#like a horrifying (not so) fun house mirror

[life-of-liminality]

Coming to when you're experiencing a flashback and have that weird regression/ amnesia

Said to our reflection and to our then partner of 3 years who we did not recognise at all (this happened - twice)

[littleblackraincloudofcourse]

My thoughts on the lives and deaths of the House of Usher

Prospero - I almost feel sorry for Perry. His ideas weren't bad and unlike his siblings he was doing them himself. I also found it hilarious when he tried to fuck his brother wife. If nothing else that kid had confidence. Fredrick was dick to both of them anyway and she deserved to have fun. If you remove the blackmail and acid rain and that would have been one hell of a party.If Perry hadn't been planning to blackmail everyone he wouldn't have deserved his death. But his death was EXQUISITE. Everything about that scene was so perfect I can't find words to describe it. Everyone involved in creating that scene deserves an award

Camille - We actually got to know very little about her. Her whole story was about finding dirty on the others and managing crisis for the family. Even her death isn't shown. I think the point was that she never got to just be. She lived and died for others but never connected with anyone.

Napoleon - Leo was to me the closest to likable of any of the siblings. He clearly loved them and that may have been the only love he way capable of. He certainly didn't love his boyfriend or anyone he had/was having sex with. He treated people like objects. His death is tricky to categorize. On one side what he did to Pluto was horrifying and anyone who treats animals that way deserves the same fate. But he never actually did any of those things. It was all hallucinations and illusions first from drugs then Verna. He was stressed and grieving and kept finding dead animals everywhere. I would be ready to smash walls in that situation too. He definitely didn't need to be a pet owner but I think his death should have been less torturous

Victorine - I wrote this one last because it was my favorite Poe story growing up and she played it beautifully. That slow steady decent into madness I should have hated this character most of all. Those poor chimps and who knows what other innocent creatures she killed with experiments she knew wouldn't work. Even with her father constantly pushing for progress she should have stopped. Verna gave her so many chances, she wasn't even there when Vic killed her girlfriend or herself. She could have stopped at any point. Yes she still would have died but it could have been painless and less tragic. T'Nia Miller's performance was so good that I actually felt sad for her in that final scene. At least until I thought of the chimps again.

Tamerlane - Knock off Madeleine. Where her sisters hid and guarded their personalities she never had one. Her entire existence was for appearances (hence the ridiculous amount of mirrors). Even when she tries to show emotion she couldn't look at the person she was talking to. Her death might have seemed the most passive but it was shoot beautifully. It was also the only thing she actively accomplished on her own.

Fredrick - Fuck you Frodrick. When his siblings said he was just like their father they didn't even realize how right they were. He might have been worse. His poor wife deserved so much better. I genuinely enjoyed watching the pendulum swinging towards him as he was paralyzed beneath it. I only wish there was more than one so he could feel more pain. He was so much a piece of shit Verna enjoyed killing him. Everyone else got warnings, chances to walk away and have peaceful deaths But this asshole, she knew he didn't deserve one. He got exactly what he deserved. Lying in a puddle of his own piss waiting to die. Seriously fuck that guy

Lenore - This sweet brave girl was the only good the Ushers ever brought into the world. So pure and good even Verna mourned having to take her. I loved that she got to know how much good she put into the world and how many lives she saved. Even knowing from the beginning she would die, it was still heartbreaking to see. At least it was painless and instant

Madeleine - She was cold and selfish but she was also usually right. I respect that even when making a deal with the devil she still had standards. She at least made sure not to have children incase. There is a bit of irony in the fact she didn't want to spend her life serving a man then chaining her destiny to her brother. Gave of serious twincest vibes that I am glad where not explored. Her death seemed a fair balance for her past and mirroring her mother's death brought everything full circle. She fell with the house of Usher. Also sapphire is a good color for her.

Roderick - Without doubt the worst of them all. He knowingly killed millions with his drug. He destroyed any shred of humanity in his children. Possibly worst of all, he knew the damage he was causing and who would have to pay for it but he didn't even blink. Being mentally tortured by his dead children was not enough. He deserved the worst death of all. I understand the poetry of him dying the same way his father did but I wish he suffered more.

[johnwickb1tsch]

Sympathy for the Devil ~ Part 2

A Donaka Mark x housekeeper!Reader fic, based on @discoscoob 's concept & bot! Warnings: Donaka Mark is a bad man with a soft spot for you. dark romance, possessive behavior, red flag red flag girl!🔺, psychological games, power imbalance, eventual dubcon/nsfw.

one.

Two. 二

It’s a week later, when you see him again. 

It's out on the winding streets near his house, on your day off. You’re taking a jog, when he roars by in his white Lamborghini, so close to your side of the road that you feel the pull of the wind off the aerodynamic car. 

He’s enjoying the feeling of power and control behind the wheel, before he sees you, in your workout clothes and all sweaty in the muggy summer heat. He feels a spear of possessiveness rip through him, and ultimately it’s the reason he slams on the breaks, whipping in reverse back to you, the supercar growling in agreement with his mood. “It’s too hot out here. You should use the gym in the house,” he tells you rather tersely. 

The only gym you know of in the house is his personal workout space–you hadn’t dreamed it could be used by the staff, hadn’t even thought to ask. When you just look back at him with owlish eyes, catching your breath with hands on your hips, he adds with annoyance, “And the roads are too narrow, people drive like maniacs. Someone might hit you.”

This is where you grin, flashing him an insouciant smile, but managing to keep your commentary on his own driving to yourself. “Thank you, Sir…” you pant. “But I like being outside.” There’s no better way to get to know a place, than looking at it while on foot. You love the lush streets of this neighborhood, the towering trees and greenery, the shining blue sea in the distance. It's way more interesting than running like a hamster on a treadmill.

Donaka, however, is not amused. He finds he hates the thought of other men seeing you running around in those tight clothes, looking so…edible...and sweaty. Your defiance only fuels his desire to exert his will over you. “It’s too dangerous,” he insists in a firm, authoritarian tone.

Maybe because it’s your day off, you feel braver than usual, but you just lift your eyebrows at him and smile. “It’s fine.” 

“I’ll give you a ride back. Get in.” 

The thought of putting your sweaty behind in your boss’s $500,000 car–even if it is ugly to boot–literally horrifies you. 

“I don't want to get your nice car dirty. I'll be home soon."

You finger wave, and jog off, hoping that will be the end of the exchange. 

With narrowed eyes he glares at your receding form in his rearview mirror. It’s the first time you’ve really defied him, and as annoyed as he is, he finds himself semi-hard from this interaction. He resists the urge to run you down and make you obey him. The thought actually makes him shudder to himself. 

He’d known you were going to be fun, but he hadn’t anticipated just how much.

He lives for the challenge of breaking the strong, and corrupting the innocent. It was looking like you were both those things, and by his reckoning–your days of independence were numbered. Soon…you would be his docile little pet, curled up at his feet.

[lostwriter--xx3]

Lily

@prongsfoot-microfic

Dedicated to the lovely @shivstar and my own dear Prongs @rosemelodyshah

-------

"And, who's the first?"

It was a casual question, and Lily knew the answer. She turned away with the dish.

Thus, she missed James' sheepish face as he replied, "Sirius."

Lily stopped, her slipper halfway across the tile. She locked eyes with James in the mirror above the basin. "Sirius?"

"Yeah", James sipped his black coffee, glancing at Sirius beside him. He hid a smile behind his own cup.

Lily looked away from the mirror and bent to the basin, washing away the pie crumbs on the plate. "I hadn't expected that. I didn't know you..."

"Could bake?" Sirius smiled. "I can't. But Prongsie was craving apple pie. I snuck into the kitchen and stole what I thought were the ingredients." He laughed, rippling and blue. "Guess what they were?"

"Eggs, flour and apples." James was laughing too. "He mashed and baked it in an open fire...in a cauldron."

Lily smiled weakly, privately horrified. "And that got first place? Better than your mom?" Or me?

"It had Paddy's touch." Jame nudged him with his shoulder affectionately. "He could serve up spaghetti with fish sauce and it would be the baar spaghetti I've ever had."

Lily saw Sirius blush in the mirror. She bent to the cabinet under the sink with last night's leftovers. Some spaghetti was left at the bottom. She dumped it out and washed it.

"I couldn't get a cookbook", Sirius said apologetically.

"That made it special." James shrugged, slinging an arm over his shoulder as he reached over to take his plate. He came to the sink and put it down, smiling at Lily. Lily smiled back, tightly.

"Did you actually eat the apple contraption?"

"I couldn't hurt his feelings", he winked at Sirius over his shoulder, who made a face.

"You guys are so sweet, like an old married couple!" Lily exclaimed, dumping out the leftover pie in the dustbin.

Sirius grinned. "We are."

"Besides, he did all that. He literally stole the ingredients under the Head Elf's watch. And snuck into the Potions classroom. Of course I loved it. Of course I love him." James had left Lily's side, and was chokehold-hugging Sirius from behind the chair.

I got up at 5 today.

"You really need to stop embarrassing me in front of your wife." Sirius wrapped an arm around him fondly.

"James, can you stay in and help remove this mirror?" Lily called out. "It'd look better in the sitting room."

"Tomorrow, dear. I and Paddy have plans today."

Lily slammed down the dish. "Have fun. I need go write a letter."

She left the room. James didn't really notice.

In their bedroom, she found the writing desk. The pad was empty, the ink was at its dregs. James had gone through all the pages writing long, detailed letters to Sirius about every mundane household thing. Lily had seen the replies. Sirius had specifically responded to ever single thing James had gushed about. How sweet. How thoughtful.

There was an unsealed envelope beside the pad. It was the letter James had written last night, planned to post today, before Sirius payed a surprise and definitely unauthorised visit to him. Lily hesitated, then pulled out and unfolded the letter.

Dear Sirius,

I miss you. How I miss you! I sit down for breakfast, lunch, supper (I'm never at home for dinner these days, always some fad at the Order) and I'm always staring out the window at the front wall of the house (have I told you about the new curtains? They are grey with polka dots. Lily didn't like them very much but I insisted on them, they look just like your eyes) hoping you will appear. I'm rambling, of course. I'm not in my right mind, I feel crazy without you. I wish you would come live with us. The guest room isn't ready yet, but we could curl up on the floor with the sleeping bags (the ones we got for Quidditch final in 7th Year) and watch the stars. The window faces the backyard, y'know. It's beautiful. Lily can take the bedroom.

No, honestly, I'm happy with Lily. It feels like a constant adrenaline rush. I finally won her over! But I miss you. I wish you'd visit. I need to feel your arm around my shoulder, I need to hear you laugh, I need to feel your knuckles under my thumb. I need you, love. I wish you'd come. I miss you like a limb. You're always the first thing on my mind when I wake up and my last waking thought before I sleep. Sometimes, I even dream of you (crazy, I know). I hold a pillow pretending its you and that I'm back in the dorm and it's Fifth Year and everything is fine. I wish I could feel that safety again. I can't tell Lily, but I'm so scared, Sirius. I'm scared of dying. I'm scared that one day I will die in a solo mission and I won't see you again. I wish I hadn't joined the Order. Of course, I want to fight. But sometimes, when I think of you and me and how we used to joke about sharing a red-bricked house with a picket fence with a swing in a kitchen garden, I can't help but be selfish. Are ideals worth more than you? I don't know, I honestly don't know...

Well, I'm all out of paper. Seems like writing letters to you is all I do nowadays. Dumbledore is pressuring me to spend more time with Lily. I love her, but I need some space too. He keeps insisting on knowing when we are having kids. It's so odd and uncomfortable, how is it any of his business? And I don't want kids. Who has kids in war? Lily wants a daughter. I want a damn cat and you. I'm starting to detest Order meetings because of all these wrangles now. But I'll always attend them. I get to see you. I'd attend a conference in hell (that's what the meetings are these days) to see you. Don't forget me in your roomie bliss with Peter, okay? I love you.

Always,

Your James.

Lily put back the letter and fetched a new pad of paper from the shelf. She looked at the dregs of the ink. It would be enough. She sat down to write.

Dear Sev—

Lily got up and put on a jacket. She had to go out and buy some ink. She would need it.

[madnessformunson]

she’s all i wanna be

Summary: you are insecure in your relationship with Eddie

Warnings: reader has a negative body image, mean girl behavior, bullying

I have no idea why the formatting is so weird lol

Your relationship with Eddie was new. It was fun and exciting but also scary. You had never had feelings like this for anyone before. He always made time for you, recently skipping D&D or cutting band practice short so he could squeeze in more time to spend with you. Because Eddie’s world was newly revolving around your every move, his friends were getting annoyed with you and your constant presence.

You walk into the cafeteria and sit at your usual spot at the Hellfire table. You didn’t know if you should without Eddie, but he had to meet with Miss Click about his last test grade. He assured you that the boys would love to have you sit with them.

You quietly sit and greet them with a weak smile and wave.

“Oh hey y/n, where is Eddie? Gareth questioned.

“He had to meet with Miss Click to go over his last exam, hope you don’t mind me sitting here” you said as you unpacked the contents of your lunchbox.

“And you aren’t waiting outside the classroom for him to be done” Jeff let out with a weak laugh.

Your face flushed because you had actually thought of doing that.

“I don’t get how he isn’t completely tired of you always hanging around him and pulling him away from what he loves. It’s so confusing since just a few months ago he couldn’t shut up about his crush on Chrissy, and now he’s with you instead” Mike said cruelly.

Your face was still red hot and you were fighting back the tears in your eyes.

“I guess he just settled for the off brand Chrissy” Jeff said with a laugh, as the rest of the boys chucked with him.

You quickly stood up and grabbed your belongings not able to listen anymore.

“Hey, we were just joking with you!” Mike called out and you ran out.

You left the school down an old trail you and Eddie frequently took when you just needed to get away. You headed to the rusted bench to take a minute to yourself when you heard Eddie’s laugh. You peer through the bushes only to see Eddie dramatically falling onto the ground in front of the one and only Chrissy Cunningham.

She was definitely flirting with him, twisting her perfect blonde hair as she asked him about Corroded Coffin. You saw enough, taking off to head in the direction of your house.

On your way home you couldn’t help but think negatively of yourself. She was definitely prettier than you. She had a smaller waist, long blonde hair and came from money. You didn’t have anything like that to offer, you’d probably choose her too.

As you walked past the drug store, you had a moment of thinking “maybe I can look like her” as you wondered in looking for some hair dye. You decided on a box of bleach, thinking that adding some highlights could maybe help your look.

As soon as you got home you rushed to the bathroom and locked the door behind you. You pull out the instructions and read them over 3 times to ensure you know what you are doing. You decided you were ready, you started to mix the chemicals that smelt so strong you were sure you’d get high from the fumes. As neatly as you could you applied the paste to your hair and let it be for 45 minutes. You rinse the chemical off, throwing your hair up in a towel on your head as you wipe the fog off the mirror.

Then you were horrified. Once you pulled the towel off all you could feel was instant regret. Your roots were white blonde while other pieces were bright orange and another section still your original color. You were panicking trying to figure out your next move when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Hey y/n dad said dinner is ready” your little sister, El informed you.

You muttered some profanities before saying, “tell him I’m not hungry!”

You suddenly hear heavy footsteps approaching the bathroom door.

“None of that y/n, come on we are eating dinner” Hopper insisted.

“Sorry I can’t” you blurt out.

“Excuse me? You can’t? Open this door right now y/n”

You knew you couldn’t win. You slowly opened the door to reveal the mess you were currently dealing with.

“What the hell y/n” Hopper said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I know it looks really bad -“ you start

“Really bad is an understatement” El cuts you off with a giggle. You give her a death stare and she runs down the hallway.

“I can call Joyce tomorrow to see if she can come help you fix it after school,” Hopper said, rubbing his face with his hand.

“After school?! Dad no way that’s too long”

“She’s at work y/n, you’ll just have to wear a hat or something” he says as he lets out a laugh.

You continue just to give him an annoyed glare.

The next morning you tuck all of your hair into a beanie, then place the hood of your sweatshirt over top to further disguise yourself.

As you make your way downstairs for school, your father sees you and chuckles.

“I don’t know why you think this is funny” you say as you pour your bowl of cereal.

“This is one of those moments I will never let you forget,” he replies.

You just have to get through today, stay low and avoid Eddie that all you have to do. Standing at your locker you grab the books you need as you notice Eddie approaching you with a smile and wave. You took off to your class taking your seat and opening your book up as quickly as possible to bury your head in.

“Hey y/n I tried to call you last night but you didn’t answer” Eddie said as he took his seat behind you, chains hitting onto the desk.

“I was busy” you reply coldly.

“Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?” He said leaning forward.

Thankfully the bell rang and Miss Click walked in already telling everyone to quiet down.

“Ok class today I want you to turn to page 110- yes Miss Cunningham?” Miss Click said as Chrissy raised her hand.

“I just was thinking I’m pretty sure it’s against the dress code to wear hats inside and I just don’t think it would be fair if certain people were an exception to the rules”

“Why yes that is a rule, Miss Hopper you need to remove your hood”

Your heart sunk and your face instantly got red. You sat there like a statue for a minute trying to decide what to do.

“Miss Hopper if you don’t remove the hood this instant I will have to send you to the principal's office to call you father.”

You slowly pull the hood back and stare at Miss Click.

“The beanie too dear” Miss Click said.

As you pull it off your head you can hear the whole room gasp followed by laughter.

“Oh my” is all Miss Click could get out before you grabbed your books and bolted out of the room. You faintly heard Eddie calling your name but you didn’t turn back, you headed straight home with tears running down your face.

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

I want to tell you about the Flash arc ever: Rogue War.

We start off in the first issue with a totally normal premise. Zoom had escaped jail and was having a romantic fling with Cheetah. The two of them were running around killing people for fun. So naturally Wally and Diana teamed up to stop this horrifying turn of events. Oh and they're also trying to stop the murders as well. Diana was blind for unrelated reasons and she lassoed Wally so that he could act as her seeing eye dog. It's all very normal.

Anyway, so Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang were all doing in-depth research on the Flash family tree. Boy, can I relate to that. Mirror Master hauled in the Turtle for the crime of being... around? I guess? And Weather Wizard found a note tapped to their door inviting the Rogues to a Rogues fight.

In the next issue the Rogues broke the Trickster out of jail and then they tried to hunt down the corpse of the previous Captain Boomerang. It didn't go so well.

Hartley showed up and kidnapped Zoom's wife which was an ABSOLUTELY BALLSY THING TO DO MY GUY. Speaking of kidnappings, Zoom kidnapped Jay because he wanted Jay to build him a cosmic treadmill.

Then we get our Rogue fight. Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, Captain Boomerang and the new Trickster vs Wally's best friend (Pied Piper), Wally's childhood best friend (Magenta), Heat Wave and the old Trickster. Someone start blasting the John Cena wrestling music because I associate that with massive showdowns and this is one for the century!

But what exactly was the titular character The Flash doing during all of this, I hear you ask. Well. Wally and Linda spent this issue in the doctor's office running tests and finding out that they couldn't have children. It's all very depressing and we're going to move past it because I won't do the scene justice.

Anyway, so the Rogues were fighting each other and we find out that Hartley's team was working for the FBI. They weren't the ones who had sent the Rogues the note inviting them to a Rogue fight. No, they were just a random, convenient grouping of Rogues who happened to have a bone to pick.

Cut to issue three and Wally was at work. He heard on the news that there's trouble going on so naturally he suits up and heads out. He arrived, in the middle of the Rogue fight, and he had no fucking clue what was happening because there were about nine Rogues duking it out in the middle of the street for no reason.

Now there are three teams. The og Rogues, who want to quell the Rogue uprising and find the previous Captain Boomerang's corpse. The FBI Rogues, who have the previous Captain Boomerang's corpse and don't want to give it up for FBI reasons. And Wally, who would really like them to stop breaking skyscrapers please and thank you.

So they're all fighting and causing just an insane amount of damage to the city when all of sudden the Top shows up out of nowhere and is all "Aha! Rogue fight!!" and suddenly there were four teams in this fight. And that's not all! Turns out the Top was the one who left the note and he had his own Rogue team at his beck and call. Girder, Murmur, Plunder, Tar Pit and Double Down now enter the fight.

There were FOURTEEN Rogues all trying to murder each other and Wally was left scrambling to make sure that they a) don't kill each other, b) don't kill him, and c) don't kill any civilians. Wally did knock out Hartley at one point and then Wally brought him back to his house to crash on his couch which was very cash money of him. Wally was like "go sleep off your bad decisions and we'll talk about this over breakfast ❤️"

But yeah, Wally was straight up not having a good time. Captain Cold killed the Top and shattered bits of his body everywhere, fires were raging because Heat Wave decided to go nuts, both Tricksters were battling it out mid air with acid bombs, ect, ect.

While this is all going on, Zoom's wife found Captain Boomerang's body and he was very much a zombie. The FBI wanted a zombie Captain Boomerang for... reasons, I guess? Cap begged for death so Zoom's wife let him die. Terrible timing though because right when he died the new Captain Boomerang barged into the room. See, the new Captain Boomerang was the previous Boomerang's son and he wasn't happy to see what he thought was a random lady killing his father.

So he threatened to kill Zoom's wife.

Not a great idea.

Zoom showed up and took his wife somewhere safe. That safe place was Wally's living room because it's fucking Zoom and he does whatever he wants.

And now we have five teams. The OG Rogues, the FBI Rogues, Top's Rogues, Wally and Zoom. Why was Zoom on his own team? Why wasn't he fighting with a Rogue group? Well, before Zoom was Zoom, he was an FBI analyst who specialized in the Rogues. He hated them with every fiber of his being. Zoom's main goal was to make Wally suffer but killing a bunch of Rogues was irresistible to him. Plus, they threatened his wife.

This was apparently too easy for Wally though. I mean, fourteen Rogues and Zoom at the same time? Pfft. Come on. So naturally Captain Cold called in Dr. Alchemy to distract Wally. Dr. Alchemy apparently thought 'distract' meant 'brutally beat him' because, by god, the man did not go light on the already extremely beat up and tired speedster.

But that's not enough. No, Cold was like "This is still too easy. Call in the big guns." So they brought out Grodd.

16 Rogues and Zoom versus a man who was bleeding out on the floor. Super awesome and fair fight. You love to see it.

Bart ran in at this point and was all "you never invite me to anything fun, Wally". Because Jay's missing and Wally's at deaths door and Bart learned from Wally that you hide your emotions under a layer of sarcasm at all times. Wally genuinely thanked him for the help and, at the realization that this was so serious that they were abandoning snark, Bart responded with a genuine "you're welcome". In one of my favorite blink-and-you'll-miss-it scenes, Bart and Wally stood back to back, surrounded by Rogues, prepared to make their last stand.

Then Zoom swooped in and killed a few. Zoom said his iconic line "I don't give a shit about the Rogue stuff. This is a speedster fight now." (I'm paraphrasing) Zoom grabbed Bart and threatened to snap his neck. Bart said his iconic line "Do it. You won't." (I'm paraphrasing but not as much as you'd think). Zoom then said his iconic line of "SPKFDVL" (not paraphrasing)

At this point Zoom decided that 16 Rogues and himself was WAY too easy for Wally. So naturally he invited Eobard Thawne to the party. Eobard showed up to the fight fashionably late on a cosmic treadmill. One that had Jay chained to the hood like a dead deer.

We still have two issues left people, so buckle up because it doesn't get less insane from here on out.

The Rogues actually had pretty good survival instincts so they took Zoom's whole "speedster fight" thing to heart and they bailed. They got out of there like rats abandoning a burning building.

Wally then showed the world how smart he was and managed to free Bart and Jay. Wally then showed the world how dumb he was and fought Eobard and Hunter on the cosmic treadmill. They then started time traveling with about as much control and finesse as a drunk driver in a snow storm.

They did a hit and run somewhere in the time stream. Poor Captain Boomerang. He got knocked into the arms of Meloni Thawne in the far off future. (And that's how Bart's brother Owen was born)

Hunter's whole plan here was to take Wally back in time to force him to watch Hunter's previous vicious attack on Wally's then pregnant wife, Linda. This attack was devastating as Hunter's attack caused Linda to miscarry the couple's unborn twins. Hunter wanted to make Wally suffer because Hunter thought tragedy would make Wally a better hero.

Eobard's just there cause he likes fucking with people.

So the two of them hold Wally down to make him watch the worst moment of his life when BARRY FUCKING ALLEN SHOWS UP.

You know. The man who has been dead for years.

You see, Barry was also time traveling because of course he was, he's Barry Allen. While Barry didn't have a single clue about what was happening, Barry saw an adult Wally getting beat up and the man went into a rage. That's his KID goddammit.

Barry did his whole best dad thing and gave Wally a pep talk. Wally, for his part, was pretty chill about time traveling Barry because honestly time traveling Barry showing up wasn't really as uncommon of an occurrence as you would think. Barry then dragged Eobard back in time to kill him (not joking).

Okay we're in the end game now.

Wally kicked the shit out of Hunter and threw him in front Linda, shielding her from Hunter's attack. Hunter flipped out and tried to operate the cosmic treadmill but he fucked up and hurled himself through time. Skill issue.

Wally time traveled back to the present where him, Bart and Jay yelled insults at the retreating Rogues because the Rogues were holding them at Turtle point.

The three made a mad dash to the hospital when they heard news that Linda was Not. Okay. Linda went from not pregnant to nine months pregnant in the span of a second because Wally fucked with time. Linda was in labor and EVERYONE WAS FREAKING OUT.

And that's the story of how the West twins were born.

The End.

[sgminkiss]

i've been writing a seungmin fic but i'm struggling to find the motivation to finish it so i'm just going to post what i have please give me your thoughts and/or advice and i might finish it and post the whole fic!

“minnie?” you called into the empty house. the space was quieter than usual. you expected to see your boyfriend watching a sport you didn't understand on the tv, but you were met by darkness instead.

when you turned to walk up the stairs, you heard soft music playing from inside your shared bedroom “seung?” you called, trying your best to be heard over the music. you pressed your hand to the door, watching it swing open, your mouth dropped open when you saw what was waiting for you in your bed.

the sight was beautiful. golden light poured from the large windows, and your boyfriend was sprawled over the white bedspread you had recently washed. seungmin gasped when he saw you, horrified as he realized what you had walked in on.

kim seungmin was wearing dog ears.

this wasn’t something you’d expect from seungmin. he presented himself so conventionally, never asking for something kinkier than a pretty silk rope for his slim wrists, only pushing himself when you wanted something more. he liked to keep it vanilla, or so you thought.

“b-babe.” his hand released his cock. you hadn’t even noticed him touching it; you were too distracted by his pretty, brown puppy ear hair clips.

“seungmin.” you let out a little laugh as you invited yourself inside the room.

“please pretend this never happened,” he started, “like you never saw it. please?”

“why would I do that?" chuckling louder this time. his face flushed a pretty rose color. once he noticed your staring, he tossed a pillow in your direction, covered himself with the now soiled sheets, and reached across himself to turn off the speaker. he saw himself in the long mirror you had hanging on the bedroom wall, pulling the clips out of his matching brown hair.

“don’t take them out," you frowned and walked further into the room, stepping over the discarded pillow, sliding into bed with him, and tugging at the sheets. "you look so cute, puppy.”

“don’t say that.” he huffed as he pulled the bundled sheets out of your hands.

“did I upset you?” you hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable. it’s okay for him to have his private interests, but you thought it would be fun to explore together.

“no,” he scowled, “it’s just embarrassing."

“seungmin.”

“what?” he looked up at you, his eyes glossy, the personification of shame.

“if you didn’t want me to find out, then why do it here?” you smiled. “i mean, i come home at the same time every day. you couldn’t have lost track of time; we both know how impatient you are.” seungmin continued to stare at you.

“that’s..” he started.

“are you sure you don’t want me to call you puppy?” you reached out your hand to tuck his sweaty, brown hair behind his ears. “puppy?” you whispered when he stood silent.

“please...”

“don’t be shy.” you reach for the dog ears, abandoned at the end of the bed. after combing through his messy hair with your fingers, you clip them where you thought they looked prettiest. you slid your hand down his face and cupped his jaw. he nuzzled into your hand and moaned, “m-mommy..”

“oh. that's new.” you laughed

“stop laughing at me.” he furrowed his brows and looked down at his covered crotch. he tilted his head back up to look at you when you spoke.

“you’re too cute, i can’t help it.” you giggled. you then pulled the covers off his lap. he let out a sigh when he felt the cold air hit his twitching cock. you ran your hands under his shirt and swiftly pulled it over his head, careful not to yank his ears.

“beautiful boy,” you leaned in to kiss his pink lips. seungmin was struggling to keep his hands to himself. it was hot. he missed you so much. he wanted this sooo bad. what was he supposed to do?

“relax seung,” you mumbled, removing his hand from your boob for the third time grinning, “or do you want me to tie you up?”

“n-no!” he shook his head, his cute little ears wiggled back and forth, “please, i’ll be so good. i promise i will. i'm always so good.” he was rambling, holding your hands, and visibly sweating. 

seungmin hadn’t had much experience, sex never being a priority for him. things changed after he met you. he found himself craving you when he didn't have you, and never having enough of you once he finally got you. suddenly, sex was high on his list of priorities. he took pride in the way you reacted to his body, the things he said, his dick even. so, why not put on a show for you?

you went back to kissing him, leaning over him and swinging your leg over his. now sitting on his thighs, you grab at his angry, red cock. he moans and you start slowly stroking him, squeezing lightly at the tip and running your thumb over the precum slicked head.

he pulled away from your mouth gasping for air and throwing his head back against the headboard with a loud moan, “oh god. please don’t stop mommy. it feels so good.. i need your mouth mama please?” 

“only since you’re being so polite.” you grinned, running your hands across his smooth skin, squeezing his hips, and scooting down to lay between his slender legs.

he raked his hand through your hair when you finally put your mouth on him. 

“oh oh oh..” he repeated breathlessly.

you drew your mouth off him to kiss his thighs, pulling at his cock with one hand and pinning his trembling legs to the mattress with the other.

“i need to be inside you.. mama please? now please..” you ignore him and start leaving little bites on his legs. he whines loudly and pushes your head away from him.

“i thought you promised to be good?” you looked at him arrogantly, seungmin felt so embarrassed.. so stupid.

“..im sorry. please are you mad? im sorry” his eyes welled with tears

“i could never be mad at you, love. please don’t cry, i hate when you cry, baby.” you wiped his cheeks and kissed him again. he sighed into the kiss as you pet him like a dog. 

“you want mommy’s pussy, pup?” you said once you finally pulled away.

“yes yes yes” he was panting 

[greymoonfeelings]

flufftober day 1: wearing each other’s clothes

pairing: Jake Seresin x Fem!reader

word count: 1k

warnings: suggestive comment

scroll for a surprise!

•••

“Babe, where are the costumes for the party tonight?”

Jake saunters out of the steamy bathroom, a white towel tied around his waist. He finds you stretched out on your queen size bed, casually scrolling through your phone. It takes him by surprise, he thought you’d be getting ready.

“What are you talking about?” You shift your gaze to him, clueless as to what he was referring to.

“The Halloween party tonight?”

You shake your head, it doesn’t ring a bell. You’re sure you would have remembered needing costumes for a Halloween party and when you checked the calendar this morning there was nothing noted.

“Rooster’s been talking about it for weeks. It’s his first party at his new house. He said we all have to dress up or we owe him $40.”

“It looks like you better pull out your wallet.”

“It looks like you better pull out your wallet.”

“Damn, I swore I wrote it on the calendar.”

Jake leaves the room, heading into the kitchen to double-check. His forehead slumps against the wall when he sees the empty square on the calendar.

“Don’t you have spare cat ears or anything?” He hollers from the kitchen.

“Why would I have cat ears laying around?”

“I don’t know! You collect all sorts of weird stuff!”

“Unfortunately, cat ears aren’t one of them.”

Jake reappears, flopping onto the bed beside you with a loud groan.

“I really don’t want to be in debt to that man.”

You rack your brain trying to come up with a solution. A simple one comes to mind. “I have an idea, but I’m not sure you’re going to like it…”

An hour later you’re standing next to your boyfriend, putting the final touches on his look before stepping back to examine your work.

“I truly am an artist,” you beam, admiring the crisp winged eyeliner you’d drawn.

“Oh my god.” Jake looks in the mirror horrified. “I look like my sister.”

“Wait.” You scurry out of the bathroom to find the perfect item to complete his costume.

You return with a neon pink wig in your hands. You stand on your tiptoes, gently placing it over Jake’s short blond hair.

“Now you look like your sister.” You giggle at the grimace that flashes across Jake’s face.

“So you have a wig laying around but no cat ears?”

“Jess made us wear wigs for her bachelorette party.” You shrug. “Just be glad I didn’t pick the highlighter yellow one.”

“This is ridiculous.” Jake pulls at the black rayon top that stretches against his chest. On his hulking form it fits like a crop top and he looks like he just raided a teenage girl’s closet.

“I don’t know, I think it’s kinda hot.” You lick your lips, trailing a hand down your boyfriend’s toned abs.

His eyebrows furrow as he watches your reflection in the mirror. “Really? This is turning you on?”

“Minus the wig, you look like lava girl.”

“Well, what are you gonna wear?”

“Only the best of Jake Seresin attire. Denim on denim and your big ol’ cowboy hat.”

Jake trails behind you into the bedroom. You rifle through the closet to find his jean jacket and pluck his tan cowboy hat off the top shelf.

“See, now we both look silly.” You motion to the way the denim jacket hangs off your body.

Even though Jake was sour about his costume, he couldn’t help but smile at you. Seeing you in his things made his heart skip.

“You’ve never looked more beautiful, honey.” He pecks you on the lips, the bangs of his wig tickling your forehead.

“Maybe we should stay home instead.” Jake looks at you suggestively. “I could leave the crop top on.”

“As tempting as that sounds, we should go to the party. You did say it was really important to Rooster.”

Jake groans, annoyed with himself for commenting earlier.

“Cheer up, Princess.” You lovingly pinch Jake’s cheek, causing him to roll his eyes.

“You gonna make fun of me all night?”

“I think I’ll let your friends do that for me.”

You knew his friends well enough to know they’d get a kick out of seeing Jake all dolled up. He could be a real egotistical asshole, but seeing him like this would surely knock him down a few pegs.

———

Rooster opens the front door to his new house, whistling at the sight before him. Jake pushes into the house with a grumble, bumping against Rooster in the process. You walk in behind your boyfriend, rolling your eyes at his dramatics.

“What’s wrong with strawberry shortcake?”

“He’s embarrassed.”

You can hear the laughter coming from the other room, no doubt it was at the expense of Jake and his costume. Rooster gratefully takes the case of beer from your arms before leading you to the rest of the guests.

“Looking good Hangman!”

“Give us a twirl!” Fanboy insists and everyone cheers in favor.

Jake begrudgingly turns around, giving everyone a full view of his ridiculous costume.

“You’d look a lot prettier if you smiled more.” Phoenix antagonizes him further with the usual comments that women get.

“Oh, c’mon guys, he’s already in a bad mood, don’t make it worse.” You come to your boyfriend’s rescue with a drink in hand.

“Was this your idea?” Coyote asks. “It’s one of your better ones.”

“Well if someone had given me more than two hours notice, I may have been able to get us actual costumes.”

“I like strawberry shortcake and cowgirl barbie.”

“Agreed. You’re looking mighty fine in that cowboy hat, girl.”

“Thank you, partner.” You tip your borrowed hat in Phoenix’s direction.

“I don’t sound like that.” Jake grumbles.

“Sure you do, sugar.” You continue with the fake southern accent. “Now who thinks they can out-drink me, the greatest pilot the US Navy has ever seen?“

As the night progresses, Jake’s bad mood disappears and he fully leans into pretending to be you. He starts mimicking your personality and becomes the night's main entertainment, dancing on top of tables like a sorority girl and singing Mariah Carey at full volume. You’ve seen him let loose before when drunk but never to this degree. It’s nice to see him having so much fun even if you’ll be the one babying him tomorrow morning when his hangover hits.

[permanently-stressed]

Give me Biana hcss plz!!!!! literally anything, hobbies, random tics, habits, specific little things likes, dislikes, I love her and I need more from her

also I'm sry but I ship Tiana so maybe no ship related stuff? trying to be polite I swear but typing always comes across so crude I'm sorry!!!!!

I love ur blog thoooo <3

don't worry i got you 🫶🏻

So I'm gonna section these into Canon Abiding and Human AU, because I have a lot of headcanons about Human!Biana

Canon Abiding:

She has quite a bit of a temper when she's completely comfortable with someone.

Losing friendships is what takes the biggest toll on her emotionally, she was very uneasy when Maruca felt neglected

Because really, it wasn't a perfect friendship. They didn't have much in common. They were mostly friends because Alden wanted to be closer to Wylie's family.

She wears jewelry often because she likes to fidget with it.

She's very skilled with making only parts of herself vanish, but she's still figuring out how to only make her body disappear and only leave the clothes (like Wraith)

She uses her old bows to make Lady Sassyfur, her Emotional Support Stuffed Animal, even more adorable

Spends a lot of her alone time invisible, to make it seem like she's in control of something

Sophie, Dex, and her have this little trio where all of them count each other as their 'best friend' (but Sophie and Dex also count Keefe, too)

Her favorite dresses are all yellow or pink.

She looks at herself in the mirror twice, one to check for imperfections, another to think 'wow, i look good'

She has had to drag herself out of ruts in the past, but that's not a side of her she's willing to show to anyone yet.

Human AU Biana:

She did ballet from 7yo to 14yo

She picked up ice skating after that.

Christmas is her season. She decorates, she gives out gifts, the music is always on, she thrives.

Listens to Noah Kahan, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and any 70/80s hits.

Her phone memory is always full because she takes pictures of her pets 24/7

Got really into coffee at some point and people prefer to have coffee at her house than anywhere else

She plans trips with her friends and actually goes on them. Masters in Art History? No. Masters in Fun.

Major fashion history fan. If she hears "but corsets were so restricting" one more time she is going to scream.

Her shoe game is impeccable but she's running out of space in her closet for them.

She does really light make up most of the time, but when she wants an extra boost of confidence she'll do something special with eyeshadow

Has 110 Pinterest boards. No, she's not kidding. No, it's not a hyperbole. She has 110 Pinterest boards.

She only has 7 different playlists tho. Sophie, with her 143 playlist, is horrified.

Graduated both high school and college with a 4.0.

and yeah! That's all I have now! Thanks for the ask!!

[avvail-whumps]

‘guns for hire’ — end of the line #21

previous · masterlist · next

content warnings: multiple whumpers, intimate whumper, non-con touching (not sexual), fever, denied medicine, denied food, untreated past injuries, vomiting, manhandling, suicidal ideation, knife violence, blood, strangulation, near death experience, gun violence, minor gore, somewhat stockholm syndrome, character death

Leo supposed he got one moment of somewhat peace during Roy’s absence. 

It had been one time when they’d cuffed him to a metal pipe outside and left him there after Bran had had his fun. The night was already creeping in, dark clouds emerging in the sky, and the rumbling of thunder erupted in a deep tone. 

He’d long abandoned the idea of pulling his arm out of the cuff. It had only achieved raw skin and pain whenever he would shift positions. Instead, he pulled his knees to his chest, and sat there for the night. The wind whistled by his ears, biting into his skin, but he found he couldn’t care much. The rain began pelting down once it was dark enough, and the damp water soaked into his clothes uncomfortably. Still, Leo was completely alone with his thoughts. 

Listening to the natural sound of nature after so long being tossed and dragged around, barely conscious in Roy’s home, was refreshing. Even though he was soaked down to his bones, Leo could stare off into the distance and let the rain numb the swollen injuries on his face and ribs. 

He must have been forgotten about. The sun was already high in the sky, and Leo was running on restless, minimal hours of sleep. His back ached, and his head was throbbing with an intense pain. 

It was Joey that eventually came to get him, unlocking his cuff and granting his stiff limbs a moment to stretch. He hissed as he helped him onto his feet, tugging him back into the house. Nobody was on the first floor, so Leo was able to force some food down into his stomach to stop the trembling that had picked up in his hands. It didn’t take long until he was throwing the little snack up again, face flushed with an awful fever. 

He spent most of his sickness unconscious. The only times he awoke was when Bran was bored, seemingly unbothered about his current lethargic status. But that was nothing new. Leo was out by three blows, and woke up still in a tangled, bloody heap on the ground. 

Leo wished he had the strength to finish himself off. He thought about stealing a gun, but he couldn’t even find the strength to hold onto any relatively weighty objects by himself. He was being kept on the brink of death through his relentless injuries and lack of medicine, food and water, but not enough to send him teetering over the edge. That was torture enough in of itself. 

He caught a glimpse of himself one time in the mirror. 

He was almost horrified by the person that stared back, nearly unrecognisable. It had made him almost crumble into tears, but he was too exhausted to even do that. 

Leo thought a lot about his father when he was alone. He wondered if he was safe, after Roy’s ominous warning and exposing those candid photographs of him. There was a lot Leo wanted to say to his father, and he feared he might never get to utter them again.

Maybe the police had stopped their search. Perhaps they’d closed his case upon being unable to find any sufficient evidence as to where he was. Leo wondered what his father was thinking. It ached in his core to think what his father might be like after losing both his wife, and his son. Maybe his mother had resurfaced again at the realisation that Leo was missing. Maybe they had reunited to share in their grief, though he found that thought quite impossible. 

Leo was struggling to close his window, when the sound of the door clattering open broke him out of his daze. A gasp tore from his throat as he saw Finger in the doorway, beer in hand, eyes a little unfocused. His lips were curved into a smug, weak smirk, staggering inside with a low whistle. 

“Fuck, man,” he sucked in through his teeth. His words were slurred. Leo could tell he was drunk. “Glad you’re in here.” 

Leo froze, his eyes widening in fear. He tried to take a step backwards, but the man launched forward, fingers twisting into his shirt. It tightened along his throat, and a pained gasp caught in his throat. The beer can clattered to the ground, the pungent liquid seeping out onto the floorboards. He could smell it wafting off the mercenary, and he knew this wasn’t the first can he’d had. 

“You’re getting kinda boring, you know,” he huffed, unfocused eyes dancing across his face. “I mean, I can only carve up something enough times before it starts to piss me off.” 

Leo tried to pull away, but the fingerless man jerked him forward. It made his head throb in excruciating nausea from the sudden movement, and his stomach sank at the various black spots that began guarding the edge of his vision. There was a heated anger in those hooded eyes that scared Leo. Scared him more than usual, like this horrible dread trying to tell him he needed to get out of there. 

Finger yanked out a knife from his belt, and Leo let out a quiet whimper. 

“Boring,” the man drawled, sniffing. “Make some real noise.” 

A hard pressure stabbed into his side, and Leo lurched forward as the knife settled into his flesh. The air was pushed out of his lungs, choked gasp tightening in his throat. Finger yanked it out with a scowl, and Leo couldn’t hold himself up anymore. He smacked onto the ground when the fingerless man shoved him, stars popping in his vision when the already bruised back of his skull hit the floor. 

The man was on him in seconds. 

Leo didn’t even have time to process the fact that Finger had dug a knife into his side. Crippling pain overtook him, but the delayed scream was cut off when his hands latched around his throat violently. Leo squirmed, his slippery hands, coated with his own blood, clasping against his fingers. 

“They always squirm the best like this,” the drunk mercenary sighed, his eyes lighting with fury. He was crushing his windpipe; Leo choked, his legs frantically kicking out from behind him as the mercenary pushed his weight into his neck. The unbearable pressure was making his eyes burn, vision wavering. He frantically tried digging his fingers under the mercenary’s stern grasp, but it was no use. The agony ripping through his side was helping along the painfully dreaded experience, panic making his vision blur. His thoughts raced. 

He couldn’t breathe. His lungs were burning ferociously, and the blood in his head was throbbing. Tears welled in his eyes as the spinning face of Finger became distorted and fuzzy, realising with a dreaded heart that he was going to die. He was going to die. The mercenary tightened his grasp, fingernails sinking into his skin. Leo couldn’t even fathom a gurgled choking noise, steadily slowing heartbeat consuming his head. 

His eyelids fluttered uselessly. 

Just as his hands twitched into stillness, a loud banging sound jerked his eyes open. He was met with the disturbing sight of Finger’s pale face. His right eye looked as though it had been squashed against his skull, the back of his head blown out by the force of the bullet. Patters of blood dripped onto Leo’s face, and with a surge, the body slumped forward next to him. 

The grip left his neck. 

Leo erupted into a horrific coughing fit as the air rushed frantically back into his lungs. He choked on the bile in his throat, and could hardly muster the strength to clutch onto his chest. 

“I never liked him much anyway,” Roy murmured under his breath, a somewhat annoyed edge to his voice. He tucked the gun back into his belt, and kicked the lifeless body away. Leo’s heart leapt into his throat. There was no doubt that even through his quickly disappearing vision, that was him. The sound of his voice simply sent Leo into a dazed frenzy. 

For the first time in a long while, adrenaline erupted into his veins. Leo somehow found the strength to find his feet, and throw himself at Roy without a single care in the world. He clutched tightly onto him as the tears began to roll freely down his face, sucking in ragged sobs as he relished in the fact that this was real. 

No more of the other mercenary’s taunts and beatings. No more of their twisted games. 

He was safer like this. 

Roy chuckled softly under his breath, his arms coming to wrap around Leo in turn. He hadn’t been held like this so long, and it made his stomach tingle with butterflies. “Guess you missed me, huh, lion?” 

He buried himself into everything he needed. A warmth. A pleasant, home-like scent. A pair of arms around him. Leo couldn’t believe how much he’d missed a nice touch, one that wasn’t drawing back to bring him agonising pain. Despite clutching onto Roy with a vice grip, he could feel himself slipping. His knees buckled under his weight, and he felt the mercenary’s arms tighten around him in confusion. 

“Lion?” 

A wave of dizziness slammed into him, and he felt himself being lowered onto the ground. Roy’s gaze snapped to his hand when he realised it was covered in blood, and then tilted his head to get a look at the gushing wound on his side. Leo’s eyes were already rolling to the back of his head, a horrible, cold clamminess breaking out along his skin. 

Roy sighed in annoyance. “Shit.” 

The secretary’s breathing thinned out. Throughout it all, he was still determined not to let go of the man’s shirt. Maybe then, he would be sure that none of this was a dream. 

He heard Roy calling out for Joey, and then everything went black.

tag list – @unorganisedalienrubbish @d-cs @rabidrabidme @sordayciega @burningkittypoet @whumpawink @mannerofwhump @suspicious-whumping-egg @welcome-to-the-whumpfest @whatwasmyprevioususername @crilex29 @firefly017 @dutifullykrispyland @wibbly-wobbly-whump @there-will-always-be-blood @anonintrovert @justawhumpjunkie @whumptastic-world @ha-ha-one @whatwhumpcomments @whumpterful-beeeeee @anonymous1235 @sonder35 @unforgiven235

[0junemeatcleaver0]

june lmfao i'm being obnoxious but if you can spare a few thoughts for armand/marius/lestat and daddy kink i would love to have them 🥹

This is gonna be so scattered and nonsensical but you know I'll give it a shot lol

You remember back in TVL when it seems like Marius is ready to make Lestat his protégée but then the stuff with the violin happens and Marius is like, "yeah, you gotta get the fuck outta here"?

So Marius loved Amadeo and was raising him for The Blood and part of what attracted him (or rather, kept him attracted to him--we'll get back to this in just a sec) was how headstrong the boy was. We know how into that personality feature he is from how head over heels he was for Pandora and she and Armand have that in common.

Though the thing that initially attracted him to Armand, I think (aside from his beauty, obvs) was how easily mold-able he was in his fragile state.

We also know that he regrets turning someone as young as Armand because he rarely ever shuts up about it.

We can see a sort of fun house mirror reflection of this dynamic in this first meeting with Lestat. He rescues him from where Lestat's buried himself under the sand, takes him back to his lavish abode, seems interested in taking him under his wing.

The pros to this is that Lestat is older than Armand was when turned, but still young in The Blood. So he's in need of guidance and obviously enamored with Marius. +1

He hangs on Marius' every word. +10

He's already taken his first dirt nap this early into his life as a vampire and Marius seems really impressed by that? +1

He's beautiful (+1) in a way that makes him seem like he could be Marius' biological son (+100)

Marius tells him immediately about the Parents and Lestat seems appropriately horrified. +20

The cons are Lestat is just as hard to control as Armand (-100000000)

Marius collects brats but doesn't have the patience to put up with them is what I'm saying, basically.

This probably would also play into the throuple dynamic as well in a way. Lestat and Armand already function as Cain and Abel-esque brothers whose love for each other is only matched by their animosity.

So a scene between the three of them would more than likely shake out with the two attempting to out-do each other in a bid to impress Marius but then slowly turn into the two of them trying to impress each other--throwing fits when Marius tries to intervene before getting right back into competition mode.

It would be fun to watch, mind, but I don't envy Marius in the slightest lmao

[thesoftboiledegg]

Starting from the first episode, Rick and Morty's sixth season mirrors, references and counters season three. Season six references other seasons, especially the second, but the writers really want you to focus on season three and how much has changed.

Season three starts with The Rickshank Rickdemption, which I think is the best episode in the series, but it also shows Rick at his worst: a horrifying monster who destroys everything in his path on a rampage that culminates in a full-on mental break as he yells incoherently at a terrified Morty in the garage.

The Rickshank Rickdemption shows Rick's "fake" backstory, features a return to Morty's original dimension and involves the whole family in a zany adventure. Unfortunately, this also kickstarts Rick's spiral into nearly irredeemable madness.

Solaricks goes to similar places: Rick's backstory, Morty's original dimension, the family's complicated dynamic. By now, season five has revealed that Rick's "fake" backstory wasn't fake after all. Instead of mocking the audience with a "Fuck you, you can't have what you want!" sneer, the episode shows us Rick's quiet sadness.

Meanwhile, Morty ends up in his original dimension yet again. But he doesn't find the goofy Mad Max-esque characters from season three. His father, who's become a more realistic deception of an apocalypse survivor, tears into him and tells him--and the audience--that he, Beth and Summer were real people, not plot devices.

The episode abandons the cold and mocking earlier version of the Cronenberg Smiths. Jerry abandons Morty, too, leaving Morty to wander away crying. No brutal destruction and bloody corpses on the citadel. Just a sad, lonely teenager in an empty landscape.

Rick comes back for him without claiming that he doesn't care about Morty. He doesn't yell at him, insult him, subject him to horrifying violence or bait him into trying to kill him. Morty's not angry at him, either. After everything that's happened, after all the fucked-up shit that Rick's pulled, after all the screaming and fighting and abuse, Morty runs to him with a smile on his face and his arms outstretched like a young child.

Nothing could make Rick abandon his revenge-fueled atrocities in The Rickshank Rickdemption. In Solaricks, he abandons his chance to kill Prime when Morty calls him "Grandpa."

Likewise, Final DeSmithation is the second Rick and Jerry episode that we've been hoping for since The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy. The first episode battered viewers with Rick and Jerry's hatred for each other. Rick unleashes rage-fueled tirades while Jerry focuses on his desire to get back at Rick, to hurt him and even kill him.

In Final DeSmithation, Rick isn't the one terrorizing Jerry. In fact, he actually gets annoyed at the Smiths for making fun of him (while doing household chores, which is another first for Rick.)

He has no reason to help Jerry. If anything, he has a chance to endlessly mock him. But he gives Jerry a half-assed explanation that he "just didn't want to see someone get bullied into going to a zoo," which would still be nice if it were true. Rick doesn't even bother making up a mean one, such as "I'm only doing this so that my daughter doesn't kick me out of the house for not saving your stupid ass."

Final DeSmithation also had a fandom staple: Rick in a suit and tie. The series full of fakeouts suddenly pivoted to giving fans what they want.

Rick's mean to Jerry throughout the episode, but you can tell that he's getting tired of the act. He's a little more patient, and his remarks are less incisive. At the end, Rick tries to take it back by slapping Jerry, but the episode doesn't end there. He immediately looks guilty and accepts Jerry's offer of friendship afterward.

I also loved when Rick said that he's "dead center on the alignment chart." Earlier seasons, including season three, glorified the idea of Rick being close to evil.

Analyze Piss is the most direct callback: a sequel to Pickle Rick. However, Rick's not concocting ridiculous plots to get out of therapy. He willingly attends therapy. He paces around and fights against it, but ultimately, he seeks help.

He respects Dr. Wong, who knows how to talk to him on his level. He puts her ideas into practice even when the family pushes back because Rick's not doing what they want him to do. Rick still struggles and falls apart, but he tried this time.

He has chances to manipulate the Smiths, but he doesn't take them. Instead, he looks at them sadly. His ego is slowly eroding.

Finally, Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation mirrors The Rickchurian Mortydate. Both episodes are season finales, and both involve Rick and the President bickering with Morty caught in the middle and getting increasingly sick of Rick's bullshit.

Still, this episode is a little nicer. Rick relapses, but he doesn't entirely backslide and turn into the murderous lunatic that he was in The Rickchurian Mortydate. He's just crabby.

The episode ends with an exciting cliffhanger instead of a dark moment when the Smiths (rightfully) get tired of Rick's bullshit. Rick even says in his usual crazy rant that he'll try to be healthier in season seven as he hunts Prime Rick.

We finally get a fakeout, but this one is gentler than the others. It's disappointing that Rickbot wasn't the real Rick, but the writers don't want us to leave thinking that Rickbot existed only to fool us. Rickbot tells Morty that Rick technically committed those kind, loving acts. It's a surprise twist that doesn't negate the entire season.

Season six countered infamous scenes from other seasons, but the season three parallels stood out to me because they contrast Rick at his worst with Rick at (maybe) his best. He can't change the past, but when he ends up in the same situation again, he can make different choices.

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

Tokyo Revengers but Mikey has the same coping mechanism as Sunny (Omori)

It's an incomplete post so anyone can add things if they want!

'Manjiro' will be used to talk about irl!Mikey while 'Mikey' will refer to Headspace!Mikey

Sanzu is called Haruchiyo and takes on Basil's role (aKa he's important but Mikey doesn't want to either make him tag along/a member of the party or to confine him on the picnic blanket)

'Sanzu' would be The Stranger

Takemichi also has The Stranger role (in timelines where he truly left an impression on Mikey - so probably not in the first two unfortunately)

Shinichiro and Emma both play Mari's role

-> Shinichiro & Takemichi being the only one to call Mikey Manjiro

Senju and Izana share a common role (in Bonten)

The party is made of Toman founding members

Baji, Kazutora, Pah-chin have a dynamic similar to Aubrey and Kel

Draken takes on Hero's role, Mitsuya too, a bit

Draken is the one who takes pictures!!! (like in canon :) )

-> "Did I take this photo? Something about it feels so familiar... No... Emma, she's-"

(Draken has little flags to make Mikey (or other party members) happy during fights)

(Mitsuya is the one who can cook)

Unbread Twins = Kawata Twins (with their ramen shop ofc, no bakery here)

other members are a bit scattered everywhere, mostly the playground ofc (which is a mix of: Toman's gathering place, the playground Baji&Mikey used to play in as children with a huge jungle gym), and the garden and dojo in the Sano house)

There's also the beach which can be reached mostly by Toman members

There's a train but they move around in motorbikes (and Mucho's car)

Motor shop to fix the bikes! Shinichiro can be found there with other BD members :)! (for some reasons, Mikey doesn't like it when Baji and Kazutora are there, so they have to find alternatives to fix their bikes (most of the time they ask another party member to take their bike))

Somehow, Manjiro subconsciously remember the story of Taiyaki-kun so there's a lake where Taiyaki-kun lives (he wants to leave but he can't :( )

It's the dreamworld so everyone is happy and has good relationships with everyone else

Somwhere there's a plane. It doesn't fly, but it's there, lying on the ground. It mustn't broke. (when it does, it leads to Blackspace) (Sanzu always tries to lead Mikey here)

Manjiro/Mikey don't fear a lot of things but things that may upset/trigger them are: mirrors/any type of reflection; whenever he sees a plane (won't make him go back to Whitespace but it's really close sometimes); (people needing to go to the) hospitals (no matter if it's bc they're sick or badly hurt) & probably other things but they don't come to mind sorry

Mikey's 'Something' is just.. everyone. They're all horrifying in a different way, but each person Mikey has failed haunts him (emphasis on Izana & Senju during Bonten)

The Somethings telling him 'I love you' in Blackspace 🥹

Important flowers would be black lilies (curse), and red and white spider lilies at the very end :) (Red spider lilies symbolizing the inability to meet again, farewell, death, loss, abandonment and White spider lilies symbolizing rebirth, meeting (anew), purity)

Also poppies since in Hanakotoba they can symbolize fun-loving and success, and in the more Western flower language they symbolize peaceful sleep and death, remembrance/remembering the fallen and renewal/resurrection among other things

(not a flower professional - just did some google researches so be careful with what I'm saying)

Whitespace:

Old blanket

NES (that he irl has in his bedroom and must hold a lot of memories of family/friends game night)

Mewo being replaced by Peke-j? But Mikey is not close to Peke-j(/not that close from Chifuyu (unlike other ppl)) from what we know. Peke-j could also be used as a way to show how guilty Manjiro is about Baji (and Chifuyu? Kazutora?)

moto figurines laying around? Little flags?

Probably wouldn't have a laptop

The journal+drawings stay tho. He deserves to vent

Deserves to keep the tissue box and cry, too

Blackspace:

Mikey goes in and out of it; he never chooses if he pops up in Whitespace, Dreamworld or Blackspace. It depends on how is his mind irl. There are also some places where he can directly enter it (ex: whenever the Concorde is broken)

Haruchiyo keeps dying. Or having his lower jaw removed out of nowhere (also happens in headspace -> leads Mikey to go back to Whitespace on the spot)

If we do put Peke-j in this AU as Mewo replacement, which choice do you think Mikey would make in the Cat dissection room with our dear mister the Cat Butler? /genuine

The three first timeline are very similar. Senju and Haruchiyo/Sanzu have a lesser role here. In the 3rd/Bad Toman, Kazutora is here and is hurt less by Mikey (whereas if he ever is present in the two firsts, Mikey won't be merciful)

Manila:

"You loved them and you killed them. You should just die." — hits more in this timeline than any other

Rather than Manjiro completely loosing against Mikey; there's a feeling of acceptance at the end of their fight from both parts. They can't go back, but they can't go further either.

Plus, Manjiro never fought for a will to live to start with

Actually I'm not sure if there'd be a fight to start with

Izana, S62 & Kakucho are not present in the headspace of this timeline

Bonten:

there's an entire space dedicated to Senju and Izana. It's filled with always-falling snow and everlasting sakura; the party can make snowmen and other snow constructions! There's a pond with a giant majestic beta fish somewhere, too (maybe it could interact with Taiyaki-kun, maybe not)

Edit: They live in a snow castle

those two are either safe in this place (*cough* until the snow and sakura start to get tainted by blood out of nowhere and they disappear and the flowers wilt *cough* The snow melts a bit under the warmth of blood and suddenly it's less a childhood joy and more just... Hellishly cold. bc the cold refuses to leave ofc *cough*) or with Shinichiro and Emma on the picnic blanket. Kakucho is always found around Izana so he can be found in the snow, too! (He's the one staying there when Izana & Senju disappear; he's panicking and extremely worried)

*cough* canonical Oyasumi ending *cough*

Timeline where the Somethings are the most troublesome and present

eat irl then go puke in the toilet

sleeps less and sleeps badly

Kanto Manji & Final timeline:

Still developing, mostly Whitespace

Mikey and Manjiro are not two different entities yet - Manjiro is not at that point where he suppresses all of his traumas when he's in the Dreamworld as Mikey

not a great emphasis on Senju since she doesn't die, but she's still there, having a lesser role

Draken, on the other hand- (it doesn't last long anyway since he travels back in time no long after)(I mean. it's still three months so maybe it's a bit long)

The "I have to tell you something"-timeline/ending, if there has to be one

[cake-apostate]

Astarion in Dracula

So people have noticed that in Dracula, Dracula comes across as suave and intimidating until you realize he does stuff like "I don't have any servants but I need to fake it, so I put on a fake beard and hat to pick up Mr. Harker, then I run back into my castle and change into new clothes," and, "I can control wolves, but there are no wild wolves in England anymore, so I run to a zoo and kidnap a wolf, then throw him through a window. The wolf placidly walks home the next day."

Now I'm imagining that something like this happens to future Astarion, and he's in a Dracula-esque plot where he is the vampire being hunted by a plucky band of normal people turned adventurers. While they're all like, "he is horrifying and must be a master strategist," he's being cringefail in the background.

My first caveat is that the plucky hunters should not be villainized, even if they are hunting (relatively) innocent Spawn!Astarion. They're not trying to kill him just because he's a vampire; even in the book, the hunters are after Dracula because he killed their friend and might kill others. They might be after our favorite vampy boi, but this isn't, "stupid vampire hunters harass innocent vampire for no good reason."

Depending on whether this is Spawn!Astarion or Ascended!Astarion, things might go differently.

Spawn

Centuries after the events of the game, after the end of Tav's natural lifespan, Astarion is still an adventurer, and has a house in Baldur's Gate. Maybe they did find a way to let him walk under the sun, or maybe they didn't.

But he's still immortal, and after a few centuries of staying in the same place for too long without visibly aging (he's still an elf, after all), he enlists the help of a solicitor to purchase a new house in Waterdeep and write up a will that allows his (totally real) son to inherit all his stuff. Things go okay for a while, but not-Jonathan Harker notices all kinds of weird stuff around him, such as the bottles of blood ("I'm a doctor, darling; it's a new kind of treatment called blood transfusion."), his lack of a reflection ("Trick mirror."), and possibly his red eyes and sunlight sensitivity ("It's the drow heritage, dear.").

Then after he finally moves to Waterdeep, some entirely normal serial killer shows up. And now not-Jonathan realizes that Mr. Astarion Ancunin was a vampire this whole time, and suspects that he's the one behind all the ghastly murders. Lots of paperwork ensues, and they discover both his life as a magistrate and his adventures during the games. If he can't walk in the sun, they conclude that he became a vampire after the events of the game because so many records mention that he was outside during the day, and lament how he was once a good man.

However, they never actually inform Astarion while they're hunting him that they think he's behind the murders. So he thinks they're after him for being a vampire, while they think that he's a gleeful murderer.

He could simply kill them all, but they're still innocent people who haven't actually done anything. He could also walk away, but he's not leaving behind all his stuff, godsdamnit! So he figures that the most fun would be to Scooby-Doo them out of Waterdeep.

Hilarity ensues. Everybody lives as well.

Ascended

For this one, Astarion is guilty, and probably was behind everything.

I admit I don't have much for this besides vibes, and those vibes are, "Ascended Astarion takes every possible opportunity to gloat that he's invincible." Not-Mina and not-Lucy are walking along the seaside one sunny morning, and they see him floating on an inner tube, wearing sunglasses and holding a tropical drink, shouting, "Come on in; the water's great!" Not-Seward and not-Van Helsing are at a medical conference and he's just there, waving at them. While they think they're safe in their houses, he breaks in and turns every bit of furniture upside down and write a note in the fanciest cursive saying, "Ahahahahaha! Mwahahahaha! Yrs. Astarion Ancunin."

Actual Dracula

I might actually make a fanfic for this.

So in this one, Astarion literally gets isekai'd into the plot of Dracula. Kinda. After Dracula finishes his correspondence with Jonathan Harker, Dracula vanishes and Astarion shows up in his castle. Some of the same story beats, but with different context.

I think Spawn Astarion would be funnier for this, because he'd be like, "damndamndamn, okay, deep breaths, I can work with this," while the Ascendant would try to take over Earth for real.

I also think that the best replacement for Dracula's 'brides' would be Sebastian. Sebastian might not be Astarion's spawn, but Astarion is partially responsible for him becoming one. I had also considered Tav as his spawn, or maybe the whole party, but the question of how they became spawn aside, they'd all be too sensible about this. This is Astarion's trainwreck.

Not all of Dracula's vampire weaknesses apply to dnd vampire spawn, and the ones that do might not work the same way. Turns out that holy symbols don't work on them at all, so none of the tricks with crucifixes and communion wafer would work ("I'm sorry, are you trying to murder me with crackers? *wry giggle* That's a first.") Dracula specifies garlic flowers while dnd goes for the more popular garlic bulbs, and the weakness to running water is "physically impeded from even using a bridge except at slack and flood of tide" in the book and "burns like acid but still possible to jump across" in dnd. Someone once pointed out that this is the first time Van Helsing ever dealt with a vampire, so he's throwing everything he can at Dracula without knowing for sure which things actually work.

The residents of the village around the castle notice that they aren't being bitten in the night, and that there are more dead wolves drained of blood. They still sit up at night with stakes in their hands, not unjustifiably. Astarion stays away, and hopes that their fear of the previous tenant is enough for them to not come charging in with stakes.

Jonathan showing up might be a complete surprise. Astarion and Sebastian have no idea what day it is, or how to read an Earth calendar, so even though they have Dracula's half of the correspondence, they think that he came and left, and Dracula with him. Jonathan thinks that Dracula forgot to pick him up from the pass, but his fear of not being good at his job led him to brave the woods the day after his appointment. During the day, of course.

Then Astarion is like, "Yes, I am Dracula," as he realizes that he can con his way into a ticket to a new city.

Jonathan talks to Astarion for hours about property law and suchlike because Astarion was a magistrate. Jonathan might ask more about his past, but Astarion deflects as much as possible.

From Jonathan's perspective, he's like, "Dracula is a fine fellow, so articulate and graceful," while Astarion is like, "Shit, he has to eat, doesn't he?!" and tries to make a halfway decent meal with Sebastian, both of them panicking.

"I do hope you enjoy wolf, it is a local delicacy."

"Really? Fascinating! None of the other villages I've stayed in served wolf!"

"It is a very local delicacy."

Would Astarion keep Jonathan hostage? I don't think he would unless Jonathan discovered his secret. But I can see that he would insist that Jonathan stay longer because he want to keep up the illusion of being a good host, and that includes driving him back to the last town... when he has no idea where that is. He could drive him to the village, if he wasn't sure that they wouldn't drive a stake through his heart right away. So while he keeps delaying, on the inside he's like, "Where are those damn maps?!"

I can see that Sebastian never learned to suppress his hunger. One night, Jonathan accidentally wanders into his side of the castle. Sebastian wants to just have a friendly chat, but his hunger wins out and he's about to bite him, so Astarion has to restrain him. Then Astarion feeds him a family of rabbits or something cute; he's not going to steal a baby.

Astarion and Sebastian won't board the Demeter, even if Dracula already has tickets. Stuck surrounded by running water with no animals to drink from? They'll just take the train, and then cross the English Channel on a midnight ferry or something. Not like they have the 'soil of your homeland' restriction. Of course, they're not paying for any of it; they're going to sneak aboard when nobody's looking.

Speaking of those boxes of dirt, Astarion is just happy to have a ton of property that someone else paid for, and is perplexed by the boxes. So he and Sebastian just use them to pot begonias or something.

Once the action shifts to England, the plot would change a lot more, since Astarion and Sebastian aren't actively malicious. I think they'd still end up in Whitby because Carfax Abbey might be the only decent home Dracula purchased; all the others were just cheap emergency safehouses to store his boxes of dirt.

Renfield can still sense when Astarion and Sebastian arrive, even though they're not the same kind of vampire. Astarion isn't above using him, and they both drink from him while Astarion promises to turn him one day. They never admit that they can't.

Speaking of turning, Lucy can't rise as a vampire either. I don't even know if they'd bite her to begin with; Astarion restricts himself to people they were going to kill anyways (and Tav). Lucy sleepwalking might be convenient for Dracula, who doesn't care if she wakes up halfway through or dies, but Astarion and Sebastian have more caution (and scruples).

But Lucy being bitten drives half the plot. Val Helsing only enters because Dr. Seward calls him in, the skeptics only believe in vampires once they see her rise from the grave, and everyone swears to avenge her death. If the vampires don't hurt Lucy, then the whole plot goes off the rails.

This brainworm has seized me and I am now thinking of a title. Astarion Annually? Count Astarion the Un-Dead?

[eboshishusbandwinkwink]

Billy Hargrove x scary!gn!reader

Warning(s): racism, general bullying,

Also: I changed this a little so that Billy survived, they kinda left Neil behind somewhere, and he lives w Max and her mom now soOo. He's still kinda a shithead tho cuz old habits die hard.

Summary: You're new in town and boy did you get a reputation quickly. Almost quicker than Billy and he did not like that.

Feel free to request:

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

You had moved to Hawkins just the day before. You hadn't even talked to anyone besides your parents yet, but people already knew who you were.

(Y/n) (L/n), the new person who came from a place near Texas and moved to Hawkins from there thanks to some things going on back there.

You had lots of things going on in Texas. You fought with people, yelled a lot, were scary to most people, and just hated being in school, always arguing with teachers too.

But that wasn't why you had moved here. Your mother had chosen to move here since it was closer to your father's workplace. Not because of the fights you'd been in.

A sigh escaped you as you closed the door to your new room. You moved inside and decided to get changed.

You threw on some long, black denim pants before you pulled out a shirt from one of the many boxes. It was also black with 'Metallica' printed on it in red.

You stood at the window and looked outside. That's where you saw a blue Chevrolet 1979 Z/28 Camaro driving up to the house across from you. A girl with curly red hair got out, yelling something to the car before she closed the door and ran to the house.

The next person to get out was a man with blonde, even curlier hair. It was a dirty blonde. He also had a small beard just above his nose.

Your whole body felt cold when he looked up at you. You frowned lightly before you took a step away from the window.

"The fuck...", you mumbled to yourself before standing in front of your mirror to brush your hair. You sighed as you looked at yourself, turning slightly to see if anything was dirty.

It wasn't.

You made your way downstairs and went to put in your shoes. "I'm going on a walk."

Your mother came to you before looking at you with a bit of worry. "Like... like that? Are you sure? (Y/n), you already don't have a good reputation."

You looked up at your mother with a slight frown. "Leave me alone. It's not my fault that they all are assholes."

Your mother was quiet before she nodded and whispered a soft 'okay' before you made your way outside.

Exploring Hawkins wasn't exactly interesting. The shops were pretty boring at the Starcrout mall, and the school or community pool weren't exactly something for you either.

You looked around in front of Starcourt, arms crossing since you didn't exactly see anything you really liked. You preferred Texas over this and not just a bit.

You were pulled out of your little headspace when someone ran into you and pushed you forward lightly.

You turned around to see a brown haired boy who was much shorter than you were. "Watch where you walk.", he said to you as he laughed together with his friends.

You clenched your jaw, but let it be, taking in a deep breath to calm your nerves. You didn't need to disappoint your mom on your second day in Hawkins.

You walked off and eventually found your way to the lake in Hawkins. And finally you had found a place that was calm and quiet.

You smiled lightly and walked to the lake, pulling off your shoes to touch the water with your feet. "Finally."

Ever since that happened, it'd been a week. You finally had your first day in school and boy were you horrified.

It wasn't that you were scared of the people. You just weren't entirely ready to take anyone. You would fight if necessary, of course, but you hoped and prayed that you could control yourself enough so it won't happen. After all, it'd only worry your parents more.

You took a deep breath as you stepped out of the car, though you were stopped by your mom saying your name.

"(Y/n)... have fun. And... don't let anyone provoke you, okay?", she said. You looked at her for a moment before nodding softly. "I won't, thanks, mom."

She nodded and gave you a small wave before you closed the car door and walked towards the school. It wasn't a very tall building, as it had only one floor and the basement. But you already knew that.

You checked the paper in your hands for the room and then made your way to look for it. And you found it, but in front of it stood two boy and a girl.

The girl was the one you'd seen getting out of the car the day you properly moved in. One of the boys was the one you ran into at Starcourt who told you to watch where you're going.

The third one was unfamiliar to you. He had dark skin and black hair with brown eyes. It almost looked like he was trying to protect the girl.

You walked a little slower to listen in on the conversation, even if it wasn't entirely a good idea since eavesdropping wasn't exactly nice.

"Oh shut up, Mayfield. Lucas asked for it. Not my fault his parents didn't stay where they came from.", the boy who'd ran into you said. That statement by itself already made your blood boil.

"And don't try to fight me on it. Your brother can't defend you here, little girl.", he continued and by then you stood by then and cleared your throat. "I have to go through."

All three of them looked at you. You first looked at the girl, then at the boy. The brunette eyed you up and down before scoffing softly. "You're that guy from starcourt."

You took a deep breath and looked at him. "Yes, I am. But I still need to go through. I want to get to class."

He laughed softly and stepped up to you. "Do you even know who you're talking to?"

You looked into his eyes, with nothing but emptiness within your own. No fear, no anger, no worry, no sadness. Not even happiness. Just pure nothing. "No, but I don't care either. Let me pass and leave the damn kids alone."

The boy was shocked at how monotone your voice was but it didn't take him long to just walk off to his own class.

You rolled your eyes but as you were about to go past them the girl stood in front of you. You looked at her confused and raised a brow. "Yes?"

She sighed softly and looked at the boy who you learned was called Lucas before looking back at you. "Thanks."

You looked at her for a few seconds before giving a small smile. "No problem."

The day went by pretty calmly. No one started a fight with you, and no one tried to bother you. That was until the lunch break came.

You took your food and made your way into the hall, looking around if there were any free tables, but there really weren't. You stopped when you saw the girl from earlier look your way and wave at you.

You sighed and made your way over, greeting her with a small wave and she smiled lightly. "Guys. This is (Y/n). They're really cool. Right, Lucas?"

She looked at the male beside her, who nodded lightly. "And super scary." She nudged him lightly, but you only laughed at this. "I'm only scary if the person deserves to be scared."

Eventually, everyone introduced themselves to you. You sat by them and ate while listening to them talk. You found what they said to be very interesting.

They first talked about what kinds of music they listened to, so you pretty much knew all their music tastes. Then it went over to free time activities, so you were pretty informed on that part, too.

You soon finished eating and brought your stuff away. As you were returning to the group, you suddenly felt something wet spread all over your head and down to your pants.

You turned to see the guy from earlier again, but this time, he had a bottle of mountain dew in his hands. Soft gasps and loud laughs were heard as you clenched your teeth harshly.

You took off the rings you wore to make it fair. "You motherfucker.", was all you said before you stepped towards him and punched him straight in the face.

He stumbled back before he went in to attack you, too, launching a strong punch against your stomach. You coughed for a moment before jumping at him and pushing him down onto the floor.

The two of you wrestled with one another before you were finally pulled apart by some teachers. By then, both your nodes were bloody, and he had a black eye from you. You also had several bruises and scratches on you.

Both of you were taken to the principals office, and after everything was talked through, you were allowed to leave. Aka you had to go home while the school called your parents. But you didn't.

Instead, you sat yourself at a sunny spot by the school and relaxed a little while drinking some of the tea you'd brought from Texas.

After a while of sitting there, you heard the bells ring and decided to pack up and make your way home.

As you were packing up, Max spotted you and decided to run towards you. "(Y/n)! What happened? You were gone and suddenly I see you beating Jason up like he insulted your family."

You stood slowly as you looked at her, throwing your bag over your shoulder to carry it. The two of you walked towards the parking spots slowly. "It's... well... He didn't exactly insult me. He decided to pour a bottle of mountain dew over me. Now I'm all bloody and sticky." You complained softly, not really caring about the bloody part since that was your fault and you were used to it already.

Max nodded softly and pat your shoulder as she smiled. "It'll be okay. Next time just tell one of us, okay?"

You laughed and looked at her. "And what are you gonna do? Fight him for me? No way."

She chuckled softly. The girl looked towards a car, that blue camaro, before she looked at you. "You live across from us, right? Need a ride?"

You thought for a moment before nodding softly. "I'd love a ride. But maybe asked the person who's driving first."

Max sighed and nodded lightly. "Wait right here."

You nodded at her command and waited patiently as she walked to the car and spoke to the guy leaning on it. It was the guy you'd made eye contact with that day you first slept here.

He really has beautiful eyes. You thought as you stared at the two. You quickly looked away, though, when said male looked your way as if he wanted to kill you.

Him and Max seemed to argue for a moment before she walked towards you again and grabbed the sleeve of your shirt. "Cmon. Since you live across from us, he said it's cool as long as nothing gets dirty."

You looked down at yourself before looking at her again. "If I bleed on something, I'll clean it up. I promise."

You both laughed before making your way towards the car again.

Max sat in the back with you, laughing and talking to you. You tried to be as calm about it as possible, but the eye contact you had with her brother now and then made your guts twist in a weird way.

Once you were there, all of you got out of the car. You said thanks before giving Max a small side hug and then making your way over to your house. You unlocked the door and got inside.

You had exactly a second to breathe before your mother came running to you, clearly worried. "Oh baby!" She went to hug you tightly.

You turned your head away and sighed. "Mom, please..."

"What happened? The school said you were let off early. Why are you here so late? And why are you so sticky? Is it all the blood?"

You sighed and took your mother's hands. "Mom." , you started sternly so she'd listen. "I came home a little latet because I wanted to take a break before walking home. My friend offered that her brother could take me home too."

You paused for a moment before continuing. "During lunch break a guy poured mountain dew over me to annoy me and I lost it. So no, the blood isn't what's making me sticky. It's the drink that got poured over me."

Your mother seemed to relax just mildly as she gently held your hands close. "I'm so sorry, (N/n). Go take a shower and get changed, okay? I'll take care of your bruises afterwards."

You nodded softly and went upstairs to your room. You put your things away before taking a towel and going to take a shower in the bathroom that was right next to your own.

You hurried up to get yourself clean before you made your way back to your room, wrapped up tightly in the towel.

You walked up to your window to close the curtains but stopped for a moment when you saw Maxs' brother, standing at his window without really doing anything beside smoking.

You frowned lightly. And again, it happened. You noticed your stare and looked up at you. This time, you didn't look away.

You stared at each other for a minute, then two and then three. At first the stare was cold, from both sides, but eventually both of your stares went soft since glaring at someone was kinda annoying and hurt eventually.

You shrieked when your door opened and your mom came in. You closed the curtains before breathing out. "Mooom!! You scared me!"

Later that day, your mom came into your room while you were reading wuietly to yourself. She smiled at you before speaking up. "Hey, angel. There's someone at the door for you."

You raised a brow at her and stood up to go downstairs. At the door, you saw Max, smiling when she saw you.

"Hi, Max."

"Hi! So... we're meeting up at Steves place. Wanna come along?"

You thought for a moment, seeing her brother sitting in the car. You swallowed before leaning towards Max lightly. "Is he coming along?" You asked as you nudged your head towards him.

Max looked at her brother before nodding. "Yeah, Billy is coming along. But only because the adults get to drink alcohol."

You laughed softly and raised a brow. "Really? Wow, how nice. Well... sure. I'll come along. Give me a few minutes, I need to get ready."

She nodded and went to the car, where she got inside and spoken to her brother.

After about 10 minutes, you looked at yourself in the mirror. Your hair looked the same it always did but you wore somewhat different clothing today.

Of course, you stayed all black, but your jeans were extra tight, and your shirt was a little shorter than usual. And on top of that, you took a grew hanky, which you put into your back packet happily, simply because you'd seen Eddie do it and it looked cool.

You were also aware of the meaning, but your pansexual ass could not care any less who comes to flirt with you. As long as they're old enough and kind, you were happy.

You quickly picked up some things you needed before saying bye to your parents. "I don't know when I'll be back, but if I stay at someone else's, I'll call."

After that, you ran to Billys car and went to sit in the back, again together with Max.

"Everyone ready now?", Billy asked, and you could feel your body growing goosebumps from how hot his voice sounded.

"Yes."

"Took long enough."

At Steves house, you were welcomed by music playing from inside. It wasn't the usual booming music from these parties around Hawkins. Instead it was rather nice music. Actually good music.

You followed Max and Billy inside, greeting everyone before sitting with the older people. This included Steve, Billy, Eddie, Nancy, and Robin. Later on, you found out that Jonathan would join some time later since he still had something to do.

You guys were in a separate room, but now and then, someone went to check on the kids. Especially when they went quiet.

Around 10 pm, some kids were asleep, others just had some small talk. By then, you already had one or two beers and weren't exactly steady on your feet anymore.

You were pretty sensitive to alcohol so it was no wonder. When the others went to swim in the pool, you sat at the edge, only being allowed to stay with someone at your side.

Steve said he'd watch you for a while, holding you up and talking to you to make sure you wouldn't feel alone or anything like that.

"So, I'm sorry, but I just can't not ask. These rumors about why you moved here. Are they true?", he asked to which you shook your head.

"Nope. I moved here because of my dad. Not cuz I got kicked outta school.", you murmured softly as you looked at the male in the water. "My dad got a new workplace, and Texas is too far away, and Hawkins was the closest without being too expensive."

Steve nodded softly as he moved out to sit beside you. "I see. Well... it was pretty cool how you beat up Jason."

You smiled and nodded lightly. "Thanks."

The two of you were intruppted by Billy approaching the two of you. He pat Steves shoulder before sighing. "Your boyfriend is in desperate need of you."

Steve laughed and got up slowly. "Alright. Be nice to them, Billy.", he said before walking off to where Eddie was.

For a few minutes, the two of you were quiet until you spoke up, without thinking of what the consequences might be. "You have pretty eyes. They remind me of salt water. And my favorite pool back in Texas."

Billy looked over at you with a slight red hue on his cheeks before he scoffed softly. "Well... yours aren't as bad either. Pretty soft for someone who's feared everywhere."

You cackled at what he said, not even knowing why you found it to be so funny. "Well...", you looked at him. "I do go soft for certain people."

The two of you looked at each other for a moment. It took a moment for you both to get soft again, but it happened. This expression of pure adoration in eachothers eyes.

"You're not as scary as people say you are."

"Neither are you."

And at that moment, something in your chest twisted and made you feel all warm inside. You had no idea what it was and why it was there, but you didn't complain. You liked it.

"I like you.", you said as you tilted your head lightly.

Billy laughed and looked away again. This time, he was more than red. "I like you too."

[oldsargasso]

ficlet: self cast shadows

soooo I did the five fun facts for a winnerdean spy au and then @le-trash-prince left a perfectly innocuous comment: "God it’s gotta be hard for North to just watch Dean suffer when he’s been told not to do anything 😭 He and Sonic better mother hen Dean to death" and I required no further encouragement to lose my mind first thing on a Monday morning.

~1k, North/Sonic&Dean. the car ride and what comes after.

The car stinks like dried blood, fear-sweat and something acrid that burns North's nose as he gently, carefully, holds Dean steady as Kim takes corners slightly too fast to be sensible. Sonic's on the other side, rummaging through the first-aid kit they'd spent hours checking and re-checking that it was fully stocked with everything they thought they might possibly need. Dean silently refuses to take the painkillers they offer.

"It'll be easier if you just get him in a shower," Kim says, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror as Sonic lightly dabs at the crusted blood on Dean's face.

"Yeah, sure," Sonic answers, and keeps going.

By the time they get to Alan's place Dean's face is clean and horrifying. Both eyes black and swollen, most likely a broken cheekbone, his mouth a mess of his own teeth-marks and cuts from something like a ring on a closed fist. North's own hands clench hard; Dean's stuttering inhale has him furiously relaxing his grip.

"It's okay," he soothes automatically, petting at Dean's shoulder—the least damaged looking part he can see. Dean doesn't relax, exactly, but he does take a slightly deeper breath.

Kim parks neatly right in front of where Alan's waiting all alone, arms crossed and lit from behind with all the lights on inside the house. North slides out first, taking most of Dean's weight (noticeably less than when he left, bones so fragile in North's arms it feels like he'll snap) as Sonic hurries around to help, first-aid kit clutched in one hand. Kim keeps the car running, waiting until they're clear to move it around to the garage.

When Alan reaches out, tries to take Dean from them, Sonic snarls, a sound from deep in his chest like North's never heard before. North feels Dean's aborted flinch shake all the way through him.

"Just—" North starts but doesn't know how to finish. It's Alan, of course: their boss, their pack alpha. He's safe. It would be safe to hand Dean over to him. It's expected. But North can't let go and Sonic is fierce and protective like he gets when he's in heat, except he's definitely not anything; still the only real smell is Dean and his bitter injured scent. "We got it, uncle."

It takes a moment, but Alan nods. "Okay. I got—Everything's all set up in Dean's room." He steps out of their way, arms folded again, face set stern like when he thinks he's not allowed to cry. North feels unkind about his lack of sympathy, but it was Alan's decision that brought them here. He doesn't get to feel bad about it. Not yet.

Sonic leads them not to Dean's room but to their room. It settles North a little when they cross the threshold and lock themselves in. Everything smells like the two of them: Sonic's sour apple and jasmine is all over their bedding, while North's subtler lemongrass and cedarwood drifts through the air.

The comfort of it must hit Dean as well, because he becomes true dead weight the moment they're fully inside. His eyes are open, when North checks, but he's not focusing on anything.

"Shower?" Sonic suggests uncertainly. "Or do you think, is the water going to hurt him?"

"Maybe a bath," North agrees. They move into the bathroom and fill the tub, lukewarm because Sonic thinks that's the best temperature. Dean flinches violently away when Sonic tries to take off his clothes, so in the end they all three clamber into the tub fully clothed.

Mostly North is used to keep Dean propped up and not in any danger of drowning, while Sonic works his way through cleaning Dean up: tenderly washing his hair with the fancy stuff Way gave him for his last birthday, the softest washcloth he could find to wipe away all traces of anything that isn't Dean. Whether it's the soft touches or the cooling water or the fact that's it's just them, just North and Sonic, Dean comes back to fully conscious and cooperating partway through.

He still doesn't really say anything, but he lets North manoeuvre them all so they can get at least their shirts off. North doesn't have it in him not to growl at the sight of Dean's chest all battered and bruised. He'd known what was hiding under the shirt, but it's very different seeing it through a screen than seeing it in his arms.

He wonders how much more he's hurting Dean, holding him up like this.

"Yeah," Dean sighs, laboriously lifting one hand to pat Sonic's arm. "I know."

Sonic hums, blinking furiously, as he carefully cleans Dean with the unscented body wash he usually uses before a heat, or when he's homesick.

North presses his face into Dean's wet hair and inhales deep. "You sure you don't want that painkiller?"

"When I go to sleep," Dean says. He's trembling all over, the exhaustion and the pain definitely hitting him now. Sonic works a bit faster. It's too difficult to get Dean's pants off when they're all tangled together in the tub, so they climb out and let their wet clothes clump on the floor in favour of wrapping the biggest towel they could find around Dean.

Sonic makes them stay in the bathroom while he organises their bedding; building a nest, North assumes. It will be good, to get Dean into their nest, and let him sleep while they keep watch. While they wait he braces Dean against the sink and dries his hair.

"Thanks," Dean breathes out when the hairdryer shuts off and their ears ring in the quiet left behind.

North doesn't know how to say that something like this feels like moving a small pebble from the mountain of guilt he has for leaving Dean, for watching over him without helping for so many days, for letting fucking Winner do what they wouldn't, so he says "you're welcome" and carries Dean to the nest when Sonic finally lets them in.