#I got home really late from vacation and my cats are furious and they are yelling

[scary-senpai]

What am I working on? Nothing, really. Just an exceedingly self-indulgent fic where Garou and Genos come from the same place.

[flowerfan2]

David x Patrick - Angst-fest with lots of cuddles and h/c reunion fic.

Summary - Being stuck in the Milwaukee airport is bad enough.  Then David realizes that the man who broke his heart is sitting right next to him.  After a rom-com worthy reunion, David decides he’s not going to walk away again.

Chapter 10 (spoiler - Stevie shows up).  A03.  

Patrick really does make David keep his arms around him there in the booth at the diner for an inordinate amount of time.  He knows that David can’t hug his issues away, and it isn’t fair of Patrick to expect him to.  Patrick is going to take ownership of this, and do something about it.  But even though he knows he has to do it himself, it’s also very scary.  And letting himself come to terms with his own revelation is just easier to do with his face in the crook of David’s neck.

They finally separate, and bicker amiably about the check, David sneaking off while Patrick is in the bathroom to order extra muffins to take home and hand over his credit card.  Patrick doesn’t much care for the reminder that he’s unemployed, but David does have a point that he’s living in Patrick’s house at the moment – his parents’ house, but still.  And it seems to make David feel good to treat Patrick, and if there’s anything Patrick can get behind right now, it’s doing everything he can to make this work.

Unfortunately, when they pull up to the house to the sight of a beat up red sedan with an Ontario license plate, Patrick’s heart sinks.

“Patrick?  You said your parents wouldn’t be here until January. They’re very early.”

“That’s not my parents.”

“Well, it’s not Doordash.  As much as I’d applaud planning ahead for dinner, they’re unlikely to have driven all the way from Canada.  Who’s in your driveway?”  David’s voice is rising, and Patrick is entirely too familiar with his agitated-bordering-on-panicked tone.  

“David, don’t be upset.”  Patrick shuts off the car and turns towards David.

“Mmkay, those words usually come before something that’s going to make me upset.”

They get out of the car but before Patrick even makes it to the front door, it opens and Stevie comes out.  

David turns to Patrick, a look of betrayal on his face.  “I can’t believe you did this to me,” he hisses.

“Hi to you too,” Stevie says, her voice flat.  “And don’t you dare blame Patrick, he didn’t do anything.”

“Well I sure didn’t invite you down here.”

“Right, my presence is unwanted, I get that, believe me,” Stevie says.  “But some of us have a job to do-”

“Don’t you dare come at me about work, Stevie, I’m on vacation.”

“And if you had just told me that at the beginning of the week, instead of playing hard to get like a god damned asshole-”

“Okay, that’s enough.”  Patrick finds himself next to David, a hand on his shoulder, glaring at Stevie.  He can feel David trembling under his palm.

“Yeah, like any of this is my fault,” Stevie mumbles.  She’s wearing a familiar flannel over a v-neck t-shirt, but the look on her face is like nothing Patrick has ever seen before.  It’s a deep hurt, and when he turns to look at David, he sees it there as well.  This has got to stop.

“Could we maybe go inside?” Patrick asks, sliding his hand down David’s body to the small of his back, bringing them closer together.  It’s not raining as hard as it was this morning, but the misty drizzle certainly isn’t helping the situation.

David disappears briefly when they get indoors.  “How did you even get into the house?” Patrick asks Stevie, still trying to figure out how to manage this situation.

“The spare key was in a fake turtle next to the front door, it wasn’t exactly hard.”

Patrick resolves to have another conversation with his parents about security, although he supposes their approach is slightly better than their previous practice of leaving the key under the mat.

David returns a few moments later with a different black sweater on, the hood pulled up over his head.  He looks miserable.  Patrick wishes they could go back to the diner and stay there forever, arms around each other and the aroma of pancakes all around them.  His instincts in that regard were apparently spot on.

“Tell me why you’re here,” David says to Stevie, a hand on his hip.  

Stevie backs up a step into the kitchen, fiddling with a tea towel that says “Livin’ the Dream” on it in flowery aqua script.  She looks cornered.  Patrick considers encouraging them all to sit down and have a cup of tea first, like a scene from a British novel.

“Rose Motel Group is always evaluating new territories for growing the business,” Stevie says.  “Since you declared your interest in the southeast U.S., your father suggested I come down here and check it out.”

“That’s ridiculous, I only talked to him about it a few days ago.”

“It was actually the next territory on our list, after mid-Atlantic coastal, he just moved it up.”

“That’s still ridiculous,” David mutters, looking to Patrick for confirmation.  “We hardly do any business in the U.S.”

“We do, we have a dozen motels in upstate New York and New England, and you’d know that if you ever attended the management meetings instead of pretending that your wi-fi has mysteriously gone out.  A middle schooler is better at zoom than you are.”

“Zoom meetings give me migraines.”

“That’ll be a real advantage now that you’re working remotely.”

“Is that what this is about?  I’m not on the moon, Stevie, I’m just in Florida.  It’s hardly going to interfere with my ability to place orders with the same two dozen vendors I’ve been working with for years.”

Patrick finally forces himself to move, stepping in between them.  “How about some tea?”

This causes both David and Stevie to freeze and blink at him like he’s lost his mind.  

“Go on, go sit down,” Patrick waves them towards the living room.

They take up seats on the opposite ends of the couch, hesitantly facing each other like nervous cats.  Patrick never really got to the bottom of what happened between them after his and David’s break-up.  He has a feeling that he’s about to find out.

He busies himself making tea, getting the kettle out of the cabinet and filling it with water and searching in the cabinets for the tea bags and sugar.  But the living room is only a few feet away, and he can hear the silence stretch until Stevie finally speaks up.

“You look good,” she says to David – and Patrick nearly drops the kettle, he’s so surprised to hear these words come out of Stevie’s mouth at this point.

“Thanks,” David says, sounding oddly flattered.  “So do you.”

“When was the last time we saw each other?” Stevie asks.  “Last Christmas?”

“The RMG holiday party,” David agrees.  “Almost a year ago.”

“How’s Alexis?”

Patrick doesn’t understand how they went from biting each other’s heads off to awkward small talk.

“She’s okay.  She needs more clients, but she seems happy enough.”

A pause, and then - “David, if you and Patrick are going to be back together, maybe you and I can-”

“Don’t.”  The suddenly bitter tone in David’s voice pulls at Patrick’s heart.

“But-”

“Give it up, Stevie.  It’s too late.”

“Why, exactly?  Come on, David, I’m the least emotionally mature person I know, after you of course, and even I can see that we don’t need to do this anymore.”

“What, I’m just supposed to ask you to forgive me and we’d be friends again, just like that?”

“You could try it.  And maybe tell me why you cut me off in the first place.”

“It’s better if we just stick to business.”  David stands up and starts pacing.  There’s not much space in the living room, between the couch and the armchair and the coffee table.  It cramps his style.  “That was going fine, at least until you showed up here.”

“Fine?  How is it fine, that we went from being best friends-” Stevie’s voice catches, “to <i>colleagues</i> who only talk when Mr. Rose needs me to get vendor information from you?  How is that fine?”

“I don’t know how this is going to end up,” David says, waving his hands.  “I’ll probably fuck it up again somehow.  No matter how hard I try, that’s always what happens.  I don’t want to, I really don’t want to, but I’m very familiar with my life, Stevie.  I ruin everything.”

Patrick realizes with a pang that David is talking about the two of them.

“And when I do,” David goes on, “Patrick’s still going to need you.  I’m not taking that away from him.  I gave you to him, and it’s going to stay that way.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”  Stevie says, her voice going even quieter.  In Patrick’s experience, this indicates that she is truly furious.  “You can’t <i>give</i> me to someone.”

“I had Alexis.  Patrick didn’t have anyone.  He even lost the store.  He needed you more than I did.  I couldn’t take you away from him.”

“Did it never occur to you,” Stevie says, snapping out each word, “that I might want a say in the matter?  That I might not want to lose either of you?  That maybe, I don’t know, I could stay friends with you both?”

“That’s not how it works in a break-up, and you know it.  Everyone chooses sides.  I needed you to choose Patrick.”

“So you ditched our friendship and stopped returning my calls so I would take Patrick’s side?”

“I wasn’t exactly thinking straight at the time!”  David yells, and Patrick feels like his heart beats out of his chest with pain as David deflates, his head in his hands.  “I just needed you to be there for him,” he says softly.

“You really are a fuck-up, David Rose,” Stevie says, her voice calmer.  “But I’m going to be the bigger person here, and not let you fuck this up any more.”

Stevie stands up and moves over to David, who reluctantly takes his hands away from his face to watch her approach.  As he looks around, David catches Patrick watching them.  His eyes grow wide as he realizes that their conversation has been overheard, and he grabs Stevie’s arm, rapidly ushering her out the front door.

“What the hell, David?”  Stevie protests, but she goes along with him.  

Patrick watches through the kitchen window, unable to drag his eyes away.  David and Stevie are standing near the end of the driveway, and he can see David’s hands waving, and Stevie shaking her head at him.  Then Stevie drags David into a hug, holding him tight as he squirms before accepting it.  David’s head finally drops onto her shoulder, and they stay that way for a long moment.  When they pull apart, Stevie punches him – fondly? – on the chest, then gets into her car and drives away.  

Patrick goes outside, joining David at the end of the driveway as they watch Stevie’s car go around the corner.

“She has an appointment at a motel,” David says.  “She’ll be back in time for dinner.  She told me to order Thai, and get both kinds of satays.”  David seems almost stunned at how he’s able to talk about Stevie like this now.  

Patrick puts a hand on David’s shoulder.  “You okay?”

David shakes himself, looking skyward and then back off in the direction of the road.  “A little… fizzy.”

It’s not a word Patrick’s heard David use before to describe his state, but Patrick thinks he gets it.

“Too much emotion?”

David glares a little at Patrick.

“I’m going to make it worse,” Patrick says, biting back a smile as David’s glare intensifies.

“I really don’t need that right now.”  David takes Patrick’s hand from his shoulder and holds it firmly, walking them back into the house.  This time Patrick actually closes the door behind them, and then turns to David, who is fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater, pulling them down over his fingers.

“David.”  Patrick catches his gaze.  “It takes two people to tank a relationship.”

“Sure.”

“No, really –  what happened between us was my fault, too.  You know that.  You can’t take it all on yourself.  And it’s not all on you to make it work this time, either.”

David purses his lips, looking down at the floor.

“Hey.”  Patrick moves closer, his hands squeezing David’s shoulders.  “I’m in this, too.  As hard as you’re going to try not to fuck this up, I’ll be right there with you, okay?  This is important to me, too.  Really important.”

David nods several times in succession.

“And there’s one more thing.”

David glances at him.  “What?”

“I don’t agree with your methods, but…” His mind flashes back to those days and weeks after their break-up, when it hurt just to breathe, when he was so lost and miserable, save for a friend who showed up with whiskey and ice cream and helped him through it.  

“But what?”

“You gave me Stevie,” Patrick says, gratitude in his voice.  After Patrick broke David’s heart, David gave up his best friend because he still cared about Patrick and didn’t want him to be alone.  <i>That’s not nothing,</i> he hears in David’s voice.

“Are you going to lecture me about that too?”

“No.  I should, but – nope.”

David looks at him, his gaze open and disbelieving.

“And probably Stevie would say she can take care of herself on this point.”

A smile creeps into David’s cheek. “Hmmph.”

“Instead,” Patrick pushes David up against the kitchen island and cups his face in his hands, “I’m just going to say one thing.”

“What’s that?” David asks, his eyes alight.

“I love you, too.”

[80s-roger]

Not On My Watch - part one

pairing: dad!roger x mum!reader (mid80s)

note: R/N means random name, there will be part 2 sooooon. thank u for being patient and still being with me. i love u all and i’ll say again how much i missed yall. i have a dialogue prompt link in my bio if u have any requests!

summary: you’re divorced with queen’s roger taylor due to constant cheating and irrational behaviour towards you. but u have one person in common: your daughter, Laura aka your favourite human on earth. Your marriage with roger had its ups and downs but laura was the happiness in it. Now that she’s 8 and starts to realise how your terms with roger are, you finally tell her that you’re seeing another man except her father and she took it really warmly. She seemed excited to meet the new man unlikely your ex husband who accidentally learns about it by Laura, the weekend you would leave her at his place: on weekends you had some cute getaways with R/N because the court decided that Laura could stay or visit her dad on weekends and stay with him for five days each Christmas and easter vacations. On summers he has the right to be with her for two weeks.

warnings: angst from both sides

words: 2,290

masterlist // dialogue prompts

“Laura, are you ready?” You asked her as you were wearing your coat.

“Yes mum, I’m getting my backpack!” She answered from her room.

“Alright babe, your dad’s waiting for you!” You cringed at the last words; dad. You ended it on bad terms, but laura had nothing to do with it.

“I’m ready!” She ran through your place fully excited to spend her weekend with Roger. You kissed her before going at the parking, to get your car; that one Roger bought you for Christmas.

You shook your head trying to forget some explicit memories from you two in this car and started the engine, going to Roger’s house. It was a mansion compared to your ordinary flat. Maybe Laura would be happier with him, who knows.. Her attitude’s different when she’s with him like they’re best friends.

“Did you get all your stuff?” You asked her as you were reaching his home, just one turn and you reached the destination.

“Oh no.” She whispered at herself while checking her backpack.

“What is it, love?” You asked concerned.

“Mum, would you mind going back to get my pyjamas? I don’t have my pair here..” she looked sad.

“Of course, I’ll let you go to your dad’s now and I’ll come back in a quarter with your pyjamas. I won’t be late.” You smiled at her and dropped her by his door. “Let me help you carry the backpack.” You offered but she politely refused.

“Dad! Open up, I’m here!” Laura shouted when knocking his white front door.

You tried to keep yourself together when the door was about to open in any second. And there he is, wearing his daily comfy clothes and still looking hot on those. Yes, you were always in love with him, but in the end he wasn’t. Too much cheating while on tour made you extremely mad. You had a dignity to save and a child.

“Hello my little baby girl!” He leaned down to hug Laura. Their hug was long-lasting, they didn’t see each other since the previous weekend. “How is my blonde little angel?” He asked her with a smile on his face, he hasn’t looked at you yet, he’s really focused on his child and you don’t blame him.

“I missed you!” She said between their hug, to his ear while her arms crossed his neck and his hands rubbed her back.

“I missed you too! We are going to have a really good time! Uncle Fred will visit us tomorrow, he can’t wait to see you!” He kept that bright smile of his on his lips and so did she. But her smile got bigger at the second Roger said uncle Fred who happens to be her godfather too.

“I missed uncle Fred. How are his cats?” She laughed because she enjoys playing with them at Garden Lodge.

“I guess they’re fine?” He giggled. “Come on in, don’t stand here.” He kissed her and they both walked in and you were standing there like an asshole watching him ignoring your existence for about five minutes.

“Yeah. You have to take these too, huh? I brought your kid here, a thank you is appreciated.” You said annoyed stretching your hand with two bags towards him.

“Thank you, enjoy your weekend.” He had that selfish ego towards you, you would kill him right away. The choices you have made after the divorce looked right for your happiness. This man would ruin your state of mind if you lived under the same roof.

“I will, that’s for sure.” You winked. “I’ll just have to come back again to bring Laura’s pyjamas. Too pity you don’t have a pair of hers, while your closet must be full of forgotten thongs and cropped tops.” You mocked him right into his face and he was standing there watching you humiliating him.

“I thought we are no longer married, right?” He ironically asked. “Why so jealous?” He let out a crooked smiled.

“Fortunately we are not. And I don’t give a shit about you anymore.” Your ego was talking, you do give five shits about him. “But I don’t want my kid exposed to the fabrics your whores’ wear.” You angrily defended yourself and got back to your car but Roger continued the beef.

“Neither do I want my kid around new men. She needs only one father figure.” He was legit serious while defending himself.

“Is there another joke on its way because I have to leave. It was a good one though.” You ironically replied and left, leaving him unable to call you out.

Roger went inside his home, watching his only daughter fixing her stuff in the living room.

“Laura, will your mum leave this weekend?” He asked trying to catch bait.

“She leaves every time she brings me here.” She seemed unbothered.

“Where’s she going on weekends?” He would die in any second if he didn’t know what you’re doing on weekends and with who.

“She goes on road trips with R/N!” She raved and Roger’s inner Leo awakened.

“Hold on a second, babe.” He took her stuff away from the table to talk with her about it. Laura seemed like she screwed up. “Who’s R/N? Have you met him?” He asked on a serious tone.

“N- no. But she told me we are having dinner with him on Tuesday!” She was thrilled at the idea and Roger was on the edge of insanity. “Mum looks so happy when she talks about him, I’m very happy for her.” She smiled at her dad, having no idea what was coming next.

“Do you know anything else? Won’t you tell papa?” He smiled at her trying to fish her for good.

“She said she would leave right after leaving me here. She made her luggage for the weekend too.” She grabbed her stuff at her arms. “Can I go to my room now?” She politely asked.

“Of course, you can. I’ll let you know when food is ready. Oh and close the door at your room if you want to feel like you’re on your own.” He kissed her forehead and Roger was sitting at the couch, really thoughtful and confused. Laura obeyed his request and so did she closed the door. She didn’t know that her father would start an argument with you. He couldn’t deal with the fact you date another man beside him. That’s so selfish of him, isn’t it?

You came again at his place with the pair of Laura’s pyjamas, unaware of what was coming next. Seeing Roger every time he picks Laura or the opposite you get nothing but heartache and need to cry because you have been heartbroken for years. It took you a lot to stand on your feet again. Roger surprisingly, opened the door before waiting for you to knock. He seemed furious towards you and really nervous. Maybe he couldn’t handle the words he was about to throw.

“Uh, here are Laura’s pyjamas and a pair of clean clothes, guess you don’t have many or any.” You rolled your eyes.

“I bought these clothes.” He checked them by opening the bag.

“Yeah, I know, I just don’t want them in my house, they should stay here and be worn when she stays with you.” you arrogantly crossed your arms.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Flames were popping out of his eyes and he angrily placed his hand at the door’s side.

“Yes, you’re right. I gotta go.” You attempted to turn around but his hand prevented you from it. “What the hell, keep your hands off me.” You tried to get his hand off you. But he wouldn’t resist. “Roger!” You yelled.

“Who’s R/N?” He asked with so much jealousy on his voice.

“What’s it to you?” You bitterly answered trying to put his hand down from you.

“Tell me, or I’m not putting my hand down from your arm.” His raspy voice got shrill. You got scared of him for the first time.

“That’s none of your business Roger! You don’t have the right to invade in my personal life!” You defended yourself physically and emotionally.

“It is my business as long as Laura knows about him. Tell me, who’s he?” He demanded.

“I’d rather keep this for myself.” You toned up your teeth and so did Roger with your arm. “Stop it, you’re hurting me!” You yelled again and now he pulled you aggressively inside his home’s hall.

“Fine! Now that I don’t clasp your arm, you can talk.” He had his hands on his waist waiting for you to speak.

“You don’t have to know who R/N is. I didn’t have to know the names of all the groupies you have slept with.” It’s a fact. And he didn’t seem to bother.

“No, I have to know. No one’s allowed to sleep with you.” Oh God, this man has such a nerve.

“Excuse me? Are you serious?” You opened your mouth in shock, being unable to believe what he just said. “Am I your property or something?” you asked.

“No you’re my wife and my daughter must not meet that asshole. I will not let that diner happen.” He really pushes his luck.

“Firstly, I am not your wife, we divorced a couple of years ago. Secondly, watch your language, this man treats me better than you did all this time so you’re the asshole. Thirdly, you’re forcing me to get restraining orders against you.” You warned him and now he seemed less aggressive than before.

“That man is nothing but trouble between our family!” He is so mad that you date a man after so many years. It was him all the time. But at him, you were one of the plenty.

“We’re not a family! You ruined it. You ruined my happiness and now? You won’t let me date a man? Why? We are not married anymore! Unlikely you, you didn’t seem to bother while I was waiting for you to come home after touring. You were constantly doing it, with no regrets!” You shouted but he tried to lower your tone by pushing you to the wall so Laura wouldn’t hear any angry tone. Your tears would run any moment but you had to stay strong. You’re a strong woman, all this time you were strong. Roger was speechless. He knew you were right. But he’s selfish and so are you.

“You can’t present another man to Laura! She’s a child! At least I was doing it on secret!” His face was approaching yours, so the tone would be lower. He is doing it every time when he wants to take control. You couldn’t stop looking into his blue eyes. It’s like a trick of his, whenever you fight.

“You were secretly doing it because you didn’t want me to know. Not because of Laura. Now, stop looking me this way.” Your voice was smoother and your eyes stopped staring Roger’s. You would melt at any second.

“Have you had sex with him?” He asked with no signs of guilt or embarrassment.

“What the hell, my life’s nothing to do with you anymore. You don’t have to know.” Your eyes were back at his again. His warm breath hitting your face, his lips coming closer to your nose and slowly rubbing that area.

“I’m sure you don’t feel the same way whenever you have sex with him. It’ll always gonna be me.” He teased your skin with his nose, going to your ear, your cheek, your nose and later his lips against yours. Sending shivers all over your body, with his hands wrapping your waist and his legs covering yours.

“You do think a kiss of yours would change my mind?” You arrogantly asked, interrupting the hot moment.

“No, I’m just reminding you what we did. And how it ends up.” He smirked with his palms now on your cheeks.

“I don’t want to remember. You bring me pain and I don’t want it. I’ve had enough of this shit.” You said back trying to put him down.

“So you’re leaving me now for that guy?” He asked defeated. Okay.

“You were leaving me for other women, years and years. You always had the excuse I’m on tour but I do miss you. This is what I was settling for. Do you think I would feel guilty for falling in love with a man who’s not you?” The last sentence hit him right to the feelings. He was speechless. You opened the door again, leaving to meet your new partner at the train station. But you didn’t finish. “You’re right though. I don’t feel the same way when I’m with him. I feel better. I feel appreciated and loved.” You stepped out but before closing the door you said one last thing.

“If you’re curious, sex is better with him. Not that I have many experiences, but I think I can compare between two men.” You smiled, hiding the pain. You lied. Nothing feels like Roger. He hurt you, he mistreated you but you can’t lose feelings for him. You love him but you don’t want to revive the days before divorce. And now you left, started the engine and vanished from the neighbourhood. Crying and missing Roger. But R/N is just a distraction. He’s a good company, but there’s not the passion you used to share with your ex-husband.

“I fucked it up again.” Roger said to himself hitting his head with his hands. “I won’t let her be with him. She doesn’t love him.” He knew you really well. He was missing most of the times, but he knew you. He could read your thoughts.

[artificialqueens]

Duality, Chapter 1 (Crygi) - Metaluna

chapter summary: On a night at the bar, Gigi meets someone who completely changes her focus, causing her to take a deep look at herself, as well as her own humanity.

A/N: Hey, everyone! I had some very positive feedback, which makes me very happy, since I am having so much fun with this. Follow my Tumblr for headcannons, drabbles that don’t fit, and me screaming about this fic at 4 AM

A huge thank you as always to juno for being the best beta reader, amazing brainstormer, and just an all around amazing person 

The entire fic is going to have a TW for blood/death/gore/violence, since it’s a vampire fic lol

93 year later

Visitations were Gigi’s least favorite part of her job. Normally, she made Jackie sit through them, because consoling humans in one of their most vulnerable states made them look even more pathetic than they already were. Anytime one of them would wail uncontrollably while looking at the body of their grandma, she had to hold back an eyeroll. If only they knew what the alternative to death was. 

Gigi hadn’t fed in a while, calculating mentally, she realized it had been five days since her last feeding. Normally she didn’t wait that long, but she had double the work since Jackie just had to take her wife on vacation. Again. For the third time that month. As she clenched her fist as hard as she could, she had to maintain laser-sharp focus, or she’d drain every individual in the room.

Without realizing it, Gigi was impatiently tapping her foot as she rubbed the smooth surface of her necklace with her thumb. When that didn’t distract her from her thirst, she clenched her fist hoping the sensation of pain would distract her. 

“Are you okay?” one of the family members, the daughter Gigi presumed asked kindly.

“Fine,” Gigi said through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know how you can do this job. I could never see death every day. You made her look really good, though. It’s like she’s sleeping.” 

Even though Gigi would love to suck the woman dry, she took pride in her work. “Thank you. Excuse me, I’ll be back in a moment.”

The second Gigi made her way into the prep room, she exhaled sharply. In the back of the cabinet containing embalming fluid was an insulated lunchbox with a thermos in it. Normally, the blood of the bodies made its way into the drain on the sewers. To a vampire, that was a complete waste of sustenance. Although blood from a dead body was the equivalent of drinking flat soda that had been left in the sun for three days after being dehydrated, it was enough to tide her over until she could hunt. 

Opening the lid of the thermos, she felt her fangs protrude. Greedily, she drank every drop she could manage. Examining her appearance in the mirror, she returned the lunchbox to the cabinet.

“Thanks, Mrs. Hollinger,” Gigi murmured as the door slammed shut behind her. 

“Everything all good?” Jackie, who was in the lobby, asked. 

As much as Gigi didn’t want to have someone work with her at the funeral home, she didn’t have a choice. Even a vampire couldn’t single handedly run a business. It wasn’t that Gigi didn’t like Jackie. She didn’t like anyone with a heartbeat. Of all the people who responded to her job listing, Jackie was the only applicant that wasn’t incessantly irritating. Plus, she was good at what she did. Granted, she wasn’t as good at Gigi, but no one was. 

Coming down from the wave of euphoria from feeding, Gigi said, “I left my phone in the prep room. Got it now.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “Okay. I can finish the visitation if you want to do the rest of the reports.”

What Gigi appreciated most about Jackie other than the fact that she did her job well, was that she knew that Gigi hated visitations. Never had Gigi been so thankful to be doing paperwork. 

Before she knew it, five o’clock rolled around, which meant the visitation was over, and it was time to close for the evening. Gigi was up to her eyeballs in embalming reports, she didn’t even realize until Jackie knocked on her office door.

“Do you want me to lock up?” Jackie asked.

“No, I got it. Go get dinner with your wife.” Gigi had worked with Jackie long enough to know that every Thursday, Jackie and her wife, Jan went to dinner. 

“Thank you Gigi. See you tomorrow!”

“Have a good evening.”

It wasn’t until Gigi looked down at her palm that she realized how hard she’d clenched her fist earlier in the day. Distinct marks were left behind by each of her nails, but disappeared as she rubbed her palm with her opposite hand. She needed to feed, and as soon as possible. Locking up only took a few minutes, thankfully, and Gigi’s apartment was within walking distance.

Right as Gigi unlocked her door, she was greeted by her cat, who rubbed against her legs. “Hi, Akasha.”

She stood in front of her bathroom mirror as she tried to make her makeup look a little bit more appropriate for someone trying to find company at a bar by lining her eyes heavily with liner, making her blue eyes look all the more brighter. On nights she wanted to feel good about herself, she’d wear tight dresses that left nothing to the imagination. Tonight though, she was so ravenous she changed into the first outfit that wasn’t business casual, a black flowing top with a pair of skin-tight jeans.

“I’ll be home late, don’t wait up for me, baby girl,” she said to Akasha petting her head. 

In her 115 years, there were few things she hated as much as bars. Watching couples grind against each other disgusted Gigi. The only thing that she found slightly entertaining was watching men shoot their shot with women, only to be rejected. If she could get headaches, she knew the pounding bassline from uncreative, manufactured pop music would cause one. Although, she had to admit, getting called sooo pretty by drunk girls was validating. 

Gigi stood with her back against the bar. Scanning the room, she tried to find an easy target. Some vampires had preferences between male or female victims. Gigi leaned toward men most often, as their vessels were larger, making it much easier to get the most blood possible the fastest, but tonight it didn’t matter. She’d waited too long to feed. In her hunt, she didn’t notice the most perfect target standing right next to her. 

The woman was unlike anyone Gigi had ever seen, which was really saying something. Her wild hair was wild, like a bright blue lion’s mane. Her makeup, while done well, was completely outlandish. It was although she tried to challenge herself to use every shade in an eyeshadow palette. The woman’s appearance alone was unusual, but it was her clothing that truly caught Gigi’s eye. Although Gigi wasn’t one for fashion, she was fairly certain no one should be mixing as many patterns as she was. 

“Hey,” the girl greeted.

“Hi,” Gigi said curtly. 

“Can I get you a drink?” the girl shouted over the music. 

Gigi shook her head. “I have to drive later.”

The girl leaned against the bar as Gigi did as she smoothly rubbed against Gigi’s hand, which she held. Never in her years hunting people at bars had anyone made the first move. Everyone was intimidated by her, which is something that she enjoyed. She had to admit, the girl’s boldness was endearing. To keep up with appearances, Gigi held the girl’s hand, rubbing small circles with her thumb.

“I’m Crystal.”

“Gigi.” 

  Shit.

 Every time she introduced herself to someone she was about to feed on, she never used her real name. That was one of the first things Nicky told her all those years ago. Why now was she making such a simple mistake? 

“Do you want to get out of here?”

If only this girl knew she was walking to her death.

Gigi took Crystal’s hand and led her to the alley behind the bar. Generally, Gigi used either the charisma she possessed naturally, or glamoured people into going back to the funeral home for quick cleanup. But, she’d been so busy with the funeral home she’d been relying on the blood of the dead for far too long. She needed to feel blood pulsating into her mouth straight from the vessel.

Immediately, Gigi pulled Crystal into a kiss, which took Crystal by surprise. She knew that leading into a kiss wasn’t necessary, but Nicky had always done it, and it seemed like a nice touch. Normally, the kisses didn’t feel like anything, serving more to gain trust of the human. For some reason, her kisses with Crystal felt incredible. She hadn’t felt this way since she and Nicky slept together when they were bored. 

In the span of her making out with Crystal, she could have easily drained the girl. Something about Crystal made Gigi want to take her time. As she trailed down to her neck, her fangs wouldn’t draw. Cutting her losses, she bit Crystal’s neck with her normal teeth, which caused Crystal to moan loudly. Her regular teeth weren’t sharp enough to draw blood in the way she needed. This set Gigi off in a way she’d never felt before. This wasn’t acceptable. Thiscouldn’t happen. 

Gigi broke the kiss and stared into Crystal’s eyes. 

“My apartment’s just down the street,” Crystal offered.

“Crystal, you seem like a really nice girl, and that was incredible, but I have to go.” Gigi walked away before receiving a response. 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Gigi didn’t know what she was going to do. She couldn’t go back to the bar and find someone else. Never had Gigi found a human she actually wanted to be around. By this point, she was every negative emotion. Ravenous from thirst, confused about her fangs suddenly not working, and furious at herself that she’d made such a simple mistake. 

The ten minute drive from the bar to her apartment  lasted two. She had to get home, and fast.

On particularly bad nights, Gigi liked to have her fun. As much as she hated humans, blindly torturing them for fun wasn’t something she partook in. Someone who deserved the pain, however, she could get behind. 

It wasn’t something she’d done often. The last time was back in the eighties when Nicky left for the last time. 

Perched on the top of her couch, Gigi pulled up the sex offender registry. She found her target. A serial rapist, less than five miles away. Perfect. Gigi got into her car as she typed the address into the GPS. She grinned to herself, thinking about the fun she was about to have. 

After ringing the doorbell, a normal-looking middle-aged man answered the door. “Hello?”

“Hi!” Gigi began, making her voice sound ditzy. “I’m, like, so lost.”

“Oh no, dear, that’s no good. Come on in.” the man smoothed his thinning hair. 

Disgusting. 

“Would you like a drink?” 

“Oh, no thank you. I just need to find out how to get to the red line…. Chicago transportation is, like, so confusing, you know?” 

The way he smirked made Gigi want to snap his neck right then and there.. What a disgusting man. “It’s something that’s for sure.”

Gigi batted her eyelashes. “Any plans tonight?”

The man shifted in his chair nervously. “Nothing… Until now?”

“Wanna have some fun tonight?”

She felt disgusting, but the thought of killing such a vile man would be worth it. 

“Well, young lady, since you’re asking…”

“I”m into some weird shit,” Gigi began.

“Oh?”

“I like to fuck in my daddy’s funeral home right where the dead bodies get made up.”

“I don’t think I can–”

Gigi stared directly into the man’s eyes. “You are going into my car, you are not going to touch me, you won’t even speak to me. You won’t say anything. We are going to the funeral home.”

“We’re going to the funeral home…” he said dreamily. “Who died?”

Gigi didn’t reply as she shut the door. The entire ride to the funeral home, the man had a dazed look in his eye. Humans were so weak-minded. Glamouring people was fun for Gigi, there was nothing like watching a human bend at the knee, willing to do whatever she wished. She parked in the back of the funeral home and unlocked the door to the back. 

“Let’s go,” Gigi demanded. “Out. Now.”

The man did as he was told, and just as Gigi instructed earlier, didn’t say a word. “This way.”

“Uh-huh,” the man said.

“ Quiet. ”

Normally, the people she fed from were people who were around the same physical age as she was. The thought of kissing someone who looked like this man was enough to make her disgusted, that, combined with his vile actions, made it simply out of the question. 

“Sit on the table.” Immediately he did as instructed, and sat on the edge of the table. The obedience made Gigi smile wickedly. Humans really were pathetic. 

“Next, you’re going to tell me exactly what you did to those girls.”

“They were so beautiful… they were asking for it and–”

“Wrong answer.”

Baring her fangs, Gigi sank them into the man’s neck, breaking the skin but not going deep into the vein just deep enough to make the man cry out in agony. The euphoric feeling only occurred when blood was actively being drank. She pulled away, making sure to take in the man’s pained expression. His whimpering was pathetic. It was that of a puppy that accidentally got stepped on. 

“Please…” the man begged. “Let me live.”

Gigi exhaled looking at the man’s desperate eyes. His pleas meant nothing to her. There was something about human suffering that she relished. The suffering of a human who deserved it was even better. 

She laughed quietly. “No, no. I don’t think I will.”

Once more, Gigi sank her fangs into the man’s neck. This time, it was on the other side and the bites were much deeper. She made several bites, all avoiding major arteries and veins. The knowledge of human anatomy was quite useful when torturing humans. It was clear that the man wanted to cry out once more, but couldn’t. 

As soon as she was satisfied with the man’s suffering, Gigi sank her fangs into the man one last time into the carotid, her vessel of choice. It had been quite some time she’d fed on someone over the age of thirty. She forgot that the blood started tasting much more bitter. It was as though she was forced to eat her least favorite food out of sheer necessity. 

Shutting her eyes, Gigi imagined that the man was the girl from earlier, Crystal. Gigi was certain Crystal’s blood would be much sweeter in her mouth. She didn’t fantasize about feeding on Crystal alone. She fantasized about ripping her clothes off and seeing her curvy body and… 

She didn’t even realize she’d completely drained the man. Coming down from the euphoria from feeding, Gigi saw just how much of a mess she made. Blood was splattered all over the room, starting on the linoleum, all the way up to the cabinets. Thank God for industrial strength bleach. 

Normally, Gigi was methodical and calculated when she fed. Most times, she was so precise that the puncture marks from her fangs were barely visible, and only a scant amount of blood didn’t end up in her mouth. 

Effortlessly, she brought the man’s corpse into the basement and turned the retort on. The man was rather thin, so it would probably take about an hour and a half for him to be reduced to ash, which was about as long as it would take her to make the prep room presentable again after the mess she made. 

The entire time she cleaned, her thoughts kept going back to Crystal. There was something about the girl that intrigued Gigi. In nearly a century, she’d never felt any sort of attraction toward a human. 

Most humans she found disgusting. Why was she so drawn to a girl that she met once? She pondered as she collected the man’s ashes. 

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, you’re a terrible human, burn in Hell,” Gigi muttered as she scattered the ashes. 

When she went back to her apartment, Gigi sat on her couch and patted the space next to her, getting Akasha’s attention.. Absentmindedly petting her cat, Gigi still couldn’t get the girl out of her head. With a groan, Gigi stretched on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Why was she thinking about a human? What was wrong with her? She smacked the back of her head against the couch hard enough that it would hurt a human. 

Never sleeping was terrible for a chronic overthinker. Gigi never got to shut her brain down, instead, it constantly ran like a neverending machine. There were not enough bad B-horror movies in the world to occupy her mind. 

Finally, it was 6 A.M., an acceptable time for humans to go on a run.  Even though Gigi wouldn’t explode or sparkle in the direct sunlight, if she was in it too long, she’d get the world’s worst sunburn, so she tried to go before the sun rose. Just to be sure, she always ran in long sleeves and pants.

 Five miles later, Gigi returned to her apartment, thankful she didn’t sweat anymore. Looking at the clock, she saw she had an hour to get ready for work. She had no idea why she always looked, at the time. It took the same amount of time for her to get ready, and she had her routine down like clockwork.  

The next step in her morning was to make herself look, well, not dead. If Gigi didn’t give herself ample time to get ready, she’d look like one of the corpses on her table. Her skin was so pale it was translucent, blue veins visible through the skin with heavy bags under her eyes. Half of Gigi’s makeup bag looked like normal, everyday products like eyeliner and mascara. The other half were products that belonged at the funeral home. It was the only makeup that could cover her veins.

It was a process to paint her entire body, so most of the time, she wore sleeves. On the nights where she wanted to look provocative at the bar, it was dark enough inside that she could get away with just painting her face and neck. Gigi would hardly call herself a makeup artist, but she had to admit, she was good. It was no easy feat to go from looking dead to looking human. To be fair, she was good at almost everything. 

By the time she got to the funeral home, Jackie was already there. Gigi reassured Jackie every time that it wasn’t necessary for her to arrive before 8, but she insisted. 

“Morning,” Jackie greeted.

“Good morning.”

“So, I was just checking everything over before we opened for the day… One of the prep rooms looked… off.”

Shit. 

“Off? How do you mean?”

All Gigi could do was think about the possible spots she could have missed cleaning. She triple checked to make sure that the room was spotless. But, as careless as she was last night, she wouldn’t be surprised if she left evidence. 

Jackie motioned for Gigi to follow her. When the lights to the prep room flickered open, Gigi looked around and saw nothing. 

“What do you mean?” Gigi asked.

Jackie pointed to one of the cabinets that was propped open. Gigi breathed a sigh of relief. Leaving the cabinet with the cleaning products open was hardly anything to worry about. 

“It’s just a cabinet, Jackie.”

“I just figured you’d want to know, considering that time I moved the aneurysm hooks, you lectured me for like fifteen minutes that things had their places, and that the rooms had to be left the way they were when I came into them.”

Jackie wasn’t wrong. Gigi liked everything a specific way. Everything had its place, especially in her safe haven. She had to admit, had it been Jackie who left the cabinet open, she would have been frustrated.

“Two completely different things.”

“How… Nevermind. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Jackie,” Gigi’s tone was short.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t really know how it was open like that.”

Gigi shrugged. “Maybe I left it open. I don’t remember.”

“You? Leaving a cabinet open? Who are you?” Jackie laughed.

Gigi forced a laugh. “I suppose I was just tired.”

The day was uneventful at best, at least to Gigi. Any human would disagree. Seeing a dead sixteen year old boy hit by a drunk driver mangled beyond recognition would disturb most. Not Gigi. Thank God the family didn’t want an open casket; there was no possibility the boy would look presentable, despite her skill in her trade. 

Once she finished, dissatisfied with the boy’s appearance, she shut the door, where Jackie was standing. 

“You okay?” Jackie asked gently.

“Yes?” Gigi raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“He was so young… It’s sad.”

“Oh. Yes. Very sad.”

Jackie smiled. “You do good work. I’m sure you’ll bring the family a lot of closure.”

“It’s a closed casket,” Gigi said, walking away, feeling Jackie’s judgmental stare. 

As she sat in her office, fidgeting with the gold chain around her neck. Gigi couldn’t get Crystal out of her head. Not just Crystal, the entirety of the events that unveiled the previous night. Why didn’t her fangs draw? Why was she still thinking about a human? What was wrong with her?

All Gigi knew was that old man blood was not nearly as satisfying as the blood of a healthy young person. Biting her lip, she sighed. Feeding two days in a row was not something she enjoyed doing. It was a lot of work. Far too much work for a 115 year old woman. 

Gigi wasn’t sure why she was having such an odd couple of days. For some reason, Crystal made her think about humans as a whole. There wasn’t a single human that she thought of for more than a moment. Even thoughts of Jackie only came up at work, or when thinking about work. But, here she was distracted so much so that she couldn’t focus on her reports. 

Tapping her pen against her desk, she realized it wasn’t Crystal she was thinking about. It was her own humanity.

Humanity was something that Gigi struggled with since she was cursed with immortality. Her thoughts on humans changed drastically through the past few decades. When she was first turned, all she could do was feel jealousy toward them. They got everything she didn’t, they got to raise a family, they got to have a life without hiding, and they got to die. 

Eventually, her jealousy led to hatred, so much so that Gigi could barely speak to humans without an extreme urge to drain them dry. As much as she tried, she couldn’t remember why she began to hate them in the first place, other than the fact that she was on the apex predator. Humans were weak, merely a form of sustenance.

But what if they weren’t? 

[lexrius]

The Wolf

AN: This is the first fic in the Dragon’s Mate series. Series needs a new name though as I re-do the fic.

------

I sat in my office as I began writing my report for our last investigation. I played with my quill as I finished the report with a sigh. I looked back to the letters that were delivered to me days prior from me getting back to the office. One from my mom telling me about her and dad’s latest adventures; Chiara with her updates about her life and Talbott finally proposing and even one from Ben who has been very quiet these last few years. I looked at the photo from our sixth year. Everyone was happy, playing in the snow, and even some stolen kisses underneath the mistletoe. The memories flooded back to me like a stab in the heart. Penny and Bea’s falling out. Mine and Barnaby’s break up. Finding R and my brother. Rowan….. I sighed and thought back to my happier memories.

Charlie and I’s first date. Rowan and I getting excited for Quidditch. Winning the Quidditch Cup. I sighed as I look at those letters and looked back five years ago when we entered our last year at Hogwarts. The smiles and tears we all had. The heartfelt goodbyes. Everyone going their own ways. I had chosen to become an auror; getting a job in America. Separated from my home, my friends, and my love. I looked at the pile of letters and smiled at the most recent one. My Barn Owl, Athena, preened her feathers as she settled on my desk. My eyes scanned the letter with a light smile.

My dearest Viper,

I know that was pretty sappy, but you know I’m not very good at writing love letters. How have you been? It’s been a couple of months since any of us had heard from you. Here at the sanctuary we received a new little one! He’s a beautiful ridge-back we named Gary. We’re thinking of pairing him with Norberta. Anyway back to the point of this letter; Dad got tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! Ron and Ginny invited Harry and Hermione and I was wondering if you would like to join us?

Answer soon.

Love, Charlie

A slam next to me jolted me from my thoughts. I looked over to see my partner slouch down into her chair,”Girl you and I need a vacation! Ramsey has been working our tails off since late December.” Her golden brown eyes focused towards me. She gave me a hearty smile and pointed to the doors,”Let’s clock out early and head to the bar! Drinks on me tonight.” I laughed and nodded,”Alright let me grab my jacket.” I grabbed my letters and jacket and we clocked out. We said goodbye to the receptionist and out into the streets of New York. We made our way to the Thundering Brew; Queen’s Under Pressure playing through the speakers. Drew the goblin was cleaning glasses when he saw us walk in,”Well there’s my two favorite customers!” His Boston accent was thick as he greeted us,”Quetta Woods; you are looking as beautiful as ever.” He flirted. Quetta rolled her eyes and sat at the bar. He then looked at me,”And the Wolf is here as well. Tell me love; what can I get you today?”

“Pear Dazzle.” He then looked over to Quetta,”Fire Whiskey as usual.” He nodded and started making the drinks. Quetta leaned against the bar and looked at me,”Soooo how’s dragon boy doing?” I laughed at her nickname for Charlie,”He’s doing good…..” I stayed silent thinking about his letter. Quetta knew something was up and crossed her arms,”Alright. What did he do?”

“What? Nothing….It’s just…He invited me to go to the Quidditch World Cup with him and his family. I haven’t seen him in years-what if he doesn’t like me anymore or-” Quetta slapped me upside the head. She gave me her ‘Are you serious right now?’ look. I sunk back in my chair and pouted,”You really think he would think that? Girl; he kept a long distance relationship with you! Anyone who has eyes can see that that man loves you.” I smiled and grabbed my drink that Drew had placed in front of me. Quetta raised her glass to me,”A toast to young love and the best damn team in America!” I raised my glass in cheers and slammed down the drink.

After a few drinks I went home to rest for the night.

I sighed as the heat slipped into my living room. I had been stationed in Arizona upon my request to study the Thunderbirds on my downtime. I looked at Galeo who was setting up his nest with the new gold artifacts that Jacob found. I looked outside and watched the cars drive along the road.

I pop behind my door caught my attention. I pulled my wand out and was preparing to fight. A knock came to my door. I looked through the peep hole and saw that it was my boss,”Detective Rogers? It’s midnight; what are you doing here?!” I asked him after opening up the door. He took his fedora off and placed it on my coffee table,”I just heard Intel from the Ministry of Magic’s auror office. Winchester heard rumors going around that the Death Eaters are rallying up for something big.” He placed a case folder down which I looked over real fast,”We think there might be an appearance at the Quidditch World Cup. I’m sending you to get some Intel there since you requested a vacation for it.” He smiled at me. I rolled my eyes and scoffed,”My how generous of you to send me on vacation and make me work at the same time.” I said sarcastically. He pulled one more case file out,”There’s another reason we’re sending you there. A person of interest so to speak.”

I looked at the case file and saw the red haired woman who I had been tracking for years now. Rakepick’s picture looked at me and smirked. Fire boiled in the pits of my stomach as I read the case file. Rogers  handed me the full case file,”Are you in?” I looked at him with a smile,”Is that really a question?”

——

I nearly puked as the Portkey stopped. I regained my composure and made my way to the Leaky Cauldron. I signed in to a room and collapsed on the bed. I couldn’t sleep with the worry that my friends were in danger again. I tossed and turned in my sleep dreaming about everyone who has died. Dragging me down into the pits of Hell. There I see her face. Rakepick sitting in her chair twirling her wand in anticipation. She looked over to me with a snarky look,”Well look who the cat dragged in. Viper Akela; my old apprentice.” My breathe hitched as she turned her chair. At the bottom laid Rowan. I raised my wand but couldn’t say the words. She did the same and succeeded. I woke with a start from the nightmare.

I stared at the clock in the room.

4:30

I stretched and packed my bags to go to the Area where the Quidditch World cup was taking place. I apparated with no issue and showed the ticket man my ticket and tipped the man nicely. I stopped and turned towards him,”Excuse me sure. I’m supposed to meet with the Weasley’s; where exactly will I find them?” The no-mag looked at me confused before returning to his list. He pointed in the direction and told me what area they would be in. I thanked him and made my way to the tent grounds. I settled my tent on the ground and started setting it up. I sighed and relaxed inside the tent while looking over my case files. My thoughts interrupted when a few outside voices got closer.

“Did the others beat us here dad?” I heard what sounded like Fred outside the tent. I smiled and closed the files and made my way to the entrance,”No; someone took our spot! I will have a very nasty talk to about this nonsense!” I heard Mr. Weasley sounding furious. I laughed and walked out of the tent. Mr. Weasley had his arms crossed and was glaring at me,”May I ask why you are in-” HE stopped and looked at me in surprise,”Merlins beard. If it isn’t miss Viper Akela!” I laughed and hugged him,”It’s good to see you again Mr. Weasley! Sorry for the scare. If you don’t mind I’ll be staying next to you guys on the grounds.” He nodded and with a hearty laugh he pat my shoulder,”All swell my dear.”

I looked over to the group of excited red heads who then rushed up and gave me hugs. I looked at Fred and George in shock,”How the hell did you get that tall!?” Both Fred and George laughed and leaned on me,”We got the good genes!” I pushed them off and looked to Ginny and Ron who were very grown up,”Well now has it really been that long?” Ginny smiled brightly,”You have to tell us about your adventures in America! Charlie never tells us anything.” I laughed and shook my head,”Most of my job I can’t tell and you know that.” She shrugged and went to go help her dad with their tent. I finally turned to Ron and his friends. Ron looked at his friends then back at me,”Guys let me introduce you to one of Charlie’s coolest friends! Viper Akela. Viper these are my mates Hermione and Harry!”

I held out my hand to the two teens. Hermione beemed and took my hand with a huge grin,”It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Hermione Granger.” I felt a pang in my heart as she reminded me of Rowan. I then looked to Harry,”I’m guessing your the famous Harry Potter?” The dark haired boy nodded. I shook his hand,”From one cursed child to another; it’s nice to meet you.” HE smiled and gave me a firm handshake. We made our way into the tents waiting for the boys to arrive. It was nice getting to know Harry and Hermione and hearing all of their crazy tales. I looked at Harry and smiled,”Charlie told me your the new Griffindor seeker?” Harry nodded,”Yeah since my first year. Did you play quidditch too Viper?”

I raised my eyebrow at him and laughed,”Kid your looking at one of Hufflepuff’s best chaser. I ended up beating Griffindor my last year.” Harry leaned closer discussing about our quidditch games. It wasn’t until Charlie and Bill came stumbling in laughing with Percy close behind rolling his eyes. Bill and Percy froze when they saw me. Charlie stopped laughing and turned to see me. I smiled at him lightly,”Hi love.” He looked at me dumbfounded and then rushed over and embraced me. He smiled brightly as he kissed m cheek,”I thought you weren’t going to make it?!” I laughed as we pulled apart. I shrugged and looked at the other two Weasley brothers,”I convinced my boss to let me go.” I went over to Bill and gave him a hug then to Percy with a handshake,”It’s so good to see you all again.”

We had sat down and begun talking about life and how everything has been. Soon everyone was getting ready for the game. I dressed in green for Ireland and we made our way to the Colosseum. On the way I spotted John Winchester and his three kids heading to the arena as well. I placed my hand on Charlie’s soldier,”I’ll be back. Old mentor I want to go say hi to.” Charlie nodded and followed his family up the Colosseum. I made my way to the older man with a quick stride. I walked in front of him and held out my hand,”John Winchester! Nice to meet you!” I smiled. He looked at me strangely,”My name is Viper Akela. You are a legend in America!” He then realized that I was the American Auror he was going to meet.

“Ah Akela! Rogers told me all about you. Dean why don’t you find our seats; I’ll meet you guys there.” The oldest nodded and began walking with his siblings to the games. John glared at me,”I’ve been on the lookout. You could’ve blown my cover.”

I shook my head and glanced around,”Are the rumors true?” He sighed and shook his head,”I’ve been in touch with the others and there has been no talk of an attack.” I shifted on my feet. I looked back at the Colosseum,”Okay. I’ll keep in touch; if I see anything you’ll be the first to know.” He nodded and we went our separate ways. I found the Weasley’s seats and we watched the game with excitement and joy. Soon we were back at the tents. Most of us celebrated the victory of the Irish while everyone who was cheering for the Bulgarians laughed and made fun of us. Which we rallied back which made Ron the target for our teasing. We all stopped as we heard commotions outside. Mr. Weasley went outside to investigate while we went back to our celebrating. All of a sudden another sound of commotion was heard,”Well the Irish sure know how to get their party on eh?” George laughed. Our laughter died when Mr. Weasley came rushing back in,”How bad are the Irish partying and where can we join?” Fred asked with a chuckle.

“It’s not the Irish.” He sounded out of breath. My heart sunk. Were the rumors right? “We need to leave now.” We rushed out of the tents and heard the panicked screams. I looked over and in horror I witnessed death eaters levitating people in the air and over burning tents. I spotted John helping evacuate the area with other aurors. I looked back at the Weasleys with worry. Charlie clung to my arm as I started to drift towards the chaos. I looked at him with a loving look,”I’ll be fine love.” He nodded and let me go. I made my way towards John and started helping as many people as we could while getting closer to the death eaters.

WE started to run towards them as the crowds cleared. They noticed us and started to apparate out. One in particular saw me and uncovered her face. With red hair and lips Patricia Rakepick smugly looked at me and motioned towards me for a fight. I felt the blood in my body began to boil as I rushed after her.

“Stupify!” I casted. She blocked with ease. I shot more stun spells at her. She blocked each one with ease until I got her with a difindo spell. She glared at me before apparating away,”NO!” I cried out as she got away. I got to the spot she was standing at and noticed an address on the ground. I looked at it with a glare,”Is this where you’ve been hiding?” I asked myself. John whistled over to me,”We got some noise over in that direction. We’re going to apparate there on the count of 3.” He told me and the other aurors who showed up. We counted to three and landed around three people,”Now! Stupify!” I fired a stunning spell. I looked and saw that it was Harry, Ron and Hermione. I stopped and waved everyone to stop. It wasn’t until Charlie, Bill and Mr. Weasley ran in the middle screaming for us to stop,”That’s my son!” He embraced the kids. Crouch stepped forward and questioned the kids. I stepped back and sighed. Crouch then looked in my direction,”Did any of you at least catch someone?!” We all looked away; he already knew the answer,”Tch then what was the point of bringing help?”

Harry stepped forward and told Crouch that there was a man further east of their current position. I began walking with the rest of the aurors until Crouch pulled me aside,”I think we have had enough of your help Akela. I’ll be seeing you in my-” A hand on his shoulder stopped him mid sentence. John glared at Crouch,”Let the kid go Bartey.” Crouch sighed and followed John towards the area where Harry last saw the strange man. I felt the eyes at the back of my head. I turned and looked at the Weasleys. Charlie looked away in disbelief,”Charlie-”

“You only came for work.” He whispered. My voice caught my throat,”I wanted to come for a vacation and to hang out with all of you, but-” I swallowed the other words that would’ve come out of my mouth. Charlie just shrugged and shook his head,”Had to go catch the bad guy right?”

I snapped my head up and glared at him,”I’m after Rakepick you prat!” With that I saw his and Bill’s shocked face before I apparated back to the Leaky Cauldron. I checked into my room and locked the door behind me. I grabbed the address from my pocket and glared down at it. Grabbing my wand and auror gear; I left and apparated to the location.

———

I walked down the street and found the apartment. I let out a shaky breath as I made my way inside. I used the Disillusionment charm and made my way around the apartment. There I spotted a man sleeping on the couch and a ton of alcohol bottles. In the corner I spotted a creature scurrying on the table. An old looking niffler was polishing a gold watch. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

It was Rakepick’s niffler Sickleworth. His eyes landed on me and instantly he started to scurry away. I grabbed the little bugger not before he knocked over a pot. The man jolted awake and pointed his wand towards me,”Revelio!” My charm wore off and I pointed my wand at him Petrificus totalus!” His body froze and fell backwards. I cradled old Sickleworth in my arms,”Hey buddy. Don’t you remember me?” He sniffed me and started to get excited. I set him down and went around the apartment. Nothing out of the ordinary. I went back to our mystery guy and tied him up. Once my spell wore off he spat at me,”Who are you?!” He screamed. Luckily I put a silent charm on the apartment. I pointed my wand to his temple and glared at him,”Where is Rakepick?”

He grew silent until I casted difindo on his leg. He screamed in pain. He glared at me,”Screw you bitch.” I casted the difindo spell again against his toes this time which caused him to wail in agony. I then placed my wand on his little friend causing him to go into panic mode,”Okay okay okay!” He gasped out,”Look I’m just her kneazle and niffler breeder. I take of Sickleworth when she is on important jobs.”

“I didn’t ask about you! I want to know where she is this second!” I pushed harder on his jewels.

“It’s a secret bar in Germany!” He cried out. I smiled and pulled a pen and paper out,”Name and address.”

He glanced over to his bag. I grabbed it and rummaged through it. I found a coin with a rose embroidered on it. I put it in my pocket. I went towards the window and pressed my wand against my neck. I gave the address of the apartment and casted my patronus out of the window,”I’m on a lead. Don’t come find me.” I casted the petrifying curse on the crook and apparated out. I transfigured my hair to look short and dark red and made my eyes a deeper blue. I even gave myself a mole and a scar.

I walked around Germany for hours trying to find the location until I stumbled upon a rose garden. I walked in and took the coin out. Two men came up behind me and pulled their wands out,”I’m a new member. Invited by a breeder of Kneezles and Nifflers.” Both looked at me then walked ahead of me before knocking on a hidden entrance. I walked in and the bar was loud and full of sketchy wizards and witches. I went up to the bar. I looked around and caught the attention of what I can assume is the leader. She sat next to me and ordered fire whiskey,”Can I get you a drink new comer?”

I smiled and handed her my money,”Surprise me.” She gave me an approved smile and ordered the dragon blood shot followed by a thing of water. I’ve done dragon blood shots before with my friends when Jae snuck it in. It was the worst drink of my entire life, but I was prepared for the taste. I grabbed the shot and took it as fast as I could. My throat burned as the slush went down. My eyes watered as I sucked in a breath of fresh air. I slammed the glass down and looked at her with a nod,”Now that was a bloody kick!” She looked at me with a surprise look.

“I like you. So it was Luke that sent you here?” It clicked in my mind that I had never learned the breeder’s name,”That’s his name? Never cared to learn it. My style is more like his partners. Oh what was her name again? Ahh Patricia Rocket? No that’s not it-”

“Rakepick.” The womans eyes grew weary. I snapped my finger and pointed to her,”That’s the one! Damn good woman she is.” I nearly threw up those words. The woman leans in and motions for the back,”Let’s talk in private. We have much to discuss.” I looked at her questionably, but followed her with my wand hidden in my jacket sleeve within my palm. Once we were behind closed doors she sat down on one of the red couches in the room. She motioned for me to sit in the couch in front of her. She placed her wand in the middle of the table,”So we can trust one another.” I hesitantly put my wand on the table.

She leaned back and crossed her legs,”Your an auror.” She spoke up. My attention flicked from her face to my wand. Before I could open my mouth she held her hand up,”My father is one and I could tell you were one by a mile away. However; I like you. You’re here for Rakepick?”

I nodded and looked up at her,”I’m only here for her. Apologies are in order however; I seemed to have gotten your breeder arrested.” She looked at me annoyed, but I held my finger up,”What do you do to those animals?” She looked up at me blatantly,”We use them for some of our schemes and that’s it. But we do take care of them highly.” She whistled and a brown and black niffler ran across her shoulders and curled into her lap. I leaned back with a sigh,”What can you tell me about Rakepick?”

She made a small noise and wagged her finger at me,”What can you give me in return for this information?”

I leaned forward,”What do you want?”

She thought for a moment then held up two of her fingers,”Two things. A new niffler breeder. A nicer one would be nice. Alec was not taking good care of the mothers. The other thing is; I want to know why you are after Rakepick.”

I looked at my hands and sighed,”If I can find you a nice breeder. You must pay what they say and dress nicely for pick up. Or they won’t give you any.” She nodded in compliance,”Of course. I will let my men know. Now about Rakepick?”

I glanced at her and asked her a simple question.”What are your rules as a bad guy?”

She snickered at the word bad guy,”No kids. I like kids too much no matter how annoying some can be. Too innocent. Animal cruelty is a no no as well. And take from the rich and give to the poor.” I laughed at that and shook my head,”Let me guess you’re Robin Hood?”

“Robin Mercier and you are?” I looked at her and shook my head. She sighed and looked up at me,”I will keep our meeting a secret. I don’t like Rakepick either and there are others that come that I will willingly give to you as well.” I sighed and looked at the door behind us,”Viper. That’s all I’m giving you.” She smiled and leaned back,”Why are you hunting Rakepick? She steal from you?”

I looked at her dead in the eye,”When I was in my sixth year at Hogwarts; she killed my best friend who was a sister to me.” She looked down and shook her head,”And the niffler breeder?”

“That would be me. I am a certified breeder for the auror office and curse breaker offices.” Robin laughed and held out her hand,”Well then, I just wanted to see how serious you were. Now that I see; I’m not interested in nifflers anymore. We got another breeder for us. Rakepick has been traveling around Europe. If she was in England then most likely she will be going to Scottland. Your best bet is that she will be near Hogsmede. I nodded and grabbed my wand,”Then I will take my leave. I like the drinks you have. I might be back for a drink or two.” I smiled at Robin who nodded and grabbed her own wand.

“Of course. I’ll be expecting you to come by when this is all over.” She spoke quietly. I nodded and apparated out.

———

I made my way to the Ministry's auror office. I looked around and spotted a flow of pink hair in the distance talking to another auror. Tonks turned and saw me. She instantly ended her conversation and ran up to me,”Watcher Viper!” She tackled me with a hug. The other auror walked up and I instantly noticed it was Talbott. I smiled wholeheartedly at my friends,”You both look so good! How have you all been?”

Tonks looked at me in shock,”Blimey Viper; five years in America and you have already lost your accent?!” I laughed and poked her shoulder,”You do realize that you made fun of this very same accent when we entered Hogwarts? This is my normal accent.” She laughed and slapped my arm,”I know that! I’ve been bloody good! Working under Madeye was the best! Cranky old man, but a good teacher.”

I then looked at Talbott,”And how are you and Chiara doing?” He blushed and then pulled a ring out. Both Tonks and I had wide smiles as we congratulated him,”I’ll be asking her tonight. Enough about us; how are you fairing?” He asked quietly. My smile grew forced as I thought of Rakepick and the events of the Quidditch games and Charlie.

“I’ve been better.” I spoke quietly. Just then the door swung open and John had walked in with Kingsly Shacklebolt next to him,”Akela, Tonks, Winger; office for briefing now.” I looked at them with confusion. We followed the aurors inside the briefing office. They closed the door and put up a silent charm on the room making sure no one could hear us.

“Akela; what have you found?” John looked to me. I shifted on my feet,”I found Rakepick. My Intel told me she is in Scottland. Most likely outside of Hogsmead village.” Both Tonks and Talbott looked at me in shock,”You finally tracked her down?” Tonks’s question rang in my ears. I nodded and looked at John and Kingsly. Kingsly sat forward,”Talbott. I want you to scout the area and find her. Follow her the best you can and figure out what she’s planning. We know she isn’t a death eater; so why was she at the Quidditch games?”

I stood up and glared at the man in front of me,”Let me. I’ve been tracking her for years and I’m going-”

“Sit down!” John ordered. I sat while biting my tongue,”Now; we need to find out what she is up to. Is R back? We don’t know. Akela I’m sending you to Hogwarts for extra protection. The Tri-Wizard Tournaments are going to be held there and you will serve under Madeye.” I sighed and nodded,”Understand sir.”

———

I walked into Hogwarts with Crouch and other law enforcement officers and others from the Department of Games and Sports. The Professors were waiting in the great hall. Crouch and Dumbledor went over the rules of the tournament and then explained how classes will go for the teachers. I sighed of boredom until Professor Flitwick accidentally stepped on my foot,”Oops my bad-” He stopped and adjusted his glasses,”Miss Akela? Is that really you?!” He held out his hand. I smiled and shook it,”It has been a while Professor. I hope the students have been treating you well.” He chuckled and patted my hand,”Always. Though those Weasley boys sure do get creative with those spells of theirs.”

I laughed and shook my head. Crouch introduced everyone who was working under him. He then made it to me,”And here we have Miss Viper Akela. She’ll be joining my law enforcement team for extra protection from the auror office from America.” I smiled at everyone and nodded,”It’s good to be back.” We were then briefed to guard the doors after the students got to the Great Hall. After the introduction of the two schools I walked out with Crouch and stood at his side as he explained the rules. After a small ruckus with the students dinner was served and we began leaving. Crouch turned to me and looked to Madeye,“I want you to remain here because of what happened at the games. Stay low and quiet.” I nodded and stayed behind. After the dinner feast I found Professor Sprout and let her know what happened.

She nodded and walked me to Dumbledor’s office. She talked about all of the quirks she missed from my friends and I. I laughed,”I still can’t believe you still made me Prefect and Head Girl.” Professor Sprout patted my back,”Even though you were troublesome; you did follow most of the rules and you were one of our best tutors.” I blushed and made our way up the stairs. We had good laughs and then we made it to Dumbledor’s office. I said my goodbye to her and made my way into the Headmaster’s office. Professor Dumbledor looked up and smiled at me,”Miss Akela. How has your work in America been?”

I smiled and sat down in the chair in front of his desk,”It has been great! Thank you for the reference Professor. I wanted to let you know that Crouch wants me to remain here low and quiet.” I explained. He nodded and gave me permission to do so. To which I walked out and used my animegus form to wander the halls at night. This went on for a couple of days. I had been pacing around the hall and noticed someone walking in the hall. I paced towards them until they turned and shot a petrifying spell at me. I collapsed and watched as he covered his already shadowed face and then proceeded to shove me in Snapes ingredients closet. With one kick to the face I blacked out.

———

I woke up to Snape shaking me. I noticed I was covered in blood and my face hurt like hell,”Wha-” I snapped my attention and stood up,”We need to stop the tournament. It was rigged!” Before I could step out Snape pulled me aside,”The names were already pulled. An extra came out. We’ve had no choice but to follow the rules. A little late on letting us know Akela.” I glared at him and pointed to my condition,”Tried to stop your rigger last night! If you haven’t noticed; I’m a bit on the beat up side.”

He sighed and then held out his wand at my face,”Episky.” My nose snapped back into place with me crying out in pain. I glared at him before regaining my posture,”What are we going to do?” He sighed and looked down the hall,”Just keep your head down and keep a lookout.” I nodded and left. I walked around the school and even spotted Fred and George taking money for what looked like bets for the tournament.

Over the next few weeks I did my rounds. I kept my guard up as I went around the hall. I spotted a small child getting bullied by some older students. I took some papers that I had and smacked the older students across the head. They ran off and I helped the younger student up and telling him to tell his head of house. I looked at the Black and Gold of his uniform and thought back to Merula and I’s constant fights. I snapped out of it when Madeye pulled me to the side. I eyed him as he looked around,”They’re escorting the dragons for the first task here tonight and we need extra hands with security.”

I looked at him with confusion,”I don’t think I’m needed Madeye.”

He grunted and shrugged,”Orders are orders.” I sighed and nodded,”Alright. Where and when?”

By night I made my way through the forbidden forest towards the destination where the dragons were being held. I noticed Hagrid in the distance and something caught my eyes. With being a wolf animegus I can see invisibility cloaks and spells. I noticed a shimmer behind Hagrid and moved forward. I noticed Hagrid was talking with Charlie and the minute he saw me he got nervous,”Viper! What are ye doing here?” I stretched as the chilled Scottish air caused my arms to stiffen,”Madeye sent me here for extra security.”

I glanced at Charlie who smiled over to me. I felt my heart race a little seeing his warm smile again. I watched as Charlie spoke about the dragons. I noticed a welsh green in the distance. Another next to it was a chinese fireball and then a swedish short snout. The one that caught my eye was the hungarian horntail,”Ain’t the horntail a beauty? Nasty dragon, but a beauty at that.”

I remembered back in my fifth year,”Yeah I remember. Still have that scar on my hip from the one we fought in our fifth year.” I heard shrubs rustle in the distance and looked back. I saw an eagle watching me in the distance.

Talbott.

I walked up to Charlie and gave him a small kiss,”I have to go.” He smiled at me and nodded. I made my way further into the forest. I watched him shift into himself and he fixed his clothes,”Been a while Viper; have you been well?”

I rolled my eyes,”I’m playing bodyguard in a school instead of going after the woman who killed my best friend and gave me hell for over three years!” I crossed my arms waiting for him to give me the news.

He sighed and slipped me a paper,”We found her. It’s time we go arrest her. Meet me here tomorrow and we’ll take a portkey to Italy. We’ll be meeting Winchester, Tonks and Kingsly there to make the arrest.” He smiled lightly. I felt the weight that had piled on to my chest lift. I walked up and hugged him as tears began to find their way down my face,”Thank you.”

We pulled away and he looked at me with a kind smile,”For Rowan.” He then shifted to his animegus form and flew off. I sighed and walked back to the castle.

On my way there I saw the shimmer of an invisibility cloak walk by me. I quickly hurried off and shifted. I slowly followed it until I blocked the entrance to the school. I growled deeply at the invisible person who staggered backwards. I rushed forward and tackled the person. I saw them raise heir wand. Before they could say a spell; I shifted and aimed my wand at them,”Expelliarmus!” I caught the wand and instantly recognized it as Harry’s wand.

I sighed and put my wand down,”Come on out Harry.” Harry took the invisibility cloak off and looked down at the ground knowing he was caught red handed,”You know you weren’t supposed to see those dragons.” I handed his wand back to him,”At least tell Cedric and the others so they also have a fighting chance.”

His eyes met mine and nodded,”Fluer already knows. And Karkaroff will probably tell Krum; I’ll tell Cedric.” I nodded and smiled at him. I had forgotten that Cedric was the one that had been chosen. I got a good look at Harry and noticed that he looked horrible,”Follow me Potter.”

He followed me to the courtyard and I motioned for him to sit down,”This challenge has been putting a strain on you hasn’t it?” He nodded and I leaned back against the fountain. I sighed and looked at Gryffindor tower,”Ron will get over it. Best Friends always do.” I placed my hand on his shoulder,”Trust me when I say that you need to let your friends help you. You can’t keep them away for long. They always find a way back into your life.” I chuckled. Harry smiled to and got up,”Thanks Viper.”

“Hey from one cursed kid to another.” I winked at him. I stood up and began making my way back to my room.

“Hey Viper.” I turned and saw Harry putting his cloak back on,”I think you should take your advise as well. Ron said Charlie was getting very worried about you.” My heart hurt as he disappeared from normal sight. I nodded and turned around,”Thanks Harry; I needed that reminder.”

———

I met Talbott in the forest. He stood by the Black Lake; observing the sunrise in the distance. I stood next to him observing the peaceful air,”Let me know when you and Kiara are free. I think it would be nice to go out for butterbeer with everyone again.” I told him. He smiled sweetly at me before nodding in agreement,”Set the date and we’ll be there.” I smiled as we held on to the portkey.

We stopped and I turned and up came my breakfast behind a bush. Talbott gave me an awkward pat on the back,”God I hate portkeys.” I said wiping my mouth.

I followed him to the safe house where I spotted John and Tonks playing poker. Tonks’ eyes lit up at the sight of me. She threw down her cards and jumped into my arms. I laughed and hugged her back. John smiled at me then took his money and set out a map,”We learned that she has a trade going on in a black market district that the Italian Ministry has been eyeing for a while. We will be working with them to take down Rakepick.” I looked over the map. Of course there was a secret entrance in the Colosseum.

“I think Tonks and I can corner her here.” I pointed to the spot,”Tonks and I can change our appearance and follow her.” Kingsly nodded and drew a circle near a cliff side,”Get her here. We’ll put barriers up so she can’t  apparate.”

We planned everything to the Tee and waited for nightfall.

Tonks and I made our hair darker and our clothes dark as well. We moved throughout the market with silence as we spotted her fire like hair. She spotted us and walked faster away from us. We caught up and got her to the cliff side. She went to apparate before realizing she was blocked. I changed my appearance back to normal and lifted my wand at her.

She chuckled and waved me off,”It’s been a long time Akela; how is my little prodigy doing?” I felt rage in my chest as I thought about what my next move would be. Tonks kept her wand raised as well,”You’re surrounded Rakepick; you are under arrest.”

Rakepick turned and saw John, Kingsly and three Italian ministry aurors. She looked around in anger and aimed a wandless spell towards the others. John used a shield spell but the others were knocked back. Everyone fired stun spells towards her which she deflected with ease. She fired a bombarda spell at the ground causing the cliff to crumble down.

We fell down with rocks and rubble tumbling with us. Tonks, John and I grabbed Rakepick before she apparated. We fell on to a grassy plain. I was dazed and noticed Rakepick aiming her wand at Tonks. I had horrible flashbacks to the green flash from my sixth year.

I charge forward as fast as I could and heard her start the spell. I shifted and plunged my fangs into her arm. She screamed in pain and looked at me in shock. Tonks shook her head and paled at the look of a three foot wolf clinging to the arm of a witch. She tried to pry my jaws open which gave John enough time to stun her in the back.

She fell to the ground. She took hold of my head and slammed me into a nearby rock. Tonks used the laceration spell and slammed the bitch away from me. I shifted back in pain as my head was bleeding bad. John helped me sit up against a wall while the other aurors were called.

Rakepick was now glaring daggers at me. To which I spat in her direction,”Get ready to rot in hell bitch.” Before she could say anything; Tonks did a hex or curse that made her mouth disappear,”That’ll shut her up.” She laughed and then sat next to me.

“Animegus huh?”

“Yep.” I answered.

She looked at me with curiosity,”Who else knows?”

“Charlie, Chiara, Talbott and Harry. Obviously now you and John as well.” I winced as she helped heal the wound.

I watched as she was escorted to Askaban.

After getting patched up; Tonks led me away and handed me some Italian Ice. I laughed and took it. The weight was finally gone and I felt very relaxed. I saw the thestrals pulling the jail cart. I sighed and closed my eyes letting the sun soak into my skin.

“So are you staying in Europe? Or are you going back to America?” I looked at Tonks with uncertainty. I shrugged,”I think I’m going to take a well deserved vacation.”

Tonks gave me an all knowing look,”I think its time you go on a long awaited date with Mr. Dragon Tamer! He has been-” I took her Italian ice and shoved it in her mouth. She laughed as she rubbed her teeth,”That was dirty!”

I laughed and looked into the distance.

She was right.

I think it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie.

———

The Romania air chilled me to the bone.

How was it colder than the UK?!

I went up to the front office to the sanctuary and was met by a friendly smile,”Buna dimineat doamna! Cum te pot ajuta azi?” I smiled as I had little to no idea what he just said. He saw my look and smiled sweetly,”American?”

“Irish American actually.” I laughed nervously. He held out his hand,”Ari David.”

“Viper Akela.” I took his hand and he instantly lit up at the sound of my name,”Charlie’s imaginary girl?! It’s about time we met you.” He laughed. I felt my face light up like a Christmas tree. He came around and called for someone in the back. A man poked his head out of the back office with his face stuffed,”I’m going to show our guest here around. Watch the desk while I’m gone?”

The man nodded and wheeled out of the office. Ari walked me through the gates and I could instantly here the dragons in the distance. Ari showed me the hatchery and even the smaller breeds of dragons. He laughed at my amazed look,”Ever been to a sanctuary before?” He asked. I nodded and looked at the fossil they had in their study center,”Thunderbird sanctuary in Arizona. I go there on my free time to spend time with the creatures.”

Ari was grinning ear to ear,”My grandfather helped Newt Schamander free one from Egypt. Said it was one of the most majestic creatures he had ever laid eyes on.” He then spoke in Hebrew which I roughly translated to ‘God bless that old man.’

Soon we made it to the village nearby the sanctuary,”Charlie’s home is the small house near the forest. Kind of rustic looking. Mailbox has his name on it.” I thanked the man and went into the village. I smiled at the children playing in the streets. Older couples who were tending to their gardens. My heart pounded when I saw the familiar red haired, freckle covered man I had come to see. His blue eyes landed on me.

The conversation he was having with the man standing in front of him suddenly stopped. The man looked over his shoulder and to me,”You lost miss?” I smiled and nodded eyeing Charlie,”Yeah. I’m looking for a stubborn red head covered in freckles and burn scars who I haven’t had a proper date with since Hogwarts.”

The man looked at Charlie with shock,”Asta este Viper?! Băiete, nu ai retinut descrierea.” I saw Charlie’s face turn into a near shade of his hair color. The man bid him farewell and walked to what I thought was his home. Charlie didn’t waist a second before pulling me into a hug.

For what seemed like centuries I hugged him back. Tears poured down my eyes as I apologized. He brought me into his house and made some tea,”What made you finally visit?” He asked me.

“Tonks convinced me. Charlie…we did it.” He looked at me confused,”We got Rakepick.” His eyes softened  and clasped his hand to mine. His eyes pleaded to me as he spoke the question on his mind since I showed up,”Does this mean I have my Viper back?”

I nodded and sobbed my heart out,”I’m so sorry.” He pulled me closer as just buried myself in his chest.

The remainder of the day was us talking and me cooking us some dinner.

By night, warmed by his body, I had the best sleep of my entire life.

———

The next few months of vacation were amazing. I helped around the sanctuary as an extra healer on hand or even security. I knew Crouch was going to order me back to Hogwarts once my vacation was over with, but at the moment I didn’t care.

Soon enough it was my last day in Romania. I woke to feel Charlie’s fingers tracing my thunderbird tattoo on my shoulder. I groaned as I stretched my stiff body. Charlie planted a kiss on my lips which lingered for a solid minute before he whispered a morning to me.

I sighed and got out of bed. I packed my items and made my way to the portkey with Charlie in tow. He pulled me into a kiss,”I’ll miss you.” He told me. His blue eyes begged me not to go,”I’ll be here for summer.” I kissed his cheek and then grabbed the portkey.

I arrived back at Hogwarts just in time for the second challenge.

———

Crouch gave me orders to be at the ready to dive after the champions who needed the help. After the champions jumped into the black lake I sat by waiting for anyone who needed to be saved. We noticed Fleur’s Vermillious charm shot up. Me and another person jumped in and swam towards the direction of the  charm cast.

I noticed her being pulled down from what looked to be grindylow dragging her down. I stunned the grindylow and me and the other person pulled her up. Fleur was panicking and gagging out water. The other person who I found out was a healer. He made sure there wasn’t any bad wounds before wrapping her up in a warm towel.

Her friends were warming her up and she was looking frantically around for someone,”Where eeze Gabrielle? Where eeze my sister!?” I looked around in panic, but Madeye motioned for me to walk over to him.

“Her sister was used as the prize. She will be safely pulled out of the lake by the end of the hour.” He whispered to me. I looked at him in shock then realised I hadn’t seen Hermione nor Ron at all today. Soon Cedric emerged from the water with a girl I didn’t recognize, then Krum with Hermione. We helped them up and I watched out for Harry and Ron. I was asked to help warm up Hermione when Harry, Ron and Gabrielle resurfaced. Fleur kissed Harry and Ron and thanked them.

Hermione tensed up when she saw that.

After helping the Champions and their rescued friends and family I made my way to Crouch who looked like he had seen a ghost. I placed my hand on his shoulder causing him to jump,”You alright Crouch?” He cleared his throat and nodded before walking away.

———

It was now near he end of the school year and the champions were getting ready for their final trial. I had been helping Snape try and find the culprit behind his missing ingredients which we later learned was to make polyjuice potion. I made my way down the hall where I ran into Cedric. I smiled and waved at him,”Diggory!” Cedric looked oer to me and a huge smile appeared on his face,”Viper!” I noticed he was had gotten taller. I laughed and hugged my old shadow,”How are you doing? I heard you made it as Hufflepuff’s new seeker.”

He laughed and continued walking with me,”Yeah I ended up getting the seeker position after you left.” I smiled and remembered when he started joining Charlie and I’s quidditch games with our friends. He was a good seeker.

“That’s great! I’m rooting for you. Hufflepuff for the win!” I bumped my fist against his. He laughed and was then waved down by a ravenclaw girl,”I gotta go. It was nice seeing you again!”

I made my way down towards the Hufflepuff entrance and placed my hand on the barrels. I remember teaching the first years the code to enter.

Sneaking my radio from home so all the hufflepuffs had something to listen. When it was time for bed we brought it to the rooms and jammed out to the rock stations.

Using my Walkman to listen to my music when I was out for walks or doing homework by myself.

Rowan scolding me for failing my History of Magic test…again.

Chiara and I sneaking out every full moon with Talbott in tow.

Sneaking Charlie in the room for some…alone time.

Winning the Quidditch cup my last year.

.

.

.

I hated myself now.

What had I become?

I became an enraged animal wanting revenge for all the wrong doings that had happened to my friends.

Helga Hufflepuff would be ashamed of me.

I felt a soft hand on my shoulder,”The hat never makes a mistake dear. You were a true hufflepuff and our founder would have loved you.” Sprout’s voice caused my heart to swell. I breathed in and let out a shaky breath.

“Didn’t mean for that to come out loud, but thank you.” She then took her wand and smacked the top of my head with it. I winced in pain and looked at her in disbelief,”Ow! What was that for?!”

“The past hurts. What will you do with it?” She then tried to hit me again but I moved to the side which caused her to miss. She laughed and I began to laugh with her,”Yeah yeah. Learn from it. Thank you Professor.” She pulled me into a hug and then got very excited,”The third challenge will begin soon! Will you be cheering Cedric and Harry on?”

I smiled and chuckled lightly,”I’ll try and make it, but I have to do the rounds tonight.” She nodded in understanding and wished me a goodnight.

I walked around the entirety of the Hogwarts school when I stumbled upon two of Harry’s friends sneaking around. I cleared my throat and both froze,”The last challenge is happening right now. I know Harry will want his friends there to support him.” I looked at both with a scolding stare. Then smiled,”I’ll let you guys off with a warning.” I winked at them and wandered away. The girl ran up to me,”Something isn’t right with Professor Moody!”

I stopped and looked at her with all seriousness,”What do you mean?” The boy and girl looked at each other then back to me,”We think he’s been stealing ingredients to make a potion. And he’s been very shifty lately.”

Suddenly it clicked into place.

Polyjuice potion.

“Get to the arena and stay with your friends. I’ll inform the teachers.” I got up and apparated the kids and I to the maze. They made it to Hermione and Ron who were watching and waiting in excitement. I found the teachers and explained the situation. Snape who was now furious apparated back to get a truth potion.

Just then a loud pop was heard and Harry was now on the ground with Cedric. Cheers were heard as Hogwarts had won the Tri-Wizard-

My heart dropped when I spotted it.

Cedric’s unblinking eyes.

Cold and gone.

I heard Fleur scream as she was the first to notice. Tears welled in my eyes as everyone stoped and stared in shock. Professor Sprout broke down and burrowed her head into my shoulder. I looked up and saw Madeye dragging Harry away,”He’s got Harry.” I whispered. The teachers heard and prepared for a fight. Snape had arrived back and we made our way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. After barging in Snape and I held down Madeye while Harry stood near McGonagall.

After revealing Barty Crouch Jr. and him telling us that he murdered his father; we helped the real Madeye out of the enchanted chest. The old auror patted my back with a pained nod. I smiled and took it as a thank you.

———

The funeral was tough.

It was another friend gone.

I felt a hand clasp my shoulder and saw a glove hand me a note.

Meet me in my office. We have much to discuss.

-Dumbledor

I looked around and spotted the two kids from before. I walked over to them. The fourth year boy looked at me with worry,”You both helped us a lot. Thank you…uhh”

“Rey Winchester.”

“Neville Longbottom.”

I smiled at them before nodding,”Thank you Rey and Neville. You both were brave in following that man. I’ll inform McGonagall and ask her to give you both points for this.” Both smiled but sadness was in those eyes. I made my way to the Headmaster’s office and was joined by both McGonagall and Sprout. Once we were up there I spotted not only all the teachers, but Talbott, Tonks, Bill, Merula and Madeye.

I looked to Dumbledor for an explanation.

“What I am about to ask all of you is to be kept secret. And I must know that you will all do any task that I give you. Do you understand.” I nodded and so did the others.

“Years ago when the first war was going on; I had created a secret organization called the Order of the Phoenix. I plan to rebirth that Order again.” He then looked at everyone in the room,”All who were apart of it before step aside. All who have never heard of it or were apart of it line up in front of me.” The Professors moved to the side along with Madeye and it was just Talbott, Tonks, Bill and Merula standing in front of him.

“Talbott Winger; you are a great auror and a hidden animegus. I’ll need you to keep your eyes and ears open all over the United Kingdoms.” Talbott nodded in understanding. Next he turned to Tonks,”Nymphadora Tonks; like Mr. Winger you are an exceptional auror. You will be positioned with Kingsly, Madeye and Winchester. Keep an eye out for spies amongst the ministry.”

Tonks beamed at Dumbledor,”Of course, but for future references. Don’t call me Nymphadora. Tonks will do just fine.” Dumbledor chuckled and nodded. He then turned to Bill,”I have already talked to your brother who will be keeping communications and recruiting for the Order in Romania. However; I need you here. Curse breakers may come in handy especially now. I have already informed Gringotts about you and they are happy to have you.”

Bill nodded but stayed silent. Dumbledor then turned to Merula,”Miss Snyde; I want you recruiting in Egypt.” She smiled and crossed her arms,”As long as I don’t get a desk job that is fine by me.”

And finally he turned to me,”I need one more person here at Hogwarts. However; the Ministry is appointing one of their own as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. If I remember correctly you were one of the top of your class in Care for Magical Creatures correct?”

“Yes Professor, but didn’t Kettleburn retire and Hagrid took his post?” I asked him.

“Hagrid will be leaving his post for another mission. I’m asking you to join our staff Miss Akela. It would mean a lot.” I looked over to the staff of Professors. Then to my friends,”Well…Professor Akela does have a nice ring to it.” Dumbledor smiled,”Then its settled. You are all dismissed; Allister; perhaps you can get Akela situated with the auror’s office in America since she won’t be working there anymore.” We nodded and left the office.

Madeye and I took a portkey to America. It was nice to be back in New York and I will miss my home in Arizona. Quetta was doing paperwork when I approached my desk. She stopped and ran up to hug me,”I heard you were leaving us?!” She asked in disbelief.

“Yes I am, but I’ll give you my address so we can still talk. Who knows; I may appear for a drink every now and then.” I laughed. She teared up with a smile and hugged me tighter,”You are the best damn partner I have ever had! I’ll miss you!” I smiled and hugged her closer,”I’ll miss you too.”

After packing up my office and all my personal files and objects I turned my badge over to Ramsey who stamped Retired to it,”Keep it. So you can be reminded of your times with us.” I smiled warmhearted by his words. Soon the entire auror office came by and wished me well.

After that we traveled to the school where I had begun to organize my office then care for the animals. Madeye left me to that work and he went back to the auror offices.

I had an unexpected visitor who taught me how to charm a briefcase to store magical creatures in. I thanked Mr. Scammander and left for my parents home in Dublin. I stayed with them until I found a home in Hogsmead village. I brought my niffler Galleo, my Irish Wolfhound Artair and my Granian Storm with me to the new house.

I found the door wide open and saw Charlie waiting inside with a smile on his face. I placed down the suitcase and closed the door before crashing into him. I looked at him with a smirk,”You are mine all summer.” He laughed and kissed the crook of my neck,”Funny. Because I’m here to kidnap you.” He whispered.

Soon summer started and also began a new adventure for me starting with the love of my life.

---------

AN: I’m so happy this fic is done. It took me so long to do this fic.

[lordsister]

I’m Fine...If You’re Fine (Edogawa Ranpo x Reader)

Biting the inside of your cheek, it took every bit of willpower you had not to storm out of the restaurant. Taking a deep breath in and out you closed your eyes and prayed for patience, hoping your vexation wasn't showing on your face. You knew from experience that being annoyed would only fan the flames of his cockiness.

Really, you should have expected this sort of thing from him by now. He said it over and over, that as long as he was fine, everything was fine, and if your present situation was any sort of indicator, you apparently fell more into the everything category. You had waited nearly an hour for your arrogant ass of a boyfriend to show up to the date the two of you had agreed upon nearly a month ago. With each passing second your anger towards Ranpo had grown, the pitying, concerned stares of other restaurant patrons and the waitstaff boring into your back and making you even angrier. And with each passing second your own self-doubt had grown as well.

Why were you here again? This was the third time he'd done something like this. Hell, you were sure he would show up at the last second with that infuriating cat's grin just like he had the past couple times.

You were so sick of it all. You loved Ranpo, despite everything, but not once had he ever made it clear that he felt the same way about you. He treated you with more affection than the other members of the Armed Detective Agency, but it was the sort of affection one would show a plaything, a toy to amuse himself with for a time before he got bored again. There didn't seem to be any actual care behind his gestures and it was slowly eating away at you. You wanted to stay with him, but you couldn't endure a one-sided relationship in which you were merely an object to be kept or discarded at any time. It just wasn't healthy.

As you had predicted, Ranpo had finally shown up a moment before you would have decided to leave, his signature smile on his lips. He didn't make any excuse for himself, a simple "I forgot" the only sort of explanation you received.

An hour of waiting with no reply to any of your calls or messages and "I forgot" was your consolation.

It was so like Ranpo to do this, it was almost laughable and would have been had you not been so furious with him. You felt numb as you watched him sit down and begin chattering away as if nothing was wrong. Considering his motto, maybe nothing was wrong to him. He was fine, so everything was fine, right? That certainly seemed to be his thought process in this situation.

Your mind reeling and your blood flowing hot through your veins, you couldn't hear him as he sat down and started talking about God knows what. You felt weak, as if something had taken ahold of your heart and was slowly squeezing the life out of it.

Again, you asked yourself, why were you still here?

And that was just it, a moment of clarity that nearly took your breath away. You shouldn't be here, sitting across from someone who cared so little for you that he couldn't even remember to be on time for a date.

Standing abruptly, you tossed some money on the table, turned, and left without a word, without a single glance back. You thought you heard Ranpo call your name, but you didn't care anymore and you doubted he did either when you walked out the door.

Stretching your arms above your head, you yawned and took a moment just to stare out the window of your bedroom. The sun was high in the sky, a few puffy clouds dotting the blue expanse and a gentle breeze rustling the branches of the tree outside your window. All in all, it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Maybe if you went out for a walk some of that loveliness would rub off on you and lift your low spirits. Lord knows you needed the air and by no means did you want to stay cooped up inside after last night's break-up.

The calm that had taken hold of you when you walked out of the restaurant last night dissipated the moment you shut the door of your apartment, tears welling in your eyes and soft sobs escaping your mouth as you crumpled against the door. You didn't regret what you'd done, but that didn't mean it hurt any less.

When you'd finally calmed down, you had picked up your phone and left a message on the Armed Detective Agency's answering machine, letting the president know that you were calling in some vacation days you had saved up. Before you saw Ranpo again, you needed some space to sort yourself out and build your resolve. The last thing you were going to do was let him see you crumble.

Days went by and you were left blessedly alone. Every now and then you would get a concerned message from Yosano or Naomi asking if you were okay or if you needed anything, but for the most part you had little contact with the Armed Detective Agency. Part of you hoped Ranpo would send a message or call and ask about what had happened, but no such contact was made, much to the fulfillment of your low expectations concerning the brunette male.

Determined not to fall into a post break-up depression, you had thrown yourself into distractions, working on paperwork you had taken home from the office, reading a book you had been meaning to finish, going out for long runs, and it had worked...for the most part.

It was an odd feeling. You missed Ranpo...and yet you wanted to stay as far away from him as humanly possible. Hopefully, this feeling would pass with time, but for now it was a wound in your heart, capable of festering if you dwelled upon it too long.

One morning dawned the same as the others, the sun peaking over the rooftops and an unshakable weight on your chest. Running a hand through your mussed hair, you sighed and rolled out of bed, trying to get your blood pumping. Turning on the small radio on the kitchen counter, you started to brew some coffee, tossing some bread in the toaster and rolling your shoulders.

It had been a week since that night and you were finally starting to feel a little better...at least you thought you were. Either that or you were just becoming used to the ever-present ache in your chest. And despite how much you still didn't want to see Ranpo...it was probably best you head back to work. Sooner or later, you had to rip off the band-aid.

You blinked and stilled, ears straining over the sound of the radio. For a moment, it sounded as if something had brushed against your front door. A few seconds later you heard it again, a soft scraping sound as something shifted against the paneled wood. Ever so quietly and carefully, you moved to your kitchen table, reaching under it to grab the gun you had attached to its underside when you moved in. Tucking the weapon behind your back, you soundlessly moved to open the door, grasping the handle for a moment before yanking the door open.

Surprised green eyes met yours as you stared down at the man sprawled flat on his back in your doorway, your grip on the gun tensing for a moment before relaxing.

"Ranpo..." his name escaped your lips as a cross between a whisper and a whimper. Inside you were panicking. You weren't ready to see him yet, you hadn't prepared yourself for this moment. Swallowing down the emotions rising in your throat, you averted your eyes from his, desperately trying to harden yourself. "Why are you here?" you said lowly.

"For my health."

You began to close the door, despite his body still laying in the doorway. At this point, you were ready to just smash him in the door a million times.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ranpo scrambled into a sitting position, one hand on the door, the other on the doorway as he held the door open. "I'm here to talk!"

"What is there to say?" You glared down at him coldly.

"Well, for one thing..." He shifted uncomfortably. "Would you let me in so we can talk about this?"

You didn't answer, only continued to stare him down in the doorway for a few more seconds before turning around and striding back into your kitchen. "Make it quick, Ranpo."

Jumping to his feet, Ranpo followed, stopping a few feet away from you when you leaned against the kitchen counter, a cup of coffee in your hand, appraising him through narrowed eyes. "Okay, so..." His mouth opened and closed and it was all you could do not to let your surprise show on your face. Ranpo not knowing what to say? It seemed like he always had something to say so this was...strange. Finally, he asked, "Are we...still together?"

You raised an eyebrow. "You're a smart man, Ranpo. What do you think?"

"Okay, right. So then..." He ran a hand through his bangs, his gaze flitting around the room before resting on you. Unlike their usual closed state, his eyes were open, allowing emerald depths to reflect your image back at you. "When you walked out...I wasn't fine anymore."

You frowned.

"Ah, that wasn't right. Uh..." He looked away for a second before trying again. "You know my motto? As long as I'm fine, everything's fine?"

"Oh, I'm familiar."

"When you left me at that table, I felt awful."

"How do you think I felt?"

Ranpo laughed wryly, holding his hands out to his sides. "I'm selfish, I admit it. How I treated you was about as shitty as it gets." His arms dropped to his sides. "I knew you would eventually get fed up with me, but I didn't do anything to prevent it. I felt so awful when you finally left, but I thought it would pass if I just acted like I usually did." Tired eyes regarded you with an emotion you had never seen in Ranpo, something you couldn't quite place simply because it was Ranpo. "I'm not going to lie to you, (y/n). Not anymore. This week has been absolute hell."

Tears welled in your eyes and you bit your lip.

"I know you probably won't believe me when I say this, and I don't blame you, but I'm sorry. So sorry for how I treated you and not realizing how important you were to me until it was too late." He stepped towards you tentatively then more confidently, regaining some of his usual bravado. "I'm sorry I'm here now, making you more upset," he said, just above a murmur. "I know I don't deserve another chance with you, but I've never been the kind of guy to believe in whether I deserved something or not."

"God, you're such an asshole," you choked as he drew you into a gentle hug, his loose grip allowing you to break away at any time. One hand rubbed soothing circles into your back as you let your tears soak into his vest.

"Give me another chance, (y/n)? And let me treat you right this time? Please?"

A few moments passed in silence except for your soft hiccups and sniffles as you went over everything he just said. If you accepted him, it was possible that you were just setting yourself up for pain again, repeating the same mistake you made the first time. Raising your head from his chest, you looked Ranpo straight in his green depths. "Look me in the eye and promise me you won't hurt me again," you whispered, your lips so close to his.

For once his gaze was serious, not joking or mocking or insincere. "(Y/n), I swear that I won't hurt you again, so long as I can help it."

You breathed in deeply, expelled it slowly, and took a leap of faith.

A/N: This was a request from Wattpad. As always, I do not own Bungou Stray Dogs or any of its characters. I do own the plot of this fanfic, though. Thank you for reading!^^

[kpoprunsmylifenow]

ATEEZ Masterlist

Best Friend!Ateez ~ You get attacked by some sasaengs the same night you were supposed to have movie night. You cancel on them last minute and they all are whiny about it. They text you and ask why you won’t come and try and bribe you into coming over. Seonghwa finds out why you aren’t coming and tells the guys. Pissed and furious, Seonghwa convinces them that they should stay home while he goes to see you.

So Grateful for your Boys ~ You'd just broken up with your cheating ex boyfriend when you see him again at a party. The boys proceed to help you get over it and cheer you up while they're at it.

Series: Prince!AU

Seonghwa Part 2

Hongjoong 

Yunho 

Yeosang 

San 

Mingi 

Wooyoung 

Jongho

Soulmate!AU

Seonghwa 

Hongjoong 

Yunho 

Yeosang 

San 

Mingi 

Wooyoung 

Jongho

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ Seonghwa ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

I’ll Be Home Soon ~ Seonghwa decided that he wasn’t going to go explore the city today, but he was going to talk to you.

Management Sucks ~ You had a meeting with their management and he told you something you never thought you'd hear ever, you had to break up with him.

Blind for Your Love ~ Seonghwa really, truly is blind.

Blurbs

“I’m scared” “Please hold me”

“We’re not even dating” “Then maybe we should start” “I missed your dumb smile”

“You’re cute when your angry” “Yeah, well I’m about to be real adorable”

13, 18, 25

Stop picking me up when we fight! It’s not fair! 

You are supposed to put the wine in the food, not drink it.

You think you can beat a woman in her own game?

 I do see the appeal in wanting to start a fight with her, but you do realize she would absolutely destroy you.

“Ew, you stink. Go take a shower” “Only if you shower with me”

“I’m coming over.”

“aww no kiss for me?”

“I’m not good enough for you.” “You deserve so much better.”

“Just pretend to be my date.” “This is, by far, the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”

“Are you still awake…?” “I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Social Media AU

Badboy!au

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ Hongjoong ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

Warm Tones or Cool Tones

~ You decide to paint Hongjoong’s fingernail cause it was chipping and he had a performance coming up.

I Love You Mrs. Kim

~ It’s your wedding and Hongjoong pulls out all the stops for your vows.

Take a Break Please

~ You're at Hongjoong's studio but he won't take a break.

Pain or Painless?

~  Who knew having a soulmate would hurt.

Blurbs

“I crave affection” “I only want you to cuddle me!”

2,6,26

“I can’t believe you” “Ew, you stink. Go take a shower” “Only if you shower with me”

I really want to talk to you. And not through the door.

Why are you sleeping underneath my bed?

“I made a mistake.” “It’s never too late to get back up again.”

“Aren’t you just adorable?” “I’m not short.”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you staring at me.” “I can be your blanket.”

“Were you ever going to tell me?” “I am not losing you again!”

Social Media AU

Soft bf!au

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ Yunho ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

Bear ~ Lazy day with Yunho.

Birthday Boy Vlive ~ It's Yunho's birthday and you decide to surprise him by watching his vlive.

Safe and Sound ~ When nightmares hit you, Yunho shows you that he’ll always be there.

Blurbs

 “You’re an asshole” “Because you love me”

“We’re best friends, so of course this was going to be disastrous”

Let me explain human feelings to you. 

Truth is that most of us don’t exist anymore.

The only time I’ve seen you smile was when s/he’s smiling.

“True love is when you bully each other, but you know, it’s in a funny romcom way”

“When you love someone, you don’t just stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy… even then. Especially then!”

Social Media AU

Soft bf!au

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ Yeosang❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

Surprise ~ Yeosang’s S/O surprises him while on tour because he missed her a lot.

Why Did I Fall for the Bad Boy�� ~ You should've known better than to fall for the bad boy and resident player. But it was a bet that started it all.

The Best Apologies ~ Your friends helped you so much after that mess with Yeosang at prom. But when one of them starts to push you to talk to Yeosang, you cave.

After Late Night Practice ~ It was Yeosang's first time staying the night at your house.

How the Hell? ~ It was only clothes!

Ruined Surprises ~ Accidentally walking in, you saw something you probably shouldn’t have.

Blurbs

“What- what are you doing? Why are you winking?” “I need a hug”

“I’m too cute to resist” “Don’t give me that look”

“Your hand is so sweaty.” “Deal with it, we are holding hands.” 

You need to pay the kiss toll. Are they really worth starting a war for?

“Where are my morning kisses?!”

Social Media AU

Soft bf!au

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ San ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

My Two Boys ~ You’re babysitting your younger brother which ruined your plans of having a date with your boyfriend. Your bf doesn’t mind and says that he’ll help you watch him. Your brother ends up loving him and won’t let him go.

Cheer Up Buttercup ~ an gives you some encouragement before take an exam and then he comes and visits.

Surprise Surprise ~ You decide to surprise San at one of their fansigns.

A Birthday Surprise ~ You're parents didn't agree with your relationship with your bad boy boyfriend but you didn't care, he treated you like a queen. And today is your birthday and he has a surprise for you.

The Grey One ~ This was your first night staying with your boyfriend.

Blurbs

“This is probably going to end up with us in jail”

“Be my fake boyfriend/girlfriend/partner!”

“Ew, I wouldn’t date any of you. Except maybe (name)” “My lap is the best seat here”

Sorry, I had to move away so I won’t punch you. 

Are you sure you want me as an assistant? You know I have problem holding in my options and snarky comments, right?

“Let’s not stoop down to his level!” “No, you’re right, let’s go one under it.” 

“I’m going to take care of you, okay?” “Look at me—just breathe, okay?”

“I don’t care what they said, it doesn’t mean shit!”

“I know it’s 3 in the morning, but I can’t find my cat.”

Social Media AU

Soft San and Stressed Reader

Badboy!au

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ Mingi ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

I Miss You When You’re Gone ~ You're having a tough time at uni and Mingi's on tour. You'd facetime every once and a while, but you'd always end up doing some homework. When you'd miss him the most, your roommate would catch you crying. Suddenly your phone is going off with a facetime call. You answered and hid your face, knowing that he'd see that you were crying. He asks about your day and you decide to tell him how much you'd been struggling cause you miss him. He says he misses you too and that he has a surprise for you and that it'd be there in a couple of days.

It’s Okay to be Sad Sometimes ~ You hadn't left you bed all day, but Mingi and the guys knew how to cheer you up.

Bad Boy and the Bad Girl ~ No one knew you were a bad girl. So when you start to have issues with your brother, what happens when your brother’s friend Mingi is there to help you?

Late Nights ~ Mingi always came by your house after he got into fights.

Thanksgiving Cookies ~ Who allowed Mingi in the kitchen?

Blurbs

“Will you marry me?”

You can keep pretending that it didn’t happen and keep avoiding me, but I can’ do it anymore.

“None of this is your fault.” “I know it hurts.”

You need to pay the kiss toll.

My butt is not a drum, dude.

Stop picking me up when we fight! It’s not fair! 

“Are you still awake…?” “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

“Let’s move in together.”

“When I picture myself happy… It’s with you.”

“I’m not going to stop poking you until you give me some attention.”

“I could kiss you right now!”

“I’m not jealous.”

Social Media AU

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋Coming Soon❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ Wooyoung ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

Protective ~ You get hurt during a fight and Wooyoung is there.

After Tour ~ Wooyoung comes home from tour and cuddles pursue. 

Meet My Best Friend ~ Wooyoung wants you to meet his best friend who’s had a crush on him for a long time.

Stood Up ~ All you were doing was trying to finish your project with Hongjoong, but Wooyoung just wouldn't leave you alone. So what happens when you fall for the bad boy when you're also the bad girl?

It was always You ~ After so many lies, you didn’t even know what to believe anymore.

It was always You Pt. 2 ~ After Wooyoung wouldn’t leave you alone, you decided to let him explain.

Blurbs

29 +41 +62 +90

“Wait, you love me?! People don’t even like me!” “Maybe I’ll consider it, if you give me another kiss”

“We are getting a divorce.”  “I do think you need to marry me before you can do that.”

You can’t dirty talk your way out of this!

Cute Woo blurb

“Can I live with you guys?”

Social Media AU

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋Coming Soon❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋ Jongho ❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

Oneshots

My Lovely Guy ~ Y/N boyfriend goes to another school but they’ve been dating for a while but their friends have never met him before. So they take them with to one of their BF’s games and they finally meet him. They meet his friends and they all end up hanging out afterwards.

I’m Sorry Guys ~ You were always insecure about your status with your  best friend, and his girlfriend made sure that you left him alone.

Pick Me Up  ~ Part 2 to I’m Sorry Guys

Vacation ~ You’re on vacation with Jongho and the boys, but he just wants a day to have you all to himself.

Science ~ You honestly didn’t know what to expect when Jongho came home, but it wasn’t this.

Blurbs

“Newsflash asshole! I’ve been in love with you the entire goddamn time!”

“I need a hug” “You’re so warm”

25, 26, 27

Mornings Spent with Jongho

Social Media AU

❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋Coming Soon❀ ✿ ❁ ✾ ✽ ❃ ❋

[blxckdamask]

Trashcan’s Fic Rec: July ‘19

i know this is really late but i was busy so i couldnt really get this done. an yway,,, yall know the drill by now,, this has a bunch of bnha (mostly bkdk) and some rairpairs aswell as some drarry, odaat and b99.

BNHA Fics:

{bakudeku}

Roadmap of Our Lives by erza_mikazuki | 4k | 1/1| nsfw | emotional sex | body worship | scars | fluffy smut is my shit ngl

When Izuku's insecurities about his scarred body hit him full throttle, Katsuki is there to show Izuku just how beautiful scars can be.

4 AM Inquiry by SecretKiwi | 3k | 1/1 | established relationship | marriage proposal | fluff | this fic is how im tryna be 

Katsuki's reflection above the sink stared back. Eyes still drowsy with a hint of a shadow beneath them. Hair more of a mess than he would prefer, but he was plenty awake now.

All because of Deku.

~

Katsuki reflects at 4 am.

Happy Pride by PrinceTriscuit | 2k | 1/1 | getting together | gay fluff | coming out | wholesome 

Pride has always had a special place in Midoriya Izuku's heart.

Love For a Friend by Jessica14 | 2k | 1/1 | magic au | ghost izuku | protective bakugou | angst with a happy ending | idk how to summarize the tags just read it its so fucking good

"I trusted you and you had me murdered!” Midoriya wailed, anguished. Bakugou twitched focusing on the spell that made him capture Midoriya's soul.

“Shut up! You got yourself killed!”

“I didn't! You said you had my back and I thought you had it! But you didn't! Kacchan! My body!” Midoriya cried as he watched Bakugou lug his limp body through the forest.

This is what happens when Bakugou tries to become best friends with Midoriya again.

Say It Again by bkdkwritingsdump | 2k | 1/1 | angst | quirk mishap | angry izuku | established relationship | guilty bakugou 

Katsuki doesn't know what's wrong with Izuku. Is he mad? What is he mad about? What did Katsuki do!? All he knows is that he can't let Izuku break up with him. Not while they're still keeping their relationship a secret.

Or

Izuku forces Katsuki to apologize for everything he's ever done to hurt him.

Best Friends by artindistress | 13k | 2/2 | fem!deku | best friends au | getting together | minor izuchako | fluff | friends to lovers | this shit is so fluffy im in love

Bakugou and Midoriya have been best friends since... well, since either of them could remember. But both harbor unspoken feelings for the other, will this be an end to their friendship?

Foster-Mates by bkdkwritingsdump | 32k | 15/15 | hybrids au | cat!katsuki & dog!izuku | getting together | tw past abuse | tw self harm | angst | angst with a happy ending | eventual nsfw 

Izuku, a dog hybrid, has lived with his owner Toshinori, a retired hybrid psychologist, his whole life. He takes on some of the shelter’s most difficult cases as fosters, and so Izuku has learned to be the best foster-mate possible for scared and abused hybrids. At first, Katsuki, a cat hybrid who’s been kept in a tiny apartment nearly his whole life, seems just like any of the other awful cases they’ve seen, but somehow, Izuku and him grow a lot closer than usual over the course of his stay. Eventually, the question becomes: could he stay forever?

bellflowers by vannral | 15k | 4/4 | hanahaki disease au | getting together angst | angst with a happy ending | unrequited love (kinda) | eventual fluff

“Izuku knows what the Hanahaki does. He knows what his options are, and sure, they aren’t great. In fact, they’re pretty horrible. The list is short and daunting. There are still flower petals on his pillow."

In which Izuku has Hanahaki Disease, and Katsuki's furious.

TFW Your Roommate Brings a Baby Home by Hotshott (Artemystic) | 5k | 1/1 | friends to lovers | fluffy fluff | baby used as a plot device | this is just pure fluff guys its great 

And you're crushing on him, and he's just so cute, and the baby's cute, and what's a guy to do, anyway?

family dinners by luciimariiellii | 1k | 1/1 | family fluff | friends to lovers | pining for days | this is so cute i love 

Ever since they were little, Izuku and Katsuki’s families have had family dinners. It’s just them and their parents, and that’s fine. Until more people get dragged in. (And try to set Izuku and Katsuki up.)

for twinstars week day four - family

{todobaku}

cold, hot and so damn soft by orphan_account | 7k | 1/1 | established relationship | light angst | fluff | romance 

It started from a normal evening to a small argument that made them go on vacation that made Katsuki realize that he wanted something more from Shouto.

The Shitty Parents Squad (series) by YinYangZodiac | 8 works | 15k | tw child abuse | tw domestic abuse | caring characters | ooc kinda | this is very soft but very sad and im so in love with this series 

Bakugou, Denki, Midoriya, Momo and Todoroki all end up in a McDonald's one early morning. A suggestion of a movie and a credit card reveal later and the teens are off to spend the day together.

They all know that it's Todoroki's father's credit card, but none of them care.

Eyes Aren't Always Windows To The Soul by Alienqueen42, TheLibrarian9 | 1k | 1/1 | deaf!bakugou & blind!todoroki | emotional hurt/comfort | heavy angst | light fluff | getting together 

Bakugo and Todoroki both find themselves living together with disabilities, helping each other get by. In doing so, they fall in love.

{rairpairs & other ships} 

staring into our bright future by wonduhhwoman | kacchako | 9k | 1/1 | quirk mishap | future and present uraraka swap bodies | established relationship | developing relationship | fluff 

“You haven’t changed at all, have ya?” he observed, pinching her cheek affectionately.

Ochako batted his hand away from her cheeks for the second time that morning, wondering if he had a thing for them. “That doesn’t even make any sense, Bakugou. I’m from the past. Of course I haven’t changed.”

“Makes perfect sense,” Bakugou countered, closing his teeth around a bite of eggs. “You were doing this same shit yesterday morning.”

-

My entry for the day 2 prompt of Kacchako week: otherworldly.

Five Times his Service Dog helps Shinsou and One Time Bakugou does by SupaKawaiiDesu | bakushin | 7k |1/1 | tw panic attacks and disorders | hoh!bakugou | fluff | college au | strangers to friends to lovers | fluff | light angst | fluffy shit we fuckin stan this rairpair

Bakugou watches with something akin to affection when Shinsou starts playing with his dog until she jumps all around him and is barking excitedly. He has never seen the both of them so content before. The Sergeant is always so concentrated at College grounds, either that or she’s calm but still looking out for him. Bakugou has seen them during lectures, at lunch at their usual table, during their ways to Bakugou’s dorm and to Shinsou’s apartment off campus, he has seen them through their late-night-skyping sessions and in countless pictures on Sergeant Barkowitz’ Instagram. He has seen their best but not their worst, and that makes Bakugou wonder if he’ll ever be such a great companion to Shinsou like the Sergeant is.

A Hero's Goodbye by Gentle_Love_9 | erasermic | 1k | 1/1 | death fic | major angst | somehow fluffy as well?? | bitches i cried so fuckin hard when i read this omf

"Shouta could have never imagined reaching this point in his life. He honestly expected to die at some point when he was younger, alone somewhere in an alleyway, killed in action during his hero work maybe."

Instead he's in a warm hospital bed and surrounded by some of the people he cares most about.

On These Unsteady Legs by Spider_Lilly | erasermic | 4k | 1/1 | shinsou and eri centric | hurt/comfort | angst with a happy ending

Shinsou Hitoshi had never had a family before, and he refuses to screw it up. But when a villain attacks him and his new little sister, he may have lost the only family he's ever had.

We love and respect Bakugou in this house (series)  by Bakudont_be_weird | bakudabi | 5 works | 54k | tw rape/non-con | abo | alpha!dabi & omega!bakugou | very nsfw | stockholm syndrome | mpreg | fucked up fluff | angst with somewhat of a happy ending ig | ngl this ship is suppose to be fucked up and problematic but this series is really fucking good if you're into fucked up fics

Bakugou never wanted to be mated. Especially not to a villain but it didn't look like he had any choice in the matter. The only question now was: will he ever escape?

OR,

The author loves Bakugou and loves to make him suffer so Dabi kidnaps him and forces our favourite blasty boy to become his mate. It goes from bad to good to bad and back to good.

Days in a Crucible by doop_doop | bakuiida | 40k | 9/9 | kidnapping | emotional hurt/comfort | getting together | developing relationship | acquaintances to lovers | mentions of past todobaku | ptsd

While working together as pro heroes, Iida, Bakugou and Todoroki are taken captive. The situation is strange: none of their Quirks work, and they aren’t tortured or killed – in fact, they never see their captors. There is nothing to do but wait.

Things are tense between the three of them, but Iida finds the situation bringing him closer to Bakugou than he thought possible. But who knows how this will change things between when they get out…

Pet Names by BluePlanetTrash | bakuiida | 4k | 2/? | quirk mishap | ooc | flufffffffff | overuse of petnames | #LetBakugouBeSweet2k19 | iida calls bakugou sugar and thats all that matters

Quirk: Infatuation - The user of this quirk affects two people by touching them at the same time, they then fall into a state of infatuation with each other; they could be affected by this for up to a week.

Iida and Bakugou get affected by an infatuation quirk that makes them be sweet to each other. So sweet, that it could give you cavities. Warning: This story will contain an excessive amount of pet names, hence the title.

Other Fandoms Fics: 

Portrait of a Young Girl by trishjames | drarry | 8k | 1/1 | established relationship | trans!teddy | internalised homophobia | family feels | light angst with a happy ending

Recently married, Harry and Draco are tasked with raising a four-year old Teddy, whose emerging gender identity brings up an array of questions, fears, and revelations for them when they realise that Teddy might be transgender.

Over the Moon and Up the Duff by hdmpregmod | drarry | 4k | 1/1 | established relationship | mpreg | fluff | harry is a little shit

When Draco learns he's pregnant again, he blames his husband. Harry, however, couldn't be happier.

Boyfriends From College by Impossibly_Izzy | peraltiago | 1k | 1/1 | bi!jake | established peraltiago | jake dated schneider and john mulaney | self discovery 

Jake dated two guys in college, but doesn't realise until he introduces one of them to Amy.

broken compass, still moving forward by confessionofaking | odaat (no pairing) | 1k | 1/1 | trans!schneider | coming out | misunderstandings | trans schneider stans come get yalls juice

The family learns a secret about Schneider

lemongrass and sleep, apple juice and peach by riverblujay | odaat (no pairings) | transgirl!alex | self discovery | coming out | syd is a great friend 

alex said the far scarier sentence that at the same time was more comforting than anything the teenager had ever heard before. “she,” alex mumbled under his- no, her- breath, voice beginning to choke up, “was sitting on her bed, in her room. her,” he- she, she- sighed and spoke just a little louder, just a little surer. “her name is alex, and she’s a girl.” alex smiled to herself, so small it was probably barely considered one. she didn’t care; she finally felt whole.

or: in another world, elena isn't the only alvarez daughter (but it takes alex some time to figure that out)

[myfeetkeepdancing]

Unsustainable - (4/9)

!Disclaimer: I do NOT ship the people on the banner or any gifs showing up in the fanfic. They helped me visualize and are part of my writing experience. Much love for Tom Holland & Cody Christian!

Summary: An accident happened in which the reader has gotten powers. The reader is struggling to adjust to his new powers but also to keep them secret from Peter as they become closer.

Pairings: Peter Parker x Male Reader

Word count: 1994

A/N: This chapter more a less feels like a filler. Not really happy how it turned out.

The old wounds ache. Nightmares keep repeating themselves. They kept coming back and more frequent than ever before. In the middle of the night waking up, shirt soaking wet. That same scene over and over again. You couldn't shake it loose. It kept tormenting you during the long nights. Falling asleep was already a problem. So many questions left unanswered left you awake until late in the night. Twisting and turning in your bed. Not long into the night, you'd wake up sitting upright in bed. Sweating all over, bruised knuckles and a trembling body, full of adrenaline. Sleep deprived you'd arrive at school, no attempt to hide it from Peter. Why should you anyway? Occasionally you'd stay home. But the absences from school were noticed. You called in sick multiple times. It was waiting for school to take some sort of action. Meanwhile, MJ kept you up to date, she’d bring in new the homework. While keeping Peter distant. Afraid you let something slip.

 Every conversation you had with Peter kept you on your toes. Since the meeting in the park, you learned a lot. The Raven answered many questions. But the thought that Peter was possibly hiding something was unnerving. Weirdly enough, the Raven didn’t want to tell the truth. It wanted you to find it out on your own. You didn’t meet with Peter as often as before. At the start of the year, things looked good. You became closer to him than before. But now you wanted to keep him away from this. What would happen if he found out? Would he tell Stark? May invited you over for dinner, but you had to come up with all kinds of reasons to pass up. You were torn between feelings for Peter and him finding out your secret. One of the two actually. Your feelings for him was another. Just as hard to keep hidden. What was he onto? How did he find out? Did Mr. Stark help him? And what had Peter to hide? You snap out of your daydream as the bus comes to a halt.

 Peter was in doubt, the last weeks worked on his nerves. Being Spider-Man carried its own burdens but (Y/N) story was different. He fought the villain Vulture, captured bank robbers, stopped bicycle thieves and help the elderly cross the street. This was different. This felt different. This was personal. Peter wasn’t a detective, but his Spidey senses were tingling ever since (Y/N) returned from summer vacation. His heightened senses helped him read a person much better. And if there is one thing he can trust it’s his Spidey senses. (Y/N) was hiding something. In the spur of the moment, he asked Mr. Stark for help. That was only once. But in the heat of the moment, he let that slip. Thinking back to that very moment, he keeps reassuring himself that was the best course of action. He couldn’t forgive himself if (Y/N) got hurt. Peter was panicking back then. Now, he was ashamed of his actions. Peter felt the cringe consume him, remembering how (Y/N) reacted. (Y/N) was furious. Understandable, as someone who goes on a regular holiday and then hears afterward that he was tracked by Tony Stark's supercomputers. But by all means, Peter was convinced this wasn't a ‘normal holiday.’ Peter knew that (Y/N) was lying then. Peter wanted to scream it. (Y/N) heartbeat had betrayed him. Peter thoughts ran wild. He kept pondering over the same questions. Could he contain his nerves? Why would (Y/N) keep lying? He swallowed the lump in his throat, his hands feeling sweaty in his pockets. His fingers playing with his house keys. He jogs up the main stairs of the Avengers Tower leading up to the lobby. Out of nowhere, Miss Potts surprises Peter. “Peter, are you alright? You look nervous.”

 “H-Hi… Miss Potts. I-I’m alright. I’m looking for Mr. Stark.”

 “I believe he’s in his lab, floor 54.”

 Peter nods as he sidesteps Miss Potts, quickly heading for the elevator. The steel elevator doors wore the Avengers symbol perfectly in the middle. As the doors slid open to the side, the large glass back panel gave sight onto the inner courtyard of the Avengers tower. A peaceful garden surrounded by a flow of water originating from a small waterfall at the back. Peter leaned forward crossing his arms as he lays them on the railing. The elevator rocketed upwards, Peter stared outside as the peaceful garden make way for skyscrapers and office buildings. The sun carefully covered by a thick layer of clouds. Drops of rain start falling onto the side of the elevator. Only adding to Peter's sad state of mind. Peter stared into the grey sky as he thought of all the inconsistencies (Y/N) had shown. Was he right? Did he see it the right way? The sound of the elevator reaching the floor helped Peter out of his endless gaze. He turned into the hallway leading onto Mr. Stark's lab. There was a certain calmness in the air as he walked down the hall, no employees, no Iron Man suits, just some planters and chairs, and rain hitting the window. Peter held his ground, one hand on the door as he tried to listen to sounds coming from the lab. But also wondering if he did the right thing. From the corner of his eye socket, he noticed a shape. Before he could look, the shape resembling a bird of some sort flew off down towards the city. Whatever. Peter pushed open the door leading into the lab. The lab was a large spacious room. Workbenches lay in the center with large screens hanging from the ceiling. Armory stations lined the walls which housed all different kind of versions of Iron Man armor.  Like usual parts were scattered all along the floor, heaps of technical devices lay against workbenches. Containers of screws, wires and circuit boards were stacked upon each other, begging to be pushed over soon or later. From the center of the room, the sound of repairs was heard. Sparks and sounds of hydraulics could be heard. Peter carefully moved passed the heaps of metal and parts. Careful not to damage anything. Mr. Starks sat on a small trolley working on a suit of armor, reconnecting and replacing parts. Nearby machines were busy rewiring and pressing pieces of steels. Peter looked on in silence.

“M-Mr. Stark?”

 “G-! Holy! Mother of smol beans!” Tony darts right up from his work. ”Pete! You scared the bejesus outta me.” Hitting his suit with the tool, creating sparks all over.

 “S-So sorry Mr. Stark. I-I…I just wanna discuss something with you.”

 "Let me guess, you destroyed the suit. No, wait…! Aunt May. She finally agreed to get some dinner?"

 “What? No, not at all. I-I… mean it’s just…”

 "Spit it out, kid. The world isn't going to save itself."

 “It’s personal sir…”

 “Oh dear, you met a girl, had a few too many drinks and now you may or may not have a child with her?”

 “Please mister Stark, something is wrong with (Y/N). And I need your help…”

 “I’ve heard that before Peter…”

 “This is different! It’s so frustrating sir! Every day I see him struggling. I-I… just feel it... He is distant, rarely comes over, we barely spend time together, we don't do sleepovers anymore. He gets sick often, has random nosebleeds, suddenly started writing with his right arm. While he's always left-handed! And strange birds suddenly show up. Something is going on with raven’s sir. It all doesn’t add up. It’s tearing me up from inside! I need answers, sir. Please…"  

 “Wow, you really got worked up about it kiddo…”

 “At first, I was really hesitant to ask for your help again. I couldn’t sleep for days. It… It just kept circling in my mind. I’m just really fed up about it. I just can’t seem to connect the dots, not on my own sir…”

 "Let me draw you the first line, Peter. You care about (Y/N). More than you afraid to admit. I see it in you. You have that same fire in your eyes.”

 “No… he’s j-just…”

 “Pepper had that look too.”

“That-“

 “Listen, you don’t have to admit it to me. Start following him, find out what he does outside of school. Find out what breaks his routine. Protect him from what you think is haunting him. Be that friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Look out for the little guy. But don't let your emotions get the best of you.”

 “But how are you-“

 “Shush! Now go, Peter! Let me know what you find out. I have something in mind.”

 Starks shifting attention let Peter standing, gazing into nothingness. With legs like stone, armpits like waterfalls, shaky hands and a knot in his stomach he was frozen to the spot. Zoned out from all the noise happening around. That sudden realization hit home harder than expected. He had battled those feelings before. Unsure what it all meant. His body told him the signs, showed it. He felt it. Time and time again. Every time you were around, or close to him. Even getting a look from you, his body told him. Peter’s body had ached for it. Begged for it. And Starks words hit the nail on the head. The signs became ever more apparent in the months while you were gone. Peter was afraid to admit it. The months you were gone were bland, boring and empty. His mind had wondered day in day out, unable to focus on anything. Expecting you to show up around every corner. Those days were long and tiresome. There wasn't something or someone who could fill that gap, that emptiness. That loneliness. Except for you. Now he knew. Now he felt it. Peter had feelings for you.

  From the bus on you take the usual path down the docks towards the warehouses. During the day the warehouses didn’t have that creep factor. Although the presence of seagulls and some stray cats, and of course the Raven, pretty much nothing happened here. At night the empty parking lots and abandoned warehouses were a different story. Turning down the small passageways, you eventually end up at the shack. Checking your surroundings, you move inwards. The old shack was connected to a larger warehouse. The two walls facing the warehouse were lined with small square windows. A couple of old desks, broken chairs, and file cabinets littered the place. Connecting the battery in the corner sprung on the old desk light. Filling the room with a slight buzzing sound as the old light bulb warmed up and lit the desk up. Taking place on the desk chair, you reach behind the drawer with one hand. Your fingers searching for the mechanism. A clicking sound pushes the bottom drawer open, revealing the folder. As you roll your eyes over the text, in the corner of your eye, you see a familiar figure emerging in the doorway. “Hello (Y/N)…” said the older man. “Hey Matthias, how’s Boris doing?” You reply without losing sight of the papers. “He’s getting old, as we all do…” Matthias limps across the room, taking place on the old chair in between the file cabinets. The old wooden chair creeks under the weight. “You look troubled (Y/N). Something bothering you?” You knew it would be for the best to share everything you knew and experienced. For the sake of yourself and him. “You know the master is doing this to help you?” Matthias pressed on. But should you tell about Peter? “Something happened earlier this week… An eh… raven appeared before me. Shares the same fate as me. Somehow I have a connection with it…" You explain while searching for the little apparatus in your backpack. “He will figure this out. Don’t worry. For now, read the papers and start your training. You need time to regain your strength before returning home.”

 A/N: Originally I had a plan for Matthias & Boris but since I haven’t found a way to keep the story going after chapter 9. You may forget about them.

[supercasey]

Keep Your Promise

Description: Nodad/Twins AU. The story of how the Mystery Lady escaped her abuser, and eventually kept her promise to Skout.

A/N: Based heavily on bl00w1tch’s Nodad AU, my Twin AU, and signomad’s fanart of the Twin AU! Check us all out on Tumblr! If anyone can come up with a better description, please let me know because this description fucking sucks. Thanks for reading!

A lone woman hurries quietly through the shrouded desert, sweat dripping down the back of her neck and dampening her nightshirt. She has to keep going. Behind her, she can hear the quiet chitter of little creatures on her heels, following her, keeping her running until she’s out of breath. They think that this is just another night, but she’ll prove them wrong. She’s not going back, not ever again. She can’t. Wrapped up in a ragged, dusty green blanket, a little girl lies dormant in the runaway’s arms, her soft snores enough to encourage the woman to keep moving forward.

Pausing on top of a sand dune to catch her breath- a dangerous move, she knows, but these Critters aren’t made to capture. They’re made to track- the runaway gives her child a tentative rock, trying to sooth the toddler into an even deeper sleep. “Easy, my little Skout,” The woman whispers, pressing a tentative kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “It’ll be okay… we’re going to make it this time. I promise.” Last time… well, the woman would rather not think about it too much. She still bears the bruises on her left shoulder.

Behind her, one of the Critters- a tumbleweed, it’s body bristly and cracking- gives the young mother a curious look, as if expecting her to finally give up on this game of cat and mouse. The woman gives the Critter a harsh glare, attempting to hide her anxiety with aggression. “Go on,” She murmurs, daring the little thing to do something. Anything. “Go ahead and get your master… see if it stops me from runnin’ away. You and I both know that I’ll git outta here eventually.”

The tumbleweed visibly saddens, and it fills the woman with guilt. At one time, she called these helpless little Critters her ‘friends’- some days, they were all that got her through the day. But after she started trying to run away with the kids… the runaway shudders, biting her bottom lip to muffle a sob at the silent mention of her young son. She couldn’t risk it though, not again. That alone is the reason she knows she will succeed this time- magic attracts magic, and the Nomad had simply followed the energy of his son to catch her last time. So she left him- she took her only magic-less child and ran, abandoning little Hunter in his crib to cry in silence for his mother and sister.

A new determination filling her heart, the runaway straightens, giving the tumbleweed Critter an sympathetic glance. “I know that this ain’t yer fault, darlin’… but please, go home,” She begs, her voice a quiet whisper- though it sounds deafening to her this late at night, when there’s no one around. No one but her and the Critters. “I ain’t goin’ back this time… I’m sorry, friend.”

The Critter stares at the woman- unblinking, unfeeling, as if it doesn’t even hold artificial life in its body- before it finally turns away, sharing the woman’s will to escape. Slowly, it rolls away, and with it’s departure the woman breathes a sigh of relief. Okay, that makes things easier… without a tracker, she can get farther. But she still has a long way to go. Hiking up her backpack, the woman presses a reassuring kiss to her daughter’s cheek and continues on, leaving no sign of her presence in her wake. The Nomad can scour the whole desert, but she won’t let him catch her. Not ever again.

“Annabeth… Driller?”

The runaway- Annabeth- glances up from where she’s been cuddling her baby, taking a moment to give the conductor a weary smile. “Yes, that’d be me,” She says, trying and failing to hide the fatigue from her voice. She hasn’t slept all night. “Somethin’ the matter?”

“We’re boarding soon,” The conductor explains, before pausing, giving the woman and her baby a curious onceover. “Don’t got many folk with last names ‘round here- you local?”

“Not anymore.” Anna states, standing to her full- though rather unimpressive- height, her backpack hanging from only one shoulder while she focuses on keeping her grip on Skout.

“Oof, sounds bad,” The conductor admits, giving Anna a tentative smile- he’s trying to be sympathetic. Anna wouldn’t be surprised if he’s seen more than a few runaway mothers in his time as a train conductor. “He a real jerk?”

“The absolute worst,” Anna confirms, hurrying past the man to board her train. “You take care now, sir.”

“You too, miss. And goodbye to you too, little one!” The conductor says, taking a moment to grin at Skout. It’s hard for strangers not to coo over the sleeping toddler- it’s all of that long, red hair, just like her mother’s.

The train takes off not long after, and Anna treats herself to a seat at the back of the train, away from everyone’s prying eyes. There, she lays Skout down on the seat next to her, keeping a tender hand on her daughter’s head. Skout’s about four and a half now, yet the girl keeps quiet for the most part. Anna sees it as a mixed blessing usually, but right now it’s 100% a blessing- she doesn’t need her sweet little girl to be attracting too much attention right now. Besides, Skout’s used to this. Sure, Anna’s never gotten this far with her before, but she doubts that her baby understands that. She probably thinks her Daddy’s gonna bust in at any moment and take her and Mama home.

Anna sighs longingly at the thought, though she tries to keep her conflicting emotions at bay. Try as she might, Anna can’t help but think back on her golden days with Benjamin. They had once been much happier- at least, Ben made her believe they were. Benjamin had found her in a nearby town to his secluded forest, and he had frequented her family’s oil mill for resources on a daily basis. Ma and Pa had hated him, warning their daughter that magic would only bring trouble, but Annabeth… she had been blown away by the stranger. He had been exotic to her and the townsfolk- tall, strong, wise in ways that none of the coal miners or oil drillers ever could be, all dressed up in hooded and concealing clothing that had only continued to interest the young lady.

Benjamin- he had preferred Benny or Ben back then- had obviously been aware of her schoolyard crush, and he had toyed endlessly with her as a result, making time for her during his visits to town to tell her all sorts of stories, filled to the brim with his exploits as a wizard on the run. His magic had only further cemented Anna’s affections, his tricks playful yet intriguing. On Anna’s 18th birthday, Ben had made all the tools on her family’s farm dance for her. Pa had been furious, but a young Annabeth had been swept off her feet, and Ben damn well knew it. Soon after that, he had offered to marry her, promising Anna a life far superior to mining oil and coal for the rest of her days. Of course she said yes.

Annabeth had ran away with him, escaping her constricting family to live a happy and free life in the wilderness with her true love… but fate had other plans. He got her pregnant within a few weeks of their ‘marriage’, and while Anna had been over the moon, Benjamin had been… brooding. He had been clinical with his movements and mannerisms, running his hands over her slowly bulging belly at every opportunity, his hands glowing at times. This had frightened Anna to some extent, but when she had questioned him about it, Ben had waved it off as him putting protection spells on the baby… or babies, as they found out months later. With no access to a doctor, Anna had been forced to give birth in the cabin, her only assistance being Benjamin’s Critters petting her hair and stomach through the ordeal, with Benjamin at the foot of the bed, caring for the babies as they arrived.

She gave birth to twins- one boy and one girl. The girl had been first, and an hour later her brother had joined her in this brave new world. It had been Anna’s idea to name them Skout and Hunter, something Benjamin had simply shrugged at. “Whatever ya come up with I'll love, honey,” He had said, when Anna asked why he didn’t want to help name them. “Anythin’ fer my sweetheart.” Back then, that had comforted her, but now...

The sound of Skout’s whimpering is what breaks Annabeth out of her reminiscing, reminding her of why she’s here and not there, trapped in that claustrophobic little cabin. Slowly, Skout sits up, and greets her mother with a sleepy smile. “Mama!” The little girl coos, eyes glistening in the early morning sunlight.

“Good morning, dear,” Anna says, reaching out and placing Skout on her lap. Absentmindedly, she runs her fingers through Skout’s hair, attempting to rid the girl of any tangles. “How’d you sleep, baby?”

Skout grimaces, burying her face in her mother’s shoulder. “Not good,” She admits, pulling back to give Anna a frightened look. “Where’s Daddy?”

Anna sighs, readying herself for what’s about to come. “”Daddy’s… not here right now. He’s on vacation with Hunter,” She lies, figuring that this is better than telling her daughter the truth- Skout doesn’t need to know who her Daddy really is this young. Nearby, an older woman gives Anna and Skout a sympathetic smile, the lady attempting to give the mother moral support. “And we’re going on our own vacation, too. Somewhere far away.” Anna adds, hoping this will be enough to comfort her daughter.

It doesn’t work at all. “But why? Where’s Daddy? Where’s buba?”

Anna tries to will away the urge to cry, but tears are running down her cheeks before she can stop them. “Because we need a break, baby girl. I know that this is confusing and scary, but you gotta be strong. Be strong for Mama.”

Skout just sobs bitterly, the other train passengers looking away out of embarrassment, not wanting to stare at the clearly upset toddler. “I wan’ Daddy!” She wails, collapsing against her mother’s chest.

Annabeth just holds her close, allowing herself to cry with her daughter. She wants to give Skout what she wants- what she needs- but it’s too dangerous… Benjamin is too dangerous. This is her only chance of survival… Anna just prays that someday, somehow, Skout will understand. For now, she’ll settle for Skout hating her.

It takes some time, but eventually, Annabeth feels like she’s successfully escaped.

Skout’s just turned five years old now- she’s always running, always exploring the area. She’s not yet used to the lack of vegetation, but Anna knows that those memories will slip away eventually, and with their passing will come security in her new home. She still asks about Daddy sometimes, but mostly she just seems to miss Hunter. Everytime it comes up, it absolutely devastates the young mother, but she knows that it can’t be helped. Even if Benjamin somehow couldn’t put a tracking spell on Hunter, the boy would still be a target- his magic is potent, and without a teacher, he could very easily lose control and accidentally hurt someone.

As much as it pains Anna, she knows that this was the right path to take, and despite all her worries… this place is good. She now lives in a small oil drilling town- one that’s very similar to her childhood home. It’s cozy here, and the townsfolk don’t ask too many questions. Even when they do, Anna always gives them the same response: “We’re on vacation.” It’s vague enough to not reveal many details, but it’s enough to clue everyone into the idea that they really shouldn’t ask anymore questions. Besides, Skout likes it here, and that alone is enough to make Anna feel like she’s finally free of her old life.

Of course, it’s around this time that Benjamin decides to show up.

He arrives in the late afternoon, the low crowing of birds acting as an ensemble for the dangerous nomad. Anna’s sitting on the porch when she catches sight of him, the man’s tall, wiry frame barely able to be seen in the horizon, but Anna knows right away that it’s him- the energy surrounding him is too volatile to ignore. Slowly, Anna stands from her rocking chair, trying to hide her frantic movements as she scans the area for Skout. She finds her a few feet away, playing with one of the stray dogs in the area. Anna whistles, and immediately Skout comes running, her grin contrasting with the tense atmosphere.

“Skout, sweet baby, please head inside,” Annabeth requests, already maneuvering her toddler into the house. “Go hide under Mama’s bed, ya hear?”

Skout gives her mother a confused look, but otherwise doesn’t argue, dashing into the house to follow her mother’s instructions. With her daughter safe for the moment, Anna glares at the incoming wizard, refusing to break eye contact as the man draws closer. Soon enough, he’s upon her, the man dressed in his usual garb of a large, shrouded hat, a dark blue serape, long brown jeans, and a baby blue, long sleeved shirt. The Nomad stares Anna down, his mouth downturned in the corner to show how upset he is. Slowly, he reveals Hunter in his arms, the little boy wrapped up in the same baby blue blanket Anna knitted for him when he was born.

“Annabeth,” Benjamin says, his voice a deep drawl that sends shivers down Anna’s spine. At one time, she found his voice comforting- now it just fills her bones with an instinctual desire to run. “Wandered rather far from home, didn’t ya?” He doesn’t really sound mad, but he’s always been good at lying.

“This is my home now, Benny. You best git ‘fore I get the sheriff,” Anna threatens, attempting to hold her ground. “I thought I made it clear that I wasn’t comin’ back… obviously ya didn’t listen.”

“Didn’t listen?” Benjamin repeats, thoroughly unimpressed with the short woman’s tough girl routine. “Baby, yer the one who ain’t ever listened. Didn’t I tells ya that nobody outruns the Nomad of Nowhere?”

Anna swallows, shifting her weight somewhat. She honestly didn’t expect Ben to follow her out this far, not when he’s been so careful to keep a low profile these last few decades. “I… I ain’t scared ‘a ya.” She finally manages to say, tears building up in her eyes. She tries to will them away, but it’s no use.

Benjamin’s stance softens, his frown turning sympathetic. It’s enough to make Anna wonder- at least for a moment- if he really loves her. However, it doesn’t last, and without invitation, Ben climbs onto the porch, unwrapping Hunter and settling the toddler on his hip. “I don’t want you ta be scared ‘a me, baby,” Ben whispers, voice low and gentle. He’s trying to win her back. “It ain’t gonna be like last time, I promise. Lookit ‘lil Hunter ‘ere-” He holds out the boy to Anna, evidence of crying on the child’s face. “-He’s been crying fer days, wonderin’ where his mama and sissy went! Ya can’t leave us!” Okay, that last bit has to at least partially be a lie- Hunter’s never spoken a word and Benjamin damn well knows it.

Right now, Anna’s thankful for the fact that her house is farther away from anyone else’s- the last thing she needs is a crowd to watch the ‘domestic dispute’. “I’ve said it ‘fore and I’ll say it ‘gain- I ain’t goin’ back, Benny. I ain’t lettin’ you hurt me or my baby ever again.”

Benjamin stiffens, before sending a deathly glare Anna’s way, causing the redhead to shiver. “I ain’t ever laid no hands on my babies, you got dat?” He untenses somewhat, though his stance still appears hostile. “What, you gonna abandon yer son now? You gonna leave us ta fend fer ourselves?”

“Yes,” It comes out as a bit of a sob. Anna trembles, unable to keep the defiance in her eyes for much longer. “I ain’t goin’ back… I can’t.”

There’s a lengthy pause, before Benjamin steps forward, trying to hug Annabeth in an attempt to win her over, but Anna backs away, not allowing the nomad to win. “Git the Hell outta here, Benny,” She orders, voice hoarse and angry, her glance refusing to meet the milky white irises of either her son or ex-husband’s eyes. “Go on… I SAID GIT!” She shouts, taking a nearby broom and holding it as a weapon, her glare unforgiving.

Slowly, Benjamin backs off, climbing off of the porch. As one last attempt at winning her back, Ben maneuvers Hunter to look over his left shoulder, the tiny toddler staring sadly at his mother, an arm held out to her, his fist opening and closing expectantly. It’s enough to make the tears finally fall, but Annabeth holds her ground, refusing to yield. With no other way to court her back- and with magic being too dangerous to use when there are witnesses nearby- Benjamin finally decides to go, Hunter refusing to break eye contact with his mother as the duo leave. It’s only after they’re gone that Anna begins to sob, letting her fingers untense around the handle of the broom, until she finally lets go. It hits the porch with a clatter, but it’s not loud enough to wake Anna from her worst nightmare.

It’s only after she’s regained her composure that Anna dares to go back inside. She finds Skout under her bed, the girl looking as though she's been crying. “... That was Daddy, wasn’t it?” Skout asks, after giving her mother a long, heartbreaking stare.

Annabeth slowly nods, willing herself to not start crying all over again. “It was, sweetie.” She whispers, too afraid to speak any louder.

Skout breaks, sobbing as she launches herself out of her hiding place and into her mother’s arms, the girl’s thin frame shaking with every sob. Anna waits out the storm, scooping Skout up and laying down with her on the bed, humming under her breath between small kisses to her daughter’s forehead and cheeks. It takes awhile, but soon enough Skout settles down, her sobs decreasing to pitiful sniffles, though her grip on Anna doesn’t cease, not that Anna really wants it to. Carefully, Anna sits up, her back resting against the headboard of her bed as she readies herself for The Conversation. The one she’s been dreading for weeks.

“... Why’d you yell at Daddy?” Skout asks, once she’s sure that it’s safe. It breaks Anna’s heart that Skout might be afraid of her.

“‘Cus Daddy’s… Daddy’s not very nice.” Anna says, trying to find a way to explain this to Skout without traumatizing her in the process.

“So? Not everybody’s nice, Mama. Mister Donley next door’s a right piece a work, ain’t he? You says so!” Skout points out, and if it weren’t for the somber mood, Anna would laugh. It seems like Skout’s been listening better than Anna’s given her credit for.

Anna sighs, shaking her head. “It ain’t the same, baby girl,” She explains. She swallows, knowing now that there’s no way out of this conversation without telling Skout the truth. “Baby, Daddy ain’t safe. He… he hits, and you know how hittin’ ain’t allowed, right?” She waits until Skout nods in confirmation to continue. “Well, he does it a lot, and that’s really bad. He’s really bad. So we can’t go back.”

Skout still looks upset, but it’s only after she’s sure that Anna won’t go into more detail on her own that she speaks up. “But… what ‘bout buba? Why’s he stayin’ with Daddy?”

Anna bites back a sob at the reminder, trying to convince herself over and over again in her head that she was right to leave him behind… but with every passing day, it’s a less convincing argument. “‘Cus Hunter can’t come.” She states, hoping that will be enough.

She should know better than to expect Skout to take that answer at face value. “Why not?” Skout prods, not understanding her mother’s reasoning.

It takes everything in Anna not to snap at Skout- after all, this isn’t her daughter’s fault. “‘Cus Daddy won’t let him come,” She says, trying a somewhat different approach. “I’m sorry, baby, but there ain’t nothin’ we can do about it… but someday, somehow, you’ll be with Hunter again. You’ll find your buba.”

Skout sniffs, trying to will away her tears. “... You promise?” She asks, an agony in her voice that makes Anna’s heart ache with guilt.

Anna nods, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “I promise, my little Skout. I promise.”

Skout grows up. She grows up so goddamn fast, Anna wonders sometimes where the time went. After turning Benjamin away, the nomad obeyed her orders and left her alone, and for that Annabeth has always been grateful. Yes, some days she wishes to wake up in bed beside Benjamin and pretend that nothing bad ever happened, but with each passing year she’s more comforted by his absence. Never again will she be forced to watch him kill an innocent passerby for having stumbled into the briar, or endure anymore psychological manipulation at his hands. Finally… finally, she feels like she’s moved on.

Like she’s mentioned, Skout has grown up rather fast, the energetic redhead becoming her own woman as time passes her by. She stopped asking about Dad and Hunter after awhile, and nowadays… well, nowadays she’s been studying. The oil town doesn’t have a school, but Anna’s been sure to buy the girl as many books as she can afford. Skout’s already proven herself to be resourceful, if nothing else, learning how to read faster than any of the other kids in town. She reads obsessively, taking the time to piece together stories and ideas in her head, and has also proven herself to be the best repairman in town. Anna’s never been more proud.

It’s on a gloomy, almost somber day that Skout comes running through the door- her hair a mess, her shirt’s top button undone- startling Annabeth out of her daydreaming. “Ma! Ma, there’re soldiers in town!” Skout shouts excitedly- her wordplay makes it sound like there’s danger, but her eyes give away the teenager’s eagerness.

Anna blinks, taking a moment to dry her hands off with a dish towel- she had been doing laundry when her daughter came in. Slowly, she stands from her formerly crouched position, giving her child a worried glance. “Soldiers? What you mean, darlin’?”

Skout closes the door behind her, grinning from ear to ear at her mother. “They’re called ‘Dandy Lions’!” She explains, handing a flyer to her mother. On it, there’s an advertisement to join a far away town named Oasis’ royal guard. “And they’re in town lookin’ fer bright eyed pupils and soldiers! Mama, I could finally go to school somewhere! They’ve got opportunities for people like me! Sure, I’ll start out as a spittoon girl, but I can work my way up! Oh, Ma, I’m so excited!”

Anna’s hardly listening, as her eyes have found themselves glued to the flyer. Oasis… on the tiny map painted into the flyer’s corner, Anna can see that the town isn’t far from the Briar, and if that’s the case… It’s far too dangerous. Yes, she’s recently promised Skout that she can go away for schooling if the opportunity arises, but this… this can’t be the one. “I’m sorry, baby, but no. You can’t go. It’s… it’s too close to Daddy.”

She hasn’t brought up Dad in a long time, and the look on Skout’s face shows that the teenager is upset at his mention. “So? Ma, I can handle myself just fine! ‘Sides, who’s ta say that old bastard’ll recognize me?”

Because he can sense your energy. Because he'll kill you if he finds out that I'm not there to protect you. Anna holds back from saying that, aware of what it will imply- Skout doesn’t remember that her Dad was a magic user… and she certainly doesn’t need to remember it anytime soon, not when the townsfolk have made it clear to her daughter that magic is nothing but trouble. “He just would, darlin’... again, I’m sorry, but you ain’t goin’ and that’s that.” Anna’s voice is stern and low, trying to remind Skout of who’s in charge.

Skout huffs, glaring daggers at her mother. “But, Ma… there’s this girl… she’s leadin’ ‘em, and she said that she’ll get me outta ‘ere… I could be more than an oil driller.”

And there it is. Annabeth, all too suddenly, realizes how her mother must’ve felt when she ran away. The look in her daughter’s eyes- love at first sight, adoration for a cause she barely understands- is something Anna recalls feeling almost two decades ago… she had been in love with Ben, and right now, her daughter’s in love with a woman who’s promised her the same things Benjamin did. That thought alone makes Annabeth terrified, scared that someone is going to kidnap her daughter. It doesn’t matter if Skout thinks she’s in love- Anna isn’t about to let her daughter go through everything her mother’s been running from.

“My word is final, Skout Driller. You are to stay here, with me, until I say otherwise. It’s far too dangerous, and this mystery woman could very well be just as bad as your Daddy.” Anna explains, leaving no room for arguing.

Tears build up in Skout’s eyes, but they’re rubbed away before they can fall. “Dammit, Ma…” Skout growls, frustrated beyond belief… but it’s better than dead. Better than kidnapped. “You just don’t get it! You don’t get what it’s like ta be trapped in some nowhere town, wishin’ you could be somebody! Don’t ya understand? I can’t get nothin’ done in my life in dis place! … I don't wanna grow old and die here. I gotta find out if I can be somethin’.”

Anna sighs. Hard. She really doesn’t want to get into this with her daughter, but… fuck it, there’s obviously no way around it. She has to tell her. “... I ever tell you how I met yer Daddy?” She asks, hoping that the pause has given Skout time to calm down.

Skout visibly falters, shocked by the question. It’s enough to break her tough girl act, at least for a little while. “No, you… you never really brought Dad up much when I was a kid.”

Anna walks over to the couch and takes a seat, motioning for Skout to sit next to her. She doesn’t continue her story until Skout sits. “When I was yer age- so ‘bout seventeen- there was this handsome stranger… he’d come to my family’s oil mill once a month to buy oil and food, so we got ta know each other pretty damn well. He was… God, Skout, when I first met him, he was the kindest gentleman I ever did meet. He’d tell me all sorts of stories, about how he’d grown up in a place where the trees had leaves, and everything was green and alive. He told me he loved me. He told me he could get me outta there… that he could help me be somebody. ‘Course I said yes when he proposed.

“After that, he and I ran away from there- I never even told my folks goodbye. They’d never liked yer Daddy, but I thought they was being harsh with him… shoulda known they was onto somethin’. Anyways, he and I moved way out south, and, well… we had you. And your brother, of course,” Anna pauses, noticing how Skout tears up at the mention of Hunter. Quietly, Anna reaches out and rubs Skout’s shoulder, trying to comfort her. “Few years later, things got… worse. Daddy would get paranoid, start hurtin’ anybody who wandered near da house, and while he never hurt you or yer buba, he’d take to bruisin’ me a bit. Nothin’ major, but that among other things convinced me that I had ta get away. And yer Daddy, he knew I was runnin’... he hid Hunter, so that I couldn’t bring ‘im, but I still ran. I still got us outta there.

“So what I’m tryin’ ta say is… people can shower ya in love, can make all sorts ‘a promises, but dat don’t mean they’re good people. And people… they can tell how smart you are, baby girl. They can tell you’re one in a million. And they’re gonna try and convince ya that they’ve got everythin’ figured out, and that they’ll take care of ya, but they’re likely lyin’. Skout, baby, promise me you’ll be cautious, and that you won’t trust strangers. Promise me that you’ll stay here.” Anna takes hold of her daughters hands, trying to plead with her eyes. “Don’t leave me here,” She wants to beg. “Don’t leave me like Daddy did.”

“Mama…” The look on Skout’s face says it all- a stranger’s stolen her heart, and she doesn’t even want it back. She wants to be loved by somebody other than her mother, and in some way, Anna understands that. It doesn’t mean she thinks it’s smart, though. “Toth ain’t like Dad, not one bit- she and the Dandy Lions’ll keep me safe! I know you don’t believe me none, but… trust me, Ma. I can handle myself. ‘Sides, if’n I do run inta Dad, Imma give dat bastard whatfore!” Her grin is warm and loving, and goddammit… Anna’s never been good at saying no to that face. And she does have a point- she'll be surrounded by soldiers, meaning it'll be too dangerous for Benjamin to come near her.

Annabeth sighs, leaning forward and hugging her daughter. “... Okay,” She whispers, voice croaking with unshed tears. “But you promise me you’ll be safe, baby. And don’t go trustin’ nobody who says they be havin’ magic! And remember to write home! And-”

“Ma-” Skout gives her mother a somewhat frustrated look, but at least she isn’t angry anymore. She appears calmer now, glad that she’s finally been understood. “-’A course I’ll be writin’ to ya! And I know better than to trust magic. What am I to ya, a little one?”

“Sometimes you are, in my eyes. You’ll always be my darlin’ baby,” Anna admits, helping Skout to her feet as they both stand. “Now come along… let’s git you packed. Oasis looks to be a long ways from home.”

It’s a few years before Annabeth sees Skout again, not that she entirely expected to. Around here, if somebody’s kid manages to find a way out, they never come back. And just as well- Anna honestly hates it here some days, hates how no one here can stand change, but it’s home nonetheless. Besides, she wants to stay here in-case Skout ever comes home… which she does. It’s late at night when she comes home, a swift knock at the door waking Anna from her nap. She sits up, rubbing her lower back- she’s getting too old to pass out in her chair, but sometimes she just dozes without realizing it. She blames it on a life filled with stress and worry.

Slowly, she stands, soon quickening her pace when a second knock raps the door. Opening it, Anna is greeted by, first and foremost, the sight of her beloved daughter. “Skout!” She shouts, embracing her child in a tight hug. She doesn't give two shits if she wakes the neighbors. “Oh, honey! What’re you doin’ out here?” She pulls back, examining Skout’s face.

Skout looks absolutely exhausted, her hair somehow more wild than usual- when in God’s name was the last time she cut it?- with dark bags underneath her eyes. But her daughter ignores the questions, her movements making her appear erratic and scared. “Mama, you think I can come in now? I, uh…” Skout looks around, constantly checking over her shoulder. “I really wanna git inside.”

Something’s clearly wrong. Anna nods, stepping aside to usher her daughter in. It’s only then that she realizes that Skout’s brought company. The stranger is short- they’re a tad taller than Skout, but that’s not much of an accomplishment- their body covered in a large, dirty quilt. The newcomer wears a big, wide brimmed hat on their head, and their glove covered hand is joined with Skout’s bare one, the redhead leading the stranger inside- the blanket covers everything but the hat, making the stranger temporarily blind. This can’t be good; this stranger is clearly on the run. What the fuck has Skout been getting into!? Wordlessly, the duo enters, Anna locking the door behind them once they’re inside.

“I guess I best get us some tea… how you like your’s, stranger?” Anna asks, trying to coax the stranger into talking.

“He’ll have it like I do, Ma. He seems like the honey lovin’ type,” Skout answers for him, maneuvering the man to stand in the center of the living room. “Sorry, he ain’t much fer talkin’.”

“That’s fine, sugar. Not everybody likes ta chatter.” Anna says, leaving the room to get the kettle started.

After firing up the kettle, Anna takes to watching in secret from the doorway as Skout pulls the blanket off of the stranger, and… oh no. No, it can’t be. That can’t possibly be… that’s not Benjamin. Anna breathes a sigh of relief as she realizes that it really can’t be Benjamin- the stance is wrong, this man is too short, his body slimmer, somehow. When the stranger turns around to meet Anna’s stare- he must’ve felt her eyes on him- his eyes are the same milky cream color as Ben’s were, but somehow he’s… different. The hat fell off when Skout pulled off the blanket, and now Anna’s being treated to the sight of short, scruffy black hair on the man’s equally black head, the hair soft and curly. But if this isn’t Benjamin, then it has to be-

”Hunter isn’t talkin’.”

Benjamin glances up from his book, raising a nonexistent eyebrow at his wife. “What you mean, baby?” He drawls, setting his book aside.

“I mean he ain’t sayin’ nothin’! He won’t make a peep! Hell, even Skout is babblin’, but Hunter won’t make a sound. He just sits there, starin’ at me… it a species thing, hun?” Anna can’t hide the distress from her voice- she’s not familiar with how Benjamin’s race works, and she’s scared that this isn’t something that can be fixed.

Benjamin’s response does nothing to soothe her worries. “Bring ‘im ta me.” He orders, sitting up, settling his hands on his knees. He looks older than he should be… then again, he’s always said that he’s been alive for centuries.

Annabeth wastes no time, hurrying outside to get her son. He’s with Skout, the two ten month olds crawling around in the grass, a few rock Critters playing with the twins. “Hey!” Anna calls, earning her the attention of both babies. She walks over in strides, scooping up Hunter with ease. “You critters watch Skout for me, alright? Daddy needs his baby.”

One of the Critters- the largest rock, she notes- salutes. Anna would chuckle if she weren’t so worried. Carefully, she carries Hunter inside, the toddler grabbing a fistful of his mother’s shirt for leverage. Once she’s back inside, she hands Hunter to Benjamin, who sits the toddler down on his lap. With a clinical gaze and glowing hands, Benjamin inspects the toddler. “Say ‘Ah’.” He orders, and obediently, the toddler opens his void-like mouth, though no sound escapes. Gently, as to not harm the child, Ben sticks a glowing, gloved finger into Hunter’s mouth. The boy grimaces, unhappy with the taste, but otherwise doesn’t fuss. After a time, Benjamin reclaims his finger and cusses under his breath.

“Well? What’s wrong with ‘em, sweetheart?” Anna asks, giving her baby boy a longing look- she wants to hold him close, to will a voice out of him.

“He’s mute,” Benjamin keeps it simple, but it’s clear even he’s frustrated. “Fuckin’ hell… he ain’t ever gonna be able to use vocal spells… such a pity.”

“Vo- honey, our baby’s a mute, and yer worried ‘bout spells!?” Anna can’t believe her ears- how can Benjamin think about magic at a time like this?

Benjamin stands, giving Anna a harsh glare. “You thinkin’ I don’t care? ‘Course I do, he’s my son! But he’s got the Gift, baby, and he ain’t ever gonna be without it. He’s magic, jus’ like me! He’s gonna have to learn spells eventually, ‘n you damn well know it! You really gonna bitch at me fer worryin’? Fer wonderin’ how I’ll protect ‘im?”

Anna swallows, before ducking her head, defeated. “... No, dearest. I just… he ain’t ever gonna call me Mama, or you Daddy… aren’t ya a little sad ‘bout dat?”

Benjamin softens, reaching forward and hugging Anna with one arm, sandwiching Hunter between them. The baby blinks, before going back to clinging to his mother, unwilling to let go. “Oh, baby, don’t cry,” Benjamin murmurs, kissing Anna’s cheek- his lips are ice cold. “It’s gonna be okay. Skout can talk, can’t she? Our baby girl’ll more than make up fer Hunter’s silence. We’ve got eternity to figure it out.”

Anna nods hopelessly against her husband’s chest, burying her face in his shoulder to hide her tears. 'We’ve got eternity’... It feels more like a threat than a promise.

Finally managing to escape the memory, Annabeth wastes no time in closing the distance, hugging her long lost son close to herself. Skout looks more confused than a reindeer in summer, but Anna will explain later- she just needs to hold him close again, to rejuvenate that lost contact. Slowly, Hunter hugs her back, appearing grateful for the surprise hug. Has he been this touch starved? Benjamin was never really affectionate unless he needed something from her, so it should come as no surprise to Anna that her son would be deprived of such a thing… still, she forces the thought away and hugs him tighter, likely hurting Hunter’s ribs, but she can’t bring herself to care. He’s home. He’s finally home.

“Uh… Ma?” Skout raises an eyebrow at her mother, thoroughly confused. “Why you hugging the Nomad ‘a Nowhere?”

Anna ignores her for the most part, keeping her grip on Hunter. It’s not until her son starts squirming that she lets go, stepping back to look her son over. His face from the eyes down is covered in a red bandana, but otherwise his clothes perfectly match those of his father’s… maybe that means that Benjamin’s dead? Anna knows she should be happy at the thought of it, but she can’t keep herself from internally mourning for him. He’d been nice, when they first met… it’s hard to forget that short-lived kindness, even after all the abuse. Anna finally just grins at her son, before focusing her gaze on Skout.

“Skout, baby… I wish you’d told me you was bringin’ yer brother home… I woulda made you both dinner.” Anna can’t hide the sobbing note in her voice, tears dripping down her face.

Skout’s eyes widen, though Anna can tell she isn’t convinced. “It’s gonna be a long story ta tell, hun,” Anna explains, figuring that now isn’t the time. “Fer now, I think you two need some rest. Y’all must be exhausted,” She turns her attention back to Hunter, who looks even more shellshocked than Skout. She rests a hand on his cheek, savoring the contact. “Don’t you worry, sweetie, it’ll all make sense in good time.”

“Yeah, I uh… think restin’ sounds good right ‘bout now…” Skout murmurs. Suddenly, however, a harsh knock hits the door. The redhead visibly pales, giving her mother an incredibly apologetic look. Her voice drops to a whisper. “Ma… look, there’s a lot we gots ta explain too, but… Mama, jus’ play dumb, I beg of you! Tell ‘em we ain't here! Please!”

Anna nods, understanding completely. Back with Benjamin, she’d been made to play this role before… she’s more than willing to do this again for her daughter. “Go on then… yer bedroom’s still there, hide in there with yer brother!”

“Ma, I really don’t think he’s my-” Another knock shakes the door, interrupting Skout. “Fine fine,” She says, grabbing Hunter by the hand and leading him away. “Come on, you! We gotta hide!”

Hunter waves to Anna as he and Skout disappear down the hallway, causing Anna to chuckle. However, she schools her expression as she approaches the door, taking a deep breath before opening it. A tall, muscular man is there to greet her, wearing barely any armor, a large scar running diagonally across his right cheek. The stranger gives Anna an unimpressed once-over. “So sorry to bother you at this hour, miss,” The man says, keeping his voice friendly, though it’s clear he’s willing to use violence to get his way. “However, it’s come to my attention that a dangerous criminal and his accomplice have wandered into town… was wonderin’ if you’ve seen anyone suspicious.”

Anna puts on a sweet smile, trying to play up the innocent housewife routine. “Oh, I ain’t seen nobody new ‘round here! Nobody but my kids! They’ve been visitin’ me all week long, ain’t dat nice? Don’t often get ta see my kids!”

The man raises an eyebrow, but otherwise doesn’t give away his suspicion. “Funny, ‘cus I coulda sworn I saw that Nomad and his accomplice head in this direction…”

Anna continues to smile, waving the man off. “Nope! Nobody here but my kids and I!”

The stranger shifts his weight, allowing Anna to see Toro’s emblem on his shoulder armor. “You wouldn’t find if I… talked to them, would you, miss?”

Anna doesn’t even blink. “Sorry, they’re both asleep! They’ve been helping me with the pumps all day, and they’re absolutely exhausted. Maybe ask one of the neighbors? Martha next door’s a real chatterbox ‘bout gossip!”

It’s clear that the champion isn’t fully buying it, but there’s just enough truth in Anna’s explanation to warrant her innocence. “Well, if you say so… you make sure to come find me if anything changes. I’ll be in town.” With that vague threat, he walks away, leaving Anna in peace.

Anna shuts the door and groans, breathing a sigh of relief once the champion is gone. It’s been a long time since she’s had to do that- not since she was with Benjamin. Slowly, Anna makes her way into Skout’s bedroom. The redhead is hidden under the covers of her bed, and upon closer inspection, Anna finds Hunter hidden under the very bed itself, his terrified shivering causing the bed frame to shake. “All clear, kids,” Anna calls, pulling the blanket off of Skout and giving her daughter a tired smile. “You can come out now… I think he’s gone.”

“Oh thank the stars,” Skout says, before giving Anna a sorry look. “Sorry ‘bout puttin’ you on the spot like that, Mama… there’s a lot we gotta talk about.”

“Yes there is… but I wasn’t kiddin’ when I says you gotta rest up first- you look like you ain’t slept in days,” Anna chides. When Hunter peeks out from underneath the bed, Anna crouches down and tousles his hair, letting out a soft chuckle. “That goes fer you too, son.”

“Yeah, about that-” Skout begins to say.

“Rest. Now. Ya look damn ready ta faint,” Not to mention, I need time to figure out how I’m gonna explain this to you two, Anna thinks, but pushes those thoughts aside in favor of focusing on her kids. “Think ya can share yer room with yer brother?”

Skout blinks, looking ready to continue asking about this, but she eventually seems to give into her own desire to sleep. “Yeah yeah, he can sleep with me… but I ain’t sharing a blanket with ‘im! He can sleep on the bed, but no cuddlin’!” She points her orders at Hunter, who looks away in embarrassment.

Anna laughs at this, thoroughly amused by her children’s antics. “That’s fair… now get some sleep. We can discuss all of this in the mornin’,” She promises, helping Hunter to his feet. Once he’s up, he gives the bed a worried look. “It’s alright… here, I’ll git you another blanket.” Anna offers, trying to quell the nervous tension in the room.

Once Anna gets back with a large, blue quilt, she drapes it over Hunter’s shoulders. Her son visibly relaxes, clearly glad to have a blanket to sleep with tonight. Has he been sleeping enough? It’s hard to tell if he’s sleep deprived or not, but his sluggish movements are enough for Anna to go off of. With the promise of a bed to sleep in tonight, Hunter now gladly hops into bed beside his sister, wrapping himself in the blanket like a burrito. He lies down silently beside Skout, who already appears to be dozing off. With a whispered goodnight, Anna leaves her two children in peace, allowing them to finally sleep… and for her to finally figure out how in the hell she’s going to explain all of this in the morning. But it’s worth it… or at least, it will be.

Her kids will likely have to leave tomorrow- if Anna had to guess, she’d say it’s Benjamin’s old bounty that now rests on her beloved son’s head, and Skout’s just along for the ride- but she can at least guarantee them a big breakfast and an explanation. And if she’s lucky? Well… maybe she can finally keep her promise to Skout.

A/N: And here it is! My first contribution to this fandom (other than theory/shit posts)! I hope y’all like this fic; feel free to ask me any questions you have for the AU! I plan on doing another fic soon- one from Nodad’s (Benjamin, the original Nomad’s) perspective, so look out for that one! I just got inspired to do this one first because of signomad’s heartbreaking comic for my twins theory! Also, another shout out to bl00dw1tch’s Nodad Theory- I bring it up every time I post something for the Twins AU, but it’s still honest to God the reason this AU (theory??? If I’m right then hOLY FUCK) exists at all. So go check those folks out! See you next time!

~Supercasey

[crowdvscritic]

round up // JULY 20

New music is saving 2020! This is one of my most music-and-musical-heavy Round Ups yet, not even counting the Beverly Hills Cop theme I’ve been whistling and dancing to around my apartment this week. (Don’t judge—you’ll do it to if you watch any of those movies.) And speaking of movies, I’ve got three new movies from 2020 to recommend! When theatres reopen I might go every week even if there’s nothing I’m excited to see, but I’m thankful for VOD movies to tide me over in the meantime.

July Crowd-Pleasers

This Twitter Thread

I’ve laughed out loud so many times I don’t care if this thread is made up. An anonymous Frenchman is documenting the “adventures” of a British family with a vacation home next door and no clue what Brexit actually means. This journey is a sardonic roller coaster, but I appreciate this tweeter isn’t devoid of empathy.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

An insanely satisfying legal thriller that will have you shouting at your TV. Matthew McConaughey is a hot shot lawyer who doesn’t care if his clients are guilty, but he starts to reconsider that position with his newest (Ryan Philippe). What seems like a cut-and-dry defense of a man wrongfully accused escalates into so much more. I’ll stay scant on the details so the twists can surprise you as much as they did me. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Summer Jams

2020 has gotten, um, a bad reputation, but I’d like to give it a shout-out for one of the best years of summer pop music in a long time. The last time I remember jamming to this many songs on the radio was 2013, the summer of “Mirrors,” “Get Lucky,” “Roar,” and “I Love It.” Thanks to Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, the Jonas Brothers, and Doja Cat, I keep flipping through radio stations looking for the next new song that will make me bop. Enjoy a round up of my favorite summer songs of 2020 so far on Spotify above.

Focus (2015)

As noted last month, I love when a heist movie can pull a fast one on me. Focus may not be a creative height of either Will Smith’s or Margot Robbie’s careers, but it’s a romantic and funny story of two con artists with just enough plot twists to keep me guessing. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

Love Crazy (1941)

William Powell and Myrna Loy appeared in 14 movies together, and their chemistry in this zany romantic comedy shows us why. The premise starts with their married characters planning an eccentric anniversary celebration, but somehow it escalates to a legal declaration of his insanity. (Unlike My Man Godfrey, Powell is the comic instead of the straight man this time.) While how we talk about mental health has changed much in the last 80 years, this comedy is so screwball it can’t be taken seriously as commentary. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell star in a musical light on songs but huge on charm, laughs, and diamonds. In a perfect world, we would have gotten more musicals directed by Howard Hawks, but if we could only have one, this is proof we’re not living in the darkest timeline. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

Double Feature — Very Silly Spoofs: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) + The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

I’m very late to both of the parties for Monty Python (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) and The Naked Gun (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10), so all I need to say about these absurd comedies is the hype didn’t ruin them for me.

Fast & Furious (2009)

In a strange turn of events, I finally succumbed to watching all Fast and Furious flicks. (Blame it on quarantine.) While my favorite remains the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw (maybe because it’s so unlike a normal movie in this franchise, sorry), the fourth movie is another highlight. It features one of the best character team-ups before the stunts become hilariously unrealistic and acknowledges some of the moral complexities of the plot, which is surprisingly uncharacteristic for a movie series about, um, criminals. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

Double Feature — Action Crime Movies Based on True Stories in the ‘70s: Donnie Brasco (1997) + The Bank Job (2008)

In, Donnie Brasco (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10), Johnny Depp is an FBI agent undercover in the Mob, keeping an eye on Al Pacino. In The Bank Job (Crowd: 8.5 // Critic: 7.5/10), Jason Statham is caught up in an MI6 plot to save political face by breaking into a London bank. Both are tense, twisty, and somehow true.

Jim Gaffigan: Cinco (2017)

While he’s best known for jokes about food, I’ll always appreciate how his self-deprecating jokes are never really just about his appearance or his many children, though he’s funny enough he could get away with that.

Covers by Switchfoot (2020)

Harry Styles! Vampire Weekend! My music tastes past and present collide in this album of bops Switchfoot covered this year.

Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)

This is really just a plug to watch all three Beverly Hills Cop movies for Eddie Murphy at his funniest, Judge Reinhold at his most underrated, and a score so catchy you’ll be dancing to it for days. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

July Critic Picks

Hamilton (2020)

Who knew? Listening to the Hamilton soundtrack is not the same as watching it in the room where it happens. I reviewed the filmed production with the original cast for ZekeFilm, which was a treat since my May theatre tickets were cancelled. At least we’re not dealing with formal duels in 2020! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 10/10

Double Feature — Journalism Films Based on True Stories in the ‘70s: All the President’s Men (1976) + Zodiac (2007)

Maybe it’s just because I have a degree in Journalism, but I appreciate a story about a good story. In All the President’s Men (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 10/10), Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are digging into the Watergate scandal at The Washington Post even when no one else thinks there’s anything to investigate. On the opposite coast in Zodiac (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10), Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. are hunting the Zodiac Killer at the San Francisco Chronicle with the help of police officer Mark Ruffalo. This double feature focuses on reporters so committed to their work it comes at personal cost, but it highlights the need for people who are that committed to the truth to make our society function.

Greyhound (2020)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a studio in possession of a good World War II script must be in want of Tom Hanks, and we can always feel the warmest gratitude for any means of uniting them. I reviewed the film Hanks wrote himself for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

Dark Waters (2019)

Mark Ruffalo plays a real-life lawyer who helped investigate DuPont and change legislation on chemicals. A different kind of legal thriller than The Lincoln Lawyer, but yet another movie confirming Mark Ruffalo is a treasure. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

These Pieces on How We Interact With Media

I’m a believer in good journalism (see above), so I appreciate when writers do some self-examination on their own craft. I’ve been on an Instagram break the last few months because it’s been contributing to an anxiety spiral re: world events. It’s easy to talk in hyperbole, to complain, and to dehumanize others on the Internet, and I know I’m guilty of all three, so kudos to these writers for speaking on them.

“The Power of Media and Misinformation in the Age of Coronavirus,” DarlingMagazine.org (April 20)

“My Big Old Rant,” SeanDietrich.com (July 10)

“Kanye West and the Media Are Once Again Playing a Dangerous Game,” Vulture.com (July 13)

Brightest Blue by Ellie Goulding (2020)

You might know Ellie for her electro-pop hits, but I’ve always preferred her ballads that let her unique vocals shine. Brightest Blue is another collection of both styles, and it’s another strong outing from one of my favorite singers.

West Side Story by Richard Barrios (2020)

The making of West Side Story is a classic collision between art and commerce. This new Turner Classic Movies book details the many conflicts between the creative team, cast, and financiers to make one of the most beloved musicals and most Oscar-winning films in history, and you might be surprised it made it to the screen at all after reading it.

The Vast of Night (2020)

The Twilight Zone-esque movie is all about some weird happenings over the airwaves in a small town. Two high school students, one a nighttime radio host and the other a phone operator, team up to investigate a mysterious noise they’re hearing. The filmmaking is unconventional but gripping, and the story has major Stranger Things vibes, which is only helped by the fact that one of the stars looks a lot like Sadie Sink. (FYI, her name is actually Sierra McCormick.) Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

folklore by Taylor Swift (2020)

It’s tricky to put into words what new music from Taylor Swift means to me because her words have been part of my life for over a decade and I admire what she shares of her creative process so much. Her unexpected eighth album is nothing like Lover—instead it’s a sonic and poetic continuation of songs and themes from Fearless and RED, her two most sock-me-in-the-gut-and-how-did-you-get-a-hold-of-my-journal collections. Just 11 months ago she released an album I said was her best yet, but I’m saying it again and even faster than last time.

Bonus: Enjoy this piece about the inspiration for her song “Last Great American Dynasty” from St. Louis Magazine.

Westworld (1973)

Before Jurassic Park, Michael Chrichton wrote and directed another sci-fi adventure set at a theme park with a Hunger Games flair. Here we go to a Western-themed resort where almost-human robots serve patrons’ every whim—that is, until they start rewriting their programming.  At least we aren’t dealing with homicidal robot cowboys in 2020! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10

Also in July…

I wrote a tribute to Olivia de Havilland after her passing at 104. She’s best known as Melanie in Gone With the Wind, but I’ll argue that’s not the best showcase of her talent.

The Best Picture Project continues with Clark Gable! He starred in 1934’s It Happened One Night and 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty, but I’m only recommending one of them for your viewing pleasure. You can scroll a little further back or read the reviews here:

It Happened One Night – Crowd // Critic

Mutiny on the Bounty – Crowd // Critic

On SO IT’S A SHOW?, our pop culture references spanned 250 years with 1976’s Rocky and the 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels. We found a crazy number of connections between Gilmore Girls actor Milo Ventimiglia and Sylvester Stallone, and we figured out what the hey the word “brobdingnagian” means. 

You can keep up with everything I’m watching in real time on Letterboxd, where I’ve rounded up my favorite journalism films, including All the President’s Men, It Happened One Night, and Zodiac.

Images: Switchfoot, Media, Ellie Goulding, West Side Story. all others IMDb.com.

[todieingrave]

Thursday, August 10th 2017

Hey it’s be awhile since the last time I made a blog on here. I’ve been super busy dealing with a lot of things, especially the moving part. I will be moving to southern California in about 3 days!! Woah that came up fast! 

I think the last time I made a blog was on June 1st, so I’ll try to catch some of you up on some things that have happened between that time until now. Well, I’ve gone on a few hikes and made some new friends between that timeline. I have been becoming more mentally healthy now that I’ve let go of a few toxic people in my life. It’s even starting to show in my dreams how much better I have become so far. I used to always have horrible nightmares, especially this past year while my mind was in a very negative place. But now this past 2 months I have been having good dreams. I ended up officially reactivating my main facebook account again and I had an overwhelming respond of support from my old friends welcoming me back that I am so thankful for. I updated that account a little bit with photos that I haven’t been able to share on there since I have been gone. Right when I reactivated that account a good friend of mine informed me that they found a fake account using my pictures. So I had to get rid of that and I deleted quite a few people who I no longer wanted them to experience my life with me anymore. Then the funny thing is that some people from my old high school were even trying to holla at me.. I find it funny how some of the people who used to judge and bully me in school are now up in my messages trying to flirt with me and try to creep on all my social media accounts. I see them but they aren’t eva gettin’ a chance. Drew and I have been doing really well actually. I think we’ve been falling back in love again. Everything just has been becoming so much nicer like it used to be before I fell into this deep depression. I have even been going out a lot more like I used to. I went out to multiple shows including, Hammerfall, Morbid Angel, Warped Tour, Iron Maiden in California, DragonForce and a few more back in Portland. The Iron Maiden trip was amazing!! Drew and I first drove to San Francisco and did a bunch of cool stuff there, like visit some spooky shops, museums, and gardens. We watched 4th of July fireworks on top of a high building looking over the city at night and flew some kites over the bay area. Our car did unfortunately get broken into on the first night there but thankfully we had good insurance on our rental and just got a new car right away. Then all the fun we had after that made up for it and we completely forget that even happened. Oh and I finally got to see Iron Maiden play live and I am beyond happy with the turn out! 😃 Their stage performances were one of the best I've seen and they brought such an amazing energy to the whole stadium. I like how they genuinely look super happy up there and love what they are doing. The crowd was awesome as well! I got to get up reeaaalll close to the stage with no problem. That night turned out way better than what I expected. Then we drove down to San Diego to visit our friends Holly and Nick. We didn’t do too much down there but visit the beach, go to the exotic reptile animal expo and get SUPER sun burnt. Oh my goodness I don’t think I have ever been that burnt in my entire life. I was beat red! It was embarrassing xD Then we drove back up to L.A. for Drew’s birthday. We mostly used our time there to look for places to live and do a couple of home tours. We almost got this spooky house out in the desert but it looked like there needed to be a lot of work done on it, so we passed and settled for an apartment right next to these mountains in San Bernardino. After we found our place of stay we finally got to go out to the city and celebrate Drew’s birthday. We got to see DragonForce play on the first night we were there and oofta I got a lot of drinks bought for me. I guess I looked real purdy that night :P Then we walked on the stars and some dude forced me to hold his giant pet snake. I can’t lie, I was a little scared at first that it was going to bite me. We then visited the famous Museum of Death and stopped at a lot of random vintage shops around town. I may have spoiled the both of us a little too much. Oops! Whatever we were on vacation. Then once our trip was over we drove back to Oregon using the scenic routes and hiked around on the coast quite a bit, taking our sweet time exploring before we have to head back to that awful city I hate to call home at the moment. Once we got back home I got an email saying my chest tattoo proposal with an amazing artist I have been wanting to work with got accepted!! YAY! So I will be finishing my full chest piece for my birthday in late September. I am so beyond excited for this. Not only that but at the end of July I finally finished the complete outline on my left sleeve. Now I just need to finish the shading on it along with tattooing my armpit and hand, then it will be officially finished sleeve! Then I’ve been going to this big book store on Powell a lot with this pretty lady friend. I’ve been slowly becoming addicted to collecting books now. I just finished this thick book in a week! Yeah everything has been going well but knowing my life there will always be those downs. For instance I have been packing up a lot lately but it’s been so damn hot here in Portland these past 2 weeks while i’m doing that and we don’t have any AC here. So that sucks ass. Not only that but I am way beyond angry that one of my dumb ass roommates left our balcony door wide open a week ago, even after countless amount of times I have asked them not to do that because I'm worried about the cats getting out. Well guess what!? Those assholes left it open again and this time my kitten Artemis actually got out and jumped off our 2 possibly 3 story deck. I wasn't aware until one of our town home maintenance guys knocked on our door and said he found her hiding in a vacant lot covered in toilet water and blood on her paws. She was panting and whining whenever we touched her tummy, so now we had to rush her to the vet because she might have possibly broken either one of her paws or even a rib. Luckily everything wasn’t as bad as we expected, but she didn’t land on her feet from the fall so it was still a hard impact on her tummy that knocked the wind out of her and kinda left her breathing funny for a few days and it broke most of her claws off, along with a few teeth from her jaw hitting the ground. I was fucking furious at them because of what they have done to my sweet fur child. Mostly because the dumbass who was stupid enough to do it kept on trying to blame it on us like it was our fault when we NEVER open the deck door, let alone we have caught him leaving it wide open all the damn time. So we knew who it was right away. I of course start screaming at him when he gets home that if he doesn’t pay for her vet bills then we will be taking legal action and suing him. He then tries to pick up the broom next to him and hit me with it. I grab it and begin to kick and punch him because my immediate reaction is to defend myself if someone is going to try and hit me with an object and hurt my animals. My other roommate then decides to become violent as well and puts me in choke hold and slams me against the wall while Drew was trying to get him away from me. I was pissed and everyone who has personally has seen me with that much anger knows damn well it’s best to NEVER put me in any type of hold or try to hold onto me at all. It’s better to speak to me with words and look me straight in the face rather than trying to hold onto me, because if you hold onto me I WILL go fucking crazy and most of the time try to bite a chunck of flesh out. Since I know that has always been the most effective way to make someone let go of me when they won’t when I tell them to. So I bit his arm to release me and I punched him a few times in the face. I ended up giving him a pretty nasty black eye and fat lip but honestly... I’m not sorry at all because he shouldn’t have been as aggressive with me as he was. If he didn’t slam me into the wall then he wouldn’t have his ugly purple eye swollen shut. Stupid weak bitch. He then tells on me to his daddy and his daddy tried to play pretend detective on the phone and make it seem like I was in trouble with the police to scare me. I knew right off the bat that it wasn’t a real cop because i’m not stupid but I played along anyways because they said I apparently gave him stitches. I was very concerned at first about the stitches because he went to the hospital but then I found out he just had a little cut on his eyebrow with none. So I told them that if they ever call me again with threats I will be taking action against what has happened to my cat because of them and the fact that they assaulted me as well, leaving multiple huge bruises all over my body that are still here. He didn’t call back after that. Good! Because I am not one to mess with unless you want me to take some form of harsh revenge out on you. So I think I made my point very clear that I don’t ever let anyone harm my animals or loved ones and get away with it free. I will stick up for myself so that nobody will ever try to harm me or them ever again. Point made. Don’t fuck with me unless you want me to go crazy. I am very thankful for all the friends I have who were very supportive during this. It really helps during stressful times. I seriously can’t wait to be out of this house in a few days and start my life over on the positive path I have been aiming for.