#like a child waiting until you’re speeding on the highway to tell you they didn’t buckle their seat belt

[kaveh-therapist]

I stopped at the fourth line because fuck this, be more creative !

If I can preshot the troll then I’m trolling you and that’s not the game ! You gotta surprise people, sneak in, let them drop their guard and then go for the kill !

NATO Standard Phonetic Alphabet,

The phonetic alphabet was developed as a way to spell things out over radio communications that may be less then ideal, I.E. a lot of static or weak signal. All the words were chosen because they have a distinct sound that is easy to pick out. Military and police communications use the phonetic alphabet heavily and can be helpful to know for talking over CB’s or FRS (walky talky) radios.

[kaylathekittykat225]

Carnival Ride of Horror // Steve Harrington x Reader

Carnival of Horror // SH

Warning/s: Cursing, laughing at inappropriate times, (very minimal) mentions/implications of abuse/stalking (just wanna warn, its super small but just in case!)

Word Count: 3.5k

Hey guys! It’s been a bit since I’ve written, lemme tell you, life has been kinda crappy and its just a little less crappy now! So I decided to start pecking at the keyboard again and this is what came of it! This lovely person requsted this work and I just got around to starting to really write because I had a free week. Anywhoodles, it’s good to write something again and I hope yall enjoy it!

Again thank you for this idea @seraphiiii

omg i came across your post about writing ideas in my feed and got so excited to see both steve harrington and young justice in the tags lmao. but i think a steve harrington x reader where reader and him go to an amusement park and reader is terrified of the rides so he’s like comforting her throughout them and encouraging her but also laughing (in a good natured way obvi) about how scared she is and stuff? i think that would be so cute!!

Here’s my Masterlist.

Enjoy.

-----

“Stevie, when we agreed to have a date night away from the kids, I didn't think we would be going into a mass of more kids.” As he pulled the keys out, you stared at the bright light shining machinery that had been set in the middle of a field outside the city. The annual summer fair had finally made its way to Hawkins, and it had left a buzz in the air as everyone planned when they would go, talked about what rides had come this year, who their ride buddy would be; it had been all the kids had been talking about for weeks. They put a day together the coming weekend to go as a group and they planned to drag Steve and you along on the off chance that they needed an “adult” to allow them on the rides.

Funny how they assumed either Steve or you knew how to adult.

“Cause I thought it would be a nice change from us just watching movies or having dinner.”

“Oh, so dino nuggets are no longer date-worthy for you.” Steve almost took you seriously, but he saw the grin that has graced your lips at your own comment. He relaxed a little knowing that you weren’t upset with his idea for date night, but he had always wanted to kiss someone at the top of a Ferris Wheel, and he would do anything to get you to the top of the rotating ride.

“So, you’re not mad that I chose here for tonight?” You shook your head and pulled at the door handle separating the two of you from the outside life.

“Of course not Stevie, I just thought it was an interesting choice.” The smile you chose to have was one that hopefully convinced him that you were okay with where the pair of you were going, even if you weren’t happy with the choice.

You can be happy with the idea of going to a carnival as long as you don’t go on-”Cool, so what ride do you want to do first?”

“Shit.” The world slipped out before you could stop yourself as Steve finished paying for your tickets and asked what you had said. “Nothing just kicked myself. Um…” You looked around frantically for something to do that wasn’t flashing brightly and spinning faster than the legal highway speed. “Let’s go over there!”

Steve followed your hand as he saw you point towards the stands of games that were rigged and way too fricking expensive, but he would do it for you. “Alright, starting out with some games I see, I like it.”

The two of you ran through a few of the games, most of them where Steve got way too into it and you had to step between them as he tried screaming that he deserved that stuffed bear/pony/cat/fish, because he almost had it every single time. He did beat out the basketball one, one of the last ones the two of you did on that strip, bolstering his confidence just enough to get him into a cheery enough mood.

“Alright! We played some games, and let the crazies test out the rides so I’m pretty sure they won’t break down on us. Which one should we do first? They got a drop tower, or how about the pit viper swings? Or, or, or how about we…” The night had been going enjoyable up until Steve turned to the rides you had managed to distract him from and pointed at the glowing and fast-moving monsters.

“How about we do the haunted walk over there?” Steve followed your pointing finger with a quizzical look, he hadn’t really taken note of the scary attraction before, never thought to really look to it with everything else going on. “I bet it won’t even be scary to us after everything we’ve been through right ha.”

You took off with a dry laugh without waiting for a response from him; his cries were head behind you, but the haunted house looked better than anything else around you. “Y/N.” He called you again, but you walked faster. By the time you got to the stairs leading into the building, you were practically running up them to get into the dark house with smoke billowing out of it.

“Y/N!” Your name was the last thing you heard before diving through the door and physically bumping into one of the scarers dressed as a zombie. He seemed nice, breaking character enough to ask if you were okay before you had already turned the corner and left him behind too.

Twisting and turning, you didn’t pay much mind to the screaming witches, zombies, skeletons, or anything that happened all around you; over the music and screaming, you could vaguely hear your name, giving you an indication that Steve followed you.

Not too far in, you found a quieter corner with only a couple cobwebs around it where you quickly ducked back into and tried pressing yourself into it deeper, hoping to watch Steve walk right by you.

Why the hell were you running from your boyfriend? You gained a sense of logic for a second where you paused. Why were you running? This was super childish of you and really had no reason. All Steve wanted to do was go on a few rides and you were being selfish and completely ruining what was going to be one of the few evenings you didn’t have to babysit the kids.

As the guilt started to swirl with your desire to not be found, you didn’t notice as the Frankenstein in the room had taken notice of you hiding in the corner and started to tromp over to you. “Hey, miss, you can’t be hiding in here, you gotta keep moving.”

“I’ll be out in a second, sir, let me just-” “You can’t be here-” “If you give me a second, I will leave as soon as I can-” “Miss you have to leave-” “Give me one dan minute-” “Y/N!”

Among all the screaming the Frankenstein and you had been doing was your name being called by a third and new voice along with a hand clasping onto your shoulder. Looking to the hand, you saw the unmistakable outline of the man you were hiding from. “There you are babe, why were you running off.” Just looking at the Frankenstein’s demeanor, you could tell he went into defense mode suddenly.

“Were you hiding from him miss? Are you okay? Do you feel safe?” The painted man moved to step between you and Steve in an attempt to separate you two.

“Whoa, whoa buddy, back off. She’s my girlfriend, chill out.” Steve tried stepping around the man o little success.

“Oh, your girlfriend? And she’s running from you? I don’t think this is looking very good for you, buddy.” The two were shooting back and forth at each other, getting chest to chest, and starting to cause a larger disturbance that started o be heard over the music and background scream noises. More workers it looked like started to slip into the room and try to get the two men to quiet down, going so far as to begin threats of throwing them out of the haunted house.

You were pulled away from the situation before being pushed away and into the next room, looking like it was on its way to the exit in the next two or three rooms: your destination.

-----

“Y/N?” His voice finally chirped up next to you as Steve took a seat next to you on the grass at the edge of the carnival. “You okay?” When he saw you sitting over here, he had quickly jogged over and took her in as he did so: sitting with her face pressed into her knees and arms wrapped tightly around her legs as she kept herself in as tight of a ball as possible.

You didn’t respond at first, only moving your head to look up at your boyfriend, the person you have embarrassed tonight and most definitely pissed off with your childish antics tonight. “I’m sorry.”

“Whoa what do you have to apologize for? I’ve been worried about you and wanted to make sure that you are okay.” His hand found its way to your back and began rubbing circles into your shoulder blade.

“I was really childish today and you didn’t deserve it, all because I was scared of the stupid rides.” Your words may have been mumbles, but he heard every word clearly.

“Hold on. Babe, did you say you were scared of the rides?” Your small and timid nod was enough for him to understand. “Why didn’t you tell me? I never would have brought you here if I knew that!”

Swallowing the thick feeling in your throat, you looked up at him and saw the disappointment and hurt in his face and that hurt. “Because you were so excited about it, I thought I could get through it and do at least one or two with you. But as we got closer, I guess my nerves got the best of me and I just...ran. Like a stupid child.”

“Hey, hey, hey, no.” Steve quickly shuffled to kneel in front of you and grabbed your hands, holding them in his own and your legs fell down to where you were now criss cross apple sauce. “I’m not gonna force you to do any of these rides if you don’t wanna. If you want to just go home, we can make this a movie night if that works better for you.”

“No, Stevie,” His mouth quirked up at this name. “You already bought the tickets; I don’t want you to waste the money you earned because I’m a scaredy cat.”

Steve took a second to think, racking his brain on how to salvage what has been an eventful evening. “How about…” He paused again and just stared at you with you staring back at him, waiting to hear what he wanted to say. “You can say no, how about we try a few rides, to try and get you on some. If you don’t like riding after one, we can go home, and you can at least say you did it.”

Mulling this idea over in your head, your eyes shifted from where your boyfriend sat in front of you to the bright and joyous scream filled rides were. “I suppose they don’t all look so bad.” You murmured to him, staring particularly at the giant Ferris Wheel that turned, a small memory from early on in your relationship popping into your head. Steve had mentioned a few times that his dream date would be to take a girl up on a Ferris Wheel and cuddle her and kiss her when they got to the top.

“Okay, we can try a few.” Though shaky, your voice was a little stronger this time and you gave Steve a small smile.

“You sure?” A nod. “Okay, I’ll let you choose which one we go on, okay?” Another nod.

Together, the two of you stood to your feet and approached the hustle and bustle of the carnival grounds again. “What did that Frankenstein do to you? I hope he didn’t get you in trouble or anything.” You asked as you laced your hand with Steve while the other went to hold onto his arm, squeezing it slightly as you got closer to the machines and your stomach growing heavy again.

“Oh him, he didn’t do much, just tried scaring me when he though I was some creep chasing you.” He chuckled at the short story, glancing over to you as you took in the carnival for really the first time, looking for something that didn’t freak you out. “How about we start with those spinning pods over there? All they do is spin around and if you want it to, we can make it spin on the inside too.”

Following his finger, you saw what he was referring to as it did spin around, the four small egg things with windows in them were spinning on the main machinery but also appeared to be spinning on their own. As you got closer and apparently joined the line, you could see inside one of them a group of middle school boys cackling as they pulled on the weird center disk that kinda looked like a pizza pan. “Yeah, we can give it a try.” The shakiness in your voice had come back and your grip on Steve tightened.

“Hey, you got this I’ll be right here with ya.” He returned the squeeze to your hand and fishes through his pocket for two tickets to hand over at the entrance. “Up ya go.” He mutters as he helps you up the three stairs leading into the egg ride thing you were entering before he stepped in behind you and took his place next to you. You were already holding a death grip on the center console when the door was shut, and Steve sat next to you. “You know what this is?” He asked gesturing to the disk you were holding onto with the vice grip.

“Something for me to hold onto?” You shocked yourself with how violently your voice was shaking as you heard something start to rumble around you. “Oh, shit its moving.” Steve let a quick chuckle out before he stopped himself and tried explaining the center console would cause the pod thing to spin. “Fuck no! Don’t you dare make this thing spin.” Bloody murder was not even near definitive enough of how much you were screaming.

“Babe, babe calm down, it’s fine! I promise, ha!” In comparison to your screaming, Steve seemed to be having the time of his life as he laughed; at least he wasn’t making the ride spin. “Babe, babe, babe, I’m so sorry I’m laughing, I promise I didn’t mean to, but you were screaming so much! And it was hilarious!” Steve held onto his sides as he nearly fell out of the pod and waited for you to follow his laughing self. When you didn’t step out, he turned back around and saw you still had your hands clenched very tightly to the metal plate, your eyes wide and your lips pursed together. “Sweetheart, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about the rides, do you wanna go home?”

Hearing him soften up got you to finally look at him and slowly let go of the wheel. “N-n-no. I’m…” You paused to catch your breath and steady your voice. “I’m good, I just don’t know if I can do any more of these kinds of things.” Taking his hand, you pulled yourself up and stepped out from the ride and have yourself a few seconds to remember how to use your legs.

“You okay?” You nodded at him and gave a shaky, but okay smile. “You sure you wanna do another one? Cause we can go-”

“No, no, I can do…” The carnival really did have more rides than just ones that wanted to make you die, but none that really made you want to jump on them. “Can we do the carousel? I know I can do that one at least, my mom took me on them enough as a kid to be desensitized to those ones.” Steve looked over and saw the carousel that was filled predominately by smaller children, but if you wanted to do this and it was because he bought the tickets, he couldn’t make her do something else.

“If that’s what you wanna do, then we can do the carousel all night long, babe.” You nodded at him and followed him as he took your hand and the two began the walk to the carousel.

The carousel ride was much less curse filled, thankfully. You and Steve had found a pair of horses sitting side by side and the two of you quickly claimed them. Like you had said, you did get to enjoy this ride due to having done it before and you were able to just chat between the two of you, talking about how the kids were cute, how excited you were to take the kids to the park and not have to rides. It was a fine ride, definitely better than the last one.

“You ready to go home, babe?” Steve turned to you with a smile on his face. Getting you to ride two of the rides was honestly enough for him, plus, he knew Dustin would ride all of them with him later, with you waiting at the end for him.

You were about to agree and leave this eventful evening behind you, but you saw what Steve was standing near and bit your lip. Should you do it? Could you do it? “Actually, I wanna do one more.” He gave a quick quirk of his head before he followed your eyeline and turned around.

“What? Babe, we don’t have to do that, you have been through enough today and you were great, you don’t have to prove anything.”

“But...you have been wanting to do it, you told me about it one time.” You responded a little shyly as you confessed that you were doing it back of what he told you that one time. “I just...I really want you to be able to do it.”

“You...you remembered?” Steve was kind of shocked that you remembered him mentioning it, he had told that to girls in the past, but none of them really went out of their way to think about it, hell, even to remember it. “Are you su-”

“Steve, yes, I wanna do it with you.” The grin on his face was immaculate and contagious as one grew on your face as he quickly took this well and pulled you towards the line to the Ferris Wheel and dug around in his pockets for another round of tickets.

As it went around, you felt your stomach grow heavy again when you finally saw how high it got and had to calm yourself down without causing another scene. “Come on, babe, looks like ours is up.” He gently tugged on your hand and pulled you into the seat next to him before the handlebar was lowered and locked in front of you. “And here we go!”

The squeak that left your mouth was nothing but surprise and terror as you clung onto the bar for your life, your knuckles turning white with the sheer force you were holding on. “It’s really stupid you know that the only thing holding us back from falling to our death is this small bar and it’s really stupid because was if I was reall-holy shit this is really tall!” You finally removed your hands from the bar and moved to press yourself in Steve.

You could feel him trying to stop himself from giggling as he moved his arm to wrap it around you. “You can laugh you know; I really don’t care. I’m the coward of an almost twenty-year-old who’s scared of a carnival.” A chuckle did come through as the ride kept rotating and you slowly moved closer to the bottom.

“I’m not laughing at you, babe, but the noises you are making are fricking hilarious.” His voice still held the chuckle as he pressed a kiss to the side of your head, and you responded with another squeak of shock as you started rising again.

Making it to the top again, you were waiting for it to hit its peak and for the relief of lowering the cart to begin, but instead there was a shudder before the ride stopped. “What’s going on, what’s going on, why are we stopped? Oh god we are about to die, fuck, shit, I don’t wanna die.”

“Babe, calm down, someone below us is getting off so they had to stop the ride for a bit. Remember when we had to get on? Same thing probably happened to someone else.” You nodded your head and just stared ahead to the tops of the trees you never thought you would have seen.

“It’s...it’s not too bad up here.” You finally mutter after a few beats of silence and getting your bearings. “I wouldn’t want to stay up here, but it does look nice.” Steve hummed in agreement and pulled you a little closer. “Hey Stevie?”

“Hmm?” He responded looking down at you.

“Thanks, tonight was fun.”

His face broke out into a grin again at your thanks. “Of course, thanks for giving a few of these rides a chance.” Smiling up at him, you sat a little straighter and caught his lips with your own, the two of you humming to the other that you were happy with your evening.

Though it was not as long as Steve would have wanted to stay in that moment with you (the ride started again and you broke away with another shriek), but he wouldn’t have traded that moment for anything else in his life.

[wanderingchocolateeclair]

But again, he was just a little too late...

Hello!! I’m back and finally gathered the motivation to finish this! Here is one of the Izumi angsts that I keep on going on about!! It took me ages, but I decided that since I don’t think my motivation will let me make this any longer, I might as well bring it to a suitable end and post it for you to see :)

I hope you enjoy, I spent a little too long on this one (the other Izumi angst is a little longer but a bit more on the proper angsty side, so there’s that one to look forward to when it’s done!)

Warnings: mentions of death, destruction, panic, and death.

Tagging: @kiriderp @chaotic-trash-can @theshisthings (if anyone else would like to be tagged in any of my writing posts so you can see them, please let me know and I will happily do so!😊)

————————————

“Oi, Jeanist, slow down!! What the hell?!”

An exasperated Hawks yelled as he clung onto the side of the car seat, his body pressed closely against a very squashed Rumi, who was sprawled rather awkwardly over an even more squished Ryuko.

“Dude! Say something, for god’s sake! What’s going on?!!” Rumi shouted, trying to correct her posture but failing miserably. “I know that ya like to conceal stuff and hide things so people don’t worry but-”

“-this is getting rather concerning, Tsunagu.” Ryuko interrupted the rabbit hero, speaking the thought that was running through all of their minds as the blond man drove at incredibly high speeds down the highway.

“What’s going on?”

No answer.

“Tsunagu.”

Still no answer. The tall man’s hands clenched tighter around the steering wheel, his breath wavering slightly.

“HAKAMATA, FOR FUCKS SAKE-”

“-ALRIGHT! Bloody hell, Ryuko....” Tsunagu blurted out a reply, his hands shaking slightly as he tried to steady his voice. “....w-we just. I need- I need to get there....”

Ryuko sighed and her eyes softened slightly as she heard the vulnerability in the older man’s voice. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, it’s just....I’m worried.”

“We all are....” Keigo chimed in informatively.

Tsunagu nodded his head and sighed. “I know, I know. It’s fine, Ryu, it’s my fault, I should’ve at least said something.”

The dragon hero chewed her lip and looked out the window, thinking back to what happened.

They’d all been waiting to be called for a mission of any sort and were interrupted by a hero message alert, simply informing them about an accident that had happened somewhere. This happened a lot and would notify heroes that were nearby so that they could be on standby for if aid was needed.

Now, all was well, until Jeanist read the message and received another immediately afterwards that contained information that the others were unaware of.

Ryuko observed as the man’s face went paler than ever as he read what had been sent to him, and she didn’t even have time to react or ask before being flung quickly into the back of his car along with the other two and told that it was ‘an emergency’.

“It was that alert, wasn’t it?” She muttered, not wanting to know the answer as she feared the worst. “Wait- Shinya, what about Shinya, where is he?”

Tsunagu winced at the harsh sound of the woman’s voice and prepared to answer but was cut off by Rumi as she gave her thoughts of what Ryuko had just said.

“Isn’t he on patrol around that area with Kamui and Mount Lady?” She questioned, yelping slightly as the car took another sharp turn and sent her flying straight to the other side of the car. “Augh...The message said it was only a small villain attack but it’s mainly the building that got demolished....though they said there were some casualties and injuries and such...”

Tsunagu’s chest grew tight and he started shaking even more at the thoughts that raced through his mind. ‘Oh god....no please.....please be safe...oh please, I beg you....’

“....look at the time...” the blond man whispered, his voice sounding even more vulnerable than before.

4:50pm.

What was so special about 4:50pm?

“What- what’s up with the time?” Rumi asked hesitantly. Looking over Ryuko’s arm as she checked the time. “It’s 4:50, what about it?”

“Izu-” Tsunagu stuttered, his breath hitching as he felt that familiar feeling creep from his stomach up to his throat yet again. “Izumi finishes her school at this time. Hana....Hana looks after her and takes her home....but- but the area. This- argh!”

The car swerved sharply as the blond man narrowly avoided a massive crevice in the road. They stopped moving and looked at the sight in front of them.

They were there. They were at the area that they’d been told about but were shocked to see that the building had completely vanished. It was not there. It was as if someone had plucked it from the ground and taken it elsewhere.

“Holy shit...” Keigo muttered, his wings slumped slightly at the sight that he saw.

Rumi’s ears did the same, as they drooped against her face in a shocked manner while she took in the imagery of the rubble filled, dusty concrete space in front of them.

Ryuko clutched onto the seat in front of her tightly and could feel as Tsunagu’s shoulders dropped, her own breath wavering as she looked out the window.

Police cars and ambulances were scattered around the scene, many heroes could be seen trying to clear the rubble. Despite feeling like such an empty space, there was carnage everywhere.

“Oh god, Tsunagu, please tell me that my suspicions are wrong...” Ryuko quietly spoke, her hands letting go of the seat in front of her as she moved to open the door. “Please....tell me that what you were worried for isn’t what I think it is...”

The blond man drew in a sharp breath and fumbled for the door handle, pushing it open. The other three watched as he stumbled out of the car and exchanged concerned looks before following him in his actions and hurriedly getting out of the car themselves.

“Oi!” Hawks called out, trying to get the older man to slow down as he watched him run towards the police officer that was standing amidst the rubble. “Jeans- Tsunagu, for gods sake, slow down!”

The blond man was too caught up in his worried thoughts to notice the yelling coming from the other three that were following him. His head was so heavy. So loud.

‘Oh god-’

“Tsunagu!”

His stomach felt as if someone had set it on fire....a familiar feeling...too familiar.

‘Please, no-’

“Hey!”

He felt tears prick at his eyes as he reached the shorter police officer who was looking up at him in quite a terrified manner.

“Where are they.”

The smaller figure looked up and squeaked at the surprisingly threatening tone of the fiber hero’s voice.

“U-um, sir? Pl-please wait, don’t-”

“Let me through.” Tsunagu interrupted, no longer trying to mask the harshness of his voice.

“I’m sorry, I-I really can’t let you do that right now, sir. You can’t-”

“Let me get through, and let me see what’s going on.” He loomed above the other man, his long and thin figure casting a dark shadow onto those who were in front of him.

“B-but-”

“Now.”

“Jeanist, sir, please I can’t just-” The police officer cut himself off as he saw the hero’s eyes.

Bright teal orbs glowing with adrenaline, rage and dread, staring straight back into his own. Their light intense enough to mortify the soul that shook in fear within oneself.

This was enough to completely terrify and intimidate the officer. He obeyed the tall man’s demand and dropped everything he was doing as he stepped back hesitantly in shock, unable to look away.

“C-carry on, sir!”

Taking this opportunity, Tsunagu rushed forwards and weaved his way through the piles of rubble, jumping over some of them and kicking some out of the way as he neared the centre of the attack.

‘Idiot!’

Tsunagu snapped his head up at the thoughts that started flooding his mind as he stared up at the huge chunk of concrete that seemed to loom ominously over him.

‘You’re so slow- too late, always too late...’

He shook his head and took a step forward. ‘What would your family think? It’s not like they’d care about you any-’

“Shut up!” He blurted out, feeling his eyes sting from the tears that refused to fall. “Shut up....goddammit, Tsunagu, you’re an idiot.....Shinya....Izumi.....shit...”

His mind felt as if it would explode at any moment. He blamed himself, he always had, but the dread and fear for what he’d find was too much to bear...he couldn’t breathe.

‘So slow-’

“Oh god...”

He stumbled around the massive boulder and shuddered at the sight he saw. The sight that was hidden from everyone else.

‘Too slow-’

“No no no-”

He felt a pair of warm hands gently grasp his shoulders from behind as he watched two younger heroes run towards him in a manner of which to prevent him from going any further towards the usually comforting and familiar flash of red that was wrapped around the kneeling figure that lay ahead of him.

‘Too late.’

Tsunagu felt his heart shatter as he looked at what was in front of him. The tears started to fall and his voice faltered as he tried to call out to his husband, his child, his family...anyone....

“No...th-that’s not right....no...”

“Hey, I don’t think this is a good idea...” Mt Lady spoke quietly as they approached the taller man, her eyes darting back to where Shinya was curled up on the ground.

Kamui shakily looked up at the blond man and took in the fear in his face.

“Let...me...go...” Tsunagu weakly demanded, his voice fading slightly as he tried to shrug the winged hero’s hands off of him.

“I can’t, Tsunagu....holy shit...you two...what happened?” Hawks stuttered out, his own words failing at the sight in front of him, his grip still firm on the other’s shoulders.

“I- I can’t say it.....not here....not now...” Shinji whispered as he tried to steady the tall figure in front of him, his own eyes saddened by the harsh truth of what had happened, blinking rapidly to try and clear away the tears that had already made themselves present. “Jeanist, please......please wait a moment, this isn’t a good idea....”

“Let me go...” Tsunagu’s hollow voice croaked out again, yet this time it seemed to get louder...more desperate....

“Wait! You need to calm down, it’s not safe!” Yuu exclaimed, her voice still trying to be soft. She grabbed onto Tsunagu’s arm and shook it gently, trying to bring him back to reality and make him pay attention to them. But it didn’t work.

His throat tightened as he stared at the crumpled figure of his husband on the ground, his heart racing as his thoughts grew deafeningly louder. He couldn’t hear the others. He couldn’t feel the reassuring hands of the three that held him back from behind...or the hesitant words of comfort from the two that blocked his path.

“Let me get to them!”

All he could hear was the pain of his own thoughts and the silent screams that came from his husbands mouth...the muffled wailing that only he seemed to be able to hear...

“Shinya...”

“For gods sake, please calm down-” Ryuko’s steady voice cut through his thoughts and snapped him back to reality, making him realise that he still hadn’t gotten any further, and that Shinya was still there, curled up on the cold ground.

“Please! Let me see them!” Tsunagu cried out, his voice still straining to the point where barely any sound would come out. “My family, let me get to my family!”

Hawks pivoted around to face the struggling blond and sharply dug his fingers into the older man’s shoulders, trying to make him come to his senses. “For pity’s sake, Jeanist, you know this is a bad idea! You need to calm down, ‘cause out of all people, if you lose control-”

“I need to see my child.”

“Oi!”

“Where is my daughter?”

The two younger heroes that had been with the ninja hero at the time of the incident shared a worried glance and thought back to the moment that Shinya found out what had happened...the fear on his face...the heartbroken scream he let out when he saw....

“Tell me...”

When he saw......

“Let me see my child...”

“Hakamata-san.....” Yuu started, her voice cutting off as more tears welled up in her eyes.

“Let me go....”

“Please....you need to calm down....please listen to us....” Shinji finished what the blonde woman tried to say.

“Don’t touch me...” Tsunagu’s eyes clouded over yet again, his heart racing as he tried to fight against the others.

“You know bloody well this isn’t a good idea!” Rumi hissed as she tried to help Ryuko grab hold of the tall man’s shoulder.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Tsunagu yelled out, his voice finally making enough noise to startle and frighten the others, the tears streaming down his face even more than before.

“Shit-”

“LET ME GO!”

“For God’s sake-”

“LET ME GO!!”

“No- we can’t, you know this-”

“STOP IT!”

“We’re trying to help, for fucks sake-”

“LET ME GET TO THEM!”

“TSUNAGU!”

At the sudden loud mention of the fiber hero’s name, the silver haired man’s head snapped up and turned towards the commotion in a weary manner.

Locking eyes like the first time they met, the two anguished heroes shared a gaze. Two parents...partners....family....feeling the same despair and pain as each other as they knew...they knew what they both would have to accept.

“.....Tsunagu?” Shinya called out weakly, his voice barely making a sound as he reached out for his husband. “.....you’re here?”

The others watched as the smaller figure reached out to them, their eyes darting back to the man they were holding.

Tsunagu’s face seemed calmer than it was before, still distraught and pained, but calmer. He seemed to breathe slower and his shoulders lowered as he locked eyes with the other man.

“Shinya...” Ryuko started, her voice filled with concern and worry. “Shinya, are you-”

“Let him go...” The silver haired man interrupted the shaky dragon hero, his voice still quiet despite the boldness of his words. “Let him through...”

“Shinya-”

“Let him get to me...let him see her...” His grey eyes seemed to pierce through the air sharper than his own body when using his quirk, despite how dull and hollow they appeared.

Seeing this, the others shared a hesitant glance before letting go of the distraught Jeanist, their hands lingering slightly to let him know that they were all still there for him.

Stumbling forward slowly, Tsunagu reached out to Shinya, his knees buckling beneath him as he fell into the shaky arms of the other man.

“I-I....I can’t....Shinya, I’m sorry...” he started, his tears rolling steadily down his face.

“Don’t....don’t apologise to me, Tsu, we are both sharing this pain....” the silver haired man whispered, rocking the child in his arms ever so slightly as his own tears fell down the sides of his cheeks. “Just....look at her....look at them both.....look....look at her face, Tsunagu, her face-”

The blond man whimpered as the other man shook in despair, holding his family closer to his chest as they took in the peaceful features of the two that lay in his arms.

The small child that was bundled up in Shinya’s arms stared up lifelessly at them, her usually bright and happy teal eyes, now dull and empty. Her light silver hair was dishevelled and dirty, matted by the dust and rubble that was laying around them. Her tiny little body, laying there, broken and damaged...in a way that not even the most heartless creatures could stand and look over....and the imagery of her childhood, stripped away forever. Her life...cut shorter than anyone could ever deserve.

A different pair of kind and caring arms were wrapped around the resting child. Ones that did not belong to Shinya or Tsunagu, but to a certain hero whose own life had been interrupted by the sudden incident.

Hana’s face seemed to carry so much focus, despite being devoid of life and hope, and her eyes still carried their usual determination. She had always been willing to die fighting for those she loved, however it was never meant to be this soon....not with Izumi...not with her trying and failing to protect her own niece.

“What....what happened....” Tsunagu muttered, burying his face deeper into the top of Shinya’s head and taking the other man’s hand gently in his own, squeezing it in the same reassuring way he would’ve done when their family was alive.

“They were walking home...” Shinya croaked, his voice getting smaller as he held his sister and his child’s body closer to him. “They were just coming home, but they got caught- they got caught up in- Tsunagu, I can’t-”

The taller man attempted to comfort his shivering husband but couldn’t stop his own tears from intensifying.

“Tsunagu....Hana...she tried so hard...” Shinya reached down and fixed a stray strand of hair that was poking out from the fairy hero’s head. “My sister....she....she’s gone.....she.....she tried so hard to protect her...our petal, our little Izumi...”

He trailed off, tears falling onto the red scarf that he had wrapped around the two that lay in his arms.

“Our child....our baby....” Tsunagu breathed, continuing from his husband’s unfinished sentence, his own voice sounding more broken than ever.

“Why....why did this happen?” The smaller man asked a question that he didn’t really want the answer to, yet he asked desperately anyway.

“Shinya...” Tsunagu turned away in pain, looking back at the other heroes he had dragged with him. He felt bad. He didn’t mean to yell at them or push them away...but the blind panic he felt had washed over him like a tidal wave drowning out the signs of those who were trying to help. But now he saw. He could think, he could see, he could hear them clearly once again.....but it was too late for that......and it was too much, too loud, he knew too much of what he wish had never had to know.

He watched as Ryuko crumpled to the floor in anguish, barely being held up by the usually strong bunny hero, who’s ears were now pressed against her face, both being comforted by the winged hero that stood by their side. Keigo’s head hanging low as he felt his heart fill up with a familiar sadness that he knew all too well.

“Why did this happen to us?”

Shinya’s words rang through the air as clear and sharp as the cold winter air that they used to play in as a family, throwing snowballs at eachother and watching as Izumi jumped into the massive piles of snow, only to come out shivering and asking for warm hugs and to be wrapped in her favourite blanket. Those memories that could never happen again.

The fiber hero looked back down into his husbands eyes and saw the pain once again, seeing the desperation from deep down within Shinya’s soul.

He took a deep breath and tried to reply as steadily as he could, keeping the other man’s gaze locked to his own.

“Because she’s our daughter....and anything that happens to us will only ever result in pain for those we love the most....”

Shinya felt more tears run down his face as he listened to the familiar and somewhat still so soothing voice of his husband, sharing the truth of what he had already known.

“That’s how it’s always been for us...all throughout our lives.” Tsunagu continued, closing his eyes as he felt his tears blur his vision over and over again.

“It’s all our fault.” Shinya quietly mumbled, brushing the dirt off of their child’s face as he cried.

Looking up, the silver haired hero saw a flash of blue in the distance, and watched the horror seep into the familiar secretary’s face as she looked upon the bodies he held in his arms, falling to the ground as she saw Hana’s broken figure, and wailing when the reality that her partner was actually gone had fully sunk in.

“We’re her parents....and because of that, now she’s dead.”

Shinya felt Tsunagu’s embrace tighten and watched as his husband place a gentle hand against Izumi’s face.

“Our child is dead...Tsunagu.....our child.....our petal....our sunshine....”

The words that escaped Shinya’s lips stuck daggers into both of their hearts as the felt the shared pain of losing a loved one once more.

“Our baby...” the taller man whimpered, his head no longer able to be held up high, resting on the others own shoulders.

The pain they shared was more excruciating than any injury or near-death experience they had ever felt, all combined together. For they had once felt the joys of being a happy family, becoming parents to a whole entire new life that saw the happiness in everything. For the first time in both of their lives, they had felt true peace, and true happiness. But once it was taken away from them, the light they saw in those moments, would never shine again.

“She’s gone....”

[maydaygirl-save-our-ships]

Home Again (Amphibia Fic)

Spoilers for True Colors.

Summary:

Anne stared at her shaking and confused frog family and couldn’t help but think back to the first day she landed in Amphibia. She had been terrified, especially after she learned of the blood thirsty, giant creatures that inhabited the world. Nothing about the urban city in which she grew up was familiar to the Plantar family. She recognized their overwhelmed and distraught faces and her resolve hardened. “Don’t worry, guys,” Anne said. “I won’t let anything happen to you. You took care of me when I was lost in your world, and now it’s my turn to take care of you.”

<Previous

Chapter 2: Another Starting Point

“My home is a few miles from here,” Anne said as she got to her feet. “We can walk, but we will be out in the open. I wish we could take a bus, but I don’t have any money.”

“We’re fine with walking. Just tell us what kind of monsters might be out there, and we’ll be prepared,” Hop Pop said matter-of-factly.

Anne shook her head and shouldered her backpack. It was much heavier with Frobo’s head inside. “There's no monsters in my world. Why do you think I was so freaked out by the huge monsters in your world and the piles of bones everywhere? This world isn’t dangerous in the same way as Amphibia is dangerous.”

“Then why can’t we go out in the open?” Sprig asked.

“Because if people see a bunch of frog people they are going to freak out,” Anne said bluntly.

Sprig chuckled. “Come on Anne, we don’t look that weird!”

Anne shot him a tired look. “As weird as I looked in Amphibia, that's how weird you guys look here.”

“Are they going to send a mob after us?” Polly asked. She sounded almost hopeful.

“I doubt it, but the government might try and capture you or something…” Anne mused and she looked around the small clearing for anything that she could use.

“Why would the monarchy want to capture us?” Hop Pop asked. “We’re not a threat.”

“What? No, there’s no monarchy- you know what, I’ll explain that another time,” Anne said as she spotted exactly what she was looking for. Anne ran over and grabbed a large, blue blanket that was hanging over a fence. It was probably left there by the homeless encampment that often set up in the area.

“Here,” Anne said as she wrapped the blanket around her frog family. “Stay hidden under this until we get to my house.”

Hop Pop let out a long hearty cough. “If you think that’s best, Anne.”

“Whoa. You okay dude?” Anne asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. The air in your world is just… different from ours.”

Anne knew what he meant immediately. The way the polluted air filled up her lungs made her chest feel heavy. It wasn’t until she came back to her world that she appreciated the fresh and unpolluted air of Amphibia.

“It’s just pollution from the cars in the city. It will clear up more in the suburbs,” Anne promised. “Come on, let’s get going.”

She led them to the sidewalk and instructed them to stay close. They seemed hesitant to go near the street and it’s rushing cars, but trusted her enough to follow her anyway.

They walked in mostly silence with a few murmurs from her frog family as they took in the sights of her world. Every once in a while they would recognize something they had seen in one of her movies or shows, but most of the time they looked both amazed and overwhelmed.

Eventually the scenery changed and they found themselves walking next to fresh cut lawns, picket fences, and the occasional garbage can that was left out on the curb. The buzz of the highway traffic and bustle of the city was muted in the distance. They turned down a street and Anne suddenly stopped. She felt as if someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her lungs, forcing all of her air to leave in a rush.

Why? Why had she turned down this street? Was she trying to torture herself?

She stared at the outside of the Wu residents across the street, unable to move. Marcy’s parents must be devastated at their child’s disappearance. Would she have to tell Marcy’s parents about what happened to her? Explain to them that Marcy was never coming home? No, she wouldn’t do that, couldn’t do that, not until she was sure Marcy was really… gone. There was still some hope, wasn’t there?

“Anne? Anne?” She heard voices calling her name behind her but she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Something light, but solid landed on her shoulder. It was a familiar feeling as one of Sprig’s cool hands touched the skin at the base of her neck as he sat on her shoulder, peering at her in concern. The first time Srig had jumped on her shoulder back in Amphibia, Anne hadn’t been used to frog skin yet and she had felt like he was invading her personal space. Now, she found the gesture familiar and comforting. It was nice to have Sprig sitting on her shoulder, just the perfect height to talk to, or hug, depending on what she needed.

“Anne?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

She really wasn’t, but her first priority was to make sure they were okay.

“I’m fine,” she said, quickly wiping away her tears and wishing he couldn’t see, but knowing he could. Suddenly, the reality of the situation caught up with her. “Wait, Sprig! Get back under the blanket before someone sees you!” She glanced around the neighborhood to see if anyone had noticed them.

“Don’t worry,” Sprig said as he jumped off her shoulders onto the pavement. “I don’t think there’s anyone around right now.”

He did have a point. It was in the middle of the day and most people were probably at work or at school… Was there school? Or would it be summer time by now?

“Maybe not right now, but someone could drive down the road any second,” she warned.

“Oooh hey, what’s that?” Sprig asked, and to Anne’s horror, he bounded off into the street.

“Sprig! What are you doing?”

“Whoa, there are some coppers here just lying in the road!” Sprig said as he picked up one and began to study it.

“Those are just pennies,” Anne said. “They aren’t worth- Sprig, look out!”

People were always blowing past stop signs in the neighborhood, and the car that was currently driving down the street was completely ignoring the 25 mph speed limit.

Sprig’s eyes widened as he looked up to see the mental machine bearing down at him with no intention of slowing.

Sprig was quick, he could probably jump out of the way in time, but Anne couldn’t risk it. She had already lost one friend today.

The car clearly hadn’t seen the tiny pink frog in the middle of the road, but it would be able to see her. She jumped out into the middle of the road, blocking Sprig from the oncoming vehicle as she held her arms out wide. The driver immediately slammed on his breaks, much to Anne’s relief. The car came to a complete stop and the driver rolled down his window.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, kid? I could’ve hit you!”

“Sorry!” Anne called. “It’s just my…” She searched for the right word. What kind of pets did they even have in this world again? Not caterpillars, or baby snails... that wouldn’t make any sense. “My… cat ran into the road.” She did her best to block Sprig from the driver's view. She felt him jump onto her back and duck his head so he wouldn’t be seen. “I think he ran off though.”

The driver grumbled something before rolling up his window.

Anne quickly stepped out of the road, doing her best to keep the driver from seeing the little pink frog clinging to her back.

When the car drove away, Anne let out a sigh.

“Heh… sorry, Anne,” Sprig apologized as he jumped off her back.

“I thought you said this world isn’t dangerous?” Polly asked skeptically as Sprig joined her underneath the blanket again.

“It’s not dangerous in the same way your world is. It’s not like there are monsters in the bushes, but if you don’t follow the rules of the road and jump into the middle of the street-” She made sure to give Sprig a meaningful glare. “Then it can be dangerous. Just stick close to me, okay?”

“You got it, Anne! Hey, can we use these coppers to buy anything?” Sprig asked. From underneath the blanket he held out his hand to reveal three pennies.

“Not really. I was trying to tell you, dude, those are just pennies and they’re barely worth anything.”

“Oh.” Sprig looked disappointed. “Well, I’m still keeping them,” he said as he shoved them into his pocket. “They have a cool human on them.”

Anne rolled her eyes affectionately. Sprig had always been interested in the Earth stuff she brought with her. She had actually given him a lot of the stuff she didn’t need, like pens and old key chains. She was going to have a hard time convincing him not to fill up his pockets with junk from her world.

“What kind of monetary system do you have that copper isn’t worth anything?” Hop Pop asked, appalled. “Don’t tell me you have so much gold that you're lining your garbage cans with it? Talk about inflation!”

Anne made a face. “I don’t know! I don’t even know if pennies are real copper or what inflation is. If you really want to know, you should ask Mar-” she stopped herself, the pit in her stomach tightening.

Hop Pop went silent as he reached out from under the blanket and patted her arm comfortingly.

They didn’t say much as they continued to walk down the sidewalk together. Marcy’s house was only a few blocks away from her own. That was actually how they met. Both of their parents had taken them to the same park when they were young and then they attended the same elementary school together.

Anne shook her head again. She had to stop thinking about Marcy. She had to focus on getting home and finding a way to get back to Amphibia. There was a war going on without her and her frog family couldn’t stay on Earth forever. She would get them back home, just like they got her home.

She finally stopped, taking in the sight before her. It had felt like an eternity but the house in front of her remained completely unchanged. Her family home was one of the older houses in the neighborhood. It needed a new coat of paint and the basketball hoop above the garage was one basket away from falling off, but her mother’s touch had always made the place feel homey, with light pink curtains in the windows and flowers on the front railings. It had always been comfortable, familiar. Home.

However, at this moment, her childhood home was strangely cold to her. In Wartwood, the streets were always bustling with people. The houses were often small and welcoming; doors were left open and neighbors visited each other often. Grass and weeds were always overgrown in Wartwood and it was a stark contrast to the perfectly manicured lawns of her house and neighbors. Standing in front of the house, her world felt silent and empty.

The minivan wasn’t in the driveway so her parents weren’t home. The lights were off, further driving home the point that no one was there. She didn’t know why she expected her parents to be home waiting for her. It had been months since her disappearance, and at this time of day they would be at the restaurant finishing up the lunch rush, not waiting for her to show up out of a portal from another world.

Looking at her home now, Anne had to wonder, had anything changed without her? Would her parents even care that she came back? Were they happier without her making a mess they would then yell at her to clean up? Did they have more free time now that they didn’t have to bug her to do her homework or take her to tennis practice?

Anne knew this line of thought was stupid and fed by her own insecurities. Of course her parents loved her and missed her. But had her disappearance really not changed anything? She couldn’t help but selfishly wish that her parents had been sitting at home for the past few months waiting for her to come back. She had worried and missed them every single day, even spent nights crying over pictures of them in her phone. They had felt the same, hadn't they?

“Is this your home, Anne?” Sprig asked. “It’s nice.”

“It’s fancy,” Polly said. “Kind of like the homes in Newtopia.”

“Yeah, this is it guys. My home.” Why did that word seem so hollow on her tongue? She had been so urgent to get back home before now. It was her entire goal; the reason she and the Plantars had gone on such a huge journey together. They had given up everything just to get her here.

Now, it was just another starting point.

“Anne, are you sure your parents are going to be okay with us?” Hop Pop asked worriedly. “It’s not polite for us to just show up unannounced.”

That caused Anne to laugh. “You mean like how I showed up in Wartwood unannounced and you took me in? You guys are my family, I would never leave you without a place to stay. Besides, my parents aren’t even home right now. They’re at the restaurant.”

“Yes, but when they get home, they might be a bit overwhelmed to see us, since we aren’t from this world.”

“You guys have no idea,” Anne said. “But don’t worry about it. We’re Thai. Thai people are some of the most hospitable people you’ll ever meet. After my parents get over their initial shock, they will insist that you stay. My mom will probably cook a bunch of food for you that she won’t let you refuse.”

Hop Pop chuckled. “In that case, lead the way, kiddo.”

Anne smiled and turned back to the door. She wasn’t even sure if she still had her house keys, and with Frobo’s head in her backpack, she didn’t want to go digging for it. Instead, she approached the side of the house to search under the only bush. She finally found the fake rock and took out the spare key.

She made her way up to the front door and turned the key in the lock. With one turn of the door handle, and a softer push than the Plantar’s front door required, the door opened.

Let me know what you think of this one! ! I know you are all looking forward to the Plantar's meeting Anne's parents and I promise we will get there!

Check out my kofi if you are interested.

[starrysupercell]

back in april you did a bunch of road trip hcs and they were awesome. got any more for trios like old town, superheroes, etc?

Ohh I loved those, actually! I think I did one for those two groups, but I can't seem to find it. Granted, I only looked briefly, but it'd be easier and more fun to just type it out anyway.

~

Superhero Duo- Max fixates on the only important rule of the highway: if one person is going above the speed limit, everyone should! The cops can't stop everyone!

Of course, since this is for the lolz, Max and Surge get the short end of the stick and are the ones who get pulled over. I don't think this is the first offense, and Max is gonna get her license revoked if she keeps it up. (If she doesn't lose it this time around.)

Either way, Surge takes over in driving at this point, to Max's disappointment.

He's the more responsible one, but he can't resist a good challenge himself. Surge doesn't like being bored, and driving IS boring. So he does the "secret racing game," which is when you pinpoint a car in traffic to overtake on the down-low, and weave your way through until you do beat them.

Max is huffy because she's bored, until she notices the unnecessary turns Surge is taking and catches on.

"Ooohhh! Oh-oh-oh! Who are you racing!?"

"😎 I just beat them."

"Why didn't you tell me?? Secret-race that car next!" She points a random one out.

So he does. And they go on like that until the novelty starts to wear off... honestly? They want a real race now....

So, they try weeding out someone who wants to race, but it isn't until they get into a town that they find someone willing to race. At a red-light, where engines are revved boastfully by both drivers.

Max and Surge are PUMPED. Finally, a real opponent!

In the other car, the two passengers catch on to what's about to happen. This isn't the driver's first driving lesson, but she's by no means an expert. She also has the tendency to bite off more than what she can chew...

"Bibi, wait--" Crow starts to warn her, but it's too late.

The light turns green.

~

Townsfolk Trio- If you think two divas and a perfectionist can get anything done...

It always starts out the same way. Deciding who's going to drive. Byron suggests that he will, but Piper refuses. His tendency to answer a phone without hesitation because "all his calls are important" warrants a big no from her. She is not going to be maimed because of him. ("So I accidentially swerved once....")

She can drive, no sweat. ...But now Byron informs her that driving with high heels is not recommended, because that's dangerous too. She defends herself by saying it isn't illegal, but happily relents along with Byron when Barley states that the easy choice is having him drive, of course.

So, it seems fixed...

But then there's the choice of who gets shotgun and who gets...

Byron: No. I simply refuse to go in the backseat like a child.

Piper: Oh, honestly. It isn't as big a deal you're making it out to be.

Byron: If it isn't a big deal, then you go.

Piper: ...No.

Barley laments that if they had a limousine, or something of the sort, then this wouldn't be an issue. He could drive, and both of them could be in back seat, which is regarded as classy, not childish.

Of course, Byron and Piper now point out that HE'S a big hazard too... Mr. Road Rage. They couldn't leave him alone, so, no, a limo actually wouldn't resolve things.

Barley crosses his arms. Always bringing up the past, huh? Well...fine. but this still gets them nowhere.

...and this is all still before they even head out. Depending on how the trip goes, they can still manage to be on time, or fashionably late. (Emphasis on fashionably.)

~

For the Brawlers with no group yet, I can see them grouping in with others.

Buzz and Stu join Starr Force. Ruffs welcomes them, because he thinks that maybe an extra two paws... err, hands would help in keeping Squeak from trouble. Unfortunately, who knew whistles and fireworks are very distracting to dogs? Anyway, expect another cameo from my Kit, and for the ship to end in ruins because Stu and Buzz are not good babysitters.

Belle makes it in with the Pirate Crew except they don't know that yet. (she's after their gold.) Chaos ensues. She needs a group though. Maybe QD Edgar? I feel Misfortune Tara is an obvious choice thematically, but I don't think she'd agree to this heist.. well, for now, Belle and Edgar vs the Pirate Crew.

[scullydubois]

one-shot: does a scully pee in the woods?

read on ao3 |  msr flirting and fluff | 1.6k | rated t | s6, pre-Field Trip

tagging @today-in-fic

While driving to North Carolina, Scully has to resort to some dubious tactics to convince Mulder to stop so she can use the bathroom. Unfortunately, she doesn't specify where he should stop...

---------

He promised they would stop once they made it out of Virginia. What Scully didn’t realize is that Virginia is five hours worth of highway, and despite his assurance that he is “driving as fast as he can” and his natural tendency to cruise as much over the speed limit as they can go without getting pulled over, they have still not made it out of the state.

“The next exit, Mulder, please,” she begs, squirming in her seat. She is not used to driving this long. Usually they hop on a flight--with a bathroom, thank you very much--and then head just a few miles out to their destination. But of course, the FBI is cutting their budget, and according to Skinner, the only way they could take this case is if they agreed to make the six and a half hour trip to North Carolina by car. Which hadn’t sounded that bad to either of them. I mean, the open road, the radio, and each other for six hours? What could be wrong with that? Then again, they hadn’t stopped to consider how early they would have to leave DC to make their lunchtime meeting, nor the exponential decline in their ability to tolerate one another with each increasing hour.

Mulder drums the steering wheel in time with the beat of the classic rock song playing. “I’m telling you, we’re almost to the state line. If you’ve made it this far, you can make it another twenty minutes.”

“Are you willing to test that theory?” Scully prods, an eyebrow elevating itself. “Because I know you are a man of many theories, but I really don’t think this is one you want to mess with.”

“Oh, I do.” He flashes a quick smile at her, as if to confirm that, yes, he is amused by her suffering, if she hadn’t noticed.

“ Mulder…” she whines, not even bothering to construct a coherent argument. It’s time to play the card she never plays, the one that will catch his attention and show him that she is serious about this. She hates to stoop this low, but at this point, it’s either play the card or pee her pants.

“Mulder,” she makes her voice sound languid and far out, “has anyone ever told you that you bear a great resemblance to Cary Grant in his young and handsome days?”

He is rather unphased by this. Too unphased for Scully’s liking. “No, and I really don’t, do I?”

“Oh, absolutely.” She lets her voice flutter through the confines of the car. “Dreamy, boyish, yet somehow retaining your masculinity. It’s astonishing, really.”

She sneaks a glance at him. He’s stopped tapping along to the song. He turns the radio down to listen to her like a dog’s ears pricking toward their owner’s voice.

She looks through the windshield, continues her reverie. “He looks like such a gentleman, but I can’t imagine that he’s a gentleman in…” She trails off suggestively, waiting for Mulder to raise some objection.

When she looks at him out of the corner of her eye, he is already looking at her. “What?” she offers innocently. “Do you have proof otherwise?” It’s always a contest of right or wrong for them.

“No, but I might have proof of aliens. Bounty Hunter, I know that’s you, what have you done with the real Scully?”

She considers what would happen if the Bounty Hunter had disguised himself as her and was driving alone with Mulder in the middle of a five lane highway with dozens of other cars. “You know, you’d be screwed right now if it were.”

“Yeah, I get that feeling.”

She wets her lips, navigates the next sentence with precision. “But since it’s not, you can get screwed instead.”

Mulder almost swerves into a jeep in the next lane. “Jesus, Scully!”

“I’m sorry, did I make you uncomfortable…?”

He focuses on the road. “Something like that, yeah.”

“Gee, I wonder what’s that like.” She looks at him with a devilish closed-mouth grin.

Mulder registers this and looks away just as he cracks his own smile. Silly, misbehaving, rebellious Scully has a power over him that would be comparable to religion, if he had one.

“So what I’m hearing is, you want to forsake your opportunity to make it the whole way through Virginia without stopping just so that you’ll actually have some semblance of comfort?” He checks to see if she’s smiling and is happy when she is.

“Something like that, yeah,” she says, imitating his reply from earlier by donning a outlandishly deep voice.

He coughs to hold back a laugh. “Well, the lady’s wish is my command, though I must warn you that the next exit’s not for another seven miles.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, we just passed a sign.”

“Mulder, I don’t know what kind of bladder you think I have, but I’ve drank two cups of coffee since the drive started and one before I left my apartment. I would classify this as an emergency.”

“I’ll pull over, then.” He switches lanes, turns on the emergency lights, and presses the brake slightly as he pulls onto the shoulder, all before she can protest.

“This is humiliating, Mulder,” she laments as he unlocks his door, pulls it open.

“While we’re at it, I’ll go too. Save us a stop in North Carolina.”

He’s way too excited about this, she thinks. She unclicks her seatbelt and climbs out of the car like a child dragged to church by their parents.

They proceed toward the woods at the edge of the highway. Mulder leads the way, a subtle spring in his step about getting to return to nature, so to speak, and to embarrass Scully while doing it.

As they hit the dividing line between grass and trees, Mulder looks back at this partner.

“Have you ever peed in the woods, Scully?” he asks with a smirk. “I’m assuming that’s what’s happening here, since you mentioned the coffee.” Scully winces at the rather disgusting image his implication puts in her mind.

She puts on a scholarly, serious tone as they head deeper into the trees. “You know, Mulder--and I’m glad we’re clearing this up-- I have peed in the woods actually. I seem to remember we were stuck in the woods overnight just last year. In Florida, was it? And contrary to what you may believe, I actually did relieve myself during that period of time. Thanks for asking.”

“Wow, you learn something new everyday,” Mulder jokes.

“Exactly.” Scully can’t help but laugh. What a funny little situation this is. They have shared so many instances when the stakes were much higher, life-threatening even, and this is what feels so grueling.

The vehicle noise having quieted significantly, Mulder gauges that they’re far enough from the roadway now. He stakes out a pine tree and steps up to it.

“Don’t look, Scully!” he teases, as if she needed the reminder, as if he really cared.

As he stands there, pants unzipped and all, he can’t help but wonder how many years this tree stood here before some human just decided to come over and do their business on it. That has to suck, huh? You’re just going about your usual tree life--swaying in the wind, rooting deep into the Earth, maybe providing a home for some critters--and then this creature that’s like, fifty times smaller than you comes over and pulls their pants down. What the hell?

A few yards away, Scully hunts for a place that might preserve an ounce of her dignity. Not that she has any left at this point, but it’s a nice idea. There’s some bushes not far off, or she could take a cue from Mulder and squat against a tree. This process is so much more complicated for a woman--you have to get down low, check the ground around you, not hit your shoes…

She chooses a spot behind a bush and crouches down. She hears Mulder zipping his fly, wonders if he’ll be able to see her when he turns around. She can’t see him, so theoretically he shouldn’t be able to see her,  but he’s so much taller that she’s never sure. Then again, she’s not as objected to being seen by him as she expected herself to be. Still, she waits for him to say something.

“Scully, please tell me this wasn’t just some elaborate plot to abandon me in the woods.”

“I’m over here, Mulder,” she reassures. “But don’t come over.”

“Why, what are you doing?” He laughs at his own joke.

“Very funny,” she says, trying to cover the sound of her faculties. This feeling of release is so desperately needed that it’s almost orgasmic. She finishes, then rezips her pants while staying as crouched as possible. Sated, she stands up, pops into Mulder’s view. She tightens her belt as she walks over to him.

She sighs. “I’m glad that’s over.” Mulder smiles. She’s been through far worse, in far more unpleasant conditions, and this is what bothers her. A complex being, his Scully is. They retrace their steps toward the highway.

“You do know that toilets weren’t invented until like, the Renaissance, right?” he teases.

“Sure, but they weren’t just squatting in the woods!”

He pulls the car keys from his pocket. “I guess we’ve solved another X-file…”

Scully gives him the look she’s been giving him for six years.

“...does a Scully pee in the woods?”

She bites her lip, obscures her smile. That’s her Mulder.

[willowswiththorns]

(Desert Nightmare) x reader

( it’s not really an x reader per say, it’s just having you guys get into the plot of the game. That being said, some shit is about to go down. Also okay so I’ve noticed no fanfics or artwork for this man, like at all. It’s honestly kinda disappointing but eh. This takes place from beginning to end of the game, so I warn you SPOILERS AHEAD. Also, I haven’t written anything in about 2 years. So please , bear with me. That’s it.)

Though the sun blared onto the tinted window, it still left an aching warmth onto your lap as the car drifted down the empty highway. It was such a boring sight when looking out the window, the view only being filled with sand for what looked like miles with no end. The only thing keeping you some sort of comfort was the music blaring into your ears during the long ride.

“ y/n “ a muffled voice could be heard, barely recognizable of your own name. You turn tiredly, a bit annoyed you were thrown into this situation as you made eye contact with Sandra. She’s smile awkwardly, trying to hide her annoyance at you putting your ear buds in rather than complaining with her about missing the biggest party of the summer. You’d raise an eyebrow, seemingly missing a conversation between her and her parents, mostly coming to this observation due to the fact that all three people seemed to be awaiting your response. This wasn’t the first time you’d be a deal breaker in an argument between Sandra and her parents, though that didn’t mean you liked being involved in their family drama at all.

“ uh- I’m sorry, I had my ear buds in. What’s happening?” You’d look at the front of the car as you’d mutter that out the most polite way possible. Audible sighs could be heard from the front, one beside you as Sandra now showed how annoyed she was in the situation. Seeing how you showed that you were now present in this small argument, there wasn’t really any chance of listening to music and zoning out again.

“ I was trying to tell them that I have to stop somewhere to use the bathroom! I’ve been holding it in for hours” the teen whined, letting a small pout show at the parents looked aggravated towards their upset child. You’d smile a bit, not out of humor of the situation, but more out of nervousness, especially when a gas station was seen in the distance past the heatwave.

Instead of having the argument start up again, you’d lean in a bit ,” I sorta have to go too, I’m sorry.” You’d lie, knowing that since you were their child’s friend and not their own, they wouldn’t be inclined to be mad or yell at you. You also didn’t go earlier to be fair as well. You could see the station pull up closer , seeing the father grow tired of his daughter’s complaining the entire ride finally show on his expression. As the car stopped, it didn’t take a second for Sandra to unbuckle and bolt out the car to stretch. You’d sigh, doing the same at a less eager pace. The sun seemed to shine much stronger on your back than it did on your lap in car, most likely due to the tint on the backseat windows. It wasn’t until you finished stretching did you hear the conversation ahead of you.

“ Do you have to stop at every other gas station?” A gruff voice asked, quickly identifying it as Sandra’s father. Though his face wasn’t seen, you could tell he was utterly exhausted from the ride and the treatment his daughter gave him. He’d continue “ I want to reach the next city before it’s dark.” You’d stand awkwardly next to Sandra, who’d seem to take his comment rather negatively.

“ Uncle Rupert will survive if we’re one day late!” You wince a bit at Sandra’s tone, knowing how this conversation would soon go south. “ I don’t know why I came at all! I’m missing the best part of the summer!” She continued.You’d smile awkwardly , trying to diffuse the situation at hand “ Sandra-“ only to be cut off.

“ Life isn’t all about parties, it’s time for you to realize that!” Her mother argued , her tone cutting at the tension more. The only thing to do in the situation was not to be involved, who would be dumb enough to jump into your friend’s family feuds. Slowly gripping your bag, you decide to walk to the gas station, noticing the bathroom wasn’t connected to the station rather it was beside it. With a quick pull, the arguing voices were cut off with the door echoing shut.

You’d sigh, the heat was uncomfortable, especially during the summer. Walking to the sink, you turned the faucet in hopes cold water would steam out. much to your luck, hot water burned at your fingertips when trying to test the water temperature,” shit-“ you’d hiss. The sound of the door opening and slamming quickly caught your attention as an annoyed Sandra came walking in ,” they threatened me- they said I can walk there!-“ you’d tense for a minute.

“ they wouldn’t… you know-“ you’d gulp at the idea of walking miles in the burning heat,” make us walk to the next city right? “ Sandra would scoff at the idea, going to the stall as she’d complain. “ As if, they wouldn’t actually leave us in the middle of no where over a disagreement. That would be messed up! Plus they’d be the ones explaining to your parents about it if you did have to walk with me.” She’d try to joke, trying to uplift your worry as she finished her business.

The must of the bathroom was unbearable as you did your best to wash your hands throughly. It wasn’t long as the bathroom stall creaked open to see Sandra walk out, her expression still a bit upset as she now too went to wash her hands ,” you know, it means a lot you came with me. No one else wanted to miss the biggest party of the summer” she’d joke.

A small smile would twitch up on your face ,” of course, you’re my friend you know? A party is nice but I’d rather be here with you than drinking with some idiots who won’t remember basic human boundaries or morals.” She’d smile a bit, seemingly soothed by your words. It wasn’t long before she was ready to head out.

“ ready?” She’d ask, grabbing her bag as she’d tuck her black hair back behind her ear. Sandra was always the type to be too stubborn to work with others or admit when she’s wrong, but was overall always there for the people she trusted at the end of the day. It was definitely something to grow accustomed to, but you had years of friendship with her to be use to it by now. She was more of an annoying little sister at times, family none the less.

“ yeah, just try to be a bit more bearable to your folks though okay? I know they’re exhausted from all that driving, especially in the heat.” You’d warn, opening the door and looking back at Sandra to try and keep your attention towards her. Though your thoughts shifted at the change of expression on her face. Your back was still faced to where the car would be, ‘did they turn off the car?’ You’d think, not needing to look to notice the lack of motor from the overheating car. Sandra seemed shocked and disgusted as she’d move past you, now you could turn and confirm you and Sandra’s fears.

They were gone.

Oh

No…

As the adrenaline rush kicked in for you, it doubled in Sandra as she’d freak out at the sight of the rustic green van missing. “ what the fuck-“ Sandra was quick to say, going to grab her phone to call her mom only to freak out more. Out of curiosity, you looked at your phone as well. Oh? You were not having any reception on your phone either. A small tremble would form as you’d get a bit antsy, looking down the dusty road to see that no one was there, no car, nothing. So it definitely wasn’t a trick. As you’d slowly make a step towards the road to check your surroundings, Sandra was quick to check the gas station.

The sun blared into your shoulder as you tried to shield your eyes with your hand, trying to look out at your surrounding without getting primarily blinded by the blistering sun. A hand grabbed your shoulder, making you jump a bit as you turned to see a distraught Sandra. “ What’s wrong?” You’d ask calmly, “ Sandra?”

Sandra seemed a bit worried as she’d quickly make her way down the road ,” we have to go to the next city!- they’re probably waiting there for us to prove some dumb lesson!” You’d raise an eyebrow, speed walking to meet up with her. Her pace seemed forced a bit faster than usually, her face written with nervousness.

“ what’s wrong? Why can’t we wait at the gas station for your parents- Sandra come on!” You’d be cut off by Sandra giving you a small glare, obviously frustrated. “ Y/n, I went in there, the station-“ she’d huff before continuing “ it was empty, it looked like it wasn’t occupied in years. Waiting there just screams danger, especially when you don’t know who will stop there!-“

“ okay okay- “ you’d reason, just trying to keep to Sandra’s pace as she’d try to make it to the next city before the sun set. The walk was overall silent, the sound of sneakers hitting the concrete pavement as your eyes quickly focused on a road sign. ‘Dusty Creek - 1 mile ’ “ that town, Dusty Creek? It’ll be less than a mile at this rate” you’d reason. The walk grew more into a race on getting to that Dusty Creek before sun set.

As if it were luck, you both made it to the big wooden sign with the letters ‘ Dusty Creek’ on it. The course of running a mile left you both breathless, though Sandra’s breath seemed to be taken more at the sight of her blue book bag leaning against a wall. She’d be quick to grab it while you’d look around. “ my back pack- y/n how did it get here?!” She’d ask, shocked.

You’d smile , shrugging as you’d grip your own bag ,” I don’t know San, but I’ll go check in this Inn to see if your parents checked in okay? You go look around for their car!-“ She’d go through the bag and nod, not seeming to mind that arrangement. With a swift step, you’d walk into the inn. The room instantly hit a strong smell of pine as you’d step in. Your eyes would meet with papers littered all over a desk behind the counter, the counter itself being neat with a big book open for signing in. Your gaze would then meet towards a girl a bit older than yourself, her eyes cold as she’d let her messy brown hair out of her face so you could get the full glare.

“ um. Hi-“ you’d begin, not use to this kind of hostility,” I’m looking for my friend’s parents, did a married couple with the last name Richmont check in at all? “ you continued, trying to be polite even though the glare of this girl was biting away at you “ nope. “ she’d say bluntly.

Huh?

You’d feel your lip twitch slightly into a small smile, confused now. If Sandra’s parents weren’t actually here , then why was Sandra’s bag against the wall of the inn earlier? “ have you at least seen a green car to drive by here recently?” You’d try to reason before she hit you with a “ no I haven’t.” It was obvious she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

As the tension grew, Sandra came in with a tired expression, quickly catching up as you were given a chance to collect your thoughts. This town was strange for sure, the people didn’t help Change that observation either. It wasn’t until you saw Sandra take out her wallet and pay the chick before getting your attention. You’d be quick to follow her up the stairs, each step creaking softly as you’d whisper to her ,” okay so, any ideas of where your parents could be?” Sandra would look over her shoulder to you before walking to the hotel room ,” they said my parents could be in a pension at the end of the city, knowing them they’re probably going to spend the night. So, I decided to room here for tonight. We’ll share a bed okay? It was cheaper.”

A small sigh would leave your lips, realizing that spacing out earlier caused you to not gather this information first hand. Your attention was cut short as she’d open the door, a small creak cutting the silent air before you both walked in. Putting your bag down, you stretched ,” we can look around a bit to help ease your anxiety “ you’d offer, noticing how tense Sandra was. She’d smile at the offer ,” I do want to check this place out. It’s kind of scary though.”

A small chuckle left your lips gently as you headed to the door ,” oh? You chicken?” You’d tease, knowing how stubborn she can be ,” oh hush! Fine one walk around won’t hurt!” She’d huff, not bother fighting back at all.

With a step, you grabbed her hand and headed out the door.

With that, the journey began…

[writing-the-end]

LoL Chapter 25- Checkmate

Masterpost

A Wizard Hermits tale (AU and Red belongs to @theguardiansofredland )

Captured by Dolios, it’s up to TFC to decide who lives, who dies, and who gets to walk away from the game Dolios plays with them. 

Chapter idea credit to @whumpster-dumpster

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“How about a game of chess, guildmaster?” Dolios waves the hermits into the antechamber of the prison. The death dungeons Galena warned them of. TFC is pushed forward, standing before and alone from his friends. He stumbles and turns, head spinning from the sleep he was awoken from as he  looks at them all. Helmets cover the faces of the guards standing behind each hermit, but he can clearly see the knives at their throats. Every single one, a hair’s breadth from death. Some are stoic, like Doc. Unafraid and unblinking to the cold blade. Others are nearly collapsing to their knees- if doing so didn’t mean being cut by the knife. 

TFC turns back, a fierce growl rising from his throat “What is this about?” 

“I’m trying to be civil, can’t you see?” Dolios sweeps his purple robes to the side, revealing a table and two chairs. Atop the table, crystal and obsidian chess pieces glitter in the torchlight. “I’m letting you decide your team's fate. You see, each piece is a member of your illegal guild. On both sides. Each one that’s captured is eventual doom. Play my game, and decide the fate of your beloved friends. Who is more important, who will live? Who is sacrificed for the good of the cause?” 

“What kind of sick game-!” Grian claws his way out of his captor’s grip, biting down on the gloved hand before the masked man regains control over the spitfire. 

“And what happens when I win?” TFC puts a hand on his waist and raises a silvery eyebrow. 

“You won’t, but just to ease your fears, when you win your friends will get to live. It won’t be a nice time living, but they’ll be alive.” Dolios chuckles. “If you lose, those who are captured are killed and become another husk to add to my army. The rest may leave, in fact. But trust me- I won’t leave anyone alive. I play to dominate.” 

“What if I just don’t play?” TFC looks at the chess pieces. He picks up a knight, turning it over. Scrawled on the bottom of the crystal white horse, he can see Wels’s name. One piece, but one real life in this game of strategy. He has to be smarter than Dolios. 

“Then we can just make this fast and kill them all right now. I’m giving you the chance to free some, or all! Of your friends.” Dolios pulls out a chair and motions to it, brushing the cushioned velvet flat. “Sit, guildmaster. Let’s play a game. Show me your true worth as a champion guild.” 

Reluctantly, he does. He has no choice. This is the only way he can ensure some sort of life for his friends. But at the expense of others. As soon as he pulls his chair in, a blast of air and magic reverberates from the chess board. He winces, his hair blowing back and gripping the chair for support. When TFC reopens his eyes, the prison chamber has changed. 

Dolios and him are floating above the ground. Just beneath them, a massive chess board has appeared. The guards are gone, and on each checkered color stands a hermit. Only a few pieces are actual stone. Grian opens his wings, attempting to fly free from his place as bishop. But as soon as he takes off from the ground, his eyes widen and pain laces across his face. He crashes to the stone, black lightning shooting up his skin. Iskall and others step forward, before hesitating. They’re chess pieces now. Pawns. They can only move when the player moves them. Dolios looks down, chuckling. “He’s quite the wild child. Completely different from the last angel I quarreled with.” 

“Why are you doing this?” TFC hisses. “This isn’t fair!” 

“Since when did things ever become fair, guildmaster? You’re already playing with their lives by challenging me. Now you can see how your own mistakes led you here.” Dolios intertwines his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table. He leans his chin on his hands, a coy smile making his brown beard scratch at his skin. “I’ll let you make the first move, TFC.” 

The guildmaster looks across his chess board, as well as below him. It’s not just his pieces that are hermits, that are his friends. Dolios has some as well. Standing deathly still, waiting for the first move to be taken. TFC closes his eyes, thinking. He needs to be smart, to be a better strategist than the magistrate of Lairyon. This isn’t just a game. This is beyond what happens at the table before him. He needs to think of the repercussions each move will make. He has to make the least bloody moves as possible. Save as many of his friend’s lives as possible. 

“You promise no harm will come to my friends that survive?” TFC’s eyes open, realizing what he has to do. Without hesitation, TFC picks up a pawn, directly in front of Grian. It’s Mumbo. 

“I promise, on my word as the magistrate of Lairyon. May the ancient ones strike me down themselves.” TFC sets the pawn two spaces forward. Below him, he hears Mumbo’s yelp, followed by a cry of pain and feet scrabbling forward. When the crystal mage looks up, Dolios is grinning. “So the game begins.” 

He shoves his own pawn forward, moving exactly as TFC wants him to. The one directly in front of the king- of Dolios himself. TFC looks down, seeing Ren shuffle forward. He’s missing a sandal, only one flopping against the cold marble chess board beneath him. Two moves in front of him and to the left is Mumbo, shaking in his boots. 

TFC moves a second pawn- Scar. “You have my friends marked wrong. None of them are pawns. They’re all stronger than you could ever hope to be.” Wels is exposed, Scar standing beside Mumbo. 

“Tell that to this- checkmate.” TFC straightens his back, staring directly at Dolios as the magistrate shoves his queen diagonally. It’s not linked to any hermit, so a stone statue moves into the corner of the board. Turning and facing the white king. Capturing TFC. “You stupid mining moron! You lost in two moves!” Dolios cheers, his chair knocking backwards as he pumps his fist to the air and stands. “I didn’t even lose a single damned piece!” 

“Neither did I.” TFC whispers. “Now let my friends go.” 

Dolios stills, freezing mid celebration. His head turns, looking to TFC. He can see the magistrate slowly piece it all together, and the moment he realizes what’s happened. Elation breaks away in seething anger. A rage so bright and hot TFC swears he can feel it from his chair. “You tricked me!” 

“No, I played your game.” TFC’s voice is calm, collected. “You just happened to win. What was it you said before… you play to dominate? And dominate you did. Shouldn’t a good leader find a way to win without bloodshed?” 

Dolios waves his hand, a black magic circle appearing. A reverberating sonic wave shoves TFC out of his chair, throwing chess pieces all around him. Floating above his friends, he can hear them gasp. Only able to watch. Unable to move, to help their guildmaster. Their friend. Doc reaches out, but the black veins quickly reach back towards him. Towards his heart. TFC winces, sitting up. “You swore on your seat to let them go if I lost! If you go back on your word, everyone will know!” 

“Oh, I don’t plan on going back on my words.” Dolios snaps his fingers, and the hermits warp back to reality. The chamber is it’s old dull hall, torches and stone bricks. Hermits collapse together, checking one another for wounds sustained while apart. Grasping to stay together, to piece what happened between their last memory and now. Most only remember the capitol hall, then being woken up by the masked guards in individual cells.

 Dolios approaches TFC, setting his grey leather boot on the older man’s chest. Pressing his gilded heels harsh against his ribs. “But you still lost, you were captured. And all the pain your friends avoided? I’m going to do it tenfold to you!” 

A black ball of lightning grows as Dolios snarls, hand winding back and aiming directly for TFC. His eyes are wild, unhinged and untethered to reality. TFC raises his hand, a weak attempt to stop the growing dark magic before him. 

“Oh no you don’t!” X’s voice is sure, loud and reverberating off the stone walls. Unhindered by his mask. A snap follows soon after, and the dark lightning is dragged into nothingness. Into the void as X’s black hole grows. It threatened to eat up Dolios then and there, had he not taken an alarmed step back. 

“How? You shouldn’t be able to do that! You’re weak! My sleep spell should’ve...” Dolios turns, staring down the other hermits. Not noticing that Cub was hidden behind the others, or that TFC was no longer at his feet. 

“Nah, I’d say we’re pretty strong. Especially together.” X shrugs, and lets his black hole explode in a miniature big bang. 

With Dolios distracted, the crew makes their escape. Wels casts a shield and speed buffs, one hand raised to protect the retreat. Etho disappears down the hall, bouncing through shadows and silently taking out the guards ahead. At the top of the stairs, Mumbo hacks his way into the redstone powered door. Focusing all of his strength into forcing it open. Stress releases a sheet of ice before them, Jevin wraps everyone together into a bundle of bodies, and Impulse takes up a position next to Wels and his shield. Bracing against his friends, he casts his magic. Short spurts of explosions erupt from his hands, jetting the guild down the hall. 

Etho appears above the group from an arching shadow, grabbing Doc’s hand and joining them as they careen through the halls of the capitol building. Zipping past guards and wizards before anyone can even realize what they’ve seen, like a roller coaster ride. They don’t stop until they’ve burst out the back doors. Stress still doesn’t stop making a highway of ice, not until they’re well beyond the city limits, skating out into the open marshes that surround Milliara. 

Only then does the crew stop, breathing heavily and taking a moment to realize what just happened. And once they come to the same conclusion- they drown TFC in hugs. 

--------------------------------------------

“Sir… they escaped. Again.” Apatia runs up, his breath heavy as his chest rises and falls. “They’re well beyond the walls. Should we send the Arcane guard after them?” 

“No. I don’t want anyone to question why we’re chasing after our champions. Erase all memories to anyone that saw their escape.” Dolios growls, rubbing his hand. Feeling the void still against his skin, trying to tear it apart. 

“But what about the illegal guild? They know-” 

Dolios turns away from the guildmaster, forcing the redstone door closed. Hiding the dungeons beneath the capitol building. “They are not our main concern. Let them squirm, let them think they’ve won. I have more important things to deal with. I have more power to gain.” 

Dolios looks down as something rattles against the floor. He stoops low, picking up the black pawn. It’s chipped, the onyx stone heavy in his hand. The Order of Hermits have captured this pawn, but he’s just setting the stage. Playing the whole field. “Check.”

[saharamae21]

All Alone (October Challenge - Day 8) - Kelce Imagine

Hey guys. I’m doing an October writing challenge - an imagine a day! Each will be supernatural, horror, or fall themed!! Here’s day seven!

My challenge is subject to change prompts and orders as I see fit!!! (I’m using a number generator - not going in order)  The list I posted is simply a rough outline.

I’m sorry I’m bad at challenges. I’ll get caught up, I promise.

Word Count : 1413 Words

WARNING : Mention of death and grief.

This is really sad. I’ve been really sad the past few days and this reflects it. I’m sorry. It’s a break from the horror and stuff. Just good old fashioned heartbreak. 

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You had always been in love with your best friend, Kelce. Even until your last moments, he was on your mind. You always dreamed of finding the courage to tell him how you felt, but you never did. It was too late now. You had stormed off so quickly after the pointless argument with him. You had been so worked up that tears clouded your vision. You didn’t even see the car speeding down the highway as you turned onto the road. You didn’t have time to react as the blinding headlights crashed into your vehicle.

When Kelce heard there was an accident, he rushed straight to the hospital. He paced the waiting room area and regretted the last thing he had said to you. If he could’ve taken everything back, he would’ve in an instant. He didn’t have a chance to make things right with you. Tears filled his eyes as he waited for any news of you at all. He thought about the look on your face as you stormed out and blamed himself for everything that had happened.

While he was sitting there unaware, you were flatlining. You opened your eyes to the sound of the machine and looked around. Everyone was above you, begging you to stay with them. Everything was so confusing. You watched as they shook their heads, giving up, but you were alive. You sat up and tried to ask them what was going on. You stood up and walked towards the doctor, trying to show him that you were fine, but then you looked at yourself laying there on the hospital bed. Your face was all bloodied and glass marked up the skin. The nurse pulled the sheet over your head and everything became too real.

Then you heard his voice. You ran out to the lobby and there he was, Rafe and Topper holding him back as he unraveled. You saw the anger on his face and the tears streaming down from his eyes. You heard the desperation in his voice.

“You guys just let her die!” he screamed, falling to his knees. Topper sank with him, trying to comfort his friend who had just lost his world. You cried as he fought back tears. If only you could tell him you were sorry. If only you tell him that this wasn’t his fault.

Then your parents caught your eye. They were sobbing and holding each other. Their only child was gone and they wondered if they had kept you home tonight, would you still be with them? You heard your mom say that mothers weren’t supposed to bury their babies and it tore you apart. You stumbled backwards in a panic and felt the world around you stop. You repeated how sorry you were over and over, but no one was listening. They couldn’t hear you.

That night you sat in the corner of your room and listened to your mom sob. Your dad tried to put on a strong face for her, but you could tell he was dying inside. You two were so close. Now there were no more sporting events together. No more fishing days. No more Sunday drives with Annie, your dog. He couldn’t imagine his life without you in it. You sat in the corner, on the floor, sobbing.

Then a small scratching noise came from the other side of the door. You heard your dog whimper and your world fell apart even more somehow. Your dad let her in because they knew how Annie was used to sleeping with you every night.

“She’s not in there bud,” your dad said as he walked away, defeatedly. You cried as you saw his back walk away from you, but then Annie walked right up to you. There was the rumor that animals could sense humans, but now you knew it was true. You threw your arms around her and sobbed, allowing yourself to feel a tiny bit better with her by your side.

The next day passed and your mom couldn’t bring herself to look at your room. Instead you followed her around the house. She didn’t do much and that destroyed you. Your dad had taken on the funeral arrangements, but your mom mostly just sat around. She would just stare off into the distance and cry.

After a while, there was a knock on the door. You watched as she answered it. Kelce stood on the other side. His eyes were bloodshot and red. You wondered if he had gotten any sleep that night. He told your mom how sorry he was. He told her that he shouldn’t have let you go. He was tearing himself apart. As you stared at him, there were so many things you wanted to say to him.

It’s not your fault. I’m sorry. I love you. Please stop blaming yourself. This was no one's fault. I shouldn’t have left you. Be strong. You’re my best friend. Please stop crying. I’m so sorry, Kelce. Remember the promises we made? Remember how we said that we’d always have each other? I’m right here. You can’t see me, but I’m here. You’re not alone. I wouldn’t leave you all alone.

He asked if he could look around your room, grab something that reminded him of you. Your mom nodded and let him walk the familiar path by himself. She still couldn’t bring herself to open that door.

You watched as he brushed his hands over your desk. You hoped he would open the notebook on the wood grain, but he didn’t. Instead he walked to the closet. His hands immediately grabbed the sweatshirt of his that was hanging up. You had stolen it from him years ago and it was your favorite item of clothing. You wore it whenever you were sad or upset. It made you feel safe. He rubbed the fabric with his thumbs, suppressing tears as he took it back into his possession. He sat on the bed and sighed.

“Y/n, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice weak. “I shouldn’t have fought with you. I shouldn’t have pushed you away like that. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of it.”

You never thought he had. You knew that he didn’t mean any mean thing he spewed at you. No matter what, you knew that he loved you, even if it was in a different way then you loved him. He put his face in his hands and continued to confess his sins. Everything that was eating him alive came out almost as if he knew you were listening.

“I’m just so sorry,” he said. “I’m so sorry. Forgive me. I’m sorry.”

You were in tears as he stood up. You knew that he couldn’t stand to be in your room now that you were gone, but you couldn’t let him leave without him knowing how you felt about him. You gathered all your supernatural strength and knocked the notebook off your desk. It fell perfectly to the page you needed him to see.

Hey future me,

You’ll never believe what happened today. Top was furious when Rafe decided to spray to hose at the house, but Kelce and I were laughing our asses off. I always have the best time when I’m with Kelce. Isn’t it amazing how one person can pull you out of any bad mood or rut? I kept telling myself that he isn’t special and that he’s just my best friend, but that’s a lie. I know that you can keep a secret though. Maybe consider telling Kelce you love him, okay? You can’t keep it a secret forever and I have a feeling that you’re less afraid than I am. Just tell him he’s your world, kay?

Sincerely,

Y/N from the past

His face contorted as he read each word over and over. His heart was breaking and healing all at the same time. He muttered that he loved you too as a few tears fell down his face. He hugged the notebook to his chest and muttered he was sorry and that he loved you. He let out a little sob and it killed you all over again. You walked up and hugged him from behind, even though he couldn’t feel you. You wished you could tell him that you were there, but that wasn’t possible. You hoped he could at least sense your presence. You weren’t going to leave him all alone.

__________________________________________________

Tag List : @justcallmesams @jellyfishbeansontoast @prejudic3 @queenieloveswriting @jjtheangel @infinitydols @simpingforrudypankowonly @waywardbarbie @outerbankslut @outerbongs @ilovejjmaybank @beth-winchester21 

Tagging people who seemed interested : @jiaraendgame @maybanksbaby @rudyypankow @tomhardybby @crxstalreeds @mayraki

[medeafive]

Blood and Stone - 27

Masterpost

She feels restless. Bobbi only lets her have the baby under her supervision but of course, Natasha doesn't actually want the baby, the thing she tried to murder- It's best if she stays away, lets Bobbi handle it, Bobbi who cares for the baby because that's just what she does, regardless of any moral considerations. Because it’s her job.

Natasha’s job was always to kill. That’s what she does. Hunt and kill. Clint was right, she’s not built for this. She’s used to weed out what’s bad, or what she sees as bad- well, the vampires. And not killing James comes really easy because he’s hard to kill, and because she loves him, and she just doesn’t love the thing, the baby. It’s just not her baby. She doesn’t have the maternal instincts that are supposed to kick in when seeing something small and vulnerable in need of help. The thing may not be a real baby but it still needs feeding, though that’s about the only thing.

Maria seems to be quite disappointed. That’s what really scares Natasha. If it hadn’t been Bobbi there, if it had been Maria, she wouldn’t have batted an eye. She can’t trust herself. She’s scared of what she’ll do if she’s not stopped. She’s scared of the killer she is and where it’ll take her. Maybe the only thing keeping her from killing her baby is Bobbi watching her. Maybe that’s what she really is, all she really is. A killer who would murder her own baby if the opportunity presents itself.

The baby doesn’t do much. Of course it doesn’t. It eats and it sleeps and it looks around with impassive eyes. Natasha really doesn’t know what she expected. How she deluded herself that it would be anything other than this , when she’s literally a professional monster hunter and killer and James is a fucking vampire and they’re in a collapsed society fighting a neverending bloody war they’ll never win, and she apparently thought that was a fine place to have a baby. She really thought she was going to be able to have this good thing when life hasn’t given her a good thing for at least a decade, if it ever has.

So that’s what she’s stuck with now. A baby that’s not really a baby, that doesn’t do anything, that doesn’t need anything, a thing she might just kill unless there’s literally something thrown into her way. And she’s still exactly who she was before, except now, she has to face it.

She's outside when she hears Bobbi talk, seemingly to no one in particular. Can't be the baby. Bobbi hardly talks to the baby. Still better than Maria who won't even look at it, like some superstition, like it's bad luck. Or the devil. Bobbi seems to trust her not to kill it, though, unlike Natasha.

It's a longer talk, several minutes, and Nat drives the axe through blocks of wood while Maria replaces them without a word. Bobbi must have given her a hefty dose of vampire blood because it still hasn't worn off, the axe blade slicing through the wood easily, she's not even breaking a sweat despite the thick jacket. Still no snow but the air is frisk, biting at her nose and eyes and ears.

When she's done, she goes back inside quickly, excusing herself with the cold. Not that Maria cares. Bobbi looks up when the door opens, the baby on a pillow on the couch table. Natasha clears her throat, closing the wooden door behind her. Bobbi watches her with an alertness in her eyes that always makes her stomach turn, not because it's mean but because she deserves it. "Everything alright?"

Natasha nods, sitting down on the couch, fidgeting so she doesn't have to look at the bundle on the couch table. "Were you- who were you talking to?"

Bobbi nods towards a thick brick of a phone, complete with an antenna and all. Probably the only way to get any connection out here. “Fury called. Wanted to know how you’re doing.”

Natasha bites her lip, unable to stop herself from quickly gazing at the bundle on the table. A blank slate, as always, something to project all her hopes and fears on. “Did you tell him about-”

“No, no,” Bobbi interrupts, picking up the bundle and handing it over. “Just said the whole thing is not easy on you. Here, take it, really. It’s your child.”

This feels like a purposeful approachment, designed to slowly reacquaint her with this thing in a healthier way, safely supervised. Natasha’s pulse jumps as she takes the bundle, careful not because it’s fragile but because she ’s fragile, who knows if her mind will twist again and she’ll try to smash this thing on the floor or strangle it or gouge its empty eyes out, she almost sees it-

“It’s alright,” Bobbi repeats, leaning over the back of the couch in a show of relaxation. “It happens. How are you feeling?”

Like a murderer. “Is that all he wanted? Fury?”

Bobbi sighs, dropping her arm. “No. They’re- they’re going to move on the Castle. Can’t wait any longer or the black cloaks will be here.”

A hot flash explodes in her belly. That should be her. She should be there. She may not be able to hold this thing but she can fight, she can kill. That’s what she’s good at, good for. “How’s it looking? Is James going to be with them?”

“They got a plan.” Bobbi watches the head peeking out of the bundle. “It’ll probably all go well but… well, you never know. Yeah, your friend will be the first to go in. We’ll see.”

“You’re worried,” Natasha states, cradling the tiny head.

“It’s weird not being there,” Bobbi admits. “But someone has to look after the baby.”

Because Natasha can’t. “I should go.”

“You should recover,” Bobbi returns. “Really. It’s only been a few days.”

“I am recovered,” Natasha states. “You gave me so much vampire blood- I have so much unused strength and I’m just sitting around here anxiously- I know I can’t do this here, I can’t look after the baby, but I can fight. I know I can fight.”

Bobbi shifts and gets up. “I should show you something.”

Natasha presses the bundle against her chest, tiny head resting against her shoulder, and follows her outside, around the cabin. The truck is parked behind, partly hidden behind trees and branches, covered with a tarp that Bobbi pulls off now. The baby sniffs the outside air, the forest, the wood, probably the forest animals. Bobbi discards the tarp and yanks the back doors open. “Here. I don’t know where Fury got it.”

Inside is a motorcycle, strong smell of oil, black and sleek and huge, more of a sportbike than a cruiser, looking quite massive with its full fairing. Natasha’s jaw drops. It’s gorgeous . “What’s that for?”

“Fury thought I might want to return to the city on short notice,” Bobbi explains, holding the door open. “If we needed something or whatever. Didn’t come to pass.”

Natasha touches the handlebars reverently. It’s real. She hasn’t seen a bike that wasn’t on the verge of falling apart in years. “Can I have it?”

“You really want to go?” Bobbi asks. “You’ve been through a lot. Just physically.”

It’s definitely better than this. “I can’t stay here.”

  Maria is not keen on going to the city ever again, which she states in no uncertain terms, so Natasha is flying down the bumpy highway alone, in full gear. The sun has set but it’s not dark yet and every meter she gets away from the cabin, she feels lighter, free. The wind cuts against her helmet, her neck guard, her suit, not gaining purchase anywhere. The only other sound is the roaring engine. The air is cutting cold but she’s protected from it, can’t feel it, and so she speeds over the highway to get to Prague before the night falls.

This is what she does, who she is. Not the baby stuff. She failed but she’s not going to fail at this. This is a task that she’s up to. It feels good not to have to be something she’s not, after all, despite whatever she wanted to be. To leave it behind.

It’s already dark when she reaches the outskirts of the city. She hardly even slows, blazing through the empty streets, turning tight corners, rumbling over cobblestone. The castle is not lit up tonight. She likes that. It fills her with adrenaline, blood thrumming as she cuts through the air fast. This is for all the days the castle was lit up like for a ball at a mansion, the vampires having a feast on the people they killed that night. Turning predators into prey.

She hasn’t been close to the castle in a long time, and only during daytime. Going there at night is elating. She weaves her way up the hill, not hearing the fighting over the roaring of her motorcycle until she sees them, Clint dodging attacks from a vampire with a jagged knife while there are three on top of James wrangling him to the ground, trying to get in bites and scratches, no, four, several beheaded corpses around- she gets light, dropping off without steering the motorcycle off course and it crashes into the four while she rolls over the cobblestone. It’s easy to jump up again, with the vampire blood still running through her veins, she draws a silver gun and shoots Clint’s guy, draws the jagged silver knife and rams it through the vampiress that comes at her first, it’s the one with dark curly hair from one of the hunting parties, she howls, sharp teeth, but the stab wasn’t fatal yet, Natasha kicks her legs out before punching the other vampire so hard she hears his ribs crack, she punches again, fist sinking in, fingers closing around his shrivelled heart and she tears it out.

James is taking care of the other two, she notices out of the corner of her eye, before the vampiress sinks her fangs into the biteguard, ugly screeching noise, Natasha throws her off easily, slipping through under her arm with superhuman speed and slitting her throat from behind before she can so much as hiss. Tumbles down lifelessly. Natasha shoots her in the head with a silver bullet, and the other one with the open chest too, for good measure. James is standing amid headless vampire corpses, grinning widely, and intense relief washes over her. She’s glad to see him, she doesn’t care about whatever stupid shit they were fighting about last time, and whatever the baby turns out to be, she still fucking loves him. She holsters the silver gun. “Can’t leave you guys alone for a fucking second, can I.”

He’s still grinning unabashedly, pure joy, adoration, happiness. “I love you.”

She blushes, despite herself, interrupted by a cracking sound she knows to be the breaking of a spine. “Save it, guys,” Clint remarks, tearing the head off his vampire. “Good to see you, Nat, but we need to move, Sam and Pepper need help.”

And she was mildly worried this could turn out emotional and awkward. James looks her up and down while Clint already runs down the street. “Are you good? You look good.”

“I’m good,” she confirms, starting after Clint but slower. “What about you? Everyone alright?”

“Far as I know,” he returns, stopping. “Come on, let’s take the other route.”

She looks after Clint who disappears around the corner, then nods, and James grabs her and before she knows it, they’ve jumped onto the roof, running over tiles trying to keep quiet, jumping from building to building with the vampire strength running through her. She spots Sam and Pepper barricaded behind a stone wall, the vampires somewhere in an arched passage, occasional shooting. She ducks behind the rooftop to avoid getting seen. Clint comes running down the street just then and barely makes it to a house entrance, bullet at least grazing his shoulder, she can’t quite tell. James is cowering next to her, she can see him counting the vampires. Just one jump across the street to the opposite roof and they could drop behind them, take them by surprise. "Is Clint okay?" she whispers, gloved fingers tightening on the tiles.

James sniffs, drawing the night air in sharply. "Bleeding but not a lot. Should be fine. Do you think you can take them?"

She nods. "Yeah, I'm good. Vampire blood doing a fine job. I can jump on my own."

"Okay." He grins, gold-streaked fangs flashing in the moonlight. "Man, I'm glad to see you. You go first, I'll be right behind."

She's glad to be back where everything makes fucking sense, where it's them against the vampires and James is just the exception that proves the rule. She peeks down on the vampires who must also have caught the smell of blood, sneering. Well, it's good if they're distracted. Makes them easier to kill.

She crouches, fixating the opposite roof like a cat about to pounce. For a second, she starts doubting whether she can actually make the jump but she knows how strong she is right now. She's only been this strong when she killed Pierce, the black cloak, or maybe she's even stronger now. Let's find out.

She leaps off the top, sailing through the air, landing hard on the opposite roof and dropping down on the other side right away, James is already there, it's six vampires and she catches two by surprise, the third one kicks her but it doesn't feel too bad, she jumps right back at him, baring her teeth, knocking back every single one of his punches, slamming his head against the wall, slashing his side open so dark blood splatters, he tries to go for her jugular and that's when she snaps his neck, dropping him carelessly. James is just biting the neck of the last vampiress who screeches helplessly, dark blood pouring from the wound, and James doesn't let up until she goes completely slack.

Natasha calmly beheads her vampires. "I thought you don't like vampire blood."

James spits out, mouth and fangs smeared with dark blood. This is not a clean controlled eat, this is a bloody fight. "Still don't. Bah."

Sam is coming out from behind the stone wall, crossing the street. James turns away discreetly. Yeah, she's not sure they could take the sight. She grins and lets Sam hug her tightly. "Wow, didn't think you'd be back! So good to see you alive and healthy."

That she is. She grins, patting his back. "Glad to be back. Now, any more monsters to kill?"

Sam rolls his eyes and lets go. Pepper approaches her more carefully. "Hey Nat. Are you okay?"

Clint comes out from his hiding place and she picks up the smell of blood. Yeah, that would be an issue under other circumstances. "I'm alright. Really."

Clint looks her up and down sceptically. James returns, face now mostly clean. "I'll go and see whether I can find more. Be right back."

Sam nods and James jumps onto a roof, cloak flaring, and then he's out of their sight. "Gotta say," Sam remarks. "Really useful, your friend."

"Yes, he killed twelve before we even engaged," Pepper agrees. "The six here, Clint, you had-"

"Nine," Clint replies briefly. "One got away, though."

"We shot two," Sam adds. "So 28 dead, out of 40."

"Where are the others?" Natasha asks. "Tony and Sharon?"

"East," Pepper replies. "Haven't heard from them. We should go check."

"Yeah, let's go," Sam agrees. "But I think they're fine."

  Tony and Sharon are not where they're supposed to be and Natasha uses her tracker instincts and abilities to find them chasing two vampires. Sam coordinates them around to cut their way off, surrounding the vampires with no way out, and Tony burns one to a crisp while Sharon calmly shoots the other. Plus two they killed before. 32. Eight who got away.

They meet back at the tower and James reports one more that he caught, so it's 33 and seven missing. Fury seems satisfied. Of course, the real challenge is going to be the black cloaks, however many of them. In the meantime, they just have to kill as many as they can.

She meets James on the roof, climbing up with relative ease due to the vampire strength. It'll be hard when that's gone. Maybe she needs another dose before the black cloaks arrive. She'll get all of the side effects anyway. "That's it for your cover, huh?"

James shrugs, pulling her up the last bit. "It's fine. Was always going to happen."

"Not worried that Schmidt will hear?" she asks, settling next to him. "That he'll come here personally to reign you back in?"

James breathes out shakily. "Yes. Very worried. Maybe I can- maybe I can be gone before that."

She hopes he means gone away and not dead. "I don't think he still has control over you."

James laughs drily. "Yeah, thought that before. Turned out to be horseshit."

"Come on," she nudges. "That can't have been as intense as this."

"No," he relents. "Still. I don't know. So, you're really good? All healed?"

"Yeah." Physically at least. "This vampire blood is really crazy. Only took me a few days to recover completely."

He bites his lip, fangs digging in. "And the-"

She tries not to flinch. Nobody else asked about it. "That's complicated."

"So it's not what you wanted," he states, and it sounds genuinely disappointed and not at all told-you-so.

She sighs, dangling her feet. No. It's really not. But she never ever got what she wanted. "That's not your fault."

"It would be different if I wasn't this ," he insists sourly.

"You killed a whole lot of vampires today," she reminds him. "Not fledglings, really dangerous ones. I don't think you could have done that otherwise."

He breathes out in frustration. "Doesn't have to mean I like it."

"No," she agrees, dangling her feet, looking out over the nighttime city. "But you get what you get."

[watchtower-feed]

Another Flashpoint

Notes: As soon as I watched Justice League Apokolips, I started writing this out of frustration and my brain wouldn’t let me stop even when it hit 2k words! Apart from the title and summary, there are no spoilers here. Words: 3,882

      Pebbles dug into his knees as he prepared to sprint back in time to save everything. To change everything. The non-existent pain was almost enough to make him stand up again, tell Constantine ‘no,’ and walk away from them forever. But the image of the ruined world on the horizon was an eyesore, a piercing glass embedding deeper and deeper into his heart.

      So he ran. Barry Allen kicked off from the shoreline of Titans tower and left the dust trailing after him as he entered the light of the speed force. As always, whiplash greeted him harshly, slapping the sides of his jaws and forcing him to blink for a millisecond.

      Just like last time, he navigated his way through the memories of this timeline. He had to relive the same events of torture and happiness within a micro-second, clenching his fist to keep his eyes forward. He had to go back as early as he can. He had to see his mother.

      When Barry tumbled out of the speed force, his body skidded along the road, unable to keep himself upright from the exhaustion that is finally hitting him. He laid on the ground while he felt his lungs desperately rise up and down. Before Barry could recover, a small shadow of a child loomed over him, hair falling down the side as curious eyes stared at him.

      “Whatcha doin’ there, mister?” you ask him.

      Barry’s stunned. He’s never seen you in his entire life before. He looked around quickly to assess where he had landed. He was right across his old house where he can see his mother, Nora Allen, preparing the cake for his birthday.

      Your gaze suddenly landed on the insignia on his chest. Then you looked back at him with such glee. “You’re the Flash!” you yelled out enthusiastically. You quickly helped him up and started dragging him back into the house. Barry is still too stunned to think straight. His mom shouldn’t see him. Nora can’t see his future self. But he couldn’t resist your pull on him.

      “Mom! Mom!” you yelled out as you dragged Barry toward his mother. “The Flash is here! The Flash is here!”

      “The Flash?” Nora asked with suspicion, looking at Barry from head to toe.

      “Yep!” you giggled, “You hired someone to be the Flash at my birthday party!” you let go of Barry and ran up to your mother to give her a hug. She quickly carried you in her arms and pointed a kitchen knife at Barry. “Mom, what are you doing?”

      “Sweetie, that’s not the Flash.”

      You stared at the man standing awkwardly by your entryway. His costume was different but there was no denying that the insignia on his chest is the Flash’s symbol.

      Barry’s eyes widened as he stared at you and his mother. “She’s… your mother? And she’s your…?” Barry quickly tried to level his head. “Wait. Do you have a son?” he asked.

      Nora’s eyes quickly narrowed and backed away from Barry, refusing to answer him. But you were so young and so innocent, and you still believed that Barry is the Flash that you know. The first Flash.

      “He… died,” you answered and buried your head into your mother’s shoulders.

      Nora tried her best to comfort you while keeping the knife aimed at Barry’s chest.

      Barry was completely taken aback. This isn’t his past.

      The sun glinted against Nora’s knife and Barry quickly put up his hands and spoke in a lower voice, “Woah-- I’m not here to hurt you. I’m just passing through--”

      “Watch out!” your yell rang out like an echo inside Barry’s head as he quickly turned to find a man with a gun aimed at him. With ease, he broke apart the man’s gun before his finger could even press the trigger. 

      As time continued slowly, Barry took a look at the man and saw a young boy, a teenager.

      When time went back to normal, the boy, Nora, and you were surprised to watch the unassembled gun fall to the floor.

      You looked back at Barry. “He is the Flash! He’s the real Flash!”

      The teenage boy clicked his tongue and tried to escape. But before he could take a step, Barry tripped him. He grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall. “Who are you? Why are you after them?”

      The teenage boy stared at Barry with wide eyes and full of fear. His fingers trembled as they tried to pry the Flash off of him. “Let go of me!”

      “Flash!”

      Nora’s voice quickly settled him down like a soft cascading waterfall. 

      “He’s just a kid,” Nora said softly while rubbing your head. His grip loosened and the young boy took this chance to run out of the house. Barry looked at the two of you. You wrapped your short arms around Nora’s neck. “His father killed my son and my husband.” Hearing his own death from his mother’s lips made Barry’s knees weak. “He’s in jail but that boy-- He blames us.”

      “No.” Barry shook his head. Thawne was the one who murdered his mother in a rage. Now he’s sure that he’s in a completely different timeline. An alternate universe where he and his father are dead. 

      Without sparing you or Nora another glance, he ran away fast enough to once again enter the speed force. As the white light surrounded him, he slapped his cheeks harshly. “Gotta do it right this time. No more wrong turns.”

      Barry kept his eyes away from the memories but one memory that doesn’t exist in any of his timelines distracted him. He was in a hall filled with family and friends. He was under an arch of white balloons and facing you.

      He was distracted and he tripped out of the speed force. He kept rolling on the floor until your boot promptly stopped him. 

      “Long time no see,” you teased and waited for him to slowly turn around and look at you. It was definitely you, the little girl that was in Nora’s arms. Grown-up. A young adult. And wearing the Flash’s insignia. “I knew you’d be coming by here again.”

      The Flash stared at you and you chuckled, “Well, are you just going to sit on the ground?” You removed your boot and positioned your body to sprint, “or are you joining me for a run?”

      You sped off and let the city lights blur hazily around you, feeling the wind run through your hair, tangling and unraveling at the same time. Running at the speed of light was the best feeling you have ever experienced.

      But having someone just as fast as you, running beside you was a whole new experience.

      “Who are you?” Barry asked as soon as he caught up.

      “I’m the Flash!” you boasted and took a sharp turn to try and impress him. “Isn’t that obvious?”

      “I’m the Flash--”

      “I know! But you’re also Barry-- you look so much like him. You must be another Flash from another world.”

      Barry’s head was suddenly spinning. He has definitely confirmed that there are alternate timelines, alternate universes, and within these alternates, there are also alternate worlds. He suddenly regrets not taking string theory as a minor in college.

      Deciding not to waste any more time, Barry picked up his pace and entered the speed force again, leaving you behind as you shout after him. This time he wasn’t going to let anything distract him.

      This proved to be more difficult because new memories were surfacing. Almost all of them are none he remembers. But it’s his face, his body, his mannerisms. Every scene had him in it and he was intimate with you. A wedding. A honeymoon. Anniversaries. At the hospital.

      “STOP!”

      You throw yourself against Barry until the two of you are forced out of the speed force. Instinctively, Barry wraps his arms around you to take most of the brunt force as you skid along an empty highway.

      When all the spinning had stopped, Barry looks at you. You’re older, maybe just a decade had gone by since he last saw you, but there was something in your eyes that felt older. He could almost relate to it.

      Your eyes start tearing up and you pound against his chest, “Please, Barry. Just stop…” You lean your forehead against his chest and shake your head as the tears stream down.

      “Hey hey…,” he whispers softly as he rubs your head. 

      “Barry,” you call out and finally look up. Your eyes roam desperately over his features before you frown deeply. “You’re not really him, are you?” Barry’s eyebrows rose up. “You’re not my Barry.”

      Barry’s eyes widen.

      You wipe your tears harshly and laugh mockingly, “My Barry would have kissed me by now.”

      Barry blushes a little at the thought, but the thought also quickly jolts his mind into overdrive, “So the memories… they weren’t mine--”

      “They were mine,” you finish.

      “But you and Barry-- aren’t we siblings?”

      You stare at him before you laugh, real this time. “I’m-- I was Barry’s childhood friend!” You slowly stop laughing as you get to the sad part, an explanation you’ve rehearsed so many times because people kept asking you.

      “My parents were killed in a car accident and the Allens took me in. I was so young that all I’ve ever called Nora and Henry is mom and dad. Nora had been so good to me even when Barry and I got married. She kept treating me like her own child.”

      Barry closes his eyes and takes in one long deep breath before he slowly unwraps his arms around you. “Okay. I think I’m the one who needs an explanation here.”

      “Barry-- my Barry wasn’t dead before you-- before your first visit… I wanted to have Henry in our life, too.”

      Barry gives you a long look before he’s slowly piecing the dots together, “I was in your flashpoint!”

      Slowly, you nod your head and close your eyes before you whisper, “But I didn’t make it in time. I just saw it happen.” Barry was looking at you more confused. He wonders if all speedsters have always been like this-- if he had always been like this, rushing through thoughts without proper context.

      You look at him again and decide to explain from the beginning, “I had to go back in time. As soon as I found out I could do it, I knew I had to save Henry.” You suddenly clench your fists and hit him on the chest, “But you--! It would have worked if it weren’t for you!”

      “What are you talking about?”

      “You did it first. You created the very first Flashpoint and you brought Eobard Thawne into my world!”

      Barry’s eyes widened. “Oh no.” He suddenly remembers the first Flashpoint, Eobard had been there. He was the only one in that timeline that knew it was an alternate one. Even when the Amazons and Atlanteans waged war he was calm, like he knew something. Like he had done something.

      “He told me,” you continue and cling onto Barry’s suit, “when he was there, Eobard told me everything. When he slipped through the speed force, he found himself in front of our house. As soon as he saw you, his objective became clear. He killed Barry and Henry and framed that boy’s father. It was only when Nora and I came home that he realized he was in a completely different timeline.”

      Your voice has gotten lower and your eyes are trained to the ground. You stare at the asphalt as you remember everything. “I was just seconds too late to stop him.”

      You bite your bottom lip as you remember the scene in front of you. Barry was a small child who laid limp on the floor beside the man who you knew as a father.

      “I tried to fight Eobard to save Nora and my younger self,” you say weakly. “But I was weak and I was scared. Seeing their bodies-- I just ran away, while he chased me. I ran and I ran until I finally came back to the present, hoping nothing had changed-- that it was just a dream.” You close your eyes and your voice breaks when you speak, “But I was wrong. Henry. Nora. Barry-- Our kids-- they were all gone.”

      Barry winces at the way your eyes looked into his like you’re talking to your own Barry, telling him what had happened. He tries to fight the urge to comfort you but can’t, “I’m sorry--”

      “No, you’re not!” you lash out suddenly. Then with a shaky breath, you continue, “I went back. Of course, I went back. There was nothing else to live for. So I ran back and I fixed it. Eobard was gone. I fixed it, Barry! I really fixed it!”

      Your eyes were staring into Barry’s eyes, willing him to imagine it. A world where none of his family members have been murdered. “Henry was alive. Barry was alive. We lived another life together and it was even better this time. We were so inexplicably happy--”

      You stop abruptly and drag Barry up to stand with you. “But you--” you were gripping him by the sides of his cowl along his jaw and glaring at him. Your voice is like venom when you spoke again. 

      “Eobard was like a virus. The moment he wormed his way into our world, he left a gaping crack that made us vulnerable to everything you did in yours-- Barry, every time you changed your timeline, you were dragging our world through the mud with you.”

      Barry gaped. “You…” He doesn’t finish his sentence which only makes you angrier. You grit your teeth.

      “Do you have any idea what it felt like to wake up and find that my whole family-- my whole bloodline never existed! To find out that I have no world!”

      Barry held onto your hands as it all came to him like a speeding truck, “Your world merged with mine--”

      “And I had no place in it!” you yell out. “No identity! No powers! And no family!” You’re exhausted and you can hear your breathing. “I tried so hard to get in contact with you but you’re untouchable, Barry Allen.” You laugh a little and it hurts, “I was married to you, had kids and everything and yet I couldn’t even get your stupid number.”

      Barry thinks for a moment and then mutters, “Batman. He took measures to hide our identities even from civilians.”

      “So you can only imagine how much harder it was to try and get your attention as the Flash.”

      Barry doesn’t know what to say and you have no more words to get off your chest. What’s done is done. You can’t have your world back. Not anymore. You just wanted to say your piece so he knows how much he’s risking every time he creates another Flashpoint, even if it is necessary this time.

      “I’m sorry but I have to change everything again,” Barry finally says. “My last trip-- it brought Darkseid to Earth and he destroyed everything. We lost everything.”

      “I know,” you tell him, “I was there. I’ve been living in your world.”

      “Right… wait. How did you get your powers back?”

      You raise your hand and let it vibrate, checking to see if it really is still there. “I felt it when you entered the speed force again. It let my powers slip through and return to me.” You put your hand back down. “The first thing I did was run after you.”

      A lightbulb finally clicked inside Barry’s head, “I haven’t been running through my past. I’ve been going through yours!”

      “And you were altering my memories while I was in the speed force,” you punch him. “Thanks for that!”

      “Ow-- okay.” Barry stands upright. He finally understands. “So where are we right now?”

      You look around and recognize the highway immediately. “We’re still in my past. This is where Barry first proposed to me-- in our original timeline.” You can still see it in your head. You were running while carrying Barry in your arms. He loved the feeling of the rush but he always had to keep his eyes closed. When you started hearing the first words of his proposal, you stopped here.

      “I’m truly sorry-- I-- Dang it. I don’t even know your name.”

      “Don’t be. It’s not like you’re my husband or anything.” You laugh nervously, trying to hide the quivering of your lips. “It’s Y/N.”

      Barry holds your shoulders and squeezes them. He knows what it feels like to have lost someone. He knows how it feels to have lost the ones you love like how you have.

      “Y/N, let’s change it. One last time. Together this time.”

      You shake your head, “My world is gone, Barry. We can visit my pasts but all you’re going to be doing is changing my memories. Your past will have a stronger effect than mine.”

      Barry tightens his hold on you, urging you to really hear him out, “Then we’ll share. After we change it, we can both be the Flash.”

      That’s not what you want. That was never truly what you wanted. What you want is your family. You want your Barry.

      This Barry isn’t yours and he never will be.

      “What if I lose my powers again after it’s done?” you whisper.

      He shakes his head, “We won’t know until we try. What other choice do we have?”

      He’s right. It’s not like you want to go back to how the world is now. But there’s still one last thing that’s been bugging you. One last problem that you’ve noticed has been happening the longer you stay in your merged world.

      “Barry, what if I lose all of my memories?” You put your hands over his, “I’m the only thing left that existed in my world. What if you change it one more time and it completely erases me, too?”

      He stoops down to look straight into your eyes, “I can’t promise anything, Y/N. I’m so sorry.” Your eyes hold his gaze even when you start crying. Barry wipes your tears away, “Let’s enter the speed force together and change the past together. I promise,” he takes one of your hands in his, “I won’t let go. I’ll do everything I can to bring you back with me. I at least owe you that.”

      That’s the best Barry can promise you. A chance to continue to exist. If you forget your memories, you won’t know the pain you’ve been living with. You won’t know your Barry. He’ll be gone forever.

      You squeeze his hand before pulling him close until your lips meet. Barry makes a muffled sound before slowly melting into the kiss, closing his eyes and tipping his head to the side to deepen it. When you bitterly part, you lean your head on his chest, “I just wanted one last kiss. Even if you’re not him.”

      Barry holds you and brushes your hair, just like how your Barry used to. Before the two of you run into the speed force, Barry holds your hand in his and squeezes it.

      When you enter the speed force, your memories are no longer displayed on the sides like an exhibit in a gallery. They’ve been replaced by Barry’s. And not a single one has you in them.

      “Close your eyes,” Barry tells you and squeezes your hand.

      You let Barry guide you in the speed force. Sooner than you realize, you’re leaving it with much better landing this time. You open your eyes and find yourself in front of your house. You watch Nora set up for your birthday party alone.

      “What are we changing?” you ask.

      Barry swallows before he finally tells you. “I have to stop myself from saving Nora.” Your eyes widen as you watch the woman you’ve always known as your mother. Before you could say anything Barry turns to you with lines around his eyes, “I saved my mother. Constantine told me that if I hadn’t done that, Darkseid wouldn’t have come to Earth.”

      You grip his arm, “Please, Barry. I’ve seen your father die. Not Nora, too--”

      Barry can’t look at you. This is hard on him, too. “Y/N, you have to help me stop myself because…” he looks at you and you can see tears wanting to spill over his eyes, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

      You bite your lips and let the tears fall because this is the worst thing that could ever happen. You just wanted to save Henry, to let him be part of your lives. You never knew that your Barry had to pay that price and now, Nora too.

      You let go of Barry’s arm and squeeze his hand instead. “Together then. We’ll share the burden, too.”

      Barry gives you a long look before he nods.

      It’s one of the longest moments of your lives. Standing on the sidelines and watching an intruder make his way into your home. You and Barry try so hard to ignore Nora’s call for help, squeezing each others’ hands and digging nails into the skin.

      As soon as Barry’s other self, from his first trip, enter the scene, you move first. You throw yourself at him until you’re both hidden in the bushes.

      “What-- Who--”

      You all hear the last ear-piercing scream from Nora. You watch as the Barry in front of you stares into the windows and his face falls. When he turns to you, his face is distorted in anger, “You--!”

      Barry, the present Barry, puts his hands on his shoulder. When he turns to him, he shakes his head gingerly, “We can’t change the past because… it’s not just our future we’re changing. Go back.”

      You can see the recognition slowly dawning on the younger Barry. It breaks your heart when he too finally resigns from the same mission you’ve all been going through. He disappears before you can say anything.

      Barry helps you up. “Thank you.”

      “Don’t. Don’t thank you for this.”

      He nods and squeezes your hand. “Let’s go. Before I see myself walk into the house.”

      You walk together until you’re under the shade of trees and then you’re sprinting back into the speed force. Your eyes are closed as soon as you enter it, not wanting to see what changes have happened this time. Not wanting to know if you’re not in any of them.

      “Y/N! Look!” Barry’s sudden exclamation piques your curiosity and you open your eyes.

      You’re surrounded by memories of your existence. A new existence for you both. Barry’s tragic past stayed the same and so did yours. You found yourselves growing up together in the same foster home. Going to the same schools. Same college. Same job. Until you’re both hit with lightning at the same time.

      “This is the new flashpoint?”

      “It’s our new world.”

      Suddenly your memories are blending together into a single memory. A kiss on a highway where you’re both laughing while Barry carries you in his arms.

      “Okay, when do we get off this rollercoaster?” you ask nervously.

      Barry chuckles, “Now would be good.”

✧ Watchtower Masterlist ✧

[chilling-seavey]

There Goes My Life - Chapter One

A/N This is the sequel to my previous novel Anything But Mine! You can read this novel as a stand alone but it will make more sense if you read the original first! Everything is tagged in my masterlist! If you want to be added to my tag list, shoot me a message! Happy reading x

Summary:  It has been 18 years since ‘Anything But Mine’ ended and 19-year-old Clementine is now heading back to university for her second year, now accompanied by her 18-year-old sister, Penelope. Penelope soon notices that her older sister isn’t the same level-minded girl she was while living at home; having a bit of a personality change when living away at school. Things only escalate when a wrench is thrown into Clementine’s life, and she starts to question everything she ever knew to be true, almost tearing apart her family in the process.

Note: This story and the whole Anything But Mine universe, is based off the song There Goes My Life by Kenny Chesney. I recommend listening to it because it’s such a sweet song and sums up Daniel’s relationship with Clementine and his girls so well. 

Saturday, September 4, 2038

The single lane highway was framed with sprawling farmland and full green trees under a clear blue summer sky. It was September 4th and therefore the beginning of a new school year, the silver Audi driving eastward and packed full of two loads of suitcases, taped up boxes, and a few too many bags. Three teenage girls were squished together in the backseat, singing along to whatever song was on the radio. Clementine was on the right, her dark blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, sipping her strawberry lemonade between lyrics. She was ultimately calm, smiling at her little family whom she loved with her whole heart with her arm linked through her little sister’s. Lucy took the middle seat since she was youngest at merely fourteen. She took after her father with her musical talent, her pitch perfect voice filling the car impressively. As they got closer to the urban landscapes, she slid her hand into her middle sister’s who was sat on her left, offering her a gentle smile. Penelope returned it, giving her sister’s hand a small squeeze before looking back out the window; she was more than excited to be starting university with her older sister there to help her out. That was until they pulled up to the old stone campus and reality started to set in.

It wasn’t as busy as it would be since they chose to move in early. Daniel and Florence knew that their second oldest would start to panic with such a quick turn around before classes as well as being thrown into meeting so many people all at once. With Penelope, early was always better.

It didn’t seem to make any difference on her nerves as her family climbed out of the car once they parked outside the residence building but she stayed frozen in her seat, eyes glued to the old stone building towering in front of her. She slowly raised her hand to her mouth and bit anxiously at her fingernail. The car door opening startled her.

“What’s wrong, bug?” Daniel whispered, leaning down next to her as the other girls were unloading the car.

“I don’t want to do this.” Penelope breathed, her voice wavering. She glanced up at him with tears brimming in her blue eyes.

Daniel sighed, crouching down next to her, and pressed a hand to her cheek, “It’s what you’ve always talked about, Penny. You’re going to be featured in the MET before you know it.”

“But I can’t do that without you guys.” Penelope protested. “I-I just can’t.”

“Yes, you can. You’re going to absolutely kill it. And you won’t even be on your own…Clementine is going to be with you. You know she’ll be there to help you with whatever you need. And if you really need me on a weekend I can come down and take you for lunch, okay? We’re only a phone call away.”

Penelope nodded, sniffling quietly.

“Just take it one step at a time, bug. Everything’s going to be just fine.” Daniel whispered, leaning in to press a kiss to her head. He unbuckled her seatbelt for her and held out his hand for her to take.

She smiled softly and took his hand, following him around the car to the sidewalk where all the bags were piled.

“Let’s get a move on, Nell. Life won’t wait around for us.” Clementine clapped her hands together a few times through a wide smile, handing over her backpack.

The family of five made their way into the lobby of the residence building with their many boxes and bags. Clementine waltzed right up to the front desk.

“Clementine Seavey, signing in.” She announced proudly.

Her shyer sister stood a little behind her, leaning on her suitcase as she felt like her legs were going to give out.

“Go on, sis.” Clementine nudged her once she received her key.

The lady behind the front desk smiled tightly at her.

Penelope cleared her throat and took a step forward, leaning her arms on the top of the desk, “Penelope Seavey.”

The lady typed her name into the computer and then shuffled through a box of small envelopes before passing her one, “Room 302. The stairs are just down the hall on your right. Welcome to Queen’s!”

Clementine was already halfway down the hallway by the time Penelope turned around.

“Wait for your sister, Clem.” Daniel called through a laugh, draping his arm around his middle daughter’s shoulders as they followed after her.

There was no elevator in the old building so each suitcase and heavy box had to be pulled up the stairs one by one. By the time everything was brought to the third floor, they were all no less than exhausted. Clementine still powered on, finding her room down the hall; 310. Lucy scurried behind her, pushing her four-wheeled suitcase at top speed.

“You’re going to break it.” Clementine laughed, giving her youngest sister a small shove and pulled her bag inside her empty room. “Make yourself useful and go get my other stuff.” She pinched her cheek.

“Do you want to stick with Clementine and help her move in if we take care of your sister, Lu?” Florence asked.

“Sure thing.” Lucy smiled, overloading her arms with Clementine’s way too over-packed boxes before stumbling back down the hall.

Penelope looked down at the envelope in her hands that had her full name scrawled out in cursive handwriting along with her room number. She ripped it open and pulled out the key card, taking a small breath before swiping it in her door. The lock clicked and she pushed it open, stepping inside.

The room was tiny but comfortable with a double bed, a desk and a chair, and a full closet and set of drawers with a window that overlooked more of the residences and the sports field in the distance. Penelope sighed and turned around to rest against the window ledge.

“What do you think, bug?” Daniel asked, setting her suitcase in the corner.

“It’s not home.” she shrugged.

“If it was too nice, you’d never come back to us.” Florence joked. The eighteen-year-old cracked a small smile as she looked to the carpet, tucking her dark hair behind her ear.

“We know you’re going to plaster these boring white walls with pictures within two days. It’ll feel more comfortable soon.” Daniel added, bringing another few bags in from the hallway.

“Yeah.” Penelope sighed, sliding her backpack to the floor beside her desk.

“What else can we help you with?” Florence asked.

Daniel set his hands on his hips, “We can make your bed for you…or hang up your clothes…”

“I’m okay.” Penelope assured them. “I can do that.”

“You’re okay if we head out already?” Daniel asked quietly.

“Yeah.” She nodded tightly, keeping her eyes on the ground.

Florence and Daniel exchanged worried glances.

Penelope’s nose scrunched up a little before she let out a soft sob, covering her face with her hands.

“Oh, bug, it’s okay.” Daniel sighed, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She tucked her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest, trying to steady her panicked breaths as he ran his hand over her hair.

“Once you get into a routine, things will be easier.” Florence added gently. “And you’re going to do so well.”

“Make sure you talk to your sister, okay? Tell her if you need anything.” Daniel said. Penelope nodded.

“She’s gonna be just fine.” Clementine said from the open door. “We’re always good together, aren’t we, Nell?”

Penelope smiled and nodded, wiping her eyes as she pulled back from Daniel’s hug, “That’s what 15 years of sharing a room gets you.”

“We’re so proud of you two.” Florence sighed, holding out her hand to the eldest. Clementine joined their little group hug.

“Wow, glad to see I’m the least favourite.” Lucy rolled her eyes as she walked into the room.

“Get over here, Lu-Lu.” Penelope chuckled, pulling her little sister into her tightly.

“I can’t believe you’re both leaving me to deal with high school alone.” Lucy whined, draping her arms over her sisters’ shoulders. “And to deal with them alone.” She nodded towards their parents.

“Hey!” Florence frowned. “What’s so wrong about us?”

“Nothing.” Daniel tisked, grabbing her cheeks to kiss his wife’s lips.

“That!” Lucy smacked her hands over her eyes. “Ugh! I’m just a child!”

“You get to the car before I smack you.” Florence laughed, swatting at the dramatic youngest as she ran shrieking out of the room.

She turned back to the two eldest, pulling Clementine into a hug first to say goodbye, Daniel taking Penelope into his arms again.

“You work hard this semester, okay, Clemmie girl?” Florence whispered. “You always do. You make me so proud.”

“Thanks, mum.” Clementine chuckled.

The girls switched parents, Clementine pressing a kiss to Daniel’s cheek before hugging him tightly.

“Take good care of yourself, angel.” he said, offering her a gentle smile.

“You too, dad. I love you.” Clementine stuck her tongue out at him and he returned it, a little thing they always did ever since she could remember. 

“I love you too, my girl.” Daniel grinned, hugging her once more before the two sisters were left to their own devices.

Clementine turned to her eighteen-month-younger sister and smiled widely once the door closed, “Welcome to Queen’s. Welcome to your whole new life, Nell.”

Tag List: @ur-local-limelight​ ~ @thebestyoullneverhave​ ~ @badbunnypr​ ~ @calumhoodiskindahot​ ~ @sothisisathingforsomereason​ ~ @jocelyntheduckie​

[novilistinspirations]

Trust Your Instincts

Gregory Mason finished his final sketch around 11pm on Thursday evening. He set the ruler aside and stared at his project. It was an elementary school designed for a small town nearby. Gregory leaned back in his chair, and it creaked under the added stress. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if he had included too many windows (or not enough), before finally turning off the drawing table light, deciding he'd done enough for one day.

He was the last one in the office, as he had wanted to finish the project by the end of the week, and was cutting close to his deadline.

He glanced at his watch, though he already knew from the black sky outside that it was well past the point his wife, Ellen, would have liked him to be home. She doesn't like having to put their daughter to bed without him. He knew he may be in for another lecture on how important the first five years of a child's development are. It would be less than a year until Kara turned five.

He rubbed his eyes, already feeling too tired for the half hour drive back to his house. Frequently, Kara would stay up and wait for him to get home if he wasn't there in time to tuck her in.

It was that thought that motivated him to get up from his chair and start getting ready to leave. He pulled on his jacket and threw away his half-empty coffee cup that had long since gone cold.

He left his office, shutting the door behind him, and began making his way down the hall toward the stairwell. Half way down the hall he realized he forgot his keycard, and turned to go back and retrieve it. Then he stopped.

At the back of the building, where the cubicles are located, the lights were on. The lights are automatic, so this meant the motion censor must have been triggered.

Gregory had thought that he was alone in the building, but he assumed someone had simply forgotten something, and returned briefly to get it from their workstation while he had been too involved in his project to notice. He walked back to his office, retrieving the keycard from the top drawer of his desk.

Then he heard something.

Shuffling, as though someone were dragging their feet across the carpet.

Gregory is a logical man. He knew that it was likely just an intern, and that there was no reason for him to feel unnerved. Despite his reasoning, he felt the hair standing up on his neck, and his heartrate increased, as though his body was instinctively reacting to a danger he couldn't consciously perceive.

He brushed off the thought, blaming it on the long workday and lack of sleep. Despite this, as he left his office he shut the door as quietly as possible. He mentally scolded himself, thinking it was ridiculous for him to be hiding from an imaginary predator. He decided he would go and check the back room, just to prove to himself that there was nothing wrong.

He turned left down the hall, toward the cubicles. By the time he had walked to the end of the hallway, he had convinced himself there would be nothing of interest for him to find. However, when he reached the room, his heart leapt into his throat.

There, standing near the opposite wall, was a man. His back was turned to Gregory, and although it wasn't possible to be sure, as there were several cubicles between them, he appeared to be unclothed. His hair was dark and ragged, and his skin was very pale. He had spots of dirt caked onto him, as though he had been sleeping in the mud. He was shaking, and seemed very unstable, as if he might fall over at any moment.

Gregory's initial instinct was to run, as he had already been slightly paranoid before seeing the man, however, he did not act on it. He remained calm, telling himself to be rational. He assumed the man was troubled, perhaps homeless, or mentally ill. Gregory thought he should talk to the man, and then decide if it would be necessary to call the police.

"Excuse me," Gregory said, but did not finish his sentence.

As the man turned to face him, his head lolled to the side, as though his neck couldn't properly support the weight of it. His movements were slow, and lacking control. He kicked his legs out before taking each step to turn, dragging his feet across the floor to bring them close enough to support his body. This brought the image of a puppet on strings to Gregory's mind, and he felt a sudden jolt of fear through his chest.

When the man turned around fully, Gregory could see his face perfectly under the fluorescent light, and his fear turned to panic.

The man's skin was practically grey, and what had seemed to be mud now appeared closer to rot. The man's jaw hung open, in his mouth a strange black liquid swirled around rapidly. His eyelids had been removed, and the sockets were rimmed with blood. His eyes did not sit inside the sockets, but behind them, as though they couldn't quite fit. They were bright orange, with thin black pupils slitted vertically down the center.

For a moment Gregory felt frozen. He couldn't process what he was seeing, and so he couldn't react. He just stood and stared, ice cold dread filling his chest and closing his throat (not that it would have helped him to scream). It wasn't until the creature took a step toward him, once again producing that long dragging sound across the carpet, that Gregory was able to force his legs to move.

He turned and fled down the hall, attempting to look both in front of him and behind him at once. For how much difficulty the creature seemed to have with movement, by the time Gregory reached the other end of the hall it had already maneuvered it's way through the cubicles, and was chasing him with jerky, lopsided steps. It's feet twisted around as it flailed toward him, and Gregory wondered if the creature even had bones to support it's limbs. This didn't seem to hinder it, as it dropped to the ground and launched itself down the hallway on all fours.

Gregory's breath came in short gasps, each one producing a small panicked shout. He could hear his heart pound in his ears as the creature somehow managed to gain speed, the black liquid audibly whirling in it's throat.

When he finally reached the door to the stairwell, Gregory twisted the knob and slammed into the door so forcefully he fell forward onto the landing. He turned onto his back, seeing the creature sprinting at him, it's eyes moving erratically behind the bloodied eyesockets, the black liquid swishing and whirling in and out of it's mouth. Gregory kicked at the door. He missed twice, then hit it on the third time. It slammed shut, the lock setting automatically. He heard a loud thump as the creature failed to stop in time. Gregory scrambled to his feet, grabbing onto the stair railing for support. He started down, but when he reached the second landing he heard a sound like running water, and looked back up the stairs.

Thick black liquid was flooding out from under the door, and began pouring down the stairs toward him. Gregory dashed down the second flight, leaping over the last three steps and just barely managing to get his footing as he landed. He crashed through the exit door and into the parking lot, sprinting for his car. He cursed himself for parking so far back, no longer daring to look behind him.

He didn't slow his pace until he reached the car, fumbling to get his keyfob out and unlock it. The moment he was sat down inside he jammed the key into the ignition, slamming his foot on the accelerator before he'd even gotten it in gear.

Within seconds he was out of the parking lot and making his way toward the freeway, not bothering to consider the speed limit.

It wasn't until he was half way home that his heart rate finally started to slow. His eyes darted repeatedly to the rearview mirror, although he didn't know how the creature could possibly follow him going ninety down the highway. He told himself he needed to calm down. He didn't want to tell his wife what had happened. Even if he had wanted to, he didn't think he could.

By the time he reached his house he had managed to get himself into the frame of mind to feign normalcy. He parked in the driveway, and tried not to appear too jumpy as he scanned the yard on his way to the front door, but he couldn't help looking over his shoulder. When he got inside, Ellen was on the couch in the living room. She stood as soon as she heard him enter.

"Oh, Greg, thank god you're alright." She wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him tightly, before taking a step back and slapping his shoulder, "what kept you?" She demanded.

"What do you mean?" He asked, hoping she couldn't see how shaken he was, "You know I was at work."

"Didn't you see the news?" She asked, her eyes were wide.

"No. Why, what happened?" He asked, sitting down on the sofa.

She sat next to him, twisting her hands anxiously, "A man was murdered, right by your office. Greg, it's absolutely horrible, the person that did it must have been completely deranged." She said.

Gregory felt cold, and balled his hands into fists to keep them from shaking, "by my office?" He asked.

"Yes, and it was so awful." She covered her mouth with her hand, "his whole body- everything had been pulled out."

"Pulled out? What do you mean pulled out?" Gregory could feel the fear pricking in his chest again.

"Pulled out of his skin, and they don't know where it is. They found his insides just- just strewn around behind one of the buildings in town, less than a block away from where you were working." Her voice became very strained, "And because they couldn't find his- his skin, they can't identify him yet, and you were so late getting home, and I couldn't help but think-" She stiffled a sob.

"Elle, I'm right here, I'm fine." Gregory pulled her to his chest, hiding his fear behind the attempt to comfort her. His mind raced with the thought of how very close he was to being that man. How it could have been his skin that creature had been wearing next. He suppressed a shudder.

After several long moments, Ellen had calmed down, and decided to go to bed. Gregory assured her he'd be there in a moment, and went down the hall to their daughter's room. Her door was cracked so that just enough light could stream in from the hallway. She was asleep, as he expected, with a worn stuffed rabbit clutched in her arms.

Gregory sat down gently on her bed, and as he listened to the steadiness of her breathing he finally began to feel a sense of relief. He would not be going back to the office the next day. He'd never go back, if he could help it. He made the decision to put in a transfer request in the morning. Perhaps he'd even look for a new job entirely.

Feeling slightly better after seeing his daughter sleeping soundly and having a plan sorted, he left Kara's room. Being sure to leave the door cracked the way she liked it, he went to check that the house doors were locked before turning in.

He checked the front door first, than the garage, and finally went to the sliding glass door at the back. He pulled the curtain aside, and seeing that the lock was set, he began pulling the curtain back into place when something caught his attention, and his blood ran cold.

Just outside their backyard fence, he could have sworn he saw a pair of orange eyes.

[were-all-going-to-hell-goodbye]

Lmao, No Title Yet

So, the prolage is just my past life, then the afterlife (my ideal version of it), and then a sneak peak into my next life, tell me what I can fix and I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE IT <3 @beany1988 

TRIGGER WARNING: Abuse, emotional and mention of physical, non-discriptive. Vague character death

‘The music. Just focus on the music.’

It was harder said-thought?- than done. I was only allowed one headphone in, even though I’m ignored most of the time, and she was screaming in my ear.

“YOU’RE SO FUCKING DISRESPECTFUL! I ASK YOU TO DO ONE THING, ONE GOD DAMNED THING AND YOU DON’T DO SHIT! ALL YOU DO IS STAY ON THAT COMPUTER ALL DAY!”

I make sure not to roll my eyes.

‘Sure, I “don’t do shit”. More like I do everything, your fatass can’t even sit up to turn your own lamp off. But yeah, I don’t do shit.’

Vaguely, as she continually screams insults and lies at me, I notice that we’re speeding up.

‘I wonder what would happen if I jumped out onto the highway.’

My fingers twitch.

‘The. Fucking. Music.’

Oh I hope someday I’ll make it out of here. Even if it takes all night or a hundred years

‘Fuck’

“YOU’RE ALLWAYS OVER THERE FUCKING SMIRKING- I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YOUR MAMA WHEN SHE TOLD ME ABOUT YOU, WHEN THEY ALL TOLD ME—”

‘liar liar liar liarLIARLIARLIAR—’

“LIAR!”

Fuck, I didn’t mean to say it out loud fuck fuck fuc-

My head is to the side. My earbuds are on my lap. The trees are going by too fast.

‘Did….did she just…?’

My cheek hurts and I feel something warm running down it. Slowly, I turn back to face her. She looks proud. Her wedding ring is dripping blood. My blood.

The next instant, I’m dead.

*******

Hades is sitting in front of me, his wife by his side.

“Oh, such a shame for someone like you to die so young.”

The words strike a chord in me.

“S-someone like me?”

‘Shut up you idiot! He’s a god, oh gods bow you fuckhead!!!!’

“There’s no need to bow you know.”

Slowly I look up and meet the Queens eyes. She’s just as beautiful as I imagined.

‘Wait, no, gay thoughts B E G O N E’

She glides towards me as I stare, until she’s standing right in front of me.

“And to answer your question. We meant someone as bright as you. You could have gone on to do incredible things.”

I shake my head. There’s no way I could have done anything good with my life.

“It’s true.”

I shift my eyes over to god.

“Remember all those talks you had with your grandfather? Funding a hospital so if someone needed help, you would pay for it. Buying a mansion and turning it into an orphanage. Even you just wistfully thinking that if you became famous, you would visit schools and such, just to bring a smile to someone’s face. Any of that ringing a bell?”

My chest tightens. All my wistful thinking, planning, dreams…. I could have done that? Suddenly, a wave of hate washes over me.

“If. If I had lived, I wouldn’t have ended like her, right?”

‘I promised myself.’

I didn’t notice my fist were clinched until I felt the pain of my finger nails cutting into my palms and Persephone lifting them up. The blood rolled down my arms in rivets.

“No.” she says quietly, as if lulling a child to sleep, “You were better.”

And for the first time, in a long time, I let myself feel.

I didn’t bother to stop the tears.

*******

It’s not too long before I calm myself, and Persephone heads off to attend to her duties.

Hades and I sit in silence, him, on his throne, and myself at the foot of it. The silence is comforting, in its own way.

“I heard you.” I look up.

He’s looking down at me, a certain kind of softness in his eyes that begin to fill the gaping hole in my heart.

He takes my silence as an invitation to continue.

“Those times you spoke of the afterlife… and your wishes to be reborn as my daughter.”

I flush but don’t say anything.

“You know, not many wishes to be acquainted to me in anyway, let alone in a familiar.”

I mutter under my breath, knowing how the story goes.

“What was that?”

I freeze, then repeat what I said louder.

“Humanity fears what it doesn’t understand, hating the uncertainty. Death and what comes after is the most unknown certainty that we understand.”

He hums and goes silent. I wait a moment before zoning out again.

But nothin' is better sometimes/ Once we've both said our goodbyes/ Let's just let it go/ Let me let you go

‘Hmmm, zone back in zone back fucking in!’

“What would you say, if I said I could send you to any world you wish with your memories intact?”

If I could raise a single eyebrow, I would. However, I can’t, so I settle for answering the question.

“At what cost?”

He looks amused in a sad sort of way.

“The number 3 is a sacred number to the Greeks. The Big Three, the three fates, so on and so forth. So, to have one life, you are to have two others after it before you are free the pass or be reborn like any other soul.”

I look down.

“Any other soul, huh? So why me?”

I can practically hear the smirk in his voice.

“Why not?”

‘Yeah. Why not.’

*******

I open my eyes to knocking on the door. I look over at the garish clock, seeing it read 7:00 am in large red numbers.

I lay in bed as a process what ever the living fuck my life is. Was. Going to be.

‘I’m alive. I died. I’m a guy. I’m all alone again. Persephone’s a pan girl’s guy’s dream. Hades is an ass.’

I pause for a moment, trying to remember my actual last point.

The knocking comes again, this time more insistent than before.

“Izuku, sweetie, you need to get up now. I need to head out soon for work.”

Oh yeah.

‘I’m Midoriya fucking Izuku.’

[sunflowerhazzavol6]

Veto- Chapter One

To Genevieve, morning always seemed to be the cruelest part of the day.

Nighttime was easy. Any and all responsibility was just beyond her apartment door, the only thing left up to her at that point being what she was going to feed herself and what kind of alcoholic beverage she was in the mood for. Typically it was something mixed with vodka and some sort of take-out, or food brought home from work. She could just settle down into her worn couch, lint pebbling on its almost too-comfortable surface, and tune into the blue light that was her TV. The perfect evening to shut out a usually less than perfect day. If that wasn’t exactly the speed she was going for, she would let that responsibility tap it's probably clubbed foot on the outside of a club entrance, Genevieve dancing on top of a table with her best friends while they took turns taking shots. This of course added to the pain of mornings, her hangover rearing its head as soon as she opened her eyes. That was what made this one in particular so gruesome. 

She blinked her eyes open, immediately squinting at the light drifting in through her window. She had blackout curtains for this reason exactly, but last night in her drunken haze she had forgotten to close the blinds in order to protect herself from this exact occasion. She knew she was paying for it now, burying her nose back into her pillow and letting out a strong exhale. Outside she could hear the construction crew that was already bang-bang-banging on the complex that was being built next door. While the noise bothered her to no end in the beginning of her lease, she had grown used to it and knew that it was the reason her rent was so cheap in the first place. Even the catcalling had become white noise, but she still held up a middle finger most days when she walked by to do her laundry. This morning the jackhammering reminded her of the pile overflowing from the basket, and she let out an audible groan before pushing herself up and out from under the covers.

Six months ago she had dropped out of school, packed up all her shit, and moved to a place just outside of Malibu. Cecilia, her best friend from high school, had moved there immediately after graduating with her boyfriend at the time. While they ultimately ended up breaking things off, she stayed there to work and enjoy the sun and freedom that came along with the California heat. When Genevieve had called her for probably the thirtieth time, having an anxiety attack about not being happy or knowing the true direction of her life, Cece had suggested that she move down to the West Coast to figure things out. Within a week she had officially unenrolled from the business school at NYU, dyed her brown hair blonde in a Tesco bathroom, and packed her tan colored 2007 Subaru Forester to trek across the country. She camped in her car along the way, grateful for the couple before her who had tinted the windows. She didn’t tell her mom what she had done until she was pulling onto the Pacific Coast Highway, receiving an earful that ultimately ended as soon as her back tire popped and she had to pull over. She didn’t see why it mattered anyways, leaning against the dirty vehicle while she waited for the AAA guy to pull up and save her ass. Her mom couldn’t afford to help her with school, and so really the only money at stake was her own. That was a whole other tier of stress on her shoulders; the student loan debt that she still had to pay off despite her lack of degree. She was relieved to get her own place after staying with Cece for two weeks, but even after she pushed open the door to her new apartment, the discontentment that she had felt in New York lingered in her head like a fog. It was bearable now, though, and so she took that as a sign that she was taking the right step.

She stands on the cool linoleum flooring designed to look like hardwood, stretching her hands into the air and hearing her spine pop. The rush of blood circulating through her body makes her head throb, causing her to release a pathetic whine and hold her hand to her forehead. She grabs her glasses from her nightstand, putting them on and pulling open the drawer to find god’s gift to the earth. The bottle of Tylenol rolls to the edge of the drawer, it’s only occupant besides an Altoids tin with condoms in it. She grabs the bottle and pops it open, shaking out two pills before throwing her head back to toss them in. She pops her head under the sink in her bathroom to swallow them down, wiping the bit of water that escapes with the back of her hand. Genevieve then gets ready for the day, peeing and brushing the fuzzy feeling and stale alcohol from her teeth. After getting dressed in a somewhat-clean Led Zeppelin t-shirt and shorts she grabs her laundry basket, her keys, and heads out of her studio onto the walkway outside. 

Hidden Hills apartment complex was an old motel that had been converted into a low-income housing space, which had then just been converted into the complex that it was today. It was really nice for the price point and the area, and Gene was incredibly grateful that she had found it while it was still available. When she had moved in the owners had just finished remodeling and had begun work on the buildings that were going up now. Apparently they had knocked down the walls in between two motel rooms to create each space, making it a decent size for one person or a couple. The more expensive suites had become two bedroom apartments across the parking lot, so there were a few small families that lived there too. For the most part, though, it was people just like her who were calling it a rest stop on their way to something better. 

When she walks into the small laundry building attached to the main complex, she’s greeted by an older man in his early sixties hanging up colorful speedos to air dry in the corner. Victor was two doors down from her, and had lived here for at least the last two owners as far as she knew. He never really disclosed how long he had been there, though, which was very purposeful on his part. It wasn’t because he was ashamed by his living situation, being the oldest in the complex by at least thirty-five years. Victor absolutely romanticized the mystery he had created, introducing himself as a flaming homosexual from the south who had participated in the Stonewall Riots of 1969. When he found out that she had moved from New York City herself, he immediately took her under his wing and became the strange gay uncle she never had. Other than his horrible habit of sunbathing in the nude on his balcony, she really liked him and valued his insights and advice on life in general.

“Well would you look at who the cat dragged in! You look something horrible, Genevieve.” He says when he sees her, crossing his arms over his wife beater and kimono. He had on bright yellow swimming shorts too, which were inappropriately small for anyone other than him. She winces at his voice, wrinkling her nose while she puts her basket on top of a dryer.

“Don’t talk so loud. I just woke up.”

“My lord Jesus almighty, honey, it's past noon.” He turns back to his pile of wet clothing, pushing them into a dryer. He starts it and watches it spin for a second before leaning against the white metal, turning to look at her. “Have a good night?” 

“I’m not sure. Can’t exactly remember all of it.” Gene rubs her temples, putting in her laundry soap and starting the load.

“Those are the best kind.” He smiles at her. “You know, Genevieve, I’m very glad that you’re not a prude introvert who just stays in all the time. Have fun while you can, enjoy that hot, young body of yours to the fullest!” He shimmies his shoulders at her while she rolls her eyes. Despite being a very progressive LGBTQ+ man, he was old fashioned in that he didn’t call her by anything other than her full name. He was firm in his belief that a name was important and said a lot about a person, that it was their identity and was a part of them. Whether the name was given or not, he always called everyone by their name even if they introduced themselves with a preferred nickname. There was a guy that had moved out a few months ago, whose name was actually just Nick, but Victor called him Nicholas anyways. He felt it suited him better, and was more classy. He claimed he would get further in life as a Nicholas over just a Nick, but never really got the chance to find out. Which was just as well.

“Being a prude introvert is not a bad thing.” Gene points out, raising her eyebrows at him. “Isn’t the whole point of personality and sexuality that it’s your own?”

“Aha, my child, you’ve learned so well. I’m giving myself teacher points for that. I’m just merely pointing out that I saw a very good looking young man leaving your apartment at the asscrack of dawn two weeks ago-”

“A month ago.”

He ignores her. “-and I’m very proud of you for embracing this youth that you’ve been blessed with! Not everyone is so intelligent, Genevieve.”

“I hardly think sex is a factor to intelligence.” She laughs, hopping up onto the washer to sit.

“Perhaps not, but it's exercise, and a healthy body is a healthy mind.” He taps his hairline to emphasize his point.

“So are you keeping a healthy body for your healthy mind?” She teases, kicking her legs back and forth.

“Oh pish. Don’t trouble yourself with an old man’s sex life. That’s the last thing you want to hear about.”

“Then stop meddling in mine!” She laughs, reaching her foot out to tap his side affectionately. This draws out a smile, a chuckle escaping his lips wrinkled from thousands of Kent cigarettes.

“You don’t have to do what I say, sugar, but listen just to humor me, alright?” Gene can tell by his tone that this would be something she would want to hear, so she shuts her mouth and does as she’s told. “I’m very glad that you’re so confident in yourself. Even if you don’t think so, you’re more secure in your body and in your looks than the kids your age I’ve met. Definitely more so than I was. But maybe that's because you’re straight.” She cracks a smile at that, and he puts his hand on her knee. “That being said, honey, I don’t want you to shy away from love when it lands at your feet. Take it from an old man who has made many-a-mistake in his lifetime. When something falls in your lap, take it, run with it, and don’t let it go. Don’t chalk it up to a random hook-up just because that’s what you’re used to.”

She recognizes his seldom solemn face, nodding her head. He returns it with a tight-lipped smile, squeezing his hand. “I’m not saying don’t have casual sex, because that would make me a hypocrite. Just… when something comes along, and you can’t quite put your finger on what about it makes it so special… don’t let go, alright? Even if it scares you. Promise me.”

“I promise, Victor.” She puts her hand over his, smiling at him genuinely.

He seems to accept her sentiment, shaking his head with a small smile and moving to grab his laundry basket. “You know sweetheart, I’m going to be very sad when you become too good for this old shack.”

“Please. Even when I do manage to get out of here, I’m comin’ back to visit you and drink all your wine.”

“That’s a girl. Next time let me know when you’ve got back home safe, okay? I worry about you when your car’s gone, honey, it’s not safe for pretty young girls in the dark of the night. You know that.”

“I will. If you don’t sunbathe naked anymore.”

“Unfortunately, Genevieve my dear, you cannot ask an old man to make promises when he’s already set in his ways.”

[prorevenge]

Bully Boss Gets Owned

Hello. I have been enjoying the ProRevenge, NuclearRevenge, EntitledParents, MaliciousCompliance and IDon'tWorkHere vids on YouTube, and they just brought back all kinds of memories, so I thought I would post a few.

This one took place back in 2002. I had been an Over The Road truck driver and engaged for a year. I thought I would try to get a local job so I could be home every night with my soon to be wife. The wedding was only a few months away. She lived in a pretty small town. There wasn't much in the way of local truck driving jobs except for oil field or hauling dirt. I did find a dirt hauling company that was hiring.

The supervisor was a prick from the very beginning of the interview. He informed me that pay was $9/hr, and that's it. No raises, no benefits, even if you work there for over 20 yrs. Well, I decided to just go on and accept it as I knew that after we got married, my wife would be moving back to her hometown to accept a job, and there were plenty of driving jobs there.

My first day of work, the super-prick has me fill out the paperwork, and tries to force me to sign a waiver to decline Worker's Compensation should I get injured. He "promised" their insurance was far better, but I had already learned about many of those scams, and refused to sign it. This utterly pissed him off (tell tale sign that they are trying to screw you). So, I have to train with another driver for a week before getting assigned to my own truck, which is good so I can learn the routes and roads. I hear him tell the trainer to knit-pick everything as he doesn't want me on the crew. Unfortunately for him, everything I do is to perfection. The only complaint the trainer had was I tended to ride the clutch a little hard when taking off on the first day (was trying to get used to the extra heavy loads and very sensitive clutch), otherwise, I floated gears like a 50 yr pro vet.

So, I finish the week and get assigned my own truck. I do my pre-trip safety inspection as required by DOT regulations, and I noticed one of the steer tires is almost to legal wear.

Cast of characters: Bossman - boss or supervisor (super-prick); Trainer - my trainer; Me - engaged not so easy to pushover dude

Me: "Hey boss, Unit 12 Left steer is almost to regs. It's at 5/16"."

Bossman: "Sounds to me like you just don't want to work."

Me: "No, it's legal for now; just informing you that it's going to need to be replaced real soon."

Bossman: "Are you fu--ing stupid? I just replaced both of those steers 2 months ago. Now get in the truck, or clock out and go home."

Me: "I will drive it until it is illegal or unsafe to do so. But if I get fined, I have enough witnesses here, right now, to put right it back on you." I got in the truck and went to work. Bossman was peeved. But, two days later, I noticed a new set of steer tires during my daily inspection.

The next week, Bossman informs me that we are on nights for the next few days:

Bossman: "When on the ranch land, watch your speed. If you hit and kill one of the landowner's $45.000 prize winning steers that he makes $20,000 when breeding, I'll run your ass off and you lose your pay."

I bust out laughing - HARD. This pisses him off.

Bossman: "What the Fu-- you laughing at? You don't think I'm serious? Get your shit and get out."

Me: "Is that what the land owner told you? He breeds his prize winning steer for $20k a pop? And you believe him?"

Bossman: "Yeah."

I was nearly on the ground laughing so hard.

Bossman: "The fu--'s your problem. Fine - go home."

Me: "Sorry, I meant no disrespect. It's just that, I imagine that you're from up north, right? From the city?" I could tell from day one from his fake southern accent, but I kept quiet about it.

Bossman: "Yeah, what of it?"

Me: "Well, I'm a city boy as well, but even I know that a steer is a castrated bull. While it's true that a prize winning steer can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, they can not be bred. Ask anyone here, they'll confirm it."

Trainer: "Yes sir, it's true. A steer is a bull with no balls." My trainer just happened to walk by when he heard me laughing so hard.

Boss turned white. "Don't matter. Watch your speed or you're down the road."

The second week ends and the third begins. About the 3rd day, another truck breaks down, so the Bossman decides to have me give my truck to the other driver and ride with my trainer again. For some reason, Bossman decides he wants this to be my last day, but he can't due to no reason. So, he makes something up, only to have it backfire on him. At the end of the day, he's waiting for us at the yard when we pull in and get parked. I head to the office to get my check for the first two weeks, and he's waiting for me outside.

Bossman: "You done f---ed up today, boy. You almost got someone killed."

Me: "Really. Please, do tell."

Bossman: "I received a call from a man who said that you cut him off and ran him off the road. He gave your truck and trailer numbers and identified you as the driver by the cap that you wear."

Me: I smiled. "Really. About what time did this incident happen?"

Bossman: "Why're you smiling. You nearly killed a man. I'm letting you go right now. You're an unsafe driver."

Me: "No, first you need to answer my question."

Bossman: "What does it matter? I don't have to answer you. You're fired."

Me: "No, you do need to answer. Remember, there were two drivers in that truck today." Just then Trainer walked up. "And FYI, I know that I didn't cut off anyone one today, as I did not drive at all. I can also vouch that Trainer did not cut anyone one off, nor ran anyone off of the road. So, either: 1, the guy misread the numbers of the truck and trailer and identity of the driver; 2, is lying, or 3, you're the one lying because you have been trying to find fault in everything I do and run me off since day one when I refused to sign the waiver for Workman's Comp."

Bossman: "Fu-- you you little fu--."

Trainer: "He's right. I drove all day, and don't recall any incidents or near misses. You know I'd have called as per policy."

Bossman: "Well, alright. I guess you still have your job. But know, I'm keeping a real close eye on you."

Me: "Thank you, and I don't doubt it. My butthole has already been feeling your nose hairs tickling it since day one."

I opened my check and looked at it as Bossman began to walk away fuming.

Me: "Wait a minute. There's a $59 deduction on here for insurance. We don't have benefits, remember?"

Bossman: "That's for the insurance against injury, remember?"

Me: "You mean the one I declined and refused to waive the Worker's Comp for."

Bossman: "Yeah. It's mandatory."

Me: "I see. So it's deducted whether I sign up for it or not."

Bossman: "Yep. Don't like it? Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

Me: "That's illegal."

Bossman: "No it ain't. Now get the fu-- off my property."

I decided to end it right there, as there is no point in arguing with a spoiled child. It's best to be the better man and walk off... Yeah, right!

Now for the ProRevenge:

It turns out that the Captain for the TX Dept. of Public Safety (Department of Transportation for you truck drivers, or state trooper for everyone else) of the precinct just happened to live about 4 houses down from the apartments that my fiancee lived. He just so happened to find an anonymous note on his windshield the next morning. The very next morning, there were 5 state troopers with all 15 of the company's trucks pulled over on the side of the highway right in front of the company, being thoroughly inspected (I was parked on the shoulder in my car across the highway watching it all unfold while sipping my coffee). Of the 15 trucks, 11 of them were shut down for safety violations. Thousands of dollars in fines were written and the Boss plus two other drivers were taken to jail for warrants. Boss also had an expired Commercial Driver's License (He was forced to drive since I didn't show up for work that morning).

As you can imagine, Bossman lost his job. I had moved to my fiancee's home town and got a job in the oilfield driving tanker trucks. I heard that Trainer got the Bossman's job. And everyone lived happily ever after. Well, maybe not Bossman, as he also popped positive on a drug test...

(source) story by (/u/SkidmarkSmellybum)