#sapphirerubywrites

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 16: Hostage

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: torture, electrocution, gore?, stabbing/knives, violence

Author's Note: Yeah, I think I got kinda dark in this one. Sorry it's late too. Only got it last night, and just got finished editing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not even ten seconds after he’d slapped them awake, and they were already screaming and struggling uselessly. At least the duct tape made the noise bearable. “Scream all you want.” Anti sharpened a knife in his hand. “We’re in an abandoned building with nothing around for miles. And I will cut out your tongue if you annoy me too much.” He made a point of making another pass to sharpen the blade, trying to really drag out that metallic noise. At least that seemed to quiet them for now.

Anti walked round to his chair-bound hostage, a twisted smile on his face. They struggled against the ties, tried to plead through the tape, begged with their eyes to be let go. But Anti wasn’t having that at all.

“You know,” he flipped his small knife about on his hand, playing as he mulled over his plan, “I’ve been learning some anatomy, and I think you’re the perfect person to help me test my knowledge. And I promise, if you stay still, it’ll only hurt a little.” He casually sauntered to the back of the chair, whistling all the while. Lifted up the guy’s shirt to expose their back.

“Let’s see...” Anti trailed the knife in an S shape down their spine to the sacral vertebrae. “This section...” he sent a shock through the metal that was hopefully targeted enough for his goal. His subject jumped at the electrocution, but he was just getting started. “... I believe that was supposed to make you impotent.” Anti peaked his head to the side and looked at the man in the chair. “Does it feel any different?”

His hostage gave incoherent, muffled pleas, but Anti just went back to his work. “Up here...” he tried to be a bit more precise with his guess, but the curves of the spine weren’t so exact with someone writhing against him. Another jolt, another cry. “Your lower legs should be paralyzed.”

Anti dragged the knife tip slowly up the spine, sending small electric impulses the entire time. Then they shifted too far underneath him, making his blade brush off the spine and hit another section of the lower back. He stopped shocking the man, but not before he’d hit something inside that wasn’t in the spinal column. Anti growled at that annoyance.

Why did they always misbehave? He had to go around front to address him. Tears on the man’s face didn’t garner any kind of sympathy. “When I ask you to stay still...” Anti swiftly plunged the knife into their right thigh, all the way down to the handle. Didn’t think he hit an artery, and even if he didn’t, he wasn’t ready to take the dagger out yet. “Stay still. Or do you have a death wish?” The man shook his head, struggling less now. “Good.”

Anti went back around, having to resort to using his fingertips now. “Now where was I... Ah. Here.” Upper legs gone. It was easier to feel the vertebrae, but he didn’t leave those pretty burn marks. The whimpering was getting to be a bit much. “C’mon. You can’t even feel it now.” He was sure about that at this point.

“But that’s just a warm up. Paralyzing you isn’t enough. Let’s see. If I go up here... That should be your stomach. You feel that pit in your gut? Or actually...” Anti walked his fingers down the spine, “Maybe intestines? Yeah, she said intestines were where the pain was. And actually, I know you don’t have ovaries, but kidneys are close to the same area, right?” Another shock to mess with their function. “Sorry if I got that wrong. This is all new to me.”

“Oh, also, is it pain, or just a numbness? Because I don’t think it’d be fair if you aren’t feeling a fraction of the pain you’ve caused. Actually. Hmmmmm. I usually do this from the front, but hey, we’re trying new things today.” Anti tried to find the T2 and T3 vertebrae. This one had to be careful and controlled. Didn’t want full cardiac arrest, just distress. But the brat just kept squirming and trying to move Anti’s hand out of position. Anti sighed, having to teach them another lesson.

Another knife plucked from the table, but no theatrics this time– just straight into their hand (and wooden chair arm) without hesitation or prelude. “Be glad I didn’t stab you in your left, since that’s the one you write with it.” His hostage just looked at Anti with such shock and horror. “Oh, I’m not a stalker. She noticed. And it’s such a small thing to notice. But she did. So what kind of blind man do you have to be to not see how you made her suffer day in and day out. Actually, that gives me an idea.” Anti looked at the open book on his table. “Hmmmm. You know what, I’ll chance the deafness.”

The jerk struggled against the restraints after that. And of course he would. Nothing about this kind of thing was ever that easy. No one ever took punishment well. “Seems we’re doing this the hard way.” Anti pressed his hands on either shoulder and sent a pulse all the way through both arms. The squirming finally stopped. “And I had so wanted to see if I could do that from the spinal column.” Anti sulked. “Do you know how useful that knowledge would have been?”

Anti laid a hand on the back of his subject’s neck, but the ass just kept thrashing about so Anti couldn’t be precise with his shock. See no other choice, Anti clamped his other hand around the front of their neck. Leaned close to the dick’s ear. “I’d rather not kill you,” he hissed, “but I have no problem doing it. So just sit back and relax. This will all be over soon.” He felt the gulp, but the man tried to pin his captor’s hand with his chin of all things. Another small jolt through his spine, and the struggling stopped. Finally Anti let out a sigh of relief.

“Was that so hard now?” And Anti was going to reposition himself to try again, but then there was gasping. Wheezing. He put two fingers on their jugular, and it wasn’t pulsating. Anti growled in frustration at this, because this wasn’t the plan. “You stupid prick.” Anti tore the tape off, trying to give them a larger airway, but that didn’t help. Wanted the bastard to suffer, not die. He came round to work on their chest, knowing at least how to restart a heart without a pulse.

 “Just a little blindness.” He placed a hand over top their heart. “Was that really too much to ask?” A shock to the muscle. Nothing so far. “It’s not like you didn’t have it coming.” Pressed in and gave another shock. “Would you have preferred I break your back?” A third one and it still wasn’t enough.

“Jeez!” Anti went around to his back, a little more frantic now. “Cause that would be too easy, you know?” Tried to spike the T2 and T3 nerves, but he still wasn’t breathing. “You work her to death, so you deserve a little death too.” Maybe his C-spine again? “Not actual death.” A big shock down the entire spinal column to try and get everything working again.

It was almost a relief to hear that gasp for air. Almost. “Goddamn bastard,” Anti breathed out. “Making this harder than it has to be.”

“You’re. Insane,” his hostage coughed out, still barely getting a handle on his restarted lungs.

“I’m insane. Really?” Anti walked in front, wanting to see the liar’s eyes. “You beat her spirit down to a pulp and spat on it. Sure it’s not physical abuse, gold star! but it’s hell nonetheless.”

“What–” he hacked up a lung trying to catch his breath. “Are– talking?”

“Oh, you don’t remember me do you?” Anti questioned playfully. “You’re such a self-important egomaniac, why would you? Let me sum it up then. You met me the other night. I stopped my brother from punching you in the face. And spoilers, I didn’t do that cause I’m that nice.” Anti laid out an unsettling grin, waiting for his victim to remember. And it was amazing to watch the eyes grow wide at realization.

“You??”

“Mmhm!” He was so proud of himself. “Neither of them know what proper revenge is.”

“Revenge? It’s just a project. You’re insane!”

“Maybe a little.” Anti put the tape back over his mouth, not interested in his excuses right now. He went back to his table of knives, thinking about going with one of his old, reliable methods of pain instead of trying out this new stuff. He picked up a knife and started turning it over in his hands, thinking about where to go first. “But mainly cause I actually let you torture her for the whole semester instead of beating you to a pulp after that first stunt you pulled.” He stopped musing and pointed the knife at him. “And I do mean that literally.” He paused a moment, thinking about carving up that flawless face of his.“But Robin convinced us that she couldn’t do that entire project on her own; that she needed you. And it turns out?” He made a little laugh for emphasis at this crazy situation, wanting to see the man’s pathetic face. “She did it all on her own anyway! And you were never punished for any of it! Just took credit for her hardwork and peddled it like you were the brains of the operation. Well, even if I didn’t do this soon enough to prevent her from breaking down...” Anti twisted and dug the edge of his blade into the worm’s left shoulder blade. Boy was he a screamer, even with the tape. “... I can at least make you feel some of the pain she did. Too little too late, but we’re gonna try and make up for it, yeah?”

[luverofsupernatural]

pointless head cannons / backstory

Jameson was the first one in their family to write a love letter

Even though Jameson was adopted, no one thought of him as anything except their brother. Jackie especially took to him.

Jackie had racecar sheets as a kid. He was supposed to get Chase’s old sports sheets, but then he threw a fit, so Jack got new ones for him.

Chase thought he liked guys, but then kinda shoved that thought deep down once he started dating Stacy. And especially when she got pregnant.

Chase thinks he may have loved Stacy (really, honeymoon infatuation), but knows he fell out of love a few years after Erika (second kid) was born. He stayed to try and make his kids lives easier and more “normal”

Jackie was the most fun uncle because he always used to lift up Erika and Adrianna and make them feel like they were flying.

Henrik has always been slightly jealous of how passionate and outgoing Chase was.

Chase becoming quieter was the first sign that Henrik knew something was wrong. He hadn’t been fully open in a long time, but he could see him pulling away from the others too.

Chase has always felt compared to Henrik. And like he can never measure up.

Jackie was playing baseball in high school. But he stopped once he discovered he had powers.

While Jackie doesn’t hate that he has powers, he does hate how he always has to hold back in every single aspect of his life.

Jackie is deathly afraid of getting close to someone and then losing them.

Jackie’s real name is Jack Jr. but, everyone just calls him Jackie.

Henrik wants to have a life outside his family and his work. But, at this point, even if everything was fine, he doesn’t think he even could date someone.

Jameson is happy to be a pianist, even if it doesn’t pay as much as other jobs

Everyone had moved out of the house at one point. However, they have all moved back in.

[luverofsupernatural]

She hadn't thought about hey past in a long time. Well, until today that is, when she saw him, or more aptly, herself. Her four year old self, walking along the fence, picking the flowers he managed to find. Wearing that one red shirt that wasn't yet completely faded to peach. Unaware of what would await him.

She leaned against the side of the brick garage she was standing in and just watched her former self play his little game. A little chuckle escaped her mouth as she watched little Derek pull so hard on the dandelion that when it finally escaped the ground he toppled over. She had almost forgot what innocence she once possessed. And how such a cute child she was.

“Hi!” Sky jumped back, frightened by the sudden words. She looked across the street saw little Derek waving at her. “Sorry, didn't mean to scare you,” he shouted at her.

Sky didn't know what to do, I mean this was herself. It was one thing to see her younger self (or at least the boy she thought was her younger self) and a whole nother to talk with him. “You like my flowers?” Derek's yell interrupted her thoughts.

It took Sky a couple moments to think of what to say. “They're lovely sweetie.” She didn't want to disappoint Derek.

“I gots some more over there!” Derek pointed to a tree that wasn't more than a good stone's throw away. “Wanna come and see? Plllleaseeee.” Derek gave her that puppy dog face. Which, was a lot more effective back then compared to now. Maybe she could stay for just a few minutes.

Sky crossed the street and entered the park through the broken fence gap. Her curls got a bit tangled up in the cross wiring, but she managed to rip them away without losing too much hair. “I'll race ya!” Before Sky could even see Derek, he was already in front of her, running towards the tree. She felt that childlike urge to win the raise, but held back. She didn't need that trivial validation anymore. Sky simply walked and arrived a few seconds after an out of breath Derek. “How do you move so fast?” Derek inquired as he plopped down against the tree bark.

“Well-”

“Is it because you're bigger than me? Or are you like an alien or something?” Sky had to laugh at that. Children had no filter and just spouted out whatever.

“No, I'm not an alien.” Sky joined Derek on the ground.

“Then how come you look so bright and sparkly?” Another gem of a sentence. Although, maybe to a kid, she would look strange, especially if they hadn't had much exposure to the different people.

“I like the way these clothes looked.” It was the best answer she could think of. A girl wearing a neon blue crop top with purple streaks and a leather jacket matched with bedazzled leggings does stick out. The fact that her hair was dye varying shades of blue and she had five ear piercings didn't make her look any more normal either.

“Hmm.” Derek appeared to examine her from top to bottom. “I like them too!” He put up his hand for a high five. Sky met his tiny hand with hers. “I'm Derek by the way.”

“I'm Sky.”

“Sky? Like the sky up there?” Derek pointed up. Albeit, he pointed at leaves from the tree, but Sky knew what he meant.

“Yes, like the actual Sky.” She smiled, and Derek's eyes widened, a smile creeping onto his face too.

“So, are you like, a god of the sky, like can you control what it looks like?”

Sky got a full body laugh from that one. “No.. no, I wish,” Sky managed to get out when she could finally get air in her lungs.

“Aww.” Derek's lips turned downward and his tiny sparkle faded some. “I thought you were magic.”

“Well,” it wouldn't be good to lie, but Sky also knew that Derek would need some *magic* in life right about now. “I do know a lot of things, which is kinda magical, right?” A little glint in his eyes.

“Like what?”

“Well, uh, let's see.” What would be something harmless... “I know that you are a very special kid. And I know that you are going to do some awesome things when you get older.”

“But I'm not special. My mommy said so.” That was why Sky needed to be there.

“Well, you don't need to listen to her. Because remember how I'm magic and I said that you are special?” Derek looked up at her. He nodded slowly, his face a kind of blank sadness. “Then that must mean you are special, right?” He shrugged his shoulders and looked back towards the ground.

“Well, I can also turn invisible.” His face shot back up.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I can turn myself invisible to all adults.” That wasn't a lie. Most people in this town made an active effort to try and not notice her.

“Like my friend Po-po?” Ahhh, Po-po, the imaginary fish who swam around the house. Po-po was a good imaginary friend.

“Kinda like Po-po, but I can talk.” I smiled and giggled a little.

“So does that mean that I can see you all the time?” Now Derek was getting really excited.

“Well, I can't go with you everywhere, but I'll always be here, everyday, if you wanna talk or just hang out.”

“Yeah!!” Derek jumped onto Sky's chest and hugged her tight. Sky, after a moment's pause, brought her arms around him too. She would be Derek's *imaginary friend.* And what she would remember, he needed to have a good, solid friend in his life. And what better friend than yourself.

“You're a lot harder than Po-po.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

((So, I haven’t written anything in a long time, like 2 years, but I got really inspired when I saw this prompt. It’s short, but that’s okay. I would really appreciate any feedback you have, love or hate or just meh.))

You are your younger self’s imaginary friend.

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 11: mind control

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: mind control

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Three word phrases. Those were the trick. Long enough to feel like a sentence. Short enough that each word had emphasis.

Let it go. You trust me? I love you.

Notice the you. Subject or object. Always had to be about them. That was another key. Almost like a command. Made them listen. And if the phrase was innocuous enough, they wouldn’t think anything was amiss.

See you soon. Listen to me. I miss you.

You get it? But you had to be careful it wasn’t too common or too rare. Be precise in your phrase. Don’t want to say it all the time. Otherwise, the person could catch on. It’s always a balancing act.

You’re okay now. You are enough. I hurt you.

It’s a trigger. You don’t want to fire it too often. But you have to be ready to take aim at any moment. After all, you never know when you’ll run into a bad situation.

Safe and sound. Take it easy. I’m so sorry.

Can’t always win. Sometimes you have to break the rules. Because the phrase also has to be part of your spell. It has to be aimed at your goal.

Don’t overthink it. Just do it. Please forgive me.

And last thing. Physical contact. That’s how it works best. Verbal commands alone can do alright. Eye contact, sure. But if you touch them, you can guarantee maximum impact. Best way to control someone.

Hold my hand. Take this too. Don’t leave me.

Just some tricks for mind control. Easy to do. Hard to master. A slippery slope though. Cause when you can make someone do what you want, that kind of power is hard to give up.

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 8: waking up disoriented

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: pain (chest, breathing), dread

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Chase’s eyes flew open. His breathing was heavy and his heart pounding against his rib cage. And when he couldn’t see anything, that just drove his heart rate through the roof.

He placed his hands over his heart and tried to breathe. Closed his eyes shut and then opened them, but it made no difference.

Tried to remember what was going on, but his head was screaming at him. It was just pain and heartache and his throat was getting tighter.

Okay. One hand for the heart. One on his diaphragm. Try to take a deep breath in. Deep breath out.

It was quiet here. What time was it? What day?

Breathe. Just. Breathe.

Chase tried to pick his head up, but it started spinning and he had to lay it on the pillow again.

Okay. Deep breath in. His lungs could breathe, so he was okay. It was his heart beating, pulsing, pounding and his head crying out.

Small steps. What was the last thing he did remember?

Last night. He had dinner last night. Watched a few shows with Jameson. And he headed upstairs. He brushed his teeth. He went to bed. That’s what he remembered.

But he could feel the gap.

Something happened between now and then.

So why didn’t he remember?

Cautiously, he moved a hand to try and feel around his head. Nothing wet or sticky. Nothing felt tender. Okay. Probably not a head injury.

Had to mentally psyche himself up to sit up in the bed. Immediately felt dizzy, but he braved it anyway. At least his body was starting to calm down. His heart was thudding and throbbing, but he could breathe against it at least. Felt for the edge of the bed and swung his legs over.

Carpet.

Moved his hand to the side, and sure enough, there was his table.

Okay. Bedroom. His bedroom. Did he just have a nightmare?

No. He should have calmed down by now. Something felt very wrong still. Taking a few more deep breaths, Chase launched himself onto his feet, letting himself rock a little before steadying. He could see the black spots come in and fade away. The darkness in his room was lighter, but it only seemed to deepen in his heart.

Took a few steps and opened his door. There was a soft light on the walls. It was dark, but not pitch black. He could see. And he could hear the small hum of appliances.

Grabbed the side of his doorway and took a step outside. Everything was still right now. Looked down the hallway and saw the moonlit treetops. Too late (or maybe too early) for people to be up. Everything in the world was calm, except for him.

Surely if he saw that with his own eyes, his body would have to listen.

Padded down the hall to Jameson. Peeked in and saw him wrapped up snuggly, resting peacefully. Chase smiled before closing the door. Okay. One down.

Next was Marvin. The man had kicked off all of his sheets and was sprawled out on the bed. Chase saw small twitches. Maybe he was in REM? Closed the door, trying not to add to the awake counter.

Next was Jackie’s door, but Chase didn’t check it; wouldn’t have helped when he knew his brother was out and about. So, last was Anti. He had his back to the door, but at least he was a lump in bed.

Another door shut, another one safe and sound, another reminder of the dread weighing down his heart.

Okay. Deep breath. He could feel his heart against his chest. It wasn’t physically hurting, so probably not a heart attack.

Hopefully.

Back to his room to grab his phone. Then down the stairs, not wanting to go back to his bed with terror on his mind.

Squinted his eyes at the bright light as he walked down the steps. And as he eventually adjusted, he brought up his contacts. Decided to call Jackie instead of text. A safe bet of a pick up.

It rang. And rang. And rang. Each silent beat only making his heart pound harder.

“Chase?” Jackie answered, a bit more concerned than Chase was used to hearing.

“Hey man,” Chase answered, trying to breathe a sigh of relief, but not feeling any such peace.

“Why are you calling me at... three in the morning?”

“I just... Can’t sleep right now.” He sat on the couch, putting a hand over his heart again. Maybe talking and the physical touch would work. “Kinda. Heart’s just pounding.”

“You have a nightmare or somethin’?”

“Don’t think so. Just kinda,” he took in a deep breath to try and make a physical difference. It did for a beat or two. “Feels like dread. A lot of dread.”

“That’s... not normal.”

“No. It’s not.” Chase breathed through his nose to maybe have an effect (but, of course, no). “Just needed to hear your voice. Know you’re safe. So just... take it easy tonight, okay?”

“I’m always safe. Come home in one piece and such.”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Chase got more serious. His heart picked up at that response. “Seriously. I can’t...” Chase got caught up at the mere thought of something bad happening. “Can’t–” and his head was spinning again and he was having trouble breathing again.

“Chase. Chase!”

Even if he could talk, what could he say? This wasn’t nothing. It was very real. Whether it was physical or mental or emotional, it was real. And it hurt like someone he loved was dying right in front of him. Like maybe he was dying. He had squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his heart to get a handle on it. But everything hurt and ached.

It felt like he was bleeding, but he didn’t smell it. Didn’t taste it either. Tried to feel the couch, but it didn’t register. Different texture to ground him.

And he made the mistake of feeling the edge of the side table.

His breath seized. Then there was a sharp pain in his leg now. And it felt like all the air was knocked out of him.

His hands were now wrapped around his calf. There was nothing there. He could feel his muscles were intact and tense. But it felt like he was being stabbed. And his heartbeat was in his ears ringing so loud.

What was even happening to him?

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 4: juggling

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: angst?, spiraling thoughts?, feeling of failure

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the first Thanksgiving after the fire. It would always be a tough one, but they tried making it easier. Chase and his brothers were in the larger house, so Stacy would bring the kids over there. And it would be the nine of them. Well, hopefully nine. And even if it was Chase’s house, Stacy was playing host, keeping everyone entertained, while Chase stayed back in the kitchen.

It was a mutual decision to make it a whole day affair. Especially so the kids could spend time with their uncles. Try to actually appreciate all the family they had. Have Chase appreciate all the family he still had. Cause he did still have a family to come home to.

The holiday was always a juggling act for him. Balancing the different relationships from all the different people with their intense emotions exaggerated during the holiday season and all the hosting duties he and Stacy had. This Thanksgiving day, all he could manage to juggle was the cooking. The different vegetable sides, their different cooking times, the mixing smells of spices, having to wash and reuse the same mixing bowls. Everything getting wrapped in foil in one way or another, trying to remember to sharpie each one to avoid confusion, making room on the every shrinking counter. Deciding which got cooked when based on re-heatability, trying to supply lunch and snacks on top of dinner, mulling over if it should be a stream of food or just one large dinner.

And then he ran out of cranberry sauce. And the world shattered. Because he couldn’t just leave with all that he had to still do and manage. But there was no more cranberry sauce. An integral part of the meal. It wasn’t Thanksgiving if this wasn’t here, and they had to have Thanksgiving right this year.

Chase watches as the plates he was spinning came crashing down. Watched by helplessly as the balls he tossed up in the air fell. He couldn’t move to catch them. Just stood there, frozen. Crying. Because they were out of cranberry sauce and he was letting everyone down with his performance today.

Tag: @jselorekeeper

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 24: CPR

Part of my Missed Messages AU. A continuation of this

Content warning: car crash, blood, cpr

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jackie had to keep fighting against the emergency responders. They all tried helping him first instead of helping his brother. Resisted against the paramedics putting a brace around his neck when they were barely caring for Chase. Yelled and screamed at the firefighters wanting to pry open his door first to get him out. Agonized when they succeeded and still everyone fussed over him instead of Chase.

He braced his right arm against the ceiling and used his left to rip off the seatbelt. Voices were everywhere, trying to get him to calm down, stay put, let them help. But no one was actually helping. And despite the pain in his head now, Jackie rolled over onto his knees. Hands were all over him, trying to inspect him, give him reassurance. Swatted at the hands and ripped off that suffocating neck brace. He only needed to take one deep breath. Two deep breaths. And then he was up and shuffling over to the other side of the car. He couldn’t feel his left foot, but he could feel the blood on that leg.

Jackie easily shrugged off the arms trying to hold him back. The firefighters were still working out a strategy for Chase’s side when they noticed him. They yelled at Jackie, but he didn’t care. Grabbed the passenger door and gave a good hard yank. The metal was grating on the ears, but now, Chase was exposed. Jackie laid the door against the side of the car, trying not to spill anymore broken glass. He would have preferred flipping the car so that Chase wasn’t upside down during this, but everyone around him was making him do things the hard way.

They hadn’t put a brace to maintain Chase’s airway and spine. Jackie steeled himself as he prepared to rip Chase free. One hand on the chest, and Jackie’s heartbeat was beating twice as hard against his ribs. The other tore the seatbelt fabric and braced Chase’s lap so he wouldn’t slide down. Gently, Jackie shifted his hand from Chase’s limp chest to the back of his shoulders. Carefully, he pulled his brother out, trying not to shift him too much. Laid him against the ground a few feet away, and immediately got on his knees and started beating down on his chest.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. His vision was getting blurry, but he could only blink the water away. Had to keep beating. Not too deep. Make sure the chest recoiled fully. People screaming at him, but he couldn’t stop.

One breath. Two breath. And back to the chest.

“Sir, we’ve got him. But we need to help you too.”

“No,” Jackie snarled. “He’s not dead yet. I can get him back.” Two more breaths.

He would give up his flight. *Beat* His strength. *Beat* His magic. *Beat* Anything. *Beat* To make sure Chase lived.

Started mumbling to himself, “My strength is your strength. My strength is your strength,” over and over and over and over. He usually needed his enchanted paper to make the spell work, but he couldn’t stop doing CPR. Couldn’t give up. Could only hope and pray that he was doing enough. That he could reverse this.

He could feel himself getting more winded. Which, maybe that was good, maybe it meant it was working. But then why wasn’t he coming back? Why wasn’t he breathing again? Why wasn’t–

*cough, cough. Cough.*

That way the most beautiful sound Jackie ever heard. He immediately hunched over and pulled Chase tight to his chest. Not so tight that he couldn’t breathe again, but close enough that he felt the sputter and the rise and fall again.

“What’s...”

“You’re gonna be okay. I promise.” Jackie squeezed into the hug, not wanting to let Chase go again.

“Jackie...” Jackie pulled back so he could look at Chase’s face. It was all blurry until he wiped away the water, but he was so happy to see his brother’s face full of life again.

“Yeah?”

“I think I need a hospital.”

Jackie let out an ill-timed laugh, but it was just nice to see Chase still had his wits about him. “Yeah. I’ll, these guys got it.”

With a bit of hesitation, Jackie let go of Chase. Then he pressed a hand against the ground and stood up. The watchful paramedics were trying to tell him to stop and to stay still, but he paid them no mind. “Take good care of him.”

Jackie patted Chase’s shoulder. “I’ll see you at the hospital.” From there, Jackie spotted the nearest ambulance and started shambling towards it. His left leg was worse now, he could feel that, but if he didn’t notice it, it was fine. Paramedics were trying to stop him from moving, get him to stay still, but he refused to be fused over so much. He sat himself on the edge of one of the ambulances before finally cooperating with the medics.

It was just a few scraps and bruises to him. He was fine. He was always fine. Didn’t need special treatment or to be fussed over. Just needed to make sure Chase was alive.

Watched Chase get into the other ambulance before he would allow them to take him away too. Had to make sure they were taking care of Chase, for as long as he could. And he’d do the same once he was at the hospital. No one was dying on his watch.

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 1: black and blue/hidden injury

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: bruising, angst, implied abuse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anti grabbed Robin’s arm to prove how serious he was. And instead of seeing her eyes grow wide, finally realizing who she should be afraid of, they shut tight as she let out a small yelp of pain. Stunned by her shock, he dropped her arm. She immediately recoiled it, holding it close to her chest. 

That’s when he noticed the spot. Much darker than her skin tone. Was it there before?

Anti took a step closer, and she, much wearier of him now, stepped back. But this wouldn’t stand.

This time, he grabbed her hand, pulling it towards him so he could look at her arm. “Anti!” she tried yanking it back, but he wouldn’t let go now.

Looked at the spot closer, and there was some mild discoloration around it. Anti wiped at it and felt.... something on her skin. As he gently wiped it away with his hand, the dark purple splotches grew clearer.

Alarmed now, he wiped up and down her forearm, getting as much color off as possible despite her reflexive flinches and protests.

And it was large.

“I bumped into my desk.”

Not that hard.

“And then my bag caught on my arm.”

No, it didn’t.

“I’m fine.”

No you’re not.

And Anti moved his hand from the wrist to her forearm, trying to get a grip on her five bruises. And if she moved right now, he had no doubt he’d break more of her fragile rebuilding blood vessels.

Because it was exactly what he thought it was. He squeezed a little, and she was already twisting her arm and face to keep quiet. That was enough.

“Who did this to you?” his voice was low and even. Because he had to keep steady right now.

“No one.”

“Who hurt you?” he asked a little louder, trying to maintain composure. Looked at her, daring her to lie one more time.

She bit her lip. Drew a little bit of blood there too. “I can’t tell you.”

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 6: implaement

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: angst?, nightmare, blood, accident aftermath, description of injuries (gore?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marvin shot up in bed, clutching at his chest. Rubbed his eyes time and time again.

It was dark with shadows in his room. Black and gray. But it wasn’t stained red. He remembered his vision was partly red.

Looked down at his leg. Grabbed the spot. It wasn’t tender. Didn’t have a piece of jagged metal stuck deep inside. Could still remember the dark red streaming down from his shin. Didn’t remember how much it hurt.

Felt along his arm. There was no glass on the outside. No tiny pricklers. No large shard he could see (maybe even feel) pulsing with every heartbeat.

And most importantly, he was alone in his room. No Jameson beside him. He could remember something was sticking his brother in the heart. The blood on his shirt. Did he reach out? Was his arm already reaching out when he’d looked? Did it touch him, or was it pinned down? He couldn’t remember. Didn’t want to remember. Didn’t want to see those red, bloody images.

They flashed to his mind whenever he closed his eyes. But never enough to know exactly what happened. The blood. The metal. The glass. The rod. Red. Blood. Metal. Shards. Shrapnel.

Never hurt physically. But could picture all the pain. Felt too scared to move, like he was stuck in the bed. Nothing was keeping him though, checked several times to make sure he wasn’t actually hurt. It was just too real. Never had something impale him before. Didn’t want today to be his first.

Maybe he’d steer clear of driving for a few days.

[luverofsupernatural]

Hey, so i do write jse, but with my school workload, it's kinda hard to put stuff out regularly (but I feel like I put something out every two weeks). BUT, all my writing goes under my tag #sapphirerubywrites. My current series I'm writing is "These Hands of Mine"

And, if you're on desktop, you can see my whole master list I've compiled (it's a page I made on my blog)

hey i don’t usually do this but i want to make sure i’m keeping an eye on a lot of different writers now that the fandom on here is a little smaller. are any of you active jse writers who would want me to have a look at their fics? feel free to link me to a fic or tell me your writing tag in the comments, reblogs, or dms. send me an anon, even, and even though i won’t post it i’ll assume it’s a friend recommending you and i’ll check it out.

(no real people shipping please, no non-mute Jameson unless you’re leading up to a throat injury, and please don’t be offended if i don’t reblog yours or something. i have a list of people i check in on and might just leave it at that) i just really like to know who my fellow writers are!! helps me keep my finger on the pulse and miss less of the freaking amazing writing you guys put out. especially since, as some of you know, I don’t really like being on taglists. don’t want to lose you in the shuffle!

(i’ve listed some of the blogs i’m aware of below and i would prefer it if the writer themselves recommended themselves to me because many of you know whether or not i’m aware of you! but if you want to reblog it with your own recommendations that’s all good)

[sapphirerubycreates]

Egotober Day 10: Glitch

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: violence, death

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He’d called himself “Glitch”. And looking back at it, five years made all the difference. But he couldn’t give the name up now, no matter how much it pained him.

Everyone had a theory on why that’s what he called himself. 

Jackie took it the most literal, believing it to be because he could glitch out electronics with his power.

Henrik was a bit more nuanced, adding that maybe his teleportation made him look like a visual glitch to other people when he suddenly disappeared.

Chase thought it was because Anti didn’t fit into any social group anymore, and spent most of his time wandering aimlessly. A metaphorical glitch in the system.

Marvin had thought maybe it was because of all that happened with the coven. Getting picked so young, getting cast out, going into hiding. Nothing about his magic was normal in that world. Hoped Anti knew that that kind of thing didn’t matter to him though.

Jameson caught him saying once “everything I touch dies.” Said it when Anti experimented with Jameson, seeing if plants could take his electrical impulses. The phrase had gotten warped in his mind over the years, and Anti never remembered saying those exact words, and Jameson never brought it up again. But he could see how sad his brother was when he thought no one was watching. 

His old organization thought it was because his hacking was so impressive that any change he made just looked like a computer glitch.

Some thought it was cause the kid had a penchant for tasers and electrocution.

No one got it right though. Not the first reason at least.

No one alive knew.

He could cut security camera feeds or turn them on at will. Easy enough once he could locate their power.

That one night he lost control. No, he had a terrifying amount of control.

Turned the camera feeds static when he stepped into frame. Turned them back on when he left. Dead bodies only left in frame.

Mess with walkie talkie signals. Cut them off in the middle of a call. Let the screams ring in the hallways.

.

But he made a whole show of it. Working his way to the boss, trying to make him scared.

It wasn't like he planned. The man wasn't scared. And Anti was even more enraged at that. He called Anti a Glitch. And before he could control himself, Anti had finished it. And as he stood over the body of this big boss, he spat back, “not bad for a glitch, huh?”

He’d deleted the footage once he'd gotten his revenge. But he could never delete it from his mind.

He didn’t want to be a Glitch anymore. But that was who he was, wasn’t it?

[sapphirerubycreates]

Egotober Day 5: Jar

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: none

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The basement had jars. It also had boxes for storage, but more jars than the average house. That’s what happened when the basement was the spell room. Needed containers for ingredients, potions, antidotes, various liquids, collecting the ooze off the wall (just kidding on that one).

Some were displayed on shelves, there was a ‘spice rack’ of ones with exotic ‘spices’. Some were still in their plastic packaging, others tucked away in boxes. Labels with tape, marker on the glass, or just a visual cue. Dolled up with a topper cloth, or a straw tie, maybe stickers, or just plain. One quart jugs all the way down to one ounce vials. You’d essentially have to be blind to go down to the basement and not see a jar somewhere.

Save the kitchen, that was the only room that was supposed to have jars of any kind. Easy rule that the boys inherited by accident. Jars just felt... wrong outside of the magic room unless they were being used for something. Unspoken rule among everyone.

.

.

.

Which is exactly why Anti had a lock box sealed with a charm and with a false bottom that was hidden under his bed. For the vials that he wasn’t supposed to have. Ones that no one could stumble upon. Ones in case of an emergency. No, not emergencies. Ones with irreversible consequences to be used only in the most dire of circumstances. Ones that he could hopefully destroy in a few years time.

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 17: Pushed

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: peer pressure

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So,” Anti slid into the seat next to Robin. “I hear you’re doing some apartment searching.”

“How did you–”

“Well look no further. I’ve got the perfect apartment.”

“Anti, I’m not sure I even–”

“It’s a single bed, close walking distance, and a good price.”

“Anti!” He’d made his pitch, so he was okay letting her get a word in. “I don’t even know if I want to move. I just got used to this apartment.”

“Yeah, but all your roommates are moving out. You really want to live with three strangers?”

“Well... no. But it’s cheap. There’s no way that your apartment–”

“Same price.”

“No. No single is–”

“Five fifty a month? Utilities included?” So, maybe he’d checked on her lease.

“Then it’s probably a shoebox, or a real fixer upper, or in like, a bad area.”

“C’mon, why can’t you just believe I found something good?”

“Because nothing is that good without a catch.”

“Okay,” Anti admitted, “There is a catch.” And he wouldn’t let this deter her from accepting. “It’s my spare apartment.”

Robin’s eyes grew wide at his words. “I’m sorry. What?!”

“Yeah. I’d got it for Marvin, but since he’s graduating and you’re going for another year, you can use it.”

It took a few seconds, and even then, Robin stammered before finally piecing together a sentence. “I– I can’t take that.”

“Oh sure you can. It’s just vacant right now. I could honestly rent it to you for free, since it’s you.”

She made a scoff of just bewilderment. Which, sure it would be weird if it was anyone but him. But they had a deal after all. “No. I can’t. Why– why do you even–? I can’t do that!”

“It’s a good deal. What don’t you get?”

“What don’t I get? Um, how about that you’re essentially trying to give me an apartment when you’ve barely known me for three months.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t be nice.”

“Nice? Nice, would be helping me look at the different places, or helping me with a roommate search. This? I. I can’t just move into an apartment for half of what it’s worth because my friend’s brother owns the place.”

“Sure you can.”

“No. It, it raises too many red flags.”

“Just come look at it.”

“No!”

“Look, do you trust me?”

“I– Yes, but, I just...”

“Come look at it. If you hate it, fine. But you don’t get to back out of it just because it’s me.”

“... Fine.”

“Great! You got some free time now?”

“Not really–”

“Ah, you probably need a break anyway. Plus you can see how close it is.”

Anti packed her up. Even if she had said no, he still would have kept it for her. Tried to convince her again and again to move into it. Bought out her other lease if that’s what it took. If things went well with his brother (if he could get off his ass and get over himself), they’d need a private space.

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictobr Day 7: Disolcation

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: beating/mugging, blood, injury, pain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn’t mean to do it. Not this time. It was a reflex. Saw him coming, sent a jolt of electricity to stop that. It was a surprise he had a friend. Anti’s head was knocked against the brick wall. Hard. Couldn’t even see. And another hard jab to his stomach. Grabbed at it instinctively, and then another hit to the head. Something much harder than an elbow. And then the kicks. Over and over and over and over. Couldn’t get a hand free to even attempt something. Could barely even open his eyes.

When they finally stopped, he just sat there, sharply breathing in. His attackers didn’t take anything off him. Anti concentrated on listening for footsteps. Waited for them to fade. Waited longer still. He had to cough, and he could feel something dripping from his mouth. Knew that taste, that smell... it wasn’t good.

He had to stand up. Had to help himself. Still didn’t know if he’d chance a hospital or a spell. But he had to stand up first. Tried to support himself with his left arm....

And it wouldn’t move.

Definitely not good.

Alright then. Head still buzzing and dizzying, he braced his right arm against the ground and gave a hard push, forcing himself to sit up and letting out a grunt of pain in his stomach. Took in two sharp breaths to psyche himself up. Hand pushing against the ground, he got one foot solid. Pushed up with extreme difficulty, getting knocked back down.

No. He survived worse than just a random beat down. He wouldn’t die like this.

With even more determination, he tried again, crying out in pain as he made himself stand on two feet. He spit out the blood in his mouth, wanting to fall back over. His left arm was dead weight, just hanging down. Great.

Couldn’t catch a good breath. But he had to try one more thing. Turned himself so that his shoulder was facing the brick wall. Breathed in against his cracked ribs. Three.... Two.... One...

And then he slammed his shoulder against the wall and yelped in pain, loudest of the night. A jolt of pain rushed through his arm, worse than his stomach in that moment. Still couldn’t move his fingers. Still just hung there. Tears rolled freely with how excruciating it all was. Couldn’t breath enough to say words. Didn’t have a ready sigil for healing. Didn’t know if he could even draw it properly with the one hand. One choice left. The voice of Henrik screaming in his head to go see a doctor.

But Anti couldn’t see his brothers. Even if he could get there in this state, going there was certain death. No, he had to see a doctor nearby. Hospital. And he was grateful he had actually found that building in this new city he called home. The only problem: he could barely stand. Couldn’t even imagine walking. Couldn’t call. One option left. Screamed in pain as he used his power to hop a ride along the electric line. Hopefully he’d be in one piece when he got to the hospital. Hopefully he’d wake up again.

[sapphirerubycreates]

Septictober Day 21: Forced to Watch/Possession

Part of my Missed Messages AU

Content warning: nightmares, descriptions of death, stabbing, knives, possession

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was always the same every night. Nightmares that hopefully weren’t premonitions and then staying awake on two hours of sleep and passing out to do it all over again. Same nightmare every time. Captured. In that room again. With his brother. Being held back by his captors. Forced to watch as they killed him. Burned alive. Stabbed to death. Drowned. And he could never look away.

But tonight, one month into this torture, it was finally different. He broke free and rushed over to his brother. Electrocuted everyone in the room except for Marvin. Grabbed him and hugged him so tight. Even let himself cry at this relief. Finally being able to hold him– to save him.

But then his blood ran cold. His arm... it was moving on its own. He opened his eyes, but couldn’t turn his head.

Watched it hover over the table. Tried to scream when it grasped the handle. Attempted to move something– anything!– to get away from this situation.

Saw the glint as it rose above their heads.

...

And felt the tip of it, piercing him from Marvin’s chest.

He let go of his brother but kept hold of the knife. Stepped backwards, making him see that face. That face Marvin made when he was dying. Only, it wasn’t that same face. It was worse. He was crying. They were crying. And more than anything, Anti wanted to scream and call out like those thousand times before.

But his limbs weren’t his anymore. His voice not allowed to speak. And he was forced to watch his brother drown in his own blood.

By his own hands.

A smile was forced upon his face, his puppetmaster admiring their handiwork.

When he woke up, Anti looked down at his hands. And when he could be sure they were his, he bent his head down into them. And wept. Cried until the tears were dry, his throat all too scratchy, and he wasn’t making any more sound. And still he cried.

And once that was all done, he made a vow. He made two. No one would ever control him ever again. He would never hurt his brother ever again. If he ever got to see him again.

[sapphirerubycreates]

Marvin's Night (Spring Senior Year)

Missed Messages AU

Author's Note: Okay, so this is going to be done in parts. I'll reblog as an addition for each. It's one very long scene (~7.2k words), but I don't feel good splitting it up into separate posts, nor having one large thing. So, hope you enjoy this as it comes along (I am so scared to post this). Also fun fact, the working title for this in my doc is "We're just going from memory bitch". This is that scene I re-wrote seven times. As with this entire series, minor details may be different from previous posts cause I am flying by the seat of my pants. I'm working on trying to not do many retcons, but they will happen. Sorry :(

Summary: After a month of being ghosted by Robin, Marvin is finally going to confront her at her final project showcase. Yes it's a shitty thing to do, but he's been through enough shit already. And he needs an answer once and for all if he can be with her (if he ever asked her out) or if he just needs to give up and move on. It's going to be a roller coaster of a night.

Last Friday in April, senior year

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

Marvin had turned it over again and again in his mind. Drafted too many texts that were deleted within minutes of writing them. Hesitated to ask for fear of the answer he didn’t want to hear. It wasn’t until that night he had finally decided he had to man up and see her. (Well, that’s a lie. He was always going to go to support her at the Capstone presentation. Never actually thought of not going. He was just silently loathing his current situation and, by proxy, going there). No dodging him this time. Even if he felt bad about cornering her, he deserved an answer about where they stood.

And even though he wasn’t the one in the limelight, Marvin found himself stuck at his closet. Casual clothes didn’t feel good enough. But he wasn’t supposed to dress up either. Nothing held the right gravity for his dilemma.

“Come on, we’re gonna be late!” Anti yelled from downstairs.

“In a minute!” Marvin yelled back, still paralyzed. Slacks? What about a plain shirt? Why were his jeans so off-putting?

“What is the hold up?” Anti was close now, probably on the other side of the bed.

“It’s stupid,” Marvin answered, the constant inability to do anything besides freeze stirring up his anxiety.

“What is?”

Marvin sighed, placing a hand on the closet door before facing his brother. “I don’t have an outfit.”

Anti’s jovial laugh added insult to injury. This was indeed a very silly problem. Of course he knew that. It just didn’t feel like it right now. “I’m serious.” Unfortunately. 

“I know,” Anti calmed himself down, getting out his last kick of it. “You’re hopeless.”

“Yes, now help.”

Marvin pushed aside the clothes hangers, trying to go back through them again. Maybe something would spark? He looked towards his dresser, expecting Anti to be digging up some obscure t-shirt, but found an empty space instead. Looking around, the room was empty, again. “God-” Marvin cursed under his breath, now angrily rejecting each piece of clothing for a third time.

Then his hair was pushed into his eyes and fabric against his head. “There!”

���Wha?” Marvin grabbed the front of the hat and tipped it up so he could actually see again and moved in front of his mirror. Dark gray fedora with a few specks of glitter that caught the light (glitter that wasn’t intentionally placed on the hat, he was certain).

“It’s a loan, but you look fine now.”

“This is...” Something wretched in his gut. It definitely was far from the unattainable perfect he had wanted, but just... the opposite of great. Felt almost like an insult, even if there was nothing actually objectionable about the hat. Paradoxically discordant between his emotions and reality, considering he’d been loaned this specific hat before and it really did snaz up any outfit.

“We’re gonna be late.” Anti grabbed his brother’s hand and pulled him downstairs. Then, finally, Anti, Marvin, and Jameson got into Anti’s car to drive to the showcase.

First words from Marvin only surfaced about a minute after the engine started. “Thanks, Jameson.” Marvin looks beside him to see the thumbs up from his brother. Jameson waited a few seconds before venturing a question.

“Are you excited?”

Marvin didn’t answer. Couldn’t really. Tonight, he could possibly l–... No, don’t think about it. “I’m sure she’ll do great. It’s her baby after all. Did almost the entire thing.” Jameson nodded encouragingly. “But uh, there’s other cool stuff too. I think one project was legos for skull reconstruction. So, make sure you get a chance to check out everything. Sure wish Henrik coulda come out. He’d probably have had a ball. ... Probably’s gonna have a lot of medical speak. I’ll make sure to stick by, in case you have questions.”

“He’s not a little kid,” Anti interjected. “Besides, I think we all have a good base cause of Hen. He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” Jameson tried to reassure Marvin. “Just enjoy yourself.”

“Enjoy myself, huh?” Marvin didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean for him at this point.