#like Rachel said she seemed so grown up to me

[screamingiminlovewithyou]

What do you mean I’m older than taylor was when she toured for speak now

[russo-woso]

I just want to feel something | Alessia Russo

Warning smut, MDNI

Summary Alessia’s been feeling down so you take it upon yourself to make her feel better.

First smut so I’m a bit nervous about this one.

Let me know what you think

—

You always loved going to England camps. You felt at home when you were with them. You felt at home when you were with her.

Her being Alessia Russo.

You'd grown up with Alessia in the youth age groups but somehow, you'd never really spoken to her.

Sure you had spoken to her briefly after a match, telling her how well she had played but you couldn't remember a time where you'd spoken to her about anything apart from football.

You had always wanted to talk to her but you'd always change your mind at the last second. With your heart beating unusually fast and sweat gathering on your forehead, you'd figure that it wasn't worth it for you knew she didn't like you.

This time at camp though, you had made a promise to yourself. You were going to speak to Alessia.

And that's what you had done. Well, attempted to anyway.

Your heart had begun to thump in your chest as you watched her from across the relaxation room.

She was sat with Ella, laughing and smiling about whatever they were talking about.

You looked into her eyes. They were glistening in the light. They were perfect, just like her. You felt as though you could get lost in them forever.

As you continued to examine her features, you watched Tooney get up, leaving Alessia by herself.

At this point, it was just you, Alessia, Millie and Rachel in the room.

Millie and Rach were deep in conversation whilst Alessia had turned towards the match that was on the TV.

The smile that was on her face two minutes ago was gone. The glistening in her eyes had gone. It seemed as though you were looking at a completely different person.

You didn't know where the confidence had come from, but with one final breath, you stood up and moved to sit next to Alessia.

"You okay? You seem to be, I don't know how to describe it. Out of it?" You asked, a calming tone in your voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Alessia turned towards you, a small reassuring smile on her face.

The smile seemed to disappear far too quickly though.

"I know we don't really know each other well, but I'm always here, okay?" You tell her, placing your hand on the centre of her back.

"Thank you, Y/N." Again, she looked at you, giving you a small smile before turning her attention back to the match. "Actually, Y/N, can I tell you something?"

"Anything, Less."

"I feel-" She began but a strong accent cut her off.

"-Less, I went to get us a cuppa but there was a massive spider in the kitchen." Ella came bouncing into the room. You couldn't understand how she was so energetic. Everyone had done so much in training to the fact that some people were having an afternoon sleep, but Ella was still bouncing off the walls. "Sorry, were you two talking?"

"We were but it's nothing serious. I'll see you around, Y/N." Alessia said and you removed your hand from her back.

"Yeah, see you around." And with that, you got up and left, heading straight to your room.

You didn't feel like talking to anyone. You didn't even go down for dinner. You were so caught up in your thoughts that you forgot.

The sad look on Alessia's face clouded your head. The different possibilities of what she was going to say. The way the conversation would have gone if Tonney hadn't interrupted.

The thoughts wouldn't leave your mind.

That was until a small knock echoed throughout your room.

You got off your bed, quickly glancing at the clock that read 22:48, before opening the door.

You didn't really know who you were expecting to open the door to, but it certainly wasn't the blonde forward.

"Alessia?"

"Hi, sorry, I know it's late, but the conversation we had earlier hasn't left my mind and I feel like we need to finish it." She said rather quickly, scratching the back of neck as she said it.

"No it's okay. I can't get to sleep so it's fine. Come in." You opened the door more so she could walk in.

Once she had entered, you both stood awkwardly looking at each other.

"I don't really know why I came here. I just — you're different from everyone else. I feel like you'd actually listen to me. Actually, no, it's unfair for me to put this all on you. I'm sorry for com—" Alessia began to walk out but you grabbed ahold of her wrist, pulling her back towards you.

"—Alessia, I meant what I said earlier. I'm always here. If you want to talk, you can. I'm here to listen." You told her, rubbing your thumb across her hand to comfort her.

"I don't know how to describe how I feel. I just feel so alone. I feel empty. Since I left United, I've felt as though I've left my whole life behind. My life was in Manchester and I don't know if I'll be able to create a new life in London. It's such a big change and I don't know if I can do it. I just have no emotions that are good. I just want to feel something." Alessia admitted, tears running down her face as you brought her in for a hug.

"Oh, lessi. I promise you, you'll find a life in London. I did. I moved from Manchester city to Chelsea. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I'd been with city for four years and then I made the final decision and I restarted my whole entire life at Chelsea. It was so hard. So so hard. But I learnt to value the new beginning. It's gets better, I promise." You said to her, wiping her tears away.

"Thank you, Y/N."

"You've got such beautiful eyes, less." You complimented her, watching a small smile appear on her face.

"You've got a beautiful smile." She said back, similarly, a small smile appearing on your face, along with a red pigment in your cheeks.

"Alessia, you said you wanted to feel something. Would you feel something if I did this?" You asked, cautiously as you began to move towards her.

You got to the point where you could feel her breath on your face.

You made eyes contact with her before flickering down to her lips.

What surprised you the most, wasn't the fact that you were about to kiss Alessia. It was that Alessia had made the final movement to connect you two.

The kiss was gentle. Both too cautious to even move in case you overwhelmed one another.

You pulled away at the same time, smiles on both your faces.

"I've wanted to do that for such a long time." Alessia admitted, your heart missing a beat as she said it.

"Me too." You agreed, pausing and taking a few breaths. "Alessia, I really like you and I don't want that to be a one off."

"I really like you too." She whispered against your lips.

This time the kiss was lustful. There was a sense of desperation from the both of you.

I mean who'd blame you? You and Alessia had been waiting for this moment for years.

The kiss continued, getting messy and sloppy.

Eventually, after fighting for dominance of the kiss, Alessia won and picked you up.

Your legs wrapped around her waist as her hands were under your thighs supporting you up.

She walked you up against the wall, moving her lips down to your neck.

The whines that left your mouth as she sucked on your pulse point made it clear to Alessia what you wanted.

"Can I take this off?" Alessia asked, putting you down and playing with the hem of your shirt.

"Yes please." You said, Alessia putting you down so she could take it off.

After a strip show of you both taking your clothes off, barely being able to take your lips off one another, you allowed Alessia to move her lips down to your collarbone.

"You're gorgeous, Y/N." Alessia whispered in your ear as she pressed a final kiss to your neck.

"So are you, lessi."

"I'm gonna pick you up, okay, baby?" Alessia asked you, her voice all husky.

You nodded in approval and she pressed two hands on your ass and lifted you up with ease.

She walked you over to the bed, putting you down gently before climbing on top of you.

"Lessi, baby, please." You whine as her hands explored your hips.

Her lips started trailing down from your neck to your torso.

You let out a gasp as you felt her mouth around your nipple.

As she continued down your body, she caressed every small detail of you.

Kissing scars from the injuries of past games, noting down where you enjoyed her mouth, memorising the small noises that left your mouth.

As Alessia approached your core, she looked up at you one more time.

Without her even saying anything, you understood what she meant and you sent a  desperate nod to her.

She grabbed ahold of your thighs, stroking her thumb across them before sliding her tongue between your folds.

You bucked your hips into her face and tangled your hand in her hair.

Alessia moaned at the taste of you, the vibrations making you whimper.

"That feels so good, lessi baby." You moaned and Alessia increased her pace.

You were so confused. Less than ten minutes ago, you were lost in your own thoughts. Thinking about what Alessia was going to say.

And now, she was here with her head in between your legs.

You couldn't think straight though, the pleasure had taken over your whole entire body.

You felt numb from it, a good numb.

"Fuck, baby, I'm close." You managed to get out as Alessia's tongue continued to flick at your clit.

Alessia detached her tongue from your clit, and instead stuck two fingers inside you.

"Does that feel good, baby?" She asked you, leaning down to kiss your collarbone.

"So good, lessi."

"Fuck, I love it when you say my name." She said and a familiar knot appeard in your stomach.

"Shit. 'm gonna cum, less."

"Cum for me, love." Alessia said and with that, your high came tumbling on you.

Your head fell back against the pillow, your eyes slamming shut.

You felt your legs begin to shake and a mix of curse words and Alessia's name slipped out of your mouth.

Once you'd calmed down and your heart rate had started coming back to normal, Alessia laid down next to you, staring up at the ceiling.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." She revealed, turning her head to look at you.

"Me too." You admitted, before the room was filled with silence.

A small giggle left your mouth and Alessia looked at you with a confused look.

"What are you laughing at, baby?"

"This. Ten minutes ago you were telling me how alone you felt and now you're laying down next to me after giving me a mind blowing orgasm." You explained and a smile appeared on Less' face.

"Thank you Y/N for taking my mind off of things."

"You seriously don't have to thank me. I think you already did." You replied, a smirk resting on your face before getting serious again. "Less, I know you might feel alone. But please know that you're not. I'm always here for you. I want to be there for you. I know it's not easy but I'll be with you wherever life takes you."

"Y/N, will you be my girlfriend? I'm sorry if it's really sudden but I feel like you're one of the only people who truly get me. You're kind, you're beautiful, you're thoughtful. And I think I've been in love with you for years but I've just been too afraid to ask you. It's fine if you say no. I know it's—" Alessia started to ramble but you simply smiled at her.

Her cheeks were red and her blonde hair was in her face.

You knew you were already in love with her. You had been for years.

"I'd love to, lessi." You placed a piece of her hair behind her ear and placed your lips on hers, connecting you two into a gently kiss.

"You know, I can't feel my legs." You told less as you pulled away.

"That's what you think about? We were having a really romantic moment then and all you can think about is how you can't feel your legs?" Alessia questioned, laughing at your randomness.

"Well yeah, we've got training tomorrow and it's gonna be bad if I turn up with loads of hickeys and the fact that I can't walk." You explained as she continued to laugh.

"I think it's a job well done to me then."

"It's sure is, baby."

[chaosqueery]

I am just gonna go ahead and say that I'm not playing Double Exposure. I don't really care if people say I'll be missing out or if I sound juvenile. It pisses me off that they say they are trying to honor both endings when a lot of us sacrificed an entire town so another queer character wasn't thrown away and Pricefield could be together.

Listen, I'm not gonna spend a crap ton of money to play something that mischaracterizes Chloe so bad. I understand why they wanted to focus on Max's story outside of Chloe, but they didn't have to do it the way they did. Yes, Chloe was a complicated character. She was bratty, irresponsible, and explosive. She was also sensitive, loving, and insanely loyal. You sit and think about all the stuff she did to stick by both Max and Rachel, and the idea she would just leave Max is ridiculous. Especially since it had to do with what happened in Arcadia Bay. You really expect me to believe she was able to mend fences with David, but being around Max was too hard for her? No matter what guilt she felt over everything, Max felt it too, probably even more so. The only person who could truly understand what she was going through was Max and vice versa. They knew that when they held hands at the lighthouse as they watched Arcadia Bay be destroyed. Then Chloe said "I'll always be with you".

I'm not saying that I expected Chloe to be attached to Max's hip. She didn't even have to actually show up, in person, in the game. They could have honestly just shown her through text chains, something that's easy to take out if you went the Bay route. Max and Chloe could have been having a long-distance relationship. It's even a small thing that could show how they've grown up and how they deal with long-distance relationships now that they're adults (as opposed to how they handled the friendship when Max was in Seattle). And since they couldn't have Chloe involved in the main plot, maybe Max just kept her in the dark about it. Chloe could have found something to do for a living that makes her happy, and Max doesn't want her to worry while she's away.

That's all they had to do. It didn't have to be that, exactly, but it didn't take any time to think up. The developers of Double Exposure didn't even try to think up a satisfying continuation for the people who chose the Bae ending. At this point, it's starting to feel like a punishment for making the "wrong" choice. Chloe couldn't accept Max's choice to save her, and these writers (not the original writers) can't seem to accept our choice to save her either. But I will not apologize for it. I've proudly had Bae over Bay in my bio for years now. I refuse to consider Chloe Price as expendable.

So I am just gonna stick to the comics. That's got the star-crossed sapphic love so powerful it becomes a force of nature vibe I'm looking for. I should probably just be happy I saved myself 50 bucks.

[ladybelladonna76]

Rachel didn't know what her stepdad saw in that stupid girl he was dating

She was obviously hot, but she was also bitchy, vain, and materialistic

Unsurprisingly he'd met this goldigger shortly after the medical negligence payout from her mother's accidental death, at the hands of a drunk quack doctor, when Daddy had been looking for some comfort at the bottom of a whiskey glass in questionable bars

"We're going to have so much fun, Daddy says we can spend whatever we want today, I have permission to spoil us both rotten"

Rachel rolled her eyes

"Let's just get this over and done with"

"Okay Rachey, I promise you're going to love it, this salon works miracles, then we go shopping!", Rosie squealed as she said shopping like some over excited middle school girl on a carnival ride

"Whatever, I'm doing this because DAD asked me too that's all, after the salon you can drop me off home before going out shopping"

"Okay meanie" Rosie pouted

Inside the salon it was as bad as Rachel had feared. This was just a grooming kennel for over primped high maintenance bitches, she couldn't think of one treatment she wanted to try.

"Please try the New U facial treatment Rachey" Rosie whined in her bimbo voice for the hundredth time

"Fine if you'll shut up, at least I get to lay down and relax"

She laid back and the beautician put the mask over her face

The mask started to emit a pulsing wave of light

It feels wrong, invasive, it hurts

She tried to sit up but couldn't move

Her brain felt like it was aflame as the light seemed to penetrate her skull

Suddenly words and concepts started to run through Rachel's head.

Bitch, cuckold, homewrecker, conniving, golddigger, manipulative

Every word brought a flood of images and memories of Rachel as the living embodiment of these words

Rachel knew she wasn't, there was no way she could be, she had never, would never do any of those things, her mom and dad raised her with a strong sense of right and wrong and everything she saw herself doing was wrong.

Rachel could sense new color behind her eyelids even though her eyes were closed tight

More information washed over her, new feelings and ideas.

She had secretly coveted her Step Daddy for years after her mom had married him. No he was always her Daddy, no my Dad, wasn't he?

I'd fucked that gold digging bitch's plastic surgeon behind her back, mommy dearest was fucking him to get a discount so he was fair game.

That's how I got him addicted to drugs and me, I got him drunk, high, and fucked him all night before the day of the surgery. I'd made him botch the surgery

Rachel screamed inside the mask, that's not me I wouldn't, I couldn't, I love my Mommy

Rachel felt her body starting to alter as the new light worked it's magic

She started to groan inside the mask as she felt her body staring to firm and tone, her breasts grew as implants formed inside them, her lips plumped, her nails lengthened into beautiful manicured claws.

Daddy loved her body so much better than her mom's pathetic..

"Oh my God, mom I'm sorry this isn't me, this isn't what I wanted!!"

Rachel removed the mask and looked around for her stepmom

Where was she?

"There's only us Raquel", she thought

This didn't make any sense

"We were always jealous of Mommy since middle school, all her boy toys, her clothes, cars, vacations, we just had to bide our time until we were all grown up and then he could be ours"

He?

Daddy?

Was Daddy hers now alone?

Ever nerve in her body fired in unison at this realization as an orgasm swept through her body

Of course New U Salon's machines didn't really work miracles they only used a cutting edge application of Quantum Mechanics.

They did however merge Rachel and her stepmom's quantum realities

A little tweak here and there, so the Quantum realm remained while and all was perfect with the world again

Another happy customer with guaranteed repeat business and referrals to boot

Rachel was very satisfied

Raquel skipped shopping that day and rushed home to her Daddy

She'd wanted him since he'd first walked into her life with her bitch mother

She spent years preparing for when they could be together. Years studying her mother's manipulation techniques, daily exercise at the gym to sculpt her body into a temple to be worshiped, style to dress in a manner befitting a goddess, oh and sex, how she'd perfected the art of love making and giving, she'd become such a slut.

All to be ready for her Daddy and now he was hers, she'd never give him up

New U Salon really was miraculous

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I recall reading in Ninaki's interview that Rachel met with her after the divorce decision and told her to be prepared as this news will come out in the papers the next day. Ninaki thought at that time what's the need for her to do so as Rachel wasn't even a big star when this was happened. But when I go back and scoured for this very detail, I can no longer find it. Guess Rachel got offended that Ninaki didn't think of her as an A Lister back then and got the article corrected

Ask from August 3rd

Here is the Ninaki interview (archived link). It's from December 2017. Be warned that there are *a lot* of pictures of Meghan in the article.

"It was such a shock when she told me they were getting divorced. After about three seasons of Suits, she called me and said she wanted me to know because it was going to come out in the papers. I knew they fought sometimes, but it wasn’t anything huge. The only obstacle was the distance because she was living in Toronto and Trevor was based in LA. But I thought that they were manoeuvring through it as best they could. Trevor would take his work to Canada to be with her and run his office remotely. I wasn’t aware there were any problems in the marriage. I had to accept what she said." Ninaki hesitates...[she] says she no longer recognises the girl with whom she shared her childhood. "A month after the divorce, I wanted to see how Trevor was doing. We met and talked. It’s not up to me to speak for Trevor, but I know he was travelling to Toronto every few weeks and would have walked the earth to make their marriage work. I don’t believe she gave him enough of an opportunity. I think there was an element of 'out of sight, out of mind' for Meghan. The way she handled it, Trevor definitely had the rug pulled out from under him. He was hurt. I tried to get details from her, but she wouldn’t tell me. What came to light after Trevor and I spoke ended my friendship with Meghan. I think everybody who knew them both was in shock. All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated — very calculated — in the way she handled people and relationships. She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends. Once she decides you’re not part of her life, she can be very cold. It’s this shutdown mechanism she has. There’s nothing to negotiate. She’s made her decision and that’s it."

and

"Then, after the wedding, it was like a light switched off. There’s Meghan Before Fame and Meghan After Fame. After three seasons of Suits, she called me to say the marriage was over. Maybe she had started to change before then, but I was refusing to see it. The tone of her voice, her mannerisms, the way she laughed didn’t seem real to me any more. Even by season two of Suits, she was turning down lunch with us because she said she’d be recognised. I felt if I questioned her behaviour, I’d be left on the outside. Sometimes the truth is not always what you want, is it? Her time became increasingly important. When she was in town, she’d want you to drop everything to see her. If I was busy, it would be, 'Why don’t you want to see me? I’m here. Let’s hang out!' There were instances when I felt she developed a sense of entitlement because she was on the show. The breaking point for me came when she wanted to adopt a dog. She’d fallen in love with it, but found someone else wanted the dog, too. So she emailed the pet adoption people and explained how she could provide a great life for it. She spoke of what a great time the dog would have in the Suits Family. I felt that she was playing the Suits card to try to get what she wanted. She included me and the other bridesmaids in the email chain because she wanted our moral support, I think. I didn’t respond to it. It left a sour taste in my mouth. We began to talk less. It was shortly after that I spoke to Trevor about the divorce. I phoned Meghan to speak about it, but she wouldn’t confide in me. It was obvious to me she wasn’t the friend I’d grown up with any more. She had a new circle of friends."

And one very prophetic line from the article: Many of the friends who celebrated with the newlyweds on that beach are no longer speaking to Meghan.

We can say the same thing now today about Harry. Many of the friends who celebrated with the newlyweds at Windsor are no longer speaking to Harry.

[arcadiabaytornado]

It's so mental to me how people can even think that Chloe is horrible and irredeemable. Like she is a teen girl that has gone through a lot of trauma, of course she's gonna do or say things that aren't perfect and she's going to be messy. She definitely needs therapy, but she's not a bad person. In fact, she has so much love in her heart that she wants to give. Life has just beaten her up over and over, and she has to protect herself by being so prickly.

Both her and Max should be in therapy once they get to Seattle. Hell, maybe even couples therapy. As much as I love Pricefield, they are pretty codependent and have things they need to work out.

Yeah, I can understand not liking Chloe, but the extreme word use involving her is a lot. Much worse characters have gotten redemption arcs in their canon media, so it's hard for me to wrap my head around someone seeing a troubled teen girl and going "She can not learn or grown."

I think Chloe is a good case study on "troubled people aren't synonymous with bad people." Like you said, she needs therapy, and she needs to learn to communicate in a better way, but she's never had the safe space to do that. Her home isn't safe. She got kicked out of school. Her relationship with Rachel seemed a unstable. Max was MIA. Like...she's never been given a good space to learn and grow, and when she's given that environment when Max comes back, she flourishes, despite their...actually really serious codependency going on.

I also think hating Chloe kind of misses the point of the entire game. Being faced with the choice to sacrifice her is supposed to be so hard partially because we've spent all week seeing how much Chloe can grow. She's just started to heal, and now we're realizing that we might have to rewind it all back. It's a tragedy to sacrifice Chloe, and if the point of the game was "Chloe is a bad friend and Max needs to let her go," then the sacrifice Chloe ending would play out in much less devastating way.

So yeah I basically wrote three paragraphs to say "I agree with you deeply." Chloe isn't irredeemable but she is flawed and does need therapy. So do Max and Chloe really because they're codependency is on a whole different level, but still love them, though.

[genericpuff]

About the gynecologist scene... this is unrelated but it really bothers me how Perse's hair stays short, it would be cool if her hair had grown after waking up, ya know, to show her distress? Pretty sure the only times her hair grows is the first chapters, the aftermath of Persephone's SA and after she confronted Apollo, her hair growing feels like an excuse so RS can show her in any hair style she wants to, being either short or long

Just a nitpick of mine but it really bothers me

Persephone's hair is really inconsistent in the series because it started as a great visual device to show her going through times of stress:

(that last panel is really fucking hilarious out of context btw, like damn Hades put your blue sausage fingers away, what you doing-)

There's also been some really great visual imagery depicting the growth of her hair during moments where her emotions are overwhelming her.

But then Rachel went and confirmed Persephone can just grow it whenever.

Which kinda muddies the point of it being used as a visual indicator for her emotions IMO. Like you can still have both if it's a sign of her powers becoming out of control but it's just never consistent so we have scenes where her hair SHOULD grow out (by the logic that it grows out under stress) and it just doesn't. It really seems like Rachel forgot about it entirely in Episode 98-

-but then she remembers it just in time for Episode 99.

(literally look at that stylization inconsistency, you can tell that scene in Ep 98 was drawn by entirely different people in Ep 99, jfc. Where did her wrath go?? She went from being legitimately pissed to being uwu boo-hoo sad with IG filters and a doe-eyed fish lip look).

And so you don't know if it's just her controlling her emotions so well that her hair isn't growing (if she can do it on command) or if it's just Rachel forgetting that she established that Persephone's hair changes length based on her emotions. It never seems to follow the same rules from week to week.

And there's definitely something to be said about how short-haired Persephone has become more and more like Rachel over the years. Like, she's always mildly resembled Rachel, but now she REALLY looks like Rachel to the point that she doesn't even look like the Persephone we've become so familiar with anymore, she's just a pink name swap version of 37 year old Rachel.

[kingofsummer93]

Once Cursed, Twice Shy

Part 1 of my gift to @velidewrites for @acotargiftexchange!

Summary:

Don't mix vodka and magic, they said. It will end badly, they said.

Elain's never been particularly superstitious, but when a ghost from her past comes crashing back into her life, she realizes that the old saying might have been true after all.

And that she might have (accidentally and definitely not on purpose) cursed her ex-boyfriend.

Inspired by the Ex Hex by Rachel Hawkins.

Chapter 1: A Fateful Spark, an Ill-Timed Blaze

Ao3

Ten years previously

A clap of thunder rang out over the town of Maple Glen, followed by a torrential downpour so sudden it seemed as though the sky had singled out their little village to bear the brunt of its ire.

Elain sighed, burrowing further into the couch under her nest of blankets and pillows. She envied the storm, at that moment. What she wouldn’t give to be able to dump her hurt and anger into the world for a couple hours before being reborn, fresh and dewy, her broken heart melded back together by sunshine as her memories faded like a clearing sky.

She sighed, and the storm raged on as if in answer.

“Do you ever wish you were born as something else?” she asked, swirling the dregs of her bright blue cocktail around in her glass. “Like, a bird, or a tree, or, or…”

Vassa let out a noise that was halfway between a snort and a hiccup. “There it is.”

“There is what?”

“The philosophical stage of your drunk journey. I thought we passed it two drinks ago. First we have affectionate Elain, then loud Elain, followed with a brief appearance by pensive Elain, and then-”

Elain grabbed a throw pillow and chucked it at her friend, who nearly toppled off her end of the couch as she ducked to avoid it. Perhaps they were a bit drunk.

“I mean it,” Elain pressed, draining her glass. “Trees don’t have to worry about dumb boys, or school, or finding a job. They just…” She held out her arms and lifted her head to the ceiling, wriggling her fingers around like leaves in the wind. “Hang out and bask in the sunshine.”

“Babe,” Vassa said drily, “trees get cut down and then get sawed up into building materials or burned or whatever. Dumb boys are the least of their worries.”

Perhaps it was the vodka’s fault, but for some reason this seemed incredibly sad to Elain. Her throat closed up, her eyes suddenly burning with unshed tears.

“Oh no.” Vassa flapped her hands around in a panic, her mirth gone. “Oh shit, what did I say?”

“Lucien had a tree house growing up.” The words bubbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. “He told me his oldest brother helped him build it. And then one day he went out to the forest and discovered that the section of the woods with his tree house had been cut down. Something about tree rot.”

“See,” Vassa said wisely as she refilled both their glasses from a pitcher. “And that’s why you don’t want to be a tree.”

Elain snorted, wiping the tears from her face with an already damp corner of her blanket. She’d shed so many tears in the past two days that she was shocked she hadn’t dried up like a raisin yet.

“Fuck him,” Vassa continued. “He doesn’t deserve a treehouse- or any house, for that matter. He can live on the streets for all I care.”

Elain pictured it for a moment; Lucien’s long fiery hair grown even longer from years of living as a vagabond, a scraggly beard not quite covering his devilish grin. Perhaps he’d live in the woods, in a little cave with a mattress made of leaves and moss. The image didn’t repulse her as much as it should have.

Suddenly she was enraged.

This had been her refrain for the past three days, ever since she had so unceremoniously thrown him out of her apartment. Moments of deep grief when it seemed like she’d never stop crying were followed by rage so intense it felt like her blood was on fire.

The same fire that ran through his veins, the flame that she had found so utterly irresistible.

Her gaze moved against her will, landing on the box sitting in a corner near the door. She’d been studiously avoiding it, torn between the satisfaction she’d get at throwing it out, and the desire to keep a piece of him close, if only for a little while longer.

It was irrational, but that box of stuff had somehow become a physical reminder of him, and getting rid of it would be like cutting the final thread that tethered him to her. Not to mention that a small part of her brain still hoped that he would come back, that somehow it would turn out to all be a misunderstanding.

That he would choose her, against all odds, in defiance of the path that had been laid out for him.

Perhaps even more humiliating than the rejection itself had been the deception. Because he had known- for the entirety of the summer he had spent tangled up in bed with her, whispering that she was the one, making her burn in a way she had never even dreamed possible, he had known it wouldn’t last. It couldn’t last, because by the end of the summer he was due back in England, where his betrothed waited for him.

The fucker had been engaged the entire time and hadn’t bothered sharing that information with her.

But the worst thing of all had been the way she’d so thoroughly fallen for him. Every touch, every whispered word had seemed so sincere that she’d never once questioned his devotion. What a fool she’d been. Perhaps if he had been honest with her from the start she would have allowed him to fall into her bed, but not into her heart.

Or better yet, she would have steered clear of Lucien Vanserra altogether.

**

Elain could still picture the moment she’d first laid eyes on him during the Summer Solstice festival. Vassa had bullied her into setting up a kissing booth (a venture that had turned out to be quite lucrative) and they’d had a steady stream of customers all morning. Around midday the energy in the crowd had shifted, like a ripple in a pond. And then the crowd had shifted, parting like the sea.

And he had appeared. Tall, his golden skin practically glowing in the summer sun, his shoulder-length hair so vividly red she immediately knew he was a witch. No human could ever look like that. He had locked eyes with her from a distance, and it had felt to Elain like she was being set on fire.

“Who is that?” she stage-whispered to Vassa, who had just given their elementary school math teacher a wholesome peck on the cheek for the sum of five dollars.

“Who?” Vassa followed her gaze, and her eyes went wide, her hand clamping painfully around Elain’s wrist.

“Ow!”

“I think he’s one of the Vanserras,” Vassa whispered, slightly awed. “He’s got to be, look at that hair.”

A smile quirked up the corner of the handsome stranger’s mouth, and Elain wondered absurdly if he had somehow heard. The Vanserras were a powerful magical family, and nobody knew the true depth of their power. She wouldn’t be surprised if they had unnaturally powerful hearing.

“I’ve never seen him before,” Elain said, stupidly. She felt slightly dazed as she continued to stare into his eyes, as if she was physically incapable of looking away.

In truth she had never seen any of them before.

Hundreds of years ago, a man called Thelor Vanserra had founded Maple Glen and tied his magic to the village. Magic ran strong here- for those who knew where to look, that is. Tourists simply assumed they had stumbled upon a particularly charming village, where commerce always boomed and disaster never struck.

But the truly odd thing about Maple Glen was the fact that it never snowed, despite being far enough north that it should by all reason get buried under snow every winter. It was like the town was stuck in perpetual autumn, with only a few weeks of balmier weather in the spring and summer. Nobody questioned it, assuming Maple Glen simply existed in a peculiar micro-climate.

It was a wonder how far people would go to avoid seeing magic, even when it existed right under their noses.

Twice a year, on Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice, a member of the Vanserra bloodline would come to town in order to regenerate the magic for the coming season before disappearing back to England. They were notoriously reclusive and haughty, and were rarely seen around town- much less strolling through a crowded festival.

“I always pictured them scrawny and inbred,” Vassa had said, surreptitiously fixing her hair.

The crooked grin on the stranger’s face widened, and Elain’s stomach dropped. He had definitely heard that.

And then he started walking towards them.

Elain froze, her stomach roiling with equal parts thrill and fear. Would he curse them? It didn’t seem likely, judging from the amusement on his face, but she squirmed nonetheless.

When he was a few paces away from their booth he paused, his eyes still fixed on her. From this close Elain could make out the color of his eyes- a warm brown, tinged russet, as if kissed by the flame his bloodline was rumored to wield. His features were sharp and elegant, his wide jaw covered with the barest hint of auburn stubble. There was a thin, crooked scar running down the left side of his face that, combined with the devilish gleam in his eyes, gave him an aura of danger. It sent a shiver down Elain’s spine, and she felt momentarily struck dumb, as if by magic.

“My lady,” he said, inclining his head. The motion made a strand of his vibrant hair fall over his face, and Elain’s fingers itched to brush it back.

Vassa giggled beside her. Elain had never, in her nineteen years of life, heard her friend make such a sound. She bit her lip hard to prevent herself from doing the same.

“If I walked through fire for you, could I get a kiss too?”

Vassa made a choked sound that sounded as though she was holding in another giggle. Elain could only stare for a moment, before realizing that she was staring at him with her mouth hanging wide open.

“I- sorry, what?”

With a casual wave of his hand a wall of flame had burst to life out of thin air. Elain jumped to her feet, scanning the crowd for signs of anyone having noticed the blatant display of magic. But oddly enough, nobody at all was looking at them. It was almost as if some force was making the crowd look away.

She glanced back at the flames just in time to see him walk through them. Surrounded by flames, with that troublesome grin on his face and his eyes twinkling with mirth, it almost seemed like she was being bewitched by the devil himself.

In the end it turned out to be not too far from the truth.

The summer romance that had followed had completely knocked her off her feet. Lucien was nothing like the boys she’d dated before. There was something charmingly old-fashioned about the way he spoke, his impeccable manners and posh accent so at odds with his serpentine tongue and devilish humour. He had felt like a drug, something decadent and rare that left her buoyant and giddy. She’d been hooked from her first taste, her fate sealed the moment he’d walked through those flames and pressed a feather-soft kiss directly to her lips. She’d let those flames consume her.

But the thing with fire, she’d learned, was that it could be doused in an instant.

Elain wondered if he ever would have said anything at all, had that vision not infiltrated her dreams. Would he simply have left her apartment and gotten on a plane back to Yorkshire without so much as a goodbye, never to be heard from again?

They had been lying in bed when the vision had swarmed her senses, limbs tangled together, a lazily swirling fan doing little to cool their heated skin. There was never any logic or reason to what triggered her visions, but something about that hazy veil between consciousness and sleep seemed to make her prone to them. One unclear reality being replaced by another, images fogging her mind so that sometimes she wasn’t sure if they were visions, dreams, or nothing at all.

But that night, as she’d laid there happy and content, blissfully uncaring about anything but the present, the future had decided to make itself known to her anyway. At first she thought she was simply drifting off into dreams of him, and she had sighed, grateful to be with him even in sleep.

Her blood had grown cold as she’d realized the Lucien in her mind was not alone, and nor was his soft smile aimed at her. There was someone else, someone with long rosewood-colored tresses and hazel eyes that shone almost golden, like a cat’s. Someone who was wearing a white dress, wrapped in the arms of the man currently in her bed.

Someone who was decidedly not her.

At first she’d chosen to ignore it. Perhaps it wasn’t a vision at all, but simply her lust-addled brain playing tricks on her. But then Lucien had announced that he needed to fly back home for a while, to take care of some business.

“I’ll be back before you notice I’m gone,” he assured her, his mouth pressed to her ear. “You won’t even miss me.”

In the span of a few seconds he had managed to rip her heart out and rip it to shreds. She’d been so stunned that at first she didn’t know how ro react.

“I’m sorry, Love,” he murmured, misunderstanding her shock as displeasure. “There’s some things with…my family, that I need to handle in person.”

Something about his choice of words had made Elain want to laugh, even as she was fighting rising tides of panic and heartbreak.

“Who is she?” had been the only words she’d been able to formulate.

Lucien stared at her in shock, the color draining from his skin until she knew for certain she hadn’t miscalculated.

Then had come the accusations, the excuses, the explanations, followed by more accusations.

He was engaged.

Betrothed had been the word he’d used, like something out of those romance novels her sister liked. He was betrothed to a stranger he’d never even met, someone he allegedly had no intention of marrying. He was going back to end it, he claimed. He wanted her, he assured.

“I didn’t want to say anything at first because I didn’t know what this thing was between us, and then when it became serious it felt like it was too late, and I didn’t know what to do, and please, Elain, just look at me…”

She had, and something about seeing him like this, his usual smooth exterior replaced by rambling words and eyes wide with panic, almost made her break. But then she’d remembered the woman in her vision, the one with such unusual colouring that she could only be a witch- and a powerful one, if she had been betrothed to a Vanserra. And most of all, she remembered the joy on Lucien’s face in that vision, the way his eyes had crinkled around the edges like they did when he was happy.

In retrospect, throwing his clothes out the window had perhaps been a tad immature, but it had been effective in getting him to shut up and leave her apartment.

**

Elain shook her head, clearing away the memories that refused to leave her alone.

“You know what,” she declared, slamming her glass on the coffee table with a clang, “let’s burn his stuff.”

Vassa whooped, jumping to her feet before Elain could second guess her decision. Fuck him. Fuck him and his beautiful fiancé (bethrothed) who no doubt had the perfect pedigree and wielded some powerful brand of magic to match the Vanserra’s. Something respectable, like elemental magic, or a knack for spell work. Not something weird and impossible to understand like her Sight.

“Fuck him,” she said again, getting to her feet. “Fuck her!”

“That’s the spirit!”

Vassa upended the box into their fireplace, lifting up a cloud of dust, ash, and various herbs from an ill-advised cleaning spell they’d tried to cast the week before. “Care to do the honors?” she asked, extending a box of matches towards Elain.

Elain took a shuddering breath as she looked at the sad little pile of ashy belongings. Clothes, a few books, thin leather straps Lucien had used to tie his hair back. Straps he’d once used to bind her wrists together as he-

Elain struck the match so aggressively that it snapped clean in half. The second one lit, the little flame seeming to mock her as it danced near the tips of her fingers.

The fire was slow to catch, smoking pathetically as it tried to crawl along the pile of fabric and books. And then it grew, until their faces warmed by the heat of the flames. Elain very pointedly ignored the fact that Lucien could summon flames ten times this size without so much as blinking.

“We curse you, Lucien Vanserra!” Vassa declared, stirring the flames with a poker.

“I hope you burn in hell,” Elain mumbled.

Vassa cackled. “He’d probably be happy there. Let him rot somewhere his flame can’t catch.”

Elain might have imagined it, but just for a moment the fire seemed to grow brighter in the hearth.

“And may his betrothed be frigid in bed!” Vassa added with another cackling laugh. Once again the flames flashed hotter, almost blue.

“And may she break his heart, just like he did mine,” Elain added sadly.

It seemed like she was speaking directly to the flames themselves, and for a second they appeared to wink in response. She blinked, and shook her head against a wave of disorientation. Merlin, she was drunk.

A flash of lightning lit up the night sky outside, followed by another rumble of thunder that made them both jump. With a mechanical groaning the lights inside the apartment blinked off, leaving them sitting there in the dark.

Vassa groaned. “Damn it, power’s out again.”

But Elain’s attention was still on the fire- or, more accurately, on the space where it should have been. In the space where moments before flames had danced merrily, there was now only a fine layer of ash, all traces of Lucien’s belongings having vanished, like the flames, into thin air.

Elain gulped. “Vassa? I think we might have done something bad.”

[allwormdiet]

Agitation 3.1

Got waylaid by work and brain weather, but we're back to it. Let's see how Taylor's life is going

Her routine has come up before, but it bears saying that I think Taylor's actual superpower might just be that she's a morning person who can hold herself to accomplish daily goals, like goddamn girl

The constant, casual cruelty that makes up so much of Taylor's history is equal parts saddening and infuriating. I'm sure we'll get an explanation for why the bullies do this to her, I think I've said as much in previous posts, but also as mentioned in previous posts I find it aggravating to endure.

...I don't know if this is quite the right place in my reading to speculate on it, but I'm not sure if Taylor even has a shot at university at this point, even setting aside the cape thing. The bullies are all in her year, which means they'd never be separated from her by graduation. Their constant sabotage and harassment would mean her grades are low, so even if she gets into a college with whatever GPA she can bodge together (and no extracurriculars to pad her application out), she's probably not going to earn any scholarships and money's already pretty tight for the Heberts. That means student loans, and probably shit rates considering the world they're in.

Maybe this is my bitter ass reflecting on how the greatest benefits I got out of going to college were completely incidental to the courses I took or the degree I earned, but... Taylor, I know college meant a lot to your mom, I just don't think that path is nearly as open to you as it used to be. I think it's fine to just learn a trade, and I think it's fine if the trade is armed robbery.

So you're telling me Taylor's self-image used to be worse? Jeeesus

I like that Brian knows how to blend into an environment as the situation calls for it. That speaks to a pretty keen observational ability, and also is maybe tied to his need to act more grown-up than he is. And now I'm sad again.

"I want" is cute, embarrassment is for suckers (I say, easily embarrassed)

I don't even like coffee, but a fifteen dollar coffee had better be the best coffee you've ever had, oh my god

And honestly that must have been weird for every member of the team, just suddenly having money not be a problem anymore. Taylor's holding out for now, although I suspect it won't be that way forever, and everyone else either wants or needs it bad enough for their own ends that I don't think they're gonna think about it too hard (except for Lisa, who has the full context and whose power is thinking too hard)

Taylor please don't undersell your injuries to your teammates, I don't like you doing it with your dad but I understand it. Here though? Come onnnnn

Yeah there we go

Violence is an easy language to understand. Cruel, obviously, and painful, but if Rachel is already struggling with other people's words and feelings (five bucks says she's autistic tbh) then getting the shit kicked out of her is probably a better sell on the new recruit than any pretty speech

...Ideally they move past that pretty quick so words can be used again

Also poor Rachel, for real. Ten years in the system and then whatever it was that triggered her powers, which is obviously never good. No wonder she came out the other end more willing to trust dogs than people.

Ugh, my heart

Is she showing off for the guy she's crushing on? That's adorable

Curious that the limits of her power seem to be based on complexity of the brain. I assume there has to be a brain at all or else she could just shoot germs at people, although that'd also be a little bit inefficient as a power unless she started getting into disease warfare and holy shit this would be a very different story if Taylor could give people smallpox

Gotta be a weird day for the crab though

Couple things here

Brian you're not even eighteen yet as far as I know, what the hell

Of course Lisa cheated, she's built to cheat, at that point I'm not sure it even counts as cheating

Knowing what I know about Alec, somehow I doubt he was ever in school to drop out in the first place

...on the flipside I'm a little surprised that Rachel never went during her time in the system, you'd figure that'd be a condition of her fostering but either the guardians didn't give a shit or she fought her way out of ever actually attending

Also, I know it's a matter of course that she'd have a key to the base, but it's sweet all the same

It's nice of Brian to make this offer, although I'm willing to bet it's because he's the only Undersider who would get up before 6 AM. It's also a pretty smart call to keep her up to date this way

Also very funny that Taylor is like "Oh I like Lisa just fine but she scares the shit out of me"

...Also also, for real, Lisa has to already know what's going on with Taylor right? There's no way Taylor's good enough at lying to bury that one.

Girl I'm dreading it and I'm just reading about it

This is just. So goddamn sad. And maddening, to boot.

Gee Taylor you sure to seem to spend a fair amount of time thinking about the comparative attractiveness of other women

Agonizing, though, for real. Wildbow has knocked every school scene out of the park and I hate it.

I wonder if Taylor's gonna even bother coming back to school at this point. First day she left mid lunch, second day she left right after lunch started, here she's splitting before first period. As much as she clings to this side of her life... I don't know if it's any healthier than full-time villainy.

Go blow off steam with your new friends Taylor

Current Thoughts

I actually don't have any real expectations for this arc going into it. Obviously Arc 1 is the start of... I mean kind of everything, and Arc 2 is made up of the immediate aftermath from those events. This one? I dunno. I was a little worried I'd have to deal with another chapter of Winslow, but it looks like Taylor decided she was sick of that shit

I like Brian, but I think mostly I'm worried for him? This is a lot of effort so far made to seem mature and normal, and I don't know if that's possible for a teenager who goes out to be a supervillain. It's admirable in a sense, but I'm worried about how fragile it leaves him.

I don't love that Rachel seems satisfied by an exchange of violence but that's more bc I don't want these kids beating the shit out of each other, not any kind of "this is bad actually" sense.

Other than that I'm mostly just curious what the rest of this arc looks like. Thank fuck it's not more high school.

Oh, yeah, I'm gonna try and read more at work today, I might take my screenshots then and see if they drive me up a wall, but even if so I'll just retake them when I get home. Fingers crossed work is slow enough for it.

[maxthesillyy]

what do you think about the characters in Double Exposure so far?

the characters themselves arent that bad,, but i definitely cant say i really care for any of them yet. as in i wouldnt be that upset at any of their deaths

at first i was NOT vibing right with Safi at all considering literally all of her jokes are straight up hit or miss, but the more we learn about her (or. learn that we have a lot to learn) the more i’ve grown interested and fond of her. she kinda gives Way Too Excited For 8 AM Teacher vibes.

Moses is kinda intriguing to me right now, but is also pretty much a nothing burger,, i can only assume (and hope) i’ll see more about him after chapter 1. so. he’s kinda silly, thats about it.

OH Loretta. i hate her so much, she’s so funny, i love her. i always love to hate a good bitchy girl character. oh my cod— ESPECIALLY when the look she gives Max if u try to call her bluff. im definitely hella excited to see more of her— especially since she clearly brought out the more bitchy side of Max. honestly so far i think these two’s dynamic is my favorite. she kinda feels like Max, Victoria, and Rachel all smushed together.

then theres Gwen,,, the game’s definitely setting us up to be suspicious of her. i dont have many thoughts about her though other than that. shes hot ? kinda endearing when shes not pissed at us. thats about it.

Amanda……………. 😒 she exists ig. no fr though, she’s literally fine. she feels more like a quirky best friend disney channel character than a real person. and then theres with the game SHOVING her and max together… idk! maybe ill warm up to her. i dont want to hate her but the game is very quickly pulling me down that route.

oh then the other guy max can flirt with for some godforsaken reason?? Vinh is his name i think. i dont trust him, and i dont think were supposed to. personally i think it feels ooc for max to openly flirt with him back— especially so quickly,, even if she’s doing it jokingly or smth. like girl you were just either talking about how you can never recognize when youre being flirted with or need to take time before flirting back with someone— AND even then. you’d think max would be more wary of overly charming who show an interest in her.

which brings me to Lucas. im guessing if anything happens with him he’s gonna be a red herring. maybe it’s just me, but i wouldn’t be surprised if were supposed to be reminded of jefferson when we see him,, at least he doesnt have any real interest in her though.

pretty sure Amanda and Vinh are the only two love interests? either way i honestly dont think it makes sense for Max to be seeking either of them out romantically. this may be the Aro in me, but chloe was a realistic “love interest” in the OG game because well. they were Max and Chloe. and besides that Max was already with her basically 24/7, and was obsessed with her. they made sense. they werent forced or obviously placed there just to be love interests— it was natural.

honestly Amanda and Vinh just seem like.. love interests for the sake of love interests.

tbh any love interest for Max right now just feels,,,, maybe could’ve been the right person but WAY too wrong of a time. like i dont even see an interesting unhealthy dynamic— and if i wanted that i would just go to current DE!pricefield so.

this brings me to Chloe… im happy she’s haunting the narrative rn,,, could be doing it a little harder imo—but other than that im. trying not to form any huge opinions on the Max and Chloe situation. when we (hopefully istg decknine) get the whole picture ill probably talk about this more. im just pretty conflicted.. and also wishing decknine just CHOSE one of the endings (bay WHO SAID THAT) instead of leaving it open to not piss anyone off.

oh uh then Reggie and Diamond,, i dont have any thoughts about them really except for being mildly intrigued by the amount of attention handed over to Diamond. im guessing she’ll have more plot relevance later,,, but Reggie will prob stay a very side character.

i thinkkk thats everyone? OH. Yasmin. not much about her. can appreciate how much she cares about Safi’s murder. but yeah nobody else comes to mind,,, and if i did miss somebody i guess that just goes to show how little i think of them.

so i guess overall my thoughts about the DE characters are “we’ll have to see what happens.”

[petertingle-yipyip]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

two - i don’t forgive you

one // three // masterlist

Pairing: platonic frank x livia

Word Count: 6,812

Summary: Groundwork for the coming battle is laid out but the goal may not be as clear as it once seemed.

Hatred. White hot, burning hatred.

That was all that was left in your head when you thought of Billy Russo. When he hung your from your bleeding wrists, any sentiment left bled out. When he screamed for you to beg, any regret for what was to come fell away. When he shot through your wrist, he shot any chance of redemption.

Now, when you thought of the man you once thought you could love, you wanted him dead. No matter how twisted his memories, how broken his mind, you’d never forgive him.

Dinah brought the three of you back to her apartment. It was nicer than yours, but on a Homeland SAC salary, of course it should’ve been. She said it was up to you three to decide living arrangements and she’d go to a hotel. You offered your apartment for her but she insisted that Billy would go there at some point. She didn’t care to listen to the fact that you had moved since Russo had last been where you lived.

Rachel asked a million questions in what seemed like one breath, then it turned into a long ramble about the state of Dinah’s apartment.

“You can take the bedroom.” You answered when she gave pointed looks to you both after asking who either of you were. “Gives you some privacy.”

“I’ll take the couch.” Frank nodded.

“What about you?” She sighed.

“I have my own place.” You nodded. “Or we can cross that bridge if we come to it. Go get some rest.”

Once the door shut behind her, you dropped on the couch beside Frank and let out a heavy sigh. Frank flipped on the TV and you let your head fall against the back of the couch to stare at the ceiling. Frank’s channel flipping led to a news story about Billy’s escape and the mention of his name ignited something under your skin.

Something feral, vengeful.

You had never, never wanted someone dead more in your life.

“How’d you end up with the kid?” You asked after he changed the channel again.

“Those people, they followed her into the bar I was at… I tell you, Princess, if it was a grown man, I wouldn’t have looked twice. But since it was a goddamn kid…”

“She’s crying.” You said instead, feeling that cold sensation hit your skin and mimic tears on your own face. “She’s so scared, Frank.”

“I know..”

“We’ve gotta protect her.” You said quietly and sat up to face Frank.

“Yeah…”

“I want him dead, but I don’t give a shit about going after him right now. Until he comes after me or remembers more than a goddamn logo of who attacked him, I don’t fucking care. That girl-“ You pointed to the bedroom. “-needs to be priority number one… Who the hell were those guys in Ohio? He killed some of his own men.”

“I don’t know. She don’t know either.”

“We can’t wait for them to come for her again. Did she tell you why they were after her?”

“Some pictures.”  He shrugged. “Said she doesn’t know what’s on them but won’t let anyone touch ‘em.”

“Weird.” You confessed before looking at him again. You noticed how exhausted he seemed. “Hey… Get some rest, okay? I’ll raid her kitchen and put something together for you guys in the meantime.”

“You don’t gotta-“ He tried but you were already standing.

“Rest, Marine.” You said firmly. “Something tells me this is gonna get real fucked real fast.”

“Yes, maam.” He teased as he shifted to lay on the couch. “Livia?”

“Yeah?” You were halfway to the kitchen.

“My kids would’ve loved you.”

You turned quickly, absolutely shocked by what he said. You took a step closer and saw his eyes were closed. The man must’ve been half asleep before the thought had fully processed but the words still made your chest tight. It made you feel some strange sort of responsibility, to live up to that idea.

It made you wonder if that was possible for you.

You busied yourself in the kitchen in better off dwelling on the thought. You made a simple meal of chicken, rice, and veggies since you weren’t sure what Rachel’s diet was or if she’d come out to eat anytime soon. You made up three plates and packaged the leftovers, just as Dinah was getting home.

The sound of her closing the door woke Frank so you left two plates on the counter while tucking the third into the oven. You scribbled a quick note that there was a plate for her and slid it under the bedroom door to Rachel, then you returned to the kitchen and gathered the plates and silverware. You handed one to Frank and sat beside him with your own.

“Just make yourself at home then.” Dinah said sarcastically.

“Someone has to feed them.” You shrugged. “But by all means, don’t let me interrupt.”

You were barely listening as she filled in Frank on what was going on with Billy. Instead, you were looking at the bedroom door, hoping the kid would come out to eat. You looked back when you heard the light thud of something landing in Frank’s hand.

You looked over and saw the panicked sketches of the skull Frank had spray painted onto his bulletproof and the vague outline of your mask. The shapes would overlap sometimes, take up full pages other times. But every scribbled stroke of the pen was doused in emotion that you couldn’t look at it for long.

“… lulled them into thinking he was harmless.” Dinah ranted.

“Maybe he was.” You shrugged and Dinah stared at you like you were crazy. “What I mean is maybe your visits and mine, both of us telling him what he did, it triggered something in him. For all he knew, he was powerless. Then two women come in and tell him that he nearly killed them, despite said woman being in positions of power… You’d be surprised what an inflated ego can do for a man.”

Dinah turned away and opened the closet behind her, pulling out the bulletproof from the carousel. She tossed it at Frank and you watched his face for a reaction.

“That blood is yours and it’s mine and it’s hers and it’s his.” She said, using more desperation with each word. “If you’ve moved on and you’ve got closure, good for you. He hasn’t. Has she?” She gestured to you.

“When I looked into his eyes, I saw nothing of the man he was. If you’re right and it was a ploy, there’s no emotions to hold him back this time. You pick a fight with him, he won’t hesitate like you did.”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?” She scoffed.

“You had the shot. You didn’t take it.” Frank added in annoyance. “What do you want from me?”

“You think I don’t know that?” She damn near yelled. “I went to see him in the hospital every day once I was recovered. Because I wanted to hear him admit what he did.” She turned to face you. “I trusted him just like you… Maybe that’s why you couldn’t kill him either.”

“Excuse me?” Frank snapped while you stood quickly and loudly said “What did you just say?”

“That’s why you couldn’t kill him either!” She screamed back at you both.

“Killing him would’ve been too easy.” Frank countered, calmer than you were.

“Yeah, or too hard.” She continued to argue.

“The only reason I didn’t kill him was because I had lost too much blood.” You reasoned tightly, trying to shut down the burning anger throughout your veins. “If I had been in better shape, I would’ve slit his throat.”

“But you didn’t.” She sneered and you almost slapped her for it.

“That why we’re here, Madani? To take the shot you couldn’t?” Frank argued and you felt his presence behind you, standing at your back.

“Just give me names.” She backed down. “Name. Places. Anything I can use to find him.”

You and Frank said nothing. You both slowly backed away to the couch and she sighed in defeat before leaving. You blew out a sigh and let your head fall to Frank’s shoulder.

“You saw him?” Frank asked quietly.

“Only once. Mahoney caught me outside my building and dragged me over.” You explained. “His shrink thought it’d help…”

“It did something.”

“Nothing good, it seems.”

Later that night, Frank was dressed to go out. When you asked, he simply said for you to stay back and keep an eye on the girl. You waved him off and said for him to tell whoever he was visiting that you said hi. He laughed, patted you on the shoulder, and took off.

The next morning, Rachel began banging on the inside of the bedroom door. You shot up from your spot on the couch and Frank moved with you. He unlocked the door and she came out screaming, hitting and pushing Frank by his chest. You went up behind her and wrapped your arms around her, effectively pinning her arms to her side while you dragged her to the other side of the room.

You let yourself absorb her anger and panic, feeling it burn your skin and jolt down your spine. Almost instantly she relaxed in your arms and you let her go. You turned away from them both while you gave the sensations a moment to clear. With a deep breath, you were through it and you gestured for Rachel to sit down.

With a gentle nudge, you got her to talk about how she ended up on the run.

“Who’s he?” You interrupted her story. “Who came back?”

“Look, I really think we should just get out of here.” She said instead and you and Frank exchanged a look. “That’s what Fiona would do. ‘If you think your cover’s blown, just run’ .”

“Fiona…” You repeated with a nod. “Melina said that your cover’s not blown until you blow it. And once it is, fight back. Who’s Fiona?”

“Who’s Melina?” She shot back defensively.

“My aunt, helped train me and my cousins. Your turn.”

“I worked for her, me and the others… She took care of us and we did jobs for her.”

“The kind of jobs that got people trynna kill you?” Frank commented. “Doesn’t sound like she cared about you that much.”

“Well you didn’t know her, did you?” She retorted quickly.

“Angry little thing, isn’t she?” You almost laughed.

“Be nice.” Frank said, holding back his own laugh. “How’d you end up with her, living a life like that?”

“I don’t know. How does anyone end up doing anything?”

“I was taken as an infant.” You shrugged. “Can we get back to your story?”

“Okay…” She nodded and righted herself. “Next thing I knew, I was under the bed in this motel and my friends… They’re all bleeding out on the carpet. And I wanna run but I can’t, because that guy , the one with the vest and the old times preacher shirt…”

“Yeah, I saw him.” You nodded.

“He came back in and I couldn’t run. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t… I couldn’t do anything because he was literally standing right there.”

“So what was it, a job gone bad?”

“Mhmm. Fiona snuck us into some catering crew for this funeral in Chicago. We had to take pictures of these guys and I felt super weird about it because they were, like, hugging and kissing and crying but…”

Frank let out a sigh as the information sat amongst the three of you. 

“He killed everyone I ever cared about. How do you think that feels?” She challenged Frank loudly.

“Don’t pick this fight, kid.” You warned calmly. “We’ve had our fair share of loss, alright? We get that he’s dangerous and we get that you’re scared.”

“What do you wanna do about it?” Frank asked, but you could feel that grief still inside him.

“Do about it?” She repeated in shock. “They’re gone, dead. And he wants to kill me too now, us. What we should do is split up and get the hell out of here. There’s this girl I know, Shontel. She’s here in the city and she used to run with us. She’d hook us up, I know she would.”

“Or sell us out.” You looked to Frank. “Guy like that has to have a higher up that’s pissed, enough to put a bounty on all three of us.”

Frank hummed in agreement.

“I could talk to Red.” Your hand went to the chain tucked safely under your shirt, still adorned with the ring you found.

“Nah, you know how this is gonna end and he ain’t gonna be able to do it.” He shook his head and you gave a short nod in agreement. “I get the feeling you two aren’t on great terms at the moment anyway.”

“Just…” You dropped your hand and looked back to Rachel. “The good thing is that we still have some anonymity from the guy. He has a fake name for you-“ You pointed to Frank. “-and I’m starting to think you too.” You pointed to Rachel and she hesitantly nodded. “He has a face for me but I think it was too dark for home to really see me. I'm sure he’s running all the checks he can to connect us, regardless.”

“Hello!? Why aren’t you listening to me?” She loudly cut in.

“You’ve seen what this guy can do.” Frank said lowly. “You know he’s not gonna stop. You’re gonna run? You’re gonna hide? He’s gonna find you. He seems pretty connected.”

A beat of silence while she processed the explanation.

“You go to your friend, she’s as good as dead.” You agreed. “You’d be risking not just your life and hers, but both of ours too. Could you live with that?”

“Sometimes, kid, you gotta fight.” Frank added. “You take the fight to them.”

“I’ll make breakfast.” You nodded and headed to the kitchen.

A little while after everyone was eating, Dinah came home. The first thing out of her mouth was about Billy. You listened to their conversation but didn’t add anything as they talked about some guy from Billy’s childhood. Rachel shot you a concerned look at the conversation continued and her interjection was immediately shot down. You smiled apologetically and gestured to the  food in front of her.

The sudden knock on the door halted all conversation. You ushered Frank and Rachel into the bedroom before you tucked yourself in the space under Dinah’s kitchen island. You crouched down and pulled the chair in enough to seem inconspicuous while your hand pulled the gun from the back of your waistband. You kept it tucked against your hip while the other hand flattened on the ground to keep yourself stable.

Some of the tension in your body melted when you heard the voice. It was just Brett. You listened in and were unsurprised to find out that Dinah had swiped Billy’s journal.

A few moments after the door closed, your phone buzzed.

-meet me there-

You sighed slightly as you came out from your hiding place. Frank and Rachel came out soon after and you exchanged looks with your friend. He had a mission in mind, that much you could tell. But you didn’t know exactly what and while you wanted to help him first, you knew there was a certain level of compliance you owed Dinah. 

You left before Frank did, hailing a cab to your building. You hustled to your apartment and changed. Your badge was at your hip, your FBI bulletproof across your torso, your gun at your back. You tucked a blade into the waistband at the opposite hip before throwing a jacket over the vest and heading out.

You had gotten there a few minutes before Dinah so you took a quick lap around the property. You kept yourself open as you did so but there was nothing. No fear, no anger, no regret. You weren’t convinced there was anybody in the house by the time you made it back to the front.

No one alive at least.

“Feels empty.” You told her as she approached.

She said nothing, just brushed past you and drew her weapon. You sighed to yourself but pulled your gun all the same. You followed her up the short porch steps before you kicked the door open together and entered the home.

You let her lead the way but your head stayed on a swivel, just in case something wicked lurked in the shadows. Her small exclamation drew your attention so you looked over her shoulder and saw the man’s body, impaled through his chest.

“Это нехорошо.” You said to yourself. (That isn’t good.)

That threat suddenly felt much closer than it did at the hospital.

A creak of the floorboards behind you caused you both to quickly spin. Dinah fired her gun before you did and the man yelled but there was no blood. You took the first step closer and realized it was Brett.

“Dammit, Madani.” You scolded as you shoved your weapon away and moved to Brett’s side. You helped pull your friend to his feet while he tried to catch his breath. “You alright, Brett?”

“Shit, that hurts!” He exclaimed and you cracked a small smile.

Him and Dinah began another back and forth about Billy. You bit your tongue and looked back at the man. If what Billy had said about him was true, then he deserved to die. You couldn’t find it in yourself to feel bad for the corpse.

You did, however, find something else you felt.

Dinah had moved in to play some sort of power card over Brett and it made you act.

You put yourself between them and forced her to step back.

“You may be SAC, but you can’t intimidate me.” You warned lowly and you watched her eyes dart between yours, looking for something you couldn’t place. “Know your place, Agent Madani.”

She stared at you for a few more seconds before she scoffed and stormed away. You let out your pent up tension through a sigh and it appeared to you like a little puff of smoke. You turned and nodded to Brett before leaving, ignoring the questions he was throwing out.

When you got back to Dinah’s apartment, Frank and Rachel were in the middle of a serious conversation. You stood quietly by the door but Frank acknowledged your presence with only a glance.

“My name isn’t Rachel, by the way…” She confessed. “It’s Amy.”

“Suits you better.” You said kindly as you came around to stand beside Frank.

“Okay.” Frank nodded.

“Okay.” She agreed.

“So no more running?”

“No more running.”

“Alright then.”

“Can I ask you something?” She turned to you and you nodded. “I saw you were his lawyer… How’d you end up doing this?”

“I’m…” You glanced at Frank and he only offered a small shrug. “I’m former FBI, but even before that, I was trained from a young age as a child assassin. One of the most deadly in the world.”

“But you went to law school?”

“I wanted to help people.” You explained with a defeated shrug. “And I did help some but by being this version of myself I can help more, so I do both when necessary.”

“Who is this version of you?” She asked carefully, afraid almost.

“Exodus.”

“Read about her, too.”

“Yeah? She scare you the same way he did?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“Good.” You smiled slightly.

Later that night while you were making dinner, Frank and Amy were playing a card game at the island while they talked. You went to the island to rinse your hands and looked over to watch her hands. You smiled to yourself when Frank picked the wrong card again.

“Three card monte.” You laughed. “You’ll never get it.”

“Ah, shut up.” He said to you with a small laugh. “You think you could do it?”

“It’s a scam game, Frank. You’re the mark that thinks he can beat anyone no matter how stacked the deck is. Frustration keeps you playing because you think you can outsmart the dealer. It’s part of why I went for you in the first place.”

“Went for him?” Amy turned to you quickly. “Wait, did you guys-“ She began to ask before Frank cut her off.

“Come do it then!” He said and pointed to the cards.

“Let’s talk about our situation then.” You nodded and gestured for Amy to deal. “What is it and how’d we get here?”

“It all goes back Konchevsky, right? The guy who hired us.” She began and flashed you the three cards. “I call him for help and suddenly there’s goons everywhere. So, I don’t know, maybe he didn’t want to pay for the job.”

“Too simple.” You shook your head, though your eyes were trained on her hands. “You’re a kid so not paying you wouldn’t be worth this.”

“Maybe he didn’t want witnesses?”

“Seems extensive for a set of pictures.” You tapped your card choice and she flipped it to show the queen. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” You deadpanned.

“What?”

“Three card monte is a sleight of hand.” You explained. “It rides on the mark watching the wrong thing. The queen never moves, right?”

“Bullshit. Show me.” Frank insisted and you laughed as Amy did the move slowly.

“Maybe we’re looking in the wrong place too.” You continued. “Konchevsky wanted photos of someone and someone else didn’t want him to get ‘em. It’s not about who wants you dead, Amy. It could be about who wanted to get to Konchevsky.”

“What, you wanna go after him?” She asked you incredulously. “The creepy old Russian gang dude?”

“I’ve got a history with Russians.” You shrugged and went back to making plates.

Later that night, you and Frank went to find an old friend. He waited in the backseat of Turk’s car and you were crouched behind the back in your vigilante suit. 

You had to admit it was nice to be back in your costume, mask across your eyes.

Once the man got in, you stood fully and waited outside the door. You saw him pull out his phone and begin dialing 911 so you threw your elbow against the driver’s side window. You reached in and wrapped your hand around Turk’s throat.

“Kazan’s Gym in Brooklyn.” The man gasped and your grip released. You leaned into the open space and his fear spiked. “You wanna take them out, the gyms best place.”

“Why?” You asked with your accent tinting the single syllable.

“No one's packing in there.”

You hummed in interest while the two started going back and forth about what was going to happen. You didn’t quite care for whatever meeting Turk would set up, using Amy and the photos as bait. You could walk in just as easily, fall into your Red Room persona and let Exodus take over. You’d own the gym in minutes based on accent and confidence alone, but you decided to let Frank set the plan in motion.

“You should go see him.” Frank said as you two were walking away.

“See who?” You asked despite knowing the answer.

“Murdock.” You could practically hear his eyes roll. “You haven’t talked to him since we got here, have you?”

“No.” You confessed. “I moved back into my old apartment before I took off with my cousins…”

“Trouble in paradise?”

“Seems like it’s always more trouble than paradise.” You laughed sadly. “No, I can’t see him now. If Billy remembers any more about me, he’ll remember that apartment so the further I am from it, the safer he’ll be. Hopefully.”

“You can’t hide from him forever.” He glanced over at you.

“That was his plan.” You reasoned with a shrug. “He’s better off without me for now. I’ll come by in the morning, alright?”

“Hey.” He said softly, reaching for your arm to stop you. “Don’t do that, alright? Don’t shut down on him. He made a mistake. He probably does that a lot, huh?”

You snorted a small laugh.

“But he loves you. Anybody can see that and you have him back. You wanna be pissed off, be pissed off at someone who deserves it.”

“Someone like Billy?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Or the Russian bastard that’s messing with your kid.”

“She’s not my kid.” You shook your head with a small smile and started walking again.

“She’s got an attitude like you.” He joked.

“If she was my kid, she wouldn’t wanna run.” You defended. “And she wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.”

“We’re gonna get her out of it.”

“I know.”

The next morning, Dinah beat you back to the apartment. Your loose Columbia Law tee concealing your plated vest while your mask sat safely in your front pocket, two blades at your back and a handgun at the front of your   waistband. When you walked in, it was a very tense argument. Amy was standing at kitchen island with the look of a deer caught in headlights. You raised your eyebrows in question and she pressed her lips into a line.

“…right back to my doorstep.” Dinah’s voice fell off. “And you.”

She glared in your direction.

“Who’s goddamn side are you on?”

“Talk to me like that again and you’ll be eating through a straw. I don’t give a damn about your title. You can’t have my badge, right?” You warned briskly. “Russo is a dead end until he decides to do something that catches attention. So long as he’s under the radar, I have other priorities.”

Her upper lip curled into a small snarl before she closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them, tears formed out of frustration. You simply shrugged, silently asking what she was going to do next.

She warned Frank to get out of the city and clean up his mess before she stormed out.

“You’ve got a big mouth, kid.” Frank sighed. “Gotta watch out for that.”

“You guys are welcome to come stay at mine.” You offered. “Especially considering I’m the one that told her we’d do something about Billy.”

“Seriously, Livia?” He groaned.

“Hey, I needed a lift to Ohio.” You reasoned. “But I never said it’d be immediate. Anyways, we should go check out that gym.”

After finding breakfast for the three of you, you and Frank headed out. You let him lead and it took you two to a rooftop across from the gym. You sat on the roof with your knees tucked up to your chest while you two quietly waited. It didn’t take long for Turk to make his way in.

You made a move forward when you saw one of the men wrap their arms around Turk‘s neck but Frank caught your arm. When you turned to look at him, he offered you a knowing look. You sighed to yourself and sat back, knowing Frank was right. Going in there to save Turk world blow everything, give away your anonymity.

Instead, you two went back to the apartment.

It was littered with shopping bags and takeout delivery. Frank lectured her when she revealed Dinah’s credit card after she handed each of you a bag. Frank continued his rant while you reached inside and pulled out a black hooded cloak with maroon trim. You laughed slightly and she smiled proudly at you.

“I’ve always had a flair for dramatics.” You joked with a shrug as you dropped the accessory back into the bag and received a glare from Frank. “I’ll pay Dinah back for it, relax.”

His rant was quickly cut short when he realized the pizza box on the far counter. You and Amy swapped small smiles as he went over, just before his phone rang. You helped him get it out and out it on speaker so you both could hear Turk’s call.

“Guys lying through his teeth.” Frank said simply.

“I’ve been thinking.” Amy began as she jumped on the counter.

You reached across Frank for a slice of pizza.

“None of the angles add up here.”

“How so?” Frank asked.

“That bar in Michigan, all those scary guys showed up like ten minutes after I talked to Konchevsky on the phone. So why didn’t he just come take care of me quietly by himself? And all those guys that showed up-“ She turned to you. “None of them were Russian.”

“So it wasn’t Konchevsky’s guys.” You confirmed. “Which means he’s probably dead and that means there trying to trap us.”

“Probably.” Frank nodded. 

“And you’re still going?” She asked with wide eyes.

“It’ll be our trap.” He looked to you and you nodded.

“At least we know it’s coming.” You agreed and turned back to Amy. “But if something happens, you need to ask Dinah to help you get to Nel-“

“Stop it with that.” Frank cut in. “Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“She needs a backup plan.” You said firmly. “They can-“

“They aren’t needed. And you’re the one who said you didn’t wanna put him at risk. Didn’t you say that?”

“We’re plan A but we need plan B and C and… You know how the alphabet works, right, Frank?”

“Your boys are plan Z.” He said firmly before pushing past you.

You blew out a sigh and gave Amy an apologetic look before you dropped into the now vacated chair. You pulled your phone and saw some text messages from Karen and Foggy. They asked how you were, as usual, and said they missed you. They loved you. They wished you’d text back.

You stared at the screen and wondered if you should text them back, warn them that you might need to send a kid their way. She would just need somewhere to lay low while you took care of it but her voice snapped you back to the present.

“Who’s him?” She asked softly.

“Hmm?” You raised your brows as you caught her gaze.

“The guy you don’t wanna risk… I saw the ring on the necklace the other day. Are you married?”

“Come back to me when you figure it out.” You patted her leg and stood to move towards Frank.

You crossed your arms and nodded to his arm.

“You either need to lose that or go to hospital and get it done right.” You said flatly. “Duct tape isn’t exactly a solution.”

“You got a blade?” He answered.

“Don’t I always?” You pulled your knife and he held out his wrist to you, allowing you to slide the blade under and cut through the makeshift covering. 

“Looks like shit.” You said honestly as you put the blade away.

“It’s fine.” He shrugged. “C’mon.”

Without another word, you followed him out.

In the alley across from Kazan’s, you waited until the van of goons was loaded and on its way out before you two headed inside.

Your entrance drew everyone’s attention and the excitement buzzed through your muscles. You felt every set of eyes on you as you kept your gaze forward. You mentally counted every person you passed until someone finally spoke.

“I think you’re in the wrong place, my friends.” One of the men told you. 

“Потому что это разрушает твои планы, верно?” You answered, a small smirk growing at the shock on his face. (Because it ruins your plans, right?)

“Wonder what’s waiting for us at Turk’s, huh?” Frank added as he casually glanced around the room. “What could that be?”

“What does the Punisher have to do with my business in Chicago, huh?” The man looked to you. “You kill Konchevsky?”

“No.” Frank answered while you shook your head. “Did you?”

“Dima is my nephew. I wouldn’t lay a hand on that boy.”

“Так кто же преследует девушку и фотографии?” (So who’s chasing the girl and the photographs?)

“Откуда мы знаем, что ты не та девушка?” (How do we know you’re not the girl?)

“Потому что мне не нужно было бы зовать на помощь.” You smiled and his eye narrowed. “Скажи мне, что ты знаешь, и я не бу��у перекрашивать спортзал твоей мужской кровью.” (Because I wouldn’t need to call for help. Tell me what you know and I don’t repaint the gym with your men’s blood.)

“I’m not the one who’s gonna be talking.” He said sharply.

He turned to one of the bigger men coming towards you and muttered that he wanted you two alive. You sighed to yourself and reached behind to double check your knives.

“Тогда давай.” You beckoned one of the men closer. (Come on, then.)

Clearly, your taunting pissed him off because he quickly moved in. Your fingers wrapped around the blade and you freed it from behind you. You ducked under his swinging arm and swiped your blade, a shallow split across his ribs.

You righted yourself as a second man stood in front of you and you quickly threw your foot against his chest. He stumbled backwards over a nearby bench and crashed to the floor.

A thick set of arms wrapped around your torso from behind and pinned your arms to your side. You flicked your knife downward and it buried into his foot but he only screamed in pain. Another man came up and landed heavy body shots, causing you to cough roughly as the haunting ache in your rib ignited and slowly started to burn up your side.

When the man in front of you came to hit you again, you tucked your knees to your chest and kicked out with all your strength. The impact sent you and the man pinning you into the squat rack behind and the barbell hit the center of his back, resulting in him dropping his hold on you.

You hit the platform with a thud but refused to stay down. You scrambled to yank your knife from his foot and then spun to your back and slammed your heel against his nose, effectively knocking him out while you put your knife away.

The two earlier men came at you again and hauled you to your feet. You fisted one of the men’s shirts before sticking your foot between his to take you all down. You dropped that shoulder so you flipped over one man and continued to roll until you had space. At that point, you saw Frank out the corner of your eye swing a dumbbell and it gave you an idea.

You moved quickly to pick up the nearest 25lb plate and used it as a shield at first, forcing the man to slam his fist against the heavy metal circle. You smiled slightly as he cried out before you swung the plate against the side of his head and he fell.

The last man came at you hard and fast. He grabbed the plate and forced you backwards until your shoulders hit a nearby barbell. That didn’t stop his pressure, forcing you to bend over it. You wanted to drop the plate but your grip and your push was the only thing keeping the metal from crushing your sternum. So you did the only thing you could do.

You reared back and slammed your forehead against his nose. The impact stunned him so you did it again and his pressure faltered. You pushed all your strength forward and drove him off you before you threw the plate to the side. You drew your knife in a quick motion and sent it flying, burying itself into his chest.

You took deep, scratchy breaths as you looked around to find only one man left standing. The biggest one and he was still locked in with Frank.

Your mind raced to come up with a plan but you only had two ideas, kill him or distract him. You mentally shrugged and decided it didn’t matter which so you moved.

Your arm hooked around his neck and you threw yourself into a half spin to throw him to his back and allow you to face him. Your hands planted flat on the ground and you kicked out with both feet, landing hard but allowing him to catch your feet.

You yelped slightly as he yanked you closer before a large hand was the base of your throat. He leaned a knee against your stomach so you couldn’t reach the other knife behind you. You coughed as you clawed at his wrist and forearm, looking for some sort of grip to try any maneuver that could get you out but you came up empty.

The edges of your vision blackened as you watched the man raise a hand above his head.

But he froze. The only movement was his eyes widening.

You smiled as you saw the yellow fog thickening around his hand and across his eyes. You still struggled to breathe but he was paralyzed with fear. You focused on the haze and willed it to move, to creep across his skin and travel down his throat. When he coughed, you smiled wider.

Frank came crashing a few seconds later and tackled the man off you, a small plate in hand that he began beating on the man with. You rolled to your side and coughed hard, forcing air in and out of your lungs. You held your ribs and you stood and grabbed the man you had originally talked to.

“I’m not your enemy.” He tried desperately as you grabbed two fistfuls of his jacket.

You yanked hard and threw the man to the ground, your foot on his chest. You let go of his jacket and pulled your gun, holding his face in one hand and pressed the barrel to his forehead with the other.

“The photos.” You said sharply, allowing your accent to soak your words. “Someone paid for them. Who?”

“They would kill me if I told.” He whined and the haze began to thicken, almost like he laid in a yellow puddle.

You shifted the gun and fired right beside his head, holding back the smirk as he flinched. You put the barrel back against his forehead before you spoke again.

“And I’ll kill you if you don’t.” You warned lowly and shifted your weight more against his chest.

“Poloznev. Nikolai Poloznev.” 

“Where do I find him?”

“Try the internet.”

You offered a sarcastic expression before you slammed the butt of your gun down and he went limp.

“Жалко.” You muttered to yourself. (Pathetic.)

You stood and surveyed the fallen bodies. You blew some loose hair out of your face and Frank held his hand out to you. Looking down, you saw your blade in his hand, stained to the hilt with Russian blood.

Oddly poetic. Or maybe ironic was the better word.

Frank tapped your arm and nodded for you to head out. You were at the front desk where a plain zip up sat so you reached over and snagged it. You threw it on and zipped it to cover the blood on your shirt and arms. You flipped the hood and kept your head down as you walked.

You noticed Frank was careful to keep a few dozen feet of space between you two. You assumed to was to throw off anyone who could be looking for a duo but really, as time would prove, who stood a chance against Exodus and the Punisher?

Not William Rawlins. Not Billy Russo. Not whatever remained of Konchevsky’s men. And the preacher man would come to learn that too, should he come for Amy again.

Maybe she was your kid after all.

When you two got back to Dinah’s, Frank filled in Amy while you trashed the jacket and rinsed your hands in the kitchen sink.

“Yknow, when I was younger, Poloznev was a state policeman that was close to the president.” You explained as the memory rattled in your brain. “Dreykov worked with him a few times for our missions to go unseen.”

“Sounds like the same guy.” Amy added as you looked to see her with her laptop open. “Former Russian state policeman turned industrialist with interests in oil, gas, and shipping valued at several billion dollars. A friend of the Russian president with homes in several countries but currently resides in New York… So what now? Not sure this guy plays three card monte.”

“First, we get you guys out of here.” You explained. “Everything else can come later.”

Amy nodded and disappeared to collect her things.

“You need a hospital for that.” You gestured to his hand as you passed by.

“You need one for that.” He reached up and knocked his hand into your ribs, causing you to groan loudly.

“Bastard.”

“Right back at you, princess.”

[imtooscaredforthis]

Entrapment

Chapter Twenty Eight: Caught

Mentions of: Murder, Gore, Character Death, Paranoia, Manipulation, and Stabbing

A/N: Kinda rushed but whatever..more coming soon!

Tags: @elentiyaiswriting @dead-bxxxtch-walking

@vandeaad @mama-miya @the-fandoms-georgie

Everything has been settled for a little while. There weren’t any murders or messages left in your car and apartment. You were finally starting to feel safe. You knew you shouldn’t. Not when this many people have been hurt. He’s up to something, you know it.

He’s luring you into a false sense of security, and once you finally let your guard down, he’ll strike. But even with that fear, you had to admit, it was nice, to feel slightly more okay again. You were starting to sleep again, and the nightmares were going away.

“It’s so weird, you know? The town’s quiet. The quietest it has been in a while.” Rachel remarked you, her and Jed standing around the coffee machine. For once, work was slow.

“Yeah, for once there’s nothing for us to write about. Maybe he’s finally gone.” Jed shrugged.

You gazed over at Jed, fearing that if he was even mentioned, he would come back. He would be here. Summoned like the monster he was. You didn’t comment, just gazed into the black pool of your coffee, before pouring some sugar into it and stirring.

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked.

“I mean, like, what if people are onto him, so he’s running?”

“You think the cops are finally starting to figure it out?”

Bullshit. You don’t buy it. The cops were hardly making progress. If they did, they would announce any developments in their investigation. They would show a sketch, and the only thing they had was that damn mask. If anything, you were the closest one to cracking it, and you were hardly making any progress.

Jed shrugged. “I don’t know. But I hope so.”

“Are you okay?” Jed asked, resting a hand on your shoulder and snapping you out of your thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“What do you think? You think he’s finally gone?”

You wanted to believe it. That you were safe. That everything’s going to be okay. You wanted to lie. But you couldn’t. Not to yourself, and not to them. “No. I mean, he has so much publicity. He wants the attention. He wouldn’t just disappear. Not without sending some sort of message first.”

Jed looked worried but also intrigued. Rachel seemed scared. “Why would you say something like that? Don’t you want him gone?”

“Of course I do.” You replied, fidgeting with the mug in your hand. “I just- I think we should be careful, that’s all.”

“Aren’t you tired of being careful? Of being afraid? He killed my friends, _____. He’s hurt people. So, I’m going to be happy that we’re finally safe again. You should be too.” With that, she walked off, leaving you to call after and feel guilty.

“Don’t, just give her some space.” Jed stopped you. “This is hard on her.”

“It’s hard on me too. She’s acting like this hasn’t affected me either. Like I haven’t lost anyone.” You said, frustrated.

“I know you have, and I know what you’re going through is rough. It’s just…Rachel has grown up here. This place is her home, and everyone she knows and loves isn’t safe, which is terrifying.” Jed tried to reason.

You sighed. “I know. And I know you guys are probably right. I want you guys to be right. But, I have a bad feeling.”

“I’m sure they’ll figure him out eventually. Killers like that don’t have that much publicity and get away with it.” He did have a point. Not to mention how arrogant he was. Ghostface is smart and he knows that, but he thinks he can get away with everything. He thinks he can hurt you, and use you, that he can do whatever he wants, and that will be his downfall.

“No matter what happens, I’ll do what I can to protect you. I promise. You call me and I’ll be there. Anytime, anyplace, just call me.” He took your hands in his, giving them a soft squeeze.

You smiled at him, leaning in and giving his lips a soft peck. “Thanks, Jed.”

Someone else came in, causing the two of you to pull away from each other. It was time to get back to work.

–

Even after what happened earlier, Rachel still invited you and Jed out for drinks. You would reason against it and tell her that it’s not safe, but you knew that would end badly. She was too stubborn. She wouldn’t listen and she’d just get more mad at you.

Instead, here you were, watching her across the bar, making sure she stayed safe. Jed followed your eyes, catching on to your stare. “Are you going to spend the whole night babysitting her?”

“If it means she’s safe, then yes I will.” Not that it ensured anything. You could follow her home and he’d be waiting there for her. He could be anywhere.

“Look, Rachel’s tough. She’ll be okay. I promise, but if you want, I can walk her home for you.” You sighed, slightly relieved at that.

–

“Are you okay? You’ve been in the bathroom for a while.” You couldn’t help but ask Jed, not even two hours later. He looked pale and he was sweaty.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think I ate or drank something funny, but I’ll be okay.” His hands were trembling. You were worried. “Jed, you should go home.”

“But what about-”

“It’s fine. I can look after her. Let’s get you a cab.” You walked him outside, letting him lean against you. You wanted to look after him too, now..but you knew that Rachel would be more vulnerable. Going home drunk with a stranger like she always did but what if she goes back with the wrong one?

“Call me and let me know you got home safe okay?” You hugged him and helped him into the car.

“I will.”

You turned away and walked into the bar. Luckily for you, Rachel was just about to leave. You followed her down the dark road, while she stumbled along with the stranger. Soon enough, she was only two blocks away from her house. Nothing had happened. There was no one suspicious, no strange hooded figures, nothing.

Maybe she was right. Maybe you are safe. Maybe he really is gone.

Suddenly, a hooded figure stalked behind them, and just as you could warn them, the man’s throat was slit. You sprinted over, and you were only halfway there when Rachel took off. He caught her easily, stepping on the back of her ankle and stabbing her in the back, before he faced her right in front of you, holding her back by the hair and running his blade across her throat, forcing you to watch as she choked on her blood and the life drained from her eyes.

Foolish, naive, little girl. You should’ve known.

[whitherwordswither]

05: Wrapped Up For Your Dreams, Again

Old Town, one of my favorite districts in the whole city. I had a lot of fond memories here. From hanging out at the local pizzeria and brew pub, to wandering aimlessly along the waterfront. The cherry blossoms in spring, late drunken summer nights and questionable choices.

Today, the streets were empty. Abandoned. That should have been somewhat concerning, but the sun was sparkling in the sky and a nice breeze was drifting along. It wasn't my focal point, so it didn't come off as out of place at all. My attention was glued on the two sophonts I was walking with.

These were friends I hadn't seen in I don't know how many years. We were idly chatting about our thoughts on the latest animatronic body horror jazz club ghost inception movie, Hyperbole, while we made our way toward one of the city parks. That was where Rachel's new house was. In a tree. She was very excited to have the owls over for tea and board games. My other friend, also Rachel, said we should all form a book club and read Derrida.

I wasn't sure he had all the words to keep the water wheel turning.

It wasn't long before I found myself losing focus, the Rachels faces becoming blank and featureless as their words turned from coherent to muffled gibberish. The world slowed and my vision tunneled toward an alley up ahead. All manner of vegetation and vines crept around the sides of the buildings, spilling out in to the streets like a thick viscous sewage from an old drain pipe. Pink and purple flowers blossomed between large, leafy fronds. Thorns pierced concrete and asphalt. Time froze. Everything aside from myself and the plant growth turned lifeless and gray, a scene of cement statues. My friends crumbled to dust.

The city followed suit in a cacophony of screaming birds. The vines beckoned patiently despite the collapse and chaos. I raced ahead to greet them as the dream destabilized behind me. They seemed delighted as they reached out, wrapping around my wrists and ankles, my waist, lifting me up and pulling me in to the alleyway. A very large, voluptuous venus flytrap was growing out of a pile of nondescript rubbish. It opened its maw in a yawn as I was brought toward it. I felt no fear response. No panic rose with bile in the back of my throat when the gaping mouth closed around me. The trigger hairs on the inside of the plant's lobe tickled my exposed skin and… I happily let it swallow me whole.

My next moments were spent tumbling down a membranous sinkhole of darkness, walls of silk squeezing around me, pushing. Further. Deeper.

The world turned upside down and inside out. Scenes and places from dreams I had superb recollections of… and also ones that I had forgotten through the years spiraled around me. I felt the distinct impression that I needed to choose one. I reached a hand out and grasped at the first scene that called to me. Ironically enough, it was a dream I had as a child. The setting was the house I had grown up in, my father's residence on the outskirts of the small town where Trimixthis had saved me from myself. The only difference was, in this dream, exactly as it had been before… the interior of the house was covered in wonderful and vivid flora. Small pools surrounded by crystals and minerals were in the spots in the living room where the furniture would have been. The windows still looked out over the deck and the pond below.

Thick fisherman's netting stretched across the arch leading to the kitchen, the island table strewn with all manner of urns, vases and pots of varying color. Succulents of all sorts grew, shivering and breathing in a more animate living state. The scene was so very surreal. I imagine I had chosen it because it reminded me of Trimixthis. It felt right.

And there they were. In the middle of the living room, connected with the dreamflora, smiling that strange and wondrous smile of theirs. I settled before them, looking up in to their all at once reflective yet depthless eyes, a few of their thinner vines caressing my cheeks and tracing the line of my jaw. When they spoke, it reverberated through the entire foundation, rippling outward. It made my skin crawl in a uniquely tantalizing way. "I am always amazed at how certain things remain so elegantly engrained in the human psyche. You haven't had this dream in…"

"Twenty-nine years or so…" I found myself answering, tethering on the entrails of their words.

"Fascinating, truly~" Trimixthis emitted what I took for an approximation of a chuckle as they smiled down at me.

A silence stretched between us, each caught momentarily admiring the other. I did notice a difference in the dreamscape then. It was much more than it had been, where as I only could recall the particulars of the scenery, how things looked and felt. Trimixthis presence seemed to add another level of life and flourish to it. Their song permeated through everything. If I wasn't careful I knew I would lose myself in that music, so I let my perception branch out… almost as if I could feel along their vines as they could. The house hummed its own song of being. Plants rustled in a calm wind that blew in through the open windows. The trickle of the stream that fed the pond and the bluegill grazing the surface of the water. Even the gentle sway of the large pines along the water's edge.

I ended up losing myself in a multitude of different songs until another rhythm broke me from my expanding absorption. A single vine tapped my left shoulder. I didn't notice it at first, but its continued persistence eventually brought me back to the living room and Trimixthis. They were still smiling. That same vine caressed my cheek. "My, my~ How easy you get tangled in the whirling essence of everything~"

I felt a heat rise on my cheeks as I dropped my gaze to the floor, hands idly occupying themselves with a still tendril that rested upon my lap. "Sorry," was all I could think to say.

"Don't be, sweetling. It's quite pleasant to observe. And quite a useful skill to have if you hone it correctly and not allow yourself to disperse in to obscurity." Trimixthis seemed to ponder something for a span of seconds. The notion was filed away as they shifted closer. "Earlier I asked if you had any questions. I believe you were a little too… wrapped up… to answer?"

My face scrunched in thought. Questions? I tried to retrace my morning despite the brainfog. Once I was able to pull apart the sparse memories of clothing myself and climbing up on to the couch where things really started to fuzz out, I found the inquiries I had not voiced at the time. They all jumbled together and came floundering out of my mouth at once. "Are we on… and the terminal… ship… space and… the doors lights?"

After that mess my mouth hung open in utter disbelief of its own transgression. How did words even? My brain hurt itself in its confusion.

The boisterous, beautiful sound that echoed through the dream was Trimixthis laughing. Flowers blossomed along their figure, vibrant and glowing. The sound carried on the wind and once more reverberated through the dreamland. They set a leaf beneath my chin and closed my mouth proper. "Oh, my stars… you darling thing~ Lets try that again. One at a time, shall we?"

Their vines smoothed through my hair and patted my head and I giggled sheepishly. It wasn't entirely my fault I was a pastiche of hazy recollections! But, oh what a joyous thing to feel their laughter. Every hair on my body stood on end. It was like being hugged by static that was giddy with warmth.

I cleared my throat with a nod and tried again to piece my words together in an order that would make sense for the both of us. "On… your terminal. There was a… ship. Departing…?"

"Yes. We are that ship. The terminal was displaying our trajectory leaving Earth. We should be arriving in orbit around Venus soon. I had Maraxus throttle our speed so we had time to get you a little more acclimated to things. I am afraid I have been… slightly careless with your xenodrug regimen. Honestly, I'm somewhat surprised you've maintained a modicum of self in all this. It was not my intention to foster an entirely vacant floret~ I only wished to pluck all the…" Their vines shifted much like I did with my hands when I couldn't conjure up the words I wanted right off the bat. "…unsavory petiole from your stem. Give you a… fresh start, so to speak."

I wondered about all that. Really. It took some effort, but a cursory poke around my addled mind revealed some disquieting blank spaces where I'm fairly sure, at some point prior to all this, existed… something. At the same time though, I wasn't overly concerned. The tiniest speck of a voice not unlike my own screeched pitifully from a far off void, begging for remembrance. I paid it no mind and even gave it the nudge it needed to plummet deeper and disappear. I didn't like the vibe it held. I didn't want to feel whatever it insisted I needed to feel. Instead, I beamed up at Trimixthis and clapped my hands together. "I thought never I'd get to going space!"

My head was patted again. I liked having my head pat. Trimixthis continued to smile. It was a such a lovely smile. "Chloe?"

"Yes?" I tilted my head and gazed up at them.

"Rephrase." They tapped my head once more.

Oh. Right. The words belonged in particular spaces in order to be understood. I licked my lips and thought real hard before allowing the words to leave my mouth again. This time though, I plucked them out of the air and arranged them accordingly. Because this was a dream and I could physically manifest my words if I felt like it! "I… thought… I would… never get to… go to… .." I hung on the last word, looking back over my sentence to make sure it was correct. "Space."

"Very good!" Trimixthis nodded. "I thought a nice trip off planet might be healthy for you. Now, do you want to know why we're traveling to Venus, sweetling?"

I had been curious about our destination. Venus was in no way shape or form hospitable for human life. But the affini were essentially plants, weren't they? Did Venus have something plants liked? A useful resource? I was trying my hardest to remember what compound Venus was in excess of, making strained little mouth noises as I tried to pluck the answer from the empty space between our bodies. Trimixthis pulled me on to their lap, and I cuddled up against them as I shrugged my shoulders, giving up. They seemed excited about it so all was well in my world.

"We've begun construction of an orbital platform for the collection of planetside resources. Primarily concerning the rich carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Along with the sulfuric acids present in the cloud layers, these two compounds are highly beneficial to promoting cultivation. We've developed some lovely technology that allows us to utilize them in regenerative growth." They spoke as they let their vines worm around my dreambody, stroking and petting as they saw fit. "Carbon dioxide is by and large considered a waste product by your species, I believe. What is that cute little Earth saying? One organism's trash is another organism's treasure?"

My head bobbed with affirmation. Ah! Venus was rich in those things, wasn't it? Humanity, to my knowledge, had a passing interest in the second planet for a while. The abandoned HAVOC project from NASA came to mind. Which really hadn't gone past the theoretical stage… and after further discovery, any deep exploration ideas were scrapped for other ventures. I was intrigued by the idea of a station though, my brain immediately wandering off to dredge up fragmented memories of the first anime I'd ever seen in my grade school days that had featured an orbital ring that surrounded the Earth. Tekkaman Blade, I think it was. I wondered if I still had those DVDs somewhere…

"That is not an entirely incorrect vision of what it may come to look like, sweetling~" A light trilling fluttered in Trimixthis' throat.

I just blinked up at them. Wait. Could they read my…?

"Oh, petal~ We're in your mind. Of course I can. Silly thing." Their delightful laughter trickled across the scene, this time causing the vegetation to shift through an array of pleasing colors.

I guess that made sense. I wondered what the station was going to be like.

"Currently, there is a sizable portion that is cozy and habitable. More is being grown as we speak. I'm sure you will find it quite incredible! It is also, however, part of my job. I am an interface engineer. One of my primary duties is to make sure all our systems can connect and speak to one another. So I may become rather busy. But… not to worry." Trimixthis lifted me up above their head like a puppy, smiling up at me. I more or less dangled there and grinned down at them. "I have arranged for you to meet a number of playmates to keep you out of trouble while I'm working. While I am able to do most things remotely, I prefer onsite inspections when it comes to the more delicate bundles of sensory passthrough and~"

A distant chime sounded, something foreign. Trimixthis' attention was instantly pulled away. I could feel it. Like they were suddenly in another place, only faintly tethered to this dreamform. I tried to focus on the sound myself, because it felt so out of the ordinary. This just led to me getting caught up in the web of sensations, the flux and flow of the dreamscape like before and this time there was no tapping vine to bring me back from the ledge. I felt myself disconnect and dissipate in to the whole of everything. It would have been an ultimately strange experience had I been able to maintain cognitive recognition. Alas, the fog began to roll in through… the trees…?

I blinked, looking around. I found myself laying on a bed of soft, sweet smelling grasses in the clearing of a forest. Tiny yellow flowers dotted the small glade. I knew this place. It was usually a buffer space I envisioned on nights where I needed to coax myself to sleep. The trees stood like guardian silhouettes, the fog a comforting shroud.

Trimixthis was gone. I felt a bit of sadness that began to well in to an awful sense of desertion. Their song still echoed in some awkward proximity, but it wasn't quite enough. It was like the entire foundation of being had been suddenly ripped out from under me. I curled in to a ball and shut my eyes, rocking back and forth on my side as I began to hum the song. To keep it near. To not forget. I didn't want it to go. Why had they left me alone here?

The forest was beginning to not feel like the safety net it was supposed to be. I couldn't concentrate, the song fading by degrees. The abrupt snap of a twig had me bolting up and scanning the immediate area. Fear began to blossom within the tiny beads of sweat on my brow. I could wake up now, right? Please?

"Trimixthis…?" I whimpered under my breath.

Another twig snapped to my left and I whirled about in attempts to keep whatever it was in front of me. A huffed breath and a faint clicking noise echoed off the bodies of the trees. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. The temperature dropped like my mood, my breath expelled in wispy ghosts that drifted up toward the fractures of night sky barely glimpsed through the canopy before the fog grew more dense and only a few feet of grass remained visible.

I didn't like this at all.

A soft, almost chittering-like noise came from my right. I turned again, scrambling backward as a shape took form in the fog and crept closer. The chill I was feeling was pushed back by an intense warmth extruding from whatever it was. In its own way, it was calming and my rising panic was lulled to a more manageable state. I sat up on my knees, trying to wipe the fog away by waving my hands through the air. A futile effort. I just… I wanted to be able to see…

That thought alone spawned a decrease in the atmospheric obfuscation. Oh, big words. My brain was working.

Crouched no less than two feet before me was a creature I'd never seen before. Certainly nothing I'd ever dreamed up before, either. I tilted my head to one side and it mimicked the movement. The elongated muzzle curved with a toothy grin as we locked eyes. It had a very canine-esque appearance that was somewhere between a quadruped, giving the look of its hindlegs, and a full on anthropomorphic embodiment, noting the more humanoid forelegs. It brandished six limbs altogether. A slightly smaller set of arms accompanied their main pawsy-grabbers. It also had a rather short tail that barely touched the grass that was currently twitching back and forth. That was a good sign, right? Not that I should be applying terran-dog logic to this dream-canid. I took a breath and managed to find my voice. "Hello…?"

"Hello?" It repeated. The voice was strangely pleasant. Just this side of sultry. Playful even, with overtones of mischief. Or maybe I was projecting because of the uncanny way the entity was smiling at me. It had a double set of triangular ears and two antenna upon its head.

"Who… are you…?" I asked, and unsurprisingly, it echoed the inquiry right back at me.

When it moved forward I found myself frozen in place, either severely unwilling to take my eyes off of the creature, or entranced in its gaze. I couldn't determine which. It circled once around me, leaning in close to sniff as if we weren't in a dream and scent was real. Could you smell things in a dream? I wasn't sure if I ever had olfactory senses in any slumber-space.

The dream-dog-thing settled back in front of me, raising its forepaws and placing them under my chin, tilting my head up as it looked me over. It tilted its own head from side to side as if inspecting a specimen. It's front bappers were more like hands than paws, I noted. It's smile widened, and my eyes did the same. "M-m-my… wh-what um… sh-sharp teeth you have…"

I had always wanted to use that line in some version of reality. This was probably a good enough place as any for it to be utilized. Mostly because I had no idea what to say and had more or less just blurted it out as I remained motionless in the creature's hold. The smile faltered on its twitching lips before it leaned back and barked a laugh. Before I knew what was happening it had plopped on its haunches and wrapped all four arms around me in a tight hug as it cackled, one of the paws petting my head. A series of trill-growls, strained crackling squeaks and chuffing noises were made. It sounded like an organic dial-up modem. But then the caniform spoke.

"Eeehee~ Mixi said y'was aaaaah-durable~ Rrrright as usually, they is!"

My brain completely glossed over the usage of a nickname for Trimixthis as I wriggled in the canid's grip, managing to gain enough leverage to lean backwards in its arms. I rather wanted to look at it while I spoke than mumbling in to its… distractingly super soft chest-fluff. Which my hands were totally, definitely not playing in. So warm. So soft. So inviting! Oh, right. I needed to focus. "Heh… I don't know about… um… any of that, but. I'm…"

"Chloe, yessss? We are Viremia! Pleasurable greetings!" Any fear that had cropped up in the last few minutes was all but washed away at this point. The manner in which the entity spoke and enunciated was oddly uplifting. I quickly found its demeanor to be infectious, in a good way. Even stranger was my inability to keep my hands to myself, as if I needed to explore every soft nook and cranny of this awkward alien-canine-valley of fur. And the smell! It weaved between peony and roses and fresh earth and something else that was indescribably enjoyable to breathe in. I guess that answered my question of dream-scent.

I buried my face in Viremia's neck as we tangled together and flopped over on to the grass. Trimixthis had said there would be playmates. Was this one of them?

Viremia made a content murring noise, stretching out and allowing me to more or less entertain myself in the daze of sensations their body offered. "We's been assigned t'keeps ya company while Mixi dealsss with ssssomethin' came-up-bruptly like. If y'wants t'bein'in th' waking-place, jus' say words. Rrrf~"

A reply of mumbled nonsensical acknowledgement sputtered from my mouth, my brain simply registering that I had been given a wonderfully soft waggy-tail organism to snuggle with while Trimixthis was doing Trimixthis things.

I could absolutely live with this.

[thelaughtercafe]

Muted Memories Chapter 2

Tea Type: Milk Tea

Potential Triggers:  Verbal and physical abuse, dissociating as a trauma response, nondescriptive murder, descriptive threats(not at reader).

Pairing: Issac Foster/F! Reader

Length: 4k+

Summary: Library explorations, and meeting new characters, fun for the whole family!

A/N: Chapter 2 is here!! Excited I finally got this done!! I’m not fully happy with the way it turned out but after messing with a few other ideas, I decided to go with the one I wrote while genuinely triggered since it felt the most raw and real.

I’m okay now; emotional flashbacks just really suck. Do not recommend lmao. Hope everyone enjoys and please do leave feedback! Always excited to hear from my readers on what they think!! ❤️

The rest of the day was easy once Zack dragged you back. Ray had thanked him in a reverent tone, to which the bandaged boy had only ruffled her hair fondly. They really were close. You hadn’t been expecting him to do the same to you however and it showed as you ducked your head to hide your burning face in Ray’s shoulder a moment. She giggled at your embarrassment and pet your hair. 

You all sat down and ate after that. Ray was attached to your side the rest of the morning, constantly either hanging off you, holding your hand or hugging you. She seemed touched starved, though given you were as well you easily obliged and accommodated her. You had to go to the library after breakfast since you no longer had a laptop and Zack had declined your offer to come, saying he had “better shit to do”. 

You shrugged him off but again reminded him to take anything he needed and disguised Rachel in one of your big hoodies before heading out. When talking about how well they were known they said their popularity had been dying down and they’d come here since it was so out of the way, hoping to find a forever home.

The air was a little chilly so you were glad you’d bundled up Rachel, however you were left shivering a little, given your other hoodie was still being repaired. You’d torn a noticeable hole in it on a rushed run out one day and the mender was blind; a friend Mr. Takamata had met and grown close to, and you had as well in turn. You wouldn’t give your business to anyone else despite the longer wait times. His job was always impeccable. Maybe you could get it on the way back, if he was still open. 

“Alright, to the library! We’ll go grocery shopping tonight on the way home and I’ll make dinner.”

“We’re gonna spend the whole day there?”

Rachel sounded excited at the prospect and you hummed in agreement. 

“Yeah, as long as you don’t mind. I need to do some school work and print out an essay. After that I figured I could show you some of my favorite books and maybe bring some home for Zack too.“

"That sounds fun but…mm…" 

Ray sounded happy at the prospect but trailed off and seemed conflicted, looking at the ground as she walked. 

"What’s wrong?”

“Oh I suppose it’s okay if I tell you. Zack can’t read.”

You blinked at that. He was around your age wasn’t he? You supposed you shouldn’t have been surprised. He clearly had a lot of inner trauma in addition to the physical. 

You smiled down at Ray though, swinging your held hands cheerfully. 

“I’ll get him some anyway. He doesn’t have to learn if he doesn’t want to of course, but I’d be more than happy to teach him. Even if he doesn’t, I like to read aloud anyway so he can enjoy it that way if he’d like.”

Ray gave a contemplative hum. 

“I don’t understand why you’re so nice to us. After everything we’ve done-”

You heard her voice crack and quickly stopped walking, gently pulling her aside and crouching down to her level to allow the other people milling about to pass. 

“Hey, hey! You keep sayin’ that, but from what I’ve seen you two are both damaged, but have been kind to me. It’s like I told Zack last night too…I’m lonely, sad as that may sound. So…no more apologies, okay? I’m happy to give you both a place to stay and let you have a fresh start. Mr. Takamata gave one to me…it seems only right that I should do the same.”

Ray threw her arms around you and you hugged her back before moving to stand. 

"Now, how about that library trip?”

She beamed up at you.  

“Let’s go!”

—–

You couldn’t help but sigh in relief as you both entered the library. It was cold, now. The wind had really picked up and you were already dreading the 20-minute walk back home when it’d be colder tonight.

Maybe you ought to stop by Reginald’s place on the way back after all. Now that you were here though, you had to put your game face on. You had two essays and one story to work on. Your only fun elective this semester was Monsters in Literature. Best teacher too; he reminded you of Robin Williams in his enthusiasm and inspiring words. You had a vague outline of ideas for the story and you wrote often, but creating original content was much harder than the fanworks you were used to. 

The essays were honestly easier. Everyone was always surprised when you told them that, but essay’s were really just cramming as many words as possible to get a simple point across most of the time, and given you enjoyed writing, even if it was boring as sin it was at least easy to bullshit. 

You observed Ray as you put your bookbag down, wanting to get her set up before starting. 

“You’re around 14 right?”

She nodded. 

“15, now actually. As of a few weeks ago.”

“Oh! We’ll have to celebrate. I’ll pick up some overtime, make sure to remind me to get a cake this weekend okay? Just in case my memory goes kaput after all this school work.”

She giggled and nodded happily as you mimed passing out. 

“Do you know what kind of books you like hun? I can get you set up in the right section and then get started here.”

She gave a carefree shrug. 

“I didn’t read much. Too noisy before.” 

Seeing the way her eyes went dull again you got to your feet and held your hand out to her before she could go too deep into her memories.

She took it and you led her into the adjoining room for Young Adult Fiction, not acknowledging the fact that she trembling with anything more than a soothing thumb rub. 

“Here’s the YA section. All kinds of scenarios and characters here- I recommend reading the back or inside of the flap and then just picking whichever one sounds interesting! You can always just go based on the cover if you’d like a more randomized experience though. This is still my favorite section honestly; if you need any help with the words or have any questions don’t be afraid to ask me. Feel free to get comfy, and if anyone that’s not me comes up to you, come get me or yell my name if you get scared, I’ll be just in the other room.”

After making sure she was okay you left her, happy to see she was already hesitantly beginning to explore. 

You sighed in resignation, sitting down and cracking your neck.

No more distractions, time to get your work done!

—–

The day passed quickly, with Ray occasionally coming over to ask for help with a word she didn’t know but it was a rarity and she was already on the 2nd book in a supernatural fantasy series when you were finished. You playfully took it from her to check the title. 

“Ooh Maximum Ride hm? That’s a good one, haven’t read it in ages. One of my favorites at your age too. Let’s bring it home with us huh?”

She nodded eagerly, a big grin on her face as she made grabby hands for the book, and you obliged, quickly grabbing the 3rd and 4th one as well. After a moment’s hesitation you grabbed 2 more for good measure, one for you, and one for Zack. You know how you were as a child and better safe than leave the poor girl on a cliffhanger. Luckily the librarians and you were already well acquainted given you came to volunteer to read to the kids here when you weren’t in school. It was a quick affair to check the books out and you were on your way. 

The essays had given you no trouble and were already sent to your professors…but that damn story had you completely stuck. You knew the general concept you wanted was dealing with possession of some sort but you couldn’t figure out who should be doing the possessing. It was the idea of being out of control you wanted to tap into Such a primal fear so underexplored by most monsters. 

It was still freezing oh God- you shivered as you and Ray made your way home. She looked at you worriedly and you could tell she was going to offer you the jacket but you patted her head. 

“I’ll be okay- gonna s-stop and get my m-m-mended one before groceries after all.” 

You sped walked and reached Reginald’s in record time, who luckily was just about to close up. 

“Reggie, please tell me you have my coat finished?”

Your eyes and voice were pleading and when he reached out to touch your arm in greeting he recoiled, frowning in fatherly disapproval. 

“Young lady, what on Earth are you doing out here in this cold without any protection?”

He sighed heavily and easily made his way back inside, holding the door open for you and Ray. 

It was the same as always, not a speck of dust in sight, but homey and most importantly, warm. You held your hands to your lips and warmed them. You could’ve cried when after a few moments Reginald came out, coat in hand. 

“Oh thank you so much! I’m in your debt! Here-” 

You went to pull out your wallet but at the sound of rustling Reggie tsk’d and shook his head. 

“No need, sweetheart. Can’t let ole’ Takamata’s daughter freeze now can I? How’s about you introduce me to your little friend here and I’ll call it even.”

You smiled fondly and sighed in defeat, slipping your dark burgundy coat over your t-shirt and zipping it up.  

“Fair deal! This is Ray, her and her older brother Zack will be staying with me from now on. They broke in and I couldn’t just turn away hungry people, especially a young girl like her. You know how Mr. Takamata was, he’d roll over in his grave if I didn’t help!”

The lies merged with the truth and Reginald laughed heartily, while Ray looked at you in disbelief. She surely expected you to give them fake names or backstories but there was no need. To lie effectively, you just had to be confident and believe what you were saying. 

“True enough!! Well, nice to meet you little lady, call me Reggie hm? Here, this hoodie feels too thin-”

“Reggie!”

He ignored your exasperated voice and before you knew it he’d tossed a small lilac coat and large black one your way and was shooing you out despite you protests. 

“I’ll hear nothing of it! Consider it a welcoming gift! Now get!” 

“Thank you Reggie. Really.”

He waved you off and patted Ray’s head before walking off. You smirked fondly and turned to look down at Ray. 

“Welp. How’s about we just get something hot and head on home? Zack may get worried if we’re out too much longer.” 

Ray nodded cheerfully. 

“Sounds great to me! I’m starved! That man was really nice, I hope we see him again soon.”

You giggled at her enthusiasm, opting to get pizza at the place right down the hill so it wouldn’t be a long walk. 

“Me too. I’m sure you’ll like him even more as you get to know him. He’s very kind. He has a service dog named Bucky, I’m sure you’ll get to meet them both again soon.” 

You held the pizza and Zack’s new coat, while Ray got the soda, garlic knots and the pepperoni pinwheel you caught her drooling over in the display case. 

You walked through the door with her on your heels, grinning and calling for Zack as you entered. 

“Zack we’re ho-”

Your voice died out at the sight in front of you. You couldn’t breathe. 

Why was he…here?

“Chris?”

That cursed name escaped your lips, bile burned your throat as he smiled and took a step closer. You went to back up, the door still open and remembered Ray and the fact your hands were full. 

Where was Zack? Didn’t matter you had to get Ray to safety. But she was already entering behind you, and setting the food on the table like he wasn’t there. She came over to take the pizza but you were in shock.

“The one and only!” 

His smile twitched, but you knew behind the mask he was seething as Ray began pulling out the food and setting the table. 

“Pizza night hm? Funny. I haven’t gotten my pay this month yet, I trust you have that ready for me?”

You just stared at him in stricken fear. The door was closed but you still felt just as frozen.

“…What are you doing here? How did you find this place?”

“Oh here? I’ve known for years, pet.I just…”

His smirk turned to a sneer. 

“Loosened your leash a little. Now, if you won’t give me what I want, you’re surely not fit to raise a child here. Maybe I’ll take her home…give her a proper enviorment. I mean, she didn’t even greet me properly. You know what happens to impolite children, don’t you?”

You didn’t speak up but you moved your body to block the way to the kitchen, motioning for Ray to run with your free hand, but she was completely oblivious. Your eyes steeled a little, but your voice was still that of a terrified kid. It didn’t matter that you were older now, it didn’t matter that you thought you were getting better. 

Suddenly you were a frightened child all over again. 

“I won’t let you have her.” 

You flinched at the feeling of a hand on you and looked down to find her gripping your hand, tugging you lightly towards the table.  

“Dinner’s ready. Come eat.”

Her eyes had gone dead, and she was pointedly ignoring Chris. She seemed very dissociated; probably a trauma response from her own family, if you had to guess. You realized your other hand still held the black coat and tossed it on the couch before reluctantly letting her take you to the table where you sat down. She sat too, and began eating while you looked numbly down at your plate. 

You heard the chair slide back as he sat at the head of the table, beginning to dissociate a little yourself but maintaining your hypervigilance. You felt shaky and scared, aware of every move he and yourself made. He began to eat, completely unbothered. 

You’d finally felt safe, away from him. Thought he was oblivious and finally mostly out of your life, save the monthly payments. You should have known you could never beat him. That he couldn’t cope with the loss of control. 

Now one of the first people in your life you allowed yourself to care for was at risk. It was your fault for not safeguarding against this possibility and the only reason you weren’t spiraling was because you knew you had to keep Ray safe. 

“What do you want?”

Your voice shook, but it was low and even, in hopes of being non-threatening. 

He was nonchalant as ever.

“You’re going to protect me, and let me stay here. I’m only hiding here because some psychopath showed up at my place.”

Your breath hitched and you looked up in fear as Ray jumped to her feet.

“Zack!?”

You hopped up quickly and wrapped Ray in your arms to shield her, and quickly mustered a lie. 

“Shh…shh…Zack isn’t here sweetheart.”

“That’s the second time I’ve heard that name. Who is he? Is he staying here too?”

“He’s her older brother. When she gets scared she seeks him out- I’m not the only one who got traumatized.”

Your mutter was bitter and under your breath but he caught it. 

He always heard it. He stood and you held Ray tighter. You just had to last until Zack got here. Keep him placated. You trembled- God why did the shakes never stop around him?

“Talking back? Pathetic. You’re shaking like a damn leaf. Whatever. You’ll always be a freak.”

You swayed as the familiar insult caused an emotional and partially visual flashback, hearing faint words, catching glimpses from the back of your mom’s car. She was inside getting groceries. 

“You’re such a damn freak- those bullies at school were right about you. You’re really nothing but a freak. Everything you do is freaky-”

He’d used variations of the word till you were hyperventilating upon your mother’s return. You couldn’t hide it fast enough, but his mask was right back on. Told your mother he was “getting you used to the word.” Ha. She’d harmlessly shared the bullying you’d confided in her about, having no idea you intentionally hadn’t told him because she didn’t know any better. 

But your Mother isn’t here now. 

Your shaking stopped and you took a deep breath, steeling your own mask. You straightened from hugging Ray and glared at where he stood by the chair he claimed. 

“I don’t care what you do with me, but you won’t hurt her. I’ll never let you abuse anyone else I care about again.”

He threw his head back in bitter, sadistic laughter and you acted quickly, grabbing her jacket in one smooth motion and rushing to shove Ray outside, with a simple command before slamming the side door shut and locking it, tossing the key out there with her so she nor Chris could get her back inside. 

“Find Zack and stay hidden if you can’t!”

She hesitated, meeting your eyes and you smiled at her, trying to make her feel secure only to yelp as something slammed hard on the back of your head, sending you to the floor. You vaguely registered the picture and glass surrounding you, and the sound of Ray crying out your name in panic. The picture of you and Mr. Takamata lay near your face and you smiled weakly.. 

“…Sorry, Dad. Looks like I won’t be able to fulfill my promise after all.”

Your head felt wet and warm, and your vision was getting murky. You felt dizzy, trying to stay conscious. Chris was yelling, but for once…you felt serene. No fear. No constant hypervigilance. No more masks. But…Zack. Where was he? You never got to give him his new coat…

Darkness took you under. 

—–

Zack burst into the door with a loud bang, wild eyes scanning the area. He’d been searching frantically for the bastard all day and was exhausted and starving after a long day. He’d been planning to pick up the following day when he arrived, only to hear an unfamiliar male screaming curses. 

Zack didn’t consider himself a protective person. He’d grown up most of his life alone and fending for himself. Ray was an exception to the rule, and he thought he’d never find someone he wanted to protect again. Till he met you. He didn’t know you well. Didn’t even fully trust you yet, honestly, always wary to give trust. But he saw something of himself in you. Plus, you were horrendously naive and so, so in need of protection. 

This bastard seemed the best place to start. 

To see him in his new home, where he finally felt safe? Zack was anything but happy. The man froze after kicking you on the floor. Zack spotted Ray with tears swimming in her eyes as she screamed behind the back door, before rushing to meet up with him, heading around to the front once she saw him. 

Things moved quickly after that. 

Zack had the man by the throat, sadistic snickers leaving him ceaselessly as he held him against the nearby wall because if he didn’t laugh and scream he was going to do something else and he vowed to never do that again. 

“You’ve got 3 seconds. Talk.”

The man, if he could be called that, was near pissing himself in fear but Zack felt none of the typical satisfaction. Just rage, simmering under the surface along with his want to rip the slight smirk he saw tugging at the asshole face whenever he glanced at your crumpled body. 

“I have no problem with you, alright!? I don’t know what you want- if you want to kill her she’s all yours, but I haven’t done anything! I’m an upstanding citizen, I swear!”

“So lemme see if I got this right. You come into my house, trash my place, hurt my family, not only fucking up their heads but physically too and you think I’m gonna let you walk outta here?”

Zack threw his head back in magical laughter at the thought; it was the funniest damn joke he’d ever heard. At that, Chris finally snapped and threw a punch, facade dropping in an instant, but Zack held fast, vaguely noticing Ray walking up next to him a look in her eye he hadn’t seen since they were trapped. 

“God you’re a freak just like her- no, you’re some kinda monster! Guh-!”

Ray stabbed hard into his stomach, making the man gurgle on his words. He looked down in shocked horror and Ray was impassive. 

“You hurt her, so I hurt you.”

He cursed at her too. 

“You little bitch!! You’ll never get away with this, I’ll make you pay!”

Ray shook her head in disappointment.

“There’s no fixing you.”

She waved before turning her attention to you.  

“Bye bye.”

Chris opened his mouth to snarl at her again but Zack was done playing games. He had more important things to do. He glared, shaking the man before beginning to drag him outside and into the forest, talking casually.

“Pretty sure we got unfinished business buddy. See I’ve got a sharp knife, and I’m curious how many pieces I can cut off before you bleed out. Shall we find out together?”

“No, no God please!! Have mercy!”

“Shut the Hell up!”

His shout was one of anger as he tossed the man down and kicked him hard in the ribs, paying no mind as he screamed in pain. 

“That’s what I caught you doing to the woman who let us stay here! I don’t know why she’s afraid of you, but after tonight she’ll never have to fear you again. Nothing should scare her more than me. I won’t let you have her. I refuse. Her fear belongs to me. Now do the whole damn world a favor and DIE!”

His last word was a guttural roar of anger and when the man was finally dead by his hand, Zack crumpled. He didn’t know why, or how. His body was shaking and his bandaged were wet and it wouldn’t stop. He didn’t like it at all. This feeling, the way His mouth made sounds out of his control. It felt like…he’d killed his demon a second time, but this time it wasn’t just his. It was yours too. He found…he liked the feeling. More than his usual kills. This was more…liberating. He took the time to let whatever was happening run its course as he dragged the now dead piece of meat into the forest and buried him with the very shovel you used to do as he had, but for someone you loved rather than loathed. Love. Still such a foreign word and concept to him. He shook off his thoughts 

But now he needed to make sure you stayed alive long enough to hear him gloat. He could worry about the oddness of “feelings” later. Ugh. He shuddered. Feelings. Gross. 

He bit down a smile as he made his way back towards the house, seeing from the window that Ray was already patching you up, one of your textbooks open next to her. 

Maybe whatever he felt for you and Ray though, wasn’t quite so bad. 

[bronx-bomber87]

We're off to episode 3 another fantastic one for our fav couple. Let's get started shall we?

2x03 The Bet

Tim and Lucy are getting ready to head out when she asks how his night was. Seems like an innocent enough question by her. So Tim is honest. Lucy's response is sassy to say the least. Being as comfortable as possible in its delivery. Tim isn't too happy with her reply. Let me say this, Lucy is the ONLY person Tim would ever allow to talk to him like this LOL No way in hell he would indulge anyone else to even broach the subject. But then no one else would have the guts to like Lucy either. She is always the exception for him.

Once again Lucy is doing it for his own good. To shake him out of his routine. Help him move on. Everything this woman ever does is in his best interest. Tim’s deep breath in the first gif when she starts up is so funny. Like he is bracing himself for whatever Lucy barrage is headed his way. He knows she is going to say something he doesn't want to hear LOL She tries to broach the subject lightly but is instantly shot down. Now he isn't mad so much as annoyed which is progress believe it or not haha

Lucy clams up pretty quickly after he mentions jogging behind the shop all day. Her face is hilarious. Lucy has learned to take her foot off the gas when need be. She opened the door a crack to this convo and shut it quickly. It’s like she pokes the bear gauges his reaction then strategizes for a bit on how to better approach him later. She is no where near done meddling in this matter.

We rejoin them at the station booking a couple of sex workers. This is where Lucy decides to bring this subject up once again. The lack of personal space in this scene is primo. Personal space? Never heard of her.... I love it so much. My goodness they are awfully close to one another in this scene hehe She sees this as her window and is right back at it. Lucy is saying she thinks she can help him. He looks at her like she’s insane. But he allows her to continue. Almost bemused at her confidence to set him up properly. It becomes a point of pride for Lucy. The more he seems to doubt her the more she wants to prove him wrong. What else is new? Haha

This quickly goes from setting him up to a work flirt. I mean look at those two above. They're not subtle in the least...All their work flirts stem from challenging one another. This whole situation goes from helping Tim go out on a date to a competition. Because well it’s them LOL They’re both so damn competitive...That’s literally what this entire thing boils down to. Both of them digging in their heels and not relenting. Thinking they're right and the other is in the wrong.

Tim has grown a lot I keep saying but it’s true and I'm just so proud of him. Last season Tim wouldn’t have allowed Lucy anywhere near his personal/love life. Let alone make a bet about it with her. They’re both SO cocky and confident they’re going to win as well. They decide on the the winner's spoils. For Tim he gets 50 push ups after each call. Lucy gets the short sleeves she was robbed of.

Tim agrees and says she has to pay if he does this. Lucy doesn’t even care and hastily agrees to this. Just wants so badly to be in short sleeves. These two are ridiculous fools and I love them for it. Also the way Lucy looks at him after they make their bet above is so cute. Little smitten kitten this one. As I've said before as transparent as glass. She is so adorable in how she looks at him. If he looked next to him he would see the heart eyes being lodged his way. Also lets pay back attention to the lack of space. *sigh* I just love them so much.

Tim does what he does best. Getting under Lucy’s skin as much as possible. In a way only he knows how. Since Lucy is paying he’s taking Rachel to most expensive restaurant possible. He's such a shit haha I adore him though. The work flirt continues. We haven’t had one in a bit this definitely constitutes as one. Tim going on about the expensive food and wine. You can see the irritation all over her face. Eric and Melissa are masters at conveying so much with a look. Right now she wants to shove him off that chair.

Lucy is trying to turn it back in her favor. Saying how romantic it is. That he wouldn't have chosen that if he wanted his date to fail. Their banter is unrivaled. I enjoy their verbal sparring so much. Tim is ever so cocky of course. He thinks he has this in the bag. That Lucy is destined to stay in long sleeves till her probation is up. Well if he has anything to do with it she will.

He is more excited at the prospect of Lucy doing those push-ups and winning this bet than the date itself. Oh Timothy. His damn cute smile in that last gif though above. Lord help me. I swear he only smiles that way with her. Amazing the amount of chemistry these two have without even touching. Testament to how good it is.

I don’t know what’s funnier. The fact that Lucy is casing his date or that she dragged Jackson along for it LMAO Kills me. ‘Mama needs to get into short sleeves’ I’m dying haha Also Jackson telling her how weird this is. I loved their friendship so much. Down to do and help each other with whatever.

Tim crashing and burning on this date is too funny. He needs an ice breaker. What does he do to rectify the situation? Brings up his work wife. Yes baby, that’ll fix the current train wreck you have going on. Smh. He does look damn good though. Feast for the eyes and all that. I will say I did like Rachel. She was the perfect person to get him back into the dating world. A Lucy 2.0 you could say. Because she challenges him and calls him on his crap too. I mean look at that second gif. Got him to go from saying Chen to Lucy with a pointed look.

I like Rachel for what she represented for him. Showing him he could have a functional relationship post Isabel. I think she was very important in shaping Tim into who he becomes in that regard. I hope this doesn’t sound as mean as it may come off. Rachel was a means to an end for Chenford. A good one but one none the less. Serious enough to show Tim he was capable of that again but not enough that he would leave LA for it.(But that’s much farther in the future for s2.) I will say I do love what Rachel does for him in the long run. I didn’t hate their scenes by any means. They had their purpose. I.e. Lucy who will eventually win this bet as we will see later on.

Lucy and Jackson continue to watch the date. It looks like Tim is flailing and Rachel is off put. Tim admits the bet he has with Lucy. That he wants to win. Rachel flirts and says being with her isn't a win? Then they start to click a bit. Tim says he can help Rachel with her civil standbys. She asks what he’d like in return? Tim being Tim knows Lucy is watching. Has Rachel slap him in the face and leave. Lucy is crushed and convinced she will be in long sleeves the rest of her probationary period haha

Oh Lucy you know why you care if Tim dates LOL Just last episode you recorded an old ass book for this man. But it is far too early for you to understand the true meaning of those actions just yet. She cares so much and is so empathetic. She will do things to her own detriment. Like this date haha Jackson’s reply is the best though. ‘You just want everyone to be happy. That’s a good quality’ He was such a good friend. ❤️

I love that Lucy couldn’t stand the idea of Rachel thinking badly of Tim. So she made sure early the next morning to visit her and rectify that. Almost like she couldn't move on with her day until she did this. That even if they didn’t work out romantically, she had to come and defend Tim to her. Lucy has seen his good side more than anyone else. To her there is no one better to defend his name than her. So that’s exactly what she did. Gah I love it. She’s so loyal.

Lucy looks down and sees a pair of boots. Then Tim does his glorious entrance. A shot we all love let's be honest. He's all wet from the shower and in a low hanging towel. Phew lord. Lucy looks a little thirsty at first. Then she turns her brain back on. (I can’t blame her girl I'm thirsty from seeing him too ahaha) Lucy confidently looks him in the eye and says ‘Short sleeves’ then takes off with a glorious smile and stride out of Rachel's place and back to her car.

Tim is so mad he’s lost this bet he doesn’t even care Lucy is seeing him in a towel. Or the fact that he’s there cause he spent the night with her friend. He’s more annoyed she won the bet LOL Classic. He thought he was going to have his cake and eat it too. Sorry Tim that’s a hard no haha This ep was one big work flirt for them both and I loved it.

~~~~~

Side notes- Meh didn’t really have much. Was cool to have couple Castle peeps on the show Seamus and Jon retuning. And Wopez was cute with his mom and stuff but nothing major. Jackson' SL with Smitty was really good tragic but good.

Forgot to thank everyone last review my apologies. Always so very thankful to those that like/comment (I adore comments)/ reblog and such you all are the best. :)

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

Disney's going downhill again (kinda happy ngl)

Should I really be happy about this? I mean, people are going to start turning to the underrated non-Disney media now that the world's most overrated company is going downhill again after Inside Out 2 brought them back up with a few months of hype.

First, let's talk about the live action Snow White remake. As someone who hates the "original" movie from 1937 (I say original in quotation marks because there's so many Snow white adaptations throughout the years). I just don't like the old animated Disney version, no matter how much someone will argue with me. Yes, I seen it but I have not grown up with it. I understand it's hard for someone to hate it if they grew up enjoying it, which I don't understand how they could because there's so many things in it that would scare the kids, and also... Snow white is a teen and the prince is a grown man! You can clearly tell just by looking at the designs. Nothing wrong with Snow white as a character but I heard they were originally going to make her look different but changed it to her current design because they didn't want her looking "too mature" which is freaking gross. I mean, it's from 1937 and it was legal and apparently normal for grown men to be attracted to underage girls and marry them... but doesn't that make you want to watch the movie less? Like, it's not the Victorian era anymore so why are we watching movies from back then? I don't mind that they remade Snow White and the seven dwarves, it doesn't look that good anyway. However I'm still not hating on the live action remake as much as I hate on the original. Who needs the problematic Disney versions when we have Red Shoes & the seven dwarves, and Mirror Mirror? Heck, I'd even watch the Super Why version over the 90 year old cartoon Disney one.

Now my rant on Disney's Snow white is done, let's get Decendants (or is it Decendents? whatever) out of the way. The Decendants franchise is basically an Ever After High knock off, just as the first Toy Story is a Knock off of Raggedy Ann & Andy Musical Adventure. Regardless if you like Decendants or Toy Story, we can still acknowledge that originals existed before the Disney versions. Disney DOES make knock offs, you know. The Wild is an obvious knock off of the first Madagascar movie. Everybody's saying how bad the "Jaladdin" song is in the new Decendants movie but I saw a video by The Artistic Aloubell on YouTube and she explained how another song in the movie had a very bad message (I'm not sure if I should post a link to her video in post, but I'll post it in the comments if someone asks for it). The song was basically about how being evil is justified if you have a good reason to? I don't know honestly, I'm an adult and I had trouble figuring it out, imagine the children who the movie is meant for, trying to figure out the message. The kids watching Decendants probably think like "Oh the outfits are cool! I like her outfit and her blue hair!" not about the message, but still! At first glance the song seems cute but when that YouTube artist broke down the lyrics and explained it, it wasn't so cute. Everybody was hating on the "Jaladdin" song, though. The Jaladdin song actually made me laugh a little, when I saw the clip. Also, I haven't actually seen any of the Decendants movies so I don't know every single detail, I just know it's basically like Ever After High, they're the sons and daughters of Fairytale characters, that's why they had a goofy song with Aladdin. Also, I thought the "Rise of Red" was going to be Little Red Riding hood's daughter or something, but it's the Queen of Hearts? Wow, what a missed opportunity! (btw I like how they had a tribute to Cameron Boyce, may he rest in peace).

Now let's get to the sequels, after you probably read enough already. Disney doesn't need to make live actions of every movie, but I'm fine with the Snow white one, as i said before (I just wish they didn't cast Rachel Zegler). I think the fact that they're making sequels of everything is worse than live action remakes (however I don't think that Lilo & Stitch or Tangle need live action remakes, since they're not as outdated as Snow White or Cinderella). The Moana sequel doesn't look bad, but it doesn't beat the original movie (even though I think Maui's "You're Welcome" song is so annoying). I can tell that some of the animation doesn't look as detailed and well-rendered as the original did, plus they got the culture down to the T in the original. The sequel doesn't really display that, plus it looks like there's more action and less heart warming story than the original. Something about the trailer felt a bit off, but it doesn't look bad. Zootopia, sequel is where I get really pissed off though. Disney's like "Oh no! we're losing all our gay furry audience now that Zootopia is old news! Let's bring it back so they can fall back in love with their dream crush, Nick Wilde!" and yes, this is coming from someone who hates the original Zootopia for a multitude of reasons. In fact, Zootopia is the only modern Disney movie that I truly despise! Also, why are they making a Toy Story 5? We don't need a 5th Raggedy Ann & Andy knock off!

Anyway, if you came this far, thank you! If you don't agree with me on everything I said, that's fine but I hope I gave valid points. If not, feel free to argue with me in the comments! You don't have to always agree with me, let me know if you do or don't. PLEASE CHAT WITH ME IN THE COMMENTS!