#is he an asshole who actually survived in human form and waited until now to reveal himself?

[midsummer-semantics]

under the dancing lights

Small break while I do a million other things but here's *checks calendar* day 16 of @steddieangstyaugust.

Prompt: Halloween

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags: Underage Drinking, Cemeteries, Canon Complaint (question mark???), Ambiguous Ending

divider by @steddiecameraroll-graphics

He isn’t sure why he’s out here. It’s not like there’s anything left, anything calling him to action. The kids are old enough to trick-or-treat without supervision, Robin is with Vicky at a party he didn’t want to third-wheel to, and everyone else…

The point is, traipsing through Roane County cemetery on Halloween night seemed like a good idea when Steve is three Jack and Coke’s deep and unsure of where he fits into the regular world. He bought a dozen flowers on the way here just before the shop closed for the evening, like he couldn’t risk showing up to the cemetery empty-handed for some reason. 

Barb’s grave is overrun with flowers 365 days a year, three years running. Steve leaves several of the carnations in the bundle he carries at the tombstone, begging forgiveness as he does every few months. He hasn’t told Nancy what he does, even when he’s accompanied her a few times. He simply stays silent, lets Nancy grieve, and returns a few weeks later to replace the dead ones when no one is paying attention.

Next is Bob Newby, whom he didn’t know, but the kids did, so he drops a couple of flowers off out of perfunctory expectation.

Billy is the one of the hardest, his grave near Steve’s dad’s grandparents’ joint plot. He tends to spend a little more time here, aware of how the plot feels under his knees, remembering how Max looked as she lifted in the air under Vecna’s influence. Sometimes, Steve comes just to sit, to stare at Billy’s name and curse his existence, even if it brought him Max. Other times, Steve sits and talks, tells his rival how his step-sister is doing, how Steve learned to plant his feet, how regardless of what a piece of shit he was, no one deserved to deal with the bullshit the Upside Down had to offer. He leaves one flower out of obligation, but he doesn’t linger like he normally would.

He leaves a few at Chrissy’s grave, not just because she died, but because he knew her, even vaguely because she was a cheerleader while he was still on the basketball team. And because Eddie would want him to.

He flips off Jason’s grave as he passes it.

Three years — less than, technically— since the first death. Almost three years since Steve took Jonathan’s nail bat and made it his weapon of choice against the monsters that lurk beneath their feet. 

Over half a year since Max went into a coma that doctors — UD connected or otherwise — or Eleven haven't been able to wake her up from. 

Seven months since Eddie Munson was added to the list of people Steve couldn’t save.

The sun has dipped well past the treeline on the edges of the cemetery by the time he reaches Eddie’s grave. There’s no one else around, thankfully, but Steve knows it’s only a matter of time before some idiot high school kids make their way to the cemetery to get trashed and try to see a ghost or fuck near one of the graves. He should know, he was one of those idiot kids not too long ago.

There’s writing on Eddie’s headstone, scrawling letters spelling out MURDERER in red spray paint. One of the R’s is backward, Steve notes, rolling his eyes, a gesture that makes his vision swim a little. It’s not the worst thing that’s been blasted across the headstone since it was placed, but it’s by far the dumbest. He sets the remaining flowers down at his feet as he crouches to examine the writing closer. It’s dry, but it can’t have been there for more than a few days considering he was just here for Eddie’s birthday and had cleaned the last slur himself. He should have brought a bucket and brush instead of the stupid flowers, but he’s a little wobbly from the alcohol and the idea of going back to his car for any reason other than to go home and pass out alone sounds terrible. He’ll come back tomorrow and clean it, plus whatever gets done to it tonight probably. Maybe he should have brought his nail bat. Camped out next to Eddie’s grave and waited to see who exactly is doing it so he can make sure they know never to do it again.

Steve loses his precarious balance, falling back on his ass in the cold, damp grass with a soft “oof!” The flask in his back pocket digs into one cheek, and he shuffles around until he can extract it, then leans back on one hand while the other holds the cool metal.

“Probably stupid to drink more, but I doubt you’d give me shit about it,” Steve says to the grave, holding the flask up like he’s making a toast before closing his eyes and taking a swig. He actually hates whiskey, but it was all that was in the house since it’s his dad’s favorite, and beggars can’t be choosers.

Still, he coughs a bit as the straight liquor burns a path down his throat — he really should have brought some kind of chaser with him, but hindsight and all that — and then lays back on the grass as soon as it clears.

He keeps his eyes closed, breathing through the slight roil in his stomach, and imagines what it would be like if he simply sank into the ground beneath him. Not like if vines were to spring up and drag him under, but if he just slowly melted into the earth the way one feels like they’re melting on a really plush mattress.

It’s only a slight comfort that the grave he’s lying on is empty. Otherwise, his vision of being swallowed by the earth might come with the extra twist of Eddie’s hands dragging him down Evil Dead-style. 

He snorts to himself, his head lolling back and forth a bit. Eddie would have loved that reference, he knows it. He may not have known him for long before. . . before, but he’s sure of it regardless.

After a moment, he brings his hands up to rub the heels into his eyes, waiting until he sees stars before he opens them. The stars continue to blink for a few seconds as his eyes adjust to the inky black sky.

Wait.

No.

There are stars dancing. Little lights swaying to and fro in front of his face, with more popping up around him. He turns his head in awkward directions against the grass, knowing he’s getting foliage in his hair the whole time, watching as more blink to life.

He shuts his eyes again as he sits up, but when he reopens them, they’re still there. It’s too late in the year for fireflies, too cold this late at night at the end of October, and yet the lights dance regardless. 

“Whoa,” he breathes, feeling a distinct sense of deja vu to when he was blitzed out of his mind on Russian truth serum and staring at the ceiling of Starcourt.

One of the stars comes close to him, wisping against his cheek like a tickling feather before flying away. Another does it to his left arm where he’s holding himself up, another to his hip where his shirt has ridden up slightly under his windbreaker. Steve giggles uncontrollably as another brushes his forehead and he turns his head to follow them. There’s another, and another, and another, and as he reaches out to catch one—

“Having a good night, big boy?”

[the-chaotic-neutral-pansexual]

The Cat Owns You Part 1

CW: posessive behavior

Pairing: Sub!Choi Soobin x Dom!Catgirl reader

Idea: Cats are kind of assholes. Bossy, destructive, self centered and temperamental but loveable nonetheless. Almost anyone who has a cat will tell you sometimes it feels like the cat owns you.

A/N: this is part 1 to this story so its sfw, I'm just using this part to establish the story before the extremely smutty next chapter which will also be out this week. i hope you enjoy❤

Shortly after moving out of the TXT dorms Soobin realized that he had gotten used to living with other people. While being alone wasn't unbearable it wasn't exactly comfortable either. he realized that he enjoyed the feeling of coming home and having someone there for him. Someone to talk to after a long day or to hang out with when he didn't want to leave the security of his own home or even simply having the presence of another person, their warmth, their scent, the sounds of them living life. So as he sat alone at his dining room table surrounded by empty chairs clutching his phone and devising a plan on how to subtly ask one of his members to stay over a few days and possibly move in, a thought dawned on him. How would it look to everyone if the big strong levelheaded leader of one of the biggest current kpop groups came begging his youngers to keep him company and cut the silence of his lonely new apartment? He would look weak, like a codependent child and unfit to lead, he couldn't possibly portray himself that way to anyone. Not the public, his fans, his labelmates, his superiors who he begged to move out on his own and definitely not his bandmates who he left at their dorm in favor of his new apartment. So he stood from his place at the table and took his jacket from its place as the only one on the coatrack, slipping it on and leaving the apartment. he opted to take a walk in hopes of temporarily escaping the deafening silence and spine chilling still of his lonely apartment. at least being outside would give him the comfort of being in the presence of others. soon what was originally supposed to be a short 10 minute walk around the neighborhood  turned into an hour long expedition around the city, there was a slight burn in his long legs from walking aimlessly around the city for an hour however he barley noticed being too distracted by the comfort of the city around him buzzing and full of life, a stark contrast to the apartment that he was would soon regretfully return to. The apartment where nothing but the sound of his thoughts awaited him. Before heading home he decided to grab something to eat for dinner  he decided on something light to eat approaching a small yet slightly busy looking café. he slightly ducked to better cross the threshold into the café before being warmly greeted by a bubbly waitress. “hello there sir! do you have a reservation?” she asked with a smile and a slightly raised voice ensuring that he caught her words “reservation?” he replied his deep voice equally as friendly but laced with confusion “for a café?” The waitress replied with a light laugh “oh you must be new, see this is not a regular café” she stated. Just before he could inquire about what she meant he felt something brush against his leg. He quickly looked down slightly startled meeting the bright green eyes of a small beautiful fluffy black cat. “you see sir this is a hybrid cat café. Its a place where people in the market for a hybrid can make a reservation to spend time with our hybrid cat breeds and hopefully adopt one” she stated. just then he looked around and sure enough there were about a dozen cats, some roaming around and others interacting with customers. he also realized that all of the waitresses had cat ears ranging in colors and fur lengths perched atop their heads as well as matching tails lively swinging behind them. Soobin had always wanted a pet however due to his busy schedule it was out of the question, but a hybrid can function as a pet that can survive on its own. a pet that can keep him company in his apartment and still take care of itself during his promotions. It was a perfect solution. Just then another waitress walked up the look in her eyes signaling that she recognized him. She lightly tapped the other waitress before they began to whisper among themselves. While Soobin waited for them to finish their conversation so he could hopefully make a reservation he bent down to look at the black cat resting by his feet. A truly adorable kitten you were with your smooth, shiny, soft black fur and wide yet piercing green eyes. Just as he was reaching to pet you the waitresses concluded their hushed conversation, turning their attention to him. “well sir you are in luck, someone just canceled their reservation so if you would like we can put you in their slot” one waitress said with a smile while the other stood behind her looking excited but shy. “But before we take you to your seat my friend here would like your autograph, she's a bit shy however she is a huge fan of your group” she asked politely and Soobin obliged feeling like its the least he could do for the kind waitress. they direct him to a seat in the back corner of the café all the while you follow closely behind him, as he gets comfortable in his seat you hop up gracefully landing directly in the middle of his lap before situating yourself and laying down. He chuckles to himself before petting you lightly with one hand and skimming through the menu with the other. You begin to purr as you nuzzle into his warm touch relaxing until the waitress walks up taking his order. her presence making you slightly more alert but still relaxed she doesn't notice that you've claimed him taking shelter atop his lap under the table so she asks if he would like to meet some of the other cats up for adoption at the café. Before he gets the chance to answer you hiss lightly biting his fingertips as a warning that he better not even think about it. he moves his hand and you hop onto he table in front of him shooting him a pointed look. almost as if he understands what you're trying to say he politely declines “oh no thanks I'm pretty good here with this one, we seem to have a connection”. the waitress gives him a surprised look before speaking again “really? That's (Y/N), she's been here a while and hardly ever interacts with any customers.” She then leaves to put in soobins order and you return to your place on his lap. he begins talking to you letting basic information about himself and his life slip past those full pink lips of his. hopefully he adopts you so you can transform into your human form. see hybrids up for adoption are only supposed to stay in their animal forms  when in places like adoption centers or cafes because its easier to care for a dozen cats then it is to care for a dozen humans. the waitresses are hybrids who have been adopted from this establishment and came back to work and care for their hybrid friends ensuring that the get adopted into good homes. if he adopts you then once you reach your new home you will be able to live in human form. While soobin continues talking to your cat form and you meow out responses as if he can actually understand you, you are interrupted again. this time by another cat form hybrid trying to move in and take him from you. Why cant they understand that he belongs to you? Why do they insist on trying to mark your soobin as their own? Cant they see that you chose him first? You cant wait until you guys get home and you can use your human form to mark his body with yours. maybe then they'll understand that he belongs to you. then soobin decides to be a brat and try to pet her. who does he think he is? what a bad boy! once you’re human again you'll be sure to punish him for doing such a thing. hopefully a nice punishment will ensure that your pe...owner never behaves this way again. before he touches her you pounce attacking the other cat growling and hissing threats. it was not enough to truly injure her but served as a warning to stay away from your property...owner. after that incident soobin decides to flag down a waitress and ask to get his food to go. the waitress quickly brings out his order in to go boxes and has a small stack of papers for him. “so do you think you'll be adopting a cat tonight” he looks down at you giving your best pleading eyes and in an impromptu decision he signs the papers. Now he officially belongs to you. he pays his bill before being handed a temporary cat carrier as you get comfortable preparing for the journey to your new home.

[mochegato]

I Can’t Fight This Feeling

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

This was supposed to be an easy job, the last thing he had to do before Talia would think he was ready and let him go on his own path.  Trail the heroes back to the Guardian, steal his miraculous, wait until the heroes detransform, steal their miraculous.  Lure the villain out and steal his miraculous.  Child’s play. He didn’t need years of training for this.  

But then they were kids.  Kids who started the same age as him.  Kids who weren’t being protected as they risked their lives protecting everyone else.  Kids who actually cared about the people they worked with.  Kids who weren’t self-righteous, condescending, assholes. Kids who deserved to have good lives. But they were kids who were sacrificing their lives for this fight and he could help with that.  

Once he finished the mission, they could have their lives back.  He takes their miraculous, tracks down Hawkmoth and takes his miraculous, and everything goes back to normal for them.  Their lives can go back to normal, like none of this even happened.  He just needed to track down Hawkmoth, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.  He didn’t know what the heroes had tried already, but they were civilians.  

Everything he found out about Ladybug, or rather Marinette Dupain-Cheng, indicated that she had no detective training.  He had been trained by the World’s Greatest Detective and the League of Assassins.  Even if the butterflies were impossible to track, he should be able to find something that would lead him to the villain.  Then he takes that asshole’s miraculous, and the heroes, more specifically Marinette, could have her childhood back, what’s left of it anyway.

He just needed to get started and since he knew Marinette’s identity, that made her the weak link, so he’d start with her.  He’d been hoping he could track her to the Guardian, but she hadn’t gone to him.  Probably because knew she was being tailed.  She hadn’t done anything definitive to show it, she was too good for that, so if he didn’t know the signs, he would have missed it.  But he did know the signs, so he hadn’t missed them.

He could see the way her shoulders would tense up when he was watching her soothe to one of her classmates when they were panicking. He could see it in the way her eyes lingered around the playground just a little longer than was normal when she was babysitting.  He could see it in the forced even breaths when she was feeding strays.  He could see it in the way she would be in a design trance, focused on sketching, her eyes bright, and she would suddenly snap her head up, snap her book closed and head home.  He could see it in the way her smile suddenly strained when she was helping a stranger.

After another few weeks of trailing her, he had finally decided it was time to take her miraculous.  Instead of trailing her to the Guardian then take her miraculous, he’d take her miraculous and trail Chat Noir to the guardian.  He was the second in command, therefore he was the most likely to approach the Guardian with the information and come up with a plan. Whatever plan they came up with didn’t matter, as soon as he knew where the Guardian was, it was over.

Now, he just had to come up with the perfect time to take it, without hurting her too much in the process, which was going to be a challenge no matter when he did it.  There was no way she would just let him take them and while he could definitely overpower Marinette, he was hoping to do it with as little violence to her as possible.  Everything he’d observed so far about her told him she would likely already feel like she failed once he took them, he definitely would have.  Hopefully she reacted better to it than he would have, because back then, when he worked with Bruce, when he had a home, or thought he did, he would have gone into a deep depression.  He already knew it was going to happen, but he didn’t want to make it worse. She didn’t deserve that.  She didn’t deserve any of this.

The easiest way seemed to be to knock her out as painlessly as possible.  So here he was, following her, hanging back more than a respectable distance so he wouldn’t alert her to his presence and waiting for the perfect opportunity to isolate her and use the tranquilizer dart in his pocket.  And that would have been the way things went except it seems fate had a change of plans, in a way that only a crowbar to the side of the head could do.  This time it wasn’t a clown wielding the crowbar, but the effects were just as devastating.

There was a somewhat sheltered part of the park Marinette was walking through, trees on either side of a narrow walkway, shielding the area from prying eyes.  If she kept the direction she was going, she’d walk right through it, and that was where he’d strike.  He gripped the dart tighter in his pocket, prepping himself for what he was about to do to her.  He’d just picked up his pace when someone burst through an apartment building wall. Or rather, something did.  

An akuma calling himself the Shusher jumped at the kids in the park, wielding a crowbar of all things, to silence all of Paris. Each hit stole a bit of volume, until it stole their life, which to Jason’s horror, he demonstrated on Marinette. She’d acted immediately, jumping in front of the kids, giving them time to run, drawing him away from the direction they ran.  She’d dodged well for the first few swings, but after that, she’d grabbed his arm and kicked his kidney.  If the man hadn’t been an akuma, Jason was positive he’d be on the floor, but with the magical reinforcement, the akuma didn’t even flinch.  Instead, he swung hard, and with the close proximity, she didn’t have the room to dodge this time.

Jason froze at the first swing.  Why did it have to be a crowbar?  He couldn’t get his body to move.  He couldn’t react.  He couldn’t help.  And he couldn’t tear his eyes away.  The first hit knocked him out of his stupor.  The sight was horrifying.  His body finally moved, but slower than normal.  It didn’t seem to respond to him like it usually did.  He didn’t reach them until Marinette was already on the ground, no longer breathing.

He watched the blood seep out from under her until it had saturated the ground around her.  A sickeningly satisfied smile spread across the akuma’s face as he examined Jason to see what he would do.  Jason looked to the side toward the sheltered part of the park and back to the akuma. He pulled his hood over his head until the only part of him that could be seen was his glowing green eyes.

“Game on, mother fucker,” Jason growled as he sprung at the akuma, catching him around the waist and rolling toward the shielded section of the park.  He let the akuma attack him, backing him up until they were fully shielded on all sides by the trees.  Once he was sure nobody could see them and no cameras could record them, he leaped up and attacked the akuma with a volley of kicks and punches that would have left any normal human dead and unrecognizable within seconds.

He continued to attack the akuma until he heard the miraculous team arrive.  He kept the akuma distracted while Marinette’s team found her body and took a minute to mourn.  When they approached with a new found determination, he backed into the trees, effectively disappearing from the scene.  The akuma switched targets quickly, more interested in taking the miraculous than continuing a pointless fight with him.  Jason watched the akuma jump away and the team follow him.

The fight was long and messy without their leader there to guide them and them emotionally thrown off by her death, but Jason kept a close eye on the news coverage of it in case he had to step in. Every fiber in his being was pushing him to join the fight and tear the bastard to pieces, slowly and in the most painful ways possible.  But he couldn’t do that.  If he did, Talia would know what he did, that he intentionally betrayed them.  He wouldn’t last the week, let alone Marinette.

And regardless of the outcome of the fight with the heroes, the man wouldn’t survive the week anyway.  Jason was going to make sure of it.  That thought was the only one running through his head as he watched Marinette’s lifeless body strewn out on the ground, her arms at odd angles, the bruises starting to form, the spots where the crowbar hit starting to puff up.  He could no longer make out the shape of her face.  Her eyes, which had always been so bright and hopeful and passionate, were now lifeless and dull.  

It stole his breath away.  He felt a sharp pain in his chest that wouldn’t go away, worse than if he would have taken a hit to the chest from the crowbar.  Which is exactly what should have happened.  He had training.  He had experience.  He should have been the one to jump into the fight, not Marinette.  She didn’t have any of that and she jumped in to save those kids.  She knew she wouldn’t be able to hold him off for long and she still did it.  

And he wanted to be angry or surprised but he wasn’t either.  Because he’d done his research.  He’d been observing her for over a month now in and out of the suit.  That’s just who she was.  That’s who he was supposed to hurt.  God, the idea of being the cause for her eyes to dull over hurt.  But he kind of was, wasn’t he.  And his plan, if he went through with it, would do it all over again.

After an eternity, a wave of pink and red ladybugs swept through the area, returning the surrounding buildings to normal. Marinette gasped back to life. She jolted up to sitting only to slump immediately after.  She took a few shuttering breaths before reaching up to feel her ears.  “No, no, no, no,” she started panicking and searched her surroundings.

“They’re gone,” Jason answered the unasked question.

She stared at him wide-eyed, fear lacing her eyes, quickly turning to a furious glare.  He held up his hands in surrender.  “It wasn’t me.  It was your friend so she could fight the akuma.”  She looked at him doubtfully, but nodded.  She was healed after all, so the akuma must have been defeated.  She kept her eyes on him and slowly urged her body to tense in preparation for whatever attack he had planned.

“Relax.  I’m not going to fight you, kid.  I’m not looking for a fight today… except maybe that guy with the crowbar,” he growled the last part of his sentence, his eyes wandering in the direction the fight had gone.

“No!  You can’t do that,” Marinette exclaimed loudly, almost lunging at him, but collapsing back down almost instantly from the shock of movement to her system.

“Are you serious, Goody Two Shoes?  He killed you.  He beat you until you stopped breathing.  He took your life from you with no remorse and you’re going to protect him?” Jason barked.

“It wasn’t him.”  Jason scoffed at her.  “I’m not saying he’s a good guy.  I don’t know him.  But, the akumas, they change a person, morph them, make them into someone they aren’t. It isn’t them.  And I don’t want anyone dead because of me.”  She met Jason’s glare with a determined one of her own for a few seconds before she looked away.  “And it’s Marinette, not Kid or Goody Two Shoes.”

Jason narrowed his eyes at her and pressed his lips together in frustration.  “Fine. I won’t kill him.  But you need to be careful because the League of Assassins is after your jewelry.  And stop telling strangers your name.”

Her eyes snapped back up to meet his.  “What is the League of Assassins?” she asked cautiously. “And like you didn’t know my name already.  You know it. Use it.”

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes.  “And you wouldn’t believe me about the League if I told you.” He shook his head lightly, but the serious expression on his face was enough to scare Marinette.

“Try me.”  Her voice held more confidence than she felt.  Like she was challenging him.

“It’s a league … comprised… of assassins.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and huffed out a long suffering breath.  He gave her a charming grin, maybe the first authentic, happy smile he’d given since before he died.  He looked in her eyes and suddenly turned away.  His smile faded to a frown.  “There's a timer on this peace.  They want the miraculous and they want them before you defeat Hawkmoth because they know they’ll have no way to track them once you’re not using them anymore.”

He looked back in her eyes.  “They'll send somebody else as soon as I leave here.  They’ll send more.”

“Someone better?” she chuckled mirthlessly.

Jason scoffed and gave her a roguish smile.  “Oh Pixie, there is no one better.”

Marinette actually laughed.  “Well then, I've already survived the best.  I'm sure I can survive the rest,” she said defiantly.  “And I told you to call me Marinette.”

Jason smiled proudly, but quickly shook it off.  As long as Hawkmoth was active, they were in danger, she was in danger and he wouldn’t be able to protect her.  The only way out of it was to become him.  “Not unless you're willing to kill them. They're not like me.  They won't walk away when they see who you are.  They'll keep coming until you kill them.”

She looked at him curiously.  “And who am I?  Who am I to you to make you stop?”

Jason looked away, his eyes unfocused for a moment before returning to her eyes.  “You're like me, like I used to be.  But better.  You're who I should have been, who I was supposed to be.”  His head whipped around to the sound of people calling her name. “Time’s up.  Good luck.”

“Wait…” she called after him.  She tried to get up and go after him, but he was already gone before she could ask more questions.

Two weeks later she received an email addressed to Pixie with a clear video shot through a window of Gabriel Agreste transforming into Hawkmoth.  A week later, she, Chat, and the rest of the team took him down, with video documentation of the whole thing and Officer Raincomprix as a witness.  Ultimately, once they knew who to go after, it was actually extremely easy to sneak in camouflaged and immobilize him.  They just needed that last piece of the puzzle.

The justice investigation was quick, as was the trial. Everyone involved was eager to get it over as quickly as possible, and with incontrovertible evidence against him, Gabriel didn’t have much of a defense to give anyway.  Waking up Adrien’s mother took a bit longer, but with the help of the monks in the temple, she made a full recovery.  Marinette’s memories of the previous three years, however never did.

Chapter 3

Tags:

@jasonette-july-event @jayjayspixiepop @aespades @how-to-function-properly

[innaminitus]

To meet you again

Pairing: Geralt x reader

Request:  Hey! May I request Geralt x reader? Maybe where the reader is a commoner in the kingdom, and while Geralt is there to kill a monster, him and the reader keep crossing paths? But get this: the reader is extremely clumsy and every time they cross paths it’s because of the reader tripping, or running into him, etc ya know? It gets to the point where Geralt starts making small offhand comments about her clumsiness and she shows that she’s actually pretty damn feisty. I’m so excited! Thank you hun! (from @badass-dora-milaje​)

and

Hello there. I read your beautiful lake story and just fell in love with your writing style. So I'd like to request a story if I may: Geralt & reader meet up time and time again. She somehow always helps him out (calms a mob, heals his wounds, gives the missing coin he needs) and she's always kind to him. There may be underlying tension between the two, but she doesn't act on it. There is a change in their dynamics though when she endangers her life while trying to help him again and anger and worry finally make him react, pushing her against a wall and showing her how much he truly cares. Now I'd like to leave it up to you if the smut is passionate and either sweet or more angry. I hope this is okay as a request? Thanks so much for sharing your work and doing this! Regards V (from @superconfusedandreadytorumble​)

Warnings: smut, language, angst

Word count: 3034

A/N: I didn’t proffread it because i’m a lazy ass 

You were… just a nobody, really. Just a clumsy girl, who happened to have just enough healing abilities to help with cuts and burns in the town.

Somehow he always crossed paths with you.

You were picking up the herbs in the forest, finally unbothered. It was the beginning of spring, and the door to your house almost never closed. People were storming you with colds and allergies, sometimes knocking on your door at night. Mothers were… overprotective, bothering you when their sons barely sneezed. In the forest you could finally rest, breathe fresh air and be alone for a change. No one walked that deep into the forest, afraid they might meet leshy and his monsters; you’ve never met him, though and doubted he actually lived in the forest.

That is, until you heard sounds of a fight. Frozen in place, you were too afraid to move. A cry of a beast mixed with hoarse screams and clings of steel, followed by sudden silence. Someone, or something moved for the last time and hit the ground. You waited for any sign that, whoever it was, was still alive.

“Ahh… Fuck.”

Well, that almost definitely was a sound of being alive.

You rushed in the direction of the voice, whose owner, thankfully wasn’t far. A man was on the ground, leaning on the tree, pressing his hand on his thigh. In front of him lied a beast, its horny head detached from its body, slimy blood spilled all over the clearing. Your stomach flew to your throat, but you managed not to vomit at the sight. One deep breath and you looked back at the man. He was bleeding as well, but the difference between him and leshy was that he was still alive.

You walked to him slowly, he turned to you when you stepped on a twig.

“Who are you?” He asked in between sharp breaths. His hair was white and his eyes were oddly yellow.

“A healer. I can help you.” You kneeled next to him and looked at the wound on his thigh. It was deep, and he was losing a lot of blood. You pulled at the hem of your dress and ripped a long stripe, then tied it firmly above the wound. “Come, you need to get up. My home is not far away.”

You held him while he clumsily got up, and supported him while you walked out of the forest.

“So what’s your name, healer?”

“Y/N. And yours?”

“Geralt.”

That was the first time you’ve met Geralt. You healed his wound and said goodbye, believing it was the last time you’d see the white-haired man.

How foolish of you.

He passed your village multiple times, since beasts seemed to adore the forests and swamps surrounding it, and soon the Witcher was a frequent guest in town.

You were reading a book. It wasn’t your fault that you didn’t see him, it was the fault of the heroine in the story, who was making the worst decision of her life.

It wasn’t a pretty picture, really. Geralt was talking to someone, and you just didn’t bother to look above your book. You smashed onto him, hitting him with the book, and hurting your nose badly on his broad back.

“Ouch…”

“What the hell are you doing?” He turned angrily, but his presence softened once he saw you. Not for long, as it seemed, since he started laughing at your miserable form, holding your nose with your palms and tears building in your eyes. He picked up the book you dropped. “I think that’s yours.”

That was the second time. You’ve had pleasant conversation with him, and discovered he also liked books, but haven’t had the time to read them anymore. Turned out he’s not just a pile of muscles and a nice voice.

Finally a day without a single patient. You could spend all calm day on the market, and unbothered buy food. Maybe you’d buy yourself a little treat, maybe a piece or two of peach pie…

You were buying apples when you heard a horse nearby. You smiled softly at Roach tied to a feeder near the inn and walked to her.

“Hello, Roach.” You caressed her head gently. She bumped your basket, full of fresh food. You fed her an apple. “And where’s your owner, huh?”

Suddenly you heard a loud noise in the inn and the door swung open.

“Witch– Witcher!” Geralt stormed out of the inn, the publican right behind him. You didn’t fail to notice how good the Witcher looked, his hair a mess and unbuttoned shirt. “Pay or I’ll swear my boys will kill you in your sleep.”

“You dare to threaten me?” Geralt turned back and faced the publican, who somehow got smaller under his burning sight.

“Geralt,” you called him, stepping closer and placing a hand on his shoulder. “What’s the problem?”

“He haven’t paid for his stay!” The publican shouted.

“I said I’ll pay later!”

“I don’t believe ya Witchers! One day you fuck a whore in my inn, the next day ya dead! And I am left with no money!”

“I’ll pay for him.” You gave the men a few coins.

“That’s not enough!”

“Well, remember about it the next time you drag your pregnant daughter to my house demanding an abortion. And I’ll maybe remember to not tell anyone about it.”

He reddened and, murmuring something under his nose, went back to the inn.

“Abortion?” Geralt raised an eyebrow.

“He has five daughters, and each one is rather frivolous.”

He untied Roach and turned to you.

“Thank you. I’ll repay you, I promise.”

“I know.” You shrugged. “But maybe next time you’re here, stay at my place.”

You tried not to show how many sinful thoughts flew through your head.

He stayed a few times, arriving at the evenings and leaving early in the morning. Unspoken tension between you was enough to keep him away. It wasn’t that you were disappointed, only you were… a little disappointed.

Snow was falling into your eyes as you were trying to make your way back home. You treated a boy with fever, not sure if he would survive the night. The cold was merciless, piercing you through, and you forgot your cloak when you run out to save the boy. Only a thick sweater was protecting you from wind and snow. You cursed your stupidity, dreaming of warm fireplace waiting for you. There was one more thing keeping you warm, but you didn’t really want to admit it to yourself. You just couldn’t help it that his eyes reminded you of the sun.

You stepped onto frozen mud, your poor excuse for shoes not protecting you from sliding all across the puddle. With a squirm you tripped on ice, and waved your hands, trying to catch stability, inefficaciously, only making your situation worse. You were sure to hit the ground, but someone’s warm arm wrapped around you, protecting you from it.

“Geralt,” you gasped, still hanging above the ground.

“Hello, Y/N,” he laughed and pulled you up.

Only this time it was different.

You just… had a feeling. A feeling that you should be out, even though it was night. You wandered around the town, this weird feeling in your guts not allowing you to rest. Your intuition was strong, due to your grandmother being a minor witch, and almost never let you down. It was an unsettling thought, piercing you through, that something bad was going to happen.

You didn’t notice that you left the town and mindlessly walked to the forest. Cold air soothed your burning cheeks and scent of wet grass hit your nostrils. You knew you wouldn’t get lost in this forest, you knew it better than you knew yourself, so you walked deeper, letting your intuition guide you.

Everything was oddly silent. No birds singing, not even the bugs working their way through the bushes. You could barely see in the darkness, but you didn’t need a good sight to feel the blood hanging in the air.

One, two, three vampires, and between them the whitehaired Witcher. You watched the scene with parted lips, as they hypnotized him, one already sucking blood out of Geralt.

You had to help him. A silver knife shone in the moonlight when you took it out of your pocket, glad you took it with yourself. You pressed the blade on your arm and with a deep breath cut the skin deeply, not allowing yourself to whine in pain.

“Blood.” One of the vampires shot his head up.

“Blood.”

“Blood.”

“Human.”

You kept squeezing your fist to pump more blood out of the wound.

“Hey, assholes,” you shouted. “How about a dessert?”

Two of them left Geralt and run to you with awful screams, and it was enough for the Witcher to free himself from their power. You didn’t see him killing the vampire still sucking his blood, the two beasts already knocked you down, their cold, dead lips locked on your neck.

A groan was the last thing you heard before you passed out.

The ground was shaking when you woke up. You were flying, you were sure of it. Was this how death felt?

Your eyelids felt awfully heavy when you opened your eyes, the stars were shining on the dark sky. You moved your head. You weren’t dead. You were still in the forest, in someone’s arms.

“Geralt…” Your throat was sore, you were barely able to make a sound.

His jaw was clenched when you looked at him.

“You are… Stupid. Irresponsible. Do you even understand how big of a danger that was?” His voice was shaking from anger, but he tried not to shout.

You moved in his arms.

“Did you kill them?” He nodded. “Geralt, we have to go back.” You tried to fall on the ground, but he was holding you too tight. “Geralt, we need to bury them, their heads apart from their bodies, with iron nails in their skulls… And sprinkle poppy seeds–“

“I did it.”

“What’s with the poppy seeds, though?” You were taking without any sense. “Like… I know they’re supposed to obsessively count them, but do they really do it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you mad at me? Don’t be mad at me, please.” You lifted your hand to touch, but it felt weightless. You had no feeling in your limbs, but you could move them. It must’ve been because of the loss of blood.

“Yes, I am mad at you. You should never put your life in danger, not for me, not for anyone else.”

“I wanted to help you.”

“You shouldn’t have. I was dealing with them perfectly fine without you.”

“No, you weren’t,” you snorted. “They were killing you, you needed my help.”

He stopped. You didn’t notice that you already left the forest and were standing in front of your house. He gently placed you on the ground, making sure you wouldn’t trip. Your head was dizzy, but you were able to open the door and walk inside. Familiar scent of candles and herbs soothed you.

“It would be much better if they killed me instead of hurting you,” you said, your back turned to him, as you lit the candles.

He held your arm, and pushed you against the nearby wall.

“No,” he said in a hoarse voice, anger glistening in his amber eyes. “Stop saying such stupid things.”

“Stop telling me I’m stupid!” You were over it. You helped him, and that’s how he thanks?

“How can I, if you obviously are?!”

“You shouldn’t save me then, leaving me as a meal would eliminate me from your life just fine!”

“You must have no idea what you’re saying.” His hands were clenched on your shoulders just like his jaw was clenched when he was talking to you with such anger.

“Enlighten me, then!”

It took him a split second to press his lips onto yours, and to melt you completely.

“Is that clear enough?” He asked in a husky voice, his face millimeters from yours.

“Not– Not really. You’d have to repeat that.”

Only you didn’t give him any time to repeat it, because you threw your arms over his neck and kissed him hurriedly, leaning on him, almost knocking him down. He smiled during the kiss, deepening it, his tongue slid into your mouth, inviting yours to play.

Within a second you forgot about everything, about the vampires, about how bad you felt after the attack. He was more than enough to make you forget.

He lifted you up, and bumped on a closet on the way to your bedroom, making you laugh, quickly silencing you with his tongue. Soon you felt cold sheets under your back, and Geralt’s fingers untying the ribbons of your dress. He slid the material down your shoulders, kissing every inch of the skin that was exposed to him.

He kissed your collarbone, lick the hollow underneath it, his tongue swiped down, to the delicate skin of your breasts and suddenly you weren’t in the mood for laughing. You sighed when he softly tugged the side of your breast, pulling the dress down, exposing your hardened nipples. With a silent groan he closed his warm mouth around one nipple, caressing it with the tip of his tongue. The other one he rolled in his fingers, releasing a moan from you, and you felt him smile at that sound. His big hands kneaded your breasts as he kissed the valley of them before sliding your dress even lower.

His lips never left your body as he made his way down, gently biting your waist, leaving a mark. By the time he got to your hips the heat between your legs was noticeable, just as how wet you were for him. He kissed one hipbone, then another, and ignoring your womanhood kept kissing until he reached your knee, and then, and only then he made his way up. In most torturous of ways he licked the skin of your inner thigh, left hot kisses above the wet trail and finally, after almost driving you crazy, reached your heat.

He didn’t plan to work his way fast. Oh no, he planned to feast on you.

He kissed your folds, yet that was enough to make you squirm. He stuck out his tongue and with just the tip licked a stripe through them, parting them for his warm lips.

“Mm,” he groaned against you “so wet already, and I haven’t even started properly.”

His deep voice was giving you goosebumps, but it was his tongue that made you grab his hair. He flattened it on your pussy, rubbing your clit and forcing a moan out of you. His hands massaged your thighs, but one of it slid to your folds, to the aching clit while he pushed his tongue into you. You arched your back as he worked you this way, his tongue in and out of you, his skilled fingers rubbing vicious circles on your clit.

“Fuck… Geralt, please, don’t stop,” you moaned time after time as he mercilessly drove you to the edge of sanity, forcing an orgasm out of you.

You were shaking as you came on his face, whispering pleads and his name, pleasure holding your throat tight enough for you to not scream. You mindlessly held his head pressed onto you, spasms of ecstasy making you come yet again around his tongue.

He pulled away, his wet mouth and chin glistened in the light of candles as he ripped his clothes and hovered over you. You kissed him, your taste spilled in your mouth as his tongue was dancing with yours.

You felt his hot shaft on your stomach, how it dripped on your skin, making you hungry for more, more of his body, more of his lips. He bucked his hips, caressing your overstimulated clit with his tip, collecting your slick. He slid into you easily, you caught his gasp in your mouth.

“So fucking tight,”  he whispered on your neck. “So marvelously tight…”

He pulled out only to push back in, and you were lost yet again, only now it was Geralt as well who lost control. As you expected, he wasn’t the one to be gentle.

He rammed into you like a wild animal, sounds of moans and wet bodies smacking filled the room and your ears. You reached above your head to hold the frame of the bed, but he had other plans. With sadistic smile he grabbed your wrists with one hand and held them still as his other hand held firmly your hip, sure to leave bruises. All you could do was to wrap your legs around him to make him reach deeper, and moan when he buried himself balls deep into you.

His thrusts were fast and violent, his eyes travelled from your waving breasts to your parted lips, as you begged for more, for him to never stop.

“Gods– You fill me so fucking good–“ You squirmed as your whole body moved to his pace.

“That’s right,” he groaned, leaning over you as your muscles clenched hard on his length. “I want you to come all over my cock.”

You would never deny that order. A heat wave hit you hard, overtaking your body in its silky arms, as pleasure spilled all over your mind just as Geralt’s cum spilled deep inside your pussy. Your legs were shaking when you rode down your orgasm with his gasps near your ear.

He fell on the bed next to you, panting.

“So… So you care for me. If I got the message right,” you said in between heavy breaths and looked at him.

“Pretty much, yes.”

He also looked at you before you both laughed. He pulled you to a soft kiss before closing you in his warm arms. There was nothing that could disturb that night. Not when you felt so warm, so safe next to him.

You placed your head on his chest and soon the sleep surrounded you like a fog. And you dreamed, dreamed about amber eyes and clear blue skies.

 ___

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[raeynbowboi]

My Thoughts on KIPO

This post serves two purposes: first to give my thoughts on the third and final season of KIPO, and second to also address the show as a whole. Be advised, because this is the final season and the story is now over, I will be getting into MASSIVE spoiler territory. THIS IS YOUR FINAL SPOILER WARNING.

The Good

I am so happy they kept Dr. Emilia unredeemable, and in a good way. With shows like Naruto or Steven Universe where the MC has a weird knack for befriending the worst monsters in the universe, Kipo helps subvert this by doing with Dr. Emilia what SU should have done with White Diamond. They made her an antagonist the talk no jutsu MC couldn’t just reason with, showing that even non-violence can only take you so far. I like that Kipo still tried to give Dr. Emilia a chance, and her ultimate fate is largely her own fault, not something done to her by Kipo.

I liked how for the most part, no two antagonists were won over the same way. Zayne was won over by a legitimate friendship with Label. Haugh was won over by seeing his daughter dance with the Korean pop band narwhals, Daugh was won over by meeting the Korean Narwhal leadsinger and seeing all of the prisoners in Dr. Emilia’s lab. Even Greta was won over by Wolf just asking her “what do YOU want?” and letting her do it. And the rest were won over through PRAHM.

The solution to curing Kipo’s mother was a stroke of brilliance. I didn’t see it coming until seconds before they did it, and I loved it. Getting to see Kipo and her mom hug was just so wholesome it melted my frozen tiny little black heart.

Speaking of Song and Leo, they remained relevant! Look at that. A young character hero’s journey story where her parents remain important supporting cast characters through the whole thing.

Between seasons 2 and 3, they confirmed that Asher was non-binary, and I liked that we saw that in their hairstyle change for this season. I appreciate that the cut didn’t seem overly masculine or feminine.

Dave... actually earned my respect. Kinda. At least, it explained why he’s such a self-centered asshole in season 1. He’s used to being the leader. So that gave me some new respect for him.

I LOVE that Hugo was forced to see the ruins of Aurum and the self-reflection he shares with Wolf is just icing. Speaking of Hugo, his redemption is handled really nicely. The trial and error, the old habits that are hard for him to break, Kipo easily keeping him in line, and his slow work toward being a better mandrill. He felt like he was growing a lot.

When Wolf is deciding what to do about Margot, Kipo aggressively supports her, waiting for Wolf to ask her for help, and then decreeing that only Wolf has a right to decide how she wants to handle this situation. You go Kipo. Getcha woke on. Speaking of Margot.

The Bad

Margot might as well have not shown up. We learn nothing new about her, nothing new about Wolf, and then she just gets cured by Emilia so there’s never really a resolution to this character tension. I get the reason why, I just praised it in the above section, but this was still poorly handled in my opinion. Their just isn’t enough story payoff to bother dragging this out of the backstory.

Dave created Skyscraper Ridge.... for a battery-powered hand-held fan? Which survived for 200 years of battles between humans and mutes. Over a hand-held fan? Dave and Benson met... by fighting over a hand-held fan? I’m sorry but what the fuck? If you wanted me to take this seriously, you should have made it about something important. Now, I will give this some credit: Maybe Dave has dementia and is misremembering the item he’s talking about. Cuz Benson doesn’t know what he’s talking about at first. So maybe he’s using a toy fan in the place of the actual thing they were fighting over. 

Speaking of Benson... You don’t make a backstory episode that raises more questions! Why is Benson the last of his kind? What happened to his parents? Did Dave kill them? Cuz if he did, that’s seriously fucked up that Benson’s best friend killed his parents.

Song just kinda stopped being important once she was human huh? She spoke dubstep to the bees and got the death ivy wall put up, and then said she was going to work on a vaccine to the Cure... and then never finished it. Five years later, and Yumyan and all the others are still Cured. I get why this is, it’s so that there’s lasting consequences, which YES. Good on Kipo for not wimping out and pulling its punches, gimme them lasting consequences baby! I feed off it. But again, this leaves Song kind of … irrelevant.

So Kipo turns into a Mega Jaguar and she runs on all-fours (well... sixes), Song has the anatomy of a Mega Monkey... but Dr. Emilia’s Walrus form... has arms and legs? Sorry, that just kind of breaks the immersion for me. Two megas follow a consistent world building mechanic: you adopt the features of your mega animal... and Dr. Emilia just... doesn’t. No sir, I don’t like that.

Kaiju battles are kind of lame. There I said it. Come get me, Internet. I’m not apologizing. I don’t care much for great big things beating up other great big things. Now with a show and world like that of Kipo, I fully expected there’d be a Kaiju battle at some point, and with Kipo being a mega jaguar, I get why they went this route, but even so, Kaiju battles just aren’t my cup of tea.

Why did Hugo have to die? It kind of smelled of Redemption Equals Death, a wholly loathsome trope. He went through the best arc of all the characters, so let’s axe him off in the end. Sure, we lost other characters we cared about. Yumyan, Collette, Brad, but this was deliberately a noble sacrifice, and one he didn’t really have to make. He could have just jumped out of the car before it ran into Dr. Emilia. I don’t approve of killing off Hugo. That was not the right way to end his story.

Who is Wolf wearing? It’s never explained to us who this wolf was to her. It’s just a wolf. But this wolf was a person. And now she’s wearing its skin.

The Meh

So Jamack is here. That’s pretty much it. He finished his character arc when he joined Puck’s minstrel show and now he’s all smiles and buddy buddy and there’s not much else to say about him. I’m glad he was part of the final battle against Dr. Emilia, but by season 3, Jamack is just another ally. There’s no more of that redemption arc, which makes it feel slightly flat. For what we got, his redemption arc was alright, but the vast majority of it happens off screen, so unlike Hugo, it just doesn’t have that satisfying crunch.

So, ever since Mullholland, I’ve been under the impression that Wolf likes Kipo. Then with Kipo at the PRAHM very verbally saying she wishes Wolf was there, I thought maybe they were a ship? In the end, they verbalize having a sister-like relationship, which I totally get. I’m fine with it. That’s why it’s in the Meh section, not the bad stuff. But if they wanted to hammer home the sisters angle, having a character at a dance wishing the other was there doesn’t exactly send sibling energy.

I kind of wish we got to see how the first burrows got formed following the appearance of mutes. That would have been a nice thing to learn.

Final Thoughts

This show is probably in my top 10 cartoons of all time. It’s funny, colorful, the music is amazing, the characters are great, the villains steal the show, and it’s a good story. Is racism solved a little easily? Maybe, but A. it’s a kid’s show, and B. it’s kind of the whole point of the show. Unlike say Star Vs where it was a show about a princess who doesn’t want to be queen ohandalsomonsteracismiguess, this show’s core focus was on prejudice and racism. That was the forefront topic of the show. So, I’d say it sends an important lesson. I’d even go so far as to say it may be this generation’s Avatar. Is it as good as Avatar: the Last Airbender? Mmm no. But it’s damn good. Even with it’s flaws. I’d probably rate it about an 8.5 out of 10. So about a B+. Which is still really good. Does it have a few problems? Yes. Most shows do. It’s not perfect. But at the end of the day, it’s still a good show, and it has a LOT of rewatch potential, which is good for any show.

[androgynousblackbox]

I saw The Squid Game and here are thoughts (spoilers)

-First of all, maybe is my non korean ass being ignorant, but the shape they use through the entire thing to represent the Squid Game looks absolutely nothing like a squid and that has bothered me the entire time. I was waiting for someone to make sense of it and never happened. Was it just me? I was the only one who cared about the accurate representation of marine creatures through basic shapes? Yes? I am just being nitpicky? Okay.

-I already liked the actor who plays Jang Deok-su because of his role on another korean show, Beyond good and evil, that is an excelent mistery show I totally recommend, where he also plays as some kind of mafia lord that gets into trouble and is a little shit. Also he is hot as fuck, so that helps a lot. He was my personal favourite character right after Ali, a pakistan immigrant that was desperate to provide for his family, because Deok-su was such a fucking asshole that legitimately didn’t give a fuck about anything and that is always fun to see.

-And now that I mentioned him, Ali was too good for this fucking world and he didn’t deserved shit of what happened to him. Even before ever entering the game.

-The premise of this show is basically to contrast against how capitalism screws over people against basic kindness, which is antithesis to capitalism itself, and that i show we get to the final winner of the whole game. Now, there is a space to talk about how these type of stories could come across as kinda simplistic, but it doesn’t feel like the purpose of the show at all is to go out of it’s way to argue so much about this issue as just show the issue, show the consequences and talk about it within the context of a narrative.

-This is why my favourite episode of all has to be the one in which the majority of players decide to go home, after witnessing literal mass murder during the first game, only to realice life still fucking sucks for all of them and that is why they chose to participate on the first place. They still struggle to deal with the shit they did before, they still struggle to find money, even on circunstances in which nobody should have to fight so hard. It talks about a type of system that is so fundamentally broken and fucked up that it would really leave a diabetic elderly woman in pain to walk away to keep working simply because she doesn’t have the means to pay for her necesary treatment or even for her house if she doesn’t do that. -And sure, the reason why this happens is mostly because the protagonist had a gambling addiction that made him to waste all the money they did have, but ultimately he is not responsible for creating such hard conditions in the first place and the show goes out of it’s way to show different ways in which people are screwed over in ways they could have never had any control over, no matter how hard they worked. Some people chose to make their own mistakes and screw other people over, and they got to live with the results of that, but ultimately is all about the money and who has it, who gets it and who doesn’t, not about fairness or justice. So, when a big chunk realice that the outside world is just as hostile and unforgiving as before, they decide to come back because yeah, it’s hell, but at least they have a promise that things could turn better even if the cost is their own lives. Outside of the game they didn’t had not even that.

-I also really like how they contrasted the supposed principle behind the game against the actual structure of such, because at least I read it as a microcosmos representing the outside world as it is. Like of yeah, very fucking equal are people inside of this island where chain of command are still a thing, where they are still fucking pawns on someone’s else game whose rules they didn’t create or chose to, and where the people with the money literally laugh at their death because it’s that insignificant to them. Alright, yeah, keep telling youself that. But that is also the rationale outside, right? “Everyone has a chance to do better, if only you worked harder and keep trying surely you would be fine. Forget that the game was rigged against you from the start and don’t even fucking mind about the literal piles of bodies of nobodies that didn’t won like you did, because they didn’t worked as hard as you did. Don’t think too hard about it. Just keep working and then enjoy that money.” I don’t think you are meant to believe on that shit, but it’s what the Front Man tells himself to keep going. Everyone is equal… but some are more equal than others.

-On that sense it feels very reminiscent of the vibe that gave off Parasyte in it’s treatment of the same issue, so you can definitely enjoy it from that perspective or, if you don’t want to, can simply enjoy it as a entertaining, well made story about human drama and people literally struggling to survive, with some moments that will punch at your fucking heart and make you feel like shit as good stories tend to do.

-It’s a very aesthetically pleasing show, I can tell you that much. It’s not super artsy fartsy with a lot of symbolism going on, or maybe it was but it’s a cultural specific symbolism I didn’t catch on, but it’s still very competently made with a lot of just fucking beautiful shots in which every single frame matters and used with purpose. I don’t remember a single second that I was “why the fuck are you showing me this” because it’s actually what they DON’T show you what ends up mattering.

-Having said that, the show does have it’s twists and turns but they aren’t super difficult to not see coming if you pick up on how the show works. I wasn’t shocked by the ending because I had already seen the hows, they actually help you to come to it by going out of their way to always show you the dead bodies of past characters, so when they don’t actually do that it does stand out and if you pick on that then you can see it coming. So I personally wouldn’t recommend this show on the basis “the twist will surprise you!” because I don’t think that is right mindset to come into it. Come for the story and stay for the characters, that are all well worth it, not for the twists.

-The ending was an obvious cliff hanger for the next season, which I am fine with, but I also liked it because it kept consistent with the main character himself. Like sure, he does see how bullshit the whole game actually is, but it’s also, and this might be just my own interpretation, keeping up with what we have established already with him about having a gambling addiction because he genuelly enjoys the thrill. It’s not about the winning money, because if that were the case then he wouldn’t be immediately giving it away the second he has some, but just the winning and losing only to try again which keeps him going on. Also there is a tiny little implication that the man actually is using his gambling addiction as a consequences of untreated PTSD after watching his friend die during a protest like some form of self medication, since when he is losing or winning at least he is not having flashbacks or thinking how he tried to fight the system before one single time and it was all downhill from there. But that might be just my own intepretation again and not necesarily something they wanted to establish. In any case, that his entire character arc ends up being “he wins all the games for the first time… but at what cost” is still a very satisfactory one, so for him to be the only one to come back to play, hopefully so he can destroy it from within, is really the most interesting ending I could have imagined for him.

-I also really liked how they firmly established a narrative where some people come together through pure generosity (the group that the protagonist made) or through fear/intimidation (the group that Deok-su made). Every member from the first group comes to unite through little acts of kindness and then the protagonist just kept winning because they helped him out one way or another. He didn’t just won because he was the smartest, the most resilient or anything, but because he formed strong enough relationships with everyone to allow him keep advancing, showing another flaw of the game’s logic. See, because you are meant to work all on your own and be a lone wolf in wolf street and eliminate everyone that gets in your way, because that is supposed to be the only way you can “win”. But he doesn’t win like that, he literally just stumbled on with people he was nice to and then they were nice back to him until the end, where he kept betting on people being decent and end up winning the last bet.

-Of course, this winning doesn’tcover still for the great devide that exist between the protagonist and the men who put him through that hell. The comparison of the old man does between what a poor person with no money and a multimillionare have is fucking bullshit that rings hollow, because the poor person would have never have the power to do what they did to anyone and the things the poor person concern themselves with are note ven a thought for the powerful. But it makes sense that he thinks that way when he is literally an observer of the common people from a literal tower, safe by all the medical care that his money could get him. The biggest difference between him and the protagonist is that of looking at the value of human lives, and then their only point of connection is the love of games. The old man was looking at everyone losing their lives but he himself was never in any danger from it, so of course he got to just have a good time fooling everyone and playing around.

-Honestly, the more I think about it, fuck the old man, what a fucking dick.

-Until I see a dead body I won’t believe that the cop is dead, and I hope he isn’t because he and The Front Man have pending a long fucking conversation about what the fuck happened. It’s obvious that the Front Man has fully bought on the nonsense of the system, but the fact he still is pained for what he did to his brother could hint to him having a change of heart somehow that could be very interesting to see if well handled.

-The lady that was briefly with Deok-su was just mean. She and Deok-su made a good couple of two perfectly mesh dickheads, and I was actually kinda sad when they had to go but also thought it was the only appropiate ending for the both of them so, good job on that one.

-The way that the norkorean lady was finished was fucking bullshit though. Like, equal opportunities my cat, how the fuck is fair to make players play after recieving injuries from easily preventable hazzards made AFTER already beating a game? It would be like the doll detecting someone that someone still had a finger on the other side of the line and shooting it anyway even though the rest of the body was out. Like, they literally set that up in a way to hurt someone and they got what they wanted, but if different chunks of glass just perforated the skull of the three of them or something like that? Then there wouldn’t be any game for them to enjoy and no winner either.  All those richy rich richsons would have made their travel all the way there for fucking nothing. Yeah, it’s a very slim possibility but why even risk it like that so close to the finale? Narratively speaking I know why it happened, it makes sense because that allowed for the rest of the story to advance, but in-universe it really doesn’t and it was literally just to take her out of the way quick for the next plot point to take place. That was literally the only death that left me actually unsatisfied because it came out of nowhere, it wasn’t because of anything she did or could have prevented and it was so unceremonious. Like, you could have probably think some way for her to reach the same place without making so obvious you are pushing her there.

-She did looked very good on that suit, though. I wonder if the reason they gave her a suit and not a dress was because they never imagined that a woman could ever reach that far in the competition, because somehow I doubt they were specifically pushing for breaking gender norms. During a lot of the games everyone talks about how having women in your team is a disadvantage because strenght and “makes you look weak”, so I guess it makes sense that the people behind the game also had the same rationale and never even fucking bothered to get something new for her even when she turned out as a finalist. It would also explain why there is not a single employee on the entire island who is a woman, or at least none of the ones whose faces we actually get to see. Which I guess could work as another subtle evidence that despite all the posturing, there was never a “equal opportunity for all” sentiment behind any of it. The women were there literally assumed to be destined to fail from the very start. I hope that if that was the intention we get to explore a little bit of that on the next season.

-I have already seen some opinions about the show, so I might be alone on this one, but I appreciated the character of Sangwoo for what he was and how, despite all the bullshit he pulls, he is not all that evil like Deok-su and the mean lady. He genuelly helped Ali at the start without expecting anything in return because Ali helped the protagonist first, not even because he was the one getting the benefit himself, but he was also the man who turned himself into a criminal because he got greedy and wanted even more than the money he had. Like yeah, he was a selfish piece of shit, but he was allowed human moments and kept it interesting until the end. Also the actor was hot so that didn’t hurt.

-In conclusion: Ali was too good for this world.

If you enjoyed this sorta review, rambling or whatever this is about the show, and want to see more, consider supporting me through Ko-fi.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Beneath an Aurora Sky ch. 20

Summary: The South Pole Station is equipped for research and Edge has always made sure things run smoothly for the inhabitants. His charges are meant to follow his rules and regulations, and in turn, he makes sure they survive in the arctic temperatures. It takes plenty of hard work and determination and Edge, along with his crew, can handle both.

He wasn’t counting on one of the newest researchers. He wasn’t expecting Rus.

Tags: Spicyhoney, First Time, Arctic AU, Hurt/Comfort

~~*~~

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four

Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve

Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17

Chapter 18 | Chapter 19

~~*~~

Read Chapter 20 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

As Edge was walking towards the vehicle shed, he caught an acrid hint of cigarette smoke in the air. He followed it, not inside but around the back and sitting in the shadows of the halogen lights was Rus.

Edge could hardly disguise his approach, the crunch of his boots in the hard-packed snow would have carried in the still icy air long before he came around the corner. But Rus made no attempt to hide. He stayed where he was, a burning cigarette dangling from his gloved fingers as he gazed up at the aurora-filled sky.

He’d already been out here for some time while Edge and the others spoke with Toriel and Gaster. The cold would soon be seeping through his outdoor gear no matter how good it was, sinking its chill into Rus’s bones. Monsters felt the cold less than Humans did but they were by no means immune to it. They could be sickened, frostbitten, and some, like Alphys, tolerated it even less than Humans. As a skeleton, Rus’s endurance should match Edge and Red’s.

Then again, who knew the boundaries of a skeleton from an entirely other universe.

Edge sat down next to Rus, drawing up his knees to rest his arms on them. He looked up at the swirling aurora overhead, the blur of colors rippling together in tangled waves, a sky ocean born of solar particles colliding with the atmosphere.

“it’s so beautiful here.” Rus’s voice was almost too loud in the hush.

“Yes,” Edge agreed in a voice to match.

It was. His intention when they’d first arrived here was only to find a safe place for those in his care, Alphys and Undyne and his still-wounded brother, and later, for Bonnie. Somewhere they could be certain of their meals and shelter. Nothing more than a job to replace the one he lost with the guard and a feeble attempt at that.

He hadn’t expected to find beauty in the glacial whiteness, nor in the endless night sky. He never anticipated the satisfaction that came with seeing another group off, knowing he’d protected them and guided them through this dangerous beauty. He couldn’t have known how Undyne and Alphys would blossom here, both their love for each other and their lives, settling into their place. Or that Red would slowly find his own footing and perhaps he’d never adore the Humans that came here, but he had his own pride in his work, kept all the equipment in top form and helped Alphys in her designs for new additions for the station. And Bonnie, who’d come to them later and never discussed her own inner wounds, yet still seemed to be healing from them. Together they’d created a place of safety for them, a home.

Even after all that, he never could have braced himself for Rus. Who’d settle into their home like he belonged here, their missing puzzle piece. Only it seemed as if he’d come not from their picture, but an entirely different box.

“he told you, didn’t he.” It was impossible to tell if the fog of Rus’s breath was from the cold or the cigarette.

Edge said nothing. His promise to Toriel specified he couldn’t reveal what they’d spoken about. It did not preclude discussing it at all and he only waited as Rus chuckled bitterly, filling in the silence on his own.

“it’s funny,” Rus drawled, flicking ash into the snow, “i came all the way to the end of the world to escape my past and it still came after me.”

Edge thought of Toriel, currently cramped into one of the spare rooms and probably trying not to scrape her horns against the ceiling. “I know the feeling.”

“yeah, i know,” Rus said, grimacing, “i’m sorry. part of the deal of tori sponsoring me was i’d keep mum about back home. i promised.”

“I understand.”

“yeah, well, if i’d known they were gonna pop in unexpectedly, i would’ve warned you about that much, anyway.” Rus’s expression crumpled slightly, going brittle around the edges. “look, i love tori, she’s been nothing but good to me. moms her way into everything. but you guys got your reasons to not want her around, i get that.”

“Rus,” the cloud of his own breath briefly obscured his vision as Edge sighed, “even if they are here because of you, that doesn’t make it your fault.”

“doesn’t it? think what pissed me off most is i know dings is right,” Rus murmured. “he’s can be a little rough saying it, but he means well.”

The resignation in Rus’s voice made Edge bristle, “He accused you of being nothing more than a key made for a particular lock.”

“truth hurts.” It was startling to realize how he’d categorized Rus’s smiles in his own head, the bright, fake one and the softer, shyer truthful one that came with a measure of trust. This one was entirely new, tainted with deep bitterness, “bet big brother didn’t fill in the details, so let me give you the highlights of our family tree.”

“see, our pop was the royal scientist in our world, the real deal. i call him pop, but that’s mostly because it annoyed him. he wasn’t really our father, he was a dna donor. he didn’t even name us, we named ourselves.” Rus was sitting right next to Edge here in the deep cold and still seemed miles away, no, not miles, he was in another world entirely. “dings took his name. not like he really knew there were many options past that or just getting called number one. just as well, i guess, looks more like him than me or blue. dings named blue and they both named me.”

He slanted a glance at Edge, his bright eye lights dimmed behind his goggles. “dings was still really young when blue popped out, what did he know about names? baby bro’s magic was blue, so that’s what he went with. i came a few more years down the line and by then, they’d raided the librarby and found out that papyrus is a traditional skeleton monster name.” He chuckled then, some of the bitterness of his smile invading the sound. “like anything about us was traditional.”

“we were his own personal test tube babies, homegrown like fucking cabbages, and gaster made us to fulfill a specific role. see, the core was important work, sure, but what he was really trying to do was make a machine that could get us past the shield. turns out, third time is the charm for our old man. he made dings and blue first but neither of them could use void magic. i was his hail mary, his last shot, and whaddaya know, it worked.” Rus scowled, tamped out his burning butt into the snow. He dropped it into his little tin and lit another, inhaling deeply and breathing out a cloud of smoke. “he never let me forget what i was for, but dings and blue always tried to be the best brothers they could. after pops kacked, it wasn’t until dings got that machine working that it even came up again.” He shrugged, barely visible through the layers of his heavy coat. “i got to forget for a while, at least.”

Edge said nothing, what could he say? His childhood was hardly one ease and joy; it more resembled the fairy tales that Red sometimes read to him when he still the shorter of the two, listening with wide sockets to gruesome tales that seemed all too possible. It seemed Rus had his own experiences with a sort of wicked stepfather and it was every bit as terrible as those stories. The urge to pull him close, to keep him safe, was itching in Edge and he forcibly held it back, let Rus tell his story.

“i never expected the machine to actually work,” Rus admitted. “dings was messing with it for so long. then we were here. my bro was only supposed to talk to the royal scientist and we were gonna hightail it back. easy peasy lemon squeezy.” Rus chuckled darkly, “turned out the lemonade was too sour after all. dings was pretty upset to find out the guy he was looking for was gone and so was his successor.”

Rus’s smile eased into something warmer, familiar, “it was tori who got me to start studying, you know. my bros always kept me on a tight leash back home, it was dangerous to even go outside, but here? i went out, tried to make some friends, ended up sleeping around some. wasted time,” Rus admitted, “tori suggested i work on my degree. i didn’t see the point at first, our pop always told us our purpose. i was there to power the machine. but, tori has this thing about being everyone’s mom.”

“Indeed, she does,” Edge murmured, recalling his days imprisoned after the coup, with good meals and care instead of execution.

“i think maybe that’s why she’s such a good queen. she told me pops was wrong,” Rus laughed a little in a puff of smokey breath and shook his head. “told me he was an asshole, actually, and that i deserved to have what i wanted out of life.”

“we argued about it, me and dings. drove blue nuts. blue was…he was the failure, pops said. at least dings was a scientist, but blue couldn’t even manage that. dings always told him his purpose was to be our caretaker and he tried damn hard at it.” Rus sighed, dropping his head back against the shed siding with a muffled thunk, “he hates it when we fight.”

“But you did it,” Edge said softly, “you got your degree, you’re working on your PhD and you’re doing a good job of it, at that.” Even through the growing cold he felt an inner warmth at the smile Rus flashed him, the real one.

“i did. i got so close.” Rus’s voice broke slightly, “things were horrible when we left, i can’t even imagine how they are now. and dings, he needs to fix the core. that was the skill that was built into him.” His smile soured back into bitterness, “it’s a compulsion, i don’t think he can help it. he has to be better than our pop. he has to be the one to save us all. blue believes everyone is worth saving, but he’s a protector, and me? i’m just a battery. i was never meant to have any of this.”

A honey-tinted tear slipped out from beneath his goggles and wound its way down, slowly freezing against the chilled bone of Rus’s skull and Edge’s control broke. He crawled across the short distance between them, scuffled through the snow and pulled Rus into his arms. He held on briefly, achingly tight before drawing back far enough to shake him, a little, and Rus looked at him with wide, startled eye lights.

“You are more than simply your father’s intentions,” Edge told him fiercely. “You’re brilliant and kind, and…and funny…wonderful…” He choked, unable to express the wild emotions burning in his soul; if there were words for it, Edge did not know them. Love was too shallow a word, too small, it couldn’t possibly hold everything Edge was feeling, all of it strangled in grief.

Rus reached up and his gloved fingers were gentle against Edge’s cheekbone. “it’s okay,” he said, softly, “i always knew we’d have to go back. i got to see this. i got to be with you. it’s okay,” he said again, crooned it, as if Edge were the one in pain. Perhaps he was, his soul ached as fiercely as if it was threatening to crack. “i saw so much here on the surface. i got to see the stars, i got to come here and see this.” He looked up at the sky, at the brilliant colors still churning within it along with a million twinkling lights looking down on them. “i was never going to get to stay, but i got to see this.”

“It’s not enough,” Edge said hoarsely. Not enough, Rus was supposed to leave here and go back into the sun, and instead, he was going where Edge could never follow, couldn’t protect him, and again, Edge would have given a portion of his own grieving soul not to see that sadness infecting Rus’s smile.

“i love you, you know,” Rus told him, achingly soft. “i know it’s not fair to tell you now, but i can’t keep it to myself. i need you to know it.”

Edge closed his sockets, shutting out Rus’s face and the aurora, saw only blackness and it wasn’t the cold that sent a tremor through him. Then he opened them again, looked into Rus’s face and saw the truth of it, the yearning. And the hopelessness. The need to say it back burned, words already forming on his tongue, but instead Edge blurted, “Stay the two weeks.”

Rus blinked, startled. That was clearly not the reaction he expected to his quiet confession, “but, the people—"

“It’s been two years,” Edge countered, “two weeks means nothing to your world and everything to you. Don’t let your brother’s compulsion drive you. Toriel—"

He almost said she was on his side, couldn’t, his knowledge was gleaned from their talk and words already thickening in his throat, his promise threatening to choke him when Rus kissed him softly, stopping him.

“i can guess about tori,” Rus said quietly, then, softer, “two more weeks.” He looked up again and even behind his goggles, the auroras couldn’t match the soft beauty of his eye lights. “there’s no stars back home. i’m gonna miss them.”

He fell silent, leaning against Edge’s side. Edge wrapped an arm around him and pulled Rus in closer, holding him tightly through the layers of his coat. He was starting to shiver; they were both getting too cold and he was about to suggest they move into the vehicle shed at the very least when Rus spoke again.

“it got so bad towards the end,” Rus whispered, “we stayed holed up in the lab, mostly, but we could see what was happening. monsters were getting more violent, losing control, gaining lv. pops’ diagrams on the core were incomplete. it was dings’s idea to come to another world and check theirs. i had to come, of course and we couldn’t leave Blue alone, so we all came.”

Rus kicked one booted foot idly, scraping up snow with his heel. “s’weird. even the snow is different here. back home it seems…stale somehow. used. maybe it’ll be better when dings gets the core up and running.” Rus sighed. “i never would have come to the station if i’d thought he was close to a breakthrough. it’s weird, i thought i had enough time.” Rus drew back a little, looking at Edge with that soft smile back in place. “but it sure wasn’t a waste.”

Almost, Edge kissed him again, hesitated with their mouths a breath away. Something about what Rus said niggled, something… “Weird.”

“heh,” Rus chuckled, “it’s double weird hearing you say weird. doesn’t seem like your kind of slang, bossman.”

Edge barely heard him. His brother had a breakthrough on the core, Rus said, an unexpected breakthrough. Edge cursed himself, replaying what Rus told him. He'd been foolishly focused on the information about Rus and why they were here, not on what changed to bring them to the station.

"What was your brother studying, exactly?” Edge demanded. He took Rus’s shoulders in both gloved hands, holding him, “You said he was looking for information about the Core."

Rus blinked uncertainly, his browbone furrowing, “um, papers, mostly. tori has lots of stuff from the old royal scientist, dings was wading through tons of it. i didn’t see much, he didn’t want any help. he was afraid we’d miss something. guess he found what he was looking for.”

“Yes, I think he did,” Edge said sourly, “A patsy.” Edge climbed to his feet and held out a hand to help Rus, “I’d like to know what was in those notes your brother found and I think we should ask the former royal scientist.”

“what?” Rus wobbled for a second, catching his balance after sitting for so long, “seriously? you think they’d talk to you? tori said they don’t—

“I should hope so,” Edge said, dryly, “she’s in her lab.” And very likely watching them on her cameras.

Rus went still, croaking out, “alphys??”

“You didn’t know?” Edge slanted Rus a look, but he believed him.

“no!” Rus spluttered, already heading back towards the station, Edge trailing after him. “tori didn’t talk about it, i didn’t even think to ask anyone else, why would i?”

“Maybe your brother isn’t as discriminating,” Edge said, under his breath, letting the wind tear the words away. It was more than a little suspicious that his brother solved the issue of core technology when Rus was in the only place that possessed a replica of the original. Edge didn’t believe in coincidence.

“Rus,” Edge jogged to catch up, taking hold of Rus’s elbow to stop him as he asked, “Do you trust me?”

“yes,” Rus said, unhesitatingly.

“I trust you, too,” Edge said, softly, and leaned in to give him a brief, chilly kiss. “Come on. You’re freezing and I have questions.”

“you’re the boss,” Rus said. It was only a shadow of his normally teasing self, but it was something. He took Rus’s gloved hand in his own and together, they made their way to the main building.

tbc

[iammultifandomaf]

Once a Leader, Always a Leader

Fan Fiction: Sweet Home Netflix

Chapter 6 - TRUST ME

Hyun-Su was now with Jung Ui-Myeong who was using Pyeon Sang-Wook's body about over two weeks.

What Ui-Myeong was telling Hyun-Su kind of made sense. They are evolved monster that can be superior to plain humans and that's why humans want them dead. However, Hyun-Su couldn't get on board with all the killing. At least the killing humans part.

"Look, we can spend a night here," Ui-Myeong said, looking around the dark lobby, "and then continue. I heard that in North Korea it's roaming with monsters. We should head there and look for people like us."

Hyun-Su didn't answer and leaned against the reception's desk. Did he really want to go with this man?

"How do you know about North Korea?" he finally asked.

"Oh, that's simple. I overheard it when the army was doing tests on me. No human dares to go there now, they just left it deserted."

"Hm."

"What's with you? You are the future! Stop making that sad face."

"I am not sad."

"What are you then?"

Hyun-Su watched the hole in front of him where probably used to be an entrance door before. It made him sick that Ui-Myeong used Pyeon Sang-Wook's body as a puppet. People shouldn't be treated like that.

"You said that Pyeon Sang-Wook was dead when you took over his body?" Hyun-Su changed the topic.

"We went over this... He was barely conscious... he would've died anyways."

"Hm," Hyun-Su glanced at Ui-Myeong and then looked back at the hole in the wall. However, this time, he had to blink a few times to be sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Lee Eun-Hyuk?" he whispered at the sight of the young man and behind him, Eun-Yu, Ji-Su, Hye-In and even the children.

"Hyun-Su!" Eun-Yu cried out at the sight of him and wanted to go to him but her brother's arm stopped her.

"Wait," he said quietly and approached Ui-Myeong, looking him in the eyes.

"What do you want?" Ui-Myeong said annoyed and watched the young man in front of him.

"You should get out of him, he doesn't want you in there," Eun-Hyuk said and with a quick movement, laid his fingers on Ui-Myeong's temples.

"The fuck you think you are doing?" Ui-Myeong bursted out and thursted a thorn out of his body, piercing Eun-Hyuk through.

"No!" Hyun-Su, Eun-Yu and Ji-Su screamed out unianimously while Hye-In hugged the children so they wouldn't see what's happening.

"Get. Out," Eun-Hyuk commanded through his teeth, feeling a small stream of blood flowing from the mouth down his chin. Ui-Myeong's eyes rolled back and he shrieked in pain but quickly breathed in and gave Eun-Hyuk a smug look.

"Then I'll just take you," Ui-Meyong's voice was distorted and made Yeong-Su burst in tears. Then, the thorn stuck in Eun-Hyuk's core turned into a bloody-looking goo that made its way inside of Eun-Hyuk.

Sang-Wook collapsed on the floor with a thud. Eun-Hyuk immediately threw out a boutiful amount of blood and fell to his knees, feeling the strange presence in his body, trying to take over somehow.

"Fucking fight that bastard!" Eun-Yu run to her brother, standing by his side in uncertainity. "Why would you go off with such a crazy asshole?!" she glanced at Hyun-Su who watched the scene with an open mouth.

"I... I-" he tried to create some words but the amount of blood that came from Eun-Hyuk was the only thing he could've focused on.

"He's killing him don't you see that?!" Eun-Yu screamed at Hyun-Su in tears.

"What's happening?" suddenly Sang-Wook's confused voice popped into all the chaos. His eyes fell on Eun-Hyuk who was grunting in pain, punching the floor as he resisted Ui-Meyong.

Calm down. You have the upper hand. He caged himself in your body. You can crush him, Eun-Hyuk thought and took a deep breath in which was followed by the monstrous scream that make the whole lobby shake and the mirrors shatter. Hyun-Su fell down next to Sang-Wook who seemed to have pure terror in eyes that have turned its color to pitch black. Hyun-Su laid his head on his knees and covered his ears with his palms, trembling.

Even the humans were somehow frozen on the spot, enduring the eartearing holler barely.

Finally, it was over. Eun-Hyuk clumsily stood up, his body changing into the 2,5 m (8,2 ft) creature.

"Fuck," Eun-Hyuk swore, feeling an instant relief from that previous pain and tension. His eyes flew over the room, noticing how his scream impacted the others.

"Uhm, good call with the clothes," he tried to chuckle but that only reminded him of the drying blood in his mouth. The sweatpants were now a bit tighter as well as the T-Shirt, but nothing besides the hole from the thorn ripped.

"Hah, yeah," Ji-Su reacted with a weak voice and slowly sat down on the cold floor. Eun-Hyuk looked at Eun-Yu who had wrapped her arms around her and stared into the floor.

"Damn," Eun-Hyuk sighed and turned around to face Hyun-Su and Sang-Wook who were still stuck in the same positions as before. Eun-Hyuk approached them and sat down on his haunches.

"Hey," he said softly and put his hand, raising their heads to look at him, "look at me."

They obeyed but it didn't seem that they did so voluntarily.

"Listen," he said as he cuppped their cheeks, "you're safe now, okay? I am not going to hurt you."

Hyun-Su's eyes turned back to his human irises and a stream of tears started flowing down his face. He was now able to take in who was sitting in front of him.

"Eun-Hyuk?" he whimpered.

"Yeah," Eun-Hyuk said calmly and glanced back at Sang-Wook who seemed to have gotten out of the shock as well and laid his hand on Eun-Hyuk's.

"Are you alright?" Eun-Hyuk asked and put his hands down.

"What the fuck was that?" Sang-Wook said shortly.

"You're a monster, too?" Hyun-Su asked quietly, noticing the lack of hole in Eun-Hyuk's chest. He only nodded and let himself turn back to his human form.

Yeong-Su and Su-Yeong suddenly hurried to Hyun-Su and fell into his arms.

"We missed you!" Su-Yeong exclaimed.

"Oh, I missed you, too," Hyun-Su said sadly.

"What happened to the asshole?" Eun-Yu wondered and looked at the hole in the T-shirt where underneath was only a human chest covered in blood but with no wound.

"I did the same like with the others," Eun-Hyuk answered.

"What does that mean?" Sang-Wook asked wearily as he rose to his feet.

"He eats monsters," Hye-In explained from behind.

"You do what?" Hyun-Su asked, his eyes wide.

"He's superior to monsters. He can destroy them by eating them! And apparently, he's superior to evolved ones, too," Ji-Su said.

"Will you eat me?" Hyun-Su asked quietly, looking down at his hands. He knew that after his monstrous side finally got out, he temporarily forgot what had happened, but it slowly came back to him in small shards. And what he remembered wasn't anything good. He was closed in a secluded room and he always obeyed Eun-Hyuk's orders until that one day when Hyun-Su said that he won't be bossed around anymore. Could that backfire now?

Eun-Hyuk closed in to Hyun-Su which made him flinch away. The children were holding Hyun-Su tightly as if defending him against Eun-Hyuk. But Eun-Hyuk only placed his hand on Hyun-Su's hair.

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would I do that?" Eun-Hyuk said.

"I... I defied you. And went with Ui-Meyong."

"So what. You had no obligations to me."

Hyun-Su looked up, noticing that Eun-Hyuk's face that always carried an expressionless mask was now filled with compassion.

Eun-Hyuk didn't know, though, that after the scream affected the other monsters would let him enter their minds if he touched them. And so accidently, he saw flashes of Hyun-Su's broken memories - the bullying, the hopelessness after his family died, the suicidal thoughts.

Eun-Hyuk's eyes slowly became glassy so he put his hand down and looked away.

"Let's be a team, hm?" Eun-Hyuk suggested, blinking away his tears and looking back at that broken boy in front of him. Hyun-Su raised his head, his lips parted a bit as he was thinking of an answer.

"A team?" Sang-Wook answered instead.

"Yeah," Eun-Hyuk said, looking at Sang-Wook, "we have s few humans around that need protecting. I am not sure if they haven't turned just because they didn't properly get into contact with this... infection. Or if they are simply immune to it. Be it as it may... You two also need to figure out how it works. We can't get random uncontrolled transformations."

"So, you know how to control yours?" Ji-Su asked.

"Hopefully... At least for now it seems clearer to me," he said and raised his hand to let everyone see it change into the clawed form and then return to normal, "but I can't make any promises. I guess if a moment comes that I'd be uncertain of my sanity or anything... I have to tell you right away so we can plan accordingly... and if necessary... get rid of me."

"What?" Eun-Yu rose her voice.

"How would we get rid of you? You just received an enormous injury and now you look as if nothing happened," Hye-In noted.

"That's true... that could be a problem," Eun-Hyuk admitted.

"Can we please not talk about killing you and focus on survival?" Eun-Yu said annoyed and furrowed her brows at her brother.

"Sorry," Eun-Hyuk apologized and walked to Eun-Yu, putting his arm around her shoulders who surprisingly didn't shake him off and just stood there, stubborningly looking away.

"Another thing... we should probably get a different vehicle. Maybe like a caravan if we're planning on traveling a lot."

"Where do you want to find a caravan?" Hye-In wondered. "We were lucky to get our hands on this van," she said and walked over to the children who were still holding onto Hyun-Su.

"There has to be some abandoned shop... We can't be squeezing in that van for a long time," Eun-Hyuk said.

"I actually know a place. They resold used vehicles... I guess some cars could still be there in one piece," Sang-Wook said.

"Hm." Eun-Hyuk looked at Sang-Wook who kept his cool as always and walked to him which made Sang-Wook take a step back.

"What are you doing?" Sang-Wook said on alert.

"Nothing. How are you feeling?" Eun-Hyuk asked curiously, sensing Sang-Wook's nervosity that wasn't only caused by Eun-Hyuk's strange behavior.

"I am fine," Sang-Wook answered shortly, "why are you so weird about it?"

"I am sorry," Eun-Hyuk awkwardly chuckled and scratched the back of his head, "it's just this sixth sense I am dealing with lately. But if you have something to let out, better do it here than in the van with little space, what do you say?"

"What are you talking about?" Ji-Su wondered.

"I think that him being possessed postponed any transformations. That means it's all stuffed inside of him and he's barely holding it together-"

"So, you are now an expert in monsters? Or what?" Sang-Wook said, his tone being on edge.

"I wouldn't say an expert...-"

"I don't want to become a mindless monster! Of course I am trying-," Sang-Wook paused as he felt heat rising within him, "I am trying to hold it together."

"Yeah, I know. You'll be fine, though. Like Hyun-Su," Eun-Hyuk answered calmly.

"How do you know?!" Sang-Wook bursted out on him, his eyes changing color.

Eun-Hyuk also wasn't sure how he knew. He was somewhat aware of the fact that if he's there while Sang-Wook turns, he'll be able to keep him somewhat by his senses.

Everyone else in the lobby watched the two silently, as if any noise could've had destructive consequences and Hye-In tried to comfort the children as quietly as she could since they were uneasy from the whole situation.

"Trust me in this," Eun-Hyuk said and grabbed Sang-Wook's hand tightly, pulling him closer.

"Let me go!" Sang-Wook said angrily as his body twiched and its surface slowly changed from human skin to a wrinkly one with wounds that seemed to have produced some liquid. Eun-Hyuk held onto Song-Wook's hand during the whole process, having a short glimpse into yet another painful set of memories.

"Look at me," Eun-Hyuk said strictly when Sang-Wook's change came to a finish. Sang-Wook's black eyes landed at Eun-Hyuk's face in anticipation.

"Good," Eun-Hyuk said and laid Song-Wook's hand he had been holding on his chest and put his own hands on Song-Wook's temples, "it'll be alright. Just listen to my voice. You have control over this and you can change whenever you want. Hm? Yeah, that's right."

Song-Wook's skin was returning to his human one once again until he was back to himself, watching Eun-Hyuk in awe.

"How did you do that?" Hyun-Su asked in amazement, "it went so smoothly..."

"I don't want to make any premature conclusions," Eun-Hyuk said, taking down his hands from Song-Wook's head, "but I think that when a monster hears the... scream, or however you want to call it... then... they somehow do what I want."

"What?" Eun-Yu spat out of herself.

"So... you can make us whatever you want us to do? Even against our will?" Hyun-Su said, anxiety rising in his voice.

"It would seem so," Eun-Hyuk confirmed and raised his palms in defense, "I know... it's a bit of a moral dilemma. I can tell you that I won't misuse it but let's be frank. I do not know what lies ahead of us-"

"If I am a danger to somebody, then you can do whatever you want to stop me," Hyun-Su interrupted.

"Hm, I guess, same here," Song-Wook added, "if we get a say in this..."

"That makes you pretty dangerous," Ji-Su said, "we should keep it as a secret. Just imagine if the army found out..."

"The army would be stupid if they wanted to kill him!" Eun-Yu cried out, "and even if... you'd survive it, right?" she looked at her brother who gave her a small smile in return and said: "I promised that I'll come back, didn't I? Then I'll always come back."

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13825734/6/

[parjiljehavey]

Lost Shadows Left Behind ii

Summary: Dante meddles, once again. Hopefully, the results are what Nero is after.

I

Read on AO3 for details notes at the end!

3rd of May, 1:43pm

One year, ten months and eighteen days after the events of Redgrave City

—————————————————————-

It had been some months since Vergil had divulged the name of the woman who had clearly ensnared his heart. Things had improved between Nero and Vergil; they were actually starting to bond, sometimes at Dante’s expense, but hey, Dante was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Dante’s brother had gone off on his own for a hunt, heading over to Siberia after they'd gotten word that locals were claiming vampires were running around several villages. 

Vergil went because Dante didn't speak Russian; he only knew Spanish, Latin, and Italian with a smattering of German; mostly because Dante had liked how foul language sounded in German. Vergil, on the other hand, was a damn polyglot.

Nero had called off and on, busy with the mobile branch and the kids he and Kyrie were raising. Last time Dante had talked to Vergil, the elder twin had actually gotten a letter from Nero with a post script calling him an asshole for forcing Nero to write an actual letter like it was the 19th century because Vergil didn’t have a cellphone.

Vergil, of course, went out and bought the cheapest cell phone he could find after receiving it. Dante had been wheezing for air over Vergil’s grumbling over technology and uncooperative locals. The phone number scribbled on a piece that Dante handed to Nero was met with a nose wrinkled with disgust after the kid had racked the balls for a game of pool. Nothing like a game of pool after pizza, in Dante's opinion.

"Dante, a three year old can write better than this."

"Hey! That's not anyway to thank your amazing uncle for writing down your old man's new phone number. Especially when said uncle is letting you drink his beer." Dante was grinning despite the reprimand. Nero took a drink from one of said beers, raising an eyebrow. "Don't text him by the way. Stick with phone calls; he's still figuring out how to play Tetris on the piece of crap he got. Wait until he gets a smart phone for texting." He broke the rack. A stripe went in. "Solids are yours."

"You mean like the one you broke by falling into a river?" The kid was leaning on his cue, watching as Dante lined up another shot.

"I was thrown into that river, you little punk. I didn't go out that day looking for a swim. If I wanted to go swimming, I would have packed my broad shorts." Dante could have cleared the table if he had wanted to; but this was bonding time with his nephew, so he intentionally messed up his shot.

Nero gave him a look that conveyed that he knew what Dante was doing as the kid set down his beer next to Dante's own to circle the table for a good shot. After pocketing one, Nero did the same thing Dante had and missed on purpose. They fell into a good silence; the crack of the cues hitting the balls as they took turns making their shoots.

“How’s the search for momma doin’?”

Nero grunted, clearing not happy. Oh, he knew that look. It struck Dante for not the first time that this was Vergil’s son and they made similar facial expressions. Dante sighed. “Alright kid, spill it. Tell Uncle Dante what’s buggin’ ya.”

Nero snorted, as he always did when Dante called himself ‘Uncle Dante’ in a conversation. Dante waited, taking his time with his next shot to give the kid some time to get his thoughts into order.

“There’s only two women that it could be. One died in ‘94 and the other disappeared a month or so after I was born. The problem is that the woman who died was a nun; the Spardan nuns took their vows of chastity seriously and very rarely left the convent’s tower. When they did, it was documented for what reason and when, right down to the time. None of the nuns left the tower around the time Vergil would have been in Fortuna.”

Dante leaned against the table, twirling the cue stick in his hand. The kid was pacing, not even paying attention that it was his turn now. “So that leaves the one who disappeared, right? Where’s the problem there?”

“The problem is that she didn’t disappear in Fortuna. There was a group that helped those who became disillusioned with Sanctus get to the mainland; to start over. The majority of that group was... eliminated. A surviving member recalls taking a woman to the mainland shortly after I was born.” Nero trailed off, scowling as his grip tightened around the cue. Dante could hear the wood beginning to creak.

“Nero.”

“What?”

“Wanna put the stick down before ya break it?” Nero looked at the stick and set it down on the table after a moment. When his nephew remained silent, Dante sighed. This kid was too much like his old man sometimes. “I take it the trail went cold after she hit the mainland?”

Nero sighed, moving to sit down heavily on the new couch Vergil had gotten for the office. The old one had kicked the bucket finally while Dante was taking a nap, making Vergil actually laugh. Nero eventually nodded, head in his hands. “The trail went cold when she arrived in Genoa. There’s literally nothing left to go on.”

The earlier anger that the kid had was gone and now he was just deflated. Dante really didn't know what to do or say; so he did what he did best. He created a distraction by knocking the beers from their perch on the table. Nero snorted despite himself; kid probably knew what Dante was trying to do but if the kid was laughing, Dante'd take it. Dante looked at the mess on the floor, sighing. He shrugged, “Wanna get us some new ones while I clean this up?”

“Actually wipe it up, Dante. Putting the rug over it doesn't count.”

“What if I roll Vergil's chair through it? The wheels getting gummed up will annoy him.”

“Dante!”

—————————————————————-

3rd of May, 3:32pm

—————————————————————-

Dante stared up at the ceiling above his desk, processing everything from the past few hours. Nero had volunteered to go pick up pizza, and Dante was sure that it was both for the kid to clear his head and to talk to Kyrie without Dante teasing him too much for it. Dante really didn’t want to make a habit of meddling in affairs that weren’t his (First giving Vergil a kick in the ass about Nero's mom and now this?), but this was for family right? 

Family helped family when said family needed help. Dante picked up the phone and dialed one of the numbers that he pretty much knew by heart now.

“Hey Morrison! I want to know if you can dig up some information on somebody for me. You can have whatever you want.”

Got a name?

“Yeah, Lucrecia.”

Lucrecia? Dante heard the information broker repeat it several times under his breath and then heard a rustle of paper.

“From what I understand, she arrived on the mainland sometime in the nineties from Fortuna, ended up in Genoa. Trail went cold on our end of things there.”

Lucrecia Capello?

“Dunno. Never got her last name, if she had one. Why?”

I’m thinking that the Lucrecia you’re looking for is the same one I’ve got in mind. Remember that coalition that formed about ten years ago?

“Yeah? What about it?” Dante remembered it; some hunters pulled together to train up new hunters in a manner that meant less of them dying on their first couple of hunts as greenhorns and a more accessible list of jobs. Readily available backup and access to an arsenal of weapons were big enough bonuses that had a lot of human hunters signing up.

They had extended an offer for him to join when the coalition had first formed, one that still stood because he never responded one way or the other. Lady had actually considered joining up, but Dante couldn’t remember if anything came of that or not.

She’s part of it. One of their top ranged hunters, as it turns out.

“Ranged as in what? Bazooka?” Explosives were a popular choice amongst human hunters.

No, son. Sniper on the rooftops. She can shoot doublets .

Dante let out a low whistle. Doublets, as it was called amongst sharpshooters, was two shots hitting two targets in quick succession. Very impressive. “Where is she right now?”

Got that right here, son. ‘Bout a hundred miles up north of you last I heard; been there for a while actually. I believe she’s training a new hunter; took on a couple C rank jobs off my hands. Want her number?

“You mind?”

Nah. It’s for your nephew ain’t it?

“There’s nothing that gets past you is there Morrison?”

Afraid not.

—————————————————————-

4th of May, 7:38am

—————————————————————-

One year, ten months and nineteen days after the events of Redgrave City

For the second time in just as many days, Dante had given him a phone number. His uncle had handed him a piece of paper with a grin after Nero had come back with the pizza, stole a couple slices and went off on a hunt. All the hunter had said was, “Think this might be the woman you’re looking for, champ.” and out the door he went for a job. Nero looked at the number again, scrawled in Dante’s horrendous handwriting. 

It had taken Nero hitting a This number has been disconnected message twice before he realized that Dante’s nines were written like fours. Seriously, the five year old Nero and Kyrie were raising could write better than this. Nero grumbled, leg twitching as he listened to the phone finally dial.

Password?

“Are you Lucrecia Capello?” Jeez, it was hard to talk. It felt like he was swallowing his tongue.

Depends on who’s asking. Do you have the password? The voice was melodic, with a dry wit.

“No. Listen, this isn’t about a hunt.” There was a snort on the other line. “Don’t hang up! My name is Nero. I-” He cleared his throat, “There’s no easy way to say this. I think I’m your son.”

...When were you born?

“September 19th, 1992.” The sound of a sharp inhale.

And where were you born?

“I’m sorry?”

Where were you born?

“Fortuna.”

The other line was silent for several long moments, and Nero would’ve thought the call had been disconnected if he wasn’t able to pick up the sound of choppy breathing and someone in the background asking if something was wrong. Nero jumped when he heard a door slam shut. He thought he could hear a racing heartbeat; he didn’t know if it was from the other line or his own. It was just now hitting him that he was more than likely speaking to his mother.

“Hello?”

What would be a good time and place to meet, Nero?

—————————————————————-

tagging: @queenmuzz and @starrymindgurl

[lavendertwilight89]

White Day #2! Let Me Go

this one is just a fluffer-noodle :)

@clearwillow

Why did she bother to go to school—how had she thought she could have actually focused after the fight she had with that thick-headed, jealous, jerk, loud-mouth, controlling, possessive, idiot Inuyasha? Sigh… mind you, she knew that he reacted probably as a louder version of herself if their roles had been reversed…if Kikyo had kissed him—rewind—Koga kissed her. Not that she admitted it was her fault, because she would argue she wasn’t asking for it, but she also didn’t try to stop it. If she’d been as forceful as she probably should have been, it wouldn’t have been too late to stop the crashing train of doom.

Inuyasha had been hard pressed in a sit command and she wasn’t paying attention to Koga at all; she had been more gauging when the command would wear off of Inuyasha than to what Koga was saying and do when she had turned her head back to ask him what he was talking about when their lips met… She had squealed, one of which made Inuyasha turn his head away (she knew that was a terrible sign), their friends gasp in shock, and Koga try to dive in more to which she pulled back and finally was able to push him away. She tried to chastise him, waiting for Inuyasha to take over for her –you know, protect her honor, claim she was his ‘jewel shard detector’, threaten he was going to kill him—but had only been met from silence from the half-dog demon… That was terrible sign number two.

When Koga ran off, having had the audacity of calling her shy and what-not saying he’d return to give her more of a taste of their mated life later, she turned to Inuyasha who was had already stood and was walking away. Their friends stood there and watched as she tried to approach him. He growled a low warning growl telling her to back off, but, let’s face it, she NEVER listened. She grabbed his haori and he shook her off harshly turning to face her. His face was filled with hurt and anger…

“Why are you looking at me like that, Inuyasha?”

“Why are you even here? Clearly you have other things to do and people to be with. Just go already. I don’t need you to hang around me out of pity,” he said dejectedly but his voice was full of annoyance.

“Inuyasha! I’m not with you out of pity! We have a mission!”

“Whatever. I don’t need your help anymore. I’ll find the shards and kill Naraku without your help. You only slow me down anyway.”  

The weather reflected her mood. Raining. Grey sky. No life in sight. She had also forgotten today was White Day. Mind you, she only gave chocolate to her friends (specifically no guys *cough cough* Hojo *cough cough*) because she hadn’t wanted anything in return. She only wanted one guys love and attention… but he had sent her away… with her heart broken. She had to restrain herself from crying at school. She was devasted.

He had taken off leaving her and the others to wonder what had happened... Kagome had been reluctant to share her thoughts or even talk about when they go back to the village. They assured her the half-demon would calm down and return. She told them she would be back in a couple days; she just needed some time to figure things out… that was a week ago. She couldn’t force herself to visit. To ask if he came back…

He went to be with Kikyo. She knew it. She was the only other person that could sense jewel shards and of course, since she was ‘distracted’ or whatever, he would go pick up where they left off. That left Kagome… sad, heartbroken, angered, alone, terrified… an outsider in the time she wasn’t from, fighting a battle she was directly involved in. An outcast in a time she was from but no longer felt like she belonged. Stranded.

Her thoughts were cut off by the crack of thunder. Great… now my walk home is going to be such a cliché. I didn’t even bring an umbrella...

She got to her locker and exchanged her white sneakers for her brown clogs. She gathered her books and dropped them into her back and swung it over her shoulder. Some of the girls were running out with their navy jackets over their heads, others had their umbrellas, some just stood under the balcony hoping it would stop, but Kagome walked, head down, hoping maybe the rain would wash all her tears away before she had to see her mother.

 Kagome went back to her era. AGAIN. After some stupid insignificant fight…Ok… he actually had been kinda an asshole. He’d admit it; his ego suffered a large blow when the wolf managed to steal a kiss from Kagome. He had been angry, jealous, hurt, and frustrated as fuck, thereby he selfishly wanted her to feel the same way… Boy was that the wrong decision.

After clearing a forest and taking a couple days to chill his inner youkai from going after and killing the flea-bag who kissed Kagome, he returned to the village to sulk. He couldn’t wrap his head around why she let the fucker kiss her… She-she had kissed him before, at Kaguya’s castle… He… He really thought it meant something. He wanted it to mean something…more. The moment he heard her squeal and saw her blush from Koga’s lips touching hers, Inuyasha’s heart became stone.

His inner-beast raged to tear apart the other male demon. To stake claim on his bitch there in front of the wolf! In front of the perverted monk! Let the world see she was his! Make her know who she belonged to whether that’s what she wanted or not. The demon had screamed SHE WAS HIS!

But his human-half mourned the loss, he knew she had kissed him out of insanity at the castle, she didn’t want to lose his friendship or his soul. She could never love him the way he loved her… Insecurities and devastation won out and he told Kagome to leave… She had begged him to stay by his side, even though he would be distracted by Kikyo, but she still wanted to be with him. That was why he had to let her go. He was the only one standing in her way of happiness with another. He couldn’t try to force her to be with him; he wanted all of her, not just part. He couldn’t take it. But after some trees met their early demise, he was able to realize what a fool he’d been. He still needed Kagome’s friendship if that was what she had to offer. He wanted anything she offered if that meant she’d be by his side. She was his home. His only reason for belonging. And he was a fool for ever acting like he could survive without her.

He had grown to the love the little miko from the future. She was his first real friend, got him make new ones, made him less selfish, made him less of a jackass usually… While he’d deny and deny and deny some more his feelings for her, he knew they were there and very overpowering real the moment she took his hand after he agreed he’d let her stay. As if that would have been an option to pass up. He couldn’t imagine not being with Kagome. Even when nothing romantic could happen between them. At least, not until Kikyo had been avenged, Naraku was gone, and the jewel was made whole.

When Kikyo was saved Kagome, he realized that Kikyo then knew what was between him and Kagome. Or rather, what he desired to be between them. Even if Kagome never knew how he felt, Kikyo made it clear she would no longer get in the way of their budding relationship. He was thankful; but still lacked any form of courage to tell Kagome.

Sango had, unfortunately, been the first one to find him walking back to the village. She had swung her giant-ass weapon at him and fuck he was lucky he noticed her! She was aiming to maim him—not just reprimanded.

“INUYASHA! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!?!?”

“Sango, calm the fuck down!” he yelled as he dodged her attacks.

“Sango! My love! Stop!!” Miroku ran and stood in her way trying to calm his fiancée.

“No! He deserves this and more for what he said to Kagome! He’s lucky I don’t kill him for breaking her heart over something so stupid!!!” she yelled try to move around the monk.

“Tch, breaking her heart? How would I do somethin’ like that?” Inuyasha retorted.

“God, you are such an idiot!!!!” Sango yelled.

“Sango, dear, why don’t you take a walk and simmer—”

“ABSOLUTLY NOT! He crushed my best friend who is like a sister to me! Now she probably will never come back!” Sango started to tear up trembling to maintain her control. Miroku was able to push her weapon down with her lack of control and pulled her into an embrace.

“Sango… allow me to talk with Inuyasha. It may go over better.”

She sniffled and glared at the half-demon but nodded. “I won’t be far…” she said as she walked away.

“You certainly did it this time, Inuyasha,” Miroku indicated as he turned to the face him.

“I know I’m an idiot so save it… I know all I’ll ever have is Kagome’s friendship and that I need to treat it more carefully with the time we may have left.”

“Buddha forgive me, but Gods, Inuyasha, you are a complete dumbass!” he vented swinging down his staff on top of Inuyasha head.

“Ow! What the fuck, Miroku?!”

“You have got to be the densest person I have ever met! If this was just about friendship, my fiancée wouldn’t have come out swinging to take your head off. This about more than that and implications you made when you left. Tell me Inuyasha, if Kagome had been the one who said she would gather the shards of the jewel on her own, how would you take it?”

He was perplexed. He would have taken it that she was a moron trying to kill herself and would have refused to let her do that to herself. Miroku saw the thoughts rummaging through his head and let out a defeated sigh, “Inuyasha, she thought you were implying you were going to reunite with Kikyo to the complete the jewel. That because Kikyo is not apart of this world, that she would not slow you down because she is not truly human…”

“Well that’s fucking stupid, why would she think that?”

The monk took a steadying breath before he looked at Inuyasha with a very heavy mask cracking under annoyance, “Inuyasha, you cannot so blatantly tell me that you do not know Kikyo is a huge cause of distress between you and Kagome.”

“Obviously monk, I’m not blind.”

“Then, enlighten me, Inuyasha, why would that be? Why does Kagome get so hurt when you go to Kikyo?”

“…Ergh,” in all honestly, Inuyasha had never really thought about why—he only knew she hated being compared to Kikyo. That she didn’t live up the dead priestess in the slightest. He thought it was because he had once proclaimed if it was his and Kikyo’s destiny, they would go to Hell together… But he had no actual plans of going there—he planned on killing Naraku and avenging her so her soul could finally rest in peace. He thought maybe she still thought that he was planning on dying together, ending Kagome and his friendship permanently.

“I can see the wheels turning in your head, but allow me to end your misery, although I shouldn’t be the one to admit this, but, it is because Kagome is in love with you.”

His eyes probably popped out of his head as he snapped his gaze at his best friend. Wait, when had that happened? He could only think back that somewhere along the way with Kagome’s help, he became so trusting that he allowed her, Sango, Miroku, and even that damn brat Shippo to get under his skin enough to use the ‘f’ word… Friends. Weird. “That—no—you’re wrong. She—She can’t see me like—She let the wolf—”

“Oh, but she does, my friend. She has for quite some time. She was distracted by watching you to notice Koga had leaned in to kiss her. She was very frustrated by the occurrence. I can promise you that she only ever wants to, excuse the expression, lock her lips with yours.”

“Miroku… I-I have nothing. I am nobody. She couldn’t—”

“Ugh! Stop with your idiocy Inuyasha! She doesn’t care about any of that!” Sango had made her way back to the fields, clearly coming back to check on their progress. Impatient as always. He knew why he considered her a friend—they were basically the same person. “She loves you for you! Why, you ask? I couldn’t begin to tell you since you run off to see Kikyo any moment she summons you, you go crazy when Koga or Akitoki come near her, you’re insensitive to her feelings or needs! Ugh! Why she loves you I have no idea, but clearly, she’s able to look past the asshole front you put up to try and distance yourself from other people so they won’t hurt you! She cares about who you actually are! I just don’t understand how you couldn’t see it until Miroku had to point it out to you! That’s why she left and hasn’t come back—you broke her heart and she can’t stand the idea of facing you knowing that you don’t want to be with her even as a friend even though she wanted to be by your side thinking you still were in love with Kikyo!”

Welp. He had just won biggest dumbass and jackass award of the year. He couldn’t say none of that wasn’t true. What was worse, he knew it had been Kagome who said most of that stuff Sango about who he was, the masking thing, liking him in spite of the all that… the things he did to make Kagome upset were things coming from Sango, Miroku, and probably Shippo.

“I—”

“You need to step up if you want to be Kagome’s mate, Inuyasha. I haven’t told her of demon customs because I didn’t want her to be discouraged of the notion you truly don’t give a shit. But if you love her, which we all know you do, you need to fix this now before it’s too late!” Sango implored. She seemed less angry now; if anything she seemed hurt. Like she was hurting for her friend… What sucked was Sango was absolutely right. If he wasn’t careful, Kagome would never accept him to be his mate even if everything ended and he told her how he felt. Even if Kagome forgave him, he would never have been able to forgive himself.

“She went home, right?”

“Yes; she left a week ago,” Sango supplied.

“She said she needed some time to figure things out… She has not returned since,” Miroku jabbed. “You’re the only one who can travel through the well so it is your responsibility to go and fix things with Kagome.”

Inuyasha nodded and took off towards the well. Anxious. Upset. Guilty. But it had already been a week since they separated. If Kagome hadn’t come back by now, who knows when she would. If she would. He reached the well and jumped in without hesitation. He knew what he needed to do. He knew he had a lot he had to say, convey, promise… He couldn’t lose her. He already knew he had been selfish in trying to reject her friendship when he thought she may be interested in someone else—he had no idea she even felt that way about him. Now the guilt was eating him up and he wouldn’t be able to live if she completely rejected him.

He opened the well house door and it was storming outside. He jumped as fast as he could to her house and entered to escape the downpour. As he entered, he saw her mother pacing. She looked up hopefully but immediately looked distraught when she saw it was him.

“Oh, Inuyasha, I thought you were Kagome. She isn’t home yet; I called her friends to see if they could stop her so I could give her a ride and they said she left immediately when school let out. Would you be a dear and go find her? I’m worried she’s still walking in this weather or is stuck alone somewhere seeking shelter.”

Kagome was out in this? Damnit! “Yea; I’ll get her.” Without waiting for her mother to respond he was out the door, sprinting down the familiar path to her school. He still didn’t really have a plan on what he was going to say to her, but he couldn’t afford to hesitate to find her. He made it three blocks and turned the corner to see her. She was drenched in her uniform. Broken. Sitting on with her back against the wall, dress coat pulled up over her head trying to shield her from the wind and rain eyes squeezes shut. Even through the rain, he could smell her tears. She was late because she stopped intentionally to cry so her mother hadn’t seen…

He knelt down to her and placed his hand on her cheek and softly stroked his thumb over her pale wet skin. Her eyes shot open, gasping, and jumped about a foot in the air. Her eyes finally calmed down and recognition shone through those bright blue sapphires as she hoarsely spoke, “Inu-Inuyasha…”

Her breathe hitched. He’s here… Without a thought, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed her relief. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close burying his nose in her hair. They stayed like this until time caught up with him. He raised his head and reluctantly removed his arms from her. He pushed her back and saw the hurt in her eyes until he removed his robe of the fire rat and placed it gently over her. He pulled her back into his chest now content she at least would refrain from getting any wetter. She eagerly embraced him again and sniffled.

“I’m so sorry Kagome. I’m a fucking idiot.”

She shook her head in response and he growled. Of course, she forgave him. Fuck. “No, please, you don’t—I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

“I’m just so happy you’re here.” His heart felt like it could break. She was just so kind. Loving. Accepting… Gods, he loved this woman with all of his being.

“Kagome…” she raised her head from his chest to face him and stare into his golden eyes. She bit her lip nervously and he realized he wanted to bite it himself. He about leaned in when movement caught his attention making him turn to face the newcomer.

Oh, for fuck’s sake. It was that moron—the scrawny dweeb Hobo. He started growling but Kagome patted his back and made to stand. He stood with her, keeping his arms wrapped around her possessively.

“Higurashi? Your friends said you left school in a hurry. I figured I’d find you at home by now. Is… everything alright?” he eyed the half-demon in front him hesitantly. Inuyasha realized he had forgotten his hat at home but couldn’t find much of a reason to care as he stared the boy down.

“Hojo… Uhm, everything is fine. I stopped and tried to find cover from the storm. Inuyasha found me and we started to resume our walk home.” Of course, Hojo interrupted… I swear Inuyasha was going to… No, don’t be stupid Kagome. He was just worried about me… Sigh…

“I wanted to talk to you, Higurashi. Do you mind if I accompany you home?” Inuyasha tensed around her but slowly had begun to withdraw from her. She grasped her kusode tightly and pressed herself into his body tighter. She had already messed up once not being direct with her feelings and she wasn’t going to let it happen again.

“What’s up, Hojo?”

“I, uh,” his eyes shifted between the two hesitantly before he continued, “I actually wouldn’t mind waiting until we could be more private.”

“Sorry Hojo, Inuyasha and I have a lot to talk about ourselves when we reach the Shrine. It’s a now or never deal.” Inuyasha was impressed with Kagome’s directness. Let alone her forwardness, she had refused to let go of him and even pressed herself further into his body trying to convey wordlessly she needed him… Guess the monk and slayer were right after all…

The rain continued to pour around them, but the wind had died down as well as the thunder. Hojo took a deep breath and confessed, “Higurashi, I’m in love with you. I know you didn’t present anyone with chocolates on Valentine’s Day but please… accept my proposal to go out with me. As my girlfriend?”

Inuyasha was terrified. Not only had a demon proclaimed his love for Kagome but now a human. Kikyo had wanted him to be human. It was a deal breaker for them to be together if he had remained a half-demon. Not only that, but this kid was from her era… where she rightfully belonged with her family. Where demons didn’t exist. He looked down to Kagome and saw her staring back at him—determination and love shined through them… for him. Not the Hobo kid. Not to wolf… him.

She finally broke eye contact with Inuyasha after silently telling him it was him she wanted, not Hojo, not Koga, him…

She turned to face her suitor, “Hojo… I’m so sorry… But—I—” she swallowed. This was not how she had wanted him to learn her love for him but might as well, right? What was the saying Inuyasha had said before she sat him for? ‘Men are fools if they turn down an opportunity if it presents itself?’ Something like that… “But—I’m actually in love with someone else…” Inuyasha squeezed her in reassurance, trying to convey his own love in return. He knew he would have to voice it, but fuck it all, he refused for it be in front of this kid.

“Does he feel the same about you?” Hojo’s eyes locked with Inuyasha. This dumbass is actually challenging me?

Well there went those thoughts… “He does…”

She gasped at his answer. She turned back to Inuyasha to stare at him shock, happiness, overwhelming joy, her teeth found her lip again as she trembled unable to hold back her tears from relief. He frankly now didn’t care who or what was around him at that moment as she stared down at the girl in his arms and cupped her cheek. He leaned down to finally took that stupid bitten lip his mouth making her whimper.

They broke apart when Hojo awkwardly cleared his throat which made Inuyasha growl and Kagome blush, “Well, I am happy for you Higurashi. Inuyasha, was it? Please take care of her…” Hojo turned and left umbrella still shielding him from the rain.

Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha who gathered her in his arms, “Let’s go home.”

She nodded and he took off. They made it in no time and her mother had already ran them a bath. They took turns, Kagome changed into warm pajamas and Inuyasha was given some spare clothes her mom had ‘acquired’ for him. When they were both done, her mom had oden waiting for her upstairs in her room on trays. She closed the door and gave them privacy having had known they had much to discuss.

“Kagome…”

She turned to face him—he looked so guilty, hurt, and upset. She reached her hand out and covered his which he ended up twisting his so their fingers could interlace.

“You may have forgiven me, but I haven’t forgiven myself. I—I almost let go of our friendship because I was being selfish… I wanted to wait until all this was over with to try and be with you. The idea you wanted to be the wolf made me just want to throw it all away… But the slayer and monk were right, if I keep acting the way I was acting, you will never accept me as your mate.”

“Inuyasha… I—”

“No, Kagome. Being a mate is more serious than a boyfriend or husband… death cannot even separate mates. You would take on my life-span, and even once we finally aged, we would be reborn to mate again in the next life. Over and over. I have only shown you what a terrible one I would be. When I saw the wolf kiss you, I just lost it. My inner-demon wanted to kill him and claim you myself right there. I was hurt; but I knew it was from my lack of actions and thought you deserved better. I was going to come back for you—but I probably wouldn’t have been able to remedy the argument without Sango or Miroku… or even that Hobo fuck.”

She giggled as the insult, but looked earnestly at him, “Inuyasha. I do forgive you. No one else has ever held my heart… And I thought I had messed up our friendship because I hadn’t just told Koga up front I didn’t feel that way about him. Mind you I was fifteen when he told me originally, but I know I really do need to clarify things for him… Also, I do want to be your mate… when this is all over. I can see through the façade you use—I know who you are deep down Inuyasha. And I love you.”

It felt so good to hear her say that. She was right too—after this was over. They couldn’t afford to have let their relationship leak with Naraku still out there ready to abuse it… not that he didn’t already, but if they did mate, either one of them could die in a second followed closely by the other.

“Kagome, I guess whatever day this is in your world where people confess their feelings, I swear to you I will protect you with my life. I will prove to you that I will make a good mate. I will court you and show you how much I truly care about you… if you will allow it?”

Kagome launched herself into his lap and kissed his lips hard. He took that as a yes.

[captainillogical]

Distant Lands Ch.1

Stranded on a planet with toxic conditions and nothing but the clothes on your back, your only means of survival lies within the gem that got you here in the first place. 

Spinel/Reader

collab with my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants​

(First chapter note: Only the very beginning takes place similar to the events in the movie, but this is canon diversion. Spinel warps directly to earth via warp pad, there is no injector, and she has no rejuvenator.)

(A/N: This is going to be different from our last one. Spinel here hasn’t had a chance to deal with any of her emotions, and this is going to be fairly.. dubcon for a while. This is your warning. My wife and I decided we wanted to explore her character growth in.. a different type of situation.)

-

Steven gives you a high-five as you toss your sandwich wrapper in a perfect 5.0 in the garbage bin across the street. The two of you just got finished eating lunch, and you hadn't seen your favorite teen in several days since he just got back from Homeworld a few hours prior.

"Wanna go check to see if they're done installing the warp pad yet?" Steven asks, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"We've left them alone for a while, I feel like they should be done by now." You chime in with a smile.

You both meander slowly through Little Homeworld, chatting about the more recent events that you guys have been dealing with. With the Diamonds now on your guys’ side, there has been honestly TOO much to do, and you’ve been trying to lighten Steven’s load. But the kid is just too earnest, and much too hardworking for his own good.

As soon as you guys round the corner, you see Amethyst standing near Bismuth and the newly installed warp pad.

“Yo! Over here!” The purple gem motions over to the both of you, as Bismuth walks away to deal with a couple of other things. “Just got done. Looks nice yeah?” She chuckles, and ruffles Steven’s hair. “Sorry to keep my biggest fan waiting.” Steven swats her hand away, and the two of them laugh for a bit. All of you start talking about how far the place has come, and everything you guys still need to get done.

You have known Steven since you were 14 and applied to be his babysitter through a local ad. At first it was really rough, since you know, the whole gem business shtick was really not what you were expecting out of the job. But ever since Pearl accidentally threw that jungle gym at you and you dodged it perfectly, you proved to be a useful guardian for Steven, and they recruited you for gem missions on the occasion. Pearl was the one that taught you most of what you knew, her sword fighting lessons came in very handy the few times you were in life threatening situations.

Over the last 8 years you have watched one of your favorite people grow up to be the most dependable person you know today. He doesn't really need you now - but you're apart of their family, and you never planned on leaving them. You don't know what you'd ever do if you lost this kid. You'd do whatever it took to keep him safe, and alive. He worries about you constantly - you are human, after all, but honestly? You're resilient if anything, and stubborn. It'd take a lot to kill you.

"Alright! Who gets to be the first to test out the warp pad?" You're interrupted from your thoughts at the sound of Steven's voice. You look up to see Amethyst raising her hand excitedly, and her and Steven play rock paper scissors to see who goes first.

You're only vaguely paying attention to what's going on, when you get this indescribable gut feeling to flee.

The warp pad activates - none of you are touching it.

Within a split second you've grabbed Steven's arm and yanked him to the side - just as some sort of scythe hits the ground where he stood with a loud THUNK. You move to stand in front of him, and reach behind you to grab your sword.

You grasp empty air, and curse at yourself for leaving your sword at home. Of fucking course. You let out an aggravated noise, and you see a pink arm stretch over and yank the scythe out of the ground. You follow the arm until you make eye contact with the attacker, her eyes meeting yours and a wicked grin spreads across her face. 

"Are you Steven Universe?" She all but growls out the name. 

"Um, yes?" Steven pipes up behind you. 

You turn your face slightly to him, giving him a disapproving glare. He shrugs, only looking a bit sheepish. This damn kid was way too trusting, and one day it would be the end of him. But not if you can help it, and definitely not today.

“Perfect." She purrs. You realize at this point that she’s a gem, making it all the more confusing as to why she would attack Steven. 

You don't get any time to question her though, as she launches herself at you - scythe spinning wildly. You feel a rope wrap around your waist, Amethyst pulling you out of the way as the pink gem sinks her weapon into ground where you just stood. 

"Woah, too close!" Amethyst shouts, unwrapping you from her weapon. Once untangled you quickly look for a weapon of your own, eyes roaming the ground. You find a thick piece of rebar, slightly bent at the top - it could do for now. You pick it up and turn back to the magenta-haired gem. You see Steven stepping out of another swipe from her, doing a decent job dodging the attacks while you figured out a makeshift weapon.

Amethyst and you join the fray, you running right at the mysterious gem with your piece of rebar and Amethyst distracting her with a snap of her whip. You thrust the makeshift sword out just in time to block her scythe as she arches it down on the half-gem teen, scythe and rebar colliding with a sharp clang. 

You strain against her clearly superior strength as her eyes meet yours, and for the first time since she showed up it's as if she has just noticed you. Her face splits into a similar feral grin like before. 

"Well heya, toots." She pushes down harder on the scythe. "Didn't see you there." The pink gem mocks. You let out a growl as you shove her back, swinging your makeshift weapon at her. She dodges it with ease, simply stretching her body out of the way. She snaps back into place and leans on her weapon, sneering at you. She looks absolutely unhinged. "D'aw, did I make ya mad?" You ignore her jab, and you turn to face Steven briefly.

"Steven, I need you to get the other gems." You attempt to sound more confident and convincing than you actually feel.

"Y/N, I can't leave you to fight her alone!" The teen replies, clearly worried.

"She'll be fine, Steven." Amethyst stands by your side, jabbing a thumb at her chest. "She's got me." This seems enough to placate the curly haired boy. 

He turns on his heels to book it to the warp pad, and you and Amethyst turn your attention back to his assailant. 

"Oh, I don't think so." The violent gem growls. 

She makes a dash to get past you and Amethyst, gunning it for Steven. Thinking quickly, Amethyst lashes out with her whip, catching the gems torso and swinging her back towards you. You swing at her with the rebar in your hand - but like she could read your mind, she blocks it with her scythe instantly. 

"Guess I'll need to take you out first." The gem says, clearly aggravated. Her attention was now solely on you as she jumps back, preparing another onslaught.

"What's your problem with us!?" You yell out as she swings again at you, and you easily block the attack - it’s almost like she’s playing with you. The muscles in your hand are tingling uncomfortably from the vibrations of your two weapons colliding. 

The gem answers with only a cackle as she arches back, ready to strike again. This time her swing of the weapon is stopped immediately by Amethyst's whip, her rope wrapped around the handle. 

The two struggle for a moment while you swing for the pink gems midsection. The rebar makes contact with her body - but stretches with the swing, making you feel like you just got your rebar stuck in taffy. She turns her attention back to you and gives one final pull on her scythe, ripping it free from Amethyst's whip. The weapon comes at you fast and you barely manage to move out of the way as the tip of the scythe scratches down the side of your face as you move, cutting deep into your flesh. Almost instantly warm blood starts to seep down into your eye, causing you to shut it tight and limit your vision. 

“Y/N! Are you alright?” Amethyst calls from behind the pink gem, said gem now turning her attention to the purple being. 

“I’m fine!” You kind of lie as you rush at your attacker, bringing the rebar down fast. The blood in your eye is fucking with the rest of your senses.

The gem catches your weapon easily with her hand and turns to face you, a wicked smile plastered on her face. She pulls you forward and you stumble, not wanting to let go of your weapon. With her free hand she throws her scythe, the weapon spinning towards Amethyst. The purple gem barely had any time to dodge, sharp blade lodging into her stomach and her form dissipates with a gentle poof. Her gem clinks softly as it hits the ground. 

You stare at it in horror.

“AMETHYST!” You yell over the pink gems shoulder before turning your attention back to her. Her hand, now free of the weapon, begins to wrap around you as you struggle to pull the rebar from her grip. 

"Let me go you.. you.. PINK ASSHOLE!" You nearly scream rather childishly. The gem lets out a hearty laugh, before stopping abruptly and looking you right in the eyes. 

Before.. you hadn’t been afraid of her, not really. You were more concerned with making sure Steven was alive. But in this moment, you felt fear creep up on you as she began to speak.

"You know what? I think I like you." She giggles, albeit maniacally, pulling you flushed against her chest as she frees the rebar from your hands and tosses it out of reach. "You're a feisty one." 

Dread hits you like a brick to the face.

"Oh, we're gonna have so much fun." The last word is dragged out, almost hissed, as her face splits into another feral grin. 

Just as you think you're doomed you hear the warp pad activate. You struggle in the gems hold to look towards the pad as the rest of the Crystal Gems and Steven step off of it. 

The gem holding you looks over her shoulder and lets out a guttural growl. The gems and Steven take in the scene before them, Amethyst poofed and on the ground, the gem holding you, and the blood still actively pouring down your face. 

“Amethyst!” Pearl shouts, heading straight for the gem, picking her up and cradling the purple gem close to her chest.  

“Y/N!” Steven makes his way past Pearl, pulling out his shield and standing ready. “You let her go, now!” Steven demands, adding on a silent “Please?” as your captor glares at him. She turns you around in her grip, and now you’re facing Steven.

“Or what?” 

“I'll ..uh ..I'll take her back.” Steven takes another step forward, lifting up his shield. Garnet, who had calmly made her way over to the curly haired boy, places a hand on his shoulder. 

Steven looks up at her and then back at you and your captor. It takes him a moment to realize that the pink gem had you in front of her as her own personal meat shield meaning that him and the gems were powerless. 

They couldn't attack her without risking your life. The realization must of been obvious on his face because your captor gives him a knowing grin. 

“You can’t hurt me without hurtin’ your friend.” Her accent lulls out as she slams the final nail in your coffin. With no way to rescue you, Steven lowered his shield. He held out his hands in defence as he approached slowly.

"You don't have to do this." He keeps his voice low and calm. The gem sneers at the teen, huffing out a sceptical laugh. 

"You don't know nothin'." The pink gem growls, her grip on you tightening. You wheeze as she constricts against your airways. 

"Steven," You cough out, struggling to breathe "Please don't do anything rash." She smiles, leaning down so her lips barely brush your ear.

"Look at you," She purrs, her breath warm against your face. You grimace in pain, causing the gem to smile wider. “Defending your little friend.” Her grip loosens a hair as she turns her attention back to Steven. 

You look at him, your eyes pleading with him to understand your unspoken words. 

"Move." She demands. 

Steven complies, holding his hands up in defeat. The rest of the Crystal Gems stay put as your captor moves past them. 

She's heading to the warp pad and you begin to panic, fear once again invading your mind. You make an attempt to struggle out of her hold, putting the last of your energy into it. Her arms tighten unbearably so, and you feel tears forming as you gasp for air. 

The last thing you see is Steven reaching out to you, before blacking out.

[femreader]

Not everything - Wanda Maximoff

Summary: The last thing Wanda thought before dusting away was how the love of her life was ripped away from her, right in front of her. The truth just couldn’t be more wrong. 

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x fem!reader

Trigger Warning:  Death, cursing, angst, fluff at the end

Part two

Wanda had never really thought about death before her family was ripped away from her. After Pietro’s death, dying had been something that was almost normal to the witch, sadly. She didn’t fear it nor did she really care about it. Every mission she went to she went with a mindset of “I’ll probably die or not, let’s see”. She didn’t think less of herself, she knew the abilities she had. But she did think less of death. She didn’t fear it in any shape or form. 

Then you came into the plans and Wanda was whipped immediately. The way you carried yourself, how you looked after everyone and kept everything together even in the toughest situations. She was so in love with you and your persona after knowing you for just a few weeks. 

And you made her better in her opinion. You gave her a reason to actually live through the missions. Something to come home to. But it also made her fear again, not her own death but yours. It haunted her in her dreams, that someday you’d be ripped away from her like everyone else were. She dreaded it, even though you assured her it would be okay. That you’d always come back to her. And you did, even if there were some close calls, you always came back to her. 

Then the battle at Wakanda happened. 

You were fighting alongside Steve and Thor, using your trusted sword as your weapon. The grip you had on the familiar weapon that had served you for so many years was so tight your knuckles were white. One alien, another. You weren’t sure how long it had been like that. You just kept killing every alien that came across you, time to time helping someone else.. Your body was running on pure adrenaline, your muscles didn’t ache, your body didn’t tire. It was like you were in flow. 

Slowly but surely you found yourself with the Avengers by the edge of the forest. The creeps ran down your back but you pushed the thought away. Slicing another alien you gave a cocky smirk to your girlfriend who just shook her head. It was amazing how gorgeous she still looked, even though her face was smeared with alien blood. You tore your gaze away and thrust your weapon into another alien. 

Thanos came through the portal. You were one of the last men standing. Steve was down, Bruce was quite literally stuck in stone and Thor was only god knows where. You heard thunder somewhere in the distance. You did your best to stop the mad titan from getting the last stone, Vision. The grunts and cries that left your mouth hurt Wanda so deeply she would’ve rather fought Thanos himself. 

“Wan- Ugh, Wanda,” Your shouts were strained and she turned to look at you. The tears were blinding her eyes, your salty waterfalls were already streaming down your cheeks. You looked at Vision knowingly, he knew it too. He nodded. You took another hit before slicing the mad titan to his arm, it barely made him wince. 

Whatever it takes. 

“Destroy it!” 

She shook her head, tears running down her face. Vision was the closest thing she had after you. He was her friend, closest friend she had ever had beside her brother. And you hated that she had to do this, but she was more powerful than you. She was the only one ho could od this. Wanda felt like she was killing you by killing him. You screamed her to do it again and again until your throat was raw. 

Thanos hit you square in the head basically and lifted your weak body from the ground by your neck. 

“You’re weak, small... a pathetic little human,” his voice gnarled as he looked down at you. Your face started to go red, but it did not falter. 

“I... am... not... giving up,” You looked at him with determination, your hands on his gigantic wrist and felt the sharp blade enter your stomach. He dropped you on the ground and the last thing you’d ever hear was the pained cries of your girlfriend, who was holding back the mad Titan, destroying the stone and watching the life slowly bleed out of you. 

***

Wanda didn’t fear death, not if you were gone too. It was done, they had lost. Thanos snapped the gauntlet and a weird feeling filled the witch. She held your limp body on her lap, watching as the normally rosy cheeks were paling. Her gaze moved to the sky and she felt her feeling numbing. It wasn’t worth to fight anymore if you were gone now too. As life slowly moved away from her body, she could almost hear your laugh in the distance. Your voice filled her head, memories flashing by her eyes.

I’ll be with you soon...

But she wouldn’t.

The opposite actually.

The surgery was difficult, especially since half of the medication staff had disappeared in Wakanda. Really it was a miracle you even survived. Twice your heart flat lined but they got it back working. Natasha had been there the whole time, following as you were unconsciously fighting for your life, holding back tears every time the heart monitor made a flat sound. 

Then they moved you to the HQ. Steve, Thor, Natasha, Rocket, Carol the whole team went to find Thanos and rewind the whole mess. It didn’t go the way they expected it to go through. It was impossible to bring everyone back. The stones were gone. You woke up while they were gone. To say you were panicking was an understatement. Half of the population was gone, the news was filled with sorrow and families looking for each other. 

And now you were going to have to live without Wanda forever. It made you wish you would’ve actually died. It would have been less painful that way. 

Five years. You didn’t speak with anyone about it, you woke up, trained, went outside and helped the less fortunate. Then got back home and went to sleep. Repeat, that over and over again for five years. The sword was in a trunk, buried deep under all of the books and letters there was. You hadn't even cleaned it from the battle. You couldn't see it. You couldn't bear that. A couple of times you fell into a drinking spiral but there was always someone, usually Steve or Natasha to help you back onto your feet.

The miracle called Scott Lang felt too good to be real once he came. Five years, five fucking years, the slowest years of your life and now there was a man talking about time traveling. At first, it was too good to be true, it wasn’t... it couldn’t work. It would be nearly impossible. Nearly. 

But you did it anyway.  And lost another member.

Then Bruce snapped and you waited. The HQ went silent, Clint’s phone rang and his wife spoke. The man broke into tears right then and there, that was the moment you knew... you knew she was back. Somewhere. One phone call away.  As you went to grab your phone the whole place blew up and the hell was loose. You were fortunate enough to not be completely buried by the building.  

Somehow you had managed to find your trusted sword in the middle of all the mess, it still had the blood of the old aliens on it as you had not used it after the battle on Wakanda. You felt determination fill you and you gripped your weapon tightly in your hands as the portals around you and Steve appeared. Literal chills ran down our back and legs and you coudln’t wipe off a smirk from your face when the alien army in front of you watched gobsmacked. Your feet tingled, you couldn't stay still. You already wanted to face the titan and fulfill your promise to him. 

“Avengers...” Steve breathed out. “Assemble”

And like that, you were fighting again. Left and right, fury filling you. The aliens were dropping dead by your feet faster than Thor could summon the hammer. It was rather scary, to be honest. The small teenaged boy Peter had to keep away from you in case you didn’t recognize him, not that you’d ever actually hurt your own team members. It was still quite intimidating how many aliens you made a pile of in just a couple of minutes. It reminded them why you were made an avenger in the first place. 

It was when Thanos was walking towards the gauntlet you saw her again. And holy shit was she gorgeous. Not aged a day, unlike you who was five years older. Wanda’s eyes were red, literally like glowing and the familiar swirls Hydra had given her were dangerously big and glowing ever so brightly. Her voice was venomous as she spoke to the Mad Titan in anger and fury, chest heaving up and down.  

“You took, everything from me.”

“I don’t even know who you are.”

“You will,” She said monotone and levitated upwards, her arms resting on either side of her. You followed as she kept punching the titan with all of her powers. Her whole body was glowing in a different way, you hadn’t ever seen her so... mad. She was dangerously angry. And you couldn’t help but applause her for it. It was kinda hot, to be honest.

When Thanos ordered the shooting you snapped out of your trance. Wanda was still holding him back, not caring if she was smashed to death. Once an energy ball hit her, missing her just by a foot she fell over on the ground, momentarily losing her hold on the mad titan. One of his soldiers took notice of the action and went to raise their sword, ready to plunge it into Wanda’s body. 

“Not my fucking girlfriend you asshole,” You grumbled as you ran at the alien and made sure to shove your sword straight through its neck, the only weak spot in their armor. The alien tried to move, to do anything to get out of the pain but you just twisted the sword tighter, until the soldier fell onto the ground and left you there, breathless and a splash of odd colored blood on your chest, neck, and face.

Wanda’s knees buckled underneath her when she saw you. Her eyes returned into their respectful but not any less beautiful color you hadn’t seen in so long. She breathed out your name, so softly you couldn’t even hear it, you could only see her mouth your name like it was just the two of you in the comfort of your bed.

 You took her into your arms and you sat on the ground, holding her head against your shoulder and her waist against yours. It was the best feeling you had felt in five years. Her scent you had on your old clothes now filled your nose and refreshed your memory. Her red hair tickled you face as you moved to kiss her. 

“Not everything,” You mumbled against her lips and Wanda couldn’t do anything else than sob dryly. Her hands went to your face and she leaned her forehead against you. 

She hadn’t lost everything. She hadn’t lost you. 

[alexandermanes]

halloween week, day two - the hunt

hi! welcome to day two of my halloween week fic! This one is a werevolf au, tw for blood, graphic descriptions of gore and werewolf transformation

IT BELMANES CENTRIC OK BC I ALWAYS WRITE MALEX

summary: the pod squad is a wolf squad and jesse manes hunts them down 

ao3

The moon was set high in the sky as six pairs of legs galloped on the sterile sandy soil in Roswell, New Mexico; soft thick fur dancing in the wind. Usually people steered clear from the desert once the sun had set. Tonight was a full moon which always meant agonizing metamorphosis, bones cracking, nails and fur growing, eyes glowing, teeth piercing through flesh; blood, so much blood. With every full moon came the reminder of their curse, but it also brought a foreign sense of freedom, such as running through the desert as a wolf, something so primal and common amongst various animals, something that ordinary human beings could never experience it.  

Freedom wasn’t something Michael, Isobel and Max ever experienced since their conception; the lack of freedom was passed down from generation to generation. The curse was bearable, despite excruciating, but it had its perks, though the witch that cursed their bloodline could have never predicted that once their ancestors set foot in a supposedly uninhabited “new” land they’d be persecuted by men. Not just any men, men from the same bloodline. Man who they came to know as Manes men. Maybe the witch had predicted their fate after all, an addition to their misery. With each generation of their family the tale of their curse became more and more unclear, trapped in a fog set by time, the story’s veracity crumbled; instead of a single myth there were many and each family knew a tale that diverged slightly or enormously from the original one. However, the witch’s name or her family’s name were unknown, the only common denominators in all versions of the story of the family’s curse.      

For years the Manes have hunted them and for years they traveled through the country, hiding and never staying in one place for too long yet here they were, back in Roswell after all this time. The Manes were relentless, always somehow one or two steps behind, breathing down their necks even if indirectly, they were powerful people, hunters nonetheless. And hunters, like beasts, were drawn to the smell of shed blood. Though their families vowed to never harm a hair in a human’s head the target in their heads never seemed to waver, not to the Manes.

Soon, it would be dawn, and they would morph into their human form again, and the cycle would repeat itself for other five days until the full moon would transitioned to a quarter moon. Feeling the soothing approach of dawn, Isobel directed her pack, her brothers to the nearest cave, a cave they strategically left clothes and blankets in for once they were back to being bipeds again.

“So, what’s the plan, Iz?”, Michael asked as he put on his shirt, his back to his siblings, as they had their backs turned to him too. The bare minimum of privacy.

“Survive the week, move the next”  

Once the rustling of clothes ceases silence settled, an indication they were all decent, Michael looked at his siblings, something dark settled in his features

“Y’know, this would all be done with if we got rid of them”

“All of them?”, Isobel asked pointedly, her tone imbued in annoyance

“Well-“

“Well, all of them except your precious Alex, that is”

“He is not like them”, Michael remarked wearily and slightly offended on Alex’s behalf

“They are all the same. They are all monsters”

“Izzy-“

“Michael, please. I get it, okay? You’re in love”, her brother chocked on air as if her words were some kind of revelation, “doesn’t automatically undo all the things his family did to ours”

Michael and Isobel were tied by blood, but not like her and Max, Michael was her cousin but in every way that counted he was her brother and despite being a thick-skulled, one-track minded asshole sometimes, he was and forever would be her brother. Even if he fell for a Manes man, the same men that-

No, she was not going there.

“Let’s go have breakfast”, she offered and both brothers nodded, acquiescing silently

-

   Sunlight streamed through The Crashdown’s window’s, soft and feather-like warmth enveloped the siblings. The diner was mostly empty given the fact that it was early in the morning, before seven o’clock. They were greeted by a smiling and antennae-wearing Liz Ortecho, who seemed genuinely glad to see them after so many years, and it had Max blushing just by being the receiving end of her smile.

After ordering their morning coffee and skimming through the pages on their menu, finally they ordered their breakfast food.

“It’s good to be back”, Max sighed into his coffee

“Is it though?”, Isobel muttered under her breath, still analyzing the menu, her light brown wig looking a bit more like her actual hair

“Okay, Izzy. I’d get the morning crank, if it was all that this”, Max zig-zagged his finger in her direction, looking suspicious under his baseball cap, “was about. Which it ain’t, so talk to us, Izzy”, he looked at her with his puppy hazel eyes earnestly and all her irritation melted away and grew subsequently like a cart on a rollercoaster ride.

“Fine”, she squinted her light green eyes and glared at her brothers, “I’m tired of running”, she says matter-of-factly, “if they want to come for us I say let them try to take the first swing”

“Wait”, Max says at the same time Michael chokes on his omelet

“Isobel are you sure this isn’t about -“

“Don’t”, she interrupts him menacingly, green eyes sparkling with rage and something else entirely “don’t start, Max”

“Isobel”, he tries again

“Please”, she pleads a bit too loudly earning a concerned and quizzical look from Liz and Arturo

“Okay”, her brother relents, “but we still need to talk about this”, his voice is soft but his eyes are stern, nothing short of determination, “we’ve let you call the shots, wherever you pointed to we just followed behind. Now though, staying here? With the Manes around, in their hometown? We at least need to talk about it”

Michael and Isobel nod in acquisition knowing this problem will resurface sooner rather than later.

-

               In the afternoon, Isobel and her brothers plopped down and huddled together on the small sofa inside the Bunker beneath the Sanders Auto, ready to discuss what they’d postponed for too long.

“So”, Max started, “why are we here?”

“Uh, we can’t exactly go outside and walk around like actual p-“

“Enough with the games, Isobel”, uttered wearily

“Fine”, she shouted, she adjusted her posture, back straight, predatorily so, like a snake about to lunge at its prey

“I meant what I said when I told you I was tired of running”, Isobel explained more calmly, “So I said fuck it. We can start over here and if they try anything, well”, her unfinished sentence hung threateningly in the air.

After a couple of seconds, Michael spoke: “Then what?”

“You said it yourself, Michael”, her reply is devoid of any emotion except determination

“What? We kill them?”, disbelief embedded in his query

“You were right”, she turned her body towards her brother, assessing him with her piercing gaze, “This went on for far too long and I’m done with fleeing from a place to another, never settling down for more than a couple of months then moving across the country. I mean don’t you want more from life?”

“Listen, I’m all for killing the Jesse Manes and his minions. But don’t you think we need a plan? We can’t go in bearing our canines and growling, it’s gonna get us killed”

“Since when do you plan for anything, Michael?”

“Since it comes as a matter of life and death, Isobel!”, he screams, scrambling to his feet

The youngest fits the eldest, Max, a worried glance, prompting him to chime in, to say anything about their sister’s all but suicidal plan if you could call that a plan really. Max suddenly looks at both his feet and exhales deeply and turns to Isobel, his voice barely above a whisper:

“This is about Noah, isn’t it?”

Immediately, her eyes fill with tears at the mention of her ex-fiancé, she turns away and starts pacing, meanwhile Michael and Max stare at her, the first wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape, the other unfazed.

“Iz-“

“No, Michael. You don’t get to say anything!”, she points her wavering finger to him as tears pour out of her very soul, “You get to be happy, you get to be have the person you love because that person can protect you. I don’t”

In truth, Isobel loved Noah, she really did, though it might not have been the constant butterflies and fire in her belly like she imagined romantic love to be. In all her years, the constant moving and fear that permeated her life, no partner ever stood by her side like Noah did, not that she had had many, she never needed to, she had Noah, and he was loyal and understanding of her wishes, until he wasn’t. Not that blame fell upon him for their failed relationship, but neither did it fall on her: it wasn’t her fault. Eventually the lack of stability conjoined with lack of explanation as to why they had to move at all took a toll on their relationship and it came to bitter end. And Isobel, always fierce and defying, couldn’t find it in her to confess her secret to her, at the time, partner, because it meant risking the lives of everyone she loved. And it’s not like she had any friends, she had none, haven’t been able to keep people that aren’t related by blood to her.

Hopeless, Isobel lived her everyday trying to convince herself she wasn’t meant to find any happiness in this lifetime. Despite knowing not to risk the lives of her family, she yearned for something and as that struggle grew tenfold, she faltered and here they were. She tried to find happiness in anything else in her life but without Noah, her life seemed ever bleaker than before and something inside her cracked, like a clock’s engine giving out and suddenly she was unable function properly. Thus, she decided to drag her brothers back to Roswell in a moment of weakness.

“It’s not fair”, she croaks, “This curse, it took everything from us”

“Not the curse”, Michael corrected her gently and squeezed her shoulder tenderly, “The Manes”

“What’s the difference at this point?”, she sniffled, and fit her head on the crook of Michael’s neck, burying her woeful face

Max finally stands and trudges towards his siblings and puts his hands on the shoulder that’s not embraced by Michael

“Iz, you can’t. I know you miss him, but if you see him again you might break and he can’t know”, Max explained

“I just need to see him again, please”, she sobbed desperately

Max just looked at Michael, desperation creeping, he was out of ideas, and as for his brother, he just shrugged jerkily, already feeling desperate himself.

-

As dusk approached, and the colors of the sky grew colder and darker, the three sibling where once again in the middle of the sterile soil of New Mexico, which stretched out to the horizon and all around them, which meant they were away from humans, from their peering gaze and fragile bodies. Good, she thought, face stained with tears.

They stood there in their underwear in a circle, waiting for the moment the sun excused itself to give the moon space to make an appearance in the sky.

“Iz”, Michael tried meekly, “we’re gonna figure this out, okay?”

Isobel smiled at him weakly, as if mustering a smile was the most difficult task ever, and took his hand. Her brother, for all his confidence and snark he was one soft man.

Max took her other hand and declared it was almost time. Soon enough, they started to feel the effects of their transformation, the vibration beneath their skin, their molecules rearranging themselves, the hum in their ears growing louder. If only it was just vibrating into a wolf. If only. Their bones moved as if they had a life of their own, which in nights of full moons they did, it was a kind of pain you had no words for, their organs squished between their bone structure as their whole body shifted to a new form. The cracking and moving made an awful noise especially with their heightened senses. They fell to the ground, body accommodating their four-legged body. They’d scream if they could, but only whimpers come out. Blood streamed out of their ears, eyes and noses, and once their teeth sharpened and pierced their gums, blood poured out of their mouths as well. The hairs on their body grew, itching, long and thick as they became fur. Though the pain was excruciating, they stood in their wolf bodies for the sheer power of magic that coursed through them.

Fully transformed, they shook their bodies like a dog dripping with water would, shaking the after-effects of the metamorphosis. They assed each other, making sure they were okay. Isobel went in front of them, pearly white fur bouncing under the moonlight, her eyes emerald green, and Max followed behind, velvety black fur and honey eyes and finally Michael, golden fur and golden eyes, queued behind. They didn’t explore by themselves tonight, nor did they run free, they simply strolled aimlessly. Wandering. They roamed through the desert for what it felt like hours.

Something in the distance caught their enhanced hearing: a car, and it was speeding closer and closer, instead of running and hiding in the nearest cave they stood still. Something, instinct if you must label it, told them this was no ordinary vehicle filled with curious tourists or bored and unruly teens; this was deliberate, not an accident. So they braced themselves for the fight, knowing full well it was Jesse Manes and whoever planned to exterminate them specifically. Yes, them, their family, because even when they kept their noses clean, keeping a strict non-human (as food) for diet, the Manes were still relentless, with the exception of one Alex Manes who was disgustingly head-over-heels in love with Michael.

So they stood still, predatory stance and unyielding focus, and waited. A couple of minutes later, small spheres of yellow gleamed in the darkness of nightfall. They grew bigger and bigger until the trio saw them for what they were: headlights. A black SUV, menacingly approached them rapidly until it stopped about seven feet away from them. Out of it jumped, expectedly, Jesse Manes and someone else, someone who looked awfully similar to Alex but wasn’t. In their hands they wielded glistening silver guns which were probably loaded with silver bullets. How convenient. Arms steadily pointed at them, the siblings would have to prepare an attack that’d be quick and unexpected. No one moved, not even by inch, time seemed to have stilled and the air was as thick as their wolf fur, it was harder to breathe.

Then, something different filled the air. And of course, Michael smelled him before he saw him, his siblings who followed closely behind. The wolves’ laser-focus wavered, ears moving in a way that allowed them to pick out the sound of another car more efficiently. Noticing the distraction that took over the wolves, Jesse Manes looked at the other man questioningly who shrugged equally confused until the other SUV was parked behind Jesse’s. And out of it climbed none other than Alex Manes who without second thought shot who they realized now was his brother sided with Jesse. The shot was aimed at his knee, and he fell to the ground with a shout. Jesse had barely any time to react when a bullet pierced his chest, a clean shot to his heart and as he fell to the ground kneeling and before him stood a man, as tall as Max, maybe taller, dark hair and dark eyes, strong clenched jaw. His smelled like sweat and something incredibly sweet. He was the most beautiful thing Isobel had ever set eyes on. The clink of metal being hit brought Isobel out of her daze and she snapped her attention to her brothers seemingly unharmed. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw movement, she braced for an attack momentarily only to realize it was Alex, moving closer to them.

“Is he dead?”, Alex breathed out

“Yeah”, the other man whispered, his voice made Isobel shiver

“Can you take Flint to the hospital? I can take it from now, Greg”, Alex came closer to him and patted his shoulder, “Thanks for helping. You didn’t have to do that”, he pointed to their father’s lifeless body

“It’s fine, Alex. I should’ve protected you from him sooner”, Greg replied

Alex nodded in thanks and as Greg moved to assist Flint, who resisted the help accusing them of treason, he spared a glance to Isobel whose heart thumped so fast she thought she might have a heart attack. Then he turned back, hauled Flint up and sat him on the passenger’s seat then jogged to the driver’s seat. He drove away and took a piece of Isobel’s mind and her with him.

“It’s over guys”, Alex announced, “He is dead, and you’re safe now. My brother and I will handle Flint but we won’t let him close to you. I’ll protect you from now on”

Michael, the sap, galloped towards him, and wrapped his body around him, and rubs himself onto him like a house cat, leaning his very wolf weight on him and earning a startled laughter from his boyfriend, Alex, tumbled a bit but did not fall. Alex, who a moment before shot his own brother to keep them safe and now was gushing over Michael’s domesticated feline behavior. And Isobel knows she should feel guilty for judging her brother’s boyfriend so harshly, she should also feel relieved for being set free from the Jesse Manes’ claws. Except she feels confusion and longing directed at a man she’d just met.

She hoped she could introduce herself properly to Alex’s brother and she desperately hoped her feelings would be reciprocated.  And the very least,  possible she hoped she’d see him again.

[fixxofvixx]

Something I've been playing with......

•••••••••••••

The storm had come on so quickly, no one had time to prepare for it. Your little island town was ill-equipped this time. There were no warning signs of an impending storm like usual. The wind gusts started yesterday morning and the torrential rain shower soon followed. The village council was baffled. They spoke of curses and angry gods but you just blamed the weather.

"But what could we have done to anger the gods?!" The village's high priest screamed at the crowd gathered in the small shelter under the town hall. No mention of the fact that perhaps the storm would pass. Or maybe calm the already stressed out townspeople. Nope.....let's go straight for panic and curses.

"Someone must have cursed at them!" Well.....you may or may not have done that on occasion. But you couldn't be blamed. Although you were sure they would find a way.

"What if someone didn't pay their dues to the gods?!" Dues.....did they mean the dead chicken you were supposed to leave on your doorstep once a month? Well, sorry to the gods but you got hungry and chicken was a meal. They could find their own lunch, you were sure.

"What if we give a sacrifice?" The village's old maid squawked from the corner. You rolled your eyes because that was always her answer. If something out of the ordinary happened, her solution was a sacrifice. Not many people paid attention to her but this time was different.

"Perhaps she's right."

"Could it work?"

"What should we sacrifice?"

"I have chickens!"

"What about a pig?"

"What do the books say?"

You sighed as the elders dragged the "Village Laws" book from the back of the town treasures vault. It was rarely used and had gathered a thick coat of dust on top. The book was written centuries ago by some unknown person in the village. You watched as they rifled through the pages in search of an answer.

"Yes! Yes, a sacrifice! You're right for once, old woman." The high priest laughed at his own joke but was alone in his mirth.

"Well, come out with it! What kind of sacrifice?!"

"We need an unmarried woman!"

Shit.

"She must be past the age of 25!"

Double shit.

You silently stood from your spot on the floor and tried to maneuver past the people as if nothing was wrong. You heard the people murmuring amongst themselves and you desperately wanted out of there. You knew exactly who they'd pick. Everyone hated you anyway. They would use any excuse to get rid of you. You didn't fit into their mold of a 'respectable lady of the village'. Only because you didn't pander to their bullshit.

"Where's Y/N?!" You heard the high priest call out your name and you took off. If they wanted you.....they'd have to catch you. You ran up the steps out of the shelter away from the droves of villagers calling for you.

Once you were outside the rain instantly drenched you. Your hair stuck to your face in places and your feet squished into the mud. You silently praised yourself for not wearing the heavy skirts like the other village women did. You had altered yours a long time ago to include only one layer and shortened it to your knees. The town collectively had a heart attack when you walked from your house on the other edge of the island. You wanted to seek refuge in your house now but you knew that would be the first place they'd look. Instead you ran to the docks to try and take your chances with one of the boats. You figured you might as well take your chances with the sea if they were going to kill you anyway.

Once you reached the docks, the water actually looked calmer than it had a couple of days ago. You were struggling with the tie-line for one of the bigger boats when a hand grabbed your arm. You screamed at the suddenness of it and turned to see the high priest's son, murder in his eyes.

"Where are you running off to, sweetheart? You've got a job to do." He twirled a deadly looking dagger in his hands and you struggled against his hold. The bruising grip he had on your arm was cutting off your circulation.

"Like hell I do! I'm not going to let you kill me just so you crazy people can survive a storm!" You twisted around and saw a few villagers gathering on the docks, watching and waiting. You pulled at your arm, trying to get loose.

"Stand still, you crazy woman!"

"I'm not the crazy one! Let me go!"

"You know, if you would have married me like I asked last year, you wouldn't have to deal with this!"

"I'd rather be a sacrifice, you asshole!"

"Then so be it!" He dragged you across the docks towards the end. You tried desperately to gain control and get out of his hold.

You twisted violently and miraculously pulled your arm free. You turned to run the opposite way but the high priest stood in your way. You tried to push past him but he shoved you backwards on the dock, back towards his son. You lost your footing and fell onto the unforgiving planks, hitting your head hard. You saw stars for a moment and you shook your head to clear them. The high priest's son grabbed your arm again and pulled you up to stand. This time he put the dagger to your throat and walked backwards towards the end of the dock. Desperate, you pushed at his hand that held the knife, trying to get it away from your neck. You both battled with the dagger until he got the upper hand and drove the blade into your chest right under your collarbone on the right side. You screamed in pain and tears fell from your eyes. They were really going to kill you.

"That's no way to treat a lady."

A soft voice came from behind you and the priest's son. He turned with you, the dagger still lodged into your chest. Pain erupted throughout your body and you gasped. What you saw before you caused you to gasp again.

A man, taller than you'd ever seen one, with blue-green hair and bright yellow eyes stood before you. His clothes were simple, a loose white shirt with black pants. He honestly looked like a pirate but those types had been long gone from the vicinity of the island. Perhaps he was the angel of death. You were sure that you had already died and this was the creature sent to bring you to the great beyond. Not a bad choice, though, you thought. He was strikingly handsome. You prepared yourself for the walk of death with this handsome grim reaper. The rain beat hard down on your body, causing tiny waves of pain to radiate from the knife lodge in your chest.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Hand her to me." The man didn't seem to care for the priest's son's questions as he only kept his eyes on you.

"What the hell for?"

"She is intended for me, is she not?" His reply was tense, showing his annoyance with the man that held you.

"Look, I don't know who...or what....the hell you are but she ain't for you. This one here is our sacrifice for the gods to stop this hellacious storm."

"Then, she is mine." The creature waved his hand and the rain ceased. You heard a strangled gasp from behind you and he threw your body at the man. You heard his boots thud loudly on the wooden boards as he ran away.

You slowly looked up at the creature that now held you. You looked at his eyes and knew that he was definitely not human. He held you up with one arm as he reached for the dagger still embedded in your chest. Panicked, you hissed and grabbed his hand. You didn't know his intentions and the increasing pain was alarming.

"Let go, it's alright." His voice was breathy, almost melodic. It held none of the previous anger from just a moment ago. Entranced, you released your grip on his hand just as he pulled the blade out. You let out a short cry before hearing the dagger land loudly on the wood. He took your wrist and placed your hand over where his heart would be. Alarmed, you tried to pull away. His strength far surpassed yours and he held your hand in place.

Suddenly, a faint yellow glow formed on your skin where your hand lay over his heart. You watched the color travel from your hand and up your forearm. It continued until it reached the wound on your chest. The light intensified slightly and you gasped. A warm feeling took over your body and the wound began to close. Your eyelids were getting heavy and the strength in your legs was failing. Your head was too heavy now and the only option was to let it fall onto his chest.

"I will take her with me." The man spoke but you couldn't bring your head up to look at him.

"O-Of course," you heard the high priest's frightened voice address the man, "she's all yours."

"I know," was the last thing you heard.

•••••••••••••••••

So, what do you think? Opinions? Concerns? Predictions?

[incorrectquotes-randomthoughts]

(This is so long I’m sorry but I had to rant cause honestly I’m scared )

I literally made a post the other day about how we have to welcome in new fans and treat them equally but truth be told? I’M. NOT. FUCKING. READY

Bitch bitch bitch I mean I’mma have to stand this kids hardcore shipping Luke x Annabeth ???? Or Luke x Thalia ???? SIS they’re SIBLINGS wth Annabeth realized it later on it changed there was an arc.

Like this fandom closed the discussion on Luke’s redemption arc and the way he is and his motives we agree we have opinions but we’re FINE. Are you telling me ma boy is gonna be played by some hot teen (he is older) and 12 y/o’s are gonna be biased and I’m gonna have to yell at them across a screen cause they’re gonna act like Luke is a saint !!!!??

THE SHIPS. FUCKFUCKFUCK. BoTL Percy spent worried about Nico and if it’s done properly we’re gonna have all that worry face first and no one’s gonna be able to ignore it like the AMOUNT OF PEOPLE who are gonna say that’s OTP. I mean SHIT.

I haven’t even been in the [internet] fandom for that long like how I’m I supposed to go against this people who were here before me I mean they LEFT but what arguments do I have !?!?

The amount of people who only read pjo and went BYE like I can’t bring HOO up in discussions wdym????? How I’m I supposed to talk development and change and character arcs and what would they do in certain situations if you’ve never heard of them ????

I’M NOT READY

Y’all wanna know something terrifying? The maze runner fandom. Because there’s so little creators out there who actually love it the way I do and so much of it is obsessed with Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Newt I haven’t been there since I finished the books I couldn’t stand it. And I can’t stand the fact that our Percy actor is gonna be good-looking and I’m TERRIFIED of the amount of people who are gonna be here for what the actors look like you can’t understand this.

I MEAN all them debates are coming back up I can’t do this. This is such a fantastic fandom (and I’m in many, trust me) like we’re all at peace there’s no arguments you can literally come by and just vibe.

OH FUCK ANOTHER THOUGHT. So since we’re getting official characters and stuff I swear if ONE IDIOT hates on viria’s or Livibis’ or Markiehh’s art (they’re the one’s at the top of my head) because it’s “inaccurate” or “far off” from what they look on screen they better watch the fuck out because they have no idea the fandom they’re messing with.

OH AND SHIT I know this has been brought up but the way we treat Nico??? All baby and soft and all that and how our fanon Nico is just so different from the actual canon kick-ass Nico, ya know? But we kinda understand how powerful Nico is but we still love him cause poor kid was 10 and then all of it happened and he was 13/14 (?) during tlo and the PTSD so we’re chill with that BUT. There’s the fact that our son is gay and god the amount of people who are gonna come in (cause there’s obviously gonna be foreshadowing) and be like “ooh gay baby look at him” that’s badly explained but I know you guys understand. And specially if we get to HoO and the horrors getting to ToA would be. Like we already have our fanon Nico but if someone DARES to even IMPLY that Nico can’t kill you with a thought the entire fandom know better and will prove them wrong. But the new fans what would they know.

You know what’s going to be fucking horrible ???? PARENTS. I mean UGHHHHHH. My parents only know I’m reading what I tell them I’m reading (“a book about Greek mythology”). Like I’m terrified of my mom picking up The Burning Maze sitting on my desk or any Cassandra Clare book cause the homophobia in this household is astronomical. (Don’t know how many of you will understand but the PANIC I went through reading the red scrolls of magic? God knows she would check every book I get form the library from the on) Back to the point sorry. But y’all pjo is mostly safe but Rick already talks about how parents complain about adding a Genderfluid character to a Norse mythology book (I mean Ma’am go educate yourself) and how his books “would be more successful without [gay] characters” ???? What if we get Kane Chronicles some asshole is gonna come up about Sadie being polyamorous, Alex and Magnus are gonna be a problem, Will and Nico, House of Hades is gonna make Karens riot because of one scene.

You can see how Disney treats Seblos (hsmtmts) compared to the other couples on the show. You can see how not even half of Andi Mack is actually on Disney+ (after getting brutally canceled) you can see how Diary of a Future President hasn’t been renewed when it’s reviews are 100% for both critics and public. How the Love, Simon series was removed (now on Hulu) because it wasn’t a good mix with “the family-friendly content on Disney+” (underage drinking + s*x are brought up in discussions but the show isn’t out yet and we have no idea). So pardon me for being scared of how this is going to be treated.

Back to the new fans. I’m gonna say the topic that’s the most brought up that causes discussions is Leo (?) Tbh I’m still lost on the Leo x Echo thing that everyone else seems to understand. Plus the hate on Caleo is probably the biggest issue in this fandom. (Which is like saying the biggest problem in a perfectly written essay are some barely noticeable erase-marks, but still). Anyways a fair amount of people dislike Leo for reasons I kinda comprehend. I know a kid and he’s the exact definition of Leo, (I’ll probably talk about this in an individual post) and people don’t like him, I know most of you would avoid him. I know he’s great but people just don’t seem to like him.

(wOw i’M sO gOOd aT sTaYInG oN tOpiC)

I don’t think I’m gonna be able to survive hate on characters that probably WILL come.

Solangelo is called rushed a lot and I would want to see this two fall for each other and Nico let down his walls and talk about his PTSD from Tartarus (which friendly reminder Percy saw for a few minutes the way Nico saw it the whole time and it was the worst part of his entire experience there). But I mean there WERE six months between BoO and ToA, I am pretty sad we didn’t get to see them.

oH JESUS follow-up on Nico earlier; the fetishization, or Apollo, or Will.

Ok... ha, this is fun....

OH WAIT NEW THOUGHT SJDJDJD On the topic of Luke’s redemption arc... BIANCA,, they better do my girl properly who thought she had stayed months at the Lotus Hotel babysitting her lil’ brother and then was put into a school where they were outcasts and she probably knows as much as Nico about mythomagic from his rants and she thought he was gonna be safe and she wanted freedom and be her own person so she joined the hunters. And as a fandom we’ve talked this out but what about the new fans, they better not try to act like she did anything wrong cause that’s just not-

OH AND no one better hate on Clarisse cause yeah she’s the minor antagonist but she’s a very well-written character who doesn’t change the way she is but is kinda less of an ass towards Percy. And she and Silena are good friends and she and Chris are dating and she is a human being with valid feelings. She was terrified for Chris in BoTL and cared for him and nurse him back to sanity and stayed with him. She throws Percy and Annabeth into the lake which so it’s prove she and Percy are more in the friendly banter I-won’t-admit-how-much-I-care-for-you-if-it-meant-my-life relationship. Then this doesn’t happpen until the last two books (seasons?) so we can’t actually go around saying it? In SoM we learn about how Ares treats her which is SO important so I guess S1 comes out and we sit here telling new fans “You’ll know next season” cause we can’t directly spoil it and then we’re like “You gotta wait for seasons 4 and 5” ugghhhhh this is too much.

Ok I’m done for now I’ll reblog this with any new terrifying thoughts when if they come.

[archadianskies]

people keep teasing us about being a couple so we come up with a plan to fake date and have a fake breakup so they’ll feel awkward and leave us alone, OR, my ex is an asshole and I really don't want them to think I'm still in love (Simon/RK900, unless you've got someone else in mind!)

「 hold me, til i’m not lonely anymore  」 → on Ao3

The thing about those long days and nights in Jericho before Markus’ arrival is that hopelessness makes any relationship seem positive. Bonding out of desperation and survival seemed the right thing, the perfectly normal thing, to do at the time to soothe his abandonment issues and incessant craving for validation and affection. 

It had started off as a healthy relationship- a broken runaway PL600 and a discarded AX700, two domestics with no family to care for but each other. They had found solace together, and the cold dreary nights in the rotting freighter seemed just a little warmer. But Gideon was possessive, fiercely so, and detested Markus’ pacifist ways even though for the first time it seemed Jericho meant something, and had purpose and direction. Even as Simon quietly pined and yearned for Markus’ eloquence and easy affection and gentle demeanour, he stayed by Gideon’s side.

The possessiveness doesn’t stop after they win the revolution, and though they’re now recognised as living, sentient beings Simon still feels like he’s no more than an object owned by another. Gideon wants to make all the decisions, plans where they are to live and what’s to fill their apartment and how much time Simon is allotted to spend at Jericho. He is a broken runaway PL600, and so one quiet unassuming afternoon when Gideon is on a supply run with his team, Simon simply packs up his favourite jumper and a spare packet of thirium and runs away. 

He hops from place to place, from the sprawling, colourful Manfred Manor to Josh’s quiet little apartment crammed with books, to North’s haphazard, eclectic Eden commune. They are his friends, they remind him, and they welcome his company even if Simon feels like he’s intruding into their organised lives.

To combat the ache for companionship, Simon throws himself into work; there is much to do now they are legally Alive. Without Gideon planning every moment of his life, Simon helps out as much as he can. When Markus informs them of the DPD requesting an android liaison to ensure open communication between Jericho and the police, Simon volunteers. 

He knows Connor well now, knows the deviant hunter turned deviant is blossoming as an individual. He has likes and dislikes, a friendly, open personality and an eagerness to help. He also has a family now- a human father, a dog, and an android brother. 

“Simon this is my RK900 brother, Ronan.” Connor introduces them, and Simon takes in the looming figure who looks like Connor but not quite. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Ronan.” They shake hands and his grip is as firm as Simon expects an upgraded RK800 to be. 

“It is an honour to meet you, Simon of the Jericho Four.” He replies with a nod, all crisp received pronunciation; a polished British accent is not on the list of things Simon expects though somehow it suits the tall, handsome not-RK800. 

Gideon confronts him one unassuming afternoon when he is supposed to be on a supply run but isn’t. 

“You left so suddenly.” There’s anger and betrayal in his eyes.

“I did.” Simon nods.

“It’s supposed to be us against the world!” He steps forward and Simon steps back. “All those days and nights in Jericho, hoping and waiting for a world where we’d be free and here we are! Why did you leave?”

“I too am alive, Gideon.” Simon replies slowly, unable to quell the sick anxiety rising in his core. “You don’t own me, or my time.”

“I’m the upgraded android,” he sighs heavily and he’s using the patient tone programmed into domestics when talking to children. “I can make the better decisions for us, Simon. You’re an obsolete android with an inferior processing core but I love you all the same. It’s alright, I understand it’s very overwhelming for you now we have many more freedoms than before. I can wait patiently for you to come to your senses. You’ll always have a place in my hearts, and in my life.”

Androids don’t need to shower but Gideon’s words make him feel grimy, as if there’s a layer of filth contaminating his dermal layer and he must wash it off. Gideon’s words play over and over in his mind and Josh worries over his red LED when Simon appears in his apartment to bunk down for the night. Josh wraps him in a blanket and loans him another sweater from his ever growing collection of gifted sweaters, and Simon’s LED slowly cycles yellow. 

*~*

“You are distracted.” Ronan comments as Simon stares blankly at the tablet in his hands.

“Hm?”

“I said,” there’s the barest hint of a smile on his lips, “you are distracted.”

“Oh um.” Simon ducks his head sheepishly. “Yes. Sorry. I um- just…an old acquaintance reared up recently and we parted on not-so-nice terms.”

“Are they a danger to you?” Ronan’s voice loses all its mirth, his expression turning serious and Simon thinks he loves him a little for it.

“I wouldn’t say that. He’s not dangerous, he’s just very…stubborn.” Possessive, Simon wants to say but he doesn’t really want to say it. “We exchanged some words and I’m going to keep my distance.”

“It’s getting late.” Ronan glances outside. “I will walk you home.”

“Oh I-” I don’t have a home. “I’m staying at Josh’s tonight. We’re working on a speech draft together.”

“Then I will walk you to Professor Joshua’s apartment.” He says it so matter-of-factly Simon can’t help but smile.

“Thank you Ronan.”

Gideon finds him two days later when he’s at the creche visiting David, the sole YK500 who made it to and survived Jericho. 

“Are you ready to come home?” Gideon asks, and his voice is soft and gentle the way Simon used to love. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’m not going back to you.” Simon says curtly, stepping away from the children so they’re out of earshot. “I don’t want to go back to your home, I don’t want to be with you anymore.”

“Ah, still thinking it over.” Gideon sighs, his smile placating and Simon hates it, oh he hates it so much. “That’s alright. I’ll wait.”

“You’ll wait forever, then, because I won’t go back to you.” Simon feels the anger burn in his core and he wants to grab him by the shoulders and shout until he leaves but he doesn’t do that because the children are here and the children deserve not to hear raised angry voices. 

“Take your time, my love.” He reaches forward and brushes back a lock of hair from Simon’s face and Simon bites his lip so as not to flinch. 

“Here.” Ronan offers him a soft navy blue scarf that had been wrapped around his neck but a moment ago. “Your hands are shaking. It is common for PL600s to suffer malfunctions in their temperature regulators. Please wear this to help stabilise your internal heat.”

Simon accepts the scarf with a nod and wraps it around his neck and closes his eyes and breathes in the scent of clean knitted wool. He doesn’t want to correct Ronan, doesn’t want to tell him his hands are shaking because of his encounter with Gideon earlier that day and not because of the cold. 

“There’s an integrated cafe closeby, it’s where most of the precinct go to get their hot beverages.” Ronan gestures ahead. “The interior is kept at a pleasant temperature. Shall we have our meeting there?”

“Yes please.” Simon mumbles into the scarf, nodding to doubly confirm. He doesn’t want to think about Gideon, he doesn’t want to acknowledge that small black spot, that gnawing, growing fear for his safety that actually, Gideon might be dangerous after all. 

*~*

The Manfred manor is wonderfully distracting with its eccentric style as eccentric as its owner. Carl Manfred’s abode is crammed with art in many forms, and the bursts of colour against the warm tones make the place feel homely and welcoming and exciting. Simon loves staying over, even if he hasn’t quite mastered how to hide his pining for Markus. 

“Listen, as a big fan of your cooking I know for a fact that’s absolutely delicious,” Leo pipes up, “but I’m not sure you can actually drink that.”

Simon blinks, looking at the mug in his hands and belatedly realising it’s Leo’s hot chocolate and not his mug of thirium.

“Oh, sorry Leo!” He swaps the mugs and sighs tiredly.

“You’re super stressed. Your LED’s been red the whole time. What’s up, Simon?” Leo sets his laptop on the coffee table and scoots closer on the couch. “You alright?”

There’s no harm in telling Leo, Simon reasons with himself, since he’s not a part of Jericho and he’s not even an android.

“My…ex is…clingy.” Forcing the words out is harder than he thinks, and he buries his face in his hands, unable to even look at his human friend. 

“Clingy? Yikes, sorry Simon.” Leo offers a sympathetic grin. “They still don’t get the message?”

“I’ve told him flat out that I won’t go back to him but he’s insisting I just need to think things through.” Simon sips idly at his drink, taking comfort in the heat it provides. “I don’t need to think about it any further- we’re over. I’m not in love with him anymore and I hate that he thinks it’s somehow his decision to make!”

“Wait, Simon, is he-” Leo’s tone changes, and it reminds him of Ronan’s protective tone. “Is he bothering you? Like, stalking you? Threatening you?”

“Well, I mean he’s not-” a sigh of frustration. “I don’t know what to say to him to convince him to let me go! Not- not physically! Just- the idea of me, the idea of us still in a relationship. He needs to let that go!” 

“Say you’ve found someone else. You’ve moved on and so should he.” Leo suggests and Simon slumps down further.

“Leo, he’s a part of Jericho. He’d just find out I made it up.” Simon closes his eyes, feeling the fight drain out of him. “And I hate that some nights I miss him. Or, well, more that I miss being with someone and being loved.”

“You’re better off without him, he sounds gross.” 

“I know.” He thinks back to the early stages of Jericho, to those long cold nights wrapped in Gideon’s arms and how the future seemed a little less bleak. Then he thinks of Gideon’s anger, Gideon’s patronising words, and suddenly those memories seem less sweet and more sour. 

“I mean, I’d say pretend to date Markus but my brother is blissfully oblivious and completely ditzy when it comes to all that.” Leo grins as Simon shoots him a warning glare. “Anyway he’d be a downgrade. You’re absolutely wonderful- no I won’t accept your protests, you are, Simon, I mean it. You deserve someone super cool who will love you and keep you safe and my brother is not that.” A pause, his grin turning cheeky. “Pretend to date one of the Andersons. They’re plenty cool.”

He knows Leo’s teasing him, and it works because he lets out a helpless laugh and even a few days later just thinking about their exchange makes him smile to himself. 

“Hello darling.” Gideon’s voice interrupts his fond musing, and Simon’s smile vanishes instantly. “It’s been two weeks now, are you ready to come home?”

“What part of ‘no’ do you not understand, Gideon?” Simon demands, exasperated.

“Look, I know you’re still finding your feet, it’s okay! I told you I’m patient.” He tries to soothe, palms bared in a calming gesture.

“My feet are firmly planted, thank you very much!” Simon spits, and he is fuming. “I’ve already told you, more than once, that I’m not going back to you!”

“Simon, think about this critically.” Gideon sighs as if he’s been put upon. “You’re a PL600, we’re made for each other. Who will love you if I don’t?”

It feels like Gideon’s reached over and yanked his heart regulator out, and Simon’s struck by how awful, how absolutely awful he feels as those words seep into his core and spread through every cable, every fibre in his body. Plenty, he wants to scream, plenty of people love me, the love of friends is no less than the love of a partner! 

“I’m already seeing someone else.” Simon forces through gritted teeth. “I’ve moved on, and so should you.”

“Oh yeah?” Gideon scoffs, rolling his eyes. “And who’s the guy, Simon? Who’s willing to love a broken, obsolete PL600 if not me?”

“Ronan Anderson.” He clenches his hands into fists, willing himself to be brave, to not back down. “He’s an RK900, with processing capabilities far superior to yours. I’ve upgraded, Gideon. I’m not settling for a lesser model.” Without waiting for a reply, he pivots and strides away even though it feels like his knees will buckle at any moment. It feels like a victory but he knows it isn’t, it isn’t at all.

“Your stress levels, by the way, are astronomical.” North pokes his LED from where she’s lounging on his lap. “What’s up, Si?”

They’re sitting in a common room piled with cushions and beanbags and blankets, in a condominium rising from the ashes of the Eden Club. It’s populated by North’s brothers and sisters, those seeking refuge from their lifetime of abuse. Not many non WR400s and HR400s are permitted inside but Simon’s one of them. It must be a PL600 thing, Simon thinks, to appear so docile and hapless and helpless and the furthest thing from a threat. 

“Si?” North prompts, sitting up and cupping his cheek with her palm. “Hey, c’mon. Look at me.”

“Um-” he takes a shaky breath. “Just…bad breakup, that’s all. Clingy ex, but I think I got rid of him for good.” 

“I can kill him for you.” North shrugs, and though her tone is light Simon doesn’t doubt she’d keep her word. It’s why he loves her. 

“I don’t think it needs to come to that.” He manages a short laugh, shifting to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her soft strawberry blonde hair.

“If it does, I’ll kill him.” Her tone is deadly serious, just like Leo’s had been, just like Ronan’s had been and it makes his hearts ache in a good, good way.

“I know.” He huffs a not-laugh, squeezing her close. “Thank you.”

*~*

It’s been a week since he last saw Gideon and work has kept him busy enough not to dwell on it. With Christmas on the horizon and Detroit’s humans slowly settling back into their lives albeit alongside their newly appointed, newly legal fellow android citizens, the DPD are run off their feet. By extension that means Simon is too, but he welcomes the never ending list of tasks. 

He spends more and more time at the precinct speaking on behalf of Jericho and ensuring both sides are kept updated with current events whether it be the status of yet another bill Markus is fighting for, or the progress on any one of the numerous open cases worked on by Lieutenant Anderson and his sons. 

“Tearium, Simon.” Ronan announces softly as he sets the tall takeaway cup on their shared desk. “Ms Essie says it’s their new milk tea flavour.”

“Thank you Ronan.” Simon smiles tiredly as he takes the cup and carefully takes a sip. The coding spreads on his tongue, sweet and creamy and soothing. He closes his eyes to savour it and sighs in relief. 

“Connor’s just waiting for Captain Fowler to sign off on the report and then we’ll be done.” Ronan takes his seat opposite him. “Shall I walk you home?”

“You can walk me to my taxi at the curb.” Simon corrects. “I’ll be heading to the Manfreds after this.” 

“Good.” Ronan nods, seemingly pleased with the information. “Carl Manfred has a state of the art temperature stabiliser in his home, and it’s forecast to snow overnight.”

“You really don’t need to worry about me, Ronan.” He mumbles into his Tearium, feeling ever the burden. 

“Perhaps. But I do anyway.” There’s something soft in his voice, in the small upward tilt of his lips. “I think we’re permitted to worry over those we care for deeply.”

“Signed!” Connor declares, and the moment is gone as he brandishes the tablet. “Report approved and logged. Time to go home!” He skips down the scant steps from Captain Fowler’s office, placing the tablet on his table and snatching up his coat from the back of his chair. “Shall we drop you off somewhere, Simon?”

“I’ll be catching a cab to the Manfreds, thank you for the offer though, Connor.” Simon declines politely, pulling on his coat and retrieving his half finished drink. He waves goodbye to Miss Stephanie, the ST300 receptionist, on their way out. 

“Oh, it’s snowing already.” Connor holds up his palm, watching the snowflakes flutter down. “Is your cab far away?” 

“Shouldn’t be too far now.” Simon looks down the road. 

“Connor, you head home first. Sumo will need his evening walk before the snowfall becomes heavier.” Ronan opens an umbrella and steps beside Simon, holding it over the both of them. “I’ll keep Simon company and see him home safely.”

They exchange a look Simon can’t quite decipher, a probable conversation he’s not privy to, but it ends with Connor grinning one of his puppylike grins and Ronan ducking his head suddenly and averting his eyes. The older Anderson brother takes his leave and then it’s just Ronan standing very close at his side as the snow falls around them. 

Simon sips at his tea, sneaking the RK900 furtive glances and trying not to think about how very handsome he is and how he’s actually rather funny and far more gentle and kind than his false reputation dictates. He tries not to think of how much he wants his parting words to Gideon to be a reality and not just a lie spit out of spite. 

In a way Gideon is right- who would love Simon, not as a friend but as a partner when he is so broken and obsolete? Certainly not a one of a kind Kamski creation, the saviour of their kind and leader of their revolution. Certainly not the most cutting edge, state of the art android honed like a blade by CyberLife.

“Have a safe trip to the Manfreds, Simon, and goodnight.” Ronan’s voice cuts through his wallowing as the cab tucks itself neatly at the curb. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” For the Tearium, for the umbrella, for waiting, for being patient and humoring him, Simon wants to say. But he doesn’t, and Ronan closes the door and watches him drive off until the cab turns the corner and is out of sight.

Deciding to return the favour the next day doesn’t seem quite fair, and Simon can’t bring himself to buy just one Tearium and leave others empty handed so he ends up buying Teariums for both Anderson brothers, one for Miss Stephanie, and an actual coffee for Lieutenant Anderson. 

He’s partway up the steps of the precinct carefully holding the tray of drinks when he spots Gideon sitting in the reception area. Their eyes meet and Gideon’s standing up and that means it’s too late for Simon to turn tail and run.

“Here Simon, let me help you with that.” Ronan’s voice is a gentle murmur by his side and he nearly jumps out of his casing. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

“N-no it’s not- you’re fine, I just-” He’s stammering and Ronan’s expression is one of concern as he takes the drinks from him, Simon belatedly realising his trembling violently. 

“Best to get you inside where it’s warmer.” He keeps stride with him as they enter the precinct, but all Simon wants to do is bolt away.

“So you weren’t lying.” Gideon greets him with a sneer, eyes roaming over Ronan briefly before returning to him. “Somehow convinced the RK900 to take pity on you, is that it? He’s not a domestic, Simon, he can’t take care of you!”

“Simon does not need my pity, or anyone else’s, he is perfectly capable of caring for himself.” Ronan places the tray on the reception desk, sizing up the AX700. “I do not appreciate you coming here to berate him publicly, and I do not care who you are but you will leave.”

“Or are you lying, Simon?” Gideon’s grin is malicious and the lie is unraveling in his hands. “Made up some relationship to make me jealous? Oh but that just means I’m right, doesn’t it? That no else could possibly love you, you broken, obs-”

Ronan’s hand closes around his throat, and the RK900 lifts him off the ground with no effort whatsoever, gaze positively murderous. “I love him plenty. And he didn’t bother telling me about you because you’re not worth his time, nor mine. Get out of here and don’t you ever, ever speak to Simon again.” 

He lets go and Gideon falls to the floor in a heap, scrambling back in fear as Ronan towers over him. “You don’t even deserve to look at him, you cruel little cretin. If I ever hear of you approaching him again I will pull you apart piece by piece, do you understand?”

Gideon nods hastily, whimpering when Ronan lunges down to grab him by the shirt and haul him up.

“I asked: do you understand?” He growls, voice low and threatening.

“Y-y-yes! Yes I understand!” 

“Excellent.” Ronan releases him. “See yourself out, then.”

Scrambling away, Gideon nearly trips over his own feet in his haste to escape and someone laughs a high-pitched almost hysterical laugh and after a moment Simon realises it’s him.

“Are you alright?”

“This isn’t happening.” Simon giggles and his vision is blurry and his LED is red enough it’s emitting heat. “I’m having an actual breakdown.”

“You are not.” Ronan’s expression is serious, his movements purposefully slow as he ever so gently guides Simon through the security gates and into a small room. “You are recovering from an emotionally abusive relationship and it has worn you thin. Your stress is understandable.”

“He- it wasn’t! That’s just how he is, he never hurt me I’m just overthinking things, I’m-” Simon can’t breathe which is an odd thing since androids can’t breathe but it feels like there isn’t enough air ventilating his biocomponents. “I used you, I told him we were together, I lied so he’d leave me alone and now you’re caught up in this, you had to lie to him too and I never meant-”

“What makes you think I was lying?” Ronan embraces him tightly and Simon cries because his system doesn’t know what else to do, how else to cope with his critical stress levels. “I love you plenty. Whether you accept that as the love of a friend or the love of a romantic partner, or not accept it at all- that is your choice to make. You need only tell me once, and I swear I will respect your wishes.”

“Then love me, because I want this to be real.” Simon pleads, and words aren’t enough so he lets the skin recede from his hand and Ronan presses his palm to his and the world falls away until there’s nothing left but the ache of yearning and pining and fondness and affection and love, and love and love.

He tips up just as Ronan leans down and their lips meet and their hearts sync and Simon knows finally this is real.