#that was like 'bey is the friend telling you you don't need a man then goes home to her man'

[naeviaas]

becoming undateable because from now on there's gonna be a reading list for all men to even talk to me

[mariana-oconnor]

The Sussex Vampire pt 2

It took me five times to write the title correctly, so this is clearly going to go brilliantly.

Back to the vampires

Now, my working theory is that the son is secretly trying to off his new half-sibling and frame his stepmother. Mainly I think this because Peru, because British authors in the first part of the twentieth century loved a good untraceable tropical poison from South America.

“She verra ill,” cried the girl, looking with indignant eyes at her master. “She no ask for food. She verra ill. She need doctor. I frightened stay alone with her without doctor.”

First... wow. That's some terrible accent work there. Yikes. Second, is she ill because she's been sucking poison out of her baby's neck?

“Would your mistress see Dr. Watson?” “I take him. I no ask leave. She needs doctor.”

First, all he's going to do is prescribe brandy. And second, it's lucky he's actually a medical doctor (Although I'm not convinced he's ever done much medicine. He wasn't at his practice much before he abandoned it to live with Holmes again.) You can't just go assuming that everyone called doctor such and such knows medicine. I have many friends and relatives who are doctors and literally 1 of them is a medical doctor.

Both were high, and yet my impression was that the condition was rather that of mental and nervous excitement than of any actual seizure.

Or... an untraceable tropical poison...

“A fiend! A fiend! Oh, what shall I do with this devil?”

A fiend? A devil? Or perhaps...

(No, she's referring to the son. Definitely because who else could it be. Way too obviously directed at her husband here for it to actually be him.)

So far no brandy though. Watson must have lost all his medical knowledge since he left his practice. Woe.

“He loves me. Yes. But do I not love him? Do I not love him even to sacrifice myself rather than break his dear heart? That is how I love him. And yet he could think of me—he could speak of me so.”

Lady, I get it, I get it. You don't want to tell him his son is a murderer. But given the evidence you've left the poor man with, what do you expect. You think he'll just be like 'well, she beat my son and she keeps chowing down on our baby's neck, but I trust that she knows what she's doing?'

...a youth entered the room. He was a remarkable lad, pale-faced and fair-haired, with excitable light blue eyes which blazed into a sudden flame of emotion and joy as they rested upon his father. He rushed forward and threw his arms round his neck with the abandon of a loving girl.

The child is evil.

Although I kind of dislike how they're using his 'excess' of emotional response to show this, especially with the comparison to a woman. There's a distinct undercurrent in this description that sparks of him 'showing too much emotion for a boy' and therefore being othered.

Or maybe I'm reading too much into things in order to support my own hypothesis. Am I altering data to suit my story? Am I the misogynistic one reading too much into this.

Although it literally says in the text that his father 'gently disengaged himself from the embrace with some little show of embarrassment.'

Like, tell me that isn't outright supporting my reading.

Presently he returned, and behind him came a tall, gaunt woman bearing in her arms a very beautiful child, dark-eyed, golden-haired, a wonderful mixture of the Saxon and the Latin. Ferguson was evidently devoted to it, for he took it into his arms and fondled it most tenderly.

Watson out there refusing to apply gendered pronouns. How very modern of him. Lol.

It is a bit weird to see a baby referred to as 'it' so consistently, though. Not even 'them'. Reminds me of the baby object in the Sims.

Then he smiled, and his eyes came back to the baby. On its chubby neck there was this small puckered mark. Without speaking, Holmes examined it with care. Finally he shook one of the dimpled fists which waved in front of him. “Good-bye, little man. You have made a strange start in life."

Holmes being very nice to a baby. Actually interacting with... it? when he really doesn't need to. Not like the baby knows what he's saying. Just taking the time to be nice to a baby. Super heartless and lacking in empathy, that man.

“Do you like her, Jack?” Holmes turned suddenly upon the boy. His expressive mobile face shadowed over, and he shook his head. “Jacky has very strong likes and dislikes,” said Ferguson, putting his arm round the boy. “Luckily I am one of his likes.”

On the one hand, perfectly reasonable to dislike the woman who beat you. On the other hand, maybe the father knows his son is capable of terrible things.

The boy cooed and nestled his head upon his father's breast. Ferguson gently disengaged him.

Oh my god, he's a kid. Let the boy have a hug. Even if he is a monster-child, this is probably why. Though I have a sneaking suspicion the story is going to try to tell me it's the exact opposite.

"Now, Mr. Ferguson, I am a busy man with many calls, and my methods have to be short and direct. The swiftest surgery is the least painful. Let me first say what will ease your mind. Your wife is a very good, a very loving, and a very ill-used woman.”

And your son is a murderer.

“I will do so, but in doing so I must wound you deeply in another direction.” “I care nothing so long as you clear my wife. Everything on earth is insignificant compared to that.”

People really need to think before they make statements like this. I understand that he is unlikely to consider that his son is trying to murder his other child in a fit of outraged jealousy over having to share his beloved father, but still... famous last words.

"The idea of a vampire was to me absurd. Such things do not happen in criminal practice in England."

The specficity of this is very bizarre. Do they happen in other kinds of practices in England?

"Was there not a queen in English history who sucked such a wound to draw poison from it?”

Was there?

OK, apparently this refers to Queen Eleanor, who sucked the poison from Edward I's poisoned knife wound in 1272. A story that has, sadly, fallen out of vogue in the English educational system. Probably because we don't really like to discuss the crusades except in a very general, distant sense. Or... y'know... any of the other times we invaded people. There are a lot of gaps in English history lessons.

“A South American household. My instinct felt the presence of those weapons upon the wall before my eyes ever saw them. It might have been other poison, but that was what occurred to me. When I saw that little empty quiver beside the small bird-bow, it was just what I expected to see. If the child were pricked with one of those arrows dipped in curare or some other devilish drug, it would mean death if the venom were not sucked out."

Curare, that was the name I've been trying to think of. Very popular for a while in literature.

“I watched him as you fondled the child just now. His face was clearly reflected in the glass of the window where the shutter formed a background. I saw such jealousy, such cruel hatred, as I have seldom seen in a human face.”

Sometimes it does suck to be right.

Suck... heh. Pun wasn't intended, but I'll take it.

“I think a year at sea would be my prescription for Master Jacky,” said Holmes.

Like... they're making him work on a ship? I know therapy isn't really anything at this point in time. But would-be murderer child gets sent to sea?

I doubt he'll be killed in a mysterious shipwreck off page, like so many others have been, but really... how is sending him to sea going to help literally anyone? Surely it'll just make him angrier and more resentful.

Victorian parenting was super weird.

Is this to 'make him a man', because we've seen him being compared to a woman? Is this some sort of misguided restoration of the gender binary to save him?

"There, now,” he added as he closed the door behind him, “I think we may leave them to settle the rest among themselves.”

Also Holmes reading the room well enough to know husband and wife need some alone time?

(One last vampire gif there that I don't know if anyone but me will even recognise. Josef, you almost made me understand the vampire thing...)

[mydarllinglover]

Alone || Friend To None

Previous

No one had slept the rest of the night, and in the morning, everyone kept to themselves, assorting their belongings and deciding what to do, holding out hope that Daryl and frost would turn up.

"Hey, I found an Ipod, and thanks to our honouree genius, I charged it." Natalia walked down the stairs, waving around her ipod as she flicked through it. "They have Beyonce?! Score!"

"Hey, Nat, shut up." Maggie told her, staring out the window, through the blinds.

"What, you don't like Bey-"

"Shh!" She snapped, alerting the others to her tense state.

"Maggie, what is it?" Gabriel asked.

"They're here. We-" She turned around, searching the room frantically. "Down there." She pointed at the crawl space, "We gotta hide down there."

No one bothered to even question her, as they hauled ass, squeezing into the below space.

Some time had passed, before a loud bang from above had reminded them of the situation they were in.

"Clear!" A booming voice shouted, a man's.

"Over here!" A woman's called. "They're still wet."

Natalia looked to the wall as she concentrated on that voice, had she heard that before?

"I guess he was telling the truth, then?"

Now she would have recognised that voice anywhere, Daryl.

Before she could even move towards the steps, Negan was grabbing a hold of her, whilst Maggie held one hand over her mouth, and the other gripping her shoulder tight, begging her to stay put, only through her eyes.

"We should clear the other rooms." The other man suggested.

Their footsteps continued into the house.

"Clear!" The man shouted, seconds before Daryl repeated him.

"I have to." Natalia whispered, almost silently, ripping Maggie's hand off her face, her eyes starting to well. "I have to get to him."

"You can't" Maggie was just as silent. "He's with them for a reason, you'll put us all at risk."

"But he's right there." Her voice cracked, as she tried to control it.

The people above continued to check over the house.

"I'm sorry."

"Nothing." They had joined together, right above the rug that was concealing the small groups hiding spot.

"Maybe they went out the back?" Daryl wondered. "I can track them."

Natalia and Maggie met eyes, instantly.

"Are you in a hurry to leave?" The man asked him.

"What?" He wasn't the smoothest liar, Natalia scrunched her eyes up at his hesitation.

"The other building, you wanted to stick around and make sure we didn't miss anything. Now you wanna run off. Which is it?" The man pressed.

"Look, man, I'm just trying to help." Daryl huffed.

"Yet you keep chirping."

"Fine. You lose 'em, it's on you, it ain't on me."

"Stop." The woman piped up.

Who the hell was she telling to stop?

"Wash, we need a perimeter check." Natalia could only assume she was saying into a radio. "Possible runners. Half a klick."

"Copy that, Shaw." The man, Wash, responded. 

"Look, I don't have time for this talk bullshit." The woman lowered her voice, stressed.

"Listen..." The man attempted, but she cut him off.

"I know! I understand, but I don't need it. Go, sift upstairs. Make sure we didn't miss anything."

They heard his footsteps leaving.

Maggie caught Natalia's arm as she went to raise her gun, exactly where that woman was stood with Daryl, shaking her head furiously.

"Don't." Shaw hissed.

"Don't what?" Daryl asked her.

"You're either with us, or you're not? Your wife is our enemy, now." She continued to keep her voice low.

"Nat was your friend." He pushed. "She cared about you."

The puzzle piece clicked.

Leah! The woman was Leah, but how?

"And now she's against me. It's us, or you die, and you got a taste of it, already."

Did she just threaten him?

"What do you want me to do?" His voice was only a tad bit louder.

"For one thing, stop pissing off Carver. Usually doesn't end well."

They soon heard their footsteps leaving the room, but it wasn't long before the three of them returned.

"They ran. They ain't coming back here." Daryl finalised.

"What?" Carver asked.

"I mean, think about it. You hit them hard. Even if they get more people, they won't come back here. It's a bad move. You've got what, 20 people in your town?" Daryl pointed out, rather loudly. "You got weapons. You got walls. You'd see 'em coming from a mile away. Trust me, they ran."

"Is there a point to any of this?" They could hear the confusion in Carvers tone.

"Let's go." Leah told the two men. "There's nothing here. It's time we move on."

"No. We're missing something."

"Fine. Let's waste another hour. That's smart."

"Daryl..." Hearing her say his name, was like nails on a chalkboard for Natalia.

"It's not my fault he's too stupid to pay attention."

"Chirp. Chirp. Chirp." Carver mocked.

"Enough."

"No, screw that. This dirtbag wants to play. I'll teach him the rules."

"I'm right here, man. Make a move." Daryl challenged.

Natalia couldn't help but to fan herself, the heat in the small crawlspace was getting to her....

"This is not the time and it's not your call to make." Leah interrupted.

"Jesus, Shaw." Carver sounded aggravated by her. "We both know who he really is deep down."

"What?" Leah asked.

"I was there. Remember? After? What, you think this is gonna end any different?"

Natalia tried to wiggle out of the hold she was in, but no one was letting loose.

"So, this is what? You looking out for me?

"Always."

"Uh-huh. Got ya." She humoured him. "And what about the fire? When Pope locked me in the cabin and lit it up? You must have known. Was that you looking out for me, too?"

"Shaw, wake up. Everything is a test now. If you think this guy is ever gonna give a shit about any of us, you're gonna fail. He's gonna go running back to his baby mama, like he always did."

Natalia felt the eyes on her, before she looked at the people around her, she had froze, her heart had stopped, what the hell were they talking about? Were they implying that Daryl knew Leah, but he had never met her, how would he have met her?

"He's right. I don't give a shit about any of you. Except you." Daryl answered, which confused her even further, cause the only people he could've been talking to, was either Carver or Leah, and the two men were definitely not fans of each other. "I'm here for you. It's no secret I made mistakes. But I'm here right now. Maybe I'd be better at it this time, if you'll let me. And Pope scares the shit out of me. I don't wanna be face first in the fire under his boot. But if you say trust him, I'll trust him."

"We've wasted enough time here already." Leah spoke, but Natalia could barely hear her, it felt like her head was trapped in a bubble, everything was blurred as she tried to make a connection of things, of events, a time line.

"Oh, you're not seriously..." Carver started.

"It's time to move on." She pressed the matter.

"Sure. Your call." He was silent for another moment, "Hold on." He pushed Daryl out of the way, stepping towards the rug and lifting it up.

"Told ya." Daryl spoke, after a moment of quiet.

Secret exits were a heaven sent, as the group snuck out from the side of the house, away from the group.

When they were in the clear, tree's surrounding them. Natalia distanced herself away from the three, stumbling slightly as she walked in a different direction.

"Natalia? Are you alright?" Gabriel asked.

"Man, look at her." Negan scoffed.

"It was after Rick." Natalia muttered, when Maggie caught up to her, though the group could still hear them, considering Natalia had collapsed on a log.

"What was?" Maggie asked.

"He- he went out looking for him, everyday... he never came home, he was always out in those damn woods, whilst I was pregnant, with our children" She looked at her friend. "The same woods she lived in. I'm so stupid." She dropped her head into her hands. "He never came home to me, cause he was with her."

"Hey, you don't know what they were talking about." Maggie attempted. "Daryl ain't the kinda guy who would do... that."

Natalia lifted her head, staring at the woman, sternly.

"He wouldn't." She stuck with her opinion.

"We were in a bad place, I was huge, he was grieving, he wanted nothing to do with me."

"Daryl ain't like that." Maggie knuckled down. "You obviously don't know how much he loves you, if you think that of him."

"What else am I supposed to think, Maggie?!"

"He was captured, he's playing them."

"Then how does "Carver" know who I am?"

It took a while for Maggie to find a reason for that.

"Maybe she's in on it and they came up with a story."

"Doesn't fucking matter." Natalia stood up from the log, looking down at her. "'Cause I'm gonna kill them all. How far away are we?"

"About three miles out." She answered, as they joined the others.

"You can't be serious." Negan looked stumped. "Daryl just told us to go home."

"I didn't hear that." Maggie held her hand on her hip.

"Well, I think he was being subtle. He said they were armed with lookouts. And Daryl knows we'd never turn back." She glanced at the man in question's wife, not too sure if that statement was fully true at the moment.

"How're you gonna keep going, Maggie, huh? With what army? Come on, Gabe, back me up here."

"Our people are about to starve. I'm not going back to my family having failed." The priest replied.

"Oh, Jesus."

"I've done it before." Natalia said. "At Woodbury, to get you and Glenn back, and then to save Merle and Daryl, did it at that outpost, and those other outposts, I can do this, but If y'all are gonna tag along, You do as I say, and you don' kill 'em."

"Why is that?" Gabriel asked.

She looked at Elijah.

"Tell me which one hurt your family, and I get the rest to myself."

The boy nodded in approval and understanding.

"Alright, tell you what." Negan decided. "Make me a promise in front of the goddamn preacher, and I will stick around."

"Promise you what?" Maggie caved.

"I do this for the both of you, and we're even, we are good. I don't have to keep looking over my shoulder."

"We will never be even." Maggie broke it to him.

"Then you are gonna be down a soldier that you desperately need."

"We don't need you." Natalia told him. "Never have, never will, this is a one man job, I'm just letting y'all act like we're a team."

Twigs snapping caught their attention, a walker was approaching.

"Mine." Natalia demanded, walking towards it, she didn't draw any weapons. 

The walker reached out for her, but she ducked, kicking it to the ground, instead of putting a knife through its skull, she kicked at its head, then again, and again, and again, until eventually, there was no head, and instead, a pile of brain-rot and dark blood.

"Feel better?" Gabriel asked as she joined them, again.

"Nope."

"Well there's some more." Negan pointed towards the same direction, a group of them were approaching, now.

"Wait." Maggie halted her. "Think we can find more?"

"Really?" Natalia raised a brow.

"It's efficient, will make breaking in a whole lot easier."

They had tied the walkers to the trees, using them to summon others, as each got their missions, Elijah went off on his own, to take care of his section.

Natalia gave Gabriel a walkie, after sharing his mission.

"There are scouts everywhere." Maggie reminded.

"I'll be careful."

"If you get a chance to kill one of them, if he's alone and you have the advantage... Ignore what she says." Maggie looked at Natalia.

"I will." Gabriel promised, then walked away.

"You ready?" Negan asked.

"I'm not cutting up anyone I know." Maggie sighed. "You're gonna have to find me five strangers."

"Only need four." He smirked. "I kept my mask for practical and sentimental reasons."

"This is not fun." Maggie stopped him.

"Well, not with that attitude." He mocked.

"Actually, make it three, coaches don't play, I ain't herding with y'all."

"Let's get it over with."

Natalia popped in her headphones, she wasn't joining in on whisperer bootcamp, but she had nothing else to do for the moment, so she was gonna watch Negan and Maggie attempt to work together.

Beyonce and Shakira? Now that was a good duo.

"You know, I gave that man the best damn years of his life, he was shit before me." Natalia sat on a log, staring at the ground, whilst Maggie skinned a walkers face, gritting her teeth through Negan's instructions.

"You tried to kill each other for the first three months you knew each other." Maggie sighed.

"Yeah, but we didn't, I also saved his life, he hasn't done shit for me, except cause the reason I got stretch marks. You know, he told me that the first time he started to "admire me" was when I fucking threatened Tomas."

"Who's that?" Maggie asked.

"That guy in the cafeteria, when Rick cut yer daddy's foot off, y'know, he wasn't even bad looking, just pissed me off."

"Oh." She nodded.

"Another thing, he thinks he's all that cause he bagged me? Laughable." Natalia continued. "Girl, I could have anyone I wanted, I have evidence, and he thinks he can pull a fast one on me, lemme just go through the small list of men who have tried it"

"Y'don't have to."

"All those prisoners, actually. Dr S, I know he did. His own brother. Leon, Frank, Sean, Harley, and I know what he did, but he still counts, Spencer, Milo-"

"Wait, wait, wait, Spencer?" Negan cut her off.

"Yes, what about it?"

"Thought he was with Rosita?"

"Yeah, cause I rejected him, and you killed her ex in front of her, we all have our moments." Natalia glared at him. "Anyways, where was I, actually, scratch that, like every fucking dude that bothers me, and he has the nerve, to try and fuck me over, then wants to come back with a pathetic offering of food?

"Nat! Get over it, alright, you don't know what's going on, he's just trying to survive, and she's swallowing all the shit he's spewing so it's working."

"So how the hell did they know who I was, why would he say that Daryl would just go running back to me "like always." Yeah, cause nothing happened whilst they were out in those woods together, Argh, that asshole."

"Got it!" Maggie sighed with relief, yanking the face off the walker.

The next part of their plan, was teaching Maggie how to be a walker.

Natalia hid in the bushes, as Negan sported his mask, as well, correcting Maggie's posture and walk, then he untied the walker with the black beard, letting him loose.

He stumbled towards the disguised woman, sniffing her before losing interest, walking away, that was until she tripped over a rock, falling to the ground.

The walker happened to notice this, making a bee-line for her just as she started taking the mask off in a panic, but Natalia was quicker with her knife, aiming and taking down the walker in one swing.

"Great, now we have to find a new one, thank you, Natalia." Negan rolled his eyes.

"This is a piece of shit." Maggie threw the mask at him.

"It's not gonna fit you perfectly." He chuckled. "It was... someone else's face. Look, this might actually work. And I mean it. If I can do it, you can do it. I'll take this back, work on it, fix it for you. Then we'll try again."

"How generous." Natalia quipped.

"You did good, Maggie." He ignored her, walking away to go work on her Halloween costume.

In only a few hours later, Maggie was able to start herding walkers into the pen they had made

"Whatever happened to your friend?" Natalia asked Negan, as they watched from a log.

"Which one?"

"The one with the moustache, the one who called me hot."

"Which one?" He repeated.

"Y'know, the next in charge, your assistant."

"Simon."

"That's it."

"Strangled him to death, cause he tried to overthrow me."

"Shame, y'know, if you had him as my captor, instead of Laura, I would've probably actually caved."

He side-eyed her, shocked and slightly disappointed by her reveal.

"What, I wasn't enough for you, but he was?"

"He pissed me off, he didn't subject me to nightmare fuel by killing two of my closest friends, right in front of me then demanded I stare at it."

"Fair enough." He nodded.

"Y'know, it's funny how the twins took such a liking to you, considering they were conceived on your old meeting room table." She sighed, staring ahead at her friend.

His face screwed up in disdain, but she didn't take notice, until Maggie walked over, taking off her mask.

"Told you, you would get it right." Negan broke his own silence. "Congrats and you're welcome."

As Maggie continued to work on her herd, Natalia went away to hunt, but also keeping a look out for any of those reaper people, or maybe Daryl... she missed him, bad, at this point, she wasn't even angry, she just wanted an explanation, but mostly, she just wanted him, she had no idea what she was gonna do with the outcome of whatever weird thing he had going on with Leah, she her guess, and she believed it, but she also still didn't want to, she loves him, and she doubted she could ever stop, but he had lied to her, for seven years, she couldn't just exactly forget that, so easily.

Negan had skinned and roasted the string of rabbits Natalia had caught, portioning it out for everybody, and then they sat around the fire to eat.

"You know, I feel for you in all of this." Negan started, looking at Maggie. "You might think that's bullshit, but it's true."

"How's that?" Maggie asked.

"I'm not a robot, Rhee. It sucks to see your friends as walkers. And that would be enough. But you are about to do some crazy shit, even crazier than originally planned, considering you gave the nutjob-" He pointed at the possible Divorcee. "the reigns to this operation, and break into a community that you built and lost. I get it."

"Your community and mine, were lost in very different ways." She told him.

"You think I don't understand the losing side of a massacre?"

"There were no children at the satellite station. No families."

"The first night we had sex." Natalia muttered to herself, staring at the fire.

"Then where'd Aaron get Gracie?" Negan asked her, raising his brow when he found a way to finally stump Maggie. "You think I don't know about that?"

"You can't debate battle plans with me. Levels of cruelty."

"Look, all I'm saying is that I remember when my home was invaded and my people were killed. Those men... they had friends. They had girlfriends. People that felt a loss that I couldn't heal. And I had to explain to them why... why their leader failed to protect them."

"You killed people who had families." Maggie reminded. "And you did it in front of their families."

"Yeah. I did." He agreed. "But the world is different now, Maggie. Fewer people to fight for, fight with. Hell, there's fewer things to fight over."

"Are you saying you'd do things differently?"

Natalia looked up, waiting for his answer to Maggie's question.

"Yeah. Yeah, if I could do it all over again. I'd have killed every single one of you."

In that moment, any bit of redemption Natalia felt Negan had earned, was destroyed in that one sentence, he hadn't changed, he'd just adapted to his environment, knew when he'd lost, but he didn't feel any remorse or regret for his actions.

"Why would you say that?" Maggie forced the words out, but her throat felt tight.

"It's the truth." He shrugged. "We gotta do whatever we can to protect our people, right? I mean, that's why we're here. That's why we're doing this."

"Why would you say that to me?" She rephrased, her anger showing.

"We had a good day, you and I, us." He looked between the two women. "And the only way this works, is... is if we're honest."

More time had passed, the pen got fuller, and Gabriel had returned.

"Nat, Maggie. Good news." He greeted them. "It's still there."

"You run into any of them?" Maggie asked him.

"No." He shook his head, quickly limping away.

Natalia had sensed his hesitation straight away, but she didn't mention it at the moment, no, she'd wait for her time.

Soon, they had enough, and it was time to work Natalia's plan.

Negan, Maggie, Gabriel and Elijah, who had masks made for them, would position the walkers, herd them to the distraction point, they'd also be on the look out for any walker traps, or places they would have been locked up years ago, letting them join their army, expanding it.

By the time they had reached Meriden, their army must have reached the hundreds.

And just like Natalia predicted, they had sent a man out to deal with the situation.

The man had reached a clearing, he was confident that he knew what he was doing.

"Group 2, move in." Natalia spoke over the radio, as Negan herded his section towards the man, blocking him in.

He was a fighter, she could give him that, but he was no match when Negan and Maggie got involved, throwing him off and stabbing him, letting the walkers get a chance to have a feast.

"Good work, comrades." Natalia smirked, as she spoke into the radio, her voice barely heard over the walkers.

Negan had passed the radio to Natalia, who was subjected to Leah Shaw's pleads for her friends, as he herded the walkers away, just to bring them back in the next hour, she wanted them to know it was her group that was manipulating the dead.

What she hadn't accounted for, was the explosives that blew up a group of her army, apparently landing on a bomb of sorts.

More had followed as they got closer, spreading out around the perimeter.

"Alright, you need to push them around, make sure they hit all the explosives instead of y'all." Natalia instructed, from her spot, using binoculars to try and find anything, but in the night, it was becoming even more challenging.

She had fled, when the herd was getting closer to her, with no mask or protection, she left for the walls.

"Alright, I'm by an old white car, one of the only ones around, meet me there, in the next 5." She radio'd forward.

"Copy that." Maggie whispered back.

It wasn't long before she and Gabriel joined her, ripping off their masks.

"You guys alright?"

"Fine." Maggie nodded.

"Up ahead, nine O'clock." She nodded at the wall, at the man who was strolling the perimeter, getting closer to them, from up above.

"Man, you're missing all the fireworks." Daryl called, meeting him, just above them.

"Dixon? What are you doing up here?" He asked.

"Pope told me to walk the perimeter, so I'm walking the perimeter." He replied. "You want a smoke?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

Within 30 seconds, the man's body was falling beside them, blood seeping from his throat.

Maggie and Gabriel were quick to move the body out of sight, whilst Natalia looked up, meeting those blue eyes.

Her face was blank as she stared at him, and that made him gulp, he knew he had a truck ton of explaining to do, but now wasn't the time, he hoped never would be.

"We're holding good at the northern gate. Walls are holding strong." All three radios rang.

"Hey, pst. pst. Around that way. Go." Daryl beckoned to them, pointing around the corner.

"Just so you know, I'm gonna kill your girlfriend." She hissed up at him.

"Ain't had a girlfriend since I married ma first an' last one." Were his last words, before he darted off.

"Asshole." She grumbled, following her friends.

They had found a way in, similar to the one Sasha had made back at the Hilltop, They were in Meriden.

"What's that smell?" Gabriel asked, his voice near silent.

"Anything too rotten to eat or use." Maggie answered. "It's why there's nobody out here. Do you remember where you're going?"

"Top floor, second room, southwest corner of the building." He reported.

"Just remember to wait for either of our signals."

"Got it."

"We do this, and we get the food and we go home." Maggie reminded.

He nodded, leaving them.

Maggie led the way, whilst Natalia followed, ready for attack, as they raced for a red pick up truck.

They jumped in, Natalia in the passenger seat and Maggie behind the wheel, searching for the key.

"Know how to hotwire?" Both asked at the same time. "Daryl." They also said, at the same time, it was almost scary.

Maggie opened up the compartment, exposing the wires, and Natalia held out a small knife, letting her put the car into action.

"Deaver, what's the status on the chain on that gate?" The radio asked.

"Heading to the garage now." Another voice replied, but it was also coming from out the window, he was near them.

"Mags."

"I know."

The man ran past them, not spotting either woman, but when Maggie started the truck, he took notice.

Natalia took back her knife, when he banged on her window, begging for them to stop.

Natalia rolled down it down, grabbing a hold of the man's shirt, stabbing him through the head, with the same knife Maggie had used to cut the wires.

With him taken care of, she picked up speed, swerving around the place.

"On three." She warned.

"Two... One." Natalia called, as they both jumped out the car, letting the car slam into the gate, knocking it open, inviting the walkers in.

Natalia rolled on the ground, avoiding impact before jumping up, continuing to follow Maggie.

A man had caught up to them, swinging at Maggie, but Natalia was quicker, shooting him down, but she jumped when another shot came, a body falling behind her, another reaper, they looked towards the window, seeing a rifle poking out.

Gabriel had made it.

The two women ran, feeling slightly victorious as Gabriel took out the men behind them.

"Pope is dead." The voice of Leah spoke through the radio Natalia was still carrying. "Dixon murdered him. He's with the enemy."

"Fuck sake" Natalia growled.

"Shaw, repeat. Pope is dead?" Carver asked. "Leah, do you copy? We're on our way."

"He can handle himself, come on." Maggie encouraged.

As the reapers fought the walkers, Maggie and Natalia joined the others in fighting the reapers.

Natalia ducked under the grasp of one of the men, stabbing him in between the ribs, pushing him into the reach of a walker, letting it chow down on the man as he tried to get away.

"Fall back." The radio's buzzed. "Fall back."

The men, with much hesitation, did as told, leaving them to the walkers.

"You've got to be shitting me." Negan sighed, watching. "They're retreating."

"Yeah, cause they're, fucking pussies!" her hands making a circle over her mouth, as she shouted at them.

"But why?" Maggie looked around for the reason.

Leah was on the roof, staring down at them.

"I shoulda kicked her ass when I had the chance." Natalia sighed, seeing the flash of red behind the bitchy looking woman.

Fireworks shot out, towards them, landing in the walkers, causing them to explode.

Maggie and Natalia ducked for cover, running in between the walkers, searching for shelter, they hid behind a building, where a reaper was also held up, as soon as Natalia saw movement, she threw a knife.

"Let's go!" Maggie grabbed her, when she bent down to retrieve one of her beloved weapons.

They ran through the small alley, hearing footsteps behind them, finding an slightly ajar door, and running through it, letting it slam shut behind them as they sprinted up the stairs, and behind another door.

Then the creak of someone else entering the hallway sounded, the two shared a look before slowly turning the corner, seeing an injured Elijah being supported by Negan, limping towards them.

"We got one on our tail, I think." Maggie told them.

"We lost ours." Negan replied to her.

"We need to take care of that bleeding. Let's go."

Maggie led them to the infirmary, and Natalia moved towards the shelves, snatching up equipment to help.

"This way." Maggie left through a secret door, that resembled shelves, and Negan, being the last person, shut it behind him.

"I love that." Natalia told Maggie, going to work on bandaging Elijah.

"Okay, what now?" Negan asked.

"Wait till dawn. Hunt them down." Maggie shared her new plan.

"Why don't we just get the food and go?" Elijah asked, grunting through pain.

"Yeah, we're going to walk out of here with our arms full." She snarked.

"As long as we walk out of here, yeah." Negan pushed. "Unless chow ain't the only thing we're here for."

"No, I want them dead, there's no other way to escape them, and... I want to see them dead." Natalia piped up.

"Carver, report." Leah's voice came through, from beyond the secret door.

"In the infirmary. The leader and her little friend slugged me, but I'll get the both of them."

"Just find them. Not one of them is getting out of here alive." Leah replied.

"Copy that."

Negan couldn't argue with that.

Next

[mystic-story-lover]

~I Don't Share What's Mine~

Ace Austin x Zoe (OC Female!Reader)

Word Count: 2386

Warnings: 18+, swearing, penetration, male orgasm, female orgasm

Type: Angst & Smut

Summary: After a successful defense against Subculture, Ace shows his girlfriend exactly who she belongs to

A/n: I had an idea for this story, but ended up changing it to this, which I honestly feels works better

(Gif Is Mine)

~~~

“Mark!” I squealed, running over to my best friend.

“Zoe! There you are, I’ve been looking all over this place looking for you.” He laughed as he wrapped his arms around my small frame. Once he let go, I took a step back.

It’d been roughly six months since I last saw Mark. Due to both of us having busy schedules with work, it wasn’t always easy to find a time that both of us had off in order to see each other.

“How have things been?” I questioned, a wide smile laying across my face.

“Things are going great. We’re going after tag belts as you know.” He laughed as I playfully smacked his chest. “Seriously, things are good for me. How about you Z?”

“I’d say things are going good. Ace and I are doing really well, and he’s going to kick your ass tonight.” Mark rolled his eyes at my statement.

“We’ll just have to see. Hey, it’s almost time for our match, want to walk with me?” The question, one so simple coming from someone I grew up with, lingered for half a second.

“She can’t, cause she’ll be walking with her boyfriend. You know, one half of the tag champs.” A familiar voice spoke from behind me, and I saw Mark raise his hands in surrender.

I sighed, shaking my head, and turned around to spot the one and only Ace Austin behind me. From the look on his face, I knew that he was irritated, but he had nothing to be upset about. Mark had been my best friend since we were kids, and nothing had ever happened between us. 

“Hey babe,” I smiled up at him. “I was just finishing my conversation with my best friend, and then I’ll be ready to go.” He jaw ticked at my sentence, but I didn’t care. He needed to know that I was all his, and I’d prove it to him. Without saying anything else, I turned around again to see Dani appeared next to Mark.

“Hey Dani, it’s good to see you. As I was going to say though Mark, as great as it would be, so we could catch up, it’s become a tradition for me and Ace to walk with each other to the curtain.” I smiled softly, a silent apology.

Ace quickly wrapped his arms around my waist, another way to show that I was his, and I squirmed in his arms. For a slight second, he tightened his grip on me, one of our many silent messages to each other, this one telling me that my wiggling was in an awkward position for him, especially before a match. I stopped, leaning my head into his chest, and raised one of my hands to place it gently on his face.

“There you are man, I’ve been looking for you.” Chris Bey, Ace’s tag team partner, sighed, a smile clear on his face. It was obvious that he wasn’t aware of the tension passing between the four of us.

“Sorry man, I didn't mean to worry you. I just had to find my girl.” Ace spoke before leaning down and placing a kiss on my lips. I ran my hand along the side of his face, happy to feel his lips on mine.

An awkward cough came from the side, startling me, and causing Ace to laugh mid kiss. Using my other hand, I playfully tapped his thigh, and he laughed again. From all the laughing, he pulled apart, and I frowned at him.

“I’m sorry, you’re just so cute when you’re startled.” He smiled at me, and I smiled back, happy to see him like this. I loved seeing him like this, a smile spread across his face, one that truly reached his eyes.

“You’re lucky that you’re cute.” I sighed dramatically causing him to pout his lips. “I love you, Ace.” 

“I love you too Zoe, and I always will.” He leaned down again, placing a small peck on my lips.

“That’s cute, but can we go? If you make me miss our mark because you’re flirting I’m going to defend these belts without you.” Chris groaned, starting to turn away from us even before he had an answer. I laughed, knowing that if we didn’t follow, there was a small chance he really would defend by himself.

Without saying anything else, Ace stepped to the right of me, and grabbed my hand. Just as we did every time one of us had a match, we walked hand in hand to the guerilla, and Ace spun me before pulling me into his chest. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, another thing we’d done before matches recently. I smiled, and laid my head on his chest, a content sigh leaving me. Before I could move, the SUBCULTURE theme started to play, and I knew that Ace would need to get in position, since he was going out within the next minute. Once I was off his chest and out of the way, Ace bounced around for a second, and shook out any nerves he had. 

“Good luck, and give me a too sweet.” I spoke, holding up my hand, and the guys did the same. As we pulled away, their music played, and the three of us began to walk out of the curtain. Tonight, I was to walk out with them, just to play defense, especially since SUBCULTURE were bringing Dani with them. When we reached the ring, Ace threw up the sign again, bringing it to my lips, and I kissed his fingers, just like I’d done every time I came out with them. 

~~~

“Here are your winners, and still your Impact world tag team champions, The ABC!” I cheered, sliding into the ring. Instantly, Ace picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist before tucking my face into his neck. I placed a soft kiss on his shoulder, a signal to tell him I was proud of him, and I pulled my head back. They raised their arms, belts in hand, and celebrated for a small second. Chris reached over and took Ace’s belt, and Ace set me down.

We walked to the ropes, and the guys gave me the chance to step out first, Ace following right behind me. Once he was on the ground, he picked me back up, and we walked up the ramp. When we got to the top of the ramp, Chris handed me Ace’s belt, and smiled at me. Once we were behind the curtain, I expected Ace to set me down so he could celebrate with his friends, but instead he carried me back to the locker rooms. The smile he wore when the bell rang was now gone, replaced by a blank stare.

"Ace! Are you going to celebrate with me man?" Chris questioned, jogging slightly to keep up with the pace Ace had set.

"I can't tonight man. I've got to show my girl just exactly why I'm half of the world tag team champions." He stated before smacking my ass. I moaned at the feeling, causing him to smirk before we reached his room.

Without setting me down, Ace managed to open the door, and he stepped inside. Using his foot, he shut the door quickly, and dropped me to my feet.

"Ace, how many times do I have to tell you that-" My words cut off as Ace roughly kissed me, his hands on my cheeks. I kissed him back, melting at his touch.

"Say it all you want baby, but at the end of tonight, it'll be my name you're screaming." He stated after he pulled away.

"Ace, I want to talk about this." I spoke, my hand finding its way to his chest.

"Later, I promise we'll talk about it. Right now, however, I'm gonna ruin that pussy of yours baby." With that, he kissed me again, distracting me with another smack to my ass, making me gasp so he could slide his tongue in my mouth. I moaned at the contact, and Ace guided me so my back was against the door. He raised his hands to my shoulders, slowly sliding down the black leather jacket I was wearing tonight. I pulled away from the kiss, a smirk on my face. 

“We should move this to the shower, don’t you think?” I asked, slowly rubbing my hands up and down his muscular arms. Ace shook his head at my question however.

“Tonight, I want to fuck you against this door.” He began to place kisses on my neck, and left the occasional bite. 

“Ace, are you sure?” I asked, and he pulled back to look at me. He nodded, a small one, and I nodded back. It was a way to show each other that we were both okay with this happening, and he resumed attacking my neck. My hands found their way to his waist, and I began to slowly slide his trunks down his waist, being stopped by one of his larger hands. 

Using his free hand, Ace slid one strap of my tank top down my shoulder, and placed a kiss on the partially exposed skin. He then did the same together, and I moaned at the feeling of his lips on me. 

“If I let you go, will you be a good girl?” He asked before placing a kiss on my collar bone. 

“Yes, I’ll be a good girl. Please Ace, I want you.” I moaned as he continued to kiss my chest. He released my hands, and I immediately put them on his shoulders. Pulling back from me, Ace reached for the bottom of my top before pulling it over my head. He tossed it behind him, and he reached behind me to unclip my bra. He lowly whistled when he saw my chest exposed to him, and I blushed.

“No matter how many times I see your gorgeous body, it still has me in awe.” He stated, glancing at my face.

“Please, just shut up and fuck me.” I panted, missing the feeling of his hands on my body.

“Your wish is my command.” He winked at me before unbuttoning my jeans. 

Quickly, he shoved them down my legs, and helped me step out of them. Instead of sliding my underwear down too, he ripped them from my body. Trying to keep up with a fast pace, Ace shoved his trunks down, kicking them to the side slightly. Without a word, he reaches under my thighs, and picks me up once more. He leans in, pressing a rough kiss to my lips as he thrusts up, his cock sliding into me. I gasped into the kiss, and Ace paused for a second, giving me time to adjust to his size. I whimpered before my hands found their way to his back, slowly dragging my nails down it, causing him to hiss.

“Move, please. Fuck please move.” I moaned, and Ace slid his hands to my hips before he began thrusting.

He set a rough pace, forcing me to feel every time he hit my sweet spot, causing me to moan loudly. My moans only encouraged him to continue the way he was, and occasionally, he’d speed up just the slightest bit, making me moan louder.

“Ace, fuck it feels so good.” I moaned, my nails dragging down his back. 

“Yeah, does my girl like that?” He asked, picking up his speed once again.

“Yes, yes fuck I love it.” I screamed, digging my nails deeper into him. 

I could feel the knot in my stomach forming, and Ace knew it too when I began to clench around him.

“No, you don’t get to come yet. What makes you think you earned it after that conversation you were having earlier?” He asked, intentionally slowing down.

“I told you earlier that he’s just my best friend.” I pant, trying to move my hips down. 

“Maybe we should prove to him just who you belong to, for safe measure.” Ace winked before roughly thrusting into me again. I could feel my orgasm building again, and I looked at Ace. “Go ahead baby, come on my cock.” 

My pussy clenched around his cock, and my vision went white as I came. My breath was uneven, and I knew Ace was close when his thrusts became sloppy. 

Ace pumped into me three more times before pulling out, using one hand to hold me up as the other stroked his cock. He tilted his head back as he shot hot ropes of cum on my stomach, groaning as he finished. I was lowered to the ground before Ace stepped back to get a shirt out of his bag to clean my stomach with. 

“I’m sorry Zoe, I don’t know what came over me. Seeing you with him, I hated it because I just wanted to punch him in the face.” Ace sighed, bowing his head. I smiled softly, knowing the feeling of jealousy all too well. 

“Ace, you don’t have to apologize to me, I know that feeling. You should tell him you’re sorry for being standoffish though. He didn’t deserve it.” I say, and he looks up at me before nodding. “I love you, Ace Austin. Nobody else has my heart.”

“I love you too.” He spoke before leaning in and kissing me. We were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“She’s like a sister to me, you know. I’m not into your girlfriend, but I admire the protectiveness.” Mark called from the other side of the door, causing both of us to laugh.

“Hey, when I’m actually dressed, I’ll come find you man. I am sorry, for being a dick and all.” Ace called back, a smile appearing on my face. I was happy that the two men who mattered most to me were talking, and not trying to fight.

“You might want to get your trunks then handsome.” I chuckle, and Ace shakes his head at me.

“No, what I want is you in the shower with me. Come on.” He said, grabbing my hand.

“Have fun you two!” Mark called in a sing-song voice.

“Trust me, with him, I will!” I called back, looking at Ace as he smirked.

[abloomingperiod]

you | kim namjoon

the streets of seoul never seemed so cool and grey. or maybe they did, but you didn't pay attention because your eyes were always glued to the tanned, radiant man that used to keep them busy.

used to. 3 weeks ago, you would've never thought of that. he wasn't that stupid, no. he wouldn't just pretend he was never there, every few days at times. he couldn't. right?

if only you could've faced it without 1 bottle of wine every three days and tears streaming down your face now and then - daily.

yes. yes, he could. and he did.

now that you realize, maybe, these streets were never radiant. maybe, it was just a sudden, fast ray of light that promised to warm whatever corner it could, even if just casually, but couldn't keep the promise.

as you enter your apartment complex and make your way to your doorway, you feel a thump in your heart that seems louder than the one your feet did to stop you in your tracks.

he is unbelievable.

there he was, standing in his glory, black sweatshirt with the cap on. he knew, by now, how much you liked this comfy look on him, which only made your blood boil even more.

"hey." was all that left his mouth, his gaze scanning you like he was remembering every inch of you his hands used to travel through.

and god, did he miss that.

"hi," you responded, keeping the same frozen posture. it's not like you wanted to move. or could. you felt as if you moved, your body would get out of the shock and simply crumble "what are you doing here?"

"can't i see you now?" that smug, shameless face of his, that used to make your stomach flutter like a high schooler, now making you wish you could tear it down with your own hands.

"are you fucking serious?" you said, your voice already raising a note. please, be cool, you beg yourself.

he seemed taken aback, and at the same time, not surprised. namjoon knew there wasn't chance for him to play dumb. there never was, at least with you.

he looked down, broad shoulders and smug expression falling, hands on his pocket, like a deer caught in the lights.

"i'm sorry"

"oh, you're sorry! thank you, that solves everything out" you retorted, "what the fuck do you need?"

"i wanna talk to you", he responds, looking up, scanning from your toes to your eyes and you swear you had to hold you breath for a second before his eyes met yours.

you scoff, "and you needed to disappear for 3 weeks to figure that out?" you kept staring at his eyes, burning holes in them. "3 weeks, namjoon."

"i know-"

"your friends wouldn't tell me where you were!" at this point, you're basically screaming, but you knew - or at least expected after 3 months seeing him - he wasn't the type to invalidate your emotions. especially in this particular fuck up of his. "why the fuck did you need to come here? just find another fuck and get lost again! you clearly have no problem with that just please, don't fucking pretend to befriend them for that."

"that's absolutely not what happened" he defends himself, his voice now raising a little. "i needed space..."

"fuck you" you hiss at him, your eyes red, fighting the urge to not let the tears you so thought had dried on their won roll down your cheeks, "i never did anything for this to be necessary. when exactly did i beg for you to stay for the weekend, huh? when did i repeated over and over for you that i loved-" your voice cracks at that word, and you catch his eyebrows fall a little, "spending time with you? or.. jesus, when did i let everything and went running to your house because you were sick? that wasn't me, was it"

he looks up, eyes wide and about to explain himself as he tries to approach you, but you take a step back. "don't you dare"

he sighs, but it doesn't seem like an angry sound. no, he seems troubled. defeated, even.

"i understand" he returns his eyes to the ground and bites his lower lip. "people were murmuring about it back at the agency... i know it sounds stupid, but i didn't want the risk of you waking up one day and a bunch of pictures being splattered all over the news"

you laugh bitterly at his explanation, not because you couldn't believe the scenario. that really could happen someday. but you were aware of that from day one, and he knew that. why the fuck did his friends couldn't say anything but "he's okay"?

you wipe your face, trying to calm yourself and keep the last drops of dignity you had within you, "you know... i didn't expect any sort of commitment from you. we both made that very clear from the start, and i kept my word. you changed that, when you decided to act like a fucking-" you don't let the word boyfriend come out. no, you were too proud to admit you were seeing him like that - even though, he caused it himself. "if you would be that much scared, why did you even start it all? do you really don't give one singular shit about anyone but yoursel-"

"i couldn't keep my hands off of you" he says, eyes still on the ground, and for the first time in this encounter, you said nothing back, not even a sound. "i couldn't stop thinking about you, even before all this. i also didn't wanna fuck up our friendship. then, when you called me for that glass of wine, and i got here and saw you in that robe...... i thought it would be a good idea, you know, friends that fuck now and then... i didn't wanna lose your friendship, but shit, y/n" he then looks up at your eyes and lips, his gaze repeating the path over and over again, "you," he seems as if he's trying to find the right words, but all he can continue with is, "you."

"so you did all this shit because you liked what you saw. what a fucking friend you are." now, no tears leave your eyes. just fire, pure hurt and anger. "do you do that a lot? sleep with your friends, make them fall for you every fucking hook up and then fuck off-"

"i can't be friends with you" he responds, and your instinct is to simply laugh nonchalantly at that, attempting to hide the hurt his confirmation brought.

"well, no shit now. i kinda figured that out by myself. are you that dense to not understand that you didn't have to come all the way-"

and then, his tone comes back to the normal, that serene and low one you're familiar with after waking up next to him a dozen times, "i'm in love with you."

if you thought your heart had dropped all the way down the street, you were wrong. now, it was no longer there. it was lost, leaving a hole in your chest.

"don't say that" you your eyes drowning again, your whole body feeling small and exposed at his words.

"i'm in love with you" he repeats, slowly walking closer to you, his arms already lifting to make their way to the crook of your elbows like he used to do to grab your attention.

"stop it" you say, noticing the space between you being closed second by second, but not moving an inch.

"i'm in love with you, y/n" he says one more time, and you feel his warm hands touching your arms, carefully caressing them like you were about to break at any point.

"you're a fucking coward for going this far" you still couldn't believe his words. "is it really that worth it? leaving me like a fucking one night stand and not your fucking friend, before anything? you already got what you wanted, multiple times. go your own way, please" your voice cried the last word, barely emitting any sound, and at that moment he understood it. you thought he was playing with you to get into your pants again, the thought making him feel offended by a second before reminiscing about his last actions.

"i'm not living until you listen to me" he says in a strong remark, a polar opposite of his hands in your arms like his life depended on it.

you keep staring at him, eyes sad and yet full of fury, the sight alone breaking his heart over and over whilst making him panic, and he takes your silence as a green light to talk.

"i'm not here to excuse myself out of what i did, and i know no matter what i say, i hurt you, my friend and..."- he seems to think for a second, staring at your arms and sadly contorting the corner of his mouth, and your heart couldn't be beating more rapidly now. "i'm sorry, and i'll always be for this, and if you don't want to be near me again, i understand, but please, please, don't think i'm saying anything but the truth for you. i can't spend any other day thinking about how and what to say to you, and believe me, i tried. but even when i tried to fucking stay away from you, you- god" he closed the distance between you bodies in a seemingly desperate motion, his eyes now red, "you were all over the place. your shampoo, your perfume, your clothes," he said as his hands traveled up your shoulders, then collarbones, coming back to your arms and repeating the path until it turned into a repeated caress. his voice cracking a bit "baby..." and at that, you start sobbing again.

your mind is a whirlwind. your stomach turns in and out of itself, and just now, as his head is hanging low from his neck, you notice a bouquet of roses hanging on your doorknob behind him.

the night was coming up. after all this time, you still can't process how time flies when you're with him.

you both stand there for what you're sure feels like more than a whole minute, and you feel his hands dropping, much like his head.

"i'm sorry" he murmurs, sniffling and reaching for the bouquet but before he can reach it, your hand grab his and you pull him for the most desperate, urgent kiss you ever had. even more than the ones before three glasses of wine, or the silly bickering you used to have with each other. like you feared he would slip away, like a dream when the morning comes.

his arms embraces your torso like you were something he never wanted to let go off his warmth, as if you were his to be. your hands go through his hair, cheeks, around his neck and anywhere else it could go, your body finally getting the specific embrace you oh so missed.

you part lips for a second, tears less prominent and definitely happier and your eyes stare at each other's mouth, already missing the softness, intensity and passion only your lips together could create.

you smile like two silly lovers, the two silly lovers you were finally showing out to be.

"please, don't leave again" you say, eyes finding his as your hands caress his puffy cheeks. "please".

"i swear," his hands now being the ones catching you cheeks "swear on my own life," he drops a kiss on your lips, "to do whatever i can to reinforce that every fucking day" his thumbs caressing you lovingly, like you were the only thing existing in the world "if you let me."

you smile at him, your breaths mixing together just like it used to, but in a much more intimate way than any hook-up you guys have ever had, "of course i do."

he kisses you in a much more slow, deep pace now. the soft taste of his that you were so immersed in entering your mouth and making your heart flutter over and over again. you both try, but can't stop smiling throughout your kiss, but that wasn't a problem. not for you.

"i love you" you confess to him, and seeing his satisfied sigh, your lips leave seconds-lasting pecks on his lips, as you keep repeating "i love you"s like a pray.

and like that, even with the night fully surrounding the city, every ounce of warmth seemed to have come back to you.

[applepies-and-starlight]

Mot sure if this is gonna go to my main ir priv blog but whatever i'm tired and my glasses are off so ic an't care

Vent ahead agian ig

Something i noticed with all of my actions so far is that i want a reason to be soecial/useful/someine worth your attention

I get very jealous very easily because of that

A girl in my elementary school had this one pretty akirt with butterfly patterns and eberyone thought she looked pretty, so i begged my mom to get it

I stopped wearing it after 1 and a half years

This doesn't just extend to smaller things, jt also extends to bigger things

Current biggest offender is trying to figure out if i'm plural or not when i'm 90% sure thst the answer is thst i'm singlet, i just wanna have tje chance to have it because a friend who had it got attention in a discord server for a bit so i want it too, even when it genuinely hurts the person

Eben tje act of writing this post is just a bid to get your attention since if i'm postinf this on main (i am. I'm stupid, but i'm self aware) since i just want y'all's likes and sympathy or some shit

I'm bery worried that i drain on others a lot for tjeir sttention, is that weird?

Fuck i'm crying. Welp.

This post might get progressively more disjointed from here on out, be warned ig

Anyway i guess i just want to be special or something. I dunno why, probably has something to do with how i was raised or something, everyone usually ignored me or didn't give me encouragement unless i did something extrodinary or caused a fuss

Probanly thought i was fine on my own

Who the fuck decided it was a good idea to tell a 7(? 8?) year old that you can't quit a school because they need to be the role model, that's kinda fucked up

"Your mom brags about you behind your back" well she called me stupid and lazy and useless on multiple occasions so excuse me if i habe trouble seeing it

I kinda wish my girlfriend sees this but also i hope they don't because they don't deserve to witness the emotional wreck that's my mental state

Admittedly i do hate them... not nessecarily in a bad way, it's just that i'm very well aware that i'm cjrrently Like This because i vented at one point (don't rember when) and they validated those issues so now my brain's just trying to chase that 'high' again

Relapse, basically

They're not your therapist you stjpid piece of grey matter (not like we'd get one anyway)

Still posting tjis om main because. Again. Attention wjore.

Honestly tjat's what i feel like i am these day, y'know, an attention seeking whore. I'm jjst supposed to sit there and smole.or sometjing, or tend to eberyone's needs

I always get anxious or nervous whenever someone sjakes their head around me and i immediately start to fuss over them to make sure all of their needs are met

What do you want from me i'm not a mind reader, though psychci powers would be cool because i get to clean, cookc, wash dishes, and do my work all at the same time so nobody will get mad at me for bei f lazy

I imternalize things too easily maybe that's becUse i want to be special

One of my many excuses is "eberyone likes a good underdog story" bit i'm not good or an underdog

Born into basixslly previlage and being served my.sjit on a silver olstter i'm just a worthless nibody tbj

Well fuck soiraling again

I can't read this post for shit my glasses aren't on sorry guys

Why are you still reading this

All of my faults and embarrasments still haunt me to this day theh occasionally come up in my head and i need to slap myself to shut up about it

Why am i still hung up over a spelling.mistake for rogue and rouge why do i still remmeber that

Eberything j make is so ficking bad man it's all just shitty stories that coukd easily be made up by some random 13yro on wattpad

When i was little i would cry a lot and my mom would comfort me for the first 15 seconds, then she'd get mad and scream at me to shut up

I don't like the word rant being used because i associate that with my mom yelling at me in the car over something i don't even remember anymore and when i try ro defend myself she says "i'm rantinf you're not supposed to interrjpt when i rant"

I'm sorry i take out my anger on everyone else i'm sorry i keep throwinf tantrums everywhere i'm sorry for being a little kid

I don't think developing the mindset of "everyone here is royalty while i'm just the lowly scum of a sercant" in middle school is a good thing

I am tempted to put in the tag i use in my priv blog for scattered thoughts just so people will get curious, click on my priv, then start giving me pity, but i don't want that blog to be percieved

Not all self harm is cutting on razors, sometimes it's hitting youself on the head so hard that your once perfect memory is now fuzzy arojnd the edges

I might've given myself brain damage because i literally can't comprehendnsome things anymoee

I still feel like a teenager what tje fuck do you mean i'm an adult i was literally in my first middle scjool yesterday

Traima is so ficking funny what do you mean the upperclassmen teasing you that you had a crush on a guy you asked for directjons for gives you some form of disgust towards attraction to men and Also makes you afraid of relationships?

Wjat do you mean having your (previously not) ex vent to you nearly-daily will give you unbridled anxiety that you're piling all your shit on your current partner

If it wasn't noticable, i'm deliberately making tjis post insanely long so my firldriend doesn't read it

Why the FUCK are YOU reading this????

All my thoughts ae already scattered i forgot my original thought process whu the fuck are you stoll reading

Even something as small and petty as taking away thr wifi from me already has me considering killing myself...(/srs)

Why is brain /srs what the fuck is wrong with you

I need to cut my tongue out maybe if i stop talking it might help

My mom and dad get angrier when i don't respond, i'm sorry thwt i get nonverbal when yelled at, that's on me

Trauma is so silly what do you mean the fact that your mom threw a tantrum and ripped up one of your favorite books that you read while you were taking a break from studying because she assumed you weren't studying the entire time haunts you to this very day

What do you mean this means you have a horrible sense of object permanence that's compounded on with the constant house moves that makes you literally unable to progress when you need to use things up

Mom never bought me a new copy and never apologized to me <3

I want to be special i hate being normal

I try to be normal so hard so everyone can give me compliments on how good and perfect i am

How the fuck is a bratty spoiled nepobaby 10 year old who threw a chair at her lowerclassmen a good person? I dunno, next question

I want to kill someone. I don't care who. I just want to feel the blood on my fingers as they drive an axe into someone's heart

Was i groomed as a kid? A family friend kept blowing raspberries into my armpits as a joke but honestly looking back on it it felt deeply incomfortable even as a kid, but i never said to stop because he said it was just playing

I considered him a dad too...

I hate my body i hate myself can someone please jjst destroy my voice box

I want to vomit

Maybe if i get sexually assailted i can say i'm special but thar isn't fair for those who struggle through the traima

I'M TRYING TO BE NORMAL I'M TRYING TO BE RESPECTFUL CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M DOING MY BEST I'M TRYING I'M TRYING I'M TRYING PLEASE LOOK I'M NOT LIKE THOSE IDIOTS OVER THERE WHO ARE SAYING ALL THOSE BAD THINGS THAT YOU HATE LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME

no amount of likes will substitute for genuine love. Dumbass.

I need to tear my eyebakls out

I've been writing for over an hour

Please just use me as your fuck doll please plesse please i'm not even horny about it i just want to be useful

I am normal i am nice and perfectly normal

Wow tjis post is long

Why don't i have a system (you're putting those with the struggle down for your gloriifed idea of it)

I want ti be special have i said that i want to be special yet?

HOW MANY TIMES TO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF BECAUSE YOU GET IT LOOK AT ME PLEAEE LOOK AT ME

I'm very ugly don't look at me actually

Fucking contratian

Go to sleep asshole it's 1:34am and the pokemon need you

I like to boast because it makes me feel like i'm good in at least One thing

I think i pissed off my girlfriend

How do you salvage a friendship?

My last ex soured my childhood memories and i'm not sure how to feel about that

I kept promising to myself that if loving them was a sin then i'd happily fall into hell with them... look where that got me

Bitter choco decoration~

This doesn't even have anythibg to do with the original subject anymore

See this is what i mean by wanting attention

I wonder if anyone would read this. Probably not because who wants to read a vent that's as long as a fanfic

Put a gun in my mouth and shoot me i'm better off dead all this money that's used to keep this useless sack of shit called my body alive and functioning is just a waste because i won't akojnt to anything good eventhally

If i write a fake conclusiob to this would anyone read it?

I don't know hinestly and i'm just tired

I'll keep going with these less insane thoughts until you can"/ see them if tou scrolled all the wau down and skipped everything

If you're reding this because you skipped everyhing don't read what's above

I think i just wen through a meltdown typing this out

Reblogs are off as i type this but i'm tempted to turn it on

What was i talking aboht again? Oh right ti be special

Idrk what to say, honestly. That's the reasoning my braincomes up for it, usually i want to stand oht from the crowd, to be different and cool and beloved

Why am i like this? I don't know. I miss being normal honestly

I want to cry, i need to cry more accurately, but i've learned that crying is bad and gets you yelled at so my body doesn't cry

Instead, it throws temper tantrums and makes eberythung Worse!

I'm tired. I dunno what to say anymore. Just gonna end this post here.

Bye, or something

[asoulofatlantis]

Ich habe gestern 5 Stunden oder so gespielt und bin fast garnicht im Main-Plot voran gekommen. So viel dazu das ich gestern geschrieben habe, dass ich bei 25 Stunden auf 50% kommen will. Das kann ich jetzt definitiv vergessen...

I feel like we as the player are far too involved in bullshit like this ^^'

I mean... she wanted to kill a bad Shinra-man and... she didn't hit the right target but she did hit a bad Shinra-man. I certainly do not feel sorry for him ^^'

Well... he is unharmed, the big old man is only barely scratched and now Rufus thinks this was all our plan. So we are screwed thanks to that girl.

And I thought I was done with that bullshit ^^'

We... are?

I think we just broke his bike... in half ^^'

Awwwww. That was kind of cute. How the Troopers said goodbye to Cloud and he to them. I did feel sorry for misleading them. But I made sure all of them will come home alive.

I actually had some stuff to do in Junon... but... uh... I guess I get back another time? ^^'

Look who we have here. Old friends.

Pssst! Tifa! She means boys. You know... Girlstalk.

I didn't expect to be on a Cruiseship with an invitation to play Cardgames, instead of running through a dungeon full of monsters. I am totally underleved and in dire need of some training ^^'

Have fun without me. I am not wasting any more time on another minigame, especially not if it doesn't give me any points with you, my dear.

I HAVE to do this? But the internet said I can forfeit it! T.T

I do one match so I can say I've played it at least once and then I am happy to quit.

I tried two times, but I don't get this game and I do not have the time or the will to read the tutorial or buy new cards or anything like that. Maybe I try again when the game comes out on PC one day XD

I guess Red didn't want to quit tho XD

As if it would be hard to beat me XD

So Aerith tells Cloud to kick Reds butt and Aeriths is cheery on Red? Something wrong with the translation here? ^^' And WHY on earth do I have to do this, after just giving up on the tournament?

Okay XD That was weird.

Cloud saved her life twice by now... she better pays it back!

Jenova is a really scary thing for an ancient Lady that is technically speaking not even alive anymore ^^'

Those in between chapters are thankfully always on the shorter side.

[kurithedweeb]

So, uh, I had this same idea a while back. And I wrote that. There is a first draft of this exact fic somewhere in my docs.

There was exactly one line by Dante in front of Lucinda's house the time they camped out there after running from Pikoro that implied that Garroth and Laurance were maybe in the same year at the guard academy and I ran with it.

In the fic, Garroth went to the guard academy in Bright Port to get some distance between him and his father and he and Laurance ended up being assigned the same barracks (like a dorm hall). Laurance approaches him their first night there and introduces himself as the First Son of Meteli, which makes Garroth sure that he's only talking to him for political reasons. Laurance, unaware of this, says he's sure neither one of them are too eager for Lordship since they're at the guard academy, saying it with such ease that it shocks Garroth.

After that, they become fast friends. People are wary of Garroth because he's from O'khasis, and besides that he's basically the prince, but it's easy to talk to Laurance. Laurance is such a charmer, he makes friends so easily, but he chooses to stay close to Garroth and doesn't find much use in trying to charm him the way he does their peers from other villages which Garroth finds oddly sweet. They don't play games and politics with each other the way they have to with others to keep good relations between villages. Laurance makes it very easy to fall in love with him, and those few short years they have together at the academy are blissful and sweet.

Then a letter comes from O'khasis. As soon as Garroth returns home, he's to begin preparations to be married. He brings the letter to Laurance. They've spoken of marriage before, as part of a lovely far-off future, a beautiful hypothetical, but if Garroth is given away to the First Daughter of Scaleswind they know they'd be separated for the rest of their lives. Garroth's never even met the woman.

"I know a priest who would marry us without question, and the man's blind enough to never recognize you. They can't send you away if you're already married. This isn't how we wanted it, I know, but we can't wait any longer," Laurance says. And he gets down on one knee, Garroth's hand clasped tight between his own. And he asks Garroth to marry him. Please.

This isn't how they wanted it. Isn't anything at all like how they talked about it or how Garroth imagined it. But he loves Laurance, so he says, "Yes. Let's get married."

Garroth plans his escape from the treaty very carefully. He plans every step, prepares his goodbyes, gathers what he'll need. The day before graduation he kisses Laurance like it's the last chance he'll get and he tells him to return to Meteli as soon as possible and find his priest. Garroth will join him as soon as he can, no later than the season's end. Laurance begs him to come with him to Meteli, they'll leave before dawn and be married by day's end, but as much as Garroth wants to he can't. He has to handle a few things at home first.

He's home at the Ro'Meave estate for all of a week before he fakes his death. He greets his mother and brothers like it's the last time he'll see them. He lets nothing slip before his father. He says he'd like to go pray for thanks for the good fortune of the treaty with Scaleswind. He leaves the poison dagger covered in his blood on the steps before the altar of the church, pressing bandages to his side and sipping at the antidote as he flees in the dead of night.

It takes months to find his way to Meteli by land, skirting along the coast and staying far inland for fear of running into an O'khasian ship. Forget the end of the season, autumn is nearly done by the time he sets foot in the swamp. The winter cold has started to set in by the time Garroth reaches Meteli proper, and it's nearly completely dark by the time he finds Laurance.

The moment he hears Garroth's voice, Laurance spins around and launches himself at his lover. He shouts at him for being late, teary-eyed and so relieved. They're married by day's end.

Eventually, Garroth has to leave. Someone may figure out he's alive, and when they do the first place they'd think to look for him is with the person he was closest with at the academy. He stays close though, only going as far as Phoenix Drop, about a day's travel by land and less by boat.

They keep in touch with frequent letters, at least a few a week, and meet up every time they can manage to get a day off at the same time. Despite how their marriage began in a fit of desperation and how their obligations as guards keep them apart, they're very happy.

Then canon happens.

MCD Season 1 except Garroth and Laurence have actually been married this whole time and live in different regions because they are loyal to their guard posts, but Laurence gets excited when Aphmau shows up in Matelia because Garroth talked about her in his letters to him, and this is Laurence's chance to see his husband again.

[wonderlandleighleigh]

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS ON ABOUT!!! Should I say fuck you for breaking my heart or thank you for the fic I will never know. On that note, you can’t just leave it like that! I need, WE all need a continuation of this!

(Thank you I literally thought about it all day to figure out how to write it so I'm glad you like it!)

She has mild withdrawal symptoms.

Aches and headaches. Fatigue. Her appetite comes back a little.

The hardest part, really, is fending off Midge's family and friends. Joel is a fucking nightmare, demanding information when Lenny told him he'd have to hang onto the kids a little longer because Midge is sick.

"Sick? Midge never gets sick. And what the fuck are you doing there? Didn't you run the fuck away?"

Lenny squeezes his eyes shut. "Hold onto the kids. Midge will be in touch." he hangs up after that, thankful to be done with the man, at least for the moment.

Susie is equally difficult. She comes over, demanding face time, and Lenny leaves them to it, making a sandwich for Susie and some toast for Midge.

When he taps on the bedroom door, he gets Susie's usual charming greeting.

"Fuck off, Lenny!"

"Stop that," Midge scolds. "It's okay, Lenny."

He steps in, holding up the plates. "Just some lunch."

"I don't like that he's here," Susie says to Midge as she takes the sandwich. "He's just going to leave again, and you'll be right back where you were."

Lenny takes a breath as Midge takes the toast. He knows she's been thinking about that; that once she's back on her feet, he'll disappear again, and she isn't entirely wrong. He still can't really work here in New York, and Kitty's still out in LA with his mother.

But now that he's back here, all he can think about is being with Midge. Not just to make sure she's okay, but to be with her; be happy with her.

He's missed her.

"It's okay, Susie," Midge says softly. "Really, it's enough that Lenny is here at all to help."

It's not enough.

He knows it's not enough. It'll never be enough.

*****

Midge naps in the afternoon, and he lays down with her, watching her as she dozes.

"You're staring," she mutters with her eyes still closed.

Lenny chuckles softly. "I might be. What of it?"

"Just saying."

"You're hard not to stare at," he tells her. "And I miss staring at you."

"Even when I'm disgusting and exhausted from using insane pills?"

"Even then," he tells her.

Her eyes open and she gazes at him softly. "When do you have to go back to LA?"

"Whenever," he shrugs. "I can write anywhere. I'm not performing much...and Ma's got Kitty."

Midge nods, averting her eyes.

"I don't want to leave," Lenny tells her. "I missed you too much, Midge. It was really fucking stupid to hide from you like that."

She says nothing, rolling over, away from him.

"Midge..."

"You're only saying that because you feel bad for me," she says quietly. "You didn't want my pity, I don't want yours, Lenny."

"This isn't pity," he says, sitting up. "This is honesty. I'm better when I'm with you. Happier. More stable. Less of a fuck-up. And as an added bonus, you're happier when we're together, too."

Again, he doesn't get a response.

"Please, Midge," he says softly. "I know I fucked up. I know leaving you was a terrible thing to do, and you've had so much shit happen to you over the last few years that you couldn't fucking take it anymore, and I know I am undeserving of a second chance-"

She sits up quickly, wide-eyed. "I never said that."

"You didn't have to, I know what I am," Lenny shakes his head. "But fuck do I want one."

She stares at him for a long, silent moment before speaking slowly. "If you don't mean that, I need you to leave."

He gazes into her eyes, tired and teary. Her face is pale and she still looks a little ill. It'll take a couple more days for her to really start feeling better, he knows.

"I mean it," he confesses. "I do. I don't want to leave again. I'm never going to get over you, Midge. Never. And I'm selfish enough to risk ruining your life if it means being in it."

Midge watches him carefully, before slowly wrapping her arms around him, holding him tightly. "Then that second chance is yours," she says against his shoulder.

Lenny holds her tightly, laying back down with her in his arms.

[its-not-a-phase-mom-i-d8-demons]

"Are you just using me for my body?" feat. Asmodeus

pairing: Asmodeus x Female!Reader

warnings: mentions of smut, distrust, mentions of cheating

A/N: this got REALLy emotional...

Being the Avatar of Lust and all, Asmodeus couldn't help but have desires outside his absolute adoration of you and you alone; other than himself that is.

He was so sweet all the time, never once forced you to do anything with him, and waited patiently until you knew you were ready.

You loved Asmodeus with your whole heart and had confidence that he wouldn't cheat on you.

Asmodeus was many things, but a liar was not one of them.

Until now, it had been especially hard to keep a steady relationship with his desires rampant and constantly filling up his mind. Ever since he started to get to know you and realize his feelings for you, he stopped sleeping around as much until it came to a complete halt.

He really wanted to be with you, he realized, and he'd give up anything if only it meant he could spend every minute you were here with him.

Here you were, completely in tune and comfortable with each other, but come comments from demons at school today had flooded you with doubt.

You hated yourself for mistrusting your best friend and boyfriend, especially after working so hard to get where you are.

That thought alone makes you burst into tears.

Asmo, who was snuggling happily against your chest, had noticed something off about you and decided against asking if you wanted to fuck. He simply pulled you into bed with him, shared a kiss with you, and planted his face on your pillowy chest, hands caressing your sides oh so gently.

You were so pretty...

What was he going to do with you?

He should see what was the matter.

Maybe it was a test coming up, or an unfinished homework assignment, possibly a teacher being rude to you again, but worrying causes wrinkles! With or without them you would continue to be divine, but still!

At that moment, he heard a choked sob slip past your lips.

Worried, he regrettably peeled himself off of you and saw that you were hiccupping into your hand, trying to stop yourself from crying and making a mess of yourself and Asmo's bed.

"Oh, sweetie..." Asmo murmured, pulling you into his lap, "You can go ahead and cry, don't hold it in like this!"

With his permission, you start crying like a baby into his shoulder.

He held your head, pressing kisses to your temple and rocking you gently from side to side.

"Oh, baby..." He whispers, patting your back, "You have to tell me when you're feeling bad... Don't bottle everything up."

You sob an 'I'm sorry', but Asmodeus wouldn't hear it.

"Don't you dare apologize for crying. I'm right here for you, always. Okay?"

That only made you cry harder.

'Worried' could describe Asmo when he first gathered you into his arms. 'Panicking' is how the demon was feeling when you refused to stop sobbing into his shoulder.

Something was seriously wrong and he needed to get to the bottom of it before it became difficult for you to breathe and you got even more panicked.

"Baby, hey, look at me sweetheart," He murmurs, lifting your head up to face him, "You've gotta stop crying, okay? Can you try and calm down for me? I know you can do it, just take deep breaths for me, kay?"

You wiped your eyes on your sleeves way too harshly for his liking, and he grasped your wrists and put them in your lap.

"Inhale with me, come on sweets, you can do it."

You try to inhale, but your lips trembles and you can't help but let out another sob or two, covering your face in your hand, muttering apologies and trembling.

Asmodeus tried again, pulling your hands down and holding his face in his hands, showing you how to take deep breaths and holding your gaze and refusing to let it go.

"Yes, good job!" He smiled rubbing your lower back when you began mimicking his example, "I knew you could do it, hey, don't stop yet honey, you're really wound up..."

You pull your eyes away from his with great effort as it was unbearable to stare into those earnest sunset eyes any longer.

You were repulsed at the thoughts clouding your mind.

How could you call yourself a good girlfriend? You were terrible really, doubting the man you called your boyfriend and lover the moment the shadow of jealousy turned into a rumor.

You apologized again, gripping his hand tightly.

"What did I say?" He says gently, patting your thigh, "No apologies for showing emotion. Got it?"

You nod mutely.

"Asmo?"

"Yes baby?"

"Are you... Are you just using me for my body?"

You felt him stiffen.

Tears flooded your eyes again, dripping into your lap before you could stop them.

Asmo opened his mouth, then shut it again.

Of... Of course, he wasn't... He didn't need anyone else, only you.

Why didn't you trust him?

All these months of bonding behind closed doors, Asmodeus fighting his sin so vehemently he forgot who 'Asmodeus' really was, and hours upon hours of just thinking about how beautiful you were and that you deserved better than him. He had just begun to believe that maybe, just maybe he was worthy of your limitless affection, but it was not so.

You... You never trusted him in the first place, did you?

"A-Asmo I know what you're thinking and I'm sorry-"

"No apologies." He whispered airily, eyes locked on a singular rose, one of many that had wound their way up the bedpost.

The response was empty of emotion, as was Asmodeus's face.

"Oh Asmo, you've always been so good to me. I know you'd never cheat on me after going through so much pain-"

"Who said it?"

"Wha-"

"WHO SAID IT?" Asmodeus had flashed into his demon form, angry tears spilling from his eyes as he stood in front of you, exuding rage, hatred, and most of all, despair.

Out of everything he was feeling at the moment, none of those potent emotions were aimed at you.

"YOU'RE TOO PERFECT TO COME UP WITH THAT IDEA ON YOUR OWN." He screeched, "YOU KNOW I'D NEVER BETRAY ANYONE I LOVE, WHAT DEMON IS SPREADING BULLSHIT ABOUT ME AND COSTING ME YOUR TRUST?"

You were terrified, staring up at the enraged demon, tears soaking your cheeks once again, "Asmo, please! Calm down! You're above them!"

Mascara tears lined his cheeks, and he was just about to shout something else at you, but the door to his room was suddenly blown off its hinges, giving way to six more demons with their horns out, Lucifer in the lead.

He looked absolutely livid, especially after seeing the state you were in.

Asmodeus had the nerve to shout at you? Under any circumstance?

Not in the least.

"Stop this at once, Asmodeus!" He growled, standing his ground in front of you, "Any reason you have to be angry at MC can be taken up to me! Control yourself!"

"Lucifer stop!" You plead, "Don't yell at him like that-"

"Quiet, MC." He hissed, "You need to get out of here. He's too high-strung at the moment. He needs to be alone."

The larger demon grabbed you by the arm and started pulling you out of the room, but you fought against him, punching and crying and yelling at him to let go.

Mammon tried to step in and explain that Lucifer was "jus' tryna keep ya safe!" but you weren't having it and slugged him in the nose.

He screeched as blood started pouring out of his face, Lucifer loosened his grip when he heard his brother in pain he hadn't caused and you managed to tug your limb away from him and rush to your boyfriend who had collapsed onto the floor, face in his hands and sobbing.

His wings and horns were gone, but you wouldn't have cared either way as you tackled him in a hug and refused to let go.

Asmodeus latched onto you as well, and the brothers knew there was nothing they could do about it.

Lucifer pulled Mammon away to fix his bloody and possibly broken nose, and the others stood at the ready outside the door in case something else went wrong.

For a long time, you and the Avatar of Lust simply lay in each other's arms and cried.

It felt good to comfort and be comforted.

After a few hours, both of you were dried up, holding hands and staring sadly at the ceiling.

Asmodeus spoke first.

"Do you... Do you really think I've been using you for your beautiful body all this time? I'm not accusing you of anything, I need to know."

His voice was hoarse and quiet; tentative almost.

"I never thought that, Asmodeus. I the human world, there were some bad guys I was with and I guess I was prepared to accept it if you were. You've changed vastly since I first met you and you're nothing like those swine up there." You whispered, squeezing his hand before turning to look at him, "It was a stressful week and then, on top of that, I heard some demons talking about you so I stopped to listen. They were saying such terrible things about you; how you cheat on me every chance you got, you're just using me as an exotic fleshlight, and shit like that. We... We haven't had sex in a while so I just wondered if you'd gotten tired of me. Then, when we were cuddling, I just couldn't push those thoughts out of my head and I couldn't stop myself from crying..."

Asmodeus nursed at his lower lip, scooting closer to you, suddenly cold.

"I could never grow tired of you, MC. You have and continue to inspire me to be better for you and myself. I actually..." He giggled sweetly, resting his forehead against your own, "I was gonna ask if you wanted to bang when you first came into my room. Sex really is the answer to everything, isn't it?"

You smile and shake your head, "Not now though, you need some dinner and some rest."

He pouts cutely, ticking your sides, but he knows you're right.

You snatch his hands away from you and kiss his knuckles, "I never meant to make you think of yourself any less, because you really are perfect, Asmo. No one has ever tried to make me happy like you do and willingly spent all of this time with me. You make me feel so loved... I don't know how to thank you. I just want you to know that I love you."

He's literally glowing at your words, wrapping you tightly in his arms and whispering, "I love you too MC. More than I could possibly say."

--

July 7th: TWO. MORE. DAYS!!! (for us VIP members)

could you imagine being loved that much?? holy FUCK. is my giant single pringle ass showing? is it too obvious I'm lonely?

the shit I write... it surprises ME sometimes

Countdown Masterlist

Main Masterlist

[luna-maria-kalilin]

//Beyblade OC Story//

TW: Eating Disorder! Fear of food!

a new friendship

Yuna had returned from Russia, where she had spent the previous year treating her eating condition at a specialized clinic alongside Tala and the others. Yuna adored Tala's mother as if she were her own since she gently took her in. She was seeking for Kai since she wanted to surprise him with her return on this warm day in bey-city. Kai had anticipated Yuna's arrival as being a few days away, but she had already arrived. She passed the park where Kai actually practiced, and there she spotted a lovely woman sitting with long blue hair. Yuna took a little pause before speaking to the girl.

"Hey. Just one thing: Have you ever seen a man with blue streaks across his face and gray hair?"

Yuna caught the attention of the girl on the swing, who grinned.

"Kai, do you mean? There are a lot of fan females for him."

The girl began to giggle, and Yuna gave her a perplexed look.

"His girlfriend here I am. Greetings, I'm Yuna Granger."

She rushed up to approach Yuna as she stared at her with wide eyes.

"I apologize. The Yuna is you. About you, I've heard so much!"

The lovely woman with blue hair smiled and extended a hand.

"Evallina is my name. I was Kai's childhood pal."

Although she had heard of Evalina, Yuna actually hadn't had the opportunity to meet her until today.

"I watched Kai practice, and he's now grabbing something to eat. It's great to finally meet the girlfriend of my best friend."

Yuna said with a kind smile

/This beauty is evallina./

"Evie? To whom are you speaking?"

Behind Evalina, Kai could be heard announcing that he was holding two bowls of fries and ketchup. Evallina moved to the side.

"finally, your lovely girlfriend! I can't believe you never gave her my attention!"

Kai almost dropped the two bowls when he couldn't resist and forced them into Evallina's hands. He gave Yuna a firm hug. His excitement about Yuna's arrival was palpable. Kai embraced Yuna warmly in response.

"I was really missing you, Yuna."

"Kai, I too missed you a lot."

Evallina smiled at the two as they slowly released their hug because they were so delighted.

"I have fries; would you like something to eat from mine?"

You could tell that Yuna was considering it as she turned her attention to the fries. Kai could see that she continued to avoid eating certain foods even when she was in the clinic.

"If you don't want to, that's cool too. More delicious fries please! They are excellent."

Kai understood that he had persuaded Yuna with these insignificant details. She consented to share in his meal with him. In order to eat, Yuna, Kai, and Evallina searched for a bench.

"Tell me, where were you after the World Cup?"

Leaning slightly forward, Evallina peered past Kai. Evallina had a strong attraction to Yuna.

"I lived in Russia for a year since I attended a specialized clinic there."

She had already heard from Kai that Yuna had issues, but he never went into detail, so Evallina listened to her with interest.

"I'd like to know why you were there?"

"I had an eating disorder, but I'm better about it now. Even though I still have food phobias and have to watch my calorie intake, things are improving."

You could see Yuna was proud of herself. Kai was delighted to support Yuna despite having to bear a lot as a result of his pride in her.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Definitely, better!"

Together, the three of them consumed their fries. Yuna raved about them, which made Kai very happy.

"We need to head over to Tyson immediately. Has he heard that you returned?"

Though Tyson was unaware, Yuna was shaking her head. Once they had finished eating, they immediately set out. Evallina got along well with Yuna the entire time. Each of them believed that this would be the start of a beautiful friendship.

This little story is dedicated to the lovely @evallina, who I adore in your OC. I appreciate you allowing us to get to know one another.

[eijie-cavies]

Wen Kexing and the great divide.

So as we all know Episode 32 and 33 has left us with a plethora of questions and the fans are divided in terms of their view on Wen Kexing's plan. Tbh that is to be expected if you look at it. It was an asshole move to hide everything from A-Xu and leave him to find his soulmate's dead body only to find holy shit this motherfucker is alive still what the hell. And so a lot of the fans sided with the argument that Wen Kexing never learned and was acting like a selfish lone wolf. But today i am here to try to analyze the plan between Scorpion king, Wen Kexing and Ye bai Ye.

Please keep in mind i haven't watched the entirety of the show yet and so some theories here might not fit in with the rest of Kexing's explanation for the next episode.

Also thid will contain spoilers so please be warned.

Alright let's start. I will be dividing this analysis into parts. 1st part is the show's script and budgeting and why they chose the route that the went with.

2nd part is my theories on the heroes conference and why it was rushed as well as the timeline.

And lastly Wen Kexing's POV and the analysis for his plan and why he did what he did keeping A-Xu in mind as well.

A few extra bonuses is the romeo and juliet plot and why i think it had to be in the plot somehow.

So lets start, sit down and grab a drink for this you will need it.

1st part.

Scriptwriting and budgeting.

This show was supposed to have 45 episode and so the plot would have had more time to marinate and kick in if it weren't for the shortening of the epsiode.

With this in mind the scriptwriter had originally planned for this 45 episode and sadly we won't probably know what was supposed to happen if it weren't cut to 36 episode. But we do have Wolong nuts to thank for giving the drama sponsorship and making the drama into 36 rather than 32. If we had only 32 episodes in this drama everything would have felt too rushed and fast paced. And so to have to cut 9 episodes worth of plot the screewriter was put in a tight spot on how to cram three different events. Namely the kidnapping, the exposing of Zhao Jing and of course the wedding plot as well.

Thus the Romeo and Juliet plot was born. We will be discussing this plot in depth later on in the analysis. Nonetheless if they have had all the freedom and budget it would have been nice to see a plot of Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing and The Scorpion King all work together to bring Zhao Jing down. For now let us work on the plot given to us.

2.) Timeline.

The heroes conference is a huge deal, this is where EVERYONE of big sects and names gather in the martial arts world, its the equivalent of the whole world witnessing everything. This event is a big part of the plan that the three accomplices had, if they didn't act right away Wen Kexing and Xie'er (Scorpion King) wouldn't have had the chance to expose Zhao Jing in the future, because like what the beauty ghost relayed, once the heroes conference is over Zhao Jing planned on killing Xie'er and eradicating the ghost valley. There would have been no other time to take him down, no time to wait for another heroes conference as Zhao Jing would have risen in power already, they would have been too powerful to stop and the merits he would have gained by then would be multiplies, the people wouldnt see him as evil anymore. Therefore it was crucial to strike at the time where they are most vulnerable and the seed of doubt was still fresh, if they had waited, everyone would have disregarded Wen Kexing as a mad man and praised Zhao Jing for saving them from the purges of the ghost valley.

And scorpion king? Who would believe him if he was the only one to take a stand? His Godfather no doubt would have acted as if he didnt know what Scorpion was saying and act innocent. Even if he was spared Scorpion had no allies other than Wen Kexing who's allies was also born out of the same hatred they had for Zhao Jing. Everyone was forced to act swiftly, it was an all or none kind of situation. Now if we backtrack to the previous episodes, not two episode ago Zhou Zishu was heavily injured because of the kidnapping and was given no time to properly heal before everything needed to be set. As you can see in episode 31 Wen Kexing was in a hurry to meet Xie'er, don't you think it was iffy that he would leave A-Xu like that if he was still injured? The Wen Kexing that we all know would not have moved a single inch from Zhou Zishu's side if he were injured. And this is because of a lot of things which we will be getting to in the third part of the analysis.

Now on the subject of the plan and how Chengling had somehow gotten a hold of it. Simple, Ye bai Yi. He is free to roam around, sending messages and talking to people behind the scenes, we never really knew what he did after he left Wen kexing at four seasons manor and the reason why he had agreed on the rushed reopening of the heroes conference. but if you think about it it fits with the timeline. Zhao Jing wanted to reopen the heroes conference and Ye Bai Yi was sure that they were out to hunt down the chief of the ghost valley. If you remember the letter in episode 27 you will understand.

Why did they get that letter in the first place when the four seasons manor wasnt even fully restored yet? The martial arts world didnt even know that Zishu was on the road to reopening it and yet he got an invitation. This is Ye Bai Yi's first clue and a nudge for Wen Kexing to take action. This leads us to part 3. Wen Kexing's plan.

3. Wen Kexing's plan.

Now the question is why didn't Wen Kexing think to tell Zhou Zishu his plan? Simple. He is heavily injured. Now i was stuck here as well because i would have thought, why couldnt he just trust Zishu of his plan? BUT you all have forgotten this.

Wen Kexing has asked this two times, he wanted tell Chengling already so the kid could process it before he could stage his plan and possibly even tell Zhou Zishu on how he can use the heroes conference as an event where he can expose Zhao Jing. But Zhou Zishu was kidnapped, tortured and injured. There was no time to tell him of the plan without him having to stop Wen Kexing from doing it. At first i thought this didnt make sense, Wen should have trusted Zishu enough to carry on without distrubance right? Well a very nice person in Youtube provided some very interesting and eye opening points for me.

And they are right, if i were Wen kexing i wouldn't want to burden Zishu of having to wait around thinking where i went off to, why do you think he told A-Xiang to take care of Zishu and promised to go back in one piece?

A-Xiang was also kept in the dark of the plan, the only plan she knew was that Wen Kexing is planning to have an alliance with the scorpion king and thats it. He didnt fully disclose everything either.

Wen Kexing's plan was simple, after he was regarded as "Dead" he probably would have went home to tell Zhou Zishu he was completely fine and it was all a ruse to trap Zhao Jing. BUT the problem was that Zishu set out to find him, Bei Yuan and Da Wu couldn't stop him either as they had no time to explain everything without Zishu panicking. Like i said this was all too rushed of a plan for Zishu to comprehend specially when he needed to heal as fast as possible.

What they could only do is give Zishu a medicine to ensure that if he ever did take out the nails he would still be okay. And that was the downfall of Kexing's plan. He didnt expect Zishu to have escaped his friends watchful eyes and go to the siege, ever wonder why Kexing said this when Zishu arrived?

He was trying to convince Zishu to leave, make him believe that Wen Kexing is out for blood. But Zishu didn't fall for it, instead he stayed which was NOT a part of the plan at all. There was nothing Kexing could have done now, the siege was happening and he could only play along and move forward. And if you look closely again just as they were about to attack Kexing, Ye Ba Yi came to fight Kexing at the VERY right time, and who fought Zhou Zishu?

The three ghosts WuChang, his subordinate and Happy ghost. Why didn't anyone else go for Zishu? They could have had the scorpions attack him but they chose the Ghosts who are a part of Wen Kexing's valley, mind you these three ghosts were there when they rescued Zishu wouldn't it just sound stupid if they were fighting Zishu to kill him? No. What they tried to do is separate Zishu from Wen Kexing. Ye Bai ye could have eliminated Wen in 10 moves, he said this himself. But they had this complicated dance that somehow landed Wen Kexing at the edge of the cliff and left Chengling to do the rest.

And so he fell and Zishu followed. If you look closely even Ye Bai Yi was surprised that Zhishu jumped. NONE of it was part of the plan. From the moment Zishu entered to the moment he jumped no one planned for it.

And if you are upset of Zishu having to see Kexing's dead body and breaking his heart, this again was NOT A part of the plan. Beauty ghost was there to protect the corpse, if the corpse had not been burned it would have been presented to the martial art world and Kexing would come back as a different person and telling them "They got it wrong. That corpse is the chief of the ghost valley, i am Wen Kexing the disciple of four seasons manor" and it would have been more belieavable. But plans went south, Zishu found the corpse further solidfying that Kexing (in his mind) is dead and so he took out the nails. Ke xing couldn't show himself to stop Zishu either, there was so little time and he couldn't risk himself be seen.

Some others had been in the dark of the plan as well, not just Zishu, and the reason Wen Kexing didn't dare tell him was not because he didn't trust Zishu to stay away and let the plan carry out, instead he know EXACTLY what this will do to Zishu. Wen Kexing's plan was to HIDE Zishu away until the conference ended. Because with Da Wu and Bei Yuan, there would have been no news about Ke Xing dying that would have reached their place and Zishu would have had all the time to recover as Ke Xing took revenge and finally come back home as a new person.

He NEEDED Zishu to stay away from the fight to help himself heal just enough to get the nails out.

His revenge done and his new goal to be with Zishu for the rest of their lives. But unfortunate events happened, Zishu found out and there was other way to go but forward.

Ever wonder why Kexing had this look on his face on episode 33?

He wanted so bad to explain everything but the spotlight was on him and this was the only time he will be given the chance to take a stand. This is now between him and the Zhao Jing. Like everything there was nothing to do but move forward.

Now for bonus part.

Romeo and Juliet plot.

Romeo and Juliet plot is basically person A percieved as "Dead" and person B endagering their life to the brink of death only to find person A was alive and well but Person B is for real dying.

Now tbh i wasn't a big fan of the Romeo and Juliet plot, this was the reason why fans became so divided and saying Kexing didn't learn his lesson therefore lossing their faith in Kexing and Zishu's relationship. He was pervieved as childish and selfish, And tbh they would have had so many plot devices that they can use to maximize full on plotting and bringing down Zhao Jing. But going back to my first point of the budgeting im guessing the scriptwriter had struggled to cram it all in. It was already episode 33 and they still had two more plots to cram in (the wedding and curing Zishu) so im not as upset as much. In the end the whole staff gave their best and poured their heart and soul into the drama. On an ending note i'll just let this nice person do the talking for me

Thank you for reading! If you guys have your own theories feel free to discuss or voice them out.

[darkesttimelinejeffparker]

Ok hi I'm sort of new to njpw I need to know as much as you can tell me. Who is will Osprey, who is Okada, who is juice. Is Bullet club still a thing. I just need to know any and everything you can tell me and other people can chime in as well I just need to be educated on njpw

So I am giving really basic answers because we're talking about +10 years of history for a lot of this so it's like top lines details because it's hard for me to get into explaining a lot without suddenly having dozens of matches and segments for folks to watch.

I think the best way to figure out NJPW is to check out some matches, especially of the guys that interest you. Their website is a mess, but some matches are up for free without membership and others are on YouTube, their Roku App, and if you have cable AXSTV.

Honestly, I think they're building to Forbidden Door in a way that's accessible for people who aren't familiar with NJPW so no one needs to know everything. Don't let the fact that there are so many new names, faces, and storylines potentially here overwhelm you. I think you'll be able to jump in fine with limited knowledge.

I am probably less helpful than a Wikipedia article right now. But this is basically who the people/groups you asked about are, if there's a match to recommend to show their style or explaining how you'll be seeing them soon/how they've been talked about recently on AEW:

eta: went back in and added a couple sentences about Juice before I forgot to include something for him.

Will Ospreay is a British wrestler, he is currently REVPro's British Heavyweight Champion and has held belts across multiple promotions including ROH and NJPW. He's the leader of the faction United Empire, which includes Jeff Cobb, TJP, Great-O-Khan, Mark Davis, and Kyle Fletcher, the latter two tag as Aussie Open and will be in a match with FTR and Trent on Friday. He held the IWGP World Heavyweight Title before vacating due to an injury. Most recently, he had matches at Windy City Riot against Moxley and also a fourway match at Capital Collision with Moxley, Juice Robinson, and Tanahashi worth checking out for his style. Ospreay is divisive -- a lot of people dislike him.

Okada is the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. He's the leader of Chaos, the stable that Rocky Romero invited Best Friends and Friends into around the time started making AEW appearances. His matches with Kenny (there have been four) are some of my all-time favorites, especially their 2 out of 3 falls match in 2018 and their Wrestle Kingdom 11 match. Hangman called him out tonight for the IWGP title, and that's when Cole got involved. I can't think of an Okada match I wouldn't recommend, tbh.

Yes, Bullet Club is still a thing. Jay White, who Adam Cole referenced tonight and who has shown up on AEW a few times including his match against Trent earlier in the year, has been their leader since 2018. Bullet Club is now comprised of the Good Brothers, Hikuleo, Chris Bey, El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, Bad Luck Fale, Juice Robinson, Ace Austen, members of their sub-group, House of Torture, and Ch*se Owens. The Good Brothers entered back into the scene after Jay White betrayed Tama Tonga (Bullet Club OG) and Tanga Loa, older brothers of Hikuleo. NJPW Strong's early episodes has some solid matches of older iterations of the Bullet Club for free on YouTube, big man matches worth checking out. The betrayal of Tama and T (GoD) started on Impact. Regardless, with many former BC members, history with Jay White and Kenny, Hikuleo pairing with the Undisputed Elite last week, and Adam's history with Kenny especially by BTE canon, I'm sure the girls will be fighting eventually.

Juice Robinson is David Finlay’s former tag team partner where they worked and held belts as FinJuice. He left recently, citing his contract was up, only to appear again and join Bullet Club without David. He’s also engaged to Toni.

[maple-the-awesome]

Be Her Guard || Chapter 5

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x Reader

Words: 1,378

Masterlist

Once the cab pulls to the curve just outside an older looking flat building located in Bethnal Green, John jumps out, quickly paying the cabbie before sighing heavily and approaching his destination.

Sure, there have been plenty of times where Sherlock has made him run errands he's perfectly capable of doing himself, but that doesn't mean John will ever start enjoying it. He begs that one day his friend will start doing his own bidding especially when it involves traveling further than a few simple blocks. Of course, the chances of that ever happening are slim.

Hitting the buzzer, he waits until a voice layered with an unmistakable American accent rings over the intercom," John Watson?"

"Uh, yes, that would be me," he answers a tad bit awkwardly, only having to wait a second longer for a 'click' of the door which he wastes no time pulling open all the way. The faster he gets this done, the sooner he can return home.

By the time he exists the elevator at the correct floor, he spots a man already standing in the open doorframe of the flat as if he had been waiting there for his visitor since he rang the buzzer. Once John approaches, said man offers a hand," Rick Morison."

"John Watson, as you know," now, his skills of deduction and observation aren't anywhere near as strong as the Great Sherlock Holmes, but he can still note bits and pieces of information about the man he is currently meeting.

Judging on his accent, money could be bet that Mr. Morison is from North America and stands around the height of five foot nine to eleven. Age wise, he appears to be in his late sixties or early seventies. He's wearing large, round glasses with a deep blue dress shirt tucked into his blue jeans, his mustache being neatly trimmed along with his fluffy grey hair. This makes John guess that he is a principle man, at least, compared to some of the ruff, drug-addicted interviewees Sherlock usually seems to like sending him to meet.

"Come in. I'm sure Holmes gave you a whole list of things to ask me," Rick jokes, stepping to the side in order to let his guest through first.

Compared to the outside of the building in which has been dull of color and in need of a proper fixing, the inside flat is much nicer yet still not much. The walls are painted a creamy white with two old sofas occupying the living room (both most likely from a thrift store due to their rips and tears), a tiny TV sitting upon a even smaller coffee table across from one of the sofas, and the main coffee table between both couches having a few empty beer bottles set on it. Baker Street definitely has more to look at. Morison must not be much for decorating.

John can't complain when taking a seat on one of the surprisingly comfortable sofas, Rick disappearing into the kitchen and calling back to him," can I offer you a beer or something?"

"N-No thank you, I'm just here to get these questions answered," he doesn't mean to sound rude or impatient, however, he also isn't about to pretend to be overjoyed at the thought of doing Sherlock's 'errands'. He'd much rather be home, taking it easy while he has that option.

"Holmes called not too long ago telling me you'd stop by," Rick came back in with a bottle of beer, sitting at the adjacent couch," to be honest, I was shocked to see the man had even called me at all. 'thought I had heard the last of him."

"How do you two know each other again? Friends-?"

"-I don't think that man takes that much interest in friends, does he?"

"I don't think he takes that much interest in people in general."

Rick laughs, obviously making himself comfortable by leaning back with his arms over the couch top before taking a long sip of his beer.

"He just gave me this list of inquiries. I don't think this'll take extremely long," John pulls the folded paper out of his pocket, glancing over it for a second. He hadn't thought to read any of the questions during the cab ride, after all, he was too busy being grumpy to do so.

"I'm retired meaning I've got all the time in the world. Ask away."

Clearing his throat, he obliges, taking out his notepad to write down the answers as they go," 'what and when was the last you've heard about the Timons Case?'"

"'should've known that's what this is about..." Rick comments with a roll of his eyes. Regardless, he answers the question after some thought," uh, what was it? Four years ago? There was some talk about an appeal but to my knowledge, the request had been denied. Not sure if your genius 'friend' or whatever he is to you realized it with me being in England and all, but I retired three years ago, so I haven't had much to do with the American Police Departments let alone any of former cases."

"So you don't know anything new about the convicted's current fate?"

"Like as of recently? Hell, as I've said, I retired and have had nothing to do with any police force for years. Beside, the guy's serving a life sentence in the Oregon State Penitentiary. I'm sure he's hating his 'current fate'."

"Do you believe there could be any chance of the convicted being let loose early, been allowed bail, or even escaped?"

"Like I said, there was talk of an appeal four years ago, but it got denied," Rick takes another swig of his beer," I suppose there's a small possibility for escape or getting let loose early. Not likely, but possible considering how flawed the American court system is. I've seen murderers be let off the hook plenty of times; too many times, if you ask me."

John nods, going on to ask the last question Sherlock wrote," 'do you believe the convicted was guilty?'"

"He was found guilty," Rick straightens his back, swirling his beer for a second then taking yet another long swig.

"The words underlined so I think Sherlock wants to know what you think, not what was decided," the doctor presses, glancing up from his notebook.

"Honestly, I was never told enough facts to give you a 'yes' or 'no' answer I'm afraid. He could be guilty or he could be innocent. My opinion doesn't matter especially all these years later...All I did was do my job by putting handcuffs on the guy."

Humming, John writes that answer down anyways before standing to his feet," well, that was the last question, so I can get out of your-"

"-If you don't mind, there's something I'd like you to ask Holmes for me."

Raising an eyebrow, John nods and watches as Rick leans forward a bit, his eyes meeting the blonds with a serious and challenging look to them," was it really fair that he put so much effort into making sure the 'convicted' was found guilty all because he, himself, wanted the man's woman in bed?"

John is clearly taken back by Rick's words, freezing and staring at the older male as if he has multiple heads. As for the man himself, he isn't the least bit worried. Instead, he stands and walks back into the kitchen, dropping his beer into the bin," I may not have been that invested in the Timons case nor do I know what to exactly think of his innocence, but I'll tell you, no one is blind enough to not notice the amount of strings Holmes pulled to get that man behind bars. It was cynical, if you ask me. Seeing how quickly he had swooped in to take that girl's side...I've always questioned if the circumstances were just a coincidence...it's always been suspicious..."

"I'm...sure that wasn't the case. Thank you for your time, but I should really get going," John doesn't waste much time excusing himself, taking a deep breath once in the hallway. With a shake of his head, he hurries to hail a cab once outside, after all, he now has some questions for Sherlock himself...

NEXT CHAPTER ➡️

[giulsherondale]

"Please change your expression."

"What expression?"

"I'm talking about your sly grin, please change."

"I can't get over myself."

She slaps Serkan😂

"Love gets tired of a lots of whims."

Serkan kissed her again😍

Eda compares Serkan to potatoes. His faces were so funny during the speech.

"You agree with the fact that I have brought color to your boring life?"

"Color? You brought the whole rainbow in my life."

Serkan Bolat definitely knows how to made a woman swoon at his feet.

I love the fact that Leyla calls Eda immediately when Serkan does not respond at her calls. And I love that Serkan turn off the phone every time he's with Eda, because he doesn't want to be disturbed even more.

What the hell Alptekin you have the courage to ask for divorce like that?! Where is your pride? He didn't even say sorry to her. Bad move, zero character development.

Selin and her last sneaky move, she made everyone guilty, Ferit, Eda and even Ceren. I really can't stand her. The only thing that she did right was selling the shares.

I liked the way Serkan reacted to the truth revelation, he actually surprised me when he forgive Ferit immediately. So proud of him.

Aydan hug with Eda and Serkan... Ahh Aydan you don't have an idea of how much I love you.

"To make amends, i give you a chance."

"A chance?"

"Yes."

"What are you up to Serkan Bolat?"

"The right to three wishes."

Honestly... Serkan is soooo smart. Great move babe. I love that he asked her to fulfill three wishes.

"Why doesn't she speak? Engin don't talk like you don't know Piril. With women like Piril, one should listen not to what they say, but to what they are silent about."

Serkan and Engin friendship is so special. And Serkan really knows how to advise friends in love. And I love the fact that when Engin asks him how is going with Eda he tells him that Eda has to try too to get their relationship work. It's so true actually, because by now only Serkan made steps towards Eda, but now she has to do that too.

"If you have time, I'd like to discuss something with you."

"Yes, I have something to tell you."

"If you will allow me, I will begin. I understand that I could not become a good father for you. But I'm sure that... You will be a wonderful father. I don't know how important my opinion is to you, but believe me... Eda is a very correct person. If you don't make the mistakes that I have made you will be very happy. "

"Thank you for your words. I never want to see you again. Not in my... You will never appear again in my mother's life."

"Yes. I will not appear in your life again. You can be sure. But... One day, I know that you will forgive me. And further... If one day you need help or get stuck... Then I'll be there. You are my son and I am your father. And nothing will change that."

I actually really liked this conversation. I still hate Alptekin but this was nice. And the thing that I like the most is that when Alptekin goes away he put the chair in place. It's a little thing but so important. We all knew this "order" obsession, and I was happy to see that he noticed that. And Kerem acting in this scene was amazing. And how sweet was Ferit that he wanted to check on Serkan to saw if he was okay.

"Are you free?"

"Yes. I'm always free for you."

"I was worried about you... Alptekin bey..."

"In moments like this, Eda, I have a wonderful remedy. This is work. Work is the second thing in the world that makes me feel good."

"What’s the first thing?"

"Guess?"

"Sports activities?"

"No."

"Vacation?"

"No."

"Nothing else comes to my mind."

"This don't get out of my head at all."

EDA IT'S HIS FIRST THING THAT MAKES HIM FEEL GOOD.

"Good. Perfect. Really good."

"Perfect?"

"Perfect. I'm talking about the portfolio. She's also beautiful in human terms. And the great thing is that she knows English."

"English... And portfolio. Everyone here knows English."

"Yes."

"Are they all beautiful?"

"That's why they work for us Eda."

"Did you say that they are all beautiful?"

"Yes... So... Good."

"In my opinion, none of them."

"Eda, they are all successful in their field."

"We cannot know this from one interview. As you know, but Efe wouldn't want to."

"Efe wouldn't want to... But Efe is not here."

"That's it, which one suits you? Which one of them?"

"I'm looking for a decent PR manager who will be good at his job. You... Are little..."

"A little what?"

"Are you jealous?"

"Me? Jealous?"

"A little."

"Don't be silly."

"A little bit."

"No! Why should I be jealous?! But they stick to you, you know? Pay attention to this, they were glued. Of course it doesn't concern me... But if you like this attention... As you want."

"If you feel calmer we can find a man."

I love jealous Eda, just like Serkan loves her jealous. It was so funny to watch her being jealous. And Eda expression when she sees Balca... Priceless.

"Then consider the males candidates, because women pisses you off a little."

I'm in love with confident Serkan.

Selin sneaky move pt. 2. Why the hell did she tells Balca every about Serkan private life? And why did she tells her that if she want to have success in the agency she has to know Serkan personally? Really Selin you couldn't have Serkan so now you don't want him to be happy with Eda? What a waste of character... I'm actually mad at her she's really the worst.

Have you noticed Bedo (the hairstylist) between the journalists?😂

SORRY BUT I'M STILL HERE... PHYSICALLY... MENTALLY... EMOTIONALLY❤️✨

"I want you to surprise me."

"How?"

"On one night you knock on my door."

"Why should I come to you?"

"So that you surprise me."

"And then what? Leave?"

"You will come in."

"To do what? I'm leaving."

"Eda, sit down. You will come into my house and watch a movie with me."

"Suddenly? Are you suggesting that I knock on your door?"

"You knock on my door."

"We will see a movie?"

"Exactly."

"Only?"

"We can eat popcorn too."

"Popcorn? You don't eat that Serkan."

"I have changed a lot Eda. I'll eat, even if a little, but we will eat them... Very little."

"I think I can agree to that."

The fact that Serkan want to know if she will come to his house tonight show us how badly he wants to spend some time alone with her. My romantic robot.

Serkan prepare the entire house in a romantic way, with candles, wine, soft light... And when someone finally knock at his door... Who is he? Engin, and than Ferit... And in the end Erdem. This scene was hilarious, sooo funny. I actually like this boys night, I'd like that they will do that more often. And when Engin notices that the house is really warm I thought... Soo Serkan I wonder why you warm up the house like that... You don't want that Eda gets cold right?😏

I really like Ferit and Ceren together, they are cute.

The way Eda go near Serkan as she sees Selin. I love my protective woman. And I hate how they wrote Selin, no character development, she keeps running after a dream that she made with Serkan... Girl go and do something for yourself for once. I'm so happy that we get rid of her, but I'm sad for Bige, she is actually a really good actress.

During the dance scene I felt too much. The chemistry was on fire🔥

Engin proposal... I loved it. You know I go horse riding and if my boyfriend would have ask me to marry him on a white horse I would have said yes immediately😂. And how proud Serkan was of his friends. I love their friendship.

What the hell Serkan? What the hell? Pizza? With Balca? No I'm sorry maybe I didn't understand... A beautiful speech about a woman changing your life, the fact that she made you live again but really Serkan? I really don't understand him? Why he behave like that? My poor baby Eda. I know that Serkan doesn'tlike Balca in that way but I understand her if she gets mad and starts screaming. Come on Serkan help yourself a little.

[acertainsomeone]

Finding us- EdSer one shot

If he had any doubts before, this incident cleared them altogether. Eda Yildiz had not only taken over his holding and life but his dog as well. He couldn't come to terms with the fact that his best friend, his dog, whom he had brought up since he was a baby, had turned his back on him. Ever since he proposed to Selin, Eda had asked Seyfi bey to get Sirius back to Bolat place. Not that she didn't love him anymore, she found it appropriate that the dog was returned to his rightful owner. She didn't wish anymore for Serkan to treat her worse, if fate planned, his memories will come back otherwise she was not going to desperately beg him to choose her over Selin. It wasn't about pride. Her love was much more than self-respect. She realized that Serkan was scared of her because she managed to strike chords of his heart that were nonexistent for him. If she pushed him further, if she hovered over his head, he would be irked and god forbid if something serious happened to his health, she won't be able to forgive herself.  

Sirius wasn't home, this was twice in the last three days that he had managed to escape. Serkan's pride was too much to call Eda and ask her to pay a visit to Sirius. Usually, he came back wagging his tail, it wasn't hard to spot him around but this time Serkan panicked. He checked the entire neighborhood and every possible place where Sirius could've gone. He had lost his memories; he couldn't afford to lose him.

"Where are you oğlum ?" He drove across the seats of Istanbul in apprehension. His heart skipped a beat thinking of a much worse possibility. Sirius wasn't among those dogs who get along with people, forget strangers.

What if somebody tried to harm him?

It wasn't hard to come across such crackheads, who would hurt animals for their pleasure.  

"Alo" Serkan answered his phone in panic upon seeing Eda's name on the screen. She was going to chide him enough for being so careless.

As if he wasn't to be blamed in her eyes already

"No need to wander around the streets, Sirius is with me. I'm sending you the location. Hadi gel." Her voice was devoid of any emotions, she didn't let him speak and hung up asap. 

 Did he make a mistake?

What was this place? And why would Sirius come here? He wondered while climbing the steps of the apartment. He entered and found a wounded Sirius lying in Eda's lap. He was asleep, and Eda was caressing his head.

"SIRIUS!" He cried in panic, and Eda glared at him for being so loud. 

"Shhhh you're gonna wake him."  

'What happened?" He asked incredulously. Sitting beside Eda, caressing his only best friend with affection.

"I think he ran from your place - to find me. He would've expected me to be at the park. Few children hit him there. Thankfully, I was there for a walk and spotted him immediately."

"What park? I checked all places where he could be."

"There are places that became Sirius's preference, if not yours." She rolled her eyes

"Anyways Serkan, tell me in all honesty, can you take care of him or not? I can't risk his life like this."

He was about to fight back with a 'he's my dog' but he knew that would've turned into a nasty conversation. He owed a thank you to Eda.

"Teşekkürler Eda."  

Eda looked at him plainly. It was hurting him to see her eyes without that love he was used to seeing ever since he came back. Why was it bothering him?  He pushed her away, that's what he wanted.

"You stay with him tonight. He needs to rest."  

"What is this place?" Serkan asked

"Home." She sighed in reverence. "I mean your home, you shifted here."

"Neden."

"I'll leave that story for your fiancé to tell after all she had been telling you everything, and you only believe her."

Eda picked her bag and stood up. "There's food in the fridge. Sirius's food is by the coffee table. And-        your room is upstairs."  She seemed in a hurry. He felt she was only telling him this to fulfill an obligation. He could feel her restless. But why? He had no idea

Serkan examined his room carefully. He was amazed Selin hadn't told him about moving out. The bedroom screamed that he was in a relationship with her Eda Yildiz.

Yok, the bed was made and broken lamps were fixed.

It had their memories. Her memories and belongings. Belongings that he would've never allowed in his premises.

Her clothes and undergarments were piled up along his. Her toothbrush and other toiletries were neatly placed in the bathroom. It didn't seem that they were placed there recently.

A weird sensation was pulling him towards those things. He ran his fingers through her belongings, having flashbacks. They were vivid.

For the first time, he heard her cackling voice too. It was blurry but even his bones could tell that they were in bed, and – he was doing things to make her laugh.

It can't be me

He shook his head in denial.

Serkan opened a drawer and found a USB. It wasn't the USB that grabbed his attention but the flower and note attached to it. That was his handwriting

"For us to remember all the good times- just in case."

***  

"Serkannn!! Would you stop? Look at my state." A sleepy yet annoyed Eda shrieked at Serkan, who was prolly filming a video. He chuckled at her words, not paying attention to whatever she said.

"Eda I know how you look like without clothes." She threw a pillow at his head, and the video disrupted. "Watch out!"

"Are you filming us naked in bed?"

"Hayır, I'm filming this for us to remember that you can't stay mad at me for long." He replied in amusement. This was one of those nights when she had been mad at him but they made out in less than a moment.

"You think too highly of yourself Serkan bolat."

"I've got the brightest star for myself. Shouldn't I?"

"Can you stop this? I have to get up Serkan!"

"How about first you record a message for an 80-year-old Eda, who might've forgotten me?"

"How are you sure that it can't be you."

"I love you way too much to forget you. More than you could. We can bet on that." He winked at her shamelessly

"Tamam." She wasn't going to fight him on this. Eda moved forward cautiously wrapping her naked self with the duvet and kissed Serkan on the tip of his nose.

"This message is for old, yet madly in love Mr. and Mrs. Bolat! No matter how hard the times are, no matter how grave misunderstandings can be, no matter how bleak the road of hope is, we will find our way back, together." 

"Always." He said with a smile and pulled her into a kiss. The video was for them so it didn't matter if it was all being recorded in that state. 

*** 

We don't choose our parents, we don't choose our family, and at times life doesn't allow us to choose our partner as well. He would've never in his right mind made an illogical choice of falling for Eda Yildiz.

Yet he did

Did he make a mistake?

Because all that he had given her in this relationship was pain, so far.

The video brought back a bunch of memories. Their first kiss, first fight, first night, and the last goodbye.

Serkan was mercilessly driving on the empty roads of Istanbul. It was raining heavily and he was drenched. This rain could've made him sick, terribly

But did he even care anymore?

He had hurt the most important person in his life. He ruined everything

How could he forget her of all people? Serkan always claimed to love Eda more than she could. His love was fragile

He sobbed mercilessly, wishing to hit the car somewhere and end this pain. Events of the past few weeks circulated in front of his eyes. The way he was indifferent towards her. The way he resisted her touch and broke her heart all over again.

I never deserved her

He smacked his head against the steering wheel. His tears blocked his vision and he had no idea that he was driving beyond the speed limit with an absolutely insane state of mind.

Suddenly it grew all dark. He couldn't see anything. It felt that the steering wheel was moving in its own direction

All he could hear was noise. Eda's cries and his broken promises.

He was sitting in the police station absentmindedly. Eda was completing the formalities. They hadn't had any eye contact so far else he would've started crying right there. She took him by his arm as if he was lifeless.

"Serkan noldu? You were absolutely fine when I left." She asked him apprehensively, careful not to touch him. "Do you want me to call someone? Selin-"

She stopped immediately. He looked at her for the first time. 

The gaze

Eda caught her breath. It was him. 

It was really him

She knew that man 

Those eyes, they weren't of a stranger. Those eyes recognized her, and she had seen love for her in them. But why was she seeing something stronger than love right now? Anguish

"Serkan!" She gasped unbelievingly. Her hands wrapped around his face possessively as if he'd leave this time if she didn't hold him tight

"I-" he was struggling with words. Should he tell her how scared he was when the pilot told them that the plane was going to crash? How he cursed himself for leaving her behind? Or how much he loves her? Where do I begin

Eda sobbed with happiness. She did not know what to say anymore. He was there, right in front of her. Her Serkan. Her robot bolat

The man who loved her

They were sitting at the shore. Looking blankly at the sea. The waves were calm but their hearts weren't. He had held her hand, and the grip was so strong that it was hurting her a bit but she didn't complain۔

"Eda" he broke the silence

"I don't even have words to ask for your forgiveness. I made another mistake, I broke your heart once again, didn't fulfill my promise, and became the reason for your tears." He was stuttering۔ words weren't leaving his mouth easily whereas Eda kept on looking at him with tears in her eyes

"What I did in the last few weeks can't be forgiven. I've hurt you. I won't beg you to return back to me. I can't make mistakes repeatedly and expect you to stand by the road waiting for me. I-" He stopped and his voice broke further

"Eda you might not want me back in your life but can you please forgive me? One last time? I won't be able to live with the fact that you hate me. Just don't hate me please"

He was begging her, his hands joined together in front of her pleading for forgiveness. His eyes were screaming in pain. He won't be able to bear that hate in this heart. If she stopped caring for him, he won't even bat an eye, but accepting the fact that she despises him? Serkan Bolat would die.

He knew he was being selfish. Yet again, he was thinking of himself. But he was selfish, he never deserved someone as selfless as Eda Yildiz. He disgraced their love, he ruined their relationship, and now if she wished to discontinue this fragile relationship, he won't subject.

"I failed our love Eda. I failed you." She could tell that he was not able to breathe properly. Eda's heart sunk the moment he adjoined his hands in front of her. With each pleading, it felt as if someone was squeezing her heart mercilessly.

"Fate failed us Serkan." She sniffed between her sobs. Her hands cupped his face immediately. She wanted to protect him, she wanted to curl his masculine self among her soft frame. She wished to provide him that comfort and safety his heart seek for the last few months.

He was asking her to forgive him. He feared that she hated him now. How could she?

Serkan had become more than a partner for her, he was a part of her. We don't detach ourselves from what lies within us.

He looked at her disbelievingly. Eda wiped his face with her palms. No more crying. They had enough, more than enough. The pain they had endured was enough for a lifetime.

"We'll leave. Somewhere far away, nobody could find us. Away from this mess, this hate, this chaos. Serkan we have each other. We are not going to let them ruin our happiness."

Was she for real?

"Tamam?" Eda pestered. He nodded in return, unable to say something.

"Seni cok seviyorum." Serkan mumbled only for her to hear as she adorned his face with delicate kisses.

"I have so much to tell you." She sighed in between.

"Where are you taking us?" He did not know why he was asking this. It didn't matter, the question came out of his mouth involuntarily.

"We are going to look for phoenixes." He did not know what that meant but he need not ask. As long as she was there, he didn't have to worry about anything. Eda embraced him protectively like a child. He was in his safe haven.

He was finally saved from the crash.