#inspiration surrounds us everywhere i don't do anything to get inspiration i look at a puddle on the ground and
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writeouswriter · 8 months ago
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Isaac Asimov excerpt from the foreword to his short story "What If—," (first published 1952), personally collected in "Nightfall and Other Stories," (published 1969).
Reading both Asimov's writing and his behind the scenes thoughts on his own stories and the craft of writing always just has me going, this guy gets it, I get him and his popularity, because I've been asked the same question before, too. Where do you get your ideas...
From anything! if you are willing to think hard enough and long enough. Yes yes yes.
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vixeneptune · 1 year ago
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🎀 Princess treatment
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🎀 I'm such an elegant pretty Princess who gets everything she wants for free
🎀 I'm always treated with so much care, love and respect. People go out of their way to please me and make me happy
🎀 I exude grace and high value, my beautiful aura inspires others to treat me like I have pretty privilege and like I'm so important and special
🎀 I always get VIP treatment wherever I go, I'm used to it by now
🎀 people are very attentive to me, they're so generous they spoil me and shower me with so much love, attention, affection and gifts
🎀 I love how everyone is so kind and sweet to me 🥺 its obvious that I'm their fav person and they truly love me
🎀 my feminine energy attract masculine men who provide for me abundantly and treat me like a princess
🎀 I literally never have to pay for anything, men always offer to pay for me and buy me things no matter how expensive. I'm worth every dime
🎀 I always attract men who are secure, masculine, rich, generous and treat me like a goddess queen. They love me unconditionally
🎀 people are so sweet to me I always get so many compliments about my beauty, personality and aura. Everyone thinks im the prettiest girl they've ever seen. They tell me how gorgeous, classy and lovable I am 🥰 I'm always surrounded with love and genuine people who treat me the best
🎀 being in my life is a privilege, I add value to others just by existing and everyone gives back to me 10x folds
🎀 I never have to worry about anything bc im always taken care of and supported. People love helping me with everything, I have all the support I need and more and I'm so grateful
🎀 a pretty princess like me doesn't even have to try or work for anything, I don't stress about anything , everything naturally comes to me bc I'm so attractive and magnetic
🎀 I love taking care of myself , I always look fresh clean and I smell so sweet and addictive. I literally look perfect from head and toe and everyone tells me that
🎀 I'm so lucky I get princess treatment everywhere I go it's unavoidable and I love it. I get princess treatment even from strangers , they carry my bags for me, they open doors for me, they give me things for free, they give me flowers and compliments and offer me things. It's so sweet
🎀 I'm open to receiving princess treatment bc thats what I deserve. My energy is feminine , inviting and open to receive. I attract the best kind of treatment, the best kinds of people and the best experiences. I'm so high quality that I keep on getting the best
🎀 people are always on their best behavior when they're around me bc I'm elite. They do everything to satisfy my needs and make sure I'm happy and comfortable and I don't even have to ask , they keep on showering me with love nonstop without expecting anything in return , my smile, my approval and appreciation is enough :)
🎀 my feminine presence is so classy and elegant it attracts both men and women. People would do anything just to be around me , to be my friend or my lover that's the biggest win. I'm highly pursued and wanted by everyone.
🎀 everywhere I go I hear people whispering about how pretty and charming I am. Everywhere I go I get more than 10 people who are in love with me and competing for my love & attention. I receive love letters, flowers, and gifts just for existing
🎀 "anything for you princess" , "i don't want you to worry about anything , let me handle it" , "I bought you your favourite things just because" , "how are you so pretty? I can't take my eyes off of you" , "I'd do anything just to see you smile" , "don't even have to carry your wallet ,I take care of everything" , "get ready I'm taking you on a trip to your desired country", "you're the kinda girl every man would die to be with" , "your femininity is intoxicating", "I love your energy I can't help but treat you like the royalty that you are", "you literally look like the prettiest princess", "you're so elegant and ethereal, I'm mesmerised by you" are things I hear often
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Princess treatment subliminal
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weallhaveadestiny · 5 months ago
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OK SO
I started to think, that's never a good thing, but I can't get Butcher out of my fucking head and I read a shit ton of ff about him, and after many many years, it seemed I found inspiration again to dabble in fanfic on my own lol.
So behold, what my mind created, feedback is very much welcome for real HELP ME BE BETTER
I don't know if I'll do a follow up, who knows?
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I didn't want to go to this party. For fuck sakes, why am I here?
I'm here because of one person, Frenchie. We met at a flee market, I was hussling with a seller in French and this dude fucking appeared out of nowhere. Apparently he doesn't have any friends who speak our language. So ye, I guess he needed that. He is a weird guy, but we hang out sometimes. He calls me mostly late at night when he can't sleep and talks rubbish about his "missions" like he is some type of agent I don't fucking know he seems high 24/7.
Anyway he was bugging me so much about this party, it's not even his, but he wanted me to come. Because "mon amie amuse toi un peu" aka I don't get out enough for a woman in her 20s and it's a crime. So here I am, left alone by mister Frenchie with a glass in my hand, thinking if I escape now he wouldn't notice. Sounds cliche I know but I genieunly don't feel good surrounded by people I don't know. Call it social anxiety, I call it "I don't like people syndrom".
OK lemme find an exit, where is the door in this fucking mansion?
I was looking everywhere until I saw this guy. Brunette, arms crossed, looking at me super intensely across the room. What the fuck is this guy's deal? Jesus I don't have time to deal with men. So now I'm just crossing this room, having to pass in front of him to get the hell out of this place.
"OI leaving already?" The fuck ? I kept walking
"Frenchies girlfriend, I'm talking to you."
I looked at him, not saying anything. I should just keep walking.
"I guess Frenchie likes them quiet ain't he?" this time I fully turned to him, fuming.
"What did you just say to me?"
The dude was actually smirking, who does that?
"she talks!" Frenchie got to us. Fuck...
"Ava mon amie, monsieur le Charcutier. You already met?"
" Pas du tout. Frenchie j'allais justement partir, excuse moi mais vraiment It's not my crowd."
"Come on Ava you can't leave already"
"You know how I am around people I don't know, and you know so many people here, one less is nothing."
"Come one now love, live a little" says monsieur Charcutier? , still smirking, his body tilting in my direction. I was so done with him already.
"Charcutier dude..."
"Actually it's Butcher but you can call me Billy." he winked, he fucking winked.
"I'm not talking to you." I turned towards Frenchie
"Frenchie, I'll call you in the morning to check on you" I got closer to him to do our usual 2 kisses.
"Don't be a cunt and stay. Afraid you might enjoy yourself?" Butcher just doesn't ever shut up. I turned to him and pointed my finger in his direction. I could actually hear Frenchie chuckling.
"Listen here, butcher boy, I don't owe you shit, you don't know me, so don't act like you do"
"Frenchie tell your friend to get that stick off her fuckin' ass and have a drink with us." he said, never breaking eye contact with me
"Ava mon cœur... Come on, just an hour... For me?" He gave me those puppy eyes. Who was I kidding?
"You have one hour, ONE HOUR and I get out of here okay?"
"je t'aime" Frenchie said, hugging me like a mad man
"yeah yeah je t'aime aussi" pushing him off me
"And where's my hug?" Says Butcher
"Go fuck yourself."
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justmeinadaze · 1 year ago
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I Have Nothing (If I Don't Have You) Part 7 (Steddie X You)
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A/N: I was going to release this later but it may be a week or so before I post anything written again because I'm moving. I was writing a lot more these past couple of weeks because I was avoiding packing lol Any way please enjoy the angst.
Warnings: Security Guards/Softly Dom Steddie X Sub Singer Fem reader, I AM PUTTING A DARK THEMES WARNING ON THIS! There is not smut but much angst dealing with addiction and overdosing. Y/N does have a slip and ends up in the hospital. There are talks about her ex and her parents involving trauma. PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER IF THAT MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE!
My inspiration for this chapter was "Dancing with the Devil" by Demi Lovato so that should give you some idea of what you're heading into.
Word Count: 4538
“I’m here with Y/N Y/L/N a few months after her cancelled tour and I think I speak for everyone when I say you look amazing. How have you been?”
“Aw, thank you. I’ve been doing really well actually. I’ve been sober for about six months—”
“Congratulations!”
“Thank you. Thank you so much. It’s been hard but I’m trying.”, you giggle. 
“We’ll we’re all routing for you and are extremely proud of you! Now Y/N, I have to ask, do you have any comments in relation to what your ex has been saying in recent interviews.”
Eddie growled low at the question and Steve quickly placed his hand on his shoulder to calm him. 
“Um, I mean, Simon can say what he wants. Our relationship was tumultuous to say the least but I’m not allowing him to bother me anymore. I’m in a new healthy relationship and I’d rather focus my energy there.”, you softly smile as your eyes hastily shift their way before coming back to the interviewer. 
“Oh my goodness. You are just wonderful. I love it. Do you have any news for us on a new tour or maybe a new album.”
“Right now, I don’t have any plans for another tour but I am working on some new songs so hopefully you guys will get to hear them soon.”
“Well, we’ll keep an eye out and thank you for meeting with us today!”
“And we’re clear!”, a tech guy shouts and the interviewers smile promptly falls. “Oof I need a drink. Alright Y/N, thank you so much doing this.”
“No problem. Thank you for blind siding me with your question about my ex.”
“Hey, he wasn’t on the list of no go questions I got from your team and it’s not like I’m not going to ask when he’s blowing up every form of social media.”
Rolling your eyes, you stalk away from her and out of the studio into a hallway. 
“Hey! You okay?”, Steve asks after they both follow you. 
“Yeah. I can handle bitches like Becky Stone. I’m struggling a bit with Simon though.”
“I can understand that. Fucking dick has been everywhere since you started getting sober.”, Eddie sighs as he reaches up to pet your head. “You did really well out there.”
After checking your surroundings, you lean in and wrap your arms tightly around him. 
“I’m so glad you both are here.”
***
Steve wakes up to the sound of music playing in their living room and you not between them. You had started spending a lot of time and nights at their house saying it made you feel safer. People didn’t know where they lived plus your house was littered with memories you were trying to heal from. 
“Hey you. Why are you awake?”, he asked when he found you on their couch strumming your guitar. 
“I just had a nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep so I thought I’d come hang out here.” You smiled as your eyes scanned over his nonprofessional demeanor. Most of the time they were on guard securing you so they were dressed well and alert. In calm moments like this, you found them to be the most attractive. Steve’s honey brown eyes radiated a softness you hadn’t seen in a while. Him in only his black sweats allowed you visual access to the muscles in his arms that made you feel safe and secure especially when he held you. His chest and stomach were always extremely kissable especially when you pressed your face into him after they would make love to you or when you were falling asleep. 
When Eddie was at home and relaxed, he usually sauntered around in his boxers and a band shirt of some kind. Curling up in his warm embrace and broad chest was one of your favorite things to do as you kissed his neck and ran your hands along his skin under his attire. 
You loved being able to let down your own guard with them and allow them to take care of you in more ways than one. 
“You know you should really learn to play, Stevie. With those beautiful hands, you could have all the ladies swooning.”
“Oh?”, he chuckles. “What if I only want one girl to swoon over me?”
“For that you can just use your hands for other things.” 
He laughs again when you wink and smiles before patting his knee for you come sit on. Placing your guitar to the side you, you go to him, and seat yourself horizontally in his lap, resting your head in the nook of his neck. His palm gently caresses your bare legs as his other rubs along your back. 
“Do you want to tell me what you were dreaming about?”
“I don’t want to make you feel bad.”, you coo as your voice dips into that little girl tone telling him all he needs to know.
“Was it about Simon?” Steve kisses your forehead when you nod. “I can understand that. You went through a lot with him and his more recent need for attention isn’t helping. You know, though, we would never let him hurt you again, right?”
“I know, baby.” 
He grins when you place your lips on his. 
“Come on, honey. Let’s wake up Eddie and see if we can help get you to sleep.” You giggle when he stands up with you in his arms and carries you back to the bedroom. 
###########
“God, I hate Becky Stone.”, Sarah sighs before taking a bite of her food you guys had brought her. “But you did phenomenal, Y/N.”
Grinning at her, you glance towards the boys who playfully smile back before Eddie gestures with his eyes towards your own food silently telling you to keep eating. 
“I’m still working with our lawyer about Simon and getting a cease and desist but there’s only so much we can do because it’s just him flapping his gums, you know.”
“I know. I mean fuck him right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Of course, the three of us will do whatever we can to keep him away from you. Speaking of…”, she turns towards your security. “How did the interview go with Pearce Security? I know we’d hate to see you guys leave but that is an amazing company.”
Their wide eyes find yours as everyone freezes. 
“Um, we think it went well. We haven’t heard back from them though.”
“Good. If they need a recommendation…or…anything…Y/N, are you ok?”, your agent asked as she gave you her attention. Your eyes were closed as your breathing became a bit more erratic. No, you were not ok; you were panicking. Sarah grabbed a pen off her desk and threw it in their direction. “You assholes didn’t tell her?!”
“We didn’t want to worry her if we didn’t get the job.”, Steve explained. 
“Of course, you’ll get the fucking job. You both are good at what you do!”, you shout. 
“Y/N, honey, breathe.”, Sarah tried to soothe. “You two leave and let her calm down.”
Nodding, they exit the office and wait in the lobby. An hour passed before your agent’s door finally opened and your seemingly calm demeanor sauntered out, swishing passed them as you headed for the elevator. They followed you silently till you got to their car in the parking garage. 
“I would like you to take me home, please.”
“I…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Well, Mr. Munson, I don’t pay you for your ideas. I pay you to secure me so, please, secure me home.”
“Really? You’re going to throw a tantrum and we’re not even going to talk about this?”
“Oh, Mr. Harrington? NOW you want to talk? Honestly, there’s nothing to talk about. I really hope you do get that job. You’re great at what you do. Hopefully, your next client isn’t someone that requires as much up keep as I did.”
“Y/N—”
“Mr. Munson, I don’t want to hear it—”
“Yeah but you will!”, Eddie interrupts. “This right here is exactly why we didn’t say anything. We knew you would take it personally when quite frankly, sweetheart, this has nothing to do with you. This is our dream, Y/N. Just like with you and singing.”
“If we decided to take this job, we’d still be here for you, honey. You’re our girl. We…we love you, Y/N.”
Tears began to fall as you hugged your arms around yourself.
“People who say they love me abandon me or use me. Don’t love me. Just go and forget about me. You both deserve better than me anyway.” As you start to walk away, Steve grabs your arm but you promptly smack him before running.
Both men are hot on your trail before losing you as you jump into a cab and it speeds away. 
##############
“FUCK!”, Eddie roars as he throws the pen he was using against the wall. “She’s so FUCKING STUBBORN! That’s a no on the hotel by the airport, Harrington.”
Both men had been hunting for you since you disappeared. Not playing games with them this time, you turned off your phone entirely so they couldn’t track you. They checked your house as well as any place you might normally be and had yet to find you. Currently they were calling every hotel in LA searching for any name they thought you may be under to no avail. 
“Sarah’s right. We should have talked to her.”
“She’s still so fragile, Munson. We didn’t want to rattle her if we didn’t have to.”
“Oh yeah, Steve, because this is fucking better. Yeah! What?!” Eddie’s phone had vibrated to life with a number he didn’t recognize and he angrily answered without thinking.
“Heeeey Eddie.”
The metalhead’s head shot up as his eyes met Steve’s at the sound of your slurred voice, quickly putting you speaker.
“Y/N? Sweetheart, where are you?”
“Oh, honey, you don’t have to be so nice to me anymore.”, you giggle but there’s a huskiness behind you tone that tells them wherever you’ve been you’ve been crying.
As soon as they realized it was you calling, Steve went to work trying to find you. Your phone was still off but the number you were calling from was local. 
“Ok…you don’t want me to be nice?”, Eddie sighs as he switches gears shifting into his more dominate tone. “Tell me where you are now, little girl. You already scared us half to death. Now, where are you so we can bring you home.”
“Home… I don’t have a home… This is ma life, sweetie. Gah, what was I thinkin’ pretending to be sober?”
Steve grabbed the phone from his friend and handed him his own. 
“Y/N, you weren’t pretending. You were doing so well. If you slipped because you’re scared that’s ok. We’ll still love you, honey.”
“Stop. Saying. That.”
“What? Telling you the truth? I LOVE YOU!”
“STOP!”
“I love you to, sweetheart.” Eddie flashes Steve his screen showing him the number that you’re calling him from IS from a hotel that’s not too far from them. 
They pause when they hear knocking on your side of line. 
“Y/N…Whose there with you, baby?”
“Don’t love me. I deserve…I deserve men like him. At least I know what to expect…”
“Y/N! Did you OD in there or what?! I’m all alone out here.”
“Y/N.”, Steve warns at the sound of Simon’s voice as his tone drops into a strong authoritative growl that pushes through your inebriated brain. “You are not safe with that man. Do you hear me? Tell me where you are NOW.”
“I can’t—”
“No. This is security Steve and Eddie talking to you. You are in danger. We know what hotel you’re at but we need the room. If you don’t tell me, I swear to God Y/N, we will kick down every door searching for you. Do you understand me?”
“Yes. I…I’m sorry.”
As soon as you give them the room number, they grab their keys, and run towards their car. 
“Listen to me very carefully. Stay where you are and keep the door locked. We’re on our way.”
The sound of you heavily inhaling through your nose makes them cringe in anger. They weren’t angry with you but themselves. They should have been up front with you and told you everything; reassured you that if they did move on to a different job they’d still be there for you because they cared about you so much. 
You started saying something to them but it didn’t make any sense. 
“Y/N, you’re slurring too much. I can’t understand you, baby.”
Eddie pushed his foot on the gas as he sped towards the hotel. He knew what that meant and knew they needed to get to you.
“…I say…I…love…you.”
***
They don’t even bother knocking, the door banging open as Steve kicks it in. 
“What the fuck?!”, Simon drunkenly hollers as he tries to get to his feet. 
“Stay down.”, the boy warns while Eddie runs into the bedroom and pounds his palm on the bathroom door. 
“Y/N, it’s Eddie and Steve, sweetheart. Open the door.” After counting to five with no answer, his boot connects the wood and it swings open. Finding you on the floor passed out, he collects you in his arms, and lightly taps your cheeks. “Y/N, open your eyes for me, pretty girl. Come on, now.”
“Yes, we need an ambulance now!”, Steve yells into the phone as he grabs your ex’s collar and forcefully shakes him. “What did she take?!”
“Jesus, I don’t fucking know. Get off me.”
“What do you mean you don’t know!?”, he shouts as he smacks him hard. “She didn’t have anything on her so whatever she took YOU brought!”
“Oh please.”, he slurs. “She fooled you with that sober routine? Small town whores like her never change. Trust me.”
Steve punches him in the face, throwing him to the ground before running to the bathroom and watching as Eddie rubs your back as you throw up in the toilet.
“I know. I know it hurts, baby. You have to get as much of it out as you can.” Collapsing into his arms again, you cried into his neck as he rocked you back and forth. “Good girl, princess. Stay with us, okay? Everything’s ok.”
##############
Sarah fiddles with a keychain on her keys as the boys and her wait to hear anything from the doctor. As soon as the guys called her, she ran down to the hospital sporting her jeans and a pajama shirt. Eddie had offered her his jacket which she appreciated.
What she didn’t appreciate, however, was when Jack (your ex-agent) sauntered in with a smugness that made all three of them want to hit him. 
“Wow, Sarah. You had her for what, six months, and she ODed. Good job.”
“Fuck off, Jack. Why are you even here?”
“Because you’re going to need me for something this big. After six months of sobriety, she overdosed on a hotel bathroom floor with the ex who’s been badmouthing her to the press in the next room.”
“I think you forget; I was her publicist. I know how to handle the press and her image. To be honest, that’s the last thing on my fucking mind.”
“That should be the first. At this rate no one in this room is going to have a job. Either she’ll kill her reputation or herself.”
Eddie angrily rose to his feet to confront the man but Steve hastily grabbed his shoulder. 
“Get the fuck out. She fired you, you’re not welcome here. Get. Out.”
“As far as I can tell, you two are the ones that shouldn’t be welcome. She’s never been this bad.”
“Oh please. She was worse before we came into the picture but you were too greedy on the money she was bringing in to notice. As long as she continued to sing and bring in income, you didn’t care how wasted she was!”
“Last time I checked, you boys are security. You’re not her father or boyfriend—”
“Sure, because men like Simon and their opinions about her matter so much more.”, Eddie growled. “And last time I checked, her father doesn’t care about her either. She needs people in her life who give a damn.”
“Yeah well, you can take that up with her parents because I called them.”
“You what?”, Sarah asked as she rose to her feet as well.
“She’s their daughter.”
“Since when?”, Steve accused. “That was not your call to make. Their judgements are the last thing she needs right now.”
“For Miss Y/L/N?”, the doctor calls as he comes around the corner. 
As everyone moves forward, Eddie places his palm on Jack’s chest, stopping him and motioning for the security guard behind the nurse’s station. 
“This man is not with our party and he has no family or relatives here. If you could escort him out we’d appreciate it.”
“YOU’RE GOING TO NEED ME, SARAH!”, Jack shouts as they drag him towards the exit. “This is about to get out of control!!”
***
“So, she’ll be ok?”, Sarah asks as she anxiously adjusts the blanket by your feet.
“Yes, ma’am. You got her here just in time it seems. Legally, we have to keep her for 72 hours for observation but even if we didn’t I would anyway. She had a lot of drugs in her system… I know she’s an alcoholic…Thankfully we didn’t find any in her stomach. I fear if she had been drinking…”
“She’s been sober for about 8 months.”, Steve murmured as his fingers reached down to gently caress your arm. 
“I see. Well…slip ups are normal. Honestly 8 months without one is a quite a feat. She should be proud of that.”
“Knowing her, she won’t. She’s going to wake up and blame herself.”, Eddie sighed as his eyes scanned your sleeping face.
The doctor could only nod before he finally continued, addressing the boys. 
“We do have security watching the doors to keep out fans and paparazzi. Is there anything else we should be aware of or people we should be on the lookout for?”
“That idiot we just threw out said he called her parents but they’ve never come to California before and I really don’t think they will now but I have a picture of them from her social media. I can give them to your security.”, Sarah confirms.
“Also this man…”, Steve flashes the doctor his phone. “Her ex is not allowed anywhere near her. If we can keep him out of the hospital entirely that would be great. He ran off before EMS arrived.”
“Simon Gates?  That’s the one the police are looking for. Ok. We can do that. She’s safe here, guys. I promise.”
Eddie offers Sarah a chair after the doctor leaves but she shakes her head as she gathers her things. 
“Now that I know she’s ok, I’m going to go home real quick and change. I’ll post a statement and get anything else from her house she may want. I assume you two aren’t going anywhere?” She grins when they nod. “Ok, good. I’ll be right back.”
As the door swings shut, the metalhead reaches out to touch your face. 
“This is our fault, Steve.”
“Eddie—”
“Look at her!”, he hisses through his teeth. “Look at her. We should have told her the truth. We asked her to put her faith in us and we still fucking hid something from her.”
“I know! I fucking know but THIS is why I thought we didn’t tell her.”
“How do you think that made her feel?! That we didn’t trust her enough to handle news that involved our future, a future that we want her to be a part of!”
They glared at each other before turning in the opposite directions but the sound of groaning got their attention as they towards you.
“Hey. Hey, pretty girl. How are you feeling?”
Your eyes took in their worried exhausted demeanors as you remained silent. 
“Honey, are you ok?” Again, no response as you shifted your gaze towards the wall behind them. “Y/N, baby, please. Talk to us. Tell us what’s going on inside your head.”
Sighing, each boy took a seat as you quietly began to cry.
***
“Uh, Mr. Munson?”, one of the guards called as he poked his head into your room. “There’s a man out here claiming to be your uncle.”
Flashing the man a quizzical look, he headed for the hallway, bewildered by the sight of his uncle who was leaning against the wall waiting. 
“Wayne? Hey, what are you doing here?” Extending his arms, they hugged each other before Eddie nodded at the guard. 
“I saw on the news Y/N was hospitalized so I came down as quick as I could. With the way you talk about her, I knew this would be hard so I didn’t want you two to be alone.”
“You didn’t have to do that but I really appreciate it. The doctor said physically she’s doing much better but she hasn’t said a word since she woke up. We’re concerned.”
After entering your room, Steve stands to shake the man’s hand as Wayne comes around to sit in the empty chair beside him. 
“Sweetheart, this is my uncle Wayne Munson.”
Your eyes flick towards him for a moment before shifting them back where they were causing both men to glance towards each other nervously. As the night droned on, you listened to them talk to each other until a nurse arrived to check your vitals and bring you something to eat.
“Y/N, honey, you have to eat.”, Steve cooed as you stared at the tray in front of you silently. 
“Hey, uh, boys why don’t you take a break and go get some coffee. Bring me a cup as well, hm?”, Wayne suggested giving the man pause. 
Tugging on his sleeve, Eddie ushered his friend towards the door knowing that his uncle would keep an eye on you while they were gone.
“My nephew says you have an extremely beautiful voice. He would definitely know. Kid’s been into music since he was born. His mom used to rock him back and forth when he would cry and sing some old songs from musicals she loved.” Wayne’s eyes shifted towards you but as soon as they met yours you looked away. “There was one she used to sing all the time from that one movie with Olivia Newton-John and he would just giggle up at her.”
Rising to his feet, he nonchalantly removed the plastic around your fork and opened the can of ginger ale they had brought you, pouring it into your Styrofoam cup. 
“You remind me of her a bit. She was such a strong woman… I remember once, when she found out she was pregnant, she asked me ‘Wayne, what if I fuck up?’ and I told her that if she did that’s alright. Nobody is perfect. As long as you keep trying and keep working to move forward…if you falter…then, sweetheart, it’s ok.”
Your bottom lip trembled as you absorbed what he was saying.
“My brother, Eddie’s dad, never tried. Even after my nephew was born and his wife passed, he just kept getting worse till he ended up in jail.”
Lifting your cup, he brings the straw to your lips and flashes you a small smile when you take a drink. 
“God, I wish I could remember the name of the song his mom used to sing it was something like ‘But now there's nowhere to hide since you pushed my love aside—”
“I'm out of my head…Hopelessly devoted to you…”, you sang in response making his grin grow.
It was just then that the two of you realized Eddie and Steve had been standing by the door watching everything unfold. 
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
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That following morning, you still weren’t very talkative but the guys were content with the fact that at least you were eating and doing things the doctors suggested. Whenever there was lull in the room, Eddie’s uncle would talk to you about random things making you smile occasionally. 
Commotion in the hallway, however, grabbed their attention as they slipped into security mode and commanded you both stay put. As they entered the hallway, a couple of photographers were being held back as doctors ran through with a gurney into an awaiting operating room.
“What’s going on?”, Steve asked in a firm tone.
“Police found the boyfriend. They’ve been trying to revive him but nothing is taking.”
“Ex-boyfriend. What do you mean revive him?”
“A friend of his called saying he passed out on their floor. They found much harder drugs than what your client had.”, the hospital security sighed. 
“Shit.”, Eddie exhaled as well, walking with his friend back to your room only to find you both gone. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
It doesn’t take them long to find you, skidding past an open door where you and Wayne were standing. The man kept a firm grip on your arm as you watched through the glass in front of you while nurses and doctors did what they could to save Simon.
“Honey, you shouldn’t see this.” 
Steve reaches for your hand but you promptly yank it back. 
“I’m not glass, Steven. You can stop treating me like any little thing is going to break me.”, you whisper.
“I see we’re back in our old mindset. Wayne, would you mind?”, Eddie asks as he gestures towards the door. 
“I’ll be in her room. Be gentle, Edward.”, he warns making the metalhead nod.
“Sweetheart, this…”, he continues as he points towards your ex. “…this isn’t a little thing. Don’t treat it like it is. You need to feel what you’re feeling.”
“Stop. Stop talking to me like child.”
“Fine. Then let me talk to you like a boyfriend who loves you. That was you 36hrs ago… own it.”
“Y/N, you didn’t fail just because you made a mistake. You did the right thing by calling us and getting us to you. You could have been like him and ran but you didn’t. That’s a wonderful improvement. The old you would have been in jail or worse.”
Your head hung as you begun to cry and Steve gently reached out with his fingers to lift your chin. 
“You deserve better than me.”, you reply in a hoarse voice.
“And you, baby, deserve better than this.”, he absently gestures around the hospital room. “The problem is you don’t believe it.”
Beeping fills your ears and the three of you turn just in time to see the machine flat line as the doctors in the room exhale heavily. 
Your knees gave out and Steve quickly caught you, falling to the floor with you as he pressed your head to his chest. Eddie sunk down beside you, his hand petting your hair as they listened to you sob. 
“It’s ok, sweetheart. Everything’s ok.”
“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry for everything. I love you…”
“Shhh. It’s ok, Y/N. We love you to. We’re right here. We’re not going anywhere.”
Series here
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konniesreality · 1 year ago
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Ok so here's my success story
Joined loablr 1½ yrs ago life was normal for me and I was comfortable in my circumstances so I never really applied it, I was always scared if changes so i just read posts after posts from a+p to void to states i overconsumed so much that I forgot what it truly was. I never truly persisted and i didn't even believed it. But then last April my worst luck hit and life started going downhill in every area i could imagine. I failed all my exams, gained weight and started hating myself, my friends left me I was completely outcasted and the worst part i had to keep all my despair to myself because I wasn't allowed to vent. My father lost his job and became super short tempered he'll scold me for everything and for my mum everyday the disappointment I saw in her eyes broke me. I was still skeptical of the law but this time I had nothing to lose...
So first i wanted to manifest my life without void because i had saw the void obsession and i knew if I would start now i too would be omw obsessed with it. So i decided to start loa from the basis.I first read Pink's doubt post i read it till i convinced myself that loa and void all were real. After that I compiled your how i manifest, su's loa basics post,Rosie's void doc and Raven's revision post. I then logge off Tumblr. I made a routine for myself taking inspiration from your post and Rosie's doc. And Raven's revision post made me confident that nothing was impossible.
Every morning I would affirm for void concept and self concept i didn't wanted to get obsessed with anything and struggle more by putting them on pedestal. When I had nothing to do I would vaunt while listening to baejin and Roy's subs. I logged off from every social platform and just completely focused on myself.It's like superrrrr hot here in summers so I would usually take naps in afternoons and that time I used for SATS. And at night I would do breathing exercises and would affirm to wake up in void state.
After 12-13 days i felt such a huge shift in my life like my dad started being super nice to me and mum was actually motivating me and taking me out on walks to cheer me up just like i visualised in SATS!!! This boosted my confidence so muchhhhh!!!! I was sure about my abilities my self concept was also amazing and I was manifesting small things here and there but i hadn't entered void till now. So i read Pink's post again and then Rosie's void doc this relaxed me and motivated me to keep persisting in my new story and the next night i entered the void state!!!!! It was so relaxing and calming and I felt so safe. It was just like how i thought it would be baby blue with sparkling stars everywhere!!!!! I felt so light and happy.... After staying for some time i affirmed for my desires stayed there for some more time and then came out.
Now the fun stuff i manifested
First— i woke up in my room!!!!! But in my old story i shared my room with my parents but here i was in my room that looked exactly like my Pinterest boards!!! Honestly I just laid there for 15-20 min i don't know why but i was crying??😅😅 I still don't understand it maybe because i always wanted a space for my own where i could just release all my emotions and always being surrounded by people i just learnt to swallow my emotions and remain stoic but on this day i just released myself i was so proud of me for sticking through and becoming the success story i wanted to be.okay...... not going too indepth in other things now otherwise it'll become a novel now😆
2) I was my desired weight and had my complete desired appearance. I felt so confident on seeing myself in the mirror.
3) My dad getting his job back and now having a big big promotion for the relentless work he did for the past 20 yrs.He is the senior of the guy who fired him on false charges hihi guess who got fired next😜😜
4) Passing all my exams with A+ and getting into my desired school it's a private school only for rich kids i always wanted to attend one so now I am attending it😎
5) Having amazing IQ and photograpjic memory.
6) We have an amazing house of ours now it is so big and beautiful 😻😻😻 it also has a big lawn outside.
7) Being the popular girl of my school those friends who ditched me are now begging to be in my group but you see I'm the popular girl and not the mean girl so they are not welcomed here 😎🤓😎
I manifested many many more desires and now I'm so so happy everyday is a blessing for me. And I just want to thank you and all the bloggers here you all are a ray of hope in our lives. I love you so much and will always remain thankful to you,Rosie, Pink,Sue and every other blogger who helped me. You all are amazing people and you all deserve the world.
Now I'm gonna deactivate from Tumblr so thank you again. We may don't know each other but you all have become an integral part of my life. I hope Tumblr good days return again and it get flooded with success stories again.
Nd all the bloggers here remain safe and happy and manifest positivity and goodness in their lives.
Sorry it became very long😅 but i hope Konnie you stay happy and healthy always and your blog is just filled with positivity you don't deserve these stupid haters. Thank you again for helping me...
Bye Konnie!
Anon I am so happy for you! I’m so happy I helped you, I’m so happy that you got everything you wanted love! Enjoy your life honey! 💗💗💗
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improvised-finish · 9 months ago
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Traveling with your troupe, what are some of the more amazing sights and scenes that you've witnessed? Anything that stood out about a place you ended up going to?
"Hmm..." she says, deep in thought. "Choosing just one standout hardly seems fair, so how's this: you get three answers for the price of one. Sound good?"
She leans back and looks upward, trying to recall as much as she can.
"I think the city that stood out most was Kugane. It's not a place most folks where I'm from are able to go, so even though I figured I'd long for home terribly by the end, I knew it was a tour I couldn't miss. There were truly so many amazing things about it: the food, the new types of creatures I'd never seen before, the architecture..." she trails off, wistfully. "It truly felt a whole new world for me, and getting to experience all those firsts was really something. Inspired me to build my small home away from home in the eastern style, too." She pauses for a moment, letting herself get a little lost in the memory before a new thought jolts her out of her reverie. "And how could I forget: the music! We were lucky enough to visit during a festival, and hearing all these new instruments over the bustle of the city and the glow of paper lanterns everywhere was something else. Music truly like nothing I'd heard before, and the folks there were so eager to share with us. I tried learning as much as I could, but admittedly I've forgotten a great deal of it in the intervening moons."
"Outside of the cities, nothing tops the trip we made to Tailfeather and the chocobo forest. I've made it a goal to see as many new kinds of birds & beasts as I can in my travels, you see. It reminds me of younger days exploring the Shroud, and keeps my focus off how much I miss being home with mom when I've been gone too long." She stops to refocus, narrowly averting a long tangent about her birdwatching exploits. "Anyroad, we were up in Coerthas doing a couple small shows before setting up shop in Ishgard for a while, when we got word that some of the trappers in Tailfeather wanted us to play, and would pay pretty handsomely for a show. It was definitely a long trek from where we were, but we eventually made it past the snow & ice and into Dravania. And while the settlement wasn't much to look at, the surrounding forest was so beautiful. Just seeing wild chocobos running free under these strange-looking trees with really long roots that jutted out of the ground was really magical. I love our group's birds dearly, but watching them in the wild with the water of The Hundred Throes crashing in the distance just doesn't compare!" she exclaims, passion for her feathered companions showing through.
"Beautiful chocobos aside, that show was still one of my favorites. Somehow, the smallest crowds feel larger than anything you'd get in a big city once they really get into it. And the way those Tailfeather folks got into it, you'd think they hadn't heard music in years! By the end of the night there wasn't a morsel of food or drink uneaten and every soul was dancing around the room. It was truly a sight to behold!" She then lowers her voice a little, as if to thwart any eavesdroppers. "I'd never say this on stage, but there's not a crowd so far in Eorzea that's got them beat."
"No matter how many new birds or beautiful festivals or giant wonders of nature I see, though, home in the Shroud is always where I find myself wanting to be. I know, I know!" she says, laughing at the absurdity of it. "It's quite ironic I'd choose a touring profession as such a homebody, but life is a strange thing that way. As bad as it feels sometimes to be away for so long, I think not being able to exercise that passion for music would feel worse. Kinda like how you lose your muscles if you don't use 'em." She pauses for a moment, looking into the distance. "I really couldn't ask for a better place to return to. It didn't always feel like I quite fit in, but my mom has really tried her best to make it a place worth coming back to. And in that, she's truly my favorite part of my travels. Coming home to the place she's made for me. For us."
(This is a question from an AMA thread for Lehon'a on the Etheirys forums!)
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urfavmercurial444 · 1 year ago
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Technology's Role in Self-Growth Pt.1
That's the goal for this post: Change the way you interact with technology to gain more positivity and mindfulness in your life!
My most prominent sources of technology is my computer, my tv, and my iPhone. Though I am grateful for these devices, I am still prone to overindulgence and need to step back from screens. I'll be writing this article surrounding these devices.
Phone:
We carry our phones with us 24/7. They go to school with us, to work, to the toilet, and even to bed. Everywhere, all the time. So why wouldn't they reflect our goals and aspirations? These little mini-minds carry our deepest secrets (texts and notes app), our entire social world (every communication platform, like, ever), and has the ability to keep us on track with our lives (timers, calendars, reminder apps.). And we pay dang good money for them, too. So why shouldn't we make the most out of them? It's time we use our phones to their fullest potentials, and here's how you can do that:
Limit your screen time - you won't experience life if you're always looking down at a screen.
Delete the photos of your old ex that you can't get over/Give your phone a makeover - Stop holding onto the past before it strips you completely of your future.
Delete your social media apps - minimize the reasons you have to go on your phone.
Apple Calendar is a great way to organize your life! You can customize your calendar: what day your week starts with, the number of days in a week, which calendar is your default (you can have multiple calendars), and you can even change the colors of your calendars.
Reminders is an app I hold near and dear to my heart. I've used it for everything, from vitamins to school payment alerts. I like to categorize the reminders based on 'personal' and 'school' usage.
Clock app is pretty self-explanatory. I like to use the focus setting on my phone with this app to help me wake up in a peaceful manner! The alarm I have is so calming and brings me to consciousness in a gentle, and less shocking way than the typical alarm sound.
Organize your apps into groups of related topics - school, finance, health, etc.
Remove your social media apps or anything else that's distracting from your home-screen. There's a way to put it in your app storage, so you can still use it and reach the app easily but without it being in a quick to reach area.
Organize your apps into groups labeled with affirmations! So social media platforms would be "I am connected" and school would be "I am educated," etc.
Clear out all the tabs in your browser. Keep this area of your phone clean as it can take room out of storage and make you feel more cluttered/overwhelmed.
Only keep the necessary apps on your phone - or on your home-screen. Apps that keep you functional, not entertained.
Follow the same creators on every app and keep your following count down. This will clear up your feed and prevent you from being overloaded with information.
Wattpad, Books, Audible, Goodreads, and Scribd - All of these are different apps for reading books, except for Goodreads which is a book review platform! Find one that works for you (Books on iPhones are free if you use Anna's Archive.com) and get to reading! Check out my recommend reads!
Headway - Book summaries! For us busy gals who still want to get a daily lesson in.
Shit You Should Care About Newsletter - This is a newsletter you can get in your email daily by signing up on their Instagram (under the same name), or you can follow their Tiktok. I recommend email because it will ease you into your use of email!
TED - This is the app for Ted Talks! I recently discovered it and I am so motivated to listen to them all!
Vision-board Wallpaper - Having a vision board can be really inspiring and motivating because it's a constant visual reminder that's in-your-face so you can't ignore it. I'd recommend making it yourself, however you don't have to. Pinterest, Canva, Shuffles by Pinterest, and Picsart are great platforms to create this on!
Affirmation Wallpaper - I'd recommend this for your home-screen and the vision-board for your lock screen! You can create this the same way as the vision-board wallpaper.
Morning Meditation Alarms - Growing as a person and becoming more successful both require you to be grounded and mindful of your life. The best way to accomplish this? Meditation. To start this habit, you should make your morning alarm a meditation recording!
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kazma-does-school · 1 year ago
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a common misconception about productivity (in my opinion)
i'm gonna preface this with that this has helped me in my studying endeavor, but is it backed up with research and sources? no. take it with a grain of salt, but if your new to being consistently productive i think this is a valid take.
another preface: i'm neurodivergent, so in my personal life, it can be very difficult for me to get motivation to clean, especially when people ask me to do it. productivity is the same thing.
additionally, please share anything that you relate to/sources that contradict me/anything else related to the topic too! if i'm dead wrong i'd love to find out why and read up on it.
your studying space does not need to be 100% clean and organized for you to study at. it's whatever and wherever makes you feel productive.
i've been lurking on tumblr for more years than i probably should have been, and studyblr has always been part of it. however, i only just got the courage to actually start up this blog. no, i don't expect it to take off in the span of a single year, but holding myself accountable is very important for my final year of high school.
however. i live in a small-ish home, and never had a desk or anything in my room i could dedicate time to sit down at and just work. instead, everything would go from my backpack to my bed, and i'd work leaning back, and then wonder why i felt the urge to sleep, surrounded by comfortable things.
lately, although i'm still in the same bed, i've made a point to try and make my bed and not sit underneath the sheets, as well as using a lap table made for computers when i'm working. i organize my items on the side of my bed, but as i work, it gets more and more cluttered. i know exactly where everything is, but it doesn't look like the picture perfect studyblr with coffee/tea and natural sunlight. my energy drinks and inconvenient 'desk' aren't totally the same as going to the library to study, but it gives me productivity that other spaces don't.
if the above situations feel like what you need to be productive, by all means go for it! i'm not shaming those who have that lifestyle for studying and getting things done. it just feels assuring, at least to myself, that we don't all need to use the same methods of clean and organized to make productivity a reality in our lives. have a messy space if that's what gives you inspiration! i end up with highlighters everywhere after a really good study session, as well as pen marks on my hands and discarded pages with ideas that just didn't work out. but i can see my progress within the messy area, and feel the urge to keep going!
tldr: messy spaces can also provide inspiration and productivity for people, and that's okay, and so is having a neat and tidy area where everything is put away
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penn-choi · 1 year ago
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It was like he could see the thought pop into her head about the riding boots, which was something he'd always found adorable about her. She was creative, and always finding inspiration here there and everywhere. Not that he would have said no to her anyway, but he couldn't think of anything he needed more in that moment than a drink with someone who radiated good energy.
"Soon," Penn smirked, not planning on giving anything away, even to her. It was fun he had to admit, the hype that surrounded a Bueller party. "Giving you time to put a look together isn't fair on everyone else though. Give the people a chance!" he laughed, not meaning it for a second. It took another moment for it to click that she'd ordered for him, the same he used to get when they were together. "Yeah, yeah it is, don't worry," Penn pressed his hands to her face, squishing her cheeks fondly, "You still know me. I haven't changed that much. Or at all, really. Promise." Drinks in hand he looked around, "Think it's time we find somewhere to get some photos. I've only got my phone but I reckon we can still do some damage."
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"I know, I know." Chanel said, with a playful flip of her hair as laughter spilled from her. Being with Penn, she always found herself with a giant grin on her face. It was his superpower of sort, you just could not not smile in his company. "You're telling me, I've tried to sell her on the sport many a times, but nope." She let him know. "And the boots! I am such a sucker for a good riding boot." Chanel sighed, making a mental note to buy herself some riding boots. What? Fall was just around the corner, after all.
"So, come on then," Chanel hooked her arm with Penn's, leading him towards the bar. "You know, I so have to ask? When's the next party? I do, because I want to make sure I have my outfit ready." After placing their orders, she brought her attention back towards him. "Wait, oh my god, is that still your order? I am so sorry, I totally assumed." She said, covering her face for a second.
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corrodedseraphine · 2 years ago
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4th of july | hughie campbell x fem!reader | one shot
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Pairing: hughie campbell x fem!reader
Summary: As a Frenchie's sister, your place in the group was automatically assigned. From the very beginning, a relationship between you and Hughie was different from the rest. Shy glances and smiles awakened little butterflies in your bellies, which exploded like fireworks in the sky on the evening of July 4th.
The one shot is also avaliable on Ao3
5 693 words
I got inspired while listening to the song "4th of July" by Aidan Gallagher. I also used "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith.
hughie campbell masterlist | general masterlist
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"So what are we actually supposed to do here?" you asked, looking around through the car window. Colorful stalls and decorations stretched across the square attracting more and more people. Today was the Fourth of July, and on this occasion Vought decided to hold a huge event to which all residents of New York were invited. Of course, the entire Seven was also present there. Butcher immediately saw this as an opportunity to steal some documents from the tower. He wanted to take advantage of their lack of attention so together with Kimiko, Marvin and Frenchie they decided to break in there this evening. You and Hughie fell into the role of observers. You had to go to the festival and monitor all the time to make sure nothing suspicious was going on and that none of the supes were leaving it. The task seemed all too easy, but you both knew it could only be the calm before the storm.
"Pray that suddenly a friendly family festival doesn't become a bloody massacre." Hughie laughed. "We wouldn't even be able to stop it all."
"What if we were?"
"What?" Without answering, you pulled from your bag a small box containing two vials of green liquid and two syringes. "Shit, y/n. How did you get it?" he asked moving closer to you. You ignored the shiver that went through you.
"You could say that Billy has a very dead sleep." you shrugged your shoulders. "I thought it might be better to be prepared if they suddenly needed our help, or if something went wrong here."
"Forewarned is forearmed, right?" From the moment you first stole Butcher's temporary V, you had to admit that the power you felt then was addictive. It was pleasant not to feel fear, at least for a while. You knew that Hughie felt exactly the same. "But you promised Frenchie that you would never take it again," he said.
"So hopefully we won't have to use the power and then no one will know anything, right? You're not going to blurt out to my brother, are you?" You knew you shouldn't take it, but the desire to feel powerful was much stronger.
"It will be our dirty little secret." he smiled and took one of the vials from you.
The surge of power and energy you felt when the V started coursing through your veins was indescribable. You felt you had something you had always lacked. Control.
"So... are we going to sit here for a few hours or do you feel like wandering around the stalls and pretending we're there completely by accident?"
"Sounds like a plan." You smiled and got out of the car.
People were swarming everywhere, you had the feeling as if the entire population of New York and the surrounding area was right there. Suddenly you felt someone grab your hand. When you looked back you saw Hughie smiling shyly in your direction. "I can't let you get lost in this crowd." he said somewhat nervously. He was glad that your post-V superpower was not incredibly sharpened hearing because if you had heard his heartbeat you would have guessed right away that this was just an excuse to get closer to you. From the very beginning when you appeared with the team he looked for every possible opportunity to be close to you. From the very beginning there was something between you that made you always find your way to each other, even unconsciously. Despite knowing that you liked each other a little more than you should have, neither of you wanted to take the first step. You preferred to dance around each other and let your feelings lead you freely to the rhythm of uncertainty and tension that was building between you.
The day flew by very quickly, nothing suspicious was happening, so you let both of you enjoy yourselves for a while, forgetting why you were really there. You ate cotton candy, took a ride on the ferris wheel, listened to concerts by small local bands, all the while letting your fingers intertwine from time to time, feeling the butterflies in your stomach awaken with every single touch. Leaving aside the real purpose of your visit to this event and the fact that there was a substance running through your veins giving you superpowers you would have been an ordinary couple carelessly enjoying a date. As it began to get dark you got a text message from the rest of them that everything had gone according to plan and they were just going home, so you also reluctantly headed for the exit.
"What a lovely sight!" an elderly man standing at the dart-throwing stand suddenly exclaimed. "Young man, maybe you'd like to win one of these adorable plushies for your beautiful sweetheart?" Before you had time to say that you are not a couple Hughie was already standing in front of the target and aiming at it. You looked with amusement at the surprise of the man, who could not believe that all the darts hit perfectly in the very center. The smile never left Hughie's face.
"You can choose whichever one you want," he said with satisfaction in his voice.
"Hm... that one looks good." said pointing a finger at a small plush dog.
"Are you sure? Don't you want anything bigger?"
"No, I love it." you said while taking the award from the man's hands. "I'll call him Hughie, how about that?" you laughed.
"As long as it's not your favorite Hughie it can be," he said.
"But just look at him, he's so cute! How can he not be my favorite?" you asked teasingly.
"A kick in the teeth, y/n," he said putting his hand on his chest. "I'll forgive you on the condition that you stay here with me for the fireworks show, how about that?"
"I'd love to, but I have an idea for a better place."
"What kind?"
"I'll tell you in the car, come on."
When you got into the old pick up you started giving him directions and after less than 10 minutes you were at a viewpoint from which you could see the whole festival. The view from the top was beautiful. Thousands of little twinkling lights were spilling below you, and the crowds you were in not long ago seemed incredibly far away. You parked near a small bench and fortunately there was no one else there. You left the car windows open so that you could hear the radio and sat down on the bench close enough that your shoulders were touching. There was an awkward, tense silence between you, which neither of you dared to break. Now all the confidence you felt down there was gone. Your heart was beating harder and harder, and your hands were covered with an unpleasant sweat. You felt a strange tingling in them as if your hand was demanding his touch.
"Dear listeners, now a special dedication to all those who have not yet dared to make the first move. May Steven Tyler's beautiful voice awaken your courage on this beautiful magical evening and make you realize that none of you want to miss a thing." Hearing this, Hughie laughed quietly, feeling as if these words were directed straight to him.
 I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure
"I love this song." you said quietly however you didn't dare to look at him. You stared ahead admiring the landscape, but he was watching you carefully paying special attention to your lips wondering what it would be like to kiss you. Many times this thought had crossed his mind but now it was a thousand times more intense.
Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you baby
And I don't want to miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you baby
And I don't want to miss a thing
How many times did you appear in his dreams? He couldn't count anymore. Every time he woke up from one, he desperately tried to fall back asleep hoping that you would appear in them once again.
"Hey, y/n..." he began uncertainly. When you looked at him he suddenly felt as if he had completely lost the ability to speak.
"Yes?" your voice was quiet, but it reached his heart causing his heartbeat to be comparable to A-Train's during a heart attack. He was unable to mumble anything. He sat like that and, looking into your eyes, begged in soul that you would read from his everything that was going on inside him right now.
Lying close to you, feeling your heart beating
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if it's me you're seeing
Then I kiss your eyes
And thank God we're together
And I just want to stay with you in this moment forever
Forever and ever
"I really want to stay with you in this moment forever." he whispered. Seeing a smile forming on your face he dared to touch your cheek gently. You, without thinking, cuddled your face into his large hand and closed your eyes relishing the moment. Hughie slowly moved closer to you and rested his forehead against yours. Your breaths sped up, and as colorful streaks splashed across the sky he brought your lips together causing you to feel as if those fireworks were exploding inside you. You had waited so long for this moment that with each kiss you desperately wanted more, as if you wanted to make up for all the lost time.
I don't want to miss one smile
And I don't want to miss one kiss
And I just want to be with you
Right here with you, just like this
And I just want to hold you close
I feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time
"I would definitely want to stop time right now and stay here in this moment for the rest of my life." he said as you pulled away from each other to catch your breath.
"I may not be able to stop time, but I can make you feel that way for a while." you replied while looking toward the sky. Your superpower after taking V turned out to be slowing down everything nearby. You discovered this when, during a trip to Russia, you slowed down bullets that were fired straight at you and your brother. Now everything around you froze. The colors in the sky stopped looking as if they were painted.
"They froze like the stars in the sky." he said. "They reflect in your eyes in a beautiful way."
"Yeah, but I can't keep them like that any longer," you replied laughing.
"It's fine." he said. "Can I..."
"Yes." you said interrupting him. You knew perfectly well what he wanted to ask. Hearing this, he brought your lips together again in a sweet kiss.
"Hughie?"
"Yes?"
"Can you promise me that when we return to the gray reality again and we will be consumed by another mission you will not forget what happened today?"
"Why should I forget?"
"Memories like to fade," he said.
"The best ones always last. Besides, I have a feeling that there are many more similarly beautiful memories ahead, y/n."
"Even if time moves on, I will keep lookin' back to tonight," you sighed. "I will always go back to it."
"Me too." He replied quietly kissing the top of your head. You felt a smile creep onto his face again immediately after.
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When, unfortunately, your time together came to an end Hughie drove you back to the place where you lived with your brother and Kimiko, and he himself returned to his apartment. When you opened the door you almost tripped over the bag that stood by it. When you looked closer you saw that it was filled with your belongings.
"Serge? Kimiko?" you called out going deeper. At the sound of your voice they both left the room. Kimiko had tears in her eyes and your brother barely looked at you. He was furious. You had already guessed what had happened. Wordlessly, he handed you a phone that showed a video of how fireworks suddenly froze in the sky.
"Why?" he asked.
"Serge... I can explain." you felt panic rising in your body.
"You promised! You promised never to take that shit again in your life!" he shouted. "Why the hell did you do that?!"
"I wanted to feel better! That I had control over something!"
"What fucking control are you talking about?! The only thing you had control over was whether that shit got into your system or not!"
"What if something had happened there? What if one of the seven had done something?! What if you guys suddenly needed help? If something happened in the tower!"
"But nothing happened! Everything went according to plan! Also, that's still not enough reason to take it!"
"I know! But if you took it you would understand what I'm talking about, Serge!" you felt tears running down your cheeks. "All our lives we are afraid of something, we are constantly running away from something because we are never safe! Do you remember what happened when our father was getting drunk? He would beat you into unconsciousness, and all I could do was look at it and beg him to stop! And the moments when we had to sell ourselves to the sleazy rich to have anything to eat at all? When Nina forced us to kill all those people? If only I could have had those powers back then believe me our lives wouldn't be so fucked up now! Maybe it would be at least a little... normal."
"But you didn't have them and the fact that you have them now won't change anything. Nothing will ever change our past y/n, but it will change the future because I don't want to see you anymore." his voice was becoming calmer, and that scared you even more. You felt as if barbed wire was wrapping around your heart and tightening, driving straight into it.
"Serge..." saying his name your voice faltered.
"You have betrayed my trust y/n, once again you have done it. Now Vought knows there's some supe with the power to slow down time wandering around somewhere, and they'll definitely be looking for them. You can't stay here, for the near term it's too dangerous. And I can't even look at you." Although his gaze was glued to the window you could see tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. From the very beginning, the two of you were inseparable. Growing up with an unbalanced alcoholic father from an early age, you had to learn how to take care of each other, so you went through every worst situation in life together. You could always count on each other, and now suddenly you were supposed to disappear from his life?
"I've done so many awful things in my life, and it never bothered you..."
"Taking V is the worst thing you've done."
"Bullshit! You took much worse things yourself, after which you almost died more than once you asshole! You took things that could kill you in seconds!" you didn't know how you felt. You were furious that he didn't even try to understand you. You were hurt that after all you've been through together he just so simply wants to remove you from his life. He saw you murdering people and never hated you because of it. He was always there for you and helped you cope with all the darkness that engulfed your life. He did everything to be the best big brother to you. You both were each other's support and motivation to stay alive. Now that was about to change. Now you would be left all alone like a country dunny.
"And I'd rather die than take V!" he yelled. "In your bag are the keys to the apartment in Larchmont and a bus ticket." he added more calmly. "Leave your old phone here, you need to find something new."
Feeling resigned, you picked up the bag and turned to leave. Before you could grab the door knob you felt someone grab your wrist. It was Kimiko, whose eyes were shining with tears. You hugged her tightly.
"Hughie didn't know anything." you said before leaving. "He didn't know I took V." you lied. You could no longer be saved by anything though, you could save him from all this.
With pain in your heart, you left the apartment and headed for the bus stop. Sitting there, you looked at the little plush dog you held in your hands. You wondered how such a beautiful evening could have turned into the worst of your life. As soon as you gained something beautiful you immediately had to lose it along with everything else you loved. You had never really been alone in your life. Now you had to face it at a frighteningly fast pace.
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It's been a week since you left, at first Hughie thought you were avoiding him after everything that happened at the festival, but he knew you weren't the kind of person who just disappears like that. He tried to contact you many times but each time was met with no response. He explained to himself that if you had made up your mind and decided that you didn't feel anything more than friendship for him after all, you would surely have told him. He also wondered if maybe he scared you then? Did it all happen too fast?
"Does anyone know what happened to y/n? She hasn't been here in a long time." He finally couldn't stand it during one of the meetings. Taking the opportunity that Serge was out of the apartment he decided to find out as much as possible.
"Frenchie decided to send her to a little rehab from temporary V." Butcher replied.
"What?"
"On the 4th of July, she stole my V and took it. Frenchie found out, got mad and kicked her out of the house. He made her leave the phone and sent her outside New York." he summarized. Hughie felt like someone had just kicked him in the stomach. He probably preferred to believe that he was simply being avoided, rather than what really happened.
"I never thought something would happen that could divide them." sighed MM "I don't know how you couldn't see that he was under the influence of this crap."
"I..." he was in such shock that he had no idea what to say. Didn't you admit that you both took it?
"No more chitchat, we have a mission to talk about." interrupted Butcher starting to explain the strategy. However, for Hughie, these were just indistinct words clumped together into one long sound. His thoughts were completely absorbed in something else.
When Butcher finished speaking, burdened by a barrage of information and feelings, Hughie sat down heavily on the couch right next to Kimiko, who was drawing something. He could see that she had been withdrawn more than usual for the past few days.
"You okay?" he asked.
She picked up her phone and began to text. I miss her.
"Me too." He replied sending her a sad smile.
She told Frenchie that you didn't know she had taken V.
This hurt him even more. The fact that even as your life was collapsing you decided to protect him, and he couldn't do anything to help you. He felt like a damn coward for not being able to tell them the truth.
She said she took it because she wanted to have control. She was talking about all the terrible things that had happened to them.
Suddenly it dawned on him how much pain you must have experienced in your life, and he didn't know most of those stories yet. He wanted to know everything about you, he wanted to know you inside out and accept it fully, because what you had done in the past didn't affect his feelings for you.
"Do you have any contact with her? Do you know where she is now?" he asked. However, Kimiko only shook her head negatively in response and went back to drawing.
He couldn't stand the pain that was spreading throughout his body. The mental was turning into physical. He was furious. Angry at Frenchie, who made the decision that you must disappear from their lives. He was furious at himself for letting you take V. That he didn't stop you. He cursed in his soul that he needed it to feel confident enough to finally take a step toward you. He blamed himself for this and couldn't forgive himself for not telling you to put those damned vials away then.
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It's been two months since you disappeared suddenly and very painfully. It is said that time heals wounds, however, Hughie had the impression that his wounds grew even larger and fate sprinkled salt on them every now and then. Every day he looked for your face in the crowd, but to no effect. Whenever the opportunity arose he would rummage through your brother's things hoping to find any contact or address information about you, but he never managed to find anything that would help. He spent whole nights thinking up ways he could reach you, but nothing ever worked out. It was as if you suddenly vanished. Collapsed into the ground and disappeared forever. Thoughts of you being somewhere all alone now haunted him and bit into his brain causing him even more pain. With your absence, happiness was also gone. Nothing gave him pleasure, nothing made him happy. The only emotions he felt were grief, sadness and anger. They consumed him completely. From time to time, he wondered if maybe you had already met someone new and were actually putting your life back together? Maybe you have found someone with whom you feel happy and safe? The jealousy that gripped him at the time made him feel like screaming. He was the one who wanted to be the person who made you smile. He loved your smile. He loved the sound of your voice and laughter. He loved watching you teach Kimiko new things or patiently learn her language. After losing Robin, you brought brightness back into his life. You were the sunshine that chased away the dark clouds.
Everyone was convinced that his bad mood was because Annie had found herself a new boyfriend. He let them believe it because it was more convenient. He didn't even have the strength to deny it, because his heart was broken in truth, but for a completely different reason.The longer he thought about all this, the more convinced he became that he couldn't just let you disappear. He knew he was risking a lot, but you were worth it. You were worth everything.
"I knew she took it." he said when Marvin opened the door and stepped inside. "We both took V then, and I damn well wish I had stopped her from doing it!"
"What?"
"She would be here with us now if I had stopped her! It's all my fault. Now she's not here and I don't know what to do with myself." He nervously walked around the room combing his hair with his hand.
"You talking about Annie?" Marvin was visibly confused.
"Holy shit MM! I'm talking about y/n! Annie and her new guy don't matter to me even a little bit! From the very beginning the only person I cared about was y/n! And now she's gone." he felt tears gather in his eyes. He couldn't help it. Emotions were pushing outward, and he couldn't hold them back. For two months he had kept them inside, but now the dam broke giving them outlet " That day when she showed me that she had picked up those damn vials from Butcher I should have somehow talked her out of the idea. But instead I agreed. I took the damn thing to feel better. To feel confident. To finally stop feeling like a complete loser in life, like a slacker. To stop being afraid and finally do something to show her that I care about her!" he tossed out word after word. "The moment when I grabbed her hand and she didn't take it? Or the one when I won that fucking teddy bear for her? If it wasn't for V I probably wouldn't have even hit the target. And that moment when the fireworks froze in the sky? It was one of the best in my hopeless life! When I kissed her she didn't move away, didn't run away. Damn, seeing her smile right after that made me feel that everything could finally work out! Fuck!"
"You kiss my sister?" through all this, he didn't even notice when Frenchie also appeared in the room.
"Yes, Frenchie, I kissed your sister and I don't regret anything." His hands were shaking with nerves, and single tears flew down his cheeks. He was ready for your brother to go at him with his fists right away, to be honest he was sure it would happen. He wouldn't even defend himself. Because at that moment he didn't care about anything anymore. He missed you and couldn't cope with your absence from his life. "All this time you thought it was Annie who broke my heart, but that's bullshit. Even if I once felt something for Annie it was never as strong as with y/n. I am in love with her, and it was you who broke my heart, Frenchie. You broke it by making her disappear from our lives." He hid his face in his hands. Silence fell between all three of them.
"You really love her?" finally Frenchie asked, sitting down next to him on the couch.
"Yes," he said without thinking. "I know I messed everything up, but I can't turn back time, no matter how much I wish I could."
"I think she needs to hear all that you've said, too." interjected MM looking at Frenchie, who was thinking intensely about something. Your brother had two choices. He could attack Hughie and probably massacre his face or rethink the situation. No matter how angry he was he knew that this anger would not go away for even if he unloaded it on the boy with his fist. But he could also try to understand and give you a second chance. Your relationship with Hughie? Frenchie knew very well that he would never hurt you. He knew from the beginning that Petit Hughie had the purest heart of you all and would be able to take good care of yours.
"I am disappointed." Serge began slowly. "But y/n is my sister and I love her with all my heart. No matter what she does I will always want the best for her." he sighed.
"I think Frenchie wants to say that he forgives you." Marvin laughed.
"I'll forgive you on the condition that this time you swear on everything that you'll never take that shit again."
"I swear." Finally, for the first time, hope awoke in him. "No More V. Never."
"My sister deserves the best, I hope you know that if you break her heart I will kill you in the most drastic way I can think of?"
"I know, but I have no intention of breaking her heart."
"I know, that's why I didn't break your nose when I found out about the kiss. You may be an idiot sometimes, but your heart is good Petit Hughie. That's why I'm able to trust you to take care of y/n the best way you can."
"Will you tell me where she is?"
"I'll take you there, come on." 
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The road passed them in silence. All this time Hughie was trying to arrange in his head what he would say once he saw you. However, he was also ready for the scenario that if he saw you with someone else he would not retreat. If necessary he would fight for you, because he knew he couldn't bear to lose you once again. When you finally arrived at your destination they parked under a small tenement.
"I want to talk to her first, so wait here." Frenchie said while turning off the car.
You were lying on the couch cuddled up with plush Hughie when you heard a knock on the door. Startled, you opened the door, and the sight of your brother completely caught you off guard.
"Can we talk?" he asked, stepping inside.
"I thought you didn't want to know me..." you were happy to see him. The last two months have been a nightmare of loneliness for you. The pain of losing all the people you cared about caused you to isolate yourself from the world and not even try to get to know anyone else. You felt as if you had lost the ability to meet new people and function in society. You cried all days and lay staring at the TV. You lost the desire to do anything. You even ate only when the hunger was already unbearable. The last two months were just existence, because it definitely couldn't be called life. You were daydreaming about what would happen if Hughie found you. You kept coming back to that night with memories of when it all started and ended.
"Y/n Listen..." Serge sighed. "I'm mad, you broke your promises, You betrayed my trust, but that doesn't mean I stopped loving you. You are my sister and even if you stab me in the back I will still love you."
"I'm so sorry frère..." your voice squawked.
"I know that sooner or later I will forgive you, but it will be a really long time before I can trust you again."
"Please let me go home. I'll do everything I can to make it right. I hate being here alone, I can't handle it Serge." You walked up to him and grabbed his hand tightly. Your heart was breaking into pieces, you felt guilty and knew that this feeling would not go away too soon, you knew that you deserved to be punished, but you were aware that you would not last a moment longer here. Your brother also knew this very well.
"Come on, we'll pack up your things, okay?" he said coming closer to you, and you threw yourself around his neck hugging him with all your might.
"I missed you so much," you sobbed into the collar of his jacket.
"Me too sœur, me too." he replied feeling a weight fall from his heart as well.
Anxious Hughie sat in the car nervously shaking his leg. Minutes passed and you were still nowhere to be seen. He began to fear that the situation had gotten out of hand and instead of getting along you would start arguing again, but as soon as he saw you leaving the building all thoughts from his head disappeared. His heart skipped a bit and without even knowing when he was standing in front of the car smiling in your direction. At the sight of him you threw the bag you were holding in your hands on the ground and ran towards him. Your bodies collided with such force that he lost his balance, causing you to land on the asphalt. But at that moment it didn't matter. All that mattered was that you were now in each other's arms. He cupped your face and looked deeply into your eyes, which were glassy. Tears began to flow into his as well. This time they were a sign of joy and emotion. Pure happiness enveloped you completely.
"Are you crying?" you asked with a giggle.
"You are crying too." he replied still smiling. He corrected his position by sitting down on the ground, and you sat across from him and close enough that your foreheads touched.
"I missed you so much." you whispered.
"I kept thinking about you, remembering everything," he said grabbing your hand. "And I know that memories fade, but the best ones will last" he placed a gentle kiss on the top of your hand. "As time moves on, I keep lookin' back,"
"Kiss me like it was the 4th of July".
"When fireworks froze like stars in the sky?" you had the feeling that your heart was about to fail. Seeing Hughie's world's cutest smile as he held your hand it was melting at an incredibly fast speed.
"I thought you had forgotten..."
"I'll always remember the 4th of July and the look in your eyes... I saw every color of the rainbow in them."
"I didn't know there was such a romantic hidden in you."
"I can tell you more, I can tell you that it was actually you who was like a rainbow that appeared in the sky after a nasty storm. Did I go too far? Too cheesy? If you don't like it tell me, I'll stop right away." His self-doubt at that moment was charming. In truth, the words he said really touched and impressed you. Even if they sounded like they were taken straight out of some cheap, cheesy romantic comedy.
"Just kiss me Hughie." you replied. And he closed the gap between you without a second thought. The world around you ceased to exist. You didn't care that you were sitting in the middle of the parking lot. What mattered was that everything seemed to be getting back on track and you had the people you loved and who loved you with you again.
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nyctophicbtch · 3 years ago
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I love you
Author's note: This is set in catching fire and mockingjay. I got inspired by a few Finnick fanfics I read on tumblr and the ending made me sadder than it should. I thought that if I made this into a fanfic it would've been too long so I made the second best option instead.
Warnings: angst, mentions of death
Being in love with Finnick in the 75th hunger games would include:
You meeting Finnick when Haymitch brought you and the others to a secluded room to discuss the plan for Katniss.
Him shamelessly flirting with you and you shrugging him off.
He becomes desperate for your attention after finding that you keep ignoring him.
It was difficult being ignored by such an attractive person.
You finally acknowledge him one day when he was making a witty comment about your perfume and decided to allow a walk with him, just this once, then maybe he could finally leave you alone.
Somewhere between your conversation he would ask about plants and flowers because your district is mostly about plants.
You told him what your favorite flower was.
When you got back to your room, you saw a bouquet of your favorite flowers with a handwritten note that said 'are these the right ones? - F' and you couldn't help but laugh.
You decided that he wasn't so bad and the more the two of you conversed, the more you got along.
You getting nervous before the games and end up chatting with Finnick.
"Don't do anything stupid that'll get you killed."
"As long as you promise not to die."
"I promise."
When the games finally started you get seperated, and instead team up with Johanna.
Finnick calling out to you when he finally spots you in the beach.
You going to the jungle to hunt when Finnick hears the jabberjays as your scream.
Him instantly panicking and looking around to find you, and when he does he relaxes.
Your bond grew stronger over time in the arena, sharing a few jokes and tips here and there.
The two of you hunting for food together and him teaching you how to find food underwater, Finnick occassionally teasing you for your skills related to water since your district was surrounded by land.
When he finally admits his feelings, you pull him in for a passionate kiss, and Johanna teases the two of you afterwards.
"Gross, you two. You better not make love in front of us as well."
You blushed furiously at the comment while Finnick just gives a suggestive smirk.
Him panicking when he couldn't find you when you were escaping the arena, pieces of the dome falling and creating explosions everywhere.
When you finally reunite amongst the chaos, he pulls you in for a hug, breathing rapidly out of fear.
Him finally calming down in the hovercraft.
The two of you spending time together in district 13, sharing little kisses in the dark and snuggling with each other for comfort.
Sneaking into each others' bunkers late at night.
Having deep conversations whenever you or Finnick felt overwhelmed with the whole situation.
Finnick eventually opens up with deeper stuff including Annie and what the capitol did to him.
When it was time for the mission, you gave him a piece from the flower bouquet he gave you on your first "date" as something to remember you by in case you didn't make it. Of course you didn't dare say that last bit of info to him.
You trying to warn Finnick that something was odd.
But it was too late when the bomb blows off.
You hear him searching for you and when he does find you unharmed, he moves to help the others and so do you.
The two of you being each other's comfort as you proceed with the mission, going through the sewers.
The look of panic you flash to each other when you heard the mutts closing in.
Finnick grabbing your hand as a mutt tries to drag you down from the ladder.
You seeing the mutts edging nearer towards him and deciding to wriggle yourself out of his grasp to save him, knowing you were already long gone.
"Finnick, let go. It's okay."
"No, please. I love you. Don't do this."
He was in tears by now, trying to keep ahold of your hand.
When you finally release yourself from his grasp, he swore he could feel his heart split in half.
He yelled as your screams pierce his ears, knowing it will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Peeta pulling him towards safety as the explosion blows off, burning the mutts along with your body.
Him finding the piece of flower you gave him and holding onto it as he cried and begged for you to come back.
"No, no, no, no, please! You promised!"
The flower crumpling in his hands as he continues begging for you to come back.
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prompt-master · 4 years ago
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Bear Trap (Part 1/3)
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Request fill for @hibiscuswolverine and art done by @doodles-by-noodles
The world was starting to heal.
Little by little, everyone who survived Hope's Peak Academy's killing game was bringing about change to the world. It had only just started, and they likely wouldn't live to see their vision fully realized, but there was hope. Hope the world hadn't seen since the tragedy broke out in the first place.
Yep, Naegi Makoto had a lot of work to do, but he also already had so much to be proud of. He and the survivors had already proven themselves to adapt to a world that was nothing like the one they left behind. They had been given a warning from Enoshima Junko herself, but even with the knowledge of killer robots and rampaging despair-induced rioters nothing could really prepare them for life on the outside.
Honestly, they had never expected to make it to where they were right now. Proud members of the Future Foundation, able to work together with the higher ups to take down the biggest threats against the world's progression. It felt like just yesterday they were sleeping in the rubble of what once were apartments, tightly packed together in case anything were to break in. And now Makoto stood proud and tall, going over his next mission on video call with a member of one of the higher divisions.
"I suppose I shouldn't be terribly surprised that the Ultimate Hope would be so adamant on these matters."
Makoto smiled, still as strong and inspiring as it had been back in the killing game, "Really, you don't have to call me that. I'm nothing special, just Naegi is fine."
She completely ignored him, looking over the notes he'd sent to her one last time. He and Aoi had accidentally discovered a distress call from a group of survivors in an unsafe area. There was no way he could ignore something like that, he wouldn't ignore any possibility that someone was suffering like his class did. Even if there was an equal possibility that it was a trap.
"Well, your plan asks for Ultimate Detective Kirigiri Kyoko and Ultimate Affluent Progeny Togami Byakuya to go with you. With those two, plus the Ultimate Hope, equipped with hacking guns then I see no reason to be concerned for any mishaps. Your mission is approved."
Makoto's smile widened at that, feeling a rush of pride and hope at her words, "We won't let you down! Promise!"
She didn't even look up at him, simply humming to let him know she heard. But he could tell, there was a slight smile on her face. Makoto managed to melt his fair share of hearts even if he couldn't explain how. The call blinked off, and Makoto shut his laptop gently, but with no regard to what it was running.
He let out a loud sigh, slouching back into his chair. Any and all office calls felt so nerve wracking. Each one held its own weight in importance. Every exchange oversaw the future. He pulled his arms over his head, stretching them as far as they could go.
He could already feel himself getting pumped up. A small, prideful smirk snuck it's way onto his face. The plan wasn't anything extreme, but he knew with his friends by his side it would all be ok. They were meant to go together in a group so that they could protect themselves in the event of a trap or other unforeseen circumstances. The distress call came from a fallen city mostly blocked off by a collapsed building. They would drop off inside the city's bounds, and continue on foot to find any survivors they could. They knew there would be some despaired within, but that was a given anywhere they went now.
It would all be worth it to save them.
Now he just had to tell Byakuya and Kyoko the good news
It was clear to anyone near the survivors that Byakuya, Kyoko, and Makoto were a force to be reckoned with. While the general public has no qualms with calling Makoto the leader of the group, it was more so all three of them were coleading. Each taking charge in their own way, from the start of their new lives to now. The three of them were all incredibly smart in their own ways and their combined skills lead to a team that could likely conquer any despair they faced. But it took an even closer eye to see the emotional connection the three shared with each other. 
Makoto walked in front, leading since he had heard the distress call in the first place. It was certainly an interesting relationship that the three had. Although Makoto certainly didn't see himself as the leading type it seemed that Byakuya and Kyoko both trusted his guidance entirely. And he did the same for them. There was no way to describe the significance that lay underneath the floorboards of their bond. For the two most emotionally shut off of the survivors to so openly trust him? To Makoto that was enough to lay their hearts out in the open for him to see. And not to mention…
Makoto glanced back at the two. Byakuya was messing around with his hacking gun, glasses slipping down his nose, and hair nearly hiding his eyes from Makoto's view. Kyoko was taking in her surroundings, trying to figure out sooner rather than later if this whole thing was just a trap as suspected. Her eyes may be void of emotion but the color and warmth was vast. Makoto faced forward again, his face feeling just a bit hot. 
They were both really pretty. 
No, no he can't focus on his silly crushes. Yes, crushes plural. Because Makoto's sensitive heart was so big he managed to give it away to two different people. That didn't matter right now though, because the focus was on the mission. 
The town was about as decimated as it looked from the outside. It reminded him of his first experiences out in the new world, making him wonder how many survivors might be hiding under rubble, scared to come out. So far they hadn't run into any sort of trouble. No robots, no despaired, no survivors. There was really...nothing here. It was starting to look more and more like a trap. 
Makoto stopped walking at a split path, "The call said to find the convenience store but...I can't tell where to go since everything's been destroyed." 
Byakuya came to stand by his side, "Not that it should matter much all things considered. Let's just get this over with so we can clear out those insane idiots and rebuild this place already." 
"Togami-kun!" Makoto pouted, Byakuya may have softened up but he still had a habit of harsh thinking first, "don't say that. I'm sure there has to be someone here who needs saving. There's people who need to be rescued everywhere we go!" 
"Indeed" Kyoko chimed in, "but it's not a bad line of thought. If we stage a rebuilding operation here then that increases our chances of finding survivors then if only a search team walked around." 
Byakuya smirked, pushing up his glasses in that annoyingly arrogant way of his, "And to do that, we need to weed out the problems first no?" 
"Yes...yes we do." 
"Besides what would you rather do? Try to talk to the despaired? And get clubbed again?" 
"It was one time, Togami-kun!" 
Byakuya laughed, placing his hands on his hips as he looked around, "Come now, this way. All these buildings are too destroyed to make any sort of distinctions regardless. And by your sentimental logic we should be checking more than just the given location, wouldn't you agree." 
Byakuya didn't wait for an answer, he walked ahead to begin searching the first building to their left. Makoto had to break into a light jog to catch up to him; damn your long legs Togami! 
That marked the start of their exploration, building after building. They found nothing. Not to mention everywhere seemed like it has been residential, no sign of the store they were told the survivors were. Even Makoto felt like something was a little bit off but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Regardless he kept up hope, he had heard those survivors speak with complete clarity in their voice. They had to be here. He wouldn't give up over a simple bad feeling. 
Byakuya stepped over broken glass, moving further into the crumpled home he was currently inspecting. A surprisingly intact kitchenette caught his eye, and decided a thorough search was necessary without telling his company. Although they didn't need much prompting to understand when he went off trail again. Kyoko thought if he was going to focus on possible material goods stored away in this forgotten piece of life, then she could at least see if there was any current piece of life hiding away as well. Makoto stood at the door of the house. He'd given nothing more than a glance to Byakuya before turning toward the outdoors again. Looking for anything. Any sign of life lurking under the foreboding red sky. 
Nothing. 
He sighed, turning his attention down to what used to be a grass area. Not much was left of that, in fact it looked almost like any plant life besides the weeds in the street cracks were...set on fire. The ground had this grey ashy feeling to it. And when Makoto scuffed it with his shoe….yeah, that was definitely the remains of something burning. That was a good sign right? It meant that someone was alive. This couldn't have been that long ago. 
Makoto opened his mouth to call for his friends, when a cold hand slapped over his mouth and forcefully tugged him backwards. 
Huh
Huh?!
Makoto was immediately kicking and yelling. He bucked like a disturbed wild animal, trying everything he could to get out. Wiggling, kneeing, elbowing, even trying to bite the hand over his mouth but none disturbed the individual. The house was getting farther and farther away but his voice was too muffled to ever reach it. There was heavy breathing in his ear, the air wet and warm against his skin in a way that made his body shudder. He forced himself to look up at his kidnapper. An individual with a wide smile on their face and eyes that spoke of a spiraling psyche. Everything about them...from their expression to their actions to their lack of reaction to pain...it all said despair. 
Eventually Makoto was dragged into the street and thrown down like a slab of meat. Makoto was about to scream again for help, when a hand quickly reached out for him. He couldn't help but flinch back, shoulders bunching up in an attempt to shrink away. His tie was yanked off, the force pulling his body upwards. When the tie snapped off he fell back again, he could feel rocks digging into his skin from the fall. Then his hands were tied behind his back. This was bad. This was so bad. Bad didn't even BEGIN to cover it. 
His captor came uncomfortably close, having lost all concept of personal space in the madness the end of the world has provided. Makoto tried his best to keep calm as they placed their arms to either side of him so that they were above, staring down below. There was a tense moment where neither moved, they simply tried to catch their breaths so that the silence would stop being filled with panting. It felt like a test. Like they were waiting for him to even dare to try to escape. They wanted to show Makoto what happened when he disobeyed! He could see it in their eyes! In the manicale look, in the smile that kept opening and closing like a strange gutted fish. The way their arms trembled and shook by Makoto's head, just waiting with the high of excitement.
Arms still shaking, mouth overflowing with spittle and pupils pinprick sharp, they began to slowly lower themselves. Makoto held his breath, willing his body to sink further into the concrete. His heels scraped against the ground, but he willed himself not to move in fear that any sign of escape would reward him with a slit throat. Their noses pressed against each other. The captor let out a shaky relieved sigh, as if the contact was the greatest thing they'd felt in a long time. Their eyelids fell half lidded, their smirk from excited to downright sadistic.
"I've got you now, Mr. Ultimate Hope."
Stay calm. You've dealt with this kind of person before. 
Makoto's nails gave a tug as he ran them against the concrete in an attempt to ground himself, dirt filling the space between skin and keratin. His heart hammered in his chest as if he were a scared rabbit, but there was no time to panic here. His life depended on it.  The despaired were completely delusional...which meant..
Makoto felt a laugh rise out of him, nervous and high in pitch.  A bit too high in pitch. He scraped the ground again, enough so that it began to hurt from the force. Calm down. Stay fucking calm. 
"Heh...heheh! Yeah! You got me..!" A smile graced his face, "what did you...get me for?" 
They pulled back, but not enough so that the pungent smell of smoke and ash left Makoto's nose. Their head tilted, daring to make an innocent face, "You know who you are, right?" 
"I do. And who are you?" 
Their body moved back and forth as they laughed with everything they had, their knees closing in so that Makoto could feel it against his leg. "Me? Me? Mememe?? Forget that! You're the Ultimate Hope!"
"That's right…" 
"I wonder what Miss Junko would say right now. Seeing you pinned down like this?" Their eyes flickered to the sky at the fantasy that no doubt filled their mind. 
Makoto tried his hardest not to cringe, and just attempted to change the subject instead, "Do you want me to do something for you?" It was a loaded question. One that made Makoto feel like he was picking all the wrong dialogue choices. 
"I do!" 
Progress. He wasn't sure if it was good progress, but it was, in fact, progress. 
"What's that?" 
Their voice dropped to a whisper, waning and cracking in excitement once again. They reached into their pocket. 
"I want you to watch this" 
They pulled out a little remote that looked horribly put together. Even with how much their hand trembled he could see that it was made of what seemed to be the remains of a torn apart scrap pile. Before Makoto could ask what they meant, they pressed the only button built in. 
What ensued was a large explosion. 
------
BOOM 
A loud eardrum breaking noise filled the previous silence. Byakuya was forced to grip the kitchen countertop as the world around him shook, a sudden intense burst of wind following soon after. The heat uncomfortable against his face. He made his way to the open wall, Kyoko not far behind him. 
"Was that an explosion?" Kyoko asked, not wanting to waste any time. 
Byakuya looked outside at the smoke and fire that overtook the sky. It was suffocating just to look at. Shit, it was definitely a trap then. "Looks like it" 
They watched frozen, transfixed on the horror as a building toppled from where it was standing, joining the others as rubble for them to walk on. They still stayed in place. They knew there was nothing they could do to prevent or help the issue. 
Byakuya was so focused on the sight, thinking about how he had to call for an early pick up that he didn't even notice until Kyoko asked. 
"Where's Naegi?" 
------
Makoto gasped and gasped as he ran for his life. After whatever that person had rigged went off he found himself surprisingly not being pinned anymore as the person sat cackling nearby. He had managed to slip away when more despaired came over and argued with the individual who had been pinning him.  Now he was running as fast as he could hoping he wouldn't get caught once again. 
He struggled against his traitorous tie, feeling it chafe against his wrists uncomfortably. Untying it would have been enough of a challenge without the running aspect. Now he found himself tripping over his own feet trying to think about the two things at once. 
Before he knew it, his feet had slipped right out from under him and he barely caught himself before faceplanting. 
Taking the fall as a hint, he stopped to catch his breath, looking around the area to gauge where he was. It seemed like more of the same until he saw a rather structurally sound convenience store. It was surprisingly big too for how little damage it had. A smile overtook his face. Aren't I lucky? Maybe the people inside can help me get this dang tie off. 
After letting his breathing calm down he made his way toward the store. Elation filled his heart, a familiar hope that kept him going. He knew it couldn't have all been a trap! Almost there now. Once inside he'd have someone untie his hands, and then he'd find his friends and-
His friends. He hoped Byakuya and Kyoko were safe. He had no idea how far the damage of the explosion traveled, but if it was enough to collapse an entire building there was certainly the risk of them being in hot water. Not to mention the multiple despaired that were walking around, who knows what sort of danger they could walk into. Then again, if anyone was capable of holding their own it would be Byakuya and Kyoko. But he should probably focus on his own safety instead of imagining Byakuya and Kyoko taking down their enemies in the most attractive way possible-
He was right there. He'd reached the convenience store. All the windows were covered up so that he couldn't see inside, but he knew someone inside was waiting. He just had to- huh? What's that? 
Makoto looked down to see a familiar, very unwelcome sight. It was a Monokuma with yellow and black stripes. At the top of its head was a red siren. And they were making eye contact. 
"Shi-" 
Instinctively he reeled back at the loud, sharp noise. The sound raised and lowered it's pitch smoothly, reminding him of tsunami drills he had to do back when he was in school and the implications it brought were similarly horrifying.
So much for being lucky. Makoto felt himself panicking again, the siren was loud enough to hurt his ears. He couldn't tell if his ears were ringing or if the siren was just that obnoxious. But he didn't have time to complain about that. The noise and the light… no doubt others would be coming soon. 
"Shh...shhhh!! Stop it!" He couldn't break the machine with his hands the way they were...he had to settle for getting help. 
Makoto stopped in his tracks before he could approach the door of the convenience store however, because there was someone watching him through the window. They'd opened the curtain to check what the commotion was. Makoto saw no madness or instability in their eyes...the survivors really WERE here. Makoto smiled, wishing he could wave and gesture for help, but he had to hope his expression was enough. 
The survivor frowned, eyes fixated on the Siren Monokuma. Without looking at Makoto again they closed the curtain.
No one was coming to help. 
Makoto backed away. That's ok. There was still a chance. If he ran quick enough maybe he could get away before reinforcements arrived. 
The growling he heard mocked his fruitless thoughts. That was the deranged sounds a Beast Monokuma made…he couldn't hope to outrun one of those. They were like real rabid bears but worse because they never got tired. They never stopped running once they had you in its sights, just like this one. 
But Makoto tried anyway to flee, only to end up taking a riot shield to the face from a Guard Monokuma. 
"Oof!" 
He fell back hard feeling all air leave his lungs. The snarling and pounding of the Beast Monokuma was getting louder. Too loud. Makoto rolled onto his side, scrambling to get up. He winced as a claw grazed his cheek, first blood of the night welling up. 
He felt like an insignificant worm with how he desperately rolled on the floor, hoping to find good enough footing in his panic to stand. But when he got to his knees he was met with another riot shield. He almost didn't react in time to dodge another slash from the Beast, managing to get the tie around his wrists cut. 
He'd never gotten to his feet so quickly before in his life. Bits of gravel stuck to his palms and blood ran down his right arm. He scrambled to find something -anything- to defend himself with, but he was already surrounded. It was too late to even bother going for the Siren Monokuma. How the hell was he supposed to-? 
He yelled out as sharp metal claws dug into his back, seemingly deep enough that he feared for his spine. The claws rake along his back as the beast removes them. If that wasn't enough to bring him back to reality, he was quickly overwhelmed, bruises being beaten into every inch of his skin from the shields, and slashes from regular Monokuma's on his arms. And worse of all the Beast Monokuma that was trying its best to chomp his head off with it's twitchy manic movements. He tried his best to fend it off, pushing at it personally with his bare hands despite the continuous relentless assault he was receiving. 
Another good hit with a shield and his hands slipped. In a split second moment that he didn't even get to think about, he reached a leg up and kicked at its face. He only had a moment of victory.
It bit down on his leg and didn't let go.
Now the interesting thing about Makoto is that even though he doesn't seem capable, he's grown to be able to keep himself calm when it mattered. Even at his own execution, where he was slowly heading towards his untimely demise, With frequent reminders of what was about to come, he had managed to keep as calm as possible. Even well he fell stories down into the garbage. He refused to make a peep and panic when every one of his friends could see. But right now no friends were watching.
Naegi Makoto screamed.
-----
"I'm going to kill Naegi my damn self for running off when we find him." Byakuya was, as per usual, annoyed as hell. 
Kyoko sighed, "Calm down. I'm sure there's a reason, you know he isn't like that." 
Byakuya rolled his eyes, but didn't say a word. Kyoko was completely right, but he would never give her the satisfaction of admitting that. His silence was enough. 
They had made way for the source of the explosion only to find the path to the other side of the city was completely blocked off by the collapsed structure. Due to the closed off nature of the cities remains that left them with only one option: go the long way around and hope those entrances aren't blocked as well. 
When it was just Kyoko and Byakuya there was always this weird silence. Sometimes comfortable, sometimes tense. Makoto was always the one to fill it, he was like the bridge between the two. Kyoko wished he could tell Byakuya to cheer up -his attitude was getting on her nerves- but Makoto's absence was the whole reason for it in the first place. 
"Keep your guard up" she reminded, her own hand staying close to the pouch strapped to her thigh. Inside was an all weather purpose mini notepad and a handheld taser. She quite liked her taser, it was both heavy hitting and satisfied Makoto's wish to not kill anyone: even the despaired. "I'm certain that explosion was rigged up by a person." 
Byakuya scoffed, "I am Togami Byakuya" he kindly reminded her. Kyoko rolled her eyes, she'd heard that way too many times to count. "My guard is always up and my reaction time is perfect. Maybe you should worry about yourself instead." 
"Incorrigible as usual, I see." 
He glared back down at her, still walking forward with overconfident strides, "I'll have you know-" 
There it is. Another rant which consisted only of Byakuya boasting about his own skills. She shut him out without a second thought, focusing on her surroundings instead. It's not as though Byakuya would provide any sort of new information anyway. 
"Wait." She interrupted, which Byakuya hated, but his feelings be damned, "do you hear that?" 
Byakuya paused, facing towards the direction she was looking. There was a sound in the distance, something familiar. It was far, but if he focused hard enough he could figure it out. 
Kyoko and Byakuya looked at each other, both having recognized the siren's undeniable screech at the same time. With a nod, they began to run. Makoto or not, whoever was caught by that Siren Monokuma was in danger. Byakuya steadied his hacking gun in his hand and Kyoko effortlessly pulled her taser from it's bounds. Despite their great desire to find Makoto meer seconds ago, they hoped that anyone else would be caught by the Monokuma's. But, this was Makoto after all. 
It took an undetermined amount of time for them to loop around to the convenience store, but the time spent felt uncomfortably long to them both. When they did arrive they found it was a chaotic mess. There was a group of Monokuma's huddled together over one unseen person. There was blood scraped across the concrete as though someone was dragged with their horrible injuries and all. But there were no sounds of a struggle. The sight was more akin to school yard bullies gathering to kick a victim than a genuine fight. 
Without wasting much time Byakuya fired at the Siren Monokuma, destroying it without a second thought. "Damn noise was getting on my nerves" He said. 
Kyoko shook her head, "Focus" she pointed her nose towards the pile up. Byakuya's uncaring attitude toward the situation showed that he believed the person was already dead. One by one the machines fell apart or destroyed themselves. And in their wake was a small, bloodied mess in human shape. The smell of copper and the sickening sight of messy pink was one they had gotten all too used to over the years. But that didn't make it easier when you recognized one of those bodies as someone you cared about. 
Byakuya felt harsh, furious breaths of air pushing in and out of his nose. The action was an almost unconscious response. He couldn't help but let anger well up at the sight of Naegi Makoto laying on the ground curled up on his side.
He grit his teeth, "Is he…?" Dammit. A Togami didn't hesitate. Certainly not Byakuya.
"No." Kyoko's voice was barely more than a whisper, and for a split second he thought she was simply in denial. But no, she had caught  sight of Makoto's chest moving up and down. She made way to him, hands hovering over him unsure of how deep his injuries ran. The first thing she saw were vicious claw marks running down his back. There were bits of debris clinging to the wound. They were ugly and jagged things. She wanted to roll him onto his back to get a better look at him but was it even safe to move him at all? She didn't want to risk paralyzing him. Not to mention she'd be pressing his wound to the ground. She glanced to his leg. A complete mangled mess, she could tell the unit that attached itself to his leg was relentless in its attack. Shaking and thrashing and the like. The fabric that once covered his leg was all but torn to shreds leaving the whole injury on brutal display. There was blood pooling underneath where he lay on the ground. His skin was pale from blood loss, breaking into a cold sweat that made her certain shock was already setting in. Almost all exposed skin was blossoming into a different, unnatural color indicating a plethora of bruises. His breathing was quiet but heavy, he'd already lost a lot of blood. When her eyes finally trailed up to his face she felt a small bit of relief that his features were marred by only a small cut on his left cheek, with a lazy stream of blood pouring from it. 
Byakuya and Kyoko were two individuals with a massive disconnect of their emotions brought about by their upbringing. Byakuya turned any emotion he felt into anger and disdain. Kyoko snuffed out most emotions she felt so that nothing would show. They had the emotional resolve of steel, it wasn't easy breaking down their walls. Makoto was that strange part of the equation that ruined all of that. He managed to get Byakuya to be intrigued by someone so seemingly insignificant and he managed to get Kyoko to act pouty and almost childish during the game. Yes, their entire lives were spent crafting these defenses. And now they had to fight to keep it all together with only elmers glue in their arsenal.
Kyoko was up close and personal with all the gruesome details of his attack. She tried to shove it all down so that she could completely focus on ensuring Makoto's survival. But he was looking up at her with a dazed half lidded look, as though any second the world would slip away from under his feet. And despite that Makoto smiled when he caught eyes with her. Kyoko's heart cracked. 
Byakuya could only watch with his fists by his side. He had set out to ensure all the survivors of the first killing game continued to survive and here we are. He forced all these feelings to be translated into anger. But he knew the underlying causes. He knew there was a part of him that simply was scared for his friends sake. 
The two of them both understood the others emotional grievances. And that's exactly why Byakuya's heart skipped a beat when Kyoko looked up at him with fear vibrant in her eyes. 
"It doesn't look good." 
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boop-le-snoot · 4 years ago
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Two chapters over the weekend because I was ✨ inspired ✨ and my neighbors can't stop fucking (noisily!) and I'm,,, envious.
Strange adventures in Hell. There are descriptions of desperation and doom, lots of magic and - hear me out - forced/reluctant hand holding 😌 Oh my God, they held hands!!!
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"What. Were. You. Thinking?!" Strange was seething, his enormous figure and broader height towered over me, the blood-red of his cape vibrating, the only spleck of colour in the grey and dusty dark world.
"I had no choice in the matter," I replied as calmly as I managed, gritting my teeth, memories of our past stand-off fresh in my mind. We could have bickered until the end, until one of the beasts flying overhead spotted us and decorated the bleary grounds of this forsaken planet with the crimsons of our life blood. "I think it's best if we get to safety first, argue later. I have no desire to become somebody's lunch."
That much was true: I had taken a good look at our surroundings as soon as I recovered from the vacuum-like sensation of being pulled into a magical gateway; the visibility was terrible, the planet's natural light very scarce. Several suns were hardly visible in the sky, their rays barely penetrating the mists and the ashes freely floating in the air.
There was oxygen even if breathing in a full lungful seemed impossible; I tried not to think about the contents of the air, or the possibility of radiation poisoning, as the multiple amulets and charms seared into my skin where they rested under my clothes. I had four bottles of water, some bandages and salves and a sacrifice for a single ritual to my name and absolutely no conviction that Mother Earth would be able to hear the call of an earthling gone so astray.
But it was hope, so I held on.
"Fine," Stephen sighed, suddenly looking tired and weary, glancing around with furrowed brows. "Let's see if I can open a portal," his hands did that complicated set of gestures that I'd grown to associate with a golden circle and sparks on the ground. The thing flickered, once, twice, before disappearing, as if the Sorcerer's magic had run out of batteries. "Yeah, I thought so," he whispered to himself, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"The bad news first, please," I interpreted his hesitation with a realistic outlook on our predicament.
"I can't open a portal just anywhere on this planet. We need to find a... Rift, of sorts," the man was anxiously looking around. "And those things, they'll smell us... Right about now," his eyes shot up at a winged, rapidly approaching shadow. "No good news, I'm afraid."
I allowed myself a small sigh of disappointment, keeping a tight leash on the panic slowly creeping up my body. The feeling of determination, the power of Gaia within me was still present, laying in a cozy dormant ball slightly south of my solar plexus. "Give me your hand, please," I reached out to Stephen only for him to promptly recoil.
"You should've thought about the consequences of your actions, I'm not going to hold your hand because you're scared shitless," his words were sharp but they lacked the venom. He wouldn't, or couldn't, meet my eyes.
"I know you have scarred hands. I'm a healer and you don't have to feel embarrassed or ashamed I, I've seen worse," I stated in my best 'mutant nurse' voice as Stephen's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. "Those things can't sense me. And I know they won't be able to sense you too if we have skin-to-skin contact. So unless you want me to get under your... Robes," I gestured to the layers upon layers of clothing he had wrapped himself in. I considered the possibility of his whole body being covered in scars, too, and couldn't help the pang of sympathy. "Take one glove off and give me your damn hand before this trip to Jurassic Park goes full pterodactyl massacre!"
I saw the thing in the sky open it's mouth - but no sound came out, the clouds reducing it's outline to a vaguely triangular shadow. There was something very unusual about this planet's atmosphere.
With a couple of jerky movements, Stephen slid off the glove from his left hand, looking away as his large, dry, warm palm encompassed mine in a gentle, trembling grip. It made no sense to interlace our fingers, so I help onto him like a child holds onto their parent; the size difference of our hands and his imposing aura surely made me feel like one.
We stood a foot apart, watching the shadow in the sky begin to circle the place we stood in, it's gaping maw opening again and again, before it zigzagged across the sky with a strong dash of confusion, it's graceful glide becoming a series of rapid turns and twists. With a final inaudible shriek, it flew off into the dusty greys of the horizon, becoming a dark spot far away in mere seconds.
The silence was so loud in this world. Like the eerie stillness of my, undoubtedly haunted, apartment, I was eager to dissipate it with something beyond our combined heavy breathing. "Please don't tell Tony," I timidly gave our touching hands a sway. "He'll never leave it alone."
A chuffing noise coming from above had me whip my head up to see Stephen holding in a puff of nervous laughter; his shoulders dropped slightly as he eyed me in turn. "What makes you think I won't tease you about it?"
"You wouldn't dare," I took mock offense, rising my leaking nose to the skies.
The grumble and the eyeroll I expected, the smirk that faded into a ghost of a smile I did not. "We should go. Usually there is a rift within a few miles of every location everywhere," he tried to keep the content expression as he spoke but the storm in his eyes betrayed his concern. They were so blue, I felt like I was drowning.
I let myself to be tugged in a direction - everything seemed exactly the same, a never-ending ashen wasteland with the occasional dark grey rock that crumbled to dust as soon as the heel of my shoe touched it. My light blue sweater quickly became the colour of rotten wood, a sickly, dull monotone between brown and gray.
The complete lack of any kind of natural noise brought out the desolation of this wretched place; if we gripped each other's hands tighter, neither of us chose to acknowledge it. It was too easy to get lost in your own mind when the surroundings were dead set on rebuking anything that was in any shape or form alive.
I caught myself thinking that this must be what people think Hell should look like.
Strange walked briskly for the most part, periodically clearing his throat and eyeing me when I struggled to keep up with his long strides. It could have been an hour, or maybe two, of aimless wandering and rapidly imploding portals accompanied by Stephen's increasingly overcast face before I made the man stop and offered him a water bottle, which he insisted we split between us two.
It didn't take me a tarot reading to figure out our chances were grim. Needless, I gave him the same look I give to injured, scared mutant children when they come to the bodega for the first time; a look of quiet temperance.
And then we walked, and walked again, as Stephen grew moodier and moodier, marching on with the force of a seasoned soldier, only taking breaks when I forced him to stand still and breathe with me. As cautious and closed-off as he was, I pressed onto the fact of me being a healer of sorts, and he relented if briefly, always reluctant, always seasoned by a great dose of bewilderment.
"Do you feel that?" Stephen's stride halted, both feet firmly planted on the ground.
The ground had tremors had coming from deep within, small shocks that could have been easily missed if not for the complete lack of sound on this world. My nod was mute, I didn't trust my voice not to break when I clearly knew there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, endless fields of nothing all around us.
"Hold onto me," promptly, I was grabbed and pushed into his chest, his long arms easily picking me up, encouraging me to wrap my legs around his waist. "Hold tight, I might need my hands," my face grew hot as I wound my arms around Stephen's neck, clinging to him like a monkey, a palm resting on the soft fine hairs if his nape. It felt too intimate somehow, in the wake of imminent danger.
The Cape that previously swayed behind him in rhythm with his steps billowed, the red fabric of it tough as it levitated us a few feet above the ground. I felt Stephen tense with each tremor; within moments, the surface shook and stuttered more and more, cracks appearing in between the dust, turning the plains into a marble-patterned patch of darkness.
We rose above it, high enough that I could see the veins resulting from the quake stretch far out into the wasteland, jagged, abrupt lines of even more concentrated darkness. And as quickly as the quake started, it was over, leaving little evidence as the ground settled.
Stephen floated us to a larger patch of the ground, criss-crossed with thinner, less prominent lines, poking the ground with his foot before allowing it to fully bear our weight. He was shaken, there was no doubt. "That was... Something," he stated lowly.
"Mhm," I hummed, fighting the urge to frantically look around, forcing my hand from clutching at his palm like a lifeline. I had decided on a plan while I was busy playing baby koala - not that there were many other options except to wander these god forsaken bare badlands until our painful demise. "Listen, Strange, I'm aware you don't hold my people in particularly high regard but you're going to have to trust me on this," my words came out derisive as I placed his palm on the back of my neck and kneeled, forcing him to do the same behind me.
The contents of my bag greeted me grimly with out last bottle of water and the couple knick-knacks that gathered the black dust on them. I hastily poured the water into a bowl, dipping my fingers in it, and added the crushed bones to the mixture.
The time that was required to make a paste-like mixture, I used to address a bewildered Stephen. "This is a last resort. I don't know if it will work, we're not on Earth," I briefly breathed my distress. "I don't even know how far we are from home. But I refuse to die here, in this grotesque Hell, without putting up a fight and Gaia has always looked out for her flock. I might get very, very sick if this is successful."
The warning had him attempt to object before he cast a long look around us, shoulders sagging, as motioned for me to continue, those piercing blue eyes boring into my face. "Tell me what do I need to do," his voice quietly attempted to soothe my very obvious fear.
I was terrified, both of dying, nameless, faceles in this world full of Nothing; the prospect of withering away after depleting all my resources was, perhaps, equally unappealing, but dying on my home planet sounded better than dying here. "Have faith," I replied curtly, beginning to chant softly under my breath as soon as Stephen's expression hardened.
My eyelids grew heavy, limbs filling with lead and molten lava as I summoned the forces of Mother itself; my body was aching, exhausted by answering her call as it was. The warm ball in my chest that previously comforted me grew, spreading its smelten power through every vein, every vessel. No part of my body was left cold. A sense of purpose filled me, pushing me forward, driving me to move, to run, to leap.
"This way," even to my own ears, my voice sounded pained. It felt as if I was walking through swamp waters, full of clay and debris, each step taking my barely coherent form through an individual bog full of pins and needles. The force of Mother Nature burned inside of me, enraged at the state of her surroundings.
Stephen spoke to me but all I could hear was mumbling, thousands of voices, low and shrill, unintelligible to the human mind. I could feel the sorcerer's pain; the itch and burn in his throat, the constant, dull throb in his scarred, broken hands. His hand in mine only intensified the situation and I fought with his injuries like I fought with the black dots in my eyes, I forced down the unpleasant sensations, setting fire to them, letting the reigns of control on the raging inferno within me slip just the smallest, tiniest bit.
The steps of his long feet stuttered as I felt the discomfort lessen yet I simply towed him along. Time leaked through the cracks in my eyes, which were mostly unseeing anyways. The useless things grew blind at some point, not that I noticed it on the greys and blacks of the surrounding scenery. It was harder to walk, my breathing grew laboured with the extertion as we finally reached the place that felt right.
"Here," I rasped, voice so quiet it could have been mistaken for a breeze. I craved to feel it; the soft puffs of wind, the sound of running water. I had called for Earth and she demanded its child back.
The portal appeared without a stutter even though Stephen's hands shook; I saw the uneven channels, the energies traveling through them at an uneven pace. As soon as I pushed through the wormhole, coming to my senses in an unfamiliar, light room, I fell to my knees.
Stephen's pained moaning told me he was probably experiencing the same stinging, burning sensation on his skin; my eyes, they were the worst - my eyeballs felt like they were melting, leaking out of my sockets into thick, gelatinous tears streaming down my face. I blindly groped for the sorcerer's hand, directing the forces within me to soothe his hurts much like I had done in the wastelands.
"Strange?!" A masculine, shocked voice exclaimed before footsteps crashed into my sensitive ears with the force of an elephant herd. "Oh my God, they're here! Tony, come!"
"Stop fucking screaming," Stephen gasped out as I felt him curl into himself.
"Friday, scan them," I recognised Tony's voice, the tiredness and desperation standing out in it more than it did in the rest of the whispers in the room.
"They appear to be experiencing a sensory overload. I would recommend to engage Peter's Cooldown mode," the mechanical voice replied, barely audible. The noise still grated on my ears after spending... How long were we gone?
"Do it, Fri," Tony's soft footsteps reached us; I smelled the spices of his cologne next to my and Stephen's prone forms. "You gave us a scare there," the tone was admonishing but gentle.
"We were scared shitless ourselves," I attempted to speak, only now noticing how grating my voice sounded. "We were in Hell," I mumbled to myself, slowly removing my hand from Stephen.
"That," he coughed up the word, breathing through his nose before speaking again, his voice sounding much better than mine. "That place was as close as possible to biblical pits I have ever seen," there was shuffling and gentle murmurs as the two men ensured each other of their presence and well-being.
The burning sensations receded back to my core, the embers of the fires dying out, leaving me feeling like deflated beach ball, all shell and no filling. With a groan, I rolled over onto my back right in the middle of the pristine carpet on the floor, forcing my eyes open and breathing through the pain until I could somewhat see the champagne coloured ceiling without black dots obstructing my vision.
Shuffling noises reached my ears as a familiar round face with light red hair came into my line of sight, Wanda's gentle features concerned. "Star, do you need to go to medical?" She eyed me almost suspiciously but the question was earnest.
The idea of a doctor fixing a magical burnout was bizarre to me, as if it ever was that easy; I chortled sardonically. "No, Wanda, there's nothing wrong with me that a doctor would be able to fix," I replied honestly. "I should call Odette."
"I've called, she said to notify her when you return," Sam's voice was gentle as he approached. I could feel him glaring daggers at a rapidly reddening Wanda. "She was the one who said you'll definitely come back," he offered me his hand.
I had to choke down a moan of relief as I grabbed it. The warmth, the life of another human being, the precious gift of a beating pulse under my fingertips was divine. "You should listen to her. She knows her stuff." It was easy, talking to Sam as if he was an old friend. He had one of the most pleasant auras I've seen on a human being.
"I'm a doctor," Stephen suddenly perched up, sounding almost bashful. "And I can aid the healing process," he stated over Tony's disgruntled mumbling. "If you can explain to me how the hell you managed to hold a... an entire sun's worth of energy!" The more he spoke the more bewildered he became, tone growing in pitch, ending the sentence with an exclamation.
"I don't know," I replied with a sigh. The whole indignation in this man, I was not prepared to face. "When I took this up," I gestured vaguely to the burned, bent metal adornments I began to remove off my body. "I thought I was going to get an increase in tips and a better outlook on life. Help my friend with her asthma as much so she wouldn't have to use her inhaler every time she gets suprised or scared," my jewelry hit the floor with a dull clank, piling up into bent silver I wouldn't even be able to cleanse and repurpose.
Sam whistled lowly, poking at a necklace that had twisted on itself, a grotesque spiral of dull ashen grey.
"I certainly didn't think that a bleeding mutant accepting his fate as cannon fodder will call for the Earth itself," my tone grew vicious. Exhaustion was nesting in my bones. "And that Mother Nature would take over my body, pour lava into my veins and bleed recklessness into my thoughts. But here I am, freshly out of Hell and alive and kicking."
A stunned silence was interrupted by Tony's frantic whispering. "You are not leaving my penthouse for the foreseeable future," as the weight of the incident set on him. The knuckles of his hand clutching Stephen's dirty tunic turned white.
"I am," Stephen eyed me with a strange look in his eye, as if he was seeing me for the first time. His eyes then turned to Tony, who'd began rambling, arguing with Stephen. The sorcerer stopped the word vomit with a grim confession. "I'd be dead if not for Starlight. I'd be meat and bone, splattered across a barren, radioactive land in the deepest, darkest pits of the universe."
I felt my face droop in slow-motion. My throat flexed, swallowing a thick lump of filthy mucus, I coughed up, "Ra-radioctive?" As soon as I could work my voice without it squeaking.
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Taglist: @couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins2 @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox
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celticcrossanon · 4 years ago
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BRF Reading - 8th of April, 2021
This is the third of three spreads that I have drawn on this topic.
This is speculation only
Cards drawn 7th of April, 2021
Question: Does Archie exist?
Background: As per the first two readings on this question, I am looking for pregnancy cards, to say a pregnancy occurred, children cards (the pages), childhood (the Six of Cups), cards like that. The absolute ‘yes I exist card’ would be the Page of Pentacles (an earth sign child).
Yet again, as per the first two readinsg on this question, I seem to be wandering off into ‘crazy theory’ territory. I take no offence if you have trouble believing this reading or the previous two, as I am having trouble believing them as well.
You can find the first reading I did on this topic here: https://celticcrossanon.tumblr.com/post/647808015142125568/brf-reading-7th-of-april-2021
and the second reading is here:
https://celticcrossanon.tumblr.com/post/647818008562188288/brf-reading-7th-of-april-2021
This reading was done a week after the two above.
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Interpretation:
Card One: The Queen of Wands. This is a fire sign person, particularly an Aries, or a person who is passionate and determined, but who also can be self absorbed, jealous, and vengeful. The person very confident and will focus on a goal and then use their strengths to achieve that creative goal. The Queen of Wands person is very happy with herself as she is, and will not change herself to fit in with other people's expectations. They may have a busy social life and lots of connections that they will use to achieve their aims. They usually enjoy being the centre of attention. They may be spendthrifts.
For me, in this spread, this card is Meghan. The lioness and the lions on the throne just jump out at me, so fire sign plus lions is Leo, and Meghan is a sun sign Leo. The card tells me that Meghan was very focused on a goal, specifically a creative goal (i.e. something that involved a certain amount of imagination or following a not-usual path), and she was confident that she would achieve it. She may have had to do a lot of work in a short period of time to achieve her goal.
Card Two: The Knight of Swords. This has appeared in a previous reading. As before, this is an air sign person, particularly a Gemini, or a person who is ambitious and motivated, and who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, but who also is quick to take action or react to events, and who does not plan ahead. The Knight of Swords person is fast thinking and quick to take action, especially when reacting to other events, but they do not take the time to think through all the consequences and ramifications of their plan, so things can go awry for them.
This is the energy of this card in this spread - a hastily thought out plan, rushed into execution, where the ramifications and long term consequences of the action have not been thought through at all. This is a card of jumping into action and then thinking about the long term implications.
Card Three: The Page of Swords. Finally, my child card! Except that this is an air sign child, and Archie is an earth sign child. :( Swords as suit represent thoughts, ideas, so the Page of Swords can be the thought or idea of a child. The Page of Swords can represent the start of a new idea, or a new way of communicating, or a new way of thinking. Like all the page cards, the energy is very new, tremulous, and fresh; it has not yet grown into the more mature forms of the Knight, Queen and King.
One of the ways that this new idea expresses itself is as gossip. The idea is tried out and tested on other people by talking about it. The gossip may be critical of someone, or it may be generous, but it involves a lot of talk with many different people. You can see this in the cloud of wind the person on the card is expelling from their mouth - you need a lot of talk to test out an idea via gossip, and it can be as sharp as the sword the young man is holding.
For me, this card reads as gossip, especially gossip around a child, a similar energy to the Four of Cups card in the last reading. The hastily executed plan of the Knight of Swords caused so much gossip around a child or the idea of a child, especially gossip that could be seen as critical in some way, and/or gossip about medical issues (swords are the suit of medicine).
Card Four: The Ace of Wands. This card always impresses me as very phallic, with all that creative energy bursting forth from a wands held by Zeus, the chief of the gods and known via many myths for spreading his seed everywhere. This card could be saying that Harry is not the father of the child, as Harry is not a fire sign and Zeus did cuckold husbands.
The Ace of Wands also represents a burst of imaginative/creative energy, a sudden inspiration, that the person must work to bring to fruition if they choose to act upon the inspiration. Wands are the suit of PR, and this card says to me that there was a burst of PR, especially creative PR, designed to shut down the gossip of the Page of Swords and support the hastily conceived plan of the Knight of Swords. It could also have been another idea that was not the usual way of doing things, conceived as a result of the gossip around the child. The gossip at the time of Archie's birth was that Meghan didn't give birth, Archie was a doll, etc and so forth. This creative idea would have involved refuting that gossip in some way.
Card Five: The Moon. We have seen this card in the previous spread on this topic, and the energy is the same. Deceit, illusions, distortions of the truth, nothing is as it appears and trying to find the truth would drive you crazy. The card has Hecate on it, the goddess of childbirth who dwells in the underworld, thus linking Archie to the underworld, but the surrounding cards aren't supporting that energy. Instead, the energy I am getting from this card echoes the energy from the bottom of the deck card (the Seven of Swords) - an energy of illusions, distortions, lies, deceit, and the truth buried so far under the layers of secrecy/illusion/deceit that the people involved hope it is never discovered. The truth about the hastily conceived plan, the truth about the creative PR idea to support the plan and stop the gossip, the truth about Meghan as the person involved in all this, even perhaps the truth about Archie's father - all of this is hidden under layers and layers of illusions and distortions. The Moon card says to look beneath the surface of things, and to keep looking, for nothing is as it appears.
Underlying Energy: The Seven of Swords. Secrecy. Guile. Deceit. The cards shows Orestes sneaking int the city in the dead of night, with the aim of murdering his mother to avenge his father (his mother murdered his father). This is something that Meghan (the person appearing in the spread) wants to stay very, very secret and very, very hidden, as if it was uncovered the consequences would be disastrous for her plans (the same as they would be for Orestes if he was caught). She is using guile, deceit, secrecy, lies etc to make sure the truth about Archie stays buried. There is a slight hint here that Harry is not the biological father of Archie (as the mother murdered the father in the myth behind this card, so similarly Harry could have been dispensed with as Archie's biological father).
Conclusion: Well, I do have a child card, except unfortunately it doesn't read as a real child, more as gossip around a child. :(
The underlying energy of the spread is secrecy, lies, deceit (the Seven of Swords), supported by the only major arcana card in the spread (the Moon), also a card of secrecy, illusions and deceit. Both of these cards also have links to death, Hecate the goddess of childbirth in the underworld linking the child with death, and Orestes sneaking into the city linking the mother with the death of the father and her own death. Being supported by this energy we have Meghan (the Queen of Wands), a hastily thought out plan (the Knight of Swords), gossip around a child (the Page of Swords), a burst of imaginative inspiration (the Ace of Wands), and more secrecy, illusions, and deceit, with the secrets being buried far from the light of day (The Moon).
So does Archie exist? The mother, Meghan, does not birth a child, but instead actions a hasty and not well thought out plan, which leads to gossip around a child, she then has a burst of inspiration, most likely involving PR, and that inspiration leads to many illusions and secrets, with the truth hidden very far from the light of day. There are hints that Harry is not the father of the child, and a vague echo of the death energy that was so strong in the second reading.
The cards are swords and wands - wands are creative inspiration, swords are ideas, thoughts, strategy. The only major arcana card gives a message of illusions and secrets. I don't want to say that Archie does not exist, but I have no energy or message from the cards that definitely says 'yes, Archie as presented to the world via photos and videos, does exist as a single living child'.
*
After these three readings, I am done with this topic. It is going in the 'not to be looked at for a very long time, if ever again' basket. I am no closer to a conclusion than I was at the start, mainly due to my unwillingness to accept any message other than 'yes, Archie is a living child and he does exist' (I am sorry, cards, I just can not fully believe what you are showing me). I will conclude that there are layers and layers of deceit, illusion, and guile around Archie's birth, planned and put in place by Meghan, that Meghan does not like the gossip around Archie's birth at all, that there were hastily conceived plans around Archie that were rushed through without thought of the consequences, that there was a very strong death energy in the second reading, so something came to an end, and that we have to look deeper than surface appearances, as they are an illusion. For anything after that I will leave it up to everyone to decide for themselves. :)
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halfdead13 · 3 years ago
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Welp, here goes my TF2 ocs. Anyways, meet The Skater. She aligns herself with the Team Genesis Mercenaries and is Scout's equal. Unfortunately, she's not much of a jokster compared to him so she might be seen as a little killjoy.
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Let's gets some facts about her, shall we?
×Mᴇᴇᴛ Tʜᴇ Sᴋᴀᴛᴇʀ×
Born and raised as an orphan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Valeria was taken in by her grandparents, aunt, and two uncles. Valeria's parents had an unknown fate but she looked up to their athletic career, even becoming a well known cheerleader and rugby skater everywhere. Unfortunately, the athlete got caught up in the wrong crowd. One thing lead to another, and she ended up working for the richest man in the world.
×Tʀɪᴠɪᴀ×
×Skater is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Swedish. Now you might think, how is someone so young knowing so much? Well, to be fair she have a 1th grade understanding of French and a 2nd grade understanding of Swedish. She's learning Finnish at the moment.
×Skater's class name has changed multiple time. In the beginning of development, it was Runner, then Sprint, then Scooter, now Skater.
×Skater has a peanut allergy.
×Skater is also lactose intolerant, but she likes ice cream so she doesn't care.
×Skater is pretty good with the drums. It's her favorite instrument.
×Skater has Autophobia, Athazagoraphobia, and Philophobia. The first two isn't so bad as the last one though.
×Skater and BLU Scout have an mutual respect for each other.
×RED Scout is like her big brother. Since they have most things in common, she often vent with him.
×Besides Scout, RED Engineer is someone she also gets along with. She would never openly admit it though.
×Skater is more serious than Scout. Even she thinks he's foolish and an idiot half the time.
×Skater's character design is inspired by early concept art of Scout just with my own twist.
×Skater's clothes and outfits appear to be more modern, because her grandmother is a seamstress. Skater likes fashion and making her own clothes.
×Skater hardly gets along with her teammates. She does have a friendly bond with the other Offense Members though.
×Skater's personality was based of a friend I had in middle school.
×Despite how serious she can be, Skater can lean on the chaotic end of the other girls and plays tricks on them with Rouge.
×Skater doesn't care about her surroundings or what happens to be frank.
×Sarcasm is her first language.
×Skater has an healthy lifestyle unlike Scout. She excercise daily, drink plenty of water, and get enough sleep. She also doesnt really eat a lot of sugar and caffeinated beverages.
×She can switch from roller skates to a skate board if she wanted to.
×She is illiterate when it comes to Englsih writing. She can only read in Spanish.
×Please don't call her a Mexican. She.👏 is.👏from.👏 Puerto.👏 Rico.👏
×Her favorite food is anything with rice.
×Her fighting style is street fighting and boxing.
×She's faster than Scout, but only a little bit. If she didn't have her skates she's actually the same speed as Scout.
×At the end of the comics, she is 22. She's dropped out of college unnexpectantly to become a full time mercenary. The reason was to help her grandparents.
×She's the first person to get a job as the new generation of Team Genesis mercenaries.
×Ironically, she's the last one to get her character design.
×She is one of two of the Team Genesis to have never met her parents.
×Skater is the youngest member of Team Genesis.
×Skater's logo is a pink logo of skates. Like all the other members of her team, she doesn't have it on any of her clothes
×Bᴀᴛᴛʟᴇғɪᴇʟᴅ×
×Her signature weapon is the Hockey Stick.
×Other weapons includes Double Trouble and Loser Magnet
×She's has an advantage over Medics and Snipers.
×She have disadvantages against Heavys and Demomans.
×She's neutral with any Offense mercenary.
×Everything else is luck.
×Skater is best allied with Detonator. Detonator grabs Skater by her case and let's her skate off as she throws bombs, but can dip easily.
×She can also do the above with Commando.
×Skater can special ability is to slide. It's usually done to get out of gun fire quicker, to hide under cover, or to get off of steep buildings. She can use the Double Trouble weapons at the same time, but only her those.
×Skater has a cheerleader loadout and taunt.
×Skater also has a ice hockey player loadout and taunt. It's a kill taunt.
×Skater is faster than Scout on land, but slower than him underwater. 137%
×Skater's health is 140/200. It's higher than Scout's because she is more healthier than he is.
×Skater is the second weakest class.
×Skater's Strategy consists of skating and shooting. Her goal is to head into battle and distract the enemy for as long as she can. Skater is most effective when she stays on her skates, it makes it harder for people to catch her. She is also more effective in areas with lots of covers as it helps her distract everyone.
×Skater is more vulnerable in places with little cover and being cornered. She is also least effective standing still. Skater must be moving.
×More concepts of her will be here later. I do accept constructive criticism. :)
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imaginationintowords · 4 years ago
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Folklore [song series]
the 1
Modern Day AU! Bucky Barnes x OC!Reader
Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s relationship throughout the years.
Word count: 2404
Warnings: smut implied, loss of virginity implied, mention of alcohol abuse, mention of abandonment
Previous part
Series Masterlist
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Age: 26
Year: 2020
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Elizabeth sat on the floor of her mostly empty childhood bedroom. She hasn't been back since Christmas, and that was almost 8 months ago. Her parents called her last month letting her know they are putting the house up for sale, deciding to move to a cottage upstate where it's much quieter.
They had asked if she wanted them to pack up her old bedroom for her, but she told them she would make the trip out to them to spare any storage space the stuff might take up, knowing that only a few special items would need to be kept.
She was sat on the floor going through old photos, the last thing she had to do before she would be done.
Photos from the time she spent here. A pile for which photos she will take back home, and a pile that her parents will keep. She was finally down to the last three photos, all flipped over on their back.
The first one scribbled in her mother's handwriting read:
Steve, Betty, & James. Halloween 2001.
She shakes her head at the nickname, she hasn't been called Betty in almost a decade. The nickname was tarnished, no longer having any special meaning.
She really should've kept it only for family.
She flipped the photo over. There was seven year-old Elizabeth, standing in between a young Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes both had their arms draped around her shoulders. All dressed up as pirates.
She smiled at the memory.
So young. So innocent. So unknowing of what the future held.
She focuses mostly on the boy to her right.
James Buchanan Barnes.
Her first friend here. Her first best friend. Her first kiss.
Her first boyfriend. Her first time having sex. Her first heartbreak.
The boy at the time she didn't know would completely change not only her life, but who she was.
Her first best friend here, she immediately thinks of their first meeting. So kind. Him insisting on teaching her how to ride a bike. Took him two weeks but he did it. That halloween was a memorable one, for both good and bad reasons.
She saw a different side of Bucky after seeing first-hand how his father behaved, due to his alcoholism.
Years later Elizabeth had learned Bucky's father's deepest secret, he had struggled with alcoholism, starting two years before her family moved across the street. It was a secret his family had kept until that Halloween weekend in 2001.
Bucky and his family had spent the weekend with Elizabeth's family, while his uncles came to take his dad away. His father went to go live with Bucky's grandmother and uncles to try and get sober. He returned home after three months, but sadly the disease was a lot stronger than that. His father was fighting a long battle that he was sadly losing.
After a grueling year his mother made the ultimate decision to divorce his father, not wanting to put herself or her children through the dangers once again. Bucky's maternal grandparents moved in to help his now single mother out, seeing as his father was no longer in the picture.
His dad would pop in from time to time never consistent with his visits, after Bucky turned 13 and Becca 10, his dad stopped coming around all together.
His father ended up meeting a woman who helped him get sober, they later on got married and started a new family of their own. Forgetting about the one he had abandoned.
The next photo was dated:
Summer of 2008.
The summer right before they started high school. That was the summer that they all reached peak puberty. Bucky and Steve shot up like weeds, while Elizabeth grew slightly in height. They no longer looked like the pre-pubescent tweens, and officially looked teenagers embarking on their first year of high school.
It was a candid photo of Bucky and Elizabeth at an end of summer party Steve had at his house.
The night of their first kiss together, and Elizabeth's first kiss in general.
It wasn't a cliche kiss that happened because a game of spin the bottle. It was a little more private than that.
Bucky and Elizabeth made their way back home on that cool summer night. The nights had just started to get cooler as the months made the transition from August to September.
"Do you think Steve knows how obvious he's making his crush on Peggy is?" Elizabeth asks breaking the silence of the walk.
"Probably not, I mean the punk is way to oblivious to notice that Peggy also has a crush on him," Bucky laughs, "Plus he's too chicken to even make a move."
"He's just shy," Elizabeth smiles, trying to defend her other best friend.
"Well he isn't going to get the girl by being shy," Bucky says.
"That's what you think," she winks at him.
"What do you know?" he asks her with an accusatory tone.
"That Peggy is going to ask him to go to the movies tomorrow night," Elizabeth recalled from her earlier conversation with Peggy, "That's why she stayed to help cleanup."
"Well then, I stand corrected," he bows his head.
"We should do that," Bucky says after a few moments of silence as they round the corner their houses now in sight.
"Help clean Steve's house?" Elizabeth asked confused.
"No, go to the movies."
"We already do that."
"I meant just us two, no Steve or Rebecca to tag along," Bucky reiterates.
"Like a date," he quietly says looking at his hands.
"Oh," it dawns on Elizabeth.
She felt a blush creep on her cheeks. The cool breeze not helping the warmth spreading throughout her face.
Elizabeth has had a crush on Bucky for as long as she can remember. She just always thought he would never see her in that light. Compared to the girls he's used to liking, she was the polar opposite. Her skin wasn't as pale as their's, she had what her mother called a "Puerto Rican" tan due to where her family lineage is originally from. Her dark curls were always everywhere, even when she had them contained. It's not like she stood out per se, they were surrounded by diversity. She just didn't look like the girls Bucky had a crush on.
"You want to go out on a date, with me?" she hesitantly asks.
"Yeah, I do," he smiles finally looking up to meet her eyes.
"Why?"
"Because I like you," he says confused why she would ask that.
"It's okay if you don't want to, I understand," he quickly says when she doesn't say anything. He goes back to looking down and kicking at invisible rocks.
"No," she says grabbing his hand, making them both stop in front of her house, "I do want that."
Bucky looks back up taken back by her response, "Really?"
"Yeah, I would love to go on a date with you," she smiled so big.
"Okay, wow. Cool," Bucky stumbles over his words, his smile matching her's.
"Tomorrow, you and I will go to the movies," he says, squeezing his hand that was still being held by her.
"Perfect."
"Perfect," he whispered staring in her eyes, he glanced down to her lips then back to her eyes.
Elizabeth noticed bucking glancing at her lips, she couldn't help herself and do the same thing.
Bucky grabbed her other hand as he slowly pulled her closer to his body. Leaning his head slightly down. Both closed their eyes and slowly met each other half way, their lips touching in a soft kiss.
What felt like hours, but was only seconds they pulled away slowly. Smiles gracing their faces.
"I'll call you tomorrow for the details," Bucky says.
"Okay. Goodnight," Elizabeth says, still holding onto Bucky's hands.
"Goodnight," Bucky smiles, letting go of her hands before jogging across the street.
Elizabeth had walked up to her porch and turned around to see Bucky turning around from his own porch. She waved and he waved back, their final goodbye for the night.
That was the perfect end to the summer before they had started high school. It was the start of something new and beautiful.
The last photo read:
Winnie and Keith's wedding. 11 Aug. 2010.
She flipped it over to see her and Bucky smiling dressed in formal attire, next to Steve and Peggy.
Bucky's mom did later remarry while they were in high school. She had met a lovely man named Keith, who loved her deeply and her children as if they were his own. He was a good man, someone Bucky really needed in his life.
The photo was taken during the reception. Bright smiles across all of their 16 year old faces.
Both couples had been dating for two years at that point and things were going great.
The smiles showcased how happy they all were. Probably had to do with what they all had planned after the wedding.
They had all convinced their parents into letting them stay at the hotel the reception was at that night, and Bucky would drive them all back home the following day. Their parents had agreed, the only rule is that the girls would stay in a room separately from the boys.
What they know wouldn't hurt them, right?
It was the night they were all planning on losing their virginity. Their hormones were racing, trying to keep it contained as to not draw attention to themselves:
After the wedding they all walked up to the floor they would be staying at. Bucky waited outside the girls' door as Elizabeth gathered her overnight bag, and Steve doing the same from the boys' room.
She walked out with her bag on her shoulder, and a smile on her face.
"Ready?" he asked, grabbing her bag from her shoulder.
"Yeah," she nodded, feeling the nerves start.
Steve walked up to them with his own bag, "See you guys in the morning," he smiled before walking into the room, closing the door behind him.
Elizabeth could remember that night clearly. She had done a lot of prep beforehand, being an overachiever she needed to know what she was getting herself into. But nothing could prepare her for what had really happened.
It was filled with a lot of stumbling, awkward touches here and there. Both new to this sex thing. She's not going to lie and said it didn't hurt, she had prepared herself for it hurting. It wasn't the best sex she's had, but it was a moment she wouldn't forget.
After they were done they were cuddled in bed, Elizabeth's head resting on Bucky's chest as he smoothly raked his fingers across her arm.
"11:11, make a wish," Elizabeth whispered, closing her eyes.
"What'd you wish for?" Bucky asked.
"How many times do I have to tell you," she said, turning her body to lean on his chest to come face to face with him, "I can't tell you what I wish for, otherwise it won't come true."
"And how many times do I have to tell you, that that's not true," he teased.
"Well, you have yet to prove me wrong," she smiled.
"Come on, just this once."
"You," she stated, feeling the blush creep on her cheeks.
"What about me?"
"I wished for you," she says, "You and I. For us to have many more moments like this."
"Well doll, your wish is my command," he joked.
"I'm serious Bucky."
"So am I," his tone getting serious, "I love you Betty. It's you and me. Forever."
"Promise?" she held up her pinky.
"Promise." he linked his with hers.
They trusted each other. They were comfortable with each other. They had loved each other. And honestly that's all that mattered.
Now as an adult she realized how important your first time was. It was important that her first time was with Bucky, because she never regretted until she had.
She had really thought Bucky was the one. They would always talk about their futures together. What college they would attend together. When they would get married. Where they would live. How many kids they would have. All of it they had planned together. A future that didn't seem like just a dream.
Sadly with every first love comes every first heartbreak.
Her grandmother once told her that the greatest loves of all time were over now.
She had thought that when her relationship with Bucky had ended.
It truly felt like the end of the world. Like any breakup at that age felt like. She had sworn she would never feel love again. Her mother, Caterina telling her to just wait and see.
Caterina didn't believe in her own mother's words about greatest loves being over, because she was experiencing her's. She promised Elizabeth that she would experience her greatest love story when the time was right.
At the time Elizabeth didn't believe her mother. How could she when her heart was aching.
But like all the times before, her mother would be right.
She looked at  the last three photos in her hands. Without a second thought she placed the Halloween photo in the take pile and the other two in the parents' pile.
A soft knock on the door frame startled her, she looked behind to find the man she has called her's for the last few years. Her greatest love.
She couldn't help the smile that came across her face whenever she would see him.
"Ready?" he asks, a smile upon his face, as he leans up against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest.
"Yeah, let me just put these back in the box for my parents," she tells him cleaning up the photos and taking the ones she kept for herself.
"Look at this one I found," she says showing him the Halloween photo.
"Oh my gosh, we were so little," he smiles and laughs lightly raising his arm for her to go under, "Gosh I was such a dork."
"Was?" she playfully jokes, wrapping her arm around his waist and snuggling into his side as they head towards the stairs in each other's arms.
"Hey you fell in love with this dork," he jokes back.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way Steve," she smiles leaning up to kiss his lips.
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