#my boo boo boy who’s hurt yet again :(

[tylerpitlicktruther]

my brother saw me making this and was like: “Gia WHAT are you making????”

Me: “oh my god go away, remember that 4th liner on the rangers I was telling you about that got sent down? I’m making a collage of him because i miss him and was the only one that gave a shit about him. :(”

Him: “…I love that.”

Good.

[gallavichsreddie1128]

Enemies to Lovers (Wolverine)

Description: Enemies to Lovers with Wolverine and Y/N

Author’s note: I had a request for hate sex (which I can still do) but decided to do this for now.

Wade smirked as Y/N walked out in her new outfit that the TVA gave her. She looked really sexy. “Hey beautiful. Don’t you look like you’re ready to get fucked.” 

Y/N gave him a weird look but shrugged it off as Paradox began to tell them that their universe was about to die off. Oh Hell No! 

Wade and her did not like that but when Y/N found out that Logan of all people was the reason why…she was livid. 

The second they find him she punches him in the face. He chuckled and stood up getting ready to face the person that did that. Only to be faced with Y/N. 

He looked down at her, amused by her, “No wonder that punch didn’t hurt so bad.” She went to punch him again but harder. Wade had stopped her before she could. 

“We need him Y/N/N. I sense in the near future you may be under him and not in a fighting way.” He teases. This Logan was a drunk and let down his universe. Y/N wasn’t taking that. 

“Look asshole, you’re coming with us to fix this. Because you’re the reason that it’s happening.” She yelled at him before Wade held the gun to his head. 

He was not taking them seriously at all. He laughed and drank himself to sleep. Y/N gasped as his body hit the ground. “Well this one will do.” Wade said. 

Y/N secretly did a double take at him in the “comic accurate” suit as Wade put it. He did look good but she still hated him. 

She rolled her eyes as Paradox made both of them disappear. “Let’s go.” She said and before she fought Paradox he made her disappear too. 

She ran up to the boys as they were fighting. “Hey.” She kept yelling but they kept fighting. 

She watched and almost came as Logan ran on all fours towards Wade. She stared at him for a good 5 seconds after. 

She snapped out of it and attacked him to the ground. “No time for games, Wolvy.” She said and held her knife up to his throat. 

He would never admit it but he found that super hot. She was super hot but yet she was an asshole. 

When Johnny showed up and started flirting with Y/N. Logan felt a little jealous but he shouldn’t. She laughed at every joke he said while they were tied up together. 

Wade watched as Logan rolled his eyes at the two and instantly knew that he was jealous. “Awww is Wolvy jealous?” He asked, teasing him. 

“Of what?” He asked, annoyed. “Of fire dick flirting with your girl.” Y/N was not his girl. But before he could deny what Wade said, Johnny started talking to all of them about Nova. 

Y/N had never met anyone in the X-men so she never knew Charles or that he had a sister. Wade and Logan didn’t know either. 

“Oh your thoughts were naughty naughty earlier Y/N.” She said to her with a wink. Wade was hella curious but Logan couldn’t give two fucks, thinking it was about Johnny. 

When Nova killed Johnny, Y/N glared at Wade. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She asked him. “You just got him killed!.” Wade was shocked that they were on the same page. 

“Wade, you’re a dick! I can’t believe you did that!” She yelled at Wade after he got Johnny killed. “Boo hoo he got your little boyfriend killed.” Y/N glared at him but Wade had to stop them before they fought.

Nicepool also made an enemy out of Logan after he saw him briefly check her out and drop the biggest bomb ever: “You look just like my wife who just had a baby.” 

Y/N was his wife…well a different Y/N. Wade was shocked by the news as was Logan. “So Y/N you’re married to me in a different universe?” Wade was kind of excited.

Y/N shrugged and walked past them. Logan wasn’t thrilled by the news but why did he care so much? Y/N wasn’t even thrilled by the news. 

The Honda Odyssey where fights and almost fucking happened. 

After Logan’s speech to Wade Y/N did one too but for Logan, “I know you’re not talking Mr. I fucked up in all my universes. Maybe we should have let you drank yourself to death because it’s clear that you aren’t any help anywhere.” 

Ouch that was harsh 

“He lied to me. Oh I’m sorry you guys lied to me.” He yelled back, kinda hurt by her words.

“You’re the reason that our universe is going dickhead! It seems like you’re useless in every universe.”

“Yeah well in my universe you were a whore on the street.” 

Y/N chuckled at that and thus began the fighting. Y/N wanted this no good loser dead but unfortunately that couldn’t happen.  

Waking up to Logan drinking and Wade cuddling her was not what she had in mind. “Thor.” Wade yelled as he woke up. “What the fuck?” Y/N said as she sat up. 

Gambit was another problem for Logan as he also was flirting with Y/N. “Just like in my universe.” Logan groaned as he watched as Y/N flirted with the card guy.

“That girl in there. Do you actually hate her?” Laura asked him. He shrugged, “No but she hates me and it seems like she does in every universe.” 

Y/N and him never got along in his universe and she was still the same here. But they would have to work together to put an end to this. 

A team they made and it was pretty good. Both of them along with the others took down most of the people and Nova…almost 

“What do you mean don’t kill her?” Y/N yelled at him but unlike her Logan knew Charles and this wasn’t what he would want. 

When Nova let him go back to their universe Y/N fell right on Logan. They both groaned and looked at each other. It was almost like the world had stopped before Wade interrupted, “Listen guys you can fuck later. We have a universe to save.” 

Seeing Nicepool again was not a good thing especially when the other deadpools arrived. “Ewww Wade they’re so many of you.” Y/N said and that made Logan laugh. At least they could agree on something. 

The Mask? Oh Y/N felt the hate leave her body while he wore it. It was very sexy and he smirked at her before they fought the pools. 

Once it was over they sighed but unfortunately it wasn’t over and they all got back up. “So only Nicepool could die?” She asked in shock as the others were alive again. 

Peter Pool saved the day and they escaped to Paradox. Y/N felt herself get sick at the thought of losing herself or Wade for this universe. She almost wanted to push for it to be Logan. 

But she cared about him too and also hated that idea. “It has to be toots.” Wade looked at her and held her hands. “Wade, No you can’t.” She said with tears in her eyes. 

“It needs to be me.” Logan said not expecting her to disagree. “It can’t be either of you.” She said which surprised him. “Well it certainly won’t be you.” Wade told her. 

“Why can’t it?” But before he could respond Logan did, “Look I know you hate me and want me dead but I regret us hating each other in my universe. I want you to be happy in this one.” Right there in that moment she fell in love. 

Sobbing at the fact that she would lose one of them until they came out alive and oh boy did she let her jaw drop at Logan’s abs. 

“Like what ya see sweetheart?” He asked with a smirk and she didn’t deny it. “Put on a shirt you slut.” Y/N took the shirt from Wade and shook her head.

Logan chuckled at that and took the shirt from her hands, “You’ll see more of it later sweetheart.” He told her and Wade looked surprised. 

“Oh so now we have enemies to lovers in these films.” Wade said and they looked confused. 

“What?”

[theragethatisdesire]

aot men as dads - headcanon!! some 18+!!

includes: eren, jean, reiner, & levi

i'm still working on some full-fledged one-shots and parts of my series', but i'm nannying for the summer and have BABY FEVER. please enjoy my little headcanons of my fav aot men as dads <3

DISCLAIMER: some of this post contains MATURE CONTENT that is intended only for those over 18. if you are a minor, please do not read below the cut.

Eren

ok but eren is such a cringe dad lol

buys himself all of the #1 Dad! merch. he’s got mugs, tshirts, hats, all of it, and all of it went on his credit card.

10000% a girl dad. loves all the little dresses and bows; he puts your daughter’s hair in its first bun, nearly tears up when she points at his matching hairstyle and babbles “like da-da!”

you have to parent eren as much as the children. when you turn the corner into the living room where he’s supposed to be having “quiet time” with your toddler only to find that they’re buried in a pillow fort and eren’s signed his own name in crayon on the wall next to your daughter’s scribblings. “babe, we can just repaint it! she’s being creative.”

loves when you’re pregnant. after your first, eren keeps a calendar on the wall marking off the days until it’s safe for him to fuck you again, fuck a baby right back into you. already has a breeding kink before your first. develops a lactation kink after.

TERRIFIED (and i mean terrified) of hurting your little angel. has absolutely zero concept of “cry it out”; if he hears his baby crying, he’s sprinting into the next room, kissing a nonexistent boo-boo.

refuses to admit it but he has no backbone when it comes to your daughter wanting literally anything. she wants it, she gets it.

favorite thing in the world is matching outfits. favorite. “babe, where’s her green hoodie? i’m wearing mine today for the park!” “of course it matters, we have to match! on that note, where’s yours?”

lets your daughter use his hair to learn how to braid. usually has a few pink hair ties or glittery clips sticking out of it when you come home from a mom’s night out.

really big on your baby getting to see the world. drags you on vacation to any place he can think of, even as you try to explain to him that she can’t form any long term memories yet. “but baby, she’ll have pictures. how many kids in her class can bring a picture of them at the eiffel tower to their first show-and-tell?”

accidentally ruins santa and the tooth fairy for your daughter. cries harder than she does over it.

aggressively vets babysitters. ends up settling for a nursing student in the labor & delivery school who’s the oldest of seven children and probably more knowledgeable about child development than both of you combined, but he’s still suspicious.

wants to watch while you push, watch his baby come into the world. you’ve never seen a sweeter sight than eren in his scrubs, crying while holding your baby girl.

Jean

most people picture eren as being the roughhousing dad, but it’s jean, and i will die on this hill.

freaks out every time he drops your first boy while throwing him around like a ragdoll, but he’ll never stop because “listen!! he’s laughing!”. when it comes to the rest of them, he’s experienced enough now to tell the difference between a real booboo and an imagined one, and he simply brushes their little pants off caringly before shouting “now you tackle me!”

jean’s got no gender preference for your first, or the rest of your little brood for that matter. he raises them exactly the same, regardless: tough.

it takes him awhile to get used to the concept of babies’ minds. you’ve walked in on him having full-blown arguments with your shrieking toddlers several times. “what’s not making sense? if you let your goldfish ‘swim’ in the toilet, it dies, simple as that.”

plays “bad cop” for you because you’re terrible at it, but he’s always having to turn around and snicker into his elbow in the middle of scolding because your babies get the same little throbbing forehead vein as you when they’re mad

wants a big family, and gets it. you practically have to drag him to get his balls snipped after your fourth, him reminding you that “it’s reversible!” the entire way there.

the newborn phase is his favorite. he’s rarely home for any longer than ten minutes without scooping your most recent addition into his arms, squishing their little cheeks and marveling at their gurgling noises.

the kids never give him anxiety, but when you’re pregnant??? jean’s a wreck.

“do your feet still hurt, love?” “what do you mean you have indigestion? that could be the baby coming!” “of course we can’t have sex, what if we poke its little head?”

definitely the dad that’s got a delivery bag and a backup bag and an emergency third backup of the backup bag in his car at all times. the first week of your third trimester, he starts watching you suspiciously for any signs of labor, even though this is your fourth together. you think you’ve got it down by now, you tell him, but he won’t listen.

always gets the kids to work together on little surprises for you. every mother’s day they wake you up with breakfast, every valentines day your dining room table is covered in handmade cards, every birthday your kitchen is coated in flour from jean and four little ones attempting to bake

SO HARD to drag him out for a date night. he wants to bring them everywhere: the fancy restaurant, the couples' get away trip

jean's that dad standing in the bar, watching the game, beer in hand, with an occupied baby carrier strapped to his chest

wants to watch during delivery, but he passed out the first go-round, so now he’s content standing up by your head, trying not to turn white as you squeeze his hand hard enough to break.

talks you into just one more on your fourth’s second birthday. “they’re all so big now. don’t you miss it, babe? my baby in your belly? c’mon…” turns out he reversed that vasectomy without telling you

Reiner

another girl dad. hardcore girl dad.

buys his little princess all number of dresses and barbies, is confused when she’s more interested in the baseballs her classmates have.

accidentally raises the most tomboyish, toughest little girl. still babies her, and she hates it.

cries more than you do on your first date night out when you leave her with your mom. forgets to order his entree at the restaurant because he’s watching the baby monitor app on his phone.

definitely the best at splitting baby duties with you. reiner’s up before you most nights when she wakes, grabbing a bottle and cooing at her lovingly even as she screams. you always try to stay awake to watch him on the baby monitor, though, heart melting as his massive arms rock the tiny bundle back to sleep.

all the neighborhood kids love him because of his size. at every cookout, reiner can’t help on the grill because he’s buried in the grass in a little army of toddlers, led by your daughter, shrieking with joy.

always taking pictures. literally always. unflattering ones when you fall asleep breastfeeding, candids at the zoo, eighteen identical pictures of the lock of hair from her first haircut clogging up his camera roll.

can’t be the bad cop. literally ever. he just can’t say no to his little princess, can’t break her precious little heart by telling her that throwing her food onto the floor is bad.

takes your daughter to mommy & me classes with him

DILF DILF DILF. all the moms in the classes swoon over him and gossip about him when he’s not there; much to your annoyance, reiner never notices, insisting that they’re his “mommy friends”.

always sporting a little bit of glitter on his face or a sticker on his back from your daughter

coming from a fatherless background, reiner nearly kills himself trying to be a constant presence in your daughter’s life (you have to remind him that he has to rest too)

never misses an open house night at school, even if it nearly gets him fired. coaches all of her sports teams. literally almost cries when she makes her first soccer goal. actually does cry when she tells you the boy sitting beside her in class called her his girlfriend. full-blown breakdown on her first day of school, so bad he has to stay home from work.

the absolute BEST through your pregnancy and delivery. always cooking your craving of the week, constant foot and back rubs, stays up all night with you for the three days before the birth when you’re just too swollen and miserable to sleep.

holds your hand through the entire delivery, gets in the doctors’ way when they’re performing checkups because “i’m her father, i need to know what’s going on”

Levi

levi never pictured himself as having children, but when your little surprise arrives, blinking up at levi with his own grey, owlish eyes, levi can’t believe he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

very easily irritated with anyone asking questions about your home life.

when his coworkers ask for your newborn’s name, levi simply says “child.” are you two trying again? “why the fuck do you need to know?”

super overprotective. your baby waves at someone in the supermarket, and levi’s leaning down to explain (in words your eight-month-old can’t yet understand) stranger danger.

totally one of those parents that goes half-crazy trying to get their child into the top-notch, snobby preschool in town.

“we’re not wasting his intelligence on the public school”

levi grew up with basically nothing, so he goes all out buying the best baby products on the market. $2,500 strollers, researching “best baby toys for development”, the whole nine yards.

100% spends months trying to get your child to make a game out of picking up his own toys after playtime, but it never works.

has a meal plan for your child to “optimize nutrition” that you have to sneak around to give your baby little chocolates and junk snacks.

“why are there pringles in his playtime bag? they have no nutritional value.”

vets anyone that comes around your child, even other children. “no more playtime with that evan kid. he’s always got a cold or something.”

he’s always been a light sleeper, but once you have your child, levi snores beside them watching kids’ cartoons on the tv like you’ve never seen him, even drooling as his head lolls, arm tucked tight around your little one.

learned everything he could about labor and delivery beforehand

you almost killed him in the delivery room as he explained each medical detail of your labor symptoms to “reassure” you. he finally got the hint when you threatened to decapitate him.

he thinks it’s shameful, but watching you be a mother turns. him. on. 

wants to take you right there when he catches you breastfeeding, watches you read a bedtime story, spin your child around laughing. you’re just so naturally good at it and it makes him love you all the more, all that love going straight between his legs.

[talesofesther]

you're all I want love to be

Tara Carpenter x Reader

Summary: Tara is still afraid to allow people close, to allow herself to trust again. Until she finds someone who makes it easier.

A/N: The idea for this was also given to me by my dear @iamnicodemus. Hope y'all like it. Tara, I love u. <3

Masterlist

Tara never meant for it to happen.

It was actually the one thing she wanted the least. Catching feelings for someone only opens up more opportunities for her to get hurt.

And yet it happened so easily, so subtly, that she only realized it when the damage was already done.

She found you on her first day at the university. When she was admittedly very lost; backpack hanging from one shoulder, fifteen minutes late for her class, and walking in the opposite direction of it. You were the only person she'd bumped into when going past Blackmore's cafeteria, and after a bit of an internal pep talk, Tara walked up to you.

And if kindness could be a person, it would be you. Instead of just taking her to class, you gave Tara a simple tour of the university, promising to be around if she ever needed anything else.

Tara started noticing you on every corner of the campus after that. She didn't take you up on your offer though, choosing instead to keep her distance. Still, you always had a smile reserved for her at times you'd catch her staring. That didn't change when the rumors about her and Sam started, if anything, you became more approachable than before.

But it was only after an unfortunate incident, that Tara actually started hanging out with you;

October had started four days ago, and with it, the Halloween season. Parties were already being scheduled every other weekend and sometimes on weekdays as well.

Tara was walking towards her class, her head in the clouds while she thought about what costume she would wear if she were to go to one of those parties.

She was usually one to be early for class now that she had her paths memorized, preferring the calmness of the minutes before everyone started rushing to arrive on time.

So she wasn't exactly expecting what happened next.

As Tara rounded a corner, she was surprised to come face to face with two other students; one of them adorning a black hoodie and a cheap Ghostface mask. The 'boo' that left his lips was as childish as it could be, but the abruptness of the encounter got Tara stumbling on her own feet as she took several steps back, eyes wide and her body momentarily entering fight or flight mode.

"What's wrong, Carpenter?" The guy in the mask said in a mocking tone, his friend joining in on the laughter, "thought I was your sister?"

Tara's voice was tangled up in her throat, she couldn't remember if she packed her inhaler this morning, or was it her taser that she forgot?

If unkind memories weren't flashing behind her eyes, Tara would have recognized the two idiots in front of her; the boys who came here to do anything but study, taking getting on people's nerves as a hobby.

It was only when the back of their heads was hit — quite forcefully — with a book, that they stopped laughing. The cheap mask fell to the ground with the hit, gaining a crack on its edge.

"Don't you guys have anything better to do?" You came from behind them, tucking the book back in your backpack, "fuck off before I tell the director what you've been doing out in the parking lot when you think no one's watching."

With a few complaints under their breath, they eventually walked away, allowing Tara to let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Morons," you huffed, tugging on the straps of your backpack before turning around to Tara, your gaze softening immediately, "you okay?"

Her dark eyes found yours. She simply nodded, feeling her lower lip quivering when she tried to speak. She noticed the way your hand twitched to reach out to her but you stopped yourself midway, instead tucking both hands in your pockets.

"I'm sorry about them," you told her with the usual gentleness you never lacked, "they should know better than to do that."

Tara shook her head softly, managing a smile when her heartbeat started to settle, "thank you for… stepping in."

You just shrugged, your smile coming as a copy of hers, and it got Tara wondering if it could hold the same sentiment too.

"Anytime," you told her then, and Tara hardly left your side after it.

It was easy to fall into the routine of having you near and pretending she was just a normal girl with a crush on her friend. Being with you was so easy that it made Tara forget about all the bad, forget about all the reasons why allowing people close became dangerous.

And today? Today should be a good day, it's a day Tara has been looking forward to, a day that took away her sleep for all the good reasons. And it's not like she never stopped to get coffee with you on the way to campus, but today felt different because you had asked her to, as a date.

And Tara had been counting the seconds for it; until Ghostface came back and nearly killed her and Sam at that grocery store, until Mindy said 'never trust the love interest', until her worst nightmares came back again and suddenly nothing was easy anymore.

"Alright guys, as much as I love discussing possible suspects with you," Chad pushed himself off the bench he'd been sitting on, "we've still got classes to go to, come on Ethan." The two boys gathered their things and walked away, Quinn soon following behind.

Tara slumped back in her seat, her hands coming up to cover her eyes. With her sight momentarily gone, it felt like everything else was louder, heavier; she could perfectly hear the rustling of leaves from the trees around, the cacophony of voices from all the other students hanging out outside, and feel the weight of Sam's gaze on her.

"I think someone's looking for you, lovergirl," Mindy said out of nowhere, kicking Tara's sneaker with her own. When Tara glanced up at her friend with a frown, all Mindy did was tilt her head towards the university, where you had just walked out from and were now making your way to them.

"Don't think I haven't noticed," Mindy teased with a sing-song voice and a grin plastered on her lips.

"Noticed what?" Sam sat up straighter, her gaze shifting from Tara to Mindy.

"Tara's girlfr-"

"Nothing," Tara interrupted quickly, getting up so she could land a gentle punch to Mindy's shoulder, "nothing to notice," she said again, pointedly.

"Alright, let's go, Sam," Mindy extended a hand for the older girl, "we'll meet back at the dorm later."

Sam still had a confused frown on her features but she took the hand offered to her anyway, while Mindy leaned closer to Tara so she could whisper; "always knew you had good taste," before both of them walked again.

Tara's cheeks went aflame as she let out a groan, predicting the onslaught of questions she'd get later today. She slowly turned around to meet you in the middle, her soul naturally filling with incessant butterflies.

Had she really been that unsubtle when regarding you?

"Hey," you greeted her a little breathlessly, letting go of your backpack and leaving it on the floor as you took a small extra step closer to Tara, your eyes frantically looking her over, "I was so worried when I saw what happened last night, are you-"

"I'm okay," it was instinct, but Tara didn't know if the words were true. There was something about you that always made her feel more than she wanted to, she suddenly felt like the last pieces of herself she'd been trying to hold together so hard over the last months started crumbling. Tara took hold of your hands, squeezing tightly. She didn't know who she was trying to comfort, you or herself.

You held her back, glancing down as your fingers intertwined with hers. Tara observed the way your lashes kissed the corner of your cheeks; you were all golden softness and spring warmth, presence rivaling the one of a welcoming sun on a cold day. Tara wanted to memorize that, keep it in her heart as if it was the first and last time she'd be seeing you.

It should be easy to forget and pretend, but it suddenly wasn't, because Mindy's words kept ringing inside Tara's head even if she didn't want them to be true. She felt tears steadily collecting on the bottom lid of her eyes.

"But," she closed her eyes at the unsteadiness of her own voice. More than anything, she wanted this, wanted you. But she was stuck. It felt like quicksand, pulling her further down the more she struggled to get out. "about today…"

It's like you knew her better than she knew herself sometimes, maybe for you, it still felt easy. "It's alright, Tara." Your thumb brushed over the scar on top of her hand, "we don't have to go, I understand."

Tara pursed her lips, blinking away her vulnerability. She let go of your hands only to loop her arm around yours and bring your bodies closer together, "walk me to class, though?"

—

"Come on, spill it, what's up between you two?" Mindy leaned back on the kitchen counter beside Tara, "I was joking earlier today, but now I actually think there's something there."

The carrot Tara was cutting ended up with a slice too big, she had to turn it around and cut it one more time in the middle, "I've told you, there's nothing going on," Tara told her friend with a sigh, making sure to cut smaller slices so she could keep her hands busy as long as possible; "she's my friend."

Mindy scoffed, she picked up a spoon from the sink and tasted whatever Chad was cooking up on the stove. A grimace came to her face at the lack of seasoning, "I've heard that before."

"It's not like that," Tara dropped the knife then, unsure what she was frustrated about or what she wanted to convince Mindy of, "how can I get… involved with someone after what happened?" Her voice grew quieter by the end.

Mindy softened at that, she turned to face Tara fully — everyone knew the younger Carpenter was still struggling with what she'd been through, even if she didn't want to admit it. "I know it's not easy, T. But you can't close yourself off for everyone, some people are still worth it," Mindy glanced towards the living room, a soft smile on her lips when Anika's silhouette came into view, "people aren't meant to be islands."

—

There are times when the pain is so big, that it almost doesn't feel like pain anymore. If it comes from a wound, that's usually the time when you'll pass out. If it comes from inside, you start to feel numb.

Sitting at the back of an ambulance as she watches cops walking out with another one of her friends in a dark body bag, Tara thinks she's close to that feeling. Mindy is sitting beside her, she's not moving. Tara doesn't know what to say in moments like these, they feel almost awkward. A morbid kind of awkward.

So when she gets up, cell phone in hand with your number already ringing, she blames it on that; on the pain squeezing her chest almost to the point of unbearable, on the helplessness she feels twirling in her gut.

Tara paced back and forth on the sidewalk, trying to draw out the noise of the sirens as she counted up the seconds until you picked up.

… Two, three, four.

Tara could hear her own heart rate quicken, she closed her eyes, thinking about how her inhaler was still all the way up in the apartment; where there's blood, and-

Please, pick up. Please, pick up.

"Hello?"

A long sigh of relief left Tara's lips as soon as she heard your voice through the phone. As if she hadn't cried enough, she could see tears clouding her sight.

"Tara? What happened, is everything okay?"

"No, it's not," Tara forced out, her voice tight with a sudden rawness. She turned her back to Mindy so the girl wouldn't see her crying, "there was another attack… Anika didn't make it."

"Oh god, I can't-" Tara could hear you choking on your own voice, "are you okay? Please tell me you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm-" Tears made a steady path down to Tara's chin, some getting caught under the phone pressed tightly to her cheek, "I'm alright."

"Tell me where you are, I can be there in like ten- five minutes."

"No!" Tara said with urgency, "don't come here, please, I don't want you anywhere near this," she gulped back a lump in her throat, "it's too dangerous."

"But what about you?"

"I'll be okay," Tara closed her eyes, wishing the words really were true, "I just-" she hesitated, a confession lingering on her tongue, "I just wanted to hear your voice, is all." She bit onto her lower lip until it drew blood.

"We- we can talk for as long as you need," it was like Tara could hear your smile, "I'm happy to hear your voice too."

—

Ambulance lights and police sirens were clouding your senses as you run up to the commotion. It was quite a sight; your oversized shirt, shorts, and sneakers with mismatched high socks. But you couldn't remember to care because your heart had been at your throat ever since Mindy called.

There were several reporters blocking your view but you squeezed your way through them until you reached the police tape. You've always hated this; the white and red colors of the vehicles that only showed up in tragedies, the panic and grief that lay heavy in the air, the clicks of the cameras from people who saw it as an opportunity — you hated it all, but right now the only one on your mind is Tara.

You ducked to go under the police tape, immediately attracting the attention of one of the cops, "Miss, you can't be here, please go back behind-"

"No, you don't understand," you gripped at the fabric of his jacket when he tried to keep you back, trying to push through, "I know them."

And the cop kept speaking, probably about things you weren't allowed to do and places you shouldn't be. You didn't hear any of it, because you found her. Her blue shirt had more red than blue in it, dried blood was all over the fabric, making you feel a mix between relief and nauseousness; her hair was messy, tangled, and damp in some places; her skin still coated with bits of dirt and blood too; her arm was held up by a makeshift bandage. But she was there, talking to a blonde woman on a stretcher; she was alive.

"Tara," you called quietly as your sight blurred over, and then a little louder, "Tara!"

She looked up, any words she'd been saying dying on her lips when she saw you. For a beat, it seemed as if she was assessing if you were real or not, before she was all but running towards you.

Not caring for consequences, you pushed the cop off of you and met her halfway — lucky for you he apparently noticed you really knew them.

"What are you doing here?" Tara's eyes were glinting under the red and blue lights, there were clear tracks on her cheeks where tears had run down.

"I was-" you tried, stumbling over your words as you took her in, all blood stains and bruises. You raised a hand to push back her fringe, the strands of hair were damp to the touch; from sweat or blood, you didn't want to know. "Mindy called, and scared the shit out of me. I came as fast as I could."

With her lower lip stuck between her teeth, Tara leaned into your touch. Her eyes closed tightly when your thumb traced the outline of her eyebrow.

"Are you okay? I mean of course you're not okay, what am I even-"

You were cut off when Tara threw herself at you. She pulled you close with her free hand, nails almost digging into your skin with the force of it as she buried her head on your shoulder.

Quiet sobs shook her body and you held her back the best you could whilst being mindful of her injuries. One of your hands cradled her head, fingers tangled in her dark hair as you breathed in everything that was her. "Shit, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

Tara only pushed herself into you more as you spoke. There was a beat, a moment of hesitance from someone who'd had the bitter taste of betrayal more than anyone should. Trust was a gamble, but when you had a place in her heart no one else could ever have, Tara knew you'd never break it. "I'm okay now," she spoke against you; and she believed it.

You only squeezed her tighter, pulling back just enough to land a kiss on her temple. And you allowed your lips to linger, to feel her skin against you and her heartbeat pressed to your own.

Tara melted in your hold, allowing you to support most of her weight. With her cheek pressed to your collarbone, she spoke; "you still owe me a date."

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Thank you for reading this little story. Feedback and reblogs are literally what keep me motivated to continue posting here, so I’d appreciate it if you could take some time to reblog and comment if you want. <3

Tara’s taglist: @milkiane @v1ci0us @alexkolax

[scoobydoodean]

Looking at your recent posts/reblogs has reminded me of how much I hate the conversation between Dean and Bobby at the beginning of 4.22 when Dean is trying to deal with the fact that Sam has chosen to trust Ruby instead of him, when Dean can see that he’s obviously being manipulated, and, in response, Bobby just says

You stupid, stupid son of a bitch! Well, boo hoo, I am so sorry your feelings are hurt, princess! Are you under the impression that family's supposed to make you feel good?! Bake you an apple pie, maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!

and I feel like that line just summarizes how so many people view Dean both in the show & in discourse about it: that whenever he’s upset by something someone does, he’s being overdramatic, and the tension it creates is his fault for not just accepting that his loved ones will make him miserable.

(& the context of the quote is kind of the perfect example of this because Dean has spent the whole season trying to deal with his own trauma from hell & the fact that the angels won’t leave him alone while also continually giving Sam chances to be upfront about what’s going on with him and trying to warn him that Ruby is manipulating him into doing what she wants, and when that tension finally breaks because Sam refuses to believe—or even consider—any of Dean’s suspicions about Ruby, Dean is basically told by Bobby that he should just let it go)

I agree with you—and that speech is absolute trash.

To frame Bobby's reaction here a little, he and Dean have some conversations in 4.21 and 4.22 that I think leave Bobby pretty unsettled. I think his emotional reaction is driven by that.

In 4.21, Dean and Bobby don't see things the same way when it comes to Sam's demon blood detox and they also disagree on Dean intending to sacrifice himself by signing himself over to the angels to protect Sam. So I'd say leading into 4.22, Bobby is already apprehensive about Sam and Dean both being killed. We know he didn't weather Dean's death at the end of season 3 well.

In 4.22, right before Bobby blows up at him, Dean is also jumping to some conclusions about his relationship with Sam that are pretty extreme.

DEAN No, damnit! No. I gotta face the facts. Sam never wanted part of this family. He hated this life growing up. Ran away to Stanford first chance he got. Now it's like déjà vu all over again. Well, I am sick and tired of chasing him. Screw him, he can do what he wants. BOBBY You don't mean that. DEAN Yes I do, Bobby. Sam's gone. He's gone. I'm not even sure if he's still my brother anymore. If he ever was.

I think Dean having to work through thoughts like this is understandable given probably less than 24 hours ago, Sam was strangling him unconscious in absolutely seething rage, had spent the entirety of the season lying to Dean and then getting indignant when Dean caught on, and reiterated the incredibly damaging things he said about Dean's hell trauma from 4.14. At the same time, I don't think Dean's thinking straight. Sam's motivations in the demon blood arc are incredibly multi-faceted... but hating hunting or their family simply is not part of this situation. This is made most clear to us just a couple episodes before in 4.19 (where Sam tries to push Adam into hunting and praises their father for teaching them to protect themselves—and this certainly didn't go unnoticed by Dean who confronted him about it). The bit about not wanting to hunt hasn't been true in years and won't resurface again for several more. It seems like Dean is just swirling through a lot of unaddressed hurt and misunderstandings from the past as he processes through the last year.

I think Dean saying he is done trying and he has tried and tried and tried and he is not doing it anymore is completely reasonable (he also has no idea yet that Lilith is the last seal), but I think when presented with the harm Bobby knows Sam is doing to his body by proceeding, thinking about "his boys", Bobby sees Sam as being in more imminent danger and wants Dean to reach out one last time to try and get through to him. Dean's rare show of verbal processing sets Bobby on edge and because he's human too, he says some stupid things. And if we're being real, Bobby is like this sometimes. I love Bobby to death, and in a general sense, I think he's very caring and supportive toward the people he loves. But when he himself is scared or angry or otherwise agitated, his patience evaporates and other people's vulnerability makes him upset. "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" is a more sympathetic example of this. Bobby is angry and raw and deeply depressed, and Dean's well-meaning love and support—no matter how casually offered—is received like poison because it reminds him that he is not okay. The same sort of language about Dean being a pansy and how they're both going to "grow lady parts" shows up from Bobby in this episode.

I go back and forth on what Kripke was thinking when he wrote that dialogue, because the man is absolutely obsessed with the exploration of "toxic masculinity", which I think he's done well at times and extremely poorly at others, and I think Bobby's speech clearly embodies that interest. At the same time, I actually do think that, leading into season 5, there are some aspects to the fallout of Sam and Dean's season 4 conflict that are ultimately just very lazily brushed over and so I do think he bought the shit he had Bobby shoveling to an extent. Setting the content and tone aside, in a vacuum, the idea that Dean has to be the one to reach out—while exhausting—plays into the idea of Dean as the hero character. And when I say this, I don't mean that Sam isn't a hero. Sam is VERY much trying to be the unconventional hero this season. But Dean is often made to embody the concept of the righteous hero as an ideal, and part of being the righteous hero in season 4 means ultimately being... right (in more ways than you even knew) but another part of it is having to be the bigger person. Your wrath has to be tempered by love. We could go further down this rabbithole as far as themes and meta narrative, but none of this, from a human perspective, makes me like this speech any more. It just sucks balls.

[hoeforhao]

🥢🧸Plasters🧸🥢 Seungkwan Drabble

🩹 pairing: boyfriend! seungkwan x gn!reader

🩹 genre: pure fluff, comfort, boo being sassy as usual yet the most loving partner too!!

🩹 series: svt as boyfriends

🩹 wc: 1k+

🩹 author's note: me going through bad days mean one more part added to my svt as boyfriend drabble series hehe. also i fell down today so bad, which in turn resulted into this idea as Boo had always been my comfort boy!Tell me if y'all like it🧸

"Yah y/n watch your st- fuck not again" the sassy blonde walking behind shouts at the five footed shortie infront of him, who was now sitting on the road like a homeless, after tripping onto literal thin air.

You might be wondering who this butter footed person is right? It's no other than you yourself, aka the boo seungkwan's clumsy ass girlfriend.

Seungkwan quickly runs to the accident spot, extending his arms in an instant to pick you up in his embrace. "You need to be sent to the Louvre now you know?" Although he wanted to tease you some more for your mishaps but he could clearly see the pain and discomfort in your eyes, from the fall.

"Get up y/n. We need to get to the clinic right now" he still holds out his hands forwards for you to take support onto him while getting up. But to his surprise you refuse to even acknowledge the help offered and instead push up onto the concrete with your palms while slowly lifting your now aching butt from the road, wobbly standing up in the process.

"Tskk I don't bite girl!" Seungkwan throws a teasing tantrum at you while marching down towards his car, obviously hurt at the fact that you still don't consider him worthy enough to rely on.

"I don't really need to see a doctor Kwan. I'm now literally used to hurting my butt every few days!" you tug onto seungkwan's arms just before he reaches out to open the car's door for you, pulling the man to now face you,or rather tower you. Everyday you curse the universe for making you a woozi height! Like was it that hard to have your friend mingyu's height? Or at least his boyfriend wonwoo's?!?!?!

"Don't be silly you 'a slice of tangerine in place of a brain' person. You are clearly in pain and I won't take any excuses y/n. Get in the car right now" Seungkwan has always had this effect on you even after being so sassy and babygirly most of the times, the one that makes you follow his words like a kitten. So that meant you only had one option left and that was to get yourself decked in as a passenger princess, while your boyfriend drove you to the clinic.

The drive was literally like a mourning ground, spiced up by seungkwan's often sighs and worry in his eyes, alongside the fidgeting taps from your fingers.

The screeching of the tyres brought you out from the hole you've dug out onto your lap with your flaming beads, looking up to see that you're now in front of your most dreaded place - the doctor's chambers!!!

You were still seated clutching tight onto the leathers even though it was hurting your wound more, not wanting to go out and wishing that seungkwan would change his mind.

"Get down y/n. Don't make me drag you out like a five year old girl. Quick quick do you want a potato to replace your butt now?" he opens the door for you, unfastening the seatbelt and pulling you out of the passenger side, the clutch on his arms as gentle as an otter holding onto their child.

With no way out in front of you, you followed seungkwan like a duckling as he lead you into the reception, the xray room and finally to the doctor's!

"She has a minor fracture in her coccyx. It's better to give her complete rest for a week at least or we would need to operate her to get the fracture fixed!" the doctor now drops the bomb on the two of you! You were mentally cursing at him and wished that you could tell him to shut the fuck up. Why?

Cuz now Seungkwan would absolutely eat your brains out, treat you like a princess and not let you feel the ground for a whole goddamn week. And it was definitely not an unknown fact how stubborn this man was. If the doctor has told you to rest, he'll make sure to not let you get out of the bed at all, making you feel like a queen whose feet are too precious to touch the dirty floors.

"We definitely will doctor." he takes his own butt up from the chair, taking the prescriptions from the older's hands and helping you up from yours. "I'll make sure she heals completely within this time. Thank you!"

And with that your misery starts. Or should I say your royal days start.

"You know that you don't have to follow what he said right? I'll be able to deal with it myself only" you quietly blurt out to Kwan while walking down the white corridors, hoping that he would accept your shenanigans.

"Do I disgust you y/n? Do you not think me worthy enough to help you? To treat you in your tough times? Am I that unpleasant to you y/n?" seungkwan finally lets his pain out, standing amidst the parking lot, his voice breaking and eyes tinted with oncoming tears.

"N-no Kwan. Never!!! It's....it's just that" you take a halt before deciding whether you should let him see the true reason behind your actions. "It's just...just that I've always made myself that strong to...to take care of myself by my own, so I...I always feel....feel like a burden when others help me"

"I'm not others love, I'm your partner, your boyfriend. My duty is to look after my girl and treat her like cotton." Kwan takes his hands into yours, drawing small circles onto their top, trying to calm you down from the breakdown evitable in your eyes now.

"Besides I don't want to get engaged to a potato butt" he pats your head gently, flashing you with that same old sassy smile and side eyes of his, something you've always found the most attractive about him, the ones that made you fall for your childhood bestfriend out of all the people in the world.

[thesupreme316]

I’ll never be over with Jungle boy turn on hook

Therefore I’m in need for something, anything with either

- the reader being at ringside/ JB side when he turn ( in shock ex:when Seth turned on the shield and the reader having the same reaction as Dean/Jon did)

- Reader’s backstage reaction plus Anna Jay next to them ( reader could be angry and Anna having to hold them back;Confused( Reader and Anna are tag partners in this one); or no reaction as they felt that this was gonna happen

- Reader joining in on turning on Hook

- Reader taking it to Twitter like how Bowers and Danhausen did(love them for that😌)

- Reader being at the announcer table with Taz and him having to hold them down

- Or (personally my favourite) reader beating the ever loving shit out of Jungle Boy either the same night or the following Wednesday

The reader can be any gender, can be a champion

Much love ❤️

SHIT I DID ALL THE ABOVE AND YALL GONNA READ IT choose your adventure bitchesssss

You Reacting to Jungle Boy Turning on Hook:

Word Count: 1.5K

Supreme Speaks: hiii, i did all the above! I left Y/N gender-neutral and entirely up to the reader's design (i hope). Thank you to @hookerforhook for requesting this ❤️. I did both a heel and face reaction. Please know that you are loved and appreciated.

Warnings: things that are said about Jack Perry are not true and come from a very deep (AND HURT AND INSULTED) place within me, fake twitter pic, not proofread.

Taglist: @hookerforhook @hooks-martin @wwenhlimagines @sheinthatfandom

If you wanna be a heel:

You were backstage with your best friend, Anna Jay (who’s a part of JAS ew)

The two of you were watching Jack’s (Anna’s boyfriend and your other best friend) match against Sanada on the monitor

You were also watching Hook; a person you didn’t have any particular way of feeling towards

Nothing against him, just particularly didn’t care for him (imagine that) or this little partnership they have

At times you would help them out, evening the odds with JAS or other teams; but still no attachment to Hook (despite the media calling you the 3 Amigos)

Over the course of weeks, you knew something was gonna happen…you could just feel it

Jack was getting nastier and more aggressive over the past month

Maybe it was Christian getting under his skin, or the comparisons to Hook, or maybe even the doubtful opinions of the fans

But one thing is for sure, something was bound to happen this week

After Jack lost to Sanada, they were walking back up the ramp when Jack tackled Hook; resulting in the entire arena booing him and gasping

“Holy shit!” Anna exclaimed, not believing what she saw. She looked over at you for a reaction, but you didn’t have one. 
Not a single emotion ran through your body.

“Y/N? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here. I’m not surprised.” You said as Jack stood over Hook’s body. Then, an idea came into your head, making your eyes gleam with mischief. “But I’m gonna do something.” You started to walk away from Anna, towards the stage.

“Y/N! Be careful, and don’t be stupid!” Anna yelled as you went through the curtains.

And as if a switch went off in you, your emotionless face was replaced with a concerned one, making the crowd grow antsy yet sad. You looked at Jack with fear as you went over to “check” on Hook.

You got him up on his feet to the crowd cheering…but then the audience grew with anger as you delivered a roundhouse kick to Hook, knocking him back down again. Looking around the arena, you heard and saw all the negativity that was being thrown at you. You turned around to see Jack with a smile on his face, you two high-fived each other. Both you and Jack raised your hands in victory. As you two walked to the back, Taz was screaming at you and vowing that Hook would get his revenge.

You didn’t care.

It was just business….

nothing personal.

If you wanna be a face (this is much longer my bad):

You were in a tag team with Anna Jay (who was freed from the shackles from JAS)

The two of you held tag team championship gold (either a women’s tag team or a mixed tag team championship; whatever you choose)

On the other hand, you were really good friends with Hook and Jack Perry

Going to the point where JungleHook would team up with you and Anna to take on various teams

For Jack’s match at Forbidden Door against Sanada, Jack invited you and Anna to observe his match while Hook accompanied him

After your title defense earlier that night, you and Anna decided to take that offer

Instead of crowding the ring, you and Anna sat at the commentary table with Taz, Hook’s dad

After the match, you and Anna were gonna go up to Jack to comfort him

Until he attacked Hook, leaving everyone speechless and you with a beyond shocked look on your face (that also became a viral meme in the wrestling community)

Sidenote: like everyone and their momma referenced your picture like that one dude when Undertaker’s streak ended

Even though you were shocked and blindsided, you had to contain Taz, who was begging to punch Jack

“Nah! Nah! Lemme beat his ass! I’ll show him what’s up!” Taz said trying to get out of his seat. You took off your headphones and tried to hold him back. But as you turned around, you saw Jack gloating and making fun of Hook to the audience. Immediately, anger rose within you, making you jump out of your chair and almost over the table to get to Jack. But you were held back by Anna as Jack ran backstage.

Looking at her, something clicked in your mind, “Did you know?” You asked with betrayal and disbelief in your voice. The thought of one of your best friends would keep a secret this hurtful from you made you sick. Anna’s eyes widened as she shook her head.

“No! No! I didn’t know anything! I swear!” Anna said with her eyes pleading for you to believe her. You sighed as you and Taz walked over to Hook, who was making his way to his feet. The four of you went backstage as Hook put ice on his neck and Taz stared daggers into the floor. “Guys, I’m so sorry about that. I honestly didn’t know, and if I did I would have told you.”

You nodded your head, as you know that her words rang true. You just sighed before looking at Hook, who was fuming mad. “What do you wanna do now, Hook?

“I’m gonna kick the living shit out of him.” Hook said before turning to Anna. “I want to apologize to you in advance, cause after I’m done with him, you won’t be able to recognize your little boyfriend.”

Anna shrugged, “He has it coming. I just don’t want this to drive our friendship apart.” She looked at you for reassurance, but you were typing away on your phone. “Y/N?”

“Oh yeah, we’re good. I was tweeting something, but Anna, we’re okay.” You said putting your phone down. Immediately (just like your initial reaction) your tweet went viral as you told Hook that you have an idea. Hook turned to you, motioning for you to continue. You smirked as Taz and Anna both leaned in.

—Time Skip: Wednesday, AEW Dynamite—

Granted, seeing Jack like this was horrible (given the circumstances) but what is worst is this promo he was doing. He was dissing the audience and Hook all in one breath. To you and Anna (who was standing right beside you), it was unnatural, as if he was paid or brainwashed into doing this. Since Sunday, Anna hasn’t talked to Jack like they normally do. She’s still in love with him but is just confused and angry about the fact that she is placed in the center of the feud.

You on the other hand was mad as hell. If your face didn’t show it, your Twitter page sure did. You and Jack had a quick yet heated exchange on Twitter, with your tweets going viral just like your initial reaction.

It was safe to say as of right now it was you had 1 point and Jack also had 1 point.

“I’m still banging the hottest bitch in this place!” Jack said, making the crowd gasp and slightly cheer.

You shrugged your shoulders, quickly glancing at Anna. “I mean-he ain’t wrong.” You said making Anna giggle. “I don’t know why he had to refer to you as bitch.”

“Right! When I get to him, he’s gonna wish that Hook killed him.” Anna said through her teeth. As if it was right on cue, Hook’s theme song hit the arena and Hook quickly shuffled past you and Anna. “It’s go time,” Anna whispered.

Hook ran down the ramp and slid into the ring, right after Jack slipped out of the ring and started to run around the arena through the crowd. Hook was right on his tail, as he was a D1 athlete. They both made their way backstage where you quickly got into position. You told Anna to stay out of the plan as you didn’t want to complicate things for her.

Jack ran backstage and started to knock things down to trip Hook, he turned around to see if it worked (and to no one’s surprise, it did not). When he turned back around to start running again, he was met with your boot as you gave him a bicycle kick out of nowhere. The audience cheered very loudly for you as Jack laid across the concrete. Hook looked at you before he started to stomp his ribs. With no hesitation you joined him, hitting Jack with elbows, forearms, and eventually a steel chair.

You were separated by security briefly before Hook went around and duplexed Jack through the snack table. You delivered the final blow by performing a spinning back kick to Jack’s face before throwing him into the car he was gonna make his getaway in. You slammed the door and gave Hook a fist bomb. The crowd cheered even louder as you two walked out of the frame.

You and Hook started to trend as people really liked you teaming up against Jack. Now, one can only hope that this really doesn’t conflict with your friendship with Anna.

But until that moment comes, the score is…

You- 2

Jack- 1

[marchsfreakshow]

Sculpting Something More {Jimmy Darling x Reader}

You're a sculptor. Recently you've lost all inspiration, but you hear that Jupiter Florida has a Freakshow. Perfect inspiration.

No A/Ns this time

Your Perspective

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

I pulled my car up by the entrance to the Freakshow. It was a chilly evening, and the sun was setting behind the clown-like door. If it was a door. It loomed over everyone, and I felt slightly intimidated as I held my sketchpad and pencil. Silently, I hoped the freaks would be an inspiration for my creations.

Excited murmurs surrounded me as I walked amongst the crowd. Creaky chairs were sat on, and I found my place at the back. If I stayed at the back, it would look less creepy as I drew. Soon enough, the lights turned off, and a spotlight turned onto a lady with a beard. Wonderful and pretty, but not enough. The show started.

Pinheads. I sketched them in the dark, taking in their facial expressions. Innocence and pure happiness in their smiles. I was sure they would make beautiful sculptures. But my thought-riddled kind didn't think it was enough, I needed something more. Whether it was a dwarf or not.

A voice started singing after a legless lady and a dwarf did an act. I looked up from my doodles to see Elsa Mars. Her voice was shaky tonight, and it was noticed in the crowd. People whispered things to each other. Boos were thrown, as well as the food people bought. It hurt to see honestly. Miss Mars was an extraordinary talent, and I was worried something might have happened backstage.

So as I drew, I sneaked out of the tent. No one noticed thankfully. It seemed they were all too busy hating Elsa. I snuck around to the back of the big tent and saw about 10 tents and caravans. Each one had a unique design and the name of the person who lived there. Perfect. "Hey pretty lady, what are you doing back here?" A voice asked. I looked up as I quickly slammed my notebook shut. It was dark, I couldn't see his face.

"I...um..it was a bit overwhelming in there, and I didn't want to be part of a crowd that hates Miss Elsa Mars. She's a wonderful singer." I chuckled awkwardly. I did feel bad for Elsa. The man took my hand and led me to a small light. His hands felt odd, two...oh, it was Jimmy. The lobster boy. "I can't see you in the dark, but, are you Jimmy?"

"Obvious by my hands." He grinned. "I'm glad you're not scared."

"I come here all the time," I smirked at Jimmy, before opening up a spot in the big tent and watching the Tattler Twins perform. People looked more entranced with them than they did with Elsa. So I opened up my book and sketched their faces quick. "Everyone who performs here is my new inspiration."

"Inspiration?"

"Yeah." I turned back around and pulled out a Polaroid from my pocket. It was small, but it had a picture of a sculpture. The sculpture was of a clown. Dully painted and it looked like it had a mask on. The Polaroid made it look tiny, whereas, in reality, it was just as tall as a bottle. A water bottle maybe.

Jimmy took it and stared at it eagerly. "Did you make that?" I just nodded, still a bit shy of my work.

"I'm hoping to make a bigger one, maybe sell it somewhere. I was going to use one of my sketches of your acts as a way to get people interested. No one seems to like clowns anymore. Not the one I made anyway." I just shrugged, nonchalantly flipping through my notebook and the sketches. But soon enough Jimmy gave me back the picture, and I stuffed it in my pocket once again. Nearly everything had been done, so I was wondering why Jimmy hadn't performed yet. "Are you not doing it tonight?"

"Huh? Oh, na. Ma said to take a break, so I'm watching today. But it seems I got distracted by a pretty face." He winked my way, and I just smiled at him with confidence. Such a smooth talker. I decided to head back, however, I wanted to go back home since I had grabbed all the inspiration I had.

"Well thank you for the conversation, Jimmy. I didn't plan to stay long, so I should be getting home now." We reached my car quite swiftly. In the short silence, he handed me a little slip of paper. A number, like I could make so many calls to this man, and the address of the place. The freakshow had an address? No matter what I thought, I gracefully took it and smiled at him still. Whoops and claps surrounded the area, the show must have ended. "Uh, bye..!" I quickly said to the man as I got in my car and just as swiftly drove off.

"Um...Okay then." I heard him say as I drove off. It felt embarrassing, but I knew I was going to start asking him stupid questions otherwise. To distract myself from my own thoughts, I turned on the radio. Simple songs played, but it was nice as I got myself back home in almost record time.

Once I got home, I rushed myself inside and ran straight up to the studio. It was a small loft, and plenty of shelves engulfed the walls. The light was dim and only made a small difference to the light that the window brought in. In the middle of the room, a table, with a bowl of water on top of it, and a chair scooted next to it. There were plenty of additions to the table and the shelves. A place for my food, and drink. One table opposite my work table, in which I always placed my notebook. The notebook not only held my inspirations but also my final sketched-out piece of work that I would slowly craft.

Once I got everything ready, I settled the Notebook down. It was a finished drawing of Jimmy and Ma Petite. He was sitting down and smiling towards the lovely woman. And she stood on a wood stump, with a doll's crown on her head. Both are beautiful people. Both are hard work. As I sat down in front of the clay, I just stared at the drawing.

I started for what felt like hours and hours, focusing on the details of Jimmy's face that I drew. Almost like a distraction from my work, and what I was meant to be doing. His face, and his build. The way he talked, the way he walked. Everything I thought about took me further into a fantasy. The only way I left the sweet fantasy was by feeling the clay sinking into my elbow. "Shit.." I muttered, getting up quickly and cleaning off the damp clay. Probably a sign I should have started the sculpture already.

Either way, I got started and got myself into my work faster than ever.

--

The box slightly clattered around the trunk as I drove. Every time I heard the noise, I cringed, hoping the bumpy road wouldn't break the sculpture. But since the road was getting more bumpy, and less careful, I knew I was close. The other reason I knew was because I saw the Seal Boy with Amazon Eve, taking down a poster. Confused, I stopped my car and walked up to the seal boy. "Um, hello. I was wondering why you were taking Ethel's poster down. Is she retiring?" I asked innocently. He just shook his head, almost seeming guilty.

"Ethel passed away recently. Elsa told us to take it down as soon as possible. And poor Jimmy's heartbroken..."

"Oh. Oh, that's dreadful. I was going up to the freakshow to give Jimmy something actually. Maybe it will help him?" I shrugged my shoulders as Eve came down from the footstool.

"What is it?" She asked, crossing her arms. As soon as she said that, I opened the car's trunk, and pulled the box out, opening it as I walked back towards them.

"It's him and Ma Petie. They were good inspiration, and, Jimmy is handsome."

Eve and Seal Boy looked at it endearingly. I put the box down and took out the sculpture. It was the size of both of my palms, so it fit perfectly. "I do hope he and Ma Petite like it. This is one of my bigger projects."

"It looks wonderful! Jimmy'll love it." Eve said. Happy with the response, I put it back in the box and in the trunk.

"Indeed. Will you guys be okay getting back or would you like me to ride you the rest of the way?" They looked at each other, before nodding. I led them to the car, and we all got in. Silence filled the car's journey, but soon enough we got to the back of the freakshow. "Where should I park?"

"Anywhere will be okay." Seal Boy smiled, so I parked by the Ferris wheel, and let the two of them get out. After that, I went to the trunk and took the box out. "Let's take you to Jimmy." He smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded, and we walked to Jimmy's trailer. He was sat outside, staring at the ground.

"Jimmy. You have a guest." He said, before walking off. Jimmy looked up at me, and a smile enlightened his face.

"It's you."

"It's me, Jimmy! Also, Y/N. That's my name. I'm sorry I didn't throw it the other night. I was so caught up in my thoughts, and what I could do, I completely forgot."

"It's.. It's fine. I'm glad I get to see you again. Where did you meet Paul?"

I smiled at Jimmy, completely ignoring his question, and focusing on his eyes again. The images from the fantasy came back to me. But I internally shook them off and just placed the box in his lap. "I came across him and Eve while driving here. I decided to drive them back here. I'm sorry about Ethel."

"It's okay. What's in this box by the way?" Jimmy asked, staring at it in confusion.

"Open it and you will find out." I grinned, taking a chair and sitting beside him. He glanced at me before opening the box and taking out the figure. In shock, he dropped the box, thank god. But he kept a grip on the figure. The painted shadows, Ma Petite in her wonderful pink sari. Jimmy in his leather jacket, sitting by the wood stump. "I hope you like it, and that Ma Petite-" I got cut off as he hugged me closely. I quickly returned the hug, seeming that he liked it.

"It's wonderful Y/N. Thank you." He whispered, still not letting me go, but was happily accepted.

"I'm so glad you like it, Jimmy."

"I love it. I really do." He let the hug go and held onto my hands. "Let's show it to Ma Petite, and then maybe get some lunch? I'd like to return the favour." He winked again at me, and I felt like I was going to faint. But I nodded and squeezed his wrist.

"I'd love that Jimmy."

⊹˚.⋆ ₊꒷ᘏᘏ︶ଓ︶꒷꒦⊹˚ᗢ₊꒷︶ଓ︶꒷

[maeizy]

C!ranboo little sister x reader!

I HATE MYSELF RN, I LOST THE DANG REQEST THERE WAS TWO AND I REMEMBERED THE FIRST ONE- sjdjdnsidndoanfiehidn anyways the request was by @fantasyfiction-net ! and no I dont have a discord server yet! Ill try and make one though, ty for the advice! And yes I'd love to be freinds!!:D annnyways- ONWARD!!

INFO FOR REQESTS MY FANDOMS, AS WELL AS BLOG

GENRE: PURE FLUFF!<3

SYPNOSIS:x-reader where very young sibling,age 4-5. of C!ranboos, gets close with the sbi, Tubbo, philza, tommy ecr. To where he thinks they like the sbi more than him but they dont.

PRONOUNS: gn

TRIGGERS: getting hurt; (by water[since readers also half enderman]), no others!

Notes <3- totally didnt forget about this- I kinda hate it but its whatever I guess. Sorry for being so inactive as of kate, I'm making a lot of more fics, not in this fandom but in others like Lockwood and co ect. Please please please make sure to check out my blog info and my other stuff I have it linked in ever post :D sorry of this is trash but I hope y'all enjoy anyways.

you and ranboo where getting ready to go to philzas house it had just started to snow. you had always been fascinated by the white floating specs that reminded you of your very own purple ones that floated around you from time to time connecting to you to your ender man heritage.

"Y\N!" your older brother Ranboo yelled out as your tiny bare feet thudded out of the shack door breaking free from your bigger brothers arms to excitedly run out to the snow and attempt to flop down on it, but as soon as your bare skin touched the cold frozen flakes of water it burned, the excitement was then sucked away, as a searing pain tore through the pads of your exposed feet.

an enderlike screech of pain burst from your shocked mouth and purple particles was all your vision picked up on as you subconsciously teleported back, with a soft woosh, you popped back into the small space of the entrance of the Shack, that you and ranboo called home.

upright and confused, you where frantically holding your foot with a Audible "ow,ow,ow,ow,ow-" trying to balance on one leg and hopping backwards. already loosing your balance due to your freakishly long limbs for your age. (Thank your enderside) with a hiss you where sent wheeling back. being uncorranated as is, and then adding the fact you where standing how you where at the moment, you knock things down with you as you fall and land on your back with another shriek and a loud thump.

You let out another small, half hurt half annoyed huff, as tears formed at the ends of your green and red eyes. ranboo panicked running over in a semi-shocked state to grab onto you checking the red scorch marks on your left foot as you pushed yourself up on your elbows to let out another soft "ow" as he bent down to pick up your small 5 year old form.

being carefull not to bump into anything as he stumbled to set you on the staircase as he went to go grab some bandages rambling on with a " oh no!- I said to get your enchanted shoes on! Water hurts us-aww no please don't cry- healing poti-TUBBO"

The shorter boys head popped around the thrown open door as cold wind pushing its way in in a blizzard you hadn't noticed brewing till now, too focused on the throb in your foot.

The boys chipper voice was followed by ranboo half falling down the stairs to greet him and help you "Hi ran boo and- RANBOO WHY ARE THEY CRYING?!" ranboo fumbled with The wrappings as he wrapped it around the fresh wound " they went outside! in the snow! without enchanted boots and got hurt when it melted on them!" The little kid rushed over to tubbo hugging him tightly completely oblivious to ranboo who was trying to help; and ran into the shorter hybrids arms tubbo stooped to pick the younger child up as he set them down again on the staircase.

She wasn't full blown crying now, just sniffling as she tried to wipe of runaway tears as tubbo patted her head warmly with a small comforting grin to calm her nerves. she let the goat boy wrap the rest of the bandages around her foot then gave him an exited hug and a small. "thank you tubtub!" And got to her feet ignoring the ache and running to the front door to pick up her shoes, while ran boo wined a little at The younger boo and crossed his long arms in silent protest, giving a little huff of annoyance.

Tubbo chuckled "apparently she just likes me more" he said in a joking tone. But ranboo frowned "pftt-no.she-" tubbo laughed again as ranboos face turned a shade out of embarrassment. "whatever" he grumbled as he walked over to little y\n as she finished yanking the big enchanted boots onto her much smaller feet. she hummed with a happy little smile as he watched her with furrowed eyebrows standing their a little she got up humming a song tommy taught her and unconsciously grabbed his bigger hand bouncing as she pulled him outside "Phil's!phils!phils!" She chanted as her hand slipped from his when they got to the front porch of their small home in the snowy biome. Phil and technos conjoined house in the distance, lit with a warm light as the girl twirled through the snow twords it.

Ranboo teleported to the front step of philzas house with ease and tubbos head peeked out of the door of ranboos house, confused and annoyed, his shouts unheard as he ran across the landscape to join ranboo, and his sibling, who was huffing up the steps. "Cheater" you glared with a tired face. Your brother grinned as tubbo caught up. they didn't bother to knock as tubbo opened the door lazily and thunked his snow boots on the side of the doorframe. piles of snow landing on the hardwood deck from his boot.

The younger boo copied his actions holding onto the door frame for balance. And with a less powerful kick, her boot collided with the door, sending a little amount of Triump into the girl as she soon forgot about it and rushed into the house.

when she spotted philza and Wilbur having a chat in the kitchen she ran straight to them ranboo trailed aimlessly after her finding a spot next to tubbo as he chatted with tommy. Tomny and tubbo where fighting over who got the last peice of cake to which ranboo intervened and took it holding it above their heads while he took little pieces to eat himself while tommy and tubbo complained.

The little girl rushed over to hug phil who managed a "hey mate!" and patted her head and before he could say anymore she found techno who was talking to Wilbur.

"no -you have to kill them, then you can drag them into the-" he spotted the younger girls salt and pepper hair as she was silently staring curiously at him. He switched up his words as she walked up to him with a small cautious and confused face "kill someone?!" You questioned "uh-but of course we would skip the uh first step. and We would -drag them... to a nice place to have a talk-" she laughed hugging the pig-man who akwardly patted her back with a grimance. A glare shot from wilbur burned into technos skull.

You then hugged Wilbur who already had his arms stretched out. and with a warm smile she ran straight into him as she gripped his jumper with all her force. She leaned her small form back to Look up at his muddy eyes. With a mischievous grin then snatched his glasses off his scarred nose putting them on there face quickly, and dodging his long arms they Ignored the shouts of the older man. running off to find philzas arms to hide in. You darted into the living room, stopping shortly to take in there surroundings. the chatter from the boys, the sun streaming through the window, and the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen of whatever Phil was mixing up. it was comforting, but the loud footsteps behind them where not.

You couldn't make it to philza in time so you went to the person you would normally go for comfort, ranboo. Your brothers long limbs where crisscrossed on the floor and he silently nodded along as tubbo and tommy conversed. His green and red eyes found yours and his mouth turned into a grin and you sprinted twords him. Tommy spotted you coming there way and intervened "HEY y\n!" His bandaged arms opened wide, with a boyish toothy grin. Before you could decide who to go to, Wilbur rounded the corner. a glare set on his face as he squinted at her. "AHAHHHH" you ran straight into tommy.

the betrayal on ranboos face was prominent, his arms dropped slowly to his sides as his smile faded. though he didn't show it his heart panged a little As Tommy's arms locked in around you. He was supposed to be the one you ran too. He was your brother!

Wilbur barreled into the living room trying to take you from him. Tommy attempted to throw you on the couch and quickly cover you up with a pillow but it didn't work. The fight was over, Wilbur grabbed his glasses back off your defeaded half dead looking form and grabbed the pillow and proceeded to beat tommy with it.

You lifted yourself up, your hair now disheveled from the two brothers. You looked over to ranboo, your own brother, who looked a bit downtrodden. A wary smile was shot tword you, you huffed, feeling a bit tired you walked over to him, laying your head on his shoulder and gripping his arm "you ok big man?" He said as he patted your head lovingly "yes-can we go home now?" you yawned "we can- but I thought you wanted to hang out with techno, and tommy and-" " ranboo! I wanna spend time with you!" you smiled up at him, your eyes squinted. ranboo, forgetting you where a very unfiltered five year old died at your next words "Tommy's a little loud anyways-" he Busted open with laughter as wilbur did too, pausing over Tommy's defeated form on the spot on the floor where he had been being hit multiple times with the soft round throw pillow clutched in wills grip, tommy yelled in protest "HEY! I PROTECT YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME??" You look at him blankly " ummmmm- yes." Ranboo shoots grin his way, and scoops you up and grabs your shoes. As you slowly drifted off to sleep, you could hear techno voice echo " the kid was right, you are really obnoxious tommy" and another yelp from the blonde boy as a pillow thrown from techno this time, hit him square in the face. another loud scream was heard this time from tubbo "GET WRECKED" and a bust of laughter was heard.

This was your family.

And as you grew up, it always stayed that way, no matter what you went through, this, what some would call a ragtag group. was stuck with you, as family and you were ok with that, as long as your big brother stuck by your side, you felt impossible.

[happypotato48]

Only Boo! EP 5 Normalish Tangent Thoughts

Damn you show for being so sweet and earnest, that i have to drop my unhinged self so i can try to be articulate about my thoughts and feeling after watching this ep. (the emphasis is on "try" i'm not sure i'm gonna be good about it.)

Oh boy, the angsts that i dreaded/anticipated are here and i have so many feels! first of all i think the show did a really great job portrayed Kang very understandable fears and anxieties about Moo as a potential partner. cause yeah, although they're only 2 years apart these two are very much are in different parts in their lives and how they views the world. Moo is a dreamer with his head in the clouds because life haven't come at him yet, and Kang is a realist who understand that sometime you need to be present in the real world or else life will drown you.

This is the moment with so many what ifs for Kang. my interpretation is that hes not only fears for Moo's future but also his own if he give in. "what if moo can't follow his dream becuse of me, will he starts to resent our relationship?" "what if life got in the way again, can i rely on Moo to get through it?"

And here come this man. i think it's very smart of the show to has shone as a rival for moo, cause he is a version of moo who is mature and seems like he figured his life out. for kang who is still scared and anxious, shone seems like the safe option to be with.

I'm glad that Kang told Moo outright that some of Moo antics made him feels uncomfortable.

He knew what it's like to followed your dream without parent approval, because of his trauma. he doesn't want Moo to go through the same feelling he did.

Kang, you're a good boy. you gave him the chance to be better, you communicated your feelling clearly. now it's up to Moo.

Ahh! this hurts.

My heart 😭

And our optimistic hero Moo came through. i'm so happy! after the very mature rejection from Kang, Moo listened and comeback to show Kang that not only he has the will to follow through, he also understand Kang's feelling and he can be there for him. this moment is the "i know i'm a dumb little shit but i will studies maths and physics for you."

I loved this EP so much because this is what i wanted. after 4 episodes of the cutest fluffs ever this show swing in with the angst and resolved it with forking good communication. Kang is finally eased up, and i can't wait for these babies lovebirds era. it's going to be the cutest wholesome relationship ever!

Ok, i still need be a little bit unhinged

"Ralph Wiggum - I'm in Danger meme"

[k-looking-glass-house]

Divus Crewel and K. Fairy Gala~ Flower and moonlight

Well I forgot to put their part.....Hmmmmm....it's just I have so many things I also want to show you....

Okay so here the lore origin's story about K ability to sew and create outfits. Yes the rabbit was Mister Crewel's apprentice at some point in her life!

During this special fairy gala, Mister Crewel was asked by the fairy (tiny fairies not Briar Valley) kingdom to provide some fashion show, and wonderful outfits! And as good exchange benefits, Divus took K for sewing's help and let Sam go to the Gala (since K is Sam's familiar).

The whole plot is actually based on Dior Autumn collection 2020/21~

The bessssssttttt with the tarot collection! And Versailles one.........................

-> Anyway it's the same... I mean it it's the same plot...... Providing fairytale fashion service!

Divus Crewel~ SSR Moonlight Fairy couturier suit

Summon Line: "Let's make a statement, tonight you shall be swept away by fashion!" Groooovy!!: *tipsy tone* Awwhhnnn yes .... YOU GOT CREWELIZED BABY! *hic* (got a bit tipsy after drinking some fairy liquor) Home: Beads, threads, fabrics... Hn good everything is perfect! Home Idle 1: It's not the first time I'm assisting to the Fairy Gala, back in my childhood I used to go along with my aunt. Home Idle 2: Fairies are easy yet very picky when it comes to fashion, tsk noone can deny my fashion sense~ Home Idle 3: This night ... You both shall obey your master *wipe sound* Stay! Home Idle - Login: I'm not paid enough as a teacher *sigh*, fashion design is just an hobby of mine in which I'm excelling! Home Idle - Groovy: That liquor ....is pretty sweet... I feel ...heavy~ Home Tap 1: I am not wearing my fur coat? Darling it's good to have multiple assets to show y.... Yes actually some fairies cry over fake fur..... Home Tap 2: My long bloodline ancestor was a fairy, it was said he was a devil who turned a beautiful Queen crazy about beauty! *smirk* Home tap 3: Sammy-boy totally fits along those little darlings... STAY STAY don't make shady deals with little ones!! Home Tap 4: You....rabbit....stop eatting the petal flowers!! I SAID STOP!! Fine you need some discipline! I'll educate that empty head of yours! Home Tap 5: .....No more night like this.... Sammy is a special social butterfly with non human being, and that rabbit....eating bloats.... Home Tap - Groovy: *tipsy tone*Yayy darling you also look good!! Turn turn, let me see your eyes color hmmmm your height! Okay bibidi bobidii boo!!!!

K. Oswald jr 101~ R Moonlight Fairy valet haute couture

Summon Line: "Ohhh look at how tiny thoshe dresshes are!" Groooovy!!: Bloat....Hn ah well nooo Champyyy! Home: It's my firsht time going to a Gala! Mommy and Daddy are proud of me! My 419 shiblings asked for shouvenirs too! Home Idle 1: I am jusht a poor rabbit, I see flower...I eat it... Home Idle 2: Fairies are great!! So fun to interract I want to be a rabbit fairy! Home Idle 3: *humming* I'm doing my job! I musht take car of the tiny outfit caroushel here! Home Idle - Login: Kuruella ha ha ha!! I am Kuruella's asshistant! Respect, power, ban...(hitting sound) huuh that hurts!! Home Idle - Groovy: Hnn I am...tired *yawn* Sham when are we going home...zzz Home Tap 1: Yesh you can chose any outfits you like! Hurrgghh I mean... you musht ask Kuruella-shama first! Home Tap 2: Sham is so sparkly and pretty, and I am... a rabbit~ Home Tap 3: Mister Crewel is all time so beautiful, fairies are gathering around him hmm.. Arck did my voice change again? Home Tap 4: I didn't see the Fairy King, huh? Oh ok little fairy we don't talk about Bruuuno! Home Tap 5: I don't want thish night to end ha ha ha!!! I am the valet haute couture oh oh oh!!! Congrats Sham you got the powder! Home Tap - Groovy: *sleeping* Hmmmm.....hn.....zzzzz

And that closed that fan version event!!

[arpmemething2]

Loony Tunes Sentence Starters

Send one for my muse’s reaction.  Feel free to change pronouns as needed.

“It’s supply and demand! They supply the ghost, and I demand the money!”

“And remember, 'mud' spelled backwards is 'dum'.”

"Go ahead! I’d love to see the audience boo you off the stage!”

“Consider yourself as lucky because you are getting another chance from me to draw a gun.”

“Go on! Shoot me again! I enjoy it! I love the smell of burnt feathers and gunpowder and cordite!”

“Jumpin' without a parachute? Kinda dangerous, ain't it?”

“Don’t think it hasn’t been a little slice of heaven…’cause it hasn’t!”

“I do so enjoy observing the flora and fauna of that tiny planet.”

“I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque!”

“You know, sometimes me conscience bothers me… but not this time.”

“It just goes to show ya that a one-eyed jack rabbit can beat a king.”

“I didn’t say I would be nice. I said I would try. It was too hard.”

"He’s about as sharp as a bowling ball."

"What's up doc?"

“Oh dear, now I shall suppose I have to use force.”

“Help me, please. I’m too moist and tender to retire.”

“Okay Okay I'm shuttin' up. Why should I continue to keep yappin' when I'm told to shut up. I'm not the kind that don't know when to stop.”

“Ho! Ha-ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!”

“I wonder what the poor bunnies are doing this season?”

“Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out alive!”

"What a perfect time for me to go on a diet."

“When I say whoa, I mean whoa!”

“Brace yourself for immediate disintegration.”

“I don't want to be grown up anymore.”

"You wasted a wish! I wish that burrito was stuck on your big dumb nose!"

“Carrots are devine… You get a dozen for a dime, It’s maaaa-gic!”

“The way I run this thing you'd think I knew something about it.”

"Sssshh... Be vewwy quiet.  I'm hunting wabbit!"

"Champagne nights, tropical music and a heavy bank account!"

"Thufferin' thuccotash!"

“I’m in my own little word. But it’s okay, they know me here.”

"You rack'n frack'n varmint!"

“Oh, drat these computers. They’re so naughty and so complex. I could pinch them.”

"Well, it's 5 o'clock somewhere."

“Do you happen to know what the penalty is for shooting a fricaseeing rabbit without a fricaseeing rabbit license?”

“Wait! I haven’t tried toadying, kowtowing and butt-kissing yet! I’m still begging here!”

"Cats don't lay eggs. There's something screwy here."

"Of course you realize, this means war."

"His muscles are as soggy as a used teabag."

“I know this defies the law of gravity, but I never studied law!”

"Looks like the boy genius is tryin' to show me up."

"It was a terrible storm, the boat wocked and worked up one wave and down the other."

"You're despicable."

"If you're gonna be two-faced sweetie, then atleast make one of them pretty!"

"F-f-first they told me to lose the stutter now they tell me Im not funny anymore. "

“Well, what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending?”

"That's all folks!"

"I don’t know the meaning of the word fear!"

"Beep beep!"

"I don't ask questions, I just have fun."

"Hungry!"

“Just when I’m getting used to the voices in my head, one of them starts stuttering.”

"Say your prayers!"

“Me? Normal? How dare you insult me like that?”

"You know, it is possible to be too attractive."

"I am positive, I am mental and I know I have attitude.”

“I’m not like other people, I can’t stand pain, it hurts me.”

"I tawt I taw a puddy tat!"

“Well, what do you know … there’s the little Wiener Schnitzel now.”

“If you’re happy and you know it, you're probably annoying someone who isn’t.”

"This is gonna cause more confusion than a mouse in a burlesque show!"

"Who's responsible for this unwarranted attack on my person?"

“I'll be scared later. Right now I'm too mad.”

“If an interesting monster can’t have an interesting hairdo I don’t know what this world is coming to.”

“You say the Loch Ness Monster is living in your jacuzzi? Well, call Roto-Rooter!”

“I hate it when people are at you house and ask, ‘hey do you have a bathroom?’ No not at all...”

[procrastinatingsoicanreadfanfics]

ch. 7 – heald (to hold)

notes: i lowk hate the second half of this...

summary: goodbyes and hellos

warnings: none i think? minor mentions of trauma, ecbert is a bitch but whats new

tagged: @demon-of-the-ancient-world @levithestripper @grantairescurls

general masterlist | series masterlist

Alethia

Godwin’s chubby fingers grasped her hand, the boy trying to bite Alethia’s hand. She let him, rocking him absentmindedly as she stared into the bonfire. Next to her sat Eadith, John in her arms and Finnian next to her, drifting off to sleep. Insects chirped from the field, and Ethelfleda’s children were chasing each other around the flames. Clothilda sat at Alethia’s feet, her head leaning against Alethia’s knee. The girl stared up into the sky, eyes desperate to grasp a last look at the stars.

It was a cool spring night, just on the cusp of summer, and the air smelled of it. Ethelfleda had said that this night would be their last reprieve of the heat that the village would have for a while. Alethia knew what that meant.

She had to leave soon.

Tomorrow, Heahmund would take Clothilda to the nunnery in Wroughton. Alethia would accompany them, carry Clothilda’s few belongings and help the girl find her place amongst the nuns. And when she was done, she’d slip away. She’d give Heahmund a message, but she would not say goodbye. Not to him, nor to Finnian or Eadith or Godwin or John. It felt like betrayal, even if she had told them what was going to happen.

“What’s wrong?” Eadith asked. She was playing peek-a-boo with John, who only gave his mother a few happy laughs. When her hands covered her eyes again, Alethia spoke.

“Nothing. I just…” Alethia trailed off. Quietly, she adjusted Godwin in her lap. “I miss home.”

“Is this not home?” Eadith replied.

“You know what I mean. And besides, I do not belong here. I think I shall try to return to Frankia. To my family.”

“I love you. We all love you.” Eadith said. “You could stay. Remarry. None of us would think any less of you for it.”

“And who would I marry?” Alethia asked dryly.

“Heahmund.”

Alethia looked to the priest across from her, watching intently as she and Eadith spoke. His sword was lain across his lap, blade glinting with the flames. Perhaps she should take it. 

Instead of answering, Alethia snorted. Eadith giggled with her, like the girl she truly was. 

“I’m going to miss you.” Alethia said suddenly, and immediately, she wished she hadn’t.

“You’ll only be gone for a few days.” Eadith replied, brows furrowing with worry. She knew something was wrong with Alethia, but she did not say anything. Yet.

“Still. You are my best friend here.”

Eadith smiled at that, leaning towards Alethia.

“And you mine. But do not tell that to Titha or Darelene.”

Alethia committed her face to memory, then. The freckles on the bridge of her nose, the reddish-brown hair, the delicate lashes and crooked nose, the small scar and low-set brows. 

“I could never.” She said finally. 

Five days later, Alethia betrayed Eadith. She waited until Heahmund was fast asleep, and then, she took his cloak and dagger, drawing the hood into her face before she began running. Heahmund did not have a horse, and so, he would not be able to catch her as quickly as Aethelwulf would have, had he looked in the right direction. If anything, he’d have to run into the forest right after Alethia.

She trudged South where the village was East, wiping her face as the tears began to spill. There was no reason for her to cry. Alethia, and only Alethia, had made the choice to leave. It was something good, she was going back to Athelstan, but the fact that she was leaving still left a bitter taste on her tongue.

Perhaps leaving hurt because she was afraid Athelstan had found someone else, that he was not willing to forgive her and the Northmen would chase her away. Perhaps, though it was good she was leaving, she could still allow herself to let it hurt.  

All alone in the forest, Alethia had too much time to think. So, she began running until her lungs burned and her feet ached. It made her feel a little better.

And then, she was all alone again.

Athelstan

He stepped into Ecbert’s villa with the same fear he’d felt when he’d come there the first time. Athelstan forced himself to remember that he was with Ragnar and Lagertha, with the Northmen. That he was safe. Still, he could not help the fact that his hand curled around the head of his axe a little more tightly as he passed under the gates. 

Ragnar looked around, taking in all details of the villa, while Lagertha kept her eyes trained on Ecbert and Aethelwulf, eyeing both with suspicion. She pushed herself in front of Athelstan, and he knew precisely why she did it.

“Thank you.” Athelstan said quietly. Lagertha barely nodded. Still, he ducked away from Ecbert, painfully careful to keep his distance from him. It did not work.

“Welcome here! I bid you all welcome.” Ecbert said, turning to Ragnar. “Earl Ragnar.”

“He is King now.” Athelstan smirked.

“King Ragnar Lothbrok. What happened to King Horik?” Ecbert asked.

“He met with a, uh… unfortunate accident.” Ragnar mumbled, trying, and failing, not to smile.

“Then we are truly equal.” Ecbert replied, clapping Ragnar on the back before he turned to the other Northmen. “It is my pleasure to feed you and prove the bounty of our Earth.”

“What has happened to our people who chose to fight for Mercia?” Lagertha asked impatiently.

Kwentrith stepped forward. “Unfortunately, the forces of my uncle and younger brother have prevailed. But if you, Ragnar Lothbrok, and you, Lagertha, would join with us I am sure of victory.”

“King Ragnar,” Ecbert began again, and Athelstan noticed that he had the decency to look embarassed. “I have given you land. Let me tell you the truth, as God is my witness, some of my nobles do not agree with what I have done. They are afraid. But, I am determined to honor our treaty. In return, some of you, at least must fight for Princess Kwenthrith.”

“That is not part of our original agreement, but… in good faith, and in hopes of creating a long and prosperous… friendship,I will fight. But I cannot speak for the others.” Ragnar said.

“I will fight, alongside these pagans. For Mercia.” Aethelwulf agreed as well.

“Bjorn?”

The young man nodded, and Athelstan thought of his… woman. Sometimes, Porunn’s willfulness reminded him of Alethia.

“All have agreed, except Lagertha.” Athelstan announced.

“Go and translate to Lagertha for me.” Ecbert commanded, and Athelstan noticed how easy it was for the king to slip back into commanding him. “In order to establish the settlement here in Wessex, I need the help of one of your leaders. A strong leader. Someone that my nobles will respect.” Ecbert said. Quickly, Athelstan translated.

“Why does he see me as a leader?” Lagertha asked. “Is he not a Christian?”

Ecbert thought before he answered her translated question. 

“Alethia showed me that women can be more than just dangerously stupid.” he said finally. “That woman could have torn down this villa, and it is good she is dead.”

Athelstan’s heart sunk. Still, he told Lagertha. The shieldmaiden seemed to consider for a moment, before she agreed with a nod.

“She agrees to remain in Wessex, to establish the settlement and to help farm the land.” Athelstan said.

“And you also must stay, Athelstan. You can speak for all sides. We need you. I need you.I trust you more than anyone else.”

“You killed Alethia.” Athelstan bit out. “You just admitted it.”

“I did not. I would not have. She managed that all by herself, running off into the woods to get torn apart by the wolves. We never even found a trace of her! As if she vanished.” Ecbert said, eyes narrow. The king’s fury was barely concealed and Athelstan guessed that, in her attempt to escape, Alethia had embarrassed him. It gave Athelstan some satisfaction. “I think you should stay.”

Did he have a choice? “Then I shall stay.” Athelstan agreed.

The feast was not for him. Athelstan slipped away when Kwentrith tried to play cat and mouse with Lagertha and Ecbert’s eyes began following his figure more than he was comfortable with. Instead, Athelstan walked into empty hallways and snuck away into the library, where he knew he would find solace amongst scrolls.

Amongst his work.

It was no use. The library was no longer a safe haven, instead reminding him of Alethia. There, at the table that was now coated in a layer of dust, he had taught her his languages. First English, then Norse. There, a few steps away, he had kissed her for the first and last time.

His hand reached up, fingers ghosting over his lips absentmindedly. Then, Athelstan pressed the balls of his hands into his eyes until small sparks began to fly behind his closed lids. Why was he always thinking like this? So destructively, so stupidly pointless in a way that only made everything hurt. 

Leaving the library was harder than it should have been, and yet, Athelstan dragged himself out of it, past the roman bath and back up the stairs into the courtyard. There, the faint sound of a Norse drinking song spilled outside, but the summer heat had cooled down into a considerably more bearable night.

Athelstan did not know why he walked to the church. He supposed that it was his nature, as a monk, to go there. It was easy to walk the path there, habit even, and even if the church doors were heavy, they swung open for him, almost invitingly.

He breathed in, smelling the incense. This was better. At least here, Alethia was not the only one haunting him. Athelstan walked towards the altar, staring at the gleaming golden cross. Then, suddenly, he heard footsteps and froze.

Behind him, a serving girl smiled timidly. 

“Who are you?” Athelstan asked. 

The girl smiled, and Athelstan noticed the small gap between her front teeth. She was young, maybe ten years old, and yet, a scar made a gap in her lip. It caused her to lisp when she spoke.

“I’m Miriam. Hagar sends me.”

“Hagar?” Athelstan asked.

“She fixed my lip. I could not eat properly before. She’s the healer in the woods. She said to bring the monk from the Norsemen to her when I see him. You are that monk, right? Athelstan?” the girl said, the words practically tumbling out. Perhaps, she was trying to make up for all the years she could not express herself properly.

“Yes, but who is she?” Athelstan asked.

“I don’t know. But she is nice, even if some of the servants call her a witch. It’s because she never comes for mass.”

Without asking him, Miriam grabbed his hand and pulled Athelstan out of the church. A witch in the woods sounded terrible, like something his mother would have warned him about, and yet, Athelstan followed Miriam.

“Hagar is Frankian.” Miriam continued. “She married some Mercian, but he’s dead, so she left Mercia and came here. Said she wanted to go home over the summer.”

“A Frankian in Mercia?” Athelstan asked. “How do you know she’s Frankian?”

“She talks funny. Her husband taught her English, at least that’s what she said. She misses him very much. His name is Athelstan. What is your name?”

“Athelstan.” he replied slowly. Miriam giggled at that, her laugh stopping her from spilling out more and more words. 

“That’s funny. I’ll tell her all about it when we get there.” Miriam said, pulling Athelstan past the gate and out into the dark. When he paused at the border of the forest, Miriam tugged his hand.

“Come on, the dark doesn’t have to scare you. Hagar can cure you from that, if you want. She can give you some medicine, or you can talk to her. Some of the soldiers go to her every week, and they always come back with red eyes. I think she allows them to cry.” Miriam prattled on, and Athelstan nodded dimly.

“Why does she want to meet me?” Athelstan asked.

“I don’t know.” Miriam shrugged. “But it’s very important. She made me promise not to tell anyone about my mission. She said I should treat it like an adventure, and it’s been very fun. I almost gave up because waiting for you was so boring. You should have shown up earlier! But she told me that you would probably be waiting in the church for something, so I followed you when you left the feast. I hope you’re the right person, because if you’re not, my adventure is ruined.”

“I hope I’m the right person as well, then.” Athelstan replied. When Miriam let go of his wrist, he looked down at her. She stood to his right, in the middle of the thicket. In the dark, Athelstan could see a thin trail leading into the woods, where it was so dark that there was almost no light.

“You have to go to her alone, she said.” Miriam explained. “It’s right behind the trees, her house. You can’t miss it, just stay on the trail. I’ll be in the villa in case you’re not the right person.”

“Alright.” Athelstan replied hesitantly. He should have refused, should have stayed in the church and prayed, repented, but it was too late for that now. The trail felt smooth under his feet, trampled down by countless others that had made their way to Hagar.

Athelstan knew the story of her namesake. Father Cuthbert had made him copy it seventeen times, and each time, Athelstan had refused to give her a happy expression in the decoration that accompanied her story. Eventually, Cuthbert had given up, and another monk had copied the story. Everyone in the monastery had always found it to be a good story, and Hagar a good example of a Christian woman.

Athelstan could not imagine how she could have felt happy, forced to have Abraham’s child, only for it to be taken from her again. 

He almost stumbled into the clearing in front of the hut before he could regain his footing. Athelstan looked around, noticing the stack of firewood, as well as a black cat that slunk past him, and into the hut. A flap had been built into the door of it, through which the cat disappeared. Athelstan stared with fascination. 

Inside, a strangely familiar laugh rung out, probably at Hagar finding the cat. Hesitantly, Athelstan stepped closer, reaching up to knock when Hagar began singing. He paused. 

Athelstan knew that melody. He knew it, and he knew the laugh. He knew Hagar, and yet, Hagar was not the woman’s name. Athelstan did not knock. Instead, he simply pulled the door open and froze in the doorway.

“Alethia.” he said. Athelstan exhaled, and suddenly, a weight disappeared from his shoulders.

“Athelstan.” she replied. The cat was in her arms, and Alethia set it down gently, staring at Athelstan with those accursed green eyes, before she broke out of her trance, crossing the space between them and hugging him. Her arms enveloped Athelstan, and God, she was warm. She was home.

Alethia buried her face in the crook of his neck, saying nothing at all. She did not need to. Athelstan returned the embrace, arms coiling around her waist as he held her close. His hand found her hair, gently stroking, and Athelstan could finally close his eyes. Alethia smelled of lavender soap and rain and herbs. It was right.

Home, finally.

Alethia

“I am sorry.” she whispered after a while. “I wanted to… I couldn’t… Ecbert would have found me, and I did not want to be a prisoner.”

Athelstan broke their embrace, and stepped back. He did not say anything for a while, and Alethia let Salem jump up onto the table to her left, scratching the cat’s ears. Athelstan took a few moments before he spoke, and Alethia let him. She could only smile, at him for returning, at Miriam for bringing him here. At God, for letting it happen.

“You needed to be free.” Athelstan replied. “I understand. I should have known he would…”

“We should have known. It is not your fault. I only… I wish I had been brave enough to face them all.” Alethia whispered.

“Had you tried, Ecbert would have chained you to a wall in his dungeons. Your mind being intact matters to me the most, far more than finding you in the villa, Alethia.”

At the sound of her name, Alethia shed her disguise like wings, and laughed. It was good to be free.

Her hand slipped into Athelstan’s with practiced ease. She noticed the new callouses.

“Have you been training?” She asked, her voice soft.

“I have. Ragnar insisted I steal you away.” Athelstan replied, smiling at her. “But… Ragnar does not know you. I know you. I will not steal you, I know that I could not.”

He tucked her hair behind her ear, fingers brushing her cheek. Alethia strung out his words into their full length, reveling in them. Athelstan did not want to steal her away, he wanted her to come by her own accord. How badly she wanted to kiss him. 

Alethia bit the inside of her cheek, throwing the thought away. She could not. She did not know if he still would want her to. Instead, she hugged him again, squeezing Athelstan until the blood drained from her arms and he huffed in her embrace. Alethia wondered if loving her hurt Athelstan.

“I have to return.” Athelstan said as Alethia let him go, and she wished he hadn’t.

“I understand.”

“Come with me, Alethia. What could Ecbert do to you now, apart from stare angrily?”

“He would chain me again, and you know it.” Alethia replied. “I understand that you… nothing can protect us from Ecbert here. I will stay in the forest, and I will go with you wherever you want, but not back to the villa.”

“He wants me to work as a translator.” Athelstan admitted. “We will be in England for a while so that the Vikings can establish their settlement here.”

“What of Mercia?” Alethia asked.

“Mercia will tear itself apart over and over, and Ecbert will send the Northmen to fix it.”

Alethia wanted to reply before Athelstan stopped her.

“Don’t fight, Alethia. Don’t do it. If you go to war, I am afraid you will not come back.”

“I won’t die.”

“That is not what I mean.” Athelstan said. The room was so quiet that Alethia swore she could hear him blink and the grass outside grow. “That is not what I mean, and you know it.”

“Then I will come with you.”

“That is where Ecbert will go.”

“It is not his villa, right? Not Winchester?” Alethia asked.

“No. It will be further south, closer to the coast. More to the East.”

“Will any of the Northmen come? Any that are important?”

“Lagertha will.” Athelstan replied. “And she will keep you from Ecbert if I tell her.”

“There is no need. I just think… here, I am nothing but Hagar. Even if I go by my own name, I will never be free in Winchester.”

“I understand.” Athelstan said.

“I know you do.”

Athelstan smiled, then. Alethia wished he would more often.

***

Alethia stayed away from Ecbert, Lagertha and Athelstan when the Northmen travelled to the new settlement. Up until today, Ecbert did not know that she was alive, and she had been living in the woods close to Winchester for two months. In a way, she prided herself on disappearing like that.

In a way, she was scared of how easy it was for her to slip into insignificance. Was it like that back home, in Winterfell? Was she already becoming a ghost, a footnote in the annals of Northern history? What had she done, really, apart from fighting in a few battles?

For the hundredth time that day, Alethia checked to see if the dagger in her boot and the knife in her belt were still in the right place. Somehow, she was still afraid that Ecbert had taken some force of soldiers with him to capture her. 

And then, when the king was finally away from Athelstan and Lagertha, Alethia felt her heart pounding in her throat. Would she remember any of the Norse Athelstan had taught her? Would Lagertha even be able to understand her through her accent, or would the shieldmaiden simply laugh? 

Beneath the hood of her cloak, she met Athelstan’s eyes, and the monk directed Lagertha further away from Ecbert, where they were hidden from sight. Alethia followed them, slipping away.

As soon as she rounded the corner, she pulled her hood down and smiled. Lagertha was almost forgotten, secondary as Alethia pulled Athelstan into a hug.

“Athelstan.”

“Alethia.” Athelstan replied, continuing in Norse. “Lagertha, this is Alethia, the woman I told you about.”

Lagertha looked her up and down, and Alethia felt as if she was reading her soul like a book, before she smiled with the warmth of an early summer evening, and embraced Alethia.

“It is good to meet you. Athelstan has told me much about you.” She said. Then, Lagertha’s eyes narrowed. “But why did you not come to Kattegat with us? Athelstan tells me that Ecbert would have chained you.”

“It is true.” Alethia said. Her head was already spinning, too much time having passed since she practiced Norse. She was finding it difficult to find the right words. “I went North instead of South, so that I could be free. I stayed with a few farmers. I returned for the summer, when the Northmen would come to raid.”

“So you are a farmer?” Lagertha asked.

“A healer, and a shieldmaiden. Though neither happened by choice.”

“But more by fate.” Lagertha finished. “I understand. I should like to spar with you.”

Alethia looked down, twiddling her hands. “I have not practiced in a year. I am quite rusty.”

“No matter.” Lagertha said, before looking to Athelstan. “Ragnar will hear an earful from me. ‘As fickle as the moon’, rather fitting for him, but not for him to say.”

Alethia laughed before she could catch herself. For a moment, she worried that Lagertha would be angry at her, but then, the other woman smiled too.

She leaned to Athelstan, only half-whispering. “You chose well, my friend.”

Athelstan blushed, a mirror image of Alethia. He cleared his throat before he spoke again.

“Will you face Ecbert?”

“Don’t you want to see his face when he realises I am still alive?”

“What if he makes you a prisoner?” Lagertha interjected. “I am already willing to vouch for you, and Ragnar will too, but that may very well not be enough.”

“He can try.” Alethia said. “I have put crowns on women’s heads. Let him attempt to chain me again.”

And so, she pulled the hood back up over her face, shadowing Lagertha and Athelstan as the shieldmaiden prepared herself for the sacrifice. Ecbert stood closeby, not sparing her another glance. Alethia was glad for his arrogance, oozing off of him in waves today like always. If he thought her a peasant, she would let him.

All the better for her.

During the sacrifice, Alethia stood close to Athelstan, her hand finding his in the crowd. He squeezed it in reassurance.

“You did well today. Your Norse has remained strong, but we need to work on your grammar and vocabulary.” Athelstan whispered. 

“How good is it really, then?” Alethia jabbed. 

“It has… worsened.” Athelstan said.

“You can be blunt with me.”

“It has become quite bad. Lagertha is admirable for her control over her facial features.”

“Thanks.” Alethia snorted. 

“I was joking.”

“I doubt that.”

“I was!” Athelstan said. “You are a good student. I did not expect anything less.”

“A good student?” Alethia asked with a smirk.

“And an even better warrior.”

Alethia looked to Lagertha, who drew two stripes of blood down her throat calmly. She exuded such confidence, such strength, that it almost made Alethia shiver.

“She is magnificent.” Alethia whispered.

“So are you.” Athelstan replied. Alethia froze, turning to Athelstan abruptly. 

“I…”

“I’m sorry.” Athelstan said immediately. 

“No, don’t be.” Alethia replied. “I was just not… expecting that.”

“I was telling the truth.” He reiterated. “You are magnificent. That is why King Ecbert was so afraid of you.”

“Afraid?” Alethia asked with a laugh. “He is the king of Wessex, and he will be king of England one day.”

“And he was afraid that you were going to tear down his kingdom. You could have. You should.”

“Oh?”

“I am beginning to grow sick of his little smirks.” Athelstan said. This time, Alethia had to laugh out loud. A few heads turned, and Athelstan turned to her, half-obscuring her from view. 

“I would like to reiterate former comments and tell you that, for you, I would commit regicide. Without question.” Alethia replied.

“Why?”

“I am willing to do just about anything to keep you safe.” Alethia said. “Remember that, Athelstan.”

“I never forget anything about you.”

Alethia felt as if she could not breathe.

“You are the only thing that is holding me in this world.” she whispered. Blood ran into the earth, soaking the ground on which she stood. In that moment, the sky could have fallen on their heads, and Alethia would have kept looking at Athelstan.

“I never should have run. I was willing to do anything to get back to you, but it was not enough. I should have… I don’t know. I should have swam across the sea for you. I know I could have. I apologize.” Alethia said.

“You are here.” Athelstan replied. He had turned his back to the sacrifice, only looking at her. “You are here, and that is all that matters.”

She wished she had the courage to do more than feel tears sting in her eyes. 

***

Ecbert only recognized her days later, when all the Northmen have returned to the villa to celebrate. Alethia stood in the courtyard, watching from her usual spot as the warriors streamed inside. She thought she recognized Ragnar, talking to Athelstan like they were brothers. Lagertha gave her a small smile as she slipped inside, accompanied by her shieldmaidens. Then, there were Floki and Rollo, presumably. Alethia was confused to not see Torstein with them. Had he not raided this year?

The first of the Saxons that noticed her was not Ecbert, but Aethelwulf. The prince had developed deep shadows under his eyes in her absence, looking as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

When he saw her, he made to point and shout, but Alethia raised a finger to her lips, and, surprisingly, Aethelwulf did not rat her out immediately. Instead, he slipped away from his soldiers, crossing his arms as he approached her.

“We could have used you out there, in Mercia.” Aethelwulf said. 

“But then again, your father would have chained me to a wall to keep me compliant. And anyway, I would not have come back the same.”

“I know. You fight like a demon.” Aethelwulf replied. “I have never met anyone, neither Northman nor Saxon. Do you know what the Mercians call you?”

“What? Is it something silly?” Alethia asked, her tone sharp.

“Demon of death. I saw you that time we fought the Northmen with the Northumbrians, covered in blood. I saw the corpse of the man whose throat you tore out with your bare teeth. I saw you do it, and I think my father had good reason to try and chain you.”

“How long did you search for me?” Alethia continued.

“Three moons.”

“How silly.”

“And why is that?”

“I was less than a day’s ride away. The only thing I did to throw you off was walk North, and upstream. Was that really enough?”

“We expected you to follow… your monk.”

“I know.”

“What are you going to do?” Aethelwulf asked.

“Kill your father, perhaps.” Alethia replied. The prince’s hand dropped to the grip of his sword. “Don’t worry, I don’t have my sword anymore. But, you know, I have this weird feeling that you respect me. Why is that?”

“Because I do.” Aethelwulf admitted.

“You do?”

“You do not try to hide the monster you are. My father is a liar, and at the very least, you are honest about yourself. And you are a warrior, one that does not take pleasure in killing. Like a Christian should.”

Alethia smirked cruelly. She felt the bile rise in the back of her throat at being called a monster. “Oh? Do you take pleasure in killing, Prince Aethelwulf? Go on then, run to the church and give yourself some lashes. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Why should I?”

Alethia leaned forward. “I have a king to kill.”

Aethelwulf ran after her as she made for the villa, and Alethia could not help but laugh dryly. “Oh my fucking God! I was joking! I don’t care about Ecbert enough for that. And, for what it’s worth, the people of Wessex are good if they happen to live outside this villa. Ecbert is keeping them safe. Go, atone for your sins, or whatever it is you do in your free time.”

“Why the fuck would you joke about that?” Aethelwulf snarled. 

“Why are you so cruel? Why do you think your wife does not love you?” Alethia replied, hurling insults back at the Prince. She was glad they were alone in the courtyard, and that no one else could see the tears beginning to fall down her face. “You are so… why? I am twenty! Twenty! I took my first life when I was fifteen! I still think about that man, every single day! I am not a monster! Why does everyone think I am? I wish… I thought you’d understand! You of all people, used by your father to be nothing more than a weapon! Stop respecting me for the killer you say I am and see me as the person I am. I promise you, I will do the same for you.”

Aethelwulf stared at her, the hurt written across his face as Alethia said aloud what he knew to be true about his father. 

“I wish… oh, I don’t fucking know. What does it matter?” Alethia sighed, dropping her hands at her sides. “I’m going inside, gonna scare your father shitless. Want to see?”

Aethelwulf considered for a moment. “You are impossible. Thank you.”

“Here.” Alethia said, handing Aethelwulf Heahmund’s dagger. “I stole this from some priest called Heahmund. Feel kind of bad about it. He’s a good guy, so if he ever comes to court… give it back to him from me.”

“You could return it to him.” Aethelwulf replied.

“Fuck no. I’m leaving England, and I am not coming back.”

“You don’t believe that.” 

“Take the fucking dagger before I stick you with it.” Alethia hissed. Aethelwulf laughed, and the shadows under his eyes seemed a little lighter.

Athelstan

Of all people, Athelstan had not expected Alethia to join the feast together with Prince Aethelwulf. Ragnar looked up, spotting the prince before he could and clicking his tongue in distaste. 

“Cannot stand that man.” he mumbled. “But his new mistress looks quite rough for an English lady.”

Athelstan felt his jaw tighten. “That is not Aethelwulf’s mistress. She is not anyone’s mistress.”

Ragnar’s eyes snapped up, suddenly examining Alethia much more closely. “And why do you care so much about her?”

Then, his friend’s eyes widened. With the scars and her angry eyes, it was not hard to guess who this strange woman amongst Saxons was. 

“Is that-” Ragnar began. 

“Alethia!” Kwentrith called out, standing with a pitcher of wine in one hand and a cup in the other. She looked dangerously close to falling over. Immediately, Athelstan’s eyes went to Ecbert. 

The king looked visibly pallid. Still, he forced himself to smile. “Look at what my son dragged inside!”

“King Ecbert. What a pleasure.” Alethia replied, her voice so dry that Ragnar had to laugh.

“Some woman you chose. She looks like she’s about to castrate King Ecbert.”

“She might.” Athelstan replied honestly. “He tried to kill her last summer. It is the reason she could not come with us.”

“Truly? If he wanted to kill her, then she must be quite dangerous.” Ragnar said. Suddenly, there was an interested glint in his eyes.

“That is what I am always telling you.” Athelstan replied calmly. “And you never quite seemed to believe me.”

“I did not think your type to be the dangerous sort of woman.” Ragnar shrugged.

“What did you think it was?”

“Someone softer.”

Alethia looked over to Athelstan with an unsure smile, and he gave her an encouraging nod. Perhaps it would have been smart to shake his head, to try and stop her, but Athelstan wanted her to rain hellfire on Ecbert. And still, he thought that Alethia was the sort of soft that Ragnar could not see. For all his genius, Athelstan’s friend did not understand that people were just many facets of one thing.

Next to him, Ragnar gasped through his teeth.

“Her face is split in half.” he observed. “Interesting.”

“Spit it out.” Athelstan said, never taking his eyes off of Alethia. She was looking at Ecbert as if he was her prey. 

“Why did she choose you?” Ragnar asked. “She looks like she has seen more battles than Rollo, Lagertha and I combined. No offense, but you do not have the look of a warrior.”

“She is tired of war.”

“Why?”

“You want to return to the farm.” Athelstan said, his voice a sharp hiss. “I see it in your eyes. Do not pretend otherwise. She is the same, but her farm is even more unreachable than yours.”

Ragnar fell silent. 

Alethia’s voice cut through the great hall of Winchester like a sword drew blood. “You owe me, King Ecbert.”

The sounds of the feast quieted as the Saxon heads turned first, and then, at the silence, the Northern ones did too.

“And what would that be? What would you demand?” Ecbert asked, his tone cold. His eyes were void of any emotion, apart from an icy anger that sent a chill down Athelstan’s spine.

Alethia climbed the stairs towards Ecbert, but before she could reach him, two guards stopped her, crossing their spears. Still, even from where he stood, Athelstan could see the way she stared Ecbert down. It was a wonder the king could still keep himself on his feet.

“You tried to take my freedom.”

“You swore to serve me.”

“And the reason for it disappeared before I could fulfill my vow. You know that.”

“What is she talking about?” Ragnar asked.

“She lost her child.” Athelstan whispered. Ragnar grimaced, jaw suddenly set.

“She is determined.” He praised.

“Alethia would be dead were she not.” Athelstan said, his tone simple as it should have been for all those years he’d been a monk. Was he still? When he looked at Alethia, Athelstan could not imagine being a man of God any longer, only hers.

“I will leave England.” Alethia said. Her hands were shaking, but Athelstan thought that he was the only one who noticed. “And you will not stop me. If you do…”

“If I do?” Ecbert challenged.

“Sic semper tyrannis. I will tear down this villa, and the sky that hangs above Wessex with it.”

Ecbert laughed, but Alethia simply stared at him, and the King quieted again. Athelstan swore that there was a glint of fear in his eyes. 

No longer interested, the guests in attendance turned away, resuming their chatter. Alethia’s shoulders dropped as she stepped away from the guards, away from the king, and her test was finally over.

Athelstan wanted to comfort her. To hold her.

Would she still want him to? So much time had passed, and she could have any man… As Alethia approached the table, he quickly forced a smile on his face. She looked confused as her gaze landed on him, but she shook it quickly. 

With Alethia, Lagertha followed, and soon thereafter, Floki and Rollo slipped onto the bench as well. The Northmen looked at each other, as if they needed to decide upon what to ask Alethia, before Lagertha smiled.

“Athelstan is lucky to have a friend like you.” She said, and Floki giggled.

“Friends. The poor priest.” He laughed. Athelstan wanted him to shut up, but he was Floki, and never would.

“Do you mean to tell me the two of you have never fucked?” Rollo asked, blunt in the way only he could be. Athelstan felt heat rise to his cheeks immediately. 

“Quite the contrary. We fucked in the church.” Alethia said, her tone flat. Everyone but Rollo got the joke, and even so, Athelstan tried to stop blushing even more. The suggestion was… blasphemy at best.

“So you are not a Christian?” Floki asked.

“I don’t really know.” Alethia admitted. “I suppose I’ll see when I’m old and afraid.”

Floki clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he still side-eyed Athelstan. “Better to be godless than a priest.”

“Of course.” Athelstan bit back. Ragnar was staring at Alethia, eyes flitting between her and Lagertha, and suddenly, Athelstan felt his hands ball to fists. He gave Ragnar a sharp look, one at which Ragnar’s eyes widened, before his mouth pulled into a smirk. The same smirk did not disappear for the rest of the night.

Alethia left with a soft touch to Athelstan’s shoulder.

“I’ll go home for the night.” She said, her eyes glancing over to Ecbert.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Athelstan asked.

“He has no idea where it is, and I do believe Prince Aethelwulf is on my side.”

“Alright. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight Athelstan.”

Alethia smiled back at him as she slipped out of the great hall, and as soon as she was gone, Floki, Rollo, Lagertha and Ragnar all turned on him.

“What do you mean, you haven’t even fucked?” Ragnar blurted out. Athelstan shifted under his gaze, but he knew that Ragnar had him pinned.

“Well…”

“He is a bloody priest. Only a priest would wait so long with a woman like that.” Rollo said.

“A woman like what?” Lagertha asked.

“A shieldmaiden. I saw her, last year, as she tore out a soldier’s throat when she had no sword, no dagger, no shield.” Rollo explained. 

“Really? What is she doing giving you heart eyes, priest?” Floki asked.

“I don’t… know? But, she did choose me. Though I do not know if she is giving me ‘heart eyes’ as you say, Floki.”

Ragnar snorted. “Are you blind?”

“Give him a break.” Lagertha said, and Athelstan was glad for it. Until he saw her give him that look.

“I think I understand her better than you men.” Lagertha continued. “She needs to be wooed. No doubt she could seduce our dear Athelstan… but where is the fun in that?”

“To woo a shieldmaiden.” Ragnar mused. “Good luck with that, Athelstan.”

“It is not luck he needs. Only courage.” Lagertha said. “Go on, Athelstan. Find her.”

“I am a monk.” Athelstan pressed out. He knew it was a lie. It had been a long time since he had been a monk, and even longer since he had been a true man of God.

[borathae]

Chapter 29

Or maybe it is the knowledge that just three staircases below you and behind far too many doors, Taehyung was still standing chained up in a cold, lonely room. :(

Why does it feel like no time had passed and yet at the same time as if far too much time had passed? yeah i mean time skip exists lol but fr mood

Or maybe it is this dreadful smell, which has been ever so present in your room. Like oakwood and myrrh. You hate this smell. It is not a particularly bad smell as for example rotten eggs or spoiled milk, instead you really hate the memories you are starting to connect with it. where did we smell oakwood before

Maybe on other days you would have called it beautiful, but not anymore. noo :(

Running comes hard for you and yet that is all you can do right now. Run and run and run and run away from the heartbreak. everything hurts 😭😭 *plays life is worth living

oh kook is leaving 😭😭😭 our boi grew up and is now moving out

omg the dark voices calling us again, is it kook? or someone else? also why is that smell there? is one of them so upset to the point its stinking for a human like her? is it tae? another prisoner?

whats going on ANSWER HER QUESTIONS ASSHOLE

t is so quiet in this room that one could hear a needle hit the floor. teachers would kill for this

HOBI I LOVE YOU

oh jin who was it? or do u not remember ? DID U FUCKING HURT TAE??? NO NO U DID NOT YOONGI U MOTHERFUKER *sighs *reads the list 3 times

PERIOD BOO WE ARE BITCHSLAPPING EVERYONE AT THIS POINT “His silence? That is all you had? Taehyung has been refusing to talk for weeks. His silence means nothing.” FUCKING REAL

HOBI I LOVE YOU PT2 (hold on i have lost count actually) at this point FUCK EVERYONE, hobi lets hold hands and walk into the sunset bye

WDYM no he didnt YOONGI? U COULD HAVE SAID THIS IDK A FEW DAYS AGO??? MONTHS AGO???

“She is still alive. She begged them to turn her and so Jimin did.” LE GASP (totally didnt see everyone talking about emma, yeah never saw that) ok i knew she may or may not exist, but i didnt know she become a gluten

20 PEOPLE DAMN fuck they could have planned it better are we going to see her anytime soon?

huh whats going on? see for yourself??

You are on a dirty cobblestone street. It smells of rotting flesh and feces. You gag, covering your nose with your hand to fight off the stench. Gloves? You look at them, then down your body. A corset? A long dress? Why are you wearing clothes of a different century? ohh we are seeing memories SHE FOR THE COBBLESTONES (sorry i had to lol)

“Be grateful. You don’t want this burden”, Yoongi says coldly, is it referring to burden as in unable to forget bad memories and bad memories/nightmares being too realistic and detailed?

We remember things that are important to us, the rest we forget piece by piece until we wander on empty streets and pass by unknown shadows.” hmm guess there is a price to for soo many memories, even our memories become less detailed over time, videos turning into picture like memories, forgetting their voice, favorite stuff etc

why are we in a hurry? its ur memories right? does it do something to him? yeah hobi's right, where is our body and what is it doing?? is the smell coming from the dead people?

wow yoongi is immersed in the memory, no wonder he wanted to hurry It frightens Emma, forcing her to make one wrong move noo

NOO JIN LEFT WHATS GOES ON MAN “I don’t know. You always have an answer” fr mood, this reminded me of mom, cuz i always say this to her lol

“No you won’t”, Yoongi stops you FUCK OFF THIS HAPPENED CUZ U ALLOWED IT AND DIDNT SAY THIS BEFORE AND NO U DONT ALLOW HER TO TALK TO TAEHYUNG wow he really has the audacity to use tae as a leverage

“You’ll be grateful once you understand” yeah ik i will, and then i will simp over you at that time, until then let me be angry at you pookie

sibi what have you done to me why am i sweating over a fiction 😭😭 why am i seeing brown filters and balls in my dreams? why are you giving me mood swings from simping too hard 😽 to crying over cuteness overload😻 and angst😿 to pissed off 😾to happy happy happy😸

oh no we are at his wing 😭😭😭 is jimin coming back?😭when will he come back? i only got to cry over for him for a few paragraphs and then bam im crying over his death

Although the moon is the only thing illuminating your path this paragraph is so good, idk what to say cuz im busy being nostalgic over that stargazing night oh yeah the portrait 😭 THE BEIGE JUMPER 😭😭😭 u are really coming for my tears huh OH NO THE SURPRISE dont look LOOK AT IT dont look LOOK AT IT noo he painted her 😭😭fuck no

the date, its soo sweet and cute UFKC u should have written it before his death it would be more cute then tear jerker (but that was the plan huh? u cute lil shit i love you, my emotions are a mess and i love this universe soo much, i wanna exist in it, actually u write so well,it is easily able to feel like u are her, without being a personality less character)

It is just how you had imagined it. Taehyung remembered. no no no 😭😭 free him please

her outburst is truly understandable but some stuff is untrue, but again she is not in a good state of mind she is beyond pissed

wow im really sniffling

oh kook is leaving 😭😭😭 our boi grew up and is now moving out

like he is actually moving closer to us and yet it's so sad that he moves out :(

omg the dark voices calling us again, is it kook? or someone else? also why is that smell there? is one of them so upset to the point its stinking for a human like her? is it tae? another prisoner?

interesting questions indeed 👀

oh jin who was it? or do u not remember ? DID U FUCKING HURT TAE??? NO NO U DID NOT YOONGI U MOTHERFUKER *sighs *reads the list 3 times

jfadjsj

WDYM no he didnt YOONGI? U COULD HAVE SAID THIS IDK A FEW DAYS AGO??? MONTHS AGO???

lmaoao for real

“She is still alive. She begged them to turn her and so Jimin did.” LE GASP (totally didnt see everyone talking about emma, yeah never saw that) ok i knew she may or may not exist, but i didnt know she become a gluten

I'm sorry but fjadsjf "a gluten" fadsjf Emma be like 🌾

20 PEOPLE DAMN fuck they could have planned it better are we going to see her anytime soon?

mhhm god question 👀

“Be grateful. You don’t want this burden”, Yoongi says coldly, is it referring to burden as in unable to forget bad memories and bad memories/nightmares being too realistic and detailed?

I think it's a mixture of both 😭

We remember things that are important to us, the rest we forget piece by piece until we wander on empty streets and pass by unknown shadows.” hmm guess there is a price to for soo many memories, even our memories become less detailed over time, videos turning into picture like memories, forgetting their voice, favorite stuff etc

yes gosh :( I'm sad that they do :( especially my memories with my grandpa I would love to keep :(

why are we in a hurry? its ur memories right? does it do something to him? yeah hobi's right, where is our body and what is it doing?? is the smell coming from the dead people?

the smell is just London in 1800-something where sanitary systems were basically the streets and the Thames BHAHAHAH 💀 the bodies are currently passed out back in the estate 👀

“No you won’t”, Yoongi stops you FUCK OFF THIS HAPPENED CUZ U ALLOWED IT AND DIDNT SAY THIS BEFORE AND NO U DONT ALLOW HER TO TALK TO TAEHYUNG wow he really has the audacity to use tae as a leverage

YES THIS BUT THEN you rememeber that maybe he doesn't want her to see him right now because he doesn't want her to see him in a tortured beat up state and he wants to save her from that trauma and you just start crying 😭

sibi what have you done to me why am i sweating over a fiction 😭😭 why am i seeing brown filters and balls in my dreams? why are you giving me mood swings from simping too hard 😽 to crying over cuteness overload😻 and angst😿 to pissed off 😾to happy happy happy😸

ah yes my job here is done

oh no we are at his wing 😭😭😭 is jimin coming back?😭when will he come back? i only got to cry over for him for a few paragraphs and then bam im crying over his death

hahhahah I don't think that Jimin is coming back my dear 😔

the date, its soo sweet and cute UFKC u should have written it before his death it would be more cute then tear jerker (but that was the plan huh? u cute lil shit i love you, my emotions are a mess and i love this universe soo much, i wanna exist in it, actually u write so well,it is easily able to feel like u are her, without being a personality less character)

gaah that is very lovely to hear!! thank you so much heheeh 💜💜

[underratedandoverit]

Immortal Fears (4/?)

The International title has the power to make you question so many things; yourself, your relationships, everything. It makes you believe the only thing worthy of it is you, and vice versa. It is believed that holding it will have… Maddening consequences. Is any of it true? Is this just mind games played by your opponents instead, to get under your skin, to make you think losing the title to them is worth it? But is the current champion Orange Cassidy willing to take such a risk…?

Tags: Kip Sabian/Orange Cassidy (future). Hurt/comfort (eventually). Title Belt Corruption Arc. Enemies to lovers. Slow burn.

Best Friends/Chuck & Trent and Penelope make frequent cameos. More to be added.

On AO3 here

Oh babes we are just getting started with this. Also swapped around few of the tags. We officially have a relationship promised in the later stages of the story, as well as the revealing tags of 'enemies to lovers' (thank you bugs i didnt even think about this one personally for some reason) as well as 'slow burn'. Gonna drive myself into early grave with this one I'm sure LOL (im also aware theres a lot of danhausen in this chapter but im not putting him on the character list since im not sure if/when he would return after this one so.. yeah)

Credits for the babe @ss-trashboat for the beta and my beloved @midnightpretenders0 for brainstorming this whole arc with me, it means so much to me 💜

@stormbornpirate as you wanted to be tagged for things!

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

Kip smiled to himself, watching the events replay on the television screen in front of him. It brought him an unimaginable amount of joy to see everything unfold again and again as he kept rewinding and rewatching the clip. It was all just like he had hoped things would start to go down with the Zestest of Friends, and then some. After the last couple of weeks, this was inevitable; one of them was going to crack and start something, a chain of events, that in the end none of them were going to be able to stop.

He watched as Danhausen blind tagged himself into the match, just as Orange Cassidy was preparing the Orange Punch to put away their opponents. Cassidy backed into the corner as Danhausen ducked inside the ring through the ropes, even Kip being able to read the disappointment and disbelief on the stoic face of the champion. He was more than capable of taking this match home, he had set their opponent up perfectly for a single punch to take him down.

But no. No such easy victory was allowed. Danhausen was in the ring now, the legal competitor, ready to take the win and glory home with whatever trickery he had up his sleeve. The man radiating with confidence posed as he stepped inside the ring, ignoring the confused mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd as he turned to Cassidy, who had just now completely stopped to lean into the corner, starting to shoo him out of the ring, saying that he got this.

Cassidy just stared back at him, hand wiping through his hair, Kip mimicking the movement perfectly as he watched. He could act along this part beat by beat, bit by bit by now; he had watched the replay so many times, it brought him just as much joy with each rewatch. The way Cassidy refused to move, clearly getting under the skin of Danhausen who started to yell at him, telling Cassidy to go away, saying that he had this match won.

Only for Dante Martin to regain his composure while this was going on, and rolling up Danhausen with an easy school boy pin for a three count.

Kip’s eyes lit up, yet again, no matter how many times he had seen this part, as the camera panned from the shocked Danhausen being released from the pin to the unamused champion, still standing in his corner, staring down at him, having done absolutely nothing to even try to salvage the situation and save the match for them. Cassidy locked eyes with him, Danhausen getting up as Top Flight took their quick exit from the ring, continuing their victory celebration on the ringside.

“What have you done?!” Kip mimicked the words with his own mouth as Danhausen proceeded to yell at Cassidy, his higher pitched voice very clear over the noise the audience was making for the winners of the match. Cassidy barely shrugged, continuing to lean into the corner, clearly not in any hurry to leave the ring. Whether he was standing there to resolve the conflict was questionable though, as he clearly didn’t have anything to say back to the man covered in demon makeup and tattoos.

He just continued to silently stare, Danhausen giving him a push to the shoulder.

“We just lost! Are you proud of that?”

Cassidy continued to respond to him by not responding, the smirk growing on Kip’s lips as he remembered what was going to happen next. He had lost count on how many times he had watched this part already, but it tickled him in a particular way every single time. Something about Danhausen shoving the champion, this time directly on his face instead of the shoulder, Cassidy finally standing his ground against him as he pushed away from the corner, forcing Danhausen to back away from him, looking ever so slightly shocked by the sudden push back.

They stood toe to toe in the middle of the ring, Kip watching in gleeful anticipation as they stared each other down for a moment, finally Cassidy being the first one to avert eye contact. He was clearly already tired of this, not wanting to engage further, this being far from the first time Danhausen was causing havoc like this inside the ring while they had been tagging together recently. He was just done with it, exhausted from the match now that he could let his guard down as it was officially over. Cassidy didn’t want to have to deal with this right now.

Only for Danhausen to shove him away, taking advantage of his small moment of what seemed like weakness, throwing the hands up towards Cassidy, pointing, cursing him.

This time the crowd's boos were clear, people not liking the idea of this ghoul putting a curse on their beloved International champion. Soon their voices changed again, as the now fed up Cassidy slapped his cursing hands away from his face, being obviously not amused by such trickery. He wasn’t here to play these stupid, mindless games that Danhausen clearly wanted; he knew the “curse” was nothing but a made up threat to throw off their opponents for a surprise attack. It wasn’t actually going to work on him, and he was tired; he wanted this over with. Cassidy just wanted to get out of here already now that the official match was over.

What he did not expect or see coming though, much to the absolute glee of Kip, was the kick below the belt from Danhausen that he responded with to the physical contact from Cassidy.

Kip watched as Danhausen towered over the champion as Cassidy fell to the mat, his yells this time being covered by the loud booing of the crowd. They soon changed back to cheers as the remainder of the Best Friends came running down the ramp for the champion’s aid, Chuck taking to tending to Cassidy as Trent managed to chase the accursed ghoul out of the ring.

“Oh, Clementine,” Kip sighed, hand reaching towards his screen as it zoomed closer to Cassidy’s pained face as Chuck helped him sit up in the middle of the ring, Kip gently running a finger along the blond’s cheek. “If only you could choose your friends a bit better. You could be golden.”

He only pulled his hand away as there was a soft tap on his arm, making Kip turn to face Penelope as she smiled at him. “It’s time. We can go now.”

Kip nodded, pulling her closer for a brief peck on her lips, before allowing the woman to walk him out of the locker room after herself.

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

“’Hoping dear Clementine learns something from this experience.’”

Chuck glanced up from his phone, only to be met with an unreadable expression and an annoyed look, from Cassidy and Trent respectively. The social media world was constantly pinging all three of them about what had occured tonight, and it was getting ridiculous at this point as it just kept going as the night progressed. Like his friends, Chuck had ignored most of it, until a very attention seeking notification from, once again, Kip had popped up on his phone.

“Just put it away,” Cassidy sighed, clearly not in the mood to be dealing with the Brit’s shit tonight either. While Kip had not been at ringside for tonight’s disaster, Cassidy was sure he could still find a way to somehow blame him for what went down out there. Enough weeks had passed by now where Kip had been cryptic and hinting at something; he wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest if it had been Kip who had gotten into Danhausen’s head about the desire of victory.

“So what do we do now?” Trent asked, looking between Cassidy and Chuck, both who responded with a directionless shrug. “We are a man down. Stat isn’t coming back until who knows when. Tonight was, shortly put, an absolute disaster. This ain’t a good look for us.”

“Yeah you don’t say,” Chuck snorted, pacing around the locker room trying to compose his thoughts. Him pacing around was making Cassidy even more annoyed honestly, but he remained quiet, just sitting on the couch observing the other man. Moving wasn’t still exactly comfortable; the assault from Danhausen had honestly been much more aggressive and painful than it looked like, the ghoul packing actually quite the kick in those skinny legs of his. Even with the help he got from Chuck and Trent, getting back to the locker room had been an absolute chore, and if it just could be helped, Cassidy wasn’t really going to be moving much tonight unless he absolutely had to.

Honestly, everything seemed to be kind of a chore recently. Cassidy wasn’t sure if it was the task of being a champion and having those responsibilities that above all pushed him closer to the edge every single day, but there was definitely something else going on alongside with the constant losing and infighting between his friends that was slowly grinding him to the ground. Cassidy wasn’t going to admit it though, after tonight it was the last thing they needed to hear. And who knew, maybe now that Danhausen was most definitely out of the picture at least for some time, they could catch a much needed breather.

Unfortunately, as Trent pointed out, this also put them in a disadvantage now that they were a man down. Cassidy already felt like a target in the locker room with one of the singles titles in the backpack on his shoulder, and if something, he was appreciative of having friends around to have his back at times. And a lot of people seemed to be avoiding Danhausen in general; he was unpredictable, and most described him kind of absurd and scary, so having him around as part of the group definitely had its benefits.

Now though, Cassidy wasn’t so sure how this was going to affect the image of Best Friends in the eyes of everyone else.

The sudden knock on the door immediately froze the air inside the locker room. The three friends shared quick looks, as if to try to count if they were all in the room to make sure nobody was missing, in an attempt to deduce who could be trying to get their attention so badly. Many people would try to avoid them after what tonight had been, knowing how much of a bad mood the three of them were in.

And yet, there was someone out there trying to get their attention desperately enough that they were knocking on the door multiple times in steady intervals.

Chuck cursed quietly under his breath as he approached the door, it being almost forcefully pushed open as soon as he flicked the lock off. Stumbling back a little, Chuck soon got face to face with Danhausen as the man burst into the room, almost immediately starting to hurl insults at Chuck, the first person in his sight.

From the corner of his eye, Cassidy saw Trent get up to defend his best friend from the assault of words, but the champion himself did nothing. The sudden yelling taking over the locker room felt almost paralyzing to him, freezing him on his spot on the couch, not being able to move, to get involved. Thankfully neither Chuck or Trent seemed to notice this, both of them being too busy trying to yell over Danhausen and the insults he was shouting, Cassidy barely being able to tell any of their words apart for the most part, but a few things Danhausen's almost piercing voice definitely managed to slip through to him.

Unworthy champion.

Filthy cheater.

Not a team player.

Selfish liar.

False friend.

With each statement he registered, Cassidy’s hand grabbed a tighter and tighter hold of his slacks; it almost felt like he could dig his fingers and nails through the thick canvas right into his skin if he kept going. His knuckles turning white as the yelling around him persisted, both Chuck and Trent joining in to defend him while the champion sat still, silent, eyes slowly falling down from the altercation happening to the floor.

Cassidy couldn’t lie to himself, he had heard so many of these same insults before. People didn’t think he was worthy of holding a title as big as the International one had turned out to be; they said he wasn’t fit for the Best Friends anymore due to being a singles champion. That his style didn't work, that he took this whole thing as a joke. That he wasn’t fit to be a champion; he was a farce, a mockery to the sport and the title he barely even carried around.

People had told him before that he was a bad friend for putting his friends through all of this: his selfish actions and thirst for gold, especially with how things had evolved recently; how he was putting them all under pressure, making them fight, how much happier everyone would have been if he wasn’t being such an awful friend to them and made them watch from the sidelines while he took all the gold and glory that the rest of them were not permitted to achieve, apparently due to some fault of his.

All these accusations, all these words, he had heard them before. And yet, it still stung the most coming from someone Cassidy had actually considered a friend.

As the fighting didn’t die down around him, Cassidy’s head snapped back up, in a clearly frightening manner as as soon as he locked eyes with Danhausen, the little ghoul perked up, taking a step back, actually falling silent. Chuck and Trent followed shortly after, both men slowly turning towards Cassidy as the champ just continued to sit on the couch, eyes staring daggers at Danhausen.

“Get out.”

His voice wasn’t very loud, but it was very obvious that he actually meant business. Cassidy was serious; this sudden turn in character leaving the trio looking at him in almost stunned silence for a while. Danhausen was the first one to speak up again, but he barely got more than a word out before Cassidy ordered again.

“Get out!”

Both Best Friends also stepped back slightly at the blond raising his voice, sharing a quick, rather confused look. Of course a little outburst would have been expected from the man after what had gone down tonight, but it was still so odd for them to actually see Cassidy like this. He didn't usually lose his temper quite like this, he never raised his voice. Even when he was seethingly mad, Cassidy was always just quiet, silent in his anger, letting it show only in the ring, if even then. He kept his emotions extremely in check at almost all times, unless they were positive emotions, so this kind of outburst really was… Something. To say the least.

As nobody responded to his demands, Cassidy pushed himself up from the couch, his voice only growing louder and stronger from the shot of adrenaline that crashed through his body as the pain took over after such a sudden movement.

“I said get out!”

Before Danhausen could argue with him again, Chuck turned towards him, grabbing the ghoul by the neck of his jacket, pushing him towards the door. Trent followed after them shortly, not being entirely sure if the command from Cassidy applied to all of them or only the now clearly former member of the Best Friends, but in his mind it was best to comply either way. 

The anger he could see in Cassidy’s eyes was more than enough to push him out of the room, very much willingly.

As the locker room door slammed shut after the three of them, it took Cassidy a moment to dial back his emotions, finally the man sinking back on the couch with both an annoyed and agonized groan. Tonight had already been a lot, this wasn’t what he had planned for it at all. Taking in a deep breath, then another, he ran a hand through his hair, leaning his head against the back of the couch. The cold canvas felt good against his hot neck, helping him refocus himself back into the time and space where he belonged.

Was he wrong for that outburst? Cassidy really wanted to believe not. He had been done wrong tonight, and after having such insults thrown at him, he honestly could have said and done much more, much worse than he ended up doing. He just wanted it to end, to sit around in silence for a while, to not ponder over how much his friends were breaking apart and hating each other.

And most importantly, how much they were probably hating him in the process as well.

Closing his eyes, Cassidy tried to calm his breathing, slowly feeling the pain returning to the parts that had been assaulted earlier. It was actually a welcomed reminder of reality to him, telling him that he was shutting back down, going back towards the normal.

He ignored the locker room door opening and closing, assuming it was just Chuck and Trent coming back in. Cassidy would have liked to have more time alone to calm himself down, but he also couldn’t really blame the two for coming back so fast to make sure everything was under control, as the situation at hand was very much unusual to even their little misfit group.

Cassidy slowly opened his eyes, staring at the blank ceiling above him, listening to the silence lingering in the room. Something about it felt off, like it was almost overstaying its welcome. He had known both Chuck and Trent for long enough to realize how uncharacteristic being this quiet was.

Lifting his head up from the back of the couch, he soon got his answer though, as Cassidy got face to face with Kip instead of his friends.

Immediately Cassidy’s breathing tightened again, him shifting in a clearly more alert position on the couch; even if the change was very minor, they were both very well aware that it was happening. Kip just observed him from a few feet away, the deer-in-the-headlights look on the blond’s face being almost amusing to him. Kip was aware he was distressed, it was very obvious, but at the same time he found this turn of events rather hilarious. Here was the usually cool, calm and collected International champion Orange Cassidy, who was almost suddenly spooked out of his skin by the mere sight of the silver haired Brit.

“I’m not here to hurt you, Clementine.”

His words weren’t very comforting, even if Kip was sounding rather genuine behind the ominous smile playing on his lips. Maybe the biggest giveaway for Cassidy about it was the fact that the smile didn’t reach up to his eyes; it was purely for show, merely a facade, lulling him into a false sense of security. This, of course, only made him more tense over Kip’s existence in the locker room as the man glanced around himself for a while as if he was looking for something, before pulling a chair out for himself.

“Relax.”

Cassidy wanted to laugh at him, but no sounds were coming out of him as he watched Kip take a seat on the chair he found, sitting down across from him. As he settled on his seat, Cassidy could breathe a bit easier, knowing it was more difficult for Kip to suddenly jump him if he so wished if he was not up on his feet. The suited man carefully unbuttoned his jacket, leaning his arms against his knees as he leaned slightly forwards, never breaking eye contact with Cassidy.

“I saw what happened out there tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

This time Cassidy let out a quiet snort, getting a raised brow with a confused head tilt back as a response. He already knew Kip was playing games with him, this very obvious false statement just bringing that fact home even harder. At least his threatening, sudden presence was slowly fading away, leaving only the lying fool behind that Cassidy thankfully knew how to deal with. It was making him relax considerably, he was just hoping Kip wasn’t picking up on the fact too, giving him a chance to take advantage of it.

“Yeah. Right.”

Kip broke eye contact with him for the first time since sitting down, looking around the room quietly. “So you’re saying that you being here all by yourself, left alone by your friends…” Kip glanced towards Cassidy, watching the unease grow in him again as he was unsure where Kip was planning on taking this conversation. “This is normal?”

Cassidy didn’t answer. He knew the answer to this question, he knew Kip knew the answer to it too. He didn't have to say it out loud. 

“You’re saying that this is you being okay?”

“…Why are you here?”

Kip turned back fully towards him, snorting. “I already told you--”

“No.”

His brows furrowed, Kip clearly not enjoying being interrupted like this. He leaned a bit closer to Cassidy, almost as a threat, but the man in denim barely budged; he had set his mind on this and he was tired of these games. He had been through enough tonight already to want to deal with this on top of everything else.

“Why are you really here, Kip?”

He sounded tired, clearly not being amused by the situation at hand. Cassidy wanted, demanded answers, and Kip playing with him and beating around the bush was becoming a worn out gimmick real fast. The Brit was caught slightly off guard by this, especially over the fact that Cassidy was addressing him directly by name, which really wasn’t a usual feat for him.

“You… You really don’t think I’m worried about you?”

His words were hesitant, but Cassidy could feel some sort of… Odd sense of genuinity coming from him at the same time. Kip’s previous smile had turned more into a confused frown, but again not in the sense Cassidy usually saw him when Kip was being put on the spot and questioned about his odd behavior.

No, this time actually seemed like there could almost be something real behind this one.

“You know, I’ve seen everything that’s been going down recently. We all have. I’ve seen how you and your friends crumble, bit by bit, and I’m worried where this is going, especially after tonight.”

Kip looked away, Cassidy being able to see almost a sorrowful look in his eyes as the man sighed, inhaling deeply before his next words.

“And I, too, know what it’s like to… To be betrayed by a friend.”

The silence fell back into the room, Cassidy just observing as Kip seemingly struggled a little to keep himself calm and collected, hands rubbing together almost nervously as he was trying to regain his composure. It was almost endearing to watch in a way; Cassidy was so used to seeing Kip keeping up the overly confident and arrogant exterior that seeing him almost look vulnerable for the time being was definitely something different.

Maybe he was actually being more genuine than Cassidy thought. Maybe.

Kip slowly looked back at him, cracking a smile that could only be categorized as melancholic. It was extremely brief though; Kip quickly pushed it away, letting out a dramatic sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, relaxing a little bit on his seat as he leaned back, arms crossing over his chest.

“You may not think it… But I do know how you feel. And unlike for me at that time, I want there to be someone for you when that happens. Because, and let's be honest here, let’s face it… It will happen.”

There it was again, he was back. The smirk grew on his lips slowly, Cassidy watching as right in front of him Kip slid right back into his confident character, as if the small moment of weakness he had shown didn’t happen at all just mere seconds ago. The Brit pulled himself together in record speed, anyone not having witnessed the change just now would have missed it all. To be honest, Cassidy wasn’t entirely sure anymore if he had seen it correctly either, but as Kip continued to talk in much of the same vein as before, he knew that something had definitely happened. Maybe it hadn’t been a moment of weakness, but something had definitely been odd, and it wasn’t Cassidy’s tired, overworked mind playing tricks on him this time.

“I just need you to know that you won't be alone. I will be there for you when you need me.”

He wanted to say something so badly, but Cassidy remained silent. Kip looked at him for a moment, taking in the expression that, for once, he wasn’t fully able to read on the blond’s face. Was Cassidy confused about this? Was Kip finally getting under his skin enough that he was stunned in silence by how sincere he was actually being? Did Cassidy believe him in the first place? Kip wasn’t so sure. Usually he was good at this, but right there and then, something about the International champion just made him… Unreadable, even to him. As much as that infuriated Kip, he let it slide. Maybe it was a sign enough that he had gotten through to the one Best Friend he cared about.

Kip pushed the chair back slightly, finally getting a response from Cassidy as he did so. As Kip stood up, Cassidy leaned back on the couch, eyes never leaving the other man as he did, but his exterior for the first time in a while clearly relaxed. Kip wasn’t sure if he was just happy that he seemed to be finally leaving, but he made sure to stop for a moment to button up his suit jacket again as he stood there, staring back at Cassidy, trying to hide his pondering behind a smile tucking at the corners of his lips.

“Why do you think I believe you?”

Kip looked at him for a while, but didn't react. Try as hard as he might to be as genuine as possible, it seemed he still had to work hard to actually get through to Cassidy about what he was after.

“Because you need me. Because you need a friend.”

“No, I don’t. I have friends.”

Kip smiled at him, shaking his head at the blond who fell silent again, just watching him.

“See… That’s the difference between you and me, Clementine; you are just living in a lie.”

Without saying any more or giving Cassidy a chance to respond, Kip turned on his heels, making his way out of the locker room, leaving the International champion sitting there alone in a rather stunned silence.

[ben-the-hyena]

Ok so HOW did Emily and the Hatbox Ghost adopt Baby Boo in my own fanon contuinity !

He came in the afterlives of the happy haunts around the late 1990's. Yet another sad Mother's Day for the couple who were hurting themselves but couldn't help but stare sadly sitting on a bench at all the other ghosts, adults or children, giving gifts to their mothers if they were lucky to be haunted together in the Mansion (Victor to May, Little Leota to Madame Leota, the Ghost Host, Master Gracey and Constance to Abigaile Patecleaver, the Tightrope Girl to April-December, the Duelists to Aunt Lucrecia etc). They are empty and depressed, watching others have what they think the never will. Hattie tells Emily she shouldn't hurt herself and go back to the attic, but since it was when Hattie was still banished in the graveyard she doesn't want to leave him handle this alone, in sadness together

In the end of the night as the sun rises, most ghosts go back to sleep, she in the attic and he in his grave. Most of the day is quiet when somebody knocks at the door. The ghosts closest to it who heard it open the door expecting a mortal to scare away, but stop in their track seeing sitting there is a cooing baby boy who tries to reach with a letter sticking out of his diaper. Urgent meeting in the middle of the day, Master Gracey and Ghost Host discuss where he can come from, Madame Leota tries to locate and ask the Other Side if they know, the Tightrope girl reads the letter "I've been trying for 15 months, I thought I could try with parenthood, I can't do it anymore, name him or not, keep him or not, I don't care" which saddens a bit the atmosphere, other curious ghosts such as Emily surround and listen and debate such as wondering why would someone abandon their baby there while mortals know this house is officially abandonned, therefore conclude it must have been someone traveling from another state or region to abandon him as far as possible and unaware of the mansion's history. As everybody starts discussing what to do with him and how to manage to discreetly leave him at a mortal house or an orphanage, Emily picks him up to look at him "well poor you, left out just like that". Baby looks at her and opens his arms "mama !" INSTANT LOVE, THESE WORDS PIECE HER HEART. As the Ghost Host concludes they will have to investigate and sends away the werecat lady who can turn into a human to see by herself where safe he could be left, he says someone will have to take care of him in the meantime. Emily immediately offers herself, which is allowed

She happily runs outside to the Hatbox Ghost who is trying and failing yet again to sneak in. "Look, honey ! Can we keep him ?" "WE WHAT !?!?!" and he falls from the tree he was climbing. She explains him the whole situation and that she felt an instant connection and offered herself to keep him in the meantime, and that it could be as close as they could get to experience parenthood at last ! Hatbox Ghost is really not sure, it's a mortal baby and it's sudden, and not theirs anyway and only meant to be temporary so what's the use, but she insists so much he accepts reluctantly. Oh but right, they need to feed him if he needs to live, she eagerly leaves him with him as she says she will "borrow" food and supplies from mortal shops, and drags 3 or 4 other beating heart brides with her whether they like it or not "I WAS PLAYING A GAME-". So he awkwardly finds himself with that baby. He glares at him uninterested as fuck and teies to speak to him like an adult "Well. Here we are. Don't get too attached because she got, or that will make both of us upset." And he tries to convince others to keep him for him but none want, all fearing to hurt such fragile life they forgot how to handle. As he gets annoyed, he starts smelling something horrible. Just pooped his diaper. OH DAMMIT... and he can't just leave him like that or he will cry. With what can he change him !? He awkwardly knocks at the door and met first with disdain, he explains the situation which is "smelly" understood. He is given powder and towels and with a pin and a white drape that sure won't be used like a drape anymore make him an old fashioned style of diaper (the best he can at least). "There. Clean. Ugh that's a part of mortality I didn't miss". When suddenly baby opens his arms and goes "dada !" HIS HEART MELTS INSTANTLY. As Emily and the brides return with supplies, he finally shares her enthusiasm. That's a sign. They are finally given a chance ! He needs clothes, she got him pretty much a lot. But once in the attic he rather choose a big old turtleneck sweater the Corpse Bride liked to wear to be cozy out of her wedding dress. "Hey it's mine-" EMILY GLARES "Ok it's his" and Emily sews it back is struggling to build a baby bed outside that willxhave to be brought inside by another since he's banished, but they just keep gushing about him to all the brides' confusion and the worry of Master Gracey who knows they got attached too fast

Cue a montage of the ghost couple feeding him making faces, helping him walk since he's at that age, vainly trying to make him speak "say mommy !" "Mama" "close enough", the Hatbox Ghost playing "Where's daddy" with his head disappeared from his shoulders which intrigue the baby then his head in his hatbox goes "there he is !" cues baby laughter, him waking up in the night and Emily rocking him and gently lulling him back to sleep (it helps not to have to sleep anymore), the Hatbox Ghost carrying him in a sling as he shows him the graves and telling him what they say, they play with him with toys and plushies, they try to get frisky but remember he is next to them so they stop etc. They even decide to name him, Thomas Alistair Pace. All under the concerned looks of Madame Leota and the Ghost Host who know that from the moment they gave him a name, this is gonna be hard

And indeed. After a week or 2, in the garden, the couple are playing cops and bandits with him, Emily trying to look for them with a watergun "where are these bandits at ?" And Hattie and Thomas still in his sling hidden behind a tree both wearing these cliché bandit black masks on, Hattie gently hushing at him who is giggling. She finds them "ah-ha !" "Oh nooo, the beautiful policewoman caught us, son ! I hope she is single !" and cues laughters and gushes about what a cute little bandit he is. When what they feared arrive, the werecat returns "good news ! I found a legal way to put him away in a loving home, I finally found the closest local orphanage and they are interested to see him !" The Ghost Host takes it as good news and announces it happily to the couple. Who are mortified. "Now, give him to the werecat girl". Emily immediately goes defensive holding him against her "no ! He's ours !" Which makes things uneasy around. Little Leota tries to reason her, he's a mortal, he will grow up, he needs to be with other mortals not ghosts, but she and Hattie don't want. He is THEIR son. Just like the Ghost Host fears. He and Little Leota try to reason them. He will have mortal needs ! Baths, food and water all the time ! Anything that won't kill them could kill him ! But they insist they will be careful and were so far. But now he firmly orders. Hand over the baby. They sigh and accept, Emily offering to just change him in the attic first which is accepted, and she feigns hugging the Ghost Host for comfort and to thank him (I remind people he is her uncle in my fanon)

The Ghost Host waits in the hall, and it takes a lot of time. He gets impatient. When suddenly, he sees Emily running down the stairs with a buggy with the still bandit-masked baby in it and runs through the door and the Hatbox Ghost who was waiting right outside slams it shut. "Wh- EMILY ! RANDALL PACE ! COME HERE BOTH OF YOU IMMEDIATELY !" Ghosts may be able to pass through walls, they need to use the door of a house only to go in and out, so he tries to open it... it's locked ! Emily had pickpocketed him out of the key to the mansion and discreetly left it to Hattie who closed it behind them, put it around Thomas' neck so it will be easier to find it, and run away. Ghost Host is furious soon joined by Master Gracey and others who all try to demolish the door until a knight armor comes and straight up cuts it in 2 with his axe. A ghost patrol now to find the runaway family !

Hatbox Ghost and Emily are wandering around in the night, trying to find a way to hide and if needed haunt forever there far away from the mansion that first wanted them apart and now wants to take their child away. They won't let it happen ! They took the bare minimum in the compartment of the buggy, and try to find for a new place all while hidind and trying to keep Thomas quiet whenever they spot a ghost (and any mortal walking there is horrified, the town is infested in spirits !)

Finally, they get run after by Master Gracey and the Ghost Host, until they are trapped on top of a cliff, and none of them are ghost who can float or at least without turning into a little smoke/light that can't carry anything so they are stuck with the buggy, Emily holding him protectively against her again and Hatbox Ghost protective and fierce as shit standing before them facing the 2 owners of the Mansion ready to fuck them up with his cane if they approach, and warns them not to come closer or he'll fight for eternity if needed. Said owners try to reason them again, Thomas is mortal and deserves a normal life until living with the dead, it is not natural. Emily retorts nothing proves he would get adopted it well treated and could perhaps be left alone with no family and no love while they could give him that

So the 2 leaders insist that real love should be about letting him go, because how will they handle it when he will grow ? Even if they do manage to feed him and keep him clean education is not just about that. In order to keep the secret of ghosts he will have to live away from the living forever, growing up lonely without friends of his age growing at the same time as him with needs evolving like his own, society not even knowing he exists, and won't be able to do achieve whatever dream he has. They start to look concerned realizing they didn't think of that. The Masters of the house add to that that if they don't hide him and do register him to school or something, he would never be able to invite friends over, and it would be impossible for him to never be seen with his parents and nobody but him coming in and out of the mansion. A mansion that is known for being abandonned. Authorities could conclude he is a homeless orphan living in an abandonned house faking his life and take him away from them which would break his heart more than if he is taken now ! They look more concerned and guilty... And finally, they add that even if all is well, he could still be bullied and seen as weird because he would not be a normal kid. He would be way too familiar with death and magic which could make his socializing awkward and he could firmly believe ghosts exist and be mocked for that since most mortals don't believe in those, and he would be even more lonely than if he were locked in there. So really, the better is to let him go with mortals who could give him a better life

Emily and Hattie look at each other sadly, and agree. They can't do that. They love Thomas, so he deserves the best. They put him back in his buggy behind them on the edge and turn to Hosty and Gracey and apologize, and just... how much they were happy to finally feel like parents. The 2 bosses understand and try to be as gentle about it as they can, and tell them that perhaps they could always adopt a nany ghost. But they say now they knew Thomas, no baby would ever replace him. So, somber and holding each other's hand, tearfully, they accept to surrender him if it means giving him a chance at a life that could be normal, easier and better

But just at this moment they hear a shrill baby scream of fear behind them. They turn... horror, the wind had risen, and pushed the buggy slightly close enough to the edge to trip and fall ! The 4 ghosts horrified RUSH but see nothing but rocks and waves, it crashed underwater. Emily and the Hatbox Ghost shout "NOOO ! NOOOOOO !" and cry hard, their baby is dead. Emily falls on her knees face in her hands and the Hatbox Ghost angrily turns to the 2 other ghosts he usually fears shaking them by the collars "MY SON IS DEAD ! HE COULD HAVE A LIFE BUT HE IS DEAD ! HE'S ON THE OTHER SIDE NOW AND NONE OF US WILL EVER SEE HIM AGAIN BECAUSE OF BOTH OF YOU AND YOUR STUPID PROTOCOL !" but as nobody is watching down the cliff anymore, they all stop as they hear a little "boo !". They all spring up, and here is Thomas, blue and transparent, floating above the cliff. He turned into a ghost ! Babies usually are free of torments and unachieved businesses so don't turn into ghosts but he did ! Hattie and Emily gasp with the biggest emotional joy and rush to him, hugging him tightly as they sob, as he coos, forever wearing that little mask, that sweater and a ghost version of the key. The Ghost Host and Master Gracey turn to each other, baffled, but smile and shrug

Epilogue, the Mariner had dived back to retrieve both the keys (the Ghost Host now will hide in a safer place) and the little corpse that is now buried between his parents, and the Hatbox Ghost and Emily happily register papers to the ghost administration representative Madame Leota had summoned for the occasion (an OC I should design and name). Birth certificate with a date they picked corresponding to his age, death certificate, adoption papers with his name and ghost name if he has which they think of before opting for "Baby Boo" because it's cute and because it was his first word as a ghost, alright he is theirs. They rejoice, and so do the Ghost Host meaning there is a new happy haunt to add and is now ready to open himself to like him, like the other brides and most ghosts who are now happy for the attic couple who finally had what everybody knew they wanted for so long