#i'm having a bloody attack i'm so nervous

[himbosandhardwear]

Eddie has a bad habit of picking at his skin when he's nervous. Not, like, shy nervous or stage fright nervous, but the real kind of nervous, not-sure-I’m-gonna-survive-this kind of nervous. Like while he was alone in the boat house, he'd shredded every one of his cuticles. That time Hopper caught him behind The Hawk, very obviously selling his wares, he'd bitten his lips bloody.

Tonight he's picking a scab off his knee. It's practically healed already, so it won't bleed, he just needs to feel something on his body come loose before he does.

“You good, dude?” Steve asks, so in tune to Eddie's nervous disposition. Such a good guy. What a friend.

Eddie lets his head hit his knee caps with a thunk.

“Yup.”

Steve snorts. “You don't look good. I mean… You know what I mean.”

He smiles, tilting his head to look at Steve, always happy to give him a hard time.

“Oh, absolutely. You think I look good, don't cha, Stevie?”

He gets a couch pillow to the face for that, but they're both laughing so he doesn't think he's crossed the line yet.

Yet, yet, yet.

“Seriously, what's up with you? You've been quiet. It makes me want to call the squad.”

“Har har,” Eddie mumbles, but he does uncurl himself, sitting back against the couch again. “I'm trying to work up the nerve to ask for advice but it's-” Christ, he doesn't even want to admit to being embarrassed, that's how embarrassed he is.

“It's what?” Steve asks, the picture of earnest encouragement. “You can talk to me about anything, man, we're, like, bonded in blood or whatever.”

“Right. Yeah. Except this has the potential to get real awkward, real quick, and I'm not sure we're at that level of friendship yet.”

“Well,” he drawls, “if you ask me whatever it is that's got you all flustered I'm sure that will level us up. Right?”

“I'm not flustered.” God damn his red fucking face. Steve just laughs at him. “It's just, I don't have anyone else to ask about this. Jonathan probably doesn't have this particular problem, cause he's got- Uh. Sorry.” Steve waves it away, so Eddie goes on. “The kids are too young and the band guys don't understand what we went through-”

“Eddie, just spit it out.”

“Fuck! Okay, fine! You asked for it.” He takes a giant breath, steels his spine and just says it. “The Trauma is affecting my ability to get laid and I don't know how to fix it. Every time I get close to it I freak out and have to bail.”

There. All out now.

He looks over at Steve, and it's so much worse than being laughed at or pitied. He just looks sad.

He shakes it off quickly, hair barely moving, Eddie notes. He finds Steve's hair routine both endearing and ridiculous.

“Yeah. Okay. That's super common, just so you know,” Steve assures him first. “Robin says it's all connected, your mind and your body, so trauma can, like, get trapped in weird places like that. I can't play baseball anymore. Cause the memory of beating demodogs to death.”

“As you do,” Eddie quips.

“Right. But your thing. Uh. Yeah, it took some time before I could relax enough to even attempt getting laid, let alone actually do it.”

“So?” Eddie drawls, waiting. “How did you get over it?”

Something is off. Steve's not known for being skiddish about sex, but his hesitation and his inability to look Eddie in the eye is setting off alarms.

“Hey, if this is too weird for you-”

“No, I'm good, it's fine. Just, I'm the only person you have to talk to about this, so I'm gonna try to be helpful but, uh,” he scratches at the back of his head awkwardly, “in all honesty, I haven't been laid since before Vecna either. Way before. So. Yeah. Not sure I should be giving out advice on anything.”

That's crazy. Like actually crazy. He can't even compute Steve Harrington not absolutely dripping in women. He must have some look on his face because Steve gives a dry sort of laugh, self deprecating, and leans back against the couch with him.

“Weren't you on a date with Brenda Mulligan the night- Vecna’s first attack?”

Steve shoots him a look. “Y- Yeah, but that didn't go anywhere. We weren't, like, compatible or whatever.”

Oh, yeah, it was weird that Eddie knew that at all, let alone remembered it nine months later. “That's too bad,” he replies lamely.

“Yep.”

He feels terrible for dragging down the whole night, it would've been better if he'd just kept his mouth shut. But that's never been his strong suit, as evidenced by him blurting out, “If the hottest guy in Hawkins can't find a suitable date, what fucking chance do I have.”

Steve snaps, “Don't say that. What the fuck?”

Great, now he's gone and made it weird. Good job calling your straight friend hot, you fuckin’ dipshit.

They sit in the awkward silence, out of things to say or out of useful things to say. Either way it's them breathing, the clock ticking, and the M.A.S.H. rerun playing softly in the background.

Steve clears his throat. “Whatever, let's get back to the point. You don't have to tell me if you don't want but…what do you think the specific reason is for your…issue?”

He thinks about it. Has been thinking about it, for a while now. “My dick still works, if that's what you're wondering.”

Steve chuckles, high and surprised. “Good for you.”

“Yeah. It's more like, I can't get out of my head. I start worrying about my scars, explaining them if someone asked. I think about how even though I don't want anything long-term, I wouldn't be able to do long-term anyway, because I'm a fucking mess. If it's really bad, I'll get flashes of Chrissy or Patrick's bones snapping, as a little soundtrack to the fun shit happening outside my head.”

Steve looks sad again. Maybe it is pity but it looks more turned inward, like he's dealing with his own shit more than Eddie’s.

“You hooking up with strangers then?”

Eddie blinks at Steve. “Well…duh. Right? Not like I have guys lined up around the block here in Hawkins.”

Steve is full blown scowling at the TV. It's weird.

“What if-”

Eddie waits but Steve doesn't finish his thought.

“What if…what?” He prompts, giving a little nudge with his foot.

He's still avoiding eye contact, not even turning his head to look in Eddie's direction.

In a soft voice, almost too quiet to hear, he says, “What if we helped each other out?”

He must've heard that wrong. Or he's misunderstanding.

“What?”

“What if we help each other out? Like, a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

That can't be right. No fucking way. It's a test. Like as soon as Eddie agrees, Steve yells ‘Aha! I knew you wanted to molest me! Goodbye forever!’ and runs out the door.

“What, exactly, do you mean? Like, what are you getting out of it?”

Steve finally looks over. “Well, I would think that was obvious. If you're willing.”

Eddie's legs are starting to go numb.

“Okay, so I blow you and you blow me, except when you're doing it I have to watch you take it like you're being force fed liver and onions at Grandma's house?”

Steve slowly shakes his head no.

“Oh, okay, so you're going to blow me and enjoy it,” he snaps sarcasticaly.

Steve nods once.

“You want to blow me?”

“Mmhmm,” he hums without moving a muscle.

“Since when!” Eddie brings his octave down from the upper atmosphere. “Since when, Harrington? This is insane behavior. Should I call the squad for you? I'm serious. I'll do it.”

“You don't have to say yes. I was just offering.” He says it like Eddie isn't one green flag away from stomping on the gas.

He starts nervously laughing, which makes Steve flinch unfortunately, but he can't stop.

“It's cool, just forget I said anything.” He moves like he's about to get up and leave, which is fucking insane because it's his living room. Eddie stops him with a tight grip around the bicep.

“Don't you dare. If you're even remotely serious, we have to have a much longer conversation. Sit.”

Steve drops like a sack of bricks. Which is…something.

“Right. First off, this is uncommon behavior in a straight friend. Is there something you'd like to tell me, so I don't think you've been body snatched?”

He pinches at the top of his nose, like Eddie is inconveniencing him greatly. Too bad.

“I'm probably bisexual.”

“Probably?” Eddie asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I'm an inexperienced bisexual,” he amends through clenched teeth.

“Good. Great. Happy to hear it.” His heart may explode from his torso à la Ridley Scott's Alien but sure. “Second on the agenda, what do you mean help each other out? What's on the table? Mutual handjobs and then we never talk about it again?”

“No,” Steve answers immediately. That's good. “I'm open to…whatever you're open to.”

“Steve.” He has to clear his throat. “You dont even know what you're agreeing to.”

“I trust you.”

Fuuuuuck.

“Okay, right, uh, let's circle back to that later. Third thing, what, uh, what is your level of commitment with this?”

He just stares at Eddie, all doe eyed. It shouldn't work, Eddie fucking invented that look. It's gotten him out of more scrapes than he can count. Now it's being used against him but to what end? Does Steve want to get bundled up in a blanket and tucked into bed? Because Eddie can make that happen for him.

“Whatever you want, I guess,” he finally says. “I mean, like I said earlier, friends who help each other out. Casual. I'm not interested in looking for Mrs Harrington anymore and you're having a problem relaxing around guys who don't understand what you went through.” He makes a gesture like ‘Ta da.’

He's not wrong. It makes sense. But…

“Fourth thing. Is this just an experiment for you? Cause I'm all for you exploring your sexuality but, historically speaking, friends are a bad place to start.” AKA ‘it will break my fucking heart if you decide you're not that into it and it's because it's me.’

“Eddie. Look.” He gets more comfortable, facing Eddie straight on finally. “What you're going to provide is practical knowledge on what has only been theoretical up to this point, but the theory has already been well established.” He taps his head. “Understand?”

A smug confidence melts Eddie into the couch. “You liiike me,” he sings. “You think about me naaaked. You wanna-”

Steve lands on him, lacking any elegance or grace, and nearly caves their skulls in with his Jay Garrick approach to kissing. Eddie doesn't say a fucking word. He does wonder at the fucking majesty that is making out sober. What a revelation. Steve keeps making these tiny, almost wounded noises, to the point where Eddie tries to back up and do a check in but Steve doesn't let him, he chases him down and latches back onto Eddie's bottom lip like he's Hannibal Lector. It's stupid hot.

Everything is going great until Steve lets out a sound that legitimately has Eddie worried he's upset about something.

He pulls back and asks, “Are you okay?”

“Oh fuck, I'm sorry. I just can't, I can't believe I got this fucking far. You're so hot I'm losing my fucking mind.”

“Me?” Eddie snaps. “Dude, you're out of your mind.” He pokes Steve in his meaty chest. “Literal. Prom. King.”

“Fucking stupid high school shit, are you kidding me?” He sits up, straddling Eddie's hips, which is boner enhancing to say the least; he's got Steve's thighs in his grasp immediately. “You don't get it, I'm gone on you. I've got it bad, man. I was playing it cool earlier-”

“At no point tonight were you in any way playing it cool.”

“-but, fuck it, guess I'm ruining it, cause I can't be cool about this. I don't want casual. I don't even want to date you,” and before Eddie can even worry about that, he says, “I wanna skip straight to boyfriends, man. I know you said you didn't want long term with anyone but-”

Eddie interrupts again, this time by pulling Steve back down horizontal and kissing him like he just bravely declared himself as all in.

If this is a pod-person, well, that's a problem for Tomorrow Eddie. Tonight Eddie just landed Steve Harrington as a boyfriend.

[lady-ashfade]

Hi, I wanted to request something platonic with Percy, with him meeting his older half-sister after he finds out he's the son of Poseidon.

Sorry for my English, I'm using the translator to write, and sorry if you don't understand my request

Pictures On The Wall

Percy jackson x older!sister (platonic)

-£ this was the first thing that came to mind and it’s such a cute idea! thank you.

-£ words: 700

-£ warnings: short, nervous percy, cool reader, sassy and kinda grunge reader, siblings bonding, fluff.

the wall across from his bed was covered with many things. pictures of people he didn’t know along with a bed half made and clothes piled up. “that’s y/n’s” a name he never heard but yet was family. his half sister was somewhere on a quest and didn’t know that he was snooping round her things.

he looked at the pictures all the time, liking the smile you had. he knew that smile, a distinct memory in his mind but you wore it with pride. you looked so cool and by all the stories he heard you were one of the most awesome person at camp.

every cabin knew you, it was like he needed to fill some sort of shoe now that you walked in but he didn’t know the first thing.

“percy,” grover peaked into the cabin and looked around for his best friend, when he found him he looked nervous. “I think you should come.” percy jumped up at the sound of his voice that sounded like something horrible had happened.

percy walked along his friend while his heart raced, “what happened?” had another monster attacked the camp, what could have happened that he had to come.

“she’s back.” Grover muttered while sighing, “And we thought you should meet her.” oh,- oh gods. you were back so soon? he didn’t have a clue on what he would say or do. would you like him, would you hate him and somehow kick him out of the cabin? he’s never had a sibling before.

“she’s getting patched up and I’ll warn you,” Grover patted his shoulder with a kind smile, “she’s unpredictable at times.” Yeah, that makes me feel much better Percy thought.

as soon as the walked into the infirmary all they could hear was yelling and arguing making the young boys look at each other. they walked to the door and saw the girl on the bed glare at the other around her age.

he knew you. the picture he looked at every day you seemed to be exactly like that, but you didn’t look happy like all of them. the shirt you wore had rips in it and a bloody bandage wrapped around your arm. the redhead girl in front of you held a spoon up to your mouth but you kept fighter her off.

“I’m fine! It’s just a few scratches, I’m not a child!” it was ironic that you looked like a bratty child that wanted to stomp their feet. your lips pouted slightly. percy didn’t know what to think at the scene.

“take it. you’re just keeping yourself from leaving, so do it so I can leave!” the other girl seemed to knock some sense into you as you huffed and took the spoon in your mouth. if looks could kill then she would be on the ground by now, you looked so angry.

humming the redhead walked out of the door and looked at the boys before rolling her eyes and kept going down the hallway. you didn’t seemed to notice them as you started to take off the dirty bandages.

Grover was the first to speak, “excuse me,” you looked at him quickly but your eyes were now soft and no longer sharp. “Grover, come in!” you invited him over but your eyes soon fell on the boy next to him. and immediately the connection between the two of you went off in your head.

“you must be percy?”

he shifted closer and awkwardly not knowing want to do, “yeah. how do you know?”

“I received letters telling me of the idiot brother I seemed to have,” you chuckle and throw the dirty cloths in your hands on the bed. The cut was gone but dry blood still stayed on your skin, “you have dads eyes.” You pointed to your own.

“really?” he asked quietly as you hopped on the floor and stretched. “Oh yeah, less disappointment in them but I’ll give it time.”

you yawned and picked up the black jacket and your backpack, “I’m starving,” you stood between the two of them and then swung your arms around the two of them.

“Now, tell me what you did to Clarisse!” You smirk at the brother you just met, “my favorite sibling already.”

[honeyedclementine]

what happened?

sevika x f!reader, established relationship fluff, s2 act1 spoilers ( drabble ) ageless blogs, minors, and men dni

reply to be added to my tag list ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

the last thing you expect sevika to come home with one day is a child. jinx you had grown used to—she had been around more and more often ever since silco's death. sevika claimed not to like it, but you could see how soft she had grown towards the young woman, taking her under her wing the same way silco did all those years ago.

you had known they were going on some sort of mission—something to do with jinx's sister, but sevika never offered much more information than that and you didn't want to pry. even so, you stayed up to make sure sevika got home safely anyway. she always told you not to, but you never listened. you had a sneaking suspicion she liked coming home after a tough day to you sitting on the couch, waiting to hold her.

what you hadn't expected tonight, though, was for sevika to come home with a passed out jinx in her arms and a small child clinging to her shoulders. if not for the distressed look on your girlfriend's face, you would have chuckled at the young girl clinging to her like a jungle gym.

"her finger needs bandaged, bad," sevika says in lieu of a greeting, laying jinx down on the couch. she's so pale and sullen she looks nearly dead. you would almost believe it if not for the steady rise and fall of her chest. "this is isha."

"hi, isha," you speak softly as sevika places the girl gently on the ground. you reach for the medkit, lifting jinx's bloody hand only to find the absence of a finger. you don't ask.

the young girl—isha, you now know, watches with rapt attention as you clean jinx's wound and apply pressure in an attempt to staunch the bleeding before you bandage it. you've spent many nights patching up sevika, it was only natural the courtesy would extend to jinx as well.

sevika paces around the living room, occasionally shooting worried glances over to jinx. she'd never admit out loud that she cared for the girl, sevika was stubborn like that—it had taken months of you two sleeping together and staying the night at each others' places for her to finally admit she felt something about you, but since then, you had slotted into each other's lives so naturally. you can see the same reluctance with jinx, but you know the woman has viewed jinx as more and more of a daughter over the years, whether she likes it or not.

"what happened?" you finally dare to ask as you wrap what's left of jinx's finger with careful hands. you can see bruises forming on sevika's torso and face, along with what looks like a bite mark on her hand that you don't ask about. you're just grateful her arm is in tact—sevika had been in a sour mood a few weeks ago when she had come home with half an arm following an attack from jinx's sister.

"siblings," sevika grunts in response, settling down on the couch and pulling jinx's head softly into her lap while you work. isha immediately clings to sevika's leg, not saying anything, but casting nervous glances over towards jinx. you wonder if the little girl speaks at all.

with jinx's finger now bandaged, you rise to your feet and lean over sevika, saying, "let me take a look at you."

she shies away from your touch as you reach for her cheek, "i'm fine, don't worry about me."

"you should know by now that telling me not to worry about you is like telling me not to breathe," you retort, running your fingers along the scars on her cheek. "what about the little one? she doing okay? she isn't talking."

"doesn't talk," sevika grunts, tugging the girl up and onto her lap. isha smiles, a light giggle falling from her lips. you've never been one for children, but something about seeing sevika—a paragon of strength and brutality, be so gentle with someone so little, really does it for you. "jinx knows how to communicate with her, but she's... well..."

"she'll be fine," you reassure her, finding the silent question in sevika's words. "i'll keep an eye on the bleeding overnight, you just rest. you all seem to need it."

sevika sighs, looking down at isha before rustling her hair. you watch with a gentle smile. she rises from the couch, letting jinx's head fall gently against the pillow as isha climbs up and clings to her shoulder with sevika's metal arm supporting her.

she leans down and presses a kiss to your forehead. "thank you."

"it's what you keep me around for," you muse, a hand clinging softly to her forearm.

"i keep you around because i love you," she reminds you, pressing a kiss to your lips as if to drive the point home.

"i love you, too. now go get some rest." you shoo the two of them off to the bedroom, resigning yourself to a night of looking after jinx.

after maybe half an hour, you decide to take a peek into the bedroom out of pure curiosity. lingering in the doorway, you see sevika splayed out on the bed as she so often does, isha tucked soundly into the crux of her arm. the sight warms you heart more than you thought possible. with jinx still snoring softly on the couch, you marvel at the small family that seems to have crafted itself around you.

knowing sevika sleeps like the dead, you take a moment to sneak a kiss to her forehead while she sleeps, running a gentle finger over her scars. you swear, in the dark of your shared bedroom, you see her smile.

tag list: @puppyels @njm63522 @fict1onallyobsessed

[on-a-lucky-tide]

fun things to inflict on a pilot who bases his value on how useful he is to others:

temporary blindness >:3c

141 accidentally pierce an old mustard gas canister during an operation. Nik takes the brunt.

cw: injury, temporary blindness, distressed character.

Price paced up and down the base hospital ward wringing his hands as he waited for news, his heart in his throat. The mission had gone south so bloody quickly, and no matter how many times he retraced their steps, Price couldn't pinpoint the exact action that had caused such a monumental fuck up.

Old world war one bunker. Old old. The perfect place for a terrorist cell to store chemical weapons, or at least a lead to them. They had jumped early that morning with Nik because it was in east Germany and he had the knowledge they needed to break through the security systems. The USSR had used it as a base of operations during the Cold War, so without Nik, getting in would have been like chipping away at granite with a toothpick.

They got in. They secured the intelligence - no bloody weapons though - and were on their way out. A small detachment of enemy combatants had infiltrated through a different entrance that hadn't been recorded on the schematics they were working from. There had been an exchange of fire. A stray bullet caught a canister and...

Nik ignored the most fundamental rule of chemical warfare. You sort your own fucking mask first. But no, the stupid wanker grabbed for Gaz's first, because he was closest to the explosion and had only a split second to react.

Nik had been too slow with his own as a result.

Holding Nik in the casevac had been one of the most difficult experiences of Price's life. The skin lesions across his face had been like second degree burns, his eyes swollen shut, streaming. Anywhere there was moisture, the old gas had attacked. Despite the wounds, Price had seen the terror on his face as he tried to wrench the damp gauze off. He couldn't see.

"John, ya nye mogu videt! John... gdye ty? Gdye ty!" His usually calm, sombre voice, with its laid back drawl, broken and cracked in desperation.

In the end, Price had taken the decision to sedate him in the heli, one of those big hands clenched in his to keep him anchored as the drugs brought his heart rate under control and soothed his panic. He had lashed out at Gaz blindly - "otyebis ot menya!" - but between them they had managed to get the sedative into his thigh.

There were other wounds; bumps, scrapes, but none as serious.

"Sir, I'm sorry," Gaz had rasped, chucking the needle back into the bag. "This is my fault."

"No," Price had shaken his head. "Not your burden to carry. G'won, go eat somethin'."

The door at the end of the hall opened and the doctor summoned him with a flick of the head. "Well?" Price demanded, ignoring the pursed lipped irritation he got in return.

"It's temporary," the doctor said, his arms folding. "The gas was old, degraded. Still potent enough to cause damage, but with the right treatment, he'll get his eyesight back."

"How long?"

"Difficult to say. Four to six weeks for the skin lesions to heal. His body will decide on the rest... uh, captain," the doctor reached out a hand as Price tried to walk past, "there is a risk of long-term dyspnea, respiratory problems, awful stuff mustard gas, it attacks the central nervous system too, it can cause changes in mentation, and I understand from his file that he has a medical history of--"

"--I know what's in the file."

"We may be looking at more damage here than just his eyes. But only time will tell."

When Price stepped through the door, Nik startled, looking in his direction even though the heavy bandages over his eyes prevented him from seeing. Price spoke softly as he closed the door at his back. "S'just me, Nik. Easy."

Price nodded tightly, walked by and shouldered his way into the next ward. He found Nik's room but hesitated outside. Nik was awake. He was trying to grope around the table in front of him, searching.

"Captain, it is... well, I would say good to see you but..." He gestured vaguely at his head, his wry smirk shaky, and then that hand returned to patting around the table.

"Did they explain everything? Did you..." ...understand. Fuck, Price didn't understand half of the medical jargon, so he wouldn't be surprised if Nik struggled in his fourth language to parse what they were saying. Fourth out of eight. Asking felt like an insult to Nik's intelligence. The doctor's comment about mentation lodged in Price's throat like a shard of glass.

"Da. It will heal but there may be some future complications, I..." Nik suddenly slammed his fist against the table, anger twisting his mouth into a snarl, "..blyat, where is my phone? I need.." Nik's voice cracked and his chin tilted down with the shame of it, trailing off into miserable silence.

Price reached for him and tried not to let the resulting flinch shred his heart. Once Nik realised it was Price's hands and not whatever phantom his mind has conjured, he relaxed. Price sat down on the edge of the bed. "You don't need t' do anythin' but heal. We've got yer covered."

The way Nik's jaw twitched, teeth clenching at the back, his shoulders rising a little towards his ears; Price could see the clawing discomfort without needing to see his expression.

"You're gonna have to trust us, Nik. I need yer to trust me."

"I do," Nik croaked. "It is... This is not your burden to carry."

"Even if you weren't who you are, you still got injured in one of my operations."

"I let you down. And now I am useless." Nik's other hand clenched into a fist at his side, making the finger monitor creak under the strain.

"Temporarily out of commission. Not useless."

Nik turned his head away, refusing to hear it. They sat in silence, Price's thumb stroking back and forth over Nik's knuckles, giving him a point to focus on that wasn't his burning skin or the darkness of his vision.

"Nik, short of turnin' me over to Al Qatala, you could never let me down," Price said, finally.

Now was the time. Now Nik needed to hear it more than ever.

"You... mean the world to me. I..." he rubbed at his face, tugging at his whiskers, "...I love you. And when I saw you go down, my heart stopped for a second. The world stopped. Believe it or not, I was glad you were screamin' bloody murder in that chopper, cause that meant you were still here."

Nik drew a stuttering breath, but he didn't say anything. The man who had a one-liner or a bit of sass for every occasion sat in mute silence. It made Price ache in a way he never had before.

"'M not gonna abandon you, Nik. Wouldn't have even if this had been permanent. An' I know you don't believe me. I know. But... 'm gonna show ya. And you can grumble and cuss at me 'til the cows come home."

Nik's head fell back against the pillow and he sniffed, scowling with a muttered curse.

"You olrigh'?" Price squeezed his hand.

"Da. I am crying like little girl and it is stinging my eyes."

Price chuckled, patting their joined hands against his own thigh. "Soppy git."

That had to be a good sign. Tear ducts were what the eyes used to heal and maintain themselves, right? And he could feel the tears. Positive. This was positive. Price lifted Nik's hand to his mouth and kissed his knuckles, lingering there to feel the warmth of his skin.

Nik swallowed, his fingers tightening in Price's grip. "If I had known that losing my eyes would have earned me John Price, I would have cut them out years ago."

"Fuckin' 'ell, Nik," Price said incredulously, always somewhat taken aback by the intensity with which Nik expressed himself when it was just them. He sighed. "Yer've had me all this time. I just... I'm just not as brave as you are."

Nik huffed. "Bravo Six is the bravest man I know."

"Only for some things. Not feelin' particularly brave right now, and you're the one in the gurney."

Nik tilted his head towards Price, so desperate to see his face. Price was glad he couldn't. His damn eyes were watering. "Then, I will be brave for you. This, I can do without my eyes."

Price smiled and made sure Nik could feel it against his palm, promising him silently in that moment that he wouldn't waste a single second more of their time together on this bloody earth. "Sounds like a plan."

[max1461]

I asked for help every single day for 3 years and was told, we feel sorry for you, we feel bad for you, you are handling this like a child, this is your problem not our problem, we feel bad for you but this is your problem to deal with, you are handling this so immaturely this is your problem, have you tried taking a walk?

Really? I'm handling this so immaturely? I'm phasing in and out of periods of delusion and I'm handling it immaturely? I'm spending 8+ hours in the yard every day pacing and doing strange movements and not even noticing when my hands and feet get bloody and then coming inside and vomiting on the floor and then going right back to it and I'm handling that immaturely? How should I handle it? I should take a walk? I should take a walk?

I've barely been able to leave the house in weeks, then months, then years, and I should take a walk? I'm handling it immaturely because I didn't take a walk when you said I should?

I'm having seizures, I didn't know it at the time but in retrospect I'm having seizures every day, and I should take a walk? This is just my problem to deal with?

Oh I'm, I'm grieving, that's what it is. *Faux compassionate voice* you're grieving, that's why you're struggling. You just need to learn to move on.

Really? Is that it?

I need to learn to move on? To move on from the relationship you sabotaged, is that correct? That would be fairly convenient for you, wouldn't it, if you sabotaged the most important relationship in my life and I just decided I didn't care anymore. Maybe then I'd be less mad. Maybe then I'd stop having seizures.

Or is it that I need to move on from, *checks notes* the friendships that I currently have, that I am struggling to maintain because of the mental health crisis? Oh, is it those I should move on from? And who should I rely on instead, you stupid fuckers?

Have you shown yourselves to be reliable? Have you supported me when I was happy? No, you fucking sabotaged me. Have you supported me when I was unhappy? No, you stood there and watched. "Your family are the people who will be there for you no matter what", remember how many times you said that? Well, it's true in some meager literal sense. You were definitely *around*. You were *around* not to let me, what, be by myself in public until I was 19 years old? To give me zero life experience because of uh. I don't know. Gangs? Supposedly there are gangs around. I don't frankly think I'm going to be doing anything to incite the ire of gangs but if that's your justification.

Oh right, right. Someone could steal me. I love that word. They could steal me. I wonder why you chose that word.

Yeah you were always there. You were there high out of your gourd on coke and pills, you were there having a fucking obsessive crazy stalker level anxiety attack about me one day not living at home anymore. You were there to sabotage my relationships when they made you nervous. You were there to deride and belittle me when I finally fell apart.

I held it together for so many fucking years.

All I had, all I had was the peace inside my own mind. That is all you fucking left me with. Well, so, a freak accident or whatever takes that away. At the fucking dentist which is wild. Freak accident fucks up my mind. All I had was my mind.

Without my mind what am I? Nothing, I am a violated body. I am a violated body and the only respectful thing I can do is throw myself away. It is crass to act like this is a state worth living in. Well I have a few reasons to, uh. There are a few things I can't just abandon. But I see no path to being anything worth being, to being anything at all but a violated body. Well I'm just fucked.

[bunniebubbleswrites]

Not so Cold

Lady Lesso x Never! Reader (Platonic) Request: Ooo can I request for a fluffy/angsty Lady Lesso x Never reader, platonic please... the reader has a panic attack? Hurt & comfort? Cold Lesso turns soft? A/N: Started working on this during my chem class! Perks to sitting in the very back. I also wrote about how panic attacks feel for me so please be weary of that. This also is more based on the book but not very much. I'm also so sorry this took so long. My life has been kind of hectic right now. Warnings: Hurt & Comfort, details of panic attacks, Words: 1083

You didn’t know how it happened. It just did all of a sudden. One minute you were in class with your friends screwing around while waiting for your teacher to appear. Then it just hit you, the sound of your heartbeat was louder than anything else. 

This became a common thing, you learned how to handle them quickly. Oftentimes no one around you would even know that anything was going on beneath the surface. You had always been so good at hiding things. You never wanted to worry anyone for no reason if you could take care of it yourself, but your panic attacks worsened throughout the year. 

Class hadn't started yet; paper airplanes were being thrown across the classroom and profanities were being flung back and forth at your peers. The sound of a cane hitting the ground along with the sound of heels moving in sync with it. Students rushed back to their seats and then silence filled the room. It was so quiet that the sound of your heartbeat seemed louder than before.

Shit, this can’t be happening now. In Lady Lesso’s class of all places.

You tried to steady your breathing but it was difficult and the sound of your heartbeat just made it even worse. Trying to keep calm, while your teacher walked into the room. You kept your eyes locked onto the blackboard behind her. If you didn’t look at her she wouldn’t call you out for not paying attention. 

You had zoned out for the most part. When you had tuned back in you were calm and breathing normally, now paying attention to the woman at the front of the room. She was going through each and everyone of us, making us show to the entire class how we’ve been progressing with our special talents. 

Luckily for the kids in the back row she didn’t have time to get to us. Kids rushed out of the classroom, books and papers falling out of their arms. You were one of the last ones out of the classroom. You felt a pair of eyes burning holes into the back of your skull as you walked out the door. The Trial by Tale was coming up and you weren’t going to lose the chance to get those first place ranks. 

The day of the Trail came, everyone was nervous even if it didn’t seem like it. You were praying to whatever god that would listen that you didn’t mess this up. You would win, hopefully. You had a plan and it was a good one. No one would even see you coming.

You planned to tackle opponent after opponent grabbing their flags not caring about the color and throwing them on the ground and sending them back to the school. Even though Hester was one of your dearest friends and the both of you would willingly take down Tedros. You both knew that teaming up wasn’t an option. One of you would get those first place ranks no matter the cost. 

Sophie and Kiko went in first and after a few hours of waiting it was your turn. You walked through the gates with some Ever you hadn’t bothered to learn the name of. You both ran off in opposite directions. You tackled and jumped on whoever you saw, you even threw a couple of attacks. The adrenaline running through you made you forget about the looming danger that you would possibly be facing. 

Soon it was only you, Tedros, and Hester. Hester didn’t let up at all during her attacks. She was going to win no matter who got in her way. Somewhere along all the fighting Sophie and Agatha came into the picture. 

The fight turned into a bloody battle from what you can remember, one second you were there the next you weren’t. Lesso’s eyes were on you.

She knows something’s wrong. Damnit.

You rushed back to your dorm, your blue cloak was easy to follow throughout the darkened halls. Your breathing was heavy and your heartbeat was pounding in your ears. You didn’t even make it to your dorm room before you collapsed. The tears fell down your cheeks, you needed to be alone right now, anyone could just walk up and see you like this. 

The sound of a cane hitting the floor alerted you, your mind wanted you to run but your body just couldn’t move. The sound grew closer and when it was right behind you it came to a stop. 

“(Y/N), how long have they been happening?” Lesso’s voice rang through your ears. It was softer than usual. You couldn’t respond and Lesso soon saw that and sat down beside you and put her hand on your back, rubbing it soothingly. It took you a good long while to calm down. 

In that time Lesso had taken you into her arms and was slowly rocking you back and forth, as she ran her fingers through your hair. Your breathing became steady and your sobs became sniffles. 

“Hey, nothing can hurt you right now. I’m here.” Lesso said loud enough for you to only hear. You look at her, your eyes red and your cheeks stained with tears.

“They’ve been happening since the beginning of the year.” You told her finally answering her question that she had asked so long ago.

“Why didn’t you come to me?” Lesso’s eyes were filled with worry.

“I didn’t tell anyone because I thought it would make me seem weak.” Your eyes were filling up with tears once again.

“These panic attacks are not a sign of weakness and coming to people for help isn’t either.” Lesso wiped away the tears now rolling down your cheeks. 

“Let’s get you back to your dorm room, you’ve had a long day and I think it’d be best if you got some rest; and don’t worry about your classes tomorrow. Take the day off okay.”

You nodded as you got up off her lap. Lesso stood up shortly after and walked you back to your dorm. Her door was always open should you need it. Once you reached your dorm room, you turned back to Lesso and wrapped your arms around her. 

“Thank you, for everything Lady Lesso.” You quickly retracted before anyone saw. Her smile was only there for a brief moment before you went into your dorm and plopped down on your bed and fell into a deep sleep without a worry in the world.

[n0cturna1-m3]

Birthday Bash | Simon "Ghost" Riley x MacTavish!Male Reader | Fluff

Minors/Fem DNI

Request; "Kasey as my favourite person I think it would be so great if you did a Ghost x male reader where the reader is soaps brother and the reader and ghost have been secretly together" @ezranotbridger (you're too sweet 🤭)

Warnings; Uhh meeting family for the first time? unnamed family members. NON SEXUAL embarrassment, simon is FINE GUYS at the end of the day readers family LOVES HIM HE DOESNT HAVE A PANIC ATTACK I SWEAR

Synopsis; Happy Birthday! What a great surprise. Simon gets to meet his boyfriend's family. Nothing could possibly go wrong!

A/N; not dead, still writing, just without AC and i'm a lizard and need it to be freezing to function. also i graduated. also gost wasnt necessarily a secret, but close enough. ALSO THE HORROR OF FORGETTING TO CHANGE IT TO Y/N FROM MY OCS NAME AND ALMOST POSTING IT OMG I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK

1.0k words

Ghost parked his car outside of a relatively small house and sighed, anxiously glancing at the front door and then at the small gift bag sitting on the passenger seat. He was nervous. This would be his first time meeting his boyfriend's family. While they had been dating for nearly a year, Ghost hadn't had much time available to introduce himself. But it was Y/N’s birthday, and he wouldn’t miss it. He refused to.

He was wearing a black t-shirt, no mask, and curly blonde hair tousled from trying to make himself appear more put together before eventually giving up. He was Simon today. Still, he was determined, albeit anxious, to leave his car and knock on the front door. Simon took a shaky breath before grabbing the gift and sliding out of the car, locking it behind him and pocketing the key.

Simon walked up to the front door and hesitated before rapping the heavy wooden door. He could hear the people inside chatting loudly and the loud footsteps of someone rushing to grab the door. It swung open revealing a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She stared at him a moment, looking him up and down before she turned back to the house, hanging herself out the doorway.

“Y/N! Did ya invite some wide fella?” she hollered.

Wide? Simon thought. I’m not wide.

Moments later Y/N shoved the woman out of the doorway and beamed at Simon, throwing himself at him and ignoring the girls cursing.

“I’m so happy you made it!” he said, kissing Simon’s cheek. Simon smiled softly.

“Wouldn’t miss it, love.”

“Come in! I wanna introduce you.”

Y/N led Simon into the living room and open kitchen/dining area where his immediate family and close friends were gathered. There were too many of them.

An older man and woman sat at the dining table, Simon assumed they were Y/N’s parents. Two women around Y/N’s age sat with the couple. On the couch were three of Y/N’s friends, two of which he had met previously. Across from them was a young teenager, likely a nephew, and another man around Y/N’s age.

Y/N began pointing out his family members and friends, naming them each while they smiled and gave small waves that Simon nervously nodded along with. The youngest was indeed his nephew, his eldest sister's child. He was the only child allowed to show because he had insisted on meeting his favourite uncle's boyfriend, stating he had to “make sure he wasn’t a total mink.”

“I’m not sure where the other one is,” Y/N said, rubbing the back of his neck. He sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him.

“The other one?” Simon asked as he sat down.

“Aye, my baby brother.”

“The loo,” Y/N’s youngest sister said.

“Don’t be laughin’ at me!”

Simon froze at the voice behind him. He covered his face and rested his elbows on his knees and exhaled deeply. Y/N placed a hand on Simon’s back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly. Simon cracked his fingers open and turned to look at Y/N.

“No way!” the man said, a laugh at the back of his throat.

“Bloody hell…” Simon muttered, shaking his head.

“What’d you do to him, John?” their mother asked, a slightly worried look on her face.

“Nothing! I did nothing!” John insisted as he walked around the couch and stood in front of Simon. “The hell are you doing here, Ghost?”

Y/N's jaw dropped and he turned to stare at Simon.

“You’re lying!” Y/N said, going back to looking at his brother.

“I amn’t!” John shot back.

Simon finally sat up and let his hands fall into his lap. His face was red.

“You’re dating my brother!?” Y/N’s nephew began giggling behind his phone. The man beside him hit his shoulder only causing him to laugh more, leading to him laughing as well.

Simon rubbed his eyes as if he had a migraine.

“You’re dating-” John’s face suddenly fell from his teasing grin and he covered his mouth. Simon stared at his shoes. Y/N stared at his brother.

“What’s wrong wit you now?” he asked. The suppressed giggles were starting to spread through the living room.

“This whole time you been talkin’ about my brother…”

Y/N’s jaw dropped and he slowly turned his head to Simon, who had turned away from Y/N and was covering his mouth. The nephew was now openly cackling. He sounded like a crow.

“I’m gonna be sick,” John stated before walking into the kitchen.

“What have you been talkin’ about Simon,” Y/N said. The tone of his voice sent a shiver down Simon’s spine. Y/N’s entire family was giggling or hiding their laughter behind their hands. Y/N stood and grabbed Simon’s shoulder. “Come on, love.”

Simon stood and obediently followed Y/N as he led him to the other side of the house. The family quieted and attempted to listen in but only heard whispers until Y/N yelled “You told him THAT?!”

They immediately burst into laughter, clinging to the couch or each other so as to not double over. John muttered something along the lines of “It’s not funny” under his breath, but it went unnoticed.

The couple returned to the room and the crowd quieted. Simon was beet red. Y/N sat him down and then walked to where John was leaning against the sink.

“The next time I hear of you asking questions like that to anyone I will personally deliver your arse whooping,” Y/N stated before he turned and walked to his mother. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear that turned her ears red. She whispered something back to Y/N who nodded and kissed her cheek before he walked back to sit next to Simon, placing a hand on his thigh and smiling as his mother turned to John.

“John MacTavish, we will be talking later.”

John nodded shamefully and turned around, walking to the dining table and taking a seat.

“Now, who wants cake?” she asked, clasping her hands together and standing. Immediately ‘yes' filled the room.

“Simon!” Y/N’s father said. The blonde turned to him, face still pink. “We’d love to have you over again sometime soon.”

Simon nodded.

“I’m not mad wit you, by the way,” Y/N said. He placed his hand in Simon’s and intertwined their fingers.

“I know,” Simon responded. Y/N smiled and kissed his cheek before he jumped into one of the conversations happening around him.

[bookie-bookdust]

Where Hogwarts Legacy Characters would take you on a Valentine's Day Date 💝💖😻💌

Unhinged modern au edition because that's all the brain is offering me babe 💘

Sebastian Sallow: The backseat of his car lolol. And no, he didn't clean it out. Yeah, that's a book wedged in your ass and a taco bell bag that keeps getting stuck on your boot. Aaaaand another book stabbing you in the ribs. He'll say something cute though to fix this. I'm sure...

Ominis Gaunt: A lovely restaurant. But he misinterpreted the website and didn't realize this was actually a murder mystery dinner, and he's having a panic attack that it's real and is about to call the police.

Poppy Sweeting: She's going all out. Picnic by the lake. A whole damn heart cake. Candles. Matching couples bracelets she made. Except the twine she used is actually straw for mooncalves and now there's an army of them surrounding you and they're eating the cake and Merlin, you have to run for your life!!!!

Garreth Weasley: He found this interactive cooking class, but it turned out to be a scam. Now you're both sitting in an empty warehouse with a few teenagers making $7/hr to reenact Ratatouille. Idk.

Amit Thakkar: THE FUCKING MOON. HE'S TAKING YOU TO THE MOON. NEXT QUESTION.

Imelda Reyes: She brought you to a quidditch match. You get blown up on the kiss cam, but she's so nervous that she goes in too hard and headbutts you in the face??? Wouldn't be quidditch without a bloody nose.

Leander Prewett: His mom's house lol. Though the food ended up being fucking fire so I guess he got lucky this time.

Natty Onai: You had to take her on a date because she's too busy thinking she's Batman scaling buildings and delivering justice to the townspeople of Hogsmeade.

Duncan Hobhouse: Oh....I'm so sorry. How did you end up on a date with him??? Blink three times if you need help.

Okayyyy byeEEe and Happy Day-Old Valentine to you😘

[canirove]

Canary boy | Chapter 9

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

The plan was very simple.

Since Pedri's parents always closed the bar on Wednesdays to rest, his brother would tell them an emergency had happened and that they needed to go check it. But there would be no emergency, only Pedri waiting for them hiding behind the counter to surprise them while I filmed it all from the kitchen. 

“Pedri, can you please stop fidgeting? You are making me nervous.”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry” he says. “It's just… I can't wait to see their reaction. I hope I don't give them a heart attack.”

“Oh, shut up” I say, hitting his arm. “Everything is gonna be fine, you'll see.”

“I hope so” he sighs. “Thank you for coming with me, Inés.”

“You're welcome. For the millionth time.”

“Sorry” he smiles before starting with the fidgeting again. “Fuck!” 

“Maybe you are the one who is gonna have a heart attack” I laugh after his phone pings.

“Not funny, Inés” he replies, sticking out his tongue. “It's Fer, they are almost here. They… ok” he says, taking a deep breath.

“Pedri… Pedri, hey” I say, taking his hands on mine. “Everything is gonna be fine. The plan will be a success and your parents are going to remember this day for the rest of their lives. And not because you gave them I heart attack” I say before he does.

“Yeah” he chuckles before taking another deep breath.

“Everything is gonna be fine. You can do this” I say, kissing his cheek before letting go of his hands and go hide in the kitchen. 

When I look back at him, he also is looking at me, a big smile on his face that makes my heart skip a beat (yes, it is all about hearts doing things today).

“Down, Pedri” I tell him, moving my hand so he hides behind the counter. 

“Yes, down. Hiding. Yes” he says before bending down and making me laugh. He looks so cute when he is nervous…

“I don't understand why you need us both for this” a female voice says, opening the bar’s door.

“You will when you see what the emergency is” Fer says.

“If it is that damned fridge again…” his dad says.

“Surprise!” Pedri says, jumping from behind the counter.

“Oh my God!” his mother yells, throwing herself at her husband and hugging him as if her life depended on it.

“Pedri?” he says.

“Hi!” he smiles, moving to where they are standing.

“Is he… Is he real?” 

“I am real, mum” he chuckles. “You can touch me if you want to be sure.”

“I… He's real” she says, caressing his face and looking at her husband. “Oh, my boy. You are real and you are here. You are here!”

“I'm here, mum” he says almost in a whisper before he hugs her, his dad and Fer joining them too.

“Shit” I say when I feel a tear rolling down my cheek. Have they made me emotional? They have. 

“But how?” Pedri's mum says when they break their embrace. “How were you able to travel? Did you win the lottery or something?”

“Almost” he chuckles. “I'm here thanks to a very special person. Inés!” he calls, turning to look at where I am hiding. “Inés, come here!”

It's time. It's time to meet his parents. It’s… bloody hell.

“Inés?”

“Coming!” I say, taking a deep breath and opening the kitchen's door. Why does this feel more daunting than playing at the Camp Nou? Like, it's just Pedri's parents! But they also are Pedri's parents and… 

“Mum, dad” he says when I make it to where they are standing, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me closer towards him. Umm…. hello? “This is Inés. Inés, these are my parents.”

“Nice to meet you” I manage to say, Pedri's hand squeezing my side as if to encourage me and tell me everything is gonna be ok. But it has probably had the opposite effect, because feeling his hand there has spread heat all over my body and…

“Nice to meet you too, Inés” his mum smiles, offering me her hand. 

“Hi” I say as I awkwardly shake it. 

“You have a lovely name.”

“Thank you.”

“I personally love it” Pedri smiles. He… ummm… what? He loves my name? 

“I think I've never met an Inés before” his dad says, also shaking my hand.

“It isn't very common, but I've been told there seem to be more little girls with this name these days” I manage to say.

“And there will be a lot more in the future, because couples will want their kids to be named after you” Pedri smiles while looking at me as if he was like… proud of me? What is going on? “Inés plays football for Barcelona's women's team, and she is one of the most promising young players.”

“You are a football player?” his dad asks me.

“I am, yes.”

“That's amazing!” he smiles.

“Is that how you met? Because of football?” his mum asks.

“We actually are classmates” I say. “Football for women doesn't fix all your problems or secures your future like can happen to men, so I wanted to have something else just in case and I kept studying.”

“Beauty and brains” Fer winks.

“And talent” Pedri adds, squeezing my side again.

“You are going to make me blush” I chuckle. Make me blush a lot more than I already am, that is.

“Just stating facts” he shrugs. “Anyway, should we celebrate that we are all here together?”

“Yes!” Fer says, walking behind the counter. “I hid this here earlier” he smirks, getting a champagne bottle and some glasses.

“You boys thought of everything, didn't you?” their mum smiles.

“We did” he says while pouring the champagne. “So, what should we toast to?” he says when he's finished and we all have our glasses. “To Pedri being back home? To his special friend making it possible?” he smirks again, looking at me. 

“To family” Pedri says.

“I like that” his mum says, raising her glass. “To family.”

“To family” we all repeat before drinking.

“Want a bit more, Inés?” Fer laughs after I drink my champagne in one go.

“Please” I nod. If I want to survive what is left of the day, and especially if Pedri is gonna keep being this touchy, cute and sweet, I'm gonna need it.

“Drink it slow, Inés. You know what can happen when you drink too fast” Pedri says, definitely remembering that first night at my apartment.

“She knows what she's doing, Pedri. She's used to drinking champagne every time Barça wins something” Fer laughs.

“You have to tell us more about your career, Inés” their dad says. “If that's ok with you.”

“Yes, of course” I smile.

“But why don't we do that while we go for a walk to the beach? There are so many places I want to show her and so little time…” Pedri says.

“And here I thought you had come to visit us” his mum says, rolling her eyes.

“I… Ummm…” he mumbles. Now he is the one blushing.

“I was just teasing you, Pedri” she laughs. “We'll have time for everything. But first, more champagne.”

“Yes, ma'am” Fer says.

“Welcome to Tenerife, Inés” she says while raising her glass, everyone else doing the same.

“Thank you” I reply as I watch them all smile and start to chat between them, Pedri's arm still around me. One that stays there when we go for that walk to the beach, his parents asking me many questions about my life and my career as a football player, while also sharing lots of anecdotes about little Pedri and making everyone laugh. Everyone but him, who just blushes or rolls his eyes.

And it keeps being there while I buy some handmade bracelets for the girls on a little stand, or when a man asks him and his dad to buy a rose for their loves, aka, me and his mum. And it continues to be there when we stop at a chiringuito to have dinner, moving from my waist to the back of my chair and sometimes caressing my shoulders or my neck, definitely making me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling while in front of this family.

But besides all that, I am feeling something else. Something new that, I'm starting to think, is happiness. A kind of happiness and pure bliss I had never experienced before because it is one you only get around a family as special and that love each other so much as Pedri's does.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I could go to a hotel. It's November, I'm sure they have rooms available.”

“Inés, no” Pedri's says. “You are our guest, you aren't sleeping at a hotel.”

“Then how are we going to do it?” Fer asks. 

Because we had planned how Pedri was going to surprise his parents, what we were going to do each day, the places we wanted to visit… But we hadn't thought about where I was going to be sleeping since there only are two rooms in their house: their parents', and the one he and his brother shared growing up. 

“You can always sleep on the sofa. Or with grandma” Pedri shrugs, looking at Fer.

“What have I done to deserve that?” he says. “That sofa is like a torture device, and grandma… Grandma is grandma.”

“No one is going anywhere” their mum says. “Inés will sleep on Pedri's bed, and you two will share the other one.”

“What?” they both say at the same time.

“Oh, don't look at me like that. It's not the first time you share a bed” she says. “And you both are on the small side, you'll be fine.”

“Love you too, mum” Fer replies, rolling his eyes. “But Pedri is the worst person to share a bed with. He kicks you at night, and hard. I swear he must have been a football player in another life.”

“Oh, stop complaining and go to bed already. You are opening the bar tomorrow, you have to get up early.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Goodnight, grumpy cat” his mum says, kissing his cheek.

“Goodnight, mum” Fer says before kissing her back, making her giggle and me smile like an idiot. 

“Goodnight, darling” she says, now kissing Pedri's cheek.

“Night, mum” he smiles.

“And good night, Inés. If they are too annoying, please don't hesitate and kick them out of the room. You have my blessing.”

“Thank you” I chuckle. “And thank you very much for today.”

“Thank you for bringing my boy back for such a special occasion.” 

“It's nothing, I…”

“It's everything, Inés. Thank you” she smiles, giving my arm a little squeeze and somehow making me feel very emotional. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight” I say as I watch her walk away and into her room.

“Shall we?” Pedri says while gesturing towards his room, Fer already inside.

“Wait. Is there anything you should warn me about before I go in?” I ask him.

“What?”

“Yeah, like… I don't know. Posters of half naked women, embarrassing photos, dirty underwear scattered everywhere…”

“Do you really think our mother would let us have those things in our room?” he laughs.

“I… Yeah, you are right. Though the embarrassing photos…”

“She keeps those in the photo albums. She'll probably show them all to you tomorrow.”

“Oh, wonderful! That basically is why I said yes to this trip, you know? I wanted to see photos of you as a kid with ugly outfits or while sitting on the toilet when it still was too big for you. Which probably was just before you moved to Barcelona.”

“Inés!” he gasps and laughs at the same time.

“What?” I shrug.

“Don't tease me” he says, closing the space between us. 

“I'm not teasing you.” 

“Yes, you are” he says, his face suddenly too close to mine, his eyes fixed on mine. 

Why did you start this game, Inés? Why, why, why? You always lose! 

“I… ummm…” I mumble, my face already burning.

“Pedri, I'm going to… Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt” Fer says, trying really hard to hide his smile.

“You aren't” I quickly say, taking a step back.

“Yes, you aren't” Pedri says, finally looking away. “Where are you going?”

“The bathroom.”

“I think we should let Inés go first.”

“Worried she may see how bad your aim is and that you pee outside?” Fer teases him.

“I hate you” he says before walking into the room.

“Oh, c'mon. Don't be like that, Pepi. It was just a joke!” Fer says, following him.

“Wait, Pepi?” I say behind him.

“He hasn't told you about it?”

“He has not, no.”

“Pedri! I thought you liked the nickname I have for you!”

“I'm not five anymore, Fer.”

“Maybe physically, but mentally…”

“You idiot” Pedri says before pushing his brother towards the bed and starting to do something like wrestling with him, both of them laughing.

“Ok, I think I'll leave you alone with whatever that is and go to the bathroom” I chuckle while they keep trying to hit the other.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“Fer, you are uncovering me.”

“What? You are the one who has the bed sheets all for himself!”

“I'm not” Pedri says. “Look at my feet, they are showing! I can't sleep with cold feet!”

“I can't see shit, the lights are off!” Fer says, moving on the bed and making me fear he may break it. “Happy now?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Now what's the problem? Pedri are you… are you spooning me?” Fer complains.

“I'm not.”

“Then why is your arm around me?”

“I was just looking for a comfortable position.”

“You were…”

“Ok, enough!” I say, sitting up on my bed. “You've been arguing for the past twenty minutes, and falling asleep with that background noise is impossible.”

“Sorry, Inés” Pedri says, turning on the light.

“Fuck. Was that necessary?” Fer complains again. “Also do you see how you had the bed sheets all for yourself?”

“Guys!” I say, raising my voice and stopping them before they start arguing again.

“Sorry” they both reply.

“Pedri, come here” I say, moving to one side and opening my bed.

“What?”

“Come here. You can sleep with me.” 

Will this be a huge mistake? Probably. But at least I will get some sleep. Or not. Because having him so close…

“Inés, if my mum walks in and sees us sharing the bed…”

“Goodbye to my future nephews and nieces” Fer says, earning himself a punch from Pedri. “Ouch! Sorry.”

“She doesn't have to find out. Fer is getting up before us since he has to go open the bar, so before he leaves, he'll wake you up so you can move back to that bed.”

“But Inés, are you sure you want to… you know” Pedri says, nodding towards my bed. My bed that actually is his.

“I am. I sleep in fetal position, there will be enough space for the both of us. And like your mum said, you are on the small side” I shrug.

“She's right. Go sleep with her” Fer says, literally kicking Pedri out of the bed.

“If you don't wake me up tomorrow…”

“I will, don't worry. Goodnight, little bro. Inés” he smiles before covering himself all the way up to his neck and giving his back to us.

“Inés, I can go sleep on the sofa. It actually isn't that bad and…”

“Pedri, shut up and come here.”

“Yes, ma'am” he smirks, making me feel funny things on my stomach… and a little bit lower. Just what I needed before sharing my bed with him. Getting turned on.

“Goodnight, Pedri” I say, giving my back to him just as Fer had done and curling up in my corner of the bed.

“Goodnight, Inés” he replies, turning off the light and getting in bed next to me, laying down as if he was a mummy, stiffness included. But it doesn't last too long. 

Only a couple of minutes have passed when I feel him moving, one of his knees touching the back of my legs. I try to not move, to act as if nothing has happened. But then he moves again, and I can feel his body just centimetres away from mine, his breath tickling the back of my neck. And then, his arm moves.

Even though it isn't touching me, I can feel it around my body, kind of asking for permission to do it (because it had not been touching that very same part of my body the whole afternoon, you know?). So as a way to say yes, I stretch my legs, one of my feet touching his. And I swear it takes everything in me to not gasp when his arm finally rests around my waist, his hand looking for mine, our fingers interlacing when he finds them. 

We are almost spooning, there is only one thing left to do. And that's me moving closer towards him, towards his body. But I don't have time to think about doing it or not, because he does it for me by using the arm he has around me.

Now I can feel his chest against my back, my butt against his hips, our legs looking for a comfortable position that ends up being one of mine between his, our feet kind of hugging. But the thing that is about to send me into cardiac arrest (yes, the heart issues are still going strong), is the fact that I can feel his lips on my neck. They aren't literally there, but almost. Why did I decide to braid my hair to go to bed today? Why couldn't I let it down? Though if I had, he would have probably moved it one side to not end up eating it throughout the night, and the moment his fingers had touched my neck… No. Don't think about it, Inés. Not when he is so close to you and you have no escape.

“Goodnight, Inés” he suddenly whispers, making me feel every single syllable on my skin, the heat that it spreads over my body being so intense that I'm sure he is feeling it too.

“Goodnight, Pedri” I manage to whisper back. 

Will I get to say good morning? I'll keep you updated.

[milkywaydrabbles]

Number 15 for Alucard, it'd be so cute!

A/N: I don't think this is the fluff you were expecting LOL I promise it's a happy ending but the angst took over. In case you (or anyone else) was wondering the song is Cherry Wine by Hozier (i'm in my feels right now about this man I'm sorry) Anyways I hope you like it mwuaaah

"Sing to me again" x Alucard

Fight.

Attack.

Defend.

Alucard couldn’t think of anything except you and the baby while he was on the front line. The village had been so peaceful, for long he nearly forgot there were still monsters crawling around in the world. The stragglers that had grown stronger, the ones who persevered throughout the days, weeks, months. The stragglers that had already killed some of the makeshift infantrymen, the ones who have had nothing but time on their hands and are so hungry they see red. The stragglers that had Alucard running out to defend the village while you stay hidden away deep in the castle, barricaded and locked behind the safety of your shared home. They were evolved, instantly locking onto the dhampir who was the strongest amongst the men, bloodied grins widening: teeth sharp as blades that could tear through muscle and sinew with ease.  Alucard steadied himself, gripping a little tighter onto his shield and sword, kissing its hilt and imagining your sweet face, the sweet face of his newborn daughter, and lunged.

-

You were frantic, trying so hard to stay calm if only for your energy not to be poured into the babe huffing and crying in your arms. You’d been trying to put her to bed, but how could she? How could she sleep when she felt your panic, your anxiety pulsing into the very air she breathed in? How could she sleep when your soothing rocking was more jarring than anything, your voice shaky as you shushed her? How could you ever expect her to calm her sorrows when, if you tried hard enough, you heard the incessant howls and screeches from the deadly monsters outside castle walls.  You prayed, you prayed to all the deities and gods that could ever possibly exist to bring your Adrian back home. You’d never worry like this, he’s so strong, fending off the monsters with ease. But you’d never seen him so nervous like this either: having the heavy knocks of men on the castle doors begging for saving. The sheer strength of the creatures overwhelming them. 

What felt like days passed, it could have been a few minutes, it could have been a few hours. You’re not sure, you and your daughter going in and out of sleep, waking at every creak and bang that was heard. You shushed and cooed, steadying yourself the best you could to maybe sing a lullaby to your darling girl. “Shh, shh, I know sweet pea--I miss him too. But he’ll be safe, he’ll come back..” You whispered, kissing her forehead as a tiny hand balled into a fist rubbed at scrunched up eyes. 

Her eyes and words are so icy oh, but she burns like rum on the fire. Hot and fast and angry as she can be, I walk my days on a wire. 

It looks ugly, but it’s clean, oh momma don’t fuss over me.

Way she tells me I’m hers, and she’s mine. Open hand or closed fist, would be fine. The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine.

The cries lulled to a few whines and whimpers, holding her to your chest as you continued your hushed tones.

Calls of guilty thrown at me, all while she stains the sheets of some other. Thrown at me so powerfully just like, she throws the arm of her brother.

But I want it, it’s a crime, that she’s not around most of the time.

Way she tells me I’m hers, and she’s mine. Open hand or closed fist, would be fine. The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine.

Singing has calmed you enough to keep a gentle bounce, baby slowly falling asleep in your arms. You internally sighed, thankful that at least the immediate worry of your child has been quelled. 

Now all you can do is wait for your beloved.

-

Alucard ended the life of the final monster, hearing the victorious cries and hollers of the villagemen around him. He was grateful the battle had ended, retreating quickly to your shared home, finally able to hold you in his arms. Slowly, he opened the doors, knowing any sudden movements could stir his (hopefully) sleeping baby girl. He didn’t want to increase your stress, already guilty that he had to leave you in disarray. He made his way to the room he’d left you in, sure you’d still be in there: the nursery. The very nursery that you two built with your own hands, right next to his old bedroom.

Just like Vlad and Lisa.

 As Alucard got closer, he heard small hiccups and babbles from his daughter, along with the soft singing coming from you. He recognized the song, a song you’d often sing to yourself when you thought he wasn’t listening. The same song you’d sing into his hair when he was half asleep. He pressed the door open, his heart stopping at the very sight of you whispering the song into your daughter’s fluffy mess of a head, eyes closed. You hadn’t noticed him, and he was grateful. He wanted to just take in the moment, all panic and anxiety of constantly thinking that something might have happened, that something might have gotten through the castle, all quelled the moment he saw you both. 

He let you finish, giving you a moment before softly knocking on the door, your eyes darting to him immediately, tears forming in the corners of your eyes. “Adrian..” You whispered, voice heavy. He crossed the threshold, kneeling at your feet and holding you both without disturbing the sweet babe. “Oh thank god you’re safe.” You did your best not to cry, you really did, not realizing just how scared you were for his safety. But he was alive and well and back in your arms. “I’m here now, love, I’ll keep you both safe always.” He whispered into your hair, looking down at his baby with adoration. 

“I heard you singing, love.” You hummed, calm enough now to put your girl down in her crib. The moment you sat back down though, Alucard’s head rested on your lap, hugging at your legs. You pet his hair, combing your fingers through the blond tresses. You hummed the melody of the song to him as his eyes fluttered close, breathing even. By the end you’d thought he’d already falling asleep, instead he spoke a whisper: “My darling, will you sing to me again?” Your heart clenched, and with a smile you responded:

“As long as you keep coming home to us, I’ll sing to you every day.”

[thebisexualdogdad]

Dick Grayson x Male!reader dating headcanons

*Yoshi Sudarso used as a fancast*

● you had known Dick since you were kids

● your father was a work friend of Bruce's so when Bruce adopted Dick he introduced you hoping that having a friend his age would help Dick adjust to his new life

● little did he know that the two of you would grow up and fall in love

● you started dating when you were 16

● found out about his secret identity at 19

● and moved in together at 21

● him coming home all beat up

● he taught you how to give him stitches when he's in too much pain to do it himself

● and he taught you how to defend yourself after you got mugged

● "you're getting pretty good at this," he says as you have him pinned to the training mat

● "watch out Dick, Gotham may have a new vigilante on its hands"

● "don't get ahead of yourself babe it takes more than a few self defense moves to be a vigilante"

● "Guess I'll just enjoy this view of you being underneath me instead"

● you were ecstatic when he brought Haley home

● "Y/N may I present to you the newest member of our family"

● "Oh my god Dick she's adorable what's her name?"

● "what do you think about the name Haley"

● "I love it, welcome home Haley"

● you absolutely spoil her rotten

● sneaking her people food when Dick isn't looking

● he pretends not to notice because he's happy that you love her as much as he does

● Haley loves when Barbara comes over to hang out cause she gets twice as many treats and cuddles

● going for long walks with Dick and Haley

● not being surprised anymore when he has to run off because he hears a crime happening down the street

● "I'll see you and Haley back at home! If I'm not too late I'll bring home sandwiches from the bodega!"

● Dick coming to your work to have lunch together

● "you were out all night aren't you tired?"

● "extremely but I promised you we'd have lunch today and I always keep my promises"

● Dick is the person that falls asleep the moment you put a movie on

● and when he wakes up he googles the highlights so he can pretend like he watched it

● "So what did you think?"

● "Oh yeah I loved it," slyly looking down at his phone, "especially the part where *insert random scene description here*"

● Tim went to Dick first for advice on how to ask out Bernad on a date

● "well how did you ask Y/N?"

● "I didn't, he asked me out"

● "you're no help where is Y/N he'll know what to do"

● you end up going on a double date with them so Tim is less nervous

● it goes great so double dates become a regular thing

● you don't see Jason as often, he just kind of shows up at your apartment sometimes

● "Jason what are you doing here?"

● "it's been a while and I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd stop by"

● "you just want me to cook you dinner don't you"

● "Hey… I'm also here for Haley"

● and he usually has some kind of wound he hasn't properly cleaned up so he gets blood all over your furniture

● "Dick, please tell your brother to try and keep the bleeding to a minimum next time, I have to do enough bloody laundry for you as it is"

● one time Nightwing saved you from a killer croc attack at your work

● "thanks for the rescue Nightwing"

● "you're very welcome handsome stranger, maybe I'll have the pleasure of saving you again sometime"

● your co worker comes up to you when Nightwing leaves "dude nightwing was totally just flirting with you"

● "you think so? I wonder what it's like to date a superhero" you say with a sly smile

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 120

A play on Assassins Creed ... hmmmm ... where are we going with THIS then, Samuel? Okay ... yeah, I'm not really sure I'm feeling this one, guys. Oh ... okay, I think Robbie's commitment to the bit is starting to win me over, at least ... but yeah ... I think that one ultimately failed to really make an impression on me ...

Robbie has an announcement? Wow ... good on ya, boy ...

IS IT coming to an end yet, though? You guys have to FINISH THE GAME first, after all. I'll believe this is it when IT IS it ...

Anyway, so what NOW? Big cliffhanger, so now for the payoff ... where are we going? IS THIS gonna be a TPK? I mean I'm very nervous about it now ...

Oh yeah, that's right, Braius you ARSEHOLE!!!

ALREADY?!!! Crap! ROLL INITIATIVE!!!

Dorian tries to do something WHILE HE CAN ... a 9th Level Foresight? Okay, then ... doing one for himself, then ... best time for it, then ... hope you learn something RELEVANT, Blue Boy! Save the day! EIGHT HOURS?!!! Oh, that's just ... yeah, that is pretty SEXY ...

Laura's ALREADY looking for a giant Kaiju member to suddenly make an appearance ... yeah, reckong Mastt's right. Terms of service would have something to say about that ...

ROLLIES!!! Always fun ...

"Braius the Betrayer" ... yeah, the boy's NEVER gonna live that down, is he?

Dorian flies right into the middle of this whole situation ... careful, cutie! Orym would be pretty upset if something happened to you right now! Mass Cure Wounds? Nice one ... Robbie: "Oh, do you see this?" Marisha genuinely geeks out seeing the score ... 25 HP back each! Beautiful ...

Chetney Wold lands right in the thick ... yeah, he's going at it! He gets slashing with his claws ... first misses ... oh, I should think 27 WOULD hit ... but a Dirty 20 DOESN'T!!! Oh man ... that means it's some serious high AP ... at least he gets ONE hit in ... Crimson Rite! Yup ... oh shit, Psychic Feedback? Oof ... not so good ... ANOTHER NAT20? Oh, so he DOES get a hit on that last ... YEAH, that's more like it. Nice one, Travis!

Wait ... the head is now GONE ... Laudna (gasping in wonder): "We killed it!" Yeah, I don't think so ... no, that's much worse ...

Imogen casts Blade of Disaster! Oooooooh ... dump on that head, Imogen! KRISSSSSSHHH!!! 2 attacks! First hits! Oh, lots of dice maths for the damage! 34 points! Going again ... ANOTHER hit! 20 this time? Okay ... that was BONUS action? NOW for the action, then ... okay ... oh boy, Laura's trying to do something SNEAKY ... Mind Sliver? On the HAND?!!! Madness ... amazingly it actually WORKS!!! Bizarre, but GO OFF, girl!

TWO Legendary Actions? Oof ... Shriek of Oblivion? This sounds potentially scary ... OH MY GOD THAT'S HORRIFYING!!! O.O ... roll well, guys! SIXTY-TWO POINTS of Necrotic damage? Nightmare!

Ashton does dsome dodging round to get to Fearns and takes his attack ... oh yeah, 32 DEFINITELY hits ... BOOM!!! Oh TWENTY-ONE hits? Okay, so we got the magic number, then ... another POW!!!

Another Legendary Action ... The Evolving? Excuse me? Gods help us ... AAAAAAAAHHH!!! Holy shit those are HORRIBLE rolls for us! O.O

Laudna DOES NOT take out her ball-bearings ... no, you're NOT playing Beau right now, Marisha ... Hunger of the Shadow Shard? Bloody hell ... Dead Girl's getting SPOOKY right now ... I love it! Suck that Essence, Laudna! 11? Ugh ... so not much to glean from that, then ... nuts ...Shadow Walk? Nice ... and it's a BONUS action? SWEET!!! Okay, full-on spooky teleportaton! I love it ...

Orym sprints round and jumps up onto Braius' shoulder, uses him as a springboard to leap onto the head ... careful Wee Man! Meanwhile thanks to Braiu's Truthbearer, Predathos' attack of opportunity DOESN'T WORK!!! Nice! He starts slashing away with Seedling ... wait, Condense Glass? NOT FAIR, Matthew!

Maw of the Red End? Oh my GODS, Matthew! These Legendary Actions are really gonna hurt us! FUCK!!! Orym just got CHOMPED ON!!! And a Dirt 20 is NOT ENOUGH? Oh fuck ... wait, he just got EATEN?!!! O.O NOOOOOOOOO!!! Wait ... oh thank FUCK for Misty Step! THat was almost HORRIBLE ...

MORE limbs? FUCK!!! Meteoric Slam? Argh! Catapulting Blow? Marish: "All this shit is made up!" Laura: "Tell him that!" Not sure that's gonna make much difference, guys ...

ANOTHER claw! Oh fucking hell that's a TERRIFYING mini! Watch out, Imogen! AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Miracle Devourer? Oh for fuck's sake ...

Fearne throws some 4th Level Scorching Rays at it ... that's FIVE attacks! That's a Hit! And another! Nat20! Yes! Yet another! Whoa, ALL FIVE ht their target! Fucking BEAUTIFUL, Ashley! You're a BEAST right now! Roll that immense amout of damage dice! Here we got for some complicated dice maths ... O.O ... 30 points of fire damage ... another 8 on top of that ... nice ... BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!! And now Mister chucks more flaming shit ... another hit! SPLAT-PHWOOOM!!! Matt: "If a massive kaiju could look icredulous from being shat on by a flaming monkey, this one would."

Marisha THOROUGHLY FOILS Matt with the most well-placed Critical Roll EVER!!! The reaction is VERY well deserved!

Braius casts Staggering Srike at 4th Level ... "My god will reward me when I SMITE YOU!!!" It misses? Balls ... second attack HITS though ... double the dice? Oh boy ... this should be interesting ... Divine Smite too? Ooooooh ... oh my fucking GODS that's 77 points of damage on a single attack! O.O DEVILMAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNN!!!

Dorian gives himself some positive reinforcement and casts and 8th Level Crown of Stars ... that's NINE MOTES!!! This shoucl be interesting ... attack the hand! At advantage! POOM!!! Nice one!

Chetney jumps down and slides to the head ... he swings with Turmoil ... NAT20!!! Nice! And a second hit! 29 points of damage, then 22! Plus the Thunder damage! KRAKADOOM!!! Blood Curse of Bloated Agony! Yeah! Go off, Old Man!

Is Predathos about to try and GROPE Fearne right nw? XD ... Marisha: "I've seen this hentai." Screech of the Ravaged Mind? Oof ... again, that's NASTY!!!

Imogen shifts round for a sweet shot ... she TRANSMUTES her Lightning for a nice fat explosive THUNDERBOLT ... at EIGHTH LEVEL?!!! Bloody hell, Laura ... O.O ... and it fails ALL of its saves ... oh damn you, Legendary Resistance! Laura DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH dice for this damage roll? XD ... I love it when that happened ... 48 points of Thunder damage! KRAKADOOM-KABOOM-BOOM!!! Oh ... WHOA!!! One of the claws just SHATTERS!!! O.O Fucking hell ... another Spectral Blade attack ... A CRIT!!! Yes! Thats TWELVE D12 of damage! Yet MORE serious dice math! 59 points of Thunder damage! Fucking AMAZING round, Laura! You're a GODDESS right now!

Ashton runs and JUMPS at the head ... oh that DEFINITELY hits! With a Chaos Burst too! Lightning! Perfect! POW!!! Next hit ALSO hits! Another Chaos burst! Psychic damage this time! BOOM!!!

Laudna is now out of position so Marisha has to completely rethink her tactics ... thinking, thinking ... what IS the range on Bane? Marisha: I;m coming, I;m coming." Laura: "Okay!" Sam: "Very clinical!" XD ... Fireball? Old school! At 3rd Level ... and she DOESN'T CARE if she gets Braius while she's at it cuz she's STILL pissed at him ... plus Fearne's IMMUNE to fire ... PHWOOM!!! 8 D6 of Fire damage! Nice ... and it FAILS its Dex save too ... 24 ppoints of damage! Then she Quickens for a Chill Touch ... 30 total DEFINITELY hits! 20 points of Necrotic damage and he CAN'T regain hitpoints until HER next turn! Fantastic!

Orym springs onto the crystal ... oh, that DEFINITELY hits ... so he keeps slashing! Second misses, but third hits! CRACK-CRACK!!!

The head MOVES?!!! Balls ... but only ONE limb shifts ... Another Shriek of Oblivion? Bollocks ... oof, that's so horrible ... save well, guys! Half of 67 points of Necrotic? Oof ... shit, yeah ... Fearne is DOWN ... Mister's shaking her right now desperately trying to wake her up! NOOOOOO!!!

Ruinous Claw? GODS NO!!! Stop, Matt! We can't take it! 52 points of Slashing damage? Oof ... Shield? Oh thank fuck, well done, Laudna ...

Ashley rolls a death save ... O.O ... please work ... a Nat1? That's TWO instant failed saves! NOOOOOO!!! She has ONE LEFT!!! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck ...

Braius is NOT gonna help her right now ... "Show me your nipples and persuade me." Boobies? Try it, Laura ... Liam: "Her heart's not in it." Okay, I guess that DOES work, then ... come on, Braius! Titties! Just SAVE HER already! He takes it as a Divine Sign ... XD ... he rushes to Fearne and uses Lay On Hands to get her back up ... phew ... thank the horny gods ...Sam: "For my bonus action, I will --" Travis: "Rub one out?" LOL ... then he Inspires Laudna with a FANTASTIC painting ... oh, she's CONSIDERING forgiving him now ...

Another claw strike! Balls ...

Dorian floats up to engage the claw ... he draws his sword and starts hacking away ... 27 definitely hits! Oh my GODS he basically CHOPPED THE HAND OFF!!! Beautiful! He floats to the other hand and gets swinging again ... yeah, 30 ALSO hits! Defensive Flourish? Ooooh ... and a Healing Word for Ashton! Nice ... 29 points back! Sweet ...

Another claw atack and Fearne's PRONE so it has advantage ... oof ... Shield? YES!!! Bloody USE IT!!! Oh thank fuck ... perfect ... that was almost SO BAD ...

Chetney clicks his Boots of Speed to rush to Imogen, then uses the Staff to cast Blink on her ... really? Interesting ... and now he just COLLAPSES from exhaustion ... XD

Fucking hell this is already EXHAUSTING ...

Imogen uses her spinning Blades for another attack ... 24 points of damage! Now 9 points ... hmmm ... now she shifts and throws a 6th Level Lightning Bolt ... BOTH fail! SWEET!!! Double the damage! 84 points of Thunder damage! KRAKADOOM!!! BOTH of the arms are DESTROYED!!! And she BLINKS OUT!!!

Ashton is out of range so he just rushes in as close as he can ... no joy this turn, then ...

Laudna recasts Mirror Image on herself, then Quickens an Eldritch Blast ... gods bless Spell Sniper ... so that's FOUR hits with one a CRIT!!! Beautiful! That's 50 damage on a cantrip! Magnificent!

Orym runs up to Fearne and pours a healing potion down her throat ... that's 44 points of Health back! Nice ... and now he's covering her too so she has EXTRA AP for her next turn! Nice ... good old Orym!

No Shriek of Oblivion! Good ... more limbs, though ... BALLS!!! Screech of the Ravaged Mind? Oof ... more saves, then ... roll well, guys! Balls ... even with a 20 Fearne STILL takes 35 points of Psychic damage ... so much for all that healing ...

Ruinous Claw again ... ouch ...

Fearne staggers up and casts Flame Blade at 6th Level ... with Sneak attack? Nice ... holy shit ... NATURAL 20!!! Matt: "Holy shit, you can READ THAT DICE!!!! Oh the incredulity! LOL ... oh this is gonna be a FUCKTON of damage ... lots of dice AND it's DOUBLED ... O.O ... 37 doubled ... SEVENTY-FOUR POINTS of Fire damage! SSSSSSHHHHHHWOOOOOMMM!!!

Braius just STRIDES UP to the head and starts swinging ... Staggering Smite! 30 definitely hits ... a 3rd Level Divine Smite! 51 points in one hit! But he MISSES his next hit, wasting a 5th Level Divine Smite! Bollocks!

Maw of the Red End again? Shite ... this time it's going for Ashton ... a Nat20? SHITE!!! Silvery Barbs? Oh that's a BEAUTIFUL SAVE, Fearne! Marisha: "Witches be bitchin'!" Even so that's A LOT of damage dice ... halved, though ... strength check! 26! Phew ... so it DOESN'T eat him ... thank FUCK ...

Dorian casts Healing Word on Ashton ... 20 points back! Then he starts hacking away with his sword again ... ANOTHER NAT20!!! Beautiful ... with Blade Flourish TOO ... oh nice ... this is gonna be another BIG PIECE OF DAMAGE ... another hits after ... nice ...

Chetney races to Ashton and drops a healing potion off to him, then flanks Braius ... he starts swiping at the head with Turmoil ... BOOM!!! KA-POW!!! Beautiful ...

Imogen pops in and Transmutes a 5th Level LIghtning Bolt ... Sex save means it succeeds, so only half damage ... BOOOOO!!! Not fair! That's 30 altogether, then ... nuts ... but at least it does SOME damage ... then she uses a Sorcery Point for a RANGED Shocking Grasp ... but its MISSES?!!! Bollocks ... so she Blinks again!

Ashton starts whaling on it with the hammer ... Reckless? Go for it ... with a Chaos Burst ... Cold damage ... that's 54 points of damage altogether! THWACK!!! Thief of Defeat is so sweet ... 31 definitely hits ... another Chaos Burst ... Acid damage! BOOM!!! He burns the Shard of K'Mort and turns entirely crystal ... FANTASTIC ...

Another claw attack on Dorian ... oof ... and now it aims a Telekinetic Vacuum at Laudna ... Marisha: "What if I pop out a titty?" Matt: "Ive already seen it!" Crap ... she gets sucked right up to it ...

Wow, this REALLY puts Marisha into a bind ... she has no choice but to move away ... Mirror Image? I don't like this ... so it BITES HER ... shit! That's a lot of damage ... PLEASE don't be eaten ... oh wait ... can Chetney save her? OH MY GOD TRAVIS you are a fucking HERO RIGHT NOW!!! Fucking BEAUTIFUL save! She thanks him as she rushes away for some good range ... finally she turns and hurls another Eldritch blast at the head ... all four hit with TWO CRITS!!! Holy shit ... that is SEVENTY POINTS OF DAMAGE from an Eldritch Blast! O.O ... yeah, she just POURS this damage on this bitch right now! Pure furious retribution! Finally she chucks a Hex at it and that's it for that turn ...

Orym rushes in and uses a RANGED ATTACK with Seedling! Holy fuck ... beautiful move ...

The head moves again ... damn it ... oh, they're RIGHT IN IT now ... it can just attack EVERYBODY now ... O.O ... SEVENTY-THREE points of Necrotic damage? Sweet FUCK ... Dorian is DOWN?!!! Fuck! Braius too? Shit ... thank fuck Fearne has Evasion, she doesn't take ANY damage ... that's a CRIT against Chetney ... O.O ... 52 halved? Oof ... ANOTHER attack on him? ANOTHER Crit! Laudna throws Slvery Barbs in to counter that ... thank fuck ... Oh ... that's a NAT20 on the THIRD ATTACK against Chet ... 58 points halved ... FUCK!!!

Fearne moves into a better position and throws a Scorching Ray at 4th Level at him ... five attacks ... FOUR out of the five hit! Sweet ... 35 points of Fire damage!

Mister chucks some more flaming shit at him ... BOOF!!!

Another claw attack ... and YET AGAIN it's going for Chetney! 30 points of Slashing damage! Shite!

Braius fails his first Death save ...

Maw of the Red End .aimed at Imogen ... shit ... Imogen is chomped and it BREKS HER, she is DOWN as it SWALLOWS HER!!!

Matt chooses to call a break NOW ... O.O

Dorian succeeds his first Death save ... phew ...

Chetney uses Turmoil to fling a Shatter at the head ... 38 points of Thunder damage! BOOM!!! He Misty Steps behind the head, staying JUST out of range ...

Fuck ... Matt just made that SO MUCH WORSE for everybody AGAIN ... O.O ... it's DIGESTING Imogen now and she IMMEDIATELY fails a Death save - she will DIE next round if she fails again ... FUCK!!!

Ashton is FULLY WILLING to let Laudna KILL HIM for a Hail Mary if it works ... that's badass ... he goes to the head and tries to FORCE THE MOUTH OPEN ... oh you badass stone punk I LOVE YOU ... holy shit Taliesin you steely eyed missile man! Beautiful strength check! Oh, Reverse Whisper? Fascinating ...

Holy shit what IS that t-shirt ... my gods Robbie WHEN did you do THIS sexy shoot? You look INCREDIBLE ...

Reaching down the throat Ashton 5tries to drag Imogen free ... another Strength contest ... oh that is BEAUTIFUL ... wait ... he LEAVES THE HAMMER and just pulls HER free so he can be ABDLUTELY SURE that he can make this work ... but she's OUT of the maw now ... okay, NOW what is he gonna do? Since he's now changed BACK and he's just a WRECK ...

Laudna gets up to the head and casts Void Puppet ... it takes on the form of Otohan? HOLY SHIT ... she USES ASHTON'S HAMMER for this ... okay ... a Disintegration ray? Nice ... if this works it will be AWESOME ... she has to roll 12 or higher for this to work ... or it will backfire CATACLYSMICALLY on Ashton ... 9? OH MY FUCKING GODS ... O.O ... how fucking bad is this going to be?

The head burns a Legendary Resistance to succeed, but the hand fails ... she SERIOUSLY fucks it up, but it could have been MUCH more impressive ... oof ...

Orym drops his Hex and instead shoots a vine out to grab Dorian and drag him into relative safety before pouring a healing potion down his throat ... 15 hit points back and he is UP ... oh man, that;s a ROMANTIC moment in the middle of this shit ...

Another claw attack this time at Orym ... and Wee Man is now DOWN ... fuck ... right in front of Dorian! NOOOO!!!

The head is going for Laudna ... Mirror Image? Please work this time ... YES!!! Thank fuck for that ... a claw attack at Ashton ... halved means 23 points of Slashing damage ... now at Fearne ... a Crit? MATTHEW!!! COME ON!!! She burns her Silver Barbs ... but it still does damage ... FUCK!!! She's out AGAIN!!! But at least she burns HIM while he does it ...

Mist is PISSED right now so he just FIRES his Flame Seed at it ... POW!!!

Fearne fails 2 Death saves ... FUCK!!!

Braius ALSO fails a Death save ...

Dorian struggles up. taking in the ruinous scene around him ... he swoops STRAIGHT UP above and then dumps a Mass Cure Wounds onto the group ... 29 hit points back to EVERYBODY, while he holds back from himself ... oh you sweet, SWEET man, you're too pure for this world ... finally he Inspires Braius. That's a beautiful round, Robbie ...

Matt? What are you doing? He just shredded all but THREE hit points right back out of her again ... YOU BASTARD ...

Chetney rushes to the head and swings at it with Turmoil ... two heavy hits! 38 points of damage ... but he takes three back himself ... second hit is 33 points of damage ...

The head moves AGAIN ... and goes for Ashton ... Dreadful Misfortune? Oh nice ... BEAUTIFUL move, Ashton! So Predathos just BITES HIS OWN TONGUE instead! XD ... beautiful ...

Imogen forces herself up on her hands and knees ... oh ... fuck ... the Ring of Remembrance? Shit ... what's THIS gonna do? Oh my god, if this doesn't work she's going to DIE ... She has to roll a 4 or higher ... oh my fucking gods the tension right now ... O.O ... TWELVE!!! Holy shit ... oh my gods this is going to be INSANELY powerful ... and she can use a Sorcery point to Transmute it too? HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!! She's changing it from Fire to Thunder ... so it's a Meteor Swarm? Wow ... Laura ... I think you just WON THE GAME ... I cannot WAIT to see how this works ...

Robbie (to Laura): "Have you ever been happier with a fistful of dice?" Oh my gods, I know ... O.O

This is already SO MUCH DAMAGE and it's only the FIRST HIT ... 154 points of damage ... sweet fucking OH MY GODS ...

Imogen is LITERALLY RAINING FIERY HELL on this fucking thing right now ... O.O

Marisha: "She is the Storm, baby!" She is indeed ...

Matt: "Imogen Temult, how do you want to do this?" The table collectively LOSE THEIR MINDS ...

Pure havoc. Everybody just has to COVER UP and hope for the best as rocky devestation pours all around them ... meanwhile Imogen is just a glowing Exaltant Ruidusborn GODDESS right now ...

Oh, so the little child version of Prdathos is back? Interesting ... oh, it's breaking apart? They're drfting away and merging with her ... right, so what DOES this mean?

Laudna pulls the Mask out again ... and it just crumbles in her hands ... hmmmm ... not the best sign ...

Yeah, reckon it's best to just GET THE FUCK OUT of this place while you still can, guys ...

Liliana? Oh yeah ... best get to her quick ...

Whispers? For Travis NOW, when he's trying a smell check on Lliana? What does that MEAN?!!!

SERIOUSLY guys, you need to LEAVE!!! Go now!

This whole thing's turned into the clamax of Krull right now ... they're running out of the Black Fortress as it's collapsing around them! AAAAAAAAHH!!!

Healing is good, you guys better get yourselves back into SOME semblance of passable shape while you're moving ...

Imogen Messages Caleb ... oh hell, Liam has to start shuffling through his Character Sheets to check what Caleb has right now ... so they're all just mopping up the remains of the battle, looks like ... okay, this is a victory, then, but a messy one ...

Could Ira get them out? Or Planerider Ryn?

Imogen tries to Message Ryn now ... okay ... oh here she is! Hey! She might be able to help? Nice ...

Roll a D100? Crap ... not a good sign ... 74? Apparently that's good ...

Planerider Ryn is IN DA HOUSE!!! She's missing her arm, but otherwise in one piece ... nice ... She can take EIGHT of them and herself ... so somebody gets left bebhind no matter what if this includes Liliana ... hmmmmmm ...

Laudna has that elf amulet from the place near the Secret Entrance? Nice ... that could do it ...oh ... wait, maybe not, then ... crap ... I don't know, it's confusing ... hmmmm ...

Yeah, this is all very complicated ... I have a feeling this is PROBABLY going to go spectacularly wrong ...

Somebody has to get in the Hole no matter WHAT we do, just PICK one of you ...

You're running out of time here, guys! Do something NOW!!!

Dorian goes in the Hole! Hold your breath!

A doll? YES!!! hat's do it! Perfect ... Ryn has a focus points now. TIME TO GO!!!

WHOOSH!!! They've teleported! Let Dorian out of the bag! Phew ... oh wait, there's somebody here!

A massive army? A mixed bag ... oh, it's the forces of Vasselheim? Interesting.

The Dusk General? Sounds cool ... and there's some ANGELS too? Wow ...

Crap ... has Imogen just become a target? Not good,. not good ... now what do we do?

Scary arse goliath woman ... doesn't sound too pleasant ...

Oh hell, is this all just gonna kick off? These people don't seem to like each other ...

Okay ... this MIGHT be salvagable ... be VERY CAREFUL about what you do next, this could go bad REALLY EASILY right now ... O.O

Yeah, sounds like Vasselheim would be the smart place to go. Let more qualified minds take the lead on this ...

Roll good, guys ...

Yeah, Dorian does have his charms ... XD

Oh the angels are like an official ESCORT now? That's pretty cool, actually. I hope that's a GOOD sign ...

The Ruidusborn in the group are, like SERIOUSLY SHINY right now ... that's all kinds of hot ... O.O

Lake Umamu? Nice ... they're back on Exandria, then. Now what?

The Ashari! Hey! Finally, some friendly faces ...

And Ryn's tagging along, that's good ...

Vasselheim! As required ... perfect. Wow ... yeah, this place is READY for some shit ... and this is where Matt calls it a night.

Right ... so sounds like the next episode is potentially a proper climax for the campaign, then ... I guess we'll see. Is it Thursday yet?

[kamimarroco]

It's ugly, I know, but I like it

As always, lots of shit going on here

TW: Torture, manipulation, mention of sex, blood, screams and pain, and a lot of suffering for Ren (I'm sorry Ren fans 😺)

“I'm sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry!” Ren's apologies fell on deaf ears, your hand lashing his fragile skin even more, each cut deeper than the other, showing your previously well-hidden cruelty.

You hadn't even hurt him that much and he was already shaking badly, tears streaming down his cheeks. It was beautiful to watch how someone so visibly confident became a noisy, screaming mess of pain. So fragile, so weak, so soft.

And also stupid, pathetic, disgusting.

What did he really expect when you finally broke free? That you would be a sweet little sheep who would treat him with love and affection? After everything he did to you??

Bullshit. Of course you would go for physical revenge. Not just physical, but emotional, symbolic, psychological.

You would make him bleed, scream, writhe, beg, make him use all of his voice until there was nothing left.

“Come on, Ren! I'm pretty sure you're enjoying our… bonding moment!” Your awfully sweet and energetic voice gave him goosebumps, his tail and ears becoming visibly bristled, wondering how you could be enjoying it so much. You are hurting him, making him suffer, you are a monster!

“Please, please... Tell me this is a joke, tell me this is all a joke” His nervous laughter made him seem even more desperate. “You... you weren't like that before, I know that! You're just confusing things here”

Oh poor, simple Ren. Still trying to persuade you to stop torturing, still trying to manipulate you even though he's tied up. 

But that's how things should be, that's how they should have been from the beginning. You on one side, him on the other. And that's it, simple as that. 

You didn't force yourself to be an obedient little girl only to be beaten and tortured every time.You didn't force yourself to cook just to keep him satisfied and well fed. You didn't force yourself to allow his advances just to be a blow-up doll he could fuck to his heart's content.

No no no, everything was just an act, a pretense, a theater. You would NEVER let someone treat you like that without an ulterior motive.

He fell like a duckling, enchanted by your charms, admired by your obedience and how you made him feel good and superior. You inflated his ego until he was relaxed enough to allow you an attack, a weakness, an opportunity to finally turn the tables.

Even though you acted silly most of the time, you knew you couldn't let your mask fall, not until you had the power of the situation, not until he was in the palm of your hand. Like a toy, like an object, like a little scared fox. 

“Coward. You act so powerful and superior when you're the one in control, but all it takes is a few cuts from a hunting knife for you to act docile and sweet” Your sharp tongue didn't hesitate to say it to his face, to show him how pathetic he's being right now. 

And you had to confess that you were deeply disappointed. You at least expected him to curse you at the top of his lungs, call you a bitch for playing with him, for cheating and betraying his trust, maintain the pride and dignity you thought he still had. 

Instead, all you got was a worthless coward who will do anything to please you, will do anything to stop you from torturing him further.

Tsk, what a pathetic sight.

But also cute, you can't lie. Seeing him all broken, beaten, tortured and bloody gives your heart a euphoria that words could never describe. A feeling that most people would despise for the simple fact that you feel it when hurting a small tethered fox. 

It's an ugly, corrosive and toxic feeling that consumes the depths of your soul, fills your brain with genuine happiness and makes you smile from ear to ear, like some kind of clown who made a joke and can't stop smiling. 

You have never felt so alive as you do now, you have never felt so full of joy. 

You really have to thank him. Without it, you would probably be living a mediocre life, trying to fit into society, paying bills and often going to the doctor just to make sure your health was in order.

A normal life, a peaceful and good life. With normal problems, normal friendships, normal relationships. Nothing too deep, just reasonable as far as possible. Which is good, you can't deny, and most people are fine with just that. But not you.

As you decorated him with the last cuts and bruises, he was already exhausted. Too weak to scream, too weak to continue debating, and too weak to even speak. You fucked him the way you wanted.

And yet, despite your cruelty, you lifted his chin to make him look directly at you, your gaze calm and gentle, very different from how it was before. Both of your hands cupped his face, your lips approaching his to give him a sweet, loving and peaceful kiss. You tasted the blood in his mouth, the metallic taste adding more to the air of romance of the moment. 

Romance? You don't know if that's the word you're looking for, but it kind of fits. Yes, romance. A sick, intense, hot and painful romance, for both of you. Both of you dying, bleeding and beating yourselves to death for the sheer pleasure of it.

A strange and twisted way to connect, but still a way. And you like it, he likes it. You're sure of it, despite the shrill screams and tears he lets out during the process. 

You break away from the kiss, his eyes fixed on yours as you do so, half closed, tired, but now full of desire. He immediately misses the warmth of your lips on his, forcing himself to move forward to try to have some more of it, in vain. He can't do much when he's tied up like that. 

“Why? Why did you pull away?” He asks desperately, his trembling figure wishing the moment had at least lasted a little longer. You feel like he's about to burst into tears again.

“That's not how you do it, Ren" You put your thumb on his lips, playing with the skin there. “How do you ask, huh?”

“... Please. Please, kiss me again" His weak voice resonates through your mind, those mere words being enough to make you melt. 

That's it, you think he's suffered enough. 

“That's a good boy" You bring your mouth closer once again, being surprised to see him stick out his tongue, already waiting for you. A French kiss? He's certainly bolder now.

Maybe hurting him gave you a promising result. 

[innerchorus]

Arslan Senki Chapter 133

ArSen is a horror series now.

I know I've already posted a smattering of screencaps and thoughts on this one so this post is bullet point mop-up duty and will cover anything that didn't make it into those, or extra thoughts related to those parts.

Pleased that I called the chapter title (more or less) when the last chapter was released.

I've gotta say the atmosphere in this chapter is top notch. Arakawa ramping up the tension and the sense of wrongness, both in the ominous spreading of those dark clouds and the presence of and interactions with the undead warriors, and then the horror peaks when the winged apes descend.

Gieve's "Why are there dead people here?!" made me let out a nervous laugh. The confusion is rife, because those standing before them are indeed who they appear to be... yet not.

Kharlan is clearly still intending to attack again. Just catching a glimpse of him facing Hilmes and Zandeh, followed by Kubard and Isfan being confronted by Shapur was enough for my heartrate to kick up a notch, my personal dread is building for what might be coming. Given the words chosen by the other undead warriors who speak in this chapter, I am expecting EMOTIONAL DAMAGE (both for myself and the characters involved).

I was discussing this with @tired-reader-writer but may as well pop it in here as well; if the undead warriors can speak, while their speech right now is very Team Zahhak, maybe they will have some genuine words for their loved ones before the end, once the sorcery has been overcome?

Whatever words undead Shapur uses to hurt Isfan, I need him to know that they're not true. It would make my day for Kubard to be able to say "Your brother would never say that about you." But it's so hard to know what we're going to get. Maybe this Shapur will have some barbed words for Kubard, too. I do think on some level Kubard likely feels regret over what happened to Shapur, not regret for his own choice to flee necessarily, but regret that he didn't manage to persuade Shapur to leave too, that he left him to what turned out to be such a horrible fate after they argued.

Petition for this awfulness to be balanced out by Arakawa showing us some happier memories once all this is over and done with. I need those flashbacks, I want these characters to remember the good, the real relationships they had, not these harsh words and these twisted resurrected forms.

Copy-pasting again but the idea that those hints of bloody tears I talked about in the previous chapter mean that deep inside their consciousness (soul?) is still there is seeming more likely. I'm writhing because this is all so painful but it's so good. I can't wait to see what Arakawa does with it next.

Daryun's mind racing as he faces Vahriz, and Narsus on the sidelines running through the same possibilities in his head as he and Arslan look on is some good shit. The knowledge that he has been 'brought back from the other world' by Zahhak's powers (presumably the powers given/taught to the sorcerers) is chilling. Like, that's supposed to be a one-way journey. If the 'real' Vahriz's consciousness is still there, that's got to be horrific. If they're aware of what their bodies are being made to do... Things they would never have done in life... I hope they are laid to rest again properly.

Anyway, Vahriz at least lays it out in the open. And why should Team Zahhak hide their intentions now? So, they want to eliminate Arslan. But do they want anything different from Hilmes, or are they simply aiming to kill him, too? That remains to be seen.

Fighting on horseback is not going to work (as we've seen before, horses are spooked by sorcery and given what's about to descend on the city they're going to totally lose their heads now). Kishward facing Manuchurh and resolving to deal with him was pretty badass, I hope that works out. Realising that it's both Manuchurh and not Manuchurh... I hope all the other characters come to the same conclusion about those they're facing.

Tus asking if he has permission to eliminate Khayr. I liked that. He doesn't question the job, just checking he understands what Kishward is asking of him. Because it's quite a thing to ask. And it won't be easy.

Gieve's blow should have decapitated Manuchurh, but no. Nothing. So that got me thinking, how can they be defeated if not by sword or other weapon? Well, if there's a sorcerer controlling each of them... Kill the sorcerer who is responsible. Maybe they're lurking close by, and with their death the sorcery binding the undead warriors to this world will break. It's telling that we haven't seen the sorcerers themselves in all of this chaos. It makes me think they are hidden nearby, controlling these things.

Very worried about how Estelle and those others outside the city are going to defend themselves from the winges apes. Hide under overturned carts? Flee inside and trust that the Parsians have a bigger problem to worry about than the fact some of them are Lusitanian?

How best to defend the city against winged apes? Get inside and shut all the doors and windows? Use arrows when you can? Fight on foot in the streets because your horses have lost their minds to fear? These things likely have corrosive blood too, just to make matters worse. This is all sounding so horrific and I'm here for it. Let's hope Farangis has some idea of how to fight them.

Also I hope Don Ricardo gets a break soon. The man's been through so much. I want him to survive this.

[deeptrashwitch]

Something about J.J's past:

If there's something that J.J rarely speaks about, is her younger years. She says little to nothing about after her 12 years or during the two years she walked towards the US. The only time something was said, at least before the attack to Santa Mónica, was during a night where some soldiers and residents were speaking.

It was a chilly night and all of them were sat around a bonefire, laughing while they told stories. Meanwhile J.J was carving a piece of wood, smiling softly and chuckling from time to time thanks to the stories. Soon they started to speak about their lives before ODIN's fall.

Someone called her attention. "Hey J.J, can I ask you something?"

J.J looked up from the wood piece she was carving with a smile. "Sure, about what?"

"How was your life before Santa Mónica?"

That made J.J froze, stopping the knife from moving over the wood. In silence she stared down at the knive for a second. After that she continued with a sigh, not saying anything for a moment. Everyone shared a look thinking she wouldn't say anything.

Suddenly J.J spoke, with her eyes darkened and her good mood gone. "My life was normal, pretty much, at least for a while. Things happened and everything changed and also I passed through many things."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing you'd like to hear, I guess." She said before sighing deeply. "Anyway, the point is... there's a reason why I managed to arrive here on my own, and it wasn't because I'm good at hiding."

"Was it that bad? No way. Look at how you act." Another person asked, scoffing with mockery.

J.J looked at who said that with a deadpan expression. "Well, it depends on your definition of bad."

"Huh?"

"Let me tell you something." She said, looking down and making the last details of the wood figurine. "In my country, when I was a kid, people said we were the generation that might try to seek for peace. They thought some of us would finally change our bloodied history."

"So?"

Then J.J chuckled. A cold, bitter and sad chuckle that made the environment heavy.

"We weren't that. What we became was another generation of children of the conflict." She said coldly as she finished the figurine. "Kids whose toys were replaced for gun powder, adults whose peace was replaced by the sound of a thousand steps in the night...just another piece of the chain. Bodies without a face that held a rifle, for what? A single chance that might never come."

J.J stabbed her knife over the ground, and everyone looked at it in a nervous silence. While she looked at them with empty and dull eyes, something no one has seen coming from her.

"We ended up being failed dreamers, y'know? Another page on a history written with blood that aspired to more."

Then she sighed and stood up, throwing the figurine she made into the flames of the bonefire they made for the, originally, fun night. Everyone watched the wooden condor burn down to ashes. After that, J.J looked back at them and smiled like usual.

"So yeah, you can say that it was kinda bad. But again, why would you care, right? It has nothing to do with you." She said with a soft smile. "We all have a shitty life in this time and age, my story isn't worst than others."

And then she walked away, whistling a melody than more than being soothing...caused them chills.

Tagging (just to show :3): @alypink @stuffireadandenjoy @snootlestheangel @islandtarochips @spookyrares

@piouswolf @mutantthedark @justasmolbard @welldonekhushi

@imagoddamnonionmason @stargazing-sapphire2

[merrixmas]

Didn't Know I Was Looking For Love

Title from the song Didn't know I was looking for love by everything but the girl.

Colleague Leon x Fem Reader

Summary: You broke up with your boyfriend when you were in police academy and after that you weren't interested on finding love until you met Leon a few years later.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Part 1

(Just to clarify, you haven't really met Leon in this part yet. Though you're familiar with the name because you both trained in the same police academy)

You liked this guy in for a very long time, you two known each other since highschool, you would go study together, pick eachother as partners in projects and stuff. And after finding out you two are going to the same academy, you dated.

Your relationship with your boyfriend wasn't stable after a few months into dating. Before, you would spend time with him, he would take you on dates and even buy you cute stuff. But after a few months you frequently argued, you would apologize even if it was his fault. He even stopped giving you time, saying he is busy with his studies or other reasons.

Your heart aches, knowing he had no time for you, but not just that, he became a cold towards you. You noticed how close him and your best friend was becoming, they would study together and go to eachother's houses. He was only sweet in the beginning. Turns out he was cheating on you with your best friend.

"Y/n, It's not what it looks like!" He said, fixing his shirt. You caught them both making out in a parking lot outside a mall.

"I know what I saw asshole! I'm not blind!" Your blood boiled with anger, slapping him and your so called best friend. "I'm breaking up with you." You stormed off, hearing your ex boyfriend plead for you to stay but you ignored it. After that, you focused on your studies, contented with being alone. You promised to yourself that you wouldn't date anyone ever again.

After graduating the police academy, you requested an assignment to work for the Raccoon City Police Department because of the known murders taking place there. You got there as early as you could. Entering the department, you were greeted by the cold air, you scanned the area, seeing some police officers waving at you.

You waved back with a fainted smile. "Hi there!" You turned around to see a female officer smiling at you

"Oh hello" you responded with a nervous voice, fidgeting with my hands.

"You're the rookie right? I'm Rita, Rita Philips" extending their hand to offer a handshake

"I'm Y/n" You introduced, then taking her hand to a handshake.

"What a beautiful name, C'mon we prepared a little something for you and another rookie!" She said in an excited manner.

You then followed her to the west office while having a small chat, you were surprised of how big the station was. You felt excited yet Anxious. When Rita opened the door, you were greeted by the officers there. You thanked them to express your gratitude.

Looking up you saw a welcome sign saying "Welcome Leon and Y/N". In curiosity, you asked Rita who Leon was.

"Oh he's the other rookie, though he's not here yet." Rita Replied. You were familiar with the name but didn't really pay much attention to it as some of the officers approached you, asking about your story and why you wanted to be a police officer. They were very interested and wanted to know you better.

You were enjoying the party until you heard some screaming and gunshots outside the office. You and the other officers rushed out to see what was going on. You saw people getting bitten, blood was all over the place.

"What the fuck is going on?!" You screamed in terror, seeing the people with missing limbs or parts standing up and attacking other people. Seeing an officer about to get attacked, you looked around then saw a glass shard, using it as a weapon then stabbing the corpse on the heart but it didnt seem to care, acting like it was nothing

"Look out!" Rita warned, you looked behind you to see a bloody looking corpse running towards you. You kicked the corpse that you stabbed then dodged swiftly, staying close to Rita. "it's not safe here, c'mon!" You followed Rita to the 2nd floor armory then locking the door behind you both.

"What is happening.." Rita murmured, confused and shaking in fear.

"I don't know Rita.. Looks like something straight from a horror movie..." You said while looking around for supplies.

"You're right.. do you think it's zombies? I mean, I literally saw someone that got shot then acted like it was nothing until they got shot in the head" Rita said, unlocking the code then getting weapons from the armory.

"Then I guess we have to shoot them in the head" I said while looking through the crack on the door, .

"Take this Y/N you'll need it" Rita said, handing me a combat knife, pistol and ammunition.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible, and get help.." I went to a locker nearby, having Rita to open it for me then I put on some gear for protection.

"We can only go through the fire escape or the entrance.. It's not gonna be easy" Rita replied with the slightest hope of getting out safely.

"Let's make a run for it to the entrance, it's worth the shot" Rita nodded then got ready to face the zombies. You looked through the crack on the door again to see if the coast is clear, when you were sure that it was clear, you two went out quietly, then saw that there were some zombies at the main hall.

You whispered to Rita that you two just make a run for it than shooting them because it'll attract more zombies. You inhaled deeply, getting ready to sprint down the stairs then out the entrance. After a few seconds you gestured that you go now, you both sprinted down the stairs, dodging the zombies then went out the entrance. You both panted as you got out safely. But looked shocked when you saw what happened outside, crashed cars everywhere with fire all over the buildings and more zombies.