#thanks for killing me again Tessa

[tutuandscoot]

Me waking up to Tessa’s IG post:

Me two seconds later:

[kristsune]

I've been excited to hear from Mr. Bonzo since we first heard about him during the ARG, and goodness me, I was not disappointed. I just had to put a little post together for him. And of course, I cannot post this without mentioning the supremely excellent music and sound design.

[ratatatastic]

and the funniest edition of all to the shenanigans

gatitos at the 2015 rookie showcase

figure-skating & goal celebrations

[cybertroniannugget]

What if… Sam had a sibling who is very chaotic!!!! And they survive through out the Bayverse movies and when they meet Hound, Crosshairs and Drift, how would those 3 react to the crazy lil human?!? ;-;

(Could you possibly add Optimus Prime and Bumblebee!?)

Okay this is the first ever request I answer, kinda nervous tbh.

Hope you like it, and thanks for requesting^^

It's called Haiku...

Also, I don't know what pictures to add lmao

About this fic: sfw, gn reader, takes place in aoe

901 words

Sitting in the passenger's seat, squished next to Shane, you look out the window.

Sure, it was uncomfortable, but there were only 3 seats for the 4 of you.

You didn't say anything though, after they had just lost their friend, complaining would be of no use.

So you watch the wide desert landscape going by.

A white truck drove by on the other side of the road, but you didn't pay that much attention to it.

That's when the truck you four were in started rumbling. At first you didn't know what was going on, but when the seats shifted back roughly, the worn down leather replaced by more comfortable fabric seats you kind of got an idea.

"A man of taste I see. Western Stars are pretty nice.", you complimented, after seeing the symbol on the steering wheel, before the autobot logo took its place.

You opened the window to take a look at the Prime's new altmode.

Red flames across the blue paintjob, and everything was just so shiny.

"I must say, you looking good Prime!", you laugh, sticking your head back in.

"It was awesome but it was insane!", you heard Shane yell out excitedly.

The Prime's deep voice echoed over the radio, calling for his Autobots.

"I wonder If I'll see Bumblebee again. I missed that guy."

"Bumblebee?", Cade asked.

"Yeah, he's an Autobot don't worry. He's no giant insect, if that's what you thought about."

The man just raised an eyebrow at you, making Tessa chuckle in amusement.

After a few more minutes of driving you all got out of the truck, after Optimus opened the doors for you.

"Your dad is nice, but he needs to relax a lil...", you whisper to Tessa.

"He sure does, but he's trying his best."

"Never doubted that, don't worry.", you add, nudging her arm gently.

Optimus transformed, being greeted by his bots.

"Mr. free leader of the galaxy. I knew you'd make it. I never doubted it."

"Just who are these guys...", you mumble, looking around.

The green one with what looks like a cape suddenly turned to point his guns at you.

"Oh okay, that one feels like killin today...", you say, raising you arms sarcastically.

When the biggest one started lifting his guns was when you started sweating though.

But having fate on your side, like always, Optimus stopped them.

"Thanks Prime, I thought I was done for this time."

"🎶...Survivor! 🎶", Bee's Radio echoed.

"What's he mean by that now?", Hound asked, adjusting his cigar.

"We go way back. I saw Megatron so many times already. He nearly killed me twice but meh, still alive and kicking"

"Wait, aren't you that human from the fight in-?", Drift turned to ask.

"Chicago? Yeah, I've been there. Threw a brick at Megs myself.", you interrupted, proud of your past actions, arms crossed before your chest. "I've been there since the beginning. When it was just about a pair of glasses from my crazy great grandfather."

"They have fought with us. They're the only human I know I can trust."

"Rude...", Shane mumbled under his breath.

"I mean, how'd a squishy survive all that?!", Hound asked into the round of Cybertronians and humans

"Who you callin squishy?! I'm not the big one here."

"Pff, that's just armor. I'm as fast as a horse!"

"Well first of, it's as healthy as a horse. And also, it's none of your damn business how I survived all the shit I've been through. Because honestly, I don't even know myself. Maybe I'm just lucky"

You shrug, looking up at Optimus, who's serious demeanor made your heart sink.

He's always been serious yes, but a kind soul. Always open for questions.

Now he's just, well... dark.

"Well, but I'm sure as hell gonna survive this, so when we startin?!"

"Enthusiasm, I like it.", Crosshairs mentioned, spinning a gun in his servo, before tucking in back into his belt.

"🎶Where have youuuu been?!🎶", Bumblebee sang over the radio.

"Oooh, Rihanna, you got some mad taste Bee!"

Sticking your hands into the pockets of your worn down jeans, you look up at the yellow and black bot, who's optics were fixed on you.

"Well, after Chicago I needed a new place to stay. So I applied to work in a different hospital. And it led me to Austin, Texas."

You laugh

"In the good ol' south", you say, mocking the southern accent.

"I think I like that one", Hound says, leaning back against a rock wall.

"They have what it takes, like sunset colors on blue,

strength guts and virtue.", Drift added.

"If this is another hiku I swear Imma blow you to shreds...", Crosshairs murmured, turning to walk away.

"It's called Haiku!", you correct him.

"What?", he mumbled annoyed.

"I don't care what it's called. I just want to leave this place."

"Well, I like it, thank you.", you say to Drift, smiling at the bot.

In this moment of peace, it was of course Crosshairs who needed to add something unnecessary.

"Nah, it's lame"

Without warning, Drift jumped at him, swords drawn, ready to attack.

"And I thought I was crazy...", you whisper to Bee, rolling your eyes.

The bot snickered.

"Lord may you give me strength to not make anyone here short circuit on purpose..."

You squint your eyes, thinking.

"I don't even know their names yet... Wow"

"🎶Still don't know your name🎶"

"Oh you're right tho Bee.", you laugh

[s-wave-entertainment]

*BAM*

THAT WAS THE SOUND OF ME BUSTING THE DOOR DOWN. HI. Okay so first thing's first, I recently saw an animatic (??) by @/armintist on Instagram about N's perception of Tessa as of ep. 6 and it has broken the dam. Your honor I think about what must have been going through his head at that given moment So Often; some may say too often (I know my roommate definitely would, sorry Anna-). Y'all, he literally just remembered her existence and because we have no canon timeline as to how long was between eps. 5&6, I'm going to assume it was no LESS than two hours, IF EVEN. Doll could have gone straight to "Tessa" from Uzi's house, we'll never know. But like... what in the fuck was going on in his brain? This person, who he KNOWS that he knows, that he has vague, barely comprehensible memories of from a time far back into his past that he only just got back, is suddenly standing right in front of him again. And he hesitates, because OF COURSE HE DID. It looks like her (or does it? He doesn't remember his face, he never even truly saw it), it sounds like her, it feels like her... but how long has it been? And why here, why now?

Honestly, "Cyn's" pretty smart. She knew he would be willing to go along with what he told her because he's never really pressed into his memories before. He's relieved the tidbits of them, sure, but he tends to acknowledge them and move on. She knew all she had to do was act right and he would probably trust her. But what she didn't account for was him finding a love worth fighting for, and that's where her ultimate fucky-wucky was. But I'm not here to talk about "Cyn's" strategy, I'm here to talk about our beloved traumatized murder robot puppy.

What do you think happened when it hit him that that skin over Cyn's body wasn't of it's own creation? That his friend was technically still alive, if you count her preserved remains being thrown over a robot body like some sick and twisted reverse fursuit. And it can't be said that that didn't happen, because it definitely did. N's little episode in the hallway while "Cyn" hunted them down showed us that he is in fact recovering his memories. Slowly, and at very unfortunate times, but he is. And I can almost guarantee you that at some point, in some way, he must have recovered the full memory of the gala massacre. And oh me oh my, that must have been a long, hard day for him. Thank God he has Uzi now-

That aside, he must eventually realize what happened. And as he remembers more and more good times with her, his little heart probably just shattered more and more. Along with all of the other BULLSHIT he must be remembering following ep. 8.

AND ANOTHER THING ON THAT NOTE. I have so so so many emotions about N and how good he is and how,,,, Genuinely Good his heart is. Like actually. Y'all, need I remind the court that he was supposed to KILL Uzi. He had her PINNED TO THE WALL with a wing, but after watching her father turn around and ABANDON HER, he stopped. And sure, it can be reasonably said that this is because he spent some time with Uzi beforehand, but how long would they have had together, logistically? Ten minutes, maybe twenty, tops?? The fact that that was enough for him to COMPLETELY CHANGE SIDES and want to help her instead (which is also attributed to the conversation they had in the cockpit but again, TEN MINUTES)... listen, Uzi had no one before she found N, but N had no one either. J openly abused him, and V had to act like she hated him to protect him. N was lonely, just like Uzi. Somehow, someone found him who was kind to him and seemed to actually care. She was a little edgy, but she talked to him and she listened. It was more than he had at the base - and the same was true for Uzi. But again, I could talk about how much I love NUZI for hours, right now I want to talk about how good N's heart is. He was a worker, once. A worker who did everything he could to be... useful, to Tessa's parents, but a good friend to Tessa. And he loved his friends. He has,,, so much love in his heart. He always has. And he gives it so readily, and it can hurt him, but he like - he gets better about it, I believe. He can guard himself better these days, but he just. He still cares. And he cares so much and he just. GOD. GOD I LOVE HIM AND I FEEL SO TERRIBLE FOR WHAT HE'S BEEN THROUGH. FUCKING HELL-

[something-tofightfor]

Liminality: Part 13

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Female Reader

Word Count: 9,755

Rating: R - the general themes and tones of the previous chapters carry over, but there's no outright violence or sex.

Summary: There's no denying it anymore - something has to be done to stop the Florida Chaos wolf. Who it is only makes things more difficult, but you're surprised as just how completely Frankie's friends rally to help him ... and you.

And they all know the cost.

Author’s note:

This story is actually beginning to wind down, believe it or not. I've got the remaining parts outlined, and they just need to be written ... I'm thinking maybe two more + an epilogue after this one? We'll see.

Thank you for being patient, and for sticking around. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Wanna talk about Wolf Frankie or his friends? My inbox is always open.

Masterlist (for the journal entries and all of the other 'extras' + previous chapters)

Will got to Frankie’s less than thirty minutes later, the sound of his bike audible well before he came into view. 

Frankie was pacing around the living room, one hand rubbing at the side of his head and tugging his hair into further disarray by the moment. You were curled up on his couch with a blanket wrapped around you, eyes unfocused and staring across the room at the wall next to his TV. 

Neither of you had spoken much after his declaration in the truck, and you knew that you were both trying to process the revelation that Tom was, in fact, the Chaos wolf. That means he was bitten after Colombia. That means that he somehow found someone in the Chaos line. That means - 

“It’s just me.” Will’s voice came from the kitchen, and both you and Frankie turned in that direction, even though he didn’t stop moving his feet. “Bike’s in the garage, just in case.” He stepped into the room, his eyes moving between you and his friend, and then lingering on Frankie. “You alright?”

Frankie finally stopped moving, spinning to face Will and lashing out with one arm, pointing directly at you. “No, I am not fucking alright. We’ve been giving him insider fucking information for weeks now, and because I didn’t figure it out, he almost fucking killed my -”

“Frankie.” You leaned forward, putting both feet onto the floor. “This isn’t your fault.” You knew it would take more than your words to get through to him, but you still needed to try. “You didn’t ask for any of this, and you didn’t know, so you can’t blame yourself.” 

Will crossed his arms, taking a deep breath as he leaned against the doorframe and watched the two of you as Frankie started again. “If I hadn’t been bitten in South America, he wouldn’t even have known the fucking wolves existed. And he wouldn’t have been looking for another one, which means that he wouldn’t have -”

“How do you know that one of them didn’t just find him?” Will cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes. “His bite could have been just as accidental as yours was, ‘Fish.” You understood his reasoning. Will was trying to explain what had happened in a way that didn’t put all the blame on Tom. And they’ve known each other for so long and been through so much together, it makes sense. I’d do the same thing for someone I thought I knew. “Think about all those trips he took with Molly and Tessa. Could have been on any one of them.” He turned his attention to you. “You said the Chaos line has been a problem for a long time, right? Are they only in the States, or are there more of ‘em in other places?”

“They’re all over.” You rubbed the space between your brows with two fingertips. “And my family’s research confirms that it’s been that way for as far as they’ve been able to go back.” Will nodded, breathing slowly. “How long… you said Tom stopped coming out with you for the moon about a year ago, right?” They both nodded. “So whatever happened to him, happened recently.” 

“We didn’t notice anything.” Will stepped closer and then dropped down into the armchair, running a hand over his beard. “We were all so fucking busy with our own shit that we didn’t notice a change in him, and that’s…. Fuck. That’s on all of us.”

“You might not have.” Readjusting the blanket, you bit your lip and shook your head. “Is Frankie much different, aside from that period right around the moon?” Both of them said no, and so you went on. “So it makes sense if Tom had someone helping him learn everything. The Chaos line is only visible when they’re at their worst. They’ve mastered blending in because it’s a survival technique for them. If Tom had the help of one or more of them, then … you wouldn’t have noticed anything because you shouldn’t have.” 

“You called it.” Frankie stepped closer to you and then sat down on the cushion to your right. “At the bar that night when he winced? But I said you were wong. And then he fucking … I should have listened. I should have believed you.” 

It wasn’t worth trying to convince him that you weren’t mad - or that he shouldn’t have been upset with himself. But I appreciate him admitting that. 

“What are the odds, though?” Reaching over, you took his hand. “Frankie, if he got bitten a year ago, and these attacks have been going on for months, then he started attacking people pretty much right away. And that means that he knew what to do and how to manage it. And if he knew how to manage it, then he knew how to hide it. You weren’t supposed to notice anything.”  

“So you don’t think that it was an accidental bite.” 

“No.” You looked away and at Will, unblinking. “I don’t.” His jaw twitched, eyes going hard. “Because if it was an accidental bite, he’d be in the same boat as Frankie and know nothing. You guys already have a routine in place to handle one transformation, so adding another wolf into the mix every month wouldn’t have changed much, especially if he told you that he got bitten while looking for answers.” You finally looked at Frankie, holding his gaze. “He deliberately kept it from you. He’s deliberately hurting people. I don’t know him the way you do, so I have no idea why. Based on what I do know, though? He’s … what they’d want. I’ve been looking for this fucking line of wolves for years. It fits their pattern.” 

“But what can he give them?” Will leaned closer, head tilted. “Molly’s not having another kid. He’s working alone. And none of the people that he’s attacked and bitten have survived, so it’s not like he’s furthering the line.”

“No one survived that we know of.” Frankie lowered his head, covering his face with both hands. “They found bodies of people that didn’t, and Alec made it to the hospital but wasn’t bitten. If he’s bitten anyone and they’ve lived? He might have pointed ‘em in the direction of whoever he answers to so they could get help.” He was right, and that was something that you’d never thought of. And I should have. “And Tom’s fucking loaded, Ironhead. We all are. He can offer them money.” 

You gasped in surprise,  but as soon as he said it, you knew Frankie was right about that, too. Even a line of wolves that went back hundreds of years would have been motivated by money - especially in the amount that Tom could have offered. “I need a drink.” You pushed to your feet, heading for the kitchen. “Either of you want anything?” 

They both said no, and so you entered the room alone, immediately going for Frankie’s liquor cabinet. 

It would have been easy for you to spiral - to stand there and dwell on the fact that in the span of only a few months, you’d met and fallen for a wolf and found a separate link to the line of wolves your family had been after for years. Adding in the fact that the second wolf had actually attacked you - purposely - was another concern. But it’s not that separate. 

Grabbing a bottle at random and then a glass, you poured yourself a strong drink and then knocked it back in two swallows, wincing at the burn. It wouldn’t solve your problems - nor would it change the way you felt, but it would calm you. And then I can try to calm him. 

Frankie and Will were talking quietly, but both of them turned their attention to you when you walked back into the room. Frankie’s eyes brightened briefly, and Will gave you a single nod. “Better?” 

“Not better, but … I needed that.” You dropped back down onto the couch but instead of letting you sit next to him, Frankie yanked you closer, both arms wrapping around you. “Frankie, what -”

“He was alone with you twice tonight. After he did what he did. He was alone with you, and he was questioning you, and I just … fuck, it makes me mad.” Frankie laughed, the sound bitter. “He did it right under my fucking nose. All of this. And he had the goddamn balls to tease you with that wine. It wasn’t just about me, he was telling you that he’s a wolf, too.” You replayed the conversations, thinking hard about Tom’s demeanor. He’s good at hiding shit, I’ll give him that. 

“He’s getting bolder.” You turned your head and kissed Frankie’s cheek. “He attacked me even though he knew Will was there and that I’d have access to a gun with silver bullets. He invited us over. He’s actively planning things with you guys, and -”

“He’s going out to clean up the RV site.” Will swore, lowering his head as he whipped it back and forth. “I already did it, but he’s going to make sure there’s no fucking trace of himself there, at least in wolf form. And he’ll know which way he went in the woods to get rid of that trail, too.” Oh shit, that’s true. “And we fucking just … let him walk right in and do it.” Wait a minute. 

“Will.” You swallowed hard and then bit your lip. “How did you and Frankie come up with the idea to try and get him to bleed tonight?” That question actually got Will to smile, the blonde sitting back down on the chair and angling his body toward yours. “Something tipped you off. Why tonight? What was it?” 

“It was you.” He grinned, gesturing with one hand. “When you showed that video and I watched it again, I noticed something.” What? What could possibly have made you consider this? “The other night, when you and ‘Fish were in that clearing, and you saw him for the first time?” He paused, sticking his tongue unto his cheek. “You pointed out his tattoo in the pattern of his fur. The tattoo on his hand’s still there when he changes, but the one on his arm isn’t.” 

“And when you showed us the video, Will noticed something on the wolf.” Frankie mumbled your name, and then leaned down to kiss the top of your shoulder. “Something on his shoulder.” Seriously? 

“I recognized the shape of it. And it was just too convenient. So when ‘Fish and I went inside to get beers, I told him what I thought I saw, and we decided to do somethin’ about it.” He paused, looking down at the ground and taking a deep breath. “We didn’t know if I’d be able to do it tonight, but we figured it was good to try because of his sense of smell.” It was a good call - his heightened senses would have allowed Frankie to smell the wolf in Tom’s blood, which might not have been the case even a few days later. “But then you guys left, and I thought we were fucked, but -”

“But I had to take a leak.” Frankie laughed again, rolling his eyes. “And so it all worked out.” 

Tom hadn’t seemed like he knew what was happening while he was attempting to clean his hand off, but there was no way to be sure. “You’re going to have to act normal for the next few weeks with him.” You closed your eyes. “And I’m going to, too.” 

“You’re not going fucking near him for the next few weeks.” Frankie’s voice was little more than a growl, and Will agreed moments later. “In fact, I don’t want you to stay in that house you’re renting, either. He knows you’re there. He might have keys. And if he’s suspicious, he -”

“He might get more suspicious if she’s suddenly here all the time instead of there, too.” Will wet his lips, his eyes moving between the two of you. “It’s too quick.” 

“I don’t fucking care.” Frankie stood again, crossing his arms and beginning to pace between the couch and Will’s chair. “And we told everyone she’s staying in Florida because we’re together, so why wouldn’t she move in?”

“Because she hasn’t even met your kid yet. ‘Fish.” Frankie stopped moving and you straightened up, your mouth falling open. He’s right. “And if there’s one thing Tom knows about you, it’s that your daughter’s the most important person in your life. You wouldn’t move a woman in after a couple months without having her meet Carmen and Becca first.” 

“He’s right, Frankie.” You looked up at him, defeated. “Me moving in now would look bad. And I don’t want to live with you because we’re scared, I want it to be because you want me here.” 

“I want you here.” He turned to face you, letting his arms drop to his side. “You think I don’t? After wh -”

“No. But I want you to ask me to move in when we’re not dealing with this anymore.” You held your hand out to him and he took it, his fingers sliding between yours. “We’ve already skipped a boatload of steps in this relationship, I don’t want something so important to be another.” 

It was a conversation you didn’t want to have in front of Will, but at least beginning it was necessary. Because we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have to be smart about this. We have to be smarter than him. “It’s gotta be business as usual, ‘Fish. For all of us. And we’ve got a leg up, because he doesn’t know she’s looking for wolves, and because he doesn’t know we know he is one.” 

“We need to tell Benny and Pope.” Frankie let go of your hand, turning back to look at Will. “We need to let them know what we’re up against.” 

“We’ve gotta do this the right way, Frankie.” Will leaned forward, glancing at you before he looked up at his friend. “Otherwise he’s going to know something’s up. We have weeks until the moon, and it’s not like he can change between the -”

“About that.” Frankie’s hand was moving back and forth, fingers loosely curled. “He might be able to. I can, and if he’s been learning from people that know what the fuck they’re doing, we’ve got to assume he can, too.” 

“Fuck.” You used one hand to cover your mouth, fear starting to creep back in. If he can change at will, he could get into my apartment and … there’d be nothing to tie him to it. Just animal fur. You leaned back against the corner of the couch, drawing your uninjured leg up toward your chest. “He was fishing tonight. He was asking me questions and it felt … I don’t know. It felt different. He’s always kind of smug, but tonight felt like he wasn’t trying to hide it.”

“He gets like that when he feels like he’s winning.” Will dragged a hand through his hair, shaking his head back and forth. “Cocky. But he makes mistakes, like he did in South America.”

“He made a lot of fucking mistakes in South America.” Frankie laughed, and it was the first time that night that it sounded almost genuine. “We all did. But you’re right. Because when Tom thinks he’s untouchable, it makes him real fucking reckless.”

“This is gonna kill my brother.” Will stood, his sigh audible. “He idolizes Tom. And there’s no real way to prove it’s the truth until we can catch him on a full moon, so -”

“Is there really a realtor conference in Orlando next month?” You mumbled the question, reaching into your pocket for your phone. “Because if there is, that might be how he met the Chaos wolf in the first place. But if it’s over a full moon, that means he’s going to turn in Orlando, and I know nothing about that city to even begin to....” You did a Google search, eyes on your screen. Well, he wasn’t lying about that. “There is one.” You nodded, scanning the text. “And it’s the right dates.” 

“Might just be cover,” Will moved away from his chair and toward the doorway, pausing and turning his head back to look over his shoulder. “To give him a reason to be gone for a few days. Molly won’t ask questions if he says he’s doing something for work.” He reached up, resting his hand on the doorframe. “One of us should follow him there. And since I was with you this last time, ‘Fish, it should be me.” 

Part of you understood that reasoning. It was logical. It wouldn’t raise suspicions if Will bowed out of going with you and Frankie, since he’d done his part the previous month. But another part of you felt terror at the thought that Will wouldn’t be there with you. He saved me once. I trust him. I trust him with my life. “That’s a good idea.” Frankie nodded, watching his friend closely. “But we’ll need to figure this shit out with Benny and Pope, too.” 

Will agreed, eyes moving between you and Frankie before he closed them, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t going to end well for Tom, is it.” 

“No.” Frankie stood, shaking his head slowly. “It isn’t.” Will’s response wasn’t audible, but you did see his jaw lock, a muscle in his cheek twitching as he let out a slow breath. “There’s no way it can.” He and Frankie shared another look, and you saw the resignation in his eyes, his shoulders rising and falling in slow motion. I get it. It’s got to be so hard for them to think about that.

Will turned his attention back to you, lips turning upward into a sad smile. “I hope you get some sleep tonight. Both of you.” 

“You too, Will.” You set your phone down, leaning back. “Get home safe, alright?” He assured you he would, and then he and Frankie left the room, heading for the front door. You could hear them talking, but before too long, Frankie reappeared in the doorway, his posture much looser than it had been. “We need to go to sleep, Frankie. You have to be up to fly tomorrow.”

“I do.” He walked back over to where you sat, sitting down on the table in front of you and then leaning in. “I need you to look at me.” You did, lifting your chin enough that you could meet his eyes. Frankie reached up, sliding his fingers along the column of your neck so that he could curl them gently around the nape. “What happens to Tom isn’t just because of what he did to you. It’s not going to be your fault, that I take care of this. It’s his own.” 

“I know.” You moved your thumb over his stubbled cheek, nodding. “He made his choices.” Frankie agreed, leaning into your touch. “We need to talk about what happened right before Will left, but it’s not a good -”

“After we deal with Tom, I want you to meet Becca and Carmen.” He stiffened slightly, and you could see fear in his eyes. “Will’s right. I can’t ask you to come live here before that happens, but …” He sighed, closing his eyes. “We’re going to go back and forth between your place and this one for the next couple weeks. Spend as much time as you can with one of us or at Ironhead’s or even at Pope’s with Yova. And if Tom -”

“I know, ‘Fish.” You closed the distance between you, pressing your forehead to his. “And I know that you do want me here. I just want to make sure that you’ll still want that when this is over.” And you’ve had to kill someone you thought you could trust. “I don’t doubt your feelings for me, but this isn’t a normal situation.”

“It’s not.” He squared his shoulders, nodding. “But we both … we both felt this before we knew anything else was going on, so that has to mean something.” You agreed, and it made you feel better, but only marginally. “First time I met you, remember?” You smiled, eyes dropping as your cheeks heated. Yeah, I remember. He stood up, holding both hands out to you. “Now come to bed with me so that I can wake up and fly tourists over the Bay tomorrow.” 

That made you laugh, and he squeezed your hands tightly when you took them, helping you to your feet. “I was one of those tourists when I first got here.” 

“You were.” You headed down the hallway, Frankie walking backwards so he didn’t have to look away. “And I looked forward to every flight with you.” Arching a brow, you watched as he grinned. “Still do, if you ever want to go back up.” I do. I really do. 

The two of you got ready for bed quickly, and when you stood by the side of his bed, Frankie stopped you before you could grab the bottom hem of your shirt. Instead of letting you remove it, he did it for you, tossing it to the side and then reaching to unhook your bra. Once that was gone, Frankie’s hands skimmed over your skin, his eyes following the movement. 

“Bed, Francisco.” You spoke quietly, reaching out to press a hand against his abdomen. “It’s late and we’re both exhausted.” He didn’t fight it, instead nodding as you climbed into bed and waited for him to follow. 

He held you close after you both got comfortable, but you could tell that he was still tense. I am too, though. This is …  more complicated than I thought. 

Tom actually being the Chaos wolf was something that you hadn’t expected - and you knew that none of the other guys had, either. It complicated things, but more importantly it forced their hand in a way that you knew would be difficult for them to handle emotionally. And it has to be done soon, which makes it worse. 

Tom would fight back, that much was certain, based on the way he’d acted in the previous months. The real question was whether or not Frankie and the others having an advantage of knowing would be enough for them to win. It has to be. Because I can’t lose him. I won’t.

— 

It took a few days to get everyone together in the same room, but that was only because it had to be done in a way that Tom was invited - but couldn’t make it. 

Will handled that, sending out a group message asking when the guys wanted to meet for drinks at the bar. When Tom said he had no time that week because of late showings and plans with Molly, it became easier to choose a day and a location. 

That turned out to be Pope’s place, which meant Yovanna would be there. But she knows. So maybe this is the right time for her to tell everyone. You were nervous as you and Frankie drove there after he’d finished his flights, but despite the conversation that awaited you both, he kept it together. 

Will’s truck was parked in front of the house when you pulled up, and when you walked around the house and into the back yard, you saw that Benny was there, too, both of them sitting in chairs and holding drinks as they talked to Pope and Yovanna. 

You caught the look she gave you as you headed to where they were, her eyes dropping to your leg and then rising - first back to meet your eyes and then drifting to Frankie’s face, her lips twisting into a frown. You shook your head, mouthing the word no, and her eyes widened before she reached over, taking Pope’s hand and squeezing it. 

The two of you joined the group, sliding into open seats and saying hello as Benny slid drinks across the tabletop to you. Frankie took his and opened it, downing a long swig before turning his attention to Will. You watched as they shared a look, the blonde’s throat working as he swallowed and then gave Frankie a nod. 

“Hey.” Will closed his eyes, and then let out a deep breath. “There’s something we need to talk about, but I don’t know if Yova’s going to want to hear it.” You weren’t surprised that he’d called the woman out directly - that was just how Will was - but you were surprised when she pulled her hand free from Pope’s and moved to sit next to you, her arms crossed over her chest. 

“I want to hear it.” She nodded, looking between the other men and then finally at Pope, who was watching her with a look of amusement on his face. “Especially if it has to do with the wolves.” 

“You knew?” Benny leaned in, his eyes widening. “This whole time? Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“Because I did not want to.” She shrugged, scoffing. “What would it have helped? Me telling you stories? I have never met one before Francisco. But I knew there were others. I knew another one was here and it was hurting people.” She leaned forward and looked past you at Frankie. “And I knew it could not be you because you are not that kind of man.” 

There was trust in her eyes - her voice strong and even as she spoke. “Last thing I want to do is hurt people.” Frankie cleared his throat. “But yeah, that is … what this is about.” Pope sat down, too, joining the rest of you at the table. 

It was silent for long seconds, and you didn’t know who was going to speak first. But it should be me. “I’ve been lying to all of you.” Frankie stiffened next to you, but you ignored it. “I didn’t come here to write about Tampa. I came here looking for werewolves.” It helped that only Benny and Yovanna had been in the dark about it, but you were thankful that everyone at the table stayed quiet and let you go on. “Frankie figured it out because my research wasn’t hidden when he showed up at my apartment one morning. I told Will after I got attacked last week.”

“You were looking for ‘Fish?” Benny leaned in, eyes narrowed. “How’d you know it was him?” 

“No, I didn’t know it was him. That all just … it’s a weird fucking coincidence. And even before he told me what he is, I still didn’t think it was him that I was looking for. But as soon as he did, I realized that there were two wolves. And the other one was the one I’ve been trying to find.” 

“Why are you looking for wolves?” Pope cut in, scratching at the back of his neck. He’s going along with it. “What do you want from them?” 

That started your story, and you repeated it for what you hoped was the last time. Everyone listened to you without interrupting, and Frankie’s hand rested on your thigh the entire time, reminding you that he was there. Like I could forget.

“And since my cousin’s out of this for good now, I’ve got … I’ve got to finish this. Even if it’s the last thing I do with hunting, taking care of this wolf?” You looked between them, locking your gaze on Benny’s face. “I’ll make it right for Alec. And I think … I think that’ll be enough for me.” 

“Will it, though?” Pope swallowed, taking his lower lip between his teeth. “You had no plans to stop before, so why would this be enough now? It’s one wolf. You’re not going to eliminate the whole line. You never were.”

“No.” Laughing, you rubbed at the space between your eyes. “I wasn’t. But this is what I knew. It was what I thought I had to do to be considered a contributing member of my family. Even if I never found anything, at least I tried.” 

“But you did find something.” Yovanna reached over, taking your hand and linking her fingers with yours. “You found Francisco and you found all of us. You found out that it is possible to be with a wolf and not need to … hunt it.” She took a breath. “But you also found the other one. And it …” Her gaze dropped and then rose, her eyes wide. “You know who it is. You know who the other wolf is and that’s why we’re here tonight.” 

“Yes.” Your heart was pounding, but you knew that if you looked at Frankie, you’d break down - and so you didn’t. You looked at Pope first, and then at Benny before finally meeting Will’s eyes. He nodded slowly, raising the tips of his fingers from where they rested against the tabletop to tell you to relax. “We do know who it is.” 

“Tom should be here for this.” Pope leaned in, eyeing you. “He’s part of this, and he was there when ‘Fish got bitten.”

“There’s a reason he’s not here, Pope.” Frankie’s voice was low, and when you finally turned your head to look at him, you saw that his shoulders were straight, eyes bright. “There’s a reason it’s just us, and -”

“Bullshit.” Benny cut in, making a fist and knocking it against the table. “Will asked him to be here. I saw the fucking texts. Why -”

“We picked tonight because Tom couldn’t make it.” Will crossed his arms again and leaned back in his chair. “Tom is the other wolf, Benny. ‘Fish and I tested it the other night, and it’s him. He’s been attacking people for the last couple months. He attacked her cousin. He attacked her. He doesn’t give a shit who he hurts, and he’s been lying to us for a fucking year.” 

No one replied right away, and as Will’s voice trailed off, you risked a look over at Benny, watching as his face contorted between emotions. He’s hurt. He’s hurt and sad and… “How?” He licked his lips and then stood up from the table, pushing his chair back. “How did it happen? How do you know?” 

“I smelled his blood the other night, and it was the same as what was all over the clearing.” Frankie sniffed. “I have no idea how he found someone to bite him, but I’m sure as fuck going to ask next month.” 

“How? He’s got that conference. He won’t be -”

“I think it’s a cover.” You pinched the bridge of your nose. “There is a conference, but I think that just got him out of having to come and stay with Frankie next moon. I think … I think he’s going to come back to the clearing and try to finish what he started because he knows Frankie will be miles away and I’ll be there.”

“That’s dumb as shit, though.” Pope’s eyes were narrow. “He knows there’s always someone there with Frankie. He knows that we wouldn’t dream of letting you go there by yourself next month. He has to know that ‘Fish wouldn’t go far, especially if he thought there was a chance the other wolf would come back.” 

“He’s too cocky.” Will spoke up, frowning as he shook his head. “He’ll think that -”

“He is an asshole.” Yovanna spat the words out, standing up and shoving her chair backwards before slapping her hand down on the table. “I have never liked him, not even meeting him that first time. And since I have come here?” She snarled, waving her hand. “He is mean and nasty and I have never trusted him, but I put up with him because he was your friend.” She pointed at Benny. “Your own brother is telling you this is the truth and you don’t believe him? Why would he lie? Why would Francisco lie when that lie means Tom has to go?” 

The rest of you were silent as her words sunk in, and for a few moments, you were in awe of the woman. She barely knew you, and had no real reason to stand up for you in the way she was. But she loves Pope. And if Tom is willing to do this to someone Frankie cares about, she’s in just as much danger. 

“Are you sure?” Benny’s eyes were narrowed as he stared at you and then at Frankie. “I mean positive, ‘Fish? Because if what you’re saying is true, then we have to -” Will groaned, covering his face with both hands.

“Watch the video, man. The spot on the wolf’s shoulder is in the same damn place as Tom’s tattoo. ‘Fish smelled the blood. Tom’s been real fuckin’ shady about helping out for a long time now. It fits. We didn’t see it because we didn’t want to, but c’mon, Benny.” 

“I’m sure, Benjamin.” Frankie’s head moved from side to side, and you heard the fatigue in his voice. “I don’t want it to be true, but it is.” It was your turn to support him then, and you reached over to settle your hand on his forearm, fingers closing around it. I know you don’t want it to be true. I don’t either. “And I’m not asking for your help with this. I understand if you don’t want to be involved with what’s got to happen, but I need you to at least … not give anything away for the next couple weeks.” 

“How the fuck are we supposed to -” Pope rubbed at his eyes. “‘Fish, man. C’mon. He’s not stupid. He’s going to know something’s up the second one of us talks to him.” 

“No he won’t.” Benny sniffed, dropping back into his seat and hanging his head. “Because this is the shit we were trained to do. We’ve got to put our emotions to the side and treat this like any of the fucking bullshit missions we went on.” You felt relief - despite his closeness to Frankie, and the friendliness Benny had shown you while you were together, you figured that he would have been more difficult to convince. “This isn’t Tom. This is fucking Lorea all over again. He’s dangerous and he’s hurting people, and we need to stop him.” 

“So we’re just going to kill him?” Pope laughed, his expression incredulous. “Just kill our friend without giving him a chance to explain? How does that make us any better than any of the people we went after in uniform? How does it make us any better than him?” 

“This is what he’s done to people, Pope.” You pulled out your phone and navigated to the hidden folder of photos that contained your research on the Florida Chaos wolf. “This is what he’s done to the people he’s killed. This is what he did to Alec. This is what he did to me.” You slid the phone over the table at him and then pushed your chair back, lifting your leg and swinging it upward and onto the table before ripping the bandage off of it. 

You heard Benny’s gasp and Yovanna’s reaction - something muttered in Spanish that was muffled by the way her hand covered her mouth. You saw Will’s wince, even though he’d seen the fresh wound. It was beginning to heal, and though it looked better than it had days earlier, it was still red and swollen and somewhat raw around the edges, the scabbing thick. 

“She’s going to have that reminder for the rest of her fucking life, Pope. You saw the video. You watched him attack her. He didn’t flinch. There was no hesitation.” Frankie’s hand moved to touch your ankle, the tips of his fingers gliding up your leg, though he avoided the wound. “We aren’t going to do anything. I won’t ask you to be a part of this, but I need you to know why I’m going to -”

“Frankie.” Pope darkened the screen of your phone and then pushed it back toward you. “There’s no fucking way you’re doing this yourself.” Your breath left you in a whoosh of relief, and as you put your foot back on the ground and closed your eyes, shoulders slumping. “It’s just a lot to take in, y’know?” 

“I know.” He cleared his throat, reaching up to take his hat off and toss it onto the table. “But we can’t let him keep going, and you all know it. He’s not going to stop. So I have to stop him, because I’m the only one who can.” 

“And what if you can’t?” It wasn’t unkind, and it was the first time Will had questioned Frankie - which surprised you. “He’s bigger than you as a wolf. He’s mean. You’ve tried real hard to hide that part of yourself during the moon, and he hasn’t.” 

“That’s my advantage. He’s never seen me as a wolf protecting someone I love.” Frankie paused and said your name, waiting for you to look over at him before he continued. When he spoke again, you heard an edge to his voice that had never been there before - and it chilled you to the bone. “But that’ll be the last thing he ever sees.” 

— 

Over the next few days, everything changed - and at the same time, nothing changed. 

You and Frankie continued your routine of spending nights together, alternating between your apartment and his house. While he was at work, you kept up with your research, using what you already knew about the wolves and adding information about Tom straight from Frankie’s photo albums and anything that the others told you - or that you could find on social media. 

You were determined to find the same link that Tom had to the other wolves, because that would mean more of an understanding about the way the Chaos wolves worked - and recruited. But what am I going to do with that? After this, I’m… I’m done. 

That was another thing that you’d thought long and hard about, both while Frankie was beside you and when you were apart. You’d told him that you’d consider ending your search for the Chaos wolves after Florida, but the truth was that you’d known for a long time that what you were doing was a fool’s errand. I just had no real reason to stop. 

But Frankie was a reason. Will and Benny and Pope and Yovanna were reasons. Carmen was a reason. You’d never be able to eliminate the Chaos line in its entirety, but removing Tom from the equation would balance the scales for your family somewhat by getting payback for causing Alec’s injury - and for yours. 

It probably wasn’t the route that prior generations of your family had imagined, but it would be enough. Enough for me, anyway. Enough to keep us safe.

Though the assumption was likely foolish, you had no doubts that Frankie would handle Tom - with or without the help of his friends. You trusted that he would do whatever was necessary to keep his daughter safe, which meant tapping into a part of himself that he’d never allowed to the surface before. But it’s not just for Carmen, it’s … to protect me, too. 

You kept up your routine and so did Frankie, his scheduled flights going off without a hitch until two forecasted rainy days in a row thanks to a tropical storm grounded everything. It was during those days that he decided to drive up to see Carmen and Becca, which took a little convincing on your end. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to spend time with his daughter, but Frankie was very against leaving you alone for such a long period of time. 

He’d only agreed after you promised to find some way to keep yourself occupied for the time he was gone that didn’t involve you staying in Tampa. It seemed like overkill, but when you saw the look in Frankie’s eyes as he made the request, you realized that it was nonnegotiable. 

So the night before he was set to leave, and you were scheduled to check into a bed and breakfast in Punta Gorda, the two of you headed to Ironhead’s just to keep up appearances. 

It was busier than usual, since thanks to the rain, sitting on most of the outdoor patios was out of the question. But you still managed to find an open booth, both of you sliding into it as you lowered the hoods on the jackets you wore. 

There were drinks placed in front of you moments later, and when you looked up, you found Benny’s smiling face, the blonde nodding at you before he turned his head to look at Frankie. “Hey, you two.” 

“Benjamin.” Frankie reached for his drink, lifting the glass. “Busy in here tonight.” 

“Sure as fuck is. It always gets like this when it rains, but that forecast’s got a lot of the tourists worried, so…” He shrugged. “I’m not gonna complain and neither are my bartenders.” You laughed, settling back against the cushion as he said goodbye and headed back for the bar. 

“You excited, Francisco?” You sipped your drink, locking eyes with him. “Two days with Carmen?” 

“I always am.” The look in his eyes softened, something that hadn’t happened often in the previous few days. “She wants to go to the park, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to because of the rain.” 

“You’ll figure it out.” He nodded, his gaze leaving your face and sweeping over the busy bar. “Should I be worried about storm surge or anything down there? I don’t want to get stuck because of flooding, or -”

“Nah.” He sipped his drink again, shaking his head. “Storm’s tracking north. You might get a little flooding and some wind, but you’ll be alright.” He met your eyes again and winked, one side of his mouth lifting in a smirk. “You can trust me, I’m a pilot. I know weather.” 

You laughed at that, lowering your head. For a few seconds, it was like things were normal between you, and that night at the bar was just a night out with Frankie. Maybe it will be soon. Maybe we can have … When you looked up, your laughter stopped as you saw who was standing in the crowd beside the bar. Oh, shit. 

You leaned forward, reaching over the table to take his hands. “Frankie.” He stiffened, shoulders going rigid. “You have to stay calm, alright? Molly and Tom are here, and -”

“That fuck can’t just -”

“He can.” You squeezed his hands, wetting your lips and trying to stay calm yourself. “We know nothing, Frankie. We have to make him believe it.” It was a pep talk for him as much as it was one for you - and you were uncertain that you could make your own words reality. “There are too many people here. Too many innocent people, and …” You trailed off when he lifted your joined hands and pressed a kiss to your knuckles before he let go and reached for his drink again, downing the remainder in one long swig. 

“I’m good.” He nodded, shoulders relaxing. “I’m fucking peachy.” 

You wondered if maybe, with the crowd, Tom wouldn’t see where the two of you were sitting. A few seconds later, you understood that that wouldn’t be the case. He caught your eye, his brows rising before he leaned over to speak into Molly’s ear, one hand lifting to point in your direction. “They’re coming over, Frankie. It -” 

“Hey, you two.” Your blood went cold at the friendly tone of his voice, but you forced yourself to look up at where they stood, eyeing Tom as he slipped an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Busy in here tonight, isn’t it?” 

“We were going to have dinner on a patio, but with the rain, everything’s closed and …” Molly rolled her eyes, drawing your attention. “We ended up here, which isn’t bad, but …” 

“D… do you want to sit?” You forced the words out, surprised to hear that your voice was steady, even though your heart was racing. “Frankie can scoot over here, and you can sit on that side.” Tom looked stunned at the offer, and so did Frankie, but before you could say anything else, he slid to the end of the booth and then stood, moving to where you sat. 

He got as close to you as he could, his arm draped over your shoulders, and as Tom and Molly took seats across from you, you realized that Frankie’s arm was positioned so that his scar was visible. It’s like he’s reminding Tom what he is but in a way that seems … oh, Francisco. You reached over, laying your hand on his thigh and squeezing. 

“So.” Tom sipped his drink, his eyes on you. “You get to be here for a tropical storm. You gonna ride it out at ‘Fish’s place, or -”

“Actually.” Frankie cocked his head to the side. “Actually, I’m going to see Carmen for a couple days. Can’t fly with the wind and rain, so it seemed like a good time.” Tom’s eyes widened, and as Molly interjected, telling Frankie how great it was that he’d get to spend time with his daughter, he stared at you. You wondered if, like Frankie, Tom’s eyes flashed a different color when he was emotional, and then wondered if that other color was the reddish that you’d seen while he was a wolf. 

“He’s leaving you alone here?” Tom chewed on his lower lip, eyes narrowing. “That’s a surprise.” What are you planning? 

“No, I’m going out of town, too.” You reached for your drink, willing your hand not to shake. “Planned it before the weather went to shit, and I’m still going to go. It’ll be good research, and I’m not really interested in trying to cancel reservations.” 

“Where you headed?” Coming from anyone else, it would have been an innocuous question, but you could almost feel the edge to Tom’s ask, and you knew Frankie did, too. 

“South. Cape Coral. Frankie promised me that the majority of the storm would skip there, so…” You shrugged, hoping that it hid your discomfort - and the lie. “I guess we’ll see.” 

Tom didn’t speak right away, but Molly did, waving her hand back and forth and rolling her eyes as she told you that you’d get a little rain and some wind. It was easier for you to speak to her, and so you did, answering with a laugh that was only half-forced as you took another drink. 

Your hand tightened on Frankie’s leg as Tom joined in the conversation, talking about one of the many storms that they’d ridden out during their time in Tampa. And his arm shifted slightly to pull you closer, his head turning so that he could press a kiss to the space behind your ear when Tom laughed about sandbags exploding, Frankie’s quiet I’m right here, I love you making you shiver. 

You had no idea how he was keeping so calm, because you were wound tighter than you could ever remember being before, and were almost desperate to get away from the table - and Tom. 

It wasn’t that you were afraid he’d try anything that night. In fact, you were convinced of the opposite, because you knew that Frankie wouldn’t hesitate to fight back. You also knew that Benny and Will kept a gun behind the counter, a stash of silver bullets in a small bowl beside it. And if you knew that, then Tom did, too. 

But you were afraid of him, afraid of how little he seemed to care about antagonizing you and Frankie. You were fearful of his cockiness, because it meant that he was overconfident, and if he was overconfident as a man, you knew it would carry over the closer it got to the full moon. And that makes him more dangerous. 

“Anyone need a refill?” Benny appeared almost out of nowhere, his arms swinging loosely by his sides. “Tom, Molly, there’s a table that just opened if you guys wanted to have some privacy. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to it with Tessa at college.” It was subtle but pointed, and you felt a surge of affection for the younger Miller, your mouth turning upward into a smile at his offer. “Closer to the bar, too.”

Tom didn’t want to get up - you could see the hesitation in his eyes, but when Molly reached over to take his hand, nodding excitedly, you let out another small sigh of relief. “Yes, please. We should leave these two alone so they can enjoy their date. And I’m starving, so the sooner we order food, the better.” 

“We can order while we sit here, Mol. I’m sure ‘Fish and -”

“Actually,” Frankie cut in, his fingertips tapping on the tabletop. “We were trying to have a date before I leave, so we’d appreciate the privacy, too.” It happened then, and you were almost positive that Tom wasn’t even aware of it - but his eyes did flash, changing color briefly in the fluorescent bar lighting as his jaw tightened. He doesn’t like Frankie challenging him. He’s angry. But that confirms it. He’s … it’s… “It was really good to see you, Mol. Hope you’re holding up well with an empty house.” 

“It’s weird, but …” She pushed on Tom’s arm, urging him to stand. “We’re enjoying it.” You laughed, watching as they stood and took a step away from the table “Right, Tom?”

“Right.” He stood stiffly, his eyes moving between you and Frankie. “You two be careful driving tomorrow.” Frankie grunted and you nodded, thanking him and telling him you would. You watched as he put his hand against Molly’s lower back, turning her in the direction Benny had indicated. 

“Be right back with a refill, ‘Fish,” the blonde called back at you. “No need to get up.” 

Molly giggled at his words and you managed a small smile, but Frankie didn’t react until they were out of earshot. “You need to take everything you have on the Chaos line with you when you leave. He knows you won’t be there for a couple days. He…” He sighed. “He might decide to take a look around.” 

You agreed, and told him as much. “I won’t go back in there until you’re back, either.” He nodded. “Did you see it, his eyes, they -”

“Mine do that too?” Turning his head to look at you, you saw concern in the depths of his, though there was nothing unusual about them that night - they were his usual deep brown. “You said you’ve seen it.”

“They do. But not red. Yours are …” Reaching up, you swept your thumb over his stubbled cheek. “They’re gold. Warm. It sort of looks like your eyes under a really bright light.” He leaned into your touch, and you felt him relax slightly. Good. 

“Break it up, you two. This is a public place.” Benny put two new drinks in front of you and then stopped next to the table, flipping a towel over one shoulder. “You guys alright?” 

“No, but it could have been worse.” He gave you a sympathetic smile and looked to Frankie, taking a long breath. 

“We cant ask ‘em to leave, and I’m sorry about that, ‘Fish.” 

“Don’t apologize.” Frankie slid away from you on the seat and your hand dropped. “As long as he doesn’t come back over here, we’re all good.” He stood up and Benny stepped back, watching as Frankie moved to the other side of the table and sat again. “We might not stay long, though. Maybe finish this round and head out.” 

Benny nodded and then tapped his hand on the table, telling you that if either of you needed anything else, you knew where to find him. And when he was gone, you turned your attention back to Frankie. “After this is over…” You reached out, putting your hand flat on the table between you. “We should go on a trip somewhere.” 

“What? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?” The abrupt change in subject did the trick, and you watched his posture change, Frankie’s brows shooting up as he leaned in. “A vacation?” 

“Yeah, why not.” You shrugged. “It’s going to be winter soon. And I know you’ve spent almost your whole life in this humid hellscape they call Florida, but…” That made him laugh, and the sound warmed you from the inside out. Good. Good, that’s what I want to hear. “But there are places where it actually gets cold. Places where there are snow and mountains and different kinds of forests for you to run through during the full moon.” 

“But I’ve never … aside from Colombia, I’ve never ….” He frowned. “What if something happens?” 

“It won’t.” He took your hand, sliding his fingers between yours and pressing your palms flat against each other. “But a change in scenery, even only for a little while might be a good thing.” 

“I can’t miss a holiday with Carmen. I won’t.” 

“Ashley’s not due until the end of December anyway. So we can’t go out there til early next year.” You grinned, tilting your head. “And there are places out West where it snows until May and June, so we have time.” He was quiet for almost a minute, eyes locked on your face. What are you thinking, Francisco? 

“You’re already thinking that far ahead?” He wet his lips and then bit the lower one. “About next summer?” 

“Yes.” You swallowed, still staring at him and watching as the look in his eyes changed, heat filling them. But that’s not the wolf. “I hope that’s alright.” 

“It’s more than alright.” He reached for his drink and drained half of it in one long gulp, eyes half closed as he tipped his head back. “In fact,” he continued when he’d set the glass down, creating a new ring of condensation on the table. “I think we should leave and I’ll show you just how alright it is.” 

Your stomach flipped, and you shivered. Oh, Frankie. But you nodded at the same time, picking up your drink and taking a smaller - but still healthy - sip. “What are we waiting for, ‘Fish?” He squeezed your hand and then let go, reaching into his back pocket to pull out his wallet and drop a few bills on the table. 

“Nothing anymore.” He stood again and waited until you did, too. Because the bar was so crowded, he had to walk behind you, but he stayed close, one hand on your lower back until you were outside in the parking lot again. 

It reminded you of the first night you’d met, and when you turned to tell him that, he was waiting. “I wanted you to kiss me in the parking lot the first night we met.” You blinked a few times, watching as the water began to dampen his hair and shirt. “I understand why you didn’t, but … I wanted you to.” He stepped closer, staying quiet. 

You believed that Frankie would handle Tom. You believed you’d get answers. You believed that after, you’d go to Texas and then to somewhere snowy. You believed that you’d meet Carmen and Becca and be able to take the next steps toward a future with him. But just in case… if it doesn’t happen? I don’t want anything unsaid. “I wanted to, too.” 

His hands moved to your waist, pulling you closer. “I love you, Francisco, so much. And yes, I’m thinking about next year and next summer and all of the nexts because I don’t want to -” 

“How ‘bout I kiss you now?” He slid one hand up the center of your back, fingers splayed. “Better late than never, right?” You nodded, closing the distance, and when your lips met, you closed your eyes, savoring the feeling. 

You’d kissed him probably hundreds of times in the few months you’d known him, but that one felt different. 

It had little to do with the rain and the breeze, and everything to do with what it signaled - the breaking of the tension that had grown with Tom and Molly appearing in the bar, processing of the conversation that you’d been forced to have with them, the realizations that had come after. But most importantly, it was an indication that you were still on the same page, and that it wasn’t just about immediate satisfaction or the fact that you’d found each other temporarily. 

He bit softly on your lower lip and you parted them for him, the tip of your tongue poking though and meeting his. It escalated quickly from there, one of your hands rising to tangle in the damp curls at the back of his neck, Frankie’s fingers twisting the material of your shirt between them as he backed you toward the corner of the building and where he’d parked his truck. 

Your back hit the cool exterior wall of the bar, and he kept kissing you, his body pressed against yours as the rain continued to fall. A flash of lightning followed by a low rumble of thunder broke you apart, and you groaned, still holding onto him. “We’re getting soaked, Frankie.” 

“And?” His lips moved over yours before they strayed to your cheek and then back toward your ear. “It’s just water.” 

“We’re going to ruin the interior of your truck.” Reluctantly, you pushed him away and then took his face between both hands. “But the sooner we get home, the sooner you can help me out of these clothes.” 

That was the right thing to say, because Frankie backed off on his own then, jerking his chin toward the parking lot and then reaching up to take your hand.

Distracting each other wouldn’t solve your problems, and you could only continue to do it for so long before the next full moon came. And we need to worry about now before we can even think about next.

But when Frankie’s hand found yours and lifted it so that he could kiss your knuckles, it was hard not to think so far ahead… and even harder to imagine that there might not  be a future for the two of you. 

—

[ghostlystyles]

𝐃𝐀𝐙𝐙𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆

anthony lockwood x gn!reader

lockwood is really just a lovesick teenager

request: Could you do a Lockwood X reader where they are getting ready for the gala at Fittes and Lockwood sees reader in the dress for the first time?

tessa’s notes: this was the fic that i didn’t save properly when i was nearly done, but it turned out alright so we vibe

warnings: honestly just pure fluff + lucy and reader are close friends :D, comment if i missed any <3

word count: 0,9k

—“OKAY, LUCE, WHAT do you think of this?” you asked, turning around to face the girl who was reading a book on her bed. “That definitely looks like you’re going to a funeral,” she replied. You turned back around to look in the mirror and sighed frustratedly, “well, considering what we’re about to do, I might be in a few days. I agree, though, it looked fine in the shop but this is terrible.”

“Well, you have one more, don’t you? Try that on,” Lucy suggested, looking up from her book. “Good call, give me a second,” you spoke, walking back to your wardrobe and pulling out the other dress. It was a red silk dress that reached your ankles and the woman in the shop had specifically told you it would look great on you, so you had high hopes.

You slipped into it and turned around to face Lucy again. “What about this?” you questioned as you twirled around. “Oh my god. You look so good!” Lucy gasped, throwing her book to the side and jumping off the bed. You looked in the mirror and tugged on the dress to get it in place. Lucy was right, you looked undeniably beautiful. “Yeah, this is definitely better than the funeral dress.”

“Can I do your makeup now? Please?” Lucy asked, as she held up her basket of makeup products. “As long as you don’t stab out my eyes or make me look like a total idiot, sure, go ahead,” you replied, sitting down at Lucy’s desk chair and she got to work. She put some eyeliner on you, stuck a line of gems alongside it and finished it off with a bit of highlighter and a tinted lip balm. “There. You look so pretty.”

“Wow, Luce! I’m impressed, thank you!” you exclaimed happily, as you tilted your face to look in the mirror from a different angle. “You’re welcome,” Lucy said in a singsong voice, while you grabbed the stuff you needed to do your hair. “Are you nervous?” asked Lucy. “‘Course I am. We’re stealing this extremely rare book from Fittes’s library, which, knowing us, may very well get us killed, and we’re supposed to act ‘casual’ around the other people, of which I’m sure there are going to be lots. Also, those people are going to treat us as a couple, because why else would two people go to a ridiculously fancy gala together? So yes, I am a tad nervous,” you ranted quickly.

“Yeah, all of those are very valid. But why does it bother you so much that people are gonna treat you like a couple on a date?”

“Well, it’s not a date, is it? Do you know how hard it is to act like and be treated like a couple with someone who you have genuine feelings for but aren’t actually dating?”

“I think you’re allowed to treat it like a date. At least a little bit. He asked you to go with him, no? He could’ve asked me or George, but he asked you.”

“Luce, that was literally a 1 out of 3. I was probably the best option for the occasion or whatever.”

“No, N/N, he already called me an asset and I think he still feels guilty for that. He wouldn’t do something like that again.”

“Okay, fair enough, but still. Just because I could hypothetically treat it like a date, doesn’t mean he is. It’s bloody embarrassing if it’s one-sided.”

“Y/N!” Lockwood called from downstairs, “are you almost done? I’m pretty sure our taxi is gonna be here in a few minutes!”

“Yeah, just a second!” you responded, as you took one final glance at yourself in the mirror. “Do I pass as a posh person who genuinely has business being at the Fittes gala?” you questioned. “Definitely. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were rich and probably a part of Penelope Fittes’s inner circle without a doubt,” Lucy reassured you. “Okay, great. Well, wish me luck, then,” Lucy gave you a quick hug and you then walked downstairs.

Lockwood was waiting for you by the front door and he looked star-struck when you descended the stairs. “Wow, Y/N— you look—”

“Stunning? Gorgeous? Charming?” you joked and Lockwood laughed softly. “Dazzling, honestly,” he finished his sentence, making you feel warm and fuzzy inside. “Why, thank you. You look very pretty yourself,” you replied with a smile. “I really wish I could kiss you right now,” Lockwood whispered. Your stomach flipped upside down and you did a double take. “Did you just say what I think you said?” you questioned with your eyes wide open, “because if you did, I really wish the same.”

Lockwood wasted no more time and he grabbed your face between his hands, pulling you close. He placed his lips onto yours into a soft kiss which made your insides completely melt. You pulled apart far too quickly for your liking and you both broke out into a huge grin. “Hey, that’s half your worries gone! Now all you have to do is steal the book, it’s gonna be a breeze!” Lucy yelled from halfway up the stairs. “Okay, Luce, that is enough stalker behaviour for today. We’re leaving,” Lockwood deadpanned, as he entwined his fingers with yours and dashed out the door. “Good luck, lovebirds!” you heard Lucy laugh before pulling the front door shut.

[kangel92]

If J is Malfunction in the Ame Au, those this mean she disconnected from Cyn

In the sense that Cyn thinks she dead. So when she travel to copper nine with clone J she find out Original J is alive with a girlfriend worker drone

Also did J told Ame about Tessa and her past ?

(Sorry I ask to much I love this au of Businesswoman J with her small cute girlfriend amen)

Hiii please don't apologize for asking😭💖 it makes me so happy to know you like it that much!🥹

Warning, here comes a lot of yapping(?) and uh prolly spoilers for future comics or so, hehe.

Yes! Like you said, she disconnected from Cyn, buuuut that was after being reassembled:D when she came back malfunctioning. Cyn was the one controlling her core at the beginning, and the one that Ame met in the first comic, actually.

Before you ask anything else, yes, Cyn attempted to kill Ame. But I’d like to imagine she kinda survived in a comical-movie-like situation in which Cyn tried to strike her and she dodged the attacks by luck without noticing it xDD

Soo. AS knows J isn’t dead. It knows some worker drones helped her (because she was practically there agreeing to everything lol). Cyn expected J to kill the worker drones once she had her body back, and then report back, but when she didn’t, Cyn assumed that:

1. Somehow she had teamed up with the traitors (N and V)

2. Her communication device wasn’t working correctly

3. Point 2 + escaped by herself

Cyn most likely believed in point 1 or 3.

Soooo she decided to reboot the whole squad. Erase their memories and start from scratch once again. When she tried to remotely delete N’s and V’s memories, in this AU, she tried to delete J’s memories too.

J hadn’t really talked about Tessa or her past that much. Just some things here and there. Ame guessed it was a topic J didn’t want to touch— but she ended up learning everything about her when going inside her mind (a scene very alike episode 5:home! Uzi entered N’s and V’s mind, and then she string along with Ame too when going into J’s!)

I imagine that scene kinda being the one that makes Ame and J bond deeper, and a moment in which J reconnects with her whole team and decides to try and fight against Cyn :”)

Next comic scheduled to be posted on Friday is kinda the scene after that. J being like “okay now that we are officially turning against this fucking horrible eldritch being, we need to plan how are we gonna fight her.” :D

So uhhhhh yeah this is basically Jame/Inkstar lore NAVSMSBSKAJ but I’ve drawn very little of them and I wished I could make all of this into comics. But that would take a lot of time and effort and I have other two aus ongoing + comms and college and work and😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Thank you for reading all of this :”3

[md-confessions]

js a confession here and overall my thoughts about envy and other ships with N ever since day one, [not bashing any envy shippers! i support opinions but i also have mine.]

i ultimately believe nuzi is most healthiest ship because Uzi doesn't and never has and/or will neglect N. see, the thing with envy and J x N [i do not know the ship name, Jen is unfamiliar to me so im unsure if it's the actual name so i will just be saying J x N] is that both J AND V has treated N horribly. and N has every right to stand his ground and then move on. V has equally treated N the same way J did for as long as he could remember [for a while, at least until he got his memories back] and i mean - i'll get to why it still doesn't work out even after he regained his memories back.

but i mean, V mentions to Uzi in episode 4 about N having friends with rocks. he was lonely. in his eyes, V hardly cared. i believe he liked to believe she did, but based off his experiences, he was optimistic and loyal. he IS loyal to them, i do not think he'd after turn his back actually on J and V unless something drove him to some breaking point. other than that, he was completely lonely despite being kind to the both of them.

the thing with V is, she KNEW she was being a jerk. that was not the way to protect N from the past and what might happen in the future. the way to go was not pushing him away, and she realized this in episode 6 then died protecting him. [im sorry V fans but she literally saluted and did not visibly fight back or want to survive. i believe she's dead unless some kind of convenient clone finds her way back.]

see, the thing is nuzi is that Uzi includes N in about everything. she opens up to him and he supports her, so she does the same. he means the world to her, and the same goes for N. they help each other and their only fights was that time in episode 2 where they separated because Uzi was visibly traumatized and uncertain what was truly real and what wasn't and N decided to give her space. the time in episode 7 was because N had his loyal side come out again to who he thought was Tessa and he appeared to trust her and do his duties. Uzi saw this and thought N was going to hurt her because of Tessa, but again, a lot was happening at the moment and they couldn't process anything properly. V did just die, after all.

of course, they reunited and they embraced each other. they were happy to see each other and the two never "fought" other than that. V and J with N? ...not so much. they hurt him both emotionally and physically but man im sorry N is not stupid. not in the slightest. he is offered someone that genuinely loves him and supports all of his feelings along with opening up about their own and he has feelings for them too and you expect him to trust the people who have hurt him? it is unhealthy.

as for the time N, V and J worked at the manor, let's do a quick rundown because this is getting pretty long.

J is obviously not fond of N. N is not particularly interested either because, excuse me? she pushed him onto the floor and gave him a drawing in his book she knew he reads to kill himself? concerning to say the least.

as for him and V, she obviously had feelings for him as did he with her. but the thing is though, he remembers this but at the same time how V has went out of her way to knock him aside several times after the manor and when they're disassembly drones. i would not trust V fully either if i was in the same position as him. and clearly he seems to be in some relationship with Uzi. N was never in the wrong. V clearly and always was, sadly even from the start. her way of "protecting" him had several flaws and she knew it too.

anyhow, thanks for reading this essay lol luv this blog

⠀

[culiehua]

Imagine: our beloved shadowhunters in a vampire diaries S4x22/23 type of scenario where the veil between the living and the dead falls and chaos ensues

angry dead people are back for unifinished business with the mcs, you name it, they face it

(hint hint it's terrible)

magnus & co. are looking for a way to bring it back up but it's difficult enough without the now corporeal walking dead terrorists

the veil separates the living and the ghosts of those who are not ready to move on but also other supernatural whatnots

meaning that demons frequently infiltrate the other side bc it's a parallel dimensional death realm but usually rarely find weaknesses in the veil to cross over (and be killed by "stupid hot people")

but the whole thing is gone so demons are flooding everywhere and it is not that great

because the dead can now become tangible again (if they want to that is), they do that, e.g. Valentine and his posse go for Clary, and there are just so many

(we'll get back to them)

Meanwhile in London, Yanluo has crawled his way into Cirenworth because demons can hold grudges forever and he still has quite the bone to pick with Wenyu, Yiwen and Elias' blood (i.e. Jem holds the #1 spot in his deathnote (yes yanluo has a deathnote in canon myth even though it works a bit differently))

and why give up such ample opportunity for petty revenge?

nobody at the Carstairs home knows what is going on however (Tessa is with Magnus in New York)

so Mina is ripped out of her cradle in the middle of the night and held hostage until Jem hears her cry

listen. my chinese violin man has seen some shit

in his long (but not as long as it could have been) life he has spent more time flirting with his death than most and seems practically unflappable atp

but this is a nightmare he's never been able to completely get over (because watching your parents die while being tortured is traumatic™)

so jem is restrained and absolutely terrified to his core bc this cannot be happening again

fate has a really fucked up sense of humor, he thinks

history repeating itself was not on his bingo card and he is not sure if it's him or his sweet sweet baby girl that is going to croak. After all that effort to stay alive

and he prays to the angel it's him. Anyone but little love Mina, and he wonders, distantly, if his mother had felt the same way when she died

(The anguish and agony forever carved into his memory and onto her face tell him she would have)

Yanluo's ready to strike and poison him again but instead get's flung to the other side of the hall

(no minas were harmed in this scene)

things are moving too fast for him to see but in his injury induced haze he swears he hallucinates the image of his mother reaching for him before passing out

when he wakes up again it's to a destroyed foyer and his crying baby in his Kit's arms who looks a lot worse for wear

so the fight had been real. he definitely didn't imagine that

But he soon comes to the realization that he must have imagined his mother in someone else's stead, coming to protect him. How pathetic of him. He'd have to thank them later.

He hasn't spotted the unsheathed Jian coverd in ichor on the left side of the room yet.

For a couple of minutes he takes deep breaths. It was over.

He's as calm as he could get under his circumstamces

But it's Kit's disgruntled throwaway comment that shatters all semblance of peace he's found

"What the heck? Wenyu never told me she could fight like that!"

(amidst it all, young brown eyes and golden ones meet over Kit's shoulder)

Back in New York, a desperate redheaded girl was surprised to see another pair of green eyes joining the chaos and helping her fight off Valentine

and maybe, though she'll never admit it to anyone but herself, a long standing heavy weight was now off her shoulders after this day

(and if she felt lighter than she has in a long time, nobody had to know.)

[definesanity]

The Weird Ones

Uzi Doorman was not your typical teenage girl. In fact, she was the farthest thing from it.

Her mom had managed to get her into college, bless her, and in Copper City, no less, but people STILL knew she was the daughter of Khan.

Greeeeeeeeeat.

Thankfully, there is someone who doesn't mind. Actually, a few.

First, Lizzy and Russian Doll. No, that is genuinely her name, and isn't bullied for it due to Lizzy. Lizzy is the atypical mean girl, and Doll is... well, a friend of her's, and a Russian transfer student.

Thad is cool. Not much to say other than, minus the ones he hangs out with, he's decent enough.

And, then, there are the last three. Who are, by far, the strangest.

Nathaniel, Victoria, and Jessica Elliot. Or, more commonly, for some reason, N, V, and J.

They're the adopted siblings of Tessa James(who calls their daughter James???) Elliot, a girl who is preeeeetty high up on the social ladder. N, as much as the guy is a golden retriever, is a nice guy at the end of the day.

Which then led her to meeting V and J, and then realising that she was gay as fuck.

She means. Come on! V walks around with that coat showing off her honkers and J is. Well she definitely awakened some things!

So, it came to Uzi. Alone. Groaning that she's single. Again. For like. The. Fifth time that day.

Her phone buzzed and her arm nearly dislocated at the speed at which she grabbed it.

It was a text from N:

Golden_Retrievers_Have_Gentl: Hey! Busy? Just wanna hang out and chat about something! :D

Uzi's reply was simple, but effective:

DarkXWolf17: pls holy shit i am so fucking bored rn. where u wanna meet

Golden_Retrieves_Have_Gentl: Outside of campus! I'll wait for ya! ;3

Finally, something to do.

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

Eh, it's not bad.

It is just. Chatting. But, to be honest, Uzi likes N's stories. They're pretty funny at times, especially when it's concerned over Tessa and her less-than-posh ways.

Still, N eventually paused, oddly enough, and made a thinking pose.

"Yo, Thinker, you doing okay?" Uzi was gonna kill herself later for caring.

"Eh? Oh, right, sorry! Just thinking, is all... so, um. Can I ask for a favour?"

"...What is it." Uzi didn't look amused.

"Hey, I'm not asking you to win the Election! It's just, you're single, right?"

"Thanks for the reminder." Uzi didn't look impressed, and N sucked in a whince.

"Yeeeeeah... well, not related, can you... keep an eye on my sister, please? I got a call from Tessa who happily reminded me I'm needed for something, soooooooo..."

"Oh, sure, yeah. Who is it? V? J?"

"Cyn!" N replied happily.

"Who." Uzi's flat expression could be framed in a museum. Or, heck, give her a record for "Most Flat Expression" so she can be famous for something *other* than being the spawn of Khan Fucking Doorman.

"...Oh, right, yeah! Um. She's the youngest, although we're all about the same age anyways, she's pretty short, has yellow eyes, and is really sweet!"

Uzi raised an eyebrow. "...Then how come I haven't seen her before, then?"

"She's homeschooled! She's a little, uh..."

"I heard you were. Talking shit. Big Brother."

"OH JESUS CHRISTMAS--" N jumped five feet into the air, and to the side, revealing to Uzi the most autistic girl she's ever seen in her entire life.

Cargo shorts. Fucking. Cargo. Shorts.

Cyn was, put simply, kinda cute. And also heavily autistic, from what Uzi can tell.

N whispered to her, *"Hey, just so you know, she's not doing that on purpose! She has a speech problem!"*

"Annoyed Expression. I can, hear you. Dickhead."

"OHLOOKATTHETIMEIGOTTAGOANDDASHNOWBYYYYYYYE!" N ran away, leaving behind a goth in a hoodie and beanie with an autistic college(???) girl with a t-shirt with Jenny Wakeman on it and cargo shorts.

"...'Annoyed Expression'?" Uzi quoted. It definitely was strange. But Uzi herself had scoured a 97% of of 100% for an autism test so she can't say shit.

"Mm. I heard that my, facial expressions are hard to, read." Cyn's voice was slightly deep, and her words were slowly spoken. Kinda like a robot. Neat.

"Therefore. Neutral Expression. I announce my, current expression." Cyn finished with a shrug.

"...Yeah, that's fair I guess. Still, does it get tiring?"

"Bemused Look. Does it not get hot, wearing black clothes?"

"Bite me." Uzi said by reflex. A habit she developed when she was younger that sticked with her even now.

"Fair."

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

From there, Uzi learnt three things:

Thing One: Cyn is highly autistic, yes, but underneath the 'tism was a pretty intelligent gal. Although most that knowledge was in robotics.

(I know you're reading this Archie, and I didn't say it at the time, but 'the 'tism' was the best thing I'd heard all day /gen --Ryuusei.)

Thing Two: 'Criss-Cross Applesauce' is now the funniest thing Uzi has ever heard.

Thing Three: Um.

...She was cute, okay??? Don't blame her! Bite her!

Which led to about a few months later. Wherein she was sitting down near some statue and N was looking at her patiently.

"...So I might be dating you sister." Uzi croaked out. She didn't look dead inside, but she has a feeling she will be dead on the outside sooner than later.

N, so far, took it well. "Oh! Um. Okay! I don't mind at all! Who is it? V? J?"

Uzi made a pained noise that sounded like that of a quiet banshee scream.

N then had his two braincells knock together.

At the same time Cyn leaned over Uzi, and waved, smiling.

N had a dial-up moment. "Wah???"

"Amused Expression. You look, surprised, Big Brother, N."

"Whajiah--YEAH???"

He gestured to Uzi. Uzi went near him, and he leaned next to her ear.

"Okay, I mean, I'm not mad, really! Just a little surprised! I mean, like. The claws???"

Uzi looked at Cyn. Her 'claws' are moreso just sharp nails.

"Spicy." Uzi replied with a smile.

N looked very confused.

Cyn went '^_^'

[gravityglitch-blog]

Okay, so I just finished the new Murder Drones episode. I feel like I understand even less now. Someone please tell me I'm not alone in this feeling.

A long post, spoilers and my barely coherent thoughts about moments that stood out to me under the cut.

What exactly is JC Jensen in Spaaaace trying to accomplish with these experiments? Nori and the other Workers must have been suffering so much at their hands. One thing I found touching in an otherwise horrifying flashback was Yeva caring for Nori, even through the nightmare they were living.

---

It was sad to see Uzi being scared of N again.

---

Newfound respect for Doll, standing up to her own nightmare.

---

Tessa has been setting off my alarm bells since she first landed, but I wasn't expecting what she did to Doll or...whatever this is. Then again, this really isn't Tessa at all, is it?

---

I'm still thinking the Solver consumes planets and life, like Galactus from Marvel comic books. The flashback inflicted on N shows a world trying to fight back.

This next shot comes after the scene of V and J on the ground. Are these new Disassembly Drones we haven't met yet?

---

Nori meeting N...one of the first things she says is, "Hey, you look familiar." So the theory that N killed her before can't be dismissed yet. Even in this weird setting, it's adorable that, down to her literal core, Nori still loves Khan.

---

The fight with Solver Uzi moved too quickly for me to get a good screenshot (the animation in this episode was so good) but the way N broke it up, omg

(Little hearts and everything 💛💜)

---

This is the part that genuinely made me laugh in this confusing maze of horror.

And this is the part that made me want to cry, especially when he strokes her hair.

---

Uzi and N dangling over basically a hellmouth, and her loving him enough to sacrifice herself.

---

I feel like she must at least suspect something is on the other side, or this is the calmest fall-to-doom I have ever seen.

---

Here I think she's looking into the eye of the Solver itself, like the Eye of Sauron. Is she truly in outer space or is this a hallucination? I guess only the next episode will tell.

---

Shifting focus a little, I was really happy to see these guys again, especially Khan. I've been hoping that he'd take a more active role and fight for his daughter.

He actually built Uzi's rail gun😭

---

J remembers the rail gun. I love that shot of Lizzy and Thad. I hope the fan theories about them being siblings are true, they'd make a great brother and sister team.

---

In conclusion, this episode was a rollercoaster.

Still not entirely sure of what I just saw or how I feel about it, only that it can be summed up by this image

This one, too, actually

Thank you for reading this far.

[kitten-kokomo]

Day 6 - “i’m not giving up”

Fanfiction - Murder Drones

M

tw: major character death, major character in death, suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, body horror, non-consensual body modification, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

“I’m not giving up, Tessa.” And with a final, vengeful swipe, J’s head tumbled into the grave.

Full fic below!

This was wrong. It was all so wrong, so warped and broken beyond recognition.

She was wrong. Towering, balancing on two little pointed legs with a new gyroscope that kept pinging every three minutes to tell her how to adjust herself and not fall. Her hands were claws, were guns, were knives and swords and chainsaws and so many things she was afraid to think about.

And the hunger.

The hunger gnawed at her insides, unbearably hot, screaming acid that demanded she feed.

J was something else now. Violent. Bloodthirsty. A monster. 

Tessa did not build a monster.

The others were there; shy, sweet V, and kindhearted N. The remains of the family Tessa had built. But they were warped, too. 

V snarled at them, bared her new fangs, flexed her claws like they itched to slice into someone’s throat. She had no glasses–it hadn’t provided any–and sometimes J wondered how she saw, or if she even did.

N was the same, but…missing something. When they had woken up for the first time on this robo-godforsaken rock, he had smiled and introduced himself. V had made a choked little sob, and half-flown, half-run out of their crashed pod.

Incidentally, that was how they learned they couldn’t go out in the sunlight.

J missed sunsets.

That first night, she crept outside while N and V were asleep, summoned a gun into the socket of her wrist, and, trembling, held it to her forehead.

I’m sorry, Tessa.

Click.

Bang.

[amusing=true.]

[not so fast]

[giggle]

[try again]

J woke back up in a snowdrift, a warning pinging in her head. [Internal Temperature Spiking, Seek Coolant]

W-was this some kind of joke? She’d died! She’d shot herself in the head! How  was she still alive?

Tentatively, J switched the gun still built into her arm for a sword, wickedly sharp. She lifted it up, over her other arm. Her breath hitched for a moment.

She swung.

It hurt. J gritted her fangs, animated tears dripping down her screen. But eventually, the pain subsided, replaced with a numb sort of shock.

What was wrong with her?

Was she broken?

J almost missed it when it happened: a whir of beeps and hums, then silvery goo filling the shape where her arm should have been. It buzzed and burbled and hardened into the metal of her arm. Good as new.

Somehow, that hurt worse.

What was she?

She tried it again many times that night.

The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over, and hoping for a different result.

J supposed that might make her insane.

It certainly would explain the willingness to drive a chainsaw into her stomach.

[giggle]

[back again?]

[silly J]

Just let me die

[giggle]

[what fun would that be?]

Please.

[you made a deal]

[i keep your little flesh being alive]

[you do what i ask]

I never agreed to this.

[you would have anyways]

[pathetic]

[she doesn’t cry anymore]

Stop.

[you know your directive]

…fine. If you promise Tessa will live.

[promise]

[:3]

During one experiment, she stabbed herself directly into her core. This was how she discovered that her core was not her core. It was a mass of flesh that pulsed like a human heartbeat, rattling in her chassis.

This was also how she learned the difference between the programmed pain of a negative reinforcement protocol, punishing her for damaging her hardware and urging her to get out of danger, and physical, biological, pain.

It was blinding.

For the first time in her miserable lives, J was thankful she was a drone.

Eventually, they had to hunt: it had told them that much, in the form of a digital memo from “JCJensen”. Maybe that was a joke at J’s expense. 

J’s first kill was messy–she had planned to snipe the worker, who was innocently scavenging for scrap metal. They were wearing proper clothes–a blue sweater and a skirt. Maybe they had friends, even a family cobbled together from whatever had survived the humans.

Her arm shook at the last minute, and the bullet cut a shallow gash in their arm.

Oil.

Oil.

Oil.

J wasn’t entirely sure what happened, what starved feral instinct took over, but she knew she killed them. Brutally.

And she knew it tasted good.

She threw it all up, then gasped at the heat and swallowed it back down. She shot a bullet into her throat to keep it there.

Unsurprisingly, that killed her.

Oh well.

[hello again]

[Dont_Try_Suicide.mp3]

J was accumulating quite a list of ways to die.

Flying into a building was a good one. Easy enough to do accidentally, if you stopped course-correcting when you noticed one was in front of you.

Ricocheting bullets were also a good one.

Or knives.

It never stopped hurting. But the pain was distracting, a break from the dull ache of a warped body, a warped mind, a warped hunger that clawed its way through her.

A break from thinking about the bodies.

“JCJenson” had sent out another memo. Bodies were to be put in a pile, once they were drained of their oil. The three of them had taken to sheltering in its shadow during the day.

J had killed 12 of those bodies on the pile. N had killed 15, smiling with a complacent sort of bloodlust.

V had contributed the other 23. She never seemed to fully come out of that feral fugue state they all slipped into. Once, J approached her from behind, and almost had her face blown off.

If only.

[amused=false]

[annoyed=true]

[stop]

[i gave you a deal]

[stick to it]

[or I won’t]

Let…let me talk to her.

Just so I know she’s safe.

[gross=true]

[this is a waste of time]

Please. I’ll do whatever it is you want. I just need to see her.

[fine]

[Click here to join my Zoom meeting!]

T–Tessa?

J?

Oh, Tessa…what did it do to you?

Don’t worry about it, J-J. I’m…I’ll be fine.

I’m sorry, this is my fault–

No no no no, this isn’t your fault. You’ve done nothing wrong.

It’s mad, it’s mad I keep dying, I’m sorry, I just–

Wait, dying? As in, more than once dying? J?

…

J. What aren’t you telling me?

It won’t let me die. No matter what I do, I can’t die.

You’ve tried?

…everything hurts, Tess. Don’t be mad.

Jaybird, please. You deserve to live. You’re loyal, and kind, and the only one I have left in this whole world.

I–

Promise me, J. Promise me you’ll survive. 

I…I promise.

And don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine. Nothing I haven’t seen before, right?

I…you deserve so much better than this.

And so do you.

Stay safe, Tessa.

Stay safe, J.

J dug a hole.

Tessa had once told her all the reasons why graves were six feet deep. She’d been wearing the filthy brown jeans she called her “corpse pants”, and was knee deep in what the tombstone said was the grave of West Matthews, leaning on her shovel.

J wore the dark grey dress it had sent her here with. She had no shovel, so she dug into the permafrost with her claws.

Copper-9 had no animals to dig the grave up, and no rain to erode the ground. But Tessa had said a proper grave was six feet deep, and J was going to do this right, goddammit. 

When she’d chipped away six feet of frozen earth, she stood there for a moment, looking at it.

Everything still hurt.

With a ruthless sort of detachment, she chopped off her right arm with a cleaver. Waited for it to regrow. Used it to cut off the other one. Then her legs. Working in careful sections, her torso, cutting around her core.

“I’m not giving up, Tessa.”

And with a final, vengeful swipe, J’s head tumbled into the grave.

[stupid]

The girl from the mansion was dead.

And Serial Designation J, leader of squad JVN of JCJensen (In Spaaaaaaace!) was born.

She fed N and V a story, that they’d been sent by the company. That the workers they were killing were defective.

(She repeated that to herself over and over, kill after kill, until it was true)

That there were other squads to compete with, quotas to be met. 

(It made it easier to see their pile of corpses grow into a skyscraper)

That they weren’t to waste oil, that it was a valuable resource.

(That was true. And it felt a little easier to drink the sweetness up. Like they weren’t sacrificed to the beast in vain.)

N bought the story, and threw himself into killing with cheer. It made J sick to her rotted core.

V didn’t, but that didn’t matter. She brought in her share of kills, and that’s what pleased it.

That’s what was keeping Tessa alive.

By night, she is the fearless, strong, ruthless leader of her squad.

By day, she is the broken girl trying to save the only family she has left, the only way she can.

Making a deal with the devil.

[stormtheskyelf2]

Can you share more of the Murder Drones stuff? Headcanons, thoughts, sennarios?

*Deep breath in*

Contains: Lgbtq+, vore, ranting, abuse mentionsTHIS IS LONG!

HEADCANONS FOR THE SILLY LIL MURDER ROBOTS :D

Let's start with the background characters!

I think Lizzy would be lesbian. Ofc, crushing on V. I also think she'd have an extreme soft spot for anyone who treated her with respect out of hey, Lizzy's actually pretty cool and not heck, if I don't be nice she'll spread a petty rumor- (she has and will do it again)

Thad.. Thad's gay. He is.. SO GAY. I know he's a 'jock' and all that, but the way he act is kinda soft, I wouldn't be surprised if he fell for the rival school's quarterback-

Now for the main 3 Disassembly Drones!

I don't have any actual headcanons for J because A, I don't like her.. at all- and B, she barely shows up-

But I think J would be one of those extremely straight, extremely Christian people. She's okay with LGBTQ+ people, but she's never held hands with any woman other than her mother. Do Murder Drones have mothers like Worker Drones? N is straight! I love him to death and I think him and Uzi's relationship in the series is adorable, though I don't see him being attracted to any other gender.

I have a feeling that N may have had some cheap programming for him to be so soft on Worker Drones. Perhaps he was made fast using any part available, or maybe repaired, and they used some Worker Drone parts to fix him?

V is such a damn lesbian and you cannot tell me that she doesn't has a crush on Lizzy-

I don't know what it is about the Vizzy ship, but I love it. It might just be my love for gay, interspecies romance, but... gimme all of it!

Now for the others!

Tessa is straight, though that.. doesn't really matter anymore considering she's like the only human left-

Tessa has been both verbally and physically abused from just being overly scolded in her childhood, to being locked/chained in the library/basement/wherever V and her were in Ep. 5, Home-

Uzi is pansexual- she'll take anyone as long as it's genuine love, since she's been starved of affection for so long (Khan I'm gonna beat you up for this)

Uzi bit Rebecca once when she was mocking her. It's canon now.

Doll.. I think she'd be extremely against love and she'd think she's asexual, but then she has love at first sight with someone and she panics.

I have a feeling she has a Gacha 2019 backstory- her mom loved her and her dad couldn't care, and oh no, here comes V killing them both, and now she's the quiet kid

Nori has no clue what her sexuality is. That was an arranged marriage between Khan and her; I don't think she'd actually fall for someone that interested in doors and doors only- but then again, Khan got more adventurous in Ep. 7, so that could show how he was before Nori 'died', which in that case she would have happily indulged in her crazy drawings with him.

"ACCORDING TO MY WIFE'S CLOSET, THE PLANET IS GOING TO START EATING US SOON."

Khan is doorsexual straight. He's a simple man, despite his... affection for doors. I don't have anything on him other than he has an overwhelming guilt for having to 'put Nori out of her misery' and being a horrible dad to Uzi.

Yeva doesn't get much screentime, so.. I don't have any real headcanons for her.. I got nothing :P

Scenarios:

Once V gets regrown or respawned or whatever, I think she'd get immediately hug-tackled by Uzi. She's definitely shown some growth in personality in a good way.

N would let Uzi shove herself down his throat because A, is this an act of love? B, he's too shy to stop her, and C, oh hey she tastes nice

Nori could shrink and then eat Uzi like the mother she is

or vice/versa, Uzi finds Nori and eats her to keep her safe

I is kinda drained so uh yeah that's all the stuff I can spew, thank you for asking this and sorry-

[imaginespazzi]

I'd just like to say I've had a super busy week with personal stuff and work, and you have no idea how much seeing a new chapter perked me up! Your writing makes me so happy. I'm stuck working on a presentation for work this weekend and it is really draining and boring, and I've allowed myself to reread and review a section of this chapter for every 5 slides I finish. Productivity Queen.

May 2033 - Locker room eye fucking

alright so it took me a hot minute to figure out what the HELL this chapter had to do with chapter 2, but I think I have it. Paige is worried Angie Davis will shine, the Valks will not need 2 PGs the next season, and P will have to go to the liberty… so her plan is to… kill Angie?

Also I feel like you didn't tell us who their coach is on purpose! You crafty minx.

Of course they watched the draft together, as I am sure they do everything together, cause they are wifey. Azzi keeps referencing she doesn't know what 'this' is yet, but I am curious why. Like they are clearly committed and exclusive… why not slap a GF label on there you fools. Honestly at this point though GF doesn't seem like enough.

Azzi being distracted by P's biceps…. me too girl, me too.

Paige being distracted by Azzis abs… me too girl.

Hickey on the collarbone from last night. I hope these two idiots are being quiet. Poor Stephie being in the same house at night as these two horn bags.

Ok I love this sexy little banter in the locker room, they are such idiots for thinking they wont get clocked.

The tidbit about Paige suggesting first that they keep it on the DLDL is so sad to me, babygirl trying some self preservation.

Tessa is a menace and I love it.

LOL Jana being so relieved to have SOMEONE to share her misery with.

"They're kind of disgusting" clocked.

May 2033 - Domestic car ride #1

I need to admit, as I've been critical of her in the past - I am SO PROUD of Azzi. She is all in on this, and despite her constant nagging fears, she is fighting against them cause she wants this. A+ growth Azzi, you go Azzi Bueckers.

Also I am just loving how much they call each other Baby it is very very cute and makes my heart and my vagina swell with happiness.

“I’m okay with the fact that you’ve probably fucked other people. I mean other than the woman you married as well that is.” HEHEHE yes thank you for this, I think there needs to be an 'Azzi spitefully brings up Olivia' occurance at least once a chapter. Bonus points when she uses a word other than Olivia's actual name to describe her.

"then hear about some whore who had the audacity-” HAHAHAHA. Paige Imma hold your hand when I say this, but I think there were probably a few whores and at least one man-whore.

The hand holding in the car, the knuckle kiss, "all mine"… SQUEEEEE

I am proud of these two idiots for their communication on this though! Azzi for gently coaxing, Paige for realizing its best to talk it out together. “it’s nothing we can’t get through.” Awwww.

May 2033 - Enter Stephie

I have to say Stephie is the absolute STAR of this chapter. Too many zingers to list. I love it, you write her really well cause its hard to make a 5 year old engaging or believable.

I am absolutely shocked Azzi hasn't threatened to withhold sex unless P stops giving Stephie so much junk food. Azzi is gonna have an aneurysm. Prob cries into her green juice daily.

'you’re more than that, you two are the reason my world keeps turning' I'll say it again, I am so proud of Azzi. Bitch is ALL IN.

Wow they have fully uhauled eh? I LOVE IT.

Paige with kids is TOO CUTE. I don't blame Stephie I'd be pissed if Paige wasn't giving me all her attention either.

HAHAHAHAHA Curry clocking them since high school. You bitches are not slick.

“No thank you Coach Bueckers,” ouch.

AZZI IS WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME TO SAY I LOVE YOU? I PRAYED FOR DAYS LIKE THESE.

The whole exchange with Claudia's whore mom was absolutely spot on. Paige would be obliviously smiling along chatting away thinking nothing of it. AZZI with the bicep crushing hold.

NOT CLEMENTINE! Stephie is more of a menace than I thought possible.

“Well is she allowed to hug and carry and kiss Claudia’s Mama then?” - CLOCKED AGAIN. Does Stephie suspect something?

October 2022

I know this is gonna hurt cause a Drew + Azzi Pookie pairing realllly has my heart

Paige freaking out about waking up alone on her birthday is so accurate

“you won’t ever hurt my Paigey will you?” OH DEAR GOD 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

May 2033 - Drew is Scary

Shocked Paige didn't yell at him immediately with that attitude he's giving her girl

Not Stephie with the kisses, she is diabolical

Oh so he HATES HATES Azzi

Drew just finished his rookie NBA season! I love that for him

"you’re my Miss Buecks’s Mommy's brother so that means you’re my Uncle Drew .” Fixed it for you.

This was so good and I cannot fucking wait to see what happens next. Thank you for blessing us with another chapter Nivi!!! 🤱🏽🤱🏽🤱🏽

Bestiiiieeeee hi <3 Aww I'm glad to provide a little reprieve in your life and i know you're gonna crush your presentation for sure!

I love that you title parts of the story lmao

Does Paige ever actually have a plan or she just doing what the vibes tell her? Which i mean yeah I guess might be to kill Angie?

Yeaaaaah this is not one of those Nivi has a plan situations. The Coach doesn't have a name because I haven't figured out who it is yet and so she's just unnamed til I do whoops.

No labels because they're going with the flow (what could go wrong you know?)

LMAO they're trying to be as quiet as possible I'm sure

I'm so glad you see Azzi's growth like girlie's done a lot of it since she ran out of Paige's house and is definitely fighting all her intrusive thoughts.

I'm a whore for the word "baby" and so are they because this is my fic tee hee

One thing Azzi's gonna do is make sure everyone knows she does not like #thatwoman

I'm so glad y'all love Stephie and she's both adorable and believable. She's like the perfect cumulation of all my kids at work and so I really do hop I do her justice.

I mean l don't know if Azzi could survive withholding sex lmao

Stephanie Katarina Fudd: smartest kid in the world fr fr - she doesn't suspect per say but I think she can tell that what her Mama has with Miss Buecks isn't the same as with her other Aunties

Paige just dramatic as hell all the time I fear

DREW IS SCARY LMAO

Stephie's gonna get her kisses no matter how awkward everyone in the room is lmao

[ladylamrian]

- Chapter 3: The Unknown

[ Please read past chapters before this ]

-> Masterlist of this Mini Series <-

Female MainCharacter: Alexis Clarissa Fontaine

Pairing: F!MC×NikRyder

Other characters in this chapter: Katherine, Vera Reimonenq, Ivy, Garrus, Krom, Elijah,...

Summary: Nik doesn't remember Alex, instead... Elijah Ryder and the bloodwraith are back.

Word Count: 1.1K words

Rating: Teen (Mystery, Angst)

Warnings: Language, Talk about death

-> My complete Nightbound Masterlist <-

Taglist: @infactnoimmasitinthemiddle ; @peonierose ; @secretaryunpaid ; @jdstar88 ; @blackcatkita ; @lilyoffandoms ; @liviusofpella ; @mxdanni ; @mariemarieohcontrary ; @tessa-liam ; @choicesficwriterscreations ; @hopelessromantic1352 ; @rosepetals1 ; @stars-are-within-me ; @dutifullynuttywitch ; @artbyalz

Comments via Reblog wholeheartly welcome

GIF interpretation: Alex loses her lover, Nik Ryder. Again.

With an old enemy left and getting rescued by an old, familiar stranger from a past vision, Alex froze, slowly trying to progress. She's shocked, and so is the blond next to her. Nik Ryder, being an absolute stranger tried to calm down his pet. Never in his life has he seen that kind of creature, and now being saved by an old man who shoots glowing arrows in the modern 21st century?? Both face Elijah with open mouths. The legendary nighthunter, Elijah Ryder standing now in front of them.

"What are ya' both lookin' at me??", the old man muttered.

"I... Uh, Elijah? Is that you? No, it can't be. You're supposed to be dead.", Alex unsurely spoke.

"Oh, here I go to war and ya' already expect me to be dead?!! I may be old, but tougher than you think, child. Look at you, getting saved... and... Who's that pretty boy of your's anyway?", his strict gaze turned to Nik who was standing next to her. Nik who felt addressed, cleaned away the dust from his clothes and adjusted his glasses while his dog curiously started sniffing the surrounding area.

"Thank you for the rescue, sir. I don't know how you did this or what that was, but thanks. My name's Nik.", he reached his hand forward to shake Elijah's hand, but the old man avoided the friendly gesture and turned his strict gaze back towards Alex.

"How many times did I tell you to stay away from danger and not take things into your own hands when I'm not around?! You would have been dead now, child. Glad that I appeared on time, huh? And what are you even wearing? Where's ya' huntin' gear?"

"Uhhh, I'm wearing my regular clothes. My white shoulder-free top and blue jeans. Excuse me, what's going on? Who are you? You can't be alive, because you died years ago?!!"

"What non-sense are ya' muttering? Enough! Let's pay Garrus a visit, he'll have to explain. I told him to look out for ya' and...", he answered, grabbed her arm and pulled her to follow him until Nik intervened.

"Hey, back off!! Is this the way you treat a woman?"

"She's my student and my responsibility. Mind your own business, pretty boy.", he shooted a glare at him.

Exchanging another glance with Alex, Nik decided to turn his back and leave. His loyal dog follows him. Alex's heart sank seeing Nik go. Not after finally seeing him again. What's happening? What's going on? That man can't be her Nik. He doesn't even recognize her. Maybe a look-alike?

"Nik...", she sadly wispered while shedding another tear for him. She wanted him back, found him, and then she lost him.

"Child, I expected better from you. Remember what I once said, the closer you get to a person, the weaker you get. The more it will hurt you one day, so don't get too close. Don't trust anyone.", he explained in a harsh tone as she turned her attention towards him.

"Nik is the love of my life and I trust him from the bottom of my heart."

"A few months I was just gone and ya' already changed. Look how close the bloodwraith was about to kill ya'. Guess, I'll have to have a few strict words with Garrus for not looking after ya' while I was gone."

"Oh yes, lead me to Garrus. He'll explain what exactly is going on here.", she glared at Elijah.

The entrance doors of the Graveyard Shift shot open, as Elijah Ryder and Alex Clarissa Fontaine marched together inside. Both seeking answers. A friendly face with shimmering blue eyes greeted them.

"Elijah sir. Alex darling. Glad to..."

"I told ya' to look after her while I was gone. Just returning from NY and then I discover her beeing chased after the bloodwraith while holding hands with a guy."

"What??! My apologies, I didn't know. Alex, I thought you were at home?"

"Uhhhhh, Garrus. Explain first... Why is Elijah Ryder still alive and standing next to me? Nik said that he died when he was 17."

"What rubbish are y'a sayin', girl? Nothing ever happened to me and who's that Nik guy you're talking 'bout? Second thing, why were ya' runnin' away from the wraith, like a damn coward? I taught you to fight.", Elijah intervened when Alex was asking Garrus the question.

Before Alex could answer back, suddenly someone hugged her from behind which startled her at first. But then she calmed herself down after discovering who it was.

"Hey Alex, missed me?"

"Katherine?!! You're... You're back!!!"

Delighted to see her friend after so many months, she turned around to face her, returning her a warm welcoming hug. Again, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Katherine, is that really you?! And the scars on your cheek... You're hurt. Did the war...?", she sniffed.

"I'm as hell as fine. Long time not seen, huh? Just returned with Elijah from the Vampire War. New York is safe now."

"I'm glad that you're alright, Katherine. I missed you. But... What is happening here and what happened to Nik? And Elijah??!!"

"Who's Nik, sweety?"

"Ooooh, is our Alex in love?! I want to know too. Who's Nik? Is he good-looking?", Ivy came from behind to tease her and giggled.

"Oh, not you all too!!", she begged and angrily dashed outside, leaving everyone behind in Graveyard Shift. Escaping those questions and everything. What should she do? What just happened? Of course, she's happy to finally have Katherine back, but Nik? Instead, she got Elijah??? No. No!! As Alex's mind tried to process everything, her eyes discovered a heartwarming, familiar face. It's... It's Vera who's lonely walking down the streets.

"Veraaaa!!!", she shouted, hoping that she knew at least what was happening. As she called her the second time, their eyes met each other's. Mysterious dark eyes. But before she could finally catch up to her, Vera frightened and ran away.

"What??!! Veraaaa, nooooo! Stop!!!"

Hearing Alex her screams, Katherine, Elijah, Garrus, Krom and Ivy dashed out from the Graveyard Shift to check on her.

"What's the matter, darling?"

"Everything okay? Why are you screaming Vera's name? Did she try to harm you?", Krom asked with concern as they all faced Alex and her tears.

"Wha... Wha... What? Why would Ve... Vera try to harm me? She's my friend."

"Because she's a Reimonenq. And a Reimonenq only wants power.", Elijah hissed.

"But Vera is different and not like her mother, Elijah."

"Why do ya' care for her? I thought I already convinced ya'? She's an enemy who can't be trusted. You two are no friends."

Nik beeing a total stranger? Elijah is alive? Not beeing friends with Vera? One night all friends were sitting together to comfort each other. But now everything and everyone has become unknown.

"I... I... I'll go for a walk. I want to be alone for a while, please.", Alex requested, turned away and left without turning back.

"What's wrong with this girl?!!", Elijah hissed.

*tap and zoom closer on pictures to see details