#never let chazz go into the woods alone

[aberooski]

DAMMIT CHAZZ HAVEN'T YOU LEARNED YOUR LESSON ABOUT GOING INTO THE WOODS ALONE???????

[chazz-is-a-zelda-fan]

oh so when JADEN goes into the woods he’s fine and gets protected by his monkey-turned-friend and gets back to the academy fine after meeting some aliens

but when CHAZZ goes into the woods, nOOOOO, SUDDENLY HE HAS A “W E A K E R S P I R I T” THAN JADEN, NOOO CHAZZ CAN’T EVEN HAVE HIS OWN AUTONOMY

[ygobigbang-archive]

Once Upon a Duelist

Artist: @tuesdayinthedas           @ashethehedgehog​

Full version  tuesdayinthedas ashethehedgehog

Writer: @aberooski

Status: Complete

Rating: Teen

Characters:  Chazz Princeton, Atticus Rhodes, Alexis Rhodes, Dr. Vellian Crowler, Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, Tyranno Hassleberry, Slade Princeton, Jagger Princeton, Mr. Princeton, Mrs. Princeton, Mr. Rhodes, Mrs. Rhodes, Winged Kuriboh, Ojama Yellow, Ojama Black, Ojama Green

Ship(s):  Stormshipping

Content Warnings: Sleeping Beauty AU, loose film adaptation, Chazz as Aurora, Atticus as Phillip, Jaden Syrus and Hassleberry as Flora Fauna and Merryweather, Slade and Jagger as Maleficent, never let Chazz go into the woods alone, romance, arranged marriage, magic, death curses, implied necromancy, revenge plots, massive family drama, attempted kidnapping, kidnapping, blood, sword fighting, aggravated assault, minor swearing, character death, true love's kiss, happy ending

Summary:  Cursed as a baby to die the night of his eighteenth birthday by his vengeful brothers banished to the deep mountains, Chazz is raised in hiding by a young, aspiring professor deep in the forest beyond the glorious Golden Kingdom. Unaware of his royal birth, his betrothal to Princess Alexis of the neighboring Northern Kingdom, or the curse hanging over his head. Only, when the day of his eighteenth birthday arrives, he is rescued from danger by a charming knight, shifting the course of both of their lives forever.

Available on AO3

[nightwingshero]

Stay on the Path Chapter 1

Guys, I have to say, that I’ve been having so much fun with my AU’s, really. And I know I’ve taken it pretty easy here lately with my writing because it was honestly such a struggle for me. And while I’m still working on those AU’s....I am proud to announce that it’s here. That’s right, I’ve finally gotten around to finishing the first chapter to Wren’s canon! I have so many uncompleted chapters to this, but I’m so happy to be finally posting it!

A quick thank you to @xbaebsae and @chazz-anova for sticking with me and encouraging me to keep going with this. Honestly, without you two, this would still be a WIP. So, thank you!!!

This wasn’t how I imagined my first week to go. Hope County was small. Smaller than what I was used to. I hadn’t really settled in yet, I just showed up at the station eager to jump into an easy day of training. It didn’t faze me that Hudson barely acknowledged me or that Pratt was overly excited to show me the ropes. I just wanted to put my head down and do right; to make up for the “wasted time” I spent in college. That is, according to what my father believed. His dream was to have a son who would follow in the legacy of joining the military. Unfortunately for him, none of those things happened.

When I had arrived at the jail earlier today, my black hair was in a half-assed ponytail out of convenience. I had the sleeves of my uniform rolled up, but I had the first button or two unbuttoned. I didn’t do well with uniforms. Another reason why the military would never work for me. But when I walked in and began to get settled for the day, a U.S. Marshal had stormed in with a warrant talking about “the Seed family”. I honestly didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about. I mean, I had heard the name, but I kept to myself most of the time. I didn’t get out much and we hadn’t really been on patrol since I started. The Sheriff ushered him into his office as Nancy chatted us up over donuts and coffee. They had stayed in there for hours while Nancy asked me questions about my life, and she was beginning to become a friendly face.

But that conversation with the Marshal is what led me to the helicopter I was flying in tonight. I wasn’t the epitome of a perfect cop. In fact, this whole thing was new to me. I had experience shooting guns, sure. My father wouldn’t let that slip, so I started young. But I was new to the law enforcement career. It wasn’t my dream job, but it was something I could do if it meant doing what was right, if it meant setting my life right. So, I had went to the academy. The problem was that I knew people saw right through it, which was probably why the U.S Marshal, Burke, kept throwing me looks. I honestly couldn’t help it. That was my father, not me. It made me nervous that I was taking down a such a big operation, knowing that I had little to no experience in this field, other than the classes and little training I had to do in order to even get the position. I knew how to shoot a gun, my father taught me some survival skills, but that was it. The ramblings of a mad, bitter man didn’t do me much good here.

I just continued to look at my reflection in the window, my blue-green eyes stared back at me in wonder as I took in the beautiful landscape of Hope County from this height. I huffed and began watching the video that ended up bringing Cameron Burke here in the first place. It opened nicely with interviews with a pretty woman in a bar, a Father in a church, and a guy sitting on the couch. If you asked me, he looked like a rejected member of a rock band. It was a welcome of Montana at first, and then it began to speak of a cult, but before I could really get into it, the signal cutting in and out after it showed this “Joseph Seed” gauging someone’s eyes out with his bare hands. My stomach flipped uneasily, and I frowned as the signal went completely dead.

“Hey, Blake. Blake! You’re wasting your time. No signal out here.” Whitehorse called as I looked up at him and I caught the judging eyes of the Marshal before he went back to looking over his warrant.

“We’re crossing over the Henbane now.” Pratt informed us over the radio as I looked back out the window only to see a huge statue of a man with a beard and a man bun. I didn’t know how the hell I missed that when I was coming in, but all I could do now was stare at it. This guy has been busy.

“Oh fuck. There he is.” Hudson said with pure contempt in her voice.

“Crazy motherfucker.” Pratt commented back.

“Jesus….” The Marshall breathed.

“We’re in Peggie country.” I didn’t understand what Hudson meant by calling them Peggies, but her tone gave me chills. I knew that I heard a lot of people from around the town use it, I just never thought to ask. I thought it was a Montana thing. The Marshall ignored her and looked at Sheriff Earl Whitehorse.

“How much longer?”

“Just long enough for you to change your mind,” he turned his head to Burke. “so, we can turn this bird around.” I became more tense. I still didn’t truly understand what was really going on. Sure, I’ve heard some talk about the Seed family, but I honestly never paid attention to it. Everyone always had something to say about someone, so I always stuck to myself and I’ve lived that way for years. I didn’t know how long I was going to be out here, anyways. But they were just a religious family with followers, right? They couldn’t be that dangerous, could they? The video definitely suggested otherwise.

“You want me to ignore a federal warrant, Sheriff?” He asked icily. I raised my brows in surprise at his tone towards Whitehorse.

“No, sir. I want you to understand the reality of this situation.” He shifted and looked him straight in the eye. “Joseph Seed is not a man to be fucked with.” A chill ran down my spine at the weight of his words before he continued. “We’ve had run ins with him before and they haven’t always gone our way. Sometimes…just sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone.”

“Yeah, well, we have laws for a reason. And Joseph Seed is going to learn that.” With that, he tucked the warrant away and looked out the window. It almost reminded me of a small child throwing a fit. Sheriff had an almost defeated look on his face before looking over his shoulder.

“Pratt, open up a call with dispatch.”

“10-4.”

“Whitehorse to dispatch, over.”

“Go ahead, Earl.” Nancy responded immediately.

“We’re approaching the compound, Nancy. Over.” My heart leaped when I realized we were close. I began to wish that I had stayed behind with Nancy. She brought in cookies earlier and anything would have been better than this situation.

“Roger, Sheriff. Still planning on going through with this? Over.”

“We are—unfortunately—still trying to talk sense into our friend, the Marshal. Over.”

“Alright. Lucky I’m not there. If you get into any trouble, you just let me know. Over.” I couldn’t help but smile at her response.

“10-4. Over and out.” It went silent until Pratt turned to Hudson.

“Maybe we should have brought Nancy along instead of the Probie. These Peggies wouldn’t fuck with her.”

“Pratt.” Hudson scolded. I rolled my eyes as I glanced back out the window. I didn’t need reminding how new I was to this; my nerves did that for me. The Marshal turned back to Whitehorse with a bit of a frown.

“Why do they keep calling them Peggies?”

“The Project of Eden’s Gate. P.E.G. Peggie. It’s what the locals call them. They started out harmless a few years back, but now they’re armed to the teeth. They’re looking for a fight.”

“…are you scared, Sheriff?” Burke asked incredulously. I studied the Sheriff out of the corner of my eye, waiting to hear his response, but none came.

“We’re here. Compounds just below.” Pratt said and I looked to see a decent sized church and some building surrounding it as we lowered.

“Oh, my Jesus.” Burke groaned as he studied our new surroundings.

“Damn.” I breathed out in shock at the sheer size on the compound.

“Oh man, this is a bad idea.” Hudson commented to herself.

“Last chance, Marshal.” Burke sighed for a second before replying.

“We’re going in.” I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until that very moment. My heart sank at Burke’s words. I had a bad feeling about this, and I didn’t want to be here. Anxiety clawed at my insides.

“Set ‘er down.” Whitehorse ordered and I wanted nothing more than to beg him to change his mind.

“Roger that.” The helicopter began to descend all the way down and I could see people armed with assault rifles and someone with a flamethrower that was burning a pile of wood. My uneasy feeling intensified. I knew we were on private property, so technically speaking, that was legal for them to do. I didn’t know what was on the Marshal’s warrant, but that definitely couldn’t be it. They were in their rights. As the helicopter landed, Whitehorse called out to Nancy.

“Dispatch, are you still there?”

“Yeah, go ahead, Sheriff.”

“If you don’t hear from us in 15 minutes, send in everyone. Send in the goddam National Guard if you have to. Over.” The blood in my veins went cold. What the fuck did I get myself into?

“Yes sir, Sheriff. I’ll be praying for you.” We took our headsets off and Whitehorse turned to us.

“Now listen up. Three rules. Stick close. Keep your guns in your holsters. And let me do the talking. Got it?”

“Got it.” Burke replied. But I wasn’t so confident. Everything was screaming for me to stay in the helicopter. I wasn’t welcome here; I could feel that, and I hadn’t even stepped out of the copter.

“Blake?” he called. I looked at him and gave him a quick nod, not trusting my voice. “Alright everyone, stay sharp. Let’s go.” I followed their lead as we stepped out of the helicopter, even though everything in me was screaming not to. Hudson, Burke, and Whitehorse began to make their way forward. “They’ll be in the church. Stay close.” I begrudgingly began to follow behind them. They were walking at a faster pace than I was, and to be honest, I lagged a little behind out of reluctance. All the people were glaring at me and they had way bigger guns than I did. I was allowed to feel a little nervous.

“Eyes open, these folks spook easily.” Whitehorse called from over his shoulder. Hudson slowed and began to walk alongside me.

“Blake, on me. Stay loose, huh?” she said, giving me a quick look. I guess it was obvious I was that nervous. I tried my best to hide it, but my heart was pounding. It wasn’t exactly comforting to have people with assault rifles glare at you. I just gave her a quick nod in response. Apparently, it was the only way I knew how to communicate right now.

“We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“What the hell are they doing here?” Voices rang out from the people as confusion turned to anger. If Hudson hadn’t been there, I probably would have tucked tail. This wasn’t something I was used to. Sure, I could hold my own. But I came here for a fresh start. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy being in law enforcement, but I felt like things had escalated quickly for me. I wasn’t about to pick a fight with someone that carried a damn flamethrower when all I had was a service pistol. I would do anything in that moment to trade with Hudson so I could have the shotgun.

“Be calm. Stay calm everyone. Just go about your business. This doesn’t concern you.” Whitehorse said as he continued to walk confidently through the gate.

“Sheriff, I don’t like this.” Hudson chimed in, saying exactly what I had been thinking. I was new, but Hudson wasn’t, and even she was picking up on it.

“Everything is fine, Hudson. Everything is just fine.” He reassured her. It didn’t feel fine, and I desperately wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t even sure if he believed himself.

“Jesus Christ, you’re wearing badges, aren’t you?” Burke spoke out condescendingly. I frowned and felt the strong urge to punch him. He spoke a lot like my father and that wasn’t something I really wanted to listen to. This badge meant nothing. It was a piece of metal. It was person that held that weight, not the badge, and people saw through that. Especially for those who didn’t care much for authority in the first place.

“Yeah, but they don’t respect badges much out here.” Hudson shot back, confirming my fears. I couldn’t help but smile just a bit at her sharp tongue. Subtle, but sharp. Maybe one day, we could actually be friends. Maybe.

“They’ll respect a nine-millimeter.” I looked at his back with disgust. I was liking this Marshal less and less by the second. I was tempted to ask him if he knew my father, and if not, they would make a great miserable pair. There was always some sort of power play, and I had a feeling that the Marshal enjoyed that badge a little bit more than he should and for the wrong reasons.

“Not every problem can be solved by a bullet, Marshal.” I spoke out. Hudson raised a brow at me as Burke shot me a glare which I returned. Hearing a clank behind me, I look over my shoulder to find them closing the gate behind us. I swallowed with another twist in my gut. That couldn’t be a good sign, and I had the heavy feeling of our fates being sealed along with it.

We finally came to a stop right in front of the church and I could hear them singing Amazing Grace. Curiosity began to outweigh the uneasiness I had felt. Burke must have been feeling eager as he was quick to just grab the door handle, but Whitehorse stopped him before he had a chance to open it.

“Whoa Marshal. Now we do this, we do it my way. Quietly. Calmly. You got it?” he asked as Burke let go of the door.

“Fine.” He huffed. The Sheriff turned to Hudson and me.

“Hudson, on the door. Watch our backs. Don’t let any of these people get in. Blake—on me.” I was only partially excited and that was just from the curiosity, which I knew was dangerous. It was my flaw. My curiosity always got the better of me, and I have been put in some bad situations because of it. The more logical side of me wished I could have stayed outside with Hudson and her shotgun. “And you,” he turned to Burke “just try not to do anything stupid.” I caught my laugh, but I couldn’t hide the smirk that bled through. Hudson turned and nudged me with her shoulder, and I could see the laughter in her eyes. I had a feeling we were going to get along. Friends, indeed.

“Relax, Sheriff. You’re about to get your name in the paper.” The Marshal replied as he put his hand on Whitehorse’s shoulder. It became very clear as to what drove Burke: Glory. Sheriff gave him grim look and turned to the door. Hudson took a step towards me, gaining my attention again.

“You’ll be fine.” She assured me quietly.

“Thanks.” I whispered back as I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. I couldn’t let my feelings get the better of me, no matter how unnerving they were. Whitehorse finally opened the door and you could see how old the church was. The singing came to an end, and I could make out the pews with a few people and a man standing on a platform in front. Light poured out of the window, giving him a glow that definitely seemed holy. Above us were dozens of empty bird cages, lightly swaying. Some had candles in them, while the others were dark and empty, all of them giving off a haunting beauty. They were strangely similar to the cage tattooed on the inside of my forearm. Too familiar. A shiver ran down my spine as I caught myself from tracing over it.    

“Something is coming.” His voice rang through the church, bringing me out of my daze. “You can feel it, can’t you? That we are creeping toward the edge…and there will be a reckoning.” The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as the faceless figure turned to us once the door shut behind me. He continued as we slowly made our way forward. “That’s why we started the Project. Because we know what happens next.” His voice rose an octave. “They will come. They will take from us.” Burke looked at Earl and he raised his hand in a calming manner. “Take our guns. Take our freedom…take our faith.” My heart leapt a bit as everyone in the pews began to stand as we passed them. I could see the tv monitors now that had scripture and the logo for their Project. This was Eden’s Gate. I became more nervous as I could feel the anger from their followers for our intrusion. I wanted to run and hide from their eyes. “We will not let them.”

“Sheriff, c’mon—” I wanted to scream at him, to tell him to shut up and not say another word. Abrasiveness was all Burke knew, and the last thing we need was for him to light a match in the powder keg this situation had turned into.

“Just hold on, Marshal.” Whitehorse warned.

“We will not let their greed, or their immorality, or their depravity hurt us anymore.” We were finally close up enough to see a man with no shirt standing above everyone else. He wore yellow aviators and his long hair was in a bun. His beard wasn’t the longest, but it wasn’t short either. His jeans were worn, and his chest was covered in tattoos and scars. Out of the corner of my eye, there were people standing to the side, but I could only just take in this man: Joseph Seed.

“Sheriff…” Burke’s rang like a warning, my eyes only darting to his back briefly.

“There will be no more suffering….”

“Do not pull that trigger. Remain calm.” Whitehorse responded to him lowly.

“No. Fuck this.” Burke whipped out the warrant and faced Joseph Seed head on. I inhaled sharply through my nose and moved forward to grab Burke, my fight or flight response urging me to pull him back like the idiot he was. Whitehorse quickly placed his hand on my arm, stopping me. I glanced at the Sheriff, catching his eye in confusion. I couldn’t put a name on the look he gave me, but I knew what he was trying to tell me. Burke’s idiot decision would remain his, not mine. I took a slight step back as my attention moved back to the Marshal.

“Joseph Seed! I have a warrant for your arrest on the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent of harm!” I furrowed my brow and looked at him. What? My heart was racing, but the blood drained from my face. I was supposed to keep my composure. It’s one of the things that they teach you. But I couldn’t help my face contorting in disbelief. On suspicion. We had barged into a dangerous situation with a warrant due to suspicion. I clenched my teeth in frustration at the Marshal for believing he knew better than the Sheriff. “Now, I want you to step forward and keep your hands where I can see them.” I held my breath as I kept my eyes on Joseph, waiting to see what he would do or how he would respond. He lifted his hands and regarded us.

“There they are…the Locusts in our garden…you see, they’ve come for me.” As he spoke, all of the people in the pews began to make their way in front and around us, protecting their Father from the threat we had become. “They’ve come to take me away from you. They’ve come to destroy all that we built!” The crowd became rowdier and more aggressive. I began to feel panicked and overwhelmed, the claws of my claustrophobia wrapping around my throat, but Burke and Whitehorse held their ground.

“Alright, now. Put your guns down. Put your guns down!” Burke responded as he reached for his gun. Whitehorse and I took a step back as I watched the Marshal in horror.

“Dude, what are you—?” I called out as my hand brushed my holster, but the Sheriff put his hands up in defense, cutting me off as he addressed the mob and Burke.

“Now hold on, do not touch that service weapon and stand down! Stand down! Everyone, calm down!” Whitehorse raised his voice to try and get through the yelling and protests of the people in front of us, but it went unnoticed. Joseph stepped down, his hands finding the shoulders of some of his men, and everyone began to quiet as they turned to him.

“We knew this moment would come. We have prepared for it. Go. Go…” And just like that, they turned and began to walk out of the church as a man began to come up from behind Joseph Seed. I watched, as he walked across the platform, with another man finding his way next to Joseph. I frowned as the two men looked each other, giving a quick exchange I couldn’t quite hear, but one of the people shoulder-checked me on his way past us, pulling my attention only briefly. “God will not let them take me.” I frowned as I watched them leave, curiosity biting in the back of my mind. With just a touch on a shoulder, he had completely defused the situation.

“I saw when the Lamb opened the First Seal,” Joseph’s voice had me turning my head back to him. His hands were raised up over his head as he spoke, but he wasn’t alone. Along with the two men was a young woman with light dirty blond hair and a white dress that now stood to his left. I kept my focus on Joseph, the others “as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts say, come and see…”

“Step forward.” Burke sneered. Joseph dropped his hands and looked at the Marshal, allowing me a better view of the people that moved to support The Father. The man to his right had his arms crossed over his chest, legs spread as he stood firm. I knew immediately to be wary of him. Just size alone, he would be someone rough to go up against. The girl just stood there at ease, her green eyes light and scanning me with a soft smile on her face. She swayed, making her white dress move at the slightest movement. Then my eyes finally landed on the other man.

He looked younger than the other men, and I wondered if they were actually brothers. I couldn’t make out a lot from the distance, but he had dark hair and a well-manicured beard. He wore a trench coat and had a pair of blue sunglasses on his head. His eyes caught with mine as his brother eyed us, sizing us up. This guy seemed to have his hands behind his back, his head tilting back a bit, the lines of his chest flexing as more skin is revealed through his unbuttoned shirt, and a smug look on his face, completely at ease with no care in the world, and I couldn’t help but stare at him. But his smirk widened as he licked his lips, and then it occurred to me. He knew I was staring. I chided myself and I forced my eyes away as Joseph continued.

“…and I saw,” he pointed his finger in Burke’s face and I pursed my lips to keep myself from smirking. “and behold it was a white horse,” he looked at the Sheriff, before turning to me directly. I inhaled sharply at the unexpected attention. “And Hell followed with him.” A chill went down my spine as he refused to break eye contact with me. The heaviness of his words felt like it weighed down my soul. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He then raised his hands and I stepped closer to him, unsure of what I was actually going to do. I broke eye contact only to find another pair of deep, dark blue ones staring at me with curiosity, smirk completely gone. I didn’t know what it was, I couldn’t really explain it, but the pull was there. He shifted a bit, his hands coming in front of him briefly as adjusted his coat, a quick roll of his shoulders that brought my attention back to his chest. I wanted to run up and…I don’t know. I felt like I was bare, that he could see right through me, and I didn’t know if that terrified or excited me.

“Blake,” Burke’s voice pulled me back to reality and I looked at him. “cuff this son of a bitch.” I frowned at his crass wording and glared while jutting my chin out, remembering how he pretty much fucked the entire situation. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the red head shift on his feet, throwing a glance at his other brother. Burke returned my glare tenfold, and I turned back to Joseph, not wanting to get into any more trouble I may have already been in. I hesitated, and as subtly as I could, I threw a look at the man in the trench coat again. I didn’t know why I was hesitating, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“God will not let you take me.” Joseph said confidently and I looked back at him. Something twinkled in his eyes, and I wasn’t sure as to what it was, it seemed there was a knowing intelligence that told me that perhaps I wasn’t as subtle as I thought.  But his eyes were on me, too and so were everyone else’s. The last thing I wanted was for the red-haired soldier to come at me. He looked like he was ready to take on the world. I would probably weigh nothing to him. Fear danced across my neck, creating goosebumps in its wake.  

“Blake! Put the cuffs on him!” Burke snapped, making me cringe. I took a calming breath before I looked back at Joseph. I was conflicted. I didn’t want things to get violent and I had a very bad feeling that they wouldn’t just let us take him, the sting of my shoulder still there. I just wanted to keep the peace.

“Put down your guns. Take your friends. Walk away.” Joseph said calmly, soothingly. I bit my lip, it was so easy to fall into his voice, to second guess everything. It did sound tempting, to just walk away and go against Burke. I could. We could. We could walk out of here like nothing ever happened. “God is watching. And he will judge you for what you do in this moment.”

“Come on, Rookie…” Burke groaned as I looked over to the Sheriff, irritated at the nickname. We both didn’t want this, right? He didn’t want things to escalate any more than I did. Would he really let us walk out of here? I continued to study the Sheriff, searching for some sort of indication. Anything. He had a look of reluctance and he clenched his jaw. I had a feeling that this was going to have to be my decision and I bit of frustration whispered in the back of my mind. “God damn it Blake, seriously? What are you doing? Asking your dad for permission?” I flinched slightly at his word choice, but I kept my focus on Whitehorse, not taking the bait. The man in the trench coat scoffed as he shifted, my eyes following his movement only briefly.

“Sheriff?” I asked, and even I could hear the doubt and uncertainty in my voice. Earl sighed in response.

“We came here for a reason, Deputy.” He replied, his eyes full of defeat as his eyes fell from mine. My shoulders caved a bit at his response, but before I could do or say anything else, Burke had elbowed me out of the way, and I stumbled to the side from being taken off guard. Joseph frowned as his siblings shifted a bit.

“Fuck this. I’ll do it my goddamn self.”

I shot him a glare, my anger momentarily pumping through my veins. The urge to mouth off to him was strong, but I held my tongue, even though his actions were uncalled for and aggressive. I took another breath as I tried to shove my retort back down my throat. Now was definitely not the time for me to run my mouth, it would only make things worse, and like it or not, he was still a superior of sorts.

“Easy, Marshal.” Whitehorse responded quickly but remaining calm. I dared a glance at the Sheriff in shock, not expecting him to defend me. I exhaled shakily as I turned, watching as Burke looked ready to blow and I bit my lip. Burke sneered as he roughly pulled Joseph forward and tightly cuffed one of his wrists. I winced at the click, but Joseph didn’t even flinch or make a sound. I took a step forward with a frown.

“You know that’s too tight.” I said lowly, but my voice echoed through the quiet church. I could feel Burke glaring at me, but I didn’t really care. I just wanted this to be over. I could feel the Seed family drilling holes into me with their piercing blue eyes.

“Who cares?” Burke sneered at me. I looked down as I fought back the tears of anger that were threatening to humiliate me in front of my superiors and our audience.

“If this is how you’re going do it, then step aside, Marshal. Deputy Blake, cuff him properly.” Whitehorse asserted. Burke’s face twisted as he took a step away from Joseph and I took a calculated step forward, my eyes watching his every move. I didn’t trust Burke, badge or not. I turned to Joseph and began to redo the cuffs, making sure they weren’t cutting off his circulation. I looked up to catch his intense stare.

“Sometimes…the best thing to do is to walk away.” He whispered to me and my heart stopped as the blood drained from my face. I opened my mouth, but I didn’t know what to say. Not that Burke really gave me an option to.

“Jesus Christ. Let’s just fucking go.” He muttered and the Sheriff sighed. I put a gloved hand on Joseph’s shoulder, prepared to walk him out.

“You have the right to remain silent,” Burke groaned out his frustration and I expected him to stop me, but he didn’t. He knew we couldn’t just arrest people without reading them their rights. “anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”

“Yes.” Joseph replied softly.

“Let’s go.” Whitehorse turned, and began to make his way to the church doors with Burke beside him.

“Drag him if you have to.” Marshal called over his shoulder tauntingly.

“Dick.” I replied quietly to myself without thinking. A cough and a light giggle were the responses I got behind me as Joseph shot me a look from the corner of his eye. I chided myself and began to follow the two men while gently escorting the brother. Burke and Whitehorse opened the doors, and there seemed to be a start of an uproar. Hudson looked over at us in panic.

“We gotta get the fuck outta here.” She said as a truck of men pulled up with guns.

“Marshal take point. On the right.” The Sheriff ordered as I saw that the path we had taken before was closed off and sealed.

“On it.” I was honestly shocked that he took an order easily, but it was probably due to the fact that he had what he wanted, and to him, that was all that mattered.

“Stay on the path, Blake.” Whitehorse called out over his shoulder as I began to take everything in. People were starting to get more and more stirred out. Yelling out and asking about us taking “The Father”.  Amazing Grace began to play loudly, and dogs were barking viciously. Once or twice I got spooked, thinking that someone was going to grab me.

“Keep up, Rookie.” Hudson called out nervously. People began to pull out their guns.

“Stand back, I’m a Federal Marshal!” Burke yelled, but that didn’t stop them. They began to swarm us, and my pace quickened. Burke and Whitehorse then pulled out their service pistols in defense as we got closer the copter. Burke shot two warning shots into the air and Hudson and I rushed quickly to the bird. Hudson jumped on and ushered me forward, helping me situate Joseph. Pratt was freaking out in the pilot seat while Whitehorse and Burke were on my tail. We finally were able to get in after Joseph was taken care of, but someone grabbed Burke and he tried shaking them off. His followers began to climb on the helicopter. I looked around, panicked and in awe. I’ve never seen anything like this. Burke ended up shooting the guy in the head, and we both began to hastily buckle ourselves in. I gagged, cutting off the scream in my throat, at the sight of the blood and gore as my hands shook, and I could feel myself slipping into a full panic attack. My hand covered my mouth to keep myself from either puking or crying out as Whitehorse was trying to call Nancy from the front, but she wouldn’t answer. Joseph just sat there calmly with his head back and sang Amazing Grace. We couldn’t shake them off, even in the air, and then a man jumped up into the wings and blood splattered all over the windshield. My stomach lurched as alarms began to blare. We began to spin out of control, and I began to hyperventilate with the panic attack getting worse, but Joseph just kept singing.

“Brace for impact—" I couldn’t hear the rest of it as we hit the ground, everything turning black, and Joseph’s voice was still singing in my ears.

The smell of smoke was the first thing that caught my attention. Then it was Nancy’s voice over the radio that made me open my eyes. My body hurt, my head pounded, and my vision was a bit blurry. Across from me, Burke hung unconscious, which explained why my head felt the way it did.

“…This is Nancy, is everything okay? Over.” I looked to my side to see Hudson in a state that was no better than mine, but when I looked for the Sheriff, he was nowhere in sight. A headpiece just hung there, swinging back and forth. “Please, are you there? Are you there? Are you there, Sheriff?” I began to panic as I noticed that the seat Joseph occupied was now empty. Where was he? My heart started to pound, and I let out a whimper as I looked around. “Deputy Hudson, if you’re there, please pick up.”

“Amazing Grace…how sweet the sound.” Ice filled my veins and I began to desperately reach for the headset.

“Deputy Pratt, are you there? Are you there?” I almost cried when my fingers wrapped around it, and I pulled it to my face. A hand stopped mine, making me gasp in shock as Joseph Seed continued to sing.

“That saved…”

“Earl? Please, come in.”

“A wretch…like me...” he finished as he studied me. Tears were streaming down my face at this point, both from the smoke and the absolute terror I felt. Joseph only had a broken nose and a few bruises on his face and his yellow tinted glasses had made it through with on a crack in one of the lenses. I was too in shock to say a word.

“Are you there? Is somebody there? Please.” Nancy was becoming more frantic and my heart broke for her. Any words I was prepared to say choked in my throat as he leaned in closer, his eyes big and bright as the bore into mine.

“I told you that God wouldn’t let you take me.” He whispered and I exhaled shakily.

“Please…I need to know what’s going on.” Nancy pleaded as she began to cry. I wanted to scream and yell, to tell her that I was alive and to send for help. Send anyone. But Joseph reached for the headset and pulled the mic to his face while staring at me.

“Dispatch…”

“Oh, my God…” Nancy breathed a sigh of relief and I frowned.

“Everything is just fine over here. No need to call anyone.” There was a split second as I held my breath, waiting for Nancy to respond.

“Yes, Father. Praise be to you.” My heart sank at her words as I realized what that meant. She tipped them off. She was a part of it. A dry sob raked through my body in disbelief and heartbreak. Joseph leaned in closer as he let go of the headset.

“No one is coming to save you.” He whispered and another sob raked through me with new tears as the empty feeling of helplessness buried itself in the pit of my stomach. A car pulled up, gaining his attention and I watched as he left the helicopter. They rejoiced at the sight of their Father and he stood on the hood of the car to address the four men that stood before him.

“The First Seal has been broken. The Collapse is upon us. And we will take what we need. And preserve what we have.” I watched as Hudson and Burke stirred awake, coughing from the smoke. A sense of relief filled me. I wasn’t alone. “And we will kill all those that stand in our way!” I caught Hudson’s eye as Joseph focused his attention on us. “And these. The harbingers of doom will see the truth.”

“We gotta get outta here...we gotta get outta here.” Burke murmured, but I wasn’t paying attention to him. I was watching Hudson, making sure she was okay. I could see Joseph addressing his flock as she processed our situation.

“Begin the reaping!” Joseph yelled with his hands spread out to the sky.

“We gotta get out of here!” Burke said urgently and I watched as Hudson began to pull and struggle at the seatbelt. I turned and began to do the same as they approached Hudson and began to tug her out.

“NO!” I tried to yell as I reached for her, but it came out as a mere croak. We clasped hands briefly, before our grip was easily broken by the men dragging her. I tried pulling on her pants leg, but she was just out of reach. “Hudson!”

“Get the fuck off me! Pratt! Pratt!” she screamed, and I realized that they were taking him, too. They kicked as they fought against their captors.

“Jesus Christ, we got to get the fuck out of here!” The men turned back to us, but before they could reach in, the flames surged forward, blocking us from them momentarily. Burke dropped down and I felt a tiny bit of hope bloom in my chest.

“Help me out!” I cried at him as he took a second to collect himself.

“Let them burn. This is God’s will.  This is their punishment.” Before I could say a word, Burke took off running out of the bird and I watched in disbelief. He was leaving me behind. That little snake was leaving me to die. I began to struggle even more as panic made it hard to breathe, pulling at the buckle, begging and praying for it to come loose. I needed to run. I didn’t want to die like this. I wished more than anything that I could go back in time. I should have listened. I should have listened.

Sometimes it’s better to just walk away.

The buckle finally gave, dropping me on the roof. I winced in pain at the impact on my side. It was hot and hard to breath. Stray strands of hair clung to my face from the sweat and tears as I coughed a bit before getting to my knees and facing towards the woods. I had to run for it. I got to my feet as they finally caught on that we were free.

“Oh, whoa, whoa. Oh, hey! They’re getting away!” one of them yelled and I took a run for it. The sound of gunfire and bullets whizzing past me drove me to run faster than I ever have in my life. I dodged trees, branches, and logs as I made my way through unknown territory. I looked behind me briefly to see if anyone had followed, causing me to trip forward and hit the ground hard. I was shaking and my limbs felt like jelly. I was dizzy from the blood rushing to and from my head, and I vomited from the turning of my stomach. I steeled my resolve and stood again. I had to keep going. If I stayed there, I was going to either get caught or killed. Maybe both, if Joseph’s words rang true. All I could do was keep stumbling forward as I wiped my mouth on the back of my gloved hand.

It was super dark out, but the moon was bright enough to allow me to at least see my surroundings. I could see a cabin on my left, and I ducked down to avoid being spotted. I don’t know what had happened, but my pistol was gone. I was unarmed and definitely in over my head. I could hear them shouting in the distance, hunting us down. My radio came alive, making me jump clean out of my skin.

“Hello…? Anyone hearing me? Hello? It’s Burke…Hello?” I had a mix of emotions as his voice came through. Relief that he had made it out alive but pissed off that he had left me behind. I also didn’t want to be out here alone, so knowing that he was out here too made me feel just a bit better. “I think I lost them. I see a…a trailer nearby. It’s next to a long bridge. I’m gonna try and get inside…if anyone’s still out there…Listen, if anyone is still alive, meet me there.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I spotted the bridge through the trees. He wasn’t far. I picked up my pace as best as I could and made my way to the steep incline, my muscles protesting in agony. Once I reached the top, I bent over to catch my breath. I almost cried in relief at the sight on the trailer once I started to walk over the bridge, but I honestly didn’t think I had any tears left. Exhaustion threatened to seep in, but I forced myself to keep going. I jogged lightly the closer I got, the trailer door a beacon of safety. I pushed it open and turned just as Burke yelled and grabbed my neck. I screamed in response as I tried to push him away. His eyes widened in realization and his grip loosened.

“Jesus Christ, Blake. I’m sorry…I thought they got you. Come on.” He stumbled back and motioned for me to follow him through another door. “Check the room.” He pointed to a bedroom on our right and as I looked in, I could see pictures and posters all over the walls. Pictures of the Father and Eden’s Gate. As I turned to take in the rest of the house, I realized how much of a mess it was. Burke was sneaking around, like some sort of burglar and had it been any other scenario, I would have laughed. He turned to me, pale and panting. The ashen tint on his face showed just how freaked out he was, which wasn’t reassuring in the slightest.

“Oh Jesus! I had no idea.” And I just stared at him. No idea? I wanted to yell, to scream at him that Whitehorse had warned him, but I didn’t really have the energy to do so, the panic attack and adrenaline slowly starting to wear off. Whitehorse told him that we shouldn’t do it, but Burke wanted the glory. His pride was more important. He turned to the wall of framed pictures and pointed. “Fuck!” He approached the wall as I finally caught sight of what he was looking at. It looked like a family photo that was professionally done, but Burke yanked it off the wall before I could get a closer look and looked me in the eye. “We’re putting this whole family away. All of ‘em. Fucking lunatics!”

He threw the frame down in anger and stomped away. I took a step closer to the table to actually get a look of the photo. Joseph sat in a chair in the middle, back straight with no emotion whatsoever. The girl sat on the floor to his right, with her arm on his leg. The red-haired brother stood behind Joseph with a red sniper rifle in his hands, and I couldn’t help but praise myself for not doing anything too stupid in the church. I couldn’t say the same about the Marshal though. Lastly, the youngest brother leaned against the back of Joseph’s chair with a book in his hand.

“We’re going to get out of this, Rookie. First things first, we gotta arm ourselves.”

“What’s the plan?” I finally asked as I looked back up at him and followed. I didn’t want to follow him, deep down, but I didn’t have a choice. I was way over my head, and I knew I couldn’t get out of this alone. He picked up a rifle and shoved it in my hands before grabbing the pistol for himself. I followed him as he approached a window and crouched down.

“Alright, here��s what we’re going to do.” He blew on the ammo cartridge before slapping it into the butt of his pistol before holstering it. “There’s a road out there. We’re gonna take it, and head Northeast. It’s probably only a few hours back to Missoula. And then,” he turned and grabbed my shoulder. I bit my tongue from biting his head off for daring to touch me. “we’re gonna come back here with the damn National Guard. And we’re gonna take out the rest of these—"

He was cut off by a couple of voices outside the trailer. I frowned. How did they find us so quickly? My eyes widened as it dawned on me. They took Hudson and Pratt, which meant they probably had their radios, too. If I had heard Burke’s message, then they had as well. I clenched my jaw in frustration. I wanted to strangle the Marshal for his constant stupidity, him and that joke of a warrant. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I looked at Burke with a twist of my mouth. “You idiot—"

“They came around this way!”

“Check inside the trailer!”

“Shh!” Burke whispered lowly as he motioned towards the other window. I gave a quick nod before I began my way over.

“They’re in there!” someone yelled as a rock was thrown through the window. I covered my face as glass exploded, landing on the carpet. I looked out to see a bunch of men running around, taking cover, and shooting at us with their own rifles. Great. Way to get your feet wet, Wren. Burke quickly ran to the other window on my side and began to return fire. To say the least, I was fucking terrified. I have done a lot of shit in my life, but I had never done this.

Aiming out the window, I tried to only land wounding shots instead of kill shots. I wasn’t prepared to take a life. I put my head down, made it through the academy, did everything I had to in order to get my life back on track. To get away from the shitty past. This wasn’t something I had asked for. The AR was digging into my shoulder, and I wondered briefly if I was holding it incorrectly. Burke cursed under his breath before jumping out through the window. As I returned fire, a stray bullet hit a red metal canister, causing an explosion that blew people off their feet.

I took advantage and followed Burke, trying to stay close enough to keep both of us protected. As much as I couldn’t stand him, I knew we were better off sticking together. The rush and panic were back, my heart pounding hard in my chest. Burke dashed, yelling me to cover him, as he ran towards a white truck.”

“Cover you with what?!” I shrieked, paranoid that he was going to take off without me, so I run towards the truck after him.

He was cursing, trying to get the thing started, throwing me an incredulous look as I yanked open the passenger door. “I told you to cover me!” he hissed.

“And give you a chance to leave me again?” I snapped, throwing him a look, finally losing my patience and giving into the fear that was pumping in my veins…I wasn’t keeping my mouth shut anymore, not after the shit he kept pulling. “Not likely.”

He grumbled something about not doing it again with a half-assed apology, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was watching the next wave of cultists running towards us, clinging tightly to the gun in my hands. With a victorious yell, the truck started just as a bullet ricocheted off the door next to my head. I quickly ducked in the cab of the truck as he slammed on the gas.

“Up ahead, watch it!” Burke yelled and I looked up to see two of them shooting at us, but Burke just pressed the gas harder. “Hold on!”

He rammed the truck into the chain-link gates, tearing it down as the yelling and gunshots faded behind us. I was drenched in sweat, my breathing quick. “Holy fuck.” I breathed out, one hand gripping on the door handle and the other cradling my rifle.

“You ok?” Burke asked, throwing me a glance. I gave a quick nod before his attention went back to the road. “Nice work back there. I’d be dead if it weren’t for you. We gotta get back…but we gotta be smart. We don’t know who we can trust…fucking Nancy.”

“Fucking Nancy.” I echoed with malice. I hadn’t gotten super close with Nancy, but her betrayal still stung. She was so nice, praising and talking about the niece she was so damn proud of all the time. She welcomed me into that station with open arms.

“Oh no…oh no, they got the roads blocked.”

“They what?” My eyes widened as I took in the amass of trucks and concrete blocks. I could see barbed wire and stop signs in the back of a few. The cultists turned to us, and opened fire. “Oh shit!”

“Shoot!!” Burke shouted at me, and I pulled the rifle up, aiming out of the window. Of all the things I expected from a small town, this definitely wasn’t one of them. I wanted to cry, curl up in a ball, and set on the floorboard of the truck. I was done with this shit, but I tried my best to defend us as Burke drove like a damn madman.

“For the Father!” A man shouted as two white trucks showed up out of nowhere, shooting at us.

“Behind us, keep them off us!” Burke yelled.

The panic was starting to spread again, from the yelling and the gunfire, it was just all too much. And then I see a burst of red on a windshield, the white truck swerving and hitting the other. But all I could think of was the blood. I killed someone...I just fucking killed someone! My chest pulled painfully as my eyes swam with tears.

“Jesus Christ, we can’t get around it! Hold on, we gotta get off the main road.” Burke jerks the truck roughly, knocking me back from the window and my thoughts. I gasped as he ran through a fence, pieces of metal and wood flying. “They keep coming, Blake! Get back out there!”

“How about you focus on not getting us killed?” I snapped as he flew off a hill, the truck slamming against the ground.

“Could say the same to you!” he retorted. “There’s a case of dynamite in the back of the truck, use it!”

“What?!”

He didn’t answer as I popped my head back out, eyeing the back to see an open wooden box. The sticks of dynamite were everywhere, strewn around from all the momentum, so I could only reach a few without falling. Burke swerved, and I gripped the truck tighter, praying to whatever higher being there was that I wouldn’t die like this.

The shooting continued as I, finally, made it securely back into the somewhat-safe interior of the truck. Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out a metal litter as my hands shook violently, flipping the top and lighting one of the sticks to throw. I wouldn’t normally condone this kind of thing, and nor have I ever done this, but my instinct to survive was above everything else. My body was just reacting, and my mind was still miles behind, with that red stained truck.

I would never claim to have the best aim in the world, but trying to throw something out of a moving vehicle, hanging out of the window, with a bulky rifle against you…well, it wasn’t the best. Most that I threw went off too late or landed too far away. Burke’s curses joined the choir of gunfire and the shocks on the old truck as it rumbled along. Then it was joined by an odd sound that I didn’t recognize.

“John’s here!” Someone yelled.

Who the fuck was John?!

“Is that a fucking plane? Don’t tell me they got fucking air support!” Burke yelled, slamming his hand against the wheel.

My face twisted in confusion as I tried to adjust my rifle, but I froze, eyes wide, as I saw what Burke was screaming about. I didn’t know much about planes, and I would never pretend to, but the black one I saw was gorgeous. Or at least, from what I saw of it before it started shooting at us, coming a little too close for my comfort. Quickly flipping off the plane, I went back to fending off Peggies in trucks and ATVs, people shooting us from the side of the road. The plane made another round, Burke doing what he could to avoid getting us killed.

“Motherfucking psychopaths!!” Burke screamed as he drove straight towards a roadblock. “Motherfucking Peggies!!”

“Burke, we’re not going to make that!” I yelled over the chaos. The truck was already trashed, I wasn’t sure how much it could take, but it wasn’t just that. It was the fact he was going to crash us into a fucking roadblock. I tried hard to keep the flashbacks at bay, fear overcoming the adrenaline.

We hit it head on with a huge bang, but somehow, we were still going. Burke straightened out, slamming the gas again to speed back up as we approached a bridge. Relief and hope dared to spread in my chest until a truck cut in front of us, laying down heavy fire. What the fuck was wrong with this county?!

“You’ve gotta be kidding me?!” he roared beside me.

“Is that…what is that?!” I screamed. “A mounted machine gun?”

He was about to answer until the color drained from his face. “Oh no—”

I turned just in time to see a glimpse of the plane and the explosion quickly after. I screamed as the Marshal jerked the wheel, launching us right into a free fall. My heart stopped and my breathing was caught in my throat as we nosedived towards the river. Flashes of memories buried deep flew in my mind: broken glass, the deployed airbag, the pain, the blood…

Gasping quickly, the truck landed hard in the water, the cab filling quickly through the open window. I’m too shocked to move at first as I watch Burke shoot out the windshield with his pistol. He moves forward, and I reach out to grab him in desperation, but he’s already swimming away. I clench my teeth in rage as I finally free myself from the seat belt.

I’m running out of air as I swim up, breaching the surface with a loud gasp, trying to breathe in as much as my lungs can handle. It’s a struggle, but I make my way to the riverbank, my muscles screaming. I whimper as I crawl, my body finally giving out from under me, and I collapse, rolling on my back. My focus is in and out as I fight to stay awake. The adrenaline, the panic, everything has left me numb and cold, pushed way past my limits.

“Let me go!!! I’m a federal Marshal—”

Burke’s words are cut off with the sound of him getting hit with something a distance away and I scoff. Fucker deserved that. “This one needs a little faith…look along the banks, there was another one. We need to take them to the Father.”

I groan as an older man came into view. My vision was too blurry to make out any features and I cough then take another deep breath. I don’t have the energy to say a word to this man, let alone fight him when he starts to drag me away. The last thing I see before my vision goes black is the starry night, wondering where the plane went.

[youtriggeredmytrapcard]

😨 (I am scared.)

send me 😨 to see how your muse appears in my muse’s NIGHTMARES // @get-chazzed

His nightmares are frequent, since he'd become stranded on Duel Academy Island. Some are recurring, with slight variations each time, and Chazz tends to make appearances.

Seto finds himself sitting in bed in the dead of night, when he hears Mokuba's voice calling out for help. It's faint and far away, but without fail, Seto bolts from his bed and races out into the woods. The voice gets louder and louder, Mokuba sounding more and more terrified, asking where Seto is and why he left him all alone.

He makes it to a clearing, and what happens next varies. Sometimes Chazz has been following him the entire time, running along behind and telling him to stop, that it's too dangerous and he needs to go back to bed and rest. Sometimes he sees Mokuba in the clearing, and it feels like they run towards each other in slow motion. The ground is cracking beneath their feet, and Chazz grabs Seto by the arm and holds him back, Seto reaching out towards Mokuba and screaming for Chazz to let him go. A chasm opens up in the earth under their feet, and all three of them go falling in, jolting Seto awake in a cold sweat.

In another version, it was Chazz in the clearing, and Mokuba was nowhere to be seen, his voice cutting out entirely. Chazz turned and said, "You know you're never gonna go home, right?"

[theartoflovingthomashunt]

Telling Thomas

**** This is Part Two of Two, Part One can be found here.

Masterlists: [Hollywood U] || [Red Carpet Diaries]  || [Baby Hunt]  || [Love & Scotch HWU/OH ]  ||  [#HollywoodHacks HWU/LH]

Characters: Alex (MC), Thomas Hunt, Chazz

Setting: The day after the secret party for The Duchess in RCD book 2, Alex is nervous about telling Thomas that she wants more than just last night’s hook up.

Rating: PG

------

“Alex, I trust you but, are you sure you need to do all of this?” Chazz asked, after hearing Alex’s elaborate plan. “Wouldn’t it be easier to go back to his house and just talk to him? Sure, Thomas is a bit ... particular about things, but–”

“I need to know if he feels the same way, I do,” Alex interrupted. “Can you see Thomas Hunt being emotive in a normal conversation?”

“No, you’re probably right,” Chazz replied. He smiled at her determination and commitment. He could tell she really cared about him.

“What’s that for?” Alex questioned.

“Nothing... Just, I hope it works out for you!” Chazz kissed Alex’s cheek. “I’ve got to go. I’ll drop your letter off for you.”

“Thanks, Chazz.” She read the note once more before giving it to him.

Meet at the Old LA Zoo at 10. -A 

P.S. I’ll understand if you choose differently

Later that evening...

Thomas walked around the entrance of the Old LA Zoo at Griffith Park. “As an illustrious woman once said, ‘You're the one who told me to be here...come out where I can see you!’"

Alex smiled, walking toward the fence that separated the park from the zoo. “You came.”

“You left,” Thomas noted with an unreadable expression on his face. He walked closer toward her until they were standing mere inches apart, separated only by the fence. 

“I know,” she whispered, looking away from him momentarily.

“What am I doing here, Alex?” 

“Do you want to come in?” Alex asked though she didn’t wait for his answer before walking further down the fence line. He followed as she pushed the fence out, creating an opening for him to sneak through. “Crash told Chazz about this... Chazz told me.”

“Come with me,” Alex suggested. Thomas’s face remained unchanged. This is why she needed this plan. She hoped it would keep Thomas busy focusing on the details long enough to let his guard down. Show her some sign that she wasn’t crazy for risking everything for him.

She guided him through the zoo and sat on a picnic bench outside the carousel building. A few lights nearby were turned on. Thomas looked around hesitantly. “Don’t worry about the lights, we’re alone. No cameras either. Crash said he would take care of it.”

He nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

Alex looked away. “I know you like quiet places that are away from the busyness of the city. And, you told me you liked the night because it had more character... and that it was dangerous.” She looked back at him, his eyes still trained on her. 

“I’m not blind, Alex. The note, the secluded location, the mystery,” he started, his brow quirking up. “I know what they mean to me, to us. What I don’t know is why?”

She continued, not answering his question, “When you first told me about The Last Duchess...You said that it was dangerous for Francis because every decision she made could change her fate forever. I feel like that’s where I am right now.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but Alex continued, “Just let me finish, I promise I have a point. ” He nodded giving her some space.

“Last night, I... I don’t do that. That’s not me. I’ve never done anything like that before, with anyone since I got here. You’re dangerous for me, Thomas.”

"I understand,” he said reluctantly. “I let my baser desires overwhelm my better judgment. I regret that you feel this way. I promise I won’t let it happen again.”

“Thomas, you don’t get it,” she sighed, overwhelmed by her flooding emotions. “I don’t regret it. It was... you were..." she bit her lower lip, reminding herself again that she had a point to make. “When I came out here, I was focused on only one thing–my career. Then, after the success of Tender Nothings, things picked up so quickly. I thought maybe I could make meaningful connections, but then I was forced in a fake relationship with Chadley... Then, Victor.” Thomas reached across the table and put his hands on top of hers. His touch was electric causing her skin to prickle under it.

“You supported me and took a chance on me when no one else would. You believed in me. I didn’t expect last night to happen. I don’t regret it, but I fear what you must think of me now. I want you, Thomas but, I want all of you. Not just your body.” Alex let her hand caress Thomas’ fingers then let them dance up his forearm. “I want to know you, all of you, your mind, your soul, your...heart. You're my danger, Thomas. You’re different and that scares me, because I don’t know what will happen, but I don’t care. You’re worth the risk. I want to go to dinner with you. I want to call you when I have a good day or a bad day. I want to drink coffee with you at some hole in the wall bistro that feels like a place out of time. I want to explore all of the secret speakeasies this town has to offer. I want more than just last night. I want to get to know you and be with you–every part of you. I can’t breathe when you’re around and obviously, I can’t speak either....”

“Okay, I’m done,” she pulled her hand back. “That’s all I had to say.”

"Can I talk now,” Thomas questioned, his face unchanged. she nodded. “I will be succinct, as I believe you used enough words for the both of us. Why do all of this?”

“You confound me, Thomas,” Alex admitted. “I hoped that if I played your game, you’d be easier to read. But, I look at you and I don’t know what you are thinking. You are a mystery that I desperately want to unravel.”

“Alex, do you have any idea how intoxicating you are to me?” Thomas smiled. “I know I’m not the most expressive or amorous man. I can’t imagine why you would go through all of this for me. I never let myself hope that you could feel like this. Nonetheless, I want you, as well. I don’t know how to express how happy you make me.”

“Are you sure?” Alex asked, her eyes filled with hope for the first time all day. 

Thomas nodded, “Frankly I’ve never been more certain about anything. How can I allay your fears?”

 “A kiss might help.” She shrugged playfully. 

Thomas walked around to the other side of the picnic table and pulled Alex to her feet. His arms wrapped around her waist guiding her into him. His lips hovered over hers momentarily savoring her quickened breathing before softly landing on hers. Her arms snaked around his neck as she leaned deeper into him. He tasted sweet, like blackberry and caramel. She couldn’t get enough of him. Her hands wandered his back and chest.

After a few moments, Thomas broke away. “Maybe we should...”

“... slow down,” Alex laughed.

“Precisely,” he kissed her forehead and held her in his arms.

“You taste like Port,” she whispered into his ear as her head rested on his shoulder.

“Undoubtedly,” Thomas smiled. “It’s Tuesday.”

"How could I forget!” Alex grinned. She ran her hand down his arm, relishing how he trembled at her touch. She entwined her fingers in his and led him out of the park.

“Can I take you home,” Thomas offered.

Alex nodded.

When their car arrived, Alex snuggled into Thomas’s arms in the back seat. He held her close, breathing in the wooded scent of the park mixed with her vanilla shampoo. It was the sweetest scent in the world and now it was his. He smiled, unsure of what the future would hold...their future.

---

Thomas Hunt Tags: @hopelessromantic1352 ; @alleksa16 ; @pinkcoloredmarshmallow

[shreyamistry]

Choices September Creates

Hey! If any of you have requested something or wondering why I haven’t posted any fics lately, I’m here to tell you why! I’ve spent the past 2(ish) weeks preparing for Choices September Creates and I finished my last fic today! So without further ado, I bring you the schedule and ships/fic summaries for the upcoming events! Let me know if you wanna be tagged in any of them, the first one Rain comes out September 1st, Apology the 2nd and so forth! (these are all at liberty to change if I see fit, but currently, this is the determined schedule for me.).

l. Rain - Hana x MC

Tonight, Liam will pick Nicole to be his bride, unknowing to him that she and Hana have fallen in love. Despite her attempts to force herself out of her feelings, Hana simply can’t stop herself from falling for Nicole. Finding herself in the pouring rain, Hana has to make her choice and Lady Nicole has to accept it.

II. Apology - Hana x Madeleine (NSFW-ISH)*

Madeleine finds herself having to leave Hana after a night of love, due to her occupation in the palace it’s rather urgent and she finds herself having to leave Hana again. Reflecting on the past Madeleine and Hana talk through her apologizes, leaving Madeleine to wonder what Hana will ever see in her.

III. Dance - Eleanor x MC

When Victor’s birthday rolls around, Hannah invites Eleanor to join her, knowing it would be her first time to a club Hannah wants to make sure Eleanor can handle it. Eleanor, however, is very perplexed by the idea of grown adults in this century enjoying high tea for his birthday late at night.

IV, Magic - Kenna x Annelyse

Annelyse and Kenna journey back to Aurelia after being repaired from Dom’s destruction under Hex’s capture. Kenna finds herself compelled at how well Annelyse’s people have settled back into her home and the respect they all share for one another. Kenna sees it as nothing more than magical.

V. Fight - Drake x Liam (NSFW)

Drake wants Liam, Liam wants Drake, but Liam knows it’s not possible. Yet he always finds himself night after night with Drake beneath him, his heart full of love, desire, and lust. He wants to fight his instincts and be with Madeleine, however, he can’t bring himself to fight the sexual gratification and love he gets from Drake in the dark of the night.

VI. Home - Zekei x M!MC

Zekei and Nova decide to spend the night together, after raiding the kitchen staff for snacks they retreat back into Nova’s room and reminisce about home and their childhood, both opening up more than they ever have before. Nova finds himself straddling his best friend, but what will that mean for them?

VII. Future - Kiara x Penelope

Kiara and Penelope often find themselves questioning the future, what will it mean for them? After yet another rift between the pair, Kiara worries that Penelope is moving on and as much as she tries to not let it bother her, she ultimately fails. Trying on the maid of honor dresses together for Hana and Nicole, Penelope makes an admission Kiara will never forget.

VIII. Cozy Night In - Kate x MC

After being released on bail, Kate and Jesse decide to spend the night together at Kate’s apartment. Jesse organized all kinds of treats to help Kate relax and feel better after finally being able to come home from her time in captivity. But what’s a sleepover without an admission of love?

IX. Vacation - AME Jury House Fic (Comedy)**

The night of the double elimination, Bianca and Jamie wind up in the Jury House with all the previously booted out cast. Together in the living room, Teagan helps set up a movie as everyone argues about Han’s pick mainly Lina. Can they survive the night together or will there be hell to pay?

X. Loss - Damien x M!MC (MCD)***

With the loss of some members of their crew, Damien and Kai must move forward with their remaining crew to save themselves and other from Eros. However, Kai finds himself falling further every day unable to cope with the loss in his chest, his only safety coming from Damien now, but can he pull himself together before it’s too late?

XI. Family - Ivy x MC (SUGGESTIVE)****

Ivy invites Jamie back to her hometown for a family reunion. The pair reminiscing on the past they’ve lived and further to come, and Jamie gets to know Ivy’s mother and her past in pageantry. The night falls and Ivy wants nothing more than a few quiet moments with her lover, but her mom may have other plans for her.

XII. Anniversary - Kenji x M!MC (NSFW)

Celebrating the one year anniversary of Talos and Nightwing coming together, Kenji invites Kyle to his apartment where they share a dance on the deck and a bottle of wine. However, Kenji has more exciting and fun plans for them that night, but will Poppy and Dax interrupt their fun?

XIII. What If - Kate x MC

The night before Kate is due to be wed, she and Jesse relax in his room at the bed and breakfast in Jesse’s room. Drinking liquor they stole from Miss. Harlenay, Jesse and Kate decide to think about how life could have turned out? What their wedding would be like if it happened to them?

XIV. New Beginnings - Bianca x MC

Bianca and Jamie agree to do a swimsuit photoshoot to promote America’s Most Eligible. After the season they’ve had and the feelings they’ve harbored for each other, Piper and Jen both agreed it’d be the best course of action to get them more viewers seeing the love that will bloom on TV. However, Jamie starts to have doubts about doing this photoshoot, luckily for them, Bianca’s there to help.

XV. Smut - Kenna x Val (NSFW)

As a war takes Kenna and her group by surprise, an attack they couldn’t have planned for no matter what Kenna finds herself alone and stranded in the woods searching desperately for Val. After their fallout moments before the bombs went off, Kenna couldn’t forgive herself if Val died thinking Kenna hated her.

XVI. Heartache - Becca x MC

Armed with evidence of an affair between the pair, Becca can’t handle the drama, the deceit, and betrayal she’s felt from Emily and packs her bags. Emily begs her not to leave, confused why someone would say she and Kassidy were sleeping together behind Becca’s back and why Becca would believe her.

XVII. Unexpected - Poppy x MC

Alex sets up another date between Dax and Poppy in hopes of getting them together and leaves them in a bar to talk things through while they help Eva with a secret project. Poppy knows she doesn’t love Dax or even remotely like him, at one point maybe, but not anymore. Before the night ends she and Alex can’t help, but make a half-drunken mess of things.

XVIII. Bad Day - Madison x Becca

After being broken up with, Madison turns to Becca for a day of helping her feel better. However Becca can’t help, but notice how flirty Madison keeps acting around her and she’d be a liar if she said it didn’t scare her and excite her all at the same time. With the recent news of their breakup, how will the day affect Madison and Becca’s relationship?

XIX. Camping - Dan x MC

Dan and Devon decide to go camping in the woods to cope with everything that happened post-Redfield, Dan knew he could use the support and Devon pretending it didn’t bother them as much as they said it didn’t. Devon can’t help but want to set up a memorial for Noah, no matter how much it hurts to be there or how much Noah hurt them. All the while a surprise visitor waits for them.

XX. Fluff - Crash x Chazz

This one has been deleted. I can’t write anything I don’t like, and as much as I loved the pairing I couldn’t find myself inspired to work with it. Sorry to anyone who was loking forward to it.

XXI. Autumn -

Couldn’t figure out what to do for this day. If you have any ideas hit me up, otherwise this prompt ain’t being done.

XXII. Endings - Kamilah x MC (NSFW)

Kimberly finishes her final day working for RainesCorp as Adrian’s right-hand woman and secures herself a position now as Kamilah’s, with Kamilah’s assistant moving on to a better position within the company. An ending is a new beginning, and Kimberly wants to break in the new job with some fun.

XXIII. Birth - Victoria x MC

Victoria and Normani are having their first child, with all of their friends around Normani delivers her baby with Victoria by her side the entire time. Matt’s petrified because he looked, Seth is making fun of him, and Teja is getting her hand broken by Normani’s grip while trying to keep the boys under control.

XXIV. Animals - Maxwell x MC

Maxwell invites Riley to a private dinner for two during an endangered animal awareness event. Where he plans a special surprise for them, but Riley has other plans for how the night should go on. But the pair may find themselves in deep trouble when they get caught.

XXV. Best Friends - Kaitlyn x MC

Celeste needs help with her fanfiction, Vasquez told her to channel her creative energies further than her internship and she decides fanfiction is her best bet. However, she’s having trouble putting into words how Val and Kenna should confess their love, luckily Kaitlyn is around to help (and tease her).

XXVI. Lies - Alana x MC (SUGGESTIVE)

Nadia and Kai discuss Kai’s relationship with Nadia. Kai worries that Nadia doesn’t care about them, and the fact that she lies so much to them, even over little things that shouldn’t bother Kai as much as it does. Nadia’s advice might not be all that helpful, but at least Kai channeled away some frustration.

XXVII. Sleepover - Naomi x MC

Jesse wants to surprise Naomi at her ranch with a night of fun at home, after finally being able to make their way back to Birtchport for the weekend. They cook her a lovely meal and get news over the phone that will change both of their lives for better or worse. Can they tough it out and make it last?

XXVIII. Moving Day - Han x M!MC (NSFW)

Han and Landon finish moving all of their stuff into their new apartment after spending the entire day moving by themselves, at Han’s suggestion of not needing any help. Landon finds himself surprised they managed to do it all, and sore with his back killing him. Han offers to give him an innocent massaging, but Landon’s expecting a little more from his boyfriend.

XXIX. Clean - Bianca x MC

Lina shows Jamie Bianca’s biggest secret much to Han’s disapproval, a confession that could easily make or break their relationship. Smuggly Lina walks away leaving Bianca and Jamie to sort out the details of what happened and decide what comes next for the pair or if anything at all comes for them next.

XXX. Celebrate - Grace (@zig-a-zow’s mc) x Aiden

When Grace’s birthday rolls around, Aiden decides to plan something special for her and the rest of their friends. Grace admittedly appreciated it, however, he wasn’t sure if she even wanted to celebrate further than just her and Aiden. As the party rages on an item on the menu catches her hand and she’s determined to prove herself to have a good night.

Notes:

Books with M!MC + F!MC that just say ‘MC’ will have they pronouns, so you an picture it however you want!

* - NSFW-ISH means exactly what it says, it’s not NSFW but it directly references NSFW actions.

** - Comedy means it’s just a funny fic, it’s not anything deep except a joke fic to make you laugh!

*** - MCD is Major Character Death

**** - Suggestive hints to NSFW concepts, but isn’t directly NSFW/NSFW-ish!

[aberooski]

Me realizing none of the fics I have in the works right now can be tagged "never let chazz go into the woods alone":

[aberooski]

If there's anything I can say about my writing, it's that if Chazz is in the woods by himself, you know something is gonna go awry real quick 🤭

[aberooski]

Never let Chazz go into the woods alone exhibit A: episode 44

[aberooski]

writer emoji ask!! 🤭🎉🌞✨🥺

Oh boy, here we go!! Thanks for the ask, pal!! 😄

🤭 - I think my favorite tag would have to be Never let Chazz go into the woods alone akakak I mean it's my number 1 rule after all lol. Of course the running bit is that it happens all the time and it really never goes well for him now does it?

🌞 - Do I have a preferred time of the day to write? Not really, I just kinda write when the desire strikes. Could be the day, could be 3 am, who knows? But I am more of a night owl, my brain kinda wakes up when I'm supposed to be sleeping so I guess in that sense I do write more during the evening/nighttime than any other time of day.

🥺 - Oh boy I could write a novel about moments and interactions that put me in my feels you have no idea 😭

This question's gonna turn this answer into a novel I'm so sorry akskskak

I think if I had to narrow it down to maybe a few things I could probably say akaksk

As far as interactions go, like ones that happen a lot every single time Hassleberry specifically is protective of or exhibits concern for Syrus I get very emo. Like I added more of those moments to the SBH re-release because I loved the moments I'd done in newer fics so much. But the one specifically that always gets me is the moment in chapter 11 of OUAD where Hassleberry goes to check on Syrus after coming out of his berserked state.

Also the entirety of Salt In the Wound. Hassleberry being worried that just touching him will hurt him because he's so strong and Syrus trying to reach/call for Hassleberry to reassure him but he's too weak and hurt but then Hassleberry says fuck it and grabs Sy's hand while he's just lying there hurt in Jaden's arms 😭 and Hassleberry being upset seeing Sy's scar from the duplicate Camula bite a personal headcanon of mine a moment shared in the re-release of Sustained by Hate that I love

Of course all the copious amounts of moments like that between Jay and Sy make me fuckin cry but when those two have moments like that it hits DIFFERENT and like not even in a shippy way I don't view their relationship that way, they're just cute 😭

And really just SITW in general. Sy is my baby, he's my favorite character and I've never felt more that I was the same person as a character before. Zane needed social consequences for hurting him so deliberately and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I didn't defend Sy's honor. But also the fact that after all of that Syrus still loves his brother and calls out to him when he walks away despite everything just shatters my heart.

And speaking of moments between Jay and Sy I cry over them constantly but there's one moment in particular that kills me man.

There's this one specific moment in chapter 20 of Sons of The Stars where Jaden and the squad, with Axel's help, break into Viper's fortress and sneak into the dungeon to rescue Syrus, who was kidnapped by Axel in chapter 17. And when they get there and break open Sy's cell they have this moment:

It's the "They didn't hurt you, did they?" for me 😭😭😭

Oh yes and literally any Dad Crowler(tm) moment makes me cry. And I exclusively write Dad Crowler(tm) so I'm dead.

I'm almost done with this question bear with me a sec akskak

A moment I've done twice now in slightly different ways that makes me sob my eyes out is that I've given Chazz and Alexis a variation of this 7R Cloti moment in both SoTS and SBH

Of course for Chazz and Alexis the intent is purely platonic whereas I'm screaming and crying and foaming at the mouth because Cloti for life 😤 but tender, vulnerable moments between Chazz and Alexis kill me. I love seeing her caring for him because well, in the show their dynamic is......

But I've always loved the idea of them being close. They're platonic soulmates and she's his found family sister 😭

Also any and all moments where Alexis is protecting Atticus, I'm not okay. That is my favorite Alexis.

Also the entire scene with Chazz and Atticus in chapter 11 of SBH leading up to them holding hands that 😩😭

And real quick before I finally move on to the next question I'm so sorry the NUMBER ONE! Stormshipping moment that gets me all kinds of fucked up!

In OUAD. In chapter 5. We all know what I'm talking about.

🎉 - I honestly have had very unhealthy thoughts about what makes me consider a fic successful. I've felt at one time or another that every single thing I've done was a failure. That it was a flop and I wasted all this time and effort and brain power on ideas that no one but me gives a damn about. I attach so much of my own personal value to how many views and likes and comments my fics get, which isn't really a lot. So I get super bummed out all the time and it makes me not wanna write. But lately I've been trying to climb out of that hole and I've told myself this.

As chessey as it is to say, as long as one person finds enjoyment in something I do, then it wasn't a waste of time. If I find enjoyment in something I've created, it wasn't a waste of time. It was worth it. It was a success because I saw it through and I did it.

I still get bummed out when my stuff doesn't perform super well, well because I'm really excited about what I do and I want to share it with people and have people like my work. But I'm trying to be more optimistic about what constitutes success or not. Of course I still love comments and likes, they make my day and I get so few of them. But when I get sad I look back at the ones I have gotten and I remember that there are people who really do like my work besides me, and that makes me feel a lot better about it all. 😊

✨ - and finally, the hardest thing for me to do 😅

If I had to give myself a compliment for my work, I kinda have 2 I suppose. The first one is kinda a back-handed compliment but the second one is legit so it evens out I guess.

I legitimately think my ideas are good. My concepts for my plots and fics are great.

Camula coming back for revenge? Amazing. Stormshipping Sleeping Beauty adaptation? S+ tier. Whole ass fantasy au I built from the ground up?? Wow. Chazzerella??????? Inspired.

Crossover with GX and Fatal Frame 5???? And Stormshipping + Alexis Mario crossover??????? Literal galaxy brain.

And so on. But I also feel like my ideas are better than my ability to execute them. So I often feel like they're better in my head than how they actually turn out. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has that problem with their work. And in that vein I also do the most approximately all of the time and it's kinda to my detriment. I could make writing so much easier on myself and not burn myself out every time I write a fic if I just allowed myself not to include every single tiny little thing. This is why I have such a hard time writing one shots and shorter fics akskksks

But okay, time for a legitimate compliment I guess 😅

I legitimately feel like when I write a character, I'm doing right by them. Like I feel like I do characterization really well, and every Fandom I've written for I've had at least 1 person tell me I wrote the characters really well.

I also think I write some pretty damn good dialog sometimes, and occasionally I'm actually funny or convey romance somewhat okay.

Like I'm good at writing villains. I really enjoy writing mean characters or just generally characters that speak more formally whether they're villains or not. I think that comes from my love of Final Fantasy 12 and how they like exclusively wax poetic in that game akskskka

I've still got a lot of areas I could improve on though, but I think I've at least nailed down a few 😅

[chazz-is-a-zelda-fan]

OH MY GOD IM A FAVORITE 😭😭😭

Because I've been enabled once again, I've returned to my bullshit.

Once again, thank you to my favorite enabler/mutual @chazz-is-a-zelda-fan 💜

Today I present, a full and comprehensive tier list of every fanfic I've written and posted as well as a sneak at some WIP's and such 👀

Whether you've read everything or just a few of these, I'm curious to hear your thoughts and whether you agree or disagree with any of my placements of these works 🤔

Now that we've seen said list, allow me to briefly voice some thoughts on my placements 😌

Firstly, I've gone on record several times saying that I firmly believe that Favorite and Best are not mutually exclusive things. Just because something may be the "best" doesn't mean it has to be your favorite, and conversely, just because something may be your favorite thing doesn't necessarily mean you think it's the best of that thing either. But in this instance it just so happens my favorite fic, OUAD, is also the one I think is the best aksks.

OUAD is just brilliant. The combination of 4 of my favorite things: my favorite movie, my favorite Disney couple and just individually favorite prince and princess, my favorite show, and my favorite ship. A loose yet still fairly faithful adaptation of the film that brings me so much joy while also tearing my soul into shreds. And the casting? Phenomenal on my part. When I clear some stuff from my plate, I swear I'll be working on a sequel 😤

Salt In The Wound also got to sneak up into Best because in my opinion it's my best one shot. And also I just legitimately like the actual writing in it, I think it's some of my best work. Also I just needed it. I emotionally need that aftermath to Zane and Syrus's duel, I needed the comfort of them caring for Sy and catharsis from airing frustrations with Zane and the show didn't give it to me, so it's kinda a fulfillment that's on a totally different level than anything else I've done before.

Now Sons of The Stars. The fully crafted from the ground up, fully designed wardrobe, 130k fantasyish au that all stemmed from a throwaway joke in Angel's Tears. I love this one, especially the new updated version, I fixed so many things and just improved it so much from how it was originally. But I have some beef with it that keeps it from Best but still at the very top. The execution of Jaden and Jesse's romance isn't my favorite and I wrote it under a time crunch originally so you could tell towards the end I was rushing. That's been fixed a bit now but I still have a lingering disappointment with the idea that if I waited to write it originally I could've just done a better job overall with it. But as it stands I still think that fic is fantastic and it's my pride and joy.

Deviating from GX quick, my FFXV fic. What Goes In, this is just a good ass fic imo. Taking a segment from the game and answering for myself questions both the main game and Prompto's dlc raised and didn't answer, incorporating a lot of twists and turns and my own spin on what happens in that segment of the game, while incorporating actual game dialog and moments and shit too GAH it's good 😭 Also indulging in Promptis and Gladnis on the DL In the middle of all the pain and angst 🤭 biggest problem is that I haven't posted in it since March of 2020 and there's only 1 chapter left 😭 I promise I'm working on revising it right now and I'm finishing it by the end of 2023 that's my goal!

Might be controversial placement, but I put Sustained By Hate in the "Good" category......

Listen I love it. Camula coming back for revenge is an S+ idea. My problems lie with some of the execution, also me not really having the characterization of my version of Chazz's mom on lock yet. There's a lot of revisions I wanna do to that fic bro. Nothing too drastic or anything but still. There's also just so much happening in that one it feels a little messy to me now going back and re reading it. But Lexi usurping the main character role towards the end is brilliant and I actually wrote a duel which was hard as shit and I'm so proud of it and myself so extra bonus points for that! Overall, I love that fic but still as it stands I only think it's good. Perhaps a revised version would get bumped up on my list 🤔

Traffic Lights, my 5Ds one shot that's just Carly sitting in her car trapped in traffic 😂 not a lot to gripe about or say here, it's just a cute little work. I like it, I think it's good, but I feel like most of what I've written is better, it's that simple. I still really like it a lot though!

Angel's Tears, the first GX fic I ever wrote....... listen I thought this was my magnum opus for the LONGEST time..... if you've read the original version, that's embarrassing for me to say. Now the revised version I did recently? That's less embarrassing. But still this fic's only alright in my opinion. It was good at the time, I was 18 when I first wrote it and like I said, it was the 1st GX fic I ever wrote. But I've just improved so much as a writer, the newer version supports that better now akaksk and well, it's just not my best work in my opinion. I also don't really like the title anymore but it's been too long I can't change it now. But this fic was what got me started with writing these kids so I owe it a debt of gratitude for that. We wouldn't have all the rest of these works without it.

A Friend In Need, my Bastion one shot. Like the Carly one, not much to say about it. I like it, but it's just old and I need to revise it. It's cute and appropriately upsetting and a good idea to address Bastion's feelings of invisibility and inadequacy in season 2, the execution just needs to be given a face lift in my opinion.

Before I sneak at my WIPS, I'm gonna jump down to Rewriting.

Alice was an old fic I did that was basically an episode rewrite for episode 80, you know. The filler episode after they get back from Domino. With Alice... hence the title.... well if you read that story before I deleted it to rewrite it well you're entitled to compensation of some sort. It wasn’t good if you ask me. And rereading it there were a couple moments in it that made even me uncomfortable now that didn't back then. Literally I lost the plot while I was writing it like I jumped off the deep end a few chapters in and it dips so hard in quality. I'm just redoing it from like chapter 2 or 3 on, It has to be done.

Anyway now a quick roll call of my current WIPS for you babies because I like you and they're all S+ concepts 😌

We ALL know about Chazerella. My stormshipping Cinderella au riding the coattails of OUAD. I'll be starting writing that once we cross into the new year 👍

My Stormshipping + Alexis crossover with Mario.... yeah that started as a joke but isn't a joke anymore. I've posted about that so much you all know akakaka Chazz hanging out in Bowser's dungeon with Peach while Atticus and Alexis traverse the Mushroom Kingdom with Mario and Luigi to go rescue them??? Yes please!!

The GX/Fatal Frame 5: Maiden of Black Water crossover, I said that would be the next one after OUAD but well it's just gonna happen whenever it happens, that one is purely for me. I have actually started writing it and once I get a little further I think I'll be posting that one as I write it 😌 it'll take as long as it takes and y'all will have to deal with the suspense and cliffhangers while Alexis teams up with Yuri and the camera crew to find Atticus and rescue him from ghosts aksks (also I'm actually using the Japanese names for once in this one be proud of me!!)

And finally, Sp Take Hold of Me, And Hang On 'Till The Hurt Is Gone. You guys remember that one little snippet excerpt whatever you wanna call it with Chazz and Atty I posted I believe in like November or something? Yeah, this is that 🤭 I haven't touched it really since then but I'll make a full thing out of it mark my words! (Also the title comes from one of my favorite Yellowcard songs, "The Hurt Is Gone", that was actually the initial inspiration for that work 😊 that song, and the word "stay")

Anyways y'all, that's my tier list of my fanfiction! This was actually really fun but also really hard to make I'm so indecisive I went back and forth on a lot of these for so long akakksksksksks

But anyways hope y'all had some mindless fun with me, and I'm curious to hear any thoughts if y'all have any thoughts to share!

Keep your chins up and smile! 💜

[aberooski]

Chapters: 7/15 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: (Implied) Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton/Tenjouin Fubuki | Atticus Rhodes Characters: Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki, Marufuji Shou | Syrus Truesdale, Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton, Tyranno Kenzan | Tyranno Hassleberry, Tenjouin Fubuki | Atticus Rhodes, Tenjouin Asuka | Alexis Rhodes, Misawa Daichi | Bastion Misawa, Professor Cronos de Medici | Dr. Vellian Crowler, Ayukawa Emi | Fonda Fontaine, Principal Samejima | Chancellor Sheppard, Camula (Yu-Gi-Oh), Darkness | Nightshroud, Hane Kuriboh | Winged Kuriboh, Ojama Yellow, Ojama Black, Ojama Green, Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton's Mother, Tenjouin Fubuki | Atticus Rhodes's Mother Additional Tags: Shadow magic, Injury, Blood, bloodsucking, Vampires, Attempted Kidnapping, Kidnapping, Family Drama, Revenge, Mild Language, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Torment, Slow Build, Never let Chazz go into the woods alone Summary:

A year had passed since the incident with the Shadow Riders and the Sacred Beasts, and Jaden and his friends moved on with their lives, beginning their second year with the hope that they were in for an ordinary school year, one without evil and danger. At first, it seemed all would be as they hoped for, until the day Mrs. Rhodes appeared on the island. Angry with Sheppard and the whole of Duel Academy for Atticus's disappearance and the coverup that followed, she threatens to have Atticus and Alexis pulled out of Duel Academy! Determined to keep the siblings in the school, the J-Squad sets out to try and find a way to prove that the school is safe. Only little do they know that beneath the surface, in the darkness of the night, an old foe is resurrected from the shadow realm. Sustained only by her hatred and lust for revenge against Jaden, Camula makes a deal with the ultimate evil, Darkness. The freedom of her soul and a chance to even her score in exchange for the final piece of his master plan and former vessel, Atticus Rhodes.