#tw: major disasters

[lizaaardstuff]

Hellebores (shattered)

Hey guys, I’ve decided to try something a little new. This is a fic I’ve been working on for the last month now, and I wanted to share a small snippet of the beginning with you guys since it’ll be a bit longer before I’m able to post it on ao3.

This is a Donnie centric story that will take place after the invasion (like my other fanfic), but the beginning kicks off during the end battle.

⚠️Trigger warning for this fic will include: Major Character Injury, Permanent Injury, Paralysis, Internalized Ablism, PTSD, Medical Stuff; you know, the works.

Please let me know your thoughts once you’ve read this, I’d love to hear them <3

Word count: 1,845

———

Being apart of the Technodrome was... incredible. Being so wholly welcomed into such vast knowledge and power was thrilling- world changing. He was everything. He was everywhere. Nothing was out of his reach. He could feel the space in his head expand, his senses heightened to new levels, and as long as he ignored the pain in his shell and the prickling in his limbs and the pressure in his head, he would describe this as the best experience of his life. Truly, nothing could ever compare.

And then he was ripped out.

Violently.

Without any care to what it would do to him.

And suddenly the greatest experience of his life had turned into a living nightmare. He had never felt pain like this before, and not a second too soon, he blacks out.

———

"...nie!"

"Donnie, wake up!"

Donnie's eyes blearily crack open, dizzying colors invade his senses, and he fights the urge to close them again. He can hear himself wheezing, struggling to take in a full breath. He feels his head dipping down towards his chest, and he realizes he's being held up. Blinking to try to clear the haze from his vision, he looks around to his brothers, who are all being held up by the same gooey Krang matter. Donnie almost does a double take when he sees Raph, with the Krang's influence gone, but he doesn't even get a second to revel in this new development, because Leo and Mikey are suddenly yelling for him again.

"Donnie, c'mon, you have to fight it!" Leo shouts from across the room. A flash of blue lights up the room, and Donnie can feel the electricity of his brothers ninpō light up in his chest. And now that he's focusing on it, he can feel Raph's ninpō there too, strong and steady. Feeling that spark ignites something within his own kindling, and when Mikey's ninpō joins the mix, that's all the push Donnie needs before a beam of striking purple joins the cacophony.

There's yelling, but Donnie's ears are ringing, and everything sounds like it's happening behind a wall of cotton. He sees everyone's ninpō burning away the Krang matter that was holding them up, and he assumes the same was happening to him, but he could barely feel it.

Donnie drags in a breath, feeling like he was breathing through a straw, and uses all of his strength to lift up his right arm to pull at the Krang gunk that was pulling at his neck. If I could just get a moment to catch my breath...

And then the Krang matter is gone, and he's falling.

Donnie lands hard on his side, pain flaring through the upper part of his spine and echoing out across his chest, and the impact forces a weak cough out of him that takes away the little bit of air he had managed to gain in his lungs.

"Donnie!" he hears from above, but his eyes are slipping shut again, his energy spent.

There's a soft thud next to him, and a gentle hand on the side of his face. "Donnie, open your eyes man, please. C'mon, just open your eyes."

Leo.

Donnie slowly peels open his eyes again, despite how badly he wanted to just let them remain closed. Because Leo asked nicely.

Donnie drags in another breath.

Why is it still so hard to breathe?

"There you are," Leo sighs, a confusing mix of worry and relief painted on his face.

Donnie hears quick footsteps behind him and a soft gasp, "his shell," "oh Donnie," but when he tries to turn his head to see who's talking, Leo's hand that was still on his face presses down lightly to keep his head in place. "Don't move."

Donnie's head is starting to feel light from the lack of oxygen.

"Oh my god, Leo, what do we do." Mikey. That's Mikey. Donnie's fingers twitch against the ground as he tries once again to turn his head to see his baby brother, but Leo's hand remains firm.

"We have to move." Raph. His big brother is here too. Wait...

Donnie's already unsteady breathing halts, his eyes going wide. "Wait," he croaks out, all eyes turning back on him, "if you're all here... the Krang." Donnie's words slur, and his sentence ends in another wheezing breath.

The others share a confused look above him. Leo looks back down to meet Donnie's eyes, gently taking his hand with the one that wasn't securing the softshell's head. But Donnie could barely feel it. Everything felt so disconnected and muffled. Shock, maybe.

"Donnie," Leo says sharply, like he'd been calling his name a few times. Donnie drags his eyes back up to Leo, blinking through another round of haze. "Donnie, you're holding them off. Or, at least I'm assuming it's you. There's a big purple dome around us, and you're glowing, so..."

Huh?

"Leo," Raph says urgently from wherever he is. Donnie still can't see him or Mikey. If only I could just sit up... "We still need to get the Krang through that portal." There's hesitation in his voice, and Donnie wishes he could see his face.

"I know!" Leo snaps, voice trembling and eyes brimming with overwhelmed tears. It felt so unlike him. He'd only seen Leo make that face a few times in their lifetime, and most of what he could count were from the last 24 hours. Donnie focuses solely on flexing his fingers around Leo's hand, and Leo squeezes back automatically, looking back down at him but still talking to Raph. "I know, but- we can't move him like this."

"Leo, we can't stay here," Donnie hears Mikey say from somewhere above him.

Donnie watches as a tear rolls down Leo's cheek, catching the purple lighting of Donnie's ninpō. Then Leo squares his shoulders and his face hardens, eyes glancing up to meet the others above him, and Donnie knows that he's come to a decision.

"Raph, in a few minutes I'm going to need you to pick up Dee. As carefully as you possibly can. I'll portal you down to a safe spot. Donnie actually managed to get the ship pretty close to the portal before the Krang grabbed him and Mikey, so all Mikey and I have to do is push the big guy through. I need you to watch Dee, if you can find anything hard and flat to lay him on once you're down there, that would be best. Make sure he doesn't move." Good, Donnie thinks as he listens to his twin slip back into his leader voice, Leo's got this covered. Donnie can feel his eyes slipping shut again right as Leo's eyes shift back over to him. "Dee, look at me, I need you to focus."

Donnie would have rolled his eyes at the slider if he wasn't feeling so sluggish. Instead, he tries to hum to let him know he's listening, but it turned more into a weak groan.

"Before I have Raph pick you up, I'm going to do a quick check to see how you're doing. I need you to keep the shield up, okay? Can you do that for me? No, don't move your head, I got it," Leo adds quickly, pulling their hands apart to stop Donnie from nodding with both of his hands.

"Okay," Leo says, more to himself, as he finally lets go of Donnie's head, throwing a sharp glare in his direction with one more, "don't move," as he picks up Donnie's wrist to take his pulse.

He frowns, clearly not pleased with what he's feeling, but he moves on anyways, carefully shifting his head to lean against Donnie's chest. It was difficult since Donnie was on his side, and Leo seemed to take extra care in making sure not to jostle him. Leo's frown only deepens. This check up clearly wasn't going well. Damn, there goes my perfect test scores...

Then Leo goes to check his eyes, but without a pen light to use and the lighting around them being so dim, he gives up on that, moving to hold Donnie's hands instead.

"Squeeze my hands," Leo instructs.

Donnie has to dig through his energy reserve moving his fingers, and he notices that his right hand reacts before his left. Huh. But either way, he manages to give Leo's hands a weak, lopsided squeeze, which seemed to be good enough for now because Leo nods approvingly.

"Okay, now wiggle your toes for me." The slider sits up a bit straighter to look at the softshell's feet. Or, where Donnie assumes they must be, because he can't feel anything below his chest. Donnie's never been in shock before, and after this experience, he never wants to again. Though, that's a bit redundant. No one ever wants to go into shock, that would be masochistic. But Donnie definitely would rate this experience a zero out of ten, would not recommend-

"Donnie, focus," Leo says, placing a hand on Donnie's arm, bringing Donnie back to the present. "I need you to wiggle your toes." Was Donnie becoming delusional, or was there a hint of desperation in his brother's tone? Probably both.

So Donnie wiggles his toes like Leo has asked of him, if only to ease his brother's concern.

"Donnie, seriously, man. Move your toes so we can finish this up. I know you're feeling kinda out of it right now but-"

What? "I already did," Donnie mumbles out, immediately wishing he hadn't spoken when such a simple task leaves him breathless and dizzy.

"What? No, dude, you didn't. Try again." Leo's tone sharpens, eyes going wide, despite his casual wording.

Donnie furrows his smudged brows. "What're you talkin about?" Donnie tries to get an arm under him to push himself up, turning his head towards his legs, confused, but the second he tries to move, Leo's on top of him again.

"Stop! Stop moving," Leo shouts hurriedly. Donnie can feel the sharp sting of Leo's panic through their interlinked ninpō, and suddenly there's a shift in the air. Ignoring Leo's frantic pleads and shaking hands, Donnie tilts his head up slowly, painfully, and sees the large purple dome he had accidentally created to surround them shudder. A loud pounding followed by muffled rage filled roars could be heard just outside of the shield, as the Krang leader slams his fists into the structure, clearly becoming impatient.

When the Krang brings his fists down again, the structure glitches.

Donnie gasps, along with his brothers, and by pure instinct he pushes more energy into the shield. The world starts spinning and the corners of his vision go dim as he uses up the last of his reserves, and when Donnie blinks his eyes back open, his head is laying on the ground again. Leo's shouting something to someone, and there's a flash of bright, neon blue, and there's a large arm shifting under him. The last thing he sees is a burst of purple pixels as the dome shatters before his eyes slip shut.

———

Okay so I really have no idea how to format anything on this app, so if it’s hard to read, I’m so sorry 😭

[sortofanobsession]

Roy/Jaime with Keeley friendship: Established Roy/Jaime. Jaime goes to Manchester to see his mum and is going to take the train back. A horrific train accident happens and Jaime's name was on the passenger list. Everyone thinks Jaime is dead, Roy is beside himself. Jaime is in fact alive and on different train, totally oblivious. He comes home late and decides not to wake a sleeping Roy, just climbs in with him. Imagine Roy's shock when he wakes up to his very much not dead boyfriend in his arms

A/N: I liiiiiive for this type of request. This is similar to a buddie one I did a long time ago but different enough that I had soooo much fun writing it. I'm still new to writing this group but I'm doing my best. Please remember that I am a lowly Midwestern American gal that has never left the States (though my sister did just get back from Scotland). So if their are typos or errors I apologize. Not beta read.

Enjoy

Ao3

Ted Lasso Masterlist

Paring: Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt, Roy & Keeley (platonic), Jamie & Keeley (Platonic), the afc Richmond himbos being themselves.

Word Count: 5k+

Content warning: train wreck, mentions of death, grief and loss, angst (happy ending), mentions of abuse, mentions of paranoia, mentions of head trauma, mentions of alcohol abuse, self-deprecation, self-destruction tendencies. Swearing, lots of swearing (can't believe I forgot that warning in a Roy Kent fic...)

Dead Phones and Train Wrecks

Jamie Tartt had always wanted his mother to be proud of him. Roy Kent had told him he'd never know if she was unless he got over the bullshit his dad did and went to see her. And as usual for Jamie, Roy was mostly right. So Jamie had gone to Manchester the week before training started for the new season. It would have been better if Roy had come with him, but someone had to look after Phoebe, and he needed to prepare for the new season. Roy had said that they would go earlier in the off-season next time. And that was enough to get Jamie to not put it off any longer. And he had a good week, despite having a few awkward run-ins with former Man City teammates and the occasional disgruntled fan. He didn’t care much about those. He was just glad they managed to avoid his dad. That was usually easy by avoiding the pubs and not eating at the same place regularly. It was annoying to have to keep such a paranoid schedule, but Jamie just told his mum it was because of the paparazzi. She didn't need to know that was only part of it. They just enjoyed trying new places, and thankfully, no one gave them too much trouble.

Jamie had decided at the last minute to take his mother to a restaurant in Liverpool she loved but rarely went to. His dad had never wanted to go that far when they were still a family, and Jamie hadn't had time once he got picked up for training. It was an underrated and easily overlooked cafe she would visit with her family when she was young. So Jamie had decided to have one last meal with his mum before he headed back to Richmond. Another new memory his dad couldn't taint or take from them. One for just Jamie and his mum as they try to fix their relationship. 

The one thing Jamie didn’t account for was losing his charger and his phone dying. He didn’t think too much of it because Roy already knew he was going to be taking the train back and he didn't need to pick him up. And it would be late by the time he got in. Roy had to be at training the next day. Jamie did too, but if Jamie was tired, he could manage. He'd played in far worse conditions, thanks to his old man. Roy was grumpy on a good day. A bad day? Well, Jamie wouldn't be the reason the team ran laps til they puked, this time at least. Making sure Roy got sleep was a big part of that. So he told Roy over and over that he'd be fine. Jamie could survive having a dead phone for a few hours if he had to. He would be bored out of his mind, but he would suffer through it if it meant he could see Roy at the end of the day. He could catch a train after dinner and be home in a few hours. Roy wouldn’t get too mad, he hoped. He said goodbye to his mum outside the Lime Street station, got a new ticket, and managed to make the 7:30 train to London. He’d probably have to catch a cab or train home from there since his phone would be useless, and uber was not an option.

Roy couldn't breathe. He just alternates between staring at the news story on the TV and his phone. The train Jamie was taking home from Manchester was now a derailed heap of twisted metal and flames. He'd talked to Jamie just a few hours ago. But now he wasn't answering. No texts. No calls. 

Roy had thought the day he'd retired from football had been the worst day of his life. But he'd give up his career, really anything and everything, to just go back a few hours and hear anything but that fucking voicemail message when he called Jamie's number. He looks at the headline again. The story updates, and the casualties number just keeps going up. Fuck. This cannot be how it ends. This can't be how Jamie Tartt’s story ends.

His phone rings in his hand, and his eyes snap to the screen with hope. Hope that is shattered when it's not Jamie calling. It was Ted. He doesn't have it in him to answer. He doesn't think even Ted Lasso's trademark optimism can help here. He can't let that damn yankee give him hope. Because Jamie had a recognizable fucking face. If he had been among the group they had rescued, that would have been news. Every news site was all over this story. Especially after someone at the train station had leaked that Jamie Tartt had been on the passenger list. Roy's phone kept going off with alerts and messages. But they were not from the one person he needed them to be. He looks up at the TV. The news just kept repeating the same thing. Casualties are high. First responders are searching, but it's a grim and solemn site. Thoughts and prayers. They just keep saying that their hearts go out to the families and friends. And that makes Roy want to scream. He wants to hit something until his knuckles bleed or his bones break. To feel something other than the pain in his chest and the ice-cold grip of fear on his heart. 

His doorbell being rung, followed by knocking, finally drew his attention away from his TV and phone. 

“Fuck off!” He growled when he threw the door open.

“I would if you’d have answered your phone,” Keeley says. She isn’t mad that he spoke to her like that. Roy was usually abrasive, but she knew right now he was the human equivalent of a live wire in water. ”Be glad it’s me and not everyone else.”

“Right now is-” Roy starts, but she stops him.

“I know,” she says, her tone sad. 

Roy doesn’t have the energy to fight her, so he lets her in and returns to his living room. She follows him.

“Oh babe,” she says as she takes in the state of the room. The lamp that sat on the table was in pieces across the room. A few other things were not where they used to be and were probably among the other shards of ceramic and glass around the room. The one thing that was moved but wasn’t broken was a framed photo that usually was on a shelf. It was laying on the sofa next to Roy’s phone. It was a photo Phoebe had framed for Jamie’s birthday. It was of Roy and Jamie at one of Phoebe’s matches they’d been able to make. Phoebe got red carded and both men for sticking up for a teammate that had been fouled. Roy had been proud. Jamie had told her he’d do the same. Her teacher had texted Roy the picture with a reminder they were not supposed to encourage getting tossed from the game. Roy hadn’t cared. Sticking up for her team was more important than how many minutes she’d missed. Jamie had kept the photo for his lock screen for a while before it was gifted to him. Keeley set the photo on the table. It would crush Roy if anything happened to it now.  Roy was never great at handling his emotions, especially the more painful ones. She glances at the news coverage. She grabs the remote and lowers the volume but leaves it on. She knew he would lose his shit if she turned it off. She didn’t want to make this harder than it already was, but she couldn’t just let him brood and spiral until he a broken shell of the man he was. Jamie had always brought so much out of Roy. For better or worse, Jamie had always made Roy feel, even when he didn't want to.

“When did you last hear from him?” She asks. He grunts as he picks up his phone.

She bites back a sigh. “He texted me last night, but I haven't heard from him today, have you?” she tried again.

Roy rubs his eyes but knows she will get it out of him eventually. 

“He was at lunch. Fucking prick…” Keeley didn’t miss the way his voice broke as he said it. His fists clenched and opened repeatedly as he continued. “Lost his charger and didn’t know if his battery would last, but he’d try and stay off of it. Told him to get a new one. He said he’d be with his mum, so it wasn’t like he’d actually need to be on it. I told him that was stupid. That he was being stupid. Keeley, one of the last things I said to him-I didn’t mean to-he…”

“I know,” she puts a hand on his arm. “I’m sure he knew that you didn’t mean it.”

“Doesn’t matter if he did or didn’t. He’s dead.” 

“We don’t know for sure that he-”

“LOOK AT IT!” Roy shouts as he points at the TV. “IT’S A FUCKING NIGHTMARE!”

“I know, but we don’t know anything yet, Roy. He could be fine, he-”

“If he was unharmed, he’d help. That’s just the shit he does now. Wants to help. And that would be on the news. He’s Jamie Fucking Tartt.” Roy sat down like it was taking all his energy to just exist. “If he’s injured, someone would have called, some hospital. And that would be news. The only other option is that he’s still in there. In that…fuck.” He pushes his palms against his eyes. His head hurt, and his eyes ached. Part of him just wanted to lie down or pass out. Maybe when he woke up, it would all just have been a fucking nightmare. Jamie would text him and say he was fine, and Roy would drive to wherever Jamie was and never let him go anywhere without him. But the more realistic and cynical part of Roy Kent knew this was real. There was no waking up from this hell. 

“Okay,” Keeley says. She knew he had a point, but she just couldn’t let herself think that yet. If she did, she would lose it. Jamie was her friend. Roy was her friend. She needed to focus on keeping Roy at some sort of functioning baseline. Roy’s phone lit up. Ted was calling again. Roy just groaned and shoved it away. Keeley picked up.

“Hey, Ted,” She says as she goes into the kitchen. She’d make some tea. That will at least be something she can do to help.

“Keeley? You with Roy?” Ted asks.

“Yeah,” she answers. 

“How is he doin'?” Ted asks. “Need one of us to come over? Because we can-”

“It’s not good,” she admits. “He just keeps checking the news. He’s already assuming the worst.”

“Maybe I should-”

“You just deal with the team, training starts tomorrow, and since they all are back, I'm sure they know. Colin and Isaac have already been texting me. You handle that. I’ll deal with Roy Kent.”

“Oh, okay,” Ted seems a bit hurt. 

“I know you want to help, but I don’t think he wants anyone to see him like this. Not even me, but Jamie…I’m sure the team is struggling too. You focus on them. Leave this to me for now.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll see if any of Rebecca’s connections or Trent’s buddies know anything they aren’t sharing yet.”

“That would be great. I'll let him know someone is at least trying to do something."

"We're all trying. Let him know he's not alone."

"I will. Thanks, Ted.”

“Call me or Beard if you guys need anything or if you hear anything. If he…they’ll find him.”

She finishes making the tea as she ends the call. She pulls her own phone out and tells the team she is with Roy and that she’ll keep them in the loop. Text her, not him. 

She hands Roy a mug that he takes almost on reflexes alone it seems.

“Ted says to call if you need anything,” she tells him. She sets his phone down on the seat beside him. “And I told the team I was here and to text me. Should give your phone a bit of rest.”

Roy grunts, eyes barely leaving the TV. 

“Ted’s going to see if Rebecca and Trent can get any information that they might not be releasing publicly.” That had Roy’s attention snapping to her. 

“Do you think they’d be able to find out if…”

“No guarantees, but I’m sure they’ll try if they haven’t reached out already. Have you talked to Jamie’s mum?”

“I can’t…not yet. I-”

“You don’t have the answers she’ll want. I get it, babe.” She sets to clean up the broken lamp and other debris. 

“You don’t have to-” Roy starts, but she stops him.

“You drink your tea, I’ll do this, and then we get some food.”

“Not hungry,” Roy grunts.

“Still need to eat,” she says as she tosses some bigger pieces in a bin bag. Roy doesn’t say anything. It’s only after she finishes cleaning up that he thanks her. She waves it off. 

An hour or later, Keeley almost called Beard for backup. The passenger list had been leaked before Keeley had even come over. So Keeley hadn't been surprised to find James Tartt Sr. making the whole damn thing about him. How his son had lost his way, and it's a tragedy that he'd never make a comeback. The audacity of that man to talk like that. It made it seem like Jamie was confirmed dead, but Keeley knew better than trust anything that came out of that man's mouth. He was an abusive and manipulative bastard. Roy had been enraged, and it had taken nearly 20 minutes to calm him enough to make a few phone calls. Rebecca was already looking into what could be done about Tartt Sr. Trent hadn't any new information, but he would make sure the reputable press knew the man was a pathetic old sod that knew nothing about Jamie. 

“Jamie might be fit as fuck, but even he can’t survive that,” Roy says nodding at the screen when she came back into the living room. She looks over to see what is surely helicopter or drone footage of the charred carriages of the wreck. She sits beside him and nods. 

“All we can do is wait,” she admits and settles in to wait with him.

Roy kicks Keeley out when it gets late, and it’s clear there isn’t anything new being reported. She only goes because he says he is going to turn in for the night. He gives in and crawls into bed. He pulls Jamie’s pillow closer, and the normally comforting scent of Jamie has fresh tears and sorrow rising in his chest, making it hard to breathe. Roy falls asleep from exhaustion on Jamie’s side of the bed. 

Jamie was completely knackered by the time he reached London. People were saying the entire rail system seemed to be a fucking mess because of one train derailing. Jamie cursed himself for not having a working phone to look into it himself. Roy was right. It was stupid to have let it die. Jamie’d actually resorted to reading a book his mum gave him out of boredom on the train. The train got in over an hour later than normal, so he caught the first cab and would just pay the stupid fare. He just wanted to go home. See Roy and sleep in his own bed. He isn’t surprised the lights are all off by the time he lets himself into their flat. With practiced ease, he navigates the familiar layout. Leaves his shoes by the door after locking up. Silently making his way through the quiet hall to his room. He grins as he carefully sets his stuff inside the room. The lights from the street gave the room enough light to see Roy fast asleep on Jamie’s side of the bed. It makes Jamie’s chest feel warm and fuzzy. They were used to spending all day, every day together. They live together. They work together. Jamie is still shocked Roy hadn’t gotten annoyed with having him around 24/7. That Roy hadn’t gotten tired of Jamie’s shit and sent him packing. And here the man was, sleeping on Jamie's side of the bed, using his pillow like he really, truly, missed Jamie. He doesn’t have the heart to wake Roy now. And he’s honestly too fucking tired to chat. Jamie just quickly changes and carefully crawls into bed. Feels weird to be on Roy’s side, but he’s just happy to be home and in his own bed with Roy.

Roy was sure he had lost his mind when he woke up to the warmth and weight of an arm across his torso and legs tangled with his. His heart was pounding. What the fuck had he done? Had he gotten into the liquor before he went to bed and called someone? Had he gone out because being in their shared flat was excruciating, knowing Jamie would never walk through the door again? Was he that fucked in the head that he would do something this fucking heartless before even getting any confirmation, any closure? Roy was a fucking prick, and he couldn't even remember doing it. He just remembers going to bed and missing Jamie. But someone was here now and in their bed. It pains him to think of anyone else in his and Jamie’s bed. He just wants Jamie. He takes a shaky breath. He was almost afraid to open his eyes. The weight seemed so familiar. When he inhaled, he nearly choked. That scent was so very much the scent of home. Like Jamie fucking Tartt. And it broke his heart because there was no way this was Jamie. But part of him wanted to enjoy the insanity of the moment. Embrace the delusion his brain created at the idea of Jamie being alive and wrapped up in bed with Roy like he never left. Like he never went to Manchester. A sob caught in Roy's throat as he buried his face in his bedmate's neck. But the part that loved Jamie enough to still see this as a betrayal won out, and Roy couldn't stand it. He opened his eyes and was about to pull away and cuss out whoever it was when his world ground to a halt for the second time in less than a day. He'd recognize that fucking gorgeous face anywhere. That little scar on his brow and those perfect fucking lips. It didn't just look and feel like the familiar presence of Jamie Tartt. It was him. Either Roy had cracked up, and he was having the most vivid hallucination ever, or by some miracle, Jamie was right fucking here. Roy couldn't hold back the sheer amazement any more than he could hold back from touching Jamie. He needed to know this was real. That this wasn't a dream. He hadn't done something stupid and gotten himself brain-damaged. Fuck. Please let this be real. He carded his fingers through Jamie's hair. Brushed his fingers over Jamie's cheekbone and jaw. He gripped Jamie's face and placed a hesitant kiss on his lips. It all felt so impossible, but here he was. He could feel Jamie's muscles move as he stirred. Roy can't keep in the happy sob that rips its way from his chest as Jamie's eyes blink open. Fuck, those eyes were often his undoing, but this time Roy would happily get lost in them for eternity if it meant he got to keep Jamie with him.

Jamie wakes up with a hum as he feels fingers in his hair and featherweight touches to his face. Then a barely there kiss Jamie could have easily just dreamt of. It was gone so fast. He smiles as he blinks his eyes open and sees Roy looking at him like he'd never looked at him before. Like Jamie was some sort of fragile masterpiece or rare treasure. But something in that look had alarms going off in Jamie's head, and at first, he isn't sure why. He gets a good look at his boyfriend and can't even process the number of emotions Roy seems to be struggling with. But he knows one thing for sure. He had missed that man more than he thought he could for being gone for just a week. 

Something in Roy shutters when Jamie's eyes open. Jamie smiles at him, and Roy thinks his heart might explode. It's a sleepy smile that always does things to Roy. Fuck, he didn't think he'd ever see those eyes in person again. Never see that smile. And the combination now makes his stomach flip, and his heart soar. Between the warmth of Jamie's skin under Roy's hand and the fact that he could feel Jamie's breath on his wrist. It makes the air catch in Roy's lungs, and his hands shake. Jamie was there. He could feel tears falling for once, and he didn’t care if anyone saw. Jamie was home. He was alive. Roy hadn't lost him.

Jamie was starting to get worried. Roy hadn't said a single word yet. And Roy fucking Kent never cried, but there were tears now. He'd cried when he announced his retirement from football, but Jamie had never seen it happen again. Jamie cried on occasion, but not Roy Fucking Kent. What the fuck was going on? “What’s wro-” Jamie starts to ask but is cut off when Roy kisses him. It’s a desperate and needy kiss this time. It wasn't anything like the ghost of a kiss he'd gotten before he opened his eyes. It was dizzying. Part of Jamie doesn’t want to end, but most of his brain is still confused as fuck. Roy was literally shaking. He pulls away to look at him again.

“How the fuck-” Roy starts but stops when Jamie reaches up and brushes tears off Roy’s face. Roy resists the urge to close his eyes and melt into Jamie's touch.

“Rough night?” Jamie asks.

“You’re alive,” Roy says it like it is genuinely magic. His eyes shone with what would call joy, maybe shock. Though Jamie couldn’t figure out why he was so shocked.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Jamie grins. “I know I took a bit longer getting home, and you were out cold when I got in. I was knackered. Why would you think I wasn’t? I know my phone was dead, but not me.” 

Roy grunts and sits up. He pulls the covers back to get a good look at his boyfriend. even moving his shirt out of the way to check for bruises or worse. Jamie just goes with it. He knows when Roy gets like this; there is no point in arguing. Roy could be a hell of a mother hen when he thinks someone he cares about is hurt or sick. Apparently, now was one of those times. 

"Roy, why-" he starts to ask.

“Because your fucking train crashed!” Roy’s heart hammers in his chest as his hands move to check Jamie over again. Jamie is as solid as ever. Nothing seemed broken or even bruised as far as he could tell. He had to remind himself that Jamie was here and didn’t seem to have a scratch on him. 

“We hit a few delays, but…” Jamie says. Roy can see the moment the gears seem to click, and Jamie realizes what happened. “Oh shit, the train from Piccadilly was the one that-okay now, that makes alotta-”

“Jamie,” Roy’s voice held more emotion than Jamie was used to as he grips the back of Jamie's neck, pulling him in until their foreheads touched. Whether it is to get Jamie to focus or to ground himself after thinking he'd lost Jamie, well, Jamie wasn't sure even Roy could answer that right now. But he didn't hate it. “What the fuck happened?” Roy finished saying.

“I went to dinner with my mum in Liverpool. Caught the train from Lime Street. Fuck, Roy, I’m sorry. I didn’t-”

Roy cut him off by hauling him into a bone-crushing hug. “Everyone thought you were dead,” Roy manages to say, "your fucking old man, he said you were…fuck, Jamie, I thought I lost you." But it’s mumbled by the fact he’d buried his face in Jamie’s neck. Jamie’s grip tightens at the mention of his father. Bunching the fabric of the shirt Roy hadn’t even taken off when he went to sleep. Jamie hadn’t noticed the night before but it had been one of his, not one of Roys. 

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Jamie apologizes, “My stupid phone-”

“Fuck,” Roy growls. “Never. Again.”

“What?” Jamie is confused by the swift change from having his arms full of a desperate boyfriend to an angry one. 

“You’re never going anywhere without me again,” Roy grits out.

Jamie lets out a shocked laugh. “Well, that’s not very realistic. You can’t be with me every second of-” Roy kisses him again and again. And Jamie lets him. 

“Fucking watch me,” Roy says when he finally pulls back but keeps Jamie tight against him like if he lets him go, he will disappear. 

“I usually do. We have a mirror. You’re fucking fit, like have ya-” Jamie is cut off as Roy’s phone starts to ring. Roy growls at it. Jamie huffs a laugh and looks at it over Roy’s shoulder. “It’s Keeley.”

“She can fucking wait,” Roy says, pulling the younger man back down to him. Jamie hums as Roy removes Jamie’s shirt. And Jamie almost forgets about the phone call, almost. Because it rings again. Roy grumbles something about throwing the damn thing out the window. Jamie chuckles as it goes to voicemail. 

“Ya know, if everyone thought me dead, then we should probably-” Jamie is cut off again when Roy moves and pins him against the mattress. 

“She. Can. Wait.” 

“Sure, yeah, she can wait,” Jamie grins as Roy’s mouth moves to his neck. The rest of the morning is spent with Roy proving to Jamie that he needs him more than Jamie ever thought possible. And Jamie couldn't help but fall even harder for the man he'd spent years looking up to.

The AFC Richmond locker room has an uneasy silence as Keeley walks in. Morning training had been a dismal affair. It was like there was a black hole in the lineup where Jamie Tartt should be. Roy had told Keeley to meet him there. She looks around the room. Everyone looks devastated. They all knew that Jamie’s train had derailed. They knew the crews were still working on recovering the dead. It broke Keeley’s heart all over again seeing Dani Rojas wipes away tears and trying to avoid looking at Jamie's name on his cubby. Rebecca and Higgins were talking to Ted, Beard, and Trent.

“Is this about losing Jamie?” Sam asks when he sees Keeley. It seems almost painful for him to ask. It’s like he avoided saying his best friend was dead.  

“Yeah, did they find him?” Colin asks. Clearly, avoiding the words as well. 

“Where’s Kent?” Rebecca asks as they all leave the office and join the locker room.

“Roy said he was on the way,” Keeley says, glancing at her phone to ensure she hadn’t missed an update. “And yeah, said he wasn’t going to repeat himself, so everyone better fucking be here.”

“Everyone’s here but him…and well…Tartt,” Isaac says. “Obviously.”

“Maybe we shoulda donnit in text,” Jamie says as Roy kills the engine. He looks over at the player’s entrance at the dog track. Nervous that everyone would be pissed they didn’t tell them sooner. Or that he was playing a trick on them or something.

“They wouldn’t have believed it, and it’s always better to do this type of thing in person. Although I wouldn’t mind keeping you to myself a bit longer,” Roy admits. 

Jamie grins. “Later,” he assures. “Because I feel bad they still think me dead. And I just keep seein this mental image of Dani looking like a kicked puppy, and I can’t live with that.” 

“Fine,” Roy grunts. “Let's go.”

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Is the first thing they hear when they walk into the locker room. Jamie flinches. 

“Fuck off, Isaac," Roy glares. His hand goes to the back of Jamie’s neck to anchor him. It is silent for a moment before everyone seems to start asking questions at once. Some of them are not even in English. Jamie's eyes go wide for a second, but he shakes it off. These were his friends, and they clearly had been feeling his loss.

“Jamie?” Keeley asks, and despite the chaos of the room, including Roy shouting at everyone to give them a fucking minute and they’d get their answers, Jamie hears her. He goes over to her. 

“I’m sorry, Keeley,” Jamie says. “I didn’t know. My phone was dead, an’ I-Oof-” She half lunges at him and hugs him before he can finish his apology.

“You scared me,” she says when she looks up at him. 

“Didn’t mean ta,” Jamie insists. 

A loud whistle has everyone wincing and covering their ears. Jamie covers one of Keeley’s ears and presses her against his shoulder to cover the other. She can’t help but smile to herself. Can't keep the tears of joy away, either. He always surprises her these days. And not just by not being dead. He was so kind. He was easily one of her best friends. The whistle is followed by silence. 

“Fucking hell,” Roy glares at Rebecca. She had taken Ted's whistle and blown it.

She shrugs. “Worked, didn’t it?

“You alright, Jamie?” Ted asks him when Keeley nudges Jamie and Roy further into the room. She sits on the bench in Jamie’s spot.

“Yeah, Coach,” he nods.

“Now I know you all have questions,” Roy says. “And they can fucking wait. Just listen.” He looks over at Jamie. Jamie’s nervous, and his hands are in his pockets

Roy just nudges him on. 

“So you all know I went to visit me mum, haven’t seen her in years. Roy had me plan the whole week, but well, since when have I ever followed directions for that long?” Jamie grinned, earning a few chuckles.

“Yeah, I was set to be on that train from Manchester. Was supposed to spend the whole time in Manchester, but the less time I spent anywhere near those Man City pricks, the better. Seen too many of em over the week. So I had taken me mum to a cafe in Liverpool she likes. I took a later train from there. My phone was dead-”

“Of course, it was,” Sam shakes his head. “How did you survive before coach?” 

"Feigned indifference and being overly cocksure, that’s how," Keeley answers. "But he's better now."

Jamie grins at her before continuing. “Right, so the mess out of Manchester delayed the whole fucking system, but no one was sure what train was the one that caused it, so by the time I got in, it was late, and I just went to bed. Didn't bother checkin’ or wakin' anyone."

“Must have been one hell of a shock for you, Roy,” Ted comments. Roy just grunts. 

Jamie nods. “Pretty sure he didn’t think I was real, but that didn’t last long.” Jamie laughed. “Think he felt more in less than a minute than he knew he could.”

“Fuck off,” Roy says, but any impact the words might have had were undercut by the fact his hand was on the small of Jamie’s back like he was afraid to not have a physical connection to the man he thought he had lost. 

“You knew all morning and are only telling us now?” Jan asks.

“If I had my way, you’d still all be in the fucking dark," Roy admits. Still not happy to have to share Jamie's attention so soon. "Don’t owe you shit when I'm at home."

That got a number of negative reactions from the players.

“He doesn’t mean that,” Ted says in an attempt to calm them. Roy grunts. Ted continues, “I know we all feel lucky to have you back, Jamie. Fellas you can ask him all the questions you want after training. Yesterday was a dark day, but today is brighter. Suns out, let’s get out there and get the ball rollin’.”

The players complain, but they go. Most patting Jamie on the back or hugging him in Dani’s case. Jamie laughed and hugged him back. 

“Take your time, but not too much time,” Ted told Jamie as he followed the team out. 

“You good?” Roy asks Jamie. 

"Yeah, coach," Jamie nods and grins. 

“Sure you want to train today?” Roy questions.

“You going to be fine if I do? It's a big pitch, and you haven't let me outta your grip since you woke up.” Jamie counters. Roy was still coming to terms with the emotional whiplash of the past day, and Jamie knows it. They had called Jamie's mum and Roy's sister when things had settled. Phoebe had been devastated when she thought Jamie was gone. Jamie had spent a good ten minutes convincing her that he was fine and they'd come to see her in a couple of days. Roy had barely let Jamie out of his sight the whole time. Roy just rolls his eyes and leaves him to change. Although Roy kept glancing over at him as he did. Roy goes over to where Keeley is talking to Rebecca and Higgins about a press release letting the fans know Jamie is fine and a statement about the accident. Maybe even getting some pictures proving Jamie was back training with the team. Rebecca had approved the idea, and Keeley had already texted a photographer friend to come round. 

“None of that thought and prayers bullshit,” Roy tells them. “Empty fucking words.”

“He has a point. Maybe do a donation to the families or the workers. Thoughts and prayers seemed meaningless when he’d nearly thrown his remote at the tv when they started reading tweets about it on the news. Would have needed a new one if I wasn’t there,” Keeley says. 

Jamie chuckles as he laces his boots and checks his shin guards. “Didn’t save the lamp,” Jamie grins.

“You didn't give a shit about that lamp. Could have been your stupid rabbit sculpture. That thing is-” Roy starts to say but stops when Jamie stands up and walks over. 

“Fuck off,” Jamie grins. “Going to train, or you joinin’ the PR team?”

“Fucking Prick,” Roy grunts but goes with Jamie to the door. 

“You fuckin’ luv me,” Jamie smirks. 

“I fucking do,” Roy easily agrees. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“Never,” Jamie gives him a kiss before they head out to join the team. 

[gardenofkore]

Not only are children, especially boys, employed at a very early age in all the trades I have mentioned, but young boys from fourteen to sixteen perform, as I have said, in the mines and elsewhere an incredible amount of the crude, rough work of the community. I remember, one day in Palermo, seeing, for the first time in my life, boys, who were certainly not more than fourteen years of age, engaged in carrying on their backs earth from a cellar that was being excavated for a building. Men did the work of digging, but the mere drudgery of carrying the earth from the bottom of the excavation to the surface was performed by these boys. It was not simply the fact that mere children were engaged in this heavy work which impressed me. It was the slow, dragging steps, the fixed and unalterable expression of weariness that showed in every line of their bodies. Later I learned to recognize this as the habitual manner and expression of the carusi, which is the name that the Italians give to those boys who are employed in the sulphur mines to carry the crude ore up from the mines where it is dug and to load it into the cars by which it is conveyed to the surface.

The work in a sulphur mine is organized in many respects, I learned, like that of a coal mine. The actual work of digging the sulphur is performed by the miner, who is paid by the amount of crude ore he succeeds in getting out. He, in his turn, has a man or a boy, sometimes two or three of them, to assist him in getting the ore out of the mine to the smelter, where it is melted and refined. As I myself had had some experience as a boy in work similar to this in the mines of West Virginia, I was interested in learning all I could in regard to these boys and the conditions under which they worked.

In the case of boys employed for this work, the Sicilians have a custom of binding out their children to the miner, or picconiero, as he is called. Such a boy is then called, in the language of the country, a caruso. As a matter of fact, a picconiero who buys a boy from his parents to employ him as a caruso actually purchases a slave. The manner in which the purchase is made is as follows : In Sicily, where the masses of the people are so wretchedly poor in everything else, they are nevertheless unusually rich in children, and, as often happens, the family that has the largest number of mouths to fill has the least to put in them. It is from these families that the carusi are recruited. The father who turns his child over to a miner receives in return a sum of money in the form of a loan. The sum usually amounts to from eight to thirty dollars, according to the age of the boy, his strength and general usefulness. With the payment of this sum the child is turned over absolutely to his master. From this slavery there is no hope of freedom, because neither the parents nor the child will ever have sufficient money to repay the original loan. Strange and terrible stories are told about the way in which these boy slaves have been treated by their masters. Before coming to Sicily I had met and talked with persons who described to me the processions of half-naked boys, their bodies bowed under the heavy weight of the loads they carried, groaning and cursing as they made their way up out of the hot and sulphurous holes in the earth, carrying the ore from the mine to the smelter. All that I had heard elsewhere was confirmed later by the details furnished by official reports and special studies of conditions in the mining regions, made at different times and by different persons. In these reports I learned that the mines had been in the past the refuge of a debased and criminal population, whose vices made the bleak, sulphur-smitten region where the mines are located as much like hell as it looks. The cruelties to which the child slaves have been subjected, as related by those who have studied them, are as bad as anything that was ever reported of the cruelties of Negro slavery. These boy slaves were frequently beaten and pinched, in order to wring from their overburdened bodies the last drop of strength they had in them. When beatings did not suffice, it was the custom to singe the calves of their legs with lanterns to put them again on their feet. If they sought to escape from this slavery in flight, they were captured and beaten, sometimes even killed.

As they climbed out of the hot and poisonous atmosphere of the mines their bodies, naked to the waist and dripping with sweat, were chilled by the cold draughts in the corridors leading out of the mines, and this sudden transition was the frequent cause of pneumonia and tuberculosis. In former years children of six and seven years of age were employed at these crushing and terrible tasks. Under the heavy burdens (averaging about forty pounds) they were compelled to carry, they often became deformed, and the number of cases of curvature of the spine and deformations of the bones of the chest reported was very large. More than that, these children were frequently made the victims of the lust and unnatural vices of their masters. It is not surprising, therefore, that they early gained the appearance of gray old men, and that it has become a common saying that a caruso rarely reaches the age of twentyfive.

It was with something of all this in my mind that I set out from Palermo a little before daylight one morning in September to visit the mines at Campofranco, on the southern side of the island, in the neighbourhood of Girgenti.

[…]

The mines at Campofranco are on the slope of the mountain, just above the railway station. A mile or more across the great empty valley, high up on the slope of the opposite mountain, is the village from which the mines get their name, a little cluster of low stone and cement buildings, clinging to the mountainside as if they were in imminent danger of slipping into the valley below. […]

It was at the mouth of one of these entrances to the mines that I got my first definite notion of what sulphur miners look like — those unfortunate creatures who wear out their lives amid the poisonous fumes and the furnace heat of these underground hells. There was a rumble of a car, and presently a man, almost stark naked, stepped out of the dark passageway. He was worn, haggard, and gray, and his skin had a peculiar grayish-white tinge. He spoke in a husky whisper, but I do not know whether that is one of the characteristic effects of the work in the mines or not. I was told that, in addition to other dangers, the sulphur has a bad effect upon the lungs. It was explained to me that the sulphur dust gets into the lungs and clogs them up, and that is what accounts for the groans of the carusi, so frequently spoken of, when they are tugging up the steep and winding passageways with the heavy burdens of crude ore on their backs.

It had been many years since I had been in a mine, but as I entered the dark, damp gallery and felt the sudden underground chill, the memories of my early experiences all came back to me. As we got farther into the mine, however, the air seemed to grow warmer. Suddenly a door at the side of the gallery opened; a blast of hot air, like that from a furnace, burst out into the corridor, and another of those half-naked men, dripping with perspiration, stepped out.

We passed at intervals along the main corridor a number of these doors which, as I discovered, led down into parts of the mine where the men were at work. It seemed incredible to me that any one could live and work in such heat, but I had come there to see what a sulphur mine was like, so I determined to try the experiment.

The side passage which I entered was, in fact, little more than a burrow, twisting and winding its way, but going constantly deeper and deeper into the dark depths of the earth. I had known what it was to work deep down under the earth, but I never before so thoroughly realized what it meant to be in the bowels of the earth as I did while I was groping my way through the dark and winding passages of this sulphur mine.

It is down at the bottom of these holes, and in this steaming atmosphere, that the miners work. They loosen the ore from the walls of the seams in which it is found, and then it is carried up out of these holes in sacks by the carusi.

In the mine which I visited the work of getting the ore to the surface was performed in a modern and comparatively humane way.

It was simply necessary to carry the ore from the different points where it is mined to the car, by which it is then transported to the smelter. In those mines, however, where the work is still carried on in the old, traditional fashion, which has been in vogue as far back as any one can remember, all the ore is carried on the backs of boys. In cases where the mine descended to the depth of two, three, or four hundred feet, the task of carrying these loads of ore to the surface is simply heartbreaking. I can well understand that persons who have seen conditions at the worst should speak of the children who have been condemned to this slavery as the most unhappy creatures on earth. From all that I can learn, however, the conditions have changed for the better in recent years. In 1902 a law was passed which forbade the employment of children under thirteen years in underground work, and to this was added, a little later, a provision which forbade, after 1905, the employment of children under fifteen in the mines.

So far as I am able to say, this provision was carried out in the mine I visited, for I did not see children at work anywhere inside the mine. I saw a number of the poor little creatures at work in the dumps outside the mine, however. They were carrying refuse ore in bags on their backs, throwing it on screens, and then loading the finer particles back into the cars. Once having seen these gangs of boys at work, I could never mistake their slow, dragging movements and the expression of dull despair upon their faces.

It is said that the employment of boys in the sulphur mines is decreasing. According to law, the employment of children under fifteen years of age has been forbidden since 1905. As is well known, however, in Italy as in America, it is much easier to make laws than to enforce them. This is especially true in Sicily. The only figures which I have been able to obtain upon the subject show that from 1880 to 1898 there was an enormous increase in the number of children employed in and about the mines. In 1880 there were 2,419 children under fifteen years working there, among whom were eight girls. Of this number 88 were seven and 163 were eight years of age, while 12 per cent, of the whole number were under nine years of age. In 1898, however, the number of children under fifteen years of age was 7,032, of whom 5,232 were at work inside the mines. At this time the Government had already attempted to put some restrictions on the employment of children in the mines, but the age limit had not been fixed as high as fifteen years.

The sulphur mines are located on the southern slopes of the mountains that cross Sicily from east to west. About ten miles below Campofranco the two branches of the railway, one running directly south from Roccapalumba, and the other running southwest from Caltanisetta, come together a few miles above Girgenti. On the slopes of the broad valleys through which these two branches of the railway run are located nearly all the sulphur mines in Sicily. From these mines, which furnish something like 70 per cent, of the world's supply of sulphur, a constant stream of this yellow ore flows down to the sea at the port of Girgenti.

After leaving Campofranco I travelled through this whole region. In many places the mountain slopes are fairly honeycombed with holes where the miners in years past have dug their way into the mountain in search of the precious yellow mineral. For many miles in every direction the vegetation has been blasted by the poisonous smoke and vapours from the smelters, and the whole country has a blotched and scrofulous appearance which is depressing to look upon, particularly when one considers the amount of misery and the number of human lives it has cost to create this condition. ' I have never in my life seen any place that seemed to come so near meeting the description of the "abomination of desolation" referred to in the Bible. There is even a certain grandeur in the desolation of this country which looks as if the curse of God rested upon it I am not prepared just now to say to what extent I believe in a physical hell in the next world, but a sulphur mine in Sicily is about the nearest thing to hell that lexpect to see in this life. As I have already said, however, there are indications that in the sulphur mines, as elsewhere in Sicily, the situation of the man farthest down is improving. I pray God that it is so, for I could not picture an existence more miserable than the slow torture of this crushing labour in the hot and poisonous air of these sulphur mines.

Let me say also that I came away from the sulphur mines and from Sicily with a very much better opinion of the people than when I entered. I went to Italy with the notion that the Sicilians were a race of brigands, a sullen and irritable people who were disposed at any moment to be swept off their feet by violent and murderous passions. I came away with the feeling that, whatever might be the faults of the masses of the people, they were, at the very least, more sinned against than sinning, and that they deserve the sympathy rather than the condemnation of the world.

The truth is that, as far as my personal experience goes, I was never treated more kindly in my whole life than I was the day when, coming as a stranger, without an introduction of any kind, I ventured to visit the region which has the reputation of being the most wicked, and is certainly the most unfortunate, in Europe. I mean the region around and north of Girgenti, which is the seat at once of the sulphur mines and the Mafia.

If any one had told me before I went to Sicily that I would be willing to intrust my life to Sicilians away down in the darkness of a sulphur mine, I should have believed that such a person had lost his mind. I had read and heard so much of murders of the Mafia in Sicily, that for a long time I had had a horror of the name of Sicilians; but when I came in contact with them, before I knew it, I found myself trusting them absolutely to such an extent that I willingly followed them into the bowels of the earth; into a hot, narrow, dark sulphur mine where, without a moment's warning, they might have demanded my life or held me, if they cared to, for a ransom. Nothing of this kind occurred; on the other hand, I repeat, every Sicilian with whom I came in contact in the sulphur mine treated me in the most kindly manner, and I came away from their country having the highest respect for them.

I did not meet, while I was there, a single person, from the superintendent to the lowest labourer at the mines, who did not seem, not only willing, but even anxious, to assist me to see and learn everything I wanted to know. What is more, Campofranco was the only place in Europe where I met men who refused to accept money for a service rendered me.

Washington Booker T., The man farthest down; a record of observation and study in Europe (1912), p. 200-216

[lameufquiaimelire]

My mom was praying her rosary and my dumb ass just barges in to ask her if she can help me fix my bedroom light cause it's acting weird and she just shot a look like she finally had gotten good reception on a call with God and he was telling her how to save humanity or something and my presence just fucks up the reception. I proceeded to silently walk away as one should do in cases like this.

[brokendreamscreation]

If it were not for the archangels aid in strength and the very wind itself, surely the twin dragons would have been met with certain doom. As the debris begins to settle and the shape of the feuding beasts come into view, so does the extent of the damage. The holy chain has entangled the dragons together, rubbing and burning their scales and skin. Mangled and twisted metal beams protrude through one of the leathery wings, shredding the thin yet durable membrane as though it were nothing more than wet paper. The chain is no longer wrapped around the orange horn, snapped off clean in the fall.

Lucid’s reptilian head lies lulled to the side, jaws agape and the bottom crooked. His eyes closed, not stirring when addressed by his brothers. The broken halo still glows its raging orange hue, the fireball in the gap flickering and spitting sparks as the rim sparkles in black glittering magic. The bodies of them both shined slick with golden ichor that now begins to pool around them.

The fallen beast appears more dead than alive, but the thud of his heart and ragged breathes that stir plumes of dust would prove him to still be with them. At least while he remains unconscious, the rage and wrath is tamed for the moment.

@heaven-said @themosthatedbeingg

✞ That sound, it could nearly make him ill, if only with remorse. If they could see his face he looked nearly as if it hurt him more than it hurt them with how he winces. He knew their mouth had been brutally broken open, freeing him, and so even now he must act quickly. He bolts out from their mouth, chain still in hand, very much aware that he is rapidly being pulled down at a dangerous speed. But its not him he's worried about-- he can let go anytime. Its them.

Desperately, he jumps to action, using all the power in his wings and God's will over the wind to pull up and try to slow the crater of two full sized, intertwined and tangled dragons. But, its no use, he cannot stop them completely. Inevitably they impact, though he softened their blow, but it drags the archangel down with them to fall from sheer inertia. Too tired to land elegantly, he crashes to the ground on his hands and knees, blood leaving burning puddles like an oil fire as it splashes from him in flaming globs. " Brothers? Brothers!? Say something! " He calls out to the debris. Ever determined, he rips his waist tabard and ties it around his stomach, lifts his mask to spit gold, and resolves to approach their wreckage of still settling dust like a blinding red fog in this hellscape. He goes to find where they lay, following the chain.

@themosthatedbeingg

[too-much-tma-stuff]

We Agree to Your Terms (part 23)

Previous | Masterpost | Next

TW: descriptions of violence

They talked about Danny's conditions for helping, he had an idea what they were going to be already. But he wanted and needed Jason behind him every step of the way here so Danny talked out as much of his thought process as he could.

As they talked they watched videos as they came out, livestreams and news clips talking about the destruction being caused by the new, unidentified threat. The videos were grainy and corrupted, as most videos of ghosts were, but most of them were clear enough to see what was happening, especially the ones that were taken from a bit of a distance. Those ones were less likely to come to an abrupt bloody end.  

They watched as heroes arrived on scene, and along with them the drone that Danny had infused with ecto so they hacked into its stream instead. Danny was amused to see that it was occasionally ignoring directions, apparently it had developed a little bit of a mind of its own but it was still doing its job.  

The heroes quickly realize most of their attacks had no effect at all on Pariah Dark. The only ones who seemed like they could touch him were Raven, John Constantine, and of course, Phantasm. But all they could do was slow him down and try to buy a little more time for the other heroes to evacuate as many civilians as they could. Danny tensed every time Ellie had a close call, but he couldn’t rush off to save her. Not yet.

The destruction was hard for him to watch, people were dying, and not just a few. The skeleton army and Pariah himself were ruthless and entirely without remorse. Danny saw more than one truly impressive spray of blood, limp bodies falling to the ground and after the first couple he watched with dissociative disinterest. More lives were ruined then just those who were ended, homes were being destroyed, one town was already all but levelled and those who had been evacuated in time would have little to nothing to go back to, it was a major humanitarian disaster in progress. 

They watched an interview as one of the GIW agents arrived on scene, at first they were barely able to disguise their glee as they explained that this was a ghost. Ghosts were dangerous and unfeeling blah blah blah, all their usual talking points. But not to worry! The GIW had the weapons and knowhow to deal with this threat! 

This was what they had wanted the entire time after all, a ghostly rampage to prove their worth to the world. Or at least this was what they thought they wanted, if only it weren’t a matter of minutes before it was completely obvious they were outgunned and untested. All they were good for was meat shields to get the civilians out, and at least Danny could find some joy in that. Watching those all too familiar white suits get ripped up and stained red with blood soothed deep, angry aches imprinted on Danny’s core. He couldn’t help but laugh at their futile fight, some got a few lucky shots off, but at best they took out a handful of skeletons, and Pariah could always summon more of those.

 Then the GIW weren’t even good as meat shields. They had barely bought a few minutes of time for the evacuation efforts before half of them broke and ran! Booking it as soon as it was obvious this was a real threat, and not something they could deal with with their stolen and half baked weapons. The selfish cowardly little cringelings! 

Danny snarled and curled his fingers into claws, barely resisting digging them into Jason’s arms as he held Danny close and made soothing noises. He had never felt so much disdain for another creature as these wannabe heroes who weren’t actually interested in anything besides their own glorification. 

“It won’t be much longer,” Jason soothed Danny, “They’re running out of ideas I’m sure, they’ll call soon. I’ve already declined three calls from Batman.” They had decided not to answer Bruce, he’d probably want them to do the ‘right thing’ with no guarantee of any change and that wasn’t something they were interested in. Danny was waiting to hear from Diana, or maybe one of the leaders themselves.

It was Diana who called, which made sense since Deadman probably didn't have a phone. Jason picked up her call after the first ring which was sure would annoy the hell out of Bruce knowing that his calls were being purposefully screened. 

“Hello, thank you for answering, Red Hood. I wouldn’t have blamed you and your Lover for leaving this world to its fate,” She said with bitter rage. “But I believe these ninnyhammers are ready to see sense. Will you come back and give them a second chance?” She asked patiently. Danny wondered if Themyscira would be alright even if the rest of the world fell, most Gods had to be some sort of neverborn and they protected the island of the Amazons right? Maybe Wonder Woman’s people would be okay.

“We’ll come, but we’re no longer willing to compromise,” Jason growled into the fun.

“Understood,” Diana said in a clipped tone and Jason hung up.

“Are you ready Danny,” Jason asked softly as he pocketed his phone again. 

“As I’ll ever be,” Danny sighed. “Let's just get this over with before anyone else gets hurt.” He straightened and dipped down to re-enter the meeting hall, through the ceiling this time. Danny’s makeshift throne was still there so Danny went straight back to it and sunk down into it, Jason standing at his shoulder again. He couldn’t really help with this other than supporting Danny, and being proud of him for taking charge like this. It was a far cry from how subservient he had been early on. 

Danny had grown so much, and so had Jason. When he was newly back in Gotham so full of rage and so much to prove he wouldn’t have been able to stand behind anyone in silent support. Hell he probably would have shot this place up for talking to Danny the way they had before he’d been in therapy. This was a bitter thing, having to stand in front of this meeting, but it felt like a culmination of their growth. 

“So, you called me back,” Danny said as he leaned back in his icey throne, making it look far more comfortable than it truly must be. 

“You have to do something about this,” Someone demanded, Danny didn’t bother to seek out who it was since he didn’t recognize the voice. 

“Do I?” Danny laughed. “Because I thought you just finished saying it was your job to protect your people.”

“But this is a ghost, this is one of yours!”

“Technically, No he’s not,” Danny grimaced. “That’s the previous king so he currently outranks me. Besides I could defeat him, but he’s not a threat to my people right now. So no, I will not help. I will, however, accept your surrender.” 

“What?” Agent W yelped, why she was still present Danny had no idea. 

“You heard me. He will keep going, he's obsessed with expanding the ranks of the dead he rules. He's attacked the earth before, and I'm sure you remember who it was who defeated him then,” Danny said, turning his gaze to agent W.

“Well it was a couple of our correspondents, the Dr's. Fenton. They-” She blustered.

Danny made an incorrect buzzer noise. “Wrong, some of their tech was used but who was wielding that tech?” He demanded, staring her down. “You're under oath, don't even think about lying.” 

She didn’t answer, but the lemon bitten expression on her face was answer enough really.

“That's right! Last time he broke through I saved the world from him, and my thanks was being captured and tortured. I don't plan to make that mistake again. This time if you want my help you will agree to my terms before I take care of the problem.” 

“And what are your terms?” Diana asked, despite everything she sounded patient and calm, bless her. 

Danny nodded to her gratefully and braced himself before he started talking. He needed to sound confident and reasonable, he didn’t want to sound angry but he also couldn’t leave any doubt he was serious. He did not want to waste any time debating. 

“One; I want the anti-ecto acts repealed and ghosts added to the meta protection acts. Two; I want any active portals to be handed over to the combined control of the Justice League, myself, and my court. Three; I want to be the one called if there are any future issues with ghosts so they can be dealt with through our justice system. Four; I want diplomatic immunity for me and my betrothed. Finally; I want all high ranking members of the GIW handed over to my court so I can be sure they see appropriate consequences for their actions.” 

“You can’t expect us to hand over our-” The American representative started.

“I don’t care what you’re about to say,” Danny interrupted, holding up his hand to stop them. “And I’m not interested in negotiating. If you’re not ready to agree to my terms I’ll wait. But you better not make me wait too long, because casualties are stacking up and before I agree to help I’ll need a signed surrender, and agreement to my terms.”

“Esteemed leaders, there is one more thing that we can try,” Agent W spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention to her. At least she had the good sense to look nervous, but it seemed like the GIW wasn’t ready to give up, annoyingly enough.

“What is it?” Batman was the one to ask, this time he wasn’t even trying to hide his suspicion. 

“We have another weapon, developed by Fentons and further refined by us. We didn’t want it to come to that because it’s a more destructive weapon, hard to wield, and expensive to produce. But we have developed an ecto-missile that-”

“No!” Danny interrupted glaring at her. “You built that missile to try and destroy the ghost zone itself. It’s not safe to-”

“It’s an ectoplasmic weapon it’s not dangerous to-”

“Ectoplasm is clearly still dangerous to humans! Otherwise ghosts wouldn’t be the threat you clearly think they are. Besides to increase the destructive energy and fallout I Know you tried to add nuclear energy. If you fire that thing you will cause more harm to civilians then to the enemy you’re trying to destroy! I don’t know how big you made that thing, but given that you wanted it to destroy an entire dimension, how much of North America are you willing to sacrifice in the hopes it might take out Pariah Dark?”

“What other options are you giving them!?” She snapped at Danny, but he could see the desperation on her face. She knew if they did agree she would be handed over to his justice so he could hardly blame her for grasping at straws.

“To agree to my terms. As soon as the documents are signed I will go fight him. I have a good track record of keeping civilian casualties to an absolute minimum once I’m involved. How many people from the GIW will you have to hand over? A couple dozen? To save thousands of civilian lives, rather than sacrificing hundreds of civilian lives to maybe stop the threat. I think I’m offering a very good deal,” Danny said. He was trying not to sound desperate, but he didn’t want to see any more people hurt then necessary and he was scared they were about to make a terrible mistake.

“You expect us to surrender-”

“He’s not even asking for the reparations he would almost certainly be due!” Wonder Woman snapped, her tone generally startling Danny with how furious she sounded. “His terms are downright kind. You should agree to them.” 

“I have sent the requirements to a friend of mine who is drawing up the contact,” Batman growled. “When you come to your senses the surrender will be ready to print and sign.” 

Danny felt a little tension bleed out of his shoulders at the tacet agreement from Batman. He had been worried that he wouldn’t, and he had been worried that if the leaders or their lawyers wrote the document they would put in some sort of trick or trap that he wouldn’t be educated enough to catch. He didn’t think that Batman would pull something like that. He might have been smart enough to do something like that, but he was fair and he didn’t like those sort of sneaky tricks. Not with them, not if he wanted any of his kids to keep talking to him anyway.

“Good, should we leave again so all of you can consider?” Red hood asked, standing straight with his hands loose at his sides. “I don’t want to see you have to watch you weigh these people’s lives against your pride,” He spat contemptuously.

Danny nodded and pressed his palms against the arms of his throne, ready to push himself up. He didn’t want to see that either, he could feel the mounting death toll churning in his gut with every passing minute spent here deliberating. He hoped he would be a better leader than these people at least, more decisive and willing to make the hard choices even when it scared him.

“There’s no need for that,” Someone spoke up and when Danny looked up their mouth was set into a firm line. “The decision is obvious isn’t it? We would have to be mad to prefer wanton destruction over a reasonable compromise to gain a new ally. That is what it means that we’d call you for future ghost problems, correct?” 

“Yes that is what I meant,” Danny said, settling back in his seat. “I don’t think there will be many issues, especially once we have joint control of existing portals, but if there are, call me as soon as you can. I will make sure they are dealt with quickly and with minimal damage," he assured.

Not everyone looked happy about the solution, but Danny didn’t care. If they dragged their feet signing the paper damages would be on their heads, not Danny’s. A staff member came running in with a piece of paper and Batman got up to meet them, it was two pages but it looked like the second was basically just lines for signatures. 

“Do you want to have a look at it first?” He asked Danny, in a surprisingly gentle voice walking over and offering him the paper. 

Jason was the one who leaned forward and took it before Danny could. Batman seemed a bit surprised but relinquished it to Jason with a barely perceptible nod and stood by, waiting to take it back when they were done. Red Hood glanced over it and then handed it to Danny, who gave him a small smile and a nod before taking his time to read the document. Yes they were in a rush but it was only one page and he wanted to make doubly sure it covered everything he needed it to cover. And it did, it had Danny’s list of terms of surrender reworded into formal language and asserted that by signing the document they were agreeing to the Ghost King’s terms.

He handed it back to Batman with a nod of approval. Batman nodded back and went back to his seat, handing it to Diana who read the terms of surrender aloud to the room. She signed it without hesitation once she finished reading it, and passed it to the leader next to her. It was at that point that Agent W started to have a meltdown, a sight that really amused Danny as she started screaming they couldn’t do this, they couldn’t hand her over to those monsters. She was quickly escorted out of the room and he just hoped that she was going to be held in custody or she might make a break for it. It was going to take a bit to round up all the members of the GIW he wanted he was sure, oh well, he could be patient. 

Around the room it went, some hesitated to sign more than others, but no one completely refused to sign it. As time went on and new death tolls came in and got higher and higher those who hesitated too long were booed down quickly. The urgency was starting to set in as it finally processed that this was really happening. This wasn’t exactly the begging Danny had hoped for, but given how stupidly proud a lot of human’s were, this was good enough.

Finally all of the leaders had agreed to the terms. An attendant was sent out of the room at a run to copy the document so that Danny could have a copy and so could the Justice League. Danny couldn’t help starting to fidget at that point, he was itching to Go! Both to end the suffering of the people in the path of destruction and to finally end this once and for all. The threat of Pariah Dark and his eventual crowning had been hanging over his head for years, it was time to face his demons and beat the shit out of them. 

As soon as he got the paper and had glanced it over he stood and handed the signed surrender off to Jason. “Great! I’ll be going to deal with Pariah now, the rest of you can make yourself useful and start rounding up the GIW.”

“We will,” Diana assured, looking determined and angry. 

“Great,” Danny said and grabbed Jason before flying out of the building through the ceiling again and back towards the US as quickly as he could without damaging Jason. 

“You had better not be planning to drop me off somewhere away from the fight,” Jason shouted over the sound of the wind. “I’m coming with you, both my brother and your little sister are there! I want to try and make sure Robin and Nightwing don’t get hurt.” 

Well, at least he wasn’t talking about trying to protect Danny. “I won’t,” Danny agreed with a resigned sigh. “I have a feeling that trying to leave you somewhere would just piss you off and you’d find a way to get in trouble anyway.”

“You’re damn right I would,” Jason promised, and Danny both hated him and loved him for how damn smug he sounded.

Once they were close enough for a running drop off far enough away that Pariah wouldn’t spot them and try to shoot them out of the sky. An experience which could barely inconvenience Danny and completely destroy Jason. Once Jason was safely on the ground Danny was face to face with Pariah Dark in seconds. 

“Aha! The little king finally shows himself,” Pariah sneered mockingly. “I assume this means you’re ready to be destroyed.”

Danny expected to be scared, to feel impending doom and anger. But he looked at this specter of his childhood and he felt… nothing. After everything that he had been through, Pariah didn’t scare him anymore, and he certainly didn’t hate him like Danny did the GIW. He was just an irritation, a barrier to the life that he wanted. 

“Shut up and let’s get this over with,” Danny snarled and sent a blast of energy toward Pariah that he barely managed to dodge by flying up to meet Danny in mid air. 

Danny was ready for him.

[strangespector]

You Said You’d Be Here

Summary: Conflicting schedules, a broken promise and physical altercation that leads to disaster

Words: 1013

TW: Slight violence that happens by accident. Nothing major, but you have been warned.

Falling in love with Jenna Ortega was like stepping into a dream. I met her at a small meet and greet session for her book launch, in a dimly lit café. We hit it off immediately, our chemistry undeniable. The early days of our relationship were filled with laughter, late-night conversations, and stolen kisses. Jenna was everything I had ever wanted—talented, kind, and full of life.

However, as her fame grew, so did the demands on her time. She was constantly traveling, recording, and performing. The time we once had for each other dwindled, replaced by hurried phone calls and fleeting text messages. I tried to be supportive, understanding that this was her dream, but it was hard not to feel left behind.

Our first big fight happened after she missed my birthday. She had promised she would be there, but a last-minute opportunity to perform at a high-profile event came up, and she couldn’t turn it down. I spent the evening alone, my heart aching with disappointment. When she called to apologize, I couldn’t hide my hurt.

“You said you’d be here, Jenna,” I said, my voice trembling. “I know your career is important, but so is our relationship.”

“I’m sorry,” she replied, sounding exhausted. “I didn’t want to miss it, but you know how important this performance was.”

“It feels like I’m not a priority anymore,” I confessed. “Like I’m always coming second to your career.”

Her silence spoke volumes, and I knew then that things would only get harder.

The fights became more frequent. I resented her growing fame and the way it seemed to pull her further away from me. She, in turn, felt trapped between her love for me and her passion for her career. The tension between us grew unbearable, and we found ourselves arguing over the smallest things.

One night, after a particularly heated argument, things escalated to a level I never imagined. Jenna had just returned from a press tour, and I had planned a special dinner to welcome her back. She arrived late, visibly tired and irritable. When I tried to express my feelings, she snapped.

“You don’t understand!” she yelled, her eyes flashing with frustration. “I’m doing this for us, for our future!”

I tried to stay calm, but my own frustration was bubbling up. “It doesn’t feel like it! It feels like you’re doing it for yourself, and I’m just an afterthought!”

Jenna’s face twisted in anger. Without warning, she grabbed a heavy candle holder from the table and hurled it at me. I barely had time to react, and it struck me on the forehead. Pain exploded through my skull, and I stumbled back, feeling something warm and wet trickle down my face. Blood.

Jenna's face immediately changed from anger to horror. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice shaking as she rushed toward me. “I didn’t mean to—”

I held up a hand to stop her, my vision blurring. “Just... just stay away from me,” I managed to say, my voice cracking. I couldn’t look at her. The betrayal, the physical pain, and the emotional wound were too much to bear.

I went to the bathroom, dabbing at the cut with a wet towel, trying to stop the bleeding. Jenna stood at the door, tears streaming down her face. “Please, let me help,” she pleaded.

I shook my head, unable to meet her eyes. “No, Jenna. This... this is too much. I need to go.”

Her sobs followed me as I left the house, my heart breaking with every step. The realization that our love had turned toxic was undeniable. I knew then that we couldn’t continue like this. The break turned into a breakup, and just like that, our relationship was over. The heartache was overwhelming, and for weeks, I struggled to move on.

But time, as it always does, began to heal my wounds. I started focusing on myself, rediscovering passions and hobbies I had neglected. Slowly, I began to find joy in the little things again. It was during this time that I met Sabrina Carpenter.

Sabrina was different from Jenna in so many ways. She was grounded, attentive, and genuinely interested in spending time together. We connected on a deeper level, our relationship built on mutual respect and understanding. Sabrina helped me realize that while Jenna had been a significant part of my life, she wasn’t the only source of happiness.

One evening, as Sabrina and I sat on the porch watching the sunset, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. I had loved and lost, but I had also grown and found love again. Jenna would always hold a special place in my heart, but I knew now that moving on was the best thing I could have done for myself.

Years later, I ran into Jenna at a charity event. She looked as stunning as ever, her presence still magnetic. We exchanged pleasantries, and it wasn’t long before the conversation turned personal.

“I’ve missed you,” she admitted, her eyes filled with regret. “I didn’t realize what I had until it was gone. I wish things had turned out differently between us.”

I felt a pang of sadness, but also a sense of closure. “We both had to follow our own paths,” I said gently. “I’ll always cherish the time we had, but I’ve moved on. I’m happy now.”

Jenna nodded, a bittersweet smile on her lips. “I’m glad you found happiness. You deserve it.”

As Sabrina joined me, her presence a comforting reminder of the life I had built, I introduced her to Jenna. There was no jealousy, no lingering heartache—just a sense of acceptance and peace. We had all grown in our own ways, and while our paths had diverged, they had led us to where we were meant to be.

Sabrina turned to me and smiled, her eyes filled with warmth. “You know, I’m really glad we found each other,” she said softly.

“Me too,” I replied, squeezing her hand. “Me too.”

[esggs]

The Question of Heirs - Noritoshi Kamo

A small drabble as part of Obeisance to The Arrow, can be read on its own though

[Noritoshi brings up the topic of children while suffering from brain damage, post the Goodwill Event]

[tw: discussions on pregnancy and childbirth, infertility, mentions of infidelity, child marriage]

Being in Jujutsu High gives you an illusion of independence. When you spend your whole day trying to best Maki in sparring, not much thought goes into what the future holds. Especially when the future is as constricting as yours and Noritoshi’s.

“Do you want children?” He asks. You two are watching the sunset out of a classroom window. After the first day of the Goodwill Event, Noritoshi is terribly injured. He’s suffered major head injuries, including a few cracks in his cranium. He’s expected to make a full recovery in a few days, thankfully. It still breaks your heart to see him bandaged up like that. Was it the shock of the disaster with the special-grade curse, or the concussion speaking? Why was he talking about children right now?

“It doesn’t matter what I want.” You shake your head. “We’ll have to have some. I think I’ll push out, like three or four, and then just leave”. 

Noritoshi laughs. “Three or four? Do you think it’s so easy to just have kids?” Yup, he’s definitely not fully fixed up there. You humour him anyway. 

“No, I mean, I don’t have to be in their lives for long, you know? I know my role. They’re for the Kamo Clan, they’ll be more your children really. I just have to give birth and raise them past toddlerhood.” You shrug. “Besides, I do want the best for the Clan too. And you. The more children we have, the higher is the possibility that one will inherit Blood Manipulation.” 

“Hmm” and you two sit in silence for a bit.

Till he breaks it: “You don’t have to.”

“What don’t I have to?”

“Have children if you don’t want to.”

You raise an eyebrow at him. Was he mocking you?

“No, really, you don’t have to. Producing an heir is my job, not necessarily yours. Pardon me– I'm being very direct– but we can say you’re infertile and, if you are okay with it, I can have a few children out of marriage. It’s not uncommon.”

From anyone else, you would have interpreted it as a threat - bear my children or I’ll have you replaced by a mistress. But you get what Noritoshi’s saying. Knowing him, he will take care of you, children or no children. He’s offering a painless way out with no conditions; you don’t have to go through pregnancy and childbirth if you don’t want to. 

My life is so weird. My actual husband is offering to keep mistresses to keep me happy. You crack a smile, it’s too funny. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. 

“We don’t have to think about it now anyway.” You drop your head on his shoulder.

[a-d-nox]

pluto in aquarius: a prediction of what's to come

this is a huge astrological event, pluto is moving into aquarius for the first time since the late 1700s. last time pluto was in aquarius america fought for independence from britain, uranus was discovered, the french revolution began, the bill of rights was ratified, etc.

so for day one, i want to create predictions of what is to come!

some house matters!!!

TWO PLUTO RETROGRADES WILL OCCUR - june 11th - jan 20th, 2024 is the first so we won't see too much wildness just yet as pluto will return into capricorn during this time and THE FINAL RETROGRADE BACK INTO CAPRICORN will be september 1st, 2024 - november 19th, 2024. then we are full steam ahead with pluto in aquarius until march 9th, 2043.

i personally am NOT a witch or anything wild, everything i am saying is purely theoretical - it is not fated to happen just because i am saying it. i am simply socially aware. i know what's up generally in the world today and what was up in world in the 1700s - "history typically repeats itself."

i live in the usa so my post likely will be slightly more focused there examples wise so i apologize in advance! feel free to comment, dm, or reblog with other examples from your country based on my prediction key phrases.

i am going to start light and get darker so mentally prepare yourself for that (tw: STI/STD outbreaks, war, 9/11, COVID-19, and other abrasive topics that may make people uncomfortable depending on where they are currently reading from) - but we are talking about pluto so... expect the unexpected?!

let's do this.

renewable energy sources

aquarius is electricity, light, inventions, electronics, telephones, televisions, etc while pluto can be change! i recently bought a new tv and the back of the remote has a solar panel instead of a battery pack. i do believe we will see more evolution with technology; perhaps we will see solar changed phones! otherwise pluto is also pollution and natural disasters - the climate is in crisis mode perhaps we will see more responsibility and thus changes in our sourcing of energy! example: recently i read that japan has a great source of geothermal energy. currently the conversion to using this source (instead of coal, gas, and nuclear energy) is being held up by a higher up in the hot spring business who claims switching to a new energy system "threatens centuries-old traditions" (bang - a capricorn term - tradition - so perhaps after the retrogrades are through we will see a major shift in energy sourcing).

general technological advancements/inventions

last time pluto was in aquarius the cotton gin was invented; which aided in quicker production of goods and higher demand for american cotton. i strongly believe this is a general indicator that AI is going to become an even bigger part of day to day life. i have seen AI already replace those who take orders in the panera drive thru, there is a higher demand for philosophy/english grads to help teach AI, etc. aquarius is also new teachers/occupations so AI could become the new teachers OR new careers could be coming in the area of interacting with AI generally so it gains more consciousness. so it could be AI or it could be something else that is only just a dream in the back of someone's mind at this moment in time.

altruistic extremists

we may see utopian dreamers rise up! they are likely to advocate for the deconstruction of pre-existing political institutions in favor of either self governance or egalitarian policies. they will likely do whatever it takes to make this statement; we may see more protests / political statements similar to wynn bruce's.

fanatical/extremist announcers radio/tv

we already have biased stations and channels (fox, abc, cnn, nbc, etc). we are likely to see a further rise in politically biased newscasters and announcers.

demonization of astrology

astrology is aquarian in nature but pluto is fanatics, evil, demonics, etc. the community has been saying about the next world war for a while now. we are moving out of conservative pluto in capricorn, so we may find that those of deep belief systems accusing us [astrologers] of conspiring with the devil if/when something militant arises (similar to how the tarot community gets told constantly by christians that they must be satanists).

something with birds

i don't have this nailed down yet specifically, but both aquarius and pluto are rulers of birds. aquarius is large birds while pluto is wading/swamp birds and/or flesh eating birds. no one freak out and start thinking that i am indicating something like the 1963 horror film the birds. if anything i can see more bird-spread illness and/or parasites. OR pluto can be archaeology! there may be a bird related discovery or something to do with the distant relative of the bird - aka the raptor (dinosaur related).

a new STI/STD discovery/outbreak

aquarius represents the distribution of bodily fluids while pluto is often representative of sexual activity. this could either be an outbreak because pluto can be death, extremes, catastrophes, and/or casualties OR pluto can be ph balance in the body (possible new discoveries for feminine sexual health), kidneys (perhaps a discovery will be linked to the diminished functionality associated with syphilis, hiv, etc and how to combat more symptomatic issues), and even purification (aka a cure perhaps to help viral carriers to no longer pass the sti/std to sexual partners).

collapse of congress / house of commons/representatives

i mean it only stands to reason that the bill of rights was created/approved last time pluto was in aquarius that either those rights will disappear (pluto also represents dictators) OR simply the people rise up and demolish the institution as it stands: "...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."

airplane catastrophes

aquarius rules over planes and pluto can represent accomplices, catastrophes, casualties, b0mbs, and t3rr0r!sm. we may experience another event similar to 9/11 OR we may see air strikes in a potential world war 3 scenario.

societal change: crime, war, leadership, and more

world war 3 is on the horizon so say pluto in aquarius (probably in the wake of election year in the US - when the final retrograde into capricorn concludes). but this could also just be governmental restructuring - this could be seen as rebellions (similar to the French Revolution), the rise of organized crime if good become more scarce, religious shifts (pluto is the antichrist, aquarius is freewill (first amendment), and capricorn is the old church (christian schools of thought)), etc.

aquarian terms i can't think of change in but seem important to note / keep in mind: freethinkers, hamburg germany, heart weakness (biden - perhaps the early death of a president in office?), motion picture (already changing as more theaters close), photography, psychology (we are already starting to care more about everyone's mental health), science (general scientific discoveries?), social affairs (there is always something going on - the question is how big will this be?), society, sweden, syria, and xray.

plutonian terms i can't think of change in but seem important to note / keep in mind: abductions (aliens - ufo sights?), aliases, alibis (governmental riffing similar to how no plan was in place when for COVID-19), assass!nat!0n (hopefully not), betrayal, bootlegging (bootleg tiktok if america bans it?), cemeteries (removal of that method if too many are dying at any giving time - mass graves?), convicts (prison release due to overcrowding? the mega-prison of el salvador?), corruption (governmental likely?), demolitions, earthquakes (more environmental issues?), electrocution, executions (war?), fanatic, extremes, floods (environmental? emigration - society is aquarius after all?), liars, massacres (the rise of crime?), murder, nihilism (the rise of philosophy at the time of war?), ransom (war?), satire (rise of political satire?), stolen goods, and taxes (trump-esque no?).

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[smol-lydia]

Coffee and Cigarettes: A Viktor x f!Reader Rehab AU

TWs: mentions of drug use (future, not this chapter) mentions of anorexia and bulimia, smoking, mental health issues

Summary: You didn’t exactly sign up to spend part of your time as a scholarship student at the elite Piltover Academy on medical leave at a co-Ed rehab for those who struggle with addiction, but you want to keep your academic standing, so here you are.

You also didn’t sign up for the cute theoretical physics major turned fellow patient with the golden eyes and irresistible accent, either

A/N: hi all I’m backkkkk it’s about damn time!!! I’m currently going through a very transient period in my life and all that, and I haven’t watched act 2 yet due to that but I do know Jinx and Vik meet, and ik he calls her Powder. I figure that he would call her Jinx here if she wanted it though. I may have made reader a cello player because my sweet golden retriever of a boyfriend plays the cello lmao

I’ll have 15 months clean + sober at the end of November, gd willing 🙏💜

—-

The ward smelt of antiseptic. Wait—no. This isn’t a ward. You’re bleary eyed and tired from the meds they’ve given you to detox; being shuffled from a more intensive unit to this co-Ed rehab just feels like a blurry stop on a long road.

Your belongings are in a plastic “patient belongings” bag and a single wheelie bag; you hadn’t planned on this. On any of this.

On the Disaster. On having to take a leave from the elite Piltover Academy, the university where you had gotten a scholarship as a music student. The Dean said your scholarship wasn’t in danger; that the department just wanted you well again.

You didn’t know what you wanted anymore.

The intake isn’t much of a change as before. Name. Vitals. A new hospital bracelet to replace the other. Answering the same questions over and over, as though they aren’t in your file. You want to crawl into bed and stay there forever.

The charge nurse, a no-nonsense woman whose name tag reads “Sevika” seems done with you before you even open your mouth.

As you sit there, in the hard plastic chair, drawing your knees up to your chin, a short, blue haired girl approaches the nurses’ station.

She’s thin. Too thin, her collar bones sticking out and her cheeks hollow. You know that look, the look of malnourishment, and envy burns worse than the stomach acid.

“Sevika—“ the girl starts, and Sevika holds up her hand in a “stop” motion.

“I’m busy. Intake.”

“You can’t just—“

“Jinx. Unless your arm is about to fall off or something, it can wait twenty minutes. Go talk to Lest.”

“Fuck you too.”

Sevika rolls her eyes, and turns her attention back to you. “Well, now I can say you’ve met your roommate.”

“My roommate?”

“You’ll be in Room 2 with Jinx. We’re gonna keep your luggage locked up here until after dinner when the night staff can search your belongings for contraband with you.”

You want to say that if you possibly had contraband it would have been taken at the detox; that Sevika surely would know that given your paperwork. But she doesn’t seem like the type you want to get into a pissing contest with, especially on your first day.

Finally, she lets you go with a gruff, “you can go into the community room now,” flagging down a lackey to lead you, still shell-shocked, down a hallway and through a pair of double doors.

The community room is a little rough around the edges, but you can forgive that, given you’re more than a little rough around the edges yourself.

There’s a few couches scattered here and there, a plain wooden table in the back with some chairs drilled into the floor. A series of cubbies along one wall, with personalized name tags clearly designed by one of the patients’ in blue and pink paints.

A bookshelf with a small lending library of books; if your mind wasn’t so fuzzy you would gravitate towards here immediately. If you weren’t busy with your cello, your head is always buried in some book or another. It didn’t exactly make you the most popular growing up.

Maybe that was why—

No. That was stupid.

You stand on the precipice, the stupid binder they’ve given you on entry held close to your chest, taking in the scene around you, of the other fuck ups in the cage, so to speak. There’s the blue-haired girl, the skinny one, that’s supposed to be your roommate. She’s sitting all wrong on one of the tall-backed armchairs, the kind that you used to see in the Academy library. In the matching armchair next to her is possibly the most attractive boy you’ve ever seen.

All lanky limbs and sharp angles, with bright golden eyes and thick brown hair you immediately want to run your hands through. His crutch is next to the chair, and he has an Academy pin on the lapel of his vest—his shirt underneath is rolled to the elbows and you keep thinking about his forearms for some reason.

Oh god, this is bad.

Your mouth goes dry, and it gets worse when you notice he has the most perfect mole by his mouth, begging to be caught by an errant kiss. Your heart is hammering in your chest and your realize that not only is this quite possibly the worst “first day of school” vibe ever, but you haven’t said anything for the past thirty seconds like some sort of startled creature afraid of her own shadow.

The blue-haired girl throws a wad of paper at the Beautiful Boy’s head. “Hey, Vitya!”

“I told you to stop throwing things at my head.”

Oh, his accent is enough to bring you to your knees, too.

“Fine. But look! We got a new one! And Sevika said she’s rooming with me!”

Vitya—if that’s his name—turns his attention to you, and you don’t know what to say or do.

Thankfully, you don’t have to. An effortlessly cool young woman takes control, sticking her hand out for you to shake, blocking your view of the boy.

“I’m so sorry they just left you like this. Lest. One of the floor counselors.”

“The only cool one,” Blue Hair drawls from the corner.

“Jinx—“ Lest doesn’t even pretend to be mad.

“Would you like to introduce yourself?”

You shrug your shoulders, mutter your name. That’s enough, apparently, and you are about to go hide in a corner, but no such luck.

“Hey! New roomie!” Jinx waves you over.

“Hm?”

Jinx hangs off the chair. “I scared off the last roommate.”

“Jinx, you snuck contraband up your—“ Vitya points out in a matter of fact tone.

Jinx cuts him off with the wave of a hand. “Details, Viktor. Does it really matter?”

“Well, yes.”

You laugh. You can’t help it. Viktor has a wry sense of humor; you can see the twinkle in his eyes when he speaks, and it’s precisely the same type you enjoy. The sound seems to catch him off guard, and he looks at you up and down for a long moment; you find yourself wondering if you’re being studied, and it takes a lot of effort to keep your gaze level.

A click of a doorknob and heavy footsteps.

“Jinx, meds.” Sevika.

“Do I have to?”

“What do you think?”

“Ugh, fine.” Jinx gets up, blue braids trailing behind her, leaving just you and Vitya-Viktor. You’re still standing awkwardly, not sure if you’re bold enough to take her spot.

“She has a thing about the chair,” he says, as if he knew exactly what you were thinking.

“I mean, I get it. If I had been here a while I would probably have a favorite too.”

You settle for the floor, drawing one knee up to your chest and circling it with your arm.

“It has been a while.”

Shit. If this is what Jinx looked like after a while in treatment, you probably didn’t want to see what the “before” was. You decide to change the subject.

“Vitya or Viktor?”

“An abrupt topic change.”

“I noticed you were called both. I was wondering what your name is.”

At this, you are gifted a rare smile from him, something you know you’ll be playing over and over again in your mind.

“It’s Viktor.”

——

[happy74827]

Revelation

[Steve Raglan/William Afton x Assistant!Reader]

Synopsis: With an important request caused by the disappearance of your boss, you find yourself roaming the unknown halls of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. But what you find wasn’t the thing you were looking for.

WC: 5860

Category: Angst, Hurt/No Comfort {TW — major character death, gore, mentions of murder, pocket phones in 2000}

I was slightly inspired by another fic that I’ve read a long time ago (credits to them) and it caused me to produce this pile of angsty heartfelt lore that takes place after the events of the movie. So, grab some snacks and your playlist, because it’s about to get… real.

『••✎••』

Death was always around the corner, whether it was from a deadly disease, a horrible accident, or even murder. Death was always… lurking. But you weren't one to let it get the best of you, not with your life, your dreams, and ambitions to live up to.

Job applications were the thing that got the best of you—the draining feeling of being rejected over and over again. And when you finally received a phone call, it only ended in a disaster. So much so that it was enough to break down the hope of the rest of your dreams and the hope of the man trying to help you.

You started to see Mr. Raglan after your 5th rejection. You were tired of feeling so hopeless, and you needed that extra push to make yourself try again and again. Mr. Raglan was a job counselor, which you didn’t expect to exist in the first place but were very grateful for. He was a middle-aged man, a father of 1, and had an unquenchable desire for coffee and all things sweet.

The day your life changed for the better, you were sitting in the waiting room, reading a book, while the smell of coffee and cookies filled the air. The room was quiet, with only the sound of pages being turned and the humming of the fan. At that time, you knew he’d be disappointed to see your face again, but you didn't want to keep the appointment off any longer. The door opened, and Mr. Raglan looked down at you.

His smile faltered when he saw you, the ever-growing folder stack of yours weighing him down. You remembered thinking that he was probably so pissed, the same expression you gave when your friends didn’t call you back. You felt terrible.

But you couldn't help it. It was hard to go on when the world seemed to be against you. It wasn’t your fault. Every time you would apply for a job, the company would shut down days later or already had someone for the job or didn’t want your resume because you didn’t have experience.

It was frustrating.

When you told him this the first time, his expression went blank. Not a frown, not a smile. It was a look of disbelief, but at the same time, it was understanding. You were sure that he was going to turn you away. But the look never lasted long and was replaced with a smile, as if your problem was just a fly.

He reassured you that there was a job out there for you and that your resume was just what a lot of the places were looking for. He believed in you, even when you couldn’t believe in yourself. He told you to be optimistic and, if all else failed, to call him again, and he would help you as best he could.

His words, his smile, and the way he looked at you with such genuine belief kept you going. And when you finally were able to land a job a few weeks later, you were overjoyed. You wanted to thank him, and you were determined to do so.

But then you got let go. Again, it's not your fault, but it's still frustrating. You didn’t want to see his smile disappear. You didn't want him to turn you away. And it was selfish to think, but you didn’t want to have to call him up again.

So you went on without a job for a while. You didn’t want to bother him when the last job ended with failure. He wouldn't know, right?

But your attempts at doing it yourself, like you had decades ago, were fruitless. You couldn’t find a single job. Your parents were getting worried, your friends were asking why you hadn’t contacted them lately, and you didn’t want to confess that you were broke to where you couldn’t even buy a nice meal out.

After the 11th rejection, you caved.

You were expecting Mr. Raglan to be annoyed. You were expecting him to give you a stern talking-to, telling you that you needed to keep trying or else you were going to lose everything. He was a firm believer in hard work and dedication, and you figured he'd be the type of person who would scold you.

But, instead, when you entered the room, you were surprised to see him sitting behind his desk with his head down, his hand holding his forehead. He was in deep thought, and at the time, you thought it was a personal matter.

Turns out it was contemplation about you.

Your folder, as tall as his desk, was spread out with red markings covering it. A few of them were crossed out, and a lot of them had scribbles and notes on them. And as he continued to tell you about each past rejection, it was evident he was just as frustrated as you.

His voice was steady and calm as he read off the many reasons for the rejections, his eyes moving quickly over the paperwork and his brows furrowing in concentration. All the reasons, from not having good enough experience, not having enough time in school, not being the right fit for the company… were all reasonable. They were all valid, and there was no denying that.

He had been calling the companies for days, trying to see if there were any other open spots or any jobs that he had overlooked, but he had gotten no answer. Every call would go straight to the voicemail, and every time the door opened, he had a hopeful glint in his eyes, but it would fall flat when he realized that the person wasn't the employer.

You figured that was the end of Mr. Raglan helping you. You thought that you were the first client that was difficult and that he had given up hope for you, too.

But then, Mr. Raglan took out a paper, the only clean one, and put it down, taking out a pen and scribbling down an address.

And, as if he had heard your thoughts, he smiled and said, "I didn't give up, and I won't. There's one more job opening, and I think this is the one. It's not an interview, so don't worry about making an impression. All you need is a resume."

As he slid the paper across the desk to you, he winked and said, "Don't disappoint me."

When you looked down at the paper, a name was printed at the top, and the address was listed. It's the very same building you were in.

The employer listed was him.

Immediately, you were hesitant. How could you not be? Since he was a job counselor, and it was his job to find people a job, it was only fair to assume that because you had stumped him, and caused so much stress, that this was only a solution. A way to let you go.

You voiced these thoughts to him, but he just smiled, leaning back in his chair, and replied, "No. It's not my job. It's my pleasure. And, if you ask me, this is a win-win situation. I need a secretary, and from what I’ve seen, you’re more than qualified for it."

It was hard to argue with him. And, honestly, you were tired. You didn't want to argue or say no. If anything, this was a relief. You had a job and, most importantly, someone who’d take a chance on you.

That day was the best day of your life. You were hired, and the pay was better than the minimum wage jobs you had applied for in the past. The job itself wasn't bad either, and Mr. Raglan was a delight to work with.

It wasn’t until a couple of months later that it all came crashing down.

When you went to work that day, you noticed it was a little colder than usual, and the light was flickering. You figured it was just the building not working properly, so you just went about your business and waited for Mr. Raglan to show up.

And he never did.

At first, you assumed he was just late. But, after hours of waiting, you were starting to get worried. You had tried calling him, but his phone would go straight to voicemail. You were tempted to call the police but decided against it. You didn’t want to overreact.

Your manager, a kind, old lady named Ms. Keller, was very helpful, even though she didn’t have a clue of what happened either. She reassured you, saying that maybe Mr. Raglan had taken the day off and forgotten to tell you.

But something felt off.

The next day, a few people arrived at the office. You watched, confused, as a few of the employees, the ones who had worked the longest, were carrying on their daily business as if nothing was wrong. Raglan wasn’t among them.

Later, Ms. Keller, along with one of the men, came into the break room, her face full of concern. She came to you with a problem and asked if you could help them with it.

"Last I spoke with Steve, he said he was going to grab a document from what I assumed was the filing cabinet. When I went to retrieve it because I had a feeling he didn’t, I couldn't find it, and no one seemed to recall there ever being one," Ms. Keller said, her eyes darting back and forth, her expression showing worry. “Turns out it’s a lease to this old pizzeria, and, well, I can't find Steve. He isn't answering his phone, and I'm really starting to worry. I'm sure it's nothing, but he said this document was important, and since he’s off… dealing with things, he can't really handle this right now. I was wondering if you could maybe go get it and bring it back. It could be at that pizzeria, or it could be at his home. I'll leave that up to you."

The man standing next to her spoke, his face stoic. "I’d check that pizzeria before you head to his house. His daughter, Vanessa, lives there, and she’s a little bit of a wild card.”

“Erikson,” Ms. Keller said in warning. She was usually a sweet woman, but there were times she could be very scary, especially with her sharp tone. She was the type of person who could easily intimidate you, just with a glare.

But Erikson didn't seem to care. He shrugged off her warning like a dog shaking off water and handed you the addresses. "The pizzeria's a little further, so it's gonna be a hassle, but trust me, it's worth it. Just go inside, check around the office, and bring the document back. Easy."

When you nodded, Ms. Keller and Erikson both gave a nod back, their expressions turning relieved. It made you wonder how bad this was, that they were both worried, but the two didn't seem to want to say any more on the matter, and left the break room soon after.

You decided that going to the pizzeria was the best choice. Erikson’s warnings did nothing to deter you; in fact, they fueled your curiosity. Old pizzeria? Hell, yeah, you were going there.

A couple of hours later, and a quick stop at your house to change into something a bit more comfortable, you arrived at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria.

It was a run-down, abandoned restaurant. The outside was dirty, with graffiti covering the windows, and the inside looked just as bad. The sign above the place was cute, though. It was the star character, Freddy, with his arm in the air and his top hat tilted a little to the side.

You were almost sad that this place was gone. You never went to this place, but you heard it was very popular, especially among kids. You remembered hearing rumors that a bunch of missing children were reported there, but you didn’t dig too deep into that.

When you got inside, you were expecting a bunch of cobwebs and spiders. Instead, you were met with the smell of old pizza and a bunch of dust. The place was empty; not a single person was around. Obviously, not surprising.

You were sure you could find the document and be done in no time, but, boy, were you wrong.

Everything caught your eye. From the dusty animatronics on stage to the tables and chairs scattered across the floor, it was a treasure trove of stuff. The longer you stayed there, the more intrigued you became.

You didn't know how long you were there, but it was a while.

There was so much stuff you weren't even sure where to begin. The second you started looking for rooms, you found this big red button on the wall. There was a sign above it, newly written, and it said,

‘DO NOT PRESS THIS BUTTON.’

Obviously, you pressed it. If someone was going to try and tell you not to, then you definitely were going to.

And, to no surprise, nothing happened. There were a few noises of mechanical whirring, but the only thing you noticed was a vent in the floor that shut off.

You pressed the button again, expecting nothing to happen, and then a third time, just for the heck of it, and a fourth, fifth, and sixth time. And, like the first time, nothing happened.

So, in a slight huff, you turned away with the flashlight you had brought, only to be met with eyes staring back at you. You were so startled that you jumped, almost tripping over the vent and landing on the ground.

"What the shi… ?!" You exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the animatronic fox.

Its mouth was wide open, its jaw unhinged, and its eyes were a glowing, neon blue. The rest of its body was covered in shadows, so it looked like a giant silhouette. It was a bit creepy, especially when its jaw moved up and down like it was talking.

It didn’t make a noise, though. It just kept staring at you. You didn’t know what to do, so as you sat there, stunned, you flashed the flashlight in its eyes.

The fox didn’t react, so you did it again. And again, and again. And, after what seemed like a million times, the fox suddenly moved its head back, and its jaw closed.

That was enough for you.

You got up, your hands on the flashlight, and you slowly backed away. As you were backing up, the animatronic just continued to stare at you, its head tilting a little to the side, and when you turned, it turned its head to follow you.

Walking backward wasn’t the best idea either since you backed right into another one, the bunny animatronic. You jumped and quickly spun around, only to find the bowtie-wearing rabbit standing still, its hand held out as if it was reaching for you.

And, just like the fox, its mouth was unhinged, and its jaw was moving up and down. You had the same reaction and flashed the light in its eyes, but it didn’t seem to bother the bunny either.

“Uhm,” Your voice came out high-pitched, and you cleared your throat, trying again. You weren’t expecting these things to move or, worse, come to life. You figured they were out of juice, out of batteries, or were just a bunch of rusted parts.

Obviously, you were wrong.

As you stared up at the bunny, who was looking down at you like it held curiosity, you decided the best idea was to be kind even though they were scaring the hell out of you.

The only thing you could think to say was, "H-Hello?"

The bunny didn't respond, not like you were expecting it to, but its head tilted more. Did it… Did it understand you?

"Do you… happen to have a document? A lease? Maybe a paper? I'm looking for a lease," You said.

Again, no response.

You were starting to feel not only awkward but stupid. These were animatronics, and even if they could talk, you were pretty sure they didn't have the ability to understand the word, 'lease'

You were going to ask a different question, something simpler, but a crash in the distance made you jump. The animatronics didn't seem to mind it, and when the sounds of a bunch of footsteps came after, they turned and looked behind you.

You took this opportunity and quickly fled.

You were not going to stick around and find out what the hell that was, so you ran towards the entrance, passing a lot of weird rooms and some doors that were wide open. You were tempted to look, but you were too freaked out.

Until you run into a sign, which knocks you right on your butt.

Rubbing your head, you looked up and saw the sign that had fallen over. You could barely make out the words, but there was one word that stuck out to you.

‘MANAGER…’

You looked down, spotting a door behind the sign, and you immediately jumped up, ignoring the slight pain in your tailbone. The relief you felt was immediate.

“Oh, thank god…” You whispered. You had been running around this place, lost, for what seemed like forever, and now, finally, there was the manager's room. The lease HAD to be in there.

You grabbed the knob, and without a second thought, you opened the door. Well, you tried to, but the door was locked.

You were beyond pissed now. You found yourself sporadically turning the knob, thinking that if you turned it fast enough, the door would open, but when that didn't work, you began banging on the door only to kick it and yell, "God-damnit!"

You were not having a good day.

Your tantrum was short-lived, though, when the idea of a last resort came to your mind.

You were never one to give up. In fact, giving up wasn't even in your vocabulary. That’s probably why Raglan hired you and why he had you stick around this long. So, with a huff, you pulled out your pocket phone.

You were not proud to admit that this was your last resort, but you didn’t know what else to do. There was no one else around, and you didn’t have the tools or the strength to knock the door down. Maybe he’d pick up.

You dialed his number, your hand on the knob and the other holding the phone up, and you prayed as you hit the call button.

It only took a couple of rings of silence and a few minutes later for a new sound to appear in the building—the unforgettable tone of the phone ringing.

And it wasn’t your phone ringing.

Your head shot up, your hand dropped the phone, and before you could think, you were running again. This time, you didn’t care about the rooms or the open doors. You followed the sound because he was there. He had to be.

If there was a phone ringing, then that meant Mr. Raglan was there, and even though he wasn’t answering his phone, you knew he was close by.

You had the feeling that he was in trouble.

But, after a while, the phone stopped ringing. You were so caught up in finding the source that when the noise abruptly cut off, you were stunned. You were able to call again, as you remembered to grab your phone on the way over, but after the second ring, the phone was once again cut off.

Luckily, it didn’t take a genius to find out where it was.

You were walking down a long hallway when you heard a faint click and the sound of a door closing. When you rounded the corner, there was a metal door that was slightly ajar.

The sound was definitely coming from in there.

You were quick to run in, and when you did, your breath caught in your throat. The room was pitch black, and a chill ran down your spine. Something felt off.

Your eyes wandered the room until they spotted something. Or, rather, someone.

There, lying on the floor, was a shadowy figure. It looked as if it were Bonnie — the animatronic that had you scared out of your mind just a few minutes ago, but when you walked closer, you were quick to realize this wasn’t Bonnie. This was a golden rabbit.

Its body was mangled, with wires and mechanical pieces sticking out of the endoskeleton, but its head, for the most part, was intact. And its head was the worst part.

The bunny's head was facing you, but the eyes were empty, and the face was twisted into a permanent smile. It was terrifying. And that curiosity was back, making you wonder why you were extending a hand.

Before you could touch the rabbit, its eyes snapped to life, its body twitching, and its smile stretching wider. You stumbled back, and it was at that moment when you realized the bunny was making noises. Agonizing, pain-filled noises.

You were quick to back away, your hand clutching your chest and your heart racing. It sounded dreadful as if it were crying, and it didn't stop.

It only got louder and louder until its jaw opened. It was a horrifying sight. You were expecting something else to fall out, a piece of the animatronic, maybe. Instead, what came out was a voice.

You couldn’t make out the words; they were too distorted, and the pitch was too low. But you didn't need to hear the words to know who it was. You'd recognize his voice anywhere.

When your mind made the connection, you were frozen. You could feel tears welling up in your eyes, but you forced them down, not wanting to believe it.

There was no way. It wasn’t him. There was no way it was him. This was an animatronic; it wasn’t supposed to talk or even be alive, yet here it was. Making sounds. Speaking. Talking.

And then you saw its body. It had rips and tears in it, the endoskeleton was exposed, and a lot of the parts were missing. There was dried blood on it, and, with the light you had, you could see that its suit was dirty. But, in those holes, in the ripped and torn sections, there was a familiar shirt, a familiar tie, and a familiar pair of pants.

The longer you stood there, the more your vision blurred and the more your body shook.

It was him. It was him inside that little suit, inside that animatronic. It was him, wearing the same clothes you had seen earlier when you last spoke to him. It was him.

You took a step back, a choked sob escaping your lips, and your knees buckled. You fell to the ground in a panic, a scream bubbling in your throat. Your hand flew up, and you held yourself as your eyes widened.

This wasn’t real. It couldn't be.

There was no way. No. Fucking. Way.

"R-Raglan?!"

The animatronic didn’t respond. Its head fell, and its body slumped, but the noises stopped. The only sound that was heard was a deep, deep groan. It sounded like something from a horror movie, and you were scared.

Then, as if an energy had taken over, the rabbit's body started to jerk, and its head flew up, and its eyes snapped back to life. You yelped and crawled backwards, trying to get away.

When you got to the wall, and it was apparent that you couldn't go any further, the rabbit moved. It was a slow process, its body moving in a janky, unnatural way, but it lifted its head, and its eyes fell onto you.

It stared. He stared.

You didn't dare breathe, too terrified to make a noise. Your heart was pounding in your ears, and your body was shaking.

Then, its mouth opened, and a garbled sound came out. It sounded like a growl, and, after a few moments, you realized it was saying something. He was saying something.

"W-What?" Your voice cracked, and you couldn't help but let a tear slip.

When you talked, its eyes narrowed, and the growling stopped. The only sound it made was the clicking of its jaw. Then, its hand raised and, in the slowest, creepiest, movement, its finger pointed at you.

And, when it did, its mouth opened, and the only word that came out was, “Why…?”

You let out a shaken breath. Why? You didn’t know.

"I-I don't k-know, sir."

He tilted its head, its eyes never leaving you. And, after a minute of silence, he coughed out your name.

It was said so quietly, but it still echoed in the room, and in your ears. Underneath all the painful noises, it sounded so soft and genuine. Like the last time you heard him say your name.

And, before you knew it, the tears were falling, and your breathing became unsteady. You didn’t know what to do. He looked like a second away from dying, and if that were the case, you were powerless. The pizzeria was out in the middle of nowhere, and there wasn't a single person around. There was no way you'd be able to call for help.

If you did, you’d be left with an explanation of why your dead boss is on the ground in a rabbit suit. How the hell were you supposed to explain that?

You could barely understand what happened yourself.

The fear you had wasn’t helping either. It refused to leave. You couldn’t do anything, not when the fear was holding you hostage.

All you did was stare. Your never left him, and his eyes never left you. You didn't know how long you spent staring, but at one point, his mouth opened, and he spoke again.

This time, it was much, much clearer. "Why are you here?"

You held back a sob and, shakily, you answered, "Kessler… Kessler told me to look f-for the document that you were… searching for."

He was quiet for a moment. You couldn’t tell if he was processing what you said or if he had even heard you.

Then, his hand went up, and, with it, his arm. And, before you could process it, his hand was pointing toward a shelf.

"The lease," He breathed, the sound of his voice causing a shiver to run down your spine. It was a voice you never wanted to hear again.

"What?"

"It's in a box… under the spare heads."

His arm slowly lowered, his hand dropping to the ground. His eyes faded off, and his body went limp, but not for long. Within seconds, his body jerked, and the colored eyes came back.

“I should… I should call the police. I can’t believe I’m just.. sitting here. I should-I should be getting help! I need to do something!" You babbled.

He snapped up at that, his body moving and his hand shooting up, "NO."

It was a demand, a shout. It made you freeze, and your mouth immediately closed.

He coughed and, after a few moments, his eyes fell on you, again, "Do not… call the police. Do not... get anyone. Just, get the lease."

He was struggling to talk, his breathing coming out in rasps, and his jaw would clench every few seconds. He was obviously in a lot of pain, and he was doing his best to hold it in.

Your mind still couldn’t process the situation, but the fear had lessened. It was still there, of course, but it wasn't as intense. The longer you stared, the more the fear was replaced with concern.

You didn't want him to die. I mean, goddamn it, this was your boss. Your hero, if you were going to be honest. He helped you. He gave you that job when no one else would, and you owed him a lot.

And, the longer you stared, the more your mind screamed at you. This was your boss, and he was dying. He needed help, and the least you could do was get off your ass and call an ambulance.

But, as soon as you stood, and as soon as your foot stepped forward, a loud bang made you jump. He banged his fist against the ground, and his jaw clicked.

"The lease!" He growled, "Get the… lease."

It was like he knew what you were thinking. Like he knew that you were about to go against his orders and call the police, and he wasn’t having it.

You swallowed, your eyes glancing between the shelf and him, before you finally caved. You slowed walked passed him, no matter how much you wanted to help, and headed towards the shelf.

The whole time, your mind was racing. Were you seriously about to obey him? You had every right to disobey him. You could, at any moment, turn around and go for the phone. You could call the police. You could call an ambulance.

Why were you so hesitant? And why was he so against on wanting help?

He was dying, for god's sake. And, not to mention, the fact that he was stuck inside an animatronic. Did he seriously want to just die and rot in the suit?

As you were walking, your legs felt like they were lead. It was getting harder to walk, and the anxiety was back. Your breathing picked up, and the fear was returning.

Was it even real? Were you going crazy? This couldn’t possibly be happening. It just couldn't.

"What happened to you?" You asked.

You couldn’t stop yourself. The words just flew out of your mouth. You didn't expect an answer, so, when he responded, it was a shock.

“Revelation.”

You were confused, and, once again, you couldn’t help but ask. "What does that mean?"

You made it to the table. Your hands shook as you moved the box from its place, and your breathing picked up, but the fear had returned. It was holding you in its grip.

He didn’t answer right away, his eyes were glazed, and his jaw was clenched, and you thought that was going to be the end of the conversation.

Then, his body jerked, and, within seconds, his eyes were staring right at you, and, this time, they weren't glazed. They were wide, and full of emotion.

"Please… just, leave.”

Your breath hitched, and your eyes widened. You froze. Your mind was blank, and all the thoughts stopped.

All that was left was him. Him and his voice.

You swallowed and, slowly, your eyes glanced back. You stared at him, and he stared back. You couldn't do anything but stare.

And, in that moment, his face was soft, and his eyes were filled with pain. He was hurt, and he was pleading, and all you wanted to do was run to him and hold him.

It was like your mind switched. The fear was replaced with determination, and the need to comfort was strong.

He needed help. He needed help. You couldn’t leave him like this. Not when he was dying, and not when he was suffering.

You couldn’t let him die. Not when you had the chance. So, you nodded, and, without a word, you turned.

You’d do as he said, for now.

You grabbed the box and, without a second glance, you turned and left the room. Your mind was set, and your plan was set. You knew what you were going to do.

You were going to call the police. And then, you were going to come back and save him. You were going to save him, no matter what.

It was what he deserved. It was the least you could—

Your name was called upon, and it was so loud that your body jerked, and your feet tripped over themselves. You were able to catch yourself, but you fell against the wall, and the box slipped from your hands.

You didn’t care though, only focusing back on the room you just left. He had moved, his head was twisted, and his arm was stretched out, his fingers wiggling.

He was struggling to get up, his other hand pushing him up, and, after a few failed attempts, you decided to help.

You were quick to rush into the room, ignoring the warnings, and, carefully, you put his arm over your shoulders, and you helped him stand.

His body was heavy, and the weight was hard to support, but, the minute his body was off the ground, his free hand wrapped around your waist, and he used you as his support.

He was leaning against you, his chest was on your shoulder, and his head was resting next to yours.

And, for a minute, you thought he had passed out. He was still, and his body was unmoving, and you were convinced he had died.

Then, the rabbit's eyes opened, and his hand squeezed your side. He lifted his head and, before you knew it, his eyes were locked onto you.

And then,

Pain.

You couldn’t describe the pain. It was sharp, and it felt like something was piercing through your stomach. You looked down, and your breath hitched.

In the blink of an eye, he had turned, and his other hand had shot up. His hand was buried inside you, blood coating his fingers.

You couldn’t make out the expression he was wearing, not with the pain taking over. But, you were sure he wasn’t smiling.

His hand had stabbed into your side, the suit had ripped, and, when he pulled his hand out, blood came spilling out.

And, with that, the fear returned, and the pain grew. Your knees buckled, and your body slumped, his body going with you.

You landed on the floor with a thud, your eyes staring up at the ceiling. Your vision was blurred, and it was getting hard to keep your eyes open.

But, even through the pain, and the blood loss, your eyes were focused on him. He was on top of you, his eyes watching, and his face unmoving.

"I… told you,” He paused, and his breath hitched, his body jerking, "no police."

Then, he stood up straighter, and his body turned. His head tilted a bit, following the sounds of metal bending and limbs cracking, before his eyes looked back at you.

You couldn’t tell the emotion in his eyes, not with your vision fading and the head covering his face, but, his voice gave it away.

He was apologizing.

You were unable to speak. The blood had filled your throat, and the pain was too much. So, the only thing you could do was stare and listen.

He took a step closer, his hand raising, and, slowly, he brought it down. He pressed his finger against your forehead, his claw-like fingers poking into your skin.

And, then, his voice sounded, his voice ringing in your ears, and his last words were,

"Naivety. That was always your flaw."

-Taglist-

@fandomwritingbit

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

@lilithann666

@pixlemonade

@yoursacredqueenmother

Thank you guys for showing interest in this little fic 🥹🫶

[whumpshaped]

anon asked:

Okay I know it's been like a month since you posted it but do you have any extra inspiration or similar for the one where whumpee wasn't allowed on furniture and caretaker allows them on furniture??? Because that was so good 😊

(I'm not good with asks I'm sorry if this was a problem)

---

prev

tw accidental bad caretaker, past trauma, pet whumpee, conditioning

"Remember the first time you mustered up the courage to get on here?" Caretaker asked with an amused smile, carding their fingers through Whumpee's hair. The former 'pet' was lounging on the sofa with them, head in their lap — something that would've been unimaginable just a year ago. "You freaked out when I came home early. It was a disaster."

Whumpee hummed.

"I got so scared for a moment when it happened," they went on. "I thought there was something actually serious going on! And then it just turned out to be the furniture dilemma. I'm so glad we're past that, hm?"

"Can we stop talking about it?" Whumpee mumbled, and Caretaker's smile faltered.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't realise–"

"I know. Not like it's actually serious."

Caretaker's cheerful attitude vanished, and they finally noticed just how tense Whumpee was. They withdrew their hand, and sure enough, Whumpee sat up and pressed themself into the opposite corner of the sofa. "Hey... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"Of course not."

"I know it was serious to you."

"I thought I was going to be whipped within an inch of my life," Whumpee said bluntly. "Yes, we could say it seemed quite serious to me at the time. But I guess it makes for a good funny-embarrassing story to tell over dinner."

Caretaker averted their eyes. "It's not embarrassing to have trauma. I just wanted to remind you how far you've come."

"Not that far, I guess." Whumpee gently eased themself down onto the floor. For a brief moment, Caretaker thought they did it out of spite; but Whumpee's burning red cheeks told another story. "Because now that you brought it up, I... I can't stay on there. I guess we're not really past it. And I was rude, so I have to balance that out as well, and... I don't know. I don't know. But the funny jokes about it have to wait for a couple more months."

"Whumpee, you weren't rude to me. Even if you had been, you wouldn't have had to–"

"I don't need explanations. I know. It doesn't make sense. It's a major step back. A disaster."

"I'm sorry," Caretaker said softly. "I wasn't trying to make it into a joke, and I wasn't trying to embarrass you. It's not a disaster, it's not a setback, I'm sorry for making you feel like it was anything to be ashamed of. Okay?"

Whumpee sighed and hugged their knees. "You don't have to explain yourself. I'm sorry for being so defensive."

"You can be as defensive as you want. It was insensitive of me. I just thought... I don't know. I thought you'd feel... proud of yourself. But I shouldn't have drawn attention to it."

Whumpee didn't respond. Caretaker slowly inched a bit closer, reaching out as carefully as they could to pet their friend's hair. Whumpee let them.

"I won't mention it again," they promised.

"Thanks," Whumpee muttered. "I... I don't like to think about it. Whenever I do, I... I get scared again."

Caretaker nodded. "It's okay to be scared. But please know it's unfounded. I won't ever hurt you for things like this. I won't ever hurt you for anything, okay?"

Whumpee looked up at them, awfully vulnerable. They looked like they wanted to ask something, but it caught in their throat. "Okay," they said eventually, and buried their face in their knees again. "I understand."

[ghoulette-knell]

Humiliation

Sodo x Fem!Reader

You piss Sodo off, and he has the perfect punishment lined up for you.

🔞MDNI🔞

TW: Public Humiliation; Collaring; Dry Humping; Rough!Dom Sodo; Hate Fucking (if you squint).

Word Count: 8,981

As the newest Ghoulette in the ministry, as well as the newest air-ghoul to join the ministry's social program, 'Ghost,' you faced a lot of setbacks. Such setbacks included having a difficult time making friends. All of the Ghouls already had their little groups (Sodo, Phantom, and Swiss. Or Aurora, Cumulus, and Cirrus), and you just didn't fit anywhere.

You would do anything to fit in, even taking stupid advice from a certain playful Ghoul.

A certain playful Ghoul who went by the name of Phantom.

"Dude, you know what would make everyone laugh?" the guitarist asked while plopping down on the couch beside of you, directly before a ritual with thousands of starstruck fans, "Untune Sodo's guitar right before his 'Respite on the Spitalfields' solo. Everyone loves a good prank."

Your face paled underneath your mask and balaclava, your head shaking side-by-side in clear dislike, "Heck no, Phantom! That sounds like a terrible idea! Pranking someone like Rain is one thing, but Sodo? You know he has a temper!"

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you," Phantom commented with a little shrug, his spade-tipped tail flicking in a nonchalant manner, "If you're ever wondering why no one in the ministry even blinks in your direction, it's because you don't know how to have fun."

You should've not let the Ghoul's words bother you, but you simply couldn't help it. The lack of attention that you were getting from your fellow Satanists was beginning to take a toll on you.

You wanted friends.

Badly.

"Seriously? Did you have to do something this stupid to get accepted into the pack?" you mumbled, a little vulnerability beginning to bleed through despite yourself.

Phantom shrugged, his fangs curved into an amused smirk, "I'm not telling you that you have to do it... but yes. I hid Papa's robes right before one of his sermons. Copia was forced to wear his Cardinal robes again... and he punished me severely... but hey, I have friends now.

"Aurora ended up rearranging Swiss' room due to the guidance of Cirrus. We all have to do something risky that'll get a kick out of the others if we wish to be welcomed into this little family."

You had a bad feeling about this. You were not a troublemaker and definitely weren't a prankster. You were a bit shy and timid, especially around Sodo.

He was the pack leader... the only man the fire-ghoul listened to was Copia...

This seemed too risky... but the wish to be accepted was a little stronger than your fears. Sodo was a grown Ghoul, he would get over it eventually, even if it did mean guaranteed punishments.

"Are you positive it'll get the others to like me?" you asked in a meek manner.

The quintessential-ghoul chuckled and wagged his tail enthusiastically, "Trust me, (Y/N), it'll work. I already like you more that you're considering it. Come on. Everyone has to do it."

That decided it. Those simple words leaving Phantom's lips.

'I already like you more that you're considering it.'

Shit.

"Fuck. Okay, I'll do it," you murmured lowly, your head lulling backwards as you fought an intense wave of anxiety, "However, if I get caught, I'm throwing you under the bus."

Phantom t'skd and shook his head, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid. Just don't forget to do it."

That night came very, very quickly. Perhaps it was because of how nervous you were. Songs seemingly blasted by, until it was time for that dreaded song. Sodo was hyped, per usual, but little did he know that the newest air-ghoul in his pack would ruin everything.

Sodo's solo was an absolute disaster. He played the notes perfectly, of course, but instead of being tuned to the D minor, it was in E major... it sounded outright disgusting.

Sodo's reddened eyes locked on you, and you knew you were done for. How the hell did the fire-ghoul know it was you who tampered with the tuning? How did he know?

You’d pissed the Ghoul off on so many levels, and now you were gonna pay.

The rest of the show went smoothly after one of the stagehands corrected the bad tuning, but that certainly didn't mean you were out from underneath the fire. You were screwed no matter what.

“Why the fuck did you have to publicly humiliate me, whelp!?” Sodo screamed at you while stomping into the Ghouls’ common room after the ritual had ended, “In front of the entirety of our fans! What the fuck is wrong with your head! Do you even think about things, or are you simply that desperate for attention?"

Fear coursed through your veins at the fire-ghoul’s words. It had been a dare… that’s all it was. A promise that you would find acceptance amongst the hard-to-please group.

“Sodo, I’m sorry. It was a dare… just a little prank,” you murmured timidly while keeping your head low, “Phantom told me everyone would accept me if I could prove I had guts. Make them laugh over something stupid like this.”

That seemed to make Sodo even angrier. “Your excuse is that you humiliated me because of a dare!?” He yelled, getting in your face as the air began feeling hotter.

“This is my reputation we’re talking about, (Y/N)! The entire ritual was ruined because of your stupidity!” His tail wrapped around your ankle, tugging you closer.

You stumbled forward as Sodo’s tail, which was as thick as a jungle vine, yanked at your limb. A little gasp left your lips as you wobbled and caught yourself before plummeting to the floor.

“I-I’m sorry, Sodo,” you stammered, actually beginning to grow terrified at Sodo’s reaction, “Phantom told me-“

Sodo interrupted you before you could come up with another excuse.

“Stop giving me excuses, you fool!” Sodo snarled, pinning you against the wall, “And don’t think pinning the blame on Phantom is going to get you out this. I know he probably put you up to it, but you’re the one who did it.”

His arms caged you into place, his body practically pressing against yours. “What the hell am I supposed to do with you?”

You trembled in between Sodo and this wall; your eyes wide with fear, unseen due to your helmet. You felt so small. So stupid. So naïve to think Phantom would actually want to help you.

“I-I’m sorry, Sodo,” you meekly whispered, your words barely audible.

Sodo could practically feel your body quivering against his own, and he almost felt a sense of satisfaction at your submissive state.

With his helmet on, he couldn’t even see your face, but if he had been able to… he would’ve seen the fear in your eyes so clearly. The fire-ghoul could smell it on you, and was it ever intoxicating...

“Sorry doesn’t even begin to cut it, whelp,” Sodo hissed, pushing himself against you more, “I think you’d look good in a leash and chain right now.”

What the fuck kinda punishment was that? What weird shit was Sodo into? Collars and leashes?

Huh. It could be worse, you supposed.

“A leash and chain?” you asked slowly, staring up into Sodo’s face, “You can’t be serious? I’m a Ghoul! That’s beyond…”

You were going to say ‘that’s beyond humiliating,’ but that wouldn’t be the right wording to appeal to Sodo. You had humiliated him… this was his payback.

Sodo chuckled at your response, pushing his weight harder against you and causing you to gasp.

“Oh yes, I am very serious,” Sodo murmured into your ear, “It’d only be fitting considering what you did to my guitar.”

The guitarist chuckled darkly before pulling away from you, giving the both of you some space. “Come on, kit.”

Your spade-tipped tail dipped in between your legs.

You were about to open your mouth to make some more weak excuses to try and weasel yourself out of this demeaning punishment, but that was when the rest of the Ghouls decided to take a convenient trip into the common room... led by Phantom.

The rhythmic guitarist simply smirked as he saw you and Sodo; the fire-ghoul looking legitimately angry, "Heh, good luck, (Y/N)! This is what you get for being an asshole to Sodo!"

"You act like you didn't tell me to do it!" you hissed, your eyes lighting up in hatred as Sodo wrapped a hand around your arm, pulling you back.

"Stand down," the guitarist hissed in your ear, causing Phantom and his accompaniment to chuckle in satisfaction, "You're already in deep enough shit. Keep your mouth shut."

Phantom just smirked, knowing what was going on, before sitting down on the couch. They would all get to witness this once Sodo was done. Every single Ghoul would see... your reputation successfully tarnished.

You followed Sodo, burning with anger. How could Phantom do this to you?

The fire-ghoul basked in your angered silence. Your reaction caused his tail to subtly sway as he paced down the halls, still holding onto your arm hard enough to leave little indentations.

You couldn't focus on anything, which caused a dissociation to lightly haze over your brain. You didn't snap out of it until Sodo stopped in front of a door.

It was his dorm.

Sodo led you into his bedroom, and as soon as the door was closed, he started rummaging in his closet.

“Come here.”

The lead guitarist held out a hand for you, his voice suddenly lower and more commanding, “Don’t even think about arguing with me right now, kit. I know you’re pissed at Phantom, but you got yourself into this mess… with me. And I am going to correct it.”

You sighed and took Sodo’s hand, your own hand shaking in fear. This fucking sucked, “I’m gonna beat the shit outta Phantom for this,” you murmured while stepping towards Sodo.

Sodo chuckled lowly, “You’ll have to get in line, first. No one humiliates me in front of thousands of fans and gets away with it. You made me look like a moron!"

His gaze trailed up your body, “And you shouldn’t have done it either. What’d you think would come out of it, whelp? What would you have possibly gained by messing up the most anticipated solo of our fanbase?"

“Phantom promised me friendship amongst the pack. He said I’d get accepted and I’d be able to start making connections in the band. I know you don’t care about my sob story, but acceptance is all I care about,” you murmured, slowly pulling your Ghoul helmet off your face as Sodo motioned for you to do so.

Sodo hummed, taking your mask from your hands and setting it aside. He began slowly looking over your revealed face.

“You’re pretty desperate, aren’t you?” He sneered, his fingers gently tracing over your features, “Acceptance... Pathetic.”

You pulled your balaclava down and stared up at Sodo in annoyance, “It was promised to me! I know it was stupid, but I just want to be friends with everyone! Trust me, I won’t be making that mistake again… I won't trust any of you enough for that bullshit!"

Sodo chuckled, his fingers trailing down to the base of your neck. His hands remained gentle as he continued studying your face.

“Acceptance does sound nice, doesn’t it? Too bad that’s not how the pack works, whelp.”

His fingers tugged at the top of your collared shirt, as if silently telling you to take it off.

Your eye twitched as a wave of anxiety hit your stomach. On top of collaring you, he wants you to take your shirt off? Great…

You huffed and slowly pulled your uniform off your body, your bra as dark as the night in comparison to your fair skin.

Sodo chuckled again, his eyes trailing slowly down your now exposed torso. He couldn’t help but appreciate the view. You’re a very beautiful Ghoulette...

“Oh there’s a good girl,” he hummed, gently guiding you backwards until your legs hit the edge of his bed. “Sit down, (Y/N), and don’t move.”

You mumbled incoherently while plopping down on the bed; your face flushing as Sodo took you in like a horse drinking water. It was embarrassing. You didn’t like being looked at like this.

Sodo chuckled at your embarrassment. That look was just too cute. He took in the sight of your pretty blushing face before making his way over to the closet, where he pulled out a small bag.

He sat down next to you on the bed, opening the bag to pull out a collar. It was thin, with a nice silver buckle; black as night. There was also a matching leash.

“You’re not seriously going to put that on me right?” you grumbled while staring at the collar, leash… and a wired muzzle??? That was too much…

Sodo’s eyes narrowed, “Are you seriously questioning me?” he shot back. “Yes, I am going to strap every single one of these pieces onto you.”

He leaned a bit closer to you, his voice lowing into a dark growl, “And if you try to complain, I’ll add more to the pile. Understand, whelp?”

An unknown sensation wracked your stomach. You felt… a bit sick. Regretful… big time regretful.

Why did you have to listen to Phantom?

Now you were gonna get walked around like a fuckin’ mutt... in front of everyone in the ministry.

“Understood,” you grumbled, your eyes dark as you stared up at Sodo.

A grin stretched across Sodo’s face. “Good girl,” he hummed, reaching for the collar and sliding the leather around your neck.

He made sure the fit was just perfect and not loose at all. He’d definitely be yanking you around a lot, and he wanted to make sure the collar didn’t slip off your throat.

You slammed your eyes shut as Sodo strapped the collar around your neck. It was a bit tight, but you could still breathe okay.

Next, he reached for the wired muzzle, taking your chin in his hand to keep you still as he began strapping it to your head.

The muzzle was uncomfortable. It dug into your skin painfully, and it was actually pretty heavy. This was somehow the worst part of it all. The leash and collar was one thing, but the muzzle was just demeaning. Your fangs… held back by wire.

Sodo chuckled darkly at your obvious discomfort. He loved seeing you like this, and he was glad his idea to force you to wear these kinds of things came to mind.

He took a few moments to admire his handiwork before standing up. He held the leash in his hand, giving it a sharp tug for you to stand up.

You grumbled and quickly got to your feet. Goosebumps flowed over your exposed torso due to the cold air in Sodo’s room.

“I know you ain’t about to take me around this ministry lookin’ like this,” you grumbled, wrapping your hand around the leash as you looked up at Sodo, “That’s dehumanizing.”

You weren’t a human, but ‘deghoulizing’ isn’t a word…

Sodo rolled his eyes, “I’m fully aware of that, whelp,” he replied. “That’s the point. You humiliated me in front of a sold-out stadium of our fans. I’m humiliating you in front of the rest of the pack. It’s payback.”

He gave the leash a sharp tug, forcing you to stumble forward and right into him; a growl leaving your throat.

“Now come on. Let’s go for a little walk.”

Your fangs poked out from your lips. The urge to punch Sodo in the throat was so strong. The urge to punch Phantom in the throat was even stronger.

You walked behind Sodo, the humiliation burning you up like a thousand suns as the two of you approached the Ghoul common room. You could hear their voices inside.

When Sodo walked into the common room again, holding your leash, all the Ghouls looked up at the pair of you. It was quite the sight.

All of them looked slightly amused at your current state, but they also looked a little taken aback. None of them spoke up, but Phantom’s eyes were practically glowing.

“Well, Sodo,” he spoke up, his voice almost cheerful. “I see you have (Y/N) on a leash, hm? Perfect punishment for what she’s done.”

“It’s fuckin’ your fault!” you screamed angrily while stepping forward and staring at Phantom, “If you would’ve have lied to me, this wouldn’t be happening! You’re cruel! Absolutely cruel!”

Phantom couldn’t help but smirk, clearly amused by your outburst. The other Ghouls chuckled lightly at your response.

Sodo, on the other hand, didn’t look happy with your retort. He tugged on the leash, forcing you to stumble back and fall against his chest.

“If you keep speaking out, I’ll add a ball gag to this list,” he warned. “You’re already wearing a muzzle, don’t push it.”

Your face contorted with dislike at Sodo’s threat. You nodded slowly and dipped your head, feeling a bit nauseous. You fucking hated the two guitarists. After all of this was over, you'd definitely be reporting them to Papa Copia, or even Sister Imperator. Who knows if they'd even care, though.

“Sorry, Phantom,” you grumbled lowly, obviously trying to hold back an angry outburst.

Phantom chuckled and gave you a dark smirk, clearly enjoying your punishment. This was all too sweet.

Sodo tugged at the leash again, “Apologize to me, too. Don’t forget who’s holding your leash right now.”

You gasped as Sodo pulled at your collar, your eye twitching.

“I’m sorry, Sodo,” you continued through clenched teeth, your arms wrapping around your bare chest in clear dislike of everything happening.

Sodo chuckled and gave you a condescending pat on the head for the apology.

“Good girl,” he hummed, keeping you close to his side as he sat back down in his seat. “I think we’ll spend a good chunk of time here, so make yourself comfortable.”

He gave a light tug on the leash, forcing you to sit down on the floor.

You stumbled to your knees, wincing as they came into contact with the hardwood floor below. Sodo was standing directly in front of you; your eyes glued to his boots as you stayed silent.

With you on the floor now, Sodo took the opportunity to give the leash a few light tugs, silently commanding you to move forward a bit more.

The other Ghouls took note of this, watching with slight interest. Phantom looked the most intrigued by your current state; his tail lashing around in focused interest.

Sodo continued to tug you forward until you were situated right in between his legs. He let out a low hum as he patted his thigh, indicating he wanted you to lean against him.

“Sodo, come on. This has gone too far,” you grumbled, your face directly in between his legs, “I’ve learned my lesson. Nothing like what happened at the ritual will ever happen again. Please just take the leash off… this is so embarrassing."

Sodo chuckled, his fingers gently weaving into your hair as he began playing with it.

“Oh, I know this is an embarrassing position, whelp,” the guitarist said, “But the lesson needs to sink into your pretty skull. I need to make sure you’ll remember not to do anything stupid ever again.”

The fire-ghoul gave the leash a harder tug this time, “Now sit up against my leg.”

You wheezed, the tight collar tugging at your throat. With no other option in sight, you groaned and leaned your head onto Sodo’s thigh, your eyes locked on his face. They were burning with clear dislike at this situation.

You wanted to punch that smug look right of the lead guitarist's face.

Sodo chuckled at your look of clear anger and distaste. Your face was so cute when you were mad, and Sodo couldn’t help but taunt you.

Suddenly, his boot gently knocked against your side. He clearly wanted you to stretch out more, to lie your torso against his leg more.

You gasped and quickly adjusted your positioning to the way Sodo wanted it. Your breathing was uneven as you heard the Ghoulettes giggle; your eye twitching once again.

Sodo chuckled as he saw you obeying so easily. The Ghouls had begun watching you intently, clearly enjoying your current state. A lot of them were giggling, seeing you look so meek and pathetic.

As for Sodo, he gently wrapped his arm around your shoulders, keeping you practically held against him. He was definitely taking advantage of this situation.

"Stop fuckin' egging them on," you hissed as Sodo's hand lightly caressed your chest, his slim finger flicking against your hardened left nipple through your bra in a teasing gesture.

Sodo chuckled once more, a wicked gleam in his eye. He gently tightened his grip on your shoulder when he heard your little comment.

“Keep that mouth shut, or I really will silence you.”

He ran his fingers through your hair. All of the other Ghouls snickered and chuckled at the little exchange, enjoying the show that was unfolding before them.

You grumbled, your eyes lazily staring up at Sodo.

It felt like hours had passed, when in reality, you'd only been leaning against the guitarist for a little over 30 minutes. The rest of the Ghouls eventually got bored of this spectacle and started playing video games, or even left to their dens to sleep for the night.

You were drifting to sleep at this point; your legs completely numb from being in this position for so long.

Considering circumstances, Sodo's thigh wasn't a half-bad pillow.

Sodo had finally taken notice of your heavy eyes and dazed look, and it only took a few moments for him to realize that you were getting tired.

The Ghoul hummed, gently running his fingers over your shoulder once more.

“You look tired,” he said, quietly so the other Ghouls wouldn’t hear.

“Mhm,” you hummed lightly, slowly opening your eyes, which were glazed over with sleepiness, “A bit…”

Sodo chuckled. You looked absolutely adorable when you were tired like this. He gently patted the top of your head, like how he would pet an animal.

“I think I’ve made my point by now,” he mumbled so only you could hear. “I’m gonna take you back to my den. Get you all cleaned up. Can you get up?”

“Honestly… I can’t feel my legs,” you softly replied while carefully shifting, falling onto your ass off your knees. You grabbed onto Sodo’s thighs and slowly pushed yourself to your feet. Pins and needles. Fuckin’ ow!

“Yeah, I can walk,” you mumbled, shaking your legs slightly to try and stimulate blood flow and get rid of that overwhelming sensation of blood loss.

Sodo chuckled and grabbed your arm to hold you up, seeing you immediately stumble. He knew you weren’t quite ready to walk just yet.

“No you can’t,” the fire-ghoul teased as he kept a firm grip on your arm, “Your legs are just a little numb from sitting like that for so long. You’ll need to lean on me, (Y/N).”

“No thanks,” you mumbled while staring at his hand that was holding onto your arm, “I’d rather not after the night you just put me through. My reputation in this band is soiled, Sodo. The last thing I need is your help.”

Sodo huffed, his grip on your arm tightening a bit. “You don’t exactly have a choice either way,” he shot back, “You’re not going to be able to make it all the way back to my room without my assistance-- or anywhere at that. You can either lean on me, or I can make you crawl again. Your choice, darlin'.”

You grumbled and hesitantly fell into his side, allowing him to lead you as you leaned onto him, “Anything to avoid crawling like a damn dog.”

Sodo chuckled at your grumble as he started walking, easily guiding you down the corridor towards his room. He made sure to keep a firm hold on you, not that the Ghoul really needed to.

It took little time to get back to his room and he quickly closed the door behind the two of you. Sodo gently pushed you over to the bed, giving you a silent indicator to sit down.

You sat down and flopped backwards onto the bed. After doing a whole hour-and-a-half ritual, then staying up until 3am for your punishment… you were quite exhausted.

“Please tell me this bullshit is over with, Sodo. I just want to sleep,” you yawned loudly.

Sodo hummed, slowly approaching you as you laid back on the bed. He sat down next to you, his eyes tracing over your body again.

“Mmm… I’m not sure if it’s over just yet,” he replied, his fingers sliding up your legs. “Maybe I’ll keep that pretty new collar on you tonight.”

You groaned and looked up at him as his fingers teased your pants, not expecting that. So… he really was turned on by your humiliation. Interesting…

Sodo denied it earlier while he was collaring me to begin with... so this was some kind of dirty little secret of his.

“Really?” you asked in legitimate surprise.

Sodo chuckled as his hands continued to gently slide up and down your legs. “Oh, sweetheart,” he hummed, “The entire pack saw you. You in a collar, on your knees, right in between my legs… of course I enjoyed it. You looked gorgeous like that.”

You huffed, your face flushing. You didn’t want to enjoy that comment, but you couldn’t help it. The sight of you tonight was driving Sodo crazy, yet he hid it so well…

“Is that how you treat everyone you want to fuck?” you asked slowly, grabbing the muzzle and slipping it off your face. There were red lines highlighting where the muzzle was digging into your face for quite a long period of time.

Sodo chuckled, his hands gently sliding up higher to rest on your hips. He began slowly pulling your body closer to him, causing you to slide up against his own.

“Everyone I want to own,” the lead guitarist corrected, “And I definitely own you tonight, princess. No arguments.”

You huffed through your nose. This didn’t feel like a punishment anymore, yet you still had your sassy and annoyed demeanour due to what the guitarist had put you through tonight.

However, as Sodo’s body slid up against yours as he pulled you closer, you couldn’t stifle the gasp.

“No arguments here,” you mumbled softly, almost timidly.

Sodo’s chuckle grew deeper as he continued to pull your body against his, making sure his own was pressed tightly to yours. He could feel the heat of your body through your clothes, as well as from your exposed breasts, which were hardening against your bra once against from the contact.

It made something in Sodo's chest stir.

The Ghoul leaned a little closer, his lips gently brushing against your ear. “Are you too tired to keep going, princess? Are you going to chicken out on me, right before I get exactly what I want?"

“Nah,” you shivered, your eyes locking on Sodo’s face, “Not too tired for one round. I doubt I’d be able to go on for as long as you want, though. I am a bit sleepy.”

Sodo chuckled and gently nipped your earlobe. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep it quick then, hm?”

He leaned back a bit to look at you. “Arms up,” he instructed, already slipping his fingers under the bottom of your bra.

You slowly raised your arms to the sky, Sodo easily slipping your bra over your arms and tossing it somewhere in his room. You grabbed onto his shoulders lightly as you straddled his lap; a tired, yet intrigued look in your eyes.

Sodo hummed as you straddled his lap, his hands reaching out to lightly grip your bare hips. The fire-ghoul could feel the heat from your body on his legs, and it began to send a wave of slight excitement through him.

The guitarist leaned forward to place a trail of kisses up your neck, occasionally stopping to suck on your skin and leave a mark behind.

You gasped slowly, your eyes fluttering shut as Sodo left little love marks on your pale skin. Despite how much you wanted to hurt Sodo tonight, this made it worth it… almost...

“I’m still mad at you,” you mumbled, digging your claws into Sodo’s shoulders as you began to slightly swivel your hips.

Sodo chuckled against your neck as he continued to leave marks on your pale skin. He had no doubt that by tomorrow, you were going to be covered in them. At least he had you as his own for the time being.

The guitarist gripped your hips a bit harder as you began to rock against him, a low hum of approval escaping his throat.

“I know you’re still mad, princess,” Sodo responded, “You’ll get over it by morning.”

“Fuck that,” you grumbled while wrapping your arms around Sodo’s torso, pushing his face into your breasts, “You’re gonna have to do a lot to make me get over what happened. I’m so pissed, Sodo.”

Sodo chuckled against your chest as he nuzzled into your flesh. He gently nipped and bit at your skin, his hands beginning to guide your hips against his own. Feeling your warmth on him was already clouding his mind to some degree.

“Maybe I’ll have to buy your forgiveness, hmph?” he teased, “Get you something shiny.”

You laughed a little bit, your hands wrapping around your belt and quickly discarding it; laying it on the mattress beside Sodo's leg, “I like that idea. How about you buy yourself a shiny new collar and I can walk you around like a dog when you piss me off.”

Sodo’s breath shuddered as he felt you remove your belt, the sound of the metal clicking against his bed causing his skin to prickle. However, he wasn’t exactly pleased with your smartassed reply.

He pulled away from your chest, his eyes locking onto yours with an intense look. The guitarist suddenly shifted, forcefully flipping you onto your stomach and pinning you beneath him. The bed let out a slight creak.

“Don’t be a smartass,” the Ghoul mumbled as he began working at the button of your jeans; his arms wrapped around your hips so he could reach it. “You’re not the one in control here, princess.”

You groaned lightly, moving upwards so you were flush against Sodo’s chest as he swiftly and expertly undid your pants.

“You know I can’t help but be a smartass, Sodo. I like seeing you mad.”

This was a new side of you. Before tonight, you'd always been quiet and timid; afraid of your new Ghoul accompaniment. Sodo’s words and actions have changed you a bit.

Sodo chuckled. You being a smartass was one of the qualities he found both attractive and annoying about you. It both turned him on and gave him a headache; it just depended on what you decided to be a smartass about.

He quickly slipped your jeans off your legs, now only leaving you in your undergarments. The fire-ghoul shifted so he could sit himself in between your legs, his own pressed against yours.

“That habit of yours is going to get you into trouble someday,” Sodo muttered.

You softly grabbed Sodo’s thighs as he slotted himself between your legs; his knees pressing into the mattress below. You rubbed your thumbs on his clothed limbs, “I think tonight was enough trouble for a lifetime, Sodo.”

Sodo chuckled as he felt your hands gently rubbing his thighs. “Oh, I don’t know about that, hmph. I think there’s still more trouble I can get you into… at least once tonight.”

He gently lowered himself down on top of you, the lead guitarist's chest pressing against your back as he settled on top of you. He leaned his head down and began gently biting and sucking on your neck, as he began to roll his hips into yours.

The air was sucked back into your lungs as Sodo began to rock his hips into yours. Dry humping. Teasing you.

Asshole.

You gasped as you felt Sodo yank on that Lucifer-forsaken leash, suddenly reminding you that the collar was still around your neck.

“No teasing!” you snapped as you felt his hardening length rub against your panties, a blush on your face.

Sodo chuckled, his lips still against your neck, as he felt you gasp. “Mmm… are you trying to give me orders now, princess?” he hummed.

He gave the leash another sharp tug, causing the collar to dig into your neck. At the same time, he also grinded his hips right back into yours, pressing his clothed length right against you.

“I don’t think I’ve given you that power, hm?”

You gasped, your head pulling backwards as your back arched. You could feel Sodo’s length throbbing against his tightened jeans; the Ghoul's hands multitasking between tugging at your leash and pushing his pants down.

“I’ve already had enough punishments tonight, Sodo,” you whined while craning your head backwards so you could lock eyes with the Ghoul, “I deserve my reward!”

Sodo chuckled. He loved the way you were whining for him. Though he wouldn’t admit it, he found it cute. And the fire-ghoul wouldn’t admit that he was a sucker for those pretty eyes of yours, even before the two of you got this close.

He let go of the leash, though the guitarist made sure to keep it taut, and began working at his pants. “I suppose you do deserve a reward, princess,” he teased, “You were so well-behaved in front of the pack tonight.”

You hissed in annoyance as Sodo brought that up again. Anger festered in your stomach once again, but you kept your comments to yourself. You were this close to getting pounded and you didn’t want to ruin it by snapping at Sodo again.

“Yeah, whatever you say. I just want your dick. That’ll make it up to me,” you mumbled while side-eyeing the fire-ghoul, watching him discard his pants.

Sodo chuckled at your snarky response. You really knew how to get the better of him sometimes.

The guitarist lowered his body again, now only leaving his boxer briefs on as he settled back on top of you. “Is that right, huh?” he teased, “Just what I thought.”

You grumbled and lightly bucked your hips backwards to rub against Sodo as he settled back down, “Don’t act like you don’t want to sink inside of me, you jerk. Just do it and make both of our nights better.”

Sodo groaned as he felt you buck your hips back against him. The feeling of your skin against his still-clothed cock was beginning to become too much for him. You were right. He did just want to sink into that tight pussy of yours... make you his.

“You really are a smartass,” he muttered, “Fine. I’ll give you what you want, (Y/N), but don’t expect things to be gentle.”

At that, a small, sharp moan escaped as you felt a pair of fingers slip underneath the material of your underwear. A pair of cold Sodo’s fingers, that now gently dipped between your legs.

Your eyes squeezed shut as those slim fingers began to dip inside. Sodo was finally giving you some stimulation besides dry humping… thank Lucifer for that. You felt like you were going to die if he didn’t touch you.

“S-Sodo,” you whispered in pleasure while spreading your legs further apart, “Nnmghn… s-shit…”

Sodo continued to rub his fingers gently between your legs, a sly smile gracing his features as he watched you spreading them. He was pleased to hear you moaning for him again.

The guitarist lightly scissored apart your folds with his pointer and middle fingers; his digits immediately getting soaked.

“Are you enjoying yourself, princess?” he teased, “Is this what you want?”

“Your fingers can only do so much for me. You know what I want,” you grumbled, beginning to challenge Sodo as well as you could considering the position you were in beneath him.

Sodo chuckled. You were really testing his patience, hm? You were so incredibly desperate, but too proud to actually admit it. How cute.

The Ghoul leaned down close to your ear, his breath sending a shiver down your spine.

“Say it,” he lowly commanded, “Be a good girl and tell me what you want.”

A growl rumbled in your chest; your cheeks flushing from embarrassment. Sodo just wasn’t going to quit with this humiliation high he’s been on tonight.

“Fuck, Sodo. I don’t wanna say it,” you mumbled bashfully, a moan leaving your lips as his skilled fingers rolled over your clit, causing your eyes to bulge.

Sodo chuckled, the laugh being as smooth as silk, as he noticed your cheeks, and even ears, turning a deeper shade of red. He loved seeing your pride slowly chip away, and you slowly become more submissive for him.

“That’s not what I told you to do, (Y/N),” he reminded you while clicking his tongue in disappointment, “Come on. Be a good girl and use your words, hm?”

You sunk your fangs into Sodo’s pillow, immediately feeling feathers tickle over your tongue as you punctured it. Asshole… such an asshole!

“I want your dick, Sodo!” you shouted while grabbing at his wrist; his hand deep in my panties, “I want it now! There! I said it! Give me your dick!”

A pleased hum escaped Sodo’s throat as he finally heard the words he’d been wanting to hear. It was satisfying to hear you, especially after being such a brat all night, finally break down and ask for it.

He pulled away his fingers, bringing them up to his mouth and giving them a quick lick to clean them off. The lead guitarist pulled himself off of you, moving to get off the bed.

“Stay put, (Y/N),” he commanded before heading over to the dresser. You couldn’t see what he was doing, but you could hear shuffling. After a few moments, he finally returned to his position on top of you.

He leaned down and nipped your ear before speaking again, “You’re going to keep your legs spread for me, right?”

You squealed as you felt those fangs graze your skin and those dirty words leave Sodo’s lips. My pride was beginning to fizzle away into nothingness; your dignity slipping away.

“Yeah, definitely,” you mewled while letting the fire-ghoul slot in between your legs again.

Sodo chuckled as he got right back to where he had been a few moments ago, his lips against your ear. “That’s a good girl,” he praised, “You’re being so well-behaved now.”

You felt a hand reach down and grab the waistline of your panties, giving them a tug. “Lift up.”

You arched your back again and adjusted the weight on your knees to allow Sodo to swiftly pull your soaking panties from your lower half. You felt cold as soon as the garments were removed… that’s how wet you were.

Sodo felt a hint of a shiver run down his spine as he realized how wet you were. The Ghoul didn’t expect you to be that turned on and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride at the thought that he was the cause of that. Sodo's fingers were the cause of that. Sodo's diabolical words were the cause of that.

That fucking collar and leash were the cause of that.

He quickly shifted, moving so his knees were right between your legs. There was a sudden shift in weight as Sodo leaned over you and began reaching for something.

You heard a small click, followed by faint squirting sounds. You were able to look back to see that Sodo was holding a familiar-looking bottle of lubrication. He had a sly smile on his face as he began to pour a good amount onto his fingers; pumping his cock in his hand.

“What? Am I not wet enough or something?” you asked while watching that smug smirk on Sodo’s face, “I promise you’ll have no trouble.”

Sodo chuckled. The amount of sass you still had was astounding. “No, princess, you’re plenty wet. It’s just nice to be thorough, hm?”

The lead guitarist pumped his dick a few more times to spread the lotion, feeling your eyes on him the whole time. He then tossed the bottle off to the side, not caring where it landed.

You nodded in agreement, shifting your head back to the forward position as Sodo prepared himself. That was sweet… he was dead set on making sure you didn’t have any pain throughout any of this. You doubted you would’ve anyway, but the thought was nice.

“Yeah, it is nice to be thorough. Thanks,” you mumbled with a small nod; appreciation evident in your tone.

Sodo smiled down at you, his expression seeming almost soft for a moment. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of something in his chest. Was it affection? Well, he could worry about that another time.

The fire-ghoul lowered himself a bit, his chest pressing up against your back, and he settled one arm on either side of your head, caging you in. Then, he gently placed a kiss against your cheek. “You’re welcome, princess,” he mumbled.

Sodo intertwined his fingers with your collar, forgetting the leash for a moment.

The feeling of his warm lips against your skin made your heart pound just a little harder than usual. He was acting so tender all of a sudden. Was this what it’s like to be with a fire ghoul? From absolutely unbearable to unexpectedly loving? Maybe this was just what it was like to hookup with Sodo.

You didn’t have time to dwell on it for long though as you felt Sodo press his chest into your back a bit harder.

You grunted in pleasure as you felt Sodo slowly slip inside. The stretch was immaculate… absolutely perfect. Sodo was a smaller Ghoul, unlike Mountain or Swiss, so his dick wasn’t going to hurt you too badly, but it also wasn’t going to leave you wanting more.

It was perfect in your humble opinion.

“A-Ah, yeah,” you whispered, arching your back into the Ghoul’s hips, “There you go…”

Sodo grunted and dug his head into the crook of your neck. He wanted to give you a chance to adjust before he started really going. Judging by how you were pressing back into him and the sounds leaving your mouth, you were enjoying himself. He took that as a sign to continue.

He quickly began rolling his hips, slowly, into yours, his breaths leaving his mouth in gentle bursts.

As Sodo rolled his hips into yours, you put all of your weight into your arms; your elbows bent to absorb the thrusts. It was too soon for you to get forced face-first into the mattress.

You also didn't want to give the fire-ghoul that satisfaction of fucking you blind. It hadn't even been a minute since he began fucking you. Nah, that would come later.

At every thrust, your body shook. Although Sodo was small, he was strong.

You nibbled your bottom lip; your eyes squeezed shut as Sodo finally began delivering you what you wanted. Despite how much you wanted to hide your pleasure, delicious moans began slipping from your lips.

Sodo hummed as he picked up the pace. He noticed how your weight was all being held up by your arms and it was beginning to get harder for you. The guitarist wasn’t exactly keen on you tiring yourself out so soon, so he figured he needed to get some more leverage on you.

Sodo suddenly grabbed the leash as it had been mostly lying forgotten and gave it a firm jerk.

You gasped, your head getting pulled backwards. Sodo began to angle his thrusts, using that leash as leverage. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head; a guttural moan slipping from your lips.

“Y-Yes… oh… fuck!” you screamed, the words coming out in time with Sodo’s thrusts. You were certain that the other Ghouls would be able to hear your screams, as well as skin slapping against skin through the thin walls, but you couldn't give less of a fuck.

You truly felt fantastic in this moment, tangled up in Sodo's arms, getting railed into the next dimension.

This angle was absolutely perfect. Sodo was slamming right into your g-spot, making the pleasure astronomical.

Sodo groaned, a slight smirk on his face as your words echoed through the small room. Such disgusting, vulgar language for such a new Ghoulette…

But, for the time being, he’d let it slide. At least you weren’t being a smartass about it. Usually whenever you shouted swears like this, it was because you were angry… especially at Sodo.

You were shy of course, but there had been moments since you were summoned that you'd lost your shit. These words weren't completely unorthodox when leaving your lips, but within context, these ones were.

“Does it feel good, princess? Do I get a ‘thank you’ for this?” he teased between heavy, laboured breaths; his dick sliding in and out of you like a piston.

Your arms wrapped around your torso as Sodo yanked at that leash again, practically pulling you from your stomach on that mattress and onto your knees. Your breasts bounced gorgeously, causing the lead guitarist's eyes to bulge.

“You’re… such… an asshole!” you huffed, drool dribbling down your lips and dotting over your bouncing breasts, “I a-ain’t gonna… thank you!”

Sodo chuckled at that. Even in a position like this, you were still as bratty as ever. He figured he should still try, at least a little. And a little punishment might be necessary as well.

The Ghoul suddenly halted the movement of his hips; a low groan leaving his lips as he did. “You really aren’t going to thank me?” he asked, “Not even after all of this?”

An annoyed moan left your lips as you craned your neck; locking eyes with the fire-ghoul. Anger was in your face as you wiped the drool off your lips with the back of your hand, “Sodo, this is a new low, even for you.”

Sodo couldn’t help but chuckle again as he saw the annoyed look on your face. “Hey, I’m just teaching you some manners, sweetheart,” he retorted, “If you want me to continue, you’ll say please and thank you. That’s it. That's all I need to hear."

You rubbed your eyes; fighting the urge to just push Sodo onto his back and ride him until you were satisfied. The last thing you needed was another punishment from the guitarist.

Swallowing your pride, you scoffed and nodded, a hint of anger still present in your tone, “Thank you for fucking me, Sodo. Please continue.”

Sodo chuckled as he heard that annoyed tone in your voice but he was satisfied seeing you swallow your pride. He also felt a twinge in his chest at this. Was he enjoying this new side of you? Was he actually enjoying you?

“Atta girl,” he said, a bit of a smirk still on his face, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

The fire-ghoul slowly started rolling his hips again, but instead of being rough and quick, he was trying to be gentle. He released the tension on the leash and lowered his body down on top of yours, caging you in between his arms.

You let your anger melt away as soon as Sodo began to move again. These long, deep thrusts were much more sensual than the rapid movements the fire-ghoul was doing before. You could feel every inch of Sodo sliding in and out... in and out... in and out...

It was like heaven... ironic for a demon from Hell to say it, but yes. This was like heaven.

You moved in time with the guitarist, your eyes lightly squeezed shut. The two of you moaned together in sync; fully enjoying each other’s bodies to the fullest.

Sodo breathed in through his nose and planted his face into the crook of your neck. He had one arm supporting himself while the other had found its way to your hip; wrapping it around to deepen his thrusts.

A strangled moan forced its way through your lips; your pussy tightening around Sodo's leaking cock. This forced another moan to leave the guitarist.

He was enjoying this so much, the way your bodies were moving together, the sounds you were making, the way you tasted on his tongue as he lazily licked up your neck... your sweat getting lapped up. This was just incredible.

Sodo suddenly found himself speaking without thinking. “You feel so good,” he said between breaths.

You carefully craned your neck as the Ghoul lapped and nibbled at it; capturing Sodo’s lips with yours. This was the first time the two of you had shared an authentic kiss.

You moaned into his mouth, your hand coming up to cup the Ghoul’s cheek as you continued to move. Sodo’s sweet talk was making your stomach do all sorts of flips and leaps. You loved this side of Sodo… he had shed that asshole side that he showed everyone. He was actually enjoyable right now.

Sodo’s breath hitched as he felt your hand on his face. In all the time that he knew you, you two had never kissed before. And this tender moment, it just came out of nowhere.

And yet, he didn’t pull away. He leaned into the kiss, his tongue gently swiping your lips as he felt his stomach swirling with a new feeling.

Was he feeling something for you?

Sodo was hitting all of the right spots within you. Your eyes were tightly shut as you lovingly-made out with Sodo; his cock doing amazing things to your body. You had been with tons of partners before, but none compared to this moment…

“G-Gah,” you hissed out, biting onto Sodo’s bottom lip as you felt pressure beginning to skyrocket in your abdomen.

Sodo groaned as he felt your teeth against his skin. Having you bite and kiss on his lips just made him want to pull you closer to him.

He continued his steady, deep thrusts, wanting more of that reaction you were making to him. Seeing you like this, he had a nagging thought in the back of his mind.

He didn’t want to share you with anyone else.

A little scream left your lips, your fangs colliding against Sodo's for a moment as you came. You shuddered around Sodo’s length, your arms giving out as you flopped down onto the mattress.

Tears winked in your eyes, wave-after-wave of moans leaving your mouth. You were simply overstimulated from the pleasure; the sensation eating you alive.

Sodo winced at the painful feeling of his fangs striking yours but it was quickly replaced by pleasure as he felt the overwhelming sensations through his body alongside you.

“F-Fuck,” he groaned, pulling his face away from yours, “Did you—“

He quickly realized that was a dumb question. After seeing your body shake so much and hearing those lovely sounds leaving your mouth, he knew exactly what had happened.

The guitarist was starting to get a bit winded anyway, so he was fine with slowing down a bit. Sodo wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled your back flush against his chest.

You were absolutely star struck right now as Sodo chased his own release, rutting into you like a toy. He was close, you could tell.

Your head pulled backwards and you sucked lightly on his earlobe. That was all you could muster. Your muscles were stiff from your orgasm, and the fact that Sodo was still going... great Lucifer below...

Sodo’s breaths were shaky and heavy as he felt your lips against his ear, your teeth lightly scraping his skin.

He suddenly wrapped his arms around you and dug his nails into your stomach, burying his face into the crook of your neck.

“W-Where do you want it?” the Ghoul panted into your skin.

“Nngh… w-wherever you want. I-I don’t care,” you groaned out while capturing his lips in yours again. If Sodo wanted to cum inside of you, then so be it. That wouldn’t upset you one bit.

Sodo groaned as he once again found himself pulled into a kiss. He never expected you to be so tender and affectionate, but it was a pleasant surprise.

He slowly brought a hand up to your jaw, holding you closely as he felt the pressure in his abdomen building. “I-Inside,” he breathed, the guitarist's voice cracking slightly.

You bit on his lip again, nodding as you heard the guitarist’s words. That was fine… and at least Sodo was respectful and asked first before just doing it.

Your arms reached up shakily and intertwined with Sodo’s fingers, which were pressed deeply into your stomach; holding you as if you were all that mattered in this world. You moved in sync with him again, yet less enthusiastically considering how exhausted you were.

Sodo felt like he was losing his mind with you. This was an incredible feeling, being so close with someone. And with you, the Ghoulette that he pretended to hate so much to everyone around the Ministry.

He felt his breaths coming out in heavy, shaky bursts as he squeezed your hands and held you closer to him. That pressure the fire-ghoul was feeling before…

And then, it happened.

It was like a volcano. You knew the second the Ghoul hit his peak. Another strangled moan left your lips as he finally let go; filling you up to the brim.

Your head hung low, the only reason you weren't back to being face-first into the mattress was because of Sodo’s strong arms holding you in place.

You sputtered and squeezed his arms, your eyes fluttering shut. Drool ran disgustingly down your lips, but you couldn't give less of a fuck.

As Sodo finished filling you up, he gently laid you down on the bed as his own body collapsed next to you. His breaths were deep and heavy as he desperately tried to catch his breath. That was one of the most intense orgasms of his life.

He gently wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you close against his chest, his face buried into your hair.

“I-I…” you whispered, unable to say anything for a moment… “That…”

“That was good, Sodo… uh, really good.”

Your words came out in gentle phrases, as you were still winded. Your heart hammered in your chest, feeling comparable to what it feels like after running a mile.

Sodo held you tighter as he heard your tired voice utter his name. That was the first time you had ever said it so soft and sweet…

“Yeah… you were great too, (Y/N),” he mumbled as he pulled you closer to his chest, his eyes slowly closing.

You slowly wrapped your hands around the collar and unclasped it; throwing it across the room (likely landing where that bottle of lube ended up).

You nuzzled into his chest; your tail wrapping around Sodo’s leg as you exhaled slowly, your heart rate beginning to even out.

Sodo chuckled tiredly as he felt your tail wrapping around his leg. He also noticed you throwing your collar across the room but he didn’t say anything. This definitely wouldn't be the last time you would see that collar.

The fire-ghoul wrapped his arms more fully around you, pressing his lips against your forehead and slowly shutting his eyes, tiredness washing over him.

And for once, you actually liked being around Sodo. For once… you didn’t want to punch him in the throat…

[hyperfixiation-station]

You Promised

TW: Major character death, canon typical violence I wrote this instead of working :3 enjoy Pairing: GhostxReader As always, not proof read, lemme know abt any mistakes/what you think. Also I quite literally wrote this right now so sorry if there's more than the usual amount of mess-ups.

There was a moment, when your eyes first met, that you knew this man would ruin you. It was a sudden burst of clarity, seeing him standing there, face covered, leaning against the wall. It’s like something was trying to tell you that getting involved with him would lead to disaster

Still, you decided to go for it. Those first few months were tense, full of anger and discomfort. It took years to get to where you are now. Years of patience, years of waiting, years of proving to Ghost he was worthy of love. 

The years had been wonderful. You remember the first time you saw his face, the first time your hands touched his hair. You remember the first time you went out, how his cheeks flushed and his eyes wouldn’t meet yours. You remember how it felt when it got down on one knee, both of you panting and bloody.

Yes, the years had been wonderful, but there had always been a sense of foreboding. Something terrible looming on the horizon.  And now, as you hold a cold body, as you card your hands through bloody blonde hair and cry, you know why.

“Stay with me.” You had cried. He had taken a shot meant for you, one bullet straight through his left shoulder and another embedded in his thigh. You had shot the man, emptying your magazine before falling, crashing to your knees beside Ghost’

“Price, I need a Medivac! Ghost is down, gunshot wound to the shoulder and thigh!” You yelled into your comm. Your hands moved to pressure the holes, one to his shoulder, one to his thigh. Just trying to stem the blood. His blood. His blood that bubbled up over your knuckles, thick, hot, and ruby red.

“ETA is 23 minutes.” Price's voice was garbled and broken over the radio, but you could still hear the despair in his voice. You sobbed harder as you realized help will not make it in time.

“Don’t,” Ghost had whispered to you, “I’m not making it out of this one.” His hands moved to your face, gloves shakily wiping tears from your face. 

“You’re coming home,” You had snapped at him, voice breaking, “You promised.” He shook his head softly, reaching up to pull his mask off. Blood leaked from his lips as he coughed. 

“Kiss me,” He had begged you, “Please.” You had shaken your head frantically, eyes blurring with tears, but you gave in. How could you not? Ghost never asked for anything. You could give him this. Your lips met in what was the most passionate, desperate kiss you had every had. You tasted his blood but didn't care, kissing him like it was last thing you'd ever do. You were kissing him when his body seized, and you cradled his head to your chest as he took his last, gasping breaths. You held him as you felt his body go limp and you held him as his body began growing cold. 

Your hand moved to your lips, where his blood was already drying. Tears leaked from your eyes, blurring your vision and soaking the collar of your jacket.

“Please.” You sob into his hair. There is no movement from the man in front of you. Blood seeps from his body, pooling under him, soaking your pant legs. Wind blows your hair around, tears sticking strands of it to your face.

“Simon please,” You practically beg him, “please, please, please.” Your world is breaking apart, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. The only thing that could pull you back from the brink was laying in you lap, unmoving.

Footsteps sound, but you don't go to reach for your gun. You could care less if it is friend or foe. At least you’d be with Ghost if you died.

You feel a hand on your shoulder, and see Soap appear in your blurry vision. The sight of the scot makes you sob harder, your fingers digging into Ghost's unyielding body.

“C’mon sweetheart, let's git him hame.” His Scottish accent fills your ears. His voice is thick, and you can know that the only reason he's not in tears over his best friend is because he's trying to be strong for you.

Your hands shakily trace Ghost’s face, his lips, his scars. You slip his dog tags off and pull them over your head.

“I love you,” You whisper, pressing a kiss to his cold lips, “I love you so fucking much. I love you, I love you, I love you. So wait for me, okay?” You squeeze his lifeless wrist 1,2,3 times. I love you.

Letting go of his body is the hardest thing you have ever done. Soap grabs your arm, helping you up. He lets you lean against him, leading you away as Price and Gaz take the body. You look back with blurry vision, watching them drape a sheet over the stretcher holding your world.

The wind blows across the battlefield, and with it you can hear the echoes of an unheeded warning, a promise of a life of ruin.

I made myself cry while writing this lmao.

[rivendell-poet]

Hellooo!!! I see yo are open for requests so i thought I'd give it a try, ONLY if you feel like writing it.

I see you write about LOTR (i love you for that!)

So here is a request, could you write a romantic one-shot with Pippin, where he is intrigued by the reader and he's trying he's best to impress her but it always ends up as a disaster? In the end of the day when reader comforts him about his clumsyness, maybe pippin ends up singing a slow song with his beautiful voice (like he sang to Faramir's father in the second movie) and the reader is mesmerized by it.

It's totally okay if you don't feel like writing it, have a WONDERFUL day :) !!!

･༓˚✧❝𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 & 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲❞‧͙⁺˚༓˚✧ « one-shot »

Pairing : Pippin X Reader

Wordcount : 1.9k

Gender-neutral reader | TWs : Very mild, non-dangerous injuries/clumsiness

Summary : In which Pippin, completely enamoured by you, decides it's finally time to try and show his love for you. His one problem? Everything seems to be going wrong.

A/N : Thank you so, so much for the request! It's a great storyline and I hope I did it justice. Thanks so much for the request <3

Pippin hadn’t joined the Fellowship for love, or for renown and glory - he’d joined for Frodo, and to help protect his friend. And it was going to stay that way, until the very end. Although he would be lying if he said that was the only reason he was trying so hard. It wasn’t a big deal, or something incredibly major. He just happened to have… an incredibly large crush on you. A rather reasonable amount of crush and intrigue - in Pippin’s opinion - but not to everyone else.

Merry had been pretty understanding, and then made fun of Pippin tremendously. In fact, he’d been rather annoyed at not seeing it before - anyone who looked at the two of you for more than five minutes could tell that there was something going on between you two. The young hobbit looked at you like you’d created the stars, with a shine in his eyes that tracked your every move and only brightened further when you smiled or looked in his direction. He’d shuffle lightly closer, eagerly listening to every word you said; he was completely enthralled by you.

Eventually, Pippin decided he needed to do something as a romantic gesture for you that wasn’t just pining while admiring your presence. His first idea was when you were in Rivendell together, sitting in one of its many meadows - and he decided to make flower crowns. Looking at the flowers in the field, he decided on a pattern of three daisies and one small, red flower. The daisies had come together quickly, and he reached for the red flower before immediately letting out a hiss of pain.

Looking at it closely, he notices all the little thorns on its stem - some of which were sticking into him. At the outcry of pain you immediately look over, taking his hand. “Are you ok, Pip?”

“Dandy!” Not feeling much pain, he holds up his finger to show you - only then realising some of the thorns are still embedded in it, and there are a few tiny bits of blood. “Oh. Well, it doesn’t really hurt - if that’s what you're concerned about.”

“Still.” Gently, you take his hand and brush the rest of the thorns off - and he winces when you get a few droplets of blood onto your clothes. He apologises as much as he can for them, but you assure him that it’s truly no big deal and you can simply wash them out later; it’s more important he’s not hurt.

Later, as Pippin thinks back to the feeling of your hand on his, he knows he’s blushing slightly. It was the first time the two of you had actually held hands, and of course he had to ruin the intimate moment by having it be while he was injured. He tries not to let that, or the fact his flower crowns were a failure, bother him - and he’s touched when you teasingly ask about his finger the next day. (His plan to clean your robes for you also fails after he finds out some of the Rivendell elves have already done that).

Deciding that what he’s doing isn’t exactly working, he instead decides to outsource his ideas - by going to the library and hoping they have books on that sort of thing. It’s fairly obvious as to where the library is, and to his pleasant surprise he can actually read a lot of the books in there, even if they don’t look as good as the elvish ones. He picks out a small, pocket-sized book on elvish courting before looking around for something more substantial - and perhaps something more detailed, that could properly give him ideas.

To his surprise, tucked away on a high shelf is ‘A young, respectable hobbits guide to courtship - etiquette and ideas’. It’s probably the best book he’ll be able to get, and he immediately goes for it before cursing elves for their ridiculous height. He’s not quite confident enough to ask the elf who's in there with him for help on picking up the book, so instead he decides to simply grab a chair and use it as a stepping stool for him. It works well, and he’s on level with the books so tries to reach out and pull it.

The book is more stuck than he expects, and when Pippin finally tugs it out he pulls more than he should. The momentum continues with him, pushing backwards and tipping him off the chair. There’s a brief moment as he wonders if this is how he’ll die, before he’s even left Rivendell, before his fall is cushioned by something soft and there’s a gasp of pain from behind him.

Immediately, he realises he’s fallen onto someone and scrambles to get off, pushing himself onto the floor before turning around. Next to him, he sees you - sitting there and taking a few deep breaths to get the air back into your lungs. Noticing your eye contact, you smile at him. “You okay?”

“Yes - of course. Are you?” He goes over immediately, trying to assess the damages while offering you a hand up, “I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean for you to get hurt. I mean, I didn’t exactly mean to fall over at all - not a huge fan of bodily harm - but I especially didn’t mean to go into you. I’d have fallen differently if I knew you were behind me, I think-”

“Pippin.” You interrupt, softly but firmly, “Are you hurt?”

“Oh no.” He gestures to himself, “You truly did save me.”

“Glad to be of service.” You laugh, and he immediately lightens up again. “What were you trying to get?”

Picking up the book, he sees your eyes gaze over it and read the title before looking back to him. He might only be seeing things, but he swears you don’t look quite as happy as you did a second ago. Before he can ask you, you hand the book back to him, brushing the dust off its cover. “So, you’ve got a love waiting in the Shire for you?”

“Well, no. I mean, not exactly. I mean-”

“I’m not going to judge you if you have, Pippin.” You put on a small smile, but it doesn’t reach your eyes. “Good luck with your love, Pip. I’m sure they’re honoured to have you.”

Pippin knows he should say something, reassure you that the only person he has his eyes on - he has his heart set on - is standing right in front of him, but for some reason he freezes. He awkwardly gives a nod, and then stands there and watches you leave while internally berating himself. Not only has he now missed yet another opportunity to confess, he’s now almost confirmed he’s in love with an entirely fake hobbit instead of you. After eating supper, he’s sitting next to Merry and complaining again.

“And now they think I’m in love with some hobbit from the Shire, Merry!”

“I know, Pippin.”

“But I’m not - I’m in love with them.”

“I know, Pippin. It’s very obvious.” Taking a deep breath, Merry turns to face his friend. “Is there anything else you could try, some of their interests perhaps?”

“They play an instrument, they’re very good at it, I heard them-”

“Maybe you could try and play that, see if the elves have spare instruments around. They seem the sort.”

“You, my friend, are incredible.” Getting up, Pippin thinks about running straight to the music room before deciding to try tomorrow, rather than almost at midnight. He can hardly get to sleep, instead thinking back to the songs he’s heard you play and trying to hum them to himself - getting a likeness but never quite getting to your quality. He goes to sleep with your music in his mind, and wakes up thinking about it as well, trying to remember how you had played it.

Following where he normally hears music, he checks with an elf that he can use instruments there and they assure him he can. Sitting inside the room, Pippin can’t help but reflect that it's not half as magic without you - or at least without the music. Practising, Pippin hums the opening lines to your song again before trying to play the instrument, or at least learning what sounds are made and how.

He gets as far as the first two notes when he feels eyes on him, looking up to see you watching. He can feel himself blush in embarrassment, too busy looking away from you to notice the blush on your cheeks. “I was just practising. You sound so beautiful, I wanted to see if I could as well.”

“That was played just by ear? You have musical talent.” Walking over, you sit next to him, guiding his fingers into the position they need to be. “Try like this.”

It takes ten minutes of the two of you sitting together, you showing him the positions and where he needs to go, before Pippin is able to play the first bar. As he finishes you clap, grinning at him while he looks proud of himself. “It’s still not half as good as yours.”

“And I’ve practised much more than double the time you have.” You respond, “Do you want to try again?”

“Actually, I was hoping I could hear your music again.” Pippin can feel the blush coming back, but when he holds it out to you he’s still smiling.

“Hmm, can you play any other instruments?” You look around, “We could play something together.”

“Oh, no. The only musicality I have is singing inside of taverns, nothing suitable for you and Rivendell.”

“Who cares?” You position the instrument, ready to start playing. “This is about us and the music, not the setting. You can sing and I’ll play.”

Taking a deep breath, Pippin nods and tries to think back to all the songs he’s learnt - and any songs that would be fit for you. His mind instinctively goes to what he’s heard Mr. Bilbo sing in Elvish, although he doesn’t fully trust himself not to mess up the words. His mind is almost completely blank, save for one of the hobbits traditional love songs. He looks back to you, waiting for him, takes a deep breath and begins to sing.

You’re immediately entranced, the singing is perfect - filling the room and finding the exact correct pitch, echoing softly and melodiously. You spend so long admiring it you forget to play, suddenly remembering and quickly putting a musical score under his voice. As the song continues, you finally allow yourself to really listen to the music and to realise what the song is about.

Pippin is singing a love confession, directly to you as he’s staring into your eyes. The both of you know exactly when you realise what’s going on, and he almost stops singing in relief when you blush and smile at him. His voice wavers on the next line, but you nod for him to go - staring at each other until he’s finished and waiting for you.

You take a deep breath this time, looking into his eyes before clearly giving an answer. “Yes. I love you too.”

Thanks for reading, and again thank you so, so much for the request! There's really not enough love for Pippin in here, so hopefully I could help. (Requests currently are open, if you're interested).

thank you for reading *･༓˚✧ wish to be tagged?

[masonmiamor]

one step at a time - - mason mount x reader.

summary: based on a request! you were never liked as much by his friends or family and that took a toll on you to where the doubts won the best of you. but what happens when a sudden trip maybe the cure of things?

feedback appreciated! send request if you have any! 💕

wc: 5.6k! one of my longest pieces yet!

tw: talks about being insecure, some mature language, can be toxic if you look carefully!

“Well that went-”

“Not good I know. I don’t know what happened tonight, really and genuinely thought it would’ve gone a different way” Mason sighed running a hand across his hair, finishing your sentence. He looked up and locked eyes with your face feeling the guilt as he saw your soft and glossy eyes, your hand rubbing up and down on your upper arm.

“I’m heading upstairs. I’m tired and I have to be up early for work tomorrow,” you said exhausted but he could hint at a bit of sadness laced in your tone. He knew you from the back of his hand, more than you knew of yourself. “I’ll be up in a sec. Going to check the security cameras and tidy up,” Mason said.

He sat on the kitchen stool slowly drinking the glass of water thinking of what went down tonight. You had enough and lashed out to one of his friends' girlfriends that began to disrespect you and your relationship.

You upstairs tried to be quiet at the sobs you let out in the shower. Wanting to wash away tonight's disaster. It wasn’t just some of his family but now you could tell his friends didn’t like you or even tolerate you either. The two of you went out to one of his friends' dinners in the city, but from the start, he could sense the unsureness when you began to decline the invite. “I’ll stay… I need to do some stuff.” But Mason being Mason begged and insisted you went, so you did.

Everyone’s faces dropped when the two of you showed up, you respectfully greeted everyone feeling the judgy looks that daggered at you. The entire dinner your cheeks were flushed red, playing with your rings and the loose string on your knitted sweater. To say the least, you were completely left out tonight, you tried to interject but were turned down anytime you spoke.

You noticed the side eye on one of Mason's closest friends when you ordered, even hearing the gold digger comment, “He will pay for her. She doesn’t have to worry about the price here… I mean that’s why she’s with him, no?” They didn’t know you so why were they so quick to judge repeatedly?

The secluded room allowed you to take a longer walk and reduce the anxiousness inside you. You looked at yourself in the mirror and began to feel insecure about yourself. Never ever have you doubted the way you looked until recently. These pants look silly, right? Is this the wrong shirt for this dinner? Did my hair look too frizzy?

When you walked back you took a step back when they were speaking of you. “Seriously Mason? Out of every female out there you choose the most basic one? You’re a footballer for god sake! She won’t give you the pleasure or company our Money Mase deserves…”

“She's not basic? Don’t speak of her like that when I'm right here. Have common and sense and realize that-”

“Oh quit it with the soft and soppy boyfriend! Where is our old Mason that didn’t care about anything? She’s changed you, Mason, you changed because of her. Just wait and see until she leaves you, she’s in it for the money…” you could hear the smirk on his voice. You sighed and decided to walk in.

“So y/n. Besides being Mason's clingy girlfriend what else do you do for a living?” said one of his friend's girlfriends. You made eye contact with a stunning woman, she was brunette, with a model body, and green eyes. She could sense the way you felt, as your hand made a fist at the word clingy.

“Clingy funny. You have jokes, congratulations. I’m finishing my major and minor at Uni, and I work at a firm. What about you? Besides being good at using your boyfriend's credit card, what did you do for a living?” your voice filled with venom, you weren’t going to let her start something.

“Excuse me?”

“Did I stutter? Or are you just deaf? You’ve been making remarks all evening about me and my relationship acting as if I weren’t here. You judge me when you don’t know me at all?” you leaned over and raised your voice slightly. She scoffs and smirks, “Damn, all of a sudden people like you can’t take a joke, for your information-”

“I don't see how it is funny or a ‘joke’ to insult someone? But please do enlighten me, “ you smiled at her but instead of her responding her boyfriend spoke up, the same one that had something to say before you sat at the table. “Oi shut up. You’re being rude now. Take the joke and suck it up.”

“Hey watch it!” said Mason extending his hand to make it known his tone wasn’t nice. “Y/n…” Mason whispered as he leaned over, trying to make you drop the subject. “Yeah listen to him. Let her know how much of a bitch she is being,” your head whipped so fast at the girl in front of you. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, your palms fully closed you could feel the sting of your fingernail as they dug into the palm of your hand.

You quickly grabbed your stuff and walked out of the dining room, holding back the tears of frustration. You just wanted out, rather be at home than this fancy place where it went downhill. You sent a text to Mason you’d wait for him in the lobby outside, not even 2 minutes later he appeared, his brown eyes connecting with yours. The drive was fairly silent, just soft music playing in the background.

You were just grateful to be home and with a nice shower. You carefully step out and picked up the floor and put it into the laundry hamper, you stared at your red cheeks and eyes, fully evident you were crying. Was this how you were supposed to feel? You knew this relationship would have its ups and downs? But to this extent? His friends and some family not even liking you?

You gave it so much time, acted like they wanted, and almost changed for them to glance the slightest smile at you but they simply made their mind up and they immediately knew you weren't the match for Mason. He reassured many times he would never change his opinion of you, and you believed him always. But now? You began to have doubts about how far this relationship would go.

You were prepared for the worst, and that hurt. You had gone so far with Mason, loving him unconditionally, being there for him like he was for you. But currently, you just didn't feel happy nor did you feel the same about yourself. He told you to never care about what other people say or think, but it’s not that easy for you since the constant pressure is there.

You quickly applied some oil and moisturizer to your face, coated your body with lotion, and changed into some loose shorts and a shirt. Your hair was dry as you had washed it the day before, so you quickly combed through it before walking out and turning the light off. You made the bed and layed comfortably while you waited for Mason to come upstairs. Once he did, he brushed his teeth and laid next to you.

You had turned off your lamp on the nightstand and closed your eyes when you felt his soft lips against your cheek. “I'm sorry…” you felt your heartache at his soft and genuine tone. You turned over and saw him staring right at you, you slowly brought your hand up to rub his cheek, “It's not your fault Mase. I'm sorry for causing a scene-”

“You were just defending yourself. Don’t apologize for speaking up. If I knew they would pull that shit I would've never gone and taken you as well. You didn't deserve it Y/n… I’m such an asshole for still sticking with them. I thought maybe if they gave more time it would change but it didn’t…” he sighed deeply, but your soft thumb that rubbed his cheek calmed his tensions.

“Thank you for defending me too. I heard him when I was coming back to the table,” he gave you a smile and brought the hand from his cheek to his lips, kissing delicately over your thumbs, and the bracelet he gave you. “We have to give more time…” he said, pulling you close to his chest, rubbing and drawing small shapes on. He kissed your head and slowly began to fall asleep while holding you.

How much more were you willing to wait? How much more time was it going to take? Would they ever get the chance to properly know or talk to you? How much more was it going to take from you to prove yourself? It's not even proving at this point.

~~~~~

The next couple of days were easier, there were times where it would get awkward but it dropped easily. You worked later so you wouldn't have to be at home much, wanting to distract yourself from the doubting thoughts. You sat in your office scrolling through emails and highlighted important dates in your calendar when you felt your phone vibrate on the wooden desk. You smiled and quickly answered Mason’s call. “Hi love, I'm sorry I'm kinda busy right now. Is there something you needed?”

“No beautiful. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing. And what time you’d get off so I could make dinner? How are we feeling about chicken tacos? A side of rice and guacamole?” he asked, “Sounds perfect! Do you need me to pass by and get the stuff?”

“No no no! I bought it all, we got released early today from training so I went ahead and did the shopping for the week,” you thanked him, and decided to take a break just to speak to him. He laughed and told you about his day, which included his training session, interview for the media, and some banter about a video game with Ben and Christian.

“Hey, babe?” You could practically frown on Mason’s face as he randomly spoke up, “Yeah?” is what you muttered, leaning up and looking at the phone getting concerned when he became quiet. “Uh, change of plans… My family is coming over with my cousins.”

“Oh…” your body slumped on the chair, rubbing your forehead trying to get rid of the disappointment that ran through your veins. “I think ill maybe sit this one out, Mason… I know you love your family very much so you spend time with them. I still have lots of work to do here and-”

“If this is still about the other night, they're different Y/n. I know you're still unsure but I want you there. You are my family too now…” Mason said, his voice begging you to come. It was deja vu all over again, and you weren't quite prepared for what would go down… You get along with his parents and siblings very well! But his aunts, uncles, and cousins were a different story.

“You will never be good to our Mase. He doesn't deserve you, you are just another on his list…” You remember that phrase very well. As his aunt forbid you from ever telling him, which you listened to just to satisfy her, it was only you and Jaz who knew as she told her aunt to step away. She apologized for her actions but defend you. To this day he still didn't know.

“Okay… I'm just going to my flat and get some clothes for the night and ill be on my way,” you sighed and gave in. Your nerves weren't helping ease the mood, you had to pretend again. Pretend. Such a small yet meaningful definition in your world now. How much longer were you going to pretend and act like everything was okay?

“Thank you Y/n. I love you, baby.”

“Me too…”

You pulled into Mason’s driveway which was filled with many cars. You recognized his parents and Jaz’s cars, feeling relieved. You locked your car door and went inside. Mason quickly approached you and hugged you tightly, your arms reaching up and hugging his shoulders.

“Thank you for coming. I missed you,” he leaned down and captured your lips with his. You walked into the kitchen with your hand around his back, smiling at his compliments that brought a blush to your face. You scanned the room and saw a couple of disgusted or unsatisfied faces but you said hello to everyone and stuck either with Mason or his mom.

You made mental notice to try and stay away from his aunt that lashed out at you last time, but it was hard as she glared at you every time. “That isn't how you do it! God, you're useless!” she yelled, making you step back embarrassed. “I don’t know how Mason puts up with you. You can barely do a simple task,” Mason looked over to you, seeing how you bit the inside of your cheek and cheeks redder than ever.

“What's going on?” he walked over to see. “Your girlfriend can’t even marinate the chicken right? How do you do it Mason?” she sent you a nasty look again. “You didn't even let me start, I was barely sorting and placing the spices into the chicken-” you tried to defend yourself but she quickly shut you up with a “Did I ask you to speak?”.

“Nella… Let the poor girl be. We saw it all. She was barely starting before you intervened,” this time it was for his mom to approach the furious lady. She looked around and huffed walking away like a small child. You quickly went back to what you were doing, with Jaz at your side, Summer too as she insisted to help you.

You let her drop the spoon of spice and liquids into the bowl and observed as her little chubby hands mixed the marinate all around. “Im guessing he still doesn’t know about the previous incident?” Jaz asked when the two of you sat down outside on the backyard patio. You shook your head and felt a wave of sadness, “No. I just don't want things to become bigger than before. Plus it's your family too, you know?”

“I understand but Y/n, I can see how tired and sad you get. It wasn't any of my business but Mason reached out to me after the incident from the dinner. I want to let you know I'm here no matter what. Don’t let her or his friends get the best of you,” she offered advice, you thanked her, holding her hand in appreciation. But it was too late… you were already letting it get the best of you.

Dinner went daily well, you only spoke when the conversation turned on you but you heard the snickers and side comments when you spoke. Mason grabbed your thigh and ran his hand up and down, trying to be there for you. You wanted to let out tears, the pressure and lump growing gradually over time, you felt left out and out of place. Was this how you were supposed to feel?

“So Y/n, will you join us on our spring trip in three weeks?” asked Mason’s father, you looked and gave him a sad smile, “Unfortunately I won't be able to go. My boss has asked me to attend a fundraiser ball with her and my colleagues and its important for the firm. I tried to ask off but she needs me there,” you responded politely. “I see! Next trip hopefully!” he said and gave you a nodding understanding of where you were coming from. “Does she have to go on every trip with us? I mean she barely makes time for Mason,” Nella opinionated.

Mason looked at her confused and asked her to elaborate, his hand interlocked with yours, trying to soothe your nerves. “Nevermind, it's not worth my time,” she shook off the topic and took a sip of her wine. “Why is it you always have something to say about me and my girlfriend? I'm curious.”

She looked up shocked, “It will be too late for you to understand, I just hope you realize she is not the one for you Mason.” You excused yourself from the table, wanting some fresh air as it became too much, and you felt trapped. The chair squeaked against the tile as you walked off. Mason followed behind you, wanting to comfort you.

“Enough Nella. We invited you respectfully but keep in mind this is his house, and you're overstepping. Y/n is a sweet and loving girl and a part of the family, and I won't tolerate the way you speak to her. You’re not his mom, agent, or anything, you're his aunt. Know where your loyalty lies. Have some shame for once,” defended Jaz.

You sniffled and tried to calm down the shakiness from your body. You washed your face with cold water attempting to calm down the redness, you sat on the tub bringing your hands to your face. It got the best of you and you were done. You didn't feel you, and it was hard as these new feelings were being released.

You heard footsteps approach the master bathroom, quickly noticing they were Masons. He knocked on the door and called out for you. “I'll be out in a sec!” you quickly tried to compose yourself but you felt drained and with no energy. You unlocked the door and stepped out to your bedroom. “I'm going back to my flat tonight…” is all you said, making Mason flutter his brows in confusion. “Why? Don’t go.”

You offered a small smile, “I just want to be alone tonight. Today was stressful enough,” you ignored his brown eyes that bore into you as you walked over to pick some of your clothes that were there and packed them into a small bag of yours. “Talk to me, tell me how you feel Y/n. I can’t know if you don't tell me,” Mason pulled you back and your lip quivered, you gulped and turned around as your vision became blurry.

“Ive tried Mason. Ive tried so hard to prove not just to your family but friends too that im a good girlfriend. You’ve told me to not care about what they think but I do care! And it's hard because now I'm having doubts about where our future relies on…” you confessed, he croaked a small “What?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I use to picture a happy future for us. Owning a house, having kids, a dog or two, taking vacations together, attending more of your games. But now that seems forbidden and long gone. I don't see that anymore, I see the constant hate, and people not liking me just because I won't be enough for you. And maybe I'm not. Maybe you need someone else at your side who isn't me,” you continued.

“Please. Don’t be dramatic. I love you Y/n! You’re the one for me. I don't care what they say because, at the end of the day, I know you. I know your likes and dislikes, the good and bad, I know what makes you smile and what causes you to be sad. The side of the bed you prefer, the way you take your coffee, don't give up on us now.”

“Mason. I’ve never felt about myself this way before. I'm not happy or content-”

“Not even with me? I don’t make you happy?”

“You do Mason. I just-” you try to explain yourself but Mason's face is visibly hurt and slightly angry. “You just what? Tell me, do you not love me anymore? Am I not enough for you?” Mason quickly turned it around and you weren't sure what to say. “I uh-no-Listen-” you stuttered but regained yourself, being careful with your next words. “I love you Mason, more than you will ever know but I can't love you when I don’t love myself. I want to put myself first-”

“Now you’re being selfish. After everything you want to give up on us? Just because of what some people say?” he spit out angrily, and he began to pace around the room. “Selfish? All ive done is be there for YOU since day one! When I want to put myself first to try and save this relationship, it's sudden selfish?” you began to raise your voice.

“You may not understand what it's like, or maybe you do. But I can't handle the constant pressure and having to pretend to be okay anytime we go out or when the closest people in your life don't even like me!” you cried out. “So where do we go from here? I want to be with you Mason I do-”

“We're done,” Mason said with no remorse or emotion. You stared wide-eyed at him, “Look who’s giving up now…If that is what you want then so be it. I’ll leave now.” It all happened so quickly and without proper thinking. He watched you pack most t-shirts and pants all in a single duffle bag, all while he sat there and began regretting his decision. He just felt angry and hurt that you had all these doubts, but it scared him more when you began saying you didn't picture a future together.

Mason loved you so much that he was willing to do whatever it took just to wake up next to you every day. Little bits of hope suddenly went away as you finished packing up, he looked when he heard the final zipper close. You turned and faced him with bloodshot eyes, he heard you the entire time crying and simply broken. It was silent for a minute but you walked off and slammed the door.

He went to the window and observed the way you sat in your car, your head resting on the sterling wheel, your shoulders shaking as you continued crying. He couldn't handle the scene and decided to walk downstairs, his family all stared at Mason, who had teary eyes and a disheveled look on his face. “Where’s Y/n?” asked Jaz who held Summer on her hip.

“She’s gone.”

~~~~~

“Have you tried speaking with him?” asked Sophia, she looked up and watched you sigh. “I tried but I can't bring myself to respond to his texts…It hurts.” Sophia was the only one who knew about the breakup, maybe Kai if she or Mason told her. “I replied to my birthday one that is all. I just said a simple thank you,” you said pulling out your phone and showing her the conversation.

“How was your birthday by the way? It's been a while since we've properly hung out. I'm glad we're doing this,” she giggled. “It was okay, I had a few drinks with friends from work and then had a movie night by myself in my flat, I did some skincare and treated myself with a nice designer bag as well,” you smiled proudly. The feeling of hard work always paid off.

You and Sophia spoke for hours, it was like that always with the two of you. You spoke about anything and everything, it feels special to have a friend like her. Sophia always was so intriguing and open to anything, she tries to make you feel more comfortable and loved. You came to her for anything, and she the same as well. There weren't ever any arguments or small fights, she felt like a soulmate friend.

“Are you coming with us to Germany? I want to show you around my hometown!” she said excitedly squirming around her chair. “Yes, I will be! I have mostly everything packed besides my makeup. A week off sounds so relaxing right now,” you said. She clapped her hands and spoke about her trip.

It would be a week in Germany traveling around her city and popular area there. She invited you and her closest friends in London to make the trip, and since you got along with the other it felt nice to look forward to. “My suitcase is so heavy. I packed three heavy jackets in there. So many warm outfits,” you chuckled thinking about how you had to physically sit on the suitcase to be able to close it.

“Mine is too. I always overpack and I majority of the time forget one thing, just me?” she asked, you shook your head, “Nope. That's me too.” Sophia was going to surprise you with these but she ended up spilling the secret of taking just you and her to her family's cabin there. A cozy place and the perfect getaway. You continued talking before deciding to split ways and go home to prepare for the night.

The trip suddenly came around and you were stressed, you couldn't find the correct shoes, and your passport was missing from its original place. You spent the whole morning looking just to find it already in your carry-on. The day started off raining and it continued doing so till you met with Sophia at the airport. The two of you killed time by having breakfast and talking at the gate waiting for the weather to change so you could board. You were more than lucky to reserve and buy a first-class seat so you took advantage of sleeping comfortably for the next few hours.

Mason Mount is set to miss training again… Join us at 6:30 pm for more news on transfer, club news, etc…

Your heart stops beating at the new headline. You knew he was going through it because you felt guilty and believed it was your fault. The picture they upload of him just was the icing on the cake, and you had the urge to reach out to check in on him. Your fingertips danced across the screen but you shut it off and focused on your getaway.

The drive to the cabin wasn't bad, just cold. Your nose was red, and your cheeks felt cold. Sophia was rather used to it, not feeling as cold as you were. The taxi driver helped you pull out suitcases as you waited for Sophia to open the cabin. She helped you roll in the suitcases, but stumbled back in shock, “Uh? Those lights shouldn't be on…” she trailed off.

You look around and faced the kitchen where indeed the dining and cooking area lights were on. “You don’t think someone was here right? Are the lights censored?” you quickly grabbed a nearby heavy object ready to prepare to defend yourself. “Let's take a look around maybe-”

The two of you stumbled back gasping when Kai walked out of the kitchen confused. “Schatz, is that you?” You looked at the german couple confused… While they resolved the issue you saw the familiar muscular body come down the stairs, the air felt more hot and heavy as you locked eyes with Mason.

The rushed feelings all came back, and you weren't sure how to react. It felt straight out of a movie, you had to force yourself to look away. “Soph..” you whispered. “I had no idea, it slipped my mind that Kai was going to bring Mason, Ben, and Reece here! I'm sorry-”

“Don’t apologize it's okay! We can still have more time with us and the rest of the girls soon! Two days can and will go by fast,” you pulled her aside and calmed her down all while you felt nervous as Mason stared at you in complete shock. The rest of the Chelsea players walked out and greeted you, you offered a smile to Mason as you walked off to your room. You unpacked for those two days and took a nap, wanting to sleep it off.

The group decided to have dinner and then watch a movie after. You helped Sophia cook as the boys helped set up the table. You tried to push out he was there but you could tell he was hurting just as much as you were. He sat right infront, Mason’s mind was all over the place, but now that you were here, he was motivated to win you back.

You fell asleep once again while watching the movie, after everyone said goodbye you went to your room and changed into pj’s with a long sleeve. The tossing and turning kept you up, desperately wanting to reach out to the man in front of your room. You stood up and quietly walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

You suddenly felt that warm and strong embrace hugging you by the waist, Mason’s head hiding in the crook of your neck. Your hands wrapped around his forearms, tilting your head back to rest it against his upper shoulder. “I know it's wrong and I shouldn’t be doing this but, I missed you so much Y/n… You have no idea…” he said along your neck, you felt the hot breathing as he held you tighter.

You managed to turn around and let yourself hug him by his torso, running your hands on his back and sides, your head tucked underneath his chin. “I missed you to Mason,” you whimpered. He sat you on the marble counter, and quickly stood between your legs, hugging you by the waist. “Can we talk?” you asked hoping he would say yes. He nodded rapidly, “Please.”

“I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you that day. You had every right to be angry and upset. I would be too if you all of the sudden said you didn't picture me in your future. You truly did deserve better…” you sniffled. Mason locked eyes with you, his thumb brushing away your tears that began to fall out.

“I’m sorry too. I should’ve respected and understood where you were coming from. It wasn’t selfish at all Y/n, I hope you know that. You did what you had to do, and I should've never said anything to make you feel that way. Putting yourself first to find self-love is strong and only some can do it,” Mason said.

“I still love you Mason…” you admitted watching his brown eyes go crazy, he rested his forehead against yours, “I love you. I never stopped and I don't think I will,” he said grabbing the back of your head. “My mom has been telling me nonstop how much she misses you, her, and Summer. She told me about how you spoke to her and grabbed tea two weeks ago.”

You giggled holding your hand by the side of his neck, “She did? I swear to you, I needed that that session with her. She told me about Nella trying to get us back together? Didn’t see that coming honestly, but she was asking for my number so she could apologize and so on,” you explained.

“It's not just my aunt Nella, my other friends from that night too. One of their girlfriends reached out to you, begging for you to listen to me or something like that,” he laughed, “but I saw their colors, who was there for me and you, and who wasn’t? As harsh and mean as it sounds I cut them off. I needed to cut all the negativity and those who wanted to control me.”

“And how are you doing now?” you whispered.

“Im doing way better now that I'm here with you. It was driving me insane coming home to find some of your items there but not you. I had gotten so used to you being there, I hated the feeling of coming home after a long day and you not being there. But I think time apart is what we needed.”

“We did. I feel better physically and mentally. I'm just hoping I won't be overstepping any boundaries with what I'm about to ask…” you bit your lip nervously. Mason pulled back confused but still held you by your hips, “What do you mean? Ask what,” he said impatiently.

“I know we have so much to cover and go over to fix us but how do you feel about giving us a second chance? I understand if you're not ready or-” he cuts you off with a rushed kiss, tilting your chin up so it deepens more. He held you close while your hand tugged on the hair on the nape of his neck. “I want to be with you from this day forward,” Mason said smiling when heard you giggle again. He kissed you again and brought you down. He turned off the lights and dragged you to your room.

The two of layed down, Mason being the bigger spoon and you the smaller one. He trailed kisses from your temple to your jaw, your neck, and cheeks, still in denial that you were back in his arms. “I love you, Y/n,” he placed one last kiss on your lips, watching your eyes close from being tired. “Mmm I love you more Mason,” you smirked knowing it would rile him up a bit.

“Oh don’t start this now!”

The german couple felt content with how their plan worked out in the end after finding you and Mason cuddled up in your room sleeping. They were able to help you and Mason get back together knowing how it was affecting both of you. They walked away and let the pair sleep peacefully after so long.