#-since they were the only stories he knew that didn't - apparently - came straight out from monte cristo's mouth

[lullybaju]

It's already April and i'm happy to tell that i'm not only halfway through the The Count of Monte Cristo, but i'm already past the 1000th page - about chapter 77. HELL YEAH!

Anyway, apart from the man who plans and controls every aspect of his existence in a way to give life to his revenge, there's a selected bunch of aristocratic people in 1830s Paris, who are acting as if a big cockroach is flying over their heads, that i would love to share here my thoughts about.

Roses are red, violets are blue and Albert is still annoying, Franz is still a promising supporting character and Maximillien and Valentine are boring as fuck, like the most of romantic core of novels. However, as a protagonist he is, Albert kept developing his character and showed few more layers of himself by proving to be a kind of a late modern Narcissus - and a freudian case - as he explained that he doesn't intend to marry any woman because his mother is the most perfect of them all.

De Villefort family and Danglars family are the two cores of the big four traitors that caught my attention the most. M. de Villefort is the strongest villain and his family is the most villainous - especially Héloïse de Villefort, who is trying to kill almost the entire family by poisoning them with poison she compounds by herself - but the Danglars family are the one serving villainous taste of entertainment: they are the fabulous mix of the stupid greedy husband, the adulterous wife and the pretentious "i'm not like other girls" teen daughter. They don't have the best plans, but they do have the people!

As a dark horse, Benedetto or Andrea Cavalcanti rises by being a character who plays a character... in a character. He's so layered that i think he competes directly with Albert for secondary protagonism at second half of the novel - and with great potential to beat him. Does Benedetto or Andrea Cavalcanti really know who are him? Certainly not. Unfortunately, his multiversed personality entirely seems to love pursuing dumb scam plans.

[calico-cheriies]

Hideaway |Soshiro Hoshina x Reader Fanfic|

{Chapter Four}

{Hideaway Masterlist}

{Masterlist}

♥︎Taglist: @swivi

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Soshiro knew he was going to be fine, it was just minor injuries he sustained. So when he woke up after resting he wasn't really surprised to see that only a few officers came by to check on him, even Captain Ashiro took the time out of her schedule to check on him. It was nice to get some rest after a few days of straight training, yet when his fellow officers left he slumped back against the bed.

Had you really left?

The interaction between you two was short since the doctors and nurses were treating his wounds, yet you did stay with him for that time being. He couldn't help but giddy over hearing your silly stories that did a great job in distracting him, he did take note of everything you liked and disliked, and he wanted more. But all he did was just lean his head back, eyes staring up at the ceiling. He didn't pay any mind to the door sliding open, he assumed it was another officer or even one of the doctors.

But those violet eyes snapped down when he heard the familiar squeak, and he was greeted by the sight of your figure hunched over, (e/c) eyes glancing down at the tray of food that almost spilled over due to your clumsiness. Then they snapped up to meet Hoshina's, you both stared at each other- which apparently now became a norm for the two of you.

"I brought you lunch!" You blurted out as you sped run to his side, the tray with food slightly bouncing with you as you almost bumped into the edge of the bed. You managed to stop, but the aching nervousness that consumed you made you jumpy and even had a few sweat beads growing on your nose from how close you were to him. Hoshina's lips were in little 'o' until he looked over to see the tray in front of his face, then they curved into that goofy smile.

"Well ain' ya sweet," he couldn't help but coo at you as your hands set the tray down on his lap. He enjoyed the visible blush that came over your face as you took your hands back, "You're welcome, I got up early to get you the good stuff of course- I never realized they had so many options when you got up early." You ranted about it as you set a glass of water down by the table side. You seemed a little more comfortable as you took a seat that you pulled up from the previous night, at least you weren't scurrying off like before.

"I'm surprised ya came back... thought I scared ya," he admitted with a small chuckle at the end, you gave your head a tilt and you waved your hand in dismissal. "I'm not scared away by you that easily..." you seemed a little bashful that he thought of you like that- you didn't want to come off as scared or that you didn't want to be around him. "I just... I'm a little awkward I guess," you tried to shrug it off, watching as he ate. You leaned over to grab a napkin and you handed it to him.

That's how it was between the two of you.

There was something so tender that you two shared. Maybe it was the way that Hoshina seemed so relaxed when he spoke to you, or maybe it was the little sparks of interest that you both shared with each other. The awkwardness you had felt was subsiding the more you listened to him talk, and you were getting a little bolder too. Your hand was resting on the rail, your fingertips gently leaning over to hover over his to trace patterns over the air as you commented on his stories.

"Huh? No way- someone had zero percent?..." You hung your mouth open in shock as he told you about this year's new batch of recruits. You knew a little bit about the requirements to show as an officer and you knew they were lowering the standards to get more people in but this was something else...

"A thirty three year old man, but he's funny so I put in a recommendation to have him as an alternate. He's still a cadet," he told you, which made your heart warm, Hoshina was realistic but he was giving a man a chance to prove himself. "Huh... well I'm glad you're putting a little bit of faith in him..." you softly trailed off, your fingertip finally making contact with his hand. You weren't sure of what type of relationship you guys had- but friends was a good place to start for now.

You enjoyed the silence that came over the two of you, your eyes sweeping over to see that his tray lay empty on his lap. You stood up halfway while leaning over to take his tray, "Here, let me take it," you gently grabbed it before placing it on the bedside table. You hadn't realized that Hoshina was gazing into your features, taking in how natural and genuine your smile was, he couldn't stop the dreamy smile he had on his face at the thought of retirement being peaceful like this.

Until the door slid open to reveal the pack of officers that stumbled in, you got so frightened by the noise of officers fighting with each other and you almost fell over the chair. Hoshina's hand had gently grabbed yours before you fell to pull you back, his grip tight as he had a small annoyed smile on his face. "What's the meaning of this?" He spoke up, meanwhile you looked like a deer in headlights as the officers all stood up straight and one girl had shoved a man forward. "Vice Captain! Everyone just wanted to make sure you were alright..." he gulped out, he seemed the oldest of their group so you assumed that was the officer Hoshina was talking about.

The nervous look on his face made you snort quietly, but it didn't go unnoticed by Hoshina, whom got over his annoyance. "At ease," he commanded as the officers relaxed a little, "I'm fine, I should be ready to go in an hour so we'll resume the trainings tomorrow." The way he spoke was different than how he spoke to you, it was stern and rather assertive. But then the officer's eyes went to you, and the way Hoshina was gripping onto your hand- that's where the rumors would start.

You didn't know what to say, they obviously didn't know you and you cleared your throat awkwardly before bowing your head in greeting. "Hello, I'm-" as you were introducing yourself, a choked groan came out of the older one's mouth, "Are you the Vice Captain's wife? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to barge in!" He got down to his knees to apologize. "Eh?! What-" you were too shocked to respond in the appropriate way, "No!" You felt your hands get clammy, which Hoshina felt and you pulled your hand away in embarrassment. "I'm not his wife, I'm the forensic pathologist here. I'm (Y/n) (L/n)," you wiped your hand on the lab coat.

"That's another ten laps ya guys will run tomorrow," Hoshina finally intervened, but instead of being angry he had a small smile on his lips, he wouldn't actually mind if the  misunderstanding was true. He wasn't one for romance at all- but he still gravitated towards the feelings that he naturally got around you. You saw them all groan and argue with each other, and you bit down on your lip to stop yourself from laughing at the ironic situation but you couldn't help yourself and you let out a few laughs, your hand flying up to cover your mouth.

"It's too harsh, Hoshina. They were obviously confused," you softly teased the man, your hand coming up to gently nudge him on the shoulder. "Plus, I don't mind. They just missed their vice captain,"

Oh how smitten he was with you, the twinkle in your eye as you gradually came out of your shell. Hell- you even initiated the teasing this time, and he couldn't help the way his eyes widened slightly, now being the one who couldn't speak up. "Uh- I guess so... but it's still unnecessary," he had that little pout that made his fang poke out with the stern tone he often used, but the officers were quick to notice how he didn't argue when you used his name instead of assigned title. You however, thought that he didn't need to be so uptight at the moment, "No extra laps," you decided to be bolder and you gently pushed some of his front hair away from his eyes, "You all need a break from the kaiju attacks," you pursed your lips in slight disapproval.

"Yes ma'am," Hoshina quickly submitted to your will, and that was something that the officers couldn't believe. "I'll leave you to it, I'm sure you'll be dismissed within the next hour. I have to get back to my reports," you got up and neatly positioned the chair back in its original spot and you fixed up the collar to your lab coat. "Come find me when you're back," you gently waved, walking past the officers and sliding the door closed behind you.

You slumped against the wall and you slapped your face into your hands, your face burning as you overheard the conversations between the officers and Hoshina's small comments. You fanned your face to stop the beads of sweat running down the side of your face while you scurried down to the elevator. You pressed the button in eagerness, already thinking of what would happen once Hoshina was discharged. Would he immediately come see you? Or would he wait..?

The possibilities were endless to you.

You were so caught up in your thoughts you didn't notice that you had stepped into the elevator with someone else, your eyes meeting the same one from the officer a few days ago that accompanied Hoshina. What an intense glare she carried on her face...

You muttered a quick apology, awkward shuffling aside and pressing on the lowest button. You both stood there with tension settling over you... but why?

"The vice captain seems attached to you," the woman finally spoke up, earning a confused look from you as the elevator slowly closed its door and made its way down. "We're colleagues," you quickly replied, not elaborating any further as the air got colder, what a scenario...

"For the sake of the Vice Captain, I hope so." The woman was quick to respond. "He doesn't need any distractions currently, the kaiju are appearing more. It would be a shame for him to get attached and be injured like this again," she was looking down with crossed arms, the suit she had one making it more menacing than safe. "So keep it that way," the tone was sharp and clear.

You slowly turned her head to face her, did she just threaten you? "Was that a threat?" You couldn't stop the words from tumbling out, but you cursed yourself for the way your voice quivered, clearly a sign of fear. "Depends if you want it to be, you're not even in the same level as him. You don't understand him the way I do- you're just some helpless freak who cleans the mess up," what a way to word it... but it surely had an effect on you because you just nodded your head in response, you weren't in the position to argue or even fight her on what she said.

"Good, nice talking to you, (L/n)," she had that arrogant smirk on her face as the doors to the elevator opened and you stumbled out, not wanting to look back as you hurried to your office. What would you even do now? You just got threatened by an officer- no doubt one of Hoshina's trusted officers? And for what? You didn't do anything-

Unless...

You were a distraction to him. Or she was some jealous girl that fawned over him but either way you weren't strong enough to tell anyone or fight it. You clearly couldn't tell Hoshina, he probably wouldn't believe you and he would just break off whatever friendship you guys had.

Ah, what a pickle to be in.

{Chapter Five}

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[crackers4jenn]

Okay, now that it's the next day and my brain isn't just a swirling hormone cyclone of horny Looney Tunes noises I wanted to recap Misha's live show a little more thoroughly for my own memories, since you couldn't take photos or record.

*

I went with a friend who's only experience of the spn fandom is via me trauma dumping on her about it. She's seen some of the show, post-Nov 5th, but she didn't develop any sort of attachment or, you know, "mild liking" to it at all. She gave up several seasons in and declared her life all the better for it. Fair! An appropriate response, actually.

But because of this, she didn't really have an idea of what to expect from the show. Same here - I mean, I figured there was going to be a comedic element to it - but that was as specific as my understanding got. I've been watching spn con panels online for years and years, though, so I knew going in what Misha's on stage humor was like, what sort of jokes he'd probably tell. She went in blind, and she did have a fun time, but her first takeaway after was "that was.... interesting." 😂

Okay, so first of all! The venue was separate from the con, we got there a little before 7 when they were supposed to open the doors, with the show starting at 7:30. Instead, we got let in late, but most people seemed pretty chill about it. I will say, waiting in line wasn't my fave. It was very loud, we were right by the bar, there was music playing, everyone was using their Outside Voices. With my voice so hoarse, I could barely talk with my friend without her first going "What????" so I definitely wasn't making pals with anyone around. But I did overhear quite a few people who had shown up solo who were finding other people to talk to. So if you're going to a future show by yourself and you're worried about feeling anxious or awkward or lonely, don't! The fandom is friendly, they'll make you comfortable. Even with my standoff-looking ass being so quiet, people were still complimenting my hair (up in space buns) and socks (strawberries) and being generally really nice.

The first part of Misha's show was a little clunky. He came out, uttered the words "enormous cock" about his newborn self, and it took some time for him to find his pace. But after about, I don't know, ten minutes, he seemed less awkward and more comfortable being up there stared at by so many people.

He talked about his mom dressing him as a girl when he was young; painting his nails, growing his hair long, putting him in tights. How this meant that, as a child, he thought he was going to grow up to be a woman. He also talked about how this meant he was a bit of a freak in his blue collar North Eastern hometown, and he got beat up because of it.

He mentioned his mom's activism, in ways that both positively and negatively impacted him. There were quite a few tales of close calls with drugs, of a childhood sleeping in tents, of being poor, of moving constantly, of being encouraged to not live by societal rules. When he talked about his mom, there was always a lot of fondness, and at the end of the show, he was straight up tearing up reading a newspaper article about her.

He talked about getting a boner in his first sex scene, when he had a role on 24. His partner in the scene wrote "hi, Misha" on her pasties and that apparently did it for him. This story was obviously rife with "my dick is so big" jokes.

He also talked about sneaking into a Hollywood Oscar's party v. early on in his career (as in, before he had one) and mingling with the likes of Jude Law (who, of course, was at a urinal next to him admiring his enormous cock) and Brad Pitt, and Chloe Sevigny giving him her number.

He talked about his kids a bunch. His divorce was turned into a punchline or two. (But never directed at his ex-wife 💖) He brought up his new girlfriend, so I had to sit there and endure the "I bought a sex toy for my long distance lady that she mistook for a birthday present for her kid" story, which!!! I knew was coming, that's something I had heard about from previous shows. And lemme say: uncomfortable to read those words, even MORE uncomfortable to listen to him admit it aloud in front of an audience that was half cringing, half cackling.

There were a couple points where he forgot where he was going with the story he was telling, or where he kind of just spaced out, or he played up the awkwardness. And it was all very charming! He's just a charismatic guy, he's got a great stage presence. The event was like a one-man stage production slash autobiographical comedy show, and somehow him oscillating between poignant sincerity and dick humor really worked. Probably because of the aforementioned charisma. And also that he's smoking hot. I mean!! I went paragraphs upon paragraphs without saying it, so I feel I'm allowed one objectifying "awoooooga" at the end here.

Anyway, I mentioned that my friend's initial reaction to the show was "interesting" but she enjoyed herself too and laughed in shocked delight way more than she doubled over in secondhand embarrassment, so, win!!

Personally, I had a great time. I've been to a few spn conventions before and I don't really enjoy the "dance, puppet, dance!" atmosphere that sometimes happens, or how parasocial it feels, but even when Misha took off his overshirt early on and flashed some skin, no one really hooted and hollered. He did label us his therapists early on, though, so maybe we were all respecting our professional boundaries.

In conclusion: 10/10, would do it again!

[flowerandblood]

The White Flame (Part 2)

[modern! rockstar • Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader]

[warnings: sex and sexual tension, angst, harassment, swearing, fluff]

[description: Aemond is the bassist of the band whose leader and vocalist is his brother. The whole band decides to use the marketing and design help of their guitarist's friend. The story is an interweaving of domination, desire and slowly burning feeling.]

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Previous and next chapters: Masterlist

_____

It's been a week since Bunny gave him the designs. The two of them exchanged a few words from time to time, but he felt that she didn't talk to him longer than necessary, even though she talked with Aegon, Cregan, and Momo all the time. It frustrated him and he wondered if she had sensed his intentions in the car that night and was afraid he might do something to her.

After a few days, he came to the rehearsal with a bandage on his arm, and everyone knew he had a new tattoo. He placed it on the outside of his hand, from wrist to elbow. Tuning his guitar with a cigarette in his mouth, he saw Bunny looking at him curiously, her gaze warm. She must have wondered if he had picked one of her designs.

After three days of wearing bandages, when he saw that everything healed, he finally took them off. He was sitting in an armchair reading a new composition that Momo had suggested them to play next, when he saw Bunny approach him timidly. She apparently noticed that the tattoo was no longer covered.

"May I see?" She asked excitedly, a wide smile on her lips. Aemond only murmured, agreeing, as he went back to reading.

Bunny sat on the armrest of his armchair and grabbed his arm, wanting to bring it closer to her. Aemond flinched as he felt the touch of her soft skin. She did it surprisingly gently, and he let her do what she wanted with him.

She moved his hand so that it was now above her legs. She bent over, examining the details of the tattoo. Aemond chose her version of the design with the snake encircling the dagger. He knew it was a common theme, but he liked her version very much. His gaze slid down to the line of her skirt. Between her and her long woolen socks was a strip of exposed skin. Aemond swallowed softly.

He placed his hand slowly on her outer thigh, on the fabric of her sock. His thumb brushed over her exposed skin and he felt a shiver run through her. She clenched her thighs. Aemond looked at her intensely.

He wanted her to look at him, but she didn't. She pursed her lips and swallowed softly. After a moment, she took his hand in hers, lifted it, and kissed it tenderly. Only then did she look at him, meeting his completely surprised gaze.

“It turned out wonderful.” She said and smiled, then got up and left the room to join the others. Aemond stared after her, he felt a vein throbbing in his throat, his jaw clenched. He sighed softly, feeling that, to his surprise, the brief exchange of touch between them made him hard.

On the same day, they played in one of the famous clubs, which invited them at least once a month. The owner was a great man and one of the first customers to support them. He let them have little after parties in the back of the club and entertain the guests if they wanted to.

The concert drew crowds, sweat, alcohol and a lot of energy hitting everyone straight from the speakers. Out of the corner of his eye, Aemond saw Bunny dancing with his sister, Helaena. She, Bunny, and Momo spent all their parties together, separating themselves completely from what they were doing.

After the show, Aemond felt he needed a drink. He sat in seclusion in one of the VIP lounges that the club owner had made available to them. He saw a cute girl approaching him timidly. She smiled at him and looked at him shyly.

"You played great." She spoke loud enough for him to hear her over loud music playing in the background. Aemond blew the smoke out of his nose without looking at her, flicking the smoke into the ashtray.

"That's all?" He asked matter-of-factly and only then looked at her. He saw her eyes, her pursed lips, her short dress. He thought for a moment, swallowing softly, taking the cigarette to his lips again. He thought of Bunny, her warm lips on his hand, her soft thighs.

He glanced at the table a few meters away. Helaena was obviously on her way home, standing in her jacket calling a taxi on the phone, Momo and Bunny talking animatedly to each other. Larys, Cregan's brother, was sitting at their table, apparently waiting for them to say goodbye.

He thought he felt this tension all day and couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up and motioned for the girl to follow him. She jumped in excitement and followed him back.

She kissed him right away, even before they had time to lock themselves in the cabin. She smelled of some bland, intense feminine perfume. He was in no mood for affection.

He turned her back to him and she moaned loudly as he lifted her skirt and slid down her lacy panties. He thought as he unbuckled his belt, that with her dark hair and shapely legs she looked almost like Bunny from behind. He felt his cock throbbing harder at the thought. He put on the condon, looking straight ahead impassively.

The girl was breathing quickly, excitedly, she was already wet, although he hadn't even touched her. He entered her and she moaned loudly. He covered her mouth with his hand. She thought for sure that he didn't want anyone to hear them, but he just wanted to focus in his head on a completely different voice than hers.

He fucked her, his eye pinched shut, his breath deep, thinking that it was Bunny right in front of him, that it was her neck he was kissing now, that it was her warm, wet inside that surrounded him. He began to pant, feeling himself more and more aroused, imagining it was her scent he felt now, her hips responding greedily to him.

"My little girl" He whispered tenderly in her ear as he felt that she just had an orgasm, her moans muffled in his hand. He came hard, with a hollow moan, resting his forehead against the cold tiles.

"My sweet Bunny." He whispered.

The relief he felt gave way to disappointment as the girl turned her face to him and his vision blurred. He told her never to approach him again, not to write to him and not to look for him.

She gave him a resentful look as he closed the door behind him, and she hadn't even had time to put her panties back on. He left the toilet without even waiting for the her.

He went back to his table and was relieved that Bunny hadn't noticed anything. She was sleeping on Momo's shoulder, obviously tired, her friend was discussing something lively with Larys.

Mathylda got up, positioning Bunny so that she rested her head against the backrest behind her, said something quickly to Larys, pointing at her. She probably wanted to go to the restroom and asked him to take a look at her in her absence. Aemond watched the scene impassively, drinking the last of his whiskey. He felt completely empty inside.

He froze and felt as if he had been pinned down with something heavy, as he saw Larys' hand under the table go towards Bunny. He kept staring straight ahead, sipping his drink as if he were just sitting there, but Aemond could see his hand moving under the table. He wondered why Bunny wasn't waking up. After a moment he realized what was going on.

He stood up suddenly, furiously covering the distance between them in a few steps. Larys looked at him in surprise and took his hand away as if nothing had happened, but Aemond wouldn't even let him open his mouth.

He grabbed his hair and slammed his head against the table with all his strenght. Several people around screamed loudly, Larys howled, clutching his surely broken nose, which was bleeding.

"Do you like groping unconscious girls, Strong? Hmm?” He asked, gripping his hair tighter as the bodyguards pushed slowly towards them, Cregan saw from a distance that something was going on.

"I knew you were a fucking fetishist, but I didn't know you were such a piece of shit." He blurted out through clenched teeth, his jaw clenched tight, his eye full of anger.

Cregan ran to them, obviously dismayed.

"Dude, what are you doing, calm down!" He said, but Aemond pushed him away easily with one hand so that he staggered backwards a little drunkenly and nearly fell over. Cregan wanted to throw his fists at him, but stopped when he heard his words.

“Your little brother put something in Bunny's drink and groped her under the table. Right?" He asked, shaking his head, his fingers still clenched tightly in his hair. Laris shook his head.

"You can see she's drunk, I didn't touch her." He spluttered, but Aemond looked at the bodyguards.

"Check the footage on the cameras."

***

Cregan and Momo covered their mouths as they saw what had happened on the owner's laptop. As Momo and Bunny went to see Helaena to the taxi, Larys poured some drugs into the nearest glass, sitting with his back to the dance floor, covering everything with his body.

Then on the acceleration, Bunny and Momo came back, talking to him, drinking, and Bunny slowly began to slide down until she finally fell asleep on Mathylda's shoulder. Momo burst into tears when she saw this.

“I had no idea, I thought she was just tired. We left drinks with him because he's your brother, I tought we can trust him." She said heartbroken, gasping for breath as Cregan put his arm around her.

"I'll take him to the police. Mark, copy this video for me, we'll play it to them. Let him explain himself to our father." He looked at them, pale, tired and discouraged. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know he could do something like that." He said and left the room.

Aegon was lying on the couches, completely drunk. Aemond tried to wake him up, but he was just babbling and he gave up. Aemond and Momo carried Bunny to one of the rooms at the back, which was a kind of mini-hotel for all bands guests.

Momo knelt next to her couch and carefully covered her with a blanket. She stroked her head, weeping softly. Aemond watched the scene silently.

Momo went to sleep on the couch next to her. After a few minutes of crying, she fell asleep, tired and slightly drunk herself. Aemond was sitting on the floor next to Bunny's couch, watching her.

He thought that if he hadn't gone out to fuck that girl, he would have seen Larys put the drugs in her drink. He could have reacted faster, maybe Larys wouldn't even touch her.

He lowered his head, feeling a tightness in his throat. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He could have taken the sleeping pills he always had with him, but this time he decided not to.

After a few hours, sitting in complete darkness, lost in his thoughts, he felt Bunny move. She began to breathe quickly, she seemed to want to get up, but she couldn't. Aemond turned to her and took her hand. She got scared and tried to get away, but he started talking to her.

"Easy. It's just me. Lie down. Larys put something in your drink." He whispered softly, stroking the skin of her hand with his thumb. He felt her whole body shaking. She was breathing unevenly.

"My head is spinning terribly." She sputtered, tears must have flowed from her eyes because he heard her nose was stuffy from crying. “I can't even get up, everything is blurry. I'm scared, Aemond."

Aemond pursed his lips at the words. He leaned over and kissed her hand gently.

"I know. I will stay with you. Try to sleep on, it will be better in the morning." He said softly. He heard her ragged breaths respond to him as if she were suffocating.

"Please, hug me." She whispered helplessly, he could feel her whole body shaking. Something tightened in his chest at her words and the sight.

He got up slowly, took off his leather jacket and boots, placing them on the floor. He lay down next to her on the couch. She snuggled up against him right away, clasping her hands tightly around his back and gasping loudly, as if she were drowning. She sobbed quietly.

He couldn't help himself and hugged her, squeezing her into himself. He immediately felt his cock begin to throb in his pants. He suspected she felt it, but her mind was too foggy to understand what was going on. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent.

His fingers stroked her head, playing with her strands. He felt her slowly begin to calm down, her breathing returned to normal, she stopped shaking. He felt her fall asleep again. Her scent filled his lungs completely. He closed his eye to the sensation and, feeling the warmth of her body next to him, fell into a deep sleep himself.

_____

Thank you all for such a warm welcome to the first part. I'll be away for a few days now, so part three won't be out until next week. If you want to be tagged, leave a comment below. ♥ Bold is for the ones I couldn't tag.

@zenka69 @melsunshine @opheliaas-stuff @chainsawsangel @iiamthehybrid @astral-blossoms @echos-muses @neptuneiris0

[animentality]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm curious. How much of a part do you think ketheric played in durge's downfall? I recently replayed moonrise and ketheric is smirking and gloating and the narrator even mentions he knows exactly who you are but will never tell. Gortash's memoirs indicate that they learned about the elder brain after visiting moonrise, and the warden says that durge only ever visited once and never left. Maybe durge and Gortash learned about the brain then just ran off to conspire together, giggling and plotting, and ketheric was just done? Especially since Durge and Gortash came up with the plan without him - leaving ketheric out while in his own domain. Plus, how did orin know they were even there? I can't see durge telling their underling about their plans. Did ketheric somehow find out about her and contact her like "I know how you can remove durge. Btw pretend to be Gortash, trust me"? She had no reason to be there. Plus the way ketheric smirks at durge, commenting "treat me like you would any other chosen" when it had been just him, durge, and Gortash previously, which is basically him saying to give him the respect durge gave Gortash. I feel like ketheric probably played a major role in it and I'm interested in your take on it. Thanks so much!

I never considered the double entendre of "treat me like you would any other chosen" and that was DEFINITELY Ketheric being a little cunty elf, like ok queen, I see you, I hear you, I feel that.

EDIT: Ok, I just checked, and he apparently says, "Obey me like you would any other chosen."

Which is less iconic. But still. Have a cookie for writing that little double entendre better than Larian.

Not so sure on the "obey" part in terms of durgetash though. I highly doubt the Dark Urge ever "obeyed" Gortash just, without question.

But as for if Ketheric was involved...I don't know.

He didn't seem particularly happy to have Orin on board. The plan really started unraveling when the Dark Urge was deposed too. I doubt he liked the power struggle. I don't think he really had a huge issue with the Dark Urge, all my joking aside, only because the plan was going along well when the three of them were working together.

Him smiling and being coy could just be him being amused at their state, since he's an asshole, and the last time the Dark Urge was at Moonrise, he was mad at them about something...

Although...to be fair...I guess we never did know why he was angry at them.

The Dark Urge specific scene says that the Dark Urge was "demanding" something from Ketheric.

But I don't think we ever really know what?

Like they were working together on their brain thing...the fuck were they annoyed about? What were they demanding?

Also...in the timeline where the Dark Urge just dies...Orin hikes their body all the way back to Baldur's Gate, fully intact?

She went all the way to Moonrise, then lugged it back?

I guess that's just nitpicking, but it doesn't totally make sense to me because, first off, I don't understand if Orin tadpoled Durge at moonrise or somewhere else. secondly, I just don't see why Ketheric would support an usuper instead of the Dark Urge.

Ketheric being a smug little bitch only because he hates you on principle would make SENSE. Because he definitely knew you got fucked, since Balthazar is his advisor, and he knows what happened to you. There's no way Balthy wouldn't have told Ketheric, right? So Ketheric just straight up didn't tell Gortash because he's an ass.

And he smirks at you because he's remembering how annoying you are, and he's glad to see that arrogant bhaalspawn put in their proper place.

But the story in terms of how/when the Dark Urge got tadpoled is very scattered! I am not the only person who's noted this. It's a MESS in terms of timelines. Especially where the Dark Urge is concerned.

I really don't know how involved Orin was in the Absolute Plan before she usurped the Dark Urge.

Was she their right hand, and thus, well known? It might make sense for Ketheric to hear her out...but again, I don't think he'd be fond of a power struggle?

Also.

You get tadpoled in the opening...but the Dark Urge is the first tadpole victim.

So I guess you had the misfortune of being tadpoled twice (ahaha, just kidding, this is a nitpick, I know it's the same for everyone).

More seriously though...so the Dark Urge seems to know Enver Gortash is the Chosen of Bane BEFORE they did their little Hall of Wonders date.

But Gortash says that their gods came to them in a dream? And named them as Chosens together, and to seek out Ketheric Thorm?

But then...then they didn't come up with the plan...they got sent to Moonrise...

"Together?"

But...the Dark Urge only went to Moonrise ONCE?

So????

It's CONFLICTING information! It gets even worse when you realize ok, so they went to Moonrise together (maybe?), found the mindflayer colony, realized they could enslave an Elder Brain, then decided to seek out Helsik to steal the Crown...but when they stole it, it's mentioned by Gortash that they "crowned" the Brain and THEN started the cult of the Absolute?

So the Dark Urge would be running through the streets murdering people????

So...where in the plan did the Dark Urge go missing?

So in short.

I really don't think Ketheric was involved in the Dark Urge disappearing...and insofar as, when and how did Orin kill them...

I don't know, but their body is literally in her bedroom if the Dark Urge dies in that timeline.

So...she never tadpoled them...then...who was the first victim?

And also. WHEN DID SHE DO IT?

AAAAARGH.

Anyway.

The wiki conflicts with info in the game, Gortash is a lying slut, the Dark Urge only has three notes and two of them are just thirsting over Gortash, and the other is inviting Orin to split their skull open...

We don't have any correspondence with Ketheric on the Absolute Plan because it's too early to find that out in act 2...

It's a mess, my guy (gn).

I don't even try to piece it together most of the time.

If anyone knows...dm or anon me, and we'll figure this out.

[hexpea]

Ch. 22 - Revelation

With almost everything out in the open between you and Seiko, the one mystery you were left with was what Seiko had to do with Geto. You didn't want to ask Seiko directly, your trust a bit spurned. You felt that you wouldn't get quite a straight answer. The only thing you could do was investigate and keep a close eye on them and their behavior.

But maybe there was information you could uncover... You had detached yourself from the community for the past few years since your divorce. Could someone have information of what Geto has been up to? You asked yourself. Your mind immediately went to Satoru considering Geto was his best friend, but, again, you didn't want to trust information from someone so close to Geto. You also didn't want to involve Ieiri, knowing that she loved to spill secrets. You loved her to death as a friend, but it was her honest weakness. You wanted someone you knew would tell you the full unadulterated truth without conflict. 

Your parents greeted you when you arrived back in Tokyo with Seiko for your wedding. Since your binding vow, Seiko was able to go on as normal. Their physical symptoms of possession had subsided and they were back to themselves, happy to be there and ready to get married. Your preparations went smoothly, and the big day was fast approaching. Seiko's devotion and love had never been more apparent, and you were deeply grateful for their support -- even if you still harbored doubts about the recent events. 

As the wedding day neared, your friends decided to throw you a bachelorette party to celebrate your last moments of 'singlehood.' You found yourself back at the club, your friends unaware of your pregnancy thinking that it could be a night of heavy drinking and great fun. The guest list included the usual suspects: Satoru, Ieiri, Nanami, and Ijichi. The pulsating music and colorful lights set the mood for fun and an unforgettable night. 

Your friends were already way ahead of you when you arrived, Ieiri already drunk and twirling on the dance floor with an unlit cigarette dangling from her mouth. Satoru was with her, encouraging and dancing along. You smiled and waved at them as they danced and made your way to the bar where Nanami and Ijichi sat. Nanami babied his usual drink, whiskey, and carried calm conversation with Ijichi as you approached. The bar looked to be an island of calm among the noisy revelry around you.

"Hey, boys," you smiled happily, stopping their conversation. The pair smiled back at you and gave a brief greeting as the bartender came over to take your order. You made your order, a glass of water with extra ice. The first choice of a non-alcoholic drink on the night of your bachelorette party was easily noted by Nanami. He raised an eyebrow as he took a long swig of his whiskey, finishing it off, as he silently questioned your decision. The bartender placed the drink in front of you with a smile and went about their business when you turned to Nanami. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" You asked, your tone more serious than the surroundings warranted. 

Nanami regarded you with curiosity as he shifted in his seat to face you. "Of course, what can I help with?"

You chewed on the inside of your cheek before asking. "Since I've been gone...what's happened with Geto? Is he still tormenting non-shamans?"

Nanami hesitated for a moment, eyes shifting to Satoru on the dance floor before going back to you. "Geto...," he sighed, "that's a complex story. It would take some time to explain it properly." 

"I'm all ears," you smiled gently and took a seat in the bar-stool next to him. 

He nodded in response and began the story. He spoke of the events that happened over the past year since you'd been gone. He recounted Yuta and Rika. He spoke of the elementary school with missing children and the double veil that was cast over Ijichi's at the mall. He spoke of the attack on the school...ending the story with Suguru Geto's death, which happened at the hands of his best friend, Satoru Gojo. 

You were silent as the story ended. You had no idea that Satoru had been through that. You honestly wondered what made him keep it a secret from you. Having to kill your best friend with your own hands was something you could never imagine. You looked over at your ex-husband as he partied away with Ieiri. He was all smiles, as he always was, while his body swayed and grooved to the heavy bass that filled the air. Your mind immediately went to the thought of how much pain he was hiding behind those dumb sunglasses of his. Why didn't he say anything? And if Geto was dead...then who was Seiko cohorting with?

"No kidding," you could hardly speak as the story concluded, your mind clustered with thought. 

Once Nanami finished his story, he motioned for the bartender and ordered another whiskey. He held up two fingers to signal for two glasses. The bartender quickly brought them over and placed the glasses in front of him. As he grasped one of the glasses, he used his opposite hand to slide the second glass in your direction.

"For the bride," he offered a kind half-smile as he swallowed down his next drink.

"Oh," your face quickly turned pink in the darkness of the club as you stared at the glass in front of you. "I...can't drink." You slid the glass back toward his direction.

Nanami's brow furrowed with a hint of concern, and he paused for a moment, almost immediately recognizing that something was amiss. "Can't drink?" he repeated, his voice tinged with curiosity as he picked up the glass. "Why's that?"

With a sigh, you decided that it was time to share your secret with Nanami. After all, he was one of your closest friends, one that actually knew how to behave, and you needed his support in the tumultuous journey ahead. You took a deep breath and confessed, "I'm pregnant."

Nanami's eyes widened in surprise, his calm demeanor shaken by the revelation. "Pregnant?" He echoed, his voice filled with astonishment. He hadn't expected this news in the slightest. "Well, congrats to you and Seiko," he lifted the drink he had ordered for you as a toast and downed it. 

You averted your gaze upon hearing Seiko's name, face filling with heat. You coughed awkwardly and spilled an even further truth. "It's Satoru's."

Nanami was left momentarily speechless, his thoughts racing as he processed the unexpected news. He did a double-take, looking back toward the dancing, sun-glassed freak behind him who was in the distance seemingly having the time of his life. He also suddenly remembered the feelings he had for you back in high school that never amounted to anything, and a pang of jealousy surfaced in his heart, though he kept it well-concealed. 

"Y/N...when you were here to have the papers signed, don't tell me you..." his voice trailed off. 

You blushed and began gulping down your glass of water to avoid the confrontation. Your silence was incredibly telling and needless to say, Nanami was disappointed in you. He audibly sighed and turned back toward the bar. "I see," he finally said, his voice holding a mixture of understanding and a touch of bitterness. "Well, that's quite the turn of events. You certainly know how to keep life interesting, Y/N." He paused for a moment as you set your glass down. "Does he know?"

You nodded and gave a sheepish smile. "He does," you confirmed, "he's...okay with my decision."

"Which is?" He inquired curiously. 

You lifted your eyebrows and inhaled deeply, wishing the subject to change. "To keep it."

"Y/N," Nanami sounded like a disappointed parent, "you're kidding. You're getting married to someone else. Does Seiko know?"

This was where you shook your head, keeping your eyes trained on the bar top in front of you. You knew how Nanami was looking at you and you didn't want to face it, not yet at least. You could feel his stare burn into you as he took in the information and formed his opinions. While his exterior remained composed, the bitterness and disappointment from your revelation lingered inside. "It's a mess...I know," you gave a heavy sigh.

Nanami's frown deepened. He was wrestling with mixed feelings, not only because of your revelation but also because of his own unresolved emotions from the past mixed with heavy alcohol. Part of him wanted to express his disappointment openly, but he kept his composure. At that moment, Ieiri and Satoru left the dance floor to finally greet you. They approached, smiles on their faces and sweat on their foreheads, unaware of the weighty conversation that had just taken place. 

"Hey there, Y/N!" Satoru chimed in, his enthusiasm palpable as he slung an arm around your shoulder. "Having fun at your bachelorette party?" He glanced over at the glass of water and raised an eyebrow. "Taking it easy on the drinks, I see." It sounded almost like a praise, as if he were glad you were behaving -- as if he genuinely cared about your pregnancy, in his own tease-y way. 

Despite how he framed it when you finally told him when searching for the fingers, something within you didn't believe he cared either way about the pregnancy. You knew he'd be there, but what he felt deep down...you didn't know and you weren't about to assume something positive out of ignorance. 

Ieiri joined in, her voice slightly slurred from her earlier indulgence. "Hey, Y/N! We missed you on the dance floor!" She paused for a moment before her eyes landed on Nanami. "Oh, Nanami, what's got you looking all serious over here?" She asked with a giggle.

Nanami's bitterness, combined with the knowledge of your secret, couldn't be contained any longer. He glanced at you briefly before deciding to let Ieiri in on the revelation. "Y/N has some interesting news to share," he said, his voice tinged with a hint of jealousy. "She's pregnant."

Your eyes snapped to Nanami's, pure rage and upset directed toward him. Meanwhile, Ieiri's eyes widened in shock and she leaned in closer to you, her face a mixture of concern and excitement. "Pregnant? Y/N, that's wonderful!" Her voice shifted to a teasing tone as she continued. "But I hope Seiko knows, right?"

You shook your head, feeling the weight of your secret grow even heavier. "No, Seiko doesn't know...but there's more to it. I'll tell you later."

Satoru looked genuinely happy, though there was a flicker of something in his eyes as he embraced you. He pulled away and said, "well, I think it's great news, Y/N. Life's full of surprises, huh?" It was clear he was keeping up the facade for you, not knowing you spilled the complete secret to Nanami. 

The night continued, the club's atmosphere becoming more vibrant and electrifying. You, Satoru, and Ieiri decided to hit the dance floor together, leaving Ijichi and Nanami with a lot on his mind. As the bass-heavy music thumped through the floor, you couldn't help but feel the weight of the night. It was a blind celebration, but it was also a reminder of the life you were leaving behind. You glanced back at the bar where Nanami sat with a stern expression. His eyes subtly tracked your every move. Meanwhile, Satoru's dancing was as wild and carefree as ever, but his gaze occasionally darted back to you. You could sense the tension in his movements, even though he was trying to maintain a facade of celebration. He was struggling with the reality that you were marrying someone else, and the day was close. A hint of sadness lingered beneath the surface of his smile. 

As the night wore on, Satoru, with his rare, alcohol-fueled confidence, approached you and gently took your hand to pull you close. He moved with swagger that only grew bolder as the night progressed. Your movements were graceful and composed, a stark contrast to his inebriated exuberance. The pulsating music surrounded you on the crowded dance floor, the two of you moved in rhythm, bodies pressed tightly against each other. The dim, multicolored lights cast a sensual and electrifying ambiance, accentuating every movement, every glance exchanged. Your fingers were intertwined, your bodies swaying in harmony with the sultry beat. Satoru's hand rested firmly on your hip, guiding your movements with a confident and mesmerizing touch. His free hand caressed your lower back, creating a thrilling contrast between the fiery sensuality of his touch and the cool, soothing sensation of his fingertips on your skin. 

You felt the heat of his breath on your neck, his lips occasionally grazing your earlobe as you danced. The chemistry between you two was undeniable. Every graze of his lips sent shivers down your spine, and you couldn't help but let out soft, breathy sighs of pleasure. Though sober, you were fully giving in to your temptations yet again. It's my last night unmarried, you thought in order to justify your sins, have to live it up while I can. 

His eyes bore into yours, filled with a mixture of desire and longing that mimicked your own, a certain sinful hunger. The unspoken connection yet again grew stronger with each passing moment. With every sway, every close embrace, the electricity between you intensified. The world around you seemed to fade, leaving only the two of you in a passionate and intimate dance. His fingers explored the curves of your body, tracing every contour with a teasing and tantalizing touch. Satoru's hands were relentless, roaming over your hips, your back, the curve of your waist, leaving a trail of heated sensations in their wake. His grip was firm, possessive, and utterly intoxicating.

Nanami watched with envy and hunger, unable to tear his eyes away from the intoxicating sight. He couldn't help but recognize the deep feelings you still held for Satoru. The way you moved together was fluid, as if your bodies were speaking to one another. He realized that your marriage to Seiko may not be as solid as it seemed, and he couldn't help but carry a desire to protect you. 

Ieiri, on the other hand, was taking it all in with amusement as she danced nearby. There was a touch of concern to her enthusiasm. She knew the history between you and Satoru, and she sensed the underlying tension in the air. She slowly began moving her way back to the bar where Nanami was, dancing her way out of the crowd to reach him. She quickly caught on to his concerned expression. 

Meanwhile, Satoru's lips met the skin of your neck with searing intensity, his teeth nipping at the sensitive flesh, leaving a trail of fiery marks that sent a rush of desire pooling in your core. The fervor between you and Satoru escalated to an irresistible crescendo. With a powerful surge of desire, you pressed your lips to his in a searing, intoxicating kiss. Your mouths melded with an intensity that left no room for hesitation. Satoru's tongue delved deep into your mouth, igniting a scorching inferno of passion that radiated between you. Your fingers tangled in Satoru's unruly hair, pulling him closer, while his hands roamed your body, tracing a path of fiery bliss along your curves.

Nanami, his heart a storm of jealousy and protectiveness, could no longer stand idly by. He pushed his way through the crowd, muscles taut with tension. As you and Satoru continued your fervent embrace, Nanami's patience reached its limit. With a furious shout, Nanami struck Satoru in the face with a powerful punch. Satoru had been distracted enough that he let his guard down, infinity deactivated. The impact was both brutal and explosive, causing Satoru to stagger backward, his grip on you slipping. Blood trickled from his injured nose as he fell to the floor, momentarily dazed. 

It didn't take long for him to regain his composure. Rising to his feet, he towered over Nanami with an air of challenge, a mischievous glint in his eye. He wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand, a wicked grin spreading across his face. His sunglasses were cracked and nearly split in two though they still held to his face. "Nanami," he purred through his grin, "I didn't know you were into threesomes."

The crowd around you separated slightly and stared at the two men. You felt heat of embarrassment flood to your face as you backed up with the rest of the crowd. It quickly became to much and you found yourself dashing out of the club with a sense of desperation.

Ieiri took a sip of her drink that she ordered at the bar, lounging against the bar top and watching with amusement. "Well, this night just got a lot more interesting, didn't it?" 

[purpleprincessonfyre]

Okay so apparently it is not common knowledge that technically Ethan and I met outside the Tower...it's complicated. I knew who he was I just had never really...well you'll see. So here is the story of how we met. You are welcome @ask-missparker

Ethane - Who Could Stay?

Ship: Ethane aka Ethan Lensherr @gcthvile and Liane Felton

Mentions: Mia Parker @jackiequick, Rochelle Romanoff-Felton and Cole Lensherr

Setting: 2012, Battle of New York

IB: The Archer by Taylor Swift and Avengers (2012)

After only a few months of training, some straight talking from agents and a couple pep talks from her new friends, Liane Felton finally felt like she had a handle on this heroine thing. Granted she hadn't exactly planned on fighting an army of aliens in New York City while a trickster God taunted them with his power and menace but sometimes thems the breaks. Liane watched as the fliers started darting off towards an alleyway and looked around for anyone following them.

Everyone else according to the comms channel seemed to be otherwise engaged so she took it upon herself to deal with them. How hard could it be? She'd only seen three, maybe five heading that way. She ran towards the alleyway and her eyes glowed purple, preparing to incinerate her enemies and grinned. Easy peasy. But as she started the number of chitauri was suddenly growing quite rapidly by the minute. Soon she was almost entirely surrounded.

"Easy they come, easy they go,

I jump from the train, I ride off alone,

I never grew up, its getting so old,

Help me hold onto you."

Her fear was starting to overcome her anger and that fury fire in her belly no longer felt very strong. She tapped her comms very swiftly.

"Ummmmm help? Anyone? I um I can't do this..."

"Well, there's a first time for everything, Felton." Came a second voice as someone from up above swooped down, his eyes glowing with green energy, a smirk of slight superiority. Liane knew she recognised him but couldn't quite place where she knew him from.

"Look there was not this many when I entered the alley."

"Obviously. But if you're gonna put a target on your back, might I suggest you actually follow through?"

Liane scoffed but knew he was right. She still didn't quite have a handle on her abilities despite her best efforts. Ever since joining this team and moving into the Sandbox her anger had started to subside which had given her the impression she had gotten the hang of things. When in reality she just had less to be angry about.

"Darkside, I search for your darkside,

But what if I'm all right, right, right here?

And I cut off my nose just to spite my face,

Then I hate my reflection, for years and years."

"You shouldn't be afraid to ask for help, none of us signed up for a war."

"I know that, trust me."

"Why can't you use your fire?"

"Cause...I'm not angry. I'm scared."

"Huh. Oh I'm Ethan by the way, we've met before but I doubt you've even acknowledged my existence yet."

Ethan! Of course, that's who she was talking to.

"Yeah I know who you are."

"Really? Cause you had a deer in the headlights look like I have never seen when I landed." He blasted a few aliens that were approaching her effortlessly. He smiled at her, tossing her a gun.

"You know how to use one of these?"

"I'm a Felton. Yes, obviously."

"Great. Use it."

Liane scowled, she wasn't a fan of being shown up by this guy. Her eyes started to change colour again as she started shooting. Ethen flanked her, attacking aliens at her back while she covered the ones approaching her. Then she ran out of ammo.

"Oh...I did not check if that was fully loaded."

"Seriously!"

"Hey not my fault you have trouble performing under pressure."

"You shut up!"

"Sorry, sorry. You could probably try screaming at them? That might piss them off."

"You absolute mother-"

"I've been the archer

I've been the prey

Screaming who could ever leave me darling?

But who could stay?

(I see right through me, I see right through me)"

But before she could finish her sentence, Ethan grabbed her from behind, lifting her up into the air and holding out her hands to the remaining chitauri, incinerating them all instantly as her eyes blazed and furious lavender flames hurtled from out of her hands in quick succession. The whole alleyway was ablaze, the sounds of chitauri screaming as the flames destroyed their bodies. Ethan smiled.

"Nice one, turns out there is an off and on switch for your powers."

"You did that on purpose!"

"You. Are welcome. I figured out your trigger and you killed some aliens. Thank me later."

"I-"

He wasn't wrong. She had managed to channel her rage into a burst of flame and taken out the enemy very easily. She looked down at her hands that were now scarred with purple swirling patterns from her fire and sighed as the fire left her eyes and the street was no longer ablaze. She could control it. It just took a little extra thinking time. Ethan held her tight and flew away from the carnage and helped her land on a rooftop with him. There was a long pause as she got her bearings.

"All the king's horses, all the king's men

Couldn't put me together again

'Cause all of my enemies started out friends

Help me hold onto you."

"Thank you, Ethan."

"No worries. Now we know what pushes your buttons, we just need to figure out if there's a healthier way to trigger your fire."

"But not right now?"

"Correct. Right now we need you to take all that unchecked rage and use it to burn up a few dozen aliens apiece. You got that?"

"Just for the record, I did remember you."

"Okay now that's a lie."

"Why?"

"Because the last time I spoke to you, you called me Cole. That's my brothers name."

"Oh..."

"It's okay. I know we're all just serfs and peasants to you."

"How dare-"

"Hey!" Came over the comms, a very frustrated sounding Agent Parker from back at SHIELD. "If you two are quite down with your Lovers Quarrel, the team need a hand capturing Loki!"

"I'm sorry what?"

"No no that is not-"

"How could you even-"

"That's just-"

"You heard me. Save the flirting for later."

Liane sighed and looked at Ethan. Then she looked off into the distance and saw the fray awaiting them.

"You go high, I'll stay low?"

"Sounds like a plan, Felton." He grinned and picked her up carefully and flew back towards the STARK Tower and dropped her off carefully before heading upwards to try and catch Loki. Liane landed beside Rochelle who was furiously slicing at aliens with her laser blades.

"And just where have you been?"

"Got sidetracked. Won't happen again."

"Good cause we're getting our asses handed to us. You mind?"

"Sure thing."

Liane's eyes turned purple as she started blasting through the aliens with her fire, back in the fight. Maybe it wasn't so bad being in control. And maybe, just maybe, it was fun working as a team. Her eye caught Ethan's as they were both fighting and she swore she saw him wink at her as they took at chitauri and the battle wore on. It wasn't Liane's worst meet cute to say the least. Ah shit. She was catching feelings. It had been ten whole minutes. And that made her a bit angry. At least her fire was doing its job again. Shit.

"You could stay

You could stay

You...

Combat, I'm ready for combat..."

There! That's the true story. Weirdest part is that you were there Mia but I guess it didn't occur to you that that was the spark that made us fall in love...

Tagging: @askstevella @ask-missparker @ask-starrk @therealdaydreamstark @thechoooooosenone @wizzzardofoz @finlayholmes @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh @jackiequick @gcthvile @blueboirick @cherrysft @meiramel @missstrawbs2001

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Okay, so I kinda stopped the live update thing with D23 since they pretty much moved past animation within 40 or so minutes...

I have several questions regarding... Well, that concept image of TOY STORY 5 revealed earlier in the night...

You'll notice Woody without Bo Peep, along with Buzz, and... Forky...

When does this take place?

Because, in TOY STORY 4, Bonnie made Forky during her kindergarten orientation and then the weekend right after... A road trip! The plot of the movie happens, Woody goes off with Bo at the end...

Given that the story also involves around 50 Buzz toys that are in "play mode" and will serve as antagonists, I doubt this all takes place in a day or two. Or maybe it does, I don't know. It seemed like the road trip just began RIGHT after Bonnie's first day.

So... Does chronology not matter and they're just MAD MAX-ing this? Is it a new Woody doll? Did Buzz get so lonely without his best pal that, in desperation, he somehow found another Woody doll and strong-armed him into being with the gang? That'd be a little different for sure.

Or, does Woody wake up and all of that road trip was just a dream? Complete with the laser-eyed giant Bunny and Ducky? That would be a HELL of a way to retcon TOY STORY 4's much contested (at least, online) ending. Sike!

I really do not know. Other than the basic gist of the movie (traditional toys vs. electronics/tablets/etc.), Andrew Stanton didn't reveal much... I'm sure something's at play here, or there's some kind of explanation. It would be unusual of Pixar, whose teams usually think these things through, to just have Woody there without Bo...

Now, ELIO... Whose major director shake-up *wasn't* announced at D23... And that it lost cast member America Ferrera as the voice of Elio's mom. Zoe Saldana joining as his aunt was the only thing revealed...

So, we knew from rumblings that ELIO was going to see some retooling after Pixar delayed the movie from its original March 1, 2024 release date to June 13, 2025... But, Pete Docter straight up took director Adrian Molina off the movie and reassigned him to a "priority project"... This tells me that this wasn't a typical Lasseter-style director banishment.

His replacements (!), curiously, are two women: Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian. Shi of course needs no introduction, the director of TURNING RED and also the short BAO, Sharafian directed the SparkShort BURROW, which would've run before SOUL in theaters in 2020 but instead debuted on Disney+ with the same day due to COVID.

Shi was working on an original of her own before she got put onto ELIO, and I don't think Sharafian was getting a feature of her own off the ground, so this is a great opportunity for her. It also means that Shi's sophomore effort, and not a picture she has taken over, will have to wait. Probably won't be out 'til 2028/2029 at this point.

This is very much like what happened to RATATOUILLE. In early 2005, RATATOUILLE's originator Jan Pinkava was taken off the film by the brass. Bird had just come off of THE INCREDIBLES, his first Pixar feature, and they asked him to take over RATATOUILLE. Shi came off of her feature debut, at Pixar no less, TURNING RED. Now, she has taken over someone else's film. A little over three years after her last one, and Bird got RATATOUILLE out 2 1/2 years after the release of THE INCREDIBLES.

Molina is still credited as director on an internal document, so I wonder if portions he directed remain in the movie next to the parts Shi and Sharafian directed. You would think this would be a much bigger deal, though! But I suppose at D23, it's all about sequels and synergy and such. Walt Disney Animation Studios head Jennifer Lee curiously namedropped an original set for fall 2026, but proceeded not to name it, and only spoke of fall 2027's FROZEN III after MOANA 2 and ZOOTOPIA 2 were covered.

Docter said in the interview for The Wrap, tucked away there, that a lot of the problems apparently concerned Elio's character in the first act of the movie. It happens sometimes, a director and team may struggle getting past the first third or so. I know I've had many issues like that writing my stories, so it's not uncommon. Ask any writer or creator, really.

Curiously, after Docter assumed his Chief Creative Officer position in mid-June, this is his first time taking a director off of a movie. ONWARD, LUCA, TURNING RED, LIGHTYEAR, ELEMENTAL, INSIDE OUT 2... all went through, unscathed. Night-and-day from Lasseter, who seemed to upend every 2010s movie that wasn't made by one of his favorites.

Now... INCREDIBLES 3 raises questions about Brad Bird's involvement. He's said to be "developing" it as of now. How's RAY GUNN, his $150m traditionally animated movie, going over at Skydance Animation? There had been rumors and rumblings about him having a hard time there, back with old boss Lasseter, but if $150m was already spent on this thing... Either it's actually far along and he's simultaneously getting INCREDIBLES 3 going, or... RAY GUNN is once again no more, facing the same fate it did at Turner/Warner Animation in the '90s.

Release dates...

Currently blank on the animation boards, title-wise, is a Pixar slated for June 2027...

INCREDIBLES 3 *could* debut in summer 2027, nine years after INCREDIBLES 2's summer 2018 release. Ten years would be another while, wouldn't it? Last time Pixar did sequels back-to-back was when INCREDIBLES 2 came out, followed by TOY STORY 4 in 2019. A repeat, imagine that, this time with the TOY STORY movie debuting first.

As for what was going to be Domee Shi's second film that was a creation of her own, I guess that'll come out in 2028 at the earliest if INCREDIBLES 3 doesn't nab that slot. Even if it does, musical chairs often happens at Pixar. INCREDIBLES 2 originally got scheduled for June 2019, and then traded places with TOY STORY 4.

So... ELIO, Daniel Chong's HOPPERS, Andrew Stanton's TOY STORY 5, INCREDIBLES 3... That looks to be the tarmac here, with Pixar. Of course, something else could sneak its way in or something moves back.

WDAS is ever vague, MOANA 2, ZOOTOPIA 2 (no director revealed or fully confirmed, apparently?), Untitled Original, FROZEN III, FROZEN IV...

ADD-ON... Hours later: Upon further inspection... In the TOY STORY 5 concept art, Jessie is wearing Woody's "Sheriff" badge... So, that kinda tells me, this is set after TOY STORY 4...

Curious and curiouser as to how Woody's back in the fold, and Bo's not present...

[myownwholewildworld]

was it the ants biting her and the whole getting an infection from it??? That has to be it!

I’m so glad she’s immune tho, I was really hoping for it but can’t ever trust you lovely writers to not break our hearts hahaha! I’m so happy she’s better and her and Joel are still together 🥺

ANON MAY I KISS YOU?? PLEASE??

okay i’m going to take this opportunity to talk about something i’ve been dying to since "wherever you go" came to my mind 😭

short answer: YES!!!! 🙌

long answer: when i first posted chapter 1, i only thought of this story as a oneshot. and then i watched a video narrated by the lovely david attenborough where he talked about cordyceps (for those who don’t know, cordyceps is a real fungus!) and ants. my imagination started flowing! that was when i knew i wanted a protagonist who was immune, but unlike Ellie, it was not from birth, but acquired by being bitten by ants.

to summarise the video (this is the one, it’s super interesting so i do recommend watching it, the photography is incredible, like all bbc documentaries), cordyceps infects ants and can kill whole colonies, which is what happened with reader’s terrarium. she picked ants off her yard that had been exposed to cordyceps and brought them to her colony, dooming the whole community in the process of doing so. cordyceps attacks the brain’s motor ability of ants, forcing them to walk back to their colonies to die nearby and spread the spores of the fungus. from what i read too, the host is apparently still fully conscious of what they are doing, but because the fungus literally controls their motor skills, they are unable to stop themselves. this would mean that people infected with cordyceps would be aware of them attacking other people but couldn’t control themselves. how fucking wild is that???

in chapter 8, i wrote: “my parents didn’t even let me have a look at it [the terrarium].” the reason for this is that, if you’ve watched the video, reader would have seen fungi literally growing out of the dead ants. if i had mentioned that, it’d have been a straight giveaway that i wanted to avoid lol

so yes, basically reader is immune to cordyceps because she had already been exposed to it as a child when the ants bit her. it was a milder mutation of the infection though (milder but she still spent 2 weeks in hospital fighting for her life lol), which allowed her immune system to build up the immunity that would protect her in the future. being bitten now would have been like getting a top-up vaccine, hence why fighting the infection didn't take her 2 weeks this time round.

and that’s the story, sorry for all the yapping! but as a scientist myself, i found the whole thing so fascinating! 🤭

thank you very much for the lovely ask and for reading about these two lovebirds! i’m eternally grateful that you were happy about how the chapter turned out! it’s people like you who make me want to quit my job and just write till my fingernails bleed 🥰 much love and forehead kisses to you, lovely! 💖

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

Breathing

First posted: May 28, 2018

Focuses on: Jason (and his family)

My favorite bookmark: "Jason Todd is sassy monster and Bruce has PTSD from this asshole dying. 🥺🤣"

My second favorite bookmark: "I CANT STOP CRYIIINNNG WTFFFU"

Tier: Pretty middle of the road in terms of metrics, but one of my personal favorites.

This is my "behind the scenes" series where I indulge myself frightfully by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

This fic was dedicated to @starknjarvis27 because she came up with the idea on one of our many BatFam discussions, and being a Megan Whalen Turner superfan, I couldn't not take on the idea.

For those unaware, this fic lifts the bones of an absolutely wonderful scene in The King of Attolia, the third (and best) book in the Queen's Thief series. I made sure you didn't need to know the series at all to enjoy "Breathing," but the girlies who know shriek more.

Jason was still breathing when Bruce found him.

Most of my fics, I may not totally know where they're going, but I know my first line. No exception here.

The voice of this one doesn't feel fully Bruce to me, which makes sense because it's so early on in my written works. Also I'm telling myself that's just young Bruce not sounding quite like his more mature self. Ah, the tales we tell ourselves sometimes. 💀

Jason’s chest, or what was left of it, rose again, the cavity of smashed ribs deepening as his lungs fought to work.

I don't know enough medical things to comfortably get too detailed on Jason's injuries (and I wasn't friends yet with Audrey to ask), but since this was Bruce's POV, I worked to make it adequately gruesome.

If those panicked, roving blue eyes with their black-blown pupils could see anything beyond his own fear.

And sometimes I make up words for fun.

He wanted to hold him. Wanted to scoop that broken body into his arms and shelter it with his own until the miracle he was praying for arrived. Bruce wanted to hold his boy. But his stupid, awful, useless brain hissed warnings of spinal injuries and paralysis, of the harm he could cause by giving into sentiment at just the wrong time.

Apparently I also knew how I wanted this section to end because I was deliberately writing toward

And, at last, Bruce held his son.

This.

Trying to figure out the setting of the second half was tough because I didn't care about where they were coming from. I wanted it to be vaguely comic cliche and hopefully not racist or otherwise offensive but that's all.

Also, ugh, staging. Staging. I hate staging. Trying to mark where everyone is and why and keep them all straight as they start to move. Bah.

Of course, now, looking back, hewing more closely to the original scenario where the main figure (Attolis, Jason) turns and smiles at the narrator just before disaster, that sure would have been something, wouldn't it.

But Jason. The odd man out. The wild card, for good or ill. The unpredictable ace up their sleeve. Their magnet for trouble, collector of odd experiences. Too cynical to be Dick, too rash to be Tim, too undisciplined to be Damian. Raised on the streets. Trained by a Bat and a Flying Grayson. Raised again by assassins. Comrade of drug dealers, mercenaries, and thieves. Their family stories always seemed to twist on a “but Jason.”

I like this bit a lot, personally.

He had never seen Jason kill like this. It was the blinding flash of blades, the blur of a tan leather jacket and dark curls, the splatter of red blood on grey stone. And then it was done.

BAMF JASON TODD!!!

At the weight of three sets of eyes landing on him, Jason turned only his head and met Dick’s gaze. His face was pale, almost green, and splattered with a fine mist of blood. It took Dick a moment to piece his coloring together with the slant of his jaw and the blaze in his eyes. He was angry. No, he was furious. But when his eyes met Dick’s, he smiled. All teeth. “Let’s not keep Daddy Dearest waiting, boys.”

Jason is scary and I love him. I think if I could pick an audio narrator for him, especially the way I wrote him in the beginning, I'd pick the guy who does the Raven Boys audiobook, specifically in the voice he uses for Ronan.

“I could use a hand on this next part,” Jason admitted, voice steady and cool. 

And my brain recites, oh gods, stairs.

“I’m dying, Dickie. My insides are on my outsides."

Direct. Hecking. Quote.

“I probably won’t even make it to the Batplane,” Jason moaned. “You’ll have to leave me here. They’ll make me a trail marker. Reach the skeleton with the sweet jacket and you’re halfway to the temple of doom.”

A nice little trail marker. So like a thief in a ditch, one might say.

Jason lay still on the narrow cot, conscious but boneless. Even the furious greenish tint of his skin had faded away into a bloodless pale. Alfred had pulled up his shirt to reveal the truth. Jason’s grip down the mountain hadn’t been only to stanch the bleeding, but to hold himself together. At some point in the blurred fight, a blade had snuck under his defenses and slit open his abdomen, nearly from hip to hip. The blood that had trickled through his shirt and over his hand had been nothing compared to the steady flow that had soaked unseen into his pants. Over Alfred’s shoulder, Jason opened his eyes and met Dick’s.

This is full-scale lifting, my obscene apologies to Megan Whalen Turner, I love your work.

Alfred’s back blocked most of Jason’s body from view. Dick could see Jason’s face and upper torso. Bruce, being taller, could probably see a little more. Damian and Tim, being shorter, could probably see a little less. Both boys stood further back as well, Tim just behind Bruce and Damian behind Dick.

friggin blocking, my foe. Just lining up the stupid little dominoes so they fall right in a minute.

Six people breathing. Five people breathing.

I'm a genius. Good job, me.

Jason erupted like a tiger caught in a snare. He clawed at the cot, trying to push himself up. Alfred cried out, warning of wounds and fresh blood and popped stitches as he tried to force Jason back down. Dick sprang forward and tried to grab his brother, but got a fist to the face for his troubles. He staggered back.

Againnnnnnnnnn I'm so sorry Megan Whalen Turner

Dick slowly unclenched his fingers, first releasing Jason’s hair, then his wrist. Violent red streaks branded Jason’s skin like a cuff

I am a clever little clog with my symbolism and because these fics are for me, I can be smug about it

At least a couple people have said this fic have pushed them to read Megan Whalen Turner which is all I could ever want or hope for.

[magicalqueennightmare]

Sins & Amends Chapter 53

Billy Russo x Female Reader (60 part story)

This follows pre- the punisher into the storyline of daredevil, punisher season 1 and beyond

This is NOT Canon Billy. This is decent human being Billy left with bad options over worse decisions

This was also posted to A03 under: WaywardGaPeach. That account and this one is the only place you'll see me post this. If you see it on any other platform/account know it's not me.

Chapter Summary/Warnings: Frank comes to your side when you call him to tell him what happened to Billy

Frank hadn't been asleep but about an hour or two when his phone started ringing. "Get it before it wakes Adi up!" He heard from Karen's side of the bed in a whisper. He grabbed the phone as he sat up not bothering to look at the number "Hello?" He was met with silence on the other end and started to hang up before he heard someone take a shuddering breath "Frank?" At the sound of your voice he was fully awake. Something was wrong. You sounded like you were in shock.

"Y/N?" He called your name and saw Karen sit up out the corner of his eye and look at him curiously but at the moment his attention was on you. "Can you please come to me? I need you" "Yeah of course. Where are you at? What's going on?" 

He was already up and pulling boots onto his feet before you told him what hospital you were at "Alex Moore got out Frank. He found me. He..he tried to kill me. He would've killed me but Billy protected me. Now he's in surgery and.. I don't know if he's gonna make it" 

"God dammit how the hell did that asshole even get out? I'll be there as soon as I can. Just hold tight and call me if there's any changes" "Frank I can't do this" he closed his eyes at how broken you sounded.

Fuck, in all the time he'd known you even at the worst moments you always tried to hold it together for everyone around you and he hadn't heard you sound so defeated since the two of you got into that argument when you first found out you were pregnant and he found you at Maria's grave. "Sweetheart I will be there in a few minutes" "Ok" was the last thing you said before the line went dead.

He stared at the phone for a minute before glancing back at Karen then tilting his head towards the living room. She nodded then climbed out the bed, careful not to wake Adi as she walked past the toddler bed.

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

He followed her out and pulled the bedroom door almost shut before saying "I've got to go to the emergency room. Y/N needs me" "What happened? Is she ok?" The concern and worry were plain in Karen's voice when she spoke. 

He nodded then said "She's ok but you remember Moore?" "The asshole that attacked her and Alice? How could I forget?" Karen's jaw had tightened at the mere mention. 

He could feel the tension in his shoulders and realized his trigger finger was absentmindedly tapping his thigh while he talked. He knew flashes of that night were going through both of their heads. "Yeah well he got out. Apparently came looking to finish the job but didn't exactly take Bill into account. He got shot protecting her. She said he's in surgery and she doesn't know if he's gonna make it"

Karen glanced back towards the bedroom and he could see her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth before she ran a hand through her hair to push it back from her face "What do I tell Adi? She's gonna ask for one or both of them after she gets up" 

Frank let out a breath trying to think of what to tell his niece. She was still so young and now facing this "Tell her bare minimum. Her dad got hurt so her mom took him to the hospital. I went to be with them both" 

Karen nodded then pulled him into a hug "Let me know if you need me. Take care of her Frank" "I will. I love you Kare. Take care of little bit" he leaned his forehead against hers for a moment trying to get his head on straight. She nodded then closed the space between them to press a gentle kiss to his lips "I love you too"

Working together you and Riley had managed to get Billy's heart back beating before you made it to the hospital but he was still losing a lot of blood internally. 

You were stopped at the entrance to the operating room by a couple of the nurses who'd known you for years "Y/N you know you can't go back" you snatched away from them and Riley alike. You knew they were trying to offer comfort but you didn't want it. You didn't deserve it.

Someone else you loved had once again caught a bullet that had your name on it. You were fucking poison. How the hell could you protect your child from the world when it seemed as if merely being around you would be the biggest threat to her?

-----------

You paced the hallway outside the double doors until the adrenaline started to leave your body and the crash that came along with that forced you to collapse into a chair. Your clothes, hands and face had blood smeared across them. Around your nails the blood had started to dry and was flaking off in red chunks.

You couldn't stop hearing the gunshot, seeing the way Billy had crumpled but only after he'd made sure you were ok. You closed your eyes to stop the flow of tears but that only made more images flash across through your mind. 

Maria and the kids in their caskets, Frank bloody and half dead after that fight alongside Gunner. Curtis bloody and beaten from Lewis, Karen terrorised by Wilson Fisk. It was too much. You'd lost half your family in one day and had fought like hell to keep the rest of them in one piece and now the man you loved, the man who'd put so much on the line to keep you safe might very well end up dying.

What the hell were you gonna tell Adi? It seemed like she'd just met him and now to lose him? You bought your hands up to your face trying to will the images out your mind. You couldn't even cry and you knew that was worse than if you were sobbing. 

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

You didn't know how long you'd been sitting there digging through your jacket pockets before you finally found your phone. Your hands were shaking as you hit Frank's number. You weren't sure what to say but you needed him. You couldn't do this alone.

You were still staring blankly at your phone when Frank found you. You hadn't noticed his presence so he took a moment to take stock of whether or not you had any injuries.

Although you were covered in blood it didn't appear to be yours. He knew that look anywhere though. You were so lost in your own mind you needed someone to pull you out. He'd been there before and you had been the one to pull him out so he owed you.

He walked up trying to make as much noise as he could so he wouldn't startle you but when he touched your shoulder you jumped defensively until you realized it was him then the facade crumpled as you stepped into his arms "Frank it's bad. It's all my fault" 

He froze and held you out at arm's length so he could lean down enough to look you in the eye. There was blood smeared on the side of your face and your eyes were red from crying but he could see that stubbornness you'd always had under it all. 

You were going to try to blame yourself for this and he'd be damned before he let you "You didn't shoot him so it's not your fault. It's that damn junkie's fault. I should've killed him instead of letting them lock him up" 

You sniffled twice and he knew you were holding back tears when you shook your head "Frank don't you see? Maria, the kids. Those bullets had my name on them. Rawlins lied to Billy but I still should've been the one to die that day. Now this. he didn't even know who Billy was. He shot him because he was protecting me. I'm fucking poison. Who else is gonna be next? You? Karen? God forbid if something happened to Adi. I can't do this Frank. I can't keep hurting people I love"

God dammit he'd never wanted to shake you as bad as he did right then. His grip tightened on your arms just enough to get your attention and once he was sure he had it he said "Listen to me and listen to me good Y/N. Maria and the kids died because Rawlins was an evil son of a bitch who got what he deserved. Bill got shot because he fucking loves you and when you love someone it's instinct to protect them. None of this is your fault. You're not poison or any other bullshit you believe. Hell you've patched a lot of us up. You put us back together. I know this is hard but I also know you've got that damn stubborn streak a mile wide and can put your mind to anything right?"

You nodded after a moment so he loosened his grip but stayed where he could look you in the eyes "He's a stubborn asshole. I've known him for even longer than you have. Me and him have been through hell together and have put each other through our fair share. One thing I know? He loves you and Adi and this isn't enough to keep him from you. Now put it in your mind he's gonna pull through ok?"

"Ok" your voice sounded a little steadier so he nodded and moved his hand to your lower back "Now let's see if I can get you some scrubs or something so you can get cleaned up and out these bloody clothes"

One of the nurses had gotten you a pair of scrubs and even offered to let you use the nurse's shower after she checked your vitals at Frank's insistence.

Frank told you he'd hang around the operating room so if anyone did come out while you were getting cleaned up. You'd hesitantly agreed because while you desperately wanted to check on Billy you couldn't stand knowing it was his blood drying all over you.

After standing under the hot water long enough you felt like you'd taken a layer of skin off you climbed out and dried off then deposited the towel into the bin that was in the corner of the room. 

Once you were dressed in the scrubs you pulled your shoes back on complete with the hospital socks you'd been given along with the scrubs then gathered your bloody clothes in the personal belonging bag you'd been given and went in search of Frank.

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

When you walked out into the hall you ran smack into Frank's chest with a grunt from him and a gasp of surprise from you but luckily he managed to grab you before you fell.

"Frank what's going on?" You asked feeling your stomach knot up worse than it already was but he shook his head "Nothing bad sweetheart. I found a doctor that apparently isn't sure if he's a fan of me or just scared shitless. Either way I got him to check on Bill. Surgery is going good. The bullet missed his organs but nicked an artery. They're closing up and should have him a room in ICU in about an hour" 

You let out a breath "Are they hopeful for recovery?" He nodded "Yup sounds like he was pretty damn lucky he had a paramedic right there the moment he hit the ground" you let out a watery laugh "You're saying that to make me feel better" 

Frank shook his head and motioned back down the hall "I can find him again if you don't believe me. Doc said the reason he's gonna make it is because of you. So wanna talk again about you being poison? Looks to me like you once again saved one of the men in your life" you threw your arms around Frank's neck in a hug he gently returned.

When you pulled away he glanced at his watch "I'm gonna text Karen. When Adi wakes up what do you want her told?" You ran a hand down your face before agreeing with what Frank had already said "bare minimum. He's hurt. Me and you are here to check on him. I can't let her see him post surgery. He's got to be alert before she sees him" 

Frank nodded then said "Who knows by the time little bit gets to going good he might already be awake" "That's got to be the first bit of optimism I've ever heard from you Frank" you said with a half laugh and he shrugged "For Adi? I'll be a bit optimistic" then started to text Karen.

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

You and Frank were sitting together right outside the doors of the operating rooms fending calls and texts from everyone from Alice to Sam and everyone in between.

They'd heard one way or another and wanted to see what was going on. Alex had died in surgery. Billy tore his jugular beyond repair when he'd stabbed him and that little piece of information had given you a little peace knowing he was finally dead. He couldn't hurt no one else.

You'd just hung up with Matt and Frank with Curtis when Doctor Morales the surgeon who worked on Billy came walking out and headed towards where the two of you sat. "Are you Mr Russo's family?" 

"Yes sir. This is his fiance and I'm basically her brother" Frank answered before you had a chance so Doctor Morales nodded then went into explanation of what they'd done to Billy. "He'll be healing for a few weeks but all in all he should count his lucky stars you were there. Had you not reacted so quickly with your training he wouldn't have made it. As soon as we get him settled in a room I'll send a nurse to escort the two of you" 

You and Frank both thanked him then after he walked away Frank patted your shoulder "He's gonna be fine" you nodded then nearly whispered "I'll believe it when he wakes up" you'd seen too many cases where the doctors thought everything was fine then some unforeseen complication would occur. He had to wake up for you to feel better.

@intothesoul

@weallhaveadestiny

[astridhoff03]

You know exactly who you are, you always have:

Hi, This is a Little Astrid-Story during the end of Shell shocked Part two. Warning: some Kind of sexuel violence

Its a look into Astrids Mindset After Viggos „Death“. And maybe a Little Explaintion Why she got captured from him. And I think Astrid hides many of her emotional side behind her anger. Hope you like the Story! Its my first Httyd-Fanfiction I‘ve ever write.

P.S. The Post underneath the Story inspire Me to this.

Lost in thought, Astrid Hofferson's gaze wandered into the distance, to the turbulent sea, whose surface was making waves. A strong wind whistled through her blonde hair and some strands came loose from her wild braid. It had only been 24 hours since Hiccup had saved her from Viggo, but the shock was still deep in her bones. She still felt his great grip under her ribcage, her own ax at her throat. Stormfly's fear filled squeak, fearing for her rider. As she had done so many times, she had tried not to show any mercy or fear when she faced Viggo. She had rushed at him as soon as she saw him, threatening him with her battle axe, but with one powerful blow he had knocked her to the ground. Without even using any axes. Immediately she was back on her feet, dependent on Stormfly to shoot spikes and fire at Viggo, But he skillfully avoided them. Viggo had only laughed at her mildly. “You and your Nadder make an extraordinarily good team.” She gripped her ax tightly so that her knuckles turned white. “I knew you shouldn’t be trusted. I should have cut your throat straight away.” He moved towards her with slow steps, his gait dangerous and graceful at the same time. Like a whispering death that just waits for its prey beneath the surface before grabbing and tearing it apart. The blood rushed through her ears, she heard Stormfly's battle-ready sound of her spikes, which she had set up to send them through Viggo's body at any time. Astrid sucked in a hissing breath and didn't take her eyes off the head of the dragon hunter. She rushed at him, but once again he blocked her attack, ripped the ax from her hand and threw her to the ground. Astrid wanted to get up, her ribs throbbed in pain, she doubled over, twisted inside. As she was about to get up again, she pulled Viggo by the foot towards a cliff. “A Hofferson is probably not as invincible as they say, my love.” Astrid screamed for Stormfly, she could gag at those words. My love. She was no one's love. “I am not your love, you monster,” she hissed spitefully. Stormfly’s spikes flashed overhead, followed by a desperate burst of fire. Viggo grinned. "Don't act like that, heartless little Astrid." She wanted to hit him with her hands, to choke him. She wanted to see the life drain from his eyes. With a jerk, she felt his torso trap her legs so that she could no longer move them. She bit at him, but by then he had already pressed her hands against her chest. “I don't really think much of violence, but apparently that's the only way to defeat you.” His eyes were very close to hers, she swallowed hard, squirmed, but she couldn't get out of his grip. He was so close, too close. Like Eric, only he had torn her skirts, pushed her against a wall and forced a kiss on her. She hadn't been able to defend herself back then either; she was alone, alone in the darkness. These thoughts made her gasp for breath, she was back in that dark, musty alley with Eric, his calloused hands moving up her breasts, she wanted to scream but her voice was lost to her. His hands went under her shirt, into her pants, to her most sensitive spot. She clenched her hands into fists, holding back tears like she had so many times in her life. Even as a very little girl, she had never allowed herself to cry. She was a warrior, a fighter and she had to live up to that ideal. Whatever the cost.

With a flash of lightning she was back in reality, Viggo above her had disappeared, she heard a quiet humming in front of her, she jumped up, Stormfly lay at her feet, Viggo's sword across her throat. “No-Stormfly!” A triumphant grin crossed Viggo’s face. “Love is beautiful and passionate at the same time, but it also makes you fragile. And she just makes you, my little girl, weak.” “Don’t hurt her,” said Astrid in a trembling voice. "Otherwise, I'll kill you myself." He laughed bitterly. “Oh, I would like to believe that, Astrid. But if you even try to touch me, I'll cut your nadder's head off if you don't do what I tell you. Got it?” Defeated, she nodded. She had known that she would have had no chance and yet the memories always lingered in her like an echo that would not fade away.

Stormfly and Toothless frolicked happily in the lower room of Hiccup's hut, a slight smile crept across Astrid's face when she saw her Nadder lady playing so happily with her best friend, the Night Fury. Luckily everything went well. She would never have been able to forgive herself if something bad had happened to Stormfly. Never. Stormfly was the only one Astrid could open up to, she always listened to her without judging her and always stood by her one hundred percent. Stormfly was also the only one who knew about the night with Eric; She couldn't even tell Hiccup or her two best friends Heather and Ruffnut about this shame, or about Viggo's attack. Had he sensed that she was afraid of closer physical contact that would allow her to emotionally undress? Hiccup sat down next to her and looked at her worriedly. Even though they had only been together for about four days, everything still felt so new and exciting to them. Although she had wanted the chief's son for years and he meant everything to her, she feared the many challenges they would still have to face that could even divide them. Forever. She gently felt Hiccup's hand rubbing her back. This move felt so right and perfect, almost too good to be true. He was the only one who silently understood her. She was so glad that she had him and not a macho Viking like Snotlout, although at least he would never be invasive because even if he sometimes didn't show it, he tried to understand women and their needs. Completely different was Eric, that hypocritical bastard of a cream puff who only wanted one thing: a little mistress he could lay whenever he wanted. The only nice thing about him was his blue and silver Monstrous Nightmare, Silverstorm. Who had always met Astrid on an equal footing at the academy and had always gotten along well with Stormfly. A strand of her hair fell into her face, Hiccup lovingly brushed it out of her face, she only flinched ever so slightly. "Is everything okay with you? You seem so...absent?" She shook her head. "No, it's not." Hiccup stood up and pulled her up to him, smiling genuinely and lovingly. Smiling, she followed him into his bed, that they would share each other for the first time tonight. Everything was different with him. “Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?” She shook her head. "I can not yet. But I hope I can soon, if I ever get the chance.” He took her chin in his hand so she could look into his forest green eyes. “You know, I have an idea. How about we write each other letters in which we express our feelings for each other. Maybe then it will be easier for you to tell me what's going on with you sometimes." Now Astrid threw her arms around his neck and gave him a deep kiss on the mouth, so that Hiccup was completely amazed at her sudden excitement. "Yes understood."

[that-one-weeb-buts-its-the-main]

Being Thor's best friend + Týr's Fiance part 1

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Reader: female | Thor x sister-in-law Reader (Platonic)| Týr x reader (romantic eventually)

Notes: Yeah I'm writing for God of War: Ragnarök now I'm not sorry

Warnings: not really but involes: bitchy mom, arranged marraige

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You had always been good friends with Thor since childhood, and you always had each other's backs when getting into trouble.

You'd get into trouble at the Meed Hall with a drinking contest and then see who could walk in a straight line, staggering into another bargoer before a brawl struck out

Odin sees you as an asshole, and so do your own parents at your young ages

Always the two of you getting into trouble.

You knew he had a hard time, with his birth mother gone, his new mother in the picture, and his new brother Týr

He always did have a hard time connecting; especially with his dad's assholeness

You've both been on many adventures together, to Midgard to the mild falls, Jötunheimr to the cold snow to throw snow at one another, and to Muspelheim to warm yourself up afterward, paying Surtur a small visit with a hello.

He'd admit, everyone liked you: you were kinda hard not to like: always caring about everyone else while still caring about yourself.

Till one day late: you're waving to Thor as he goes home and you're going your separate ways

He goes to his father's study, as per usual, but is quick to hide seeing his parents talking just outside his father's study

"She is a child!" Her father argued.

"Child or not she is reckless, our bloodline will be ruined."

"She'll find someone she loves!-"

"That someone needs to be an Aesir, not some...Midgaurdian." Her mother snapped, "This isn't some fairytale story that you plagued her brain with: she needs to grow up. The All Father already agreed."

"Behind my back!? Like you do everything else?"

"yes, because I get things done, unlike you husband. I get shit done," Her mother argued, "She leaves for the temple."

"you not only wish to marry off my child but send her away-"

"Be silent!"

Thor was quick to leave, and to your house, running as fast as his feet could carry him, and to your window, but he was too late, damn his fathers telporting birds

"Mother."

"pack your sack."

"For what If I may ask."

"An expedition, to one of the temples-"

"You're letting me go to Midgard! For exploration!" Y/n cheered. "For how long?"

"A..winter or two."

"Really! Yes!" Y/n cheered, "Can I tell Thor before I go!"

"He knows already darling."

Y/n nodded, "Quickly now, you leave immediately."

Thor could easily stick up for you now: like you had him so many times, it wouldn't be hard, you made it seem easy

But he couldn't, and he felt ashamed of that

He didn't even try and chase you down to say goodbye: you were walking into your own demise

he didn't see you for a while after that

a long time

he drank himself to death: if he could that is,

What was he doing? He was sitting here drinking, you most likely restrained to a temple room

You didn't deserve that.

yet he drank and drank, and eventually, Sif came along

and like dust, with a blow of the wind you were gone; from his mind from his heart

And he married Sif

But it brought back you: his best friend, his practical sister; he would have liked you there, laughing your asses off together

He thinks Sif would have liked you

But it feels as soon as Thor's married, his younger stepbrother Týr is apparently sent to get married.

It's a big deal of course, an arranged marriage, by the Allfather himself.

It's unfortunate: You feel stranded, you feel alone; your mentally beaten into submission

So when everyone's gathered at the hall for the celebratory dinner: And you show up,

Your sure Thor choked, shit he's sure he choked.

But there's something different about you besides the clothing and the hair

For an immortal god, you look dead

In the eyes, in the face, you're color gone, no smile, and eyes cast down

You use to wear pants, roll around in the dirt, smile, and beat the shit out of him, this...wasn't you

Týr was a sweetheart, tried to help you warm up: tried to get to know you

He was being as forced as you were in full honesty

He could try and make the best out of it.

"I heard you enjoy painting."

He didn't even receive an answer

Sif was quite well aware of Thor staring you down.

"May I leave for air..."

"You mustn't ask me unless you wish my company-"

You were up the next second leaving to go get air.

Thor could have easily followed you

"So that is Y/n," Sif commented, breaking Thor from his head, but he didn't answer.

"Go to your friend, she needs your friendship more than anything."

So with a slight boost of confidence from his wife, he followed far behind in your footsteps

If he knew you which he did, he knew you were going down to the rocks where the ocean met the land

And sure enough, he found you sitting there, in the same damn spot as you would when you were kids on the small cliff

"hey, there shitface."

Y/n was silent, "Slime ball?"

Still silence, "Stick up my arse?"

Y/n looked back at him, then back in front of her, "My husband-to-be is not here, we can't speak."

"He can shove it up his wise arse."

Thor walked over, taking a seat next to her, the silence thick and heavy.

"N/n."

"My name is Y/n."

"Since when-"

"Since you knew what was going to happen to me," Y/n argued standing up and starting to walk away.

"What was I supposed to do!?" He argued Y/n turned her head.

"Be there! For me!" She argued

"What good would that be!? I didn't send you away!"

"I'm not asking you to fight for me! I'm asking if you'd have been there for me! You were my best friend! Practically my brother!"

Soon you guys stopped arguing, and out of all things started fighting, like physically

with swords and hammer

Sure, you felt angry-despair more than anything, but it changed, in both of you.

Fighting like this felt like you were both kids again, and with the ground wet, mud was bound to be thrown up.

and oh it was, covering the two of you in mud before your mother came out furious looking for you

both of you were brought back into the hall, covered in mud like children

he shoved you first, you shoving him back, and it continued until your mother stopped both of you

So the celebration contained, and your mother was embarrassed and furious,

you were a child, even if she tried to break you after all those years, flipping Thor promptly off as she dragged you off to change, earning a smack in the back of the head by her and a groan from you

Meanwhile, the celebration continued without you, and she put you in one of those fancy dresses, even though it pained your thighs as they rubbed together, and you had to pull it up every so often

You were quiet and quickly returned, your mother ordered you to act properly as you were sat next to Týr once again

Dancing was also apparent later in the night with music, you weren't much of a dancer besides fighting

Týr still tried to get to know you but was silent while doing it, watching you rather than trying and interrogate you

The Valkyries were quite a fan of you, promising training battles as they came up to you

Freya was also quite nice to you: sweet, a friend to confined in if you truly needed her,

"A battle!" Thor's booming voice came over the music, the slamming of his mug down causing the room to come to a halt, "For the giant's head!"

Týr looked her way, "I suppose he is calling to you."

Y/n looked at him, "I truly do not mean to stop your fun as long as it promises a conversation between us privately."

Y/n nodded, "For my head then."

Y/n was quick to get up, kicking off her uncomfortable shoes.

"Looks like you'll owe me ahead," Y/n smirked, "Perhaps yours?"

There was cheering from both sides, Sif had even turned on Thor, cheering Y/n on.

[lulubelle814]

Just Dizziness - Chapter 3

Tom was able to get us an appointment for the following day with the same therapist, Dr. Day, who initially spoke with both of us when waking from the accident, thinking it would be good to have someone who already has some background information on the current situation.

He had mentioned Dr. Day's name, but I couldn't recall who it was as those first couple days when I came were a bit of a blur.

So when I showed up in Day's office the following day, I thought I was really losing it.  Dr. Day assured us that it's extremely normal for everything from those first couple of days to feel like a blur, not surprised that I didn't remember him until I saw his face.  I  stayed close to Tom while we both settled on the good doctor's couch. Tom let Dr. Day know about what happened the previous day.

"Can you tell me what happened yesterday?" He looked to be concerned, and I could tell he wanted to help.

I told him about waking up in my old apartment with my best friend and being told that I had never been married as well as Tom helping me find the pictures and obituary for her.

The doctor wrote down a few notes. "That must be very hard, having it feel so real."

I agreed and tried to tell Day how it was still making me anxious and nervous, but this only made me more upset, and I couldn’t stop myself from crying. Tom held me closer, enveloping me in his arms and surrounding me with his calming musk.

"Doctor, we're not sure what to do. We've both been trying so hard to recoup any memories she might have. So far, our only victory has been that she will allow me to stay near her. I followed your advice and haven't pushed. We've gone through a few stories where I let them know how we met, some of our dates and such, and then this happened. She’s been very upset since it happened."

My crying became worse, and the dizziness started again. I closed my eyes for just a moment, and when I opened them again, I was in the hospital with my best friend and Dr. Day.

I started panicking again. "WHAT THE EVER LIVING HELL IS GOING ON???"

Dr. Day didn’t hesitate to give me a very mild sedative, enough to calm me down but not enough to make me fall asleep.  After a few minutes, Doctor Day spoke. "Can you tell me what happened?"

I felt my grasp with reality breaking. I wasn't sure what was real. I started explaining about Tom, what I had 'dreamed' about being married to him, having issues in the dream trying to recoup memories and figure out what is real and what is not and being told my best friend, who was currently sitting by my bed, had passed from a heart condition no one knew about.

The doctor wrote down a few notes. "That must be very hard, having it feel so real."

I sat up straight, looking directly at him. "That's exactly what you said in my dream!"

"I'm glad to know I'm asking the right questions both in reality and in your dreams." The doctor was trying to lighten the mood, but  I was definitely not amused. Despite the mild sedative, I started getting upset again.

He advised it would be good for me to stay at least overnight for observation, if not at least to ensure I received both rest and fluids.

"I'm going to go ahead and increase the sedative so that you’ll be able to both calm down and get some rest."

I agreed as I was exhausted and overwhelmed. Sarah said she would stay with me to which the doctor agreed. The only time she left was to grab food and something to drink but stayed by my side the entire time.

As I was falling asleep due to the sedation, my head started feeling funny again.  When I opened my eyes next, I was back in the doctor's office but on the floor with Tom holding me, relief apparent when he saw me coming around.

Doctor Day spoke first. "I think it would be a good idea to take your wife home. With what you've told me about her friend's sudden passing combined with the trauma and memory loss from the accident, I think it's best if you continue to go through more stories on things such as other dates, reminisce about how you met, and so on; however, I am going to write a script for a sedative to help with her sleep. The lack of good sleep can cause dizziness issues. I would also like to see you both again the day after tomorrow for a follow up."

I stayed quiet. By this point, I had no idea which one was the dream and which one was reality.

Tom looked to the doctor, concerned. "Should I not take her to a hospital? Are there any tests that can help figure out what is going on?"

 "Unfortunately not at this point. I will, however, have the neurology department go over her notes again from the accident and let them know what has happened. They will get in touch if they want to run any additional tests, but I think this is primarily an issue related to the memory loss which has somehow tied itself to the passing of her friend."  Day gave Tom the script for the sedative as well as something to help me through the day as needed.

Chapter 4

[punks-never-die205]

Unseen

afab!reader x Killer

CW: canon-typical violence, smooches, sexy times, second go at life try again style story, 18+ only

Chapter 5: Us

After a few minutes you leave the storage room. You couldn't get the feeling of the kiss from earlier to leave your mind while you sat in the room and you understood why Killer had left to cool his head.

When you reach the deck and feel the cool breeze on your face, and the smell of salty air you feel a lot of the heat leave you. The sun was still up, and there was something about being in it that left you feeling exposed. It felt a little like everyone on the ship knew exactly what had transpired because the sun had told them about it.

"Hey Brat," Heat pipes up behind you, getting your attention and causing you to nearly leap out of your skin.

"H-h-eat, hi, hello." You let out the excess air you'd sucked in and smile awkwardly. "What's up?"

Heat's looking at you with a crooked smile on his face and confusion in his eyes. "Nothing. You alright? Getting nervous about the job, maybe?"

"Huh? No, yes, I mean, I'm fine." You laugh nervously and consider just leaping off the ship into the open ocean.

His crooked smile turns a bit knowing, and he leans down to tease you. "I see what it is, House has you practicing on live crew members, is that it?"

The very vivid idea of flirting with Killer came into your mind and all the blood rushes back into your face. "N-n-no, nope – ah, not... yet." You cover your face with your hands. Kissing someone for the first time apparently makes you a fool. "Is that gonna be something she does?"

Heat laughs and ruffles your hair. "I don't know, brat, but she might if she thinks you need the practice. If you can keep a straight face flirting with the Captain, you'd be solid no matter what."

"Pfft, haha! I cannot imagine flirting with Kid," Your hands fall away and you're beaming a smile back at Heat. "I can't imagine the Captain actually flirting." You admit, after giving it some thought.

You didn't notice Heat's smile go from knowing to mischievous. "Yeah, Killer would make for more natural practice."

Your eyes and mouth go wide as your brain just short circuits. Not only had you walked right into that, but you were also sure you helped Heat build the trap with a smile on your face.

"Smooth move, short stack." You hear Killer sigh behind you.

"Heat?" You ask, looking down at the deck.

"Yeah, brat?"

"Toss me into the sea."

"You'll have to come back onboard sooner or later." Heat reminds you with a laugh.

"Tease her later, Heat," Killer says, his fingers slipping over yours as he tugs you to the stern of the ship with him. "Let's talk."

"Ohhh." You hear Heat mumble as Killer leads you away.

Killer prompts you to sit on the crate you had before, and then leans against the rail nearby. You have no idea what to say, and Killer is keeping his gaze out into the sea. After a moment, you look out into the water as well, and realize it's really calming to watch the steady shift of the ocean break against Victoria's hull.

"Only me, huh?" Killer prompts after you've lost your thoughts into the shifting waters. You flinch, more at the sudden sound, soft as it was, than the words themselves.

Your face is hot, and you steal a glance over at him before looking out to the horizon. "Only you," you admit. "I really thought about it too. I thought about Kid and Heat and Wire. I thought about House and Hip 'n' Hop, and Reck. I really thought about the whole crew, and even people I'd left behind." You sink against the rail a little, "I even thought about Nezumi."

You can feel Killer tense at that name, but you'd known since it was first brought up that he didn't like the plan from the beginning. You thought at first it was just because he was too kind, or you were too new, but after earlier you realize it was for different reasons.

"I... Killer, I don't know how to talk about futures," You're looking at him and you're sure he was looking back. "I've had seven more years of freedom than I already thought I would. I don't know what stretch of time is going to see me at the bottom of the ocean, or in chains for CP9. And... a few weeks ago, that didn't bother me."

Killer turns toward you, wrapping his arms around your shoulders, and letting you rest your head against his chest. You can hear the surprisingly calm rhythm of his heart, and his embrace is gentle. If you weren't a mess of emotions and embarrassment, you could easily fall asleep like this.

"My priority," He begins, his voice steady, his tone firm, "will always be Eustass."

You nod, and mumble, "Of course," and feel his body tense.

"Of course?"

You reach your hands out and slip them around his waist. "Of course. Eustass is the Captain, he has to be the priority for both of us or it's not gonna work."

"... I was not expecting that." His tone makes you smile; you hadn't heard Killer legitimately confounded before.

"I almost left," you look at him seriously. "I've thought through the possibilities and risks and threats every single day for the last seven years. Even before then it was beat into my soul to assess. Assessing correctly means success. Failure is unacceptable. Relationships are a risk, connections to people who can't be used are a risk. I couldn't afford risks. I had to stay ahead of CP9 if I wanted to remain free.

"Physical contact can escalate. Putting someone else before you means risk. I've left every person who was even remotely beginning to matter to me. I've never known. I've never tried. I've..."

You swallow, a terrible realization dawning on you, and you can feel emotion welling up in your eyes. "Never, really lived, in a way."

Rough warm hands wipe the tears from your eyes before they reach your cheeks. The action was so kind that it makes you cry harder. You hold his hands in place with your own and smile even as the tears overtake you.

"It's relief," you assure him.

He leans down and taps your forehead with his mask, like he's giving you a kiss. "In the end, you're still crying."

"Heh, you were expecting me to cry?"

You can feel him nod, "I didn't think you'd be okay with my priorities."

"As long as you're not prioritizing kissing Eustass over me-."

"No." Killer pushes away from you, holding your shoulders, and keeping you at arm's length as you start laughing. "Don't even joke about that."

You try to stifle your laughter, and without saying anything just start laughing harder. "Sorry, I'm sorry, oh that's a terrible thing for me to think, sorry!"

His hands flex against your shoulders. "What's a terrible thing to think?"

You put your hands over your face, hiding yourself from the unseen gaze you could feel. "It's terrible to think you wear that mask to keep Kid from kissing you."

"You really are a brat." He growls, but there's a smile in his voice, that causes you to laugh again.

He lets go of your shoulders and you grab his hand and stop laughing. There's a dangerous look on your face you hadn't meant to make. After a moment, the serious look on your face turns to one of shock.

"I..." you let go of his hand after realizing what you'd done. You swallow, and then reach back out. "I want to keep touching you." Your face is red, but from the moment you'd told him to kiss you, it seemed silly to be shy with your thoughts. "If there's time."

"I can't promise you'll be able to keep holding myself back," Killer admits, his voice coming out thick when he finally speaks.

You lean forward, moving close to his ear. "I don't remember telling you I needed you to."

Killer's arm slips around your waist, pulling your hips against his chest and almost putting you over his shoulder. You can sit into the crook of his arm enough to steady yourself against his helmet. You laugh as he marches back to the cabins without a word.

Just like the other night you come across House again, but this time she looks up from her work and her mouth goes agog. You wave as Killer walks by without a word and give your best sheepish smile.

"Sorry doc, I'll be late for practice. I'm uh, getting... er-."

"Schooled." Killer prompts.

House laughs as you walk into the cabin areas proper, going through the hallways. She says something in response, but you didn't catch what it was.

.

.

.

Killer walks into what had to be his private room. There aren't any mirrors in here, and considering how he hides his laugh and his face you weren't surprised. He sets you on the edge of the bed and you can feel the need, the desire and the hesitation.

"You can cover my eyes," you say, closing your eyes even as you speak. "I don't know why you keep your face covered, and I won't demand anything about it. I can wait."

There was a long silence and then the click of his mask coming off, "Tomorrows aren't promised."

"No, but I'm sure I can spare you a few days," you smile, eyes still closed. "If you need time, it's okay. I'd rather wait and have you be comfortable, than have either of us regret anything."

More silence, but after a moment you hear a noise like fabric shuffling, and then a cool strip of cloth – silk maybe – covers your eyes. You can feel the heat of Killer's body near yours. You weren't surprised by the choice. Years of keeping himself tucked away like that couldn't be shattered in a single day.

You feel the heat rise in your face against the pressure of the blindfold settling into place. You feel like you have a kink you hadn't been aware of before. Your breath is already coming out heavier than you'd meant, and you shift further onto the bed, suddenly hyper aware of the body near you.

You feel the weight of him as his knee sinks into the bed between your own. You lay back as his hands push into the mattress on either side of your chest. You know you're caged beneath him, effectively trapped and yet free to leave if you so desire.

"If you react like this every time I mean to kiss you," He whispers, his breath rolling over your face as he draws near. "Then I'll need to soundproof the room before going further."

"I could... cover my mouth," you offer, your head is mush and your ability to think had gone out the door when you felt the weight of his knee come onto the bed earlier.

"(Y/N), I want to hear you." He shifts, pressing his knee against the crotch of your pants, causing you to suck in a breath at the sensation. His lips followed your gasp, hot and needy against your own, his tongue pushing deep into your mouth. It was more demanding than earlier, and almost desperate. The fire behind it made you needy in return, and you run your hands over his arms and down his chest, shifting your hips and pushing back against his knee.

The action causes a rush of pleasure and you groan into the kiss. Killer grabs your wrists, pinning them to the bed and breaking the kiss. He nudges your head to the side and you oblige, soft lips and teeth gently nip at your earlobe pulling small gasps from you. The kisses shift down along the line of your neck and pleasure builds as you squirm under his grip. Your squirms ripple through your body, shifting you against his knee and sending jolts of pleasure from the kisses on your neck to the heat in your belly.

"hnnng, K-Killer," He sucks the tender flesh on your neck and nips a little harder causing your voice to shudder and your body to shift under him again. "You... seem to enjoy... teasing me," you gasp.

"You seem to enjoy being teased," He replies, and you swear you hear your sense of reason shatter.

Oh. Oh, he is not wrong.

Releasing your wrists and shifting his weight enough to slip a rough hand under your shirt. "If you need me to stop," his voice was low and dangerous, and you could feel his lips dancing across your own as he spoke, "you need to say so before I claim those sweet lips again."

Your brain scrambles to think, and all you can think was that you want to disappear into this man and never surface again. "Here I was thinking you was going to be Schooled, Ki-Mmmngh."

Your words are stolen as the last wisps of space between you disappear. Killer's kisses scramble your thoughts and your body rolls under him, shifting like a wave from your shoulders to your hips. His hand slides up your side far too slowly, and you whimper at the anticipation of having those rough hands against your breasts.

His hand shifts around to your back, and you couldn't suppress a grunt of frustration as he lifts you slightly. You can feel him smiling against your lips as he shifts you both, ready to lift your shirt when a knock comes at the door.

"Killer, Captain wants ya'," Papas' voice comes from the other side of the door.

You feel Killer groan more than hear him, and he turns toward the door, "Can it wait?"

There's a pause, "He's coming down the hall now, so probably not."

"Dammit," Killer gets up and puts his helmet back on. You sit up as you hear him moving around and then there's a tug at the silk over your eyes and you realize Killer is taking it off for you. "Sorry."

You step up onto your tiptoes and kiss his mask. Walking by him you open the door to a surprised Papas, and when you poke your head out the door Kid slows his march down the hall. Realization dawns on him as you step out and head down the hallway.

"Sorry for occupying your man, Captain," you say as lightly as possible. "I still have some practice to do with House, so you'll leave you two to it."

There's a pause and then you hear Kid swear, "Uh, fuck, Killer, my bad."

[themusechronicle]

Dreadnocking on Your Door

@dreadnokzartan

Beneath the city, amongst cold, damp passages inhabited only by a select few, a man hurriedly trekked through their winding maze to find the one person who could help him. To most people, the underground labyrinth of the city was a dangerous maze filled with shady figures that hid in the shadows, waiting to slit open both your purse and your throat. That's how disappearances were usually explained, at least- people wander in and are never seen again. Must be thieves and murderers- or monsters. There were plenty of stories about the latter, of course- but few actually took them seriously.

Leo knew the dangers of the labyrinth, but he also knew its sanctuaries. He had since he was a young man barely in his teens, and that is why he found himself here, standing in front of an apparent dead end. Apparent to all but him, it would seem, as he knocked on the wall as if it were a door. Several taps- a pause- and then several more taps.

He took a few steps back, then waited.

The bricks suddenly began to shake, and then fall to the ground one by one. This revealed another corridor, this one lit by something bright at the end of it. Leo stepped over the bricks, and made his way through. He didn't bother to look back as the bricks began to stack onto one another again, turning back into the faux dead end they had been before.

The light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be a large room, one that was decorated wall to wall with odd machinery. Creations of all sorts lied around seemingly half-haphazardly, both big and small, of all shapes and who knows how many purposes. It was hard to even guess what the purposes of some of them might be- many of them looked almost like creatures. Specifically creatures that one might see in your nightmares- from spiders to ghouls it would seem rather ghastly to most. The mood wasn't helped much by several ravens that fluttered about the place.

To Leo it almost felt like home.

On the other side of the room, hunched over a desk, was a small, cloaked figure scribbling frantically away at their desk.

He walked up to the other person, making sure to still stand a few feet away before loudly clearing his throat.

The figure immediately jumped to their feet, turning around to see who was lurking behind them. It was hard to see what was under their hooded cloak, not helped by the black bangs covering up their eyes that almost blended in with the hood. They always did like wearing a lot of black, as if they wanted to become like a shadow themselves, Leo thought to himself. The more things change...

The figure stood still for a moment, looking Leo up and down as if they couldn't quite understand what they were seeing. After a moment they finally spoke up; “Leo? What are you-?” The figure looked at a nearby clock, squinted as if they didn't quite believe it, then looked back to the man. “Something happen?”

The man nodded. “Afraid so. There's some nasty looking intruders coming into the territory.”

The girl stared at him as if he had said something quite silly. “Okay? You know the birds can take care of that- and I upgraded the-”

“-they're armed, Crow.”

The girl, Crow, went quiet for a moment- she had no doubt heard the implication in his tone. People having weapons going into the territory wasn't a new thing- Leo knew this. So-

“How armed are we talking about?”

“To the teeth. Never seen anything like it around there. They seem to be looking for something- or someone. No idea, didn't go near just went straight here. Figured you'd want to know.”

Crow nodded. “Yeah, definitely. Thank you. I'll go take care of it right away-” She shook her head as Leo opened his mouth to speak. “No, alone. You know you're no good at sneaking.” Leo had always been able to handle himself on the streets when it came to direct confrontation, but he was useless when it came to sneaking.

Leo sighed, but didn't argue. She was right- besides, he wouldn't have come to her if he didn't think she was able to handle this. Leo had things he was better at, but this wasn't one of them. “I'll go make sure the kids are off the streets. Just be careful, okay?”

Crow nodded, rummaging through desk drawers until she pulled out a mask- one with a long, pointed beak. She placed it on before heading towards the exit. “I will be.”