#since he’s the one who saved her earlier when she tried to kill herself

[confusedspaceotter]

Okay but imagine this:

At the end we get a final scene with Ekko saying his final goodbye to Jinx who’s boarding the airship

(look they BOTH went though so much and I just want them to be happy

[blaire-beast]

Main 3 of my story :]

Dip pens are so awesome istg

Also rebloggs are highly appreciated!! I'd love to get more of my oc content out there, they're my pride and joy

Story explained below, please leave some feedback if you take the time to read it!!

So, top to bottom: Eden, Silas and Chaos(all more or less any pronouns, Eden goes mostly by she/her and Chaos and Silas by he/him)

Eden is the daughter of the sun god and another dragon (not a god but she's viewed as the moon) and she grew up alone with her mom Eskar up in the mountains shielded from everything that was going down in the outside world. She goes off to find out what happened to the gods who disappeared around 100 years ago as a young adult and ends up having to save the world after dying and waking up the sun god

Chaos is half roach half person and he grew up in a cult away from society under the hand of a fake god (cancer taking the form of something and trying to get people to join her cult so that she may consume the whole world one day). Said "god" calls herself Visha and is the main villain of the story and he had to be her right hand and do all of her dirty work for most of his life. He met Eden when Visha took notice of her traveling through her forests and made Chaos set up some sort of camp out in the desert promising to teach magic and let people speak with the gods. The two got very close and eventually fell in love which caused him to freak out and urge Eden to pack her things and go before "she" finds out, unfortunately he left earlier than her cause he couldn't say goodbye and eden followed him up to his lab where she saw the eldritch horror and had to fight it as she used chaos as a puppet and in the end had to be put out of her misery due to her injuries and the very real possibility of getting tortured till the end of the world if Visha got her hands on her

Silas is the son of a very rich harpy woman and a monkey person (don't have a name for them yet aaaa), along with his brother Elias. They grew up rich but his brother is selectively mute and was a really emotional kid so everyone in their family treated him as some sort of animal who stained their image and so they only gave silas an education. His dad was a dragon hunter up until the day he was attacked and killed by a "dragon" which is when silas had to step in and fill in his role even tho he was really inexperienced in everything that came with it and deep down he did not want to kill or hurt anything for that matter. He goes off to the desert a year or two after running into eden thinking that she's the one who killed his dad and using it as an excuse to finally get away from his family. Eventually he is rescued by her after his attempts to survive out in the wilderness fail miserably and they live together in the desert till eden is badly injured and has to be rushed to the nearest town for immediate help

Eden and Silas end up moving in together while eden tries to do more research on the gods and the weirdness around the sudden disappearing and chaos' situation degrades as he falls deeper into grief and Visha gets more violent and aggressive. Eventually him and eden run into each other at a festival in the town square and after a bit of freaking out and avoiding each other they talk and eden starts putting the pieces together

There's a bit of back and forth with chaos not being able to reveal much in fear of being watched but eventually they run into each other in an old temple both looking for anything that might give them more info on the gods and in the midst of a very sad embrace visha materializes out of nowhere to formally introduce herself to eden and to kill her for good since at that point she knew way too much. The fight doesn't go her away and upon realizing that eden knows how to use fire really well and could easily burn her to a crisp and undo months of work she goes full flesh monster and breaks one of the pillars holding everything together trying to burry her alive. Eden manages to escape last minute and chaos is left to wake up back at the cult surrounded by mangled bodies and a very hungry and very angry visha

Eventually she goes into a sort of deep hibernation for like a year to conserve her strength after being sure that she scared chaos into submission (she didn't) and while she's not there to keep an eye on everything he goes to eden and silas' place and proceeds to explain everything and then probably faint. At that point in the story he'd be very sick with the same cancer that the gods suffered from quietly and his state would only degrade from then on as they wake them all up and prepare for a final confrontation with the flesh monster

Him and eden wake her up and fight her, he ends up immobilizing her with an old powerful spell so that eden can channel the wrath of her god parent and burn her to an absolute crisp, loosing her right arm in the process

Chaos is caught in the fire and comes out of it alive and better than he ever was, realizing that he's more or less a manifestation of the magic that's in every living thing and that Visha only stayed alive cause she could feed on him (she can only really feed on magic stuff, she started out as a disease that the gods of life and death got after fighting each other and sharing blood)

That's mostly it! There's a lotttt of bits and pieces but i thought it was about time i shared the full story somewhere

Either way thank you all for the support so far!! Tumblr has been genuinely wonderful

Here's an old animatic i did about it

[incomingalbatross]

"Everyone already perceives Elsa as a scary monster, just let the audience share the general Arundelle perspective instead of giving us the inside scoop on Elsa actually just being Misunderstood."

You'd also have to change Anna's opinion since she always viewed Elsa as simply misunderstood too. Or at least have her come to believe she was wrong somehow.

Okay so this is the part of the Make Frozen Better concept in my head that I completely neglected to articulate and, in fact, may have contradicted in places. :P Hang on...

I think what I'm imagining, here, is that Elsa looks like a monster/Evil Queen to everyone, including the audience, except Anna. And we the audience quite genuinely don't have the information to decide if Anna's right and her journey is saving her sister, or if she's wrong and her journey is about saving her kingdom.

Very, very rough outline:

Elsa is Anna's older sister who she barely knows - remote, reserved, always closing herself off from others but from Anna especially. Anna loves her. Or she wants, rather desperately, to love her. But she barely knows her.

At the opening of the plot, they interact a little and it's unexpectedly friendly. Anna feels a surge of hope that Maybe Her Sister Loves Her Too.

But then everything goes dramatically bad. Hans signs up to rescue Anna from her lonely life via marriage, they tell Elsa, and Elsa freaks and reveals her powers in a dramatic surge that brings down the storm. Then she vanishes.

It honestly looks pretty villainous and the people who are going "Queen Elsa...is a witch? Queen Elsa wants the kingdom to suffer?" actually sound like they have a reasonable case. (Edit the confrontation scene as needed to make Elsa's motives and responses look more villainous.)

But Anna is the only one saying NO, that's her SISTER, she's not treating her like a monster, she's gonna go and talk to her! She's not writing her off!!

She sets off. Other people point out - first at court and then on her journey, where she meets a married couple - that she's not being really rational about this. She's staking the kingdom, her kingdom and her people, on her faith in a sister she admits she barely knows. She clings to her love of her sister.

(The married couple also questions her engagement, which here can maybe play into "Anna's a hopeless romantic" instead of writerly self-sabotage? Also a good segue into a speech about Love in general.)

She meets with Elsa. They have, like, half a productive conversation maybe? But Elsa is afraid to try and be a Queen or a sister when she's already failed and, to the audience, this comes across as selfishness. She ends up cursing Anna.

Anna's faith in her breaks. She looks like a confirmed villain now, even if she wasn't before. The only hope is to go back to Hans - and Hans doesn't let her down. Not exactly. The kiss doesn't work but he says her sources must have been wrong, and the only way to end Elsa's curses is going to be to kill her.

Anna, shaken and disillusioned and beginning to doubt any type of love is as true as she thought it was, doesn't stop him.

They're lined up to kill Elsa, who is overpowered really surprisingly easily.

At the last minute, Anna remembers or is helped by the couple from earlier and the things they discussed about love. Love is an act of faith, but it's also a choice and a willingness to extend something to another person whether they deserve it or not. She realizes again, for good, that she loves her sister even if she is a villain, and she's not willing to kill her even for the "greater good."

She gets in front of the ax. Else tells her to get out of the way. They argue, and Elsa reveals that she just wants the curses gone and if dying is what it takes, she wants to die. She let herself be captured so they could put an end to her. Anna yells at her. They both cry.

Some climactic moment where they're both trying to shield each other, either from the execution (Hans's true priorities are revealed as he tried to go through with it anyway) or in some more abstract way.

Burst of light.

The light clears, they're clinging to each other, Anna's curse is gone, and winter has made way for spring.

(My OWN take would also have Elsa's hair going from white to blonde, with the reveal that her powers were a curse and needed an act of fearless love to break them. Or at least to unleash the uncursed, unfrozen, controllable version of her native powers. I realize this would be hard to fit in with Frozen's whole empowerment thing, but if we're centering this story on Anna learning how to love people properly and Elsa participating in her journey, I'm not sure magic as self-acceptance really fits in here anyway. So I'm parking that bit here, under probation.)

Anyway this is now a story about Disney Princess Anna looking like she has to learn lessons about Responsibility and Discernment and Judging People Rightly, but then reveals that while it is about those things (see: Hans), it's also about validating her pure heart and steadfast love for her sister, and showing how she learns to add wisdom to that childlike faith instead of rejecting one for the other. That's the goal anyway.

[emilyprentissluvr]

Diners and Milkshakes (Don't Blame Me: Chapter 8)

Emily Prentiss x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse and other typical CM stuff

Words: 4.3k

"Because your unsub, Y/n, is the daughter of the Wood Stalker."

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Derek said as the team took in the new information Gideon had given them. 

Emily frowned as she took in Derek's blunt words, "Well, she had the genetic and environmental influences of a psychopath for eight years," Emily said. She was far from Y/n's biggest fan. She probably hated her more than anyone in this room. But that didn't mean she couldn't sympathize with the little girl that Y/n was. 

"Did she even stand a chance at a normal life?" JJ asked, subconsciously wrapping her hands around her midsection. She didn't know why she felt different about this case. This wasn't the first time one of their unsubs had been a child of a murderer. Maybe it was because she was about to be a mother herself, and she couldn't imagine a world where her future child would be put into a situation like that.

Gideon shrugged, "Jill and I tried our best. We got her into therapy, but since she had no living relatives, she went into the system."

"You pulled Jill onto the case?" Rossi asked, surprise flooding his features. Emily felt like she was missing something as she watched the two older men communicating silently. "Who's Jill?" Emily asked.

"Jason's Ex-wife," Rossi said, his jaw tight. Emily could feel the tension rising in the room again. She looked over to JJ, knowing the blonde may know more since she had been on the team longer. But JJ just shrugged, also at a loss about the past being discussed.

"I brought Jill onto the case because she is the best Biological Psychiatrist in the country. She was the only one who could help Y/n," Gideon explained calmly, not trying to add fuel to an already raging fire.

"So, was Y/n her patient? Or one of her experiments?" Rossi asked as he leaned back into his chair. 

Emily's eyes widened as she looked at Hotch, wondering when he would step in and save them from whatever this argument was. Luckily, Hotch was on the same page. "Can you tell us about the first time you met Y/n?" the unit chief asked, hoping to get them back on track. 

Gideon nodded, "Yeah, it was the day after Alex Painter was killed,"

𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟔, 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟏 

𝐍𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲, 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢��

Gideon sighed as he poured another crappy cup of coffee from the police department's machine. It was another earlier morning after a late night, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could stay on the case. 

He knew the brass was about to pull him off the case and send in another unit. The BAU was still fairly new, and while they had gotten results, this case wasn't. Five dead women and not a single lead so far. But Gideon didn't care about the reputation he was tarnishing; he wanted to find whoever was killing these women and give justice to their families. 

That was always what he'd been about. He didn't care about politics and how people viewed the BAU, unlike his partner David Rossi, but rather that justice was being served and trying to make the world a safer place. At least, that had been the goal.

"Agent Gideon, a couple of hikers called in and said they saw a body." Sheriff Russell sighed as she walked up to the agent. 

Gideon sighed as he massaged his temples. "Same timeline has to be our guy."  He said as he stood up and grabbed his coat. 

"That's what I was thinking. I sent a couple of cops who were close to the scene to go check it out. Told them we'd meet them there." She said as they walked outside and got into the cop car.

It was another thirty minutes before they arrived at the scene. Gideon walked up to the body and noted that the woman looked the same as their previous victims. "Did we have an ID?" He asked.

Sherriff Russell nodded as she crouched down beside him, "Alex Painter, 27, she was here visiting family."

Gideon nodded as he took in the information. But as he studied the body he couldn't help but notice the lack of strangulation marks that appeared on all the other victims. "Did the coroner figure out COD?"

"Yeah, blunt force trauma to the head," Russell said as she stood up, "Are we sure this is our guy? I mean, why would he deviate from his MO? I thought you said the strangulation was key in his killing."

"No, this is our guy," Gideon said immediately.  "Everything else is the same. If we can figure out what made her different, we'll be closer to catching him." He finished as he stood up. He finally felt like they were making leeway with the case, but unfortunately, that was at the cost of another young woman's life.

Russell was about to make another comment when they heard a branch snap to their right, followed by a small gasp. The three cops on the scene immediately pulled their guns out, but Gideon silently ordered them to holster.

"Hello?" Gideon asked as they walked closer to where the branch snapped. "Is anyone there?" He continued with his arms out to the side non threateningly. He knew it was a child, the gasp light and high-pitched in a way only a child could make. 

As he walked closer, he saw small feet peeking from behind a tree. "I'm with the police. I'm not going to hurt you." He said calmly, not approaching any further, wanting the child to come out from behind the tree on their own time. 

He saw the feet move again so that they were hidden behind the tree. "What's your name?" Gideon asked as he began to sit on the ground. His knees protested as he made it down. But he needed to appear as least threatening as possible, and if that's how he could do it, then so be it. 

When he heard no answer, he decided to keep talking, "My name's Jason. But everyone always calls me by my last name, Gideon." He continued talking for another five minutes, talking about everything and anything. 

Gideon was beginning to give up hope about the child coming out from behind the trees on their own when he saw the corner of the child's face poking out from behind the tree. Gideon smiled and continued talking, not wanting to make a big deal of it and scare the child away. 

It took another five minutes for the child's entire face to emerge from behind the tree. Gideon observed that the child was a little girl with long, unruly hair that seemed like it hadn't been brushed in a while. She had dirt on her face and a swollen right eye.

"Hi there, what's your name?" Gideon asked again but the little girl just stared at him.

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me your name, but I do want to talk to you. How does a  milkshake sound?" Gideon asked, hoping to break through to the little girl. 

The girl still stared at him blankly, not indicating that she even understood what the agent was saying. "Or we could have whatever you like. What's your favorite food?" Gideon asked, hoping to get a little engagement from the girl at least. 

And finally, the little girl stepped all the way out from the tree. Her eyes filled with hesitation as she shrugged at Gideon's question. The agent noticed her tattered clothing. Her small cargo pants had a hole at the knee and her long-sleeved t-shirt was also muddy. 

Gideon found it odd that she was wearing all black. She didn't look older than six or seven and most of the kids he met were always wearing something colorful. It made him wonder if it was by choice or not.

"I don't have a favorite food either." Gideon continued "Have you ever had a milkshake before?" He asked.

The little girl slowly shook her head as she studied the man in front of her. 

"Would you like to try one?" Gideon asked.

The girl didn't say anything as her gaze diverted from Gideon for the first time to the people behind him. She saw the cops a couple of yards away from them, all of them with their hands on the gun holstered to their hips. 

She pointed to them, causing Gideon to turn around. "It's okay, they're not going to hurt you," Gideon said softly. "They work with me, but they don't have to come with us. Just you and me. How does that sound?" He asked. 

Gideon watched closely as the girl turned around and looked into the woods for a second before turning to him and nodding cautiously. He wondered if someone else was back there and made a note for the sheriff to look into it. He didn't want to jeopardize the progress he made by asking the girl.

He slowly stood up, ignoring the way his knees cracked, and told the little girl to follow him. Luckily the police understood the gravity of the situation and stayed back, letting the FBI agent handle it.

"Do your parents know where you are?" Gideon asked as the girl walked closer to him. She blinked at him and Gideon thought she was about to speak before she just shrugged.

"Okay," He said simply, making another note to tell the Sheriff to figure out who this girl's parents were. 

They walked silently to the car. The little girl was a couple of steps behind Gideon the whole time. The agent winced every time the girl took a step on a branch. He wondered if it hurt her bare feet, but the girl was showing no indication if it did. He wondered if it was a learned response or if it just didn't hurt.

"Well, this is the car," Gideon said as he pointed to the old car. "Do you want to ride up front?" He asked, and again the girl just shrugged. Instead of asking more questions, he just walked to the other side of the car, surprised that the girl was following him.

He opened the passenger door, motioning for the girl to hop up and she did with surprising ease. "Buckle up." He smiled as he closed the door and got in on the driver's side. As he started the engine he turned to the girl and saw that the seatbelt was untouched. 

He kind of wanted to let it go, but then again, it was ill-advised to have a child that young in the passenger seat, so he had to do something. "Do you need help?" He asked.

She nodded slowly and Gideon didn't miss the way she flinched as he reached across her. She was still as a statue until the buckle clicked and then she let out the breath she'd been holding. 

It was a quiet drive to the small diner on the side of the road. He knew it was protocol to take her back to the police station, but he had a feeling he'd get more answers in a friendlier environment. In all honesty, he was surprised she'd even gotten into the car with him.

Luckily the Sheriff had been a step ahead of him and had already sent the cops to comb through the woods around them, as well as contacting a social worker to meet them back at the station when they were done. 

On the other side of the car, the girl stared out the window the whole time, her eyes barely reaching it due to her height. 

When they finally reached the diner, Gideon was glad to see it was mostly empty. He quickly turned off the car and hopped out to open the passenger door. He saw the girl pulling at her seatbelt and now Gideon was wondering if she had ever used one before. 

"You want me to do?" He asked, not wanting to go anywhere near the girl without asking first. Reluctantly she nodded and then hopped out of the car as soon as she was free.

"Jason? Back already?" The waitress chuckled as soon as they walked in the door.

"You know I can't resist your strawberry milkshakes." Gideon smiled as he stayed by the door, letting the girl take in everything before moving to a booth.

"Well, who's this?" The waitress, Wanda, as her name tag indicated, asked.

As soon as the girl realized Wanda was talking about her, she went to hide behind Gideon's legs.

"A new friend of mine," Gideon said simply. "Could we take the booth by the back?" He asked and Wanda smiled, taking the situation in stride as she set the booth up and walked away, not wanting to scare the girl anymore. 

They slowly made their way to the booth, Gideon sitting on one side and the girl on the other. The girl sat there, staring at the menu, but Gideon could tell she was reading it as her eyes went back and forth.

"I always get the Strawberry milkshake," Gideon said, breaking the silence. "But you can get whatever sounds good to you. There's chocolate, vanilla-" Gideon continued before the girl pointed at the menu.

Gideon leaned over and saw what she was pointing at. "You want a Banana Milkshake?" He asked, and she nodded her head. "Good choice." He smiled as he got up to order, but never took his eye off her. Not that it mattered, she stayed in her seat staring out the window the whole time. 

"So I told you I'm with the cops, right?" Gideon asked as he slid into his seat. The girl turned away from the window and nodded. 

"I'm actually an FBI agent. Do you know what that is?" He asked kindly. 

The girl shook her head. 

"It means that I look for bad people and catch them so they don't hurt people," Gideon said simply, "And right now, I'm looking for a really bad man. And I think you might be able to help me."

The girl's eyes widened, and she looked down at the table. If Gideon hadn't thought she knew something before, he knew that she did now. 

"I promise you won't get in trouble. All you have to do is talk to me." He continued, but the girl immediately shook her head, her wild hair flying back and forth. Gideon was surprised by the reaction; it was the most emotion he'd seen all day. 

"Why can't you talk to me?" He asked. He watched the little girl look around the diner; he wondered what she was looking for until she pointed at the pen on the counter across from them. "Do you want to write?" He asked as he stood up and grabbed the pen.

The girl nodded, and Gideon immediately grabbed the notepad out of his coat pocket. He handed both items to the girl and was surprised to see how quickly she began to write. 

After she was done, she handed over the notepad. 

𝙄𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨

Gideon frowned as he read the words. "Talking is against the rules?" He asked for clarification, and the girl nodded. "Well, do you want to know a secret?" Gideon asked conspiratorially as he leaned in closer, his eyes widened, animatedly. The girl nodded hesitantly.

"The rules don't count in this diner." He smiled, and the girl looked at him skeptically. So Gideon had to double down. "So if I wanted to stand on the table," Gideo said as he stood up and climbed from the booth chair onto the table, "I can do whatever I want." He smiled, thankful for the way the other patrons were ignoring him. 

He felt ridiculous standing on the table, but when the girl let out a toothy smile, he couldn't help but smile back. It was the first smile he'd seen from her, and he finally felt like he was getting somewhere. "See? No rules." He said as he carefully got off the table and sat back down.

"Okay," The girl said, and Gideon smiled again. Her voice was hoarse and soft at the same time. It made Gideon think that she hadn't been allowed to talk for a very long time. 

"Okay," Gideon repeated, "How come you were in the woods?"

The girl looked around the diner before scooting closer, "I got us in trouble."

"Us?" Gideon asked.

The girl nodded as she looked back down at the table, "Me and Alex." she whispered.

"You know Alex?" Gideon asked calmly, not showing any shock or surprise on his face. The girl nodded again, not saying anything else, so Gideon continued asking the questions. "How do you know Alex?"

The girl shrugged again, but the way her eyes flickered to Gideon and then back to the table indicated to the profiler that she knew more than she was revealing. 

"You can tell me anything; I promise you won't get in trouble with me," Gideon said softly.

The girl hesitated but finally gave in, "She was staying with us. She was my daddy's friend."

Oh.

Oh...

Another piece of the puzzle coming together. But Gideon hadn't been expecting this. The thought of the unsub being a father hadn't even crossed his mind. But now he was sitting across from The Wood Stalker's daughter, and he wondered if she knew what her father was doing.

"Your dad?" Gideon asked. "Does he have a lot of friends?"

"Yeah, I never get to meet them though." She said as she swung her feet, her heels tapping against the booth. 

"How come you met Alex then?" 

"I didn't mean to. I was thirsty, and I went to the kitchen after bedtime, and- and Alex was sitting at the table." She answered, her eyes skittering around anxiously. "And then daddy saw me and he got really mad."

"Is that how you got that?" Gideon asked as he pointed to the girl's black eye. She nodded as she slumped back to her seat, "I was being bad,"

Gideon felt his heart pang. He'd worked with a lot of children in his field, but it never got easier. "You weren't being bad, you were just thirsty." He said kindly. The girl just shrugged so Gideon decided to move on, "Did you see Alex after that?"

The little girl looked around the diner again as if she was making sure no one else was listening to them, "Yeah..." She trailed off but Gideon gave her an encouraging nod to keep going.

"She looked really sad when I saw her, so I waited until I heard daddy go to sleep, and then I snuck out to the basement to see her."

"Is that where all of your daddy's friends stay?" Gideon asked.

"Mhm. I'm not 'sposed to go down there but- but she looked really sad. So I stole Daddy's key and opened the door. But Alex was on the ground and- and I kept shaking her shoulders, but she was still sleeping." The girl continued.

"Did you see anything while you were down there?"

The girl shook her head, "It was dark and I couldn't reach the light switch..." She trailed off again.

Gideon watched the way the girl squirmed in her chair and decided to take a break. "You're doing a really good job, kid. Why don't I go check on our milkshakes?" He asked and smiled when she nodded in agreement. 

He walked over to the counter where Wanda was putting in another order. "I'll have your shakes out in a sec." She said as she walked toward Gideon.

"Thanks," Gideon said offhandedly as he watched the little girl.

"You know, you really oughta put some shoes on that girl," Wanda said with a knowing look.

Gideon chuckled as he shook his head, "Would you believe me if I said that would be the least of her worries?"

"I wish I didn't. Poor thing. How 'bout I add extra whip cream to her shake?" Wanda suggested and Gideon nodded at the sentiment.

It was only a minute later when Gideon carried the milkshakes back to the booth, presenting the massive shake to the girl. She eyed it suspiciously, waiting for Gideon to eat a spoonful of his before hesitantly reaching for her spoon. 

Gideon's heart warmed as he watched her eyes light up after the first bite. 

"Good?" He chuckled, although the pace she was devouring the shake at should have told him enough. 

"Mhm!" She smiled, and for the first time the little girl actually looked like a kid. 

They ate in relative silence, and Gideon noticed how the girl's smile never left her face. He knew he was stalling, but he wanted her to enjoy this moment, this brief instance of peace and childlike joy, before her whole world changed forever.

And maybe that was a good thing, scratch that, it would be a good thing. Taking her out of the hands of a serial killer was good. But Gideon knew the system and the protocols of evasive questions that lay in her future, and if he could just give her five minutes of calm, then he was going to do that. 

"Thank you for the milkshake, Mr. Gideon." The girl said after she took her last bite. Her stomach full and satisfied for probably the first time she could ever remember. 

"You're very welcome. Are you ready to keep going?"

The girl nodded as she brushed her hair behind her ears. 

"So what did you do when you couldn't wake Alex up?" Gideon asked, getting right back into it. 

"I waited. And then after a really long time I heard her start to get up. I think she was scared when she saw me, but then she was happy and said I could help her."

"How did you help her?" Gideon questioned. 

"She said I could help her go back to her family. And she was sad cause she missed them. Daddy said she was too sick to go see them, but Alex told me she wasn't sick anymore."

"Did you help her get out of the basement?"

"Mhm. But she said we had to be quiet. And I tried to be quiet, really quiet but I couldn't." The girl said quietly as she brought her thumb to her mouth, biting at her nails anxiously. 

Gideon gave her a sympathetic look, "Did your daddy find you?"

"Yeah, and he was really really mad. He told me to go back to my room and I did. But then he came back and made me go to the basement where Alex was. It looked like she was sleeping again, but there was blood all over the floor. He said it was my fault that Alex had to go away. And then he handed me the hammer and told me I had to do it." 

Gideon didn't have to ask what he made her do. "It wasn't your fault," He said softly, and the girl shook her head, "Yes, it was, it always is cause I'm bad." She said, her lip quivering.

"You are not bad, your dad is the bad one." He reiterated and wasn't surprised when she shook her head again. Years of trauma were not going to be broken by a couple of words, but Gideon's heart still felt heavy.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" The girl asked quietly, pulling Gideon out of his thoughts.

"Of course." He said as he got out of the booth and walked the girl to the corner of the diner. He stood outside the bathroom and checked his phone, flipping it open to see that the Sheriff had turned up empty on both the wood search and figuring out who this girl was. 

He sighed as he pocketed his phone, but at least he'd found the girl and could take her somewhere safe.

He waited by the door for another five minutes before he started to get concerned, "You okay in there?" He called out as he knocked on the door.

No response.

"Kid?" He knocked again, his heart rate picking up as he was met with silence.

He quickly threw the door open, ready to deal with the consequences later, when he saw the small window in the bathroom was open.

"No," He gasped, his heart dropping.

"No, no, no, no!" He yelled as he threw open every stall and came up empty.

"Fuck!" He cursed as he ran out of the bathroom, throwing a twenty on the table as he raced to his car.

The police department searched for days, every available officer deployed throughout the county, but they turned up empty.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲

"Did she leave by herself or did her dad take her?" Derek asked after Gideon had finished the story of his initial encounter with Y/n.

Gideon shrugged, "To this day I still don't know."

"Well, when did you find her?" Emily asked, feeling uneasy.

"A year later, after she called in about her dad. But a lot happened from when I first met her to that day. She wouldn't speak to anyone for two months, that's why I called Jill in, she was the one that got her to open up." Gideon sighed as he ran his hands through his short hair. 

He was still trying to figure out how that little girl had turned into the unsub his former team was trying to catch. And although he knew it wasn't his fault, it felt a little like it was. 

"How closely did Jill work with her?" Hotch asked.

"Closely. If you call her, I'm sure she'll be happy to talk to you guys," Gideon answered.

"I'm sure she will," Rossi muttered under her breath and Emily glanced between the older men again, wondering for the fifth time about what this feud was about. But she already had too much on her plate, Y/n was enough to worry about, so she could snoop later.

"Garcia, did you have any luck contacting the author Y/n writes for?" Hotch asked, changing routes, to hopefully keep things civil for as long as possible.

Penelope nodded as she opened her laptop, "She's currently in Colorado but said she'll be back in DC by the end of the week. She said she'd be happy to answer any questions we have."

"Good. Prentiss and Morgan, I want you on that. But for now, let's rebuild Y/ns profile with the information we have now." Hotch said, and the team nodded in agreement

For the first time, Emily felt like they were actually getting somewhere. 

A/N: this chapter kind of got away from me but oh well! I promise there’s more Y/n and Emily interactions next chapter! ;)

Taglist: @laanswife @gh0sstss @unoreverselu @unexpected-character

[badkitty3000]

can u do a five fanfic where he saves vivi from smth/someone. like “kill for ur love” sorta trope. idk if you’ve alr done im only on #3 of halo but pls its a need

No Escape

Five is forced into assassin mode when Vivian is put in danger by another Commission agent. He must not be very smart, though, because no one in their right mind would dare lay a hand on Five's girl.

Thank you so much for this request! I love writing anything with these two and this was a great subject that I hadn't done before. I hope I did ok! 😊

Words: 8,045

Warnings: blood, violence, Five being a badass but also a softy, smut at the end but can be skipped and it won't affect the story at all

As an aside: this story is meant to take place at some point during my AU series Halo on AO3, when Five and Vivian are not yet married and he is working for the Commission. If you like this pairing, you can check out more (lots more!) here. Also, here is a link to my Master List posts on Tumblr.

And a big shout out to my homie @kaybreezy3000 who was a major help with this one, and did the super sexy cover art!

Five tried to swallow down his rising panic as he sped through the city’s dark and empty streets. The heavy rain battered down onto the roof of the car and the tires sent up a spectacular spray of water every time he screeched around a corner. He didn’t care if he was driving one hundred miles an hour over the city streets or running red lights. His foot stepped harder down on the accelerator. If a cop tried to stop him, they’d have to shoot out his tires first. Even then, he wouldn’t stop. With his heart hammering away in his chest and his hands gripping the steering wheel, he glanced over at the handgun lying on the passenger seat where he had thrown it. A flash of lightning illuminated his face for a brief moment, and he saw his eyes reflected back at him in the rearview mirror. They looked like his normal emerald-colored eyes but with one major difference. These eyes belonged to a man who was desperate and seething with rage.

He had known something was off as soon as he had come home that night. Viv always left the light on in the living room for him, no matter how late he was going to be. And most times she didn’t even know when he was coming back, but she left it on all night long, just in case. So, when he had teleported into their apartment earlier and it was dark, Five was immediately suspicious.

He had called her name, but there was no answer and he didn’t hear her in any of the rooms. The place wasn’t that big, so it’s not like she wouldn’t have heard him. But he checked the bedroom and the bathroom. Both were dark, with no signs of her anywhere. When he walked into the kitchen, though, and snapped on the light, he knew something was very wrong.

There, in the middle of the tile floor, was a large pool of amber-colored liquid, surrounded by hundreds of glass shards. One of the kitchen chairs had been turned over and was lying on its side.

Five called her name again, as if she would appear out of some secret panel in the wall, carrying a broom and laughing at herself for being so clumsy. But, of course, that didn’t happen and the only sound was the echo of his own voice bouncing off the kitchen walls.

He crouched down next to the spill and the broken glass. The floor was sticky and the whole room smelled like whiskey. Most of the glass was clear with no markings, but one large chunk of it still had a label attached. When Five reached out with a trembling hand to pick it up, he held it closer to read the print. He recognized it immediately. This was not the normal liquor they kept in the house, and it would have been impossible for Vivian to have even acquired it on her own. Not unless the local corner store had come across a rare shipment of whiskey that hadn’t been distilled since 1865.

Five stared at the piece of broken glass in his hand, trying to wrap his head around what he was gradually piecing together. When he looked up at the kitchen table, he saw Viv’s phone lying there, which did nothing to quell the growing sense of dread in his stomach. He stood and picked it up, the movement making it come to life and flashing a photo of the two of them that she kept as her home screen. That’s when he noticed the smear of blood across the screen.

His eyes darted from the phone to the overturned chair, to the broken bottle and spilled ancient whiskey and his heart sank.

“Vivie,” he said in a horrified whisper.

She was gone and he knew who had her. Why, he had no idea, but wherever she was, she would be scared and maybe hurt; or worse. Five forced the gruesome horror scenes from his mind. It wasn’t going to do him any good to crack up now. He needed to focus on finding her and he needed to do it fast. There was no telling what this fucking psycho was capable of. And if Five found out she had been hurt in any way whatsoever, one thing was for damn sure. God help the man who was responsible.

When Vivian heard the knock on the door, she figured it was the older lady from two doors down. Ever since Five had moved in, the woman had been making herself much more present around their apartment; always stopping by with plates of cookies or a scarf she just happened to have knitted. She never seemed particularly interested in talking to Viv, but if Five was around, she had endless amounts of time to stay and chit-chat. Not that he even pretended to be remotely interested, but she ate up every terse smile and head nod, apparently taking them as signs she should come over more often. Viv had no doubt the woman, who was technically closer to Five’s age than her own, wished Viv would suddenly disappear in some sort of tragic accident so she could swoop in and make her move.

Viv rolled her eyes and smiled as she headed for the door. “Sorry, Betty,” she started as she opened the door. “Five’s not home right n—oh!” Viv stopped when she saw it wasn’t Five’s old lady girlfriend, but rather a man she did not recognize. “I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else. Can I help you?”

The man was taller than Viv, but his build was a little on the scrawny side, with thinning brown hair that was combed to the side and a pockmarked face. His gray suit pants looked too baggy for his frame and were cinched at the waist with a belt, as if they had fit him at one time when he had more weight on him. The white dress shirt he had on was wrinkled and a shabby-looking trench coat hung loosely around his wiry frame.

“Oh…sorry,” the man said slowly and Viv could see he was most likely drunk. “I’m looking for Five Hargreeves? Does he live here?”

Considering she had no idea who this man was and the fact that he was asking about Five had her immediately on edge. It’s not as if Five had friends stopping over. Or had friends, period, for that matter.

Viv crossed her arms over her chest. “And who, may I ask, wants to know?”

The man laughed and ran a hand through his sparse hair, holding out a hand for her to shake. “Right, sorry. I’m Sam. I work with Five.”

Viv hesitated but accepted his handshake. “I’m sorry, you said you work with Five?”

She knew better than to just give up any information about Five’s work, and she was highly skeptical of this man’s claim. For one, Five worked for the Commission and it’s not as if that was the accounting office down the street. They were a highly secretive time-traveling operative filled with dangerous assassins. For another, Five never talked about anyone he worked with. Unless they were pissing him off in a particular way that day. So, to have this man she’d never heard of before showing up at their door and knowing Five lived there was a major red flag.

Sam ran a shaky hand through his hair again, looking embarrassed. “Yeah. I’m sure you don’t have many of us stopping by unannounced, do you?”

“And by ‘us’ you mean…”

The man gave a sheepish smile and then pointed at the ground near his feet. Viv looked down and saw the familiar black briefcase she knew Five and all of the other agents at the Commission used for getting around. It would have been nearly impossible for anyone else to have one, so this guy must have been who he said he was. It put her a little more at ease, but not totally.

Viv nodded. “So, what can I help you with? I’m afraid Five isn’t home right now.”

The man’s face fell a little. “Oh, really? That’s too bad. I don’t have much time, but I wanted to bring him by this bottle of whiskey I know he likes.” He held up a very old looking bottle of some kind of brown alcohol. The label looked old-fashioned, yet brand new. It was also only half-full, presumably the remains of what Sam had already drunk. Viv wasn’t familiar with the name on the label, either, and she was fairly certain she knew all of Five’s preferred drink choices.

“We shared a couple of glasses of it a while back, so I picked up some more on my last mission and figured I’d bring it by,” Sam explained. Seeing Viv’s dubious face, he continued. “It hasn’t been made since the 1860s, and technically we aren’t supposed to take things back across timelines, but I figured one little bottle of whiskey wouldn’t make the whole world collapse, right?”

He laughed at his own joke and Viv could see he actually had a nice and genuine smile, even if he was a bit tipsy. His story seemed legit, although it was still weird that Five had never mentioned him to her at all. Although now that she thought about it, he didn’t really tell her much at all about the Commission; for both of their sakes. For all she knew, maybe he had a boatload of friends down there. Maybe he was the life of the party.

She gave him a smile, softening up a little. “No, the world seems to still be in one piece. And don’t worry, I won’t tell. Five once brought me back a bottle of perfume from 1923 Paris, so I think we’re safe.”

He chuckled and then they both stood there awkwardly until he cleared his throat. “Well, just tell him I stopped by, I guess.”

Seeing his disappointed face made Viv feel sorry for him, especially when she saw that it had started to rain. He looked so sad and pathetic standing there in his baggy clothes, drunk on Old West whiskey, and seemingly lonely. She wasn’t sure why, but something about him tugged at her heartstrings and she didn’t want to leave him alone in the rain.

“Why don’t you come in? Five should be home soon, you can wait for him if you’d like.”

“Oh, I don’t want to be too much trouble.”

“No, no, really, I insist. Come on in. I’m Vivian, by the way; Five’s girlfriend.”

Sam followed her inside and she shut the door behind them. She then led him into the kitchen, where she offered him a seat at the table. He sat down heavily, almost missing the chair entirely in his altered state, leaving the black briefcase next to him on the floor.

“This is a really nice place you have here,” he marveled as he glanced around their simple kitchen.

Viv looked surprised. “Really? Well, thank you, but it’s not much. There weren’t too many apartments in the area that I could afford at the time I moved in.”

“So, you lived here first and Five moved in with you?”

“Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “We met, fell in love, and he moved in here. I was never intending on having a roommate, but you never know what life will bring, right?”

Sam looked at her with an odd expression; one that Viv wasn’t sure how to interpret.

“And life brought you Number Five, the assassin, huh?” he asked.

That was a weird question and Viv hesitated for a moment. “Uh…yeah, I guess it did.”

“You know, Five never mentioned you when we shared that whiskey,” Sam said; his eyes seeming to harden just a little. “He also said he lived in a shit hole place, all alone. But this is definitely not a shit hole and he clearly isn’t alone.”

Viv swallowed nervously. “Well, that was probably before we met. He was kind of a loner before that.”

Sam gave a low chuckle and he looked around the kitchen again, seeming to take in his surroundings in detail and soaking it all up. Then he was back to eyeing Viv up. He still had the same friendly smile on his face, but she could see something about it had changed.

“Aren’t we all,” he mumbled. “He’s a lucky guy, though. Ending up with someone as pretty as you.”

Vivian shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. “Um, oh. Thank you.”

It was quickly becoming clear that inviting this man in had not been a good idea. Viv cursed herself for having such a bleeding heart sometimes. She should have followed her initial instinct about him. She just hoped Five would be home soon.

Trying to change the subject, Viv pointed to the bottle on the table. “So, you said you and Five spent some time together at the Commission? Five’s not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, so how did that come about?”

Sam leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg of the other. “Well, you’re right about that. Five is not exactly Mr. Friendly, at least around there. But he must have been in a good mood one day and decided to sit and chat with me. Although, maybe the whiskey was more of the motivator. Anyway, once we got to talking, we realized we had a lot in common.”

“Like what?”

“Well, we both ended up working for the Commission out of necessity rather than desire, but I won’t bore you with those details about myself. He was kind of a loner like you said, and so am I. And I could tell he had a lot of hostility towards most of the world. He knew the unfairness of life and how some people have it good and some don’t. That’s just the way it goes. Unfortunately, he and I got dealt one of life’s shitty hands and had been living with it our whole lives.” Sam stopped and looked at Vivian, again with that weird look in his eyes. “At least, until he met you, apparently. Now he seems to have the good life; coming home to this nice place with you waiting for him, while I’m stuck in my piece of shit house eating microwave dinners for one every night. That is, when I’m not putting a bullet in some poor bastard’s head.”

He chuckled at that and Vivian attempted a smile. This man was appearing to become more unhinged by the minute and she wasn’t sure how to keep up this conversation anymore.

“I know doing what you do, and for whom, can be extremely hard and I’m sorry. But I’m sure things will change for you. Everyone deserves to be happy, and to have love.”

Sam stared at her with unfocused eyes as he processed her words. Viv could see the wheels turning in his head and she suddenly felt very much in danger. Why had she let this guy in their home? The hairs on the backs of her arms stood up.

“Yeah, you’re right about that,” Sam said slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. “Maybe I’d be happy, too, if I had someone like you to come home to every day. Someone young and pretty to take care of me.”

The tone of his voice and look in his eyes were dangerous, and Viv instinctively began to stand up and back away. “You know, you’re making me a little uncomfortable. I think you should leave.”

Despite his unsteadiness from the booze, Sam was quick. The kitchen chair he had been sitting in fell over with a loud bang as he sprang up, grabbing her arm in the process.

“I’m sorry,” he said, eyes wide. “Please. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Viv tried to pull her arm away. “Let go of me!”

“Please, just sit back down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You are hurting me! Let go of my arm!” she cried as she desperately tried to free herself from his grasp.

He took hold of her with his other hand so that he was firmly gripping her by both her upper arms with surprising strength. Shaking her, he yelled in her face. “I am not hurting you! Just stop! Stop and listen!”

“No! Let me go!” she yelled back, struggling against him and trying to kick at his shins or anywhere else she could reach.

“Stop doing that, or else…” he hissed.

“Or else what? If you think Five’s not going to lose his fucking mind when he finds out you grabbed me like this, then you’re even crazier than I thought.”

“I AM NOT CRAZY! DON’T CALL ME CRAZY!” he screamed; his face contorted with fury.

Viv flinched and she started struggling harder. That’s when she saw Sam’s eyes move off of her and down to the ground near where he had been sitting. A white-hot panic started to rise up inside of her when she realized what he was looking at. The briefcase.

She couldn’t let him get to it. Not when he also had ahold of her. There was no telling where or when she would end up. With all of her strength, her adrenaline pumping, Viv fought as hard as she could against him. Kicking and pulling, she managed to yank him off balance, causing him to knock into the kitchen table, upsetting the bottle of whiskey and sending it tumbling to the ground. They continued to fight against one another, their shoes crunching in the broken glass.

When Viv lost her balance, she managed to free one of her hands, catching herself on the way down. Her hand landed on a piece of glass, the sharp edge slicing into her palm. With a last-ditch effort, she tried to reach out and grab her phone off of the table. At the same time, Sam reached for the briefcase. Viv watched in horror as she saw his hand latch onto the handle at the same time that she felt her fingers slipping across the screen of her phone. Then she felt the familiar feeling of being sucked into nothingness, her stomach lurching, as they both disappeared in a flash of light.

It was a miracle that Five even remembered what street Sam lived on. He had only mentioned it once, during a drunken conversation one night as they both slugged down the gasoline passing as whiskey in the Commission break room. Five had remembered because it was about a block away from where he used to live; before he met Vivian. It was in a shit part of town, but that would actually play to his advantage now. It was less likely anyone would pay attention to gunshots or other signs of violence when you’re already in a crime-filled neighborhood. Not that Five didn’t know how to cover his tracks. He was a professional, after all.

The fact that he wasn’t sure which run-down house was Sam’s posed a problem, along with the fact that he could have taken Viv anywhere and to any time. If that were the case, he was going to have to go to more extreme measures to get her back, including breaking Commission protocol. Which he was more than willing to do.

But as he drove slowly up the street with his headlights off, Five was granted a small amount of luck. A light was on inside one of the houses and Five could see clearly into the front window. On a table in the living room was the briefcase. He didn’t see Sam or Viv inside, but it was most definitely a Commission issued case.

“I’ve got you now, you piece of shit,” Five mumbled out loud as he parked the car a few houses down.

The rain was coming down hard and Five was soaked through in a matter of seconds as he hurried down the uneven sidewalk, his shoes splashing through the puddles. He didn’t want to risk being seen by blinking out in the open, so he waited until he was standing on the front porch of Sam’s house. The rain leaked down through the cracks in the rotting awning above him. After another quick peek inside the window, and seeing no one in the front room, Five teleported inside.

He took a second to take in his surroundings. Resisting the urge to call out for Viv, he remained silent and started making his way toward what he assumed would be the kitchen, his Glock held firmly in his left hand. There was no one there, but on top of a wooden cutting board on the worn and peeling countertop, was a meat cleaver. It caught Five’s eye, and since he is never one to turn down the convenience of a sharp weapon up for grabs, he left the kitchen with his gun in one hand and the cleaver in the other.

Five passed by a small, empty bathroom, and then came to a bedroom at the end of the hall. The door was closed and when he tried the handle, it was locked. The door was old and flimsy looking, so he didn’t hesitate to give one strong kick, cracking the wooden frame and splintering the door so that it swung open. As soon as he saw her, he felt immediate relief and horror wash over him.

“Vivian!” he cried, forgetting all of his training and not surveilling the rest of the room first. If he had been watching someone else doing the exact same thing, he would have told them they were brain-dead and lacked critical thinking skills. It was such a rookie move. But his emotions had taken over and he only saw her.

Viv was tied up to a wooden chair, arms behind her, with a blindfold over her eyes and a piece of duct tape over her mouth. She was frantically mumbling something when she heard Five’s voice, but it was unintelligible from behind the tape.

“Shit,” Five whispered as he hurried over, kneeling down in front of her, and placing the gun and knife on the ground. He immediately started to undo the blindfold. “Oh my god, Vivie, I’m so sorry. It’s ok, I’m here. I’m going to get you out of here,” he was saying as he yanked it away from her eyes.

Viv blinked into the sudden brightness, but then her eyes widened in fear as she looked at Five. Five assumed it was from shock and he continued to talk to her and assure her it would be ok as he carefully stripped the tape away from her mouth.

“I’ve got you, angel, don’t worry,” he said, right as he freed her mouth and she took a deep breath in.

“Five! Behind you!”

Five turned around, just in time to see Sam emerging from the bedroom closet with a wild look in his eyes. In his hand he had some sort of small device and he was coming their way. Five tried to grab one of his weapons off the floor next to him, but it was too late. Sam was quicker, and before he knew what was happening, Five fell to the floor in a heap; convulsing violently as electrical currents traveled throughout his entire body.

The stun gun Sam used was a standard-issued weapon from his employer and was given to every field agent, along with a Glock. The electrical charge from these particular guns were much stronger than what any modern-day policeman or SWAT member carried. Word around the halls was that it once took down a full-size grizzly bear with one zap. Sam wasn’t letting up on the trigger as he leaned over Five’s body, pressing the device into the back of his neck and watching with satisfaction as he was electrocuted over and over again.

Because Five was soaked through from the rain, the electrical shock was amplified as it continued in an endless loop through his body while he writhed and groaned on the floor. Five let out a grating cry, his body flickering with a pulsing blue light as he tried to use his own electrical power to counter the attack, but he wasn’t strong enough. Viv watched in horror as the light faded away and he became silent, even as his body continued to contort and seize right in front of her.

“Five! No! No! Stop, you’re killing him!” she screamed, her voice breaking and her eyes filling with tears. She tried in vain to break from her restraints. “Stop! Please! Five!”

Sam finally stopped, tossing the weapon to the side so that it skittered under a beat-up dresser. He was breathing hard as he looked at Viv and then at Five’s limp, unmoving body at his feet. Viv started sobbing loudly and she hung her head as the tears flowed down her face and onto her lap.

“I’m sorry,” Sam whispered. Then he spoke louder, but his voice was trembling. “I had to do it. He was going to take you away. I’m going to let you go, I told you that, but I need you to listen to me first and you’re not listening. All I want is for you to sit here and talk to me, and maybe stay with me for a night. But you weren’t listening, and so I had to tie you up, but I didn’t want to. He was going to take you away from me, and I can’t let that happen. Not until you stay here for a while.”

Viv lifted her head slowly, strings of tangled hair sticking to the tears on her cheeks, her eyes narrowed in a hateful glare. “FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING PSYCHO! YOU ARE A CRAZY, PATHETIC LOSER AND I FUCKING HATE YOU! DO YOU HEAR ME? I HATE YOU!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking before she started sobbing again.

Five was still lying unmoving on the floor, but his eyes were open, and to Vivian’s relief, she saw he was breathing, although it was shallow. Sam looked down at him with a glower. Then he nudged him in the side with the toe of his shoe and Five let out a weak moan.

“This is your fault, Five. If you had just stayed put and let me handle this, it wouldn’t have gone this far. But now you ruined it.” Sam squatted down next to Five, leaning in closer so that he could hear. “I wasn’t going to hurt her, you know. But now…well, now you’ve gone and fucked it all up.”

His voice grew louder and more desperate. “We were the same, you and I! So, how did you get so god damn special? I thought we were friends; I thought we had a connection. But then I find out you’re living this perfect little life, with your fancy apartment and your pretty girl. But what about me, huh? Where’s my perfect life? My happy ending?”

Sam stood up and looked at Vivian, although he was directing his words at Five. “I was going to kill you and keep her, but now I have a better idea. Since I know you’re currently paralyzed but can still see and hear everything that’s going on, I think maybe I’ll kill her instead. Then you can watch and listen as your perfect little life is ripped away from you until you’re just like me again. All alone and mad at the world.”

“You stupid piece of shit,” Viv growled out. “He never did anything to you.”

“YES, HE DID!” Sam yelled right in her face. “He took my life! I deserve this life, not him. He’s killed way more people than I have; I’ve seen his records. I know his reputation. He might as well be Satan himself! So why don’t you tell me why he gets you and I get nothing?”

Viv looked him dead in the eye. “Because Five is good and decent, and he knows how to love others. He feels remorse for all of those lives he took. You, on the other hand, are nothing but a giant pile of dog shit in a cheap suit. And no one will ever love you.”

Sam smiled. “At first, I wasn’t going to enjoy this, but now I might.” He bent down to pick up Five’s Glock which was lying next to his immobile body. “I think I’ll shoot you in the head with his own gun. That feels poetic to me, don’t you think?”

He raised his arm and pointed the gun right at Viv’s head. She squeezed her eyes shut, whimpering as a few tears leaked out. “Five, I love you,” she said quietly, knowing they would be her last words, and hoping he could hear her. Just as she was trying to steady herself against the pain and sudden death that would be upon her any second, she heard a high-pitched scream and she opened her eyes.

Sam was standing right where he had been, his face frozen in horror as Five’s gun dropped from his hand and clattered to the floor. He slowly sank to his knees before falling face first onto the ground, collapsing onto his stomach with a loud and painful groan. As he fell over, Viv could see a meat cleaver was embedded in the middle of his back, between his shoulder blades; the shining metal handle sticking straight up in the air as blood seeped from around the blade. Viv looked up to see Five falling to his knees next to Sam. He was shaking and breathing hard, but alive and apparently able to move again.

“Oh my god, Five! Are you ok?”

Five nodded slowly and lifted his head weakly to look at Viv. “Yeah. Are you?”

She nodded her head and started to quietly cry again. Then another pitiful groan came from the injured body on the floor. Sam was stirring and trying to get his arms under him in a futile attempt to get up. Five seemed to gain more strength as he slowly hauled himself up to standing again. He placed a foot on Sam’s lower back, grabbing the handle of the cleaver and yanking it out of the mutilated flesh beneath him. Sam screamed again while fresh blood began pouring out of the wound. Thick drops of scarlet red dripped from the cleaver and onto the old and dented hardwood floor beneath them.

Five was still unsteady on his feet, but he leaned down and pulled Sam’s face up off the ground by a fistful of hair.

“You made a fatal error, my friend,” Five warned. “You have no idea what I am capable of. But you’re about to find out because you have fucked with the wrong man.”

Sam breathed out a shaky laugh. “You think you’re better than me. But we’re the same.”

Five clenched his teeth and held the blood-stained meat cleaver under Sam’s throat. “Listen, you pathetic waste of space; you are wrong! We are not the same, and we never have been,” he hissed.

Sam let out a more maniacal laugh. “We are though. You just can’t admit it.”

Five got ready to draw the sharp blade across Sam’s neck. He wanted to split his throat open from ear to ear and watch him bleed out slowly and in agony. One corner of the cold steel pressed into his skin and a rivulet of blood trickled out.

“Five, don’t,” Viv said suddenly.

Five didn’t look up as he paused. “He needs to die, Vivie.”

“Not like that. Please, I just want to go home. Let’s go home, ok?”

Five looked up at her sorrowful face and knew she was right. He needed to get her back home. But he still wasn’t about to let this fucker go, even if the odds of him surviving the horrific wound in his back were slim. He let go of Sam’s hair, letting his face fall with a loud thunk onto the floor. Then he picked up his pistol and pressed it into the back of Sam’s skull. He glanced at Viv as a warning to let her know to look away.

“Lights out, you stupid fuck,” Five growled before pulling the trigger.

BANG! Sam’s skull exploded, sending blood and brain matter everywhere. Vivian flinched and looked away, but Five watched with satisfaction as the grisly contents oozed out of the gaping hole in the dead man’s head. Then he dropped his gun and hurried over to Viv, who was still bound to the chair.

As soon as her hands were free, she threw her arms around Five’s shoulders and he pulled her tightly into him. She burst into tears again, sobbing into his shoulder as they both knelt on the ground. He kissed her temple and smoothed her hair.

“Vivie…look at me,” he said as he held her face in his trembling hands. “Are you hurt at all? I saw blood on your phone.”

She shook her head while more tears ran down her cheeks. “No, I’m fine. I’m so sorry, Five, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault, I was stupid and I let him in, he said you were friends, I wasn’t thinking. Five, I’m so sorry.” She started crying loudly again, touching the side of his face with her hand. “I thought I lost you. I thought you were dead. And it was all my fault.”

Five closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers, his own tears threatening to spill over. “Darling, you have nothing to be sorry for, ok? You did nothing wrong. I just…god, I don’t know what I would have done if something happened to you. Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Five, you’re the one that almost died!”

Five gave her a smile and kissed her softly. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. You should know that by now.”

She let out a small laugh, sniffing back her tears. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, angel.” He glanced very quickly to the dead body on the floor and then back to Viv. “Come on, we need to get out of here.”

She nodded and they stood up, Five still shaky and unsteady on his feet. Viv held on to him for support. “What’s going to happen now? Aren’t the cops going to come after us?”

Five shook his head. “No, we’re safe. He works for the Commission, so he’s their problem to deal with. Agents die all the time in the field. He’s just one more spare cog in the wheel that won’t be missed.”

On the way out of the house, Five remembered the briefcase. He grabbed it off the table and turned to Vivian. “I don’t think either of us should be driving. I have to bring this back anyway, so do you mind?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. The sooner we can get home the better. We can get the car later.”

With a nod, Five programmed the case, took Viv’s hand in his, and in less than two seconds they were back in their apartment. As soon as they arrived, though, Five collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees. He was still so weak from being electrocuted almost to death and now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, it was starting to catch up with him.

“Five! Oh my god…”

Viv put her arms around his waist as he leaned against her and she helped him up. Tears started to form in her eyes again as they traveled over Five’s exhausted face.

“I am so sorry, Five…this is all my fault…and now you’re hurt…”

“Vivie, I’ll be fine. And it’s not your fault.”

She could see he was starting to sway on his feet again and she nodded before realizing he was covered in a splatter of quickly drying blood. “Come on, you need to get cleaned up first and then you can lie down, ok?”

Viv led Five to the bathroom where she had him sit on the top of the toilet seat while she helped him undress down to his underwear. She didn’t trust that he was strong enough to take a full shower, so she wiped up his face, neck, and chest with a wet washcloth; the dried blood that was painting his skin gradually fading away. Five closed his eyes from both exhaustion and the feel of her touch as she gently washed his latest sin from his body.

After he was cleaned off, Viv washed her own hands and bandaged the cut on her palm, and they both collapsed onto their bed, too tired to turn back the covers. Viv crawled next to Five as he lay on his side, and he wrapped her in his arms with her face buried in his chest. They both let out a long sigh and then she looked up at him. With her hand on his cheek, she kissed him, her warm lips pressed to his as he kissed her just as deeply in return and stroked her hair.

“Are you going to be ok?” he asked her quietly.

“Yeah, I’ll be ok. I’m pretty tough, you know,” she said with a smile.

Five laughed and squeezed her tighter. “I know you are.” He was silent for a minute before speaking again. “I’m sorry, Vivie. I’m sorry that I can’t ever seem to escape the hell that follows me everywhere. All I want to do is keep you safe, but I seem to be failing in that department.”

“I never feel safer than when I’m with you.”

Five didn’t respond to that and was quiet again. “I’d do it again, you know.”

“What?”

“Kill anyone that tried to hurt you. Without a second thought. And I’m sorry because I know that’s not what you want to hear, but if protecting you means I have to be the bad guy, then so be it.”

Viv looked into his eyes and smiled sadly. “Five, you’re never the bad guy. You’re my own personal superhero and you will always be the good guy. Because you are good inside. I need you to remember that.”

Five chuckled. “I don’t know about that, but if I am, it’s only because of you, angel.”

Bonus: Smut (as a little treat)

It took a few days before Five was completely healed from his electrical ass-beating. He couldn’t even blink a few feet without the power leaving his body and feeling like he was going to faint. And even though he loved that Vivian took care of him, he was getting pretty fucking annoyed with getting scolded every time he tried to do something she didn’t think he could handle. He reminded her several times that he had made it through four and a half decades of self-preservation in a barren hellscape, so unloading a bag of groceries was probably not going to be the end of him. But she just gave him a pointed look that told him she didn’t give a shit what he said and then he shut up again. After the third day, though, she finally decided he was well enough to return to his normal activities.

Viv was at the kitchen sink when Five came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. “I have a surprise for you,” he told her with a grin.

She sighed heavily, continuing to rinse off the plate she was holding. “If it’s what I’m currently feeling being jabbed up against my butt right now, I hate to disappoint you, but I’ve seen it before. Several times.”

Five gave her ass a pinch so that she squealed and then scooped her up in his arms, the dish clattering into the sink. “That’s only part of it,” he answered before he teleported them into the bedroom and onto the bed with a bounce. “I can blink again,” he said with a cocky smirk.

Viv scowled at him, fighting against her smile, and she smacked him on the arm. “Five Hargreeves, you are the worst! What have I told you about non-consensual blinks?”

Five laughed and shrugged. “It was worth it.”

Before she had a chance to respond, he was dragging her on top of him and pulling her in for a kiss, his hand tangling in her hair. She immediately gave in and made a little moaning noise into his mouth.

“Besides,” he said as he pulled away with a smile. “I know you secretly love it.”

Viv shook her head. “I don’t. But I do love a lot of other things you can do.”

Five nuzzled his face into her neck and placed a line of soft kisses along the underside of her jaw. “How about I do a few of those things right now?”

“I wouldn’t say no to that,” she said quietly while she started tugging up his shirt.

He chuckled as her hand slid over his hard abdomen and chest. “Trying to undress me already, my love?”

“You know I hate it when you have clothes on. I’d much rather have you walking around naked all day, just for my viewing pleasure and for easy access.”

Five laughed again and then flipped her over so that Viv was on her back, and he sat up on his knees, pulling his black t-shirt over his head before leaning down again. The muscles in his arms and back flexed as he held himself over her. He pressed the hard crotch of his pants into her thigh and he flashed her his sexy, crooked smile.

“If anyone needs to be walking around naked all day, it’s you. So let’s start there.”

Viv smiled and let him take his time with her, softly running his lips over her stomach and chest before lifting her shirt over her head. When he moved to tug her pants off, she stretched out long, closing her eyes and sighing. She felt his hand drifting over her legs and hip, and around to her ass where he gave it a small squeeze. Then he repositioned himself between her legs and she felt the warmth of his breath on her inner thigh as he placed his hands on either side of her hips.

“You’re so beautiful, baby,” he murmured.

Viv let out a quiet moan when she felt his mouth and tongue drawing hot lines over her skin, punctuated with tiny nips of his teeth. When he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties, pulling them down a little bit before covering the entire damp area between her legs with his mouth, she jerked her hips up with a whine.

Five leisurely sucked and licked at the thin fabric that separated him from that hot piece of heaven just underneath. He was teasing himself just as much as her, because the wetter she got, the more he could taste. And the more he could taste, the more his feral instincts kicked in and he wanted to devour her.

When he finally threw the lace underpants somewhere to the side, he was already on his knees between her legs, holding her tightly by her thighs, as he watched her rocking her hips up in anticipation. She looked up at him under hooded eyes, the corner of her bottom lip caught in her teeth, before sucking in a loud breath.

“God, you drive me fucking crazy,” he growled before immediately getting back to the matter at hand.

Five always knew the best ways to make Vivian a trembling mess, and one of those ways was to eat her out like she was the first meal he’d had in years. She liked when he was slow and gentle; flicking his tongue over all of her most sensitive places and taking his time. But when he lost all restraint and consumed her entire pussy, groaning and shoving his tongue inside of her while sloppily sucking at her clit, that’s when she lost her damn mind.

It always came with a slight risk of bodily harm for Five, since she would be thrusting her hips up into him so wildly, and pushing his face harder into her that it was a wonder he didn’t end up with a neck injury or suffocating to death. But he figured if that’s how he went out, he’d be ok with that.

“Five! Oh…my…fucking…god…YES!!!”

She pushed herself harder into his face with each word until she was screaming unintelligible words and Five could feel her thighs trembling and her body shaking as her back arched off the bed. He continued greedily lapping her up until she relaxed again and fell back against the pillow.  When he sat back on his knees, he was breathing hard and fast. He pushed his hair off his forehead as he licked at his lips; her warm, liquid sex coating his mouth and dripping down his chin.

While Viv lay there, catching her breath, she watched as Five wiped his face with the back of his hand, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a tiny smirk. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes told her all she needed to know. Now it was his turn and she was about to get railed. Hard.

He unbuckled his belt and opened the fly of his pants, taking out his hard cock before shoving her legs further apart with his knees. When he leaned over the top of her, covering her body with his own, he kissed her long and deeply; making sure she got a good taste of herself on his tongue. Her already soaked cunt accepted his dick with ease as he sunk himself inside of her.

With one hand holding himself up and the other gripping and pulling her leg up higher around his waist, Five started rhythmically thrusting into her, and moving his face to her neck.

“Vivie,” he breathed against her skin and she closed her eyes and dug her fingers into his back. “I can’t live without you, angel.”

 “I’m yours forever, Five.”

Five continued to fuck her hard but slowly, the buckle of his belt that was still dangling from his opened pants clinking with each push of his hips. He was groaning and biting into the crook of her neck as he kept his face buried there and Vivian clutched his body to hers. In between heavy pants, he told her all of the things he needed her to know. Every little thought and emotion that made its way to the forefront of his brain. If he didn’t tell her, the moment may pass and she’d never know.

“You are my whole world, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I am nothing without you. I love you so much, Vivian, so much.” He started moaning louder as his pace got faster and he held himself over her again to look down at her face. She smiled up at him, even as she let her head fall back again with a cry from how good he was feeling as he pounded into her.

“Five…”, she whimpered. “I love you, too...you feel so good like this.”

Her words acted like some sort of switch inside his brain, and after a few more seconds, Five was unleashing his hot cum inside of her while he pressed his forehead into her shoulder and groaned low in his throat. As his body relaxed, he stayed where he was, lying on top of her and breathing hard against her neck. She stroked his back and hair and ran her fingers lightly down his arms. He felt her lips press against his ear and she sighed happily.

“No one can ever take me away from you, Five,” Viv whispered.

Five kissed the side of her neck and then her lips. He didn’t say anything in return. Mostly because he knew she was right. Because if anyone ever tried to take her away again, he had no problem slaughtering everyone in his path to get to her.

[rahleeyah]

On my own for the afternoon and left to my own devices so that means I'm watching beasts obsession, like a normal person, and one thing I like about it - like is maybe not the word, one thing I think is really compelling as a character beat - is that Olivia has gone to therapy and sat the Sergeant's exam and moved in with Cassidy and broken up with Cassidy, she's taken control of her life and done all the things she's supposed to do and convinced - or tried to convince - herself and everyone around her that she's Ok, that she's Better, and the second she sees Lewis's face she's picking fights and ducking her protective detail and trying to trade her life for a child bc despite all the therapy and all the work she's put into Being A Normal Person, she is, still, Olivia. Angry and scared and reckless. She pushes Nick and Fin away when they're at her place and trying to take care of her. She doggedly refuses everyone's attempts to help her, bc their help would require her to lie, and she's decided she's not doing that anymore, even if it'll save her. No one believes her, not really, and maybe they never will - maybe they'll never believe he didn't rape her the first time, maybe they'll never believe that Liv didn't kill him, no matter what she says and I think she knows that - but she's stubborn and she won't back down. We have seen so much of rainbows and candles and therapy fixes everything Olivia recently, but this Olivia of post mortem blues is the same Olivia in children of wolves - she's in there somewhere, still, angry and impulsive and imperfect, and honest. That's the thing that gets me, I think, is that hand on heart wet eyes Liv feels like a Liv who's playing a role. Blood on her teeth going rogue in the rain Liv feels more real. They're both her - the her that wants to be clean and the her that worries she never will be - but I'd like to see more of a balance of those two sides of her than we're getting these days.

And as a side note, since I'm now on post mortem blues, I do think absolutely this is the moment Ed Tucker changed his tune about her. It started earlier - I think he was always amused and intrigued by her - but I think this is the moment she crawled under his skin.

[dandelion-wings]

Me earlier this week: Okay, I'm feeling strained and overstressed on the writing front, I'm not going to write until I'm back from holiday vacation. I will let my brain lie fallow.

My brain, immediately when I woke up this morning: Remember that little four-scene bit of the Crimson Peak siblingswap AU that you came up with over a year ago and never wrote? Write it. Write it now. Write it write it write it-

(Content warning for off-screen but definitely and correctly implied child abuse.)

---

Uncle Varka- *Grand Master* Varka's face is paler than Jean has ever it before.

"I had no idea," he says in a strained, terrible voice. "I never realized- Jean, I'm so sorry. I should have realized that Fredrica was in such a state. None of this was your fault."

It's well-meant, but Jean knows it's a lie. She had- She took the actions she did under her own cognizance. She can't pretend otherwise.

"Yes it was. I chose my actions, and I bear full responsibility for them. I understand that there have to be consequences. I'm ready to accept whatever they are."

It would be hanging, if she was an adult, but she's not sure they'll be able to hang her when she's not even yet a knight. On the other hand, Mother had told her a while back that she was a woman now, so maybe... maybe it's different for Gunnhildrs.

It would only be right if they did hang her. She was the one who-

Who killed Mother.

"You earned a Vision in the process," Grand Master Varka says, a little wildly, his gaze darting about her as if he's trying to and can't quite meet her eyes. "That means you did the right thing, doesn't it, Eroch? Or at least the only thing you could do. Since I didn't realize, and you had no help...."

"The medical report *does* say that her sister could well have died," Inspector Eroch agrees.

Which is more a reassurance than a single thing Grand Master Varka has said. It doesn't change what Jean did, but she finds herself blinking back tears at the relief of it. At least she hadn't done it for no reason at all. Even if there must have been better ways to handle it, if she hadn't failed to find them.

"Since the gods consider you justified," Grand Master Varka says, which Jean knows can't be true, but finds herself wishing might be, "there's no reason to put you on trial for it. Right, Eroch?"

The Inspector hums noncommittally. "I think the Church will agree to that. Though I think it would also be best, under the circumstances, to remove her from the Gunnhildr line of inheritance. That would unacceptably darken the Gunnhildr name. Barbara may not have met Fredrica's standards, but now that we know the whole story of what was going on in that household... it's entirely possible she may grow to become a very accomplished knight."

A wave of relief washes over Jean, and for the first time since she'd drawn her sword this morning, some of the pressure on her chest eases. *That's* a consequence she certainly deserves. It's true that she has proven herself unworthy of being a Gunnhildr.

***

Master Crepus drops down onto one knee to talk to Barbara, moving slow and careful, as if he's afraid she'll run away.

Which she kind of wants to do. She doesn't want to talk to anyone right now except for Jean. And no one will let her. Not even to apologize for running away from Jean, after... after Jean had saved her, and healed her, and done everything she could to keep her safe. There had been as much of Barbara's blood on her as Mother's when she tried to pick Barbara up.

"The Grand Master and the Seneschal have agreed that I'll be your guardian," he tells her. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to live in the Gunnhildr estate right now, so you'll come and live with me and Diluc. Do you want to come with us to get your things, so we can make sure we get everything you want?"

"Is Jean coming?" she whispers. She knows what the sisters have told her. Maybe Master Crepus will give her a different answer.

His sad, sorry expression tells her otherwise. "I'm afraid not. The Ordo thinks it's best if the two of you aren't in contact for... a while."

"Until I'm an adult." Barbara feels tears well up and swallows against a sob. "It can't be earlier? Even once? I want to tell her I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"But I do." More tears stream down her face, and Barbara keeps her voice quiet with effort. She can't be loud. *Especially* when she's crying. "If I had been better, and braver, this wouldn't have happened."

"That's not true." He says it firmly, almost sternly. "The only fault here was your mother's."

"*That's* not true! If I'd been good enough- if I didn't get Father killed-"

"Is that what Fredrica was feeding you? Barbara, *you did not kill your father*. How she could tell you- no. No, Barbara. Nothing was your fault. None of it."

He sounds angry, now, and Barbara shrinks back. As soon as he sees that, he shrinks himself too, ducking lower and making his expression go blank the way Jean always did when she got Mother to turn from Barbara onto her. She still isn't going to argue. He's wrong, Mother said so-

Except if Mother is right, then Jean was wrong to defend Barbara. Maybe... maybe Master Crepus is right. Or at least, if Master Crepus insists he's right to everyone else, if Barbara agrees with him, they won't punish Jean for what happened.

(Maybe they won't figure out that it's really Barbara's fault, and they won't punish Barbara.)

"I want to come with you to the house," she whispers.

She'll get all of Jean's things, too, along with hers. Everything Jean wanted. Then, when she can finally see Jean again, she can give them to her. If she does, if she demonstrates that she's sorry enough, maybe Jean will accept her apology.

***

Diluc finds Barbara hiding in the back upstairs linen closet, folded at the very back with the sheets pulled over her, not making a single sound.

"Father is taking that boy to the Church," he promises her, kneeling in the open door. "He won't scare you again."

He hadn't *done* anything, just come up too-quiet behind Barbara and startled her. But Barbara had shrieked, and then done what she always does when she thinks she's making too much noise and run away to hide. It doesn't matter that the boy had apologized. Father had decided right away that he couldn't take care of him, too, and while Diluc would have liked a boy his own age around, he can't say that Father is wrong.

Barbara is Jean's little sister. He promised Jean, the last time he saw her, the last time he was *allowed* to see her before Inspector Eroch told Father that it didn't look good for Diluc to seem to be carrying messages, that he would take care of Barbara for her. He can't break that vow.

His reassurance only makes Barbara burst into tears. Silent tears, which is as eerie as always, each sob choked into the faintest whisper of a sound.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "It wasn't his fault."

"It wasn't yours either," Diluc lies. "Don't feel bad. He'll be fine at the Church. It's probably better, since he was already sick from the rain. They can take good care of him there."

She nods, jerkily, and scrubs at her face. "I'm sorry anyway. I'm not *trying* to be scared all the time. If I was a better Gunnhildr... or if Jean were here...."

Diluc's stomach drops, and he swallows hard against his tightening throat. He tries not to show it, but something must show on his face, because Barbara's crumples all over again.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"I miss her too," Diluc admits, hoarse-voiced. He shuffles a little further into the closet. "If I could sneak her in here, or you to her, I *would*. But if I try, Father will be in trouble, and then...."

And then they'll take Barbara away, and Diluc won't even be able to keep the one promise he made to Jean. The only way he can keep that oath is to let the adults keep them apart, and keep hurting both of them.

"I know," Barbara whispers, scrunching her face into her folded knees.

"But I'll take care of you, since she can't," Diluc promises, just like he had Jean. "I swear. Until you can see each other again."

All of a sudden Barbara launches herself into him, at him, muffling her sobs into his shoulder instead of her throat. Diluc wraps his arms around her and holds her close. It's the only thing he can do for her right now. Even if he knows it's not enough.

***

Across the graveyard behind the Church, Kaeya can see a blond girl sitting alone, perched on the wall looking down at the lunch she's barely touched.

There's something familiar about her close up, the blond hair and blue eyes and the shape of her face. All he knows is that she's the only child here who hasn't teased him and tormented him about everything strange about him--everything that had gotten him kicked out of the Ragnvindr household and made him fail his mission. At this point, that's enough. Trotting over, Kaeya hops up onto the wall beside her and opens up his own lunch.

She glances sideways, then down again. "You shouldn't sit close to me."

"Why?"

"No one will like you if you do."

Kaeya shrugs. "No one does like me."

After another glance, longer and more thoughtful, she shakes her head and looks back down. "You still have a better chance if you don't. I... everyone knows I killed my mother."

He looks her up and down with respect, noting the Vision at her waist. None of the other children are ever going to accept him; that much is obvious. But if everyone knows he's *her* friend... at least they'll fear tormenting him.

Besides, there are worse things she could have done. Much worse ones.

"I too killed my mother," he assures her.

Her head comes up, and she gapes at him in more shock than seems fair. "What? *Why*?"

"She became a monster," Kaeya says, quiet so his voice doesn't shake as the words recall those terrible, desperate moments. "Why did you kill your mother?"

She stares at him, something bleak and terrible in her expression, as if she feels just as Kaeya does remembering his mother reaching for him with slashing claws, and burying his tiny dagger into her throat. Then she says, just as quiet, "She... also became a monster. She tried to kill my sister."

All of a sudden, Kaeya realizes why she looks so familiar. "Barbara? Lady Gunnhildr?"

"Yes," she whispers, her voice choked.

"I saw her, before I was here at the Church," he says, holding that out like an offering. He carefully doesn't say that he'd frightened her. "She was well." He thinks. He hadn't seen much of her before he gave her that shock and ruined everything.

"Oh thank Barbatos," the girl breathes, in a rush. There are tears glittering in her eyes, but she draws herself up, composed, and holds a hand out to Kaeya. "I'm Jean Gun- I'm Jean."

"I am Kaeya," he tells her, taking it.

Already his head is spinning with plans. He has to find out what she likes, what she wants, what he can do for her. If he can win her affection... this girl has already killed to protect someone in her life. Maybe he can turn himself into someone she would keep safe, too.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

That was amazing! Can I request a Part 6? Drum Island, where they need to find a Doctor for Nami and Reader who become severely sick

When Reader regains conscious, she keeps running away from Dr. Kureha in fear (Dr. Kureha took a little of Reader’s blood when she was unconscious to check what she’s infected with, and discovers her blood has a unique mutation that can reverse not only her cells, but others’ cells that have severe diseases/illnesses to curable stages) then puts two and two together on why a little girl could have so many scares and feels disgust, and darkly asks Luffy, Nami and Sanji if they’re the ones who gave Reader her scars, because if they are she’s going to kill them

Dr. Kureha tells Luffy and Nami that this is her theory, but based on Reader’s her scars, her reaction when she learned she’s a doctor and her power (And what she found out from her blood) that someone’s been taking Reader’s body apart to use as they see fit (Luffy, Nami and Sanji have never felt more horrified then murderous over the pain Reader had to endure)

When Reader meets Chopper, she quickly bonds with him and trusts him to treat her (She’ll slowly trust Dr. Kureha) as Luffy and friends battle the evil Wapol, she also doesn’t see Chopper as a Monster, rather thinks he’s cute and his blue nose is his ‘pretty’, and if he thinks he’s a monster, then they’ll be monster’s together, since they both have ‘horns’ (Though Chopper corrects her saying he has antlers)

Dr. Kureha tells Reader that if she can use her power correctly, there’s no telling how many people Reader could save (Calling Reader’s power the ‘Great Miracle’ all Doctors wished for and her existence is a miracle itself, which makes Reader cry because she’s always saw her power and existence a ‘Curse’) but tells her that it’s her power and only she should be allowed to use it as they leave to Alabasta

-Vivi was beside herself, trying to take care of both you and Nami, after she suddenly collapsed after guiding the ship through a sudden but short storm that would have knocked them off course.

-Nami was having the same symptoms at you and while scared at first that this sickness was contagious, Vivi found a similar bug bite on Nami as well.

-Vivi heard shouting up above and while not wanting to leave the two of you alone, you were both asleep and she went to investigate, finding a massive hulking person, Wapol, threatening Sanji and Luffy.

-After a very brief fight, Wapol was sent flying out into the ocean, which, for a Devil Fruit user, was normally a death sentence.

-Drum Island was covered in snow, everyone was bundled in thick jackets and for good measure, you were wrapped up in a blanket as well, being held in Vivi’s arms while Luffy carried Nami.

-Dalton tried to attack the crew with the former Drum Island militia, but after hearing what was going on, a woman and a child that desperately needed a doctor, he called off the attack and took everyone to Bighorn, a nearby village.

-Everyone was furious to learn that Wapol, the man Luffy punched earlier, had taken all doctors for himself, and if anyone on Drum Island needed medical attention, Wapol expected them to come and plead for help.

-A pirate named Blackbeard attacked, and Wapol, rather being the king he should have been, fled with his court and the doctors, abandoning Drum Island because he was scared.

-You whimpered softly and Luffy was quick to take you in his arms, holding you carefully, but you remained asleep as Dalton told them that there was one more doctor, Kureha, but many regarded her as a witch, and would only come down from her castle, Wapol’s former home, when she felt like it.

-Vivi, Zoro, and Usopp remained at Bighorn, mainly for the ship, while Luffy and Sanji, carrying you and Nami, made way to Drum Castle.

-Sanji sensed the Lapahns before Luffy did, as he had stepped on one, and leapt back, cradling you close, a glare in his eyes.

-Unable to fight properly, Luffy and Sanji were banged up, but after causing an avalanche, the Lapahns conceded, after Luffy pulled the parent of one out of the snow when a child was trying to dig it out.

-Sanji was still conscious, but injured across his back, having taken some claws to protect you before delivering a harsh kick.

-Kureha walked out, seeing the visitors, and found the two men, bloody and bruised, holding a woman and a child, but in need of medical attention before they quickly passed out.

-The men and Nami were up first, meeting Chopper, a blue nosed reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit and was a doctor himself!

-Nami looked around for you, growing concerned as Luffy was chasing Chopper around, demanding that he join the crew, loving the idea of a talking reindeer in his crew, “Where’s Y/N?! Is she okay?!”

-The doctor gave her a small nod towards another room, “Still asleep. That fever of hers did a number on her. I’m hoping you lot can help me understand something.”

-After getting everyone together in Nami’s room, Kureha told them how, while she was working on you, tending to your fever as well as running some blood tests, your horn seemed to flare with energy, and that energy surrounded you, healing your body, but due to you being so weak from being sick, you were still unconscious.

-Chopper nodded, “I’ve never seen anything like it before, is it a Devil Fruit ability?”

-A few hesitant glances were shared before Luffy gave a small nod, and Nami spoke, “Y/N’s ability isn’t a Devil Fruit ability, it’s something else, something she was born with, that’s what she’s told us. We don’t know too many details about it ourselves, other than she was abused terribly for it before running away and being capture by Alvida, before Luffy saved her. Her ability allows her to rewind time.”

-Chopper’s jaw dropped and eyes bulged, “Rewind time?!” Nami nodded and hesitated, only for a moment, “We don’t know all the details ourselves, but she was able to bring my mother, who died when I was a child, back from the dead from just a lock of hair.”

-Their jaws dropped before Kureha inhaled deeply, grabbing the newspaper, “That’s probably why the government is after her then. YN’s ability… in the wrong hands it could- I-I don’t want to even think about it.”

-Luffy punched his fist into his other hand, “And that’s why we’re protecting her. Nobody is allowed to hurt her ever again!”

-Kureha seemed pleased with his answer before she spoke, “Then I won’t kill you lot.” Kureha was fully prepared to kill them herself if they were the ones who had hurt you, “When I removed her bandages, the number of wounds and scar tissue she had on her little body, whoever had her was strategically hurting her, tearing her apart, I’m guessing to study this ability of hers.”

-They knew you were scarred, but to hear this from a doctor’s standpoint, that you were being tortured for your ability, the rage they felt was unlike anything they had ever felt before.

-Kureha was able to discover this easily, about what not only your ability, but your blood could do as well, and she shuddered to think if the government ever got their hands on you, knowing you would probably be even worse off compared to whenever you were with the bastards who did this to you.

-It was an hour later when you finally stirred, your vision blurry and your eyes went wide, finding yourself in a hospital and you instantly panicked, sitting up, “Big-big brother?!”

-Kureha entered, offering you a friendly smile, “You’re up! Glad to- don’t!” you leapt out of bed and quickly scrambled underneath, ripping your IV out as you huddled your legs tightly to your body, hyperventilating.

-She quickly exited the room and only moments later you heard strange footsteps before you came face to face with a…reindeer?

-Chopper entered, hearing you were having a panic attack, scared of doctors, and sent him in instead, and he got down on all four to peek at you.

-He was nervous, but not as much as he had been with your crewmates, you were a child.

-Your eyes were wide as you blinked, a bit confused about what you were looking at before he talked, “Your name is Y/N, right? My name is Tony Tony Chopper! But you can call me Chopper.”

-You mouthed his name, unable to form words and he nodded, offering you a hoof, “You shouldn’t be out of bed yet, you’re still pretty weak.”

-You hesitated but took his hand and let him pull you out, finding he was shorter than you, but gave you a friendly smile and helped you back onto the bed.

-He ran out, panicking that you were bleeding, going to get supplies and came back to find the wound gone, as you had healed it.

-He was gentle, tending to your wounds, “Does it hurt where it was?” you were still scared, not talking, shaking your head as he checked it out, “Does it hurt when you use your ability?”

-Your free hand lifted to your horn, touching it, “Some-sometimes, when I fix a big- a big…” your voice trailed off and he nodded, explaining that Luffy told him if you use your ability too much, you get fevers, which you confirmed.

-You smiled, thinking about your brother, wanting to see him, “Big brother tells me not to use it, so I don’t get sick. He tells me I only use it when I want to.” He smiled softly, patting your head gently, “He’s right, you only use it when you want to.” It was so unlike things when you were with Overhaul and Alvida, who forced you to use it on their whims.

-You asked to see your brother, or Nami or anyone, wanting to see your family, only to find out they were out fighting Wapol, who wanted his castle back. You tilted your head to the side, “What’s a Wapol?” you didn’t know him, so Chopper explained he was a cruel king who left many years ago and is now coming back.

-Chopper checked your temperature and made sure your body was okay, being so gentle with you, and he couldn’t help but grin as you poked his blue nose, “It’s so pretty.” Your words were so sweet and gentle before he looked down, “Thank you Y/N, but I don’t really like it. It makes me different- makes me a monster.”

-You knew that word well, your arms coming towards your chest, looking down as you nodded, “We- can we… can we be monsters together then, since we both have horns?” his face fell, eyes full of concern as he realized that you had been terribly abused, thinking that you were a monster.

-He remembered the words of your family well, that you could rewind time, and if you were being tortured, forced to use your ability, they probably forced you to rewind time on things and others called out a monster for it.

-He smiled gently, offering you his hoof to hold, “Technically I don’t have horns, I have antlers. But we can- together.” His answer made you smile, it made you feel like you belonged!

-Kureha entered and you instantly flinched, holding onto Chopper, scared, but she sat down on the empty bed across from you, “I won’t touch you, Y/N, that’s why I sent Dr. Chopper here instead.” Your eyes went wide, looking at him, “You’re a doctor?”

-He beamed, looking smug and proud, but you were so confused, he was a doctor, but he didn’t hurt you, he was so nice. You looked back at Kureha who saw your realization, giving you a grin and a small nod.

-Kureha, true to her word, kept her distance, ignoring the rumbling in the castle, hearing Luffy and the others fighting, and spoke with you, “Y/N, your ability is- it’s amazing! You could be the Great Miracle that all doctors have been wishing for, to help everyone they can!”

-The tears instantly swelled and spilled over, all your life, you’ve known this ability as a curse, and many had told you so, both your ability and existence, because without you, some people might still be alive!

-To hear that your gift was a miracle, and that you would help others, listening to Kureha that you could save the world if you learned how to control your ability.

-The thought seemed scary at first, but there was a swell of something inside of you, you felt so happy, like you were going to burst!

-You sobbed in relief, leaping into Luffy’s arms when he came to get you after defeating Wapol, clutching him tightly and Nami whacked him only once, scolding him for making you cry, as you were upset that he was injured again.

-You nearly were in tears again, holding Chopper’s hand as he was saying goodbye to Kureha, who was trying not to cry herself, not liking tearful goodbyes.

-Chopper was sobbing loudly as your whole crew was gawking with wide, wonderous eyes, as Kureha seemed to use magic to make it snow cherry blossom, the pink glow from the cannons illuminating the white snow in a pink hue. It was so beautiful! You had never seen anything like it!

-You were happy to be back on the ocean and Usopp couldn’t help but grin, seeing you opening up a bit more, showing Chopper all around the ship.

-The others learned quickly not to tease Chopper about eating him, you overheard them joking about it and Sanji and Zoro spent almost an hour trying to calm you down, each of them having several steaming lumps on their head while Nami and Usopp yelled at them while Luffy was hiding with Chopper.

Elsewhere

-A man sat in a bar, looking over a couple of bounty posters, a grin on his lips, “You’ve grown Luffy… but I’m kicking your ass because you never told me you got a little sister! That means I’ve got a little sister now!!”

[moreespressoformydepresso]

So I don't know if you have seen my unpopular opinions on Clemensia posts but I have been thinking of an au based on them

So the long and short of it is that I don't think that the snake venom affected Clem mentally or emotionally because I don't think snake venom can do that rather I think her drastic change in character in the book is because she's alot more unwell Then she lets on she is constantly anxious about keeping up appearances and following the rules to an unhealthy degree believing that it's what will keep her safe and she's willing to put her morals and opinions aside if it means she keeps up the image she built that's why despite being uncomfortable about the games she tries to find a solution that won't get her in hot water like suggesting making the tributes avoxes when that's arguably a fate worse then death in my opinion and the snake bite basically made her have a mental breakdown because she felt that all these years having to keep up appearances was for nothing and she didn't know how to handle that so she resorted to lashing out and her cruelty towards reaper was in part because she wanted to have some form of control over her situation and reaper was the perfect candidate for that because she literally have his life in her hands ( that's just my opinion it's okay if you disagree )

So about the au imagine that the arena tour was delayed due to brandy attempting to kill arachne though she doesn't succeed in doing it this time because tanner stops her before she drove the knife to Arachne's throat (this one is @majorsoapfan idea) but the difference is that people Saw brandy attempting to murder arachne and now barely anyone wants to get near the tributes or the zoo ( I just want all of the tributes alive) except sejanus of course who keeps feeding the kids by himself

Clem is let out of the hospital earlier and when she hears of what happens she goes to the zoo to taunt reaper to make herself feel better ( I also headcanon that part of Clem did blame the tributes for what happened to her missed up ik but like I said she's not right in the head now) and reaper of course wouldn't be having any of that he'd lash out and start screaming at Clemensia and say all his opinions about her and when Clem attempt to tell him that he has no idea what she's been through and that what happened to her was their fault

Reaper is shocked to see the snake skales but he doesn't back down and tells Clem the finishing blow he says: "well I'm sorry that this happened to you but stop blaming me or the rest of them for that, we literally have no choice ever since our names were called so stop acting like you are the biggest victim her Bec this is just a fraction of what real suffering is like you couldn't handle being locked up in a hospital well try working for hours on end in terrible conditions since you were a kid and you get shot or whipped for just attempting to eat or not working hard enough Then you can come to me and talk about suffering you coward)

( I get that what happened to Clem was bad but compared to what the tributes were put through she had it far easier at least there were people trying to stabilize her meanwhile panlo and sheaf were left for their injuries to eat them alive while staying in horrible conditions and I say that as someone who is scared of hospitals )

Clem is taken aback by this and reaper keeps going screaming at her until Dill comes to hold his hand and treech ( because ik you won't miss an opportunity to involve him in the fix it lol) tell reaper that she isn't worth it and reaper back down

Clem is left speechless but then sejanus reluctantly comes to talk to her and he explains to her why the tributes would think that way about her as well and letting some of his opinions about her that he kept to himself known

The next day Clem makes up her mind and reaches out to sejanus and the mentors who she knows Care about their tribute and they try to find a plan to get the tributes out and save them both to finally do some good after staying for so long silent she is finally willing to do the right thing and not passively watch from the side and in part because she knows that freeing the tributes would be the biggest middle finger for Dr gaul

I admit I don't know what their plan would be and I'm worried if Clem would include Coriolanus to it but that's the set up I have for now for what could lead to a fix it

Hii!! This ask actually gave me an idea for an AU where instead of the games, the tributes are turned into pseudo-avoxes lmao. They get to keep their tongues because Gaul wants to make the games happen anyway and she needs them to be able to speak to do the whole sponsorship/getting people invested thing, but that's for another day.

The snake venom was always weird to me, because the same snakes have two completely different effects. They apparently turn Clemensia into a vicious snake woman, but one bite kills Treech in seconds? Circ and Coral have rainbow liquid leaking out of their body? How does that work? My best guess is it's the venom reacting with whatever antidote they gave Clemensia that made her a snake woman, but that makes no sense because antidotes are usually antivenom of some kind or maybe activated charcoal to stop it from being absorbed into the bloodstream. It is... Not explained well. Seems like a "whatever the narrative needs" situation but that's just me I guess. I like your explanation a lot more! She just had her snap moment and took everything out on the one person who couldn't hit her right back, which sounds like something people tend to do.

Reaper doesn't seem like a screaming type to me, he's more of the deadly calm aura, so I see him either getting really icy with her or actually raising his voice for the first time, the latter of which would have more impact. It would really show that's shit's about to get real, I think, which would push Clemensia into action because she realizes just how far she's let herself sink. See, to a Capitol person, being an avox probably sounds better than being thrown into the games because at least you're alive. They don't understand the how horrific a life of slavery without an ability to even speak to people, would be. We all know they have a problem putitng themselves into other people's shoes so I imagine it would be hard for them to comprehend just how horrific it is to take away someone's ability to speak. At least you're alive, right? Avoxes are so normalized in the Capitol that it doesn't even occur to any of them to consider that it might be a fate worse than death, because it's normal. To Clemensia, turning the tributes into avoxes is the "nice" option, so when Reaper yells at her about life in the Districts and the truth of the games she starts reevaluating everything about her stance here.

Treech helping Dill calm Reaper down is very welcome, I'm glad you acknowledge I would have found a way to shove him in here no matter what you do, because I would have :D. I see Reaper as someone who's almost like a dad friend? To all of the tributes, but especially the ones younger than him (so most of them lmao). First Dill holds his hand and tries to calm down, which only works a little, so Treech decides he'd rather avoid another close call like the one with Brandy and goes over to help her. Eventually, the reason Reaper calms down is because the other tributes are starting to get upset at him putting himself in harm's way because the peacekeepers are very triggerhappy and just waiting for him to push too far to murder him. That's when Sejanus pulls Clemensia away and gives her a calmer version of what Reaper just told her, finally fully opening her eyes to the fact that even the good, 'nice' mentors aren't good people. Sejanus is the best of them, and even he has his flaws. It's time to prove they're good people by doing a good thing for once.

I have a few ideas for how she and the good mentors might go about this, so I'll try to be brief.

First is, of course, to get them out before the games begin. A bit of a tough task but it's doable. With so many influencial family's funds they could bribe the guards to let the tributes out with a nice hefty sum of hush money, using the Capitol's corruption against it, but this would be a little tricky because that's a lot of guards there. The time frame that minimizes the amount of involved peacekeepers is very small and risks them being caught by non-bribed guards, and the more people you bribe the bigger the chance someone will slip or cave or sell you out for double the prize. Definitely possible, but a logistical nightmare. The better choice is to for them to use either the money or the connections (most likely Pup) to get their hands on some kind of sleeping agent (the futuristic kind that doesn't risk death) and gas the zoo entirely. Including the tributes. Can't hit all the guards and not at least risk the tributes here, but that's okay. The sleeping gas would buy them quite a bit of time so they can come in a truck and just put all the tributes in the back. They'll have to scrub security footage anyway. They can go in guns blazing and just bonk the peacekeepers over the back of the head, they can have a futuristic, larger scale spy plane and throw a ladder down into the zoo enclosure to let the tributes climb out... There are a lot of possibilities.

These were all ways the mentors could get the tributes out, but they could also give the tributes the means to escape and wait with a big truck to take them to safety outside of the zoo. Maybe they sneak a set of lockpicks and some bottles of chloroform into the zoo, or a blowtorch so they can melt through the metal bars of the encosure. They could give the tributes blackmail material on the guards to coerce them into opening the zoo and letting them out. Plenty of options here.

Then there's the possibility of getting the tributes out of the arena instead, which is honestly a lot easier because there's less guards. Just take out the gate guards and the job's done, so as long as they inform the tributes of the escape plan to make sure they don't kill each other, it should work out fine. Or if they don't want to, I reiterate: Spy plane with a ladder. Or a helicopter. As long as it happens at night it should be fine, and if they're caught people will just assume it was the rebels and not think any further. They'll realize the tributes are gone anyway so as long as the mentors aren't caught the result will be roughly the same. Something else I can think of is them digging through a weak spot in the arena wall to create a new exit so nobody notices anything happened until they check and realize there's a massive hole in the outer wall. I could see this working if the mentors blow a hole in the wall the night before the games, when the place isn't secured, and fill it back up to look like nothing happened. Then they can easily take the rubble out again quietly after the start of the games. In all these scenarios, they'll need to sneak out to make it happen, so maybe some of them stay back to create an alibi for the mentors that go to get the kids out? I doubt it would be too difficult, as long as they keep an eye on Gaul.

They could easily deal with that by just sicking her snakes on her or killing her in her sleep or something, with the double advantage of literally killing the biggest pushback to ending the games later down the line, but that's just an idea...

[effectivelyprocrastinating]

I will always protect you

Imagine Sean was hurt while you and he were on a date.

Sean x Female reader 

Past Nick x Female reader

Word Count: 1240

Sean rolled over, his head pounding. “How long was asleep?” He looked over at the small table to his right, with a book, a bottle of water, and some pain reliever.  He was in his bedroom, in loose-fitting clothes. He couldn’t remember how he got here. “What happened?” He asked to the empty room. 

He tried to stand, knocked over the table, and cursed. Then she ran into the room, and he could breathe a little easier. “No, lay back down,”  She had a cup of coffee in one hand, which she sat down to come to him. “That Löwen almost killed you. You took a nasty fall.” 

Sean smiled at her despite his head pounding. He said, “I’m okay, love really.” 

“No, you are not. You have a concussion. Take these.” She pushed three pills into his palm. Once he placed them in his mouth, she handed him the bottle of water. After he swallowed the pills, he looked at her up and down.  “Are you okay?” She still wore the same red shirt and black pants she had worn on their date earlier in the evening, but now the pants were ripped, and the shirt was covered in dirt.

“Yes, my love. I’m fine, thanks to you.” She placed a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. “You saved my life.” 

“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t need saving,” he said, his voice tinged with a mix of guilt and determination. 

“That was your brother, not you.” 

“But if you weren’t with me, Eric wouldn’t know you.” 

She smiled softly at him. “I made my choices a long time ago.”

That’s when he saw Nick in the doorway with his own cup of coffee, “Why are you here? Sean growled, but she put a hand on his chest to stop him from moving. 

“Love, please. I called him. I needed his help. You were unconscious, and I didn’t know if Eric followed us,” she said, standing. I’ll let you two talk; I need some sleep and a shower.” She kissed Sean’s forehead. Then, turning to Nick, who had stepped into the room, she said, “Thank you for coming.” 

“Of course.” He nodded at her, his eyes softening. Anything for you. “She turned the corner, and a few minutes later, they both heard the water running. 

Sean looked at Nick, “Did she really call you?” 

Nick shrugged. “I almost didn’t answer, but I knew that it must be important if she was calling me. You almost gave her a heart attack, you know.  You are both lucky to be alive.” Nick glanced back to where she had disappeared. “I'm surprised she was able to drag you to the car and up here without anyone seeing her.” 

“Wait, she dragged me to the car?” 

Nick laughed, “Hard to believe I know, I didn’t see it. But by the time I got here, you were in bed, asleep.  She said she wanted me here in case the Royals came. She knew she couldn’t fight them off herself. She told me the Royals have been after you two for a while.” 

Sean nodded and said, "Since that picture of us at the Christmas party. Despite my lineage, my family has never been keen on mixing bloodlines." 

“You should have told me.” 

Sean laughed, “Sure, so you could convince her to run back to you.” 

“So I could help protect her!” Nick yelled.

“That’s not your job anymore, Nick!” Sean replied with the same force. 

“I know, but if anything happens to her, I don’t think I’ll forgive myself…” He stopped making eye contact with Sean, “Or you.” Sean nodded, “If anything happens to her, and if I’m still alive, you will have my full cooperation when you cut off my head.” Sean reached out his hand, “Help me to the  couch, will you?”  Nick took it and helped him up. He gingerly tested his legs, and they walked into the living room together. Sean sat carefully on the couch, and Nick sat on a chair beside the door. 

It didn’t take too long before she walked back into the room. Her hair was wet but pulled back away from her face. She had changed into one of his shirts, which he had forgotten about, and a pair of gray tights. He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. She made two cups of tea and handed one to him before settling beside him. She began talking with Nick about something, but Sean wasn’t listening. 

He finished the cup quickly and could tell she had added something to help him sleep. He must have really worried her. With that thought, he set down the cup and grabbed hers. After taking her cup, he pulled her to his side. He draped his other arm across her, pulling her closer to him. He wasn't sure if she knew how she affected him. They had only been together a few months, but she was the ultimate medication anyone could offer him; only in her presence could Sean sense his heartbeat slow and his body ease into relaxation. 

Nick took the hint and stood, clearing his throat. “Captain, now that you're awake. I’ll head home. Call if you need anything.” He approached the door but stopped, “Watch your back, Captain, and hers.” Sean nodded. 

Nick walked out the door and down the hall before they spoke again. “Thank you for getting me out of there.” He spoke into her hair. 

“You're welcome, she hummed, “Come on, let's get you to bed. I think we both could use the rest.”

“No,” If he hadn't been so comfortable, he would have pulled away to look at her face.

“No? What do you mean no?”

If I go to bed, you won’t be here when I wake up.” 

Confused, she pulled away from him, “Sean, you wake up at 5 am every morning.” 

“You aren’t going home tonight?” The implication caught him a little off guard. They had both decided to take their relationship slow. She had been very hesitant even to entertain the idea after her relationship with Nick had ended.

“Do you want me to?” She stood and pulled him up with her. 

“No.” He pulled her towards him, and not expecting such a quick response, she stumbled into his chest. 

She smiled sheepishly at him. “Then it’s settled. I’ll sleep on the couch. Just call if you need anything. You don’t want to overdo it after a head injury.” She moved away from his bedroom door, where they now stood. She was teasing him, and he knew it. 

“Oh no, you won’t. My savior does not sleep on any couch.” He pulled her into the bedroom after him. “If you plan on staying over often, I need to consider adding more security.” 

“Why are you afraid I will run away?” 

He stopped momentarily, thinking, “That and I want to make sure you are safe.” He smiled, laid down, and pulled her close to him. 

“Well, there is no need to add any extra security yet, but you may want to look into it."

He couldn't help but smile at the thought of her waking up with him becoming a regular occurrence. It took a few minutes for her breath to even out, and he knew she was asleep. It was only then that he let himself fall asleep, too. 

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

Random thoughts on the newest Black Butler Manga:

My mood currently btw

But anyways:

Snake said/thought something that I for some reason didn't think about-

He's right

Doll wouldn't do all this for harming children unless ordered to. She still doesn't want to.

In both the anime of Book of Circus and the manga format of the Circus Arc, we see this

It seems like Doll has a record of being too close to someone to the point they may have to leave earlier to plan, naive maybe.

And in this scene from the anime

Go to timestamp 3:22 for it

We see that Doll may have helped in the kidnapping but never did the murdering or the actually nabbing bits of the act, everyone else does while she is mostly look out. And even when she does harm someone, she hesitates and shows clear guilt of what she's doing

Adding that and Peter's later slap in the face you get that Doll is the main one who seems to be the "weakest link" and would have all the chances to run

Plus Doll is great with kids, we get that. So Snake's statement of "you would never do this" even while she tried to stab a child is true

Literally two frames ago:

She didn't seem too happy about someone shooting at a kid, so why is her random af (thoroughly creepy) outburst towards Mable happened then?

Well... Cause Doll would obviously be forced to

I've been saying since she appeared back into our lives Doll has always been giving me a off feeling but to properly get this line I realized it's a little bit on the nose on my end at least, Doll most likely has something in it for her to do this, not just life

What is it?

The manor relies on Undertaker for the bodies they may have-

None of the other circus member's bodies were in any frames and anything, minus the obvious rubble of the manor, traces of them were quickly gotten rid of. Now I assume maybe Sebastian burnt any evidence that can burn aka clothes and some hair partials, but as they would put the bodies down the chut and Undertaker can take them.

My guess, Undertaker took them and promised a newly-alived Doll that he can fix them up and make them alive again if she helps out. This can explain how she was able to know how they all died but not Joker and why she honestly seems so desperate, UT would show her his "reports" of the bodies and edge her towards the role of help. Like what he did with the P4...

Now, if Finny doesn't kill her or she doesn't kill herself cause THIS IS THE MOST HEARTBREAKING THING YOU CAN DO TO HER YANA, WHY?!, I think she can easily help them escape, even if (sadly) she might die in the end. Save Snake and the kids and we'll see from there. Like Ada from the last part of this whole emotional roller coaster ride

[dead-by-mending]

Legion members and what they think of each survivor

The title says it all. Once again, feedback would be appreciated

Dwight : Frank, Julie and Joey straight up think he's pathetic (they're just annoyed that he keeps hiding in lockers), while Susie just thinks he's trying, but not enough

Meg : While the others don't care about her, Frank and Susie actually like her. Frank because since she's a sprinter, she actually gives him a bit of a challenge and he likes that, and Susie... because she's cute and has a nice mask ?

Claudette : They're just so annoyed with how many times she was hiding right under their noses all the time, but Joey still kinda feels bad for her, especially after he learned about her social awkwardness, as he was like that sometime (he also thinks she's cute but won't admit it)

Jake : They hate Saboteur with a burning passion, so they have to hate the one who brought it, right ? Well actually no, Frank and Julie think he's kinda cool, living alone in the forest. That's the kind of life they would have prefered to Ormond

Nea : She's pretty much a bitch to every killer, trying to piss them off as much as she can thinking she can run them for hours (and it usually doesn't work). Too bad for her, the Legion is EXACTLY about that, so they love her attitude. Julie secretly wishes she could be friends with her

Laurie : Obviously they're always excited about the idea that they can stab the most iconic final girl herself, especially Frank and Julie. They used to hate DS, but since its nerf, not so much...

Ace : While they can get probably as cocky as him, they just can't stand that guy. Susie finds the grin he has in the lobby extra creepy

Bill : They don't understand how this old man can keep up. Then he looked cooler when they learned he did Vietnam and was shooting up zombies before diying and getting taken by the Entity

Feng Min : Susie is the only one to tolerate her, the others think she's just ultra annoying, like Nea but worse. She shouldn't have called them cringe, because now they keep calling her like that (even tho they don't know what it means)

David : They don't really care about him, and even less about him being gay (or anyone's sexuality or ethnicity, they just stab everyone the same). But once he tried to punch Frank in the face, and now he makes it personal every single trial where he faces him

Quentin : They don't know why, but they like this gremlin, especially Frank. They think he's funny when he just falls asleep at some random moment (because yes, it happens sometimes)

Tapp : If you're familiar with what the Legion was doing before killing, then you can guess they're not fond of law enforcement, including cops like Tapp. They prefer causing mayhem everywhere

Kate : Frank's soulmate (I will die on this hill). When they're in a trial together, he doesn't want to hurt her, but she doesn't the Entity to get displeased at him because of that... Meanwhile, the others don't care about her (not even Julie, she moved on so she couldn't care less)

Adam : What I said earlier about Legion and law enforcement also goes for education. So you can guess that they don't really like Adam either. However they have a bit of respect for him for sacrificing himself to save a girl in the train crash that got him here

Jeff : Their old pal from high school. None of them recognized him at first, because he had grown up, but once they did, they were kinda happy to see him. They try to let him live as much as possible (especially Susie)

Jane : Joey and Susie see her differently : he sees a thicc latina that's exactly his type, she sees what Jane is trying to be, a body positivity icon, as Susie is a bit chubby herself and got bullied for that... Meanwhile, Frank and Julie couldn't care less

Ash : Frank was in shambles when he saw Ash for the first time in a trial, as he's a big Evil Dead fan. He was kinda disappointed to see him without his chainsaw or boomstick though, he was hoping he could steal those

Steve : Their opinion on him evolved just like he did in the show : they saw him as an annoying douche at first, then started to like him for getting cooler

Nancy : At first they thought she would be boring. They quickly realized how wrong they were, especially Julie. Now they're either afraid or excited that she could bring guns in trials

Jonathan : Who ? No seriously they almost never see him, which is a shame because his music taste would surely fit some of the Legion members

Yui : They all think she's kinda cool. I mean, I don't know if you've seen a champion biker girl not being cool, but honestly, I never saw that happen

Zarina : Curiosity killed the cat, like they say. They wouldn't like her to search into their lives, especially Frank and Julie who made some "special recordings" of themselves...

Cheryl : They thought she was kinda cool at first, but now they're afraid of her, ever since they learned about how she killed a literal god, after giving birth to it (man Silent Hill's lore is confusing)

Cybil : Just like with Tapp, they like to show her their opinion on law enforcement... And let's just say it doesn't always end well...

Lisa : Frank always had a nurse fetish, so before starting to date Kate, he was really enjoying a trial against Lisa... Now he just asks Kate to wear a nurse outfit when they're alone...

James : At first they just found him weird because of his attitude. Then they thought he was creepy because they learned about Mary and how it created Pyramid Head. And now they hate him because he's basically the reason Midwich exists and they'll never forgive him for that (me neither)

Maria : She just kinda exist ? Just like Jonathan, they very rarely see her

Felix : Frank and Joey were just a bit jealous of his good looks. Frank still does, but now Joey feels bad about him because he got taken while his girlfriend was pregnant, meaning he has a child but may never see them ever...

Elodie : Julie likes her independent spirit and taste for adventure. But she and the other Legion members hate Power Struggle so much. No, they don't hate her because she's French, Canadians and Frenchs are bros

Yun-jin : A girl that's stylish and independent ? That's exactly the kind of girl Julie would like to be friends with. Too bad they don't have the same music taste and that one has to kill the other, otherwise they'd get along so well

Jill : Frank and Joey knew her from the og RE1, so they almost didn't recognize her (since it's her RE3 remake version). Also, they hate Blast mine so freaking much

Leon : No one knew him because the og RE2 came out after they were taken by the Entity. They soon learned that he could either be a nice dude to hang out with or literally the worst person to mess up with. Also they think Flashbang is funny (except when it actually works)

Claire : Same as Leon, but they can't take her really seriously

Chris : They just hate him because he always tries to punch them (and every other killer). He's just stupid

Mikaela : They found boons annoying at first, but now they mostly don't care. They find it dope to have a literal witch in the realm anyway. And let's just say her leather pants fashion didn't get unnoticed...

Jonah : It's not a good idea to have a CIA operative who loves math with a bunch of math haters... But not so much if said CIA operative committed war crimes...

Yoichi : They only knew his kid version from the original Ringu movie, so it felt weird for them to see him as an adult. And they don't like him so much since he's a teacher

Haddie : She's just kinda weird according to them, with her visions and all... But that's still kinda cool

Ada : Frank and Joey honestly were really interested in her...until they learned about Leon's feeling for her, they stopped having those thoughts. Professionals have standards

Rebecca : Frank thinks she's maybe just as sweet as Kate. But obviously not as beautiful

Carlos : An actual mercenary ? That's just really cool

Sheva : Apart from Joey, who seems to have a type, they don't really care about her. Sure, she's a military, that's cool, but that's it

Vittorio : They were kinda surprised to see a dude from the Middle Age here, and they got an existential crisis wondering if they were going to live that long or more in the Entity's realm...

Thalyta and Renato : Twin survivors ? Sure, why not ? Apparently Thalyta goes into Joey's type, and Renato seems really relatable to Susie for some reason...

Gabriel : They wish they could find him cool because of the fact that he's a clone but one thing stands in the way : MADE FOR THIS

Nicolas Cage : I could literally sum up their reaction with "What in the actual fu-". Seriously everyone was extremly surprised to see Nic fucking Cage arriving to the Entity's realm. And with his perks being overall so funny

Ripley : Frank loved the Alien movies, so seeing Ripley here was just so dope

(Sorry if it took so long, school was taking a lot of my time. That's also why some of the recent parts are short, I wanted to finish this quickly)

[bulbabutt]

just wanna get some thoughts out about april o'neil (mainly to hype up why i enjoy her in 87) so this is an analysis of writing her in each generation of shows.

1987 april o'neil is a character who i think has more agency than most of her counterparts, and i think it lies in the choice to make her a reporter.

i can understand where the negative sentiment about changing her career from scientist comes from, but hear me out. if we understand that the turtles as characters just kind of fall into plots, whether they have a history with it or not, it lets us understand that april is here because she's a key in the story.

so originally her story is that shes the assistant of baxter stockman, and he sets a trap to kill her, leaving her to be killed by mousers and saved by the turtles, but after that her life outside of anything turtle related is kind of... non existent. dont get me wrong, being an adult woman who takes in a bunch of teenage turtles makes her anything but boring, but in that concept (and other adaptations since then) we dont get a feel for what she could be doing if she wasnt around the turtles.

in 87 april her job as a reporter is central to the premise. she is the human they hang out with, and she has a day job, so her life becomes the turtles lives. the other humans in her life become the other humans in the turtles lives.

we have her boss Burn Thompson, who’s your typical J Jonah Jameson ‘get me a story on those mutant menace turtles’, giving her that classic Peter Parker role. he often tries to get her to do more feminine stories, which she always has to fight back against.

we also get her rival reporter and occasional camera man Vernon Fenwick, always trying to prove he’s better than her at their job, always trying to steal whatever story she’s on, always failing and proving that he is not as capable or brave as she is.

and we get the secretary and her best friend Irma, who contrasts to her character very well by being the more dorky and lovesick comedic counterpart to her assertive independent serious character. you fully believe these two women are friends in that workplace way, its very real.

certain aspects of these news room dynamics are great, like how despite all the turtle coms looking like radios, we give april one that looks like a compact mirror. why? because if she hears news of something the turtles should check out, when she calls them she gets to just look like shes checking her makeup. she gets to use the workplace sexism to her advantage.

another aspect is, why do the turtles have to save april? is it cuz people always kidnap her? no, its because she gets herself into trouble. shes always looking for a big story, shes not afraid of the bad guys. she goes looking for danger because shes a very capable person, and her becoming the big sister to the turtles, or maybe cool single aunt, feels very natural.

i love her, i love that she's kind of a loser with only work friends, that she doesnt date much cuz shes kind of a weirdo, i love that if she's not with the turtles we can imagine what she's up to. she feels very real, and she's not a character who could be replaced by an object, her life is central to that show. and i love that they dont need to make her a fighter or anything to do that, and its surprising coming from the oldest show.

so to go into the next two cartoons and this is not to dig on 03 or 12 as characters, but in both cases the writers dont really give us much perspective on what her life is or was outside of the guys.

in 03s case, shes that same comic april i mentioned earlier. but we know a lot more about casey in this show than we do her. we know she has the antique shop, and thats where she is, but who does she talk to? does she have friends? she has casey, but she knows him because the turtles know him.

in back story, we can assume her parents died, and we know her uncle went missing, and that the episode they found him we see she has a sister who's never come up before. but neither of those characters show up again after that. not even at her wedding. we see everyone in the turtles lives, we see everyone in casey's life (even his shitty cousin) but aprils family isnt there. so who is she she if she isnt around the guys? i guess she sells antiques. but does she have a life outside of that building? we also know she's a scientist, shes as smart as donnie, but where does she use that skill with computers outside of helping the turtles?

like shes still that same loser adult woman hanging out with turtles, this time shes taken up ninja training from splinter, and we know in the future shes going to found a tech company, but that feels more like flowery language about her, as opposed to getting to see her be someone interesting on her own.

and then in 12s case she's the only april i know who fails the sexy lamp test upon debut. shes kidnapped and the only reason the turtles go rescue her is because donnie thinks shes pretty. sure, we could say its because shes a person in need, but we all know that upon introduction she is love interest first, character second (as are.... most all of the women in that show). from that point, we know she has her dad, and unlike in the previous versions (including comics and movies) its april who has to stay with the turtles for a while, not the other way around. which on its own would be fine, but shes always sort of there. whats she up to? does she have her own interests? like in 03 when shes staying with the turtles for a bit after her shop blows up, we see she's butting heads with them a bit. same as when they stayed with her. but here she kind of just takes on whatever the turtles do, whatever they watch or are interested in. they also make her special. shes here because shes different. thats not bad on its own, but it means that she very much could be anyone, shes here not by her own choices leading her here, but because the plot is thrust upon her, not the turtles, as it has been in all other iterations.

this kind of comes to a head with the introduction of casey and irma into that show. on the surface you'd think, well there we go, she has human friends, those are hers and not the turtles friends, but they never properly introduce her or us to irma. they show irma calling her in one episode (and shes labeled 'weird-girl', so whats the story there?) and then when we meet her properly its so she can be a third body in the introduction of casey jones. the running gag of this is basically whenever april isnt around the turtles now, she's with casey and sometimes casey and irma, but we never understand why. and then youd think, well thats cool if april is who becomes friends with casey, and then casey is in the turtles lives because of her, but he actually just ends up following raphael home. they do make a point of making it so he's accepted because she's there, but he's never implied to be her friend more than the turtles'.

she invites irma along to a date with casey, neither irma or casey understanding why. is it because she doesnt want to date casey? maybe. but the writers never make her intentions clear to the audience, we're left speculating. irma comes up a few times more, always in more or less the same context, and often asking who are the mysterious friends you have besides me. i truly wish we could have seen any moments of why these two are friends, how these two are friends, what they do when april isnt with the turtles, before they pull the rug out from under us and show that irma? yeah she was actually a krang all along. and she was only here to get to the turtles. and it never seems to bother april much, besides the one outburst when it happens. to me it feels like she should at least... grieve this friend? that would be traumatizing. your only friend in your own world was never real.

i like that the farm house gets to belong to april again, as opposed to being casey's family farm, so that gives her something. but then we understand why when we're introduced to her mom. we think. a real kicker here is uh. we dont even know her moms name? she's just..... mrs o'neil. because she didnt really matter, she wasnt real. like her dad got a name (because reference), why cant her mom even have a name? a thing that bothers me here is, ok we know her dad kept getting kidnapped, or mutated, or became so traumatized that he never left the house, but we never even get that kind of basic family aspect to the first teenage april. the turtles, for better or worse, are her family in this show. thats her real support system. and its frustrating because two of the characters here just oggle her. whether its an episode where april could have a crush on donnie or casey back or not, the fact she's got no support or someone to talk to about it from someone outside of those characters brothers really sucks for her agency in this story. we never get to grasp how she feels about any of it. which is why i think those romances give people the ick, theyre things that could work if the show ever cared to tell us how april feels.

and then by the end she gets to be a kunoichi with telekinesis, a thing she got into because of the turtles, and a thing she just got to be because genetically shes special. i wish this april got to be a character who had things of her own that she could choose to be. like, she still lives above that same antique store from 03, maybe she could have had a family history there like 03, but even something simple as that is just an in name only reference. theres no part of her that feels like she chose to be it, or that there's anything about her life that isn't directly related to the turtles.

now we get to rise. and honstly, rise april is a breath of fresh air. she is a teen like the previous april, but shes also just as willing to get herself into danger by her own choices as 87. shes a fighter like 03 and 12, and unlike every other version, shes just here. we dont need to know how she got here, she's part of this family and you believe it.

we have our big sister april who's not only a loser who hangs out with turtles, but she's a complete weird magnet. she's overly excitable, very willing to get into fights, who has a strong sense of justice and getting into trouble to fix it. this series is more episodic like 87, so to just get the jist, episode one. april needs rescuing because why? she threw herself into a mystic portal to save a random creature. thats what sets the turtles off on their mystic adventure in the first place. because she put herself in harms way. and when they go to rescue her, shes actually fine. she finds them a place to get new weapons, she's the first one to run in and try to attack the villain. none of the guys ever coddle her or say "oh there goes april we have to rescue her", this time we have an april who is a fully capable fighter from the get go.

we see her school life, she doesnt have any friends besides a random guy who has a crush on her, and shes desperate to fit in. then we get sunita. we see exactly why these two are friends. it starts with april thinking shes found a normal kid at school, trying to prove to the guys she can be a normal teenager who doesnt need their weirdness, but as it turns out sunita is a yokai. shes from that same mystic world, but she didnt come into april's life because of the turtles, she came into her life because they like each other. they're just two weird girls who hang out, they like laser tag and rock shows, and we fully believe they are friends.

another aspect to her is her jobs, she's like jonesy from 6teen. she gets new jobs basically weekly, sometimes hijinks ensue, leading the turtles to an event unfolding around her, and keeps getting into trouble and getting fired, but this leaves her with a plethora of skills (and keys to random buildings or machinery good for you for not giving those back, respect).

then we also get to see an entire episode where the turtles dont appear, because its about her. we see her passion for helping the world, we see her disbelief in herself, and her ability to pick herself up. theres a moment where you think splinter is going to need to give her a pep talk, but she ignores him. she's got herself. she doesn't need to rely on the guys or splinter for her confidence, shes capable on her own.

then i think my favorite aspect here is about the finale, where we get this touching moment between her and karai where she doubts her place in the family, lamenting that she's not one of them. and its not one of the guys who tells her she is, it's karai. its another woman in this story. its the woman who's history this story has been leading up to, affirming april's part in her story. in their families story. and she gifts april her spirit. which leads her to go finding ,and in a way rescuing them, from their despair.

this april is a fully realized character, with a real place in the story. you never doubt it, but even if she wasn't you know exactly who she'd be without them. she's her own fully rounded character, and i love her so much. theres a reason people say she's definitively the best april, i wish we got to see more of her, i know we were supposed to get more, just like with everything from rise. but im glad she got to shine here.

so this is kind of why in terms of writing april, i think its interesting that the most agency we get for her, in my perspective, comes from the newest and oldest show.

basically to summarize and reiterate, all april's are good april's, some writers just care more to show us who she is than others.

also I’m ONLY talking about April’s writing here, not the rest of the show

[ranbowkng]

Can You Really Love A Wench? (When All Else Fail)

Summary: John knew she was evil. He knew she tried to kill him without a second thought seconds earlier. And yet, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, a connection to the heartache. And perhaps, a new sense of longing. (Rarepair so rare I'm probably the only one who believes it's possible. TW mentions of SA)

It's over, the fight against what was left of that woman. The demon she had inflicted herself with was gone. Only her body remained. This was a fight John could successfully say he has won.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel... something for the headless body of the woman below him. No friends, no family, no obituary, the poor girl had likely died before the demon had taken over her body. She didn't even get to keep her dignity by dying with a shirt on. The poor creature.

His instincts told him to run, to get out while he was still in one piece. He'd already saved Lisa, and defeated the demon inside this woman. Not to mention this was the very woman who had betrayed Lisa's trust and nearly got her killed, what more could this world possibly offer her? And yet, he still saw something... something in the woman. It wasn't much, but it was something.

At the very least, he couldn't let her body be found shirtless. Knowing the creeps and monsters that lurked around Lisa's apartment, Lord only knows what would happen to her body as he left it.

"Sorry, I don't have anything else," John said, removing his clerical collar to take off his shirt, wrapping it around the woman's body. He gingerly buttoned the shirt closed, allowing her to at least die with her modesty, "I hope it's alright...it looks good on you."

He got no response. Of course he didn't. How was a corpse to respond? A corpse that was a part of a cult. A corpse who nearly killed his friend. A corpse who nearly killed him. This corpse was a harbinger of evil, the more he stuck around, the more it tried to suck the soul out of him. A corpse of violent intent.

John sighed, lifting the body and leaning it against the wall. A corpse who didn't know any better. He took her hands and folded them, leading her in prayer, "Father forgive her, for she did not have a choice. She was being used and hurt without realizing it. Grant her a life in heaven and forgive her trespasses. I'm sorry I couldn't save her."

He squeezed her hand, prepared to let this be her last goodbye. At least he was, until the headless corpse loudly gasped to life. John fell backwards, pushing himself back as the corpse desperately reached out in front of her, panting in desperation.

"Gary! Gary my love, is that you?" He didn't know how she was speaking, but her voice loomed, still distorted and scratchy, "It's so dark... it's dark and it's quiet! Please my love, tell me you're there!" Her corpse was reaching in every direction, trying desperately to find someone. John knew it was stupid to not have gotten up to run away then and there, but he didn't. He watched her for a few seconds before standing, taking her hand, "Gary?"

"No, I'm sorry, it's just me," John said, gentle with his touch, prepared to exorcise her again if need be.

"Oh, I recognize your voice priest," she said, her grip on him loosening as she realized Gary had not come back for her, "Come to gloat at my defeat?"

"No! Not at all!" John said, "I just...I didn't want to leave your body exposed."

"And why not?" Tiffany's far away voice huffed.

"I- well...I didn't want someone to see your exposed chest and try to...you know...take advantage of you," John said.

Tiffany let go, had she still had her head, she probably would have looked away as she grabbed the hems of John's shirt, pulling it tighter over herself, "You say that as if it hasn't been happening the entire time. Like I haven't had to just deal with it ever since I moved into this godforsaken place."

"I...well...I don't know...but you don't deserve that," John said, letting her take back her space.

The two sat in silence. A priest who saved what should be dead, and the dead who had no desire to be saved. John stepped backwards while she curled her knees in, tapping against the skin of her leg.

"You still there?" She asked.

"I'll be here until you tell me to go away," John said, looking down at her sorrowfully.

"Okay...okay..." He voice was devoid of emotion, yet it wasn't cold. More so, melancholic, "At least you can pretend to be useful for something."

Normally John would have at least made a comment on this, but it would probably be counter productive considering the poor girl's position. He watched her as she bounced her leg, then began tapping at random around her. First her leg, then the wall, then the ground, seeming fixated on anything that made noise. John watched and began tapping his foot slightly. Not to drown out her own tapping, but just loud enough that she could tell he was still there.

"You know, it's almost funny," she said, "The first time Gary caught it happening to me, he shut it down, saying not to ruin such a beautiful face. I was certain it was because he loved me, but I think it was just because he thought I was a child. When it came to the Martin girl, sure he'd hold her around the waist and touch her shoulders occasionally, but never ever would he lay a hand on her where he shouldn't, and nor would he allow anyone else."

"That's... that's horrible," John said.

"That's life," Tiffany shrugged, but without an expression she was impossible to read, "When I saw the way she got treated, I think I was jealous. I hoped I could put myself in her position. To be the one treated with fragility and delicacy." She rubbed at the opening in her neck, "Stupid, isn't it?"

"No! No! I don't think it's stupid at all!" Having a habit of hugging people in need of comfort, John approached, but realizing just how horrifying it might be for a newly blind girl telling her story, perhaps that's about the worst thing he could have done, "Ah, sorry, do you mind if I hug you?"

She was still for a moment before tapping at her knee again, "I want my head back."

John blinked, "I'm sorry?"

"I want my head back," she repeated, "It's somewhere in here, likely with the mask still on it. Find it for me, will you?"

"Ah! Right!" John began searching the room for her head while her body sat there, still tapping, making as much noise as possible.

Eventually, he found her head. The ears, filled with her own blood and clearly trying desperately to listen for something, were twitching. He could see where she messed up, halfway across the top of her mask was the outline of the carving of her face, then as she got closer to her mouth the panic must have set it, causing her to drag lower, cutting her head clean off in the process.

"I found it," John said, picking it up by the hair.

"Agh! Careful!" Tiffany yelled, reaching at the empty space above her neck to try and stop him, even though she knew he wasn't there, "I can still feel it you know!"

"Sorry!" John changed his grip, cradling her head in his arms, "Now what?"

Tiffany felt around her skirts, feeling for a pocket. When she finally found it, she pulled out a sewing kit and pushed it towards John, "Put it back on."

John was skeptical. There was no way she could just be okay with this. Yet he did as she commanded, not wanting to leave her with nothing after taking the only thing she had left. He got on his knees in front of her outstretched legs, "Do you mind if I-"

"There's nothing you could do to me that some creep hasn't done against my better judgement," she said.

"Well, I'm not a creep, and I'm not going to do anything to hurt you," John said, "So I'd like your permission before I start doing things you might not want."

Tiffany was silent for a moment, crossing the arms of her body before speaking again, "You may do whatever if necessary to put my head back on. But once it's on I expect you to back off. Got it?"

"Understood," John said, placing her head back at the neck, "I have to warn you, this will probably hurt."

"I don't care," she said, "Get it over with."

John was horrified as he watched the needle go through and bleed the skin, staining the thread crimson as he put her back together, but what was twice as horrifying was the fact that Tiffany hadn't flinched once the entire time. She sat perfectly still, waiting for him to finish. As soon as he tied the string a hundred times over, making sure the stitches would hold, he backed off, standing again.

"Any better?" He asked.

"I still can't see," she said, ripping off the mask. John's stomach lurched at the sight. Her eyes, forehead, and half of her nose and mouth had been replaced with the same voice Amy had, only hers seemed far more empty.

"Dear God, you let him do this to you?" John said.

"I did this to myself," she said, "It was the only way I would get him to love me."

"Tiffany please, he's just a guy," John said, "There are plenty of other men out there."

"Not like him!" She grumbled, "No other man would stop the act while it's happening! They just use you and toss you aside when they're bored! What man would possibly help me in a state such as that?"

"...I would have," John spoke softly.

"Then where were you!?" She yelled before leaning back against the wall.

"...I'm sorry...you didn't deserve it..." He said, his voice dripping with sympathy.

"Well...too late...it did," she said, turning to look away, rubbing her right ear lobe, "And to think...to think I actually loved him...I let him tell me what to do...I..." She didn't have the eyes to cry, but she could still tremble, and she could still hiccup and groan in pain, "I let him use me and now...now I'm useless...just a washed up toy no one wants to play with... unlovable..."

She buried her head in her knees, trembling violently. John moved slowly, making sure his footsteps were heavy enough to hear where he was moving. He sat against the wall next to her, knocking at the brick next to her ear before slowly placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think you're unloveable," John said, "You just, you know, fell for the wrong guy."

"He was the only guy that gave me the time of day," Tiffany said, "Everyone else just wanted my body."

"Well...I'm not everybody else," John said.

Tiffany's shaking slowed, "What are you saying?"

"You're more than just your body Tiffany, and far more than just your heartache," John said, "You know, I used to ask Lisa about you all the time. She always told me all the wonderful things you've done for her. You're more than just an accessory to some guy."

Tiffany was silent before sitting up, turning towards the sound of his voice, "May I touch your face?"

"Excuse me?" John blinked again.

"I can still smell and hear you all the same, but I can't see you, may I feel your face?" She asked.

"Well...I...sure," he stammered, taking her hands and guiding them towards his neck, "But, tell me, what is it that I smell like?"

"Candle wax and cologne mostly," she said, moving her hands to gently caress his face. She felt his cheekbones and lips, under his eyes, behind his ears, anywhere she felt she'd want to feel, "Your face feels different from the way it looked the last time you visited Lisa."

"More tired?" He chuckled, allowing her to feel everything.

"Stronger," she said, "The strength you've gained shows in your skin. I wish I could see it." She slowly lowered her hands before fidgeting with John's shirt, "Still married to that girl I assume?"

"Molly? No," he said, "She left me behind."

"I see," she said. No she didn't, but John knew she'd probably stab him if he said that out loud, "Well...then I suppose it wouldn't be wrong to say that your face also feels more handsome than the last time we met."

John blushed, but he knew she wouldn't see that, "Oh! Uhm...thank you!"

The remaining half of Tiffany's mouth smirked, "Don't mention it." She rubbed his cheeks once again before moving to hold his shoulders, which is when she realized he really had taken off his shirt just to keep her covered, "Unlike me, I wore out my beauty the first time I let them use me."

"What? No not at all!" John argued, moving her hands back onto his cheeks so he could rub the back of her knuckles softly, "Even with only half your face you are still twice as beautiful as most girls."

"Don't flatter me, it's only going to be false," Tiffany huffed.

"Well I am telling the truth," John said, moving his hand to rest below her chin, "You truly are a thing of beauty."

Tiffany tilted her head into the touch, a hint of a blush on what remained of her nose and cheeks, "If you say so."

"I do," John said, gently rubbing her lower lip, or what remained of it, "May I?"

Tiffany shrugged, "Fuck it, give it a shot, you won't like it."

"That's for me to decide," John said. He gently pressed his lips to hers, moving slow and gently. Despite not having as much skin to work with, the kiss sent sparks flying from his heart, and he yearned for more, but he still backed away slowly. He wanted to go at her pace, "You have very soft lips."

"Shut up preacher," she said, the blush on her skin and the way she touched her lips and smiled giving her away.

"Hmm, tell you what," John said, helping her to her feet, allowing her to cling to him like he'd fly away with the wind as soon as she let go, "I'll take you back to my house and get you something to actually wear. From there we can have a proper discussion."

"Yes," Tiffany nodded, "Yes, I think I'd like that."

"Alright, good," John said, "I swear on my life, no one is ever going to hurt you again."

"Don't get all sentimental now priest," she said, loosening her grip tightly, "You might actually make me fall in love."

John smiled, "Then I suppose it's too late for me considering I've already fallen."

Tiffany shook her head, "Not too late." She clung onto his arm tighter, "I'll catch you."

[mtdthoughts]

The Damsel in Distress (Migi & Dali Analysis)

Since the title of the story is literally "Migi & Dali", almost all of my attention has been aimed towards the twins. As a result, I've somewhat neglected the side characters, who are themselves quite interesting as well.

Here, I wanted to talk about Karen Ichijo, and you can think of this as a "redo" of the character analysis I've already done for her.

As always there will be spoilers!

When I first finished the story, I thought:

"Okay, Karen was actually smarter than we thought, happened to possess a lot of useful skills, and for some reason falls in love with Maruta."

Essentially she was a damsel in distress the whole time, but because she was a side character I didn't put further thought into this, and I thought her traits were just to play up the usual surrealness of the story.

However, after rereading the manga several times, everything about her makes much more sense logically. My earlier description was pretty much on the money (in my opinion), though now I can claim it with much more certainty than before.

It's quite clear that she has known about Eiji's brainwashing for quite some time, and according to her, she felt that something off was about her "family" for a long time.

But why is it her that feels this way?

Well, things start to make sense when one considers the fact that Eiji was always Reiko's favorite. If you've read my post about The Carpenters, you may recall that some have said that the root cause of Karen Carpenter's death was the lack of love from her mother, who favored her musically talented older brother. Perhaps something similar is true for Karen Ichijo, and the following frames and lines seem to suggest this:

She may have always felt insecure and inferior compared to Eiji, wondering why it was always him who received Reiko's affection, and perhaps wondered if something was wrong with herself. That's why when she found that she wasn't Reiko's daughter, she was relieved, because this at least confirmed to her that it wasn't her fault that things were this way.

I thought it was a bit strange that she didn't seem to harbor any extremely negative feelings toward Reiko, as was seen with Eiji when he killed her. She told the Be Birds to "bring ruin to this house" rather than something like "bring down that woman", and she seemed to have been rattled by Reiko's parting words to her as she left.

This could imply that although Karen desperately wanted to escape the Ichijo family, perhaps a small part of her craved for Reiko's affection which seemed to have been only for Eiji. After all, Reiko was the only maternal figure she had at this point.

Nonetheless, she couldn't bear the pressure of being forced to play her role in Reiko's perfect image of a family. However, before the twins came into town, she didn't have any allies, whether it was within or outside of her house. I think it's possible that she may have tried to recruit Eiji's help at one point, though he only ended up getting captured by Reiko and essentially have his memories erased.

Seeing how she was trapped and unable to resist Reiko, she continued playing her role and waited for someone to save her, while at the same time training herself for when that day came. That's why she's so good at acting, tying knots, signaling in Morse code, and why she seemed all too familiar with Reiko's "play dead" act. It also explains why she fell head over heels in love with Maruta, the first one to come to her rescue and the one who loudly proclaimed that he would bring ruin to the Ichijo house. Perhaps it also explains why she seemed strangely happy at the prospect of robbers coming to her house.

In fact, these ideas were hinted at towards the beginning of the story! In Chapter 12, when the twins first visit the Ichijo house for a "psychiatric evaluation", Karen can be seen playing with her dolls instead of practicing her piano as Reiko said she would.

Not only that, but she's playing with the dolls of people that were exiled from Origon Village by Reiko, all while whispering things related to escape.

I think it's pretty clear that she has been looking to escape from Reiko's influence throughout the entire story and well before Micchan meddled in the Ichijos' affairs (for a lack of a better word). It wasn't until the twins and Maruta came along when her silent cry for help was finally answered as she found new hope and freedom.

[pixiesbrain]

blurb…loki feels no remorse after almost killing you hurt/angst

she almost died. the explosion leading to a fire not far from the central place of the city almost cost her her life and it did effectively kill other people, that, she was sure of. the city was in ruins since the avengers came to save the day. as she took a walk through what was left of the city she saw loki standing in front of a pile of scrap metal. you didn’t even question why he was there in the first place, she was just so relieved to see him.

loki had taken a liking to her a few months ago. she met him through tony and clint, even though she wasn’t part of the team and considered a civilian. as he would comment on how stupid humans were, she loved to make fun of his "all knowing and all mighty" facade. that led to a lot of banter and most importantly a lot of fun. in the span of 6 months, he became one of her favorite people in this universe.

no one knew why loki stayed on earth. he got offered to go back home multiple times since he was basically considered harmless now. so it was unexplicable how a literal god would voluntarily talk to some girl that happened to know a couple of avengers. she isn’t even friends with the right ones. it was pathetic, he thought.

she jogged to him as soon as she saw him, still feeling the adrenaline in her legs from earlier. the closer she came to him the more he seemed deep in thought. as if the world was on his shoulders. when she reached him, she just stood right next to him, staring at that same pile, in silence.

"you’re not dead." he comments flatly still not looking at her.

"never." she answers as she attempts to replicate his tone.

"it didn’t work.." loki says, as he seems to drown in his thoughts.

"what should’ve worked?" she answers and slightly turns her head towards him while keeping her eye on the pile.

"the fire, it didn’t work. i set it and it seemed like nothing but little fireworks." this time, loki sounded almost humorous with his tone. the only time that he wanted to laugh, it wasn’t funny.

when the realization dawned on her, she was hit almost immediately by a wave of emotions that she tried to control through her breathing. why did he do it? and why to innocent people who asked for nothing? she knew he wasn’t a hero or anything but she still believed he had somewhat of a moral compass. and he knew that she was in the area? is it why he did it? or was it just because? as she felt herself getting more intense, the best way to describe the way she was feeling inside, her breathing increased.

"so why’d you do it?" her breathing was becoming irregular. she fully turned her head to look at him for the first time since she jogged up to him. she was trying to calm herself down from the impending flow of tears that was threatening to happen.

loki looked away for a second and took a deep breath. he didn’t know how to answer her without proving to her that he is every single thing people say he is and that there’s nothing that she can do about it.

“maybe i wanted to watch the world burn.” he states simply with narrowed eyes and his body fully facing her now.

he doesn’t care, she thought. everything he succeeded to make her believe about him, how he wasn’t what everyone thought he was, how genuine and caring he could be at times. she was in disbelief. taking a deep breath she has a realization that terrifies her but that she still wants the answer to.

“with me along with it? she further questions, tears starting to flow delicately down her face. the air was icy and the way her face hurt started to feel exactly like how her heart was breaking, it seemed.

“yes, darling. you along with it.” loki sighs while looking down at her face with flattened lips. he seemed to gauge her reaction after he said that.

how could a nickname disgust her so much when it fell out of his mouth? he really earned his title of god of mischief, she thought.

he continued, "i don’t know exactly what you were expecting me to say or do but i’m not here to fulfill your little fantasies about some love story. i am a god." he insisted on that last sentence. he knew deep down that what they shared wasn’t like teenagers falling in love. she started to feel like home and it terrified him. and with that, he left her side, without looking at her once.

credits to @celestialwrites for the prompt idea!