upside down, invincible floating around in boredom, you name it ✧✧

YES YES YES. I think about that too? Like how natural flying must feel to Mark, but how much it just reminds him of being an outlier? Like I wonder if he ever gets annoyed he can't fly in public, or tries to hover when no one's looking, or can't wait to get home and fly around lazily to enjoy himself, or even float while doing hw or thinking? Is there a point where it's so ingrained it responds to his emotions? Like hovering when nervous, shooting into the sky when caught off guard, ominously floating when angered. Hovering to soothe oneself if upset? Or feeling rlly comfy midair without any walls to confine himself?

Def believe when Wasp (easily) pisses him the fuck off he starts hovering menacingly before they maul each other. Wasp is usually floating, (he will float in public and if you try stopping him prepare for a fucking bite), + they're both petty and irritated enough to try being slightly higher in height over the other. (these mfs are the same height and hate it. "stop stealing my face" is a common argument, along with "ugly ass" "we HAVE THE SAME FACE" "I wear it better" fighting occurs.)

✧✧ add them being stuck in a cave together (there are other people inside there. the exits were blocked. it's unstable, so if they drill they way out, they will kill everyone inside. wasp doesn't care, but mark really fucking does, and he's technically the one in charge sooo) ✧✧

okay but mark being in charge is something he will leverage every chance he gets because "fuck you wasp" but also YES YES YES YES. this would be so fucking funny oh my god. I gotta imagine Wasp and Mark seriously ponder if a) "if we both pull hard enough, maybe our arm will break off and we'll be free of each other" "have you ever healed back from losing a limb?" "psh...no" "well I haven't either!" "...fuck, it let's try it." AND b) straight up tying to gnaw their arm off. Wasp wants to scream. He keeps trying to yank his hand away. Mark is trying to be Above That In Public but he does bite Wasp.

The power of mutual embarrassment and shared goals does get them to work together and i gotta imagine super villains just pale in horror like oh god, they can work together now?? But no, the next day Wasp throws a car at Mark which Mark instinctively swats away and then goes flying after it to prevent it from slamming into a building. Wasp cackles so hard it gets hit by a laser beam to the throat by some other bad guy.

✧✧ "it angers wasp too, because this asshole, who has literally no experience at all, can actually keep up with him. it's the worst. he hates it so much" ✧✧

YES YES YES YES! There's this palpable loneliness within both of them but knowing he of all people can keep up, can do what he does, what can or has felt what he does never drives Wasp up a wall, because both of them had already settled with the ache of isolation, only to be dragged kicking and screaming into someone who understands. But why you? why did it have to be you? please, i'd take anyone but you.

Bonus points if as they learn from each other (and refuse to comment on it, as if it never happened at all) other people innocently comment on their improvements and they hate it. Cecil remarks Mark handled something well and he looks like Cecil just told him his entire family got slaughtered.

✧✧ he doesn't even tell his friends, he tells everyone. it's on TV. people are debating whether it's true or if he's jst fucking w them (he does that a lot) ✧✧

Okay but Wasp fucking with any news coverage and everybody is so fucking real in my bones. He hates this and this life and everything, and if he can't kill you, he'll piss you off and mess with your head and get a rise outta you over something. Wasp accidentally saves someone, or lands on the scene and someone cries in relief, only for Wasp to smile wide and say some shit like "oh no, no, you think I'm gonna help you?" Mark smacks him upside the head before helping everyone escape as Wasp tackles the monster.

I gotta imagine if they tackle things separately, they are also allowing each other to do they want and like to do? Like Mark's focus on civilians means Wasp isn't fucking ordered or tortured into helping, and Wasp's bloody efficiency means Mark can devote his attention entirely to helping.

But back to the Big Reveal, it's Mark's own reaction that truly confirms it to be true, but he's beyond shaking with fury, it's a icy cold ire, a palpable hostility that drips off him in waves, as he hovers, quietly leaving whatever room he's in to go find Wasp. (He looks like Nolan in the last episode when he does it, silent and furious, dangerously calm and yet his patience is whittle down into nothing.)

✧✧ mark ignores everything and goes out to punch stuff and beat villains to clear his mind. wasp just straight up murders people. the thing that differentiates them is why they're doing it, to who, and to what extents ✧✧

YES YES YES. Mark and never talk about my emotions i will just channel them into "productive" violence that is arguably a bit self destructive since gets he beat up a lot VS having to confront he sees the exact thing in Wasp to a slightly different degree like a shy different hue but the exact same color. It makes him want to go and punch something. Kicked and dragged into self recognition and loathing.

Wasp sees the same thing. He hates but throws himself into smacking Mark into a nearby wall. So what? He's good at violence, he's incredible at it, it's what he's meant for, it's what he was born for, it's exactly what Dad recognized him for and he's not gonna let Mark ruin this with his unwavering disgusting guilt.

✧✧ also i could imagine that since wasp is Like That, at some point he has to drop comics because hey, destroying earth means to comic books. so seeing how far the comics he likes from his own dimension are getting in this other asshole's dimension is an Experience. (he so wants to take over this world) ✧✧

I WAS THINKING ABOUT THIS TOO! I think in a way Wasp fucking hates, there is a new begrudging possible admiration (???) to the world he actively destroyed. There's food he likes are always available, there's comics still going, new comics he likes, new shows and movies and the like. It makes him confront what he helped destroy and he hates confronting that he lost anything by siding with his Dad.

But Wasp being like nah, if not for these mfs (Mark, Cecil) I would've taken over this world yesterday is so funny to me. Imagine talking to Wasp and he, suddenly annoyed, mentions he would pull out your spine form your throat is you keep talking. He's dead serious. You're a little certain he can't, in the sense he shouldn't, but how fast would the whole whistle thing be to stop him? How fast would Mark be? Wasp keeping everyone on their toes and having the most casual disturbing threats to offer at a drop of a hat.

✧✧ rudy is the type of person to scientifically study his friends without their consent to figure out what the fuck is wrong with them ✧✧

NAH HE WOULD FR. Rudy has psychological profiles on all his friends he regularly updates like a diary, and he has one for himself too. He has enough awareness not to share these, but once he finds some theory to test best believe with all the subtlety he can muster he is trying it or digging for more information. He is fascinated by Wasp and Mark.

Like you said, Wasp hates this. "Who the fuck is this 9 year old and why can't I punt him into the atmosphere" type energy. This could mean Wasp does delight in, as you add, talking shit about Mark to Rudy. He will Ruin Mark's Character and Make Someone See What He Sees Within Mark.

Mark sees Wasp saying something to Rudy with utter confusion. "I thought you hated him." "I do." "Then why-" "Fuck you that's why." "Why do I even fucking bother-" "Fucking idiot, why do you-" "I swear to-" "What god? You gonna say god?" "Can you not-" and arguing and eventual fighting ensues.

Lowkey betting pool how long it takes for them to upset each other. Latest is 0.09 seconds and Wasp says that Mark, "breathes annoyingly." Mark tries to be more patient in front of company. He has a record 0.12 seconds because he, quote, "knew what Wasp was going to say". He does not elaborate.

imagine they're fighting a villain together. they usually do the "i kick him to you then you punch him in the face and send him flying" thing, but sometimes, when wasp is feeling silly, he'll be the Older Sibling TM and refuse to give the villain to markit's like two dogs fighting for a chew toy. mark gets the villain off wasp's hands but wasp immediatly tackles him to get him back. most crime doers now refuse to fight those two when they're together bc of the amount of nausea they feel afterwards

this is my new favorite thing ever oh my god. "WASP, GIVE HIM TO ME-" "TRY TO TAKE HIM FROM ME THEN, LOSER!" while the villain is like, "IM GONNA THROW UP--"

If you want super villain shenanigans to go down by 30-50% put Wasp and Mark on patrol. No one wants to be shaken like, you said, a chew toy by the twin terrors of heroism.

But oh my god, them teaming up can go rlly rlly well or a complete and utter disaster and no one can tell which gonna be. Disaster for who? Depends on who you ask.

Also the way they just fucking try to break each other's bones on a routine, regular basis to everyone's horror. Mfs got black eyes and missing teeth and bruises and they're like "Mark" or "Wasp"

ALSO THEIR HAIR RLLY IS SO ANNOYING TO DRAW THANK YOU FOR SAYING IT. I have a love/hate relationship with it. It's so appealing but an utter nightmare. What the fuck is that stupid hairline??? WHYYYYYY. If i draw for this AU, which i SO WANT TO, i will be sure to tag u >:D

Side note, I know Viltramites built diff (but I know don't know how diff), but imagine Wasp "don't tell me what the fuck to do" buying alcohol. Mf would be so emotional.

EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK!!! I want to be coherent about this season but please picture me foaming at the mouth and running on the walls. S2 being what if Mark's just like his Dad? Insanity. I love this show. Anyways, AU where an Evil!Mark tries to make Our!Mark worse, and Our!Mark tries to make the other better. Something something confronting your idea of the worst version of oneself. Plus, tweaked black and yellow costume because I saw it and immediately went murder hornet lookin' ass and knew I had to draw it. Evil ass Mark. Horrible. I think he should be dragged kicking and screaming into redemption.

[genieofthebooks]

Hi!! Hope you're doing good! I'm so glad to see that you're writing for Lockwood and co, I really love your writing style :)

Could I request for a scenario with a reader who like, scold george after what happened with Joplin? Like, in a "how could you believe something nonsensical such as us not needing you?! I need you!" type of way (in ep 8). I've been meaning to yell at him for at least 45 minutes when I heard him saying that Lockwood and Lucy didn't need him, lmao—

I Need You

Pairing: George Karim x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Kissing, Mentions of blood, tears, saddness.

You were sat in the back of a DEPRAC ambulance with a paramedic placing stitches onto your forhead and wiping off some of the blood that had attached itself to your face, your hair was slightly matted with blood and your ponytail had dropped, George was sat next to you, your hand in his lap, with Lucy and Lockwood standing and observing the paradmedic flit around you like an annoying fly that you desperately wanted to hit but you could not. Even though George was next to you and holding onto your hand to distract you from the pain Joplin put you through and to stop you from punching the paramedic, you still wondered what would have happened if Lucy had not shown up. Would George have died looking into that mirror? Would he have died thinking that he was not needed by anyone?

"What are you thinking about Y/n/n?" Lockwood spoke noticing how you were staring at the ground, zoned out as you had not realised that the paramedic had left and it was just you four left.

"Mmn" You lifted your head not fully hearing what Lockwood said because some blood was in your ear from the Impact of being thrown into a wall by a ghost and because you were too busy worried about George.

"What are you thinking about?" Lockwood asked you again patiently knowing how you often got caught up in your mind.

"Oh nothing" You answered kicking a stone with your feet making everyone raise their eyebrows at your blatant lie. "George can I talk to you for a minute. Alone"

The bespectacled boy nodded jumping off the horrendously bright yellow ambulance and you followed him to the side of the building where you would be out of sight. Unkown to the both of you a certain duo were watching you two from a far. "So what did you want to talk about" He smiled at you while placing his hands in his puffer jacket.

You raised your hands and pushed him back softly making him stumble back in shock. "You George Karim are an absolute idiot."

"What have I done!" The boy exclaimed his voice going higher as he had no idea why you were angry.

"How could someone be so smart yet stupid at the same time?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow" George tilted his head in confusion, for once he could not figure you out. Only he could read you and your emotions like a book but in this very moment he was puzzled at you.

"We need you George. I might have been blacking out from the pain when Joplin called her guard dog ghost to chuck me against the wall but I still heard everything you said" You started but stopped when you saw him wince of the memory of you getting thrown into a wall and when he expressed how he truly felt.

"Y/n-" He stepped forward taking your hand into his but soon frowned when you pulled it away as if it was a burning pan.

"No Let me talk. George you are the glue that holds us together. You try to stop Lockwood from doing something suicidal and stupid even though it never works sometimes and You helped Lucy when she wanted to try something and banded against Lockwood and as much as you hate to admit it you like Lucy and she is not a pain in your arse but a friend. Nothing you said is true. We need you George." Tears were threatening to fall down your still half bloodied face but you had managed to contain the tears with a Dam. You lightly hit his chest again where he caught your hand and held it to his chest so you could feel his heart beat as he knew that was not the only reason you were upset.

"Whe-when you talked of looking in that mirror I was so scared." your voice breaking when you started the sentance and your voice going quiet when you admitted to being scared. The dam broke. Tears started flowing freely down your cheeks but you never broke eye contact with George looking into his brown eyes calmed you for a second as it reminded you that he was still here and In front of you. "I was scared. Scared of losing you because I need you. I don't care that you are odd. I mean look at us, none of us are normal and I am pretty sure Lockwood is insane. I need you George. You might feel that none of us need you but we do and for the love of God I will spend the rest of my life trying to prove it-"

Your last sentance was muffled by George as he pulled your arm gently so your body was close to him with inches between you, before you could think his lips were on yours, shutting you up. The kiss was sweet yet passionate at the same time. You pulled away and raised your hand up to his cheek and laughed softly when you saw that his glasses were fogged up. "Your glasses are all fogged up"

"Oh, nevermind" He pulled you back into a kiss, placing his hand on the side of your face that was not covered in dried blood. He made a mental note to make sure that was cleaned of your face because that definitely could not have been comfortable for you. But at the current moment he did not care that they had all just escaped death again and that their body's were all fighting exhaustion. All he cared about was you.

In the background behind a Yellow DEPRAC van a certain teenager was celebrating that his bestfriends were together after they have been dancing around each other for a year, he looked towards Lucy who held a small smile for her two new friends.

Sorry that it is so short and If it is not the best.

[marksbear]

can u do a poly!louis x reader x lestat? reader is human and gets flirted with by a different vampire and louis and lestat get jealous and protective? (both louis and lestat are vampires at this time) ty! :)

Your welcome and I hope you enjoy

Warnings- Sadist Lestat but light, club owner reader, poly, killing,implied sex but nothing happens,Red is lestat and blue is for the vampire drew. White is the reader and Louis.

LESTAT AND LOUIS X MALE READER

Way before Lestat Y/n used to mess around with Louis. Y/n ran a strip club a busy one in fact. That's how Louis met Y/n at the club. He was there with some of his business "friends." The group Louis was in were a bunch of perverts and basically forced Louis to be there. That's when he saw you. One girl on your left thigh and a boy on your right. He was amazed how bold you were for doing that. The other men in the group didn't like it and gossiped around "How and why is that man just sitting there normally while a black woman on his thigh and a white man on the other!?" Louis turned around and started at the man. "Why don't you say it to his face?" The group becomes silent until the fat one speaks up "Because that's Mr L/n he owns the club. But I heard that his whole family including him are gangsters."

When Louis and Y/n officially met they fucked. Y/n was helping his workers close up the place until someone tapped his back. Once Y/n turned around he was met by a hand "Louis de pointe du lac nice to meet you sir." Louis gives Y/n a huge smile. "Y/n L/n nice to meet you too." Y/n gives Louis a firm shake with smiling. The two begin to talk like they knew each other for years they instantly clicked. Y/n made the first moves like holding on Louis thigh for too long or the flirty jokes. But when Louis finally got the hint Louis took him and Y/n to a motel.

When Lestat got in the picture he was stalking Louis.

Y/n and Louis were walking around the forest. Lestat was reading Y/n mind every second of the walk he was surprised when Y/n thoughts wasn't racist and sexual or just using Louis.

"Who was that boy Louis?" Lestat asks once Louis gets home. "No one. And why did you follow me again!?!" Louis shouts turning around at his lover. "Louis you could have been in danger. My love. Now who is he?" Lestat was closer to Louis wrapping his arms around his waist. "Y/n L/n. But you can't mess with him because him and his family gangsters he told me." Lestat chuckles and brings Louis to the coffin.

FEW MONTHS PAST

Louis and Lestat have been trying their hardest to get with Y/n and drop tiny hints about vampires and all of that. The trio goes on little group dates that Lestat calls them or just spends a lot of time with the L/n. What took them both surprised is that Y/n made the first move. "We're acting like a bunch of boyfriends. Which I don't mind" Y/n said on the bench looking into the sky with Lestat on the left side and Louis on the right. Louis lost the air in his lungs fiddling with his cane. The comment caught Lestat off guard but quickly gathered himself. "Really? Well I guess me or Louis wouldn't mind sharing you" Lestat says caressing Y/n cheek. "Then I guess were boyfriends." Y/n kisses both on the lips not caring if anyone saw him and walked away.

The couple spent all of their days together. Once Lestat fully trusted Y/n told him the truth of what monster he truly is and showed him how strong he is. Y/n watched as his boyfriend brutally murder a musician because Y/n wanted to hear something jazzy but the musician could only play classical upsetting Y/n. Once Louis finally got home he looked into the living and gasped. Y/n and Lestat naked both covered in blood. "Lestat what did you do!?!" Louis shouts rushing over to Y/n checking for any scars or marks. "Louis my love don't worry I haven't turned him yet. We invited a musician to play for us while we made love. But he didn't play what Y/n liked and got him out of the mood so I killed him to show my loyal devotion to him. Y/n simply told me I looked hot in blood and we began to continue where we left off."

TIMESKIP

Y/n was locking his club up. When he turned around he was face to face with someone his age and shorter than him looking up at him. "Are you Mr l/n? I-i need help..." Y/n signals the man to keep talking as he pulls out a cigarette lighting it more inhaling it and blows it to the man's face with a giggle. "I need you to walk me home please I beg you... There's someone out for me and my friends say you're the only man in town who's untouchable!" The man begs snatching Y/n hand tightly and desperately. "Okay okay relax. I'm only doing this for my good deed of the day let's go." The two walk is anything but silent the two and chatting and laughs can be heard from afar. Once they reach the house the stranger invites Y/n inside but he shakes his head no. "I'm sorry I can't maybe next time, But I never caught your name?" " Drew Jackson"

After that met up Y/n and Drew kept meeting each other in odd or normal places. This time Louis and Lestat were around when Drew crossed paths. They were in Y/n club. Louis and Lestat were in one of the open booths where they could see everything and anyone. Y/n was talking to one of his workers that was in his lap just laughing and talking. Lestat had slowly gotten used to all the attention and the platonic love and cuddling that his boyfriend gets from work and out of work. Then Lestat eyes shoot up when hes hears a certain thought "My y/n my beautiful strong Y/n. Maybe tonight i'll make you mine." Lestat tells Louis what he heard and the both of them get next to Y/n protectively having their guard up.

"Y/n!" Drew shouts at Y/n but Y/n couldn't hear him. Lestat and Louis share a look and look at the man. Lestat looks at the man and pauses time so only him Louis and the man are talking and moving. "So you are the man taking all of my love's time most nights---" "Lestat." Lestat turns to face Louis. "You're a vampire?" Louis asks looking at the man's eyes and nails. "I could ask the same thing. And lover! please Y/n has no love I mean you see the women and men basically wearing nothing on his lap and at his feet. If he ever has a love it will be me."

Time starts again and Y/n kisses the back of the girls neck as a comeback later. "Bye boss" The woman says kisses Y/n jaw before going back to work. Y/n looks at Louis tense face and takes his hand and gives it a squeeze before looking at Lestat and gives him a half hug before getting up and tells his lovers that he'll be right back. Lestat stops Y/n and whispers in his ear and Y/n nods in approval and walks away. "Well I asked Y/n could I bring someone over and he said yes. So follow us as we close up the club."

When the club closes Lestat and Louis take Drew into their house waiting for Y/n to come back from whatever he was doing. "Louis! Lestat! Im back." walking into the living staring at the three people in the house. "Drew? Why are you here?" Lestat quickly goes over to Y/n and kisses him deeply and says in french "Salut mortel!" He takes Y/n hand and takes him to the couch to watch "Did you know that your friend here is a vampire and wants you to be his." Lestat giggles caressing and running his sharp nails into Y/n mouth touching his teeth. Y/n playfully slaps Lestat's hands away from him and jokingly tries to bite Lestat. Louis gives the two a serious look and they both stop their childish antics. "Wait! Hes a vampire!" Y/n shouts after it finally registers in his head. "Yes Y/n and that's why we decided to show you one way to kill a vampire." Lestat gets up and picks up the tied up Drew and drags him outside. Drew is already bloody and messed up but screams for his life as they go outside. "The sun is coming up in two hours so you can watch him die a slow and painful death my sweet mortal." Lestat says tying the man up with chains this time. And he hands Y/n a stake with a smile. "Kill him if he somehow escapes."

Louis sucks on Y/n's neck deeply and says "Good night Y/n and be careful!" Lestat walks up from behind Y/n and kisses and sucks on his neck to give him hickeys like hes marking him as his. "Good night mortal" "I swear Lestat if you keep calling me that i'll run this stake in you instead!"

THE END

[dollyyyhouse]

Hello guys! This is Satan's ver. of the Cheating! Au, thanks so much for the support it makes me so happy to see all the sweet replies 💓

"Get the fuck out of my room! We're through, you fucking asshole!" You pushed the demon out of your bedroom, you were in tears and your throat was sore from all the screaming you were doing. Never before have you been this upset, what your now ex-lover had done to spite you was something beyond horrible. Not being able to handle what he had done; you decided it would be best to break off the relationship with him but it quickly turned sour.

"MC, I really am sorry! I was just mad—" you shoved him even harder than before, " Just mad?! Just mad, so you decided to fuck someone else just to make me mad?! Do you know how stupid you sound?" You caught a glimpse of his face, it was heartbreaking to look at the man you loved so dearly almost in tears but what he had done to you was unforgivable. Never before did you think Satan, the Avatar of Wrath would go this far in order to satisfy his sin. This was your breaking point, he had gone too far.

The more you thought about it the more it made you want to punch him but at the same time you just wanted a genuine hug from him. You knew this wasn't a kiss and makeup situation, yet you still yearned for it to be. All of this started a few weeks ago when Satan and you got into a big argument over petty comments, you had compared him to Lucifer a few too many times and everything blew up. He was not entirely at fault for this messy breakup, you should've just bit your tongue at times but he also should've controlled his temper better. You could deal with his wrath and pettiness most of the time but what he had done with that succubus in the bed the two of you sometimes shared was beyond what you imagined he would do as revenge,nothing was going to be the same between the two of you after this.

"MC! Please listen for one minute, I'm sorry for what I did. No matter how angry I was it doesn't justify me cheating on you." He softened his voice, he was now speaking in a calmer tone than usual. You stopped pushing against his chest and allowed yourself to rest your head and hands against where you were previously pushing. "You don't have to forgive me, you shouldn't forgive me for what I've done. But—...I just want you to have peace of mind as much as possible in this mess."

Grasping his shirt, you began to sob into his chest like a baby. You were growing tired of how much crying you were doing, it felt like it was non-stop 24/7.

"Satan.. we're never going to be the same." You managed to push out a few more words, "I know, it'll be okay." You took a deep breath and mustered up all of your remaining strength to push him as hard as you could out the door. Luckily you caught him off guard, managing to lock the door. Never ever did you imagine your relationship with Satan would turn into this, it felt like it was only yesterday when you confessed to him behind RAD. Months later, you were screaming and crying over him and his actions. You didn't know what you were going to do now, you still lived with him and had to eat dinner with him.

You collapsed to the floor, exhausted from everything that happened. If only you could just curl up into a little ball and erase yourself from existence. On the other side of the door, the blonde hair demon whispered a bittersweet, "I love you." It truly was a bittersweet relationship.

[phoenixyfriend]

In Which Palpatine Leaves the Door Open

So, @purronronner suggested this on discord:

au where anakin finds out about palpatine during clone wars era like, coming in for a visit and overhears a conversation with Dooku about war planning he’s been pulled between palpatine and the Jedi/obi-wan/various things but I want to see him pulled between palpatine and his men could go either way on the sith part of the reveal even

palpatine is not aware! unless anakin’s course of action is to go “hey palpatine I must have misunderstood something right? :(“

(This was a group effort but there's a thing I wrote that requires this context so please bear with me.)

I'm just imagining Anakin backing out, closing the door, and turning to the Corrie Guard by the door to say a thing... and not finding words.

Eventually "Did you guys know he was evil?" "He's a politician, sir." "But like the evil ranting..." "He's a politician. Sir."

He's willing to use his men to save R2, but that's because R2 was part of the team and helping, not arranging battles to make things worse.

Anakin: Normally, I'd go to Palpatine to talk about my problems, but right now he is the problem... Obi-Wan and Yoda are off-planet.... Anakin, phoning up Padme: Help?

Per @atagotiak we also have some Intense Thoughts

Oh hey. The deception arc. And the subsequent argument that we don't see and stuff. Like there's all the ways you could justify it especially from an opsec standpoint (If Anakin acts like that around Padme why would anyone assume he can keep a secret about anything?) And it was a pretty tactically important thing for the war as far as anyone knew. But just. I've heard some people say that perhaps also Obi-Wan reasoned that hurting Anakin is an ok price to pay to make sure someone Anakin cares for doesn't die for real which seems plausible enough.

Anyways. My point is. Anakin gets a front row seat to sheevception when he actually sorta knows whats going on. Gets sidetracked halfway through yelling and stuff to think about how convoluted this whole mess is.

For more clone-centric things all the times Palpatine's like "I wish I could do more, it's truly regrettable, but..." Would just seem awfully fake now.

Anakin, belatedly: Wait, does this mean that, behind all the layers of bullshit, Palpatine was the one trying to kill Padme at the start of the war???

WHICH IS WHAT LEADS TO A WHOLE LOT OF FUN and yes this is the part I'm sort of proud of.

Okay so: Anakin's a shit liar, yes?

After he meanders over to Padme and has a breakdown, he then goes off to tell the Council about all this. I imagine she goes with him as moral support, and also because she wants to protect him from them calling him out on his legitimately terrible decisions. They're trying to come up with a plan to take Palpatine down without tipping their hands too early, because they need to investigate; for the sake of this plot point, we'll say that Palpatine mentioned a contingency plan while talking to Dooku, even if he didn't directly name the chips.

Someone mentions that Palpatine is going to ask to see Anakin, because he does regularly. And, as experience has shown, there is very little that will stop Palpatine from insisting that Anakin come see him. They can stall for a bit, maybe, but not for long.

"You could send me to the other side of the galaxy," Anakin suggests. "Short notice, so sorry, won't be around for a bit."

They point out that won't work forever.

"So... arrest me, or put me on a mental health hold?" Anakin tries. "Say I got violent at civilians or the clones for no reason and you need to make sure I won't hurt him, and then even if he visits me in the cell, I don't have to act normal 'cause he'll EXPECT me to be upset."

Palpatine presumably has spies all over, so he'd know that hadn't actually happened. Also, Anakin's too important to the war effort for anything short of a cold-blooded murder of an innocent, and they can't just take him off the field without an absolutely massive violation of the Code or his orders.

"Tell him I Fell," Anakin offers.

A Sith Lord would be able to feel that from across the galaxy, if it had happened, especially with the amount of time that he's put into grooming Anakin.

"Oh," Anakin says, and his stomach drops out as he realizes that he can either keep his secrets, or keep people alive.

He thinks about how Palpatine had targeted Padme already, and how if Palpatine thinks Anakin's betrayed him, then he'll probably do that again.

He thinks about 'a Sith Lord would know' and realizes... well.

Anakin values his freedom, but he also values his men, his padawan, his master, his wife... the wife that's in danger if Palpatine knows that Anakin caught him out.

The Order has to keep Anakin away from Palpatine. They need an excuse to arrest him. They need an excuse to hide him away, one that Palpatine won't question too hard.

A Sith Lord would know if Anakin fell. Even if he came back afterwards.

"So... so tell him you found out about the Tusken Massacre."

The what.

"...tell him you found out about the time I actually did Fall," Anakin says, squeezing Padme's hand. She knows. She's the only one who knows, on Coruscant, other than the Sith they're hunting. "On... on Tatooine. You can claim it was an anonymous tip. He already knows about that one. He's one of the only two people outside Tatooine that do. He might not question it."

(He won't question it.)

What did you do, Skywalker.

"I killed... a lot of people. A Tusken tribe. Including the children. Right before the war hit."

----

It's a hell of a way to fall on his figurative sword.

(Mace is... both impressed that Anakin would take the hit to make sure they can handle the Palpatine problem, and horrified about the Massacre, because... who wouldn't be.)

(Mace is unfortunately Anakin's main handler on this project.)

Anakin puts in so much effort, all the time, into not Falling, so it’s surprisingly (terrifyingly!) easy for him to fake a 'near miss' with the Dark just by thinking really hard about things that make him angry. Nobody wants him actually Falling for the ploy if they can help it, but they need to sell the bit, and Anakin's... well. He's Anakin. It's easy to think about his own emotional volatility until any control goes out the window.

He's sacrificing a lot for this mission! It's fine! He's fine!

(Padme, the council is judging you so hard right now.)

Palpatine comes to visit Anakin in prison, and it is very easy for Anakin to disguise his anger as... a different anger. I have a very intense mental image of Anakin working himself up into a frenzy when Palpatine comes to visit, and then at some point in the following conversation he just snaps something about how "you said they were animals who deserved to die."

The Council can even eke it out a bit, make it so they don't want to admit why Anakin's in prison or under a psychiatric hold or whatever they claim it is, so their "I'm hiding something vibes" look like "I'm hiding the fact that one of our most recognizable war heroes just came clean as a mass murderer and we have no idea how to handle it" instead of "I'm hiding that we know you're a Sith Lord and are working to take you down."

Obi-Wan comes back from an off-world mission to find out that Mace arrested his former padawan and Ahsoka hasn't stopped crying for three days because nobody will tell her what's going on.

(The Council decided this couldn't be risked on even an encrypted comm.)

(They maybe tell him soon enough? But also they might treat it like the Hardeen thing and use his reaction as fuel to keep Palpatine convinced.)

SKYGUY GOT ARRESTED AND NOBODY'S EXPLAINING WHY.

Rex is overwhelmed because it's been his job to keep her calm.

Anyway, padawanship has been temporarily transferred to the grandmaster. You were half-training her anyway.

Insert a subplot about Obi-Wan being horrified and betrayed and aiming the feeling at Padme because she knew about the Tuskens and never told.

[silv3rswirls]

Comforting their s/o when they cry (Ateez)

Note: Some of the members came out short than others based on the scenarios I picked for them

Tike taken: about 30 minutes/unedited

♡Seonghwa♡

Crying over an argument

You and Seonghwa were busy people. You worked part-time and went to school, while Seonghwa could often get caught up with KQ and Ateez. So, spending time together could be hard to find at times. But you made it work, mainly by trying to plan things the best you could around Seonghwa’s schedules. Most of the time it worked out, but lately, it hasn't. You just couldn’t cancel and reschedule all the important events coming up and unfortunately, your dates with Seonghwa had suffered.

That’s why both of you were standing around in the dorm bickering at the moment. Seonghwa wanted to go out with you tomorrow afternoon, but you were swamped. “Can’t you reschedule it?” He asked again, “I want to take you out.”

“I can’t” you pressed, “I really can’t miss this, I’m sorry.”

“But you keep saying that, we haven’t spent time together in weeks.” He frowned, frustration building in his voice. “Can’t you cancel? Do you just not want to spend time with him?”

“I always cancel!” You snapped, “I always reschedule so we can be together, so don’t say I don’t want to spend time with you!”

A thick silence fell between the two of you and you hadn’t even noticed your tears until Seonghwa came to brush them away. “I try really hard to accommodate you, and I don’t mind, but sometimes I just can’t, okay?”

Seonghwa wore a guilty expression as he took in your glassy eyes and stressed demeanor. “I’m sorry...do you really plan everything around me?”

You nodded, “I want nothing more than to go out with you all the time, but sometimes things are just too much, okay? I’m sorry I can’t go tomorrow-”

He hushed you, “don’t apologize, I shouldn’t be so persistent in your rescheduling.” He rubbed comforting circles on your hand as he held it, “just forget about tomorrow, let’s just enjoy the time we have together right now.”

♡Hongjoong♡

He's late for a date

Seeing you slowly descend into tears as he tried to explain why he was late hurt. He hadn’t meant to get caught up at work, but he had and your evening date had momentarily slipped his mind. Hence why he was nearly thirty minutes late. He had found you, bored on your phone as you kept up the waiting. He had swopped in with apologies and excuses, but hearing them only made you sadder than you already were. It wasn’t the first time he had forgotten, in fact, you almost expected it. It didn’t make things sting any less, so as you listened to him explain how he had gotten so caught up in work you felt the sting of tears building in your eyes, unable to hold them in as you choked back a sob.

“Don’t cry!” Hongjoong had pressed himself closer to you. It truly took him off guard, seeing as you were also so understanding of these kinds of things. “Don’t cry, I’m sorry.” It tore him up to see you crying because of him, but his heart broke when he heard you mutter than it was to be expected of him as you tried to wiggle free. His hold on you grew lax as he looked back on all the times he had done this. With a pang of guilt in his chest, he realized that he had come to expect you to accept his apologies and excuses, accidentally taking advantage of your usual kind and supportive energy.

He waits until the two of you are outside, following you to your car. “Just go home, I don’t feel like doing anything anymore.” You sniffled, fishing your keys from your bag.

He nodded but went in for another hug, wrapping his arms tight around your body and pressing his face into your shoulder. “I’ll do better” he mutters, “I promise, I’m so sorry for tonight.” Tentatively he rubs away whatever tears are left in your eyes and kisses your forehead, “text me when you get home, okay?”

You nod with a small smile, sharing one more hug before heading off.

♡Yunho♡

Crying of frustration

Yunho immediately brought you in for a hug when he noticed your frustration spilling into tears. You had been working on your schoolwork the past few hours, studying and preparing for your exams while he watched a movie beside you. You had been turning your mind over and over trying to understand the material in front of you, but every time you tried to work it out you found yourself either wrong or too lost to keep going. Frustration set in early as you tried to keep going, but as you did so your eyes clouded with tears and they escaped right as Yunho came back with a snack for the of you.

“Awe, baby don’t cry” he cooed, arms tight around you as he pulled you away from your work. He could understand being so overwhelmed and frustrated, but seeing your break down into tears over it tugged his heartstrings harder. “It’s okay, just take a break.” He squeezes you tight, almost like he was trying to squeeze your frustration away. He made you take a long break, have some water, and a snack to relax. In the end, he sat by your side and helped you through it, a bit lost as well but eager to help you. He keeps his arm around you the whole time.

♡Yeosang♡

A pet passes away

Yeosang had no idea what to do when you tearfully explained how your beloved family pet had passed away the previous day. You had come to him with teary eyes but as you explained the situation further you broke down to full sobs. His eyes grew wide as you broke down, understandably so. “I’m sorry” he spoke softly, taking your hand gently and guiding you to sit down. Losing a pet could be so painful, he just wanted to take all your pain away.

He knew he couldn’t just make it disappear, so he let you get it all out on his shoulder. Rubbing your back and handing you tissues. Yeosang wants to be there for you all he can, despite being a little jumbled and awkward with his actions at times. He makes sure you cuddle up close with him, petting through your hair and reminding you of all the good memories with your pet. He wants you to smile back on all the good things.

♡San♡

Watching a sad movie

With a storm raining outside, you and San had chosen to settle down for the evening with a movie. Cuddled under a blanket with snacks and light conversations as the movie San picked at random ran through its time. You had liked the movie at first, a kind of coming-of-age film as it slowly went through the main character’s life with her friends and family.

It was towards the end where you found your face heating up with tears. The main character was reminiscing in her old age of her youth and all the people that impacted her life, focusing heavily on one of her childhood friends that she had a falling out with. They had never spoken again, going separate ways in life seemingly not missing the other. It ripped at your heartstrings a bit too personally as you were only reminded of an old friend you had drifted from. As the credits rolled and you sat with old memories you could feel your shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

“Baby?” San was caught off guard to find you crying. You explained how close to home it had hit you, and San scrambled to change it to something happier to take your mind off of it. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have picked a sad one.” He frowned, holding on to your tightly. Even long after your tears stopped he keeps you in his arms, cuddling and talking sweetly with you for the rest of the night.

♡Mingi♡

Overwhelmed

Mingi’s go-to had been to scoop you up in a bear hug. He knew with just how hard you had begun to break down that it wasn’t just over breaking a glass. He listened to you desperately try to explain how it was so much more than the glass, how hard you had been trying to hold everything in the past month or so. He clings to you for the rest of the day, encouraging you to let everything out and cry as long and hard as you need to. He’ll be there for you through it all.

“Come to me whenever you need.” He assures you that it’s okay, he wants to hear about all your worries and frustrations. The both of you lay down, cuddling as you recount how emotionally blocked you had been. Talking away all the big worries on your mind as Mingi listened to every word. He keeps his arms tight around you.

♡Wooyoung♡

Not knowing why

Wooyoung had come home excited to see you after a long day. He had many things stored away to tell you about, questions about your day, about your next date, anything that had come to mind during the day. Eagerly he found you in bed, the big smile on his face slowly fading as he noticed your quiet crying. He tones his energy down and sits beside you. Carefully he runs a hand over your back, catching your attention as you turn over to face him. “What happened?”

You shake your head, “I don’t know...I just needed to cry I guess.” You seem upset, unable to figure out exactly why or what you were crying over. Seeing your boyfriend’s brow knit in confusion and a small pout taking his lips only made you cry more. You had buried your face into his thigh, but Wooyoung wasted no time crawling under the covers with you. “It’s okay” he soothes, an arm around your waist as the other rubs away your tears, poking and pinching at your cheek in an attempt to get you to smile. “Sometimes we just need to cry, it’s okay.”

♡Jungho♡

Stress

“Everything’s fine, I’m here.”

Jongho had been with you when you began to break down. He was sitting on the sofa of your place as you pace around, on the phone with work as major changes were taking place. Watching you frantically scribble down dates and notes, anyone could easily tell how stressed you were getting.

When you finally hung up, standing over the table quietly and playing with your pen he got up to check on things. He found you rereading everything you hastily scribbled down, chewing your lip as you tried not to start crying. Between school and work, you were feeling nothing but stress and worry over how things would turn out in the coming days.

“I-I’m sorry” you hiccuped, rubbing your eyes. Jongho hadn’t known what to do at first, but he’s quick to let you wrap your arms around him and try to compose yourself. He strokes your hair, again muttering that it was okay to cry on his shoulder like this. “We’ll figure it out together, okay?” He keeps an eye on you even when you break away and takes a few deep breaths.

[fruggo]

Hello ! I saw the enemies fo lovers things and I wanna request if possible

“ rich coming from the guy who tried to kill me three days ago. “

With frank if you would and thank you

yessirrr i love frank sm it’s not ok. also umm i may have accidentally written friends to enemies to lovers or something idk. and though i wouldnt necessarily call you friends at the start, you werent really enemies yet???? idk🐸just ummm yeh i love frank

also help how do i not go overboard???? i feel like i made this way too long, please help and i am sorry

warnings: canon-typical violence, swearing, frank being a bastard but then you’re like awwww he’s a cute bastard aaaaw

~~

Things were weird with Frank, and they always had been from the moment you stepped foot in the Entity’s realm. He always tunneled you relentlessly, and that made you think of him as a big asshole, but there were some strange details tacked onto the sentiment that greatly confused you, should you think about it for more than three seconds.

Sometimes, it seemed like he went easy on you in chases, like he put in no effort. He would chase you for a while, let you waste his time, and then leave without even getting a hit on you when he definitely had the ability to.

And you hated saying this, but when he handled you, it almost felt…gentle. Granted, he was a killer, and his job was to murder you, but your experiences with him did not quite line up with those of the other survivors.

They always described trials against Frank as “stepping on legos in the middle of the night” or something akin to that. You never felt like that, though—when he chased you, it felt fair. Almost as if he played nice with you. And more often than not, the killer would let you go when he caught you. The reason remained a mystery to you until quite a bit later.

This trial, Frank was in 100% bastard mode. You had begun to think of his trials as quite easy due to his seemingly calm nature around you, so you were rather caught off guard when he downed you in the first 30 seconds of the match and tossed you onto a hook, no gentleness whatsoever.

You wanted to yell at him and ask what the fuck was wrong with him until you realized this was his fucking job, and this is how he should have been treating you all along. Maybe you had just been imagining it all, but you could have sworn he used to leave you alone more than this. Something just felt different.

After you were unhooked, he went for you again. And again. And then you were dead, completely wiped out of the trial. Frank had demolished you with no remorse.

You knew it was silly to feel betrayed, but you really couldn’t help it. In such an insane and hellish place, anything that could be even remotely perceived as kindness seemed like so much more of a big deal than it truly was. So Frank’s supposed “gentleness” with you had felt somewhat like a friend doing you a selfless favor. Of course, it was not a selfless favor, and it was certainly nowhere near kindness, because he was still a killer chasing you with a knife, but your standards had really lowered in this place.

After that trial, you were back to hating Frank for tunneling and bullying you (like you probably should). You began to understand the survivors’ saying about the legos—and you hoped that Frank would step on some legos too, because he fucking sucked sometimes.

And for a while, that’s just how it was. You nearly forgot how he used to go easier on you, and how you used to do okay in his matches. Now every time you were pit against each other it just felt like you were being stuck with a bunch of pins; you never had any time to breathe or rest or do literally anything. He just went after you until you were gone, and there was next to nothing you could do about it.

Everything changed very suddenly during a trial at Ormond.

You were expecting the same old routine with this asshole—chase, blah blah blah, die. You hardly had energy to fight back anymore.

So when he arrived out of breath at the killer shack, somehow knowing you would be here, Frank was surprised to find you relaxing under the window with your arms loosely crossed, a disapproving scowl upon your countenance. It was enough to make him hesitate in his tracks.

You let out a deep breath, refusing to break eye contact with his mask; you kept up that menacing frown for as long as you could, trying to make him feel guilty (who knows if it was even possible for him to feel guilty? But it was worth a try).

“Just kill me,” you said, voice steady and seemingly unbothered. Underneath the surface, you were trembling, but you stood your ground. “That’s what you’re gonna do, isn’t it? You’re going to chase me until I’m miserable and kill me off as soon as you can?”

Frank went still, not even fidgeting with his knife like he usually did; he was intrigued by your sudden confidence.

You went on. “I’m really sick and tired of you, you know that? I’m sick of you and your bullshit. Why can’t you treat me like everybody else? At first, you went easy on me. Now you just torture me with your stupid mind games, and frankly, I’m sick of playing! I’m done with you—I don’t care anymore! Just kill me, and I’ll get out of your way, okay asshole? Mori me if you want. I don’t give a shit.”

You put your hands up exasperatedly, fully expecting him to take the offer and just send you back to the campfire right then and there. But the man sighed, pocketed his knife, and sat down right next to you as if this were a normal thing for him to do.

You scooted a few inches away out of instinct. Frank noticed, but he chose not to say a word about it.

It was a long time before he said anything, and when he finally did, you wanted to punch him so bad.

“It’s complicated,” he mumbled. And that was all.

Oh, yeah? It was complicated? You scoffed, hanging your head with a bitter smile. “Oh, okay. Sure.”

Silence again.

Awkward, suffocating silence.

And then Frank got up and left. You were unbothered for the remainder of the trial, not even a scratch or bruise on your body.

~~

Sometimes you simply did things, and you didn’t know why. This thing that you just did was irrational, stupid, unplanned, unwise, and everything in-between, and you knew it was, but frequently you just had no impulse control. Perhaps it was the Entity’s influence, or maybe you had always been this way—you couldn’t really remember.

How did you get here again? Why were you laying on the ground? And why did your leg hurt so fucking much?

Oh, yes. Yes, yes, you remember now.

Funnily enough, it seems as though the Entity, along with certain killers, did not like it when survivors tried to enter their side of the forest! But you did it anyways, and it appeared that you had suffered the consequences. It’s not like you had put much thought into it; where was the point in that when nothing mattered anymore and you were stuck in an endless cycle of death?

You remembered entering the killer’s woods, looking around, and doing…something. What was that something? You couldn’t be sure, but then you remembered somebody coming up to you and probably definitely hurting you. Yep, your leg definitely was in a lot of pain. You couldn’t even look at it. Did you pass out for a while? Maybe. How long were you out for?

You lay still there for a while, thinking. Man, it really hurt, and boy, were you miserable. Maybe more miserable than you’d ever felt here. The Entity normally healed wounds immediately, but perhaps you had just angered it so much you deserved to suffer.

Oh, dear! You seemed to be passing out at this time. Yes, that was almost certainly what was happening. Black spots danced across your eyes as your body began to feel distant and numb, but you didn’t feel very worried about it. In fact, you felt like making jokes right now, but you had nobody to make jokes to and you probably couldn’t even speak.

Just as you began to accept it, there was a strange thumping sensation vibrating through the ground growing closer…and closer…

Footsteps! That’s good!

Oh. Not if it’s a killer. That’s not good, probably.

But you had no way of protesting when you felt yourself being picked up, because those black spots in your eyes were dancing a lot faster now, perhaps something akin to an Irish jig, and you also couldn’t feel your limbs.

Then you were fast asleep again, dreaming of Irish dancers who were actually big fluffy cloud people wearing leprechaun clothes. Nobody but you would ever know this, and it was going to stay that way.

On the bright side, it made it a lot easier for your rescuer to carry you to safety like this.

~~

When you awoke once more, you were horrified to find yourself in the Ormond lodge of all places. You knew immediately what had happened and were determined to escape as soon as possible.

Your injured leg proved to be a huge problem, however, and you collapsed the second you attempted to find freedom. Trying again, you collapsed once more, and probably maimed yourself further in the process.

Hearing the commotion from the second floor, your least favorite member of The Legion descended down from the main stairs, refusing to look directly at you even as he scooped you up and plunked you (gently) back onto the couch, which was rather comfortable (not that you would ever tell him that).

So he was playing it cool, huh?

Okay. You could play it cool, too. You were cool. Smooth as butter.

No. You really couldn’t be cool in a situation like this, and plus, your mind was still a little woohoo since whatever accident had occurred. Suddenly you blurted out, “Frank, I hate your guts.”

And he had the audacity to laugh. He laughed at you! He did the man chuckle thing, as if what you were saying was funny. No! You were completely serious! You did hate his guts!

Perhaps your face showed how upset you were, because he started to apologize (still laughing).

“Maybe you should go back to sleep,” Frank said after calming down a bit.

No. You couldn’t go back to sleep. You did not want to experience dancing cloud people dressed as leprechauns ever again in your life, for the rest of eternity. Never again.

So you shook your head violently, refusing to give an explanation, which just provoked Frank to anger all of a sudden. If you went back to sleep, he could have some alone time while the rest of The Legion was gone. He kept pushing, and you kept resisting, and he pushed and you resisted, until finally he gave up and let you off with a warning. If you made him mad again, he was throwing you out in the snow.

Fine with me, you said. Okay, I’ll do it right now, he said. No balls, you said.

So then Frank casually went to scoop you up in his arms again, and you started to freak out and beat your hands against his chest until he put you back down. He was was awfully mindful of your hurt leg for someone who was about to throw you into the snow.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry—please don’t throw me out,” you fussed. You thought he wouldn’t actually do it. You didn’t know it, but you were right—he was just messing with you because it was funny seeing you scared.

After a bit more griping back and forth, Frank began to grow concerned about your leg. He didn’t know how to bring up the topic because things were so odd between the two of you; this was your first interaction since the brief encounter in the shack. But he swallowed his pride, because the wound seemed to be getting worse by the minute.

“Hey, do you want me to, uhh…get some supplies?” Frank asked awkwardly. When you didn’t understand, he continued, “Your leg? It looks like it hurts…I could fix it if you want.”

You barked out a laugh at his words, unbelieving of this shift in attitude. “Rich coming from the guy who tried to kill me three days ago,” you snickered, genuinely finding it amusing.

Frank took offense. He was trying to be nice for once, and you thought it was funny. And his situation really was complex, whether you chose to believe it or not. Maybe he should just tell you to get it off of his chest.

“Listen,” he said, voice laced with seriousness. “When I told you things were complicated, I meant it.”

Sensing the mood change from his tone and body language, you stopped smiling and decided to pay attention to him. Just this once. Never again. After this you could go back to hating him.

Frank continued. “The Entity was going to start…well, hurting me, if I didn’t start doing better in trials. I really didn’t want to sacrifice you, which is embarrassing to admit, but I’ll say it. And I don’t think it liked that.”

You were surprised. And also relieved that you had been right all along—he had been going easy on you at first.

“Why me, though?” you asked, confused. “Why wouldn’t you want to sacrifice me? What about the other survivors?”

If the slight tilt of his head at your question didn’t answer it for you, the way he started tapping his feet and cracking his knuckles so nervously did.

Boy, if looks could kill, you would have died instantly at the scowl Frank sent your way; you grinned pridefully at the realization that this man was down bad. You couldn’t see the expression behind his mask, though, which Frank was thankful for.

He hated every second of this, but you loved it. You reveled in his embarrassment.

Leaning forward on your hands, you begged, “Tell me more! I want to hear all about your feelings for me.”

“I could stab you right now, you know that?”

“But you won’t. You liiiiike me!”

“What are you, eight years old?”

“No, but I am severely injured and have lost a lot of blood so I am not necessarily in the right headspace at the moment.”

“You make a fair point.”

“So tell me! What’s your favorite thing about me?”

“Your ass.”

“No, really.”

“Okay, your ass and your hair.”

“You know what, Frank, I still hate your guts.”

“No, you don’t.”

You paused for a moment. It was probably the blood loss talking, you decided later, but you said, “No. Maybe I don’t.”

[merakiui]

Heey saw requests were open so I couldn't help but come check out and ask! Will you be okay if you do a Xiao, Zhongli, Diluc and Childe with a S/O who tries to took a hit for them from getting killed by an enemy?

Xiao, Zhongli, Diluc, and Childe with an S/O who Shields Them From an Attack

☁️ Xiao ☁️

You dragged him along so that he could get some fresh air and help you with your commissions. Xiao would rather stay inside, but you seemed to want to spend time with him so it’s hard to object.

Xiao definitely tried to avoid going with you, but you had kissed his cheek and said it’s more fun if he accompanies you. His weak heart agreed right away.

So not only is he there to provide moral support and company, he’s also there to make sure you’re not going to do anything foolish.

He’s already defeated multiple enemies while you looked through crates for extra materials. If he were mortal, your carelessness probably would’ve shaved a few years off of his life.

He keeps telling you to pay attention and you say you are, but then you turn away and next thing you know an arrow comes whizzing past you.

Xiao’s picking up a damaged mask from the grassy ground, wiping the grime from it, when your shout alerts him. And before he knows it you’re tackling him to the ground.

He’s surprised and a little angry, snapping at you to be more careful. Your grip on his shirt tightens and he wonders what’s gotten into you.

When Xiao places his hand upon your back and finds the arrow sticking out of it, he freezes. You just...shielded him from an attack. And in the process you ended up getting hurt.

Warm blood coats his fingers and you’re doing all that you can to avoid bursting into tears in front of the stern adeptus. He sits up with you, wasting no time in swiftly defeating the archer hilichurl. His anger can be felt in the way he attacks mercilessly, showing no sign of letting up until the hilichurl has fallen to the ground.

Xiao can��t believe you, a mortal, would shield him, an immortal, from an arrow. He knows you love him, but to so readily take a hit for him—it’s surprising.

“You...” He wants to call you stupid, but you were only thinking of his safety. Instead he chooses to pacify you rather than berating you for something that has already happened. “You’re going to be okay. It doesn’t look that bad.”

He tends to your injuries to the best of his ability and then will bring you back to Wangshu for further inspection. Once the arrow is pulled out and your injury is cleaned and bandaged, tears finally spring from your eyes. It really, really hurts and you feel bad for making Xiao worry on your behalf.

He’s just relieved you’ll heal normally. But in the future he doesn’t want you to endanger yourself for his sake. After all, he’ll be perfectly fine if he takes a hit that would be fatal to most.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt,” you admit, placing your hand on his shoulder. “I know you’re an adeptus, but it would’ve hurt me more if I’d just let you get hit.”

Xiao sighs, taking your hand in his. “I guess it’s fine... Just don’t do it again, okay?” Deep inside, he’s truly touched that you would throw yourself in front of danger just to protect him, but he doesn’t want this to become a recurring thing for you. 

🔶 Zhongli 🔶

You had taken Zhongli out to find some Cor Lapis and other ores you were in desperate need of. He suggested buying them from the locals, but he didn’t bring any Mora and you knew of a few abandoned mines where you could get them for free.

With that logic cemented into place, you and Zhongli headed off for the areas you had marked on your map.

It wasn’t a difficult trip; the two of you worked diligently in clearing any enemies that got in your way and eventually you had made it to the first cave.

Zhongli was reciting the history of Liyue caves and their monetary benefits while you climbed over rubble and debris from past accidents. You’d almost tripped once, but he had caught you out of reflex, seemingly unbothered with your clumsiness.

All was going well. You’d mined a lot of ores with Zhongli’s help and the two of you were about to move onto the next cave when the ground above seemed to shake. Briefly, you glanced up, wondering what could be causing such a disturbance.

“We should be careful. There might be a Ruin Hunter around,” you told him as you navigated through the winding tunnel. Zhongli nodded in agreement with that, easily stepping over fallen stones.

Before you knew what was happening, the entire cave was shaking as another loud explosion resonated from above. Debris from above trickled down like snow and you cowered for a moment, expecting a cave-in.

It was silent for a few minutes and you figured the threat must’ve passed. Zhongli waited for a moment as he listened to the silent, musty air.

Just as you breathed your sigh of relief, the ground shook ten times harder than before, and stones larger than the ores you had mined were raining down at once.

The initial shock was more than enough to have you running for the entrance, pulling a very confused Zhongli along. A stone larger than your foot comes falling, and it’s about to hit Zhongli on the head.

To avoid an accident, you shove him to the front and the rock hits you instead of him. Luckily, it wasn’t on the head, but it did hit your ankle hard.

You’re worried you’ve sprained it after you fall to the ground, more stones pelting you. The next thing you know, Zhongli picks you up in his arms and carries you out of the cave before it can collapse entirely on the both of you.

Concerned for your safety, Zhongli observes your injuries. You’re bruised and your ankle does look sprained. He asks if you can stand and when you try he frowns. It looks like you’re going to need to rest up for a few days.

Zhongli will help you the rest of the way back, occasionally stopping so you can give your legs a rest. He expresses his gratitude and is rather surprised that you would go out of your way to take the hits of many stones and rocks.

Despite being thankful, Zhongli hopes you won’t do this again because he doesn’t like to see you in pain. If you’re hurt, he feels hurt and that’s the last thing he wants.  

🔥 Diluc 🔥

A group of slimes were hanging around the winery again and so Diluc went off to deal with the problem. He didn’t expect there to be so many, though.

You had tagged along just in case something like this were to happen. And even though Diluc is strong enough to handle so many enemies, these slimes just kept coming.

It was difficult to deal with all sorts of different slimes: Electro, Anemo, and even Cryo. Despite the fact that he didn’t want you to endanger yourself—he insisted he could handle it—you still did what you could to help.

Once you were certain all the slimes were defeated, Diluc sighed, leaning against his weapon to relax after so much fighting. His back was turned and he didn’t notice the large slime creeping up on him.

You jumped in just in time to prevent the slime from hurting him. It had been a quick reaction, one that you hadn’t thought through entirely.

The Cryo slime is freezing to the touch and as soon as it hits you an icy cold envelops you. You try to look strong in front of Diluc, but it’s just too much and you fall to your knees, shivering while the slime looms over you.

Diluc witnessed the entire thing when he first noticed you jump into action and he’s very surprised to find that last slime. He defeats it at once before dropping down to check your injuries.

You aren’t exactly wounded, but you are very cold. He’s ashamed at himself for not paying closer attention to his surroundings.

While Diluc is grateful that you protected him, he’s disappointed that you’d put yourself in harm’s way. You should’ve just let the slime hit him.

He sheds his coat and drapes it over you, using his own Pyro element to start a fire that’ll have you warm in no time.

“You didn’t have to do that. But...thank you. Next time don’t do anything reckless. You’ll hurt yourself,” he says while checking your body temperature.

“But I wanted to keep you safe, Diluc! You already defeated so many slimes. That last one could’ve done some serious damage.”

He’s touched that you’d worry about him, but he doesn’t want you to do something like that again. It’s upsetting that you got harmed as a result of him and he wants to make sure you’re truly okay.

You drag Diluc under his coat so that his body heat can warm you up faster. And even though he tries to get out of it, he doesn’t complain too much.

It’s hard to be upset at the person he loves so much, especially if they were the one who protected him.

💧 Childe 💧

You and Childe were picking through some ruins, searching for chests and other valuable materials. You were careful to avoid any enemies, as the last thing you wanted to do was fight a bunch of slimes and hilichurls.

Childe fought them in your place, eagerly defeating them while you remained on the sidelines.

Everything was going well until the two of you stumbled upon a Ruin Guard that was slumped over, docile and not yet awake. Childe looked over at you and then at the Ruin Guard and then back at you, grinning madly the entire time.

You could only face palm and shake your head, grabbing his arm and gesturing in another direction. You’d encountered enough monsters today; you definitely didn’t want to waste your energy on a rust bucket. But Childe, who had only been fighting small enemies up until this point, was itching for a bigger opponent.

So he rushed ahead despite your quiet protests. And you were stuck having to watch as he sparred with the Ruin Guard.

You would’ve left it up to him if you hadn’t noticed the second Ruin Guard awakening from its slumber, having been disturbed by the commotion.

One Ruin Guard was already an issue, but now you’ve got to deal with two. You can only sigh as you run in to defeat the second one, hoping it won’t take up too much of your time.

Missiles are everywhere; they’ve nearly destroyed the ground and have cracked the already eroded stone pathways. You’ve nearly fallen victim to them a few times now and if it weren’t for Childe’s quick thinking you would’ve been crushed by their mechanical feet.

The first Ruin Guard falls before the two of you in a heap of exhausted, overheated gears and Childe twirls his bow, a glint of madness of his gaze.

You would’ve called it a day if it weren’t for the other Guard aiming for him, missiles completely locked onto his form.

Without thinking, you jump into action, pushing Childe away before he can be hit. In the process, the missiles slam into the rock formation above you and it comes tumbling down in a dusty rumble.

Now it’s Childe’s turn to save you and he’s quick on his feet, pulling you away before you can be buried under heavy stone. The two of you tumble and you scrape your arms and legs in the fall, doing all that you can to shield your boyfriend before he seriously injures himself.

A particular sharp piece of rubble slices the length of your arm and while Childe recovers to finish off the Ruin Guard you clutch your injured arm to stop the blood flow.

Once the Ruin Guard is defeated, Childe goes over to you, bending down to get a look at your arm. “It’s definitely going to need some work,” he jokes, hoping to put a smile on your face. “Don’t worry. I’ll have it patched up in no time. You can count on it.”

And while he wraps it up, he thanks you for your help. Without it, he would’ve been the one with more injuries than you. And even though he doesn’t mind getting hurt in a battle he doesn’t want you to injure yourself as well. So next time you want to protect him, make sure you won’t hurt yourself in the process!

[watchmegetobsessed]

Prisoner - Bucky Barnes

a/n: hi everyone! i am really excited to share this with you, because this one was written for a writing challenge! it is part of @wkemeup​ ‘s 9k writing challenge and it’s the first time i take part in anything like this with a Bucky fic! not that i have many but im sure more is about to come lol! let me know what you thought after reading!

prompt: Character A is possessed/controlled and attempts to harm Character B. [B] refuses to fight back in fear of hurting [A].  

pairing: Bucky X Reader

warnings: blood, violence, mind controlling, just the usual jazz lol

word count: 7.8k

masterlist

Bucky and you were a pair made in hell. Only that he is the only one out of the two of you who really went through the deepest and darkest corners of it while you were basically just waiting in the lobby, as you like to say it.

He wasn’t the only person HYDRA had plans with. Being an orphan from the age of four, you didn’t have the life you probably deserved. Abducted at the age of twenty, you lived in cells and labs for years before they gave you the serum, turning you into a super solider, with determined plans to turn you into a kind of winter soldier 2.0, eventually wiping your head like his and turning you into the perfect assassin. Only that before they could start with the torture, you were rescued by none other than Captain America during a raid on one of HYDRA’s secret bases.

The Avengers gave you shelter when you had absolutely nothing left in life. Your previous life was long forgotten, almost entirely non-existent, all you had is the safety these extraordinary people were offering you, that you took more than willingly.

You were there when Bucky was captured, still very much fighting with his own conscious. You were in the building when Zemo triggered him into being a murderer again and he broke free, fought his ex best friend, saved his life and then disappeared again. You often found yourself thinking about how you’d be just the same if you weren’t saved. How you’d be out there, used as just a toy to end lives.

You never had to go through the process of ripping this side of yourself out of your head, because they never succeeded with you. But Bucky didn’t have it as lucky as you did. When Shuri contacted you that he was awake from his hibernation and they were working on wiping the winter soldier out of him, you didn’t hesitate to drop everything and be there for him. You didn’t know him that well back then, but you felt like you shared a deep connection through the torturous things you had to go through. You were there for him until he finally became entirely himself. No more winter soldier, just Bucky.

The two of you have tens of missions together behind your back at this point. Partners in work, friends in life, that’s what you are. And in your dreams?

Definitely lovers.

Now as you are rotting in a dark and musty cell somewhere in the middle of Poland, you are starting to regret you never really told him how you feel. You had so many chances to come clear but you were too afraid of rejection and the possibility of ruining your strong friendship and most importantly partnership that you chose to keep it all bottled up inside you.

It might have been days or hours since they locked you in your cell, you wouldn’t know. You lost track of time and you’re not expecting to see the daylight anytime soon either. Are they looking for you? Or do they think you died? No one was around you when you were abducted and there were no signs left behind that would have let your team know you survived. There was a massive explosion near your location in the raid, anyone would easily think that you were caught in the middle of that.

Does Bucky think I’m dead too? Has he given up on me?

You’re starting to think you’ll never find that out. Just like how you’ll never find out what it’s like to grow old, have a home that’s not just a room in a facility, spend your days with your hobbies rather than trainings and missions.

As the thick metal door opens and a creak of light breaks the heavy darkness in your cell, you look up at the man who walks in. If your hands weren’t cuffed with fucking vibranium cuffs, you would easily kill him in a heartbeat along with the three bulky guards he brought with himself.

“It’s time to make a use out of you,” the man grinned before two guards grabbed you by your arms, dragging you out of the cell, taking you God knows here. Probably to your death.

“You have to check twice,” Buckly growled upon hearing Agent Hill’s report from what was found at the scene. Or what was not found.

“No signs of Y/N were found, Bucky. But that explosion was so massive, it wiped out everything in it’s close radius. If she stood close to that…” “But what if she didn’t?!” he snaps, barking at the innocent agent. The room falls silent, no one dares to speak up against Bucky’s raging anger. Fury steps forward and places a hand to the upset soldier’s shoulder as a soft warning to control himself. Bucky takes a deep breath before looking over at Fury, no longer determined to rip anyone apart who wants to argue with him.

“Let’s all calm down and see what we can do. Do you think she survived?” Fury simply questions him. Bucky taps on the panel and a map of the location pulls up on the big screen, showing a little red dot at the places where the team members were located last before the explosion.

“Her last location was far enough of it for her to survive,” he explains pointing at your dot.

“But if she moved just a little closer—“ Hill starts again, but she quickly silences herself when Bucky shoots her another warning look.

“I think she was captured. We can’t just assume that she is gone that easily,” he insists, refusing to even think about the possibility of you dying in that explosion. That’s just simply not an option for him.

Fury stares back at him hard, searching for something in his eyes before he finally nods.

“Alright, let’s get on the case. We need to find out where they could be possibly hiding her.”

Bucky breathes out in relief as the team gets down to work immediately. This is not the part he can help with, he sucks at technical things, so now he is left with just the painful wait until a lead pops up and he can come to your rescue.

 The gym is eerily quiet without your bickering. He always trains with you and it’s been one of his favorite things to do. The two of you liked to race in everything and thought you both knew he was faster and stronger, he always let you win a few times, giving you the chance to tease him about being second after you.

But now as he is punching the heavy bag on his own, he wishes he could hear one of your snarky comments about his lopsided moves, because he still hasn’t entirely gotten used to the uneven strength in his hands.

“If she is really out there, I’m sure she is doing fine.”

Sam walks in, his steps echo in the empty room and though Bucky stops for a moment, he doesn’t look at him, just keeps punching the bag.

“She is tough, Bucky. She can take care of herself.”

“Not when she is outnumbered by a dozen,” he growls back. “I know she is tough, but sometimes that’s just not enough.”

For a long time Bucky thought Steve is the only person he can work with as partners, but he had to realize that he had a special bond with you through the tortures you both had to go through and sometimes he felt like you were the only one who understood him truly. Even though your brain wasn’t washed like his, you were close to it and it gave you a great understanding of what he had to go through.

But it wasn’t just about the trauma. As you grew closer to each other you easily became friends, really good ones for all that matters. Bucky loved spending time with you on and out of missions as well. He finds your humor a little dark but quite entertaining, he likes how you are more social than he is so whenever you need to work with someone else you always take the role of the communicator, building a bridge between him and others easily. He loves how much you care about others, how you show your appreciation for your loved ones in the tiny details as making breakfast or baking their favorite cookies. He loves the way you smile whenever he messes up something and you have to take care of it eventually, he loves the way you laugh at his lame, old jokes, he loves how you always fall asleep on horror movies and he loves…

He loves you.

For years he thought he would never feel this way again for anyone, because it’s so raw and human, he thought it was wiped out of him when he became the winter soldier, but you proved him wrong. And now he wishes he told you how he felt, because if you won’t return, he has to live his life knowing you never knew how much you meant to him.

Tossing and turning in his bed, he stays wide awake, not able to even close his eyes when he knows you are out there somewhere, because you have to be. He refuses to nurse the thought of you gone for even a second. You’re qualified, the best fighter he has ever met and he has this feeling in his gut that you made it out of there alive. Maybe you knew the explosion was about to happen. Maybe you ran the opposite way before it was too late. Or maybe you found shelter, or simply was just knocked out of the impact of it and they captured you.

So many possibilities that are way more better than the fatality of your death.

Kicking the silky sheets off his body, the ones he deep down hates because it’s way too smooth against his skin, something he still has a hard time to grow accustomed to, he pulls a hoodie over his head before creeping his way out of his bedroom, down the hallway until he reaches yours. He stands still at the door, a sense of anxiety washing over him as he thinks about what’s inside. Not that it’s the first time he is here, he has spent endless nights in your room, the two of you talking and laughing as you showed him your favorite movies he hasn’t seen. You often bought a big bag of snacks for your movie nights and the two of you sprawled across your comforter, your legs sometimes touching, or there was this one time when he let you braid his hair.

“You should come to missions like this,” he remembers your teasing as you ran your fingers through the neat braids running along his head.

“And give the boys another reason to tease me? No thank you,” he chuckled.

“Another? What do they tease you about?” you asked furrowing your eyebrows as you popped a gummybear into your mouth.

You. It was you they teased him about and how obvious his feelings for you are. Seemingly everyone saw how you looked at each other but you and him.

He twists the silver doorknob before pushing the door open, part of him hoping to see you curled up under the sheets, snoring lightly and peacefully, but the room is terribly empty without your presence.

Everything is just the way you left them. The abandoned workout clothes hanging from the edge of the hamper, your running shoes under the window, your journal lying on your nightstand with a pen on top and his favorite… a framed picture of you and him on your bookshelf with all your favorite romantic novels stacked neatly on the shelves.

Bucky steps closer, his hands hidden in the pooch of his hoodie as he stares at the photo. It was taken a few days after the two of you returned from Wakanda, Bucky was finally free from the winter soldier and it was probably the best few days of his life. The two of you decided to take a trip to London before returning to your duty, a place you always wanted to see, but never really got the chance. It was just the two of you, taking some time away from the avengers, SHIELD, all the bad in the world, pretending like you’re two normal people for just a weekend before returning to your duties in New York. The photo was taken when you returned from the getaway, Steve took it in the gym, the two of you sat at the edge of the boxing ring after a killer fight. It was a simple moment, his arm stretched behind you as you leant against his side. The glow from your alone time was still apparent on your faces, neither of you felt happier in life before, or not at least in the last decade.

His vision blurs as he runs a finger through the frame, a sharp pain stabbing in his chest as he watches your bright smile and rosy cheeks. He never thought he would feel this way about anyone, not after everything he went through, but you proved him wrong. You showed him how much more human he still is that what he thinks of himself and you might not even have realized it.

Too restless to go back to sleep, Bucky storms out of your room, carefully closing the door behind him before going down to Tony’s office, determined to make himself useful. He can’t just sit around and wait, he needs to feel like he is doing everything he can.

When the first rays of the sun shine above the horizon and the first agents arrive for their shifts, He has already gone through an immense amount of security tapes from all around the world that had even the slightest match through the face recognition system with yours. None of them turned out to be real, but he never gave up.

“Barnes, were you here all night?” Tony asks in awe when he finds the long-haired avenger with his eyes glued to one of the screens, watching yet another tape.

“Not all night, but… for the majority, yes,” he nods without even sparing Tony a look.

Any other day Tony would tease him for maybe finally doing something useful, or not only using his fist in a case, but not today. Everyone on the team knows how much you mean to him and how hard it is to not know where you are. So he just nods, places his coffee down to the desk and gets down to work without a word.

Soon enough the rest of the team joins them and everyone is working together to find even the slightest lead. Every other minor case is put aside, you are their priority.

The more time passes by without anything found, Bucky feels like a part of him is dying more and more. Hopelessness and fear is taking over his already messed up mine, but he is still holding onto the light and that small little feeling in his gut that you are still out there somewhere. And then they find a lead.

“We’ve got a match!” Nat beams from behind her screen and everyone gathers around her as a series of blurry photos play in front of them, showing a group of men carrying a clearly unconscious person to a minivan before driving away. The quality is definitely not the best, your face is also half covered by your hair, but your uniform gives you away. It really is you.

“Where and when was this taken?” Bucky asks in a hurry.

“Last night, outside of Krakow. We have one last coordinate for the van,” Nat informs the group as she brings up a map, a red dot signaling the last spotting of the same van.

“There’s a closed off military based near,” Steve chimes in, pointing at the map a few miles away from where the pictures were taken.

“Alright, suit up everyone. Guess we are going to Poland,” Tony announces and a moment later everyone is running off to get ready for takeoff.

The ground doesn’t feel that bad anymore. It’s wet and there’s gravel here and there, the coldness is not too comfortable either, but you are getting used to it. Probably because it makes you feel things and that’s important to you now. In times when you often lose contact with your own body and mind, feelings keep you grounded and they remind you of who you are.

Last night you finally found out who caught you and it wasn’t a pleasant surprise. Aziel Nowak is a name you’ve already heard before, but not in the best way. The guy is totally crazy and if that’s not enough, he is kind of a genius as well. These two never sit well with each other and you knew it was just a matter of time before you had to face him, but you didn’t think these would be the circumstances.

Nowak’s father, Aleksander was a well-known scientist in the circles of HYDRA, he was one of the assholes responsible for wiping Bucky’s head, unfortunately, his own creation brought his death upon him. Bucky killed him during a raid, all while Aleksander was trying to trigger him, but Bucky was faster than him and shoot him in the head before he could get the second trigger word out. Aziel swore to seek revenge for his father’s death and made it clear that his big plan is to take out every avenger one by one, but all during completely destroying Bucky in every possible way.

Stuck in a clear tube, one that was built specially for super soldiers, you stood in his lab as he got everything ready for his master plan with you.

“The winter soldier was full of flaws,” he started to explain to you, working behind his computer while you couldn’t do anything to stop the madness. Even if you could break out of the tube, you were terribly outnumbered with the hoard of guards in the room, all of them armed and ready to rip you apart. It would have been a suicidal mission.

“The trigger words take a lot of time to enlist and sometimes, we just don’t have time for that. We need our soldier instantly, in a push of a button, if I might add,” he smirked and you almost gagged. He was a lowlife, disgusting middle-aged man, completely out of touch of reality, wrapped up in his own head with his ridiculous misconceptions and twisted view of the world.

“But fear no more, I have a better solution,” he grinned at you, holding up a tiny chip between his fingers and your jaw flexed. You didn’t know what it was, but you had guesses. “Spent years working on this little thing and now I can finally test it out and you get to be the lucky one to do it. Start the gas,” he ordered and a moment later some kind of gas started to fill the tube up. Your pathetic attempt to escape was cut off shortly when you felt your whole body freeze as you inhaled the gas. You just stood there, completely no control over your own body. The back of the tube opened with a hiss once the gas cleared out from around you and you felt a sharp stabbing at the back of your neck. You couldn’t even gasp, you were as frozen as a statue, unable to defend yourself and you truly felt like it’s the end. You wish it was though.

Nowak implanted the chip into your spine and you could feel the wires cling into your nerves, melting into your body like a parasite. A single tear rolled down your cheek as your wound was closed off.

“This is going to be so much fun,” Nowak smirked when he walked into your sight again. He had a control panel in his hands and as he pushed some buttons electricity bolted through your whole body and you completely lost control over your actions. Your body moved without your consent, arms and legs acting without your brain actually telling them.

You became a prisoner in your own body.

The night was spent fighting with Nowak’s best guards as he tested out his new toy: you. He could control your whole body thanks to the chip and while you were screaming and shouting in your head, there was no escape. He made you into his ragdoll and there was nothing you could do against it.

He switched the chip off when you were thrown back into the cell. You sobbed for hours probably as you tried to get the thing out of yourself, blood was dripping down your back, but you had to accept that it was too deep, clinging onto your spine, you couldn’t get it out with your bare hands.

Now you are lying on the floor and try to remember who you are, because you’ve been feeling like you lost touch with your true self. The only thing that has been helping is remembering your favorite memories.

It makes your heart flutter when you realize that most of them have Bucky in them. Your most favorite? The time you spent in London. Those days are the closest and dearest to your heart and now you just wish you could go back in time for even just an hour. Strolling down the streets like any other tourists without a worry in the world, watching the city lay in front of you as you ride the London Eye or walking along the River Thames. You felt so normal, so happy, sharing your time with the man you probably love the most in the whole wide world.

“I could live here,” you sighed when the Big Ben came into view above the brick buildings.

“It rains too much here,” Bucky furrowed his eyebrows at you, his arm brushing against yours.

“I like the rain. Love the smell of it, love how refreshing it feels after it,” you chuckled.

“And what would you want to do here?”

“I don’t know,” you shrugged. “Maybe I would work at a library. Or a café!”

“You want to be a barista!” He chuckled, smirking down on you. “Is this why you wanted Tony to get a fancy espresso machine?”

“Well, not just because of this, I just really like good coffee,” you smiled up at him. “What, do you not like my coffee?”

“Oh, I do. You make the best in the tower,” he nodded.

You could always talk about anything and everything with him. He understood you so well and you liked to think it worked the other way as well. That you were just as important to him as he was to you.

“Bucky.” His name falls from your lips like a desperate plea, as if you could summon him and he’d be here any moment to rescue you. But nothing changes and you are still on your own.

You’ve been wondering if this is how he felt when they made him to be the winter soldier. If he went through the same struggle or if it was worse. He said he doesn’t remember everything he did, as if sometimes he just completely disappeared in his own head, but other times live vividly in his memories.

You remember everything too. The chip has no control over your mind and thoughts, it works as another brain that takes over control in your body, caging your mind in your own head while it works your body.

A siren rings through the building and you gasp, your head snapping in the direction of the metal door. You hear orders in a foreign language and running footsteps somewhere down the hallway. Pushing yourself up you move to the far end of the room as you hear someone approaching your cell. Before the lock clicks on the door, you feel the familiar electricity run through your body and you breathe out before you lose control over your body again. You stand up, not because you want to, but because this is what they ordered. The door swings open and Nowak walks in.

“Guess your little friends figured out where you are. It’s time to show them my masterpiece.”

The military base is pretty lively for a closed off one. As the team is approaching the complex they inspect the possibilities they have to get inside.

“Alright, we have to be smart about this. Nowak is a psychopath,” Tony announces when the quinjet is nearing the base. “Barron and Natasha, we need a diversion. Banner, you stay here and only come in if it’s needed,” he starts and everyone nods along. “Wanda, the same goes for you as well. Listen to the call word and be ready to interfere. Sam and I are going to clear the main building, try to find Nowak. Barnes, Cap, you are tracking Y/N down. Everything clear?”

“As daylight,” Steve nods as he grabs his shield from the side.

Once the quinjet touches down, everyone goes their own way, going along the plan they discussed. Nat and Clint do well with the diversion, a great amount of guards and soldiers are drawn in their way as Tony and Sam make their way into the main building of the base.

“Where should we look, Buck?” Steve asks his friend as they hide behind one of the quarters. Bucky looks around, inspects the place and nods towards a building that’s clearly powered with a lot more electricity for whatever reason, Thick cables running inside, snaking under the doors, pouring extra power inside. Steve nods and once the way is somewhat cleared out, they head inside.

They take down the few HYDRA agents that try to get in their way as they run further into the building without even breaking a sweat. They easily reach the lab and it almost feels way too easy.

“Something is not right,” Steve says as the two of them walk into the empty lab, curious inspecting all the machines and equipment they have absolutely no idea how to work.

Bucky’s eyes fall on the tube in the far corner of the room and walking closer he gets an eerie feeling and he can already picture you trapped inside, the thought making his stomach churn.

“Anyone found Nowak yet?” Steve asks through the com.

“Negative,” Nat grunts back in the middle of her own fight.

“Haven’t seen the fucker either,” Tony answers and Steve sighs.

Just as Bucky is about to head to the door that leads out of the lab at the other end from where they entered, the sliding door opens and they both get ready to fight whatever is about to come into sight. But neither of them were expecting you to walk out.

“Y/N?!” your name falls from Steve’s lips as he lets his shield down, staring back at you confused. But you don’t answer, just stop a few feet away from them, staring blankly ahead of you and Bucky swears he was on the verge of fainting from his anger, because he knew those eyes all too well, because he used to see them in the mirror.

“Y/N, what did they do?” he whispers desperately, a hand reaching out to you, but it’s quickly cut off when you grab his hand and easily throw him over, his back contacting the floor with a painful thump.

Hell breaks loose fast as you start fighting them off, using the advantage of their shock upon seeing you, working against them while they try to make you remember them.

“Y/N, it’s us! We don’t want to hurt you!” Steve growls when he saves himself from one of your hits, his shield coming between the two of you.

I know! I know it’s you, but I can’t do anything! You scream in your own head, unable to even form the words. You’re a prisoner in this body you thought to be yours, but it betrayed you.

You never fought both of them before at the same time, but now that it’s happening, you’re surprisingly good at it, handling two super soldiers at the same time when one of them has a vibranium arm while the other one keeps throwing a vibranium shield at you, though it’s clear they aren’t giving their best, afraid of hurting you even though you’re in killer mode right now and determined to rip them apart.

“Do you think they did the same to her as they did to you?” Steve asks out of breath when you throw them against a wall and return to fight Bucky.

“It’s something else. Look at the back of her neck!” he growls when you throw a punch in his way that he catches with his metal arm, holding your fist tight as you keep pushing it and this moment of pause allows Steve to take a look at you from the back.

“Oh shit,” he breathes out.

Yes! Take this shit out and I’m free! You scream, but no one hears. Your fist frees from Bucky’s grip and you kick him in the stomach so hard he snaps against the desk behind him and wasting no time you jump right at him, the fight continues.

“If anyone finds Nowak, don’t kill him. We’ve got Y/N and she is being controlled by something,” Steve explains through his earpiece before throwing his shield in your direction right when you’re about to attach your hands to Bucky’s neck. It hits you in the side and you fall to the ground grunting.

“Don’t fucking hurt her!” Bucky growls at him, but Steve gives him a look.

“She is trying to kill us, we have to do something!”

You’re on your feet fast, already charging at Steve and it catches him by surprise, he stumbles back as your knee collides with his stomach, a punch thrown at his pretty face.

“I see Nowak!” Tony’s voice comes through the earpieces, but they don’t have the chance to celebrate, because you’re kicking their ass big time.

When you want to launch yourself at Steve again, Bucky’s arms wrap around your waist from behind and he pulls back, pushing you away, making you stumble, but you’re back on your feet quickly. Your eyes meet and you want to touch him so badly, run into his arms, tell him how happy you are to see him and that he was the only thing that kept you sane, but instead, you throw yourself at him, fist colliding with the side of his head.

I’m so sorry, Buck!

“We’ve got Nowak!” Tony announces and Steve sighs in relief.

“Does he have something like a remote or controller?” he asks while you and Bucky are at each other’s throat. You throw him to a desk and drag him across it, papers and equipment flying everywhere before he ends up on the floor groaning. You have the perfect chance to throw a punch in again, but you turn around and run back towards the door you came through.

“He has a controlling panel, do you think it’s connected to Y/N?” Tony asks.

“Very much likely, but please hurry up, she is trying to run away!” Steve begs as they both start to chase after you in the labyrinth of hallways. You’re footsteps are echoing on the checkered floors as they are trying to catch up with you. You take a left turn and get out of their vision just for a split second. As they get around the corner they immediately freeze when they find you standing there, a gun pointing right at Bucky’s head, a deadly, but still rather blank expression in your eyes.

“Shit,” Steve breathes out.

“Y/N, I know you are in there,” Bucky speaks up.

Yes! I’m here! I’m here Bucky!

“The controller is locked, but we are working on it,” Tony announces through the com, but it doesn’t help their situation right now. If he can’t unlock the controller, you are likely to shoot them both if they don’t do something. As you stare back at your two friends, you are using everything in you to try to get back the control over your own body, but it’s like you’re just silently screaming in an empty, locked room.

“I know you hear me. Please, try to fight it off. I know how hard it is, but if anyone can do it, it’s you,” Bucky continues and if only you were in charge of yourself, you’d already be sobbing at the broken expression he is staring back at you with. Your finger is on the trigger and you can feel your muscles trembling.

“Buck, we need to disarm her,” Steve tells him, but he shakes his head.

“No. We can’t do that without hurting her and I’m not doing that.”

Oh Bucky! That’s the only way now!

“She is gonna shoot, Bucky. We have to do something!”

“She could have already fired. She is fighting it off, I know it.”

“Or maybe it’s just whatever it is inside her messing with her head as Tony is trying to break the controller.”

“Y/N, sweetheart, I know you can do this. I’m not gonna hurt you, you can fight it!” Bucky continues, ignoring Steve’s words, who stands behind him with his jaw flexed.

I can’t do it, you need to knock me out! I’m not strong enough to do it!

You are trying everything you can and you are already holding your finger back, you would have already pulled the trigger if it wasn’t for your resistance somewhere in this cage. But you just know you’re not strong enough to stop yourself forever, they will need to disarm you, there’s no choice.

You stare back at Bucky, his forehead and left cheek bloody from wounds you gave him and he probably has a few bruises under his leather jacket as well, all because of you. Nowak made you hurt the person you love the most and now his life is being threatened. You know he won’t fight you, he will not try to disarm you, he would rather take the bullet than cause pain to you, more than what he already did during your fight.

The gun trembles in your hand as you’re desperately trying to gain your control back, sweat beading on your forehead, your chest heaving.

“Stark, we are running out of time!” Steve warns him through the com.

“Just one more second!” he answers, but you’re afraid you don’t have that much time.

“Y/N, please!” Bucky begs, a single tear rolling down his cheek and you can feel your own heart breaking at the sight of him. You can’t believe it’s because of you, you are causing him pain when you swore to work to see him his happiest in his life.

Your jaw flexes and you are on the verge of breaking, the tiniest light flashing in front of you as you keep pushing, trying to take back control, but then you feel like losing again. It all happens so fast, you can barely process.

You know you’re about to pull the trigger, you can’t stop yourself, but just as you are about to do it, Tony’s voice rings through the com.

“We got it!”

In a blink of the eye, the invisible grip that’s been keeping you tight vanishes, the cage opens up and suddenly you feel yourself come alive again as the most painful, deafening and desperate scream rips from your throat, the gun falling from your grip before you collapse on the ground in complete shock of everything that went down.

“Get it out! Get it out! I can’t do this!” you scream, your nails scratching the back of your neck once again, trying to reach the chip, but you’re just breaking your own skin once again, blood dripping down your back.

“Hey, it’s alright, sweetheart. We got you. You’re gonna be fine!” Bucky falls to his knees, cradling you into his arms as you sob into his hard chest, hands gripping the fabric of his jacket tight as your salty tears soak your cheeks, your whole body shaking.

“I’m so sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” you repeat, shaking your head as if you were trying to get rid of the memories, but they are still there, you still know what it’s like to be a prisoner in your own head but at least now you are with Bucky and that brings you the peace of mind you’ve been seeking all along.

“You don’t have to be sorry, it’s alright. You’ll be alright, sweetheart, you’re safe with me now,” he murmurs into your hair, his arms holding you so tight it’s starting to get hard to even breathe, but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

You cling onto him as if your life depends on it and in a way, it really does. Bucky gathers you into his arms as you keep mumbling your apologies and begs to make it stop even though you are not being controlled any longer. He carries you to the quinjet as he keeps murmuring reassuring words into your ear, telling you that everything is going to be alright now. You are in good hands.

You don’t let go of him on the way back and he doesn’t seem to want to do it either. Curled up on his lap, you let yourself fall into a shallow slumber as his fingers are dancing up and down your back, keeping you close to his chest, the feeling of finally being home taking over your senses.

Arriving back to New York you are helped off the jet by Bucky or course as he walks you to the med bay where Dr. Cho is already waiting for your arrival.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. We’ll fix you up,” she smiles at you as you are expected to let go of Bucky, but your head snaps back in his direction in panic, hands grabbing onto his anxiously.

“It’s alright, I’ll be here waiting for you. My stupid face will be the first thing you see when you wake up,” he jokes, his tired eyes fixated on you as you hesitate to let go of him, but eventually do it.

Keeping his promise Bucky stay outside as long as you are under Helen’s hands, not able to even drag him away to change clothes. The only thing he can make himself is dragging his ass to the nearest restroom to at least wash the dried blood off his face, but he quickly returns to his previous spot.

It turns out removing the chip is a bit more complicated than anyone thought. The micro wires are so deep in your nerves, Dr. Cho has to be careful if he doesn’t want to paralyze you with just one wrong move. Five entire hours pass by before the chip is finally out of you, before they place you in one of the rooms until you wake up from the anesthesia. Bucky is right by your side, holding your hand soothingly as he waits for you to open your eyes again. When he sees your eyelashes fluttering, he holds his breath as your eyes open and you adjust to the light and the view around you.

“Hey, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” he softly asks, gently brushing a strand of hair out of your forehead.

“Like… I just fought against two super soldiers,” you breathe out in a joking manner that makes him chuckle. You’re back and he missed you more than he could ever express.

As you let out a long and heave breath, you feel everything coming back to you and you can’t stop your sobs and the tears falling from your eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Bucky,” you gasp and he is quick to leap forward, one hand holding yours while the other one cups your cheek as he makes you turn your head towards him.

“No, no, no. You have nothing to be sorry about, Y/N. You did everything you could, you fought it so well!”

“But I hurt you! I didn’t want to hurt you, I was screaming inside my head, but I just couldn’t stop!” you sob shaking your head.

“I know, it wasn’t your fault! Please don’t think for a moment anyone blames you!” he begs, his bright blue eyes glued to your pained face as you fight your tears back. A hand moves to the back of your neck, feeling the wound where the chip used to be.

“Is it gone?” you ask in a whisper.

“It is. Helen took good care of you. You’re free now,” he smiles and you feel a wave of relief washing over you right away. Your body is yours again, finally.

“I didn’t think I would be myself again,” you admit, your voice slightly shaking. Bucky’s heart breaks at your words, but remains silent as you carry on. “I kept thinking of memories that feel the closest to me and it was the only thing that kept me sane. And I realized that the dearest ones are all with you, Bucky.”

His lips part at your revelation as his heart is beating fast against his ribcage. He has been waiting for this moment to come for what feels like eternity and now it might become his reality.

“When I thought I would never be the same again, I just thought about… you. That I don’t get to see you again, when I always wanted to spend all my days with you, Buck.”

“I want to spend all my days with you too, sweetheart,” he breathes out, leaning closer until his face is only inches away from yours. “I hated the thought of you being gone without ever telling you how I feel.”

“How do you feel, Bucky?” you ask in a trembling voice.

“You are my everything, Y/N. You are my best friend and everything beyond and I was such a fool for not telling you before this, but the thought of losing you made me realize that I have to stop being a coward,” he chuckles with tears bubbling in his eyes. You reach out and cup his face in your palms, your thumb running along the dark circles under his eyes and you wonder if he even slept a moment since you’ve been gone.

“We were both idiots, don’t beat yourself,” you chuckle softly, making his mouth turns into a grin before he leans closer and his lips finally press against yours, capturing them in a sweet, so-good-to-have-you-back kiss you’ve been dreaming about for probably way too long but at least since London. It’s soft and gentle, filled with the promise of many more to come. Thought you’re trying to stretch it as long as possible, a cough is heard from the door and you both pull back, turning your attention at the rest of the team standing there, all of them happy to see you again, or maybe to see the two of you finally taking the step they’ve been waiting for to happen.

“I guess you are feeling better now, yeah?” Nat smirks as she walks further inside, giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“Much better,” you admit with a shy chuckle. “Thank you for the rescuing, guys.”

“It’s the least we could do,” Sam smirks at you.

“And Barnes would have gone nuts if we didn’t find you so that was also quite motivating,” Tony jokes nodding towards the man by your side, who is still holding your hand as if you could disappear any moment.

“Steve, I’m sorry for trying to hurt you,” you breathe out at the sight of the tall blonde man, but he just shrugs with a warm smile.

“It’s alright. At least now we know that you could easily kick our ass at the same time,” he jokes nodding towards Bucky, though you all know they were holding back, not wanting to hurt you. You still remember the look in Bucky’s eyes when you held him at gunpoint. He could have easily disarmed you but it would have cost you at least a broken arm, yet he refused to lay a hand on you and believed that you could control yourself again.

When the team is gone and it’s just the two of you again in the room, Bucky sits at the edge of your bed, his fingers playing with your hand over the white sheets as you let yourself fall into the sense of safety again.

“You should have disarmed me, Bucky,” you tell him, breaking the silence.

“I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I could have killed you,” you retort.

“I know,” he nods, his lips pressing into a thin line. “But I just couldn’t cause you any more pain.”

“The fact that I was hurting you was already a pain, Bucky. You should have just knock me out.”

“Would you ever do the same to me?” he questions and though you open your lips to answer, you realize that he is right. You would have never hurt him on purpose, not even if he was back at being the winter soldier. You could have never hurt your sweet Bucky, the man that means more than anything ever in your torturous life.

“See? How do you expect me to do it then?” he smiles softly. “But it doesn’t matter, you are free now. It’s all in the past.”

“It still broke my heart, seeing you like that.”

“I can only say the same,” he breathes out, his eyes softening on you. “I wanted to help you so bad, but I couldn’t…”

“You helped me a lot,” you smile at him, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of his forehead. He smiles back at you and through his ocean eyes are still looking tired and a little bloodshot, but there’s a tiny little glimmer in them, something you’ve seen before, it was the most apparent when Shuri was successful at ridding him from the winter soldier and you also saw it in London. You’ve been seeking this little shine for a long time and you’re happy to have it back.

“We should go on a vacation,” he suggests, his smile growing wider with each passing second.

“Oh, I didn’t know avengers had vacation days,” you tease him.

“They do, as much as they want,” he nods grinning. “Where would you want to go? Do you want to go back to London?” he questions as he brings your hand up to his lips, kissing your bruised knuckles.

“Mm, we should go somewhere new,” you purse your lips. “I’ve always wanted to see Amsterdam.”

“Then Amsterdam it is,” he chuckles before leaning closer he kisses your lips gently with a promise of a bright future together.

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