#the daily lives of hollow guys

[genshin-scenarios]

spiderverse —!

Summary: Spider-verse AUs with the genshin guys! Each features a reader in a different role. There will be references to ‘Into the Spiderverse’ and other renditions of spiderman (vaguely).

Characters: Kinich, Heizou, Tighnari-Cyno, Venti, Wriothesley, Lyney

Kinich

By day, Kinich is a recluse who spends the better half of his free time volunteering at the local animal reserve. It’s also where he got bitten by a radioactive spider, and you can probably guess what happened next.

Ajaw is a unique phenomenon — a ‘Venom-like’ symbiote who latches specifically to technology. After Kinich managed to seal him away in a random cell phone, Ajaw has made a deal with the hero to become an assistant of sorts. If you listen carefully, you almost always hear a second voice coming out of Spiderman’s mask — Ajaw, trying to get Kinich to choose violence, while Kinich kicks him off the server for being a distraction.

However, times when they do work together are one of the most terrifying things anyone can see. Kinich’s spidersuit is engulfed in Ajaw’s power, and every lunge and strike is more destructive than the last. Often, Ajaw tries to overpower Kinich and take over his vessel, but Kinich has more than a few safety precautions to prevent the symbiote from possessing him fully. 

You’re a spiderhero from another universe, much like the situation in ITSV (except it’s only the two of you)! Some sort of interdimensional portal has stranded you in Kinich’s world, and you were quick to track him down when he was on shift at the animal reserve one day, appearing out of nowhere and gaining his suspicion. The night ended swiftly, with you escaping and leaving a thousand questions in his head, while the building’s alarms blared deafeningly, trying and failing to locate the intruder that has since disappeared into the shadows.

It’s a shortlived game of cat and mouse, considering how you wanted to get Kinich’s help in figuring out how to get home. One thing leads to another, and your secretive interactions admittedly become a large part of Kinich’s daily life. When he realises that you’re destined to leave his world to protect your own one day, Kinich is left with a feeling that’s foreign to him: gaping loneliness, sitting next to an empty spot on the rooftop that used to be yours. 

It’s not just the fact that you understand him on a level that most others never would — but having something to look forward to when he was Spiderman was such a saving grace. Swooping past skyscrapers alongside you, going on impromptu missions (dates), and revelling at how normal you look without your mask on. He recognises the lilt in your voice, the scrunch of your brow, and knows deep down that there's no way to undo how your existence has been engraved into him. 

…And deep down, he already feels the stab of how hollow it will feel, when those who’ve seen you two hanging out together inevitably ask where you’ve gone. And all he can say is that you’ve moved back to your city with your family, knowing there was no way for any of them to find you. 

Heizou

Shikanoin Heizou is a talented detective in Inazuma’s capital city, while Spiderman is a local hero. One works with the law while the other is sometimes considered a vigilante, but as far as Heizou is concerned, there was nothing wrong with using different methods to solve a case. So long as the outcome was the ideal, or best possible, he didn’t have the luxury of beating himself up over other ‘what ifs’ and ‘what can I do better’s.

Besides, Shikanoin Heizou was a genius detective, and with that came a high amount of success rates in his civilian profile. Spiderman, on the other hand, represents the parts of justice that sometimes can never be controlled — a criminal who was about to surrender, only to have been attacked by a third-party cop. A villain who realised the error of his ways and ended his life to spare the city, and the families Heizou reminded him still lived within it. 

…A friend who was stealing for the wrong reasons, and reached a tragic end. There are many ugly conclusions to the cases Heizou tackles, but all he can do is push on. While being Spiderman places more responsibility in his hands, it was better than not being able to do anything.

And even at times where Heizou’s morale is at an all time low, he can at least rely on your presence to make his days brighter. You’re a reporter who likes to visit him for psychological support and gossip — and while he’d never say it aloud, everyone with eyes can tell that you’re his favourite media staff. He gives you more intel and hints to your own cases than he does with anyone else, and even assists you as Spiderman from time to time.

Heizou isn’t one to place his trust in others easily, but when you defended ‘the detective Heizou’ during a run-in with ‘Spiderman’, who’d criticised the police’s slow progress on a large case, it was a little hard not to feel endeared. Heizou still remembers the frown etched into your face as you told him that the detectives were doing all they could. And to cooperate with them himself if he was so confident.

It’s an odd situation for sure, to see you acting wary with his hero-persona yet so warm and caring towards his civilian self. Regardless, Heizou’s main worry now is keeping you safe within a climate of risky investigations and volatile third-parties. So long as you place your faith in him, he’ll do everything he can to defend you in turn.

Tighnari-Cyno

Yes, this is a Tighnari x Reader x Cyno situation! 

Tighnari and Cyno are the two spidermen of Sumeru — they work together on a reluctant basis, since they are unaware of each other’s real identities. Not to mention that Tighnari (Vulpes) is more outspoken and sharp-tongued in his hero persona, while Cyno (Lupus) is endlessly talkative and fond of bad science jokes even at really bad times. 

It’s a little similar to their regular selves, but dialed up within the drama of their hero work. While they get along well enough, Tighnari is endlessly exasperated about Lupus, while Cyno thinks that Vulpes needs to lighten up. (You could say that they aggravate one-another).

It does kill Cyno to not tell his best friends about his secret identity, but he is more than aware of the danger it’ll bring to them all. Besides, it’s not like he’s working alone against these villains, so it’s fine! In fact, this would be a very cool thing to reveal decades into the future, once the danger has passed onto other heroes who adopt the mantel 

This is where you come in as their best friend in school! You can generally be found as a trio, and while everyone’s been ‘busier’ since the year started, you still make time to catch up with one-another about things going on in your lives.

…But, seeing as both Cyno and Tighnari are keeping their spider-selves a secret, they’ve developed different systems to make convincing stories about how they spend their weekend. Tighnari rambles something about collecting new plants to add to his collection, and then has to rush to the florist after he agrees to let you see them after this (he had to jump in through his room window to put everything into place.)

Meanwhile, Cyno keeps droning about some Dungeon and Dragon’s campaign he’s developing for your larger friendgroup to try, when in reality he has nothing written down. It’s mostly just inspired from his daydreaming during patrols as Lupus, which Vulpes always snaps him out of with a whack to the head. 

The kicker, however, is when you become a bystander to a large villain attack one day, and upon the conclusion of it, Tighnari may have accepted a thank-you kiss from you (on the cheek) as Vulpes. It was a stupid decision, seeing as you didn’t even know it was him. But Tighnari was too busy trying to hide his own flushing ears when you were retelling this, to notice the way Cyno’s expression blanked out (he is planning a confrontation with Vulpes as you speak). 

Said confrontation will be one of the few times he sees Vulpes looking uncertain, or embarrassed, which immediately throws Cyno off his initial anger. It makes Cyno question if Vulpes knew who you were in real life, but Cyno forces himself to stamp that curiosity away in favour of their secret identities.

Venti

You and Venti were close friends in Mondstadt, before you had to move to Liyue for family reasons. In reality, you were getting dragged into a different sort of superhero business, within a universe where many other heroes exist (like the MCU with the Avengers and etc).

As such, this AU takes on a more casual route! You’re thankfully not too far away, so Venti can visit you via a train or bus ride. But it’s never the same as when he’d knock on your window after a rough day, not able to tell you it was because of a mission as Barbatos (Spiderman), but you always accepted him with open arms anyways. Him visiting you like that was nothing new, even before he’d become a superhero. And Venti never intended to cut off that connection with you.

But, you never told him about your hero-business either. Which is why when Venti tries to visit your apartment on a whim (just to see how you were doing, and then leaving back to Mondstadt immediately since he was in the area after chasing a villain) — he can’t resist the urge to enter through the window when he sees that no one is there. 

He just wanted to see how different things might be, compared to your old place. He’s getting hit by a web-block of all things at this time, and god, he can’t bring himself to call you up just to listen to his woes, but he misses you.

After what only felt like a few seconds, he hears footsteps at the door. Venti panics, praying to all radioactive spiders in the world that his web-block is not active now and sticks to the ceiling as your parents come in to look for you, only to leave after realising you aren’t there.

He lets out a sigh of relief, soundlessly steps back onto the floor. Only to hear the sound of something charging up to shoot behind his back.

‘Hands on your head. Turn around.’ 

The last thing you thought you’d see as the suited-infiltrator followed your instructions, was to see your best friend’s face. Eyes widened in just as much surprise as you were feeling, before he breaks into a sheepish smile.

‘Venti?’ ‘...Can I put my hands down now?’ ‘What are you doing here?’

And so, Venti ends up staying the night. He hides while you grab two portions of dinner and set it on the desk. Explanations float into the air. You tell him that your family only moved because of a project from Morax Companies. One employing your parents, while another recruited you for a certain task force. 

Lore exchanges were quick to follow. Venti tries to defend his honour when you snort, asking him to reiterate that he was bitten by a radioactive spider. ‘So you can, like—stick to the wall and stuff? Like what I saw in the news?’ 

To make a point, Venti shoots a web to wrap around your wrist, using it to tug you forward towards him. You lose your balance and end up closer than he intended, forcing the room to fall into embarrassed silence. 

This was certainly going to be a long night.

Wriothesley

As the owner of an underground boxing ring, it was safe to say that Wriothesley’s origins as Spiderman was an incredibly tragic, and dramatic one. Forced into a corner as thugs attempted to take over his underground settlement, Wriothesley almost thought he wasn’t going to make it out alive when a stinging pain bit into the back of his neck.

Minutes later, the floor was cleared of hostiles, and order was restored. No one knows who Spiderman is until this day, other than you — the detective who’s always worked with Wriothesley for tough cases and invited him to casual teatime chats.

In his defence, working with you was a matter of course. You helped cover his tracks as Spiderman and the owner of an illegal business. …And you also came from the same orphanage as him. If there’s anyone who understands the need for an anchor within this world of muddled morals and false promises, it was you.

What he doesn’t appreciate, however, is the way you always find yourself in the middle of trouble. It comes with the territory of being the city’s best detective, but sometimes Wriothesley swears you have more enemies than him. More than a few times, he finds himself carrying you in his arms after a rather precarious mission, and you have the cheek to thank him and place a kiss on his lips, blocked by his mask. 

His fighting style does leave him with more injuries than not. Despite how most spiderheroes tend to use agility over strength, Wriothesley never shook off the habit of using punches and brute strength, in order to physically reorient his opponents. It’s less city damage, but the result is more strain on his body, and a silver lining of you exasperatedly scolding him as you treat his wounds. 

‘At this rate, I’m going to have to replace you as Spiderman if you ever get so injured you can’t continue.’

As if he’d ever let that happen. The last thing that’ll ever happen is him leaving your side, after all the hell you’ve been through together. If there was ever a world where you were separated, he knows that every version of himself would cross the multiverse for you.

Lyney

As a reverse, you are the Spiderman while Lyney, Lynette and Freminet are part of the Fatui — not necessarily just a villain organisation, but an antagonistic force with a dangerous set of special agents nevertheless.

You first meet when you’re fighting Lyney and Lynette, in an attempt to put a stop to the Fatui’s nefarious plans. They’re known as the Phantom Twins but are otherwise unnamed — but it's clear from that one interaction that one of said twins were incredibly talkative and taunting, aggravatingly so, whilst the other was a silent blade.

Next, you meet as your civilian selves in school. Neither party suspects anything of the other, but the main attraction comes in the form of Lyney developing a hopeless crush on you. He admires you from afar, and all you know about him is that he’s a friendly, charming classmate. 

Then, by night: chasing the twins across the city’s rooftops, attempting to get back an artefact they stole from the museum. If you don’t get it back soon, that one reporter that hates Spiderman’s guts is going to imply that you were in on the heist too, for sure.

In that moment of distracted thought, Lyney sneaks up from behind you and holds a weapon to your neck. Silently threatening to use it if you move, and it takes all the self control in your body to not act out when you hear the smirk in his voice. 

‘A little distracted today, are we? While I can empathise with having something on one’s mind, it really shouldn’t interrupt our dance. Unless you were thinking of another partner?’

It’s clear from his tone that his words were meant to purely taunt you. His false sympathy dripped like honey, making you see red.

If you ever got a chance to unmask these two, you already know who you’re going to get revenge on first. (Let’s just hope that this dance of double-lives doesn't interrupt each other too much, at the end of this saga. Perhaps Lyney will find out your secret identity first, and begin to sympathise with you — between his loyalty to the Fatui and his love for you, he surely will be put into a tough spot. And if he doesn’t play his cards right, he might just have to sacrifice himself to the fire to preserve your light.)

[sarahisslytherin]

•❣•୨୧ 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 - 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙞 ୨୧•❣•

benedict bridgerton x princess!reader

summary: you and benedict have been sneaking out every chance you get.

contains: lots of romantic fluff and a dash of whorishness.

a/n: part two of the new series! hope you guys enjoy! PART I

word count: 1.4k

The garden beneath your window is cast in the pale glow of moonlight. The king has retired to his chambers and so have most of the servants. The wind blows gently into your bedroom from the open balcony window, the curtains waving softly as if inviting you out. You stand from your bed, the hairs at the back of your neck standing from excitement. You step out onto the balcony, immediately bathed in moonlight. As you run your fingers across the marble balustrade, you can’t keep your mind from running wild with all the possible scenarios that could play out tonight. You rest your head in the divot of your palm and gaze wistfully out onto the garden before you.

You don’t realize how lost in thought you are until your attention is caught by the rustling of grass. “Princess?” you hear Benedict’s voice call out for you. You look down and meet his eyes. He has only been able to pull this trick – sneaking onto the royal grounds past midnight – a handful of times, so it never fails to surprise you when you find his azure eyes shining beneath your window. He gasps as if the air is taken out of his lungs. “You know, your beauty never fails to take my breath away.”

You laugh incredulously. You have grown accustomed to hollow flattery your entire life and struggle to believe each one of Benedict’s Shakespearean compliments. But you say nothing of it, for the adoration in his gaze is evident and you wouldn’t dare doubt its sincerity. 

“Such a flirt.” you tell him and he smirks boyishly. “Just a moment, I’ll be right down.” You slink back into your chamber and out into the hall. Your white nightgown and floral robes flow as you glide down the crystal-clean stairs and out into the garden. There you find Benedict, his black coat making him seem more mysterious and dangerous than you know him to be. He takes your hands in his own and brings them to his lips, where he places a gentle kiss. “How I have longed to see you, my dear.”

“I feel the same.” you say, still catching your breath. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.” You feel more electricity in this simple embrace than you have in years of dancing at balls and being courted by men of royal blood. Benedict smiles;  a sweet, earnest smile. He looks down nervously, fishing something out of his coat pocket before placing a sealed envelope in your hands. 

“For you to read later, when I am gone.” he says, bringing his thumb and forefinger up to hold your chin affectionately.  Though it has been a matter of mere weeks, what began as intense infatuation has inevitably begun to blossom into what can only be described as the purest form of love. The thrill of sneaking off with Benedict, or of reading the poetry he sends you nearly on a daily basis has become a sort of drug to you, a high you will never tire of chasing. However, it is in moments like these, when it is only the two of you and the moon as witness, that are filled with a tenderness that you feel will last forever. You open your palm and try to peek at what is scribbled on the inside of the envelope, cheekily holding it up against the moonlight.

“Very funny.” Benedict clicks his tongue and tickles your ribs, eliciting a laugh from you. “God, there is no sound I love more than that of your laughter. And to know I am the cause of it; well, that it makes it all that much lovelier.”

You smile before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips and pulling away. But the moment is short-lived as Benedict pulls you in for a true kiss, one filled to the brim with passion and yearning, and perhaps a bit of lust. “Now, my dear.” you reprimand him half-heartedly. “We shan’t get carried away.”

“Of course, Princess.” he nods pliantly, but his voice is dripping with mischief as his head dips to plant a trail of kisses down the crook of your neck. He knows all too well that this act never fails to make you weak at the knees. “Surely we are both fully capable of abstaining from our desires, especially such a distinguished woman as yourself.”

“Oh, you are terrible, Benedict!” you push him off you, a scowl on your face. But one look at his roguish face and you are smiling in spite of yourself. “You are terrible and wonderful all at once.” 

“What conflicting reports.” he teases you. You feel as if you could jest this way with him for an eternity, simply laughing and kissing and smiling as lovers do. You try to picture it for a moment, a future with him. Your father would never approve. Benedict is the son of a Viscount and a member of arguably one of the finest families in London, but he has no title and is certainly not of royalty. You fear this love you have only just begun is fated to end sooner or later. But you do your best to push that thought away at present because Benedict is here and lovestruck and gazing at you starry-eyed. 

You awaken when your ladies in waiting rouse you from your sleep. You reluctantly stand and are almost immediately poured into today’s gown, the corset bodice somewhat constricting your lungs. As soon as you are left alone once again, you dash over to your vanity, sitting before the mirror as you rummage through a drawer and produce the envelope Benedict had given only the night before. You rip it open with a letter opener, your eyes eager to take in the words on the page. You recognize it almost instantly. It is a poem dedicated to you, one by Byron.

She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!

You swoon, nearly sighing as you press the parchment to your beating heart. You decide that to be adored like this is truly one of the greatest kinds of bliss this life has to offer. You reluctantly part with your reminder of Benedict as you are summoned to see the king. The servants seem to be exchanging whispers as you make your way through the endless corridors of the palace in search of your father. You cannot find a cause for it, but there is a growing feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach when you enter his parlor.  You find him in quite a jovial mood, sipping his tea and flicking through the pages of a dusty book. “You called for me, Papa?”

“Ah, yes! My dear, I have news for you.” he says, a wide grin on his weathered features. “Now, I know you will probably not be ecstatic to hear it, but I have found a suitor for you. Well, not truly a suitor. You see, you will be marrying him come summer. It would be an excellent alliance and it is about time you assume your responsibilities as the princess.”

Your heart sinks to your stomach. “Papa! No! You can’t do this to me! You cannot make me marry a total stanger!”

The king’s smile now fades, replaced with an authoritative scowl. “You will do as I say, child. If not for the good of our family, at the very least, for the good of England. You will meet this prince and as the season comes to an end there will be a wedding, and it will be yours. My decision is final.”

You find yourself gasping for breath, turning on your heel to storm out. You find an empty corridor and lean on a wall before sinking down to the palace floor as you weep. There are too many thoughts racing through your mind to count, and the one you cannot cast aside is that of Benedict, with his boyish charm and romantic poetry. It seems your forever with him was doomed from the very start.

tagging: @velvetcloxds @oweninadaydream @holdthegirrrl @enchantedbytomandhenry @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @dd122004dd @marvelspogue

[luxaofhesperides]

Ghostlight prompt: Danny and Duke being childhood friends, but Danny tells Duke the moment the accident happens and such cause he trusts him, only for Danny to go radio silent when giw decide to block the town communications in senior year.

So Duke-does he tell Danny he's Signal or not? Up to you-gets worried the longer no contact goes by.

Maybe the away game thing seen in other posts where the sports team still does away games and Danny gets enough good will with star or dash maybe and they send a message to Duke that's some coded phrase and Duke knows shits going down?

(yourlocalcorviddad, it's a side blog so didn't want to send from main sorry)

Danny is not someone who is on his mind a lot, these days. It’s to be expected, considering how distance and their double lives eat up all the time they have to talk. Really, it’s a miracle that they were able to speak enough to learn about their own individual vigilante work, especially with Duke bouncing around foster homes for a good portion of that time. 

They haven’t spoke in months but that’s normal for them.

Duke thinks he can be forgiven for not knowing something was wrong. He still won’t forgive himself for it.

“Danny’s gone?” he repeats, feeling numb. There’s static ringing in his ears, his entire world hollowing out.

The guy in front of him looks grim, unable to meet Duke’s eyes. Did he introduce himself? Duke can’t remember, can’t keep his spiraling thoughts straight in his head. “He’s gone. His entire family is gone and we haven’t been able to call for help because… well…”

“It’s those guys, right? The ones in white?”

“You know about them?”

“Danny told me. Danny told me a lot about what he did in Amity Park.”

The guy lets out a slow, relieved breath. “Good, then I don’t have to explain. Sorry, it’s just that it’s not something we talk about, especially out in the open. After the last few months, things got really bad. We know the GIW took the Fentons, but we can’t find out how or why and they’ve got us on a tight lockdown.”

“Then how did you get out?” Duke asks. Another arguably more important question pops into his mind a second later. “Actually, how do you know about Danny and… you know. The other things.”

The grimness on the guy’s expression fades away some beneath the sudden shame and embarrassment. “Oh, that. Well, I dunno how much he told you about his, like, daily life, but, um. I’m Dash. Baxter. I bullied him?”

Dash. 

Dash. That’s a name he recognizes. 

Danny’s complained about Dash a lot in the past. Since they were in middle school, really. Duke would always get mad on Danny’s behalf about how terribly he’s being treated, how no one would stop such obvious bullying. And every time, Danny would laugh it off and say in that soft voice of his, It’s alright, Duke, really. Having you care is more than enough for me.

It never stopped the bullying, though, but the way Danny talked about Dash changed when they both entered high school. He was still annoyed about everything Dash did, but there were less insults about him, less venting about every little thing that pissed Danny off about him, as if he just didn’t care anymore.

And there is, of course, the most memorable time Danny called Duke about Dash over the summer.

Hey, Danny, Duke had began, only to be cut off by Danny yelling, I kissed Dash?! Or he kissed me?! What am I supposed to do now!

And Duke, despite the jealousy he felt at hearing that Danny and Dash kissed, laughed so hard he cried while Danny yelled at him to be helpful. 

There wasn’t any discussion on Dash since, beyond a comment here and there about a funny fanboying thing Dash had said about Phantom. The focus of their conversations shifted towards how hard it was to be heroes or vigilantes, quiet reassurances that they’re both doing the best they can, tips traded about best ways to patch themselves up and get through the night. Sometimes, it felt like Danny was the only person in the world to really know Duke; all his pain and promises, his dreams, everything he was Before and who he became in the After.

He’s missed Danny, but the last message Danny sent him told him that things were getting rough in Amity Park, and to not call or contact him until he reached out first.

So Duke trusted in Danny and focused his attention in Gotham, putting his all into becoming a better hero, someone people can rely on. 

He thinks that maybe he should have fallen into the Bats’ bad habits of invading privacy to make sure Danny’s okay. 

Too late for that now, though.

“I know you,” Duke says after a long moment. “He talked about you sometimes. Come with me, we have a lot to discuss.”

Dash looks appropriately nervous, but he doesn’t argue. 

It’s a tense, quiet walk to the library where Barbara works. She’s stationed at the front desk when he arrives and greets him with a smile, eyes flicking towards Dash in question.

“Hey, Babs, got a private study room open?”

Her gaze sharpens and Duke can’t help the feeling of relief that flows through him, knowing that Oracle is ready to look out for him. “Let me check,” she says, turning towards the computer to click around a few pages. “Study room 8 is open.”

That’s the study room with a working lock and soundproofing. It also has cameras and a mic inside, but all the other study rooms have one too, just for safety purposes. Things could always go terribly wrong when people are locked together in a small room, and having video and audio evidence of what happened has assisted in more than a few cases. 

He leads them up to the second floor, past the students studying and the group of young children in the back corner of the library listening intently to a read aloud. 

The only occupied study rooms are those up front, closer to the stairs. The back rooms are empty and quiet, the perfect place for a little impromptu interrogation.

“So,” Duke says as he closes the door to study room 8 behind them. Dash sits down as if this is just a casual conversation, but the way his foot taps against the floor betrays his nerves. “Danny’s gone. And somehow, that lead you to me.”

Dash glance around, then leans closer to drop his voice into a harsh whisper. “The Guys In White got some insane upgrades a few months ago and forced every citizen of Amity Park into a surveillance state. The entire Fenton family is gone, but we all know it’s really because they want Danny.”

“Explain the situation in Amity Park some more.”

“Well. It’s like this: we didn’t take them seriously, so they upped their moves and got us trapped. No one goes in or out of Amity Park without good, verifiable reason. We have a curfew and we can be randomly stopped and searched for ectoplasm or exposure to ghosts. Most of the ghosts have left, but a few of the stronger ones hang around to cause trouble to get the GIW off our backs for a bit.”

“So how did you end up in Gotham?”

“I was invited to tour the college. And since outsiders were expecting me, the GIW let me go. But there’s definitely some that tailed me to Gotham, but I can’t find them at all. Even talking to you now is a huge risk for me.”

Which means they don’t have much time to talk before someone comes looking for Dash. His words, paired with everything Duke’s heard from Danny, paint a deeply unpleasant picture in his mind. “Are you going to be in trouble?”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. It’s Danny we’re all worried about. He told me before he got caught that if anything happened to him, I should find you. Tucker helped us narrow down where exactly you are and sent you that text to get you to where we met.”

“What do you think I can do?”

“I don’t know,” Dash admits. “But Danny trusts you, and he needs your help.”

Duke was never going to say no to this request to begin with, but damn if those words don’t make him want to run to Amity Park without waiting for anyone else.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay. I’ll help rescue him and bring down the GIW. You should go now, before they get too suspicious.”

“What are you planning?”

“I got a couple of friends who are good at destroying government property. Trust me, you’ll see what we’re up, we’re pretty noticeable if we’re pissed off enough.”

“Don’t take too long then,” Dash says, standing up, “I expect a good show from you. See you around, man.”

And with that, Dash pats Duke’s shoulder and leaves the study room. Duke doesn’t follow after him.  He’s got a rescue to start planning, and the less time he wastes, the better.

In the end, it’s pretty simple. It’s not a hard mission at all when the time comes for them to act, but the amount of data they gather and have to shift through is daunting. But that’s more Tim and Barbara’s forte, so he trusts them to handle it. 

Together with Red Robin, Spoiler, and Black Bat, they hit Amity Park hard and fast. 

One night was spent learning the lay of the land and every station and lab set up by the GIW. The second night was spent burning it all down and tossing open cages full of green blob ghosts and a few transparent, weakly glowing human ghosts. Stronger ghosts, glowing brightly, joined them in a few places with battle cries and maniacal laughter.

They split up and took down all the bases and patrol stations on their own, sweeping through the city like vengeful shadows. 

By dawn, the GIW were in shambles, without any bases or equipment, and rounded up for arrest. 

Cass was the one to find Danny and his family; his parents were forced to create weapons for the GIW under threat of Danny and Jazz’s torture. Danny was locked up like an animal and studied. Jazz had restraints on, including a muzzle, and a bloodthirsty rage in her eyes. Apparently, she had put up the most fight and, while being studied for repeated exposure to ectoplasm and radiation, started biting people.

The Fentons are big names in this conflict. Tim makes the executive decision to burn one of his out-of-state safehouses so they can hide and recover in peace, then promptly moves them into it as soon as the EMTs give them the all clear. They’re gone by the time the sun is rising over the horizon, and the curious Amity Parkers that have gathered behind the blockade of police cars have to be reassured that the Fentons have been taken away for their protection, not for further abuses. Even then, tensions are high and the locals are clearly prepared to start rioting now that they have a chance to fight back.

As vigilantes, they’re not meant to interact with cops much. Perhaps it’s simply their experiences in Gotham that keep them at a distance, disappearing into the neighborhood the moment attention shifts off of them. Either way, Duke is hurrying out of Amity Park with the rest of the team on his heels, eager to return to Gotham and follow up on their own leads to make sure the GIW is properly gutted and dismantled. 

Duke heads off for the Hatch as soon as they reach Gotham, hoping to shed the suit and finally be able to call Danny. The guilt of not noticing how bad things had gotten rolls through his stomach, and more than that, he’s missed hearing Danny’s voice. 

The first few calls go straight to voicemail. Duke leaves a quick message asking Danny to let him know how he’s doing as soon as he can talk. 

Then he goes for a shower and to change into civilian clothes, prepared to make his way to Wayne Manor to let Bruce know how everything went. And hopefully distract him from his Disappointed Father/Leader Lecture about taking on missions behind his back, as if Duke can’t handle himself. And also because Bruce has no leg to stand on when it comes to this. He’s fully prepared to throw that entire lecture back into his face at a moment’s notice.

The post-mission exhaustion is hitting him hard and fast. Duke has to brace himself against the wall once he’s out of the shower, resisting the urge to just lie on the floor and sleep there until he starts feeling more human. 

Somehow, he gets himself into some sweatpants and a plain shirt, pulls on a pair of mismatched socks, and begins gathering his things so he can get to the Batcave. 

He’s in no state to be driving. Maybe someone would be willing to take him there?

Just as he reaches for his phone to thumb through his contacts and see who he can bother, it buzzes in his hand. Duke blames the way he jumps on his exhaustion, then blinks his tired eyes to squint at the name that pops up onto the screen.

Danny.

All at once, his exhaustion fades away. A rush of adrenaline runs through him as he scrambles to accept the call, already pacing around the room so he doesn’t fall asleep. 

“Hello?”

There’s a moment of silence, then the exhale of a breath that turns to static over the call. “Duke,” Danny’s tired voice says. “Duke…”

“You doing okay? I couldn’t get to you before you and your family had to leave and go into hiding, but I’ve been worried about you, man.”

“I’m good. We’re all fine, now. Fentons are strong, you know? We’ll bounce back in no time.”

From what he’s heard about Danny’s family, that’s most definitely true. He’s seen the pictures of walls Jack Fenton has burst through with his body. It’ still hard to believe that no one in the family is a meta, outside of Danny.

“You need anything? I can get it to you, just say the word. Anything at all.”

Danny hums, then asks with a playful note in his voice, “Anything?”

“Anything.”

“I need you. How fast can you come meet me? I’ll even pay for express delivery.”

Duke laughs, so relieved at hearing the lightness return to Danny’s voice that he feels weak in the knees. “It’ll be at least two days. I gotta sleep and debrief with Batman before I can see you. It’s gonna take some time to get out of Gotham again.”

“Maybe I can go to you, instead,” Danny suggests. “Fly over and be there is less than an hour.”

“Are you in any shape to be flying right now?”

“I’m fine! Already healing and everything,” Danny insists.

“It might be dangerous if any rogue GIW agents go after you.”

“Well,” Danny says, “That’s why I need to get to my knight in shining armor sooner rather than later, right?”

Duke bites his lip to fight back a smile, blinking his eyes forcefully to keep them from closing under the heavy weight of exhaustion. “Does that make you a damsel in distress?”

“I mean, I did need rescuing, so I guess? I’m not much of a damsel, but I could put on a pretty dress for you. It’ll be like playing pretend when we were kids.”

“Oh, man, I kinda miss those poofy dresses. I think I could still rock on, put it on top of the armor when I go out for patrol.”

Danny snickers. “Signal: the most well dressed vigilante in Gotham.”

“That’s me, baby!”

The last of the agonizing fear that’s choked him since he first talked to Dash finally melts away. Danny’s fine now. Everything’s okay; the GIW are done for and there’s plenty of people willing to look out for the Fentons. This will never happen again.

“Hey,” Danny says, voice suddenly turing more serious. “Send me your location. I wasn’t joking when I said I could fly over to you. And before you say anything! I do need it; Jazz and my parents are smothering me and I just need to get away from everything and pretend all of this never happened.”

The admission softens Duke, makes him shove away everything that tells him this is a bad idea, that Danny needs more rest first, that having Danny fly over alone and without warning any of the Bats fills Duke with anxiety. 

He does miss Danny. More than he can put into words.

“Yeah, okay,” he says at last. “Come meet me, Danny.”

He texts Danny the location of the Hatch before common sense tells him to be more careful with his base of operations. Not that it matters, anyways; if there’s anyone in the world he trusts with everything, it’s Danny. 

Then he sends the Bats a quick text saying he’s crashing in the Hatch and to not bother him until the sun is fully up two days from now. Oracle gives him a thumbs up emoji, which is a good guarantee that she will personally see to it that no non-emergency messages interrupt his rest and recovery time.

Duke has no idea how long it will take Danny to get to the Hatch, so he putters around, cleaning up the space and straightening it out in an attempt to keep busy enough that he doesn’t crash. Travel really takes it out of him. It’s one of the cons of being born and raised in Gotham: he doesn’t have the stamina to travel outside of it, especially when they were there and back in less than three days.

Thank god for Tim’s many motorcycles and his tendency to see the speed limit as a weak suggestion that can be ignored while on a mission.

Ultimately, the call of sleep is too strong to resist. 

One moment, Duke is sorting through files on the Hatch’s computer, and the next moment, he’s face down on a bed with his face shoved into a pillow. 

Blearly, he manages to pull his phone out of his pocket and send Danny a typo-ridden text that hopefully gets across the message of might be asleep so just come in, don’t wait for me to answer the door.

He’s out like a light as soon as it sends. The last thing Duke registers is his phone dropping out of his hand and falling against the mattress with a little bounce.

When he begins to wake up, something’s changed. As much as he wants to go back to sleep, awareness comes back to him slowly and Duke forces himself to claw his way out of unconsciousness to figure out what, exactly, is bothering him so much. Until he figures out what’s changed in the room, he won’t be able to sleep because he’ll be worried about someone breaking in.

His mind comes back online long before his body does. It’s only when he tries to move that Duke realizes he’s no longer alone on the bed; there’s someone wrapped up in his arms, body temperature a little too cool to be a normal human.

Blinking open his eyes, Duke looks down at the head of messy black hair and feels Danny’s soft breath ghost across his chest. 

“Danny?” he manages to say, voice rough with sleep. 

Danny hums and doesn’t move.

“Hey, look up. Let me see if you’re really alright.”

“Mmm, no,” Danny mumbles, burrowing his face into Duke’s chest some more. “‘m sleepy.”

A good argument. Duke is also sleepy. 

“Fine,” he says, “Check in the morning, then. G’night, Danny.”

“Night, Duke. Thanks for saving me.”

He tightens his grip on Danny, contentment burning warm in his chest. “Always, Danny. I’ll always save you.”

That’s why he’s a hero, after all. To save others, to reach a hand out to everyone the way he needed when he was younger. To keep the people he loves safe. To make sure Danny always finds a way back to him. 

This is what makes all the pain of this lifestyle worth it.

Danny makes everything worth it.

(@yourlocalcorviddad tagging to make sure you see this!)

[silenttrxxs]

choi san! x reader

fluff. no smut tonight lads

its been a long day, the same mundane tasks each and every day piling and overwhelming every sense in your body.

you rolled over in your bed, trying so hard to allow the comfort from your multitude of pillows and teddies consume you, to rid yourself of the deepening hollow that threatened to fill your chest. you longed for something more... or more so someone. grabbing your phone where you hid it under your pillow pulling yourself out your own thoughts in the best way you knew how. your hands shaking as you typed in the name on your message tabs and started typing.

● - hey.. i know youre busy but have you got 5 i need ...i need someone right now

you sent the message, trying to calm the noise that built up in your ears, the constant ringing of voices echoing inside your head telling you all these things you knew deep down was meaningless but it didnt stop them from screaming at you. your doubts clouding your judgement more often than you would care to admit. you knew messaging him may have been something you shouldnt have done... heck having a slight epiphany that he would even given you the light of day was something that plagued you daily... you knew you had nothing. not a single thing that could be classed great to give someone in todays society. this eat at you all the time, you tried to give yourself a break; to allow the thoughts to be pushed right to the back of your skull but on days like this... well more so nights like this it had become a nightly routine to be soaked in your own head.

you jumped out your skin as you felt your phone vibrate as it rested on your chest whilst you become clouded in your thoughts again. picking it up and blinking away the blurryness from your eyes.

산 - y/n whats up? come out to your living room...

you looked around, a dim light from your living room coming into your bedroom, you remembered turning everything off before hopping into your bed. stumbling a little you slipped your houseshoes on and padded towards the door, opening it slowly, the light making your head hurt a little but you gasped loudly as you saw him.

San had been practicing before getting your text, the message coming as he picked up his water bottle from his bag, scrolling as he swung the bag over his shoulder.

"im out guys, ill see you tomorrow" was the last words said before he made his way to your home, taking the key from the fob and letting himself in. hed set up a snack table and blankets on the couch and was now sat in the window, his gaze falling on you as he petted your pet cat.

"hey..." he spoke slowly, gently putting the cat back on their tower and walking towards you.

"h-hey w-wasnt you busy?" you breathed out a wave of relief washing over your body as he stepped closer to you.

"care to tell me whats up?" san says his arms wrapping around you before you could utter a reply.

the walls you tried ever so hard to hold up, the bridge you put in place between yourself and others now crashed down. the tidal wave of emotions flooding through your body and as you sobbed into his chest.

he didnt utter a word, no words were needed. he felt your emotions no matter the distance between yourselves, he had once been here, the self doubt eating him whole from the inside.

no words from anyone would rid of the pain that consumes you when this happens. you held onto him tightly the weight of your emotions making your knees buckle from under you, you sniffled back the tears trying to stop the wave flooding you. but the sheer pressure being too much you couldnt stop, hiccuping into his chest as he just held you.

your body finally calming as you felt his comforting hold guide you to the couch, a blanket being wrapped over you both as he moved getting you both into a comfortable position. he planted a soft kiss to your cheek before passing you a chocolate bar.

"eat and rest, im here now im not going anywhere" san said softly.

this was all you needed... him.

[imaginariumwanderer]

So I finished the latest story...

This is pretty horrifying from a cookie's perspective. One of cookiekind's main forms of happiness is their ability to express their various colorful flavors/personality. I suppose it's the same thing as tripping a living human of their sentient and individuality. Ego death. Leaving behind hollow flesh

We be committing unspeakable crimes against nature with this one✨

We be crumbling our colleagues while slowly losing our mind with this one✨

On another note, "eyecing" make its glorious return. I have no memory of it being used before the Mystic Flour update. Can anyone point out the other times it was used, if there's any?

????!!!!! OMG HIIII

MORE CJ PAWLIKOWSKI VOICE ACTING YES YES YES

Don't do it, don't give me hope...

I know he's the last to be released u don't need to tease me like that

So the other-space here clearly refer to the Dark side of the Moon, right? Is there any other-space I don't know about? Also, I guess this confirmed Shadow Milk is the only one able to do this astral projection thing. On one hand, it increases his chance of appearing a bit more before his own update, on the other hand, we most likely won't see the other Beasts having any talking-role any time soon

The implications here...

So the Beasts may likely have their own voices of their Light just like the Ancients does. And "Soul Jam"... Without an (s), Shadow Milk is specifically referring to his Soul Jam here, I can't believe my headcanon of the Light of Deceit/Knowledge whispering things to him is becoming true

It's a thing unique to Shadow Milk and not the other Beasts too. Interesting how both the voices of the Light of Truth and Deceit operate differently from the other Lights' (referring to the theory that the Light of Truth have never make an actual appearance since all instances of it in-game were all Shadow Milk's disguise)

... Clownage. Whelp! time to integrate that into my daily vocabulary!

Alright, so we got confirmation Smilk is not only aware of Dark Enchantress' plans but he's actively helping her out. Whenever he's oblivious to her other, secret plans (stealing the Beasts' Soul Jams) or he's aware and already have a counter measures to it though, is still up in the air.

My money is on the latter. Shadow Milk have shown time and time again he's way more knowledgeable than he let on. The way Dark Enchantress was depicted in his previous "play" does show us a certain level of... Appreciation(?) but who's to say he actually trusts her? It really does feel like a "I rub your back if you rub mine and then we'll backstab each other" kind of deal. Now I'm curious about the other Beasts' opinions on Dark Enchantress as well.

Where's Dark Enchantress anyways? We haven't seen her make any on-screen appearance in a while. I, um, I missed her a lot actually. I missed the diabolical meema

Laughing at Wind Archer cookie repeatedly telling Smilk to stfu from the moment they've met. He's saying what we've all been thinking

Also laughing at Shadow Milk basically only here to make cryptic riddles and mocks our Wind Archer. He really does have nothing better to do lol

Yeah that's right, FRIENDSHIP will save the day!

For real tho, tons of intriguing implications about the Ultimate Cookie with this one. I gotta mulls over them for awhile...

GUYS NEW SMILK'S SPRITE JUST DROPPED

HE'S ROLLING HIS EYES. HE'S SO DONE I'M DEAD

"In conclusion, this changed nothing!"

Kidding, kidding! I was getting real worried for Wind Archer there despite knowing full-well it's not crk's style to let something happen to a character unless they're a minor villain or an elderly *grinding my teeth trying not to bring up Elder Faerie again oops too late-*

The unexpected yet sweet moment of empathy Wind Archer have toward the Ultimate Cookie combined with the stunning animation toward the end were definitely my favorite part of this little adventure. Although I half-expected for him to have his magical girl transformation like White Lily and Dark Cacao right then and there-

"Beast-Yeast EP 5 coming soon to theaters near you! Remember to stay tuned, mkay? Okie dokie? Pinkie promiseee?"

[dreamyyesenia]

Always Keep Simming - A Ghostly Welcome

When the Blackburn’s entered the living room of the, formerly empty, Haunted House they were planning to hide in, they were surprised to find it occupied- by a ghostly figure. Who had just casually stated how delicious of a meal they’d made for them… Gemma wasn’t impressed by this though.

„Dear Ghost, I‘m sorry to destroy your dreams but you can’t actually eat us. You’re not a living being, thus you don’t have organs to properly digest us. You can pass through us, my theory is that that could be a bit odd and cold but nothing that a sims‘ organism can’t handle!“, she declared, being very proud of her observations and conclusions. Gavin, ever the supporter of his fearless twin, nodded. „Sorry to break it to you. You’re kind of dead, you know?“, he said in a sweet soothing voice. The Ghost was utterly surprised by these kids and looked at them, speechless. Then, they turned to Aileen and Colin who, as they always did, let their twins speak out freely (even if it could potentially make things worse).

„Interesting to see what you two produced. All that wohoo wasn’t for nothing, I guess!“, she bend over laughing.

„Wohoo? Did you guys attend a party without telling us?“, Gemma asked and looked at her parents with an accusatory expression. Aileen and Colin exchanged embarrased and confused glances.

„Wwhat wohoo do you mean? Do we know you?“, Colin asked the Ghost.

The Ghost smirked. „I‘m sure you remember the days you two spent here. Doing „scientific research“ - hach! I know exactly what kind of experiments went on in these rooms…“ She wiggled her eyebrows at Aileen and Colin. Gemma and Gavin were getting more and more curious and excited by the second, so Aileen said: „Okay, so you lived here, when Colin and I were staying here? We never saw you!“

„I‘m Lenore, Lenore Goth. The illegitimate daughter of Mortimer Goth. No one ever saw me, noone knew I existed. And yet, I am the heir and resident of this magnificent house. And it will always be this way. I will haunt this place forever. I didn’t show myself to you two because I thought you were adorable. Two eggheads, slightly mad, obsessed with the paranormal… you seemed like my kind of people. I‘d have loved to babysit the twins for you…“, she rambled, looking thoughtfully out of the window.

Aileen was shocked. The Goths had been close friends with Aileen‘s grandparents, she knew that her great-uncle had been married to Cassandra. Alexander had lived in Oasis Springs with his husband… . So, when Mortimer and Bella had died, the mansion was left vacant. „Who was your mother?“, Aileen asked.

Lenore chuckled. „Lilith Vatore, one of the originals. It was a one-night fling on spooky day. I was raised in Forgotten Hollow but I fled to this town when I was a teen to find my dad. I was still a fledgling though, I burned in the midday sun. Noone ever found me. I became a Ghost and decided to never leave the place of my demise…“

The Blackburn’s were seated in the living room and listened to the tragic story of Lenore. Gemma asked:“But, don’t you ever want to move on? Find peace in the Netherlands?“

Lenore looked to the ground, suddenly seemingly depressed. „I still feel like there’s so much to be done. I‘m not finished with this place. What was the reasoning for my existence? This question haunts me daily…“

They stayed silent for a bit. Then, Aileen proposed:“Well, Lenore, maybe we can help you with that? My husband and I are researching everything about the occult and I know that ghosts have been neglected by the sims, until now. Let us change that. We can publish our findings and honor you in it. That way, your name will be known by many sims. People will remember you for your contribution to our work. Doesn’t that sound good?“

„Me, being featured in a book? That other sims will read?“, Lenore seemed to be speechless for a moment. Then, she turned her gaze to Aileen and asked with slight narrowed eyes:“And what do you want from me, other than my knowledge? There has to be something in this that would benefit you…“

Aileen nodded, staying calm and collected, as she always was. „We need a place to lay low because a crazy spellcaster sage is after us. We live right next door but we can’t cast a protection spell there yet because the Crystal Tree is too small. We hoped coming here wouldn’t be too obvious and the specters coming at night would deter anyone from investigating here“, Aileen explained.

Lenore looked at a painting behind them thoughtfully.

„ Well, you’re definitely safe here from any intruders, the specters are like little guardians of this place. But we could ask Bonehilda, she’s always so helpful! I‘m sure she has an idea how to help you beat that witch. Alright then, if you guys are staying here, we need to hurry up! It’s winterfest eve!“, Lenore declared happily.

The twins sprang up from their seats and started dancing. „Let’s celebrate winterfest! Presents! Presents!“

[speedycoffeedelight]

An Animalistic Disaster

CH-24: An abandoned shelter

Summery : Angel and Niffty explore the basement of the cabin as you try your best to not let your cousin and Jake mingle (and fail miserably)

Masterlist

" Angel! Angel are you okay??"

Niffty quickly ran up to the spider that fell down the stairs. One of the steps was rather worn out as they were coming down. It creaked a bit when Niffty stepped on it but it couldn't handle Angel's weight as his foot went inside. Causing the boy to lose his footing and go spiraling downwards screaming.

Angel fell on the dirty floorboard with a 'thuck' as dust went flying all around him, causing him to cough violently. His light fell down beside him, now going a bit dimmer. Niffty soon joined beside him, checking for any injuries. " I'm *cough* fine toots.." his voice seemed to echo throughout the room as a rat scurried away.

He quickly grabbed the flashlight and gave it a few hits as the colour returned to being bright as it once was. Angel and Niffty held each others hand as they shone the light inside.

There was a big empty space in front of them with some pillars around. No, not completely empty, as they moved the flashlights, they saw a few crates and barrels scattered around in the corner. The space had to be twice as big as the cabins. There were dust and spiderwebs everywhere.

He again gulped as they stepped in, their footfalls echoed with every step. Soon enough they reached the other side of the room. " A-Angel... what's that??" Niffty said pointing down at something.

Angel quickly flashed his flashlight towards it, it was a broken boby doll, a few cockroaches scattered away from the hollow side of the face. " Eugh...what the.." He quickly looked away from it as they focused on going to investigate the crates instead. He didn't dare to go towards the open ones since he saw a rat scurrying to get in there, so there must be a nest of them or something. Instead he went to a closed one.

He handed Niffty his flashlight as blew the dust away from its side crouching down. Most of the paint had already worn off, so it was indistinguishable to see what was written. After looking for a bit, he picked up a rusty looking crow bar close enough to the boxes. On the count to three, he popped open the lid as they both peeked inside.

" These are..cans..." Niffty picked up one. " These are canned mushrooms...and this one's biscuits! They look old!!" Niffty said holding them. They also found some old daily life necessities like pots and teared up clothes. It was clear people once used to live here. Angel quickly began to put two and two together. " This..this must have been some kind of shelter." He whispered looking at Niffty.

" We need to let others know."

.

.

.

.

You stood there agape for some time. Melody looked at you in confusion before she opened the door fully and took in the visitor. Her eyes widened seeing the handsome stranger as they locked eyes together.

Jake was wearing a loose grey hoodie with black loose pants. His black hair looked a bit unruly and messy. However that only added to his looks. Melody gasped as she sat Husk down on the floor and nudged you in the arms.

" You didn't tell me you had a handsome boyfriend as well~ how dare you!"

If you could melt into the floor right then and there, you would have. It's far better than the flow of embarrassment that just went through you. You were going to give her a good smack as soon as Jake was out of the house.

Jake just chuckled and leaned down towards Melody. " That would be something. but I'm afraid I'm just her good ol' neighbour. Here to make amends with girlie right here. For what it's worth, I think you're cute as well. " He said with a wink making Melody flush.

Oh no, this was not happening. You were not letting these two mingle together and let him seduce your precious cousin. With what you know about Melody, this guy was soon going to be her new crush if you let things just roll out. He had both the looks and the vibe for it.

" Oh well, Let me introduce you two. Jake this is Melody, my dearest cousin. And Melody, this is Jake, my new neighbour that I have been graced with. " You said as fast as you could and stood between them while looking up at Jake. Melody huffed at this and leaned over from your shoulder.

" So Jake, to what do I owe the pleasure? You said you were here to make.. amends? "

" Yes, to say sorry for the trouble my friends and I caused you and I felt like a welcoming gift was long overdue. So I brought you-" he lifted up the package and the container. " Some fresh cut of venison from my hunts and some rabbit stew cooked by yours truly."

Melody's eyes began glittering behind you. So this tall, dark and mysterious guy can not only hunt, but also could cook. What a catch! She had to know more about him.

She shoved you aside quickly and held out her hand towards him. " It's a pleasure to meet you Jake!" The tinge of excitement of her voice was easily noticeable by you. Jake held both the container and the meat in one hand and extended the other to handshake. Melody's hand was tiny compared to Jake's. The size difference was also noticeable to all three of you as you scowled looking at the scene while the other two looked at each other lovingly (from your point of view at least).

You quickly got behind Melody again and pulled her close to you with a tight lipped smile, breaking the handshake much to Melody's disappointment. " Melody! You came all the way here just now. I'm sure you must be exhausted! You go ahead to relax in my room while I see him out, okay?" Melody pouted looking up at you. " What? See him out? He just came too! Invite him over for tea at least." Your grip on her shoulder tightened, with your nails digging into her skin. Melody showed her tongue at you for a split second before quickly getting out of your grasp and holding his hand to drag him inside before you could say anything. The audacity of this girl.

Melody sat with him on the sofa seemingly bubbling inside with excitement. She quickly began chattering with him as you went to go store the venison and the stew he brought. You and Melody could have the stew for dinner, that is if he didn't poison it. You sighed now going over to the pair, praying to god's above to give you the strength to see this through.

Previously, Husk ran out as soon as he got the chance and ran up to Pentious, Vox and Cherri. " We gotta hide. (Y/n)'s cousin is here! Melody!" A gasp came from from Pentious and Cherri as Vox looked at the three in confusion. He had no idea who this Melody person was or their importance.

Cherri quickly crouched down to his height. " Is she here to stay or for a quick visit? I wanna take a peek at the gal. " She said excitedly. " Are you outta your damn mind?! We can't let anyone else see us!" Husk snapped a paw at her leg making her go back quickly. " Okay, okay damn, you're no fun old man..where would we even go?"

" Guys! Come with us. we found a fucking abandoned shelter!"

Suddenly Angel and Niffty were in front of them covered in dust and holding a torchlight. Husk looked at the two and looked over at Cherri.

" Guess we know where to at least hide now."

Soon enough, the five of them began to descend down the stairs of the basement. They took some leftover lights from Pentious's workplace as Niffty told them excitedly how she found it while cleaning. After she was done, Husk told them about Melody and Jake.

" Wait, isn't that like? Super bad? How long do we have to stay away?"

" Hell if I know, that girl had a lot of suitcases with her."

Cherri tsk'ed while Vox was listening to every word with eagerness. Jake was another new name to him. And by the looks of It, unlike Melody, this Jake person wasn't well liked in the group. It wasn't like he was very welcome to talk with them in the first place so all he could do was just listen. Pentious got spooked by some of the things there making him yelp as Niffty ran around the whole place looking at every corner. " I finally have something to clean!!"

Cherri sighed looking at the hyperactive girl. " At least someone's happy." Niffty suddenly stopped in front of a place that looked like an entrance of sorts but it was blocked off with rubble. She called the others to see.

" Maybe it leadsss to ssomewhere?" Pentious said shrugging. " Probably, but we don't have time to search for that now. We need to know about the situation in the cabin." Cherri said crossing her arms and then pointed at them. " You guys, stay here and clean while I-" she pointed at her chest. " Go talk with (Y/n)!"

" And why exactly you should be the one to go? Why can't I or the others go?" Vox raised his eyebrows. They seriously didn't think they could use him as some sort of cleaner, did they?

" Because shark-brain, we can't let the others see us as humans, but I can easily get in as a squirrel and talk with her." She said it as a matter of fact proudly. " You are a damn shark who can't even move on the ground in your animal form. Pentious is a snake and it might cause panic with others. Same with Angel, girls aren't really fond of spiders Angie, sorry."

"Well, fuck you too."

" And Niffty will be better of helping you guys clean. She is a maid after all. But she should come with me to get the cleaning supplies."

" What about me? I'm a damn cat? It should be far easier to send me." Husk replied extending his hands. Cherri looked at him up and down uninterestedly. " Well if you go, there's no telling when you'll come back. You said Melody was keen on petting you correct ~"

No one could really say anything after the explanation as Cherri and Niffty climbed up happily, leaving the four boys together standing awkwardly in the basement.

" Um... sshould we start cleaning...?"

"Shut up Pentious.."

.

.

.

.

Niffty and Cherri turned into their animal forms after going up. They heard talking coming from the kitchen as they went around. Cherri came inside the cabin from the window of your room. Niffty was too small to get up there by herself.

Jake was in the middle of telling how he first met you, making you groan in your plams ready to escape. Especially when he was telling the part of how the hazbins were you friends not pets. The way Jake was telling it made you want to slap the guy in the face as your beloved cousin was dying laughing. You excused yourself to go into the washroom as your eyes fell on Cherri. You quickly picked her up and went to the bathroom and locked the door. Cherri transformed as soon as you two were alone in the secluded place.

" Cherri, you can't stay here. My cousin -" Cherri shushed you with a finger on your lips. " We know, we learnt from Husk. How long is she going to stay?" You told her that you still didn't know. Cherri clicked her tongue. " I'm sorry guys..I didn't know she was going to come." Cherri shushed you again. " Don't worry, we found a place we could stay for now. I'll tell you later, but we need cleaning supplies and things to stay for the night there "

You were confused on what they were talking about but after some quick thinking you were soon placing the extra mattresses, cleaning supplies and pillows in Niffty's hands who waited outside the window. You would give food later after Jake finally goes away so you can sneak it outside. You also told them to be on the look out for Alastor, Charlie and Vaggie so they don't come inside after their work. After ensuring everything was alright, you went back to the pair.

"Then I found her in the alley! And wanna know what I saw?" " What did you see?" " There she was, your cousin, pinning my friend to the ground! The one that I was searching." A gasp came from Melody. " No way..."

You desperately fought the urge to roll your eyes at him as you sat your ass down once again. You felt like a third wheel between them.

After what felt like forever, he stood up to go. " Wait, gimme your number." Your cousin practically shoved her phone to his face. Was she freaking shameless? You shook your head. Jake looked more then happy to give it to him. " I'll talk to you later sweetie ~" he waved while getting out.

Your jaw dropped to the floor while Melody giggled. Did he..did he just call her fucking sweetie?!?! Oh hell no, not if you can help it. You grabbed her arm.

" No!"

"Whaaaat???"

"No, not that boy, I don't trust him!"

Melody squirmed out of your grasp. "Why noooot? He seems fine to me!! He tall, he's handsome, he's mysterious ~" she sighed happily while walking into your room and falling on top of your bed making you groan. Out of all the possibilities....why did this have to happen??

" Whatever, forget that boy. You're never seeing him again. Did you forget how your last relationship went?" Melody puffed her cheeks at you at your words. " He's different!" " Sure he is..now tell me why you came here. And what's with all these luggage?" You pulled your chair and sat on it facing her.

" Owh, I'm here for inspiration for my outfits." Oh right, you remembered suddenly. Melody was studying to become a fashion designer. Her parents were well against it but she pushed through. She also takes orders online for different handmade cosplays sometimes to earn cash.

" I thought staying close to nature with you these few days should do the trick." She replied happily. 'A....few..days..' you thought in your head. That meant the hazbins couldn't stay home for a few days!

" Also where are your animals? I saw the cat, but where's the rest?" Melody said looking around. " Jake told me you had lots of animals!" ' that damn jake...' " oh right ahaha.. they're outside probably. I'll show them later. Make yourself comfortable now."

Niffty went back inside the basement to clean as Cherri stayed out. As soon as Melody went inside the washroom to take a shower, you called Cherri. She soon entered the cabin as you handed her some foods that won't need to be cooked for at least the night. After she left, you quickly began hiding evidence of other people living with you. You cleaned up as much as you could. If Melody asked why things looked different after coming out, you could just say you were cleaning up.

Alastor, Charlie and Vaggie soon arrived home after they finished their shift. They couldn't wait to finally see you after this day that seemed to go on forever. Melody came out of the shower just in time when there was a knock on the door.

Cherri just finished bringing in the food to others as she climbed up and noticed the trio. She quickly began running up to them to stop them as Melody began walking towards the door before you could stop her. Time seemed to go on slow motion as Melody slowly opened the door.

"Hel-"

She was greeted with the sight of a large deer breathing down in front of her with a sheep, a moth and a squirrel. Her words got stuck in her throat as she let go off the door handle. You locked eyes with Alastor as you gulped silently mouthing him to go away. Suddenly all three of them began running off towards the woods as Melody could finally move. She ran to railings and watched them go.

"Was that...was that the deer and the sheep Jake mentioned?!?"

She practically screamed looking at you. Her eyes were twinkling with delight. " Can you call them back again??"

You sighed and held onto her shoulder as you pushed her inside. " No can do. It's late, they need to..get to their home as well. And uh..deers tend to be shy towards newcomers." You were pulling words outta you ass to fool her. " Maybe tomorrow okay? "

Alastor watched as the door closed as he and the others turned into human again.

" So.. that's Melody huh.."

" She's so pretty!! I thought I was looking at a doll! Vaggie, did you see her??"

" Yes, Hun..I did..but what do we do now?"

Cherri cleaned her throat to gather their attention. It was a close call. " Here's the plan for now so listen up!" She then told them about the supposed shelter and the things that happened today. ' Interesting ' Alastor thought in his head. Charlie groaned leaning into Vaggie's shoulder. They couldn't even rest properly after a long day of work? That felt like torture.

But they soon enough reached towards the basement walking quietly as they could. Niffty had already cleaned a good portion of the area for them to lay down their mattresses to sleep. Now she and as well as others were working to make the area as pest free as possible. Cherri, Angel and Alastor practically forced Husk to turn into his cat form to chase away the rats. ( It was mostly Alastor and the threat of his soul). Vox refused to touch any of the things first, but after everyone was talking about throwing him outside, he reluctantly agreed to help.

After making a corner somewhat presentable to stay and guarding the surrounding area, they sat down to eat. This was going to be a long night for the crew.

Meanwhile you were brushing Melody's hair in the cabin as the night went on. You had dinner with the stew Jake brought and luckily enough it wasn't poisoned. Well even if it was, it was taking a long time to take effect. One thing you couldn't deny is that he could actually cook well.

You may have forced Melody to eat a little too much tonight. The mothering side of you took over when you saw how skinny she got and may have threatened to shove food down her throat if she didn't eat. But it was all in good intention. She was now burping as she sat on the bed swinging her legs.

" How long are you planning to stay?" You asked in middle of brushing. " Hm, maybe like a week or so. Depending on how quickly I can get something out." You bit your lip. A week huh..that might be a problem.

You offered her the lounge room to set up her stuff there. She even brought a mannequin that she built up piece by piece. She also had various leathers, clothes and other sewing stuff that you didn't know about. Those things took up most of the suitcases. She only had one suitcase of her own necessary things.

You guys slept rather late in your bed after swapping stories, doing makeovers, randomly singing and other stuff. It was nice to catch up on things.

The next morning while you were making breakfast Cherri snuck in again. You gave her some money for Charlie, Vaggie and Alastor to get breakfast from outside while going to work. The rest can sneak breakfast from the cabin later. It was hard to drive the car undetected but you managed to make Melody focus on something else as they went away. Things were tough.

In the afternoon, you and Melody were sitting beside the lake. Air flowing through your sides as you both chatted. Suddenly you heard a deep meow as you both looked over. Husk came to your side and laid down. He had enough of Angel's stuffs. Soon enough Niffty also came running and almost jumped on your face. You held her as she barked at you. They missed you dearly. So they decided to at least hang out in animal forms.

Angel sneaked into the cabin as a spider earlier and spooked the life out of Melody. She called you to remove the spider. Which you did while scolding the boy. Niffty randomly came and ran around in the house. Melody fixed up a small bowtie for her which she wore proudly. She tried hard to get Husk to wear one too but he evaded every chance he got. You weren't aware of it, but it was their way of watching over you as well.

Pentious could only watch from the distance with sadness because he wasn't allowed to come. He tried once but Melody almost fainted when she saw a snake wrapped around your arm. She knew you were friends with different animals as Jake said but it still felt too unreal and dangerous to see it in front.

That night before going to sleep, you opened the window of the kitchen. Melody had already laid down on the bed. You told here you were going to get a glass of water. Vaggie was already waiting outside as you guys planned beforehand. She sat on your finger that you extended towards her. " Listen, tomorrow, after you guys go to work, have Pentious drive it back home. I plan to take Melody out to town." Vaggie looked at you and moved her antennas.

" In that time, others could come in the cabin to get any things necessary and relax a bit. I'm really sorry that you guys are going through this..I wish there was a better way to handle these.." you looked down sadly.

Suddenly Vaggie flew on top of your head and squeaked. " Hm? You know I don't understand what you're saying right?" You chuckled as she gave another squeak and flew to your cheek and rubbed her tiny head on it.  Maybe it was her way of telling you it was alright. It would be nice if that was the case.

" Who are you talking to?"

A.n: I feel like pacing has slowed down a little. I apologize for that🫠 things will go intense again later. Enjoy the peace till then.

Tag list: @legostars @glowinthedarkbones1150 @darifes @aria-tempest @rainbowcake1212 @luxylucylou

[artdivadej]

Survivor's Remorse (II)

Part Two

18+ | NSFW | PTSD

Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

How could I?

Peeta didn’t look scared but that didn’t make this ok. He’s a guy, of course his body would react on instinct. I had no right. I immediately bolt from the bed before he can grab me with those powerful hands of his. Always trying to hold me together and I’d violated him.

“I’m so sorry”, I gasped fighting my tears of disgust.

“Sweetness, you did nothing wrong”, he called in that honey sweet baritone.

I must have looked as feral as I did when I was coming off of the trackerjacker venom during my post-torture rescue. He only ever used that tone with me when I was about to lose my shit.

“I just assaulted you Peeta!”

“No. You were sleeping you-”

“Exactly! Just like what Marvel did to me! You were unconscious!”

“It’s not the same”, he tried softly. “You know how I feel about you. Marvel had no right to touch you!”

I forgot how wild the mention of Marvel made Peeta. I’d never watched our games, no intentions on seeing myself suffer in HD when it never left my nightmares. Marvel was the only tribute that Peeta had killed but I’d been unconscious when it happened. I’d woken up 3 days later latched onto Peeta like a tick, refusing to let go. No panties or shirt under my jacket and jeans but very sore. Marvel was nowhere in sight but, there was blood on the left wall of the cave. Peeta told me he’d gotten to me in time but with the soreness I had? It was clearly to keep what little sanity I’d had left intact. I allowed them to think I’d believed the lie.

It took what little good I had left in me. Forever taking what little hope I had to be with Peeta away.

“I was unconscious. So were you. Unconscious people can’t say no”, I snarled taking another step backwards.

“It’s not the same. I invited you into my bed. I lov-”

“Stop it!” I screeched bolting from the room.

I can hear Peeta scrambling to get together to come behind me but I’ve always been faster. And I cared little for pants anyway. I darted out the window and took off to the forest. It’d grown much lusher since the districts can come and go between each other. It was warm out even with night still reigning. I needed to hurt something so I didn’t hurt myself. Going to my hollowed-out trunk I bypassed the bow today, needing more personal methods of killing tonight.

I stayed out until the sky began to turn Peeta’s favorite colors. Taking that as my sign to head back with my haul. I left half of my kill in the ice cooler in the now updated shed out here that the hunters have asked my permission to utilize. They can carry the heavy buck back to town themselves. I’d skinned it. They can do the rest.

After taking a bath in the pond I finally trekked back to the Victors Village, peeking around the homes to make sure Peeta wasn’t in sight. When the coast was clear I slid into the side window of Haymitch’s living room and started a fire, depositing my kill in the sink. He was fast asleep in one of the armchairs in front of the fire with a cup beside him. I fumbled through the middle cabinet in the back compartment for my secret stash. Found em! I grabbed three of the bottles of the clear liquid and plopped down on the loveseat in front of the fire.

“Want some pants there sweetheart?”, he chuckles with a stretch that makes his bones pop loudly.

“No. But I’ll take a blanket”

He removed the black fuzzy blanket from the chair that Peeta usually sits in and draped it over my legs since I was sitting Indian-style on the couch staring into the flames. The smell of his cinnamon wafted into my nostrils hitting me with another wave of guilt.

“You know he was here looking for you last night, right?”

“I’m sure”, I grimace swallowing 1/3 of the first bottle in one swig.

I understood why Haymitch used to drown himself daily to numb the memories. I quite liked the burn of alcohol myself and the dreamy state that I felt when it hit.

“A bit early for you, isn’t it?”

“You’re one to talk”, I snort

“Exactly. I said early for you”

He took the second bottle from my lap and poured half into his teacup. I shoot him a halfhearted smirk. Haymitch was my mentor but he became more of a father to me than I’d ever known. I liked that he was flawed. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this. He didn’t judge me. Haymitch just was blunt. Not everyone liked that. I did. We’d grown close in our last 5 years together knowing he wasn’t one to lie to me....normally. We sat in comfortable silence for a little while before it came tumbling out.

“I molested Peeta”, I breath shakily as I take another gulp.

Haymitch choked on his hot toddy and slammed the cup down. He was on the couch beside me forcing me to look at him faster than I could register with his powerful grip. Sometimes I forget just how agile he can be.

“That is not what you did! Don’t fucking say that again!”

“It’s what it feels like! I was never supposed to taint him!”

“Grow up! You’re both adults now. You know good and God damn well if Peeta invited you to sleep in that bed with him, he’s more than willing to take whatever you give him. He wouldn’t have allowed you to sleep beside him anymore once you turned 18 if you both hadn’t known what could come from your little arrangement!”

“Not like that Pops”, I cried wiping my eyes in frustration. “I almost did to him what Marvel did to me. It’s why I can’t with Peeta. He deserves so much better”

“Is that what you really think happened?”

I’d never seen Haymitch’s crystal blue eyes so downhearted. To finally understand that I never once believed any of them when they told me that lie to keep me sane.

That I know they’d all lied to me.

“If you refuse to watch the game, I think you owe it to Peeta to ask him about what happened that night”

“I did”

He knew this entire topic left me feeling as raw as if the gamemakers rubbed me through a grater.

“No, you didn’t. In the games all you did was ask what happened to Marvel. You never talked about it when he told you he got to you in time. You just assumed he meant saving your life”

“Drop it”

“No. Talk to him about it. It didn’t happen”

“Your pussy didn’t hurt for a week!”, I shout into his stupefied face pushing him away from me and stomping to the kitchen to grab another bottle now that mine were empty.

Haymitch is on me in seconds.

“Look, we can drink ourselves blue, but go sit. Get warm. I’ve got this. We’re going to talk about this. Now”

I resign myself to listen, my body already wracked with physical exhaustion. I didn’t want to deal with the emotional draining this topic required. I curl back up under the soft covers, staring into the flames, wishing they’d swallow me whole. The one person I swore to protect, I’d violated. Yet he’d come here looking for me worried about my mental health. Haymitch has made me a hot toddy and it warms my whole body with each sip.

“You were right you know”

“I always am” he huffed indignantly

“I could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve him”

“I was being bitter when I said that”

“Still true”

“Never was. You underestimate him as a man and that’s your problem. I know you’re healing; you’re growing. We all are. But you need to accept that he is a man now. Peeta is fully aware of the consequences to all of the choices you two make. Respect him by accepting that”

“I know full well what an amazing person Peeta is”

“Clearly. I said as a man. If you’re dry humping him in your dreams, might as well accept that you love him too. No point in fighting it sweetheart. Truth be told, I thought this happened years ago”

“Haymitch!”

Either the liquor was kicking in or he just was feeling unusually open today. We never really discussed my private life with Peeta sleeping at my place or me at his. I did feel quite loose but I didn’t feel safe. I eyed the chair warily but decided I would need his scent to sleep comfortably. I dragged the comforter up with me and curled into the plush armchair Peeta always sat in, burying my nose in the arm cushion. It smelled just like him. Bread, butter, whiskey and honeysuckle.

“You love him and it’s time to accept it. Even if you were just friends, you don’t think you owe him a conversation about what happened? No matter how in denial you are about what happened in your games”

“I’m scared”, I admit with a tremble as my body sags further into the chair.

I’d only slept for 2 hours at Peeta’s and I was exhausted, the liquor snatching the rest of my energy that his comforting scent hadn’t. I’d been comfortable pretending to believe the lie without ever having to discuss it.

“You’ll get over it” Haymitch snorts tucking the blanket in tighter around me

I feel a kiss to my forehead before I’m out.

***

Haymitch slipped some morphling in your drink. It was easy to get you to listen when he slipped you some after coming down from a manic episode as your sanity lapsed sometimes. It still happened to him sometimes too. It bothered him that you’d felt this way for 5 years but, hopefully you and Peeta would work that out.

Speaking of which.

Haymitch made his way 5 houses down, not bothering to knock as he strolled into Peeta’s kitchen. He’d been up all night worried about you. It was clear because there was fresh baked bread, rolls and bagels all over the counters. Haymitch pocketed 2 rolls clearly made from District 4’s tropical ingredients. Finnick must have sent some over. He grabbed a loaf of raisin bread that had to have come out recently because it was steaming. Peeta looked up from the sink hearing Haymitch crunch on a bear-claw behind him noisily. He quickly dropped the pan he’d been holding and darted over, his wide brown eyes full of worry.

“Is she ok?”

“You are free to come and pick up your delightful cinnamon roll at your leisure. She’s passed out in your chair. Again”

“Did...did you slip her morphling?”

“Didn’t have much choice after the nonsense she was talking”

“What do you mean?”

Peeta removed his apron and slipped on a hoodie, following Haymitch down the front stairs. Haymitch stopped and let out a sigh that seemed like it weighed his entire spirit down.

“She thinks she molested you. And that Marvel raped her”

Now it was Peeta’s turn to recoil.

“What?”

“Exactly”

It would take at least 6 hours for the morphling to wear off but Peeta was nothing if he wasn’t patient. He waited 11 years just to be noticed by you. He could wait a few more hours to clear this up and truly make you his. He made his way into Haymitch’s living room to see you passed out on his lounge. Nuzzling your nose deep into the cushions to feel as if you were surrounded by his natural smell. This brought Peeta some comfort. You still only wore one of his t-shirts and a pair of boxershorts, but it was clear you’d been out hunting. There were still some leaves in your long, dark curls. There were still some leaves in your long, dark curls. He plucked them out and ran his fingers through them tenderly.

“Sorry about this”

“Don’t be. Just...work this out. Today”

“I will”

Peeta scooped you into his arms with ease, blanket and all, carrying you to his home and lying you down back in the bed. He had at least an hour before you began to fight at the morphling, realizing you were alone.

He had to find that tape.

Then he'd have to wake up an old ally. Hopefully he'd have time for him right now.

It took about 20 minutes of fumbling through the large box from when Effie had sent the previous victor tapes over for the Quarter Quell but he finally found it. It took another 20 minutes to split the particularly unpleasant angles out, Peeta grit his teeth angrily trying to keep his head together as his rage threatened to consume him. Beetee helped him through it, talking deeply and gently through their breathing and processing techniques. Once he had the tape together he took it into the bedroom and lay it on the nightstand. Watching you sleep for a little bit, wanting to climb in beside you so bad.

A few hours of indulgence couldn't hurt.

[khristie16]

Table number six p.1/...

pairing: charles leclerc x reader summary: you decided to disappear from your hometown with your bestfriend, finding the anchor in Monaco. With your talent to be in the right place at the right time you got yourself to some fine situation Warnings: none beside google translated French Word count: 3.3K

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Charles, we cannot do this! as you looked around if someone could see you. Why. Because you're in a relationship! I'm not anymore -

It all started under normal circumstances. You recently moved out of your hometown. Actually a whole country. You couldn't proceed further with that was happening here. It was your family. They were draining the life out of you. You were naturally a happy spirit, always smiling widely and genuinely, because you were actually enjoying life. Always remembering to live in the present moment till it became natural to you. You knew this about you, you've always been like this but lately you were more of trying instead of being to be the same YN as you were few years ago. The older you got, the harder it was to stay the same. And it was scary to you to be changing to a different person right in front of your own eyes since you didn't want to become someone you didn't want to be.

The whole problem was your family. They were suffocating you with just their presence. Each morning you got up, went for a breakfast and all of them were stressing about literally anything. You hardly could breathe in their presence. Like they were exposing their hollow parts of their soul onto you. And unfortunately, being in the same presence, you were inhaling it all. That's when you started changing. You still persisted and resisted such state, but it was too much to bare. In the beginning the only getaway for escape were books. You somewhat found peace in psychology and applying it onto your daily struggles and your whole family issues to find some sort of agreement and compassion. It helped you a little to survive on daily basis. But even this was not enough. -

Soo you have a big dream in your life? Oh yes. I do. What is it? It is a secret -

One time at a party, you met this guy. He was actually more interested in talking to you rather than getting into your panties. He was easy going as you and after short amount of time you got more into a deep talk. You've talked about life and he said something you remember till this day. And you know for sure you will keep it in your heart till the day you die: Fear is learnt. It is not given. Fear is here to put us back and never fulfill our dreams. Change your habits and fear will have no place in your life anymore. From that time you dwelled on that. And lived by this rule. At least you tried especially in the beginning.

And this was the reason why you got the courage to move out. You got the courage, decided one time sitting on the bench and watching others, thinking about their lives and how you are now stuck in a place, where your soul doesn't want to be. And certainly you knew that only the fear is holding you back to actually do something about your terrific situation. As you decided about your future, you from that point were stubborn about that. And very soon your best friend knew about this idea since you told her. I want to get away. And never come back! I don't care about the serious stuff I should plan ahead. I don't care. I just know I need to get out.

Your friend was not in the best place either, the job was mentally draining her and the fact that she has a great potential but cannot pursue it, because of the place we are living, was the reason why she wanted to go with you. She told you she wouldn't have been able to do this if it were just for her alone. But with you she has all the strength in her.

Of course it is needed to say, you both came from quite rich families. You got it easier than most of the people who wanted to pursue the same idea. Still, disappearing and never wanting to see your family again- this is something you don't tell your family. You just wanna escape. Without goodbye, without words. Thank God you both were smart enough to have always put aside enough money these past few years. So now you have just enough money to go anywhere without the need to worry about them. -

We both agreed we go for it no matter what. And I know what I wanna do. But what about you? I don't know yet. I just like to read books, and contemplate on things. Then try to do exactly that. -

You always knew you want to study further in the sphere of psychology. Either way just by yourself or officially. That is why you applied to university in Monaco. And why Monaco? Better question is why NOT Monaco. The perfect place. You have everything there. The sun, the sea, the fancy places, nature, great food and awesome things to do there. Even the language wasn't the problem. You got a very good level of Italian language. On top of that your friend was visiting a French institute back in your hometown and promised you she will teach you enough French to understand others in Monaco. Which is exactly what happened. You had it planned. One day, one night, you packed the little of yours, the sentimental things you wanted to keep, to save from old life and your family, and got away. -

I've never been more grateful that I put aside the money. Hahaha yes! It is soo exciting. It feels like we are gonna save the world! I feel unstoppable. No fear. -

Few months have passed in Monaco. You found a nice place to live with your friend. Beautiful view, quiet neighborhood. You both accommodated quickly and most of the time the two of you spent living in your present moment here without the help of your cellphones. You both wanted to be aware the most what the new life you got for yourselves got for you. And thanks to that you were put in situation where you could only use your knowledge and your own memory, no translator whatsoever and your friend wasn't helping you either. You knew already enough to survive here. For the other part, you got accepted to university thanks to all of your gained knowledge from all of those years where you were hiding from your family's presence. Your friend Mary found a nice job where she could refine her potential. She now worked at embassy for translating French to Korean. Your friend was wild with languages.

And because you were the sun, the high spirit, you found friends very easily. You laughed easily and were funny by nature so you always attracted great people and especially those that wanted to show you how much they appreciate you. And they always wanted to show you the world, no matter If you knew this person for five minutes or a few days. You even got the opportunity to meet some great people in Monaco which you didn't know by then. -

Where are you from? Ah, just a small town in a small country. Well that is enough interesting for me to ask more -

You met your friend at a normal average cafeteria in Monaco. You were sitting there by yourself, reading your books to uni and drinking espresso macchiato when this stranger approached you complimenting you. You offered him a big smile and that is when you got him into his seat right in front of you. It is always your smile that sweep others off their feet. You talked a little and you found out his mum is working here and he is making a visit often. But most of the time he is finding himself in a different parts of Monaco since he has a very fancy and famous restaurant Le Louis XV. (No way!) You gasped at that information. You knew this place is THE place. Secretly by nights you were dreaming to visit this place, even if just for once. You wanted it so badly you got even obsessed with their official website, wolfing each information about their place, their food, their wine, their policies. Smiling so much it hurt you, you told him how beautiful this place is and how endeared you are by meeting someone like him who actually owns this place!

We are actually looking for some new waitress. You look very pretty, you look very kind and I'm sure you are very smart as well. We could hire someone just like you just like that. I like you enough already. I am sure you would do a great job.

Your mouth fell wide open and you immediately covered it with your hand. Still your eyes visible in shock. Your friend sitting in front of you chuckled.

I am so sorry! That is so awesome! But I don't even know your name! You laughed out so loud. It was silly to talk so much about each other and even receive such a compliment without knowing each other's name. Anyway you promised him that you will think it through and the two of you exchanged numbers. -

Oh cmon Mary! Let's go to this place! I need to see how it looks inside. Like really really see it on my own eyes. Plus! the guy already knows me. He will sure remember me. You mean the guy you don't know the name of? Haha very funny. His name is Jean. Well I'm afraid I cannot go. I still need to work on this script. It is super important. Quite urgent. Alright. I get it. You smiled. You were very happy for your friend that she is finally doing what she was waiting for so long. I will go by myself then. You smiled and prepared yourself. You sure know better to come there dressed up more fancy than on normal occasions. -

As your taxi got to the destination, you carefully stepped out and took a big inhale. Somehow the whole atmosphere was different around here. It smelled different. More alive you thought to yourself. Even the doors looked breath taking. But just from observing the place, basically just standing there, you had some sort of a feeling something will happen. Call it an intuition. With such state, your fear started creeping around the corners in your mind. You felt your heart beating fast, and your hands started to get sweaty. Taking a few steps forward, you saw the personnel were quite wild inside. (Weird). It didn't look so put together as you thought it would. Your fear was telling you you don't want to get yourself in trouble. But you remembered your party hero. You put all of those fearful thoughts to hell and stepped on the stairs. -

Maman, nous sommes restés assez déjà en attendant. Ne devrions-nous pas aller ailleurs ? Mom, we've been waiting enough already. Shouldn't we go somewhere else? Non, j'aime le plus cet endroit. On va attendre un peu. No, I like this place the most. We'll wait a bit. -

It was just around lunch. Around 3PM. Inside it looked…envoûtant.

Just in time! Ah! Bonjour Jean. Ca va? YN no time for talking. I need you asap. What? Your face don't lie. You looked shocked and scared. I need you to start working. (Whaaaaat???) But I didn't come here for work! I just arrived! YN - he held you by your shoulders - J'ai besoin de toi. But No But, I need you. You were looking into his eyes and they told you he was deadly serious. Our staff today is short, many people got sick! C'est foutu ici, regarde It's fucked up here, look You finally gathered some words to talk back. That is not possible! I don't even know where is the kitchen, nor the utensils and I don't even know all of the ingredients in what you are serving! And what about the wine???? You will handle it. Jean! Allez. The table number six. You just looked down, and nodded. Qui.

Jean led you to a staff room to change yourself. You changed yourself very quickly. You actually didn't have time for anything else. Not even thinking. But just one second to take a look at yourself in the mirror is what you needed. Looking in the mirror, you said Either way it is gonna be a big fuck up or a great experience. But I'm not backing up. Remember to just smile, be funny, the rest will hopefully be taken care of. Somehow.

You breathed a big exhale and got yourself out of the restroom. -

Aujourd'hui, ils manquent de personnel. Jean me l'a dit. Today they are understaffed. Jean told me. Maman, on aime bien ici mais on ne peut pas rester ici encore une demi-heure à. Mom, we like it here but we can't stay here for another half an hour.

That is when you appeared fast as a lighting. You smiled big. Making eye contact with everyone. Not having the mental capacity yet to actually remember all of their faces. They were like six of them. Three women and the rest were men. One of the women were in her older years. You made a note to focus on her the most. At least that is what etiquette taught you. Bon jour. Préférez-vous le français ou l'italien. Smiling at the old lady. I think she is the mom of the boys. They look alike. Le français c'est bien. She smiled at you as well. Actually she was waaay too smiley in your opinion. But it was nice to meet someone sweet. You asked what they would like to drink and thankfully they didn't have any tricky questions for you. You somewhat made it. Writing the orders fast and still maintaining eye contact with the diners. You were still smiling genuinely and making sure you catch each word. It was hard at first, but thanks to lessons from your friend Mary, you could survive in understanding. You just had a little delay comprehending sometimes. You thanked them and apologized for the time it took. Leaving their table shyly.

You followed other waitress to kitchen so you find out finally where it is situated. Thanks to your deduction skills you knew where to put the orders and prepare some of it by yourself actually. Not the food obviously. Speaking about food…

YN, this food to table four.

You didn't even have a chance to react as you turned around to Jean, because other waitress bumped into you and put the plates on your hands. You thought you will die at the exact moment. But couldn't do such. You couldn't even die at this moment. There was no time for that! (Merde!)

You were afraid it will fall on the ground. In your eyes was visible there was a little hesitation as you were scared, but gladly you still had a smile laid out on your face. As you were passing other tables in the line you had to avoid the other waitress so you put your arms up, YES arms up with the FOOD and spun around laughing big because you could either cry or laugh. You wanted both but not acceptable. You made the choice. You were sweating and cursing in your mind. -

Charles, regarde ! Elle est tellement belle. Regarde la grâce avec laquelle elle marche. Si féminin. Charlie, look! She is so beautiful. Look at the grace with which she walks. So feminine. Maman! J'ai une copine juste à côté de moi! Mom! I have a girlfriend right next to me! C'est pourquoi je chuchote. That's why I whisper. -

You did it. The food is on the table. And you somehow was being able to manage to pronounce the name of the servings. Then you found out these are actually foreigners speaking English so you were glad to speak at least a little bit of your mother language. You joked a little with them and felt very grateful at that moment. But at the back of your mind you knew you have to go back to the table number six. Enjoy your meal guys!

As you were going back, you saw the old lady smiling big at you so you did as well. Tout va bien maintenant? Oui merci. Vous avez choisi? Are you ready to order? You were still looking at her. It was what you think you should do. You just wanted to do good with this job, be kind, be well behaved. It looked like it is appreciated at least by the old lady. Oui, nous sommes prêts. You were patiently waiting for orders, starting with the old lady by being obvious smiling at her and waiting for her to speak. Then you continued with the other two women and lastly guys. You were not that careful with them, because you could hardly tell who is the oldest one. Merci. S'il vous plaît, n'hésitez pas à m'appeler si vous avez besoin de quoi que ce soit. Thank you. Please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. -

Avez-vous remarqué à quel point elle se comporte bien? Have you noticed how well she behaves? Oui - Lorenzo agreed with his girlfriend - Oui! elle est si gentille. Yes! she is so nice. Eh bien, dans ce restaurant, il ne devrait y avoir que des gens qui se comportent bien. Well, in this restaurant, there should only be well-behaved people. Charles wasn't such a big fan of yours it appears. Certainly not after his own mother told him to check you out - while he was sitting there with his girlfriend by his side. He didn't know that in a no time you will be lying on him, and he will not like it. But not from such an obvious reason as it may look like. -

The next half an hour was good. You were little disoriented sometimes, you had to ask twice, but everything was fine when it came to diners. You brought plates with the food to the table number six and left them immediately. You had other tables to serve. One thing that haven't left you was your smile though. You were smiling all the time, you didn't even know you did. After some time, the sun was already settling down and the table number six was finished with their meals. Avez-vous apprécié votre nourriture? Did you enjoy your food? Oui beaucoup. Ta présence aussi. Your presence too. Well, that was a lot to say. You got a fright to be honest. You were still smiling but with a little shock in your eyes. You laughed it off. Merci. As you were looking around the table, checking once again if they are finished, need a refill perhaps, you asked Veux-vous un dessert?

They thought about it a little bit. You stopped looking around around the table at this one particular man. He was definitely her son. And the girl next to him definitely his girlfriend. As you were making the dots, you caught the young man looking at you. When you connected with his eyes, you smiled a little. But he immediately took his look away. It made you sad a little. (Definitely not a man worth my time. He cannot even reciprocate when a woman smiles at him!) You looked away from him, catching the eye of the old lady. Nous voudrions en fait un dessert. Parfait! you replied and focused once again. Leaving them once again with their orders. -

Charles, sois plus gentil, s'il te plaît. Charles, please be nicer. Je suis gentil. Non tu ne l'es pas. Maman a raison. Vous trompez un peu depuis le début quand la serveuse est venue. Mom is right. You are a bit off from the beginning when the waitress came. Lorenzo agreed with his mom. Arthur continued. En fait je ne l'ai jamais vue avant. Je pense qu'elle est nouvelle. In fact, I've never seen her before. I think she is new. Je le pense aussi. I think so too. -

[ofstoriesandstardust]

delicate beginning rush (twisters - dani)

a/n: this might read as dripping with self-indulgence... yes. correct.

everything comes back to you

summary: the first meeting.

warnings: swearing, fluff, first kiss, first meeting, minor references to the tgm universe because i can't help myself

wc: 2.7k

“You’re here early.” Your co-worker Theresa remarks as she pops a piece of Goldfish in her mouth. 

“Yeah.” You heave, dropping your backpack down on the ground next to her, out of breath from when you’d hurried across campus only moments ago. “I have a story to tell you guys.” 

Her eyebrows shoot up and she straightens in her chair. “Oh? Did you finally do something with your weekend? Is this whiteboard flow chart worthy?” 

“Oh, just you wait.”

-

You and Dani meeting, by all accounts, is entirely by chance.  

It’s nearing the end of the spring semester, the end of your first year of grad school almost finished, and some of your friends from your program have convinced you for the first time all year to spend Friday night with them out at a Navy bar. 

The beers are decent and reasonably priced, the crowd usually not too bothersome, and there’s always something lively happening. 

Eventually, one of them coughs up that they’ll pay for your drinks in order for you to go, and knowing it’s not a hollow offer from an equally broke grad student, you go. 

“Howdy there.” 

You glance up from your phone, catching sight of the tanned girl with a straw cowboy hat you’d been watching from across the bar tonight. 

Despite your friend's numerous attempts to get you to go talk to her, you’d stayed in your seat, too scared to make a move. 

If you’d been paying a little more attention, you would have seen the way one of your friends (a veteran himself, the whole reason you all chose to come here tonight as he frequented this bar himself, older and wiser and always so much kinder than any of you combined) approached her at the bar, pointing you out and telling her you were interested. 

She’ll tell you later, much later, when you are hers, unequivocally hers, that she had been just as scared. 

She might drive into tornadoes on the daily for the rush but nothing would compare to the feeling of watching the girl with the bright laugh and twinkling eyes across the bar. 

“Hi.” You breathe, feeling your cheeks warm, moving to adjust your hair as you take her in up close. 

Warm brown eyes with even darker hair, tanned and muscular arms on display. 

She gestures to one of the empty chairs your friends had abandoned around the neck of the beer she’s holding and you nod. 

She sits down as you run your fingers through your hair again, coming to twist the ends of it in a nervous habit. Her arms rest on the back of her chair and she tips her hat at one of the servicemen walking past. 

“I’m Dani.” She says through a somewhat thick Southern drawl and your eyebrows go up. 

“Are you from around here?” You ask, curiosity getting the better of you.

She shakes her head. “Arkansas. Well, initially deep south Alabama, but I haven’t lived there in years. So Arkansas is home for me.” 

“You sound it.” 

She snorts. “Been getting that all night.” 

You give a half-shrug. “Hey, I went out of state for college and everyone always told me my California accent was unmistakable.” 

Her laughter gets drowned out as one of the servicemen sits down at the piano, the crowd groaning at the sound of the jukebox being unplugged. 

“Hey, you wanna get out of here? Before this gets all-” She motions to the group surrounding the man at the piano and you nod eagerly. 

“Please.”

The two of you make your way out the bar, her knuckles brushing yours as you walk and she pauses as she climbs into the passenger side of your car. 

“Hey, you never told me your name.” 

You give it to her and you beam at the way it sounds coming off of her lips. 

-

“Oh fuck.” 

You groan, running a hand down your face as you sit up, Dani’s hand flexing around your waist. 

“Everything good?” She asks, voice thick with sleep. 

After you and Dani had left the bar, you’d dragged her to In’N’Out for her first time and then to the beach before you found yourself back at her hotel. 

She’d invited you in, but you had hesitated. 

You weren’t sure that this is where you had wanted the night to lead and as attracted to her as you were, it wasn’t in your nature to sleep with someone you’d only know a few mere hours.

She’d seen your hesitance though, assuring you that you guys didn’t have to do anything — she just wanted to spend more time with you, the hours melting away. 

She’d only be here until Sunday night after all. 

So you’d gone up to her room with her, maybe against a better judgment a less lovestruck you would have remembered to follow. 

But she’d been true to her word and the two of you had simply talked, about anything and everything that had come to mind and you’d fallen asleep with the gentle feeling of Dani playing with your hair. 

In all that though, you’d forgotten to look at your phone for near anything. 

Which meant you had missed all of your friends texts and calls. 

“I just-” You sigh, leaning into Dani’s touch. “Forgot to look at my phone last night.” 

“Hope I didn’t worry them too much by stealing you away.” She mumbles as she tugs on your waist to bring you back to her chest.

“Well…” You trail off as you comply, resting your head on your shoulder as her hand resumes its movements from the night before. 

In a grad program full of men, you’d had to learn to either get along or be alone and after nearly threatening an elbow to the eye to someone for interrupting you, they’d learned you’d fight back and earned their respect.

While some would never lose their tendencies, you’d bonded with a group of a few lovable idiots. To a lot of them, you’d become the little sisters they didn’t have or had moved away from. 

And after they had corralled you into going to a Navy bar the night before, a place you’d never usually be caught dead at, they’d also managed to lose you when you’d slipped out with Dani. 

The concern in the texts is obvious, one in particular worried you’d gotten picked up by a random Navy man against your will just to never see the light of day again. 

Your phone dings again, the early birds of the group chat scolding you for disappearing on them for the night.

“They’re fine. They’ll get over it. Probably.”

-

After a quick stop at your house to change and grab a bag, you and Dnai were on the road to the heart of San Diego in search of finding the breakfast place you couldn't even remember the name of. 

“Cool place.” Dani comments as another plane touches down at the airfield, the noise making the ceiling rumble. 

You hum. “Came here once with my Mom growing up and never could quite forget it.” You say around a mouthful of hash browns, seated by the window of the small diner next to the local airfield. 

Dani smirks at you, shaking her head with laughter. “You’ve got no manners.”

You grin. “Shut up.” 

-

“So you never did tell me why you’re visiting from Arkansas.” 

She looks at you from where the two of you are people watching under some shade of Balboa Park, the sun setting over the horizon. 

“I’m a, uh, a storm chaser.” 

“Like one of those idiot groups on the Discovery Channel?” 

You turn to look at her, but she’s pointedly not making eye contact as she watches a squawking toddler chase a pigeon, round and round they go. 

“Would it make me seem like more of an idiot to tell you we’ve got a YouTube channel with a million subscribers?” 

Your eyes go wide, half wanting to reach for your phone to verify her words. But Dani already seems down and you don’t want to push it. 

“Anyways, don’t know how much you know about it, but tornado season this year’s been brutal. Makes the content good but the devastation is just-” She breaks off, shaking her head. 

California, left relatively untouched from most natural disasters apart from the fire seasons that could ravage the state, was fortunately mostly removed from the seasonal troubles of those in Tornado Alley and on the southeastern coast. 

But you’d heard about the horrible hurricane season and the tornado spring that had followed it was leaving nothing but death in its wake. 

“There was this huge one, an EF-4, and it hit this tiny historic town in Oklahoma. They were super unprepared to deal with it and we went in to help them out. One of my best friends almost died.” She whispers and your stomach drops. 

“Dani, I’m-”

She sniffs, finally looking up at you. “Anyways, I needed a few days R&R afterwards and my cousin said she’d put me up in a hotel for a few days if I came to visit her. ‘S how I found myself at a Navy bar of all places.” She gives you a soft smile. “And then I met you, so maybe it’s all okay.” 

“So what do you do, anyways? For this storm-chasing team?”

“I’m kind of a jack of all trades, I guess. I oversee the social media and I manage all the money coming in and out. A huge chunk of our work is humanitarian so I handle all the food and donations and merch.” 

“Merch?”

“T’s kinda built this brand himself, and the money from the merch goes back into the food and water for survivors. I’m EMT certified too, I work out in Arkansas as an EMT through a federal program for rural areas that don’t have enough medical attention in the off-season.” 

“That’s fucking cool as shit Dani.” 

She preens at the compliment, pushing your shoulder. “Nah man, c’mon, be real.”

“No, I am being real Dani. What the fuck am I doing out here in grad school compared to that?” She rolls her eyes, opening her mouth to protest but you cut her off. “Who’s T though?” 

“Tyler Owens, man!” She pulls her phone out, pulling up a picture. She points to a man in a flannel, gaudy cowboy hat on his head, as you lean in. “He’s kind of the head. That’s his right-hand, Boone. Team hype man. That’s Lilly, total tech wiz. And that’s Dex, our- well, he’s just kind of our science dork that drives us around. We got two new crew members, Javi and Kate, but I ain’t got any pics of us where we aren’t covered in blood.” 

“Blood?” You ask, an exaggerated note of fear in your tone. 

Dani hums. “Kate drove into the EF-4 to tame it.” 

“She drove into it?!”

-

Dani reaches out for your hand, tentative. 

You take it, intertwining your fingers as the two of you head toward the departures part of the airport, missing the way Dani’s eyes dart out at the crowd of flyers. 

You finally pause inside the airport near security. She’s still watching the crowd carefully, suitcase almost sitting forgotten behind her. “You good?” 

“Just- no one’s gonna-?” 

“Say anything? About us?” She nods, though she keeps her pinky locked with yours. You’d shake your head. “No. California might have its assholes but San Diego proper is as about as accepting as it gets. We’re fine.” 

“It’s just that in-”

“Hey.” You say gently. “I get it, okay? But you don’t have to be worried, not here.” 

She nods, taking your hand again. The two of you stand there as announcements get called over the intercom. 

“Wish you didn’t have to go.” You say softly. 

“There’s people to save and food to hand out and dogs to find.” 

“Tornadoes to wrangle.” 

“You didn’t.”

You give her a sheepish smile at her disappointed tone. “I got curious after you fell asleep last night. Turns out there’s only a few storm chasing channels with a million subscribers and a pretty EMT on their team.” 

She sighs. “Bet you think I’m some stupid redneck now, huh? A hillbilly with a YouTube channel?” 

You shake your head. “I think you’re a pretty damn smart and selfless person who’s leaned into what works and helps a lot of people while they’re at it. I didn’t miss all the fundraising links in your videos.” 

Another announcement gets made over the intercom, informing passengers of a delayed departure to Alaska but it’s enough for Dani to break out of her reverie. 

“I’ll call you, okay?” 

You give her what you can tell is a sad smile as you cross your arms. 

You have no idea if she’s being truthful, if she’ll forget you as quickly as the whirlwind 48 hours had happened, nothing more than a distraction to her own pain. 

“Text me when you land?” You say instead. 

“And when I get through security, and to my gate, and when I board, and definitely when I stop at that barbecue place you were telling me about.” 

“Phil’s is the best you could ever have.” You argue with a huff. 

She smiles, before cupping your cheek and pressing a kiss on your lips. You barely have time to react before she moves away again. 

“See you when I see you?” 

“Goodbyes are overrated anyways.” You choke out and she smiles, genuinely this time. 

She waves at you before she completely disappears into security, tipping her hat at you. 

You stand there for a few more minutes, people bustling around you as twilight sets into the sky behind you before you groan. 

You were down bad. 

-

“Have you heard from her? I need the next part!” 

You laugh. “Yeah, we texted last night.” 

“So…” One of your other co-workers drawls. “Basically, you met a girl at a bar, left without telling anyone, and then proceeded to spend all weekend with a stranger?” 

Your cheeks flush at the observation. “Okay, yeah, in hindsight, I know better but like…” You huff, feeling your cheeks grow even warmer. “She’s pretty and I’m weak.” 

“I’m just impressed you finally put yourself out there enough for you to have questionable decisions to report on.” Theresa offers, align with a grin with a high-five. 

You giggle as your phone dings and you glance down as one of your friends walks into the space. 

Back safely where I belong 

Attached is a selfie of Dani on the hood of someone’s truck, shielding her eyes from the sun with her arm. 

“Is that her? That’s got to be her.” Someone croons from behind you as you set your phone down, feeling your cheeks erupt in a full blush you’d be spending hours scrubbing off. 

Your friend takes one glance at the whiteboard, then to your phone, and then to your face.  

“We’re never gonna hear the end of this, are we?”

-

(and the fun little bonus I wrote on a whim)

“How was California?” Tyler asks as he helps Kate adjust her sling on the couch. Dexter plops down on the couch next to them after following her into the house. 

Her phone dings and she chances a glance at, catching sight of you telling her you were going to sleep.

It was only a two hour time difference, but it was late regardless of the location, and she knew you had work before class in the morning. 

“Dani?” Tyler prompts when she doesn’t respond. She looks up from her phone, catching sight of her friends watching her curiously. 

“I just- met a girl.” 

Boone lets out a low whistle as Lilly crows “Alright, Dani!” 

“Can we see a picture?” Dexter asks and she nods, unlocking her phone. 

Your visit to Balboa Park on Saturday had included a trip to Japanese Friendship Gardens and she’d snuck a photo of you while you obsessed over a shimmery gold koi fish. 

“She’s hot.” Boone observes, which earns him a shove to the floor from Lilly. 

“Are you guys gonna stay in touch?” Javi asks softly. 

“I think so? I hope so, at least. But she’s in grad school and I know she’s traveling to do research this summer so I don’t- I don’t know if we’ll be able to sustain it.” 

“Tough shit.” Lilly comments as she squeezes herself in between Lilly and Dex. 

“What’s that look Tyler?” Kate asks, curiosity piquing in her voice. 

They all look over to Tyler, who has an unreadable smirk on his face. 

“If I told you that I think you’re going to be in this for the long haul, would you believe me?

[loominggaia]

Future Plot Ideas: 9/24

Even MORE future ideas! Obviously major spoilers are ahead, so read at your discretion. Not all of these ideas are finalized, they may change a lot between now and the final drafts. I also don't have an exact timeline for these events yet. These are mostly character-focused.

You can see more ideas here.

Text under the cut:

LUKAS

Azura and Jelani hire Lukas to paint murals all over Uekoro, honoring the historic abolishment of slavery. These murals get the attention of visiting foreign nobles, who then hire Lukas to decorate their own territories. At some point Lukas starts making more money on these art commissions than mercenary work, and decides it's time to finally transition out of the mercenary life like he always wanted to.

He retires as a mercenary, but still calls Drifter's Hollow his home. He reaches a point where he can make designs at home, then send his team of apprentices to do the grunt work for him. Sometimes he travels to oversee the projects, but mostly he's at home working on other stuff, like his writing career. Azura hires him to write a biography about Zov for her anti-Evangeline exhibition, among other things. Maybe also an embarrassing tell-all book about her mother, just to ruffle some feathers?

AZURA

Azura gathers a lot of valuable intel from Zov that she uses to launch an attack on Evangeline Kingdom. Zov is the longest-surviving pit fighter in history, and with his goblin memory, he's able to perfectly recall the layouts and security weaknesses of every major fighting arena in Evangeline Kingdom. Azura passes this intel along to her troops of Liberators, who storm the arenas during tournaments and rescue hundreds of pit fighting slaves.

These slaves are all tough as nails, pissed off, augmented with surgeries to make them stronger, and highly skilled in combat. Most of them end up joining a special forces unit in the Folkvaran military, and prove to be a huge thorn in Evangeline's side later. The Evangeline economy takes another big fat L from the raids, and the war officially starts tipping in Folkvar's favor.

EVAN

Lukas stepped down as Evan's commander to pursue his art career, and Evan is finding less motivation to keep doing mercenary work without him, especially as his heart troubles continue to get worse. His health forces him to cut way back on the action, and he resigns himself to the paperwork side of things while he lets the younger generation of Good Guys take over.

Evan can't stand this paper-pushing lifestyle for long though, so he makes a point to take frequent vacations and trains the younger mercenaries daily. Passing on his knowledge to the new generation gives him purpose, even if he can't get in on the action himself anymore. Once in a great while, the crew encounters a beast of a mission and he's forced to come out of retirement for a contract or two. Other than that, he just chills and learns to enjoy the simple life with Lukas.

BUDDY AND JENNIE

Buddy lives at the Temple of Love and Light in Taybiya, earning a position as Patience's assistant. They love their new life and are eager to spring out of bed each day to help Allkind. Though they were once conflicted, they now understand the evil of the Crescent Cult and have fully turned their back on Goryx, just as Lily turned her back on Dario.

Buddy still has significant physical and intellectual disabilities from their "upbringing" in the agony cradle, but they are getting stronger with daily therapy from the priestesses, and they understand Karenza's teachings better than most people. They are the most eager and dedicated Karenzan in the temple. Patience is very much a mother-figure to them, but Lily and Zov are also supportive and Buddy considers them their family.

One night, Buddy hears Lily crying out and thinks she's in danger, so they come barreling into her bedroom...only to find her and Zov having sex. But Buddy's only exposure to "sex" before this were the violent rapes that occurred daily in the Crescent Cult, so they have no understanding that it can be a good thing. They believe Zov is attacking her, so they tackle Zov and trap him in a chokehold, trying to give Lily a chance to escape. Zov has a bad temper and normally something like this would really piss him off...but it doesn't, because he's too impressed by Buddy's chokeholding technique, and also proud of their courage in trying to keep Lily safe.

Zov decides Buddy has combat potential and begins teaching them what he learned from years of pit-fighting. Buddy may be crippled, but they learn to make the most of what they've got, as Zov taught them the dirtiest tricks in the books to take down opponents much bigger than themselves. After a few months of training, Buddy becomes a little ass-kicker that everyone underestimates.

Lily and Zov eventually marry and adopt a goblin toddler named Jennie. Buddy is extremely protective of Jennie, because their only experience with children previously was watching the Crescent Cult throw them in agony cradles, and they can't bear the thought of this happening to her.

Zov and Lily are doing as well as one could hope, but still suffer from periods of intense mental illness from time to time. When Zov is psychotic and Lily is crippled by depression, Buddy acts as Jennie's guardian until her parents get better. Jennie is a curious girl who likes to sneak out of the temple, dragging Buddy along on all sorts of wacky shenanigans. Let's just say their combat training comes in handy.

ALAINE

Alaine finds herself inexplicably slowing down and feeling ill. Her folk remedies aren't working, and it reaches it point where she can barely do her job anymore, so she seeks real treatment. Dr. Che suspects it's something beyond his scope, so the crew takes her to a hospital in Zareen Empire. Sadly, she is diagnosed with cancer. This is not surprising to her, as she did grow up in one of the most polluted areas on Looming Gaia, where such a thing is common.

The good news is, Zareen Empire is well-equipped to deal with cancer and she is expected to survive with proper treatment. The bad news is, treatment will take a long time and she will not be able to do mercenary work or return to the Hollow until it's over. Even though he despises Zareen Empire, Glenvar volunteers to stay there with Alaine and care for her until she gets better.

This period tests the absolute limits of their relationship, and it's the thing that finally convinces Glenvar to stop drinking and take his relationship with Alaine seriously. They both have a lot of personal growth by the end of it.

BALTHAZAAR AND AZADORA

After Talzihaar, Eleza, and Alzira's deaths in the Crescent Cult terrorist attack, Naima and Riza move to the Hollow. Initially, Balthazaar tells Azadora that Naima is his sister and her aunt. But eventually he's forced to confess the truth, as he falls in love with Naima and they get married. Azadora learns the truth about her real parents and she's devastated that Balthazaar would lie to her for so many years. She wants to set out on a personal quest to find Allmother and get more answers about her past.

Balthazaar becomes too old and out of shape for mercenary work anymore. He retires to become a horse rancher while Naima and Ginger run the Hollow's first official schoolhouse together, taking shifts teaching kids and adults alike.

Balthazaar is disappointed in Azadora's decision to become a mercenary, but respects her wishes and doesn't stop her. He and Naima focus on pushing Riza through college so she can one day be the educated breadwinner of the family.

JAVAAN

After living a dishonorable life, Javaan meets an honorable death in battle defending his friends from the Crescent Cult. Whatever issues the FGG had with him are buried in the past, and he goes down in their memories as a hero. Ranger honors his father by taking his place in the FGG and using all the skills he taught him.

THE KIDS

Now with so much of the old guard out of commission, the Freelance Good Guys are in serious need of hands. Isaac takes Evan's place as captain and appoints Azadora as his commander. Evan even graduates some of the young mercenaries-in-training early and approves them for easy contracts to start with.

The crew now consists of Isaac, Azadora, Elska, Skel, Linde, Jeimos, Jasenia, Zacry, Frederick, Ranger, Trip (Mr. Ocean's "daughter"), and Nora. Cinnamon is still too young to join contracts, but is an aspiring mercenary-in-training.

GINGER AND FAMILY

Ginger is running the new schoolhouse with Naima, bringing a solid education to the new migrants trickling in to Drifter's Hollow. Itchy's candy has been catching on over the years, until one day a Zareenite businessman buys his recipe for a big chunk of money. Itchy and Ginger use the money to send Tomato to a fancy boarding school in Sodergen for a few years. There he meets two boys named Kast and Thetos...

Cinnamon is growing into a foul-mouthed little menace. She has Ginger's intelligence, Itchy's deviousness, and she's a telepathic prodigy, which is a recipe for disaster. She weaponizes her disabilities to manipulate people and also uses her telepathy to get what she wants. She's spiraling into a successful criminal career, so in an act of desperation, Itchy and Ginger send her to Evan's boot camp and she begins training to be a mercenary.

Hanging around the Good Guys does eventually straighten her out, and she learns to use her powers for good...mostly. But she will always have that little devious streak she inherited from her father. Her advanced skills in magic give her a big ego, and she's prone to getting herself into situations over her head. She looks through other peoples' eyes using telepathy and communicates almost totally telepathically. When she does communicate verbally, it's usually to curse at someone.

OLOF

One day while working a contract in Folkvar Kingdom, Elska and Frederick recognize Olof's wife, Haldora! They know her by her facial tattoos and missing finger. She was rescued from Evangelite slavery by Azura's liberators, and is now married to Steel-Breaker (the centaur who refused to breed with Elska in "Unbreakable", appeared again in "Blue Boy", and would later become a Red Liberator troop leader)

They take her back to the Hollow to visit Olof. Olof refused to remarry until he knew her fate, and he's disappointed to learn that she did not do the same for him. Haldora is hardened by years of slavery trauma and is obsessed with seeing Evangeline Kingdom fall. She tries to recruit Frederick and Olof into the Folkvar military, and is disappointed by their "cowardice" when they refuse.

Olof realizes this is not the same woman he married anymore and sadly watches her return to Folkvar Kingdom. On the bright side, he finally knows her fate and he realizes it's a relief, because now he can finally move on with his life. He opens his heart to love again.

LINDE AND JEIMOS

Jeimos' rich-billionaire-daddy Ojio agrees to make a huge donation to the Order of Love and Light, but only if Austerity helps Jeimos with their gender issues. Austerity agrees and gives Jeimos a female-to-male transformation. Jeimos feels much more at ease with this new male body and decides to celebrate by making love to Linde...only to get her pregnant. They didn't think such a thing was possible, but it seemed Austerity's transformation was truly flawless!

Neither of them are ready to be parents, but Linde already had one abortion in her past and can't stomach another, so they decide to do their best. Linde gives birth to a healthy child, which the whole village helps to raise. They name him Cygnio, after a character from Star Rangers, because Jeimos is a big hopeless nerd who can't help themselves.

-----

I might post some more ideas later, but that's what I have for now. If you guys have any objections or suggestions please let me know! I'm always open to new ideas and criticisms!

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

[introvert1rl]

𓈒 𓈒 𓈒 ❤︎ Nothing Without You ꨄ •

This morning had been tiring, As Marcia hungout with Cherry and the guys most of the time. The boy’s were always cocky and annoying, sometimes even sexist.

But, Marcia finally had time to herself. This was the time that Two-Bit would usually call her as she waited by the phone. He’s probably just doing…boys stuff. No girl knows what boys do to be honest.

Marcia then realises soon then, Had Two-Bit thrown out her number?…

She sighed in sadness at this realisation. He had definitely thrown it out! She was furious and sad at this. She had a slight crush on Two-Bit too..maybe more than a slight crush really..

Marcia then decides, tomorrow shes gonna search for Two-Bit and ask her why he threw her number away.

Marcia wakes up in the morning, does her daily routine as usual, then she goes to find her bestfriend Cherry and tell her what happened with Two-Bit.

She walks to her meeting spot with Cherry up in some fields and spots Cherry sitting in the field with flowers.

Marcia smiles and walks over to Cherry, sitting next to her. “Hey, Cherry.” Cherry looks up, hearing Marcia’s soft voice. “𝐇𝐢, 𝐡𝐨𝐰’𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭...𝐭𝐰𝐨...𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐲?” Marcia chuckles at Cherry forgetting the greasers name. “He threw out my number, so maybe we could find Ponyboy or something..? To get ahold of Two-Bit?” Cherry looks shook and furious at what Marcia had just said. “𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫?! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐣𝐞𝐫𝐤!” Cherry is pissed, She didn’t think anyone would do this to Marcia. Shes a kind soul.. “Calm it, Cherry. Its okay, He probably just forgot or something, But we can go find Ponyboy and figure this all out?” Marcia tries to bargain with Cherry so they can figure it all out. “𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧..𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐰𝐨-𝐣𝐞𝐫𝐤.” Cherry is really mad at Two-Bit for all this, she might just hate him.

“Alright then, lets go knock on Ponyboys door then?” Marcia suggests, getting up from the field of flowers, holding her hand out for Cherry to help her get up. “𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.” Cherry nods, taking Marcia’s hand and getting up with her.

They begin walking off the field and towards the street the Curtis’ live on.

“𝐒𝐨 𝐮𝐡...𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐨-𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝’𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫? 𝐇𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲?” Cherry asks, wanting to help Marcia without violence. “…no, but maybe that one time i didn’t let him buy me a drink in the drive in?” Marcia sighs in guilt as she says that. Cherry stops for a second and looks over at Marcia. “𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?” Marcia nods as Cherry tries to understand this situation with Marcia more, shes upset too. “𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.” Marcia nods once more, noticing they’re on the Curtis’ street already. She walks up to their houses fences and walks up onto the porch, before knocking softly on the hollow wood.

The handle on the door twists, and opens..revealing Two-Bit. He looks shocked to see Marcia. “Marcia? What are you doing here?” Two-Bit is surprised that Marcia and Cherry are here. “𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐩, 𝐭𝐰𝐨-𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝.” Cherry steps in for Marcia, still VERY furious at Two-Bit. “Cherry, cherry..its okay, i got it.” Marcia nods at Cherry as she backs up. “Did you throw away my number last night? I couldn’t get ahold of you.” Marcia looks at him, worried and scared as she crosses her arms across her chest as the cold wind blows against her skin. “Yeah..i thought it was fake..so i uh..threw it away. I didn’t think any girl would give me her number, y’know?” Two-Bit sighs, looking quite guilty for hurting this poor girls feelings. Marcia is silent as a snail as shes listening to him talk. “You thought that? But i did, didn’t i?…you’re nice, and really funny..” Marcia chuckles as she remembers a joke he told. Shes confessing all this while her heart is beating faster with each word she speaks.

Two-Bit is shocked as this information is exposed. “Thanks Marcia. But im not that good of a guy, maybe i can have some time to think?” Two-Bit asks softly as he looks in Marcia’s soft eyes staring at him innocently. “𝐍𝐨! 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫.” Cherry yells at Two-Bit, trying to defend Marcia if she gets rejected. “Cherry! I said calm down! Its not that big of a deal.” Marcia yells back at Cherry, disappointed with how shes acting in front of her future husband. She then glances back at Two-Bit, her heart trembling. “Yeah, you can have time..when do you think you’ll be done thinking about it?” Marcia asks softly, staring into Two-Bits eyes. Two-Bit blushes at this, trying not to make eye contact with Marcia as to not be that awkward guy.

Shes getting really cold standing out in the cool air and is hoping to finish this conversation as quick as possible so she can go home and warm up. Two-Bit clears his throat and speaks up “uh..in about a week? Maybe half a week..?” Two-Bit stutters over his words, getting slight butterflies from Marcia as he looks at her cold shivering body.

Marcia then nods in an understanding. “Yeah, i’ll give you time.” She smiles softly before taking Cherry’s hand and walking off the porch. Two-Bit nods and watches the two girls leave before closing the door with a smile, still blushing furiously.

A/N: i didn’t expect to drop this banger 😍😍 MORE ARE COMINGG!! NEW SERIES IS STARTING! @rileyh20 @fictionalcharactergraveyard @inyourclosetrn

[btr-rewatch]

hii, you mentioned you were around during the fandom's heyday, i was wondering if you had any favorite fics from back in the day you'd like to share? <3

Hello! Yes, BTR was actually my official "introduction" to online fandom when I was younger :) I spent so much time here on tumblr and fanfiction.net, which was a lot of fun because the fandom was at its biggest and most active.

Good timing with this ask, because I was actually thinking about making a post with some of the fics that were popular (or that I personally enjoyed) back when the show was on. I still have them bookmarked on my old laptop! I'll select a handful and put them under a read more.

Quick disclaimer that I cannot attest for the quality of any of these fics now. I haven't revisited most of these since I originally read them, though the main details have cemented themselves in my brain on account of my past self having read them over and over and over. Still, I don't know if my older, adult self would find them any good in regards to writing quality or the actual content.

• Ok. So, I have to start out by mentioning Laura (known as Miss Fenway), who I wrote briefly about in my BTF Fandom Lore post. When I tell you that she was the "Queen" of the fandom for the years the show ran, I'm not kidding. Everybody knew her. She churned out fanfics like it was her job. She was responsible for a lot of the headcanons that ended up being adopted by the rest of the fandom. And she wrote "Little Hollow," the 55-chapter, 160,000-word fic that had a profound effect on the fandom. Basic premise is: Logan gets cancer, and from there, everything spirals into tragedy and heartbreak. She then wrote a fic based off an alternate ending to "Little Hollow" called "Three" that absolutely destroyed my younger self when I first read it. Like. It was just too much for me.

Back in the day, Logan was the character who was tormented the most by fic writers, and nobody tormented him quite like Miss Fenway. In some of her other fics, he loses an arm in a shark attack, becomes a drug addict, gets kidnapped, is in a car accident that leaves him brain-damaged, is in a hockey accident that leaves him with amnesia, and so on.

Personally, I was partial to "All These Lives" & its sequel "September." To THIS DAY, I cannot hear either of those Chris Daughtry songs without thinking of those fics.

• If you're into AUs, "Mania" was hands-down one of my favorite BTR fics (maybe even one of my favorite fics period). It's like...an edgier version of the boys? They're a gang of sorts, formed out of necessity in order to keep their neighborhood safe from a rival gang. They carry weapons, get into fist-fights daily, and will go to the ends of the Earth to keep Katie safe. Listen. It sounds off the rails, but read it. Trust me. Even now, years later, this fic occasionally pops into my head out of nowhere because I loved it so much.

• Fics that focused on the guys as little kids were very hit or miss (and sometimes could be weird), but I've got to include two of my favorites, "The Petting Zoo" and "Trouble." They both capture the personalities of the boys so well, and I have to imagine this is a lot what they were like as kids. Chaos all the time. Idk, I thought both of these were so funny. Worth a read, in my opinion.

• Alrighty, last fic on this list is a doozy. It's called "Another Reason." This was my absolute favorite BTR fic, and it was one that I read and literally needed several days to digest because it was such an emotional ride. This is a DARK ONE, guys. It's gritty and depressing and hard to read, to the point I only ever read it once because I was never quite ready to return to it. Kendall is kidnapped and tortured for days by someone associated with Hawk (I think??) so it def treads into AU territory because it's nowhere near the lighthearted, goofy feel of the showverse rivalry between Hawk and Rocque Records. Feeling like the police aren't doing all they can to find Kendall, the remaining three boys steal Mrs. Knight's car and take off in search of Kendall.

Like I said, I haven't reread it because it was a tough read, but I remember it being well-written and rambling at length about it to a family member.

And that's where I'll leave it for now! If anyone checks any of these out, I'd love to hear thoughts (my ask box is always open). I also welcome your own fic suggestions, since I really haven't ventured back into the BTR fanfic world yet. Also, thanks to everyone who read the fic I posted the other day!

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

I Am All In Rewatch - Episode 1x13

I did enjoy the Luke stuff. You know, the Rachel stuff where the L McPherson girl that dumped me and broke my heart. I I thought back to New York City when I lived in New York and I was studying acting and doing theater and all that stuff, and you know, going out at night and meeting models and things like that. You know it was you know, so I knew what I was drawing from in those moments. I when I saw that scene, I said, oh, yeah, I've been that guy. I yeah, that's that's from experience. [It was such a major revelation to the audience and to Lorelai, like wow, and how you went so just like bleep crazy over the sweatshirt.] Yeah, that was that was that was the big relationship that that really rocked my world that I will never recover from. [Yeah, and it helps us with that timeline clarity because that was happening the town knew but Laura la wasn't totally privy to all of it.] -Scott 

[So how do you think Lorelai felt finding out about Rachel? Because we know I'd love to learn more from you what Luke felt. But what do you think Lorelai felt?] Well, Lorelai feels you know that now she's she's sort of considering. I think Lorelai is kind of on the fence. I think she feels a certain way about Luke and that's undeniable, right, there's an attraction there, but is she going to act on it? And I think that's really the debate that's going on within her. Is this, you know, whereas she should have been having this debate with herself with Max Medina, she's having this debate with with Luke because they are such friends and they've known each other a long time, and she goes there three times a day sometimes, um, usually once at least once a day. So it's a you know, it's a real practical question, right, how she's gonna she is she gonna alter her her schedule, she gonna alter her daily life. If that blows up, she won't be able to go to Luke's anymore. And it's like, so she's having that debate, but learning that he was with you know, the the the uber fox girlfriend that was the road the road went to Pamplona, Spain and ran with the bulls or whatever she did, wildlife photographer and like jumped into volcanoes since it all rode bulls like, you know, dove into hundred foot cliffs, into tiny little bodies of water, you know, just a wild, wild woman. Um. And I think Lorelai, yeah, And I think Sooki nailed her she was jealous, or she was measuring herself against this, and you know, maybe that's why Luke doesn't make a move on me, because I'm not pretty enough and I'm not wild enough, and you know that kind of I thing.-Scott

Well it definitely, you know it really it really kind of um solidified Luke's bonafides as a man. [I will say it gave you a lot of cred.] It did. Right. She's like you know now she Lorelai's sitting back thinking, man, Luke's cooking with gas. You know what I'm saying. [Actually, that's so accurate. It took your stock up, even though it probably terrified her, and she's like, how do I compete with that? At the same time, she's like, wait a minute...] Let's get let's maybe get in the fight here. Let's let's get some attention. This guy might have something going on behind the curtain, you know, what's happening there? And that the fact is, and another thing that really solidifies his bonafides is he wouldn't move out of Stars Hollow. For El McPherson, it's like he's still the grounded guy and simple guy, practical guy. No doing his business. He wasn't. He wasn't moving. -Scott 

[But man, and you were mad? Is that the maddest we've seen Luke?] No, No, when I I when when they were talking, when Sooki was and Lorelai were at the counter talking about Max Medina, No he's so dreamy this kind of thing, and Sooki came behind the counter. He flipped. I don't think he's ever popped at anybody in the show like that. Maybe maybe Taylor once in a while. But I thought that was just anyway. [So Luke has two ticking points the sweater and Max Medina...Yeah, it's like Luke can get pissed. Feisty? How would you describe it? how do you describe sort of that reaction to the sweatshirt?] Just hurts and he's confused, he doesn't know why she's wearing it. He thinks he probably thinks that she knows about Rachel and she's just wearing it to provoke him, and he can't understand why. He's not really thought it out, but he's just reacting. [You tried to get rid of it, though you tried. You tried to get rid of it because you put it in the rummage sales stuff.] Right, But why is she wearing it? [Right? Why did he take it back? And don't understand why he took it back] Because she offered it and she was being really cool with him. [And he wasn't ready to let it go. He tried. This is my take that Luke tried to sort of get rid of it, like we all do, to sort of erase that memory of that person that we love, and then it shows up in his face. He's all hurt, which is a great way to describe it. And then he's he realized is like, I'm just putting this back in the closet. I'm not ready.] So Lorelai in you know, in sync with him enough to realize that he's not ready to move on and that that's not going to help him move on, that he should keep it because the only thing that's going to help him move on is some Lorelai. Right? So that empowered her. -Scott

[a34trgv2]

Top 10 Worst Main Characters In Cartoons

#10. Kick Buttowski (Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil): Kicking off our list (no pun intended) is the one trick pony of a character that is Kick Buttowski. His character begins and ends with him wanting to do extreme stunts. That'd be fine for a 7 minute short as a tribute or parody to stuntmen like Evel Knevel, but for an animated series? His shtick gets old very fast and he's nothing more than a blank slate of a character.

#9. Lincoln Loud (The Loud House): A smug, narcissistic brat, Lincoln treats his sisters like a means to end at best and a pain to live with at worst. Not only does he show contempt with them on a daily basis, but he's also not afraid to humiliate and take advantage of them to stroke his own ego. Would you believe this kid's named after one of the greatest Presidents of all time.

#8. Katie Mitchell (The Mitchells vs The Machines): Nothings makes me hate a movie more than how hatable the main character is. Katie is selfish, annoying, ungrateful, and not even remotely funny. She has this bitter and resentful attitude towards her father when they were once best friends, and the way she makes this story about her is very condescending. If the movie had been about her as a child and putting her relationship with her non-tech savy father to the test, maybe I'd sympathize with her more, but as a teenager ready for college, she's just a brat.

#7. Nancy Clancy (Fancy Nancy): I now know how Dora's detractors feel after watching Fancy Nancy. Nancy is such an obnoxious, pampered brat that talks down to the audience like we're pesents and always acts like a fancy life is the best life. She's very rude, selfish, and narcissistic, all of which are qualities you're NOT supposed to have when trying to be fancy.

#6. Miriam "Mimi" Mortin (What About Mimi?): No, this gif isn't from the villain of this obscure show. It's from the main protagonist...and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Mimi is a stupid, selfish, and annoying kid who makes simple problems worse by going overboard with her plans and throwing her friends under the bus. She's also very irresponsible and oblivious to the fact that she's no better than the show's designated spoiled brat, Sincerity.

#5. Kai (The Hollow): The one character that singlehandedly makes the show worse, Kai is everything Adam and Mira DIDN’T need on their journey. He's whiny, selfish, short-tempered and a big, fat coward. Whenever there's danger, his first and only instinct is to head for the hills instead of helping his friends. He also needlessly starts arguments with Adam because Heaven forbid 2 guys have a normal conversation together without it turning into a shouting match.

#4. Kiff Chatterley (Kiff): What do you get when you put Mimi's personality in a squirrel who's dumber than a sack of acorns? You get Kiff! She's selfish, annoying, stupid, irresponsible, and overdramatic over the simplist of things. What puts her above Mimi on the list is Kiff is the 4th irresponsible main female character I had the displeasure of sitting through after I specifically said I was done with these types of character. The character's a bigger waste of time than watching a worm try to crack open a safe.

#3. Molly McGee (The Ghost and Molly McGee): If you thought Dee Dee from the last 2 Seasons of Dexter's Lab was a headache, you might want to where a helmet when being in the same room as Molly McGee. She's annoying, inconsiderate, loud, obnoxious, and really stupid. She never thinks before she acts and every time she opens her mouth, she never shuts up. The worst part about her is the fact that Scratch can't just leave her because he put a curse on her, meaning he's stuck suffering with the audience listening to this chatterbox.

#2. Oscar Peltzer (Summer Camp Island): It boggles my mind how Hedgehog, nevermind ANYONE, would be friends with this kid. Oscar is selfish, annoying, inconsiderate, and stupid. He goes through Hedgehog's personal stuff, cheats at games and gets lost in the city. He also has a bad habit of not thinking before he acts, making him all the more annoying and stupid.

#1. Apple and Onion (Apple & Onion): No need to imagine a show with 2 annoying side characters as the main characters, because it already exists. Apple and Onion are easily the worst characters in Cartoon Network's history. In addition to being annoying and stupid, they also lack basic chemistry with each other and are painfully unfunny. What puts them at #1 though is Apple's fatphobia and Onion's complacency to said fatphobia. Need I say more? -.-

Conclusion: These cartoon protagonists are not only bad role models, but they're also just badly written. Whether they be annoying, stupid, irresponsible, or selfish, trust me when I say you DON'T want characters like these as the protagonist of your show/movie. Either audience's will mistake them as villains, or they'll just tune out. Dishonorable mentions go to Fei Fei from Over The Moon (I've talked enough about that brat -.-), Bloo from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (I wouldn't have blamed Mac for not visiting Foster's anymore after the birthday party episode), and Rick Sanchez from Rick & Morty (would've made the list, but I don't wanna give Rick & Morty any more attention than it has already). Thanks for reading, and I'll see you soon ;)

[tikosblogg]

FREE FALL// pt 5

Summary: Roxanne lived her life in foster care, after her parent’s lives were ripped away. Leaving her alone. She’s lost all hope, her will to live…until she meets him.

Warnings: talks of suicide. Depression, anxiety, abuse, mention of death. Please do not read if that triggers you. Smut (eventually) angst.

A/N: was finally able to get a longer chapter out. Hope you guys enjoy❤️

The city lights below twinkled like a million fallen stars, reflecting in the dusty windows of the abandoned building. The air was thick with the scent of dust and anticipation. It was our last meet-up, our final night on this rooftop haven. For months, we’d been clinging to these once-a-month hangouts, a lifeline in a sea of distance and growing uncertainty. Now, Noah was leaving for Los Angeles, chasing his dreams, leaving me behind with a heart full of bittersweet longing.

The air crackled with unspoken words. We had always danced around the truth, the fear of jeopardizing the fragile balance of our friendship. But tonight, Noah spoke openly. His voice, usually playful and teasing, was laced with an unfamiliar seriousness. 'I care about you, you know,' he said, his eyes searching mine. 'More than you probably realize.'

The words hit me like a tidal wave. I had sensed it, the way he looked at me, the way his laughter seemed to light up the night, but hearing him say it out loud sent a tremor through me. I wanted to reach out, to tell him how much his presence meant to me, how much his absence would hurt, but the words seemed to get stuck in my throat.

Instead, I just nodded, tears welling in my eyes. He pulled me close, the warmth of his body a comforting anchor in the swirling emotions. I buried my face in his chest, the fabric of his shirt absorbing the tears that spilled freely.

For a while, we just stood there, enveloped in a silence that spoke volumes. The city lights blurred through my tears. I didn't want to let go, but we both knew it was time. We had to return to our separate lives, back to the harsh reality of distance and uncertainty. “I don't know when I'll see you again,' Noah said, his voice husky. 'But I will.'

His words were a promise, a lifeline thrown out across the vast expanse of our separation. It wasn't a guarantee, but it was enough. I looked up at him with a small smile. “Well I’ll still be here. Once a month, waiting for you.”

He leaned down, his lips meeting mine in a soft, tender kiss. It was a farewell, a whisper of hope, a promise whispered against the backdrop of a city that felt both familiar and alien all at once. Then, with one last hug I turned and walked away, each step taking us further apart, leaving behind a piece of my heart on that dusty rooftop under the moon light.

I walked into the night, the echo of his kiss lingering on my lips, the promise of a future yet unwritten warming me from within. The road ahead was uncertain, but I knew that somewhere out there, under a different sky, Noah was chasing his dreams, carrying a piece of my heart with him. And that was enough.

3 months later

For three interminable months, I have endured the relentless wrath of Jamie.

As days turned into nights, her cruel words cut through me like a sharp blade. Insults were hurled with abandon, leaving me shattered and hollow. The abuse was a daily ritual, each blow chipping away at what little self-esteem I have left.

Noah had vanished after our final meet up. leaving me alone to face this torment. His absence has created a gaping void in my heart, amplifying the pain I feel. The dreams of a life beyond these walls seems like a cruel joke.

As the sun began its descent, I found myself curled up on my mattress. My body aching from my daily beatings. Tears streamed down my face as I whispered Noah's name into the void. "Why did you leave me?" I sobbed.

6 months later

The rusted metal of the fire escape groaned under my weight as I descended, my heart thrumming like a hummingbird’s wings against my ribs. The city stretched out below, a tapestry of neon and shadows, but my gaze was fixed on the dilapidated hospital across the street.

Six months. Six months since Noah had packed his bags, and left for LA. Six months I’ve been sneaking out of that hell hole, my heart holding a fragile thin thread of his promise. Every month, I’d climb the fire escape, the familiar rasp of the metal grating against my palms a comforting ritual. Every month, I’d sit on the rooftop of this hospital, the wind whipping my hair, the city lights glittering like fallen stars. Every month, I’d wait.

But Noah never came.

The wind howled around me, carrying the scent of rain and distant exhaust fumes. The city felt vast and cold, a cruel reminder of my loneliness. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring the city lights into shimmering streaks. I felt a familiar ache in my chest, a gnawing emptiness that threatened to consume me.

I closed my eyes, picturing Noah’s laughter, his warm touch, the way his eyes would light up when he looked at me. The memory was a bittersweet sting, a reminder of what I have lost, what I might never have again. A dark thought slithered into my mind, wrapping its tendrils around my heart.

If Noah wasn't coming back, what was the point of holding on? When it wasn’t even guaranteed that he was? Why would he? What if I just let go? What if I jumped?

The wind whispered through the crumbling walls of the abandoned building, carrying my thoughts like fallen leaves. The rooftop seemed to tilt beneath me, the city lights winking, taunting me with their indifference.

I stood up, the edge of the rooftop a mere step away. The wind snatched at my hair, tugging me towards the abyss. My gaze fell upon the distant skyline, where the lights of the city shined bright. But their brilliance offered no solace, only a cruel mockery of the void that consumed me.

Memories surged through my mind like a relentless tide, each wave crashing into me with an unbearable weight. I thought about Noah's infectious smile, his gentle touch, and the way his eyes sparkled with hope. But those memories were now bittersweet shards, cutting deep into my wounded heart.

He had left me behind, lured by the siren call of fame and fortune in Los Angeles. My heart was heavy, but I was so proud. I let him go , leaving me alone. The pain was unbearable at first, but over time, it had transformed into a dull ache that lingered like a phantom limb.

Now, standing on the brink. I felt the weight of my despair pulling me down. The dark thoughts whispered insidious promises, urging me to let go and find a way to escape the torment. The wind seemed to echo their taunts, carrying them like whispers from the void itself.

With trembling hands, I stepped forward, now only several stories keeping me separated from the unforgiving city below. I could feel the height threatening to overwhelm me, but a strange determination welled up within me. I had faced my pain head-on for too long, and I was tired of living in the shadow of what could have been.

Slowly, I released a breath and stepped back from the edge. The wind toyed with my hair and clothes, as if testing my resolve. But I stood firm, My eyes fixed on the distant horizon.

At that moment, a new realization dawned on me. My life didn’t end when Noah left. It was merely a different chapter, a chapter that I had the power to write for myself.

11 months and 30 days later…

Noah’s pov

The roar of the crowd faded into a hushed murmur as Bad Omens filed backstage, the air thick with the remnants of sweat and adrenaline. I slumped onto a worn leather couch, the weight of the world settling on my shoulders. My usual vibrant energy felt muted, replaced by a melancholic stillness that had lingered for the past two days.

The guys have noticed the shift in my demeanor. Jolly sat beside me, a concerned frown creasing his brow. "Hey, man, you alright? You've been awfully quiet." I sighed, my gaze fixed on the floor. "It's been a year."

"A year since what?" Nick joined us, his voice laced with concern. “since I last saw Roxanne," I whispered, the name hanging heavy in the air. "Roxanne?" Folio leaned forward, his brow furrowed. "Who's Roxanne?"

I felt my eyes water. "She's... the girl I met. We were... we were close." I trailed off, unable to find the words to describe the way I feel. "Where is she?" Jolly asked softly.

"Virginia…I hope." I mumbled, my voice barely audible. "I left her, I was all she had. And I haven't seen her since." Jolly's eyes widened. "It's only an hour drive from here. Why don't we go find her?"

The suggestion hung in the air, a beacon of hope in the darkness of my thoughts. Nick and Folio exchanged hesitant glances, unsure about the impromptu road trip. "She probably hates me," I sighed.

Jolly placed a hand on my shoulder. "No, It's not too late. You miss her. I’m sure she misses you. We can go." A spark of hope twinged in my chest. I looked at my best friends, their faces a mix of concern and support. I knew, deep down, that I couldn't stay frozen in time, haunted by memories. I needed to see her now, even if just to know that she was okay. To let her know, I never forgot about her. If I remember correctly she turns 18 tomorrow. She can get the fuck out of there. If she hasn’t…

"Alright," I said, my voice trembling slightly, not even wanting to finish that thought. "Let's go."

The drive was a blur of highways and backroads, filled with nervous anticipation and whispered conversations. We arrived in our hometown just as the sun began its descent, casting long shadows across the quaint houses.

I felt a knot of anxiety tighten in my chest as we pulled up to the address I had memorized a year ago. I stalled for a minute, staring at the chipped bricks of the group home she lived at, the place remained silent, its windows dark and lifeless. The wind whipped at my face, stinging my eyes as I scrambled up the fire escape. I could see the faint glow of a streetlamp illuminating Roxy’s window, the one she always used to climb in and out of. I’d watched her do it countless time.

I pulled myself up to the window, my heart hammering in my chest. The room was empty. no crumpled clothes on the floor, no Roxanne. The air hung heavy with the silence of her absence.

I climbed back down, my movements clumsy, my mind reeling. “She's not here,” I mumbled, my voice barely a whisper. Nick, his face creased with concern, reached out a hand. “What do we do now?”

“We have to find her,” I said, my words clipped, urgent. I felt my chest tighten with panic as there was only one other place I knew she would be "We have to go to Mercy."

"Mercy? Why Mercy?" Nick asked, confused.

"Just drive," I said, my voice tight. "Now!"

Jolly, who had been sitting silently in the driver's seat, started the car. We sped down the deserted road, the headlights slicing through the darkness, leaving a trail of yellow light behind.

When we arrived at the crumbling hospital building, Jolly couldn't hold back his confusion anymore. “Noah, why are we here? It's abandoned! And what about Roxanne?”

I didn't bother answering. I just jumped out of the car and ran towards the looming building, the wind whipping at my hair, my breath coming out in ragged gasps. The rusted iron door creaked open, protesting my harsh intrusion.

I ran through the broken glass doors, ignoring the echoing silence that filled the air. I climbed the stairs, two at a time, my legs burning, my mind focused on a single, desperate thought – find Roxanne.

I reached the rooftop, the wind howling in my ears, the city spread out before me like a miniature, glittering world. I scanned the landscape, hoping to see a flash of color, a sign of life, but there was nothing.

Until the sight of her, to my far right standing on the edge ready to jump filled my vision. It almost brought me to my knees. My body trembling with exhaustion and pure fear ran straight for her. The image of Roxanne's face, her smile, her laughter, flashed before my eyes.