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justinewt · 11 months

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Meet Nikki Clark - FTWD REWRITE OC

[FEAR THE WALKING DEAD-MASTERLIST]

Do not use my character without my consent thanks <3

warning: arts and pictures you’ll see are not mine (I found them on pinterest) and the actress used to portray Nicole is Linda Cardellini, from Freaks & Geeks 1999-2000, Nicole is a character 100% created by me, Andrea but the style of the bio has been inspired by a bio found on a TWD Amino and bios made by director Guillermo Del Toro. Also the quote is from the song Heathens by Twenty One Pilots <3

And PLEASE, you are all very beautiful as you are, DO NOT feel bad about my character’s body/weight/height/measurements or anything, keep in mind that she’s fictional and living in quite extreme condition (it’s a post-apocalyptic setting, most wouldn’t be in good healt condition regarding their weight etc)!! And you are all beautiful humans <3

AND Nikki has been through physical abuse so proceed with caution if this can trigger you, the abuse is not described in length but maybe some interactions or thoughts could trigger you, idk

Words: 3.3k (some flashbacks in the fic will refer to events mentioned in PERSONALITY and BACKGROUND but it's not big spoilers, unless you haven't seen the show)

NICOLE EMILY CLARK bio

INFORMATIONS

FULL NAME: Nicole Emily Clark (born Russel)

NICKAME: Nikki (she always wrote it this way everywhere, even when taking exams in school cause she liked it. She didn't like her name very much and with the outbreak, even less people actually called her Nicole. She liked to meet new people so she could tell them her name was Nikki.)

DATE OF BIRTH: 1991

AGE: 19 (Season 1-3//2010); 21 (Season 4//2012); 22 (Season 5//2013); 23 (Season 7//2014); 30 (Season 8//2021)

SEX: Female

ORIENTATION: Bi (but it's pretty irrelevant in the story)

NATIONALITY: American

ETHNICITY: Caucasian-American

ORIGINS: She’s of English, Scottish and Irish ancestry

OCCUPATION: Pre-Apocalypse: Former Student at Paul R. Williams High School; Volunteer Nurse; Former nursing school Alumni

Post-Apocalypse: Former Member of the Broke Jaw Ranch; //

FAMILY

PARENTS: Jean Russel and Harold Russel, deceased.

SIBLINGS: She has no biological sibling and was born an only child but she views Nick and Alicia as her siblings, tho she is closer to Nick.

RELATIVES: Unnamed relatives; Madison Clark (adoptive mother/legal guardian); The Clarks (adoptive family).

FRIENDS: Nick Clark, best friend (they knew each other since kindergarten and got into drugs together); Gloria (friends through Nick); Alicia Clark (good friends, not as close as she is with Nick tho)

PARTNERS: She never actually dated anyone before the outbreak (she was too busy dealing with her shit really)

PERSONALITY: In Nick's fashion, Nikki is a flawed teenager who suffered from heroin addiction. She suffered throughout her life and was made fearful, reserved and with an obsessive fear of abandonment by the two people who were supposed to care for her, until she was taken in by Madison. She and Nick were in their own bubble, one dealing with deep trauma and the other dealing with his father's distant anq rather neglectful behavior, which started to get worse after Nikki joined their family but Nick never blamed her. Their addiction often caused trouble for her newfound family, who suffered because of this, and their attempts to stop this further resulted in more failure and even though Nikki was the first to get cleaned, it bested her and she stole drugs before the outbreak, but this was the last time she ever took some, unlike Nick.

Unlike Nick, who can put his life on the line because of his addictive behavior, her more fearful persona led her to be more careful and quiet. She observes people and mentally assesses situation, making plans, or things like that, in her own head. She has trouble sharing her ideas with others, but she really doesn't speak much in general. She does things and moves around in silence, often taking people by surprise when they eventually notice her presence. She second guesses herself a lot and has very little trust in her own abilities which leads her to having a rather low self-esteem and confidence.

Like Nick, she is smart and the both of them are the first to understand that the infected aren't actually "infected" but rather dead. She is also, like him, quite selfless and always helps around. With her nurse training, she never thinks twice before offering medical help to people, no matter who they are; like at the military compound after Madison put a spoon in Troy's eye, leaving it bleeding and swollen. She treats him, though she, unsurprisingly, does so in silence, ignoring his stares and questions and barely talking to him. She wasn't afraid of him but rather felt somehow uncomfortable.

Something else she shares with Nick is that she can be impressionable and easily led by people with a stronger personality, such as Victor Strand, Celia Flores, Madison or even Nick himself, because if he led by someone else, she will most likely follow in his steps. As an example, after leaving Celia Flores' home, she is quite confused and lost and starts listening to Victor Strand. After they arrive at the Broke Jaw ranch, she starts disliking Jeremiah Otto because he reminds her of her father when he raises his voice. She gained a little in confidence at this time and since Madison wants to deal with Troy, she says he seems to like her and she will get close to him but really, though she didn't like him, she wasn't sure how to feel about him. With a dark charisma and a stronger and more unpredictable personality, Troy kept her on her toes. Maybe she, subconsciously, liked the instability of it all. She never knew if Troy was going to be normal or a total asshole.

After the dam incident, she almost drowned and it gave her PTSD. She became scared of having water up to her torso as well. The loss of Nick totally wrecked her and she felt as if she had lost her heart. She had a very hard time mourning the one she called her best friend and brother. She totally switched after that and became ruthless and cold towards most people and she would cry in private.

APPEARANCE: Nikki is a young woman of short height, standing at 5'3" (160 cm), an inch more with her shoes on, and has a quite petite figure, especially when she wears oversize clothes and her big khaki jacket that she's had since high school. Except in summer, she usually wears vintage looking sweaters with a t-shirt underneath and a pair of baggy jeans with black classic converse. In summer she switches her sweaters for a raglan shirt with black or red sleeves. She wears one as a pajama as well.

She experienced huge weight loss from her heroin addiction which landed her at the hospital as well as rehab, her face got sunken making her look a bit older than her age.

⚠WARNING - TONS OF SPOILERS AHEAD⚠

BACKGROUND: Nikki, of her full name Nicole Emily Russel was born in 1991, to Jean and Harold Russel in LA, California. Her family had been living in the States since the 60s and she was second generation to be born and raised there. She was born in a very pious and strict Christian household and had a complicated relationship with her parents growing up. Her father repeated learned behaviour from his own physically abusive father and would hit her quite often to “discipline” her, and her mother was very passive regarding those unjustified punishments, enabling him. In first year of primary school, Nikki met Nick Clark. The two got sat next to each other in class and almost immediately became friends. Because of that their mothers started talking as they would come to pick them up from school, joking about how similar their names were, Nicole and Nicholas, Nikki and Nick. Like they were two sides of the same coin. When her mother talked with Madison Clark, Nikki saw a completely different side of her, a façade really, that she put on to pretend that she was a nice, good person, and it gave her false hope that her mother was actually what she pretended but when they would get back home, the yelling and beatings would resume and her mother would sit by and do her thing, not caring about it.

For the longest time, Nikki thought she deserved all this and that it was a normal life. She had to keep it a secret because her father told her that if she told anyone, bad people would come and take her and lock her away forever. So, she spent years being terrified of being separated from her parents. It was her worst fear. She somehow managed to keep the various bruises on her body hidden because she would never go to the infirmary, and she would not take part in PE classes because her left leg had been fragilized after being broken. This time around, it had nothing to do with the abuse she was put through. There was a tree in the backyard of the house -which they had cut down after- and when she was around 6, the summer before she went back to school, she tried to climb it and fell. Because the year she met Nick, she had her leg in a cast, she needed assistance and the teacher had assigned him to help her around. That was the actual beginning of their friendship. He was the only one that she then allowed to get close to her because she was so shy and quiet around other people. She never spoke in class.

Her leg remained in a cast for two months and in October ’97, it was removed. During those past couple of months, her father barely laid a hand on her and she almost got used to it. She thought he had stopped being violent altogether because she was hurt and he cared for her but once it was taken off, he started hitting and spanking her again, only keeping himself from going too far because her mom told him they would have the social services on their ass if it got too obvious. At school, she was dispensed from physical activities as her leg was still healing but even 6 months later, in March ’98, she still had some troubles with her leg. Over time, the doctors saw that the leg remained fragilized though she was healing well and to prevent her bone from breaking again in the future, Nikki was told to avoid doing sports. Every time they did a sport that involved running, she couldn’t, the rest of the time, she carefully dressed to cover her body, even if she had no noticeable bruise. It became a reflex as she grew up. For the rest of their primary school years, no one never knew what she was going through. She only ever wore pants and long-sleeved t-shirt or jackets. Even Nick, for the longest time, never saw her arms or legs uncovered.

By the time they turned 14, Nick’s relationship got complicated with his father. That’s when Nikki started rebelling, when she was 13, and she ran away one night, she managed to make her way to Nick’s house and climbed to his window. She ran away that night specifically because in the evening prior, she got into a huge fight with her father, and he gave her a black eye and busted lip. At first, he didn’t realize she was hurt because she wasn’t saying anything and it was dark but when he turned on his light, he was appalled and shocked. She tried to play it off saying she was assaulted by some guy on the street and ran off, but he wouldn’t believe her. He kept trying to find out what happened and she wouldn't tell him, she would just ask him to help her, and he did, but she didn’t want his mom to know, saying that things would get more complicated. He tried to go get stuff to tend to her face, but he accidentally made some noise and Madison woke up. She saw her son with his hands full of compresses and other things and she came into his room but by then, Nikki had heard them talk and got scared. She climbed back out the window and ran off. She didn’t know where to go. She was completely lost and had no idea what to do. If she went back, Madison could help but she was terrified to be taken away from her parents, and if she went back to them instead, she was terrified of what might be done to her for running away and telling people about what was happening.

She was even more scared of staying on the streets and eventually went back to her parents, in hope that they didn’t realize she had run off in the first place. She found the window still up and when she got in, she saw the door was still locked. She couldn’t sleep that night, but she was so exhausted that she fell asleep without even realizing. She woke up when she heard a key turn inside her door’s lock and her mother came into the room, her phone in her hand. Nick and Madison had been trying to call her the whole night and asked her what this was about. Nikki pretended she had no idea and asked if she could get her phone back, but her mom refused, telling her that she was going away to Christian camp for the holidays, without her phone. That morning, Madison and Nick showed up at their house, asking about Nikki. Madison had understood something was off and she was careful with her tone and words but still, Jean didn't let them in, saying Nikki was still asleep, when in reality, she was simply locked up in her room. She eventually closed the door on them and they slowly walked back to their car when Nick casually went around the house and saw Nikki's silhouette behind a thin curtain at a window on the second floor. He could tell she saw him because she walked away to hide.

Nick went back to his mom and urged her to call the police. He told her what he saw and as he had already told her about the injuries she had last night, she dialed 911 and called for a wellness check on Nikki, saying they had suspicion of child abuse. She pressed them to come quickly and said she feared for the 13-year-old's life as she thought her parents might try to take her away today. She couldn't give them many information on the situation as she had no idea what really went down in that house but she knew for a fact it was bad. Nick was walking back and forth, worried sick for his best friend and he and his mom stayed in front of the house until the police came, in case the Russels tried to leave. After a few minutes, a car finally arrived and Nick instantly walked up to the two officers that got out. He was frantic and they told him to calm down as they walked up to the door and knocked. Jean opened. Her husband was actually not there because he was at work. They talked with her for a moment, asking about Nikki, telling her they needed to see her but Jean, with this warm smile assured everything was fine. They insisted but she argued back. At some point, Nick was so done waiting he abruptly slipped inside the house and ran up the stairs. Jean yelled at him but it gave the opportunity for the two officers to finally enter as Nick was upstairs, ramming Nikki's door after he found it locked.

He called for the officers who ran up to join him and they ordered Jean to unlock the door while Nick tried to talk to the girl inside but she was curled up in a corner of the room, frightened by all the noise and fearing her mother would get mad at her if she spoke. Jean eventually gave them the key, quite reluctant to do so and they opened. Nick went up to her and hugged her. She started crying and was then taken to the station where they called CPS on the Russels. Because of the black eye and busted lip, they radioed for a medic unit to come meet them at the station. They had to leave because Jean was being hysterical and demanding to take back her child, saying this was all nonsense. Madison and Nick insisted to come along to provide Nikki with support while things were being dealt with and the officers let them. They sat with her and Nick looked like he was glued to her, holding her against him the whole time. He felt as if he had failed her by letting this go on for so long. The medics arrived, took Nikki's vitals and tried to ask her a couple questions but her lips were sealed.

From Nick's statement, who was the first to see Nikki last night -Madison was told after, she didn't see her right away, it could only be considered hearsay-, she already had the injuries then but when Nikki was asked about it, she mumbled, bit her lips and didn't really say much. She was taken to the hospital to be checked by a doctor when she finally said her father had done this to her. Her claims were backed by the police report that the officers filed after conducting the wellness check and photographs were taken before treating her. When CPS finally responded to the report filed by the police, they spoke with them, as they were the ones who called and then interviewed everyone involved, starting with Nikki who they had to really put at ease for her to speak. Given the emergency of the situation, Nikki was not brought back to her house and as she had been already removed from her house, they sought a court order. With an emergency guardianship ruling, Madison was allowed to take Nikki with her while CPS conducted their investigations on the Russels. Madison almost immidietaly registered the Clarks as foster carers, to make sure she wouldn't be moved to another family. In the weeks and months that followed, there was a number of court audiences and Nikki's parents lost custody and their parental rights were terminated. Madison and her then husband were deemed the best to take care of her from now on and became her legal guardians, though Madison really embodied that role, her husband not so much.

There were regular visit from CPS workers assigned to the case to assess how the Clarks were adjusting to the changes and if Nikki was well. She was sharing Nick's room and his bed had been switched to a bunk one. They were long term best friends and had always been like siblings so they were really happy about the situation. Madison eventually started to think of adopting Nikki and she spoke to ther latter about becoming a Clark too. A court date was eventually set to finalize the adoption and within the year, Nicole Russel became Nicole Clark. By then, Nikki's parents had been sentenced to prison for child abuse. Her father, who struck her was sentenced to 6 years in prison and her mother, who let this happen and would lock her in her room, removing all means of communication with the outside world every night, was sentenced to 2 years in prison. They were also forbidden to go anywhere near their child.

After what happened, she had become even quieter. She was there for Nick as his relationship with his own father got difficult and they both eventually began hanging out at the abandoned church where they would shoot up, both falling into addiction, at just 13 years old. The next five years proved draining for everyone. When they were 14, Madison found out about Nick's addiction and he covered for Nikki and for a while, they only knew about his addiction but after he went to rehab for the first time, it became obvious that she suffered the same affliction and thought it best to send her to a different rehab facility than Nick. Nikki didn’t like it but unlike Nick, she didn’t complain about it. He was upset about it and criticized his mother for separating them, but she stood her grounds. To her, not being around each other for a time could only help them. Of course, when they would get out, they would genuinely try not to do drugs again, but the addiction would prove stronger than their willpower each time. From then on and for the rest of their high school years, they were in and out of rehab. They somehow managed to graduate despite everything, which led them to miss school quite often and she went to rehab for the umpteenth time. She was accepted to nursing school and by the time the first semester ended, she was expelled for stealing drugs from the infirmary. She had no prospect of any kind of a future so she found a job at a gas station and not long after, the outbreak happened. She was at work the day things went down.

[FEAR THE WALKING DEAD-MASTERLIST]

#oc #original character #ftwd #ftwd spoilers #ftwd oc #ftwdedit #fear the walking dead #fear the walking dead oc #fear the walking dead fanfic #oc bio #oc biography #ftwd fic #ftwd fanfic #ftwd fanfiction #fanfiction #series rewrite #ftwd rewrite #madison clark #nick clark

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formerprincess · 3 years

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A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 58

Chapters: 58/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken, Mason Hewitt, Corey Bryant, Nolan (Teen Wolf) Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, Mates, Liam and Theo are mates, Top Theo Raeken, Bottom Theo Raeken, Top Liam, Bottom Liam Dunbar Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

Liam has to take care of a very important matter. And there is an invitation...

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Liam immensely enjoyed working for Ellie. She was happy to show him her craft, teach him things, but she was also very easygoing, and as long as she saw him trying, she loved him and was thrilled with his performance. Also, Ellie knew about the supernatural, so she completely understood when he looked at his phone after it chimed with a text, just in case his pack needed him. Not that anything had come up in the few weeks since Liam started working for her, but he liked to have this option. He didn't have to hide anything, and Liam realized how much better he felt with that.

When work was slow, they talked about a lot of things and Ellie taught Liam some things about supernatural creatures. She had laughed loudly at the story about the fairies in their garden and proceeded to elucidate the different variations of fairies and elves. There were plant fairies, water fairies, sun fairies, and almost that many elves classes. Just like there were different weres out there. Liam felt kind of silly he didn't know about any of this and one day voiced his thoughts. Was he simply ignorant or just blind?

"Neither. You're from a town where none of those things exist. Don't blame yourself for that", Carlie said. Carlie was one of Ellie's three best friends, the other two being Libby and Simone. All three were at Ellie's age and the friends had a weekly meeting at the shop where they sat together, talked about their lives, drank tea or coffee, and ate cookies. Carlie herself was a petite woman with short spiky hair and big square glasses. From what they had told Liam upon first meeting, they all were elves but Liam secretly suspected Carlie of being a pixie. She was cheeky, witty, always said what was on her mind, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. Needless to say, Liam liked her. "Yeah, but I also feel like I should know more." "You know enough. About Onis and Berserkers and Kitsunes and hell and other terrible things. You're twenty. Most guys your age know how to party and wear their base caps the wrong way." She bit into a cookie. Liam laughed. "My boyfriend likes to wear his caps the wrong way. He looks hot with it. But he also knows other things." "You have so much time to learn still. Don't worry. Even we old ladies don't know about any supernatural being out there", Simone comforted him and filled her cup with some more tea. She was the opposite of Carlie; tall, thin, and the quietest of the bunch. "I also agree with Carlie, you know about terrible things, traumatic things, things one should not know about. Especially not this early in life. But unfortunately, trauma is also experience. " Liam made a face. He sat down on the armrest of one of the chairs Ellie had placed around. "I just could have lived without some of those experiences. I mean, I could have gone without the experience of being homeless but hey. Maybe that's just me." Ellie put her arm over the backrest of her chair and turned to look at Liam. "When have you been homeless?" They talked about a lot of stuff but Liam's life story, she only knew parts of it. Good parts. He didn't want to deliver sob story after sob story. Liam had a good life, he knew some people had it worse. He cherished that. Now he exhaled loudly through his nose and then he told the four women how the hyenas came into town and caused havoc, how they finally destroyed the house and left the pack picking up the pieces. He ended with the move to the new house.

After he finished, his listeners were shocked. "You experienced all this and you still find it in yourself to be such a happy and polite young man?" Libby asked in awe. She was usually full of life and laughed loudly, her afro curls always bouncing around her round face, but now she was stunned. Liam shrugged. "What's the option? Turning bitter? It worked out in the end. Doesn't mean I will ever forgive them for what they did but no one died, at least." "You are a terrific young man, Liam", Ellie praised. He smiled softly. "Thank you."

The store door opened and Angela, Ellie's oldest daughter, stepped into the shop. She was a lawyer and used her breaks to visit sometimes. She greeted everyone happily and hugged her mother. Liam ran to get her a fresh cup and dragged another seat to their circle so he should sit and interact with the group. She squeezed his arm in a silent thank you as she sat down and accepted the cup. "What were you guys talking about? Is everything okay?" She asked good-heartedly. "Liam just told us about those horrible, horrible hyenas who destroyed his house" Libby filled her in. Angela raised both eyebrows. "I hope none of you were harmed." "Everybodys fine. We managed to get out in time before the house exploded. I'm just grateful I got my brother out of town before it happened." "Oh, you have a brother? I didn't know that." Angela loved kids and had specialized in family rights. She claimed she liked to help kids get justice. "Hm." Liam nodded. He walked to the cash register where he left his phone and while he walked back searched through his pictures. "Landon. He's almost ten." She showed her and the rest of the women the picture and they all cooed how much alike the brothers looked. "You said you brought his out of town? So I take he's usually living with you? Your parents must appreciate such a tight brother's bond." Angela was surprised but happy. Liam hesitated. "Landon's not my mother's son. We're half brothers. Same dad. Well, father. Sperm donor. My biological father is...he's a piece of shit. Alcoholic. Abuser. You get it. I didn't even know Landon existed until we met months ago by a pure coincidence. The circumstances don't matter but in the end, Theo and I took him home with us. Not a chance I would have let him stay with that man. So he lived with us in the house. Until I brought him to the lake to keep him safe. He lives there now." Liam missed Landon terribly but they were all still so young, they could not care for a child properly. Byron and Lana were perfect for that task and Landon also liked them. He blinked. "But enough of sad stories. Let's talk about something different, okay?"

****** He was cleaning up after Ellie's friends had left. After he had basically pleaded for a change of topic, the talk had revolved around lighter topics and ended on a very funny note. Now Ellie was in the back, doing some accounting, and Liam manned the front of the store. Angela was the only one still there. Now she stepped to the cash register where Liam was currently filling some jars with bagged candy. "I'm going to tell you something, not as a friend but as a lawyer, okay? And I need you to listen." She looked serious and Liam tensed. What happened? "Did I do something wrong? Is your mother mad at me?" "No. But listen." She tapped both index fingers on the counter. "You need your biological father to sign his rights over to you as fast as possible. What you said about him, having him in Landon's and your life is dangerous and not good for either of you. So you need to act fast. Have him make you Landon's legal guardian." Liam frowned. "I planned on doing so once I turned twenty-one. I wasn't aware I can do it now. Thought I had to be twenty-one." Angela shook her head strictly. "No. You need to do it now. In most states, anyone who is eighteen years old can become a guardian. Look, who tells you your father agrees to it in a year? He still holds guardianship and can make decisions for your brother. If he does not sign over his rights, he has so much time to cause harm. You said Landon's almost ten. That means another eight years of having the right to decide about medical procedures, school enrollment, the living situation. Even if Landon stays with you, all it takes is somebody checking who is the legal guardian for Landon. Could be school, could be a doctor's office, or if he gets in trouble it could be the police. If he's in the hospital. For eight years, you have to always fear for this to happen. If your father does not sign his rights over." "If he does not do it on his own, I will take him to court." Angela shook her head even more firm this time. "Honestly? They will ask you where Landon lived for the past year. Legally, what you and Theo did was kidnapping. If you manage to get a strict judge, that alone will cause you to lose the case. Landon will get sent back to his father and you're probably not even allowed to see him. I told you, I'm not telling you this as a friend. As your friend, I understand why you did it, as a lawyer I have to inform you about this likely possibility. The only chance you have is to have your father make you his guardian." It was a hard pill to swallow and Liam gulped. He had been naive, he realized now, and considered it all easier than it was. And maybe Landon had to pay the price for his neglect. "Thank you, Angela", he mumbled sadly.

****** Liam sat in his car and watched the house across the street. The sun was beating down and these barren landscapes made the air even drier. The dusty roads stirred up sand whenever a car raced by. Bleak. He cast a look at the passenger seat. All documents he needed were laying there, including a pen. Now all that Liam was left to do, was get out of the car, walk up to the door, and get a signature. Angela's stern talk from days ago had left Liam rallied. Once he was home, he had told Theo about everything and the couple had to admit them taking Landon out of the house had been a stupid move from the legal point of view. They had emotions get the better of them and now this potentially harmful situation had arisen. Theo had supported Liam in whatever was needed to ensure he would become Landon's guardian but the Beta was also not a lawyer and as much at loss as Liam.

Thank god for Angela. She had helped Liam set up the documents Emmet had to sign and those documents Liam grabbed now when he exited the car. Theo was not with him, his boyfriend didn't even know Liam was here. Nobody knew. This, Liam felt, was something he had to don his own. Maybe to find a deserving ending. Maybe to test his control. Or maybe this was stupid but then again, Liam could proudly admit he was doing stupid crap now and then. Stiles, according to his own claim, could show Liam a list.

He let out a shaky breath when he walked through the unkempt front lawn. Some new beer bottles and cans had gathered around the chair. Emmet was not there but Liam heard his heartbeat through the ajar window. You're not going to kill him, Liam. He does not deserve you getting your hands dirty. Liam knocked at the door. Inside the house, he heard some bottles falling and Emmet's slurred voice mumbling. Then scuffling steps and the door opened. And the young Alpha had to gasp and take a step back. "God, you stink!" The stench of booze, beer, and sweat made him almost gag. Disgusting, his man. "You. What do you want?" Emmet slurred angrily and grabbed the door for support. Liam turned his head away and took a few breaths. He willed his nausea down and turned to face his father. "How long have you been drinking, alkie?" "What do you care? Why are you even here? I don't want you." "Trust me, I don't want you either. But I need something from you and that means I have to come here. I would rather be somewhere else, believe that." "What? Want money for the little gremlin? I'm not giving you a dime." Emmet swayed on his feet. "I don't need your money. Go inside, before you fall flat on your face. I'm not catching you." Liam pointed inside the house. His father made a step towards him. "I should beat the crap out of you for talking to me like that and not stop til you're whimpering. Do you know who I am?" "A sorry excuse for a worm." Liam pushed his biological father by the shoulder and he stumbled back. As drunk as he was, he didn't stand a chance against an Alpha.

Emmet was taken by surprise but managed to catch himself at the table. He spewed a few curse words in Liam's direction before he shuffled around and fell on one of the chairs with the grace of a sack filled with potatoes. Liam closed the door and followed inside. His nose twitched and he wanted to retch at the smell and how dirty everything was but he kept himself from it last minute. This was not for him, this was for Landon. "How's your mother? Still wailing about how horrible I am? The slut should be lucky an honest man wanted her." "My mother is neither a slut nor are you an honest man. Don't mention her or I break your nose." Liam felt his anger building up. This was a test for his control and he might fail it. "Piss off! She's the reason you're such a weak bastard. Wonder what happened with the other one. He's just as weak. Cried whenever I hit him. Begged me to stop. Just like you. Oh, I remember you. Your mother screamed and cried when the ambulance came. I would have left you on the ground. Would have taught you a lesson." "I didn't need a lesson, I needed a father who loved me!" Liam slammed the papers on the table. "Here! Sign this!"

Emmet grabbed it after a few tries and dragged it over the table. He narrowed his eyes at the print. "What should I sign?" "Those are the papers for you to make me Landon's legal guardian. Sign and we're out of your hair forever." Liam balled his hands and felt his fingertips itch. His claws wanted to come out, his wolf furious at the man in front of him. Years of pent-up rage welled up and dared to spill over. He could kill Emmet and probably nobody would shed a tear. Laughter disrupted his thoughts. Emmet had left the papers on the table and laughed. It boomed in Liam's ears. His blood rushed through his veins. This man was mocking him. "If you really think I'm signing this crap, you're mistaken. Know why? Because you bastard want me to and you get nothing from me!" Emmet was still laughing but decided to underline his words by spitting in Liam's direction. It landed on the carpet between them. His claws almost broke through and he was ready to lunge but a voice in his head stopped him. No. Not like this. Not him. Maybe it was his wolf who was even stronger than Liam's human side burdened with IED but it was enough to make Liam pause. If you kill him, you'll never become Landon's guardian. Keep the little one safe.

Liam exhaled loudly through his nose and closed his eyes for a second. If even the animal inside him knew better, he would follow. Had to follow. All for his little brother. Landon didn't deserve a murderer for a hero. He opened his eyes and stared at Emmet. Suddenly Liam was seven again, cowering at the floor while his father screamed at him and walked closer and closer. He had put his arms up back then, in a feeble attempt to shield his body from the hits, and pleaded for the man to stop. Fear. Panic. Pain. But this time Liam didn't feel panicked. He was not afraid of this drunkard calling himself a father. Instead, Liam felt disgust and maybe even pity. This guy had nothing to live for. It gave the young Alpha a strange sense of calm. Out of the two of them, Liam was the better man. The better person. IED or not. The condition didn't rule him as much as it ruled his father, and Liam had quite a lot more on his plate.

He sat at the opposite of the table and took the pen in his hands. "And why wouldn't you? What's in it for you? Just to be petty? Just to put one over on me?" Emmet snickered. "It will bug you forever, that's good enough for me." He reached for a bottle of booze and uncorked it to take a swig. Liam glared at him. Then he put the pen down. His glance landed on his bracelet. The bracelet he shared with Theo. Suddenly, he got an idea. Maybe it was time to see if he could take a book out of Theo's playbook. He raised his head and crossed his arms on top of the table. "Okay, fine, don't sign. We will play your game. I will send Landon back to live here." Emmet eyed him. "You're bluffing." "Not at all. He will come and live with you again. But be aware. I will be around every damn day." "And then what? What will you do? Punch me? You're no match for me", Emmet sneered. "If you lay so much as one finger on him, and we both know you will, I will call the cops on you. They will come and they will arrest you for domestic violence. And yes, Landon may be sent to foster care but I will make sure you will be sent to prison. There is no booze, no beer, no schnapps in prison. But the people there love people who abused kids. I know people and I will make sure every inmate knows what you did to two little boys. That's what will be awaiting you. No freedom to get wasted like you're doing now every day. Think about it." His biological father still eyed him suspiciously. "No way you would ever let him live here again." "To get you locked up, I would do other things. Landon too, by the way. All to make sure you will rot in hell. He's tough, he will take whatever you might to do him. Maybe I will move in as well. One happy family. With me comes my boyfriend, obviously. By the way, how's your hand?" He looked at Emmet's fingers wrapped around the neck of the bottle. Father and son stared at each other, accessed each other until Emmet snorted. "Your mother raised you better than this. I call bluff. You don't have it in you, weak shit!" A cold, dangerous smile appeared on Liam's face and he leaned closer. "You call my mom a slut and other horrible names, yet you forget I also inherited DNA from you. We both have IED. Wanna find out how much more alike we are? If I'm as cruel as you are?" He gave his father a death glare. "You want to start a war? I'll raise you World War III. Your choice. Either don't sign and feel the whiplash or sign and you will never have to see us again." Liam placed the pen on the papers and waited. His heart was thundering inside his chest. That was not his usual way to carry on negotiations and he had no idea if it worked. Theo made it always seem so easy and pulled it off without a hitch. But Liam knew he was not that good. Emmet grabbed the pen and fiddled with it. He scribbled his signature at the marked fields, an unruly chicken scratch but his signature nonetheless. "Get the hell out of here. If I see you on my front lawn again, I will shoot you." Liam's hand shot towards and he pulled the documents towards himself after the last signature was done. "I have better people to be around than you. Give your liver a break once in a while." He got up just in time as Emmet's hand shot towards his throat. The alcoholic missed by far and his hand thumped on the table. "Fuck off, you piss baby!" The sound of the splintering bottle hitting the wall was the last thing Liam heard from his father when he now left the house without so much of a goodbye.

It only dawned on him what just had transpired when he was in his car and already on the road. Liam stopped at a red light and breathed a sigh of relief. "Holy shit!" He had faced Emmet Dunbar, that one man he hated with a burning passion, the one who had made his childhood horrible and hurt Liam, Ilona, and Landon so much. Against what he had wanted to do to him, Emmet had left the meeting completely without a cut, Liam was incredibly proud of himself. Even though now, that everything settled, his hands shook and his heart raced, adrenaline pumping through his body. That had the potential to go so, so wrong and yet Liam stood tall. He glanced at the papers safely sitting on the passenger seat. Not only had it worked out without Liam losing his temper, but it had also really worked and he was Landon's guardian. The threat of Emmet interfering with their lives and taking Landon away again was erased. Liam wanted to cry.

His phone chimed and Liam almost hit another car. "Jesus Christ!" He accepted the call over the speaker. "Hey, Theo." "Hey. Say, just out of curiosity, where the hell are you? Nobody knows where you left. It's not like you to disappear like that. What's going on." Liam bit his lip. "I was at Emmet's." "Emmet? Emmet Dunbar? Your father? What the fuck! Is he still alive?" "Shh, let me explain. I told you about what Angela said and I went to get his signature. Yes, he's still alive, I didn't touch him. Even though I wanted to." He heard Theo closing a door and birds singing in the background. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have accompanied you." Yeah, good question. Liam didn't know for sure. "I guess...I needed to burn this bridge alone? Prove to myself I can stay calm around him. I'm not like him in any capacity and while I know you and I absolutely adore you for always being there for me, this was something I had to do alone. You understand? Maybe for my own peace of mind, I dunno." Theo was silent for a few moments. "Yeah, I understand", he finally confessed. "Did it work, at least?" A smile broke out on Liam's face. "Yep. Have all the signatures I need. Thanks to you as well." "Thanks to me? What did I do?" "Well, let's say you're a good teacher, even if you don't want to be one. I'll tell you everything once I get home, okay?" Theo laughed. "Okay. Love you." "Love you too."

****** Landon's face appeared on the screen in front of Liam and as soon as he had a picture, the child waved animatedly. "Hello, Liam!" Videocalls were a good way to keep in contact even if they could not see each other in person. Liam happily waved back. "Hey, Landon, how are you?" "I'm good. Zack and I built a fort." Landon launched himself into a story of all the things his best friend and he had done. Lana and Byron appeared in the background of the call but they simply waved and let the boy talk. Liam put his chin in the palm of his hand and listened with a smile. Seeing Landon so carefree and hearing about him being a normal child was all he ever wanted. It came nine years too late and Liam knew his brother must have been affected one way or another by his upcoming but now that he was out of Emmet's claws, Landon was in for an amazing life. After he was done, Landon asked about Liam's life in Seattle. Now it was the older's turn to talk about college, his pack, the fairies (Landon loved this part and he asked thousands of questions). Theo had joined Liam for a while and laughed softly. "He's like you", he whispered into his mate's ear and kissed Liam's cheek before he disappeared out of the frame again after a wave in Landon's direction. Liam chuckled but then he finished his story. "One more thing, Landon. You know we took you away from Emmet, right?" Landon shivered at the mention of his father's name but nodded bravely. "Do I have to go back? Please, don't make me go back!" "No, no, hey, I would never. That's why I'm telling you. He signed all the papers. I am your guardian now." Lana and Byron appeared left and right from Landon. "He did? Oh, how wonderful, Liam." Lana was touched. Landon scrunched his nose. "What does guardian mean?" "It means Liam is responsible for you now and Emmet can never hurt you again. Say you want to go on a class trip, for example, the school has to ask Liam and not your father anymore", Byron patiently explained to him. Landon considered. "So, he can't get me?" "Never again. He's out of your life for good", Liam promised firmly. His brother beamed at the adults. "That's amazing!" "Yeah, it is." Lana stroked through his hair. "But, Sweetie, you have to get ready for bed now. Tomorrow's a school day." "But I want to keep talking to Liam. I'm not finished." Yes, Landon could be stubborn. "We can talk tomorrow, Laddie. After school, yeah? Now you have to get ready for bed. Sleep is important. I'm going to bed now too. Theo does too. See?" He rolled to the side and tilted his screen so Landon could see Theo brushing his teeth with the bathroom door open. Theo waved. It wasn't that he actually wanted to go to bed but he had tried some licorice Mike had brought home, not from Ellie though, and after eating it Theo claimed to have a bad taste in his mouth. Landon huffed. "But we talk tomorrow", he insisted. "Werewolf promise." Liam raised his hand solemnly to swear. "Good Night, Laddie." "Good Night, Liam. Good Night, Theo." Landon stood up. "Good Night, you two," Lana called out and then disappeared with Landon.

Byron sat on the desk chair. "I know he signed but did the meaning with your father go well?" "It did. As well as possible with this man. I was pretty surprised at my control. At a certain point, I was ready to snap but somehow my wolf made me pull back and I got more level-headed." "That's the Alpha in you. Even if our personality or our urges say otherwise, sometimes the Alpha part can balance it out to keep the peace. It is impressive how well you learned to work with your wolf." The praise was nice because Liam tried. Sometimes it felt like all he did was running in circles but then he proved to everyone (and mostly himself) he was a good person and improving. "Speaking of Alpha and peace, Liam I forwarded an email to you just now. Have a look at it, maybe Theo should do so as well."

Theo had dried his mouth and now walked over to lean on Liam's chair while Liam opened the mail Byron had forwarded. It included a word document and when Liam opened it, it turned out to be an invitation to a meeting held in a hotel in Seattle. "Liam, part of being an Alpha are pack politics." Liam whined. "I told you I'm not good at that! What is this? An Alpha congress? I can't go there." "Maybe let the man talk before you cut and run", Theo suggested and smoothly avoided the contact between Liam's elbow and his stomach by moving aside. "I know what you said, Liam, and this is no pressure but I wanted to inform you. The invitation is indeed for an Alpha meeting. No congress, just a few Alphas coming together and talking." "About what?" Liam saw himself on a stage, in front of hundreds of Alphas, a whole auditorium filled with them, and making a fool out of himself. People would laugh. It would be a degrading experience. "Life. This and that. No one is expecting a speech from you, Liam. See I've been to a few of those meetings. There are only packs living close by attending these meetings. They're mostly boring. You stand around, do some small talk, maybe eat a quick snack, and leave. But they can also help you get a better idea of which packs are around yours. In the area. It can be interesting, if only so for scouting. But, of course, that does not mean you have to attend. It's no declaration of war not to go there. Just like you cannot declare war by saying a wrong word if you go." "Those are all Alphas, experienced Alphas probably, and then I show up. Junior McJunington. What will they think?" "Screw what they think. So what if they're older or more experienced? You're you and that's awesome" Theo passionately declared. "Thank you, Dr. Seuss", Liam hissed. He frowned and scratched his cheek. "I have to think about this." "As it is your right. Don't do anything you're not comfortable with." "If I should attend, there will be no problem? I can just show up there?" "The invitation is addressed to the Alpha of the Morning Dew Pack. They seemingly didn't get the memo about the change in our pack but that doesn't matter. The invitation is for you, not for me. Actually, no Beta can attend the meeting. And no Alpha mate either unless they're specifically invited." "I have to go there alone??" Liam shrieked. In his mind, he had Theo by his side. Maybe Brett and Caden since both could be real charmers and have intellectual conversations. Corey would have also a good match despite him being as insecure as Liam in those settings. Byron rubbed his hands together. "Those are the rules. But I know, alone or not, you will be just fine. Should you go or not. This is not something I can do for you. The decision is all yours. Just one more thing, to be fair. you will be the youngest in this group. By a few decades, I suppose. That's why I don't think they will pay you much attention. They're just curious." "Great", Liam said sarcastically. "Given my track records with strange Alphas so far, this will be a marvelous experience."

****** "I don't think you should go. What if that's a trap?" Tim worried about Liam's safety. Liam had informed his pack about the invitation right the next day and after classes, they were sitting in the living room and discussing this. "I think he should go. Just to check the others out. Maybe he can make allies?" Brett opposed. "I also think Liam should go. Byron said he has been to a few of those meetings. I don't think it's a trap", Sadie tried to dissolve Tim's worry and he gave her a grateful look. "The two strange Alphas I met in the last year have both tried to kill me. You understand I'm not keen on walking in a room full of unfamiliar Alphas?" Liam questioned. "I think that should be the reason you go", Ever stated, "to show all of them you're not afraid. If they plan on messing with you, you will look them in the eye. Maybe then they won't underestimate you." "I just don't see the purpose of those meetings. From what Byron said it sounds pretentious." Corey looked peeved. "Oh, it is", Lori confirmed. "But they are not that rare. I don't think you have to be scared, Liam." She offered a genuine smile. Liem returned it cause he knew she was trying to make him feel better. "What do you mean by not rare?" "Well, they're not, if you have Alphas of the old school" Brett took over from his sister. "Modern Alphas just meet up, talk, like Scott with Satomi. They don't even call it an Alpha meeting and send out fancy invites. Those are practices of the old guard, mostly well-esteemed werewolves who love to use those meetings to gossip. Ever seen those movies with scenes in Gentlemen Clubs? Country Clubs? Those are the people to expect at those meetings. Byron's not that far off when he says they won't spare you a look. You're - and don't take this the wrong way - not their type of person, if you know what I mean." "The Alpha from my parents' pack also attends such meetings. They always gush about the delicious and expensive things they eat there. But this woman also has a rich husband and considers herself playing tennis and golf as labor. So, pretty much pompous, entitled snobs", Sadie said. Maya rolled her eyes. "I also know about those meetings but I'm so glad I never met an Alpha going there before. Eh, no offense, Liam." Liam groaned. "Okay, just the danger of becoming the new hot gossip for the elite wolves around. Yeah, I think I'll pass." "I would still go", Caden chimed in. "It's a good opportunity to get to know how many are around. Do you know that? They invited Byron so their radius must be quite large but how many packs live between Seattle and the lake? Wouldn't it be good to know in case we need help? What if the hyenas come back? Having some werewolf allies would not be that bad."

He had a point. They all did. Liam was still torn. For once because he was afraid of making a fool of himself, then for the reason not to offend another Alpha and start a war, and on top of it, he now came to the realization just how different those Alphas seemed to be. He looked at his boyfriend. "What do you say?" Theo had listened to everything and had made up his mind. "You should go. For all those reasons. Byron said there will not come anything bad from it. He would never let you go to any event if he feared something might happen to you. If he says you can go, I believe him. And yeah, it is a good way to get information. Maybe there are not that many packs around. But you will only find out if you go." Since most of his Betas said he should go, he considered. Maybe it was a good idea indeed. Only one problem: "If it's that high class, what should I wear?"

Fifteen minutes later Liam regretted that question. He stood in his bedroom while Theo, Brett, Mason, and Sadie sat on his bed. Sadie throned between the other guys, one leg crossed over the other, and looked like she was having the time of her life. Liam was the poor victim and had to model several outfits for the self-proclaimed fashion experts of his pack (he knew Theo could dress good but at this point, Liam felt betrayed) who all had other ideas of the perfect outfit. "That dress shirt is perfect for you. Not too out there but also not too normal" Mason praised Liam's current outfit consisting of black pants and a dark grey dress shirt. Liam hated it. It was not even one of his shirts but one of Theo's Mason had just grabbed. His boyfriend had not protested (see, there was the betrayal) but now shook his head. "That's not the outfit to go." "Absolutely right. Liam, grab the one I hung there." Sadie pointed at the clothes and Liam grumbled but grabbed them and stalked into the bathroom. When he emerged again, he was wearing jeans, a blue slipover with a white button-down shirt underneath. Liam felt like he was a kindergartener dressed by mommy. "Now you look like back in Devenford. Then again, maybe this private school flair is exactly what you need", Brett snickered. Liam glared at him and Theo scoffed before he handed Liam the third outfit. Liam glared at him too for good measure and disappeared into the bathroom again.

The outfit Theo had picked for him, Liam didn't even know where he got it. He had never seen Theo wearing this particular combo. Cloth trousers, a polo shirt and a sports jacket over it. "How the hell do you get this? And why do you get this?" He asked once he emerged from the bathroom. Interesting, Theo became a bit sheepishly. "I got it for some occasions? Maybe a job interview?" "This is so not you." Liam eyed himself in the mirror. "This is so not me either. What were you thinking, guys? None of your outfits were good." "You wanted us to help you", Mason defended himself. "I wanted to get suggestions, not become your dress-up doll", Liam replied sharply. Sadie sighed. "You're being difficult. Don't you want to make a good first impression?" "A good impression as himself, shouldn't that be the goal?" Caden had walked into the room and crossed the arms in front of his chest. He looked at Liam. "You look strange. Actually, you look like me whenever my aunt visited the family. Horrible." "How do you look when your aunt visits?" Brett had to know. Caden pulled out his cellphone and searched a bit before he handed the phone over. Brett snickered. "Okay, thanks for the laugh. So dapper, oh my. One would not think that since you're almost only ever wearing more casual clothing." Sadie giggled. "Does Ever know you can look like that?" "As a matter of fact, yeah. She doesn't like it. I can relate. But my aunt is quite old-fashioned and conservative. She came to town, we dressed like that, covered up our tattoos, the whole shebang. We just never liked it. Liam doesn't like dressing up either." "Tell me about it. That's a topic we have had since we're friends." Mason rolled his eyes. Liam wanted to glare at him but if he was honest, his best friend was right. So he raised his shoulders. "I have dress shirts. I just happen to like t-shirts and jeans more." "Hence why I think you should wear that", Caden stated. "You are not like the type of Alpha who wears expensive clothing and the latest brands. You're Liam. We like Liam. Why do you want to be somebody you're not? Just to impress people you probably will never see again after that one time?" "That's true." Even Theo had to admit that. "I know when you're comfortable and you never are when you dressed up to a certain extend." "I still think if the occasion calls for it, you should make an effort", Sadie insisted. "It's not about what you want; it's about what our Alpha wants. Liam goes to the meeting and Liam has to represent himself and our pack. He should do it as his truest self possible", Brett retaliated. She pouted.

But then she got up from the bed and walked towards Liam's open closet. She dug around there for a while before she pulled out a pale blue t-shirt. It was a new one, Liam had only worn it twice and he loved how soft the fabric was, it felt good and comfy on his skin. Sadie handed it to him. "The color makes your eyes pop. That and that one light blue jeans you have. If you walk into a room full of strange werewolves, bright colors make you look friendlier." "That's Sadie. If you can't dress them up the way you want, at least get into chromatics", Brett praised.

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Quite a Liam-centric chapter but then again he's the Alpha and Landon's brother. And he had to make decisions. Now the question is, what will happen at the meeting? What do you guys think? All I can say is, I'm excited about the new chapter.

#Thiam #A tale written with fangs and claws #alpha!liam #My writing #Morning Dew Pack series

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terreisa · 4 years

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Love Down the Line: Chapter 5

The last thing Indie musician Emma Swan needs is a gigantic wrench thrown in the workings of her biggest tour to date weeks before its launch. When her backing guitarist that caused the problem says she has the perfect solution Emma is skeptical but left with little choice but to accept. Unfortunately she isn't really prepared for said solution to be former Rock Star and leading man of Emma's teenage fantasies, Killian Jones. With no other options and a month of performing across the country ahead of her Emma just hopes she doesn't come to regret letting Killian onto her stage and into her life.

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, AO3

~*CS*~

Cincinnati, May 12th

“Emma, sweetheart, how’s the tour? Are the fans nice? Have you been able to go sightseeing anywhere?”

“Are you getting enough sleep? You didn’t on the last one and you were basically a zombie when you got back. Did you pack that melatonin I dropped off? What about your meals? You’ve been eating something green everyday right?”

Emma rolled her eyes at Mary Margaret and David’s unending questions. While they’d never formally adopted her they were as close to having parents as she was ever going to get. She absolutely loved them but sometimes they drove her nuts with their worrying.

“The tour is going pretty good and the fans are great as always. No sightseeing since this is the first day of rest we’ve gotten so far and I don’t really feel like leaving the room. I packed the melatonin and I’m getting as much sleep as I can and I’ve eaten green things. Sour apple rings count right?” She stifled a laugh at David’s spluttering and Mary Margaret’s attempts to calm him. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Tink’s been on a health kick lately and has been making us drink these smoothie things with more vegetable juices and leafy greens than frozen fruit and Killian refuses to eat fast food so we’ve been stopping at actual restaurants or he’ll cook for us on the bus.”

At the mention of his name Killian popped his head through the doorway that connected their rooms. One of the greatest perks of having him on the tour was no longer having to share one room with both Ruby and Tink while Will got an entire room to himself. Of course Will hadn’t been as enthused about having to share for once.

“Need something, Swan?”

“Oh, that’s very thoughtful of him. You have been trying to be friendly with him, haven’t you? I know you were hesitant at first but Ruby has nothing but nice things to say about him and he’s been through some tough times.”

“What’s he been cooking? And what kinds of restaurants? Some of those places can be just as bad as fast food and he might not know it.”

Emma was extremely glad that it was only Mary Margaret and David that were on speaker. Though she wouldn’t have put it past Killian to have heard everything they said with the way they were just shy of yelling into their phone to make sure she heard them. As it was he could probably tell they were talking about him from the heat she could feel in her cheeks and ears. She waved him off from her spot on the bed, turning slightly so he could see the phone she was holding. His eyebrows shot up before silently apologizing and ducking back into his room.

“You guys really need to chill out. Everything’s going great, Mary Margaret, and it’s early enough that we’re still getting along. And please stop analyzing what I’ve been eating, David, you’re a sheriff not a nutritionist.”

They both hemmed and hawed but it had been that way since she’d started going further than fifty miles outside of Storybrooke to play her music. At first it had been annoying and unwelcome until she’d realized that that’s what people did when they cared about someone. The Nolans were second to none when it came to worrying and being overprotective out of love.

“Then, as a sheriff, is he being respectful? And I don’t just mean with you and Tink. He’s not trashing hotel rooms or causing disturbances in the cities you’ve been playing at has he? I’ve read about some of the trouble he’s gotten into-”

“David, you didn’t!”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Online, stuff online!” David corrected impatiently. “I’m not going to illegally pull a file on someone, no matter how much I want to.”

“So you’d rather rely on gossip sites?” Emma hissed lowly, not wanting Killian to overhear any part of her conversation at the moment. “I thought we’d agreed to not look at those after that one article made you both join Twitter just to berate the author and the site.”

“Hey, now, I got rid of it after that,” Mary Margaret said defensively, “I’m only on Instagram now.”

“I only promised to not look at stuff about you,” David grumbled. “A man with a very public history of causing trouble joins the band on only the good word of one person? I have the right to be concerned.”

She bit back her sigh of frustration. As much as she didn’t like David’s attitude she couldn’t help but understand, seeing as she’d felt almost exactly the same way in the beginning.

“Yeah, you do, but I’m not too worried about it and you shouldn’t be either. You should be more worried about what Ruby’s going to do to you when I tell her you don’t trust her.”

Their twin gasps had her grinning.

“That’s cold, kiddo,” David grumbled.

“Just like your lasagne will be once word gets to Granny,” she said, snickering. “Look, everything’s going great and will keep going great unless you keep sending bad vibes my way.”

“Bad vibes?” Mary Margaret asked with a smile Emma could hear in her voice.

“Yup, the baddest of vibes, ones where I end up with laryngitis or the bus gets a flat in the middle of nowhere or my guitarist breaks their hand and can’t go on tour. Oh wait, that’s already happened.”

Killian took up space in the doorway once again, his eyebrows high on his forehead. She shook her head at his unasked question but didn’t shoo him away again.

“According to Ruby it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to her and that it could be the best thing to happen to you. She has been very forthcoming about what Killian going on tour with you might end up becoming,” Mary Margaret said smugly.

“Wait, what do you mean?” David asked confused as Emma scrambled to end that conversation before it started.

“Would you look at the time? I gotta go!”

“Emma, sweetheart-”

“I’ll call you guys in a few days. Love ya, bye!” With a huff she ended the call and dropped her phone onto the mattress, knowing she’d only postponed the inevitable gossip session Mary Margaret wanted to have with her. She looked at Killian, who was still lurking in the doorway, “Yeah?”

“Not to be nosey-”

“But you’re going to be anyway,” she groaned, “You heard your name and you’re curious.”

He chuckled and strode into her room, settling himself on Tink’s bed, leaning back against the headboard, “You would be too. Especially when you have a tenuous hold on a gig and the person who decides your fate has mentioned your name and then not long after is discussing ‘bad vibes’.”

“You think too highly of yourself,” she said dismissively. “I was talking to Mary Margaret and David about how terrible your cooking is and that it’s been giving my stomach bad vibes.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Swan,” he said with a shake of his head, “If I recall correctly you had three servings of last night’s fare.”

She rolled her eyes, “Just replenishing the reserves I used up during the show, Jones. The stir fry wasn’t that special.”

“I see,” he said seriously, rubbing his hand thoughtfully over his chin, “I guess I’ll strike it from future meal options, wouldn’t want you to have to force yourself to eat it before complaining about it to others.”

“That’s not-” she huffed, knowing he’d called her bluff, “Whatever, you know it was great. That’s what I was telling them. David was all upset that I might not be eating what he considers a balanced diet.”

He chuckled, “And the bad vibes?”

“They worry too much and I basically told them they’d be jinxing me if they kept it up. I don’t think Mary Margaret believed me and I know neither of them will relax until the tour’s over,” she sighed, flopping back onto the mattress and staring at the ceiling.

“Is this the same David that inspired you to learn guitar?” Killian asked casually but she could hear the hesitant caution in his tone.

“Yeah, him and Mary Margaret, his wife, kinda latched on and never let go, not even when-” she paused, still unwilling to share her whole messed up story with him, “things got really rough for me. They’re pretty much my parents in every way without actually being my parents, including getting all up in my business and then nagging me about what they find. You know how it is.”

“I wouldn’t, actually,” Killian said softly. She sat up on her elbows and he gave her a self-deprecating shrug, “Mum died when I was eight and my father left when I was ten. Spent a few years living with a distant cousin until things got straightened out.”

She blinked at him in shock. Not once, in any interview or magazine profile had that part of his childhood been discussed. They had only ever mentioned where he’d gone to school before he’d dropped out when the Realm of Jewels started getting big. At the time, when she’d been devouring every piece of media she could when it came to her favorite band, she hadn’t paid attention to that lack of detail. It hadn’t mattered then and while it still made no difference to her it did go a long way in explaining why she felt like she had known him for years instead of weeks.

“You, uh, got adopted then?” She asked hesitantly as she sat up, needing to know if he’d had the same heartaches as her or if he’d been one of the lucky ones.

“Er, not as such, no-” he looked up at the ceiling, his Adam's apple bobbing as his hand rubbed at the back of his neck, “First my brother was granted civil rights for adolescents, essentially cleaving himself out from under the burden of our father. Once he proved he could support not only himself but me as well he became my legal guardian. He had just had his seventeenth birthday the week before.”

“Seventeen?” she breathed, “And you were fourteen.”

His head snapped back down, his eyes wide and his voice a little unsteady, “You really must have been quite the fan if you still remember that bit of trivia.”

“Maybe I was,” she said softly. She dropped her gaze to where her hands were balled up into tight fists in her lap, “Must have been nice. Living with someone that actually wanted you.”

“It was but then there were times where it wasn’t,” he gave a deep sigh and when she looked up he was staring down at his own hands as they played with denim over his knees. “Liam had been my hero my entire life just being my older brother. When he became my guardian I felt as though I had to push myself into perfection to live up to what I thought he expected of me. I’d already started drinking by that point but it didn’t truly become a problem until I was sixteen.

“I knew Liam was disappointed but he had no idea how to help me and I’m not even sure I would have accepted it had he offered. Instead he proposed a compromise of allowing me to play with his newly formed band if I curtailed my drinking substantially. It worked, for a while at least. I’d been playing for quite some time on my own but with the camaraderie of the band and the discovery of actually enjoying writing songs I found an outlet for all the feelings that I’d been trying to drown with the drink. For the first time since Liam had assumed my guardianship I felt as though he was my brother again, not just my beleaguered caretaker.”

Emma wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. She didn’t want to inadvertently come across as judgmental by commenting about his drinking but she would have given anything for some relative to have saved her from any one of her foster homes and done whatever they’d ask in gratitude. Though, when she thought about it, Mary Margaret and David were practically the next best thing and she’d given them plenty of teenage attitude at the time. Especially when it came to the year she would give anything to forget.

“Did he throw a fit when you decided to quit school for the band?” She asked, hoping to steer the both of them into less painful and mine filled waters.

He looked up with a small grin, “It was his bloody idea. Liam didn’t want to leave me to my own destructive devices and since the band had been steadily building momentum he was loath to relegate shows to only weekends and holidays while I was in my final year. He put it up to a vote with the others and they agreed. And since I didn’t have a licence yet and therefore couldn’t do my share of the driving I spent my time on the road reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. I’m fairly certain I got a better education that way than I would have otherwise.”

“So is that why you guys were the Jolly Rogers first? A bunch of pirates driving all over England to pillage seedy pubs for fame and fortune?”

“Something like that,” he chuckled, his grin widening.

She grinned back, feeling somewhat proud that she’d been able to somewhat keep herself from completely depressing him with her curiosity. As much as she’d obsessed over him when she was younger she was surprised by how much she actually didn’t know about him, even though she’d just berated David for taking gossip as truth. There was a part of her that itched to know more about him, the real person and not the persona she and millions of fans thought they knew. Their little chats on the bus and in the small bits of down time just weren’t enough and suddenly she had an idea on how to fix that.

“Alright, where to Jones?”

“Er, what?” He asked, his confusion at her non sequitur furrowing his brow.

“I’ve never been to this city before and I know you have so you are now my de facto pirate tour guide.”

“Swan,” he sighed, though his smile was growing by the second, “I’ve only been here twice and both times I only had a few hours to explore, which back then was usually as many bars as I could get to before sound check. I’m probably the last person that should be leading you around this fair metropolis.”

“Too bad-” she jumped up off the bed and began looking for the shoes she’d kicked off as soon as they’d walked through the door earlier that morning, “Google ‘things to do in Cincinnati’ and pretend that you know what you’re talking about. Then I’ll pretend to be impressed like every other time you think you’re being all too cool for school and worldly.”

“Too cool for school?” Killian repeated incredulously. “What are you, twelve?”

“Twenty-eight,” she said absently, grinning triumphantly as she extricated one shoe from under the desk and spotted the toe of the other poking out from under the bed Killian was sitting on.

“Twenty-eight and apparently have no idea how to stroke a man’s ego so he’ll want to do ridiculous favors for you,” he muttered.

She looked up at him sharply and got an eyebrow wiggle in return. With a huff she sat back on her bed to slip on her shoe, “I don’t need to stroke a man’s anything to get him to do stuff for me.”

“Oh, really?” He asked incredulously. “And what pray tell do you do?”

Gladly rising to the challenge she straightened from her bent position she subtly arched her back and blinked owlishly at him, nearly grinning in triumph at the way his mouth parted slightly and he sucked in a breath. She did let a small smile grace her lips as she pointed to the shoe under the bed.

“Can you grab that for me first?”

He nodded, a little slack-jawed, and as soon as he bent over the side of the bed she relaxed her posture. When he came up with the shoe she was waiting with her hand out, her brow raised and a shit-eating grin all in place. At his look of indignation she kind of wished she’d had her phone ready to get a picture of it.

“That’s- that’s bloody manipulation, that is!” He spluttered, slapping her shoe into her palm.

“Ooo, someone’s got their panties in a twist. All I did was ask you to get me my shoe,” she said innocently, putting the shoe on. “Come on Tour Guide, show me the good stuff.”

“Unbelievable,” he growled, but he was shaking his head and smiling. He stood and moved back to his own room, shouting through the open door, “I expect you to pay for whatever unique culinary delight we’ll inevitably be trying. Fool me once, Swan.”

“Shame on you,” she cheerfully called back.

Making sure she had her phone and room key she shot off a text to everyone who needed to know where they were going. It was a request from Regina that she had chafed at and ignored at first, until she began being recognized in the streets and the paparazzi had started following her around. After one incident that had had her holed up in the backroom of a used bookstore with a dead phone, no one’s number memorized and a show that had been only a couple of hours away Regina had put it in her tour contract that she had to be in contact at all times. She still chafed at practically being under her manager’s watchful eye like a toddler but she and Regina both agreed that it was better than being saddled with a handler instead. At her insistence Ruby, Tink and Will were also in the group text so Regina wouldn’t try to hound them about her whereabouts thinking they could be hiding her.

Her phone chimed as she debated whether or not to put on a sweatshirt or her leather jacket.

Rub a dub: you know you could leave me out of this now right?

and ease up on the guilt trip I’m taking you on? no way! She responded, deciding on the sweatshirt and tying it around her waist.

Rub a dub: jokes on you, girly, i’ve got a front row seat

to what? She sent, suspicious and wary about what Ruby could mean.

Rub a dub: if you’re asking you’re not ready to know yet.

Emma glared at her phone for a moment before sending multiple texts demanding Ruby to explain herself that all went unanswered. She growled in frustration and turned to glare at Killian who was once more leaning on the door jamb, chuckling.

“Ruby’s being an ass,” she gave as an explanation, shoving her phone in her back pocket. Then she got a good look at what Killian was wearing, “Is that a Reds hat? I thought you didn’t know the city that well. Why do you have a hat for their team?”

“Oh, you’re a big baseball fan then?” He asked, clearly surprised.

“David is, I’m more of a fan of the way the pants fit. Plus the Reds had that jersey with no sleeves last year. Arms like those tend to stick out in a girl’s memory,” she said dreamily, remembering just how well the players wore those particular jerseys. Then she mentally shook herself and nodded at the hat, “You didn’t answer my question.”

His lips quirked in amusement, lightly touching the hat’s bill and then the sunglasses that she hadn’t noticed hanging from his shirt collar, “I’ve found that it’s the easiest way to blend into the crowd. When we were at the height of… everything it was hard to even step out of the hotel without getting mobbed. Liam discovered, quite by accident mind you, that people didn’t expect to see us dressing ourselves down and to be fans of the local sports teams. Unfortunately it means I have a wide array of ball caps that one would consider quite a collection if they weren’t solely for a practical use. If I had a choice I would have donned the hat from Pittsburgh but I’m not quite sure what rivalries are predominant in this city and I’d prefer not to be verbally insulted over the wrong choice.”

Emma gave a surprised laugh. Just minutes before they’d been having a somber conversation that could have dragged the rest of the day down. Instead they were joking around about baseball and overzealous fans.

“Should I put on some super elaborate disguise too?” She looked up at him with a teasing grin. “I could get a wig or maybe some of those glasses with the fake nose and mustache attached.”

Killian snorted, “As entertaining as that would be I think you’ll be fine, love, as long as you don’t wear the red leather.”

Feeling offended for half a second she begrudgingly agreed with him. Her red leather jacket was her signature look, she’d worn it for all three of her album covers and went out on stage wearing it for the first half of the show. It was as much a look as it was a kind of armor, one she’d been wearing for much longer than she’d been famous for it. Having Killian tell her not to wear it, no matter how practical the advice was or that she’d already decided on a sweatshirt, had her suddenly feeling vulnerable.

“Do you… um, do you have a hat I could borrow?”

He looked at her for a moment before nodding and moving back into his room. She followed, shoving her hands in her pockets to keep from hugging her middle to keep herself steady.

As much as the room was identical to hers and Tink’s, the boys’ room looked like a tornado had run through half of it. There were clothes strewn across the far, unmade bed, a rifled through duffle bag under the window, and a tray of mostly-eaten room service food on the desk. In sharp contrast the closer bed was tidily made, a small orderly stack of books and notebooks on the bedside table closest to it. Killian was sorting through one of the drawers of the bureau near the foot of it.

“We’re staying for one night and you put your stuff in the drawers?” She asked incredulously, moving closer to his nightstand to see what books he was reading.

“If it makes any difference-” she looked over at him and saw that he had the bill of a red hat clenched tightly in his hand as his gaze darted between the nightstand and her, “I only unpacked enough for the two days we’re here. Er, looking for something, Swan?”

“Just wanted to see what you were reading,” she said cautiously. Feeling that she’d accidentally hit on yet another touchy subject she stepped back and waved her hand towards the bureau, “But that’s not important, you really took the time to unpack stuff for only two damn days? Do you also set all your stuff out on the bathroom counter with a ruler to make sure it’s all lined up perfectly?”

“Do you want to stand here nit picking my travel habits or do you want to go explore the city?” Killian asked pointedly, stepping forward and holding the hat out to her though she could see the tips of his ears turning pink.

“Fine, let’s go-” she grinned, grabbing the hat. Catching sight of the logo on the front she held it up with a sigh, “Really? Red Sox? Is it because I’m from Maine?”

“Would you rather wear the Yankees cap?” He challenged.

She shuddered, adjusting the snaps so it’d fit, “Never. David would kill me if I was photographed in it and I’d never be allowed to step foot in Storybrooke again.”

“Do you have a preference then?” He looked back at the drawer, “As I said I have quite the array.”

“This is fine,” she said, trying to sound like it was a burden when she really didn’t care. Grinning she put on the hat, pulling her ponytail through the opening in the back. When she looked at Killian for approval he was watching her with a half grin on his face, “What? Did I somehow put it on wrong?”

“Nothing of the sort, Swan,” he said softly. Then his grin widened “Shall we?”

“Lead the way, pirate guide.”

What followed was a day unlike any Emma had ever had on a tour before. They roamed the streets of the city with Killian making up facts about the various things they saw and their history as she egged him on, resulting in ridiculous stories that had her laughing until she was crying. To her delight they ended their excursion sitting in the upper tier at a Reds game, thoroughly enjoying themselves as just two faces in the crowd. Though, when it came time for the kiss cam she found she was surprisingly disappointed that the camera hadn’t been trained on them. It wasn’t until they’d returned to the hotel and spent an hour moving back and forth between each other’s rooms before parting ways for the night that she figured out what Ruby had meant about having a front row seat.

#captain swan #captain swan ff #captain swan fan fic #cs ff #captain swan fanfiction #captain swan fan fiction #cs fan fic #ouat ff #my writing

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midnight1990 · 3 years

Text

Good Raven Chapter 1. Cofio — Remembering

July, 1995

As I unpack my trunk in the dusty, dingy room above the shop where my uncle, two brothers and two sisters live, I feel the slight dread of not knowing where my future will lead. I’m of age now and done with school, so finding work and avoiding trouble should be my first worries, but it ain’t just me I have to worry about. I can’t let the babanod grow up here for much longer — it’s eaten them and me for three years already.

We live in Knockturn Alley, the street off of lovely Diagon Alley where all of the things your decent witches and wizards won’t meddle in are sold; bought; traded or just plain found. In my uncle’s shop is sold potion ingredients, and because this is Knockturn Alley, they’re not normal ingredients — poisons; live creatures; contraband that he (Uncle) said if I ever told someone about he’d hex me for 7 years straight. He also threatened to feed me on only cold gruel if I sold anything cheap, ‘cause once I was all moved in those three years ago he was leaving me at the counter to haggle and sell while he went off to the Cauldron for drinks, or Borgin’s to try and buy even more nasty supplies to bring back to his own business.

I should be honest when I talk about the things we sell — they’re rather compelling. It’s a bit exciting to know that the fungi you’re holding (with a handkerchief that’s been charmed to keep the nerves in your hand from suddenly burning and losing all function) are one: that bloody dangerous and two: can put you on the ministry’s list of “Most Dark and Dangerous in Illicit Magical Trade”. Some of the things that the Ministry comes up with!

As interesting as my uncle’s business can be, me and the kids need our own place to live. It’s just too, well, dark in this alley. Ninety nine percent of the people who come through this place are just trying to get their business done; do their shopping — however ill-intentioned it may be — and go home, but that one percent that’s not so good is too noticeable for any decent body to want to raise four little ones here. I’ve been followed by a hag who wanted my fingernails (taken from a living witch or wizard, they’re more useful); groped by warlocks both drunken and sober; sang at by more drunken warlocks (some ditty with lyrics like “I once had a lass with a nice round ass” and it got even nastier) and I’ve even seen duels that ended up in the Prophet! One time, a curse missed its intended target and hit an old wizard who was just trying to get home with the flesh-eating slug repellent he’d bought! The poor old grandpa! I hope he lived.

I go into the smaller room across the hall where the boys sleep and of course Llon’s trunk is sitting wide open on the bed he and Afon, who’s only three, share. I see his rumpled up belongings and I know he scrambled to find his wand as soon as he got up here; I hid it in his trunk as soon we boarded the train to come back for his first summer holiday (and the rest of my life) so he wouldn’t try any last minute jinxes. Sometimes I’m amazed at how easily he obeys me, then again his most vivid experience with a female relative other than me is of Mam throwing him outside at night — all night — so she could drink and have a shag with that big warlock she came home with. He was nine, I was 15 and we were all lucky that it was spring holiday so’s I was home. I don’t know how they found out, but when the ministry officials who deal with family problems came a’visiting two days later, I was able to convince them to let the kids remain at Mam’s house so long as I was allowed to be there, courtesy of the school and a satisfied ministry witch. I had to write and beg Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore himself to let me skip a few weeks. I remember feeling quite touched when the first two came to visit, a ministry witch in tow. I don’t think Dumbledore even considers his students well-being outside of Hogwarts.

Professor Snape was my head of house — good ol’ Slytherins looking out for each other — and I distinctly recall the feeling I had when I greeted him and McGonagall at the door that he’d been waiting for something like this to occur. You get that feeling when he looks at you sometimes - that he knows things about you.

I had expected McGonagall to be much less kinder than she actually was — more grave and pitying. She was certainly that way with Mam, “Eira, what have you gotten yourself and your family into?!”

Snape mostly sat all stiff in the chair I’d offered, his spidery black eyes glancing everywhere they could, taking in my raggedy siblings, Mam’s wan expression and the Welsh words doodled haphazardly on our cottage’s stone walls. Words like cariad — love — which had a bright pink heart drawn beside it and calon which had an arrow pointing from it to the rosy heart.

Witch, Welsh and Slytherin. That’s me. Even my name is Welsh, though my dad is English (obviously, my surname is Burke after all): Branda — brân dda — raven good; Good Raven. I have a middle name that isn’t Welsh at all, though; Patreva. Something Latin like what so many of our kind in Britain have — names like Draco, Severus or my Tad’s name, “Nicander” which may actually be Greek. It’s fancy and magical sounding. I’m the only one of my parent’s brood with any name like that — something about a Naming Seer who suggested it for me, but they never went back for their other four kids’s names. The younger ones have a Welsh name and that’s it. I like Welsh names quite a lot, though. Some of the names wizarding parents give their children are too — well — ostentatious is a good word.

Anyway, McGonagall, Snape and the quiet little ministry witch with the clipboard came to a decision: I could stay at home with Mam and the kids while the school year continued as long as one: Mam wasn’t bringing her “gentlemen friends” home anymore and two: I would take remedial lessons in all core classes the following school year.

“Of course, you will receive some lessons by post this spring and over the summer, miss Burke.” McGonagall can be so caring, sometimes.

“Your head of house has stated that you are among the more reliable students at Hogwarts, miss Burke.”

The little ministry witch hadn’t spoken at all to me, only to Mam and to my professors, but now she was gazing at me with what I believe was meant to be a placating — if somewhat sharp — look.

“He says you are quite skilled in his potions class as well as in mentoring the younger students.”

The look on Professor Snape’s face suggested this was meant to be unspoken. I’ve never had problems with Snape; he’s certainly a terror to many (okay, most) students, but he’s only ever had clipped praises or short orders for me to teach the first years how to behave without their parents around to guide them and comfort them and all that. A lot of the prefects were shite at that kind of thing.

Life at Mam’s with the kids was alright for awhile — could’ve probably gone quite tolerably if she hadn’t gone off to the Leakey Cauldron and met some bloke who took her to his flat in wherever-the-hell-it-was. Whatever they did in those six days she was gone, it was bad enough that he went to Azkaban, but not interesting enough for the Daily Prophet to report on. Mam got off, but us kids had to go live with the only relative who was willing to take us — Tad’s second-or-something cousin whom he’d done business with before Mam kicked him out: Mr. Donius Burke, purveyor of dark and illicit potion ingredients since 1974.

Fuck.

***

“Oi, girl! Come down here now! I need you for something!”

Calm down old man, I haven’t finished folding my jumpers yet. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s already got a task for me, even though I’ve only been off the train for two hours. Sunset’s nearly come, and I don’t want to be outside in Knockturn Alley after dark, which ought to spur me faster down the stairs to see what he wants. Making him wait can feel too good though - not that he’s not willing to stomp his way up here which, as I put my last woolen top away, I can hear him doing. Thump, creak; thump creak; the ancient wooden steps groaning loudly as always. Has he still not fallen through them?!

“Are you going deaf?!”

I turn my head to look at him there, his reedy frame silhouetted from the dim light of the hallway. He hasn’t changed in the ten months since I’ve last seen him, and he hasn’t since we arrived here three years ago; grey hair slicked back, his aging face freakishly smooth without a hint of stubble (does he shave, or did he magic the hairs off?).

Before I can say anything he’s stepped into the room to stand over me.

“Get down there, now!”

He points his finger so forcefully that it’s curving up towards the ceiling, and I have to keep myself from glancing up to see if it’ll confuse him. He follows me out of the bedroom and down to the back of the shop, where Llon and the other two kids are on the floor playing with Mouser, the cranky black cat we keep to eat any mice or cockroaches in the the building.

Gwenyn is nine and has long blonde hair like Mam, round hazel eyes and a pink mischievous face. Next to her is five year-old Ffionwyn, who’s brown hair will turn nearly black like Tad’s and mine someday. For now, her head’s as shiny as a chestnut, with a pale face and a shifty quietness about her - probably because she’s been growing up in this dark hole of a place.

“Here”. A small roll of parchment is pressed into my hand.

“Take this to Aunt Onyxia, she’s been expecting it all day.”

He nods his head towards the children - “You can bring back the other one, as well.”

Of course, he’s talking about Afon, the youngest of the family. Three, dark haired and quiet like Ffionwyn, he had to come here when he was just four months old! Unwilling to keep a baby where his customers could hear him crying, Uncle struck a deal with the ministry officials who’d arranged for his guardianship — he would have to remain the legal guardian of Afon, but would be allowed to shunt him off to another adult so long as they were nearby and had no criminal record — a relative preferred. Enter Aunt Onyxia, Uncle Donius’s first cousin.

Onyxia Burke runs a “gift” shop right at the end of Knockturn Alley where she sells candles, cheap jewelry and clothing items, all of which are enchanted for various purposes; making someone fall in love with you; manipulating another’s dreams; even changing their moods or emotions. I hope she’s been keeping Afon away from her shit.

As I step through the door of my uncle’s shop into the balmy night air, I glance up at the old wooden sign hanging above the door: “Apothecary” it reads, surrounded by engraved bats, spiders and toads. I force a heavy breath through my nose as memories come creeping up again, for we used to sell those things — well, Mam ‘n Tad did - before everything went to Hell.

Mam ‘n Tad were gatherers and procurers of potion ingredients. Magical plants and animals, of course, some of which you must have a special permit to collect, but also things that are not so magical — bats, rats and adders; green things that grow in your back garden like nettles and dandelions; even farm animals like chickens and goats, the latter of which produce bezoars —hard stones that form in their gut and which counteract poisons.

Things that could not be grown or raised near our home (a dragon in the barn might’ve been a bit troublesome) we would search for. This was the best part of my family’s livelihood. Tad would research where things could be found, and we would gather our equipment and head off to some chosen spot ready to work.

He taught me to do many things without magic, which I never knew was unusual for our kind —until I went to Hogwarts. Nobody else knew how to butcher a chicken or start a fire without a wand (except maybe a few muggleborns, but even most of them didn’t know how, either)! My classmates didn’t seem to know what to make of me until the incident with Hagrid’s giant chicken.

One of Hagrid’s roosters had grown to a rather impressive size, comparable to that of a Shetland pony (he had to have charmed it somehow). Well, one day it managed to escape the coop and terrorize the courtyard where all of us first years were learning broom maintenance. Madam Hooch was knocked over before she even saw it, and a boy called Derrick attempted to scare it by kicking it away, his robed arms flapping all around him whilst yelling at it to go away. Unfortunately, Drumsticks now thought Derrick was trying to start a real cock-fight — chest to chest, wings flapping and spurs kicking!

Before it finished its little war-dance with his head bobbing low, neck-feathers puffed out trembling, I’d managed to grab one of the brooms off the work table; as soon as Drumsticks began to step towards Derrick I ran towards that overgrown alarm-clock and jabbed it as hard as I could with that broomstick!

I won’t say it was a smart idea, but the frustration I’d felt over those first weeks at school — people giggling behind their hands when I spoke in my Welsh accent; discovering that students in other houses whom I’d wanted to befriend would scoff at the idea of hanging around with a Slytherin — seemed to take hold of me. It felt good when the broom’s handle hit Drumsticks’ chest, shocking him backwards and confusing him so. It’s likely a good thing that Hooch had finally recovered herself enough to properly stun that scaly-footed bastard before I’d lost my mind completely — that broomstick was starting to feel like a skewer.

Dinner that evening consisted of a hearty chicken soup, platters of little chicken pies, mashed potatoes, boiled peas and fresh, steamy bread rolls on the side.

Oh, and most everyone in my year stopped calling me “Spleens”.

Tad had been bi— Tad had been given the boot by Mam by the the time I’d started school, and in the summers I’d been the one to continue most of the hunting work while Mam settled herself with tending the garden and foraging for plants. Mam knew the work alright, but she’d mainly been the one to keep records of what was brought home; researching the markets and packaging items properly. Didn’t take long for Tad’s absence to start its work on her though, did it? A little kid can only hunt so many kinds of creatures, and of course I couldn’t have a permit to collect things like doxy venom or dragon eggshells, nor could I travel more than a few miles from home.

Soon the goats were sold to another ingredi-wizard, then any magical plants in our garden that required consistent tending died. I didn’t understand how that could’ve happened, not at the time anyway. Mam was good at hiding her drinking back then. Since we were no longer able to provide the great amount of products as before, businesses started abandoning us for more reliable resources.

Sometimes — just every once in awhile — Tad would show up for a visit.

“Only a few days” I imagine Mam whispering harshly, fearfully, her eyes darting ‘round as though expecting whatever forces demanded they keep apart to come bursting out of her cottage’s walls.

He always went out to try and gather more for us to sell, did Tad. He didn’t take me anywhere with him that was outside of the county, though. The last time I went with him was at the beginning of summer after my third year at Hogwarts. He looked so much older than I’d remembered, or perhaps I hadn’t paid enough attention during his previous visits? Grey streaks were beginning to shoot through his thick black hair, which hadn’t been cut in years. He walked slower than I was used to, moving like his body had turned all sore and stiff; his head constantly swiveled around as we worked, as though the very land that surrounded us could not be trusted.

“Don’t let your sisters and your brother stay inside all day. Teach them how to look after themselves, better than your mam or I have done for ourselves”.

Until he said that, it hadn’t really occurred to me just how reckless my parents were compared to those of my classmates. Before Tad had been forced to leave, he and Mam had thought little of hauling me, toddling Llon and squalling Gwenyn to all kinds of strange and exciting places — places I now know where most parents wouldn’t allow their children to set foot. When they needed to collect dragon eggshells from high up in the mountains, us kids sometimes went along.

I learned where to find snakes before I was seven; how to untangle wire snares without slicing my wrist open when I was eight. I nearly drowned in a lake searching for plimpys — round little creatures with long legs you can tie together — Tad said that’s how Merpeople deal with them because they consider them pests.

My parents also enjoyed firewhiskey. Many times after we’d spent a long day trekking through bracken for mokes and doxy eggs, or slogging around in muddy ditches for flobberworms, Mam ‘n Tad would build up a fire. We would toast sausages, slices of bread and even apples for supper, while two of them added the throat-burning drink to their meal. I can’t recall the bottle ever not being empty the next morning.

The drinking didn’t interfere with much until after Tad was gone.

It’s a wonder all of us kids have lived to see three.

I worry Afon won’t recognize me, after I’ve stayed all year at Hogwarts instead of returning to the Alley during holidays. I know I have a responsibility to my siblings, but the Triwizard tournament and its accompanying delights were hard to resist. Uncle was furious when I refused to return to work at Christmas, while Onyxia wrote that I should try and catch a wealthy boy from Beauxbatons, though a Durmstranger would do.

By the time I make it to Onyxia’s front door the few glass street lamps holding charmed candles have sprung to life, casting faint and eerie shadows. I’ve only just touched the brass kneazle-head knocker when the door is wrenched open from behind.

“It’s about time - oh, Patreva! I hadn’t realized you’d returned already!”

I curl my lips into the sparest of smiles — it’s often a struggle to remain polite with this woman. Patreva is my middle name, not my real name. I don’t even know what it means, and Mam ‘n Tad always avoided using it.

“Noswaith dda, Modryb. Sut ydych chi?”

The pleasure I feel when I speak Welsh at Onyxia is the same as ever: sweet but all too bloody short.

“Patreva Burke! You know far better than to speak that way, to me!”

As if she understood a word I’ve just said?! She’s convinced that any language other than French or Latin is used to disparage her.

“Llon and I came back a few hours ago, Auntie. Uncle Donius sent me to give you this” - I hand her the roll of parchment - “and to take Afon back with me”.

Onyxia stares at the parchment in her hand, eyes narrowing in obvious displeasure.

“Did he send me no money, girl?”

Uh-oh

“I haven’t stolen it, if that’s what you’re thinking!”

Her eyes have gotten even narrower, if that’s possible.

“No, no girl. I suppose...I should’ve expected as much...this time.”

She isn’t looking at me as she says this, rather she’s gazing nowhere in particular at the space behind me, as if suddenly lost in thought...

“Well, wait here a moment, then. Here’s the boy’s belongings.” Before shuffling down her entryway she reaches down and hands me a midsized bag filled with clothes, children’s medicines and very few toys. No tea to be had in her house, apparently. Rude sow.

“Here you are, girl.” Onyxia appears at the door with my youngest brother in tow, his eyes widening at the sight of me and his fist going to his mouth in an image of absolute preciousness.

“Oooh fy mach i! Fy mrawd cy-“

“Speak English to him!” Shrieks the old hag I am forced to respect. “I had to teach him prop—“

But I’m not staying for her xenophobic rant tonight, and neither is fy mrawd bach — my little brother. He’s had enough, and I’ve had enough.

“Goodnight Auntie! Thank you for taking care of him, we need to go back!”

And with that, Afon and I are trotting up the alleyway and into the warm summer night.

Well, I’m trotting; Afon’s on my back.

#harry potter fic #death eaters #order of the phoenix #hp fanfic #lucius malfoy #slytherin #knockturn alley #dark fanfiction #my coping mechanism

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rebellect-writes · 4 years

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[SIZE=1][b]Name:[/b] Jess. [b]Age:[/b] 21. [b]How did you find us?:[/b] I didn’t. You found me.

[b]Name:[/b] Ripley York. [b]Nicknames & Aliases:[/b] Rip, Ripper. Yorkie. [b]Age:[/b] 37. [b]Date of Birth:[/b] 12th of April 1975. [b]Gender:[/b] Male. [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Bisexual, though he’s more comfortable with males. [b]Occupation:[/b] Works in a bookshop in town.

[b]Animal Species:[/b] Spotted Hyena. [b]Animal Description: [/b] [IMG]http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv90/bloodwillout/app%20pics/spotted-hyena_1.jpg[/IMG] He’s your typical spotted hyena. Standing at 3’1 at the shoulders and from snout to rump, he’s 5’5. Ripley’s not very heavy though, only weighing in at 130lbs at large. His coat’s a lot softer then it looks, though don’t get any bright ideas and try petting without asking because his strong bite is worse than his bark. [b]Do you have a hybrid/alpha form?:[/b] Nope. [b]Rank:[/b] Rogue. Will join if the group returns. [b]How long has your character been a lycanthrope?:[/b] 16 years. (Infected at age 18.) [b]Mindset:[/b] Both. [b]Power level:[/b] Beta.

[b]Face Claim:[/b] Matthias Streitwieser. [b]Description:[/b] [IMG]http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv90/bloodwillout/app%20pics/2e2j6md.jpg[/IMG] [i]Height:[/i] 6’2 [i]Weight:[/i] 178lbs. [i]Eyes:[/i] Blue. [i]Hair:[/i] Brown. [i]Build:[/i] Average, muscled in all the right places. [i]Visible marks:[/i] He has a small black star on the inside of his right wrist, and the Chinese characters for ‘Ruby’ at the nape of his neck. Ripley also has faint bite marks along his neck and wrists that you can't really see unless you're looking close. [i]Style:[/i] Jeans, t-shirts and a thrown over jacket. Anything comfortable and practical is best. He will wear suits if he has to do so.

[b]Special Skills:[/b] [LIST] [*] He does know Greek and Spanish, and he’ll remember how to speak it in his own time. [*] He does know how to hold his own in a fight thanks to AJ helping him out. [/LIST][b]Personality:[/b] Ripley’s quiet and laid back most of the time. He’s been trained to value manners so you’ll rarely hear him forget them. He’s also been known to lapse into old tricks, where he won’t speak until he’s spoken to. If someone that’s a clear alpha or Master speaks to him, he will rarely look them in the eye unless they say he can do so and it’s little things like that that make things bearable for him. The last thing that he wants is someone to rip out his throat for something he didn’t even mean to do. On saying that, that doesn’t mean he’s completely submissive when it comes to those with more power than he has. Ripley has a deep rebellious and stubborn streak that shows its face at times, mostly when he’s in a sticky situation.

Some may even say that he gets mouthy and sarcastic when this streak of his rises to the surfaces, but Ripley hasn’t honestly noticed anything different except when people give him odd looks. When he’s around people that are younger than him in power, Ripley’s a little more open about things. He likes to laugh and joke around and even though he doesn’t out right say it, he’s the type of person that will give others another chance even though they’ve burned him in the past. Trust is something special to him, There’s only a couple of people that have his trust however, at times when he’s in pain or upset, he even closes down on them to protect himself. Maybe he doesn’t open up fully, but that still doesn’t stop him from being unspeakably loyal to the people that do him a good turn.

What people don’t know is, and what Ripley doesn’t remember is that he’s got a bad side. He won’t hesitate to do something if an orders given, if that means attacking someone and drawing blood, so be it. Sometimes an order doesn’t have to be given, he’ll go on the defensive if he has to, and the offensive if he needs to, to protect himself and those around him. It’ll hurt him, sure, but half the time he doesn’t even register that pain. He doesn’t like seeing people in pain, but it’s a trigger that’s so deeply rooted in his subconscious that he jumps before he really thinks. Another thing that hasn’t shown itself is that he’s addicted to a vampires bite, craves it and has for over twelve years, will do anything to get the fix. No doubt it will show, but for now, Ripley’s just a mite emotionally retarded and no one’s complained so who knows what trouble he’ll get into.

[b]Likes:[/b] [LIST] [*] Curling up with a good book when it’s raining. [*] Being bitten by a vampire. [*] Cooking. He’s a natural in the kitchen surprisingly. [*] Being stroked in his hyena form. [*] Watching a movie when he can’t sleep. [*] Exploring Jackford when he’s not working. [/LIST][b]Dislikes:[/b] [LIST] [*] When he can’t sleep because of tension headaches. [*] Drama. He can do without it. [*] Others shedding blood for no reason. [*] When he’s reprimanded. [*] Loud annoying music. [*] When he’s talked over by people but he won’t say anything. [/LIST][b]Strengths:[/b] [LIST] [*] He knows when to keep his mouth shut and eyes on the floor. [*] Can follow orders to the letter. [*] Doesn’t let how much pain he’s in show. If he’s in pain. [*] Good at giving people a shoulder to cry on if they need it. [*] He’s got all your standard shifting abilities. [*] Keeping his inner hyena on a short leash and away from others. [*] Giving people what they want to hear most of the time. [/LIST][b]Weaknesses:[/b] [LIST] [*] Won’t hesitate to put himself in the line of fire for someone else. [*] Doesn’t have an alpha form. [*] Can’t repeatedly shift repeatedly in one day, the most is five times back and forth. [*] He’s a bite addict. [*] Silver. [*] Hasn’t even known a true cackle. [*] Doesn’t always tell people when things are bothering him. [/LIST][b]Family:[/b][LIST] [*] Manuel Lagana; Father, died in an RTA. [*] Lucinda York; Mother, died in an RTA. [*] Dominga Lagana; Grandmother, died of natural causes. [/LIST][b]History:[/b]

During April of 1975, one man’s life came crumbling down around his ears because of a drunken one night stand with his best friend’s younger – and underage, at the time that things got hot and heavy in the bathroom – sister. Manuel came home one evening to find Lucinda on the couch, screaming and hollering as his mother and uncle scurried around trying to stop the baby that was coming one month early. One call was all it took when his common sense kicked in at the sight of the blood, to get Lucinda to the hospital and the help the teenager deserved. Despite the few complications with the birth and the consequences that followed, the baby now named Ripley, was allowed to come home just a little over a month later with Dominga Lagana – the baby’s biological grandmother on Manuel’s side – as the legal guardian, Manny and Lucinda being more babysitters than parents.

Growing up in Leeds; Ripley felt at home in the urban wilderness and it was the only thing that he knew. Lucinda always told him that she was his mum, he believed her, and he’d seen the pictures on Dominga’s albums. What he didn’t get though was why the York’s didn’t approve. They made it known that he wasn’t wanted when Lucinda had to take him along when she went to see her brothers or parents place. In the end, the strain that Lucinda was under, forced her to dump Ripley on Manuel and Dominga more and more, much to his Grandmother’s delight. She didn’t like the prissy little white girl or the judgmental patronising parents that sneered and crossed the street when they were walking the same way as them. The tension lasted for almost three years and everyone suffered for it, Manuel tried to patch things up and show to Lucinda’s parents that he wasn’t trash and Lucinda tried to show her parents that she wasn’t a child anymore and could look after herself, it was a bit redundant really, Ripley’s mum was twenty and legally an adult capable of looking after the five year old boy with Manuel who was twenty nine at the time. Dominga didn’t like that one bit but there wasn’t much that she could do at the time but sit back and make sure they didn’t kill Ripley by mistake by giving the kid drain cleaner or something instead of milk over his cornflakes in the morning.

Even school wasn’t a big thing in Ripley’s eyes; he was in and out of it for a lot of reasons. The majority of the time though, was for medical reasons; sometimes he wasn’t there because of life at home. By the time he was fourteen years old, he’d been permanently excused from physical education due to his poor health, expelled from two schools and facing being kicked out for the third time because of his slipping grades and general attitude to authority figures in his life. Lucinda even went as far as to send him to see a therapist because of these things and it just sent Ripley spiralling down a path of rebellion and hate to for the world around him. In fact, the only time he really seemed at peace was when he was with Granny Dominga’s dogs and the old gal used that to her advantage. He didn’t go to college, there was no point. Education wasn’t really something he’d excelled at and he didn’t want to stay at home for the rest of his life, so when Granny Dominga offered him a place to stay and work in her small greasy spoon cafe, he snapped it up and moved in with her. It really wasn’t that exciting afterwards; he lived with his Gran and saw his mum and dad every other day when they stopped by after their shifts at work. Basically, it was a rinse and repeat life and that suited him fine.

Fine, until just after his eighteenth birthday. His parents had ‘kidnapped’ him away for the day to have some good old fashioned bonding time; the truck that hit them came out of nowhere. One minute Ripley had been groaning about Britney Spears on the radio and the next there was chaos and the world was spinning as the car was pushed off the motorway and then there was simply silence. Lucinda and Manuel had been pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital and Ripley was rushed into surgery for multiple internal injuries and head trauma. He didn’t even know that his parents had died until he came around a couple of days later, and he’d had to plead with his Gran to find out what had happened to them. It was a shock, something that shocked him to his core because no matter how much of a brat he’d been to them growing up, he’d still loved them.

No one bothered to inform him, that the blood that had been used during one of several transfusions had been contaminated with lycanthropy. Maybe no one knew, but that was the hand that he was dealt. It probably would have been better if he’d know though, while he was healing up, because the following full moon after a particular nasty bought of the flu – or at least what he thought was the flu, little did he know that his body was changing and if he had, he’d have probably mad a joke about puberty hitting twice. – Ripley was locking up the cafe for the night and the hyena made itself known. It ripped its way out of him and destroyed the cafe when it found there was nothing to eat. The morning, once the animal had gone back, Ripley woke up in the remains of the cafe, sore and confused but feeling better than he had done in weeks, didn’t have a clue that he’d turned into a hyena though. When Dominga demanded to know what had happened, he told her that someone had broken in and trashed the place and that it had probably been a junkie looking for a fix.

The following weeks became a blur, more rinsing and repeating until one evening he felt an unmistakeable pull to just leave work. Just like that. There was no warning, no nothing. He just felt the need to go. He walked across the city to some seedy back alley dive that was home to all the drunken scum of the nation, or well, the city if you wanted to be technical. Defiantly not his place, and from the few others that were milling about that he noticed didn’t fit in, not theirs either. He found out exactly what was up though when they came in, lanky crew, pale, avoided mirrors and standing directly under lights, looked like the supporting act for the guys that did the YMCA. For a moment Ripley had thought that he was being set up by his friends, because bikers with fangs? Really? It was so wrong. So out there, so unnatural, and yet so normal all at the same time, and it just made Rip curious and scared for what was happening next. The crazy red headed chick in the corner that was cackling and stroking a flipping big hyena was even more out there and put the fear of God into him.

Ripley York never came home that day and wasn’t seen by his Gran again.

He was dragged down to Cardiff with the vampires and the red headed bint with a few of the other guys that had ended up in the bar with him. Mistress Ruby – the self proclaimed Queen of the merry little band – told them what was happening, how he’d service the vampires just like the others that had come to her call. Ripley refused and started mouthing off, and so he was punished. Ruby ripped his inner beast out repeatedly before forcing it back over the space of three days. Then Theodore – the king of the band, a big guy that could’ve snapped Ripley over his thigh for disobedience – decided that that wasn’t enough and decided he wanted a taste, and a taste he got and then some. Just like the rest of the rogue band that called the Hyena Queen and Vampire Master their leader because to them, Ripley and the hyenas that had been Called where nothing but animals meant to be used in anyway their Masters saw fit. Theodore didn’t just have hyenas at his beck and call, there were other shifters as well that were pets to the thirteen vampires that he ruled, while he was a rotting vampire, there were Belle Morte rogues and fear masters and beast masters to boot and each and every one of them where young enough to be a power to be reckoned with and still hate the way that the vampire council did things.

Over the next twelve years, between Ruby and Theodore the young hyena started to lose himself. The rebellion and need to fight what was happening to him died, painfully and slowly, but it did die. Gone were the days he had to go around wearing a collar and on the end of a leash and had to be escorted by one of Ruby’s older and more treasured pets. He was no longer handcuffed to the bed of some two-bit vampire Rogue. He was allowed to come and go as he pleased, because they had something he needed, something he craved so badly that he broke out into cold sweats, shakes and shivers. He craved them. Needed them just like the air he breathed some nights that he would go down on his knees and beg to be bitten. It wasn’t always easy either; Ripley would have to do things that he didn’t want to do but did it anyway. Mistress Ruby explained it one time when she’d been waiting for Theodore to wake, she told him that it was them simply asking for a favour because they’d given him a gift.

That wasn’t to say that it was all doom and gloom, despite his current situation, Ripley made friends. One such friend was Sissy. It wasn’t exactly a fun evening for the both of them. Ruby and Theo’s second in command dragged him along to a local tattoo parlour that had a decent reputation in the inked circles. The Mistress wanted something new and exciting, and the vampire and Rip were only sent along as bodyguards for the crazy bitch. Ripley wouldn’t have done anything if the beast master male hadn’t taken a shine to the girl, oh he’d seen her, she’d been chatting with an artist or something, but the vampire took an instant dislike to her for some reason. The artist was rolled, mentally told to forget that they’d ever existed as the vampire went after Sissy. Ripley was left with Ruby and boy, did he want to help the girl.

The moment blood was drawn; he had an idea and turned to the bitch queen that had sat giggling the whole time. He bargained for her safety, offering Ruby anything she wanted in return. Liking that idea, Ruby pulled the beast master off the red headed girl, and after checking on Sissy to make sure that she was ok, Ripley turned to get what was coming his way. All she asked was that he get a tattoo of her choice in return for the girls life and safety, Ripley didn’t even question it and let the Mistress do what she wanted, sat through the rolled tattoo artist branding him with the Chinese characters for ‘Ruby’ at the nape of his neck, after his Mistress and the beast master got theirs. Theodore never noticed that his servant and queen had left her permanent mark on another man, if he had then they would have destroyed the parlour, killed Sissy and the artist that had done their work, instead they stayed in town, the vampires and shifters coming and going as they got new ink and Ripley got to know Sissy a bit more.

Eventually the group moved on to a place called Jackford at the back end of 2010; they rolled into town and found that there was so much chaos they could create. They didn’t have to do anything; there was no time because Ruby, during a Christmas shopping break, was smacked down by a blonde harpy. The Oba of Jackford didn’t like another in her territory and she made that clear when she drew first blood, Ripley had grinned at that, seeing the scarlet streaks down on freckled cheek. Ruby didn’t have time to defend herself, and even if she had, Theo was the ruler and he declared no one was to help and Ruby was furious. She gave it all she had, but on her own with no vampires or hyenas to help her, Petra Graves whooped her skanky ass fair and square then told the rest of the mob to take Ruby and leave her town. Theodore was fairly reasonable, as an Old World gentleman at heart, he agreed and they made plans to leave though he requested a little time from Petra because it was Christmas. His logic being that it would be their first proper Christmas together and sadly, Petra agreed.

Over the next three months, the rogue band drifted apart. There’d been moments when Ripley had wondered if he could just slip away and make a run for the Kiss that had been reconstructing itself from the ground up. However he didn’t have to. In February, one of Ruby’s other pets made a big fuss about not being marked in front of Theodore of all creatures. Ruby, desperate to shut the idiot up, snapped his neck but it was too late for that. Theo had heard enough and dragged Ripley close to check and sure enough, the Master saw the tattoo was there. Theodore crushed Ripley’s throat and tossed him aside like trash to die in the gutter, before dragging his whore-queen off to deal with her. The two hyenas bodies where left in a semi completed housing estate, but that wasn’t the end of them, nobodies in a sea of silence.

Ripley should have died, except he didn’t. The male had no idea what had happened but one moment he was choking and struggling for air that wasn’t there and then the next it was daylight and he was blinking up at the faces of two werewolves that called the Fun House home. One of the wolves, Eric, had ripped Ripley’s inner beast out to try and save him and it had worked, mostly. As a result from the event, Rip didn’t know what had happened, who they where, where he was. Nothing at all except his name, and the flashes that he gets sometimes when he’s stressed, he hasn’t spoken of them to anyone at all. So here he is, in Jackford, a ward of the kiss and still a nobody.[/SIZE]

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muslims-and-exmuslims · 5 years

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Ex-Muslim Letters: 26 year old woman from Saudi Arabia

Image courtesy: Anna Remarchuk

Anonymous asked:

Hello, this is a 26 year old woman from Saudi Arabia. I renounced religion in 2015 and I have been living in fear since then. I spoke out and shared some of what I think with my family. I lived in isolation since then in the fear I might get in trouble again. I travelled abroad for my studies for two years and came back when I couldn't get a financial support. Now I am back to the same kind of "life" and isolation. I can't even secure a job. I need your advice.

Reply (from @rayhana):

Greetings from the UK. Thank you for your message. I am very sorry to hear that you are going through such a hardship in an unsafe environment as you described. I hope you find strength in these difficult times. You are not alone. We are with you.

Let’s break down your situation into two core problems, for simplicity:

Problem 1: You have renounced your faith in 2015. You are effectively an Ex-Musilm in a country where leaving Islam is punishable by death. You have shared some of your views with your family which means this may have or will cause you trouble - potentially, putting your life in danger.

Problem 2: You are unable to secure a job that can guarantee you with enough money to afford your own safe accommodation in a community you can trust. Without a job, you probably don’t have a steady flow of income for future savings which can help you leave a country where you are at risk of being killed.

Problem 1, the fact that you are an Ex-Muslim and have expressed some of your views about leaving the faith with your family, puts your life in danger anyway whether or not you have a job. And if you are under male guardianship prevented from leaving the house and getting help, it doesn’t matter whether or not you get a job.

So let’s tackle Problem 1 in this reply.

Action Plan to tackle #1: Getting you to safety

How long might it take? You know it better. Perhaps a minimum 6 months from contacting organisations who can help you to finally moving to a safe country, let's say Denmark? So if you start on your plan today (24th December 2020), then, when you re-read this reply again in July 2020, you might be in Denmark, rebuilding a new life. Let’s see how we can get you there.

Step 1: What do you need? Ideally, research a route to seek asylum in a country under the Geneva Convention that protects your human rights, particularly, freedom from religion. (Get it done by: 3 weeks max, mid-Jan)

I can’t recommend which country you should get a direct flight to (Yes, direct flight. NO TRANSIT IN NON-EU COUNTRIES BECAUSE SAUDI GOVT/PARENTS USE LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO KIDNAP THEIR DAUGHTERS). But I can, based on reports, say which countries to avoid. By all means, avoid Turkey, Philippines, India, any country in the Middle East, Bangladesh, Pakistan. Actually, following is a map of the countries you should avoid. Avoid all the countries whose maps are black or dark pink. This map is a good proxy because whether you are an Ex-Muslim, a liberal Muslim or an LGBT+ person, the risks you face is the same.

Be aware of human trafficking gangs when you leave the country: You should also avoid these countries because, since you are a young woman, you are a target of international sex trafficking gangs who look for women like you and promise you with a “job” and “new life” and end up taking your passport and selling you to prostitution.

Be aware of kidnapping gangs when you leave the country: You should also be selective about who you tell and stay in touch with when you leave Saudi Arabia and travel to your destination country. This is because, Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East is heavily guarded by Islamist spies and moneymaker who will help your ‘kidnappers’ to find you by leaking your address, contact number, social media profiles in exchange of good sum of money. Once your Saudi guardians know where you are escaping to, they may contact your airline flight or the destination government to arrest you. This is why you need to avoid these following countries with black map:

Step 2: Is asylum the right decision for you? If Yes, START PREPARING. (Get it done by: 4-8 weeks, 29 Feb 2020)

Head over to the website of UNHCR's Refugee Agency: https://help.unhcr.org/#_ga=2.36710247.670686335.1577196824-2037898764.1577196824

Allocate 1-2 days max to familiarise with the UNHCR's guides on seeking asylum. Make a list of the agencies who can help.

Allocate 2-4 days to familiarise with these organisations who help Muslim and Ex-Muslim dissents.

Humanists UK

Pen English

Pen International

Centre for Inquiry

Human Rights Watch

Red Cross

Once you are confident about their remit, send an email to them asking if they have any advice or a social worker who can help you.

Step 3: Get a trusted journalist to bring light to your story. (Get it done by: 4-6 weeks max, mid-Feb)

We suggest you contact the CPJ or the ICIJ and ask to speak to a journalist.

A journalist is a safer contact than people without professional capacity who may introduce themselves to you as a “secular Muslim” or an “Ex-Muslim”. This is because journalists act within their professional capacity (there is an audit trail) so they will not cheat you or leak your information to your kidnappers.

And in the event that you are kidnapped, or killed, your journalist can spread the word across to help and rescue you.

Step 4: Gather evidence - ALL OF IT. (Get it done by: past evidence, 2 weeks max, mid-Jan, new evidence: as it happens)

If you have received new threatening messages, it means your life may be in immediate danger. In that case, since the Saudi police might be counterproductive because you are an Ex-Muslim, try contacting this and this and ask for help. We can’t guarantee they will save you but they are probably your best bet.

Go back to your old Facebook, email account, WhatsApp messages etc. dating back to 2014 or 2015. If you have received death threats or threats of violence or abusive messages from your family or anyone within Saudi Arabia for leaving Islam, save their screenshot. And save their backup copies in a cloud server, such as Google Drive.

Step 5: Get a lawyer (get it done by: 8-12 weeks, by early April 2020)

You need a trusted lawyer to support your asylum application once you decide where to rebuild your new life. We cannot recommend any lawyer without a safety check. Perhaps start with Lawyers Without Borders? Also, perhaps CPJ and ICIJ can help you find a good lawyer.

Step 6: Write your statement (Get it done by: 4 weeks, by April 2020 - update as you gather new evidence on events etc.)

It is worth starting from now, to draft your full situation in a document, to build a full picture of what is going on with your life, why your life is in danger and explain the evidence to support it.

Make sure you have a chronological detailed list of events, and match it with evidence.

Sadly, this is an anti-refugee, populist and polarised era. Without evidence, you will not get any help from the West because many westerners are afraid of Islamists and don’t want to help Ex-Muslims because they think it is “Islamophobic” to leave Islam. So make sure you hold on to your evidence.

Step 7: Do you have the money to buy plane tickets? Buy food? Rent a safe house in a completely new country? GET YOUR FINANCES IN ORDER. (Get it done by: start NOW, track progress mid April 2020)

Hold onto your savings in your bank, as well your assets. Make sure no one except you have access to them.

If you don’t have the funds to afford asylum or travel to a safe country, consider crowdfunding.

Make sure you have some cash with you as an emergency fund in case you lose access to your online bank.

Step 8: Have the fund, journalist, and legal support you need? Get ready for asylum. (Start by May/June - start early because bureaucracy will slow you down).

This is the main and most difficult bit.

Discuss with your legal representative, UNHRC, journalist on what is the best option for you to leave the country. Can you obtain a visitor visa to an EU country?

Set the date of your travel. Don’t tell anyone you are seeking asylum except for an accredited journalist, trusted lawyer as mentioned earlier. If you are escaping to Denmark, tell your friends and family you are going to Australia.

Pack up the essentials:

Your passport

Your medical and academic certificates

Your valuable assets: gold (protect them from thieves - you can later convert them to cash if you run out of money)

Get a new phone and a new laptop. Leave your old IT equipment in Saudi Arabia so that you cannot be traced by Saudi police. A fresh start means a fresh start.

5. Plan your travel. And be viligant when you do so.

Get a direct flight. For example, direct flight from Riyadh to Copenhagen. No transit, No changes.

Before you arrive at your destination airport, either ask a representative from your lawyer, or your journalist to arrange to collect you from the airport. Before your plane lands, you should know the name and face of who you are meeting first, the taxi (number) where you will be traveling to, the address where you are going and potentially that country’s police and emergency number, e.g, 911, 999 or 111. Also, make a note of that country’s counter extremism hotline. In the worst case, call them.

Once you have landed in your new country, make sure you are meeting the people you verified earlier through your legal, journalist reps. Waste no time before going straight through the asylum process and meanwhile make sure you have a safe accommodation.

If you want to change how your life is today, it will not be an easy task. But you are not alone. Help is out there. You are looking at 6 to 12 months of struggle, if you want to change your life starting from today. Next year on this day you might be living a new life, breathing fresh air in Denmark, or Switzerland or Canada; or still stuck in Saudi Arabia in a life that feels like a prison cell. Or 30 years from now on this day when you are 56, you are still living the same life in Saudi Arabia, regretting that today as you read this, you did not gather some extra courage to change your life. I hope you find that extra courage. I know, from your letter, that you are already full of courage. When is the right time to turn that courage into action? You decide that. The world is ready when you are ready.

And if you do choose to put your courage to action starting from today, I hope I hear from you again - perhaps in January when you have progressed with gathering evidence, finding some trusted journalists and lawyers to help you?

I can’t wait to see you happier, and braver.

Look forward to hearing from you again.

Lots of love. Merry Christmas and have an excellent start of the year.

Rayhana Committee to Protect Muslims and Ex-Muslims

#exmuslim #exmuslims #cepm #exmuslimbecause #saudi arabia #saudi #saudiarabia #middle east #islam #humanism #life #freedom #letters

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turning-dreams-into-chaos · 5 years

Text

Rain, Rain, Go Away (Part 3)

*Not My Gif*

Part 1 Part 2

Paring: Barry Allen X Reader

Word Count: 2145

Post Date: 5-20-19

A/N: Part 3! I hope you guys enjoy this! I was just going to end it with this one but the ending (not going to spoil it if you’re reading this before) is kind of abrupt, so if you guys want a part 4, I’ll write one! Just let me know! Send me in requests, also be sure to like, reblog, and comment on this! I live on all your feedback! Thanks for reading! Love you all!

-Ria

~Master List~

~Open Requests~

“You’re just trusting me? With your identity? Dude’s right, 20 minutes ago I was just trying to kill you.” You say as you nod your head in the direction of the long-haired man. Your mind was still reeling from your latest robbery gone wrong, you hadn’t expected your day to turn out like this. You hadn’t expected your life to turn out like this. You had a job, you had a sister, you had a life, and now? Now you had none of that. Except now you knew who the Flash was, and for some reason you didn’t care. He was a person, just like you. Your sights remained on Barry as his on you, both blushing a little but refusing to turn away. Cisco watched the awkward (yet he had to admit you both looked comfortable) exchange, feigning a cough to draw your attention away.

“I’m Cisco and that’s Caitlin, nice to meet you. You’re not evil, right?” Cisco asks a little annoyed at how easily Barry trusted you, unsure as to why. The truth was that Barry had no idea why he pulled off his mask. Something about you had made him tell you his most coveted secret, and he doesn’t even seem to regret it. You glanced up to Cisco watching as he sat in his chair, not really sure how to answer that question. “I mean, we know what you’ve done but you’re not going to try and kill us all right?” he asks causing your breath to hitch in your throat.

“Cisco…” the woman said, causing Cisco to groan in frustration.

“I’m just asking! Barry literally just dropped the ball and told her who he is! I’m just making sure she’s not some evil mastermind!” He defends, sticking his hands into the air in surrender, giving you a slight smirk. You couldn’t help but let out an airy chuckle at his remark.

“I’m not evil. I promise. And I don’t care about who he is. I might’ve been fighting him a while ago, but he’s Central City’s hero. I wouldn’t take him away from those who need saving.” Your voice became quiet as you looked at your fingers, feeling the leather of your blue jacket on them. Barry eyes you with wonder, thinking back on the fight, how vulnerable you felt.

“Guy’s could you give us a minute?” Barry asks before nodding at his friends, who reluctantly left you two alone. “Y/N… during our fight, you mentioned someone, a girl, a girl who you said you couldn’t save? Who, uh, who-o is she?” Barry knelt in front of you, his hand on your knee, drawing your eyes to it, his face watching yours, seeing the small pool of tears about to fall, but just hanging on. Your eyes flickered to his before you grabbed his hand on your knee, holding onto it for a few lingering seconds as you stand up.

“My sister. Her name’s Kenna. She’s… she’s dying, she’s in a coma at Central City Hospital. I can’t save her, nothing I can do can save her.” You say turning around to face Barry, your hand rubbing up your arm into your shoulder as you cross the other over your chest as if to protect you. Protect you from what, who knows. Maybe your feelings, maybe from knowing Kenna’s dying, maybe from the fact that you’re just openly sharing all this with a complete stranger.

“I’m sorry.” Barry hums glancing at your troubled face and glossy eyes, feeling the need to make you feel better but unsure how. You roll your eyes at him while you smirk at his comment.

“Don’t apologize, Barry, you didn’t do anything wrong.” You giggled. Barry tried to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat as him name rolled off your tongue. He liked how you said it, how it sounded, and he loved the little laugh you had. He hoped he would always be able to hear it, that you would never stop. He chuckled as you made eye contact once again, a lot closer than you thought you were. You held your gaze your (e/c) eyes staring into his as he smiled, a warm smile that brought you hope. But you knew all to well that hope and reality don’t belong in the same world. You took a step back, coughing as you pulled your face down again, your fingers once again absentmindedly playing with your jacket.

“Y/N, what can we do to help?” he asks watching you with curiosity.

“Nothing. You can’t do anything. No one can. I’m losing her.” You give him one last look before you start towards the door. “Thanks for calming me down Barry. I needed it. I really did.” Barry saw you walk towards the door and without thinking he run to it, stopping in the door frame causing you to run right into him and fall, but Barry was quick to stick his hand out catching you before pulling you into his embrace on accident. Your face was mere inches from his, your eyes staring up into his once again as your cheeks darken. You could’ve pulled away, but you didn’t, he felt familiar. He felt… he felt like home.

“Could you take me home Barry?” you mumble, afraid to break these feelings but to tired to be anywhere else. Barry nods his head before picking you up bridle style. You direct him to your apartment and open the door, inviting him in. “It isn’t much, but it’s enough.” You plop down on the couch as Barry picks up a picture on your table.

“Is this her?” He questions as he shows you the picture. You nod your head as you take it, smiling at the frame, remembering the moment fondly.

“Yeah that’s her. It was taken last year after the particle accelerator exploded. She had just gotten her drivers licenses. She was so happy. She kept claiming that she didn’t like when I drove her, saying I drive like a mad woman, but I know she liked it because it meant she was growing up. And that scared me. You know, she was always my little sister. My annoying, smartass little sister, but she was mine. And I was hers. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. Then everything went to shit.” You said nodding your head, eyes locked on the prominent smile in Kenna’s face, “Our parents died soon after, I became her legal guardian, even though sometimes it felt like he was taking better care of me. I spiraled, and she was there to pick me up. I didn’t even have to ask her too. She just did. She was my best friend.” You laughed as you wiped away a stray tear before handing it back to him to put back.

“She sounded amazing. I am really sorry, Y/N. About everything.”

“Barry, I already told you! You don’t have anything to be sorry for, you didn’t do anything wrong!” you yelled as you threw back your head in laughter. Barry looked amazed at you, asking you how you could laugh like that seconds after a moment like that.

“She’s not dead not. And until then, I’m not going to sit here and cry. Well anymore than I have.” You give him a weak smile as you let out a yawn, Barry yawning as well after smiling back.

“You’re tired. I should go. But before I do, what do you say about being part of team Flash? We could use someone with your powers.” He gives you a pleading look as you pretend to think about it, as if you would actually say no.

“I would love to Barry. Maybe I could actually save somebody. Here, my phone number, let me know about the team.” You hand him a piece a paper you ripped with your number scrawled across it. He takes the paper before giving you one last smile.

“Goodnight Y/N.”

“Night Barry.” When he left you crawled out on the couch, grabbing the picture frame and pulling it into you, giving it one last look before you drifted of into a sleep, thinking about the last few hours.

Barry headed into the cortex, choosing to walk instead of run, a ghost of a smile on his face as you lingered on his thoughts. He still had no idea why you enchanted him as much as you had but he didn’t mind, you made him happy in the little time he’s known you. He was so encased in his thoughts he hadn’t heard Cisco trying to get his attention since he’s walked in.

“Sorry” he mumbles when he realizes he was being called. Cisco and Caitlin share an amused expression before Caitlin decides to speak up.

“Where did you two head off to?” she asks eyebrows raised. Barry blushed under her gaze.

“She was tired, so I took her home. Got to talking a little, that’s all.” The smile on his face made them think otherwise but nether one of them questioned it. The smile lasted only a few seconds before alarms in the room started going crazy.

“What’s wrong?!” Barry yelled as Cisco and Caitlin looked at the computer screen.

“It’s Y/N! Storms are everywhere, People are getting hurt everywhere. What’s she doing?” Caitlin said as she flipped through the screen of damages done already. Barry didn’t know what happen, 30 minutes ago you were fine and now you creating chaos like your world ended and that’s when it hit him.

“Her sister… Cisco can you pull up hospital records. Anything on Kenna Y/L/N.” Barry turned around to watch as Cisco pulled up her records. But one stuck out, the most recent.

“Oh no…” Barry said as he sped of towards your apartment, leaving a confused Cisco and Caitlin reading the record of a recently deceased girl.

As Barry got closer the storm got worse, him slipping every few seconds but determined to get to you. To save you. When he got to your apartment he knocked on the door, but when no one answered he barged in, breaking the door from its frame.

“Y/N!” He shouted as he ran around your apartment, only finding the broken picture frame and your phone, both of which you threw against the wall when you got the call. The call that had ended your hope, bringing you back into reality. And like you realized earlier with Barry, hope and reality don’t belong in the same world. The rain outside the window grew greater and Barry knew you were somewhere in the building, and he had the perfect idea where. He ran up onto the roof, finally seeing your (h/c) hair, drenched in the rain as you screamed. Barry’s heart sank at the sight of you on your knees, screaming on the rooftop but not being heard over the storm surrounding you. He ran up to you, pulling you up as you turned around and punched an old metal container beside you, your knuckles becoming bloody after the first blow, but it didn’t deter you as you kept punching. The container kept denting as you hit it, causing you to want to continue. Barry grabbed your wrist, stopping your motions and pulling your attention to him. Your bloodshot eyes and bloody hands scared him, not because you looked crazy but because Barry found himself caring for you, and seeing you like this hurt him. He pulled you into his body, his hand cradling your head into his chest.

“She’s gone Barry! She was all I had left and now she’s gone! And I’m all alone! She’s gone and I’m all alone!” You scream clinging onto him with everything left in you. Barry felt something in him break, he’s known you for a few hours, but he knows he never wanted to see you like this, this broken.

“You’re not alone. I’m right here. Cisco a-and Caitlin, everyone, they are here for you!” Pulling you out of the hug, rain falling onto both of your skin, drenching you. His hand moves to your cheek, rubbing the area right under your eye. “You are not alone.” He whispers as he pulls your lips into his, you melt into the kiss, all the sadness you felt flying away at the warm and loving contact of his lips. Your hand finds its way to the nape of his neck, the other crawling into his hair as his is on your waist and the other traveling down to your back, pulling you into his embrace. Your breath was rugged when you separated, only for his to go back for another light peck, catching your lip with his.

“Promise me… Promise me you won’t leave me? Please?” you whisper, eyes cast onto the ground. Barry’s hand finds your chin as he pulls your eyes up, smiling down at you.

“I Promise.”

#barry allen fic #barry allen imagine #barry allen x reader #barry x reader #Cisco Ramon #caitlin snow #barry allen #team flash x reader #team flash #flash imagine #flash x reader #the flash #rain rain go away #star labs

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tigerintokyo · 4 years

Text

IDOLiSH7 Part 1, Ch 2.1 side story

Side Story: Loading the Bullets

(other parts in the directory)

Translation under the break.

Gaku: ......Oh, it's true. It was really hot that day.

Ryunosuke: Right? It would've been bad if there was a barefoot shoot....

Gaku: Haha. That's funny. You have tan lines on your feet from the sandals.

Ryunosuke: ........ Ah, it tickles! Gaku: Isn't the other one the ticklish one?

Ryunosuke: Hahaha! That tickles too!

Tenn: Good morning.

Ryunosuke: Morning, Tenn.

Gaku: ………...

Ryunosuke: What's wrong, Gaku?

Gaku: Nothing.

Tenn: That's right. The argument during the idea meeting for our next live.

Tenn: Gaku. I'm not saying you have to say hi every time, but if you have any professional awareness, at least don't look grumpy in front of the camera.

Gaku: I don't! I'm okay with anything for the live. My only complaint is your attitude.

Tenn: What's wrong with it? Do you want me to shine your shoes?

Gaku: In front of the camera you flirt with the audience, but behind the scenes you're just stubborn, and you're rude to me too......

Gaku: How long do I need to get the run around from this two-faced brat?

Tenn: I have absolutely never flirted with an audience member.

Gaku: Why are you giving me such a hard time? It's the fan service.

Tenn: Gaku.... I sing with you. I dance with you. We create the best moments together.

Tenn: That's why I have so much gratitude and trust that I let you have my back.

Tenn: Haven't I shown you all of my feelings, Gaku?

Gaku: .....Tenn.....

Gaku: .....Maybe..... I mean..... I'll always grateful to you.....

Tenn: Now look who's being flirtatious. Mr. Yaotome Jr.

Gaku: ............ ! This little brat is such a goddam....!

Ryunosuke: Gaku....! Gaku, take it easy. Tenn, you too, stop causing trouble.

Tenn: Gaku started it.

Ryunosuke: He's just worried.......

Tenn: Gaku. None of us are happy that we argue. It's not flirting or fan service. It's our job to stand next to each other and smile.

Tenn: If you can't agree with that, maybe you should choose a different profession.

Gaku: I'm not....!

Ryunosuke: Tenn, don't overdo it! Gaku just wanted to resolve the argument before going on camera.

Ryunosuke: Come on, calm down. Let's shake hands and make up.

Tenn: Shake hands?

Gaku: With him?

Ryunosuke: Yes.

Ryunosuke: If you don't do it, I'll have to send a letter to your legal guardians. To the agency president for Gaku. And to Kujo-san for Tenn.

Tenn: Do you even have Kujo-san's address?

Ryunosuke: Maybe I don't, but all your emergency contact info is at the office.

Tenn: .............

Tenn: .......Okay, fine.

Gaku: It's not "fine." ............. Tsk........

Ryunosuke: Great! Great! That's how it should be!

Tenn: ............. Are we finished?

Gaku: Yeah, are we?

Ryunosuke: No way. Now you both have to say, "I'm sorry."

Gaku & Tenn: ……....

Gaku & Tenn: I'm sorry.

Ryunosuke: Good job! I’m so proud!

(Door opens)

Kaoru: Sorry for the wait. Everyone.......

Kaoru: ......... what are you guys doing? Finger wresting? Alright. I'll just wait until you're finished.

Ryunosuke: Anesagi-san. Don't make them battle right after they made up.

Tenn: ............. What can we do for you, Manager?

Kaoru: It's almost time for you to go on. Are you ready for this?

Gaku: Of course.

Tenn: ............. Always.

Kaoru: So dependable!

Kaoru: Gaku, Tenn, Ryuu. No one can rival TRIGGER.

Kaoru: It doesn't matter how many new groups pop up now....

Kaoru: Veterans and cocky newcomers alike will fall at your feet after being shot down by TRIGGER.

Kaoru: The next legendary idol after Zero will be TRIGGER! You agree?!

Tenn: Yes.

Gaku: Leave it to us.

Ryunosuke: I'll give it my all!

Kaoru: Great, time for standby!

All: OK!

Banri: IDOLiSH7 It's a really great name.

Tsumugi: Thank you! So, let's get ready for the CD debut under this name...

Banri: It's still too early for the debut. We need to have a few live concerts and get some name recognition. And then we can announce their debut with that momentum.

Banri: To make that happen, what we can do now.... Well, I'll leave that up to you.

Tsumugi: O-Okay. I'll do my best!

TV Host: Alright, let's give a warm welcome to the members of TRIGGER.

Tsumugi: Wow....! It's TRIGGER!

Banri: Oh, Tsumugi, do you like them?

Tsumugi: Yes, I do! Their songs are super cool, and their aura is really attractive.

Tsumugi: (TRIGGER.... I hope IDOLiSH7 can be like them... soon....)

To be continued...

Next episode

Please do not use my translations without my permission.

#i7 #IDOLiSH7 #ainana #my translation

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wallacwest · 5 years

Photo

❌ —————— that might look like SEAN TEALE, but it’s really WALLY WEST/THE FLASH from EARTH-52. our records indicate that they are a TWENTY-NINE year old METAHUMAN using HE pronouns. unlike most HEROES, they are TRYING TO BE A SYMBOL OF HOPE which makes them perfect for THE JUSTICE LEAGUE AND THE TITANS.

basics —

NAME: wallace rudolph west ii

ALIAS: the flash

NICKNAMES: wally, kid flash (formerly), kid lantern (formerly)

AFFILIATION: the justice league, titans, flash family

SPECIES: metahuman

AGE: 29 years old

BIRTHPLACE: keystone city, kansas

CURRENT RESIDENCE: titans tower

OCCUPATION: mechanic for gotham city police department

HEIGHT: 6’0”

WEIGHT: 175 lbs

EYE COLOR: green

HAIR COLOR: red

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual

MARITAL STATUS: single

PARENTS: rudolph ‘rudy’ west (father), mary west (mother)

CHILDREN: jai west (son, eight years old), iris ‘irey’ west ii (daughter, eight years old)

RELATIVES: iris west (aunt, legal guardian), barry allen (uncle), charlotte west (aunt), bart allen (second cousin), jenni ognats (second cousin), don allen (cousin), dawn allen (cousin)

BEST FRIENDS: dick grayson, hartley rathaway

origin —

wally west was born to rudolph and mary west in blue valley, nebraska. when he was a kid wally would often dream about becoming the flash. he was the president and only member of the blue valley flash fan club. his parents and his aunt charlotte thought that wally was setting himself up for failure. they would often talk down to him, dampening his dreams in hash ways. his father was manipulative, emotionally abusive, and punched wally on one occasion.

he was hurt that his parents didn’t have faith in him. rudy would often yell at wally, not caring if it was in front of the rest of their family. he did this at west reunion which sent wally running to his room in tears. someone familiar who was thought to be his uncle came up to visit him, encouraging wally not to give up on his dreams. this advise stuck with him in the years to come.

one summer when wally was ten years old his parents asked iris to take her nephew in, and she became his legal guardian from that day forward. wally always viewed his aunt as a best friend, getting more love from living with her for one day than he got in the last ten years with his parents.

she introduced him to barry allen, her boyfriend. barry introduces wally to his idol the flash — it was unknown at the time that barry was the flash. the boy asks him all sorts of questions, one of the major ones being about how he got his powers. it turns out that barry set up a chemical cabinet identical to the setup had been when the weather struck it for him. lightning ended up storming the cabinet, and bathing wally in the same chemicals that created the flash. wally got his abilities in the same way that barry did. after this is when barry told wally his secreted and gave the boy a suit of his own.

he became the first kid flash! wally goes on to become a founding member of the titans.

when wally becomes an adult he takes on the mantle of the flash. he’s the second one to wear the red suit. this is when he realizes that he was faster than his uncle too. he balances his time between the titans and the justice league, able to do the two responsibilities at once.

he has two children, who happen to be twins. they’re eight years old — jai and irey. they’ll be living in the tower with him. they’re also metahumans, being speed force conduits. his daughter uses her connection for speed similarly to what wally does. his son has a different use for the speed force, temporarily growing his muscles to give him superhuman strength.

his best friend is dick grayson who happens to be nightwing ever since they were little kids. wally would do anything for him which is a fact. his other best friend is hartley rathaway also known as pied piper. he’s one of the rogues, but they care about each other a lot. often hartley opens his eyes to circumstances that he wouldn’t have noticed on his own.

powers and abilities —

SPEED FORCE CONDUIT: wally is the fastest of all flashes. he is arguably the fastest person that has ever existed. he is currently fast enough to easily break all the barriers and even enter the speed force. wally has on several occasions — traveled much faster than light and entered and exited the speed force by his own volition. the flash is considered to be one of the most formidable and powerful metahumans on the planet.

SUPERHUMAN SPEED: wally west is by far the fastest being on the planet, according to max mercury he's the fastest man to have ever existed, making him one of the most powerful beings to exist. theoretically, speeds greater than Mach 10, are dangerous to both people and to the environment, but the speed force has shown that if needed, wally can use it to prevent such effects from occurring, hence why he is able to run at speeds much faster than light on the planet earth without it having devastating effects on the planet. he can also run across bodies of water and up the sides of buildings.

he is able to save and carry over half a million people 35 miles away from a nuclear warhead that had already detonated including the ones at ground zero in only .0001 microseconds (10 picoseconds, or 1/100,000,000,000th of 1 second) — a feat that would require moving 13 trillion times the speed of light.

SUPERHUMAN AGILITY: wally's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are heightened to levels greater than any human being. he is able to easily maneuver on falling debris and objects, while moving at super-speed.

SUPERHUMAN STAMINA: wally possesses vast superhuman endurance that is nearly inexhaustible. he was able to run non-stop for over 10 days straight without tiring once.

SUPERHUMAN REFLEXES: his reaction time is enhanced to levels far greater than any normal human being. he is able to easily perceive the movements of other speedsters, and react to danger and events

SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH: he is strong enough to lift 800lbs with no sign of physical strain, even while running with it. he has also been seen single-handedly reconstructing several ruined buildings, and moving heavy beams and girders into place. while rebuilding a bridge in 30 seconds, he carries heavy beams and girders one at a time, during the course of the construction.

AEROKINESIS: sometimes called “air manipulation", this ability represents an individual's ability to manipulate currents of air. by running in a circle at a certain speed, wally is able to create a vortex with a variety of effects.

DECELERATED AGING: along with every speedster that draws from the speed force, the loved ones of the speedsters will gain eternal youth.

DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL: has shown to be able to traverse dimensions with his own powers.

ELECTROKINESIS: wally's body generates large amounts of the electrical energy that he draws from the speed force. this lightning emanates off of him, especially when moving at superhuman speed.

ENERGY CONSTRUCT CREATION: he discovered if he concentrated, the speed force could be used to create solid constructs which he used to compose his costume. the first time he used this ability was to create a solid armor enabling him to run despite having broken legs. his costume itself is a construct molded from the speed force.

ENHANCED MENTAL PROCESS: mental abilities are also increased in speed, simple computations can be done at lightning speeds, and his ability to perform normal feats at increased speeds has allowed him to build hundreds of force field generators in a matter of minutes, move sandbags to cover a beach or search an entire area for something as small as a paper clip. wally can also read at super-speed.

MOLECULAR ACCELERATION: can vibrate his molecular structure at various levels to achieve various effects. if he chooses, wally can excite the molecules of whatever substance he vibrates through to critical mass causing it to explode.

INTANGIBILITY: can vibrate his molecules to achieve an intangible state. while in an intangible state, the flash is immune to any airborne viruses and can breathe regularly. he can also vibrate so fast that light does not reflect off him, rendering him invisible.

PHASING: has always possessed the ability to control his speed and angular momentum at the molecular level, and control his molecular interactions to allow his body to pass through any substance.

SPEED STEAL: able to absorb the speed and/or momentum from anyone or anything.

SPEED FORCE AURA: his body is surrounded by what he calls his “speed force aura". this aura protects him and anyone who is running with him or carried by him, from the effects of using his speed. wally can sync his aura with his children, giving him the ability to pull either of them to him with a thought.

SPEED FORCE EMPATHY: can sense when another speed force conduit is troubled, and can be drawn to the location of that speedster.

SUPERHUMAN DURABILITY: wally's durability is heightened to immense levels. it protects him from injury from high-speed impacts such as punches he delivers and receives from his opponents.

TIME TRAVEL: has shown to be able to traverse time with his own powers, unlike the other speedsters. he can traverse along the time-stream to specific points as they become visible, much like watching a movie in fast forward or reverse. in order to time travel to different periods, he must exceed light speed, which he can easily and instantly do

REGENERATION: accelerating his healing while using the speed force to sustain him, wally could heal from any injury instantly.

HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT.

MULTILINGUALISM: can speak english and french.

MECHANICAL APTITUDE.

TACTICAL ANALYSIS.

#earth:introduction #ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ sᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ɢɪғᴛ. [ MUSE ]#abuse mention //

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yoonia · 5 years

Text

50 Questions Tag

I was tagged by @katdefbeom thank you love!!!

1. What takes too much of your time?

It would be my job, recently. I have a few ongoing projects that are taking a lot of my time because I’m constantly drawing.

2. What makes your day better?

When I’m too tired to move from the couch and my cat comes bumping her forehead on mine. and a good cup of hot coffee.

3. What’s the best thing that happened to you today?

Waking up late after working non-stop since Sunday haha

4. What fictional place would you like to go to?

The world of Howl’s Moving Castle (ugh, same!)

5. Are you good at giving advice?

Nope. I can barely solve my own problems I can’t trust myself helping anyone else.

6. Do you have any mental illness?

I have mild depression growing up because of a big traumatic loss that happened during my childhood and being tossed around between one legal guardian to another. That trauma also gives me seasonal depression that occurs at the end of the year, which is the only reason why I always have to be home with my family during the holidays. Then I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder after having a huge surgery in 2013. I still get anxiety attacks once in a while but I’m trying to get better.

7. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis?

Yes. A lot.

8. What musician inspired you the most?

On Kpop, it would be Yoongi and Tablo. Their stories and their music move me in many ways. In general, would be Daughter.

9. Have you ever fallen in love?

Yes. I guess. :)

10. What’s your dream date?

One day where we can lounge around, walk by the beach or just stay home with homecooked dinner and a movie marathon at home without having to worry about work getting in our way. We’ve been pretty busy the past 6 months.

11. What do others notice about you?

Timid. I don’t know, I’m really quiet in real life. People just see it as me being shy, which is half true while I just basically don’t socialise with people well unless I know them already or already close with them.

12. What is an annoying habit you have?

I’m a worrywart. But one of my bad habits that I had just got called out on recently is that I tend to disappear or stay away from people when I’m dealing with stuff. It’s like I always prefer to be on my own and create my own bubble to hide in when I have a problem or in trouble. I don’t even check my phone to return any kind of contacts people around me give whenever I do this.

13. Do you still talk to your first love?

No, I don’t even know where he is :))

14. How many ex’s do you have?

Two. At least that’s how many times I had gotten into serious relationships.

15. How many songs are in your playlist?

OMG too many. I have too many playlists to begin with.

16. What instruments can you play?

Guitar. a bit of piano

17. Who do you have the most pictures of?

Yoongi. Jungkook. My cat, Myo.

18. Where would you like to go before you die?

My grandparents’ motherlands perhaps. I’ve always wanted to travel and track down the places where my grandparents and my parents have been.

19. What is your zodiac?

Libra

20. Do you relate to it?

Definitely yes.

21. What is happiness to you?

Achieving my goals.

22. Are you going through anything right now?

Too. Many. Work-graduating-preparing to move-long distance relationship-writing project (original writings)-physical therapy-just therapies in general.

23. What’s the worst decision you’ve ever made?

This might be defined as worst and best, probably. But when I broke up with my overly possessive and stalker-ish ex, I had to leave not only the place I lived in or the city I was at because he would stalk me everywhere I went, so I bought a ticket to Bali where my sister was living at since I felt like it would be the safest to be with her and went there without telling anyone. I managed to escape him for a few months, met my current boyfriend there as well, but I also got my passport confiscated by my granddad ever since that day :’)

24. What’s your favourite store?

Miniso (holy yes, my ultimate guilty pleasure) and Daiso.

25. What’s your opinion on abortion?

It’s a personal choice. What a person decides to do with their life and any part of it should never be other people’s problem.

26. Do you keep a bucket list?

I used to. I find it pointless when I know I might not have a chance to do anything about it.

27. Do you have a favourite album?

HYYH series by BTS, Epik High’s Sleepless In ______, 2014 S/S by Winner, End Credits by EDEN, The Wild Youth EP by Daughter

28. What do you want for your birthday?

Anything from BT21, a long vacation

29. What are most people’s first impression of you?

Same answer as before lol. A smol, shy person. Some people also think I’m a bit cold and guarded.

30. What age do you seem according to most people?

Okay, here’s the deal. Way before I started posting my selfies or confessed my birth year on my blog, people have thought that I was much older because of how I act here. Meanwhile, people in real life always think I’m younger :’)

31. Where do you keep your phone while you’re sleeping?

Under the pillow, where it would be safe from Myo’s attacks. Both Toothless and Myo used to kick my phone off the dresser or the bed while I sleep so I had to keep it safe ever since.

32. what word do you say the most?

'literally’

33. What’s the oldest age you would date?

um...10 years?

34. What’s the youngest age you would date?

2-3 years. any younger I might get arrested or locked up by my overly protective brother.

35. What job/career do most people say would suit you?

Artist/painter. All the females in my immediate family have always been involved in art (my mom, grandmum, my sis) so it just naturally grew on me too.

36. What’s your favourite music genre?

I just...listen to any kind of music, basically.

37. If you could live in any country in the world, where would it be?

Japan :)

38. What is your current favourite song?

Tired by Jutes

39. How long have you had this blog for?

Since 2016

40. What are you excited for?

Payment day :)))

41. Are you a better talker or listener?

Listener.

42. What is the last productive thing you did?

I just spent the whole night drawing for a project and I have been working on it since Sunday with only 8 hours of sleep since then. I think that’s productive enough :/

43. What do you want for Christmas?

Anxiety free holiday.

44. What class do you get the best grades in?

English!

45. On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling right now?

46. What can you see yourself doing in 10 years?

I have no clue. I will probably be that cat lady that spends hours knitting while cursing at the world. I’m kidding, I’m hoping that my plan of creating an art or interior design studio works. If not then, yeah, cat lady life it is.

47. When did you first get your heartbreak?

My first, and biggest one ever, heartbreak happened when I was 8 years old.

48. At what age do you want to get married?

I have no plans or target on this but ask me again on my 25th birthday

49. What career did you want to have as a child?

An artist/painter and a writer on the side, just like my mom :)

50. What do you crave right now?

My bed. or probably a good coffee cause I’m still working :))

—

I am tagging: @seoulso @aiimaginesbts @seokeros @kittae @the95liner @floralseokjin @underthejoon @kpopfanfictrash @baebae-goodnight @m00nk1ld @jeonjagiya @war-of-hormoan @def-initely-soul @trbld-writer and whoever else wants to do it. But only if you want to!

#tagged #get to know me

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sayahdirtbag · 5 years

Text

Tell us your favorite quotes from your character. Give us an idea of who they are from five things they’ve said. Then tag your friends!

Tagged by: @pathtotruth Tagging: @arsenalredarrow @sonicanary @warandpunishment @thecoolerspeedy and anyone who sees this

“Listen up, fat white men! I have just gotten behind the Lamb Valley Residents versus Elevast lawsuit. And when I say “gotten behind,” I mean, given them an obscene amount of money. My people have created a non-profit fund where folks around the country can donate to the legal bills that will be incurred. So, things on the Lamb Valley end are gonna be flush. I know that this chrome and glass cat house you cheese-eaters run is worth billions and you can drag this suit out for years. I figure I can pull off at least two, maybe even four years, easy. That’s enough to put a bullet in the head of this commercialized gentrifying eyesore you @$$#*%$ call a “boon to tourism.” So, I justed wanted to stop by and say, “howdy-do,” let you guys know that you’re gonna get your butts kicked, and I’m the guy who’s wearing the size 12′s. Take ‘er easy.” (Green Arrow Vol. 3 Issue 26)

Oliver Queen summed up in one monologue. He cares about people, he’s incredibly empathic and wants to save people in more ways than shooting arrows. Oliver understands that his wealth is a resource that he can spread his money to increase the living quality of others. Despite being rich himself, he cannot stand the 1%; that sentiment puts him in an “underdog”/”outlier” that his pride soaks up. This monologue also shines on the fact that Oliver will always find the opportunity to boast about himself, cause wow enormous ego.

“*Speaking to Dinah* And it was damn! It was fun. Right up to the point where it cost me my fortune, my friends, and damn near my son. I’ve been wandering ever since, looking for the part that’s missing... the part I forgot. The basics. *Dinah’s gone* Hey! Where’d you go? Can’t be that boring! Well... am I talking to myself here? I am talking to myself here. Bad sign, Oliver. Might as well save the expense of humiliation of years in the nursing home. *Pretends to shoot himself in the head and slumps to the ground*” (Long Bow Hunters, Issue 1)

Even when conversations get heavy and serious, Oliver finds a way to joke to lighten the mood. He carries so much on his shoulders, so much guilt and regrets that it’s easy for him to slip into depression. Oliver has to separate himself from the reality of his life by constantly throwing quips and making bits. (Plus, Oliver makes tons of mistakes, but he always attempts to better himself and do better. He’s constantly under construction, and will always be under construction because he’s human. Oliver is incredibly human )

“Congrats Ollie! Keep that arrow in its quiver!” (Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special)

This isn’t a quote by him, BUT THE MAN IS A HORN DOG, AND SOMETIMES THAT GETS THE BETTER OF HIM, AND HE ENDS UP CHEATING. He cannot control his sexual urges, and that gets him into tons of trouble. It’s just who he is, sorry folks.

“*Speaking to Hal* There are children dying, honest people cowering in fear, disillusioned kids ripping up campuses. On the streets of Memphis, a good black man died, and in Los Angeles, a good white man fell. Something is wrong. Something is killing us all! Some hideous moral cancer is rotting our very souls. And you *Speaks to Guardian* sitting on your mudball, preening like a smug tomcat. How dare you presume to meddle in the affairs of humanity, when human beings are no more than statistics to you and your crew. *Guardian asks how to fix the problem* That’s easy! Come off your perch. Touch, taste, laugh, and cry! Learn where we're at... and why!” (Green Lantern/Green Arrow Issue 1)

So I’ve already mentioned that he always attempts to make life better for others with his own resources. This is because he knows what it is like for people who are not as fortunate; he survived on a deserted island after living a life of luxury, he understands what it is like to live off of very little and struggle to survive each day. Oliver hates the fact that so many people in America live like this daily in cities, in the modern age. He wants the world to open its eyes to see that the world is suffering and that the problem won’t fix itself. Oliver forces people to see what they don’t want to see, showing his friends and even other aliens that this world is beautiful, and needs to be taken care of (hence the road trip with the munchkin). Also, Oliver doesn’t care if he’s facing a powerful alien, a diety, or his best friend, he will chew you out and call it like it is, he doesn’t hold back.

"Says who? You remember what we did yesterday? We saved the world, again. You don’t think that has any value? Well, think again, pal. The Justice League goes on, with or without you. Look, nobody can question your service or commitment to making things better. If you’re quitting because you think you’ve already done your fair share, fine. We’ll throw you a parade. but if you’re quitting because it’s easier than continuing the fight, then you’re not the heroes we all thought you were. The world needs the Justice League, and the Justice League needs you, Superman.”

Even though Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and he hardly see eye-to-eye, Oliver has so much respect for the big three. Their moral compass, their willingness to sacrifice all that they are for the good of mankind is incredibly awe-inspiring for Oliver. He will never be as good-natured as Superman, never be diplomatic as Wonder Woman, or morally straight as Batman, and he is aware that their presence in the world is essential for a better change. Oliver will always support the Justice League, and especially the big three, telling them not to quit when it gets tough because the world needs them.

#meme

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findingarcadia · 4 years

Text

Made For Him

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818468

Chapter 1 : When He Was Bad

Laughter peeled from around me as the sound of my feet and many others thundered on the grassy floor, the feeling of togetherness and family flowing freely from multiple directions. The thundering footfalls of myself and others echoed on the earth as well as my ears as we escaped the wrath of the one man that called the shots for most of us. Shouta Aizawa.

“IZUKU MIDORIYA AIZAWA!”

Three names, three words, and one pissed off father. The math in this particular equation never worked out in my favor.

Slowing down while all the others bolted and darted around me while watching to see what would happen next. Taking a deep breath, I turned and wait for the man to catch up to the rowdy group of children and teens. “Aizawa.” I said, feigning innocence at his appearance during our run. “How’s it going?”

His dark eyes narrowed on me and on any normal person the same motion would have conveyed a sharp irritation. But on Shouta Aizawa’s face, the expression was a mild fire of power and a hint of something mysterious if you looked hard enough. Something inhuman.

Growing up with this family, you learn a few things, so I knew the amount of trouble I was in standing my ground and acting as innocent as possible even though I was not. No, far from it. I was the one that instigated the water balloon fight, I was the one that started the others on the path of drenching said parent in front of me. I was the one that had been planning on getting my revenge for having to be in charge of the smaller children when I in fact wanted to go out like a normal teenager with my friends. There was a slight twinge on my upper arm under the sleeves of the blue t-shirt I was wearing, as I continued to stare at my father. Like it was a reaction to his irritation or anger, a tie of sorts to warn me that there certainly wasn’t anything human going on. My head started to ache and the pressure only continued until I brought my eyes directly to Aizawa’s.

The sheer energy rolling off this man made it slightly difficult for me to completely look him in the eye. After a few seconds of meeting his gaze, I snapped my eyes to the side. Something screamed at me to look down, to bare my neck but I shook it off and stood my ground. More often than not this happened, but I never let that feeling take over. I was far from a submissive person and a prank on my parent would never make me into a submissive person no matter how much trouble that prank may have caused for me.

Aizawa rolled his dark eyes that almost seemed to glint with power, a gold metallic that disappeared as soon as it appeared. Instead of making me feel even more cornered than he already did, Aizawa sighed and brought a hand up to his jaw and ran it roughly over the perpetual five o’clock shadow on his chin and jaw that made me think that he was trying to think of a way to approach the situation or mentally count to ten to calm down. Or both. The action, in that moment, reminded me that Aizawa was my legal guardian, the closest thing I had to family, a brother, an uncle, a father, a mentor all smashed into one person. Despite my horrible efforts as a child to deny it and give him problems, he had become all of those roles and I loved him for it. He was the father I never had.

“Izuku.” His voice drawled, even-toned with not a growl of irritation, gripped and tugged me back to the here and now. I was happy to hear in that one name that the situation had been downgraded in his mind from meriting my full name to just this one. It showed that I mostly likely wouldn’t be in too much trouble. Maybe.

“Izuku.” His tone was a bit sharper this time, but most exasperated, Aizawa’s voice forced me to focus.

“Sorry, Shouta.” I said. “Mind bunnies.”

Aizawa sighed then nodded curtly and waited for me to address the reason for his overbearing presence in the middle of my day with the others, my brothers and sisters, my friends that seemed almost part of the family, and the children of those that were ‘family friends’. Aizawa’s eyes on me once more reminded me that he could outwait anyone and the muscles in his granite jaw were relaxed, the power behind his eyes was always palpable in his stare.

“I haven’t a clue to why you’re here.” I told him while I let myself look over the fact that there were water spots that littered his dark clothing. I smiled while he breathed out through his nose, still gazing at me. It was my luck that he knew that this whole fiasco was my fault in the first place.

Aizawa’s posture never lost its relaxed state and his voice never lost its calm. “You have no idea why I might want to talk to you?”

That was a tricky question to answer without crossing the border from half-truths into lies, but again I’ve had years of practice when it comes to speaking with this man. I could handle this. “I really have no idea why you’d want to talk to me.”

Technically, I had several ideas and a few of them were right.

Aizawa calculated and measured my response, I was not dumb enough to believe that he bought what he was hearing, but I knew enough to know or rather hope that he might not want to play this game all afternoon. He was the one who taught me to play this game in the first place, but at the moment he didn’t seem to be in the mood for a “surviving pack life” tutorial on obfuscation. What he meant all those years ago on “pack life” I have no idea.

With an aggravated sigh, Aizawa opted out of forcing me to speak and instead itemized my transgressions for me. “Water balloons. Talking back. Motorcycle. Skipping chores. Curfew.” My brain hit a wall, he had more on me than I realized.

Crap.

“Izuku.”

“Alright…” I hesitated, trying my hardest to fight the very detailed green mind bunnies, which where multiplying at rapid rate. My brain was trying to figure out all of these instances and come up with some type of excuse.

“Stop the mumbling, Izuku.”

Snapping back to myself I sighed. “Right.” I stated and took a breath ready to just let it out since there was nothing better I could do, or come up with. “So, I wanted time with friends. I didn’t want to watch the kids. I am defiant teenager. I wanted to feel the wind in my hair and it was the only way I could get home that day. I have no excuse for the chores, I’m lazy…and well I’m a bad boy who doesn’t believe in curfews. Can I go now?”

For a fraction of a second I thought I might have pushed him too far. I imagined him reaching out and tugging me back to the house by the collar of my shirt. Something shifted in my head then, bringing up a foggy image, almost like a memory, of a man with a wicked grin, holding my neck, his voice oily and vile. The image changed from a man to a wolf and the voice continued to slither in my head and a shudder racked my body.

Come out, come out, wherever you are little one. No sense in hiding from me. I’ll always find you…

I mentally shook it off and grit my teeth together to stamp out the anxiety that threatened to flood my system. I was well associated with strolling down this path of nightmares or bad memories or whatever they were. Aizawa liked to call them night terrors. I call them demons. I also knew that whatever this was that was haunting me was NOT Aizawa, it was not that man that stepped up to be my father. In any sense, Aizawa would have died before hurting me. Instead, he tolerated and took my sass and responded to it just as he always had – with a warning look and the air of someone trying very hard not to bust out laughing.

“Motorcycle.” Aizawa stated it rather than make it a question, but I felt I need to answer anyway. Another weird side effect of Aizawa’s strength that I have come to dub the magic of parenting. It was just something I couldn’t and wouldn’t fight. My only submission.

“A kid from school offered me a ride on his motorcycle.” I said. “I took it.” I chose not to mention that the invitation itself had made me suspicious due to the fact that the other kids in town didn’t associate with me or those of us that lived in the woods. I was generally not the type to get attention from anyone of either of the sexes. “There is a chance that the guy in question had bad intentions and also didn’t want me driving said motorcycle, but I might have ended up with the keys anyway…I’m just a bit faster than he was, I guess.”

A stifled chuckle and a moment of baited breath and Aizawa looked at me with a barely there smile. “I did not train you to fight or move so that you could steal motorcycles.” He said sternly.

No, I wanted to say, you trained me so that I could run away from fights I couldn’t win- against something that I was suspicious of but not fully aware of.

#MadeForHim #bakudeku fic #my hero academia #izuku mydoria #aizawa shouta #ao3 fanfic #Chapter1

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xxprincessjewelsxx · 7 years

Text

The War (Suho Mafia!au Fic Sequel) Chapter 10 - Don’t Make Any More Trouble

Warnings: None

Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8(M), Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15(Finale)

The room I was placed in at the police station had a musty smell to it, the grey walls having seen better days.

I was angry, angry that someone put their hands on Jinwoo and took him away from me. Hearing his screams killed me and as I sat in the interview room I slouched down in my chair, wondering what in the world was going on wherever they had him or even if they where holding to the fact that they couldn’t talk to him without a guardian in the room.

The door swung open and a man with a briefcase walked in, I could see Minseok behind him giving me a slight nod before he walked off.

“Miss. Lee I’m the lawyer that represents Kim Suho and EXO...have you said anything to the officers?” he questioned getting right to the point.

“Where is Jinwoo?” I questioned.

“He’s in the other room interview room, Xiumin is-”

“Forget about me right now...” I stated cutting him off, “I won’t say anything to them, just get Jinwoo out of there.”

“Alright...I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said leaving the interview room just as fast as he came in.

I was alone for a little while before the door opened again. I thought it was going to be the lawyer again, but I got a surprise that I was not expecting.

“Seems like you and I can have a chat without your little friends interrupting us this time,” Kitae said, sitting in the chair across from me.

“Go to hell.”

~Minseok~

As soon as Minseok walked into the interview room he was met with a sobbing and scared Jinwoo who ran over to him. Immediately picking him up he glared at who he was guessing was a social worker and a police officer.

“Very big of you all...scaring a five year old like this,” he said.

“We just want to get the truth and-”

“The truth is that Song Jinwoo was legally adopted and I have all the paperwork and signed testimony from the woman at the house for boys that he was taken to that he was in fact adopted through there...so he is now Kim Jinwoo,” EXO’s lawyer said, walking into the room.

“We would still like to ask Jinwoo a few questions,” the officer said.

Minseok and the lawyer look at each other, before Minseok looked at Jinwoo. “You mind answering a few questions, bud?”

“I want mommy,” he said through tears.

“I know...you can see her in a minute...” Minseok said sitting in a chair, not letting go of Jinwoo, “If I think you’re going to far, this conversation is over...got it.”

“Fine...we just want the truth.”

Minseok scowled at this. “Ask your damn questions...”

“Jinwoo...can you tell us about your mom and dad?” the officer questioned.

Jinwoo peeked away from Minseok’s shoulder. “Y/N and Myeon?”

“No...your old mom and dad,” the officer replied looking unamused.

“I don’t wanna...” he replied.

“And why not? Don’t you miss them?”

Jinwoo looked as though he was thinking about the question. “I did...but Y/N and Myeon take care of me better.”

“What do you mean?”

“My old mommy didn’t spend as much time with me...she was always paying more attention to my old daddy and didn’t play with me as much,” Jinwoo replied, “My old daddy didn’t play with me at all.”

“So they ignored you?”

Jinwoo nodded. “Y/N and Myeon always play with me, whenever I ask...except for when Myeon has to work but he always makes up for it! I also have all of my uncles!” He clung to Minseok a little tighter at this.

“So you’re happy with Y/N and Suho?”

“Suho?” Jinwoo questioned looking at Minseok, “Uncle Minnie, who’s Suho?”

Minseok bit his lip. “It’s a nickname that Myeon goes by at work.”

“Oh...” he replied.

“Does he not know about your and the rest of EXO’s transgressions?” the officer questioned.

“He’s five...” Minseok said.

The officer laughed. “How long do you all think you can keep the poor boy in the dark about what you really do?”

“This conversation is over,” Minseok said, standing up.

“You’re not going anywhere with him,” the officer said, standing up as well.

“He can and he will,” the lawyer said dropping a file on the table, “That’s a copy of the legal paperwork on Jinwoo and his adoption. Here’s my card as well...contact me or my assistant if you have any questions.” He then turned to Minseok and motioned to the door. “You get Jinwoo home, I need to see to Miss. Lee.”

~Y/N~

“Aren’t we all living in our own little hell...especially you...being separated from the boy that you call your son,” he said.

“If you do anything to him, I swear to god I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” he questioned, “You’re not exactly in the position to do anything right now...are you?”

I looked down at my wrists which were still in cuffs. “Never underestimate a woman who’s child is in danger...”

He laughed at this. “You care so much for a child that isn’t even yours...”

“He is mine!” I snapped, my anger level rising.

“You never had this level of attitude growing up...” Kitae said, his anger level rising, “What is it...a handsome man gives you freedoms, bangs you, and brings a child into the picture and all of a sudden you have a fight in you?”

“I learned that I need to protect myself and that I have the power to do so...” I said, “And I won’t let a man like you hold me back like my father did all my life.”

“No...you’ll just sleep with two of the most powerful men of the city to get your way...” he stated, “Have you slept with VIXX’s leader yet?”

“You’re disgusting...” I stated.

“Or maybe you’ve slept with other members of EXO...” he taunted, “You seem to like power...Minseok perhaps?”

I knew what he was doing, he was trying to make me angry, and frankly...it was working. “Are you done?”

“Not really...” he stated, “I could get you out of here real fast...if you tell me, where all the information that Suho in hiding is.”

“What information?” I said, thinking back to pandora’s box.

“I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about...” he said, “Don’t play dumb or I will make sure that that boy is taken away from you...no matter what ‘legal’ paperwork you might have.”

“I’ll warn you again...if you do anything...”

“I can hide him far away where you will never see him ever again...who knows, he leaves here with me, it might be the last time he sees the light of day,” he stated.

That was the last straw that caused me to snap. My hands went under the table and cuffed or not I was able to flip it and push it against Kitae until he was trapped between it and the wall. “Don’t you ever...EVER...threaten my son!” I screamed at him.

The door to the room flew open and two officers along with the lawyer rushed in. The officers started to pull me away but I kept kicking at the table slamming it back into the table.

“You ever touch him and I swear to god, I will be the one that kills you!”

Dragging me out of the room the officers locked me in a holding cell and the lawyer came over and looked at me, shock written all over his face. :What the hell happened in there?”

“Where is Jinwoo...is he safe?” I questioned.

“Minseok is taking him home as we speak,” he replied.

��He threatened to take him and he said that when he did Jinwoo may never see the light of day again,” I said.

“The officers won’t take any of that into consideration, especially detective Han since that was Kitae in there and they didn’t here him do any of the threatening...” the lawyer said, “Miss. Lee, you just threatened violence on someone in front of two officers.”

“Oh please, that man in there has probably killed more people than he could keep track of...and me threatening him in order to protect my son?!”

“I need to call Suho and see if I can get him back here...you just...well you just sit there and please...try not to make any more trouble...”

“I’ll try...no promises...”

“You’re as bad as Chanyeol, I swear...” he said, before pulling out his cellphone and walking off.

I could see Kitae walking out of the interview room fixing his suit, looking slightly dazed from what just occurred.

‘You ever get near my boy...and I will kill you...slowly...and painfully.’

To be continued...

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expertshelf2-blog · 4 years

Text

Living In Cyprus

Staying in Cyprus

#toc background: #f9f9f9;border: 1px solid #aaa;display: table;margin-bottom: 1em;padding: 1em;width: 350px; .toctitle font-weight: 700;text-align: center;

Content

Search For Property In Cyprus

Locate Apartments & Houses Available In Cyprus

Property In Cyprus

Property In Paphos

Property In Limassol

Is Cyprus dangerous?

If you are looking for a place for retiring, you might consider Cyprus as one of the most comfortable retirement destinations. Compared to other European countries, the price for houses and apartments in Cyprus are some of the most competitive in Europe.

Search For Property In Cyprus

Possible buyers are suggested to work out extreme care when acquiring property, particularly if the title deed is not easily offered, which is a typical situation when purchasing brand-new property in Cyprus. Cypriots typically prefer to have long lunches and also late suppers, when temperature levels have actually been up to a more pleasurable degree. Restaurants (relying on location) will generally not open up until 7pm, with the majority of clients showing up from 8 or 9 onwards. The variety of dining establishments includes standard tavernas and the somewhat more formal estiadoria, along with a whole host of international themed restaurants, so you are never short of choices. You can find something to suit all budget plans as well as palates, with rates differing according to location and the type of food served.

Locate Apartments & Houses Available In Cyprus

The intrusion price regarding 6,000 Greek Cypriot as well as.500 Turkish casualties (20 July 1974). Juliet Pearse, "Troubled Northern Cyprus fights to keep afloat" in Cyprus. Grapheion Dēmosiōn Plērophoriōn, Foreign Press on Cyprus, Public Details Workplace, 1979, p. 15. After the hostilities of 1974, the United States used an arms embargo on both Turkey and Cyprus. The stoppage on Turkey was lifted after three years by President Jimmy Carter, whereas the stoppage on Cyprus remained in place for longer, having actually most lately been implemented on 18 November 1992.

Property In Cyprus

On 23 July 1974 the Greek armed forces junta collapsed mainly because of the events in Cyprus. On 24 July 1974 Constantine Karamanlis returned from Paris as well as was vouched in as Head of state. He kept Greece from entering the battle, an act that was extremely criticised as an act of treason.

What is the main source of income in Cyprus?

No, the Republic of Cyprus is a first world country. It is a relatively prosperous nation and a full member of the European Union. But it is far from a third world country as well.

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How much does it cost to see a doctor in Cyprus?

Health care in Cyprus is comparable with the cost of medical techniques and treatments in commercial clinics in Moscow and St. Petersburg. For example, a regular visit to the doctor will cost 50 euros, the cost of a one-day stay in hospital (without treatment) is about 150-200 euros.

In December 2019, the US Congress raised a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus. In a report prepared by Mete Hatay in behalf of PRIO (Tranquility Research Study Institute Oslo), it was approximated that the number of Turkish mainlanders in the north that have actually been given the right to elect is 37,000. This number nonetheless leaves out mainlanders who are wed to Turkish Cypriots or adult children of mainland inhabitants along with all minors.

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When acquiring property in Cyprus and how to ensure that property acquisitions move ahead efficiently and efficiently, this upgrade outlines the leading 10 mistakes to stay clear of. Lots of EU and also non-EU high-net-worth people look for to acquire property in Cyprus with a residency-by-investment application or the citizenship-by-investment programme.

Cyprus has the tenth-largest signed up fleet in the world, with 1,030 vessels making up 31,706,000 dwt since 1 January 2013.

Variation in the Turkish lira, which experienced hyperinflation every year up until its replacement by the Turkish new lira in 2005, exerted descending stress on the Turkish Cypriot standard of living for many years.

In November 2012 global lending institutions negotiating a bailout with the Cypriot government have actually agreed on an essential resources proportion for banks and a system for the market's supervision.

They additionally set a core Rate 1 proportion-- a procedure of monetary stamina-- of 9% by the end of 2013 for banks, which might then increase to 10% in 2014.

Under the most up to date financial protocol (signed 3 January 1997), Turkey has actually undertaken to offer lendings completing $250 million for the function of carrying out projects included in the protocol related to public money, banking, tourism, and privatization.

Its geographical placement at the crossroads of 3 continents as well as its proximity to the Suez Canal has advertised seller delivery as an essential industry for the island country.

Both business financial institutions and also cooperatives will certainly be managed by the Central Bank as well as the Ministry of Money.

Do you need a visa to live in Cyprus?

Currently, most non-EU country nationals require a visa for Cyprus. However, Cyprus grants non-EU nationals, who do not require a visa, a 90 day stay in the country. Note, that this does not entitle you to work. If you plan to stay in Cyprus for more than 90 days, you may need to get a visa before you travel.

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The authorities will certainly be called as well as you might be prosecuted if you're located to be in belongings of phony Euro banknotes. Irish mobile phones with a roaming facility will certainly operate on the Cypriot network. The Embassy strongly discourages obtaining any kind of health-related solutions in northern Cyprus because of the absence of regulation and the reality that its legal system runs in the context of global non-recognition of the 'TRNC'. A UN peacekeeping force carries out a buffer area between the north and also the south of Cyprus. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus controls the southerly part of the island.

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Shortly hereafter Nikos Sampson relinquished the presidency and Glafcos Clerides briefly played head of state. Russia desires future participation on Cyprus after "harmful" levy, Reuters. In 2010 U.S. authorities cracked down on Russian "Illegals Program" in the USA. One of the suspects, Christopher R. Metsos, was detained on June 29, 2010 while attempting to leave from Cyprus for Budapest, yet was launched on bond and after that went away.

Is Cyprus a 3rd world country?

Overall, Cyprus is a safe country and has seen less violent crime on the streets or elsewhere than other European countries of similar size. However, crime-related incidents do occur as does the petty crime.

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The Federal government of Cyprus has actually announced a progressive re-opening of airports from 9 June-- 20 June for flights from a restricted number of nations. Trips from Ireland are not consisted of in the first phase of re-opening. Whatever the instance may be, cigarettes and hand-rolling cigarette are no longer as inexpensive in the Republic of Cyprus as they as soon as were, though they're still significantly reduced priced than in the UK. Tourist (especially from Russia as well as UK) is a massive component of the Cypriot economy, so most locations are able to accommodate English and Russian.

What is the minimum wage in Cyprus per hour?

Cyprus has no general minimum wage requirement. However,a minimum wage rate or €870 per month is required for shop assistants,nurses' assistants,clerks,hairdressers,and nursery assistants. The minimum wage rises to €924 after six months' employment.

The Guardian created that "his loss has actually highlighted Cyprus's close ties to Russia, and the potential that Moscow helped him get away from the Mediterranean island". In 2015, Cyprus was applauded by the Head of state of the European Payment for embracing the austerity measures and not hesitating to adhere to a hard reform program.

The Republic of Cyprus has actually been a member of the EU since the 1 Might 2004. On 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the Eurozone and also the regional money is the euro. Business traveler flights to Cyprus are banned up until 9 June, with limited exemptions to repatriate Cypriots resident abroad.

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The report also estimates the variety of Turkish mainlanders who have not been provided the right to vote, whom it labels as "transients", at a more 105,000. In Limassol, upon the fall of the Turkish Cypriot territory to the Cypriot National Guard, the Turkish Cypriot quarter was burned, women raped and also youngsters shot according to Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot eyewitness accounts. The rapes apparently consisted of those of "very young girls", that were revived home after being raped and "thrown over the limit." 1300 people were then caused a jail camp.

https://telegra.ph/Where-to-Discover-Home-Available-Online-06-16 embraced the euro as its main currency on 1 January 2008, changing the Cypriot extra pound at an unalterable fixed currency exchange rate of CYP 0. Cyprus takes seriously the ownership of fake euro banknotes and checks are made at the majority of retail outlets.

Germany mitigates Greek Cypriot concerns over Kosovo ruling Archived 27 July 2010 at the Wayback Maker 24 July 2010 Today's Zaman. Depiction of the Church of Cyprus to the European Union, The post-byzantine symbol of Jesus Christ goes back to the Church of Cyprus London, January 2011. Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington (Consular Office of the Republic of Cyprus in Washington) Recovered on 11 November 2012.

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babinforaelin · 8 years

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Rowaelin Fanfic, Modern AU, But She’s Looking at You, Part 9

Maeve owns the best club in the city, but when Aelin shows up demanding answers from her Aunt, she is forced into one month of working as a DJ in her Aunt’s club in exchange for information. Along the way she meets Rowan and the rest of the cadre, who are working as bartenders in the club… and Rowan is given the task of babysitting Aelin for the month.

Here she is!! The final instalment of But She’s Looking at You! I Just wanted to say thank you to all the beautiful messages you guys send me, because they honestly keep me going. Since this was the first thing I’ve ever written, I wasn’t even expecting anyone to see it, let alone like it J So thank you from the bottom of my heart <3

Aelin smirked at Maeve, who was shaking with rage as she took in the blank CCTV screens behind her. Her plan had been unfolding perfectly until her Aunt brought Rowan in. He was still sitting in the bloodied chair, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Rowan slowly lift his head. He had been so horribly beaten that Aelin wasn’t even sure if he’d be okay, but at least he was awake.

Before she could inspect him further, Maeve spun around and snarled at her, eyes ablaze with pure loathing.

“As I was saying,” Aelin purred, “give me the information I need and let Rowan go. Then I’ll be on my way.”

Maeve’s nostrils flared with rage, and Aelin waited while her Aunt thought it over. Then her beautiful mouth broke into a sly smile.

“You’re bluffing, aren’t you dear?” she said slowly.

Without breaking her Aunt’s stare, Aelin pulled out a small gold lighter from the pocket of her jeans. She saw Rowan stiffen slightly, the movement so small it was almost undetectable. She knew that the pieces had fallen into place in his mind.

“No, dear Aunt, I’m not. You see, while you’ve been here listening to yourself talk, I’ve had someone leaking all of the gas lines around Doranelle, this room included. So if I so much as light a single flame in here.... well I think you know far too well what will happen.”

With each word Aelin spoke, Maeve’s smile morphed into a glower.

“If what you’re saying is true, then you and all the innocent people in this building would die. Burnt to death.”

Aelin didn’t let herself pause, “Big risk to take, isn’t it Maeve?”

Her Aunt didn’t reply as she glared around the room, at Lorcan and Gavriel still unconscious on the floor, at Rowan who was now staring back at his boss with undiluted hate. Aelin could see the wheels turning in her Aunt’s mind as Maeve weighed up her options thoroughly.

Eventually the black-haired woman breathed a frustrated sigh through her nose and lowered herself back into her chair, arms bracing on her desk.

“Fine. Let’s talk.”

Rowan could hardly believe what he was hearing. Aelin had done it. She had called ‘check-mate’ in what seemed like a never-ending battle between her and Maeve. Aelin spared a glance at him then, probably checking that he was alive and nothing more. But as her stunning eyes met his, he was shocked at the pain that poured out of her. Was it pain for his injuries, or simply because she had been the cause? He didn’t know, and he wasn’t able to consider it before Maeve started once again.

“What do you need to know?” she ground out.

“I want the money, Maeve.”

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

Aelin paused for a moment, considering something, before starting again.

“The money that was rightfully left to me after my parents were killed, probably by you. Or did you think I would be too stupid to work out who had taken it?”

Rowan froze. She had never told him that she thought Maeve was behind her parent’s death. Hadn’t even hinted to it.

Maeve crossed her slender hands under her chin and rested on the desk.

“What proof do you have that I had anything to do with either ... unfortunate event?”

Aelin simply threw the lighter into the air before catching it, over and over again, considering her words. It was the same lighter that she had bought with him. His breath had caught in his throat when he first saw it, not only because it had been a slap in the face to remember a time when he was actually happy, but because it suddenly occurred to him how long Aelin had been planning this. For weeks, months even.

Aelin caught the lighter and stilled.

“Who else would have been in a position to gain anything from it? You were my only remaining blood relative who was also old enough to be my guardian. In terms of the money... you’ve always been rich, but I’m sure you wouldn’t waste any of your own precious funds on building a five-storey night club.”

Maeve’s mouth twisted into a small smile.

“I just can’t help but wonder why you never went to a lawyer about these idea’s of yours?”

Rowan realised that Maeve was choosing her words carefully, making sure that she didn’t admit to anything.

“Because,” Aelin growled, “you know full well that the lifestyle you shoved me into would make me a target for the police. Pit fights aren’t exactly legal in Adarlan.”

Maeve had left her to live that life? So that Aelin would never be able to exact justice? Rowan bristled.

“What do you want me to do, sweet Aelin? Write you a cheque for thirty milion dollars? I doubt the bank would let that slide past them easily.”

Holy God... Aelin’s parents must have been incredibly important for her inheritance to be such a massive sum. It was no wonder Maeve wanted steal it from her. He thought he had worked Aelin out, but he was so wrong. Who was she?

Aelin merely smiled.

“No no, I’ve already taken most the money out out over the past few months.”

Maeve stilled.

“The business partner you’ve been working with recently? Mr. Archer Flynn? Let’s just say that he ran into some trouble shortly after your first meeting with him and ... well it wasn’t hard to fake his movements around Rifthold, or to flash his money around town to make your spies believe he was a serious contender for an investment in your business endeavours. It’s a shame your lackeys never thought to wait and see him without his hoodie on... maybe then you would have realised it was all a ploy. Especially since his body is currently rotting in Riftholds sewers.”

Maeve was shaking now, the rage so strong she could barely keep it contained.

“So I have been sending you letter and emails for months, urging you to send me the money to build our casino in Rifthold, and you stupidly did. So oblivious to the fact you were being used, since you cannot fathom the possibility of falling from this pedestal you sit on.

“The last of the money I was hoping you could give to me in cash. It’s only about five thousand I believe, and if my snooping serves me correctly then the safe behind that ugly painting contains approximately ten-grand.”

Maeve’s face was red now, nails digging into the desk.

“You little bitch,” she seethed.

“Takes one to know one.”

Rowan couldn’t help but breathe a laugh. At her retort, and the entire situation. Both women whipped their heads around to look at him. Aelin gave him a grin that lit up her eyes.

“As for Rowan, I’ve already had the system wiped of the digital copy of his contract. So if you could do me a favour and fetch the original hard copy, that would be brilliant, and since it’s no doubt in the safe then you can grab the money while you’re at it.”

Aelin watched as Maeve slowly rose from her chair and stepped around it. Heels clicking against the dark floor, Maeve walked to large the painting of Medusa’s severed head. She slid the painting across the wall, attached to tracking that was hidden behind its obnoxious frame, revealing the small safe.

“I’m on a tight schedule. I’d appreciate it if you could hurry it up, dear Aunt.” She taunted, only because she wasn’t sure how much longer Rowan would stay conscious for.

Maeve snarled, but punched in the numbers and opened the door with a loud ‘click’.

She reached a hand in, the sound of papers shuffling filling the room.

Then, fast as an asp, she spun to face them. An arm extended as she clasped a handgun in her delicate fingers, the barrel pointed directly at Aelin.

“Perhaps next time you should follow me to the safe.”

Aelin felt her body go stiff at the sight of the gun. She heard a chair scrape against the floor on the other side of the room, followed by grunts as Rowan heaved himself up.

“No. Maeve, don’t hurt her,” he ground out. Aelin didn’t have to look to know blood was still leaking from his mouth.

Maeve pursed her lips at him as her eyes flicked to his stumbling form.

“How noble of you, trying to save her,” she purred. “Haven’t you realised by now that you were nothing but a pawn in her game? You’re worthless to her. Why on earth would she ever love you? A washed-up nobody with a-“

“Rowan, don’t listen to her. I don’t think that. I would never think that.” Aelin said, praying that he could hear the emotion in her voice.

Maeve simply cocked the gun, and although she said nothing, the threat rang loud and clear. One more stray word from Aelin, and she would find herself with a bullet between her eyes.

It was enough to make Rowan stop his slow shuffle across the room. Aelin could feel him a few feet behind her, somewhere to her right.

Her Aunt took a few taunting steps closer, though still too far out of reach. If only Aelin could get the gun off her...

“Rowan stays with me,” Maeve growled, “and I want my money back now.”

Aelin snarled, unable to stop the sound from leaving her throat.

“Go to hell,” she growled at her Aunt.

Maeve stared at her for a long moment, eyes narrowed. Then, before Aelin could blink, she moved her arm to her right and fired the gun.

Directly at Rowan.

Lysandra gasped as she watched Rowan crumble to the floor, clutching his stomach. Aelin screamed silently, the emotion on her face evident even through the laptop screen.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit,” Dorian swore from beside her.

Blood was already pouring out Rowan’s stomach and pooling around his body. This definitely wasn’t a part of the plan.

Her eyes were planted firmly on her friend, waiting for the signal to send in Aedion and Manon. Aelin had given her firm instructions the night before.

‘Dont, under any circumstance, send them in until I give the signal.’

“Come on Aelin,” Lysandra whispered to the screen. Just give the sign... any second now she would – there. Both Dorian and Lysandra saw Aelin’s hand reach behind her back and make the signal – a tightened fist that then burst open, fingers extending.

Only a second passed before Lysandra called Aedion. He picked up instantly.

“Time to go?” he asked, hushed.

“Get in there now. Maeve pulled out a gun and shot Rowan. Aelin is next. Go, go, go,” she said as quickly as she could.

Aedion hung up, and Lysandra watched as he and Manon ran across the rooftop of Doranelle, then slid down the ropes they had set up earlier and slammed feet-first through Maeve’s office window.

Aelin couldn’t hold back the sobs as she turned to run toward Rowan, but Maeve stopped her with a simple, “ah-ah-ahh.”

Maeve gestured with the gun and Aelin turned back around to face her, tears dripping off her chin.

“I suppose a gas leak would have killed us all. Next time, don’t bluff yourself through a situation, dear.”

Off to her left she could hear Lorcan and Gavriel start to get up, lifted from unconsciousness by the sound of the gunshot.

“Shit,” Gavriel said in horror as he took in his friends bleeding form.

Maeve held out a hand to stop them from walking any further. Then fixed her attention solely on her niece.

“You have been a thorn in my side since the day you were born.” She took leisurely steps toward Rowan as she did so. Aelin didn’t turn to watch her.

“I thought I’d gotten rid of you when I threw you onto the streets of Rifthold, hoped at best you would be scooped up by a brothel madam. You were young enough when your parents died that I hoped it would all appear like a bad dream to you.”

She was directly behind Aelin now, standing beside Rowan, his grunts the only noise in the room as he tried to stunt his bleeding.

“Now,” her Aunt continued, “I’m going to pluck this sweet rose. Unfortunately for you, I don’t need you breathing to retrieve my money. It’s truly a shame you didn’t just stay out of my way, dear child. Maybe then you would have lived.”

Aelin heard Maeve cock the gun another time, and take her aim. Slowly, Aelin turned to face her Aunt, who’s red lips parted in a serpentine smile as she watched her niece accept death.

Rowan lay next to Maeve’s feet, blood pooling against the dark floor. So much blood that Aelin couldn’t comprehend how he was still conscious. He should be dead, she realised with a shudder. This was her fault. All of it was her fault. If she was going to die, then she would tell him the truth.

“Rowan,” she said softly. His eyes lifted to meet hers. The vibrant green had dulled as if the life had drained out of him. She continued.

“You mean more to me than you will ever realise. You were the first person in my life that understood me, and didn’t judge me for it. You showed me that there was more to life than I had ever thought possible. Even though I only knew you for a month, I felt like I had known you my entire life, and.... I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I got you dragged into this, because Maeve knew how I felt. She knew I.... She knew I loved you. For as long as I live, I will be sorry. Perhaps even after that.”

Rowan was motionless, green eyes shining as he realised what she said. She had said it. For once in her life she had told someone the truth.

Maeve tilted her head as she looked between Aelin and Rowan.

“How sweet.”

She slid her finger against the trigger and began to pull.

Aelin closed her eyes.

The pain in Rowan’s abdomen was unlike anything he could imagine. He had been shot before, mostly during his time in the police force, but nothing this serious. His blood had now soaked through his clothes, his hair, but it still poured out of him.

With each second that passed he felt his life drip away. He had his hand pressed to hard against the wound that his fingers were going numb. Or perhaps that was the blood loss.

But all of that pain and worry had eased when Aelin spoke to him. When she said those words. ‘I love you.'

For a brief moment Rowan had been transported back, to a time when Aelin was curled up against him while he played with her hair, her forehead pressed to his chest as they lay on her bed. She had looked up at him then, her eyes soft as she pressed a kiss to his pectoral. The motion so gentle that his heart had skipped a beat.

Rowan realised in that moment that Aelin had been in love with him. Not only that, but she had been for a long while.

As the memory faded, and Maeve muttered some words, Rowan gathered the last of his strength. He would do this. If it was the last thing he did, he would do this for Aelin. Because he loved her.

Maeve’s finger moved to pull the trigger, and Rowan kicked his leg out. Smacking Maeve in ankles so hard that she fell backwards. The shot rang out, and the bullet lodged itself in the ceiling.

Aelin was already running for them, refusing to miss a chance, just as he had hoped. But she didn’t move to get the gun off her Aunt. She came for him.

But the motion he made had torn the wound even further, and Rowan could feel himself flickering. Unconsciousness swept in for a few moments, but Aelin slapped him hard enough that his eyes sprung open once again.

“Stay with me Rowan. Stay with me.”

A heartbeat passed, when Rowan heard the sound of glass smashing. Behind Aelin’s shoulder Aedion and Manon were quickly unclipping ropes from harnesses and moving to fight Gavriel and Lorcan.

Aelin used that moment of Maeve’s distraction to rise and slam a foot into her stomach. The gun flew out of her manicured hand and Aelin wasted to time in grabbing it and taking aim.

On the other side of the room, Manon had quickly taken Lorcan down and was now helping Aedion.

Rowan might have been imagining things thanks to the blood loss, but he swore he heard Gavriel whisper, “Son?” before Aedion delivered a round-house kick to his gut.

Aelin inched back until she was once again at Rowan’s side. Without taking her aim off Maeve, she reached down and slid her arm around Rowan, heaving him up. Aedion and Manon quickly ran over and took over. They walked him to the window but Rowan could do very little to help them support his weight. His wound was screaming.

He heard Aelin’s shoes scuff against the floor as she walked to the safe and grabbed everything she needed, gun still pointed at Maeve. Then, slow as a tiger watching it’s prey, she came over to the window and dropped the money in one of the backpacks Manon had brought. Aedion was pressing Rowan’s hands against the rope, whispering instructions to him, “You just need to hold on for five seconds. That’s it. The car will be right there, and then we can get you sorted out.”

Rowan nodded, though it was an effort to do so.

Maeve growled from across the room, anger seeping out of her in waves.

Aelin held the gun and papers in her hand. Rowan’s contract, he realised.

She once again pulled out the gold lighter from her pocket and flicked it open.

“Rowan comes with me. The money is mine.”

She pressed the paper to the edge of the flame and the heat quickly began to eat away at the contract.

Aelin checked her watch briefly.

“Also, I wasn’t completely bluffing about the gas leak. I rigged it to start in approximately two minutes. So you can either stay here and burn, or get the hell out.”

Maeve’s eyes widened in shock, and then she narrowed them and snarled.

“I will find you again Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, and when I do you will be dead before you even realise what is happening.”

Galathynius.... as in the royal family of Terrasen? Rowan was obviously losing his mind.

Aelin dropped the papers to the ground and checked her nails, bored.

“Sounds like a bucket of fun, Maeve. See you in hell.”

Rowan didn’t get to see what happened next because Aedion told him once again to hold one before he threw Rowan out the window. His palms burned as they slid against the rope, but he held on. The ground loomed closer and spots clouded his vision. Manon slid on the rope across from him, and when he reached the bottom she ran to help him to the back of the van. The doors opened and he saw Lysandra and Dorian waiting for him, ready with bandages and bottles of disinfectant. Rowan vaguely recalled Aelin saying that Dorian was in his fourth year at med school, studying to be a surgeon. Lucky him.

Manon pushed Rowan into the back and he lay flat on his back. Dorian’s face loomed over him.

“Not going to lie, we were expecting Aelin to be in this position, not you.”

Rowan couldn’t imagine anything worse.

He felt the tentative hands of Lysandra prodding at his face, checking to see what had been broken.

The next thing he knew, Aelin jumped in the back and started shouting. “IS HE ALRIGHT?” She crouched next to him, hands resting on either side of his face.

“Rowan! Are you okay? I’m so sorry.” She started sobbing. He lifted a hand to hers, caressing a thumb over her skin, which only made her cry harder.

“I’m fine, Aelin. Thank you for saving me,” he whispered.

He was vaguely aware that the van was moving now.

“I love you, Buzzard,” she growled at him.

He chuckled at the nickname, despite everything that had just happened.

“I love you too, Fireheart.”

A large BOOM sounded from behind them then, making the very ground they were driving on begin to shake.

“Maeve’s office?” he guessed.

Aelin’s grin was her only reply.

Two months later

Aelin’s cries of pleasure died down, though her heart was still racing. Rowan gently eased himself out of her, planting kisses along her collarbone as he did. They lay there for a few minutes, panting against one another, skin slick with sweat. Rowan moved his kisses to her neck, and she suddenly found it very hard to focus.

“You’re distracting me,” she said, breathless.

He nipped at her throat.

“You needed distracting.”

Aelin couldn’t argue with that. She had been finalising her plans to go after Arobynn with such an eye for detail that her head had started spinning. Rowan was good at knowing when she needed to be dragged out of her research. Hence how they had ended up like this – Aelin’s back pressed against the soft pillows of their bed as he ravaged her.

They had moved into her apartment in Rifthold and for the first time in her life, Aelin was truly happy. She knew Rowan felt the same.

His kisses moved lower, between her breasts, and it became hard to breathe.

Aelin had always believed it fate. That tug that had led her to Wendlyn in search for her Aunt... Perhaps it had been meant to lead her to Rowan the entire time. She would never know.

But as Rowan pressed kisses against her abdomen, she decided it didn’t matter.

Fate or coincidence she didn’t care. Because all she knew was that she would be eternally grateful.

The end.

#rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin fanfic #my writing #tog fanfic #throne of glass

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