#like sir your kids your friends your family even your enemies love you

[fearofevrything]

finished like a dragon 8 sunday night and god DAMN is this series peak fucking gaming bro. it’s nice now being able to play premium adventure and to have some fun without the constant threat of kiryu maybe possibly dying by the end of the game hanging over my head. i even put him in his resurrected dragon outfit so we can just pretend none of this ever happened and we’re just a group of freaks and weirdos terrorizing the streets of hawaii and japan for fun. like i understand that the story is SO well written and is overall a “good” story but for fucks sake hasn’t kiryu suffered enough? they give him literal cancer and spend his portions of the game reminding you of this fact like…PLEASE. LET HIM STOP SUFFERING. LET HIM SEE HIS FUCKING KIDS!!!!

[riverbutghost]

hello !!! I love your writing and all your prompts, I was just wondering if you’d be willing to do an extreme angst one where Everyone especially Simon notices The readers mental health go downhill , and on one of the missions reader goes berserk, or purposely tries getting themselves killed , thinking they’re doing a good thing ?

Try for me

yea yes yes. omg. thank you so much i love your support !!

Pairing: Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x Fem!Reader (I didn’t know what to use so I used female pronouns<3)

Warnings: military stuff,, angst but happy ending! Also, the reader’s call sign is Crow.

Also this is phenomenal.

Gripping your gun tighter, you stumbled into the room. You quickly looked through the room and got out.

“If any of you find something, inform me so I can send help.”

Price’s voice came through the comms, and you sighed. If it was a month ago, you would have said something like ‘yes sir’ or anything. But now, you just wanted to deal with every single soldier by yourself.

It wasn’t a healthy thought for sure. But you just felt like you couldn’t do it anymore. You tried, so fucking hard but to no avail.

-

“I’ll pass on that.”

You smiled politely at your friends, who looked a bit skeptical. You saw from the corner of your eye that Soap and Ghost shared a knowing look. You didn’t care. All you cared was to sleep the day off.

“C’mere now, you love to play darts.”

You swallowed the lump in your throat and turned to look at them.

“I’m just tired, see you tomorrow.”

They knew something was wrong, but didn’t press on it.

-

“Crow, you copy?”

You shook your head to clear your mind, but still your vision was blurred with tears. You didn’t know why, but it happened all the time. Your throat would wobble and your eyes would water, but you didn’t cry. You couldn’t. Because you were never alone by yourself. Not when you were on a long mission.

“Yeah?”

You answered Price, sighing softly.

“I told you to-“

The line was cut off immediately, and you furrowed your eyebrows.

“Captain?”

You gulped after hearing no sign from him. You took a good look around you, but couldn’t comprehend anything.

“Fuck, not now.”

You mumbled to yourself as you harshly kicked a rock. Your chest started tightening, your headache got worse. All you needed was to cry, but you couldn’t.

-

Pursing your lips tighter, you held back a sob after the door opened. You gripped the blanket over your head, pretending to sleep on the couch.

The footsteps stopped right in front of you, and you tried to even your breathing.

“Crow..?”

You cursed your body for shaking slightly. You peeked your head through the blanket.

“Hey, uhm..”

Simon’s eyes scanned your face and he sat down.

“What’s wrong?”

His voice was abnormally soft, and you felt your eyes watering again. Getting softness from a guy who was intimidating and wore masks and kill people was what made the situation worse for you.

“Hey, hey..easy. S’fine, just wanted t’know because you don’t seem okay.”

You sniffed and pulled the blanket over you again, not wanting to ugly cry in front of your lieutenant.

“Is it about the mission..? Are you.. stressed? Sure, it is a hard one, but you have us. And we have you..”

You sobbed quietly as his hand traced patterns on your knees, touch soft as ever.

It wasn’t about the mission.

-

Loosening your grip on your gun, you sighed and threw it away. You could practically hear Price’s disappointed screams, harsh words that would go in one ear and out the other. But you were alone now.

Maybe if you just went to the soldiers and ask them to kill you, it would be easier.

You stared at the enemy, talking with each other about their daily lives. Not giving a single shit about killing people, torturing their kids and families.

You sighed and sat down behind a tree, holding your knees in a tight hug.

Closing your eyes, your lips wobbled a little but you sighed.

-

“Aye, Lt. What’s wrong with her?”

Soap muttered under his breath to Ghost, and he looked at you.

You were sitting down next to another rookie. Everyone was chatting around the camp fire, relaxing their minds for the upcoming mission.

That was Gaz’ idea. The camp fire.

Everyone was laughing, having a good time. You were sitting there, smiling at your teammate as he was making impressions of your other teammates.

You weren’t there, though. Anyone who knew your ups and downs would know that. You were pretending, something you did pretty good. But Soap knew, Ghost knew.

God, even Price could see it.

Ghost was the only one who saw you crying. It was the day before. You cried while he patted your knee.

It was something that affected him. Seeing you cry did so many things to his already broken heart, but he would get through it.

His main concern was you.

He dismissed Soap, and went over to sit next to you. You turned to look at the person who sat next to you, only to find him. Your smile faltered a bit, but you smiled again.

“When are you gonna stop this?”

You swallowed and tried not to break your smile.

“What, Simon?”

You called him by his real name, which was a warning. But Ghost wasn’t a guy that would consider a warning.

“Bullshit. I know you’re not here mentally. Talk to me.”

His voice dropped an octave and he gripped his gloves, ripping them off from his hands. Your sharp eyes met his as you opened your mouth for harsh words.

“Just because we made a mistake by fucking doesn’t give you the option to talk to me like you’re my psychologist.”

You hissed through clenched teeth, and got up.

You stormed out of the area, bumping your shoulder to Soap’s in the process.

“Hey-“

Ghost’s eyes never left you as he came next to Soap.

“Leave it Johnny.” He mumbled with raging eyes.

-

“Crow, where are you?!”

You gasped quietly as you shot up from the ground. You were looking at the sky, almost hypnotized.

You looked at the time on your clock, and you were there for an hour.

You looked around, finding the soldiers still talking and waiting.

You got up, walked towards them with slow and unsteady steps.

The soldiers saw you and got their guns ready. You didn’t even surrender.

“It’s for the best.” You mumbled to yourself as you took another step.

“Stop right there, lady!”

Someone yelled, but other hushed him.

“She’s one of them!”

You waited for the guns to start firing. You sighed deeply as you thought about the hurt you caused your loved ones. It was going to be better for everyone.

You held your breath and closed your eyes as the fires started, only to realize that you were flying.

Opening your eyes, you looked behind you to see your lieutenant’s chin.

“Sim-“

“Shut it.”

He put you into the truck, and locked the doors after he got out.

A pained sob left your throat after he left, and you held your face in your hands.

What was wrong with you? What the hell were you thinking? No, it would be better if you died. You’re a pussy.

The door of the truck opened harshly, and Simon got in.

“What the fuck was that?!” He yelled, hand slamming down in anger.

You just sobbed after that, but he shook his head.

“Fuckin’ hell.. I told you to talk to me, didn’t I?! You were going to die!”

Hi clenched his hands, fisting them. He punched the metal door and you flinched.

“Fuck..”

He mumbled again, and looked up at you. His eyes were red, angry.

“What’s wrong with you?” He asked after minutes of silence other than your broken sobs.

“It would be better-“

“No!”

He yelled again, body tense with so much anger.

“I hurt you all the time! Why, because of my fucking mental health? I promise you wouldn’t miss me if I died.”

Simon’s eye twitched as he punched his thigh. He pointed his finger at you accusingly. He took a deep breath before talking.

“You listen to me. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Nor do Soap or anyone want it. You hear me? I’ll take care of you, you’ll be better. Therapy, whatever the hell you want or need. I’ll fuckin’ do it. But you will not do..that again, yeah?”

Your face was scrunched up and Simon moved towards you, to hold you in his arms while you ugly cry. A big pained sob left you, making Simon’s heart clench.

“I’m sorry, M’such a wreck.”

Simon just held you tighter, brain fogged with the shit you tried to pull just minutes ago.

“Never, you hear me? Never do that again. Or I swear, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

You knew what he meant. He was scared. So were you.

“Tell me.” He mumbled into your hair, after minutes passed. You were now breaking deeply.

“I’ll try.”

“That’s it.”

You sniffled one last time.

“Let’s go, yeah? Wanna take a long bath. Gonna wash you up, sweet girl.”

Your heart was pounding in your chest as you thought about the man who was holding you.

You would try, just for him.

[spookyson]

Okay soooo just wrote like my longest fic ever I'm so happyyyy

A lil peak;

Dick Grayson gets home to find his little brother missing.

Which was, unfortunately, not rare or new, but this was infinitely worse. Because Tim was a baby.

Dick, along with most of the team, rummaged through the Manor and Batcave. They had gotten back home around an hour ago, sometime after 3, and the routine debrief had been abandoned when Cass noticed the empty bed.

“Tim! Timmy!” said Dick, his voice growing hoarser by the minute. “Come out, buddy! Please we’re not trying to hurt you.”

Dick was upstairs, investigating the manor along with Damian and Stephanie, while the rest of them double-checked the cave—no sign of him.

What if he wasn’t even here? What if he was in the city? What if he was in danger-

Fuck, fuck. Dick had grown used to it, the fact that all of his family were usually in a life-threatening situation. He was the same and if Batman, the most controlling asshole Dick had ever managed to love, let all of Dick’s siblings head out at night to fight crime, then he could too. It’s just that everyone else was trained, experienced, and older than 3. Also, this was Tim. Who always managed to make the worst enemies and get into the worst situations. What do you mean Ra’s al Ghul wants your babies? Why the fuck don’t you have a spleen? Assassin friends? Why do you have assassin friends?

Bottom line; Dick was stressed and he would not be sleeping tonight unless Tim was at home and under lock and key.

God, Bruce had already called Clark. And Bruce never called Clark. It was like a pride thing or something, Dick wasn’t really sure, he never paid much attention to what Bruce said back when he was Robin.

Dick frantically checked Tim’s room for what must have been the twelfth time in the past twenty minutes. There wasn’t a lot in it, Tim had moved most of his stuff into the Nest, but Dick meticulously checked under the bed, closet, and adjoining bathroom for any sign of his brother. There was none.

“Richard!” called Damian from the threshold of the room.

Dick looked up from the closet. “News?” He fought to keep his voice level. Damian was still so young, he didn’t want to scare him.

Nodding, Damian gestured for him to follow. “Drake has been located. He should be arriving shortly, Father wants all of us in the Cave.”

When they arrived, Tim was already there.

Old photographs of the kids hung on the walls, baby photographs that no one was quite sure how Bruce had procured. Or were too scared to ask about it at this point. The photo nearest to the door of the kitchen was one of Tim’s, an image from when he would have been around eight. He had been a small child.

This Tim was even smaller, clinging to Kon with one miniature hand and arguing with the Batman.

“Why am I here?” he said, large eyes narrowed at the crowd assembled before him. Dick must have not missed much. He spotted Clark in his Superman costume, sporting the awkward look he got sometimes when any of them talked back to Bruce.

Bruce was still Batman, only his cowl was lowered to reveal a tense face. "You are compromised. It would be safer for everyone if you remained at the manor."

Baby Tim's face screwed up into an adorable pout. Dick physically held himself back from scooping up his (currently) youngest brother and wrapping him in a blanket. The third Robin possessed a youthful quality to his looks, often appearing much younger than he was, and Dick had never considered its devastating effect. He wondered how Bruce had stopped himself from adopting Tim on the spot. According to all Dick knew about Tim's pre-Robin years, he's been attending many of the same parties as Bruce.

"I know I look 3, but I'm not actually that age, B. I won't snitch, you don't have to worry," says Tim. He looks to Kon, who nods his agreement.

"Uh, yes sir. Tim's his usual self."

Which is not exactly the problem Timmy. "Nevertheless, I think the team would rest easier if you remained home today." If you hadn't known Batman for as many years as Dick had, you'd think he didn't care, but all of this was pretty much Bruce-speak for ‘I am very concerned about you, please stay in my field of vision for the foreseeable future’.

Dick couldn’t judge. There was something about Tim, his smallest brother (since Damian had recently surpassed him in height a few months ago; something they still managed to fight about) becoming even smaller. Tim was also just really freaking adorable. He had those big blue eyes, a shade lighter than Dick’s, chubby cheeks and he was also clad in the smallest Superman t-shirt Dick had ever seen. Which actually, he flicked a look at Kon, was probably meant to be a Superboy t-shirt.

Anyway, Tim was cute and Dick wanted to hug him. He was also painfully vulnerable and had so many enemies and why would they let him out of the best-protected place in Gotham when he could be safe right here? Matter resolved.

“I can’t waste time over here, B. I have other responsibilities.” Tiny Timmy sighed and rubbed his small hands up and down the bridge of his nose and Dick was grasped by a sudden urge to dress him up in a miniature suit and provide him with a small briefcase. And then take a fuck-load of pictures. Tim proceeded to yawn adorably, therefore proving that the mini photo shoot needed to happen now. “Red Robin aside, WE needs me.”

“What’re they gonna do with ya right now, baby bird? Nap time?” crowed Jason.

The glare that Tim aimed at Jason was poisonous enough for it to have been terrifying, but at the moment, Tim was 3 and just about the most precious thing anyone in that room had ever seen. Dick cannot hold himself accountable for swooping in from behind Bruce to scoop up his smallest brother into a tight hug.

Tim’s frail little bones knocked harmlessly against muscles gained from years as an acrobat and vigilante, so Dick was free to squeeze in a way Damian would have never allowed and Jason would have bit him for. “You’re so cute, Timmy! Why did you never tell me you were adorable?”

“I’ve always been adorable,” sniffed Tim, weak arms straining against Dick’s chest in an effort to pull me away. “Now lemme go… I need to sign contracts and drink coffee.”

“And chase down the bitch-ass magic boy,” added Kon, his face impassive.

“And chase down the bitch-ass magic boy,” repeated Tim.

To his credit, Bruce only raised an eyebrow and continued; “All of which can be handled from here. I will return to Wayne Enterprises and we will cite your absence as a family matter. Zatana is due to arrive shortly, we will know anything vital to your current condition. Red Robin’s patrols will be covered by the rest of the team in shifts. Any running cases will need to be handled by the other vigilantes in Gotham.”

Tim ceased his relentless wriggling and swerved his head to Bruce. “That’s really… nice of you, Bruce,” said Tim. His small forehead wrinkled in thought. “But I don’t mean to impose for long. Kon and I can handle it.”

“Tim,” began Bruce, and then stopped. Because Tim had fallen asleep.

This is just a little part. The actual fic is 18k words omfg so if u enjoyed I put in the link to the whole thing down below. Please tell me what u think!

[moeitsu]

This shit-post is dedicated to my weird ass friends and the most out of pocket things they've said that I've written in the quote book I've kept in my notes since 2019. Enjoy:

The mayonnaise did wonders for my hair. -P

The Holy Spirit does not want to suck your balls. -E

That's the scariest thing about Halloween...young women. -N

You can put long pasta in there! -E You mean spaghetti? -M

I don't know what blood type I am, is there an app for that? -G

You already said you wouldn't eat my ass -E

What's your major? -K Oh, I'm American. -G

I'm gonna shit in that trash can. -G

Are we about to exchange insurance cards? -J

I'm pretty sure I don't wanna warm my pussy by the fire. -M

Ugh, I don't wanna be a femboy! -M

If you're so worried about the angles then just stick your fingers in the hole. -M

I wish I could be off the grid. -M Like homeless people? -E

Who needs bleach when you have discharge. -J

Why are there panties in your hat? -G

I think I'm mentally disabled. -M No, you're just mentally ill. -E

It could be a deer with down syndrome. -D

I remember when the only app they had was angry birds. -J

Now that's the kind of guy who should be reproducing. -J

Cute rhymes with stupid. -N

No arms, no legs, not even living. But watches porn. -R

Sweaty balls doesn't sound very appetizing. -T

You're starting to look like a real girl again. -N

I always poop in other people's houses. It's how I establish dominance. -T

No sir, I am from Boston. All I know is drink coffee and cuss. -M

The gas station bathroom was treacherous. Pretty sure I saw blood on the walls. -C

If it doesn't cure you, it'll kill you! -Z

Bone dry dunes? That's where you go when you run out of cum. -E

I live by the thee S's: serve, slay, survive. -G

I will not participate in the ass licking. -E

You white people always have cool ancestors. My ancestors were slaves. -S My ancestors were responsible for that. -G

That gives me a free pass to call you a bitch. I'll take it. -N

Would anyone wanna buy my wick-less candles? Shameless plug I know. -K

C'mere, come into my womb. -G

I like your dads meat. -E

Our family funds the entire therapy on the north shore. -B

You can't be this smart w/o massive mental health problems. -B

She doesn't like gay people? -M Nope, she's up in the air about black people too. -P

We're back to our regularly scheduled racism. -R

That's abortion money, not pedicure money. -K

I'm gonna give you a disability if you don't stop. -M

I can always fuck up chicken. Especially the breast. -N

Nice parking job Alabama. Was your sister giving you head while you were driving? -N

I don't think calories are real. I've never seen one. -M

Do you even know what man boobs are? -E It's literally in the name. -M

Can't men flick their nipples off? -E

Well, 5 out of 6 of us were born with a full spine. -E

What's the point of having a gf if you can't objectify her? -N

Mother fucker we don't own straws. We broke as shit. -N

You're like a lollipop triple dipped in psycho flavor. -P

What are you just not gonna feed your kid so you can afford to go to Disney? -A

Do you think she's trans? Like she was a dude and now she's a guy? -N You mean she was a dude and now she's a girl? -M

The boogeyman wants to suck you're toes. -M He would never, he's asexual. -P

We need a new toilet. -P This is American made! This is a quality toilet! -A

There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama. -N

She called me autistic! -P Well, it couldn't hurt to get tested. -A

The shirt says 'wicked strong' -M It should say 'wicked annoying' -N

What bitch is blowing up your phone? -M Literally your Dad. -N

I'm a white girl, of course I love cheese. -S

Why do bad things keep happening to me? Don't they know who I am! -N

It's because I feel safe here. -M Well, maybe you shouldn't. -N

The real magic happens when you embrace the delusion. -K

Oh look, the Trump tower! What if it just blows up? -R

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't finish the Bible. It's on my DNF shelf. Adam and Eve? I need enemies to lovers. -B

A woman bit me, I'm gonna become a prostitute. No! -S

Technically, I'm bisexual. -M You're too old for labels. -G

[literally-just-there]

⋆ 💖 ⋆‧°𖦹｡⋆ Self Insert OC ⋆｡𖦹°‧⋆ 💖 ⋆

.𖥔 ݁ ˖⟡⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𖤓🌻.𖥔 ݁ ˖ Seeker

She ended up in a cursed city with amnesia and a weird magic map, but she got cool powers and a found family so things are going pretty fine.

⋆ 💖 ⋆‧°𖦹｡⋆ Romantic F/Os ⋆｡𖦹°‧⋆ 💖 ⋆

⋅ 《•🔍⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓ The Informant

Together with Seeker, they are either two lovestruck idiots or the smartest, most unstoppable force of nature, there is no in-between.

🎱༄〰𓆩☆𓆪❀˖° Amber Lewis

A fellow investigator and an absolute badass who radiates confidence, she teaches Seeker how to play chess and pool and they both have fun during it.

⋆ 💖 ⋆‧°𖦹｡⋆ Familial F/Os ⋆｡𖦹°‧⋆ 💖 ⋆

⊹˚₊‧◇•┈┈┈┈୨⋅🪞⋅ Helen

A mother to Seeker, and to basically everyone in the city. Part-time mayor's assistant, full-time sweetie and badass.

🪁❀--*ੈ--✩‧₊˚ Benjamin Rosewell

Did Seeker adopt him or did he adopt Seeker ? Who knows... What is for certain is that intelligence and lack of impulse control brought them together.

▪︎ ⋅ ⋆༺જ⚔️𓆩✧𓆪 Colonel Hammerstrike

Seeker's supportive dad, a feminist who also lacks impulse control, teaches her how to use guns and forbids swearing.

⋅ 《•✺…˚ ༘ 🎩 ೀ⋆｡𖤓˚ Felix Smallcat

Seeker's Tired Dad ™, who needs a hug because he is doing his best, also he teaches her how to paint and ride a bike.

.₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧🏛.⁂⤶.·͙*̩̩͙❞ Sir William Hoggarth

Seeker's grandpa who gets excited about archeology and will hit you with an authentic medieval sword if you dare attack his museum.

𖦹༄☸꒰ ⚓ ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟCaptain Wang Wei

Seeker's awesome uncle who teaches her sea shanties, how to maneuver a boat and how to not get scammed. Also, he wants regular updates on her love life.

―✧˖° 🏵 °˖𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪°˖✧ Gordon Byron

A sibling to Seeker, who (half) chose to deal with the romantic bohemian guy who flees responsibility, and to be a therapist specialized in mommy issues.

❀*‧｡*:･✮𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ Lady Charlotte Livingstone

Seeker's spoiled and spirited little sister, who has an intense love for pink and helping people.

✧˚ ༘ 🎭)◞ ｡⋆｡˚✮𓍢ִ໋ Clyde Templeton

He is Seeker's little brother even though he is older because he got an arc and she had to tick him off, and now she is extremely proud of him.

⋆ 💖 ⋆‧°𖦹｡⋆ Platonic F/Os ⋆｡𖦹°‧⋆ 💖 ⋆

༺｡° .ᘛ𓆩💗𓆪ᘚ. Anna Sherwood

Seeker's absolute best friend, both are Dedicated ™ to their jobs, and both would throw their moral compasses out the window to protect the ones they love.

💐⋆˙⟡⋆˙˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ ⚱ Adrian Bloom

Since they are both amnesiacs, they kind of naturally gravitated towards each other. He makes her exclusive new perfumes, she teaches him puns.

₊˚⊹✧˚ ༘📚⋆｡˚;༊𖦹｡⋆ Amelia Anders

An absolute sweetheart. Seeker and her are basically co-parenting Ben and other kids. They bonded over their love for reading and mutual fear of the dark.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･💡⁺˚⋆｡°✮₊ The Inventor

An absolute cinnamon roll who will propel Darkwood in the 30th century when the outside world is still in the 19th century. Seeker does not mind if things explode or get stuck to the wall because science!!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺ ⚒️.𖥔 ݁ ˖ Robert Smith (The Blacksmith)

No sir, Seeker is not bored or annoyed by your lengthy explanations of what it is you are doing in your work in the slightest. Yes sir, she and the Informant are in love and idiots about it. Please proceed with the explanations and the shipping.

✩♬ ₊˚.🩰⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧⋅ The Dancer

She is the best, most passionate and most patient dance teacher ever. She always makes sure Seeker and the Informant are paired up during lessons, then she proudly admires her good work at balls.

⛧°。 ⋆༺☾🕯𖦹⋅ Agnes the Witch

Seeker is like 'I could defeat you if needed but you teach me a lot of stuff and you are a cool person actually so it would suck to not have you around' and Agnes is like 'you are the only decent sign of intelligent life around these parts and also I have never met a more selfless person but please don't think too much of what I just said'.

⋆ 💖 ⋆‧°𖦹｡⋆ Fictional Enemies ⋆｡𖦹°‧⋆ 💖 ⋆

⋆✮⋆༄ʚ🗝ɞ°｡ ⋆⸜ 𖦹 The Man in the Mask

Between 'cool motive, still multiples cases of kidnapping and assault' and 'he ensured Delacroix would not become mayor, he got standards'.

˙˖°✩‧ --⋆｡⊹˚꩜‧₊˚⚜️ Lord Carl Delacroix

Seeker wishes for his absurdingly expensive tea to be cold, and for him to accidentally cut off his moustache because he tried to frame the Informant and because he is an asshole in general.

[thatpunkmaximoff]

[Book 1 of 4]

Story: 5 out of 5 Smut: 4 out of 5

I knew this book was going to be good when Alex admitted being into BDSM lmao.

But for real, the only thing I expected when picking up this book was some relationship drama. I got that, plus some family drama that left my jaw hanging open (looking at you, Mr. Chen). I had an inkling about Alex's family drama, and I hated being proven right. It sucked and I'm glad everyone in the wrong got what they deserved.

As for the main couple, wow. My heart was absolutely broken. I loved seeing them get together, but when reality set in and some things were said.. I cried. Poor Ava.

They do get their happily ever after, but I have a feeling the drama is nowhere near over. On to book 2!

Now enjoy my ramblings..

* Jesus. Her shirt was see through and Alex didn’t even tell her until she had to get off somewhere.

* “You’re not my type, even if you weren’t Josh’s sister.” — Ouch.

* Well.. Alex is into BDSM 😏

* So Josh is entrusting his sister’s well-being to Alex because he knows his friend will never fuck her? This is going to go swimmingly, isn’t it? 😂

* She compared him to Voldemort. Oh no lmao.

* Woo. Alex is pissed! He did not like finding Ava in a black skimpy lace getup with another dude in the room 😏

* Damn. He really threatened her friend like that, huh. Harsh.

* Operation Emotion is not going to end well 😬

* “Don’t play with me unless you want to get hurt.” — SIR! You cannot say that after we all know what you’re into behind closed doors.

* Lmfao 🤣 Ava’s mind being in the gutter when Alex had her innocently straddling one of this thighs..

* Shared bed trope.. 😏 Alex finding out Ava has night terrors.. 🥺

* Nooooo lmfao. She woke up with her hand on his dick. I can’t 🤣🤣🤣

* This fucking parrot lol

* Alex beating the shit out of Liam.. yes 🙌🏻

* Wtf.. her mom pushed her into the lake as a kid?

* And now I’m crying as she unloads her past to Alex and how she feels about it all 😭

* Madeline, you jealous twat!

* Oh shit. They kissed. And he rejected her. Harshly. Fuckkkk.

* Wow. A celibate Alex is a dick 😂 At least he’s happy now after seeing Ava and scaring the shit out of her boss.

* The swimming lesson turned naughty. I knew this was going to happen 😏

* Jesus Christ. That sex marathon.. 🥵

* I’m a fan of his possessiveness and him railing her while taking an important call 😂

* Jesus. In the student health center? Alex is a horndog lmao.

* Wait.. wtf? Her dad!? Her dad was the one who tried to kill her!!!

* This dude is a fucking asshole!

* Josh is back! And he decked his father in the face 😂 Now to get on to him finding out his best friend is banging his sister 👀

* Why do I get the feeling her telling him she loves him is going to cause a strain? 🥺

* Why don’t I trust Alex’s uncle? He knows Ava’s name. He knows she’s distracting Alex. Is he going to do something?

* Wtf did his uncle do?! Did he have something to do with the murder of his family?! Fuck this dude.

* Late to dinner and jealous. And lying about the phone. Smh, Alex. I was rooting for you.

* Oh fuck. He was only in with the Chen’s because he was plotting their downfall? Noooooo. Ava is gonna be so heartbroken.

* And I called it! I knew the uncle was sketchy as shit. Fuck that dude.

* He had the girls kidnapped?! What a fucking asshole. But wait, isn’t Bridget the princess? Where the fuck is her bodyguard?

* Fuckkkkk. And now my heart is broken for Ava. Everything Alex had to say.. ugh 😩

* ..and now I’m crying. I hate it here.

* Two months later.. I never trust these time skips anymore.

* God I love Bridget lol

* “Your enemies are my enemies, your friends are my friends, and if you wanted, I would burn down the world for you.” - Aww. He’s an adorable psycho 🥰

* So you tell me he resigned as CEO and then hit me with that “one year later” bs. Fuck.

* He sang! Oh my god 😩

* They’re together! Fucking finally.

* Blackmail on a future Queen? For fuck’s sake, Alex 😂

* I’ll never look at an apple orchard the same way ever again 👀

[voidsteffy]

Hey! Could you answer some questions please?

Q1) Which SSR movie made you want to watch his entire filmography from the start?

Q2) Have you watched SSR'S movies in a chronological order or not?

Q3) Who's your favourite SSR character from each of his movies that's he's made for over 20 years?

Q4/Bonus Question) What's your favourite musical number/song and scene from SSR'S movies?

Thanks for the ask and oooh an interesting one at that!

1. I've never watched SSR's filmography as a purposeful sitdown. His movies usually air like casual reruns every week on some channel or the other. But if a movie of his would make me feel like I have to re-experience his basket of films, it would be Eega for sure. I mean I can go on and on about that movie. It's either Eega or Magadheera because both were milestones in both his career and in the Telugu film industry.

2. I haven't really (don't come at me SSR fans) because I feel like any of his movies set in the present world and having normal storylines (besides Chatrapathi, that movie is iconic) are a one time watch. SSR has a knack for nailing the period pieces and weird themes so I don't really watch all his movies in chronological order. But if they come on tv in that order (here they kinda do that stuff if they wanna celebrate a birthday or a new award etc) then I could fathom sitting down and giving them a watch

3. Oh boy that's a tough cookie. I'm prolly gonna disappoint with my answers lmao. My fav characters:

Student No. 1- tarak's character ig? Haven't watched that film in a long time

Simhadri - Bhumika's character. Even I would like to forget my life sometimes. And I too, nail the dialogue "aakalestondi" (transl. I'm hungry) like, a thousand times a day

Sye - the best friend who writes all the homework, cz... Damn the dedication gorl. Also imo she's a lesbian girlboss in later life but that's just my measly headcanon idkkk

Chatrapathi - the friend. Absolutely the friend. The orphan friend who gets killed while helping the children hide from the slum fight takeover. He's my smol bean. And he's the real hero

Vikramarkudu - Brahmi thatha's character, the relative who is also a thief. His expressions are the only comedy apart from the little girl. They give this movie a lightness fr

Yamadonga - do i even need to say this? The pendant. That's my favourite character! Let's be real we all have an entity like that that never leaves us but we just don't KNOW it yet

Magadheera - Badshah. Badshah the warrior horsey is my favorite character, as he should be

Maryada Ramanna - as annoying as he is, Brahmaji's character, the tongue-in-cheek older second cousin that GETS KILLED BY HIS OWN FAMILY FOR NO FAULT OF HIS

Eega - the father who tells his daughter this entire story of a fly's revenge on a millionaire as a bedtime story. You are top tier sir. May all young minds have guidance like yours. Namaste. A close second place goes to the Tantrik because I love his teasing riddle to Sudeep (in Telugu it goes like "inappeti, aggipetti, nee muddula mohaniki masipatti, ee tantrani vettukkuntu vastav" and honestly.... I haven't loved rhyming stuff more)

Bahubali the Beginning - Shivudu's tribal mom. Girlboss. Icon. She's strong, she loves her adopted kid enough to walk up and down from the river to the Shivalinga a million times. She is the moment.

Bahubali the Conclusion - none. Istg this movie gets on my nerves as a writer because literally every character except Bahu is ooc (just my perspective, everybody is entitled to their opinion)

RRR - BHEEM. come to me in a thousand years and my answer still won't change. My smol bean, my raja, my entirety, my love, my heart. He's one of the best written characters of all of SSR's characters (the list is: Bheem, Chatrapathi's friend, Sivagami, honestly Priyamani's character in Yamadonga a bit?, the cycle in Maryada Ramanna - the perfect enemies to reluctant friends arc, and Nani)

4. Fav musical no. Is (don't laugh) the train song in Maryada Ramanna because something about that tune just puts my worries to sleep.

Fav musical scene. this might be fucked up (my mom would think so lol) but the scene in Yamadonga where she unfurls her black half saree (voni) to protect a sleeping Raja from the midday sun.... Like ugh that's.... Yeah I can't talk because my mouth ain't making any sounds

Again, thanks for the ask omg I never knew I had so many opinions until I was asked for them🤣🤣😅 hope you don't hate me for my answers

[iguana-eyanna]

The Blood Within Us Chapter 17

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Pregnant! Reader

Summary: Will the reader do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves when tragedy hits the Wayne family? How far will the truth be tested when she realizes she’s not the only one with secrets of her own?

Warning: abduction, mobster activity

It was nice traveling out to San Fransisco. It was so vibrant around the west coast, as it was full of life and energy.

Bruce flew you and Jason out as he was helping the Teen Titans with a case relating to Deathstroke. 

He can tell most of the team members’ morale was down. It was a tough case and Dick felt like he brought everyone down.

Bruce suggested that everyone should take a break. They were just kids, and treating everyone to the city’s amusement park was a good decision. 

“Mom, c’mon!” your sons screamed for you as they were heading out with their friends.

You laugh at their reaction. It’s been a couple of weeks since your two sons have seen each other since Dick moved to lead the Titans. You’re happy that they’re having fun.

“What are you thinking?” Bruce asked out loud as he came with huge cotton candy in hand.

You turn around, snickering.

“I thought today was for the kids?” You ask.

He rolls his eyes playfully.

“Somebody told me that they wanted this.” He teased.

“And I thank you, good sir.” You replied, taking the snack out of his hands into your own as you two walked side by side.

You walk around a bit until you realized that there’s no line for the Ferris wheel. You two decided to ride on it as you cuddled in your seat.

“You still haven’t answered my question from earlier.” Bruce said.

You give a soft chuckle as you look down at the Titans that were huddled nearby.

“I’m just glad we’re here together. But, they’re growing up so fast and they have their own lives. It feels like it’s been a long time since we felt like a family.” You said.

Bruce looks down, to see what you meant.

Jason was hanging out with Roy Harper, eating hot dogs near the vendor. Dick was flirting with Kory as they got off the carousel.

He doesn’t understand what’s eating you up until you look at a young couple pushing a stroller across the boardwalk.

He looks back at you, seeing your saddened eyes.

“You want a baby…” Bruce slowly says.

You exhale slowly, knowing you can never hide what you’re feeling with your boyfriend.

“Maybe? I don’t know yet. I mean, it felt like yesterday I was signing the adoption papers for the boys. I won’t trade that for anything. But, I just started thinking that having a baby would be exciting too. Finding onesies, changing diapers, helping them walk and speak dada… I just thought that maybe both of us can raise a baby, together.”  

Bruce is silent. You turn away, thinking you’re an idiot.

“I’m sorry, you must think I’m crazy. We’re not even married and I’m already suggesting that we should try for a b-” 

You got cut off as Bruce held onto the sides of your face and gives you a serious stare.

“I don’t think you’re crazy.” He whispered.

You take hands and place them where his hands were.

“Really?” You ask.

He smiles and laughs softly, staring at your beautiful features under the night lights.

“You don’t know how much I want that too. I can just imagine us growing a family together. And don’t doubt for a second that I want to marry you.”

You blush from his words as the two of you lower your hands but are now intertwined near your laps.

“I feel like there’s a catch.” You state.

He pauses for a moment, trying to find the right words to say.

“Last month when Arthur Curry’s baby son got kidnapped by one of his enemies, it gave me this fear. I know our kids will fight their way out but what if that happened to a baby we’ll have? Every night when I go out as Batman, I make more enemies. I don’t want them destroying the very thing I love the most: my family.”  

You both hold each other closer, realizing so many dangers that lurk in the future.

“I don’t want that either.”

“Hey,” Bruce said, his pointer guiding your chin to look at him.

“I want us to try having kids. Just now, I’m not ready.” 

You nod your head, understanding where he’s coming from.

Suddenly, you all come to a halt at the top of the Ferris wheel. You look down and see all the titans wooing at you, chanting for you guys to kiss. Jason and Dick react disgustingly, but secretly they adore you and Bruce’s love for each other.

You both laugh and turn to each other, blushing. Bruce leans in for a kiss and your lips met. A bunch of hilarious teenage screams was heard, but they soon ceased.

It all started to fade out: the teens' screeches, the loud music, everything.

Bruce can hear his name being called but was not ready to let go of you yet.

“Master Bruce.”  

Bruce’s memory a few years ago fades away as he realizes what he was doing now.

Finding you.

Jason, Tim, and Damian were all in the cave, trying to research where you could pe.

Bruce then looks up to see Alfred, who looked worried. 

“Shall I alert the League members?” Alfred asks.

“No, we need to do this on our own. Anything rash can put her and the baby in harm’s way.” Bruce said, looking down at the folded sonogram picture he’s had the past several months.

In the background, Tim was typing away on the monitor to find what he was looking for.

“Maroni has at least five safe houses under his name, all miles away from Gotham.”

“He would be a fool to bring mother there, any police would be surrounding the area,” Damian said, striking out the idea.

“Well, we need to find something. Time isn’t on our side.” Jason stated.

“He’s right, Maroni will be asking for demands,” Dick said as he entered the cave.

Bruce gets up from his chair, going up to his eldest.

“Any luck?” Bruce asks.

“Andrei’s not talking, we thought it’ll be a dead end. Luckily, Babs said that a lot of officers are missing, so we assume that they’re on Maroni’s payroll. If he’s wanting muscle, then he might be going somewhere big.”

“Then let’s narrow down to any warehouses that are in a 30-minute radius, you and Damian can look into that. Jason, I want you to hit the streets and see if you can track any of the cars of the dirty cops. Tim, try to look at any security footage around the area of the bank robbery.”

All of the siblings dispersed in different directions. The brothers fear that something may happen, but they try not to think of the worse. 

Bruce goes to the monitor, trying to stare at the screen for clues. 

But he couldn’t.

“Master Bruce, you’ll find her,” Alfred reassured him.

Bruce just bows his head down.

“Why didn’t she trust me, Alfred? I promised her that we’ll find him together, and she just went by herself. I don’t know if something happened to the baby, I don’t know if she’s okay or hurt, I…” Bruce can’t even fathom anything else.

There’s silence, but Alfred speaks up.

“Maybe she went on her own because you did too.” 

Bruce looks up, stunned to hear what Alfred. 

But it was the truth. Bruce decided his fate, resulting in his family thinking he’s dead to protect them. It wasn’t right, but he felt it was the only way.

And now, you did the same thing.

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

You felt your breath thinning as you were in the back of the car.

The windows were tinted inward and there was a divider split between you and the man who took you so you couldn’t make sense of where you were. 

Your mind was filled with anxiety, and the safety of you and your baby was uncertain. You felt her kick and you try to soothe your hand over your belly, but it didn’t work.

Suddenly, the car stopped and the driver opened your side.

“Let’s take you inside, Mrs. Wayne. It gets cold out here.” He said.

You get out as he holds your arm for you to follow him. You look around your surroundings, realizing you were at an abandoned hotel. It looked like it was older than you, and you couldn’t make sense of the faded sign that was displayed by the building. 

There were men in suits surrounding the hotel, all fully loaded with weapons. They didn’t mind the sudden snowfall that fell on their shoulders, but you felt like you were getting cold by the second. 

You were rushed inside to the lobby as the man who held you went up to another man who had a dark gray suit.

“Tell the boss I have her.” Your captor said.

The other man looks at you as you bow down your head.

“Had she had anything else on her?” the guy in the gray suit asked.

“Just her bag, I think it’s just some paperwork she kept.” The captor said, placing it on the table beside you.

You internally sigh in relief, realizing they don't know what the papers were actually for.

“I’ll take it where the old coat room is.”

“But what about the boss?” your captor impatiently asks again.

“He’s in a meeting right now. Put her in with the other one till he gets out.” the other man said.

He grabbed your arm again as he took you to an old elevator and brought you to the sixth floor. It was as armed by two men as they walk different ways on the wing. The man unlocks the door and shoves you inside as you fall on your knee.

“Have a fun reunion, maybe the only one you’ll get.” He says before slamming the door.

“Reunion?” you whisper to yourself.

“They think they’re funny, but they’re all idiots around here. Maroni is too broke to hire real guards.” a voice said out loud.

You turn around to see who spoke to you, your eyes widening.

“It’s you.” 

The man pops out from the shadows, looking like hell as half of his unscarred face had minor cuts and bruises.

“In the flesh.” Harvey Dent said.

You look at him, seeing how he sits on a lounge chair. He winces a bit, grabbing his left side as he shifts.

“You’re not supposed to be here” He hissed through his pain as he got up, standing up.

“Neither should you.” You said, trying to get up as best as you could. Harvey goes up to you, then pauses.

He looked… scared like he didn’t know what to do. You realized that this was the first time a glass panel didn’t separate you two. 

You hesitantly lift your hand in the air as a sign he could help you and lift you to your feet.

You decide to sit on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath.

“How, how are you here?” You ask.

“I was trying to make a deal with the PD for my knowledge of certain crimes tied to a lot of men worse than me. I was stupid enough to not think that Maroni had a snitch, so they broke me out of Arkham before I could spill. And now they’re beating me to a pulp till I talk.”

You look uneasy, fiddling your ring finger.

“And they’ll get answers of where you hid everything.” you finished.

“How do you know about that?” Harvey hostility asks.

You try to avoid eye contact with him. Even if he was out of practice, Harvey was a skilled attorney. He could crack the truth from you before you even blinked.

“You have no men or resources to break yourself out, so someone did to get back at you. Any person who was smart enough could figure it out. And I know you, you needed evidence so the police had probable cause to arrest Maroni.” 

“You don’t know me, or who Maroni is.” he spat.

“I know he’s my grandfather.” You said.

Harvey stays silent for a moment. He takes a seat far away from you, daring not to look at you.

You made your hands into fists on each side as your eyes were stunned from tears.

“I know he tried forcing you to stay with his daughter, my biological mother. And when you knew you couldn’t play this charade, you collected everything that could send him away for life. I know he threatened you that he’ll hurt me if you did anything out of line. So you left, leaving me the one thing that could bring him down: a bank account that came with a safe.” 

That triggered him to look up at you. “I heard his men talking about a bank robbery, were you hurt?” He asks.

“No, I left before they came. But everything is in my purse in the coat room. I-I don’t know what to do, I had this plan to get you back and now I messed up everything.” You said, choking on your words. 

Your breathing became worse as you felt your baby under stress.

“Hey, hey look at me,” Harvey said, getting out of his chair and sitting down next to you.

By reflex, you hold his hand tight. He was shocked but he doesn’t say anything, allowing you to breathe first. 

Once you settled down, Harvey was the first to speak. 

“Look, you’re going to be alright, ok? No one is going to hurt you or your baby. And come to think of it, Maroni needs you alive than dead.” 

“What?” You ask. 

Harvey takes a deep breath.

“I mentioned earlier that Maroni is broke. It’s been under the radar, but every man wanting blood knows he’s not invincible anymore. He’s most likely keeping you here as ransom. And now that you’re married to Gotham’s billionaire…” he says.

“He wants to get out of the city before people get to him.” You finish.

“Bingo,” Harvey replies.

You stand up, slowly pacing. 

“That means we have the upper hand.” You whispered to yourself.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. May I remind you that you’re heavily pregnant and I was almost beaten half to death?” He asks rhetorically.

“No, we can make this work. Maroni can’t make a public announcement if he wants to deal with the police. I can make a deal with him and transfer my shared account if I had access online. If he’s that desperate for money, he’ll take it.” 

“I’m not risking that chance,” Harvey said, getting up.

“It’s the only one we got. Look, sending a transaction like that can alert my husband’s shared account. He’ll know how to ping the location from a laptop and send help. Please, we have to at least try.”

Harvey stays quiet for a moment.

“Fine. We’ll do it your way. But we need to have a backup plan in case he doesn’t through this act.” 

“Lucky for you, I can be quite the actress.” You stated.

He almost laughs at your joke, but he stops himself.

You’re about to say something until the door opened wide.

The person who took you had armed men on both sides. He gives you a very evil grin.

“Let’s meet the boss, shall we? He’s been dying to meet you.”

The men took you and Harvey by the arm and guided you to the banquet room. 

With each step, you felt your heart pounding. You felt queasy to the bone. It was almost like you were walking to the devil’s door. 

The doors opened and revealed armed men lined near the windows. In the middle was an old man, lighting a cigar.

Once you saw him, you realized it was Maroni.

You and Harvey were forced to sit on the opposite side of the table. Maroni takes a puff and looks at you.

“Well, aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes.” He quips.

You don’t look up until he snaps his fingers, letting a guard grab your jaw to make eye contact with you.

“You have your mother’s eye,” Maroni says in disbelief. 

“Don’t ever compare me to that woman.” you gritted out.

Maroni laughs, leaning in his chair. “You’re feisty, must come in through your father’s side.”

Harvey grinds his teeth, trying his best not to say something that will trigger Maroni.

“I didn’t care for your mother either; my only flesh and blood turned into quite the disappointment. I’m glad I threw her out. But you…” He gets up from his seat, walks to where you sat, and sat on the edge of his desk.

“You became quite the businesswoman. Already have national branches before the age of 27 and just recently got married to the world’s biggest billionaire. Mazel tov by the way.” He says as he takes another puff. 

“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?” You ask.

“Well of course I have! We’re family, you and me. I have to watch out for my only granddaughter: where she works, where she lives, where she makes her errands to… specifically a bank I’ve been targeting.” He hints. 

Another man walks into the room with your purse and throws the contents on the desk.

Maroni picks up one of the files and whistles, smirking.

“Though you won this time, didn’t you Dent? I was in no rush to punish you, you left your only child behind and half your face burned off because of well, me.” He laughs to himself.

His laugh was wicked, making you want your nails in your palm.

“You don’t scare me, Maroni." Harvey said out loud.

Maroni’s face drops and slowly walks to Harvey.

“You should be.” 

Now it was Harvey’s turn to chuckle, then dragged on to a humorous laugh.

“You have no power over me, shoot me for all I care and burn the evidence. But your men should find out that you’re broke and that you’re just some desperate old man who’s trying to dry out her granddaughter’s bank account to fly out to some tiny island as a retirement gift.” 

Maroni doesn’t say anything yet. 

“Who said I was going to hurt you?”

Just on cue, two men hold you down tying you to the chair. You try fighting them off but it's no use.

Maroni now walks around you. “You see… I never was satisfied after I let you go, Dent. I really, really want to hurt you bad. But how could I? You lost your career, your title, your marriage, your reputation. Nothing could fulfill the humanity that’s in that empty heart of yours. But, one of my men reported back to me that a young woman started to visit you a few months ago. When I found out that it was my long-lost granddaughter, well I couldn’t pass a great opportunity!”

“What are you going to do?” you ask.

“Glad you ask. You see, I’m not the only one out for Dent. He made much far greater enemies than me. Even before he became two face, which is a crappy name, by the way, did much more damage as an attorney. Does the name Winslow Schott ring a bell to you, Harvey?”

Dent sits in his chair, his past now haunting him. 

“Winslow was a man my age, better than me in morals. The news said that he was going to make a difference in bringing joy to kids by making hand-crafted toys. When he couldn’t afford the capital, Bruno Manheim was his ticket to his dream. But, Bruno used the business as a front and left town for Winslow to take the fall. Your father over here crossed examine the dear old man with evidence that proved that all contracts and property were in Mr. Schott’s name. The judge gave him a 10-year sentence and died before parole, leaving a young little boy behind. How sad is that?” Maroni says.

You stare at Harvey who looked almost broken. “I- I didn’t mean to…” Harvey whispers to himself.

“Now, that young little boy is the self-acclaimed Toy Man from Metropolis. He’s heading now to Gotham, like others you hurt to place their bid on your biggest prize Harv.” Maroni says, looking at you.

“No, No STOP.” Harvey screamed, trying to get out of his chair but the guards took hold of him, punching him across the face. Harvey is now on the ground, groaning.

Maroni lifts Harvey’s head to stare up at your crying state.

“I just wanted to show your daughter the real you before she’s taken away from you once again. I guess all that money that’s bid will get me to that trip you suggested. I heard the Bahamas are great at this time of year.” Maroni concluded before walking out with his guards to prepare for the auction.

Silence filled the air, except for Harvey’s grunts and your soft cries.

“How many people have you hurt?” You ask.

“Too many to count.” 

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

Dick was confused as to why Damian asked to follow him to a random address in their civilian clothes. But when Dami said he may get a lead to find mom, Dick grabbed his keys and they were speeding their way to get there without a second thought. 

Once they arrived, Damian got out of the car and made his way to the alley, jumping up to a fire escape and climbing upwards.

“So, aren’t you going to tell me who are we meeting?” Dick asks.

Damian doesn’t say anything, so Dick just decided to be quiet and trust his brother for the time being. 

They arrived at the roof of the building. Damian looked like he had his guard up as his hands were in his pocket.

“So, you brought the older one.” a voice said out loud. 

Dick whips his head to see where the voice came from. 

“I wanted some backup in case you pulled your tricks of yours,” Damian said, not moving.

The person comes out, looking like her usual self but with a few burns that decorated her face.

“Is that the way to talk to your mother, Damian?” Talia Al Ghul asks.

Dick was about to fight her until Damian got in his way.

“Why are we here with her?” Dick asks.

“Because we need her,” Damian says.

Dick doesn’t look convinced, so Damian explained.

“She reached out to me the night of the wedding. I didn’t want to talk but she said she’ll do anything just to see me one last time. I know you’re trying to do justice the right way, but this is our only chance to find mom, Dick. Please.” Damian asked.

It was out of the ordinary for this kid to beg, but everyone has been on edge with your disappearance.

“Fine, once she tells us what we need, we’ll leave immediately.” He says.

The two brothers turn to Talia.

“So, what’s your price?” Dick asks.

“Can’t a mother just see her son before she leaves?”

Dick takes a step forward, looking serious.

“Tell us what you know about where our mom is.” 

“Let me speak to my son alone for five minutes, then we have a deal.” she demanded. 

Dick looks over to Dami who doesn’t react.

“Done.” the youngest mutters.

The eldest slowly moves away out of earshot for the two to talk.

“You’re going away?” Dami asks, a bit hurt.

Talia hesitates, not expecting to hear such emotion from her son.

“I’m just here to collect my belongings. I haven’t left the greatest impression on this city nine months ago, to be exact.” She says.

“All because of a stupid necklace.” he whispers, only for her to hear.

“I do not need you to understand, your grandfather only heard stories of it. But when we finally understood its power, we could have asked anything and bent this reality for ourselves.”

“What were you going to wish, on the Chaos Shard?” Damian asks.

Talia kneels to her son’s level, so they can be in eyesight. 

“To be a family again.”

Dami lowers his head, eyes brimming.

“I don’t think we were ever that.” he says.

Talia exhales.

“I know.” 

Dami looks up, a bit shocked. This was Talia Al Ghul, a ruthless woman who served her father and cared for nothing else. How can she be so cruel, yet show a glimpse of humanity?

“When your father made his presence to me on the day we were supposed to use the shard, all he could do was say your name. He said that if I bent this world to my liking, everything you loved would be gone. I couldn’t do that to you, not again. So when the Chaos Shard was destroyed, I decided to leave everything behind: my father, the league, all I was shaped to become. But I couldn’t leave you until I said goodbye.” 

Dami wipes his tears on his sleeve and looks at her.

“I’m supposed to hate you. You almost took away the people that I loved. But my mom told me once that I’m the only son in my family who has both birth parents, and that I shouldn’t take it for granted. But she also told me that I can choose my family. You are still my mother, but I can’t forgive you… not yet.”

Talia’s features become softer, almost sad.

“I understand.” 

As if on cue, Dick pops out from the corner and joins the two. 

“Five minutes passed.” He said.

“Very well, I’ll tell you everything,” Talia said, getting up.

“Sal Maroni has both your mother and Two Face at the old Gotham Hotel.” 

“That place has been abandoned for the past 40 years.” Dick said. 

“Indeed, but it's the only place where people want to get even with Mr. Dent by bidding on his daughter.” 

Both kids got scared.

“How do know about this?” Dami asks.

“Mr. Maroni contacted every villain who has cash. I did not want to partake in this and thought you and your family had the right to know.” 

“Damn right we do.” Dick said, pulling up his phone.

“I’m calling Bruce, let’s head out.” Dick said, already making a run for it.

 Damian was about to leave until he looked back at the woman who made him.

“Will I ever see you again?” he asks.

Talia gives him a small smile. 

“I will be always watching over you, my son.” 

Damian gives her the same smile as he ran after his brother into his car. 

“Dad, they’re both at the old Gotham Hotel. Maroni is placing bids on mom to get back at Dent. A lot of bad guys are there to get blood.” 

“Head to the cave, Tim told Jason to drive back as well.” Bruce urgently said.

“There’s no time for the police to head over there. What are we going to do, father?” Damian asks.

Back at the cave, Bruce looks over at the capsules that contained each uniform of his sons and his own Dark Knight.

“We’ll fight to get her home.”

Taglist:

@ellabxrnes

@mikariell95

@edgycatx

@goddess-of-congeniality

@sakaki-chaaaaannn

[xoxo-teddybear]

Bakugou’s daughter brings home a Boyfriend

Bakugou x wife!reader

Ft. Bakugou’s daughter

Warnings: fluff, lowkey Crack, sexual mentions, small angst, cursing, Bakugou being such a dad

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

A/N: This is one of my favorite types of Bakugou. Domestic father Bakugou!! So bc of that fact, this piece was born. Hope you enjoy!

Bakugou as a boyfriend? Bliss. Bakugou as a fiancé? Heaven. Bakugou as a husband? Euphoric

Bakugou as a dad?.......he sure is something

Don’t get me wrong, Bakugou would be the ultimate dad

Baby crying in the middle of the night? Sleep love, daddy’s got it. Baby needs a bottle? He can warm it up with his hands. Baby’s feeling bored? Look at these mini fireworks in his hands!! Katsuki’s got it all

But that’s a baby Bakugou

Bakugou with a teenager

oOf

Katsuki’s teen will be either one of two things

His best friend

Or his mortal enemy (whom he still loves endlessly)

His 16 year old daughter, Katsumi, was both

And yes they loved each other very much, but they also got into battles on who could cook dinner better, who Y/N loved more, hell, when y’all came back from a restaurant THEY FOUGHT OVER WHO MADE IT TO THE FRONT DOOR FIRST

But this battle? Y/N might just let them Kill each other...just this once

——————————————————————————

“WHO THE FUCK IS THI-“

*SMACK* (thx Y/N)

“Daddy, this is Izuru! Izuru this is my lovely mother and that’s my shitty dad that I love so dearly!”

Katsumi definitely inherited her guts from the Bakugou’s

“Nice to meet you Mr and Mrs. Bakugou!”

Ah man, here we go

Silence. Pure, awkward, scary, silence. And of course Y/N’s nervous twitching HOPING that her dear husband doesn’t murder the green haired boy. As the young couple stand infront of the doorway smiling, the older couple is staring at them, one in nervousness, and the other in shock. (I’m talking Denki going 4 million volts shocked)

“Well.....Welcome Izuru! I knew you’d be coming over soon but I didn’t expect it tonight. It’s lovely to meet you,” Y/N ever so kindly said once she let out a sigh.

Her husband almost got whiplash from how fast he turned to look at her. “Knew?!? You knew about this kid?? And didn’t bother to tell me?!??”

“Well if I told you, you woulda stopped this meeting from happening ya jerk!” Y/N visciously explained.

“YA DAMN RIGHT CUZ-“ silenced with another smack from his wife. Y/N sure learned a lot from Mitsuki. “Please come in you two, I’ll start dinner.”

As the young couple sat in the living room speaking, the older one was in the kitchen preparing food. Well one of them was, the other was too busy burning a whole into the poor boy’s body with just his eyes.

*SMACK*

“Ow.” Continues to stare

“Suki stop that, you’re gonna scare the poor boy.” Y/N said.

“GOOD. I DONT WANT SOMEONE LIKE HIM CONTAMINATING THE BAKUGOU LINE!” The blonde dramatically yelled.

“Contaminating? Love, we don’t even know if they’ve had sex. I doubt he’s “contaminating” anything any time soon.” You said with attitude.

Bakugou just stared at you know with the same look.

“Hmph!” And turned to look back at the kids.

“HEY!” Bakugou screamed.

“Heyyyyy~” Katsumi replied.

“No not “Heyyyy~,” Katsuki began and replied with a girly impersonation of his daughter as he walk towards the couple. “I mean, HEY, as in have you had sex with this kid?” He sternly asked.

“KATSUKI OH MY GOD,” Y/N screamed as she dropped something in shock.

“.......Yeah, so what?” His daughter replied.

Y/N wasn’t even mad. She already knew. She could tell. Mother’s instinct I guess.

Katsuki was fuming.

“NOPE! NO! THIS RELATIONSHIP WONT GO ON! YOU’RE TOO YOUNG TO BE HAVING SEX!” The older blonde screamed while looking at the now blushing green haired teen and his rebellious daughter. And Y/N was just giving him this...look.

‘What a fucking hypocrite’ you thought to yourself.

“How old were you when you fucked mom?”

(ITS QUIET AINT NO BACKTALK)

Pure and utter silence.

Katsuki started stepping back from the couple while facing them and nodding his head. “.....use condoms,” and walked back to his deceased wife.

As dinner is placed on the table and everyone takes their seats, Katsuki can’t help but stare at this boy. Why does he seem so familiar?

Everyone just ate and talked. Grades, school, when did y’all meet, how long has it been? The usual. But Katsuki remained silent while thinking. And then..it clicked!

Katsuki slammed his hands on the table and stood up from his seat looking at the boy across from him. “What’s your last name?!”

Izuru was nervous because he was well aware of who Katsumi’s father was and how her father’s relationship with his own father was kinda iffy.

“M-Midoriya sir.” He nervously stated.

Katsuki saw red.

“DEKU?!??????!!!!!” He screamed

“Oh come on Katsuki! Like that wasn’t obvious!” You said rolling your eyes.

“There is NO WAY IN HELL I’m gonna let the Bakugou line be contaminated with Deku’s genes! Our family line only brings in the best of the best!” Katsuki proudly and loudly stated.

“So what am I?” Y/N asked.

“The best of the best! You were and are the perfect one for me Y/N! You know this, I know this, everyone knows this. And look at what we created-“ he was interrupted by his wife.

“A mini you?”

“A MINI ME! And who wouldn’t want that?!”

“Dad.” Katsumi said.

Now that caught Katsuki off guard. For the past 16 years, Katsumi has always been a daddy’s girl. She never called him “dad,” ew. She said “Daddy,” or “Shitty dad.” As Katsuki turned to his daughter he could see the look in her eyes.

“.......you really wanna be with this kid?” He asked.

“I really do.” Katsumi said while grabbing onto Izuru’s hand.

“...Ok then. You can be with him.” Katsuki calmly said.

Katsumi excitingly got up and ran towards her dad’s seat giving him a hug.

“Thanks daddy,” she said while giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Dinner continued on as normal as it could. Katsuki was just gonna have to learn how to let go.

Later

As the married couple got ready to sleep, Katsuki was hanging outside their balcony.

“What was up with you Blasty? I haven’t seen that kinda Katsuki since UA.” You jokingly said as you went to stand beside him.

“You’re not scared?” Katsuki asked.

“Of?”

“Katsumi. She’s growing up. She has a boyfriend now. That girl is having sex! She’s not daddy’s little girl anymore.” He sadly said.

“That’s what this is about? Katsumi growing up? Suki, this was always gonna happen. She’s in her prime teenage years. She’s 16! A lots gonna start happening.” You began.

“I know that but-“

“But nothing Katsuki. You can be scared of her growing up, I am too, but we can’t be so scared that we try and stop her. You just have to know that Katsumi will always come back to us no matter how old she is. And she will always, always be a daddy’s girl. Her entire world revolves around you Katsuki, but we gotta let her go at some point. We have to let her grow. That’s how the best of the best are made after all, right? It’s what we look for in a Bakugou.” You finished.

Katsuki couldnt do anything but smile. You were right. He knew you were. And he was willing to let his little cub grow.

“......You’ve gotta stop interrupting me when I talk.” He laughed.

“And you’ve gotta stop saying the dumbest shit in the world.” You teased back.

He pulled you in for a quick peck and just held you there in his arms. He was so glad he had you to keep him grounded. You’re the best of the best after all. It only makes sense.

“Daddy?” Katsumi walked into her parents room, unnoticed.

As the two broke the hug to see their daughter, looking a little timid, Katsuki spoke.

“Katsumi, hey princess. What’s up with you.” Katsuki asked as he walked towards his daughter.

“You’re not...disappointed in me, right? You know, for who I chose to be with. I’m sorry if I chose Izuru but I-“ this time, it was Katsuki who interrupted.

“Hey hey, no of course not baby bear. I would never be disappointed in who your true feelings pulled you to. I don’t want you to apologize for anything when today I caused most of the trouble.” Katsuki said while wiping one of his daughter’s stray tears.

“You know I’m never gonna leave you guys. Right? I’m gonna grow up but I’ll always want to have a close relationship with you and mom. I love you guys, and I’m not going anywhere.” Katsumi said.

“We know Katsumi. And we love you too. And we’re far from disappointed in you. We are so proud of the young woman you’ve become today.” Y/N joined in.

Katsumi ran to her mother and gave her the tightest hug, and Katsuki couldn’t help but stare at his two girls. His world. His entire reason for living. All right there in his arms as he pulled them in for a bigger hug.

“Thanks you guys. Well, I’m gonna head to bed. I’ve got a date with Izuru tomorrow and I don’t wanna be late.” Katsumi began walking towards her parents door until Katsuki called her.

“Hey baby bear,”

“Yeah?”

“Izuru. He seems alright. He’ll be good for you.” Katsuki admitted.

“Yeah. He really is. He’s the best of the best after all. Reminds me of someone I know.” Katsumi said while leaving the room.

Yeah. Katsuki will be just fine.

A/N: Sheesh. This kinda sucked but I did this in my literature class sooo....it’s still credible work since I was writing, right? Yeah..?....No?...yeah ok. Anyways, HOPED YOU ENJOYED IT BEAR CUBS🧸💗

P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT!! And I PROMISE I’ll get better and produce more work. Feel free to leave requests!

[multifariousqueer]

Romeo and Juliet

summary: You and Peter are supposed to be arch enemies. Your families look down upon and spit on one another. But maybe something will change their hearts.

Warnings: ANGST, smut in later chapters, character death, all of the warnings that go along with normal Romeo and Juliet, Avengers being douchy, VERY MINOR AGE GAP, hints of Dom!Peter, experienced!Peter x innocent!reader, cursing

pairings: peterparker(mcu)xreader, wandaxreader(plutonic) basically everyonexreader(plutonic), pietromaximoffxreader

Prologue:

Many, Many years ago lived two young kids in love. One came from the blood of Stark, the other from the blood of Rogers. The families were nothing less than enemies with no respect for each other and a cold hatred for one another. The noble house of Stark raised some of the best and brightest whereas the house of Rogers raised the most powerful and brave. The beautiful Y/n L/n came from the house of Rogers where her gifts were nurtured and even encouraged. And up until the age of 16, she knew nothing but happiness and love from her father Steve Rogers (who adopted her) and her mother Natasha Romanoff. The other part of the shared heart, Peter Parker was brought into the house of Stark for his unwavering loyalty and his incredible intelligence. However, up until he turned 17, he felt as if something was missing. He was fawned over and gawked at however he could never find anyone who was worth his time, no matter how hard the other members of Stark tried. Tony would host grand parties and balls but no one piqued Peter’s interest. They were all the same it felt like; lacking any sort of intelligence or substance. One day, Peter decided he had had enough,

Present Day:

(Peter’s POV)

It was another day. Tony had decided to throw another ball tonight to celebrate his house making well into the trillions and beating out Steve’s house who was still in the millions. Peter never cared about money because he was poor before he was taken in. He remembered the nights May would go hungry just to feed him and now, it was disgusting how rich May and Him are thanks to him just following his moral compass and deciding to intern under Stark. Peter loved learning all about science and mathematics but he always felt like he wanted more. He wanted a companion to share his passion for the disciplines and it didn’t even have to be Math or Science. He wanted to make love and not just have mindless sex; and talk about the world afterwards. If it boiled down to it, he wanted to run away and be with the woman he loves. 

Peter pulled himself out of a trance when he heard F.R.I.D.A.Y.:

“Sir. Parker, Mr. Leeds is here to see you”

“Thank you F.R.I.D.A.Y.” Peter sighed.

“No problem, sir” F.R.I.D.A.Y. answered systematically.

Ned came right behind F.R.I.D.A.Y. and saw Peter’s glum face:

“Hey dude” Ned nodded

“Hey man” Peter smiled.

They both exchanged their handshake before going out for a walk under the citrus trees:

“Why the long face?” Ned asked.

“No reason. I’m good.” Peter said without even looking up.

“Peter, I know when you're lying. We’ve been friends for 11 years. Is this about the girl thing again?” Ned asked even though he already knew the answer when Peter’s silence confirmed it.

“Dude” Ned rolled his eyes.

“I know, I know, it’s stupid but it’s really eating me up inside. I just want somebody.” Peter sighed.

“Tell you what, we can pick up some girls at the ball tonight.” Ned said.

“NED I’M SICK OF “PICKING UP GIRLS” I WANT A WIFE NOT A WHORE.” Peter yelled.

“okay dude, you didn't have to yell” Ned said quietly.

“I’m sorry bro. Maybe she’ll be at the ball tonight.” Peter said, trying to fix the situation.

“I hope so” Ned said. They fist bumped and kept walking.

(Y/n’s POV)

“Y/NNNNNNN” Your mom called.

“COMINGGG” You replied.

You check your clock and it’s 11:00 AM. You slipped on your robe and headed downstairs because if you didn’t, your mom would drag you out of your bed. You reached the bottom of the stairs when you see Wanda, Sam, Bucky and your dad at the table:

“Look all I’m saying is that Stark is only throwing the ball because he has nothing better to do with his time and he’s an arrogant ass-” Sam started.

“Hey, Y/n!” Wanda shouted interrupting. This earned her an eye roll from Sam.

“Hey, Wands” You say.

“Hey I wanted to talk to you about why you're spending so much time in your room.” Nat said.

“No reason. I just like it up there.” You reply.

Wanda reads your mind and sees the true reason for your depression. 

“Ugh this again?” Wanda questions.

“Oh God, Y/n not this partner rant again.” Your mom says. “What partner rant?” Steve asked

“Y/n is just lonely.” Nat says passively. 

“As many people as there are in this house and you're lonely??” Steve asks.

“Dad I'm not lonely. I just want a partner, someone who shares my intellect and ambitions.” You say.

“What intellect?” Steve asks half jokingly.

You were getting fed up at this point and decided to go upstairs and change into a comfy outfit and go for a walk:

“Where are you going?” Your mom asks.

“For a walk” You say not even bothering to shoot her a glance.

[crimsonophelia]

Could I get a fluffy and maybe flirty Childe imagine set during his story quest? Instead of the Traveler and Paimon accompanying him, the reader (who works at the Northland Bank as one of Childe’s subordinates) gets slapped with the duty of babysitting Teucer and covering for Childe and his façade as a toy seller in Liyue.

"I must say that your brother is quite cute, sir."

"...I guess it must run in the family."

"Hm? Did you say something, comrade?"

"Oh. Um. Nothing, sir."

Of course, being the perceptive man he is, Childe heard all of what they said. What he ends up doing or saying to the reader? Seeing the magic you’ve worked when anon previously gave you the liberty of it, I leave it entirely up to you. :)

featuring: childe x gn!reader

warnings: a teeny bit suggestive at the end

published: april 27 2021

form: imagine

a/n: i’m gonna be real with you, i was stuck on ar35 for the longest time because i was too cowardly to level up my world so i finally did it today and i jumped from 35 to 41 T_T and now my enemies are stupidly strong. but anyways i just started the childe quest today so im just gonna stick to the part when they’re still in liyue and there’s no fighting wwww

“teucer, i swear to celestia-” you muttered under your breath, as the little redhead slipped from your grasp yet again, running ahead to go look at some kite vendors. “come back here, kid! otherwise you’re gonna be in a heck of a lot of trouble!” 

earlier in the day, you were out running errands for the bank, under tartaglia’s orders, when you had come across rumors of a ruin guard running amok. figuring you would use your spare time and save some local liyue citizens the trouble of having to deal with the feral robot, you defeated the machine with efficient ease. however, in the vicinity, you discovered a lone child showing great excitement at a deactivated ruin guard, jumping and leaping while calling it “mr. cyclops” with a strange elation. 

you figured the boy was snezhnayan, what with his features and clothing reminiscent of the cold climate of your homeland. but why in the world was he out by a ruin hunter all alone? he kept mentioning his brother, a toy seller in liyue, but you could think of absolutely nobody that fit that description. 

so, out of the goodness of your own heart, you decided to take the little boy-- teucer, he called himself--back to liyue harbor with you, and see if you could find this older brother of his. 

however, once you arrived back in the city, your plans were quickly derailed as the little brat seemed to have the attention span of a fruit fly, and was constantly trying to weasel his way into some other dangerous situation without you knowing. 

“god dammit teucer”, you huffed, trying to keep up with the child. who let children have so much energy? your age must finally be catching up to you, you thought. “how about we go back to northland bank? you might like it there” you thought taking him back to your headquarters would stall the boy for enough time for you to find someone who might know the whereabouts of teucer’s brother. there weren’t too many snezhnayans in liyue--whoever his brother is, he can’t be far.

the little boy looked up at you with his big, blue puppy eyes, but you knew his act by now. “no buts, kid. if you’re lucky, we’ll be able to track down you’re brother there.” he sighed, relenting to your orders and following you back to northland bank.

the two of you climbed up the stairwell leading to the entrance of the bank on the second floor, teucer clearly dejected and pouting like a baby. exhausted, you pushed open the doors that you were so familiar with, and ushered the child inside.

much to your surprise, you see tartaglia talking with ekaterina in the lobby. it had been quite a while since you had seen your superior in person, and the surprise certainly was not unwelcome. sometimes you couldn’t stand the man’s smug attitude, yet there was something in his rogueish charisma that you simple couldnt deny attracted you to him.

teucer also seemed to be excited by this sighting of the red-headed harbinger, the little boy’s eyes lighting up with unbridled excitement.

“brother!”

wait. was tartaglia the older brother teucer had been talking about all along?

childe turned around, distracted by teucer’s voice, and upon seeing the little boy, his eyes lit up—first with surprise, then with confusion.

“teucer? what the heck are you doing here in liyue?”

he left the fatui agent with a befuddled look upon her face, and ran towards the child. teucer jumped up into his brother’s broad arms, and they grasped each other in a tight hug, like they had not seen each other for at least an eternity.

ruffling teucer’s hair, tartaglia softened, with an expression unlike anything you had really seen him wear before. he really must care about his family, you thought to yourself.

“so you’re the older brother this little tyke has been talking nonstop about”, you teased tartaglia, elbowing him in his side. “you know, he’s thrown me for a loop this entire day. i didnt think babysitting was part of the job requirement.”

the red-head chuckled abashedly, scratching his head. “sorry about that, [y/n]. the little guy can’t seem to bear being away from his favorite big brother.”

teucer laughed. he truly looked so happy to be with tartaglia again, which made you wonder what the harbinger was like when not on the job. you had known him to be a ruthless war machine, a hedonistic killer who thrived off of the rush battle and bloodshed gave him. childe could take down a dozen men, twice his size, in a matter of minutes, hardly breaking a sweat. yet seeing him interact with teucer, almost a little mini-sized version of himself, his gentleness and care surprised you. perhaps there was more to the man than you had initially thought.

teucer finally detaching himself from tartaglia, looked up at his brother with those same puppy eyes, now full of admiration. “are you here to sell toys to the liyue children, too?”, the child asked. toys? what toys could he possibly be referring to? you and ekaterina, both, looked at childe with confusion.

tartaglia stuttered for a moment. “oh! uhh— yes! yes i am! i was just talking with the nice lady, ms. ekaterina, on how many toys we can sell to all the children in liyue!” he responded, hardly missing a beat. did teucer not know what childe’s actual occupation was?

“wow! my brother really is the coolest person ever!” teucer leaped up and down, hanging onto tartaglia’s pantlegs. looking at this young, untainted innocence, you begun to understand why childe might try and shield the child from the truth.

childe detached the excitable child from his clothing, and beckoned ekaterina over. “ms. ekaterina, would you do me the grand favor of watching teucer for the rest of the day? i’d hate to burden our friend [y/n] after they have already brought him to liyue from celestia-knows-where.” he turns to teucer, telling him “big brother ajax is going to sell many, many toys now! so you need to behave yourself when i’m gone, okay? miss ekaterina will be watching you, and she’s very nice.” he pinches his brother’s cheek, teasing him lightly, and ushering him away with the fatui agent.

it’s now just you and tartaglia in the bank, as the sun was setting and all the other employees had gone home for the day. you heaved a sigh of relief, glad to be rid of baby-sitting duty, after having to deal with teucer’s antics for several hours now.

“i’m really sorry about all of that. i had no idea he would be coming, as a stowaway, no less.” the man looked at you with genuine gratitude. “i don’t want to imagine what might’ve happened to the little brat if you hadn’t been there.”

you chuckled, not quite used to seeing such sincerity coming from the harbinger. most of the time, you had been accustomed to his charismatic facade that he puts on when he becomes childe, the eleventh and one of the most dangerous members of the fatui harbingers.

“don’t worry, it really was no problem. your brother is certainly a handful, but undeniably adorable”, you said, mindlessly gathering your belongings again as you prepared to head out again. “he takes after his older brother quite a bit, i must say.”

“come again?” childe looked behind him, eyebrow cocked.

“oh— nothing. i didnt say anything”, you muttered. shit. you really need to get better at keeping your mouth shut. you refused to be known as the insolent fool with the puppy-love crush on the goddamn eleventh fatui harbinger.

“oh? that didnt really sound like nothing, my dear [y/n].” he smirked. whenever he called you “my dear”, you knew you were in for major teasing. he was definitely having fun with this. he strode towards you innocently, with that usual swagger of his, that tinted everything he did. his walk, his talk, his appearance all oozed confidence, and it was utterly intoxicating.

tartaglia now looked at you with a glint in his eye, the same look he gave enemies before he was about to utterly obliterate them. it was frightening, yet terribly alluring, and you despised how much you fell for it.

suddenly, you felt your back hit the cold, marble wall. you hadn’t even realized that tartaglia had cornered you against a gold pillar, his mere presence forcing you to unconsciously move away from him as he approached you, calculatedly. a lump growing in your throat, you couldn’t bring yourself to even utter a single word in defense, only feeling your cheeks grow hotter and your legs grow weaker.

tartaglia leaned his arm against the pillar, dangerously close to your head, effectively propping himself up with only you between him. you were far too aware of the space—or rather, the lack thereof—separating the two of you, the man’s hot breath audible in the dead, echoing silence of the golden bank.

tartaglia smirked, bringing his face close to yours. “you flatter me greatly, [y/n].” smirking, his breath grazed against your neck, his stare burning into your flesh. the way your name sounded on his lips made your breath hitched in your throat. too hot, you felt way too hot. it was impossible for a hydro user to make you feel such unbearable heat.

“seems as if your clever words aren’t of any use to you now, hmm?” you could feel the mans lips brushing against your jaw, each touch against you leaving a stinging trail. he brought his free hand to caress your own, fingers clasping yours as if you were made of a delicate porcelain, the finest kind liyue had to offer. slowly, as if dragging out each second as long as he could, tartaglia brought your hand to his lips, and planted a long, slow kiss to the back of your palm.

your eyes widened at the sheer eroticism with which he kissed your hand—an act commonly of etiquette somehow being much more lustful, even debauched when tartaglia did it. all you could feel was where his lips met your hand, the phantom burn it left, the slight string of saliva connecting his lips to your hand as he left it, the dark gaze in his eyes as he looked back up at you, clearly aware of how vulnerable you were in his grasp.

“thank you again, my dear. i hope we can continue to work together in the future.”

a/n: jesus christ this got really horny at the end LMFAO anyways i hope you like it! its kinda long but wtv

[phoenixyfriend]

Rex and Anakin Raise a Family: Part Two

Part One

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

Anakin takes the news with... not grace, really, but an odd sort of resignation.

"Room to fix things," he mutters to himself, eyes set unseeing on Luke's tiny form.

Twins are often born smaller than single births, Rex remembers hearing somewhere. He hopes that's the only reason these two are so small. Leia feels absolutely minuscule in his arms.

He wishes he could ask Kix.

"Do you want to find Jango?"

Rex lifts his head to find Anakin staring at him with an earnest kind of depression. It's strange, and sad, and not helping with the question. "What?"

"You... you grew up with a lot of family," Anakin mutters, eyes cutting away to the side. "Fett would be a kid right now, yeah? He's... young. And you don't have the family that you used to have, but--"

"I'm not going to go out and find Fett to adopt him," Rex says firmly. "He was a genetic donor and once or twice a teacher. I have no interest in forming any bonds there."

He hesitates, but that was--Anakin was trying. Not succeeding, but trying. "Thank you for asking. It's... maybe if my childhood had been a little different, I'd have wanted that. But I don't, here."

Anakin winces. "Right."

Rex watches his general bounce a newborn, and thinks this is my life now.

There is no GAR to fight for, no brothers to save, no Empire to fight against. They'd thought there would be, but there isn't, not yet. They could find and warn the Jedi, but none of them would know Anakin. Nobody is going to look at Rex and see a clone. He's older than Fett, now.

"We're staying here," Rex decides. Anakin looks up from Luke's little face. "I'll figure out how to get us some Republic Idents. We'll get the twins registered. This planet is safe and out of the way, and we can figure something out for the money. You're a good mechanic, that's honest work, and I'm... I don't know. We've got a ship, so I can maybe do what Fett did and take bounty work. We'll figure something out."

"I can't ask you to stay with me."

"You're not asking," Rex says firmly. "I'm telling you. You don't get to push me away, sir. We're all the other has left, and you're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Okay," Anakin says. "If that's what you want."

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

They don't have a whole lot of money personally, but this was Padme's ship. She'd been rich, and prone enough to danger to know the worth of hiding money where she could. They may not have more than a few weapons on here, but they have money.

For now.

Rex knows his general is itching to go to Tatooine, sees the man muttering and twitching about it, needing to do something, and that the something has to do with Tatooine.

"Can it wait?" Rex asks.

Anakin stares at him, uncomprehending.

"Your kids are only a week old," Rex tries to explain. "They need you right now. Is this something that can wait a few months, where I can watch them while you take a week or two to handle what you need to do?"

Anakin takes Leia from Rex, and doesn't bring it up again.

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

Rex goes with Anakin, when they visit the nurse. He catches gossip about the two of them, but people don't go out of their way to approach. Mostly, people are just repeating the 'died in childbirth' cover that he gave before, telling each other who the strangers are, and why they shouldn't try to get involved.

The nurse asks only enough questions to get a medical baseline established for the twins. Anakin doesn't volunteer much, and when the Twi'lek woman asks if they'd like her to set up medical files for either of them, Rex has to immediately decline.

He has no idea what his blood is going to turn up. Genetic fuckery and something to deal with the advanced aging, maybe. He's not sure he wants to know, but either way, it's probably not going to be something this small clinic can handle.

"I'll have to set one up if you want to take the lactation aid," she tells Anakin.

"Yeah, okay."

She takes blood. Almost everything is mostly normal, except.

"Your midichlo--"

"I know."

"Are you--"

"Jedi aren't allowed to marry."

She doesn't dig further, just glances at how Anakin's holding Luke, and nods.

"It doesn't seem like there are any complicating factors. I can write up a prescription right now and you should be able to get it filled same-day. There will be a list of instructions and side-effects on flimsi when you pick it up, but I'd like to go over it in person first. Do you want Mr. Torrent to stay here with you as we do that, or to wait in the hall?"

"Up to him."

"I'll stay," Rex promises.

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

Three pills a day, one with every meal. Tissue stimulation by massaging the pectoral area, and allowing the twins to suckle even before there's anything to actually drink. Expect soreness and increased appetite, don't drink caffeine or take any form of stimulant while nursing. Here's a list of possible side-effects, the best way to handle the minor ones, and which ones to contact a medical professional about.

All very normal.

Anakin's rarely ever done anything with less than his whole heart, and Rex isn't surprised to know that Anakin is this dedicated a parent as well. He's... he was proud to serve his general, but he thinks there's something just as fulfilling as being by his side here and now. There's something better about helping raise the little ones that would never be found on a battlefield.

"Do you want them to call you Uncle Rex?" Anakin asks during a feeding. "Or... ba'vodu? Or do you want to just..."

"Just what?"

"...we're going to be co-parenting," Anakin says, not meeting his eyes. "And every time I try to suggest you go and find something for yourself, something that doesn't revolve around me, a person you were literally tube-grown for, you say you don't want to leave. So if you're going to be sticking around, really staying for years and years... we could tell them to call you buir. If you want."

"Oh."

Oh.

It's a lot. It's something Rex has maybe fantasized about before, getting to be a parent instead of just a soldier, but he'd also resigned himself to the fact that it wasn't really an option. Even now, he'd just expected to be a friend of the father, maybe an honorary uncle if he was lucky, or--

"Are you sure?" Rex asks, before he can start to hope. "I don't--I don't want to take Padme's place."

"You're not," Anakin says, fierce as anything. "You won't--nobody can ever take her place, but there are people with five parents, or none, and I'm not going to--I don't want to--"

Anakin squeezes his eyes shut and breathes harshly for a few moments. Leia fusses, like she's seconds away from crying, and Rex watches as his general holds the child in his arms closer to his chest, visibly focusing on calming down in a way he rarely, if ever, had during the war.

"It's okay, Papa just got a little upset, it's fine, we're calm, I'm sorry I got sad, honey, I'm sorry you had to feel that," Anakin whispers under his breath as he bounces the baby.

(Raising Force-Sensitive children was never going to be easy anyway.)

"You're sure about this?" Rex asks again.

"You want to be involved in their lives," Anakin mutters. "So... yeah, you should get to be their dad in name, too. And if you use Mando'a, it'll be easier for them to have different names for us."

"People are going to think we're together."

Anakin shrugs. "People think a lot of things."

Rex wants this. He wants to imagine the twins toddling up to him, grins on their faces, calling him buir and meaning it. He wants to have what he saw at the Lawquane's, where a lack of blood connection and a half-sliced age hadn't stopped those children from claiming Cut as their father. He's only thirteen, technically, but he wants to have a family, even if it's as broken as what they've found here.

"I'd be honored, sir," Rex says. "I... thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"You don't have to," Anakin mutters, refusing to meet his eyes. "I can feel it."

Right.

"They already love you," Anakin continues, as if his goal today is to just smash Rex's decorum to pieces. "Part of that is just baby stuff, I think; they don't exactly know more than us yet, but you're around them all the time and are primary caregiver whenever I'm not... not okay. So they love you, so much, and I just... I'm not going to ignore that when you already love them too. So you should get to be their dad. If you want."

He does want.

"I'd like that," he says, and knows that he hasn't bothered shielding in days, so Anakin knows just how sincere that is.

Anakin hesitates, visibly so, and then stands and crosses the room to join Rex on the couch, each of them holding a twin.

A head rests lightly on Rex's shoulder. He lets it.

"There are rites," Anakin says quietly. "On Tatooine, for the slaves lost to the desert. People that died in search of their freedoms, where there's no body to bury but you still need to mourn."

Rex knows this. He says, "the clones had mourning traditions for the brothers who died in explosions or behind enemy lines, the ones we couldn't retrieve."

Anakin knows this as well. He nods.

They sit together, quietly, as calm as they can be for the too-perceptive children in their arms, and they know they need to mourn properly.

Rex can only hold his jagged edges in place for so long.

[ragingbookdragon]

The Four Corpsmen And Their Cheerleader PT. 2

Lanternsis x Lanternfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 1.4K Warnings: Explicit Language, Mentions of PTSD

Author's Note: Backgrounds are important people! Backgrounds! Enjoy! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

She landed beside Guy, watching the young man training with her brother. “Who’s the newbie?”

He hummed as Hal caught a kick to the gut. “Name’s Dakota. Former grunt.”

“Former?” she repeated, examining him. “Kid can’t be older than Kyle.”

“I’m right here.” A voice called and she turned, smiling as Kyle and John walked over.

“Yes, I see.” Her eyes found the two men again. “But he seems young to be out of the military so fast.”

Guy’s voice quieted. “Got kicked out for assaulting a superior officer.”

She cocked a brow. “For a good reason?”

“He won’t talk about it.” John replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “Won’t talk to anyone about the service, even me or Hal.” He looked at her. “Figured he’d tell us in his own time.”

Nodding sympathetically, she said, “I understand. Sometimes it’s—”

“Shit!”

Their eyes turned to the men training, seeing Hal pinned underneath Dakota, the young man’s eyes firm and cold; Guy walked over. “Alright. Training’s over.” Dakota didn’t move and he reached down, grabbing his shoulder. “Hey. Enough.”

The young man blinked, pulled from his thoughts and looked down at Hal whose face showed evident strain; he yanked away as if burned. “Ah crap. Sorry sir.”

Hal got to his feet, rolling his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You had good form.”

Dakota said nothing and she stepped up to him, calling, “Dakota.” He looked at her and she extended her hand. “Hi, I’m (Y/N) Jordan. Hal’s younger sister.”

He shook her hand. “Good to meet you.”

Pulling away, she gestured for him to follow, constructing a blue picnic table with her ring. “Have a seat?”

“Uh, sure,” Dakota agreed, taking the seat across from her.

She poured the construct liquid, passing him a glass. “You fight like a soldier. What branch?”

He blinked. “Army. Joined at seventeen.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

“Still in?”

“No ma’am.” He said. “Completed my contract and got out.”

(Y/N) nodded, pouring more glasses for her brother and friends as they sat down beside them. “My brother and I both served. Hal was in the Air Force as a combat pilot. I went into the Navy as a SARC.” Handing a glass to John, she added, “John’s a former Marine.”

“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” John retorted with a grin and she winked, then looked back at Dakota.

“We all received discharges for our service.”

The young man’s eyes flashed. “What kind of discharges?”

(Y/N) tipped her head. “John was honorable discharged, and Hal was given an OTH.”

“And yours?”

“Medical discharge.” Smiling, she added, “Though in the books it’s honorable. Made sure my CO wrote it down.”

Dakota blinked. “What’d a squid get a medical discharge for?”

The men around her laughed and even she cracked a grin, countering, “Oh? So, the grunt’s got jokes, huh?” he sheepishly smiled, and she nodded, suddenly turning solemn. “I was medically discharged for the same reason you keep your stint under wraps.”

“You don’t know a goddamn thing about me.” He hissed and she eyed him knowingly.

“You’re right. But I know PTSD when I see it.” (Y/N) tipped her head to the man sitting beside him. “Hal’s had PTSD since we were kids. I got it overseas managing wounded soldiers and sailors.” She inhaled through her nose. “It’s funny, we’re told we fight our wars for the greater good…that it’s justified to bomb schools in foreign countries because they’re raising terrorists, or to have an all-kill rule when sweeping a house because you don’t know who friendlies and enemies are inside.”

She met his gaze. “And we believe it because we want to serve. Because we want to be someone that makes our families proud of our service.” Her eyes darkened. “What happens when we finish our war and come home, but the battle doesn’t stay where it was fought?”

Reaching over, she pulled Hal’s bomber from his wrist. “When I came back, I broke Hal’s wrist during an episode a few years ago. I begged him to put me somewhere I couldn’t hurt anyone.” She exhaled. “I spent a year in a psyche ward designed for veterans who couldn’t control their episodes. It wasn’t a prison. It was a rehabilitation center for people who were afraid to hurt themselves or the people they loved because their minds were still at war even though they were home.”

(Y/N) caught Dakota’s eyes. “Who’d you hurt?”

He swallowed thickly, the signs of unshed tears in his eyes as he whispered, “My mom.” He breathed choppily. “I thought I was still back over there. Someone grabbed me and I thought it was an enemy.” He looked at her. “I broke my mom’s hip because I shoved her into a wall.” Wiping his eyes, he cried, “I was supposed to protect my mom and I was the one that hurt her.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said, resting a hand over his. “But keeping it all contained isn’t going to help you, Dakota.” She smiled. “You’re young. And you have an advantage that most people don’t. You have time.” Squeezing his hand, she added, “I’d like to set you up with a friend of mine in the ward I was in. He’d welcome you with open arms.”

“I’m not crazy.”

“No. You’re not. But our minds are still fighting, and we have responsibilities to do something about that. To care.” She gazed at him. “And suffering in what you think is atonement, isn’t going to bring back the people you lost nor is it going to fix anything you’ve done.”

Dakota chewed his lip, then his eyes fell to the rings on their hands, and he said, “I don’t know why it chose me…”

(Y/N) shrugged wistfully. “No one knows why the rings choose us. Personally, I’m still wondering why I wasn’t given a green ring. I mean, I hang around with these four all day.”

Whilst the four corpsmen beside them griped, they simply laughed and she twirled her own ring on her finger, smiling at the blue band. “But I’d like to think Hope chose me because I refused to lie down and die. Because I had hope that I’d still see the sunrise even after my darkest nights.” (Y/N) took his hand standing from the table; everyone else scrambled to do so as well before the construct faded.

Dakota stood with her, and she said, “If the ring is on your finger, it’s because it sensed the will you have to overcome every fear you have. Willpower is the basis of perseverance. It is the aspiration that you have something to live for.” Smiling, she asked, “So I ask you here, what do you have to live for?”

He took a long moment to think it over, then he said, “The future…that I have the will to live and see another day.”

(Y/N) winked. “And that’s hope.” She nodded toward the city in the distance. “Simon and Jessica should be done training with Kilowog by now. Go join them for some lunch and relaxation before you get back to training again.”

Dakota glanced at Guy who merely nodded, and the young man looked at her once more. “How long did it take you to stop sleeping with it?”

She blinked. “Long enough to realize it was better kept in a lock box than beneath my pillow.”

He nodded and rose into the sky, heading towards the city, and when she felt fingers in her palm, she looked over, seeing Kyle staring at her. “What’d he mean?”

“He’s talking about the gun we service-members keep under pillows when we come back.”

“There was a gun underneath your pillow?”

“Still is,” (Y/N) murmured. “I made enemies overseas and I have more now.” Her eyes found his. “I never really feel secure unless I’ve got a weapon nearby.”

Hal rested a hand on her shoulder, and she looked over at him. “I’m proud of you.”

She leaned into her brother’s side. “I’m proud of you, Hallie.”

“Don’t call me Hallie,” he scowled. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Less embarrassing than being named Harold. Sound like an old man.”

Kyle snorted. “He is an old man.”

“Hey! This old man is still capable of kicking your asses!”

“Oh, you mean like you did John in that barfight all those years ago?” Guy asked, and everyone laughed as Hal started bitching.

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 21

Hello everyone,

as I am about to post, itunes has just started playing the song A Little Braver that i used as an inspiration for this title of this fic. I can’t believe it’s already time for ch 21.  One more chapter and Rowan is back.

A few things before I let you go. It’s Lys and Aedion’s wedding. The location used as an inspiration is this: https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/duff-house-p246341 the place is called Duff House and is in Banff, about two hours from where I live. It’s a gorgeous place.

Secondly, I am the worst at describing clothes. so in order to give you an idea of the dress Lys is wearing here we go: https://www.weddingdressfantasy.com/products/light-blue-tulle-wedding-dress.html. (I absolutely detest white wedding dresses)

Thirdly, In the fic you will noticed a first of a Sorscha/Dorian - let me explain. I am not the greatest Manorian fan, to be honest it just leaves meh. Also, in this fic they can’t happen. He is the Chief. she is a firefighter with a chance to become an officer. He is her superior. He just can’t.

And finally, in the conversation with Aelin, Rowan talks a bit about how bad it is. He also goes incommunicado for stretches of time. All I am saying is that parts of this will came back in later chapters when he finally tells her what happened. Only then, we will learn how bad it was.

I think I finished my announcements and I can leave you to the chapter

Aelin’s alarm went off far too early for her taste. Her hand slammed her phone and stopped the annoying sound, then she rolled and hugged again bird Rowan and buried her face in his pillow inhaling his scent in what had become her routine since he had left. 

“Good morning, my friend.” She muttered in the pillow then stared at the toy “do we want to go to work?” She groaned and grabbed her phone and found a message from Rowan. It had the picture of a gorgeous red sunrise in the background of a busy flight deck Had a night from hell, but this view lifts my spirits up a bit.

She read the message and panic rose so she tried to phone him and luckily he answered at the first ring.

“Hey,” his voice was strained and Aelin’s heart started to race in fear.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Just a bad night and we lost few pilots. I have known them for a very long time and served together a lot as well. Some had wife and kids.” He said very softly, his voice almost broke by the tears he was probably trying not to shed over the phone.

“I am sorry.” Was her pitiful reply but she was not good at consoling people. Then her treacherous mind started telling her that it could have been him and she almost felt sick.

She heard him sigh deeply as an alarm started blaring in the background “I gotta go. Sorry. I will phone you as soon as I can.”

“Don’t worry. I am at work on my usual super long shift.”

“Stay safe,” he said with a worried tone.

“You as well, please. I am getting used having you around the house.”

He chuckled lightly “I enjoy being around the house too.”

Then she heard a voice calling every one to battle station “Fuck. Sorry gotta run. Love you.”

And he hang up after those words, probably sprinting out of his quarters or wherever he was. Even her, in her limited knowledge of military life knew that a call for battle stations was not a good sign. That was what all her sci-fi movies told her.

Aelin took a shower and slowly got dressed for work and mentally prepared herself for another long day, probably a visit to detective Ytger 

She arrived at the station not long after and went to her office and Aedion met her there a moment later.

She had received an email from the detective and she had expected the woman to be there already.

“The detective is on her way.” She told her cousin while he sat down.

“Do you think we are in trouble?”

Aelin shrugged “those clubs had to be closed down.”

“I know. I am just worried. He has to know by now that it came from us and I have a bad feeling about all of this.”

She sighed again, meeting his worried stare “you are not alone in that. We probably made a big enemy but he has to pay somehow.”

Aedion was about to reply when a knock on the door interrupted her.

“Come in,”

The door opened and Aelin recognised the detective “sorry, one of your team members showed me to your office, I told them you were expecting me.”

“Take a seat detective, Aedion and I were just catching up.”

She took out a thick folder from the messenger bag she was carrying and placed the file on Aelin’s desk “All we have about Hamel so far, and officer Westfall gave me a report of last night.”

Aelin grabbed a file of her own and passed it to the woman in front of her “before leaving the club I called my relief captain and told him what was happening. He made it pass like an anonymous call but after what I told him and what he discovered it was in our jurisdiction to close the place.”

“It’s in your authority to give him a prohibition notice but as you know as well he has a right to appeal and contest your findings and I have a feeling his lawyers are already at work to stop that.”

“Those places are a disaster waiting to happen. As captain I cannot leave them functioning knowing what I saw last night.”

The woman nodded in understanding “Captain, I am on your side and my superiors agree as well. Hamel has caused enough problems for a long time and needs to be stopped.”

“We can close all of his clubs, but you tell me his lawyers bail him out every time. We cannot win this.”

“We have further leads and a few agents undercover working on them. That’s all I can say. The operation is quite secret.”

“I hope you will succeed, detective.”

“We will keep you in the loop,” she made a movement to stand but paused halfway “Hamel is a nasty customer. Keep an eye out. Just be careful.” She nodded at both of them and then excused herself saying she had to go back to the precinct.

Aelin was about to add something else but Brullo barged in her office all panicked “Cap, Lieutenant, you need to come immediately.”

The two stood quickly and followed the man outside and to the area where the engine and truck were parked. Brullo pointed at something behind the two rigs: a medium-sized parcel.

“We were all in the common room, then I came through here and I saw it. I did not touch it, I came straight to you, sir.”

Aedion nodded “Aelin grab the whole team and get out of here.”

She looked at him in protest.

“As a precaution. This is my area.”

Aelin nodded, if that was an actual bomb he was the only one who could actually do something.

“I’ll call the police and bomb squad.” Aelin took her phone out but Aedion stopped her.

“Not here, remember basic bomb training? Radio signals can trigger it. Grab the team and get out of the firehouse.” He ordered her, that was his field and Aelin would gladly let him take charge.

“Ok, but you be careful, please.”

Aedion nodded and went to get his bomb suit while Aelin and Brullo went to gather the rest of the team and evacuate the premises as asked.

It was half an hour later when Aelin got the all clear from Aedion and ran back to the station with Lysandra just as nervous as she had been.

Aedion had removed his suit and was back in his uniform. 

He walked to the two women and nodded at Aelin, confirming that it was a real bomb he had just defused. He then handed her a message that had been taped inside the box.

This is only the beginning. You made a big mistake.

Aelin swore loudly.

“What’s going on?” Asked Lysandra who had no idea of the whole Hamel situation, just like the rest of the team.

“Station meeting,” called Aelin as the rest of the team marched back in.

Aedion took everyone in the communal area while Aelin called detective Ytger to tell her about the bomb they had received. The woman had asked to keep the artefact as proof and that the bomb squad was on its way to collect it to add to their investigation.

She closed the call and joined the rest of the team and braced herself to tell them the truth she and Aedion had omitted for their protection. 

“Ok, everyone, I need your attention because what I am about to tell you is quite serious.” She started, staring at her team with dread in her guts.

“Was that a real bomb?” Asked Manon.

Aedion nodded. 

“Remember the call we had at the Vaults? Only Aedion and I went in. The kitchen caught fire and two people died. The whole place was not up to code. So Aedion and I confronted the owner who did not seem to care. Threats have been exchanged. Aedion and I started working with the police and the owner of the club is apparently high on the list of criminals to remove from the streets.” She kept telling them, unable to read their emotions “the night of my birthday and Lys’ party we went to a club and I did some recon.”

“Is that why you disappeared for so long?”

Aelin nodded “Chaol was there as my back up. As soon as we left I called Pete and told him the situation. He passed the call as an anonymous one and they closed the club.” Then she turned to the male counterpart of the team “at your party, the fire alarm going off? That was Aedion.”

“Our club was a mess as well. I knew Pete was busy as I knew Aelin’s plan so I pulled the fire alarm. That club was shut down as well.” Continued Aedion, not letting the burden of the confession all on Aelin’s shoulders. They had decided together. 

“You are two bloody idiots.” Shouted Lysandra “and you thought not to tell us, why?”

Aedion was about to reply but Lys marched to him “and don’t say to bloody protect us. You are not a knight in shining armour.” Her green eyes bore into his with fury.

“We had a chat with the police and we realised the lesser people knew the better.” Added Aelin.

“Not to be disrespectful, cap, but we are your team. We are a family. And you should not keep such things from us.” Ren’s voice broke the momentary silence.

“I know,” said Aelin almost mystified “I was just not expecting an actual bomb landing in our station.”

“What do we do now?” This time it was Elide voicing everyone’s thoughts. 

Aelin sighed “stay alert. The police is on the case but I have a feeling it will get worse before it gets better.”

“Report anything that looks suspicious to us either of us.”

The team nodded. And Aelin dismissed them all and they all went back to their duties.

*

The night had been long and they had far too many calls for her taste, but the shift had finished with no more drama and no more bombs and she called it a success, although she could not push away the constant feeling of doom in her guts. That bomb and the message had been clear. Hamel was not going to forget how both she and Aedion had confronted him. 

She parked the car in her spot and the sight of Rowan’s reminded her that he would not be at home waiting for her. She hadn’t heard from his since the day before and she hoped he was fine. He sounded down. She had texted him once but received no reply. 

She grabbed her bag and got back inside her house, looking forward to a very long relaxing shower. She walked to her bedroom, removed her shirt when powerful arms grabbed her from behind and a blade appeared at her neck “now, captain, you behave like a good girl and not a peep or I’ll slice your throat.”

Aelin nodded silently.

“Good,” his voice near her ear. Then she felt his lips on her neck “you are such a nice treat.” She realised too late she was just in a bra and Aelin felt his disgusting hand slither up to her chest. Rage rose through her “you know? I haven’t had a tumble with a woman in a long time. I might just have my way with you before I kill you.”

Hell no, thought Aelin.

With what little she remembered about self defence that Aedion had thought her she kicked the man in the nuts then grabbed the arm he had around her neck and with a powerful move she just threw him on the floor. His head slamming hard falling unconscious on the spot.

In a frenzy she grabbed her phone from her back pocket and called Chaol.

“Hey,”

“Hi. Are you on shift?” She asked him, voice trembling.

“Yes, out on patrol.”

“Good. I need you at my house. Someone just broke in and attacked me.” She explained while trying to calm down the anger.

“Ok, I will be there as soon as I can. You haven’t moved, have you?”

“No, still same address.”

She sat beside the unconscious man and kicked the blade away with her shoe. And then she tried very hard not to cry.

“Aelin, it’s me.” A knock on the door woke her up from her shocked state. She grabbed the blanket she had on her bed and wrapped it around her and went to open the door to Chaol. Beside him stood a woman, his partner. She had met Nesryn many times before.

Chaol noted her state “are you okay?”

She walked to the bed and sat down staring at the man on the floor.

“He is unconscious,” said the other woman while cuffing the perp.

Chaol stopped in front of her “what happened?”

“I just got home from my shift. I got in the house and he attacked me while I was getting changed. He put a knife at my throat.” And she pointed at the weapon on the floor.

Nesryn came off the phone “detective Ytger is on her way.” Then she stood and walked to the kitchen and got some water for Aelin.

“Thank you.”

“He didn’t…” asked Nesryn with caution.

Aelin shook her head “I have no shirt on because I removed it before I was attacked. He just got a nice sight and a squeeze. I stopped him before he could do more.”

Twenty minutes later detective Ytger and a few more detectives arrived in the house inspecting it and collecting any bit of evidence they could, knife first of all.

“Aelin, this is Tern one of Hamel’s men.” said the woman pointing at the still unconscious man cuffed on the floor.

That was good thought Aelin, they could arrest Hamel now?

“We will bring him to the station and interrogate him. But Hamel’s men rarely sing.”

“So he almost killed me and nothing will change?” She stood and shouted “this man came into my house and almost got me.” And she pointed at the thin cut at her throat “I am alive because I can defend myself.” She sat back on the bed, hands shaking. She was not going to break down.

“You should come to the station for a statement,” said the detective.

“Would it help?”

“To put Tern away for a while.” Then she shook her head “not yet enough for Hamel.”

Aelin groaned and went to get a clean t-shirt and a hoodie “fine, let’s do this.” And walked to the door of her flat annoyed.

Her time at the police station had felt completely useless. They had asked her for a statement, asked her to recount again what had happened and then again she was told that the chances to finally frame Hamel were still quite low. They had no way prove that Hamel had tried to kill her although the police knew that Tern worked for Hamel. She was slowly losing any hope and confidence in the police.

Once the detectives had left, Chaol sat with her in the interrogation room “are you sure you are fine?” His voice full of worry as his brown eyes stared at her.

“Yeah.” She said flatly “I just want to go to bed. I came off the night shift and I am tired.”

“Your house is still a crime scene.”

Aelin swore loudly “what am I supposed to do?”

“Maybe Aedion can take you in until you get your place back.”

“I don’t want strangers in my house or in my bedroom.” She snapped. She did not want anyone going to her bedroom and possibly touching his stuff.

“They have to.”

“They got the knife, and Tern, what more do they need?” She stood and started pacing frantically and Chaol knew she was not okay.

“I am calling Aedion.” The man took his phone out and phoned her cousin explaining him what happened and that she needed a place to stay for probably a day.

Aelin sat back on the chair and tried very hard to not to break down. She was tired and furious and with a deep desire of smashing something. She felt tears sting her eyes and fought them hard. But the rage was like a wildfire inside her.

The bastard was trying to kill her. How dared he?

“Aedion and Lys are on their way.” Chaol came back and sat down again beside her and pulled her closer.

“I thought we were doing the right thing,” she said quietly “that man belongs to a jail. How dare he think he can get me killed because I am doing my job?” She was seething then peeled away from Chaol’s attempt at comfort and resumed pacing feeling restless.

“I’ll go and sleep at the station.” Aelin stopped and Chaol noticed her shoulders slump in exhaustion.

He grabbed her hand and stopped her. She needed to be with someone close to her. He had known Aelin for a very long time. The police tended to work a lot with them and eventually Chaol got to know the entire fire station: both east and west. But that was the first time he saw Aelin in that state. He had seen her run into fires without batting an eyelid but that day she was truly scared.

“Wait for them, you need company tonight.”

It was a good half an hour later when Lysandra and Aedion made their way inside the police station and Lysandra ran to Aelin as soon as she spotted her friend. The two women embraced fiercely and Aelin burst into tears as soon as she was in the other woman’s arms.

In the meantime Chaol took Aedion aside and explained to him what happened.

“Are you okay?” Lysandra took Aelin’s face in her hand and green eyes met blue “you are coming with us, Ae and I will look after you.”

Aelin shook her head “you have a wedding to prepare for. I will sleep at the station. I am fine.”

Lysandra sighed in exasperation “Aedion, you tell her she is coming with us and not going to camp at the fire station.”

Aedion walked slowly to his cousin and kissed her head “there is no way you are sleeping at the station. We have a spare room. And stop being stubborn or I call flying boy and tell him to have a chat with you.”

Aelin’s heart sank. She did not want Rowan to know, at least not while he was away. He was already having a rough time as it was. He could not worry about her as well. And for something like this he would downright freak out.

“Fine.” She yielded.

The drive home had been quiet, Aelin sat at the back of the car and leaned her face against the window staring at the city passing by. The fury had somehow calmed down but the whole attack had thrown her off “Ae, I need you to teach me better hand to hand combat. I keep thinking that I am alive because you taught me some manoeuvres to defend myself.”

“We can do that and if any of the other ladies in the team want to join I can do it for all of you.”

Aelin saw Lysandra put a hand on Aedion’s on the stick. Knowing him he was probably beating himself for not protecting her properly.

They stopped at the traffic lights and Aedion slammed his hand on the steering wheel in rage “first that bomb and now this. I want the man’s head on a silver plate.”

“The police has no proof.” Said Aelin with such a flat tone that Aedion worried seriously. She had just recovered from all the fire ordeal. She could not go through another breakdown. And this time Rowan wasn’t even there.

Aedion breathed out and relaxed as the lights turned green. They arrived at their house not long after and once inside Lysandra took Aelin to her temporary room. When she came back she had a bundle of clothes for her.

“These are mine.” She handed her over the bundle “I have spare toiletries and towels if you need a shower. I will ask Aedion to make lunch.”

Aelin shook her head “I am just taking a shower and going to bed. I don’t feel hungry and definitely not in the mood for company.”

Lysandra hugged her “we’ll set aside some food so if you are hungry later on, it’s there.”

Aelin’s arms tightened around her friend’s body “thank you for having me.”

“Always,” Lysandra pulled back and searched for Aelin’s stare “especially now that the captain is away. We are here.” And with that she left.

Her shower had been long as she had the need to scrub off her body from the contact with the assailant. Remove the memory of his touch on her skin. Once she felt clean again she went back to her room and curled up in bed. She wanted to speak to Rowan but was afraid she would crumble. But the weak part of her needed to hear his voice and know he was okay. So she gathered some courage and called him.

Aelin was about to hang up when he finally answered.

“Hi trouble.

“Such loving words to say to your girlfriend.”

“Keep me company while I walk back to my quarters.”

“I just got out of the shower. I only have my bathrobe on.”

“Cruel, cruel woman.”

Aelin grinned and snapped a picture of her, the robe slightly open to show her legs and part of her breasts to tease him “you better get to your quarters before looking at the photo I just sent you.”

She heard a door slam and a much quieter background and Rowan was silent for a while.

“Are you still alive?”

Rowan groaned “it’s a good thing that I need to take a shower.”

Aelin laughed loudly at the joke. Speaking to him was lifting the cloud of doom that had landed on her “You might need more than your military style two minutes.”

“After the photo I will be happy to get a cold one.” He was silent for a while and she heard some rustling.

“My turn for revenge.”

Aelin looked at her phone and she had two pictures one was him in his jumpsuit how she liked him, the second was him with his bare torso and this time it was Aelin’s turn to groan “seriously, when you come back I am taking a week off, we are going back to the cabin in the woods and spend the whole week in bed having sex.”

It was Rowan’s turn to laugh “you will not hear me complain.”

“I miss you so much.” And she tried very hard not to cry, it would make things much worse and he would fuss and worry. And he was away and she could not distract him because his job was dangerous and she needed him to come back. Badly.

Rowan sighed on his end “Yeah, not having a great time either.” He said softly “how is Elide coping?”

“She just tries to ignore it and stays strong.”

“Lorcan is miserable. And all the shit that is going down is not helping.”

Aelin hugged the pillow “Ro, I know that you can’t tell me anything but are you guys okay?”

She heard Rowan loose a long breath “it’s not the first time we are in a bad situation. It has just been very exhausting and we have been pulling crazy patrol shifts.” He explained “that’s why I haven’t been texting you back. I just got off a 12hrs patrol. I think the whole team is already in bed.”

“Even the twins?”

“Yeah, we have been so busy that they had no time to indulge in any illicit activities.”

Aelin smiled “ohh poor Fenrys.”

“I already have enough on my plate. I don’t have time to deal with his stupidity.”

Aelin smirked in the camera “can I distract you, captain?” Swiftly Aelin opened the belt of her robe exposing her naked form to him.

Rowan hissed a breath “Aelin…” his voice strained “you are not helping…”

“Just cheering you up.” She bent her legs, her hand brushing slowly her stomach in a sensual motion.

Rowan growled and Aelin noticed him standing and pacing.

“Problems, captain? You seem on edge….”

He looked at her in the camera, took in her long legs and the swell of her breasts and pushed aside his need for her “were I there, you’d be against a wall right now.”

Aelin cackled in response.

“Fuck, Aelin, this is torture.” His voice harsher than meant to. Her brows furrowed “I did not meant it like that…” he corrected himself very quickly “I love this. Very much. But I can’t be there and it’s killing me.”

Aelin closed her robe back in understanding “Sorry…”

“Hey,” he said very softly and felt like a bastard “you cheered me up.” His eyes rolled “more than expected.”

Aelin laughed “I guess that shower will really be long now.”

“Definitely more than three minutes.” She saw him going back on the bed, stripping off his jump suit and remaining in a t-shirt and boxer briefs.

“Nice ass, Whitethorn.”

Rowan laughed again and she loved hearing that sound from him “Is it okay if I leave you now? It’s dinner time on the ship and I hate being late because the best stuff is gone.”

“No,” she said softly “go, take that shower and have some food.”

He stood and looked at her in the camera “thank you.” He blew her a kiss “I love you.”

“Same here. Very much.” She sighed, dreading the end of the conversation “Go.”

“Okay. Hanging up now…” he waved at her and waved back and eventually hung up the call and Aelin collapsed down in bed with heaviness and sadness.

Then she got up and wore some clothes and left the room to join Aedion and Lys. They had been nice to her and she did not want to offend them. Also, speaking with Rowan had calmed her fears a bit.

Once in the kitchen she joined her friends.

“Look who has a big smile. Phone sex with the captain?”

Aelin chuckled and shook her head sitting down beside Lysandra. Aedion passed her a huge portion of food.

“You can totally have sex phone with him, Ae and I will not judge.”

Aelin took a bit of her food and hummed happily. Aedion was a great cook “he had to shower and then dinner. Meals are on set times.”

“And suck most of the times, but maybe the posh gangs on the boats have fancy cooks. Sometimes we had to survive on military ration packs.” he explained eating eagerly his food “as soon as I retired I learned how to cook.”

“And you are awesome at it.” Lysandra brushed her hand on his arm.

“Guys, thank you for having me over.”  She felt as if she hadn’t thanked them properly. It was a few days before their wedding and she hated being a burden.

“Hey, we are here. And you know that when Rowan is away you can stay with us if you feel lonely.”

“I can always babysit once you make me aunt Aelin.”

Lysandra laughed “hold your horses lady, he gets to marry me… for his progeny he will have to wait.”

“Imagine cute blonde babies with green eyes.”

“I can definitely imagine kids between you and the captain.”

Aelin almost chocked on her food “seriously, Lys, you can’t just blurt out stuff like that.”

“Why?” She asked innocently and Aedion elbowed her.

“We just finished fighting and barely started figuring out things. I leave the whole marriage thing to you, for now.”

Lysandra sighed and did not push. She knew it was a tough topic for Aelin. She and Sam had been months away from getting married before he died and she knew they had the whole kids chat and had planed a family “Fine.”

They finished dinner and Aelin offered to help clean up, it was the least she could do. The three of them camped on the sofa and chatted for a few hours then Aelin started yawning and excused herself to bed. She had a long crappy day.

***

It was the weekend and the big day for Lys and Aedion. Aelin had returned home two days after the attack. The police had contacted her telling her that the house was released back and she had gone back as soon as she could. Lysandra and Aedion had driven her home and spent some time with her making sure she was fine being there again. Aelin, being her stubborn self, had sworn she was fine but had started playing music all the time to try and hide the silence in the house. The first thing she did was to flop on the bed and inhale Rowan’s scent and hug bird Rowan like an addict. 

She was about to get dressed when her phone went off.

“Oh look who is calling.” She hadn’t heard from him since their last conversation and although she knew it would happen it would always make her nervous.

“How is my girl doing?” Since they had put an official label in their relationship, he had become even more affectionate and had also started using cute nicknames for her on top of Fireheart which still was the main one he used. All their barriers had officially fallen and distance was the only thing separating them. She loved this new take in their relationship. She was just looking forward to him coming back and finally ask him the question she had been pondering for weeks. 

“Great. It’s Lys and Aedion’s wedding day. I was just getting ready.”

“Will I get to see in you in your maid of honour’s dress?”

“If you behave,” she teased while removing her pyjama “how are you doing?”

“I am on downtime… until some shit happens and we have to scramble no matter what.”

“That sucks.”

Rowan sighed “I know, but that’s how it works.”

Aelin put the phone on the bed and on speaker phone “Keep talking, I am just getting dressed and I got you on speaker phone.”

“I really hate I can’t be there.” Then he stopped “you are not taking another man, are you?”

Aelin laughed. Him playing jealous boyfriend was cute “Brullo is accompanying me and Ress is taking Elide. They are just being nice, don’t worry.”

“Fine, I’ll trust them to keep their hands to themselves.”

“Jealous much, captain?”

Rowan just grunted something unintelligible.

She finished pulling up the dress and with some acrobatics she did manage to zip it up as well “that’s when I need you here. To zip up my dress.” She groaned after the feat just accomplished.

“Honestly, I’d rather zip it down.” Aelin could hear him smile.

Then she grabbed her phone and switched on the camera “here we go, Buzzard. My hair is not done yet, neither my make up, but you can see the dress.”

It was a long light blue dress that would match the bride’s colour. The skirt pooled at her feet and with a squared neckline. It was very simple. Rowan had switched on the camera as well and from his expression she could see it was effective as well “so?”

He swallowed hard “I assume you have underwear this time?”

“Yes, it’s not as tight as the black one, so it does not look bad.”

“Again… it really sucks not to be there.”

She twirled for him “is that all you have, captain?” Then Aelin took a seat at the vanity dressing table and started fixing her hair while the phone was leaning against the mirror.

“I have so many naughty thoughts just now… that if I were there we would definitely be late for the wedding.”

Aelin cackled in joy. Once her hair was pulled up in a nice style she opened the small jewellery box in front of her and pulled out the necklace he had given her and showed it to him “recognise this?”

His face lit up in a beautiful smile “you are wearing it?”

Aelin nodded “I always do when I am not on shift. It’s always together with your dog tags.”

“I love you.” He said to her with a tenderness that melted her heart.

The buzzer in her house went off “this must be Elide. We are going together. Go and call Lorcan.”

Aelin stood and saw Rowan doing the same. When she got back with Elide she noticed Lorcan in the image “Commodore, thank you for joining us.” Then she grabbed Elide’s arm and pulled her in the picture as well and saw an array of emotions pass through the usually stone faced man.

“Hi Lor,” said Elide timidly.

“Elide…” was the only thing he managed to say. The woman had a dress matching Aelin’s. Lysandra had chosen both of them to be her maid of honour.

“Isn’t she stunning?” She teased, loving to see the man actually showing emotions.

“Very, very much.” And no one missed the tenderness in the comment.

“Well, boys… these two ladies here have to go to a wedding so the gawking stops here.”

“Have a good time, okay?” Said Rowan, while Lorcan was still busy admiring Elide “and leave the other men alone.”

“You two enjoy your downtime and your cold showers….” She winked at them wickedly then she grabbed the phone and walked away for a moment of privacy for her goodbye to Rowan.

Once she was done she walked back to Elide who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“So, our fearless and cold commodore has emotions after all.”

Elide nodded “he just shows very little of them. But he has been calling me every time he can and well… he has been kind and he actually said he missed me. I think for him is the equivalent of saying I love you.”

Aelin hugged Elide “I am so happy he is being nice to you.”

The two finished getting ready and eventually left the house, Aelin saying goodbye to bird Rowan before leaving.

The wedding venue was an estate just outside town. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the ceremony would be held outside and then the buffet and the celebrations inside in the great hall.

Aelin and Elide arrived half an hour later and a valet took care of her car.

Together they walked along the long path with trees at both sides. In the distance they could see the mansion and the place looked majestic. A double staircase lead to the upper level but they were guided to the rear of the mansion.

Aelin approached a woman standing and looking like she was in charge of the event “Hi, we are Aelin and Elide, the two maids of honour. Where is Lysandra?”

“She is getting ready. I’ll take you to her.”

The woman lead them to the room “she is in here.”

Aelin and Elide entered and Aelin gasped amazed when she saw Lys, standing in the middle of the room. She was beautiful. The dress was light blue. Lys had told them she refused to wear white. The gown was in tulle, the corset was covered in lace with a floral pattern which continued along the gown, and a strap in tulle as well sneaked on the left shoulder.

Her dark hair was bound in a nice complicated bun with some flowers pinned in it.

Aelin took a step to her friend “Lys, you look amazing. You are going to give Aedion a heart attack.”

“Do you like it?” She pirouetted for them.

“You look like a princess,” said Elide dreamingly.

“The dress looked amazing in the picture but on you is even better.” Aelin sat on the bed “how are you feeling?”

“Nervous I think? Which everyone is telling me is normal.” She confessed.

Lysandra looked at her friends “did you send a picture of you two to your boys far away?”

Aelin smiled “I was having a video call with Rowan when Elide arrived. You should have seen Lorcan’s face. The man was speechless when he saw Elide.”

“Oh sure because Rowan was disgusted…” joked Elide.

Aelin chuckled and thought about his reaction “definitely not…”

The three women chatted and gossiped for a while until the woman who had walked them to the room came back announcing that it was time to get to their positions and that the groom was already at the altar.

“We’ll see you up there.” Aelin hugged Lys again and the woman nodded.

Aelin and Elide were taken where the other bridesmaids were, and their male companions.

Manon, Asterin and Ansel were already there and the rest of the team as well. 

Brullo walked to Aelin and offered her his arm “captan, would you do me the honour?”

Aelin took his arm in hers and wore at her wrist the corsage he had offered her.

Elide took her place with Ress. Ansel went with Nox, Manon with Ren and Asterin went with Luca. The guys were wearing their dress mess uniform.

Everyone lined up for the procession and Aelin wished she could share such a happy moment with Rowan.

Classical music started playing and the bridesmaids and their partners were told to start walking down the aisle.

As they walked Aelin noticed a lot of familiar faces. All of west station was present, Dorian was sitting toward the front with Sorscha at his side. In another section she noticed Chaol and Yrene and a few more cops. There were a few men in uniform. Aedion had invited some of his ex army mates. She smiled when she saw a few civilians in a sea of uniforms. Both police officers and firefighters had worn their dress mess uniforms and the detectives were the ones mingling in the regular clothes crowd.

Aelin looked at the end of the aisle and noticed Aedion in his dress uniform, standing proud and with a big smile. His hair was tied in a very low ponytail with a red ribbon holding it together.

She was so happy for him and was looking forward to see his face when he saw Lys.

Once at the bottom of the aisle they stopped and Aelin and Elide took their positions and same for Brullo and Ress, walking behind Aedion.

The officiant joined a moment later and a man in an army uniform appeared and Aelin tried to figure out the rank from his insignia. She had learned the airforce ones but still had no clue on army and navy, but from the large cuffs on the wrists of his uniforms she guessed he was quite high up and important to Aedion if he asked him to perform the wedding.

The man patted Aedion’s shoulder and gave him a huge grin.

Eventually the music changed and Lysandra appeared at the bottom of aisle and Aelin stared at her cousin’s expression once he noticed his soon to be wife make an appearance. Lysandra was a lucky woman. She could see the deep love in Aedion’s eyes.

Lysandra walked down the aisle with a little girl, Chaol and Yrene’s daughter, being flower girl.

Aelin smiled as the little girl threw flowers and bowed to the attendees every so often. She was just adorable. Once she was done she turned and bowed one last time and ran back her parents.

Lysandra stopped in front of Aedion and the two stared at each other in silence for a moment.

Once they took their place the officiant started the wedding.

Aelin got distracted by a figure lurking behind one of the trees in the distance. Her stomach in knots in worry. Silently she kept scanning the area without showing any signs of her attention having drifted away from the wedding. And when she spotted a second one her panic rose. The men were dressed in black and clearly hiding. She saw one of them lift something that looked a lot like a rifle. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Everyone duck!” She shouted.

In that instant gun shots echoed in the air.

Aedion threw himself on Lysandra and in that instant Aelin saw a bullet finding its target in his shoulder. Blood spayed from the wound and then Lysandra’s scream followed.

She saw police, detectives and army scrambling into action. She kneeled and pulled Aedion’s body from a panicking Lysandra. Rolled over his body and sighed in relief when she saw him breathing.

She looked up at Brullo and the man was already on the phone with the emergency services.

Aelin used her dress to stop the bleeding and Elide crouched beside Lysandra to calm down the woman.

Aedion had used his body to shield Lysandra as he heard the gun shots. He had acted on pure instincts.

“Lys, he is breathing. He will be okay.” Aelin said to a terrified Lys. Their faces covered in sprayed blood. Elide used her dress to clean Lys’ face. Sorscha joined them quickly “keep the pressure on the wound.” She told Aelin, while she checked him over.

The ambulance arrived pretty quickly and Aelin recognised the paramedics from another unit.

The paramedics took care of the wound and then Aedion was lifted on a gurney.

“Go,” she said to Lys, “we are joining you at the hospital.” The woman nodded in a daze and followed the paramedics.

“Brullo, Ress, stay with Elide.” And she ran away to the police.

She saw detective Ytger dragging a man in cuffs to the exit and probably to a police car.

She joined Chaol who was holding his screaming daughter “They got two but there were more. They had rifles. I saw the army guys spreading along the perimeter.”

“Do you think…?” She asked and Chaol nodded without her having to finish the sentence.

“The bomb, the attack to you… and now this…”

Aelin’s hands fisted in rage. 

It had gone too far.

She was going to take Hamel down.

No matter what.

TAGS

@rowaelinismyotp​

@jlinez​

@swankii-art-teacher​

@courtofjurdan​

@whimsicallyreading​

tillyrubes10

@surielandiareendgame​

@aelin-bitch-queen​

@bruiseonthefaceofhumanity

[dontcare77ghj]

All-New Halloween Spooktacular

Wanda x reader x Vision

"Halloween's a magical holiday," Billy told someone unseen as he walked into the kitchen dressed in a cape. "All about family, friends, and the thrill of getting to be someone else for the day."

"Wrong! Halloween's all about candy!" Tommy informed his brother.

"You're both wrong." Luna piped up from where she sat, eating toast. "It's about scaring people."

"That too." Tommy agreed. "But mostly about candy." He added.

"Where's your costume, Tommy?" Billy questioned, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.

"This is my costume. I'm the cool twin." Tommy told him in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Lame." Luna shook her head.

"What does that make me?" Billy asked, tilting his head to the side. 

"A dorkasurus rex," Tommy said, smirking as he remembered the time Billy caused himself to fall playing Dance Dance Revolution.

"Not a real dinosaur." Billy rolled his eyes. "What's your costume, Luna?" He asked, glancing over his sister's grey jacket and pink dress.

"I'm a spy," Luna said, pulling on a pair of sunglasses. "Duh." She added, picking up her plate as the three kids moved into the living room. 

Quickly the three ten-year-olds noticed their usual seats on the couch were occupied by their uncle, who was fast asleep and snoring loudly.

"Man, he even snores cool." Tommy quietly exclaimed, Pietro on the couch. "I'm gonna wake him up."

"Don't!" Billy snapped, grabbing Tommy's arm.

"You scared?"

"Why would he be scared, Tommy? He's our uncle." Luna asked, tilting her head.

"'Cause it's four o'clock in the afternoon, and Billy's secretly afraid he's a vampire." Tommy teased.

"No, I'm not!" Billy denied.

"Yes, you are!" Tommy smirked. 

"Both of you, be quiet!" Luna hissed.

What none of the kids had noticed was that while they were arguing, Pietro had woken up. Pietro watched the three for a second before he flashed in front of his nephews and niece.

"Blood is thicker than water! I show you!" Pietro roared, causing the kids to scream.

Pietro began to chase the still screaming children around the living room before a loud voice interrupted them.

"Oh! Somebody better be bleeding, broken, or on fire." Wanda said as she rushed down the stairs, all dressed for Halloween.

"Whoa, Mama. Are you old Red Riding Hood?" Billy wondered, causing Wanda to frown.

"I'm a Sokovian fortune teller." His mother told him.

"Wow, that is so," 

"Rad!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Lame," Pietro said, causing Tommy to frown.

"Lame." Tommy agreed.

"Well, think it's cool, Mama," Luna said, smiling at the woman.

"Why, thank you, favorite child," Wanda said with a teasing grin to her other children.

"That costume is worse than the ones mom made us the year we got typhus." Pietro grimaced, staring his sister up and down.

"That's not exactly how I remember it." Wanda frowned, recalling a faint memory of herself, her brother, and an old woman with a fish.

"You probably suppressed a lot of the trauma." Pietro guessed.

"Mom has been weird since uncle Pietro got here," Billy announced, once more talking to someone unseen. "I think it's because she hasn't seen him in a long time, and he's what you call 'a man child.'"

"Want to talk about trauma? Someone drank my coffee this morning." Y/N said as she descended the stairs. "I'm looking at you, Pietro."

"What are you dressed as, Mom?" Tommy asked, looking at his mother.

"I'm Artemis," Y/N told him, pulling a fake bow off her caped back. "She's the Greek Goddess of the Hunt." 

"Whoa! Sweet costume, bro-ham-in-law!" Pietro cackled as Vision appeared behind Y/N. "Let me guess, traffic light!" He said, causing Vision to sigh. "Half shucked corn! A booger!"

"Yes." Vision sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Yes!" Pietro exclaimed with a grin before making his way over to the couch.

"Well, thank you two for humoring me," Wanda said, giving her partners an apologetic smile.

"I love Halloween. No-one had to ask me to dress up twice." Y/N shrugged, throwing her bow back onto her back.

"At least you got to choose your costume. I simply had no other clothes in my closet." Vision said before grinning at his wives. "You are incorrigible, darling. I know you have a secret thing for Mexican wrestlers." He told Wanda.

"Mi gusta mucho."

"Ellos son bastante buenos."

"Chili con carne." Vision said, causing his wives to laugh. "What do you say, kiddos? Who's ready for that first hit of high fructose corn syrup?" Vision asked, turning to the kids who were playing a video game with Pietro.

"Yes! Headlock!"

"Get out of here! Get out of here!"

"You never really told us anything about your brother," Y/N said, watching the three with a smile. "He's not what I expected."

"Yes. I had no idea that he'd be so,"

"Go!"

"Great with kids." Vision summarised, throwing his thumb up.

"Yeah, he's just full of surprises." Wanda shook her head.

"Well, I hope the two of you have fun tonight, darlings." Vision said, moving towards the door.

"What? What do you mean? You're all dressed and ready to go." Wanda asked, staring at Vision with wide eyes.

"I'm undercover," Vision told her. "Halloween is a bacchanal for adolescent trouble-makers, and the neighborhood watch is the only thing that stands between the trees and toilet paper." He explained.

"Ah yes, the age-old enemy. Children with toilet paper." Y/N teased her husband with a smirk.

"No. That's not what you're supposed to,"

"What?" Vision cut her off, causing Wanda to cross her arms and sigh.

"Well, you didn't tell me you had plans."

"Vis told me last night, Wand," Y/N announced, causing Wanda to narrow her eyes.

"And you're okay with this?"

"Mama, Mom, and Dad have been, well, not fighting, just different," Billy announced to the unseen person.

"Okay with it? Vis is going out with the neighborhood watch. What's there to be okay about?" Y/N wondered.

"It's the kid's first Halloween. We all have to be there with them." Wanda demanded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's the big dealio?" Pietro whispered as he came to stand with the three. "The big guy has conflict. The kids need a father figure for the night. Don't sweat it, guys. I got the old XY chromosome. Uncle P to the rescue! Huh?" He suggested.

"There you go. Problem solved." Vision agreed, lightly punching Pietro in the shoulder. "You have a spooky time tonight, kids."

"Goodnight, Dad!" 

"Bye, Dad!"

"Love you, Dad!"

"Sweethearts, be good." He said (mostly to Wanda) as he kissed both women's cheeks. "I smell crime."

"Oh, hang on, I need to put the pumpkin out," Y/N said before Vision left the house. 

She grabbed the jack-o-lantern from beside the door and followed Vision outside, shutting the door behind her.

"You understand your part of the plan?" Vision whispered.

"I'll keep Wanda distracted and keep my eyes open," Y/N whispered to her husband. "Be careful?" She asked.

"Always, darling," Vision promised, quickly pulling Y/N into an embrace before taking his leave.

"Where do you keep your water balloons?" Y/N heard as she re-entered the house. 

"What? We don't have water balloons." Wanda said as Y/N locked the front door.

"Not anymore. Wanda won't let me keep them in the house." Y/N teased, coming to stand beside her wife.

"Then where are we gonna put all this shaving cream?" Pietro asked, holding up two cans. Cans Y/N had no idea as to where they'd come from. "It was Luna's idea!" Pietro defended himself.

"I'm Tommy," Tommy said, holding a shopping bag in his hands.

"And don't you forget it!"

"You two don't even have costumes," Wanda said, looking between her brother and son. 

Pietro let out a scoff as he held a hand out towards Tommy. When the boy took it, Pietro sped the two out of the house, and when they reappeared, they were in matching costumes.

"Okay, but just remember that this is a respectable family." Wanda sighed. "If I see any funny business, I am going to magic you into a pickled herring." She said, causing Pietro to cringe. 

"C'mon Billy, Luna, let's get your pillowcases," Y/N said, causing the kids to jump to their feet. "It's T-minus ten to our Halloween spooktacular!" She grinned.

Back at SWORD headquarters, agents were in a flurry after Wanda's appearance.

"I wanna see a full work-up inside the hour," Hayward demanded of the agents examining the missile that was still glowing with Wanda's power.

"Yes, sir."

"Hayward. Hayward! You cut us off at the knees sending in that missile." Monica snapped, rushing after the director.

"Now we know who we're dealing with." He shrugged.

"There he is! The man who almost got murdered by his own team." Clint clapped, causing Hayward to snap around.

"Why are you still here?" He demanded.

"Because that's my family in there," Clint told the man. 

"And he's with us," Darcy said, standing beside Clint with Monica on her other side.

"I see, so if he's the struggling father, which of you is the sassy best friend?"

"There is no time for you to diminish your colleagues when you're about to start a war you can't win." Jimmy admonished, standing on Clint's other side. 

"Maximoff was never going to negotiate with us." Hayward waved him off. "We take her out, and this whole nightmare ends."

"We don't know that," Monica told him.

"And we're never going to now." Clint scoffed. 

"We have no idea what will happen in there or out here if Wanda dies." Monica reasoned.

"So what? We just surrender to that?" Hayward exclaimed, glaring at the red energy field behind him. "Not happening."

"We can't outgun her, and clearly antagonizing her is only making things worse. If Wanda is the problem, then she has to be our solution!"

"Captain Rambeau, Agent Barton, the two of you have become an impediment to this mission," Hayward told the two, causing Monica to sigh heavily.

"Technically, I was never assigned to anything." Clint shrugged.

"Constantly advocating on behalf of super-power-based individuals. Yes, I know your history with Carol Danvers. You know, you people who left still have the luxury of optimism. You have no idea what it was like what it took to keep the lights." Hayward shook his head.

"Monica might not have been around, but I was," Clint spoke up. "I remember what it took, and I can never forget. Wanda dusted. Y/N dusted. The two came back to a world where nothing was the same, and Vision was dead. Vision who had to die by Wanda's own hand."

"That's not an excuse for what Maximoff's doing. And the snap wasn't an excuse for what you did during those five years either." The director said, causing Clint to flinch.

"Don't use the last five years to be a coward, Tyler." Monica snapped, causing Hayward to direct his attention back to her.

"Maybe it's a good thing you weren't here when your mother died. Because clearly, you don't have the stomach for this job." Hayward said, causing the air to knock right out of Monica's lungs. "Get her off my base. Get them all out." He demanded the agents, who immediately surrounded the four.

"Yes, sir. All right, come on. Let's go." One of the agents said, pulling Monica out of the room, the other three not far behind. 

"Hayward is way overstepping his provisional authority," Jimmy complained.

"He was looking for a reason to sideline us," Clint commented from his side.

"He's up to something." Monica agreed as they came to a stop at a van.

"Let's go, everybody in." An agent demanded. 

With a second's hesitation, Jimmy punched the agent holding him. Monica and Clint quickly followed Jimmy's lead and attacked the guards holding them. Slamming the men into the truck and the ground, the three made quick work of the agents while Darcy watched in shock.

"Why didn't anyone tell me the plan?" Darcy demanded once all the agents were dispatched.

"You okay?" Jimmy asked Clint and Monica.

"Always am," Clint grunted, rolling his shoulder.

"Yeah, let's move." Monica sighed. Quickly the four found themselves SWORD ponchos and dragged the agents into a storage shed, far out of the way. 

"This is it. Game time." Tommy told the same unseen person Billy had spoken to.

"It's not a competition, Tommy." Billy sighed.

"Everything can be a competition, Billy," Luna said with a grin.

"Luna's right. It's even better when you're the winner." Tommy said before running off.

"Tommy!" Billy groaned before running after his older brother, with Luna in tow.

"Unleash hell, demon spawn!" Pietro cheered.

"Someone's got to follow after them," Y/N said, pressing a kiss to her wife's cheek. "God knows how many bones they'd break without someone watching." She added, following after the kids.

When Wanda and Pietro were alone, Wanda gave her brother a smile before taking a step towards him.

"Do you remember when we were at the orphanage after Mom and Dad died? What was the name of the kid who was always trying to steal your boots?" Wanda asked him. "You know, he was the one with the. He had the, he had the skin thing."

"You're testing me," Pietro said, pointing at his younger sister.

"No, I'm not." She immediately denied it.

"Hey, it's cool. I know I look different." Pietro said, gesturing to his hair.

"Why do you look different?" Wanda wondered.

"You tell me." Pietro shrugged. "I mean, if I found Shangri-La, I wouldn't wanna be reminded of the past either." He said, causing Wanda to freeze.

"Next house, Mama!" Tommy said as he and his siblings rushed over to the Maximoff siblings with Y/N right behind.

"Junior entrepreneur, over here!" Pietro grinned. "How about you let Uncle P help you maximize your candy acquisition, huh?"

"That'd be so cool!" Luna grinned.

"Yeah! Kick-ass!" Tommy agreed. 

"I feel the need," Pietro stated, holding his hand out to Tommy.

"For speed!" Tommy cheered, taking Pietro and Billy's hand. Billy grabbed onto Luna's hand, and with that, the four were off.

Speeding around the neighborhood for candy.

"Kick-ass," Wanda murmured as Y/N chuckled.

"I certainly didn't teach them that word," Y/N said as they began to walk down the street.

"Sweetheart, you swear more than anyone else I've ever met," Wanda told the woman. 

"Lies and blasphemy!" Y/N gasped, causing Wanda to giggle. 

"Oh! Hey, Herb!" Wanda said upon spotted their neighbor dressed as Frankenstein. 

"Hey, guys!" Herb smiled as the two approached.

"How's patrol going?" Wanda asked politely.

"Any trees meet the dreaded toilet paper yet?" Y/N smirked.

"No, not yet." Herb chuckled. "It's been quiet so far." He said before his com began to chatter. "Hold up, will you? Say again?" He asked his com. "All the candy has disappeared?" He asked, causing the two women to freeze.

Behind the man, Wanda and Y/N could vaguely make out the blue blur of Pietro speeding the kids around and causing hijinks.

"And now all the jack-o-lanterns have been smashed?" Herb asked as the kids let out a loud cheer. "And now everyone's covered in silly string?"

"Whoo!" Pietro cheered loudly.

"Sorry, girls, but I gotta bounce." Herb apologized.

"Well, maybe Vision can help you out," Wanda suggested.

"Vision? He's not on duty."

"Oh, isn't he?" Y/N asked, playing along with Wanda's confusion.

"We just thought,"

"Is there something I can do for you, Wanda?" Herb asked, sensing Wanda's confusion. "Do you want something changed?" He questioned, causing Y/N to frown.

"No, it's fine." Wanda shook her head, grabbing Y/N's hand and squeezing it comfortingly. "Never mind."

"All right. Peace." Herb smiled before walking away.

"That was good, sweetheart." Y/N complimented her wife. 

"I'm always good." Wanda shrugged, giving Y/N a smile.

Vision was on the other side of town while his family trick-or-treated. 

The further away Vision got away from his home and family, the stranger Vision noticed the town's people were.

He had noticed people robotically repeating their actions with blank expressions.

Vision stared at a woman and her husband for several seconds before he had to tear his gaze away when the woman shed a single tear.

Meanwhile, the group of six had made their way to the town's center, where the committee had set up a festival of sorts. 

"This is so lame. I can't believe you're making the kids return all the candy." Pietro groaned as Y/N led the kids away.

"I can't believe what a bad influence you are," Wanda said, turning to Pietro with crossed arms.

"Who beefed in your borscht?" Pietro asked, causing Wanda to tilt her head. "I'm just doing my part, okay? Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the in-laws, stir up trouble with the rugrats and ultimately give you grief. I mean, that's what you wanted, isn't it?" He asked her.

"What happened to your accent?" Wanda questioned, pointing a gloved finger at her brother.

"What happened to yours?" He fired back. "Details are fuzzy, man. I got shot like a chump on the street for no reason at all, and the next thing I know, I heard you calling me. I knew you needed me." Pietro admitted as Y/N came back over.

"Alright, candy is returned, the kids are still being sourballs about it, but it's done." She clapped, standing beside her wife.

"Thank goodness for that." Wanda smiled.

"Uncle P, guess what?" Tommy exclaimed as he and his siblings ran over.

"They've got full-size candy bars a few blocks up! Mama, Mom, can we go?" Billy begged before his brother rushed away.

Tommy rushed away in a blur of blue.

"Next stop, Cavity Town!" Tommy cheered, reappearing with three candy bars in hand.

Everyone turned to stare at Tommy in surprise before Pietro let out a cheer.

"Right on, little dude! Chip off the old Maximoff block! You've got super speed!"

"I do?"

"Yeah!" Pietro grinned, holding a hand out to his nephew, who eagerly jumped to high-five him.

"It's okay, baby. You can take it slow, and you can," Wanda started to tell the boy but was cut off when he sped away.

"That's my boy." Y/N grinned as Tommy cheered loudly.

Wanda allowed Tommy to speed around the five for a few minutes before she threw her hand out and pulled the boy to a stop. 

"If you're going to break the sound barrier, please take your siblings with you," Wanda begged.

"Really?" Billy asked excitedly.

"Really?" Tommy asked sadly.

"Really, yeah. And please just remember to-"

"Don't go past Ellis Avenue." The twins chorused in unison.

"And?" Y/N wondered.

"Always stick together." They added.

"We know. We know." Tommy said as Billy took his hand.

"Luna, are you coming?" Billy asked his sister, who shook her head.

"I think I want to look at the stalls," Luna told him, glancing behind her at the stalls that were lined up.

"Oh, good idea. I'll come with you." Y/N said, taking her daughter's hand.

"Hey! be careful!" Wanda called as her family all went their separate ways.

Leaving her with Pietro.

Outside the Hex, Monica, Clint, Jimmy, and Darcy were sneaking their way to an empty tent.

"I'm just trying to do my part, okay? Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the in-laws,"

"Who is that?" Monica asked, staring at the man on the screen.

"Wanda's brother came to town," Jimmy told the woman.

"That's not the punk I remember," Clint said, staring at the screen in confusion.

"Yeah, he's got a new face." Darcy scoffed.

"Over here." Jimmy quietly called. Monica and Darcy quickly rushed over to Jimmy while Clint continued to stare at the screen.

"What happened to your accent?"

"What happened to yours?"

"We shouldn't stick around here much longer." Clint coughed, pulling his eyes away once his daughter appeared on the screen.

"Give me two seconds. I just need to hack into the secure network on the base." Darcy told everyone as she typed away frantically at the computer. "Donezo! Now, should be able to access the data on Hayward's devices." She said, connecting the USB to her laptop. "Oh, that's interesting. Guys, Hayward figured out a way to look into the boundary."

"And he didn't share with the group." Monica scoffed.

"Is this Wanda, right here?" Jimmy asked, pointing to a glowing dot on Darcy's screen.

"No, the program is tracking the decay signature of vibranium," Darcy told him.

"Vision." 

"Why is Hayward tracking Vision?" Clint asked.

"I don't know. This is all I can access so far." Darcy told him.

"These other dots, those are Westview residents?" Jimmy wondered.

"The ones in Vision's immediate vicinity, yeah." Darcy nodded.

"So Hayward must have an accurate headcount by now." Jimmy summarised.

"Hayward's got to have some sense of their well-being. Where would that be?" Clint asked, playing around with the screen.

"Not sure."

"These people near the edge of town, they're bearly moving. Are they even alive?" Jimmy asked, looking over the dulled blue dots.

But Darcy didn't have an answer for that. In fact, she didn't have time to give him one before the laptop dinged, and the map began to move.

This was stranger than strange. Vision noted as he got closer towards the edge of town. 

It seemed the closer he got to the edge of town, the less Wanda cared about the people. 

The people were not moving about robotically anymore. They were simply still. 

There was a blanket of silence covering the street as Vision walked past the countless people on the street.

No-one made even the faintest of sounds, not even when he spoke to them.

"Excuse me, ma'am? Are those your children? Are you waiting for something?" Vision asked, but when no-one responded, he forced himself to move on.

Vision made his way to the end of the street before he decided walking was fruitless.

He dropped his disguise before he took to the skies.

He could hear the sounds of children laughing, people wishing each happy Halloween's and other pleasantries before noticed a car stopped at a stop sign.

Vision flew towards the car and lightly landed before the stopped vehicle.

There, in the driver's seat, Vision found Agnes to be behind the wheel.

"Agnes?" He asked aloud. "What are you doing here?"

"Town Square Scare," Agnes said blankly. "Where is it?"

"Oh, well, the Town Square, I expect." Vision joked, causing Agnes to laugh emotionlessly.

"Took a wrong turn," Agnes admitted, still staring out the front window. "Got lost." She shrugged as her eyes welled with tears.

"In the town, you grew up in?" Vision wondered, staring at his neighbor in confusion.

Agnes didn't respond, causing Vision's worry to grow so that he reached a hand out to her temple.

When Vision broke the wall in her mind, Agnes jolted violently and let out a loud gasp.

"It's all right." Vision soothed.

"You!" Agnes gasped, staring at her neighbor in shock. "You're one of the Avengers. You're Vision. Are you here to help us?" She asked with wide eyes.

"I am Vision, and I do want to help." Vision nodded, gently placing his hand on hers. "But what's an Avenger?" He wondered, causing Agnes to gasp.

"What? Why don't you know?" She demanded, snatching her hand away. "Am I dead?" Agnes asked, pressing her hands to her chest.

"No. No." Vision promised. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you are." 

"'Cause I'm what?"

"Dead," Agnes said, causing Vision to freeze. "Dead. Dead! Dead!" She yelled.

"Agnes, it is my intention to reach those outside of Westview and make sense of our situation." Vision explained, gesturing towards the town's end.

"How? No-one leaves." Agnes shook her head. "Wanda won't even let us think about it." She laughed. "All is lost," Agnes added as her laughter began to grow wilder.

"Agnes. Agnes, please calm down." Vision asked but was drowned out by the woman's loud cackling. "Agnes! Please."

Vision knew Agnes was too far gone to hear this conversation, so with a sigh, he pressed his hand to her temple once more.

Agnes snapped upright in her seat as her laughter died in her throat.

"I will fix this, Agnes. I promise."

"Okey-dokey, neighbor." Agnes chirped, smiling widely, as she did a U-turn. "Happy Halloweenie!" She cheered, driving away.

Leaving Vision to stare into the distance, just past Ellis Avenue.

"That's it. My way back into the Hex will be here in an hour. Just got to meet my guy over the ridge. Let's roll." Monica told the group.

"You can't do that," Darcy spoke up.

"Sure we can." Jimmy shrugged. "I'm a wiz at hot-wiring cars."

"No. You can't go back into the Hex." Darcy told Monica.

"Worst case scenario, Wanda removes my free will and puts me in ultra-low-rise jeans." Monica shrugged.

"Hayward has your blood work," Darcy announced. "You've gone through the boundary twice already, Monica. The energy inside has re-written your cells on a molecular level twice. It's changing you."

"Seen enough lab results to last me a lifetime." Monica shrugged. "I've seen cells metastasizing, cells in remission. I know what Wanda's feeling, and I won't stop until I help her."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"But I'm staying here," Darcy told the group.

"You can't stay here. It's not safe." Jimmy told her.

"Why would you want to stay here?" Clint asked.

"Darcy, what are you talkin' about?"

"I haven't made it through Hayward's last firewall. There's something big here, something that can help us. I know it." Darcy said.

"I'll stay," Clint announced. "Just in case you need me."

"Fine." Monica sighed. "I'll drop you the location. You meet us out there as soon as you can." She told the two before she and Jimmy left the tent. 

Jimmy and Monica found an abandoned truck which they quickly stole before driving away from the SWORD base.

Leaving Darcy and Clint alone.

"Seems the whole town's out tonight, huh, Luna?" Y/N wondered as she and her daughter strolled through the Town Square.

"There's a lot of people." Luna nodded, staring at the townsfolk curiously.

"Everything okay, sweetheart?" Y/N asked, kneeling in front of the blonde girl. "Are you not feeling well?" She pushed, pressing her hand to Luna's forehead.

"No, I feel fine, Mom," Luna promised, pulling her mother's hand away.

"What's wrong then? You've been acting off all night." Y/N commented, rising to a stand and pulling Luna over to a hay bale to sit.

"I can see things, Mom," Luna admitted, playing with her thumbs.

"Things like what, sweetheart?" 

"Emotions, I think," Luna told Y/N. "There are these colors all around everyone. I can see 'em change, Mom."

"That's okay, sweetheart. We can help you find out more about your powers."

"But, Mom, there's something wrong with everyone's colors," Luna said.

"What's wrong with their colors?

"They're all blue, all sad," Luna said, staring at the people who passed her. "And when they pass Mama, they're scared."

"I know, sweetheart." Y/N sighed, pulling her daughter into her side. "But me and your Dad are trying to fix this. We're gonna fix this." She promised the girl.

"Holy shmacaroni," Pietro commented, looking around the Town Square as Wanda laughed. "Wow!"

"Isn't it great?" Wanda asked with a grin.

"Damn it, if Westview, New Jersey isn't charming as hell." Pietro complimented, watching the people mill about.

"Now, I know that you think that I've gone full soccer mom,"

"You have." Pietro cut in.

"But it really is nice, right?" Wanda asked as the two sat down.

"Yeah." Pietro nodded before letting out a sigh. "I think Mom and Dad would have loved it."

"Yeah. I think Mom and Dad would have."

"Where were you hiding these kids up till now?" Pietro asked after a gaggle of children ran past them.

"What?" Wanda asked, snapping her head to face him.

"I assume they were sleeping peacefully in their beds." Pietro theorized. "No need to traumatize beyond the occasional holiday episode cameo, right?" He joked.

"No."

"You were always the empathetic twin," Pietro told her.

"I don't. I didn't."

"Don't get me wrong, you've handled the ethical considerations of this scenario as best you could." Pietro complimented. "Families and couples stay together, most personalities aren't far off from what's underneath, people got better jobs, better haircuts, for sure."

"You don't think it's wrong?" Wanda stuttered.

"What, are you kidding? I'm impressed." Pietro told her. "Seriously. It's a big leap from giving people nightmares and shooting red wiggly-woos out of your hands. How'd you even do all this?" Pietro asked, causing Wanda to fall into silence. "Hey, I'm not some stranger, and I'm not your husband or your wife. You can talk to me."

"I don't know how I did it," Wanda admitted with a sigh, looking down. "I, I only remember feeling scared. Empty." She sniffed. When Wanda finally looked up, she let out a gasp when she saw Pietro grey and full of holes.

Wanda squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and when she opened them, she out out a sigh. For Pietro was no longer grey and was hole-free.

"Are you okay?" Pietro wondered, staring at his sister in worry.

"I'm fine." Wanda smiled, waving him off.

"Sure you are."

"Hayward, you sneaky bastard," Darcy said as she continued to snoop through the director's files.

"You got that right." Clint scoffed, watching over the doctor's shoulder.

Darcy pulled up a new screen that showed Vision's blinking dot moving closer to the border.

"What's he doing?" Clint asked, staring at Vision's dot in confusion.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out," Darcy said, jumping up from her chair.

On the other side of the Hex, Vision had reached the edge of the town.

The closer he got to the town's border, the larger the foreboding feeling in his stomach grew.

But the closer he got, the clearer the energy field became. 

Blocked from the outside world. Vision mused as he stood a nose length's away.

Vision pressed his hand onto the field, and it was immediately sucked into the energy. 

Vision pushed his way through the energy field to see swarms of people, cars, and helicopters surrounding him.

But Vision could not spare them another thought as the more he tried to pull his body out of the energy field, the more pain he found himself to be in.

"He really does want out, doesn't he?" A man asked as Vision let out a loud yell.

SWORD watched as, before their eyes, Vision began to disintegrate.

"Oh no." Darcy gasped and began to rush forward with Clint right behind her. "Why aren't you helping him?" Darcy screamed, causing all the agents to turn and face the two. "He's coming apart!" She yelled when an agent grabbed her and pushed her away.

"Get your hands off her!" Clint exclaimed when he, too, was restrained.

Billy was alone when his head began to pound.

Billy was alone when he began to have images of his father in pain.

Billy was alone when he began to hear what was happening at the town's edge.

Billy could sense his brother speeding closer, and he held a hand out to stop him.

"Whoa, Billy!" Tommy cheered.

"Shh!" Billy hissed.

"Are you okay?" Tommy asked, watching his brother in concern. 

Billy ignored his brother as the screaming in his head grew louder.

"Mama!"

Billy and Tommy rushed into the Town Square to find both mothers, their sister, and their uncle sitting on hay bales.

"Mama! Mom! Mama!"

"What? What is it, Billy?" Wanda asked as she jumped to her feet.

"I hear Dad in my head. He's in trouble." Billy panted.

"What? Where is he?" Y/N asked, rushing to her wife's side.

"Let me go!" Darcy snapped as she was handcuffed to a car. "What are you doing?" She yelled when she saw Clint be smacked across the face with the butt of a gun.  

"Help!" Vision yelled, not caring that he was falling apart. "The people need help!" He exclaimed before he fell to the ground.

"I don't understand. What's happening to me?" Billy demanded.

"Where is he? Where's your Dad?" Wanda asked, staring at Billy with urgent eyes.

"Hey, don't sweat it, sis. It's not like your dead husband can die twice." Pietro joked.

"Excuse me?" Y/N asked, staring at Pietro with wide eyes. Before she could further question her brother-in-law, Wanda shot him with a blast of magic and sent him flying through the air. "Wanda!" Y/N exclaimed as the kids stared at their mother in shock.

"Billy, I need you to focus," Wanda demanded, ignoring her wife. Billy nodded at his mother and closed his eyes tightly.

"I can't tell. I see these soldiers." Billy said as the images flooded his mind. "They think he's dying!"

"Wanda, don't," Y/N said as Wanda's hands glowed red. But she couldn't say another word as time froze.

The last thing she saw was Wanda's eyes glowing red.

"Jimmy, do you see that? It's magic." Monica said as she and Jimmy drove away from Westview.

"It's moving!" Jimmy gasped. "Go, Monica! Go!" He exclaimed, causing the woman to press harder on the pedal.

"Go, go, go!" Hayward demanded, running away from the Hex. "Move, move, move!"

The agents began to scatter in a panic as the red energy drew closer to them.

"Are you serious right now?" Darcy growled as she was left alone, handcuffed to the car. "Clint, wake up!" Darcy exclaimed as the Hex swallowed everything around it. "Oh, fudge." Darcy sighed as she was hit.

The Hex swallowed the entirety of the SWORD base. Anything it touched changed to fit Wanda's script.

"Can anyone read me?" Hayward asked as he and three others sped away from Westview. "Can anyone hear my voice?" He demanded once more.

But no-one responded.

They were a part of Westview now. 

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[mermaidsirennikita]

Okay talk to me about the actual Bridgerton book series (not the show!!) and rank from least to most fav!!! I’m halfway through the series. Love reading your HR thoughts ❤️

Thank you! That's very kind of you.

I would only say that I'd truly recommend two Bridgerton books, tbh? While there are others that I think are harmless or good products for what they are, they aren't all for me, and there are a few that I think are... not good.

Anyway, I ranked from most favorite to least by accident, whoops lol.

Currently, I'm at:

When He Was Wicked--Aside from the fact that Michael spent all that time in India (and the Indian princess thing, gross) I generally think this is a the best book in the series. Angsty and tragic and easily the hottest Bridgerton book. I also love the Scottish setting and the independence of the book? I don't care for the family hijinks for the most part, they just aren't to my taste, and Francesca's removal from the family feels very real.

The Viscount Who Loved Me--A great example of a light, frothy enemies to lovers read. I find it quite funny, I think Anthony and Kate have great chemistry, and while some of the Secret Wounds are a bit contrived, the quality of the book in general allows me to overlook them. "It's never been so good" is such a great post-orgasm hero line, also.

It's In His Kiss--I think it's cute! A fun little mystery romcom romp. I don't remember much of it. I also think the line "Gareth no/Gareth yes" thing is like... Ripped from another Bridgerton book lmao. I forget which one, but I remember reading that and going "she's done that before", and authors always repeat things, but distinct dialogue like that should've been caught by an editor.

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton--Penelope is totally different in the books, so I like her just fine. Colin's personal conflict of not being good enough or being jealous of her achievements is... irritating. I'm kind of super not into the Benedict and Colin conflict being "I'm not the heir and therefore have no responsibilities and am merely the handsome purposeless brother who gets an income from Anthony". It's boring, it's whiny, it's whatever. But this is a fine friends to lovers book (where he didn't notice her sexually until she lost weight lmaooo).

On the Way to The Wedding--I don't remember this one super well and I remember being profoundly bored by Gregory. But it wasn't offensive.

The Duke and I--If it wasn't for the rape, this would be a cute romcom, but the rape is undeniable and unaddressed.

To Sir Phillip, with Love--Sir Phillip is a horrible, boring hero who sounds like his main conflict is "too bad my wife got postpartum depression and I had sex with her even though I could tell she didn't want it and then she killed herself, woe is me". Eloise sacrifices all of her fun personality and freedom to be a stepmom to a couple of annoying kids. Boooooo.

An Offer from A Gentleman--Benedict is an annoying as fuck whiny hero who basically spends the entire book badgering Sophie for sex. He has no reason to not marry her, because he has no title and has an older brother who will finance his lifestyle, and is very understanding in general. Sophie is a flat heroine who doesn't seem to have any level of self-determination. Then, when she has sex with him, she's clearly traumatized by giving up her principles and he dithers before being like "oh well, I guess I'll marry her". WOW. ROMANTIC.

Those are my thoughts!