#I'm finally anotating this

[bookholichany]

"I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thyeyes."

"When my time comes around

Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth

No grave can hold my body down

I'll crawl home to her"

[unreadpoppy]

so it might take a while for chapter 9 to come out because i finally delivered the big uni project i had and i want to enjoy havin some peace of mind

[anundyingfidelity]

I'M A RUIN — Soldier Boy/Ben (Part I)

Summary: After the events of the Seven Tower, you present Grace Mallory a new secret project you're working on already to develop a cure to Compound V. The only problem? You need Soldier Boy for that.

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x female reader.

Word count: 1,536.

Warnings for series: set after S3 (spoilers), some OOC!Ben, some depressed!Ben, angst, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, slow-burn, language, PTSD, reader has Compound V (she's no Vought supe tho), Soldier Boy being an usual asshole, reader is a fucking liar.

Notes: As soon as I saw him my feminism left my body immediately and my inner voice agreed that I'd let him take away my human rights with no question. He's an absolute idiot, would sleep with him 100%.

Heads up as English is not my native language sooo, yeah you know what follows. Lord pls give me inspo to finish this fic, amen.

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

get yourself in the taglist!

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

GEN MASTERLIST! — SERIES MASTERLIST!

Part I: For The Common Good

Two months.

Two months ago Grace Mallory decided to put the former greatest supe into sleep. Somehow, you managed to get in her head, explaining your new project to her and finding a new use for Soldier Boy, who had enough rest for 40 years.

You knew what happened at the Seven Tower, how Soldier Boy and Butcher's team ended up there to finally kill Homelander. Grace tried doing some shit against Vought before, but she never managed to win. It wasn't different this time. What was better then, that to develop a cure for supes like you, who didn't ask for it? People who never used their powers in public, nor seeked fame and money.

As a doctor in Chemistry, you were developing a cure for Compound V with a secret team. Suitable for you, you were in the same CIA tower Colonel Mallory decided to encapsulate Soldier Boy to, initially, spend the rest of his days in. You had luck Grace gave green light to the project, even though your team was already working on it without her approval anyway. But it was so much better if she found out properly.

Making your way to the super secured wing where Soldier Boy was held out of his sleep, you gripped the folder in your hands. You were scanned thoroughly before going inside a cold space, where two different crystal windows and metal doors separated the place. The armed guard guided you to the first room to check first through the window. You sighed, seeing a man sitting down, hands cuffed to a harsh steel table, gaze lost. It was him.

"The keys," you requested the guard by your side.

"Doctor-"

"I said, keys. He doesn't need to be cuffed."

He complied to your order, clearly annoyed but with a straight face and you walked to the closed door.

"If something happens, I can take care of myself. Don't let anyone inside understand?" you said.

He gave a nod. With that, he let you inside the room, the doors closing behind your back.

The prisoner observed you carefully as soon as you entered. His gaze was tired, but he seemed ready to attack, and it was completely hard to ignore his rough stare on you as you made your way to your seat in front of him. Soldier Boy observed you, placing the folder on the surface, and you held his gaze, not flinching for a second. Until you decided to talk first.

"I am glad you're awake. My name is Y/N, I am a doctor at the facility. Just wanna know how you're doing today," you spoke in a calm and soft way, so he could see you were not a threat.

He saw you roaming through the pages of the file, which he recognized as a copy of his file, and you took a pen from your lab coat to make some anotations.

"Not a smart move to let a fucking doctor here," he said with a deep voice, lips forming a straight line. "What do you want?"

"I want to help you."

"Cut the bullshit."

"I want to talk. If you let me, I will uncuff you so we can have a chat, like civilized people. Just don't try to escape, you won't go too far."

He raised an eyebrow as you reached his wrists and carefully, you set him free from the metal grip.

"I know what happened with Butcher and his boys," you said, confident that he would not try anything else. "About Homelander and your relationship with him."

"What the fuck do you know?" Soldier Boy tensed visibly hearing the name of the bastard. Still, he remained on his seat. "Want some info? You can lick Grace's pussy for that."

"She is, actually, the one who approved me to be here right now," you answered, brushing off his vocabulary. You used to deal with assholes like him all the time.

He scoffed. "Why?"

"Ben," you called his real name softly. "You've been sleeping for four decades. You deserve a second chance, I am offering you that. In some sort of way."

"I'm not going to be part of that freakshow-"

"This has nothing to do with Vought," you cut his words, his tone rising and you knew perfectly why. "You just need to be here in the facility, awake, in a dignified place we will give you so you can learn everything you missed. We can give you therapy, a comfy room, anything you want that's legal, of course..."

His jaw clenched, feeling you would ask for something more. "In exchange of what?"

"I know it's hard, unfortunately you won't be able to get out, but you don't deserve to sleep forever again," you sighed. "I will pay you visits and follow your improvements because you're human, after all. That's all I ask from you," you gave him a smile for the first time.

For a few moments, he said nothing, as if making up his mind about it. "Alright, anything but coming back to that shit hole. I need reefer though."

"Lucky you, that's legal now. We can certainly make it happen."

He looked around the room as you let him go inside first. Not the fanciest, not the shittiest. It had the basics: a bed, a sofa, a TV, a closet, a bookshelf with different books, magazines and newspapers he wasn't sure would read any time, a separate door for a bathroom, enough privacy, and no windows though. It wasn't really a cell, but he did look and felt somehow like a hostage. Just a little less if he could say.

"This is what we have for now, I am all ears if you request something else to have in here," you began as he paced around and tested the bed, sitting down on the mattress.

Ben still wasn't convinced on why you offered this to him. Sceptic, he gave a good look at you, roaming his eyes at your standing figure in a fucking lab coat. Christ, he hated those. Too pretty for a doctor, but too dumb to be locked with a supe like him. He was so tired that he didn't try and hit on you like he normally would with any walking pussy that appeared in plain sight. He was too exhausted to even give a shit.

"Lemme think about it, doctor."

"Of course, take your time," you replied as he walked toward the bookshelf, scanning through the titles there were. He recognized only half of them.

"So, I will be imprisoned here instead of a fucking eggshell," Ben said, turning around to meet you. "Charming," he smirked, dragging the words out of his mouth. "Doing charity."

He watched your face drop as you shook your head. "It's not like that-"

"Then why keep me awake?" Ben insisted as he gave steps to get close to you. "I can't die, it's much easier to force my sleep in a capsule your boss made specially for me."

He stopped mere inches in front of you, your eyes never turned away from him. He thought you were fucking brave just by keeping his dark gaze.

"Ben, I told you I will be watching your progress. You can grow from all of this with our help-"

"What kind of doctor are you?"

"A psychiatrist. That's why I'm here."

Ben scoffed with a grin showing on his lips. He didn't believe in that kind of shit, but oh, well. What was he gonna do about it? He was tired of sleeping, Mallory captured him, and you were here, giving him a shelter for no cost, but his freedom. In his mind, that was temporary of course. With time, a plan would come. Right now, he just needed to keep up with the fucked up things of the modern world.

"I guess you would come and babysit me then," he said, going back to take a sit on the bed.

"Wouldn't use 'babysit you' but I will come to see you, that's for sure."

He nodded. Silence was his answer, so you continued.

"Just general rules. Our people will bring you three meals a day, if you're missing something that you need then just push the button by the door, there will be guards outside to assist you on that. Also, there are clothes your size on the closet and personal products so you can change and take a shower," he stayed silent again, just taking in your words. "If you don't need anything then I leave you to get comfortable," you said, about to leave.

"Wait. I do need something," he hesitated for a moment, but he continued anyway. "Don't use those lab coats when you come in."

Your eyes widened, he quickly realised you already knew why he was requesting that when you started to take off the coat, revealing your formal attire. You wrapped the coat on your arm and cleaned your throat.

"I totally understand, I will keep that in mind when I come tomorrow. And I will ask for your reefer too."

You flashed a final polite smile and left him to get settled. Ben breathed out. Fuck, he really needed a shower.

[melminli]

Devil's Advocate

pairing: hazbin hotel x fem. reader

summery - after you died, you didn't really find it surprising to end up in hell. though, what you did find quite amusing was that your life down here sucked just a bit less than the one before.

word count: 2k

contains: cursing, strong language, sinner reader, violence, religious themes (obviously), sexual themes, demon horniness

part II

"What a fucking nightmare." You muttered to yourself in annoyance as you got out of the car that had driven you up the hill. You slammed the door behind you and didn't bother to look back as the car drove away, your eyes glued to the huge hotel in front of you. You looked grimly at the building for a short while until you finally decided to walk to the door. "Someone's going to get fucked if he's not in this shitty hotel, I swear to God."

Your hand was about to knock on the door when, to your surprise, it was suddenly yanked open. You hadn't even had a chance to touch the wood with your knuckles. "A new guest! Hello! So nice to meet you. My name is Charlie!" Shouted an enthusiastic voice with stars in her eyes as she excitedly grabbed your hand and pulled you inside. She didn't even give you a chance to give her a reaction. "Vaggie! Look! Look, I told you I had a good feeling today! And that good feeling is actually here!"

Her girlfriend looked at your figure with puckered eyes. Vaggie looked at your most prominent features one by one. Cat-like, four eyes, and a fifties style...oh no. "Charlie? I think that - " she began, slightly worried, but didn't get to finish her sentence.

"I'm just here for a visit." You quickly announced before things could get any more difficult and saw the princess's happy mood drop at your words as she let go of your hand at the same time. "I apologize if I gave the wrong impression but you don't happen to have a pussy working around here?" You asked with interest, looking around the room as your eyes landed on a bar. Well, this couldn't have been made easier for you. Your eyes narrowed slightly as you only spotted a spider-like figure on one of the chairs.

"Well, only if ya talking about our good-looking Husky." He said with a big grin on his face and pointed behind him. You could then hear a deep voice swearing. Still, he didn't give himself away, and you sighed at his childish behavior as you stepped closer to the bar. "There's no reason for you to hide anymore. You've already been exposed." You said as you narrowed your eyes at the empty space until he finally appeared. "Fuck you, Angel..." he grunted out.

"Why don't ya do it for me ~ "

You all ignored his flirting. Charlie, out of her own curiosity, decided to move closer to the scene as well. After all, it could still be the case that you would eventually decide to give the hotel a shot. She didn't want to completely rule out this possibility, even if it was a small one. "Oh, so you're here to see Husker?" She asked you, finally seeing the resemblance between the two of you. Well, you both had a cat-like appearance, after all. "Oh! Are you two siblings?"

You laughed. "No. At this point, I'm even doubting whether I'm even friends with this fucker." You answered her when your mood turned sour and you hit the table angrily with both your fists. "Where the hell have you been! I've been looking all over the place to find your ass!" You yelled out, causing the others to flinch slightly at your tone.

"...look, it's a bit difficult to explain. I didn't think about telling you where I am because - " he tried to explain himself when you interrupted him.

You waved your right hand in the air, uninterested. "Yeah, I don't give a damn where you are. I'm not your mother." You said and then crossed your arms. "What I do care about is when your stupid little friend kills my employees to steal my fucking money." You said as your eyes darkened. "And you know how I feel about my money."

Oh, fuck me.

Before the conversation between you could continue, you were interrupted by another voice that wasn't afraid to intrude on the conversation. "Oh my, do we have a problem here?" He asked with a broad smile as he appeared out of nowhere.

Charlie looked at the scene a little nervously. Why am I starting to get a bad feeling? She was briefly interrupted by her worries as Vaggie leaned closer to her so she could whisper something to her ear. "I couldn't tell you before, but that woman over there is the person who owns the banks in hell. Like, all of them. I only heard of her until now." She murmured to her. "As you can guess, she's somewhat of a big deal...they call her She-Devil."

Well, I suppose that's why. The Princess of Hell looked between your irritated figure and Alastor while sweating a little. Two powerful demons in one room couldn't be a good sign, not in this hotel. She tried to calm down and stay positive. Maybe nothing will happen? Maybe they will become friends.

You blinked a few times before looking up and down at the unknown figure to take in his appearance. Then you turned to Husker and pointed your thumb at the guy. "Who the hell is this smiley freak. Do you know him?" You asked, annoyed, and even though you lowered your volume a little, everyone in the room could still hear you clearly enough. Well, it wasn't like you were trying to be subtle or anything, you didn't really care if they heard. "Hey Knuckles, is that your hair or your ears? I can't quite make it out." You laughed as your tail swung comfortably behind you.

Oh no. Everyone in the room looked a little worried at your figure, not really daring to say a word, let alone laugh along.

Alastor's smile looked a little strained as he turned his head robotically to the side. "Allow me to introduce myself. The name is Alastor. Pleasure to meet you, sweetheart. Quite the pleasure." He said, holding his hand out in front of him, and you shook it without a care in the world. Now that you had heard his name, it sounded familiar. "Alastor...aren't you that Radio Devil?"

His eye twitched slightly. "Radio Demon, to be exact."

Oh.

A slight smile graced your face. "Didn't know you were back in town. Does that mean you're coming back to the radio business? 'Cause I hate that podcast of the 2D face and could use some good entertainment." You asked him and saw Husker give you an annoyed look. He's trying to tell me something, but what is it...

You thought for a few seconds and looked back at Alastor until you finally realized it. You looked back and forth between the two of them, and Husker raised an eyebrow at you as if to say, you finally got it?

Oh.That Alastor.

After your comment, the Radio Demon seemed to be in a better mood. "Oh, thank you, my dear. You got quite a good taste there, which is getting harder and harder to find these days." He replied with his familiar smile. "But to get back to your question, I guess I have to say...I'm not called the Radio Demon for nothing."

Of course not. "Good." You say and turn back to the bartender. "Now, where were we? Oh right, I was about to fuck you up." You announced and were about to climb over the bar to let your fists do the talking, only to be stopped by the many arms of the spider next to you. "Whoa, calm down Kitty Kat! As much as I'd love to see the pussy fight between ya two, why don't we hear the man out first, huh?"

You groaned. These people wouldn't let you do your job. "Because we're in hell? And nobody gives a shit?" You rub your forehead, exhausted. "But whatever, talk then."

Husker's head slowly looked up from behind the counter. "...remember how I said that Larry is a very good friend of mine who you can trust completely and that you can therefore give him a job in your company without worrying?" He said carefully before continuing. "Yeah, I lied about that. I lost to him in a game a long time ago, and I owed him a favor."

You looked around the room. "Did you hear that? Are you happy now? I just wanted to punch him in the face and call him stupid names to get it out of my system, but now I'm not only angry but also disappointed...he doesn't even bother to apologize." You said and sat down. You interrupted him before he could say a word. "Just make me a drink since it's the only thing you're good at."

This could have ended worse. Charlie took a step towards you so she could stand next to you. "Well, now that you're here, I can tell you about the concept of our hotel! I'm sure you won't want to leave once you've heard it." She announced cheerfully, unable to read the room at all. She was also just pretty desperate to get more people into this hotel and had a hard time dealing with the fact that the only one who she got in wanted to leave again.

Her girlfriend was about to tell her that maybe this was a bad time to bring it up, but surprisingly, you didn't mind talking about it. "Oh, you don't need to. I've already heard a few things." You began giving the girl hope as you didn't have that demeaning undertone that other people usually had. "You're planning to rehabilitate sinners here, no?"

"Yes! Do you want to give it a shot?"

You shook your head. "Not really." You replied, unknowingly shattering her dreams. Your hand reached for your drink as you turned to the spider next to you. "And the last time I checked, they don't let gay people in there, darling."

Angel Dust rolled his eyes. "Well, ain't that good fucking news. Does that mean I can stop being clean? 'Cause I don't wanna to stop sucking dick." He said and acted dramatically. Tears came up and were about to run down his cheeks when a single beam of light shone on him as he leaned on a chair with his chest. "Ya guys know I love sucking dick."

Panicked, Charlie waved her hands aggressively in the air. "No, of course not! There are gay people in heaven!" She shouted out until she realized she wasn't so sure about that. She needed to do more research on the rules up there. She turned to her girlfriend, looking to her for support. "Isn't that right, Vaggie? There are gay people in heaven?"

She assured everyone in the room. "Of course, there are gay people in heaven."

"Okay, good," Charlie pronounced as she let out a relieved breath with one hand on her chest. She then happily turned back to Angel Dust. "So, you can continue to stay clean then, Angel."

He had a bit of a disappointed look on his face while he sluggishly held his arm in the air to celebrate. "Yay, woo..."

[megamindsecretlair]

Break My Heart

Pairing: Javier Pena x Black!Fem!reader

Warnings: 18+. Minors DNI. You are in charge of your own reading experience. There is smut! PWP, PIV, size kink, kinda toxic, spanking, pet names. Non-inclusive language. Somes sentences are intentional AAVE. Apologies if I missed some.

Summary: You intended to spend New Year's Eve alone, per usual. But Javi's pestering convinced you to have a few drinks with the team. You want to remain strong and resist him but you aren't sure for how long.

Word Count: 3,421k

A/N: Ahhh, my first Pedro fic. This was intimidating! Even after watching more of the show. Be gentle, I'm sensitive 'bout it LOL. This was still fun and so hot and lordt, I need him so badly. Likes are always awesome. Please considering commenting and reblogging to help support writers!

Taglist: @nerdieforpedro @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @browngirldominion @thecookiebratz

“You’re coming to the bar with us, right?” 

You looked up from your desk to see Javi hovering over you, entirely too close. He knows you hate that. He’s always crowding into your space. Leaning too close, leaning that sinful ass on your desk, or bending down to turn those puppy brown eyes on you. 

He smelled like cigarettes and sweat. A combination that shouldn’t be so hot, but here you were. 

“No,” you said with a smile. 

“Come on, you’re hurting my feelings,” he said. He had a sleepy way of talking that immediately turned your thoughts dirty. Thinking of what he must sound like first thing in the morning. But that line of thinking was dangerous. You just hadn’t had a good fucking in a while. 

“Aww, you don’t have any feelings, Javi,” you said. You gave him an extra sugary smile and he huffed a laugh and looked around the office. He leaned his ass against your desk and you sighed loudly for his benefit. 

The office was noisy, filled with agents running around chasing down leads. With your complexion, you were relegated to the office. You were an agent in name only and it pissed you off. The higher ups thought that they could stick you in the ass end of South America and you’d quit.

Joke was on them. You loved the food here and there wasn’t a person alive that could get you to quit being an agent. 

“Maybe I’d have some feelings if you finally agreed to go out with me,” Javi said. 

You wrinkled your nose. You’d happily climb on Peña if he wasn’t such a slut. Not that you were in the market for commitment. The last thing you needed was to get caught up with someone, especially at work, when you were still trying to prove yourself to the agency. 

“I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole, Javi,” you said.

Javier only licked his lips and smiled. His fingers played with a cigarette but all of his attention was on you. “So, what, I need to find an eleven foot pole?” 

You rolled your eyes and fought off your smirk. You didn’t need to encourage him. “What favor do you want this time, Javi?” You asked. 

“I want you to finally say yes! We’ve been working together for years and you won’t even give me the time of day,” he said. 

“Why would I do that?” You asked. Fuck it, the numbers were starting to swim in your head anyway. If Javi was good for anything, it was a distraction. You sat back in your seat and prepared yourself for the Javi show. 

He smirked and turned those puppy eyes up to a thousand. “You know we’d be good together,” he said. His voice even got deeper. 

You weren’t entirely immune to Javier Peña. There were more than a few times that you caught yourself staring at his ass. Or that damn black shirt that clung to him in all the right places. Your favorite time was when he got back to the office from chasing a lead all day. The way he got so flustered and sweaty. The way his hair would plaster to his head and he’d settle into the office with a deep sigh and a soft curse. 

You looked away from him so he wouldn’t see the downright lust in your eyes. No, you were not immune to Javier Peña but everyone knew his vices. You were not trying to be another notch on his belt. 

Your eyes roamed to the desk in front of you. In their infinite wisdom, the higher ups also put you in front of Javi and Murphy’s office. They thought it was real hilarious to wave the lonely Black woman in front of Javi the slut. They were itchin’ to ditch you. That also meant that no one else sat around here. The empty desk in front of you was a dumping ground for random files, donuts, or supplies.

There were times when people left random food there for anyone to snack on. Like now, there was a jar of pickles on the desk abandoned and swimming in pickle juice. You smirked and looked at Javi. 

“Javi, there is no way on the green earth that I would entertain this,” you said.

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” He asked. 

“Because you’re a pickle,” you said and smirked. 

He laughed and shook his head. “What?” 

“A pickle! You’re like…community pickle,” you said. You waved your hand for him to catch your drift. He just stared at you, patient, focused. It was unnerving to be on the other side of that look. 

Your throat dried and you had the sudden urge to disappear. To leave that sight line. But you forged on. Maybe he’d get insulted and move on. “See that jar? You’re like those pickles. You’re on every burger, every sandwich, readily available,” you said.

Javier tilted his head. “Are you calling me a slut?” 

“Your word, not mine,” you said.

“I didn’t take you for someone who listens to rumors,” Javi said. 

You laughed. “Rumors? Javi, you scream it loud and clear for anyone to hear,” you said. 

Javi waved your comment off. He looked around the office and then slid closer. You leaned back, scooting your chair back. He wore a denim shirt, open at the collar, and his tanned skin showed through. You brought your eyes back to his, though that wasn’t any better. He was a danger to your sanity.

“Come on. Have a drink with me,” he said. 

You sighed and rubbed your head. “We already tried this, Javi,” you said. 

“When?” He asked, sounding offended. 

“Hmm, ‘bout six months after I got here. You asked me out, I said not on your life. We did that surveillance job together and you wore me down. Said let’s meet up and we never did,” you said.

Javi held his hand to his heart. “You’re killing me, princesa. I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said. 

A shiver ran through you and you hated it. You had to be strong around this man, though you really, really didn’t want to. “I’m not mad, Javi, it’s just in your nature.” You stood up and placed your hand on his shoulder. It was a huge mistake, but you pretended to be nonchalant. You tapped his shoulder and walked around him. 

You went to the wall of file cabinets and dug through for the next set of numbers you needed anyway. Javi followed you, getting even closer. He leaned against a cabinet and smiled. 

“I think you’re just scared,” he said.

“Scared of what?” You asked.

“Getting close to us. To me,” he said. His eyes dropped to your mouth. You almost couldn’t believe his audacity. 

You couldn’t help licking your lips and his eyes flicked up to yours. “If I go…”

“Yes!” 

“If I go, you’re buying all of my drinks and you’re keeping your hands to yourself. Got it?” You asked. 

“Scout’s honor,” he said.

“You’ve never been a fuckin’ Boy Scout,” you said.

Javi shrugged and smirked. “You never asked,” he said. He walked backwards, looking at you with that satisfied, smug smile on his face. “See you tonight!” 

Why not, it was New Year’s after all. 

Later that night, you were nervously walking up to the bar. It was a bar friendly enough to Americans. The air was balmy but comfortable and you opted for a short purple dress and short heels. Your purse swung on your shoulder and you mentally prepared yourself to see Javi off the clock.

You knew that other people would be there and you weren’t expecting any funny business, but it was still nerve wracking. You made a career of being ice cold because that was all anyone expected of you. The minute you laughed or - goodness forbid - showed a personality, the guys suddenly remembered that you were a woman. 

You walked inside to a raucous mix of Spanish and English. The words hit you even over the loud music, drinks clinking, and general rowdiness of the bar. You found your group easy enough. They took up an entire corner of the bar. Murphy saw you first. The huge white boy stuck out even more than you did but he seemed to make it work, despite not knowing a lick of Spanish.

He waved you over and you approached the table. Some of the other guys looked you over. Look it over, boys. You inwardly smiled. You knew that you had a great figure that you hid under ugly and boring business suits. It was rare that you got to go out in something pretty for once, so you might have spruced things up more than usual. 

Javi turned to see you, his eyes roaming over your outfit, and you felt the tips of your ears burn. You sat down, immediately swiping Javi’s beer and taking a sip. He let you, still not having said a word.

“Find this place okay?” Murphy asked.

You nodded. “Surprised to see you out too!” You had to yell over the noise but he heard you. 

“Only to show my face. Gonna head home and celebrate with the missus,” he said.

You nodded. You turned your attention to Javi who still hadn’t said anything. “Mad I stole your drink, Javi?” 

Like waking from a stupor, Javi shook his head. “Who knew there was a girl under there,” he said.

You shoved him and rolled your eyes but laughed along with the table. “I’m surprised you can recognize one with her clothes on,” you said.

The guys at the table erupted into laughter. Javi’s personal activities were a well-known fact by this point. Javi waved everyone off.

“Since we’re laughing, we might as well laugh about the prank on poor Murphy,” Javi said.

Your eyes rounded as Javi betrayed you to Murphy. Murphy’s jaw dropped as he looked at you. “That was you?”

“That was all Javi’s idea!” 

“You stand there and accuse me, but where were you at the time?” Oh, he sounded so innocent and wounded.

You tried to kick him under the table but he moved his leg at the last moment. “I was…” You tried to think of a good excuse for your whereabouts as you hid Murphy’s things while Javi kept him distracted. It was an innocent prank, but it had Murphy in a panic.

Everyone snickered and laughed while Murphy hunted and stalked around the office. It was a team effort and you tried to convey that without words while you looked at Javi.

“Wow, real nice,” Murphy said with a smile.

At least he was a sport about it. You glared at Javi but he only smirked. Ass. But it was the icebreaker you needed. The other guys warmed up to you and began to tell you wild stories about their hunt for the elusive Pablo Escobar. It seemed like no matter what they tried, Pablo already bought his way several steps ahead. 

You listened as they told you the sanitized version of some of the skirmishes they got into. How they found people connected to Pablo but each one was too scared to speak. How they were trying to work with the local police but Pablo had more than half of them on the payroll. 

It made you sick that someone could just pay their way to the top like that. It wasn’t lost on any of you that one wrong move and it was your ass. 

True to his word, Javi kept his hands to himself for the most part. He bought you drink after drink, until you finally had to stop and drink some water before you ended up stumbling home. No thank you. You did not need the hangover in the morning, celebrating the new year or not. 

Javi did other things. He shifted in his seat and always managed to brush against your bare leg. He would turn his whole body towards you when you were speaking and then turn completely around when you weren’t. He was driving you nuts and you wanted to smack him.

“What is your deal?” You whispered to him while the other guys were preoccupied with Murphy leaving. 

“You!” He said.

“Me?!” You smacked his arm. He rubbed his legs and took a deep swig of his beer. 

“Wearing that!” He hissed.

“What are you talking about?” Murphy was making his way around the table, saying goodbye individually. Any minute, he would make it to your side. 

“I just want to…rip that damn dress off. You tell me to keep my hands to myself and you come in wearing that,” he said. 

You reared back as if he’d slapped you. Javi had dabbled in harmless flirting since you met him. It was just how he interacted with women. Truly, you didn’t hold it against him. But the way he was acting right now…it was a mistake coming here.

Because of the drinks you had, the atmosphere, the celebratory mood…you suddenly couldn’t remember why you were fighting this man so hard. 

“It’s just a dress, Javi,” you breathed. Your heartbeat sped up in your chest, thumping in your chest painfully. Your hands shook and you rubbed the tips of your fingers together. 

“Like hell…” Javi started. Murphy made his way to the end of the table, shaking Javi’s hand and giving you a hug. 

“See you in the office.”

You smiled at Murphy but you had no way of remembering what you said. Your eyes were on Javi. His eyes were on you. 

“I’ll be back, bathroom,” you said. You scooped up your purse from the table and disappeared down the short hallway towards the bathrooms. The dim lights were actually a blessing.

You didn’t want to think about how you looked at the moment. You didn’t want to see if you looked as needy as you felt. You didn’t want your dirty thoughts projected all over your face for anyone to pick up on. 

You were careful. You were smart. You avoided Peña like the plague and you didn’t need to be here right now. 

A knocking on the door tore you from your spirling thoughts. “A second!” 

The knocking continued obnoxiously and you finally had to approach the door and open it a crack. “I said–” 

Javi pushed into the room, closing and locking the door behind him. “Javi!” 

Javi slammed his lips against yours, groaning once you made contact. You melted instantly, wrapping your hands around his shoulders and molding your body against his. He groaned low in his throat and pulled up your dress. His fingers dragged along your thighs and you sighed.

You were chasing relief. Your skin was feverish. The wet heat of the night did not mix well with the cheap beer you consumed. You felt like you were crawling out of your skin with a red hot need. Need for Javier fucking Peña of all people. 

“Tell me to stop, princesa,” he groaned against your lips.

“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” you moaned. His thick fingers were working magic on you, dagging along your skin and igniting a fire in your veins. His fingers found your panties and he yanked them down, nearly snapping the flimsy fabric. You kicked them off to the side, not caring where they ended up.  

Your hands worked furiously to unbuckle his belt, unbutton his jeans, and slide that zipper down. Your hands reached in eagerly, palming him, and he groaned. His lips descended on your neck, biting and licking away the gathering sweat.

You shoved his pants down low enough to free that dangerous dick you heard so much about. He was long and thick, easily backing up his claims. You see why he had so much sex. He was practically built for it. Sculpted for it. He was forged by the gods to hand deliver pleasure.

His hands squeezed your hips, slipping down to your ass to grab and pinch and yank closer to his body. He lifted your leg  and placed it over his hip. He rubbed the tip of his dick through your slick folds. He moaned and bit your neck.

“Fuck, princesa. Have you been sitting there wet for me?” His voice was so deep and dark and filthy in this dim bathroom. 

“Whole time,” you said, licking his lips and pulling him by the hair for another kiss. For a taste of those lips soaked in beer and cigarettes and something uniquely spicy and all Javi.

He groaned and finally shoved in roughly. Your head fell back against the wall as you cried out. He was so big and it had been so long and fuck, he felt so good. Why did you deny yourself this? Why would you do that? 

You panted in his ear as he slid out and then shoved back in. He was fucking you. There was nothing sweet about how hard he gripped your thighs, how roughly he fucked into you, or how loudly he groaned against your chest. He licked the top of your breasts, the part exposed from the cleavage of your dress. 

Javi sped up as if he couldn’t help himself. As if he needed to keep going, needed to stake his claim. He lifted your leg higher, spreading you wider, as he continued to pound into your pussy. 

“Oh fuck, Javi,” you moaned.

“Say it again, princesa. Again,” he moaned. 

“Javi, Javi,” you moaned as he pounded into you so fiercely, you were seeing stars as you came. Flooding his dick with your arousal. Filling up the tiny room with shrieks and screams. It was drowned out by the ruckus of the bar. Noise exploded as you assumed it finally turned midnight. 

This was a hell of a way to ring in the new year. 

“Love feelin’ this pussy, princesa,” Javi moaned. He slipped out and you cried out, needing him back inside. He kissed your cheek and smirked. “I wanna see that ass.” 

He flipped you over. He shoved you against the low sink to your right. Your hands gripped the porcelain as he thrust back inside. You bit your lip and moaned lewdly. You didn’t give a fuck who heard. 

Javi smacked your ass once, twice, three times as he continued to rut inside of you. You looked up at the dirty mirror and looked at his gorgeous, focused face as he pounded you into oblivion. 

“Fuck, fuck, right there, Javi,” you moaned. You brought your hand back to dig into his hair. You gripped his fine brown hair and pulled. Javi groaned and licked the shell of your ear, nibbling on it while his hips slapped into yours. 

“Javi, I’m–”

“Shh, shh, let me feel it,” he whispered in your ear. You finally exploded once more, cumming with a sharp vengeance that robbed you of all breath. Javi thrusted two more times before joining you, moaning as he unloaded inside of you. 

His cum stuffed you and he thrusted at least once more time with a groan. He dropped against you, kissing the back of your neck and shoulder. Your legs were noodles. Your thighs shook as you calmed down from such a rough fucking.

Screwing Javi was absolutely everything you imagined and it sucked. It was like tasting paradise knowing you’ll never return. It was cruel and you hung your head thinking about what everyone was going to say.

Something like this? Office fodder. And once they got a hold of it, they were not going to let you live it down. They would give him hi-fives and they would judge the hell out of you. Although with his dick still inside you, you couldn’t bring yourself to care too much.

Javi softened and slipped out of you. You cleaned yourselves up in silence. It was like that wild, crazy and burning need was finally sated. You could think straight for once, see more clearly and breathe easier. 

Javi zipped himself back up and you retrieved your panties, stuffing them into your purse. Javi sidled up to you, pulling your hips until you were too close. 

“You don’t have to do this, Javi,” you said. 

Javi nuzzled your neck and placed a soft kiss there. “Maybe I want to do it,” he said.

“You know this was the first and only time, right?” There was enough light to see him smirk. 

“We just gettin’ started, princesa,” he said with a wink.

The Secret Javier Pena Files - not sure if there will be more, but never say never.

[the-broken-truth]

A Father's Son [Part 5 - Finale] - Miguel O'Hara w/ Teenage Spider Son Reader

Summary: Miguel O'Hara has gone too far - kidnapping Gabriella against her will and harming me to get to her. I'm going after them and I'm going to make Miguel O'Hara pay for taking my sister and coming to my Earth.

"Let me go, you big bully! You hurt my big brother!" Gabriella yelled as she pounded away on Miguel's Shoulder with her tiny hands as he walked along the roof of the newspaper building before placing the girl on her feet and clicking some buttons on the strange watch he was wearing before a red ringed portal appeared before him, he turned to collect Gabriella when he saw she was no longer beside him; he looked around and saw her standing by the edge of the building with anger in her eyes.

"Mija, it's time to go. I'll be a better guardian to you than [Name] ever was." Miguel said as she slowly walked over to Gabriella but she warned him to not come closer or she was going to jump. "Mija, you're not going to jump; just come to your father and let me take you to your new home."

"This is my home. My place with Elder Brother, who picked me up from the streets when I had no one and made me into the person I am today. you're not going to take me away from here just because you lost your daughter and you want to replace her! You're not using me!" The little girl said as she stood on the edge of the building and looked down at the rushing streets below.

"Gabriella, you don't understand. [Name] was a failure - he wasn't what I needed him to be but you are exactly what I need. I would never treat you like you're second rate, just come with me and let me help you with a better life." Miguel lifted his hand to grab the girl but she just glared at him and let her body fall back off the building, "GABRIELLA!" Miguel watched as the girl fell...until a black blur dashed through his line of sight and Gabriella was gone; she didn't hit the ground but where did she go?

Suddenly, [Name] appeared over the side of the building with Gabriella in his hands, snuggling under his chin with her hands gripping his jacket.

"I knew you would save me, Big Brother." Gabriella smiled as tears escaped her eyes while [Name] rubbed her back while glaring at Miguel, who glared at him back.

"I would never leave you, Gabriella. Now, I'm going to deal with him, go hide, Ella." [Name] said as he placed her on her feet and she ran to the building's rooftop opening and hid behind it. "You have a lot of nerve, O'Hara. Coming to my earth and kidnapping my sister for your own twisted vision. I'm giving you one chance - leave my earth and never return or I'm going to break your body and throw you back into that portal."

"I'm not going anywhere with my daughter, you waste of flesh. Give her to me and stay out of my way." Miguel demanded but he shot a web at [Name], who dodged it before he noticed Miguel running at the with his fists balled, before Miguel could touch him, his fist was caught and [Name's] fingers wrapped around Miguel's hand but when Miguel tried to pull away, he was stuck. "Let go of me, Mistake!"

"I'm sick of you, O'Hara." [Name] said as Sleeper started taking over [Name's] Body, causing him to grow and glare down at his father without the symbiote's mask, "You have done nothing to hurt me! Disrespect me and my mother! You come to my earth and take my sister from me! We are going to destroy you and make you regret coming here!" Sleeper's Mask took over [Name's] face and roared in Miguel's face before he lifted his fist and shot forward into Miguel's face, causing the man to skip along the ground like a stone. Miguel goes on his hands and knees, shaking his head to get the dizzy feeling out of his head before looking at Sleeper, who marched in Migeul's Direction.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Miguel asked as he rose to his feet, Sleeper lifted his hand to smash Miguel into the roof but when the giant creature shot forward, Miguel jumped out of the way and fired another web at Sleeper, who grabbed the ropes and pulled the webs towards him and clotheslined him, making him crash into the roof. Miguel tried to stand but Sleeper put his foot on Miguel's chest, keeping him still. "Get off me, Creature! Where is my son?!"

"Son?! You dare call us him a son after everything you have done to him?! You made him feel unloved and unwanted! You took him away from his other because you wanted someone to push him around! Once you told him that you didn't want him or what him, he went to his mother to say goodbye and his mother and my parent gave me to him. I am Sleeper and I shall break your body into pieces!" Sleeper said as she stomped on Miguel's chest, making him sink into the roof. With another stomp, the roof started cracking, one last stomp, and Miguel when falling through the roof with a big boom. Sleeper went after him and grabbed him by the head and threw him into the wall after the people moved away screaming.

"[Name], Let go of me! I'm your father and you shall listen to me!" Miguel demanded as he grabbed Sleeper's forearm ad tried to pull him off but the Symbiote slammed the man into the wall and charged him through other walls until they were out of the streets and Sleper threw Miguel into the street with a large boom in a crater. Miguel struggled to get out of the ground but Sleeper stomped on him again, making blood leak from his mouth as he screamed in agony.

"Look at the Great Leader of the Spider-Society, broken and beaten like I once was but now the tables have turned and now you are nothing but a sack of meat. Maybe I should put you out of your misery." Sleeper said as he opened his large jaws and slowly put Miguel's head in his mouth but before he could be down, the image of Gabriella flashed through his mind and he pulled Miguel's head out of his mouth and looked at him. "I won't be the most that you think I am; you've done enough, don't come before me again I'm sending you home."

Sleeper jumped back to the top of the news building with Miguel in his grasp and looked at him again before throwing him into the portal and pulling Sleeper off his body, transforming him back into a jacket. He called out for Gabriella, who came from her hiding spot and ran over to her brother and picked her up, and hugged her tightly - he was going to protect his sister for as long as she needed him and the world that he now called home.

[astarionancuntnin]

Die For You (Chapter 3)

summary: after your first meal in days, you realise astarion might not be all bad like you originally thought. when he offers you more comfort, you start to question his intentions, and yourself.

rating: T

word count: 3.8k

pairing: astarion x you (fem!reader, implied fighter/noble!tav)

cw: a shit ton of tension

a/n: thank you to everyone who voted on both the tumblr poll and the comment section on ao3 of the previous chapter! This gave me a better idea of where to take this. I'm already almost done working on the next two chapters!

a/n²: THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE! I officially retconned some early dialogue from ch. 1 to make it more loyal the canon dialogue you can get with astarion following his ascension (mightve speedran a third playthrough to get there), and a few lines in ch.2 + added anoter part at the end that was originally meant for ch3 but finishing it on what i previously had felt off, so i reworked it to make it more fit the storyline (you might wanna take a peek). this update took more time because of these edits (i also changed a few parts of how i had originally written ch.3 - that took the longest time to assure for a good continuity) NOW WERE BACK IN BUSINESS

previous chapter

read on ao3

next chapter (soon...)

or keep reading down below~

You don't love me like you think you do You don't know I'm just as bad as you

When you awaken the next morning, the first thing you feel is the ache in your muscles. It had been forever since you were able to sleep soundly, and your body made sure to remind you every time you tried to move a muscle. You were thankful for the soft bed and you didn’t want to leave it, but the smell of your dirty clothes brought you to your senses; you were long overdue for a change of clothes. 

You struggle to get up, but you painfully manage to rest up on your elbows, scanning the room surrounding you. You didn’t want to stay in your putrid clothes, but everything you owned was still neatly packed in the room you rented at the local inn. With a boost of determination, you finally get on your feet to explore the large room. That’s when you notice another door and you open it to discover your very own bathroom. After spending days rotting away in a cell wearing the same clothes, you admit that a bath sounds delightful.

You briefly remember the spawn from the night prior and shout an uncertain ‘Hello?’ that is quickly followed by her opening the door to your room and stepping in, awaiting your next command. She was so quick to answer that you wondered how long she had been standing outside your room.

“Can you run me a bath? Please?”

“Of course, would you like Lord Ancunín to join you?”

“What?!” You’re completely taken aback by the suggestion. “No absolutely not, I would like to be alone.” The audacity. As if you wanted to endure his presence any longer than necessary.

“As you wish, my lady,” the spawn says, as she gets your bath ready for you. Once done, she bows to you and leaves you alone. 

You remove your dirty clothes, carelessly tossing them aside. Taking a good look at them, you don’t even think there would be a point to washing them; your last few days had been rough on you and them, you realise, with the stitching coming apart at a few places. You step into the lukewarm water and close your eyes as you let yourself sink, your breath leaving your lungs progressively until you’re laying flush with your head against the edge of the bath. Your body completely submerged in the water creates the feeling of a warm blanket comforting you, and you let yourself melt in its embrace. When you take your next breath, you’re hit with Astarion’s signature smell; the strong notes of bergamot and rosemary invade your nostrils and suddenly, he’s polluting your thoughts.

You’re taken back to a simpler time, nights when he was still vulnerable and you would let him feed on you, where he would get lost in your neck, and you would get lost in the feeling of his mouth against your skin. Your mind wanders further, as you remember the nights you got even closer; the touch of his cold but delicate hands over your warm skin, his delicate attention after drinking from you, each kiss a silent thank you and I'm sorry. For him, you would’ve done it every night without a second thought, until the end of your life. 

You don’t realise that your thighs have been rubbing against each other, trying to chase relief from the memories you imposed on yourself; memories of his tongue, his hands, his lustful praises, his otherworldly adoration of you. You lose track of time, and a knock on the door brings you out of your reverie abruptly. 

“Breakfast is served, my lady.” You hear through the door. “You’re invited to join, whenever you’re ready.”

You cast aside the daydream you had lost yourself in, unsure if your flushed cheeks were caused by the initial warmth of the bath or your memories of the past, and begrudgingly get out of the water, quickly grabbing a nearby towel to cover up. You walk back into your room where you find a beautiful, dark blue dress with a plunging collar, and black lace all around it and the wrists, laid out for you on your bed. You inspect it some more, noticing the embedded dark brown leather belt at the waist, before slipping into it to realise it's a perfect fit. Of course. This can’t be a coincidence, you think. This wasn’t just some dress he bought, this was made specifically for you. The thought annoys you immensely, but you put the feeling aside for now, walking out of your room at last to follow the spawn to the familiar dining room. Astarion is there as usual, but this morning he seems less tense than before. Happy, even.

“Good morning, my sweet. I hope you slept well.” He smiles as he eyes you up and down, admiring how nice this dress shapes your form.

“I did,” you pause momentarily, reflecting on whether you should let the next words come out. You don’t know why you're struggling so much to utter them, when it was so easy to let it slip the previous day. You take a deep breath and finally speak up. “Thank you.”

He leans back in his chair, pleased. “So, I take it you’ve been enjoying your new commodities?”

“I have, I suppose–” One spawn pulls out your usual chair for you and you pause before sitting down, the act leaving you more and more confused. “...I’m just wondering why you would offer me a room.”

“So you could sleep comfortably after your first meal in days, obviously.”

“But why now? Why not throw me back into that cell I’ve been in for the last, what,  tenday?” 

“That would simply be rude. Your room was ready, it's only fair you get to sleep in it now.”

You take a moment to process the words. “My room?”

“Of course, darling. I doubt you'd want to share a room with me so soon, as much as I would love to,” He gives you a salacious look, one that you recognize from your time spent together in the past. You feel your cheeks grow warm from his gaze. “Until then, you get your own space.”

As you reflect on his answer, your eyes wander over your plate and the rest of the delicacies placed on the long table, and it sparks more questions out of you, although unrelated. “Why do you always have so much food made? Even if I ate, I would never eat this much.”

“This way you can choose whatever you prefer. Isn't it nice to have the luxury of choice?”

You’re taken aback by his generosity. It was such a contrast to the treatment he imposed on you these last few days, you’re not sure what to make of it. Was he genuinely being good or was this some sort of twisted trap? “The food, and now the room, and this,” you gesture towards the dress, “What are you trying to prove?”

“Nothing wicked, I assure you, my dear. I’m just trying to show you how…. Beneficial it is, when you cooperate.”

You lay back in your chair, crossing your arms “And just why would I want to cooperate? Are you going to torture me if I don’t?”

“Depends if your definition of torture includes galas, parties, and soirees among the high society.”

“I’m sorry– what?”

He stands up to walk towards you. “You’ll see soon enough.”

“Even if I did, I hardly have anything to wear, I doubt I–”

“Nonsense.” He cuts you off. “I already have the perfect dress in mind for you.”

“Another one? What about my clothes? And all my stuff back at the inn?”

“Oh darling, you can leave those rags, I could have a whole wardrobe ordered just for you.” He sits on the edge of the table, right next to you.

“This is… a lot. I– I don’t know what to say.”

“You can start with a ‘thank you’. And as for the rest, well, we can work out the details later.”

Your clothes were pretty bland, they looked like nothing exceptional given they served you on your continuous adventures; they were meant to be dirtied. You would probably indulge in the offer if it had been about anyone else, but you still felt as if there was an unspoken condition you were agreeing upon if you were to accept these gifts, and you didn’t want to just go in blindly. 

“I still have my personal belongings left over there, though.” You say, with a cheeky tone, crossing your arms over your chest. “Can’t replace those.”

He groans, “Alright, if you insist, go get them.” “...What do you mean? Just... go?”

He laughs. “My sweet, the doors have always been unlocked, you're free to come and go as you wish. I would love for you to stay so that I could pamper you all day and night as you deserve, but I know better than to stop you.”

“Oh.”

“Unless you want me to arrange for one of my servants to fetch them for you?” “No! No, I– uh, I would rather take care of that myself.”

“In that case, I will let you get to it. The doors will still be unlocked when you come back.” He watches as you stay motionless, your eyes going back and forth, clearly confused by this exchange. His hand reaches to lift your chin to face him. “No traps, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to… well, you get it.”

He stands to leave and you get up abruptly, “Wait!” he stops in his tracks, looking back at you, “What about those galas and parties you were talking about?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, little love.” He smiles. “Now go on, I would greatly appreciate it if you were back in time for lunch.”

He leaves you to attend to his daily routine and it takes you a few seconds to get up as well and exit the room, without even taking a bite of your breakfast; you couldn’t eat even if you wanted to after this discussion. As you make distance from the dining room, your cadence accelerates and you’re almost running towards the entrance door. You cross paths with many of his spawns, most – you notice – were humans and tieflings, including the one who had been taking care of walking you to your cell and, most recently, your room. They watch as you haste towards the exit without reacting much and this only adds to your state of confusion. When you finally cross the doors, you flinch at the brightness of the sun; the crimson palace was rather dark from the inside, and aside from the large window in your room, you had barely had exposure to the outside world since you’d been retained. As your eyes finally adjust to the light, you finally head for the inn. 

You’re startled by the realisation that, now that you’re out of his palace, you’re consciously making the choice to go get your things to move them in instead of staying at the inn, or even running away. It’s the smart choice, you think. The inn keeps charging me for each day that passes, Astarion lends me a room free of charge. I would be a fool not to take him up on that offer.

But why didn’t you just leave, then? You could just pack your things and go far away from this place. What stopped you?

Once at the inn, you take the time to gather your things; you realise you really didn’t have much. Truth be told, you maybe had 3 changes of clothes and barely any other belongings. Back at the palace, you only mentioned your personal items for the sole purpose of arguing with Astarion, not really expecting this turn of events. You throw your bag over your shoulder and make a last stop to pay the innkeeper, only to be told that your room had been paid for already. You assume it’s another move from the vampire, but when you ask about it, the tiefling employee mentions it was a “white-haired, half-elf woman that looked quite worried – or pissed”, he wasn’t able to tell the difference, “who left in a hurry after paying.” 

Shadowheart.

You can’t believe you had forgotten about her, and the plans you had made to leave with her days ago. 

You thank the innkeeper and walk back to the crimson palace, thinking about what you could possibly do to own up to her. She must’ve already been long gone by now, she only mentioned staying in town for a few more days before you got taken away by Astarion’s minions. Did she think you had abandoned her? No, she must’ve known something had happened to you if she paid for your tab. Was she out looking for you, then? Where would she even be now?

Once back at the palace, you immediately try to find a pen and some paper to write her a letter. She deserved to know you were safe, and if ever your paths were to cross again, you did owe her for the bill she covered. It’s the least you could do. You sit down at your vanity and do your best to share your feelings on paper.

Shadowheart,

I want to preface this by saying that I’m sorry I didn’t reach out before. Things got carried away and I had a lot on my mind. I am safe, and still in town if you want to reach out. A lot has happened since we last saw each other, and I think you deserve an explanation. If you want to talk and know more about it, you can find me at the crimson palace. I’m sure this already gives you an idea of how things are going. And thank you for covering the bill at the inn, I’ll pay you back once I see you again, hopefully over another bottle of wine.

I’m sorry, and I hope to hear from you soon,

Your friend.

You seal the letter and write down her name on the envelope before asking the nearest servant to mail it as soon as possible. There can’t be another Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate, surely the letter will reach her, you think.

Until she receives your letter, you figure you should stay at the palace, so she knows where to find you.

—

Another day passes and you still have no news from your cleric friend. The days grow long when you have nothing to do but wait in your room. Patience was never your forte, and the more you walk restlessly around your room, the more you feel yourself going insane. You decide to get out and walk around the palace; although you had spent countless days here, you realise you never went out of your way to explore it. 

You're not sure you wanna get anywhere near the dungeons; none of your experiences with them have been pleasant, and from the time you recall spending in them, they didn't seem to contain anything interesting. For now, walking in the hallways would do. You notice how all the paintings were different from the first time you visited. Instead of people, it was landscapes. You don't recognize the places, but they felt peaceful: lots of greenery, small villages, valleys filled with wildflowers. And of course, at least one portrait of Lord Astarion Ancunín himself. You remember back when he ascended, the first time he saw his reflection after 200 years. Had it not been for the fact he had sacrificed 7007 souls to make it happen, you would've been happy for him.

You should be happy for him, you think.

You don't get to linger too long on the feeling when you hear laughter from a nearby room. You walk close enough to be able to see what the commotion was about, and you're shocked to discover the source of the laughter belonged to Astarion’s spawns, his children. You seem to have found their shared room, and unlike what you remember of his siblings, these spawns seemed genuinely happy. While some were playing cards, others seemed to be gossiping while doing each other's hair. You recognize the spawn that has been taking care of you, and for the first time, you take the time to really look at her. She was very young, she couldn't be older than 20 when she turned. Visibly, she was human, you don't think she could be mixed either. She has long, curvy dark brown hair that she visibly took care of, as it was shiny and luscious. She’s laughing with the tiefling who’s hair she was braiding.

You don't want to intrude on their privacy any longer, so you step away from the door only to bump into something.

“Sneaking around I see?”

Or someone. “Fucking Hells, are you trying to kill me?!” “I wouldn’t mind indulging in a little death, so to speak.” 

You groan, “Okay well, next time, try to announce yourself instead of waiting for me to bump into you?”

“Now, where's the fun in that?” He looks up to see what you were previously spying on. “I see you've found my children's room. I do intend on making it bigger as I recruit more of them, but for now, this’ll do nicely.” He looks back at you, “What about you? Has my little pet decided to stick around?”

You roll your eyes at the pet name. “I haven’t. This is… temporary, until I find a better place. And I’m not your pet.”

“Whatever you say, dearest.” He didn’t seem to believe you.

“I’m serious. I don’t–” His smirk makes you stop mid-sentence. He’s toying with me. Asshole. I can play that game too. “I'm only staying until I hear from Shadowheart, then I’m leaving, with her.”

“The cleric, huh? I can only assume this night you spent with her must’ve been… enlightening.”

“You have no idea,” you sneer.

“Tell me, was it anything like our nights together?” You open your mouth, ready to give him a snarky answer but he continues before you can, moving in on you. “Did you get lost in her touch? Did her words soothe your wounds?” Your voice gets stuck in your throat and you gasp when you hit the wall you backed up against, as he leans an arm against it. “Did her tongue dance on your skin like mine did? Did she make you scream at the heavens?” His voice is but a whisper next to your ear and his warm breath sends a shiver down your spine. “But what I want to know more is, did you think of me as she did it all?”

Any thoughts of answering anything at all flies out the window. Your dress barely contains your chest as it rises with each breath you take. He pulls back slightly to look at you with half-lidded eyes and your stressful blinking keeps switching between his eyes and his mouth. There is a part of you that wants nothing but to close this gap between the two of you, make him lose that stupid smile he wore constantly. This irritating… enchanting smile… 

Before you can let any impulsive thoughts get the best of you, he steps back, breaking this unbearable proximity.

“Come, I want to show you something.” He walks away from you without looking back, as if he knew you would follow. And gods dammit, you do. 

You’re silent as you walk behind him, working on getting your breathing back to normal, when you end up in the courtyard. It's modest, but is surrounded by a great variety of flowers, which sparks your curiosity.

“I didn’t take you for a flower enthusiast.”

“I used not to like them, they're gaudy and almost never make a good poison, but I found out some have other uses.”

“What good could they be to you if not as a weapon?”

“Aside from the fact that they can be used to cover the scent of death? Let me see,” He walks around the garden, pointing out each type of flower as he mentions them. “Lavender, for one, is a natural relaxant. Yellow marigolds are believed to improve someone’s mood with their mere presence.” He carefully picks out a flower before approaching you once more. He strokes your cheek carefully pushing your hair aside, before resting the white flower over your ear. “Jasmine, among other things, can even be used as an aphrodisiac.”

Your voice softens following his sweet gesture, “I still don't see how these can be helpful to you.”

“Sometimes, a little persuasion is more effective than any poison, my dear.”

“Has this ever worked out in your favour?” You recall Astarion being a man of action, not reflection; you have a hard time imagining him dabbling in flower concoctions.

“Do I not have you? After everything, that should speak for itself.” 

You sigh, “You don’t. I'm not yours, and I'll never be.” You pull back and turn away to hide your expression. You always stood by this truth ever since you’ve been back, but speaking them aloud this time hurt you. It was the first time you wished it wasn’t true, a painful reminder of what you two had been through. "Those days are long gone.”

“They don't have to be.” His voice drops to a lower tone and you hear him approaching you, but you remain turned away, avoiding his gaze. “We have a chance to be together once more. Think of the power you could have if you were mine; the strength, the security. Everything would be so much easier if you were. You could stay forever beautiful, my eternal flower.” 

Just when you were lost in thought, considering his words, you notice his hand at your side handing you an eccentric dark laced mask. This makes you turn your head around to question him.

“What's that?”

“Consider it as your formal invitation to Duke Stellar’s masked ball. Many important people will attend it, and I want you to accompany me.”

You stay silent; this must’ve been part of the soirees he was talking about a few days earlier, but you didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Met with your lack of answer, he continues.

“The ball is in two days, that should give you plenty of time to think about your decision, but do take in consideration that your dress is already commissioned, it should be ready for the day of the event. Until then, I would suggest that you enjoy everything the palace has to offer. Feel free to revisit it; I made a few changes since I've claimed the place.”

He walks back inside, leaving you alone once again with your thoughts. 

You would lie to yourself if you said you weren't at least curious to see what this ball was about. It's not like you had anything left to lose, either. It could take off your mind from waiting on hearing from Shadowheart, too.

Plus, you missed wearing extravagant dresses, moreso ones especially made for you.

-

You don't know me like you think you do You don't own me, but I can't cut you loose

-

Thank you for reading! Comments, reblogs, and likes are very much appreciated <3

tag list (comment or message me if you want to be added!): @grimistheangerinmystares @silverfangmarks @roguishcat @nyx-knox

[i-am-the-oyster]

Hi there, I also have a quick question about this post (Paul's guilt about hurting John, possibly evidenced in song notes during the making of RAM, and its source—that he left John, despite having promised not to).

Are you saying Paul felt guilty towards John, and knew why, during the making of RAM? And, if so, how would you square this with Paul's notorious 'grief rant' phonecall with Hunter Davies shortly after John's death, where Paul appears not only upset by the idea that he hurt John, but also unaware of what he could have done to cause this hurt?

"But what had really got Paul upset that day was an interview with Yoko in which Yoko was quoted as saying that Paul had hurt John more than any other person. Paul thought they were amongst the cruelest words he ever read." (Hunter Davies grief rant fun)

Was Paul bullshitting Hunter? (Go, Paul)

Was Paul being defensive and angry b/c Yoko blamed him for hurting John in public?

Was Paul not surprised to hear he'd hurt John (after all, they hurt each other often), but struck by the 'more than any other person' part?

I don't mean to say you're right or wrong. I'm just curious to hear you elaborate on this. Meaning, your take on Paul's guilt, and how accessible it was to him consciously. I've long been thinking about him hearing this claim, 'you hurt him more than anyone else', and how different that would have landed, depending on how aware/guilty he felt.

(Whether Paul was right to feel guilty or not is a completely different matter, and doesn't play a role on my question.)

Thank you for the wonderful meaty (sorry Paul!) ask!

I think Paul *did* feel guilty at the time, but I wouldn't exactly say Paul was bullshitting Hunter. The thing that always jumps out at me from that transcript is where Paul says:

There's only one incident I can think of that John has mentioned publicly.

(emphasis mine)

Isn't that an interesting distinction in the context? It makes me think that there were deeply private things that they each did to the other but Paul feels certain that those things would never end up the subject of public discussion.

I don't buy the image of Paul as lacking self-awareness or self-reflection. BUT he is extremely good at re-framing things in a positive way "so many times I had to change the pain to laughter" AND he is a very contrary person. He seems to often instinctively push against whatever narrative the person opposite him is proposing, especially where the topic needs some nuance. (eg the one time he approaches the topic of Jim's violence is in response to Stern pushing Paul's own "idyllic childhood" bit).

So back to the version of their story that had in mind when I made my original post. (Which I'm not married to, but seems like a plausible scenario worth exploring). Paul and John are in a codependent relationship, John has clearly expressed his terror that Paul might leave (as he did with Cyn). John's behaviour has become erratic and (at least borderline) abusive. Paul knows that if he lets go John will "take a tumble", but he's exhausted and Linda is teaching him to take his own desires and needs into account in a much healthier way. (Not to suggest Paul was never selfish in the 60s lol, but he wasn't practicing actual self-care).

John is spiraling, and pushing Paul away in that heartbreaking pattern I call "see I knew you were going to leave". (I'm sure there must be a name for it in psychology). Linda doesn't yet realise the depth of feeling she's dealing with. Paul knows how terrified John is, he's promised he won't be like the others, he won't leave. But he can't do it any more. John finally convinces him that he actually wants him to leave, he bawls his eyes out in front of Mal, and he disappears to Scotland.

I think he would be absolutely wracked with guilt.

And then I think as part of his recovery from that depression he would reassure himself that he did need to leave, that it was the right choice, that he and John could continue to care about one another deeply and move on.

I think Yoko's statement was unnecessarily cruel hurt him, and triggered that contrary response. What's she even talking about? What did I do? The worst ever?!

Thanks again!

[sissiarte]

More Cú Chulainn <3 Can't stop drawing him I'm so inspired hhh! Today my copy of The Táin finally arrived and I'm anotating the fuck out of it. I'm also working on a 2 page comic of my fav scene so far (Cú Chulainn and Laég finding the tracks of Medb's army) so keep an eye out for that 👀 I wasn't expecting for this book to be so funny but it is!!

[layce2015]

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

No Rest For The Wicked

Masterlist

"Dig up anything good?" I asked Dean as be closes the book and shakes his head a bit, not looking at me. "No." He said before he clears his throat. "Nothing good."

"Well, Bobby has. Finally." I said as I go to sit down next to him. "Yeah?" Dean asked. "Yeah. A way to find Lilith." I zaid. "Oh. With just uh –" he stops and looks at his watch. "...thirty hours to go." He said then he smiles. "Hey, why don't we just go on a vacation. You know, go to a casino, or the beach..." Dean said and I chuckle. "We'll do that, when we save you." I said to him. "Yeah..." He said as he looks down on the books.

"Hey, Dean." I said to him, softly, and he looks up at me. "Look, we're cutting it close, I know. But we're gonna get this done. I don't care what it takes, Dean. You're not gonna go to hell. I'm not gonna let you. And neither is Sam." I said as he looks away for a moment. "I swear. Everything's gonna be okay." I said and I place my hand over his, then stroked my thumb over his knuckles. He looks back at me then stares at me for while before he said. "Yeah, okay." He mutters.

Later, Bobby places an old tracking device over the map of America, the device has three wooden legs coming out from a glass or crystal ball at the top. The ball has a flat, metal piece going around it with symbols on it, further down the legs there's another metal piece, only bigger. From the ball hangs pendulum device that is sharp on the end so that it can pinpoint a specific place.

"So you need a name, that's the whole kit and caboodle. With the right name, right ritual, ain't nothing you can't suss out." Bobby explains. "Like the town Lilith's in?" Sam asked. "Kid, when I get done, we'll know the street." Bobby said and he begins the ritual and starts the swing for the pendulum and then chants in Latin.

As Dean, Sam and I watch, the pendulum begins to search over the map until it suddenly stops. "New Harmony, Indiana." Bobby said and Dean looks up at him from the map. "And we have a winner." Bobby said. "Alright." Sam said and he pushes the pendulum away and looks at Bobby. "Let's go." He said and Dean turns to him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. Let's all shut up there, Tex." he said. "What's the problem?" Sam asked him. "What's the problem? Come on, where do I begin? I mean, first of all, we don't even know if Lilith holds my deal. We're going off of Bela's intel? Now when that bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked. Okay. Second, even if we could get to Lilith, we have no way to gank her. And third, isn't this the same Lilith that wants your giant head and (y/n)'s head on a pike? Should I continue?" Dean asked us.

"Ain't you just bringing down the room." Bobby said with sarcasm. "Yeah, well, it's a gift." Dean said. "I'm sorry, so then what are we supposed to do, Dean?" I asked him. "Just 'cause I gotta die doesn't mean you two have to, okay. Either we go in smart or we don't go in at all." Dean explains.

"Okay, fine. If that's the case I have the answer." Sam said. "You do?" Dean and I asked, confused. "Yeah. A sure-fire way to confirm it's Lilith and a way to get us a bona fide demon-killing ginsu." Sam said and I sighed at this. "Damn it, Sam, no." Dean said as he turns his back to Sam and walks a few steps.

"We're so past arguing. Dean, I am summoning Ruby." Sam said and Dean turns around, facing him. "The hell you are! We have enough problems as it is." he yells. "Exactly. And we've got no time and no choice either." Sam said as he walks up to Dean. "Come on man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay. She told you that she could save me, huh – lie. She seems to know everything about Lilith but forgot to mention, oh right – Lilith owns my soul!" Dean yells.

"Okay, fine. She's a liar. She's still got that knife." Sam said and I go up to Dean. "Dean." I said, calmly, but he ignores me. "For all we know, she works for Lilith." He said to Sam. "Then give me another option, Dean. I mean, tell me what else." Sam argues. "Sam's right." Bobby said.

"NO! DAMN IT!" Dean yells and Bobby and I look at him, surprised. "Just no. We are not gonna make the same mistakes all over again." Dean said and we look at him, shocked. "You guys wanna save me, find something else." He said. Sam, Bobby and I look at him as he walks back to the table he was sitting at before, and sits down with a contemplative look.

As Sam looks at him, sighing, Bobby grabs his jacket. "Where are you going, Bobby?" I asked him. "I guess to...find something else." Bobby replied as he throws his arms out and Sam sighs again, looking into space, while I run my hands over my eyes.

"You sure about this, Sam?" I asked Sam as we were in the basement and Sam was on his knees and had drawn a triangle on the floor with symbols in every point and put candles outside every point. In the middle is a circle with a bowl of a green, dry substance in it.

"We don't have any other choice, (y/n)." Sam said and I sighed. "Okay...do what you gotta do. But if she is not help..." I warned and Sam nods then begins the ritual. "Ad construgendum ad ligandum eos pariter Et solvendum." he said but then we heard a noise

We turn around but there's no one there. We turn back and I look up at the roof, sighing, and Sam continues. "Et ad congregantum eos coram me." He said and he takes up a box of matches and strikes one. We watched the flame for a beat and then Sam throws the match into the bowl. The content ignites and fire flares up and then it calms down and burns out.

Sam gets up off the floor and we slowly turn to look behind us as the floor creaks. There's still nothing there. "You know, phones work too." A voice said and we turn back and see Ruby leaning against the doorway. She smiles at us.

"Hey, Sam. (y/n). How's tricks?" she asked but we glare at her. "How do you get around so fast?" I asked her. "I got the Super Bowl jet pack." She said and she begins to walk towards us. "So. You called?" She asked Sam.

"Did you know?" Sam asked. "Um – gonna need a tiny bit more." Ruby asked. "About Dean's deal. That Lilith holds the contract." I said, angrily. "Yes, I did." She said and I growled and turned away from her.

"And…what? You didn't think that was important?" Sam asked. "You weren't ready." She replied and I turned back to her. "For what?" I asked her. "If I told you either of you, you three yahoos would have just charged after her half-cocked and Lilith would have peeled the meat from your pretty, pretty faces." Ruby replied. "Well, we're ready now." I said, firmly.

"We want your knife." Sam said and she looks at him for a beat and then begins walking around us, slowly. "You're right about one thing. You are ready. And now's the time, too. Lilith's guard's down." Ruby said. "Is that so?" Sam and I asked. 'She's on shore-leave. A little R&R." She said.

"The hell's that mean?" I asked her. "Trust me, you don't wanna know. You didn't lose those hex bags I gave you?" She said. "We've got 'em." Sam said. "Good. Then she won't sense that you're coming." She said and we turn around and look at her as she's gotten behind our back while walking around us.

"So you'll give us the knife?" I asked her. "No." She said. "But you just said–" Sam started to say but she talks over him.. "You wanna charge in with one little pigsticker? It's a waste of a true-blue window. Like getting Hitler with that exploding briefcase. Forget it." She said. "Okay, then how?" I asked, angrily.

"I know how to save Dean." She said then I take a step forward towards her. "No, you don't! You told me and Dean you couldn't! You've been lying to Sam all along, so just give us your damn knife!" I yelled. "Sam's not the one I've been lying to." She said. "Oh, so you can save him?" Sam asked. "No. But you two can." She said as she gestures between us.

"What?" Sam and I said, shocked. "Guys, you've got some God-given talent. Well, not God-given but you get the gist." She said. "All that psychic crap? That's gone ever since Yellow-Eyes died." Sam replied but Ruby shakes her head. "Not gone, dormant. And not just visions either. Why do you think Lilith is so scared of you two?" She asked us. "Right...she's scared of us." I sneered.

"If you guys wanted, both of you could wipe her off the map without moving a muscle." She said. "I don't believe you." Sam said. "Neither do I." I said. "It's the truth." She said. "And you decided to tell ys this just now?" Sam asked, annoyed. "Um...demon. Manipulative's kinda in the job description. Fact is, is that you two would have never considered it. Not until you guys were –" she said and I finish her sentence. "Desperate enough?" I asked and we exchange a look, and she shrugs as Sam and I look away.

"You two don't like being different. You hate the way Dean looks at both of you sometimes. Like you're some kind of sideshow freak. But suck it up because we've got a lot of ground to cover, and we've gotta do it fast. But we can do it." She said and I clench my fist at this then close my eyes for a moment, too shocked to say anything.

"Look. Call me a bitch, hate me all you want, but I have never lied to you, Sam. Not ever. And I'm telling you and (y/n). You...can save your brother, and I can show you how." She said to us.

"So that's you, huh? Our slutty little Yoda." Dean's voice said and it made me open my eyes and look over to see he was behind her, not looking very happy. "Dean." She said as she turns around, looking at him and all her softness in her voice that she directed at me and Sam is gone.

"Charming as ever." she said, sarcastically, as Dean begins walking towards us. "Aw, I knew you'd show up. Because I knew Sam wouldn't listen." Dean said and Sam looks at him but looks away quickly. "But you're not gonna teach him or (y/n) anything, you understand me? Over my dead body." Dean threatens. "Oh. Well, you're right about that." Ruby sneered.

"What you are gonna do is give me that knife. And then you can just go crawl back into whatever slop you came from and never bother me or my brother or my girlfriend ever again. Are we clear?" he asked her, firmly. "Your brother and girlfriend are carrying a bomb inside of them and we'd be stupid not to use it." Ruby said and Sam looks over at Dean. 

"Dean, look, just hold on for one –" he said but Dean shouts over him. "Sam! Don't. Come on man, what, are you blind? And (y/n), I thought you were smarter than this? Can't you see that this is a trick?" he said. "That's not true." Ruby shouts but Dean continues. "She wants you two to give into this whole demonic psychic whatever, okay. I mean hell, she probably wants you two to become her little anti-christ Super Stars."

"I want Lilith dead. That's all." Ruby yells. "Why?" Dean asked her. "I've told you why!" She said. "Oh, right, yeah. Because you were human once and you liked kittens and long walks on the beach." Dean mocks. "You know, I am so sick of proving myself to you. You wanna save yourself, this is how. You dumb, spineless dick." Ruby growls.

Dean looks at her, and then turns around as if to leave but instead comes back swinging his right hook and punching her in the face, looking pissed. Sam and I back away a bit, surprised by the hit. Ruby takes a few steps back with the hit, looks up at him as she wipes blood from her lip and after a beat hits him once with her right fist and then her left.

"Ruby, hey!" Sam shouts andhshe goes around, hits Zam in the back causing him to double over. She then knees him in the face, sending him into a beam and sliding to the floor. "Bitch!" I growled and I go towards her and try to fight her.

But she was stronger and faster than me and punched me in the gut then in the face, making me fall down. My vision was a bit blurry and my head felt like it was in the cloud but once I blinked and shook my head, my vision started to come back.

I look over and see Dean and Ruby were fighting until she had him down but he slowly gets back up, a smile on his face. "The hell are you grinning at?" She asked him. "Missing something?" Dean asked and he pulls up her knife in front of his face. "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch." She said and she rushes towards him but midway there she is stopped by an invisible wall. She tries to walk past it once as Dean just looks at her as I stand up then go over to Sam and help him up.

Ruby looks at Dean and then looks up at the roof, I look up to and see that Dean has painted a Devil's Trap on the roof. Ruby looks at Dean again, pissed. He smiles a little, looking at the trap and then he looks at her, still holding up the knife. "Like I said..." he said as he puts down the knife. "I knew you'd come." He said and walks away from her, towards the staircase.

"Wait! You're just gonna leave me here?" she asked as Dean stops, waiting for me and Sam and ignoring Ruby. "Let's go, guys." He said and Sam and I come over as Dean takes a deep breathe, blinking hard and then he starts up the steps followed by me and Sam.

"Oh, oh you – so you're just too stupid to live, is that it? Then fine! You deserve hell! I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off your bones! I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO HEAR YOU SCREAM!" Ruby yells. "And I wish you'd shut your pie hole, but we don't always get what we want." Dean snarks back at her.

The boys and I had our weapons spread out on a table and started to load up the weapons. "We're just gonna let Ruby rot down there?" Sam asked after a long silence between us. "That's the idea." Dean said. "Dean, what if, uh...What if Ruby's right? What if Sam and I can take out Lilith?" I said, a bit desperate, then Dean looks up at me with an angry, doubting look.

"Quit looking at us like that." Sam said as I look down. "What, are you guys gonna give her the Carrie-stare and Lilith goes poof?" Dean asked. "We don't know what Ruby meant. You know, maybe we should just go ask her." Sam said. "Sam, you wanted the knife – I got you the knife." Dean said as he walks over to another table.

"Dean, just listen to us for a second. Last time Lilith snapped her fingers and put thirty demons on our ass, and all we got's one little knife? I mean, like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all." I said. "Well, this ain't smart." Dean growls. "We got one shot at this, Dean. Just one. So if there's a sure-fire way then maybe we should just talk about it." Sam said and Dean walks up to him as he speaks.

"Guys. We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again." Dean said. 'You said that but what does it even mean?" I asked him. "Don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, my deal, now this? I mean every time one of us is – is – is up the creek the other is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is. Ruby's just jerking your chains down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going." He explains as he turns around, sits down against a table and picks up the weapons again.

Sam shakes his head a bit and we walk around to the other side of the table. "Dean." I said as I sit down next to Dean, looking at him as he continues to assemble the weapon. "What do you think is gonna happen? This is me, I can handle it." I said. "Same here." Sam said and Dean stops what he's doing, looking at the floor and shakes his head.

"And if it'll save you..." Sam said but Dean talks over him. "Why even risk it?" He asked as he looks up at us. Sam looks away for a beat and then back at him with the obvious answer. "Because you're my brother." Sam said. "And I love you, Dean. Because you did the same thing for me." I said and Dean scoffs.

"I know...and look how that turned out." Dean said and looks at us and we look away at this. "All I'm saying...guys, all I'm saying is that you two are my weak spots. Especially you, (y/n)." Dean said, choking back tears. Sam and I look over at him at this. "You guys are. And I'm yours." Dean said and I bite my lips as I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"You don't mean that. We're…we're family." Sam said. "I know. And those evil sons of bitches know it too. I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go? They're using it against us." Dean said. "So what? We just stop looking out for each other?" Sam asked. "No, we stop being martyrs, man. We – we – we stop spreading it for these demons." Dean replied as he picks up Ruby's knife and holds it up.

"We take this knife, and we go after Lilith our way. The way our dads' taught us to. And if we go down, then, uh...then we go down swinging." Dean said as Sam and I just look at him.

"What do you think?" Dean asked and Sam looks down on the floor, thinking, while I look up at the ceiling before I look back at him. "I think you totally should have been jamming Eye of the Tiger right there." I teased and Dean stands up. "Oh, bite me. I totally rehearsed that speech, too." Dean grumbles and I chuckled while Sam smiles at that.

"So, Indiana, huh?" Sam asked. "Yeah, where Lilith's on shore-leave." Dean said. "Yeah, I guess." I said, shrugging. "Tell me something." Dean said and we look up at him. "The hell's a demon do for fun?" Dean asked us and Sam and I share a look before we shrugged. "There's no telling." I said.

We get into the Impala about to leave when Dean tries to start up the car but it won't start up. The three of us look at each other a bit worried when, suddenly, Bobby shows up outside Dean's door, scaring us with his sudden appearance.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bobby asked us as we look at him and the distributor cap he holds in his hand. After a moment, the boys and I get out of the Impala and walk up to Bobby, who's not looking happy. "We got the knife." Dean said. "And you intend to use it without me." Bobby said, annoyed. "Do I look like a ditchable prom-date to you?"

"No, Bobby. Of course not." I assured him. "This is about me...and Sam and (y/n). Ok? This isn't your fight." Dean said and Bobby walks up to Dean, furious by those words. "The hell it isn't!" He growls while Dean looks at him, taken aback by this. "Family don't end with blood, boy. Besides, you need me." Bobby growls. "Bobby." Dean mutters.

"You're playing wounded. Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?" Bobby asked, making me and Sam look at him, a bit confused by this. We look over at Dean who turns to look athis, tilts his head one time and then turns back to Bobby.

"How'd you know?" Dean asked Bobby. "Because that's what happens when you've got hellhounds on your butt. And because I'm smart." Bobby said and I smirked a bit. Dean looks down on the ground, as Sam and I watch him, then Bobby hands Dean the distributor cap. "I'll follow." Bobby said and he walks away from us, over to his own car.

After a moment, Dean walks over to the hood of his car, ready to put back the part. "Don't be stopping to pee every ten minutes either." Bobby yells and Dean stops in his tracks, shakes his head a bit with raised brow. He turns around looking back at me and Sam before he sighs.

That night, we were driving down the road, on our way to Indiana, when Sam speaks up. "Hey, Dean?" He said. "Yeah?" Dean asked. "You know if this doesn't uh...this doesn't go the way we want, I want you to know –" Sam started to say but Dean shakes his head. "No. No, no, no, no." 

"No what?" Sam asked and Dean looks over at Sam. "No, you're not gonna bust out the misty good-bye speech, okay?" Dean said then he looks through the rear view at me. "Same goes for you." He said and I fake a pout. "Aww, and I had a speech ready for you too." I said, with a bit of sarcasm, and he rolls his eyes. "And if this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward." He said and Sam looks down and out the window and Dean turns back to the road.

"You know what I do want?" He asked and he reaches down to the radio and starts up Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive. "Bon Jovi?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Bon Jovi rocks, on occasion." Dean said then he begins to sing to the song.

"And I walk these streets A loaded six-string on my back I play for keeps..." He sings then he turns to me and Sam. "Come on." He said before going back to singing. "'Cause I might not make it back I've been everywhere."

"Oh yeah." Sam sings then I started the next line. "And I'm standing tall." I sang and Sam laughs then we sing along. "I've seen a million faces And I rocked 'em all 'Cause I'm a cowboy On a steel horse I ride I'm wanted." The three of us sing. "WANTED!" Sam sings, loudly, and I smiled at them. "Dead or alive Dead or ALIVE" we sang together until the song ends.

We continued to drive down the road when we heard sirens and red and blue lights blinking. "We getting pulled over?" Sam asked as I look out the window and see a cop car behind us. "I've got a busted tail-light. It's not like we're in a hurry or nothing." Dean grumbles and he pulls over and the cop car stops behind us.

Dean rolls down his window as Sam hands over the licence and registration. The police officer walks up to his window, flashlight in hand. "Problem officer?" Dean asked. "Licence and registration, please." The officer said and Dean, not looking at him, hands out the needed papers. The Officer takes and looks at it as he's talking to Dean.

"Do you realise you have a tail-light out, Mr Hagard?" the Officer asked and Dean look up him. The Officer tilts his head and shines the light on him. "Yes…yes sir. Uh…you know I've been meaning to…take care of that." Dean said as he slowly turns his head back towards the road in front of him.

"As a matter of fact..." He  said and he suddenly opens his door fast, hitting the Officer in the stomach with it. Dean rushes out the car at him. "Dean!" Sam and I shout as we open our doors, surprised by Dean's action. Dean punches the Officer three times in the face as Sam and I try to run around the car to stop him.

Dean quickly reaches down and takes out the knife from his belt and thrusts it into the jaw of the Officer. Bobby pulls up behind the police car as the Officer begins to flash with light. Dean pulls out the knife and lets go of the Officer, who falls dead to the ground. Dean stands over him, arm behind him, panting after the fight.

Sam and I , shocked, move up behind him Whole Bobby quickly runs over to us and looks down at the dead Officer/demon. He looks back up at us, surprised and shocked. "What the hell happened?" He asked us. "Dean just killed a demon. How'd you know?" I said as I look over at Dean as he breathes heavily. Then he looks around on the ground and then turns to us.

"I just knew." He said and he turns back and looks down on the Officer. "I could see its face. Its real face under that one." Dean said and Bobby, who was looking down on the Officer, looks up at him by these words. Dean looks up at him and meets his gaze for a second.

The boys and I finished putting up branches over the police car, to hide it from plain sight, so that nobody can find it. "So what, now you're seeing demons?" Sam asked Dean once we finished. "I've seen all kinds of things lately but...nothing like this." Dean replied. "Actually it's not all that crazy." Bobby said and we look over at him.

"How's it not that crazy?" Dean asked him. "Well you've got, just over five hours to go? You're piercing the veil, Dean. You're glimpsing the B side." Bobby said. "A little less new age-y please." Dean snarks. "You're almost hell's bitch. So, you can see hell's other bitches." Bobby said and Dean looks first surprised and then his mock-face comes on. "Thank you." He said.

"Well, actually it could come in pretty handy." I said. "Oh, well, I'm glad my doomed soul is good for something." Dean said, sarcastically. "Damn right it is. Lilith's probably got demons stashed all over town. We can't let them sound the alarm. She knows we're here, we're dead before we're started." Bobby said. "Well, this is a terrific plan. I'm excited to be a part of it. Can we go, please?" Dean said and he begins to walk away with that and we follow. 

Later, we make it to the neighborhood and go up to this house to see a little girl with these two adults sitting at a table, with one old man slumped dead on the table. The woman serves the little blonde girl a slice of cake and walks away as the girl smiles and begins to dig into the cake.

"It's the little girl. Her face is awful." Dean said as we stand by a window. Sam had binoculars, looking through it while Bobby stands next to him then me and Dean. "Alright then, let's go. We're wasting time." Sam said and he walks past us and moves for the door. Dean grabs hold of him, stopping him from leaving.

"Wait!" Dean said. "For what? For it to kill the rest of them?" Sam asked. "Yeah, and us too if we're not careful. Look. See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at nine PM?" Dean said and Sam holds up the binoculars and sees the mailman sorting mail at the back of his car. "And Mr Rogers over there." Dean said as Sam lowers the binoculars.

"Demons?" I asked as Sam looks through the binoculars again. "Yes." Dean said. "Ok, fine. We – we – we – we, we ninja pass those guys, sneak in." Sam said. "Then what? Give a Columbian necktie to a ten year old girl, come on!" Dean exclaims. "Look, Dean, I know it's awful." Sam said. "You think?" I said but Sam ignores me. "This isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody." Sam said.

"She's gotta be stopped, son." Bobby said and Dean, who looks contemplative, turns around and looks at Bobby and then out the window. "Oh, damn it." he mutters.

As quietly as we could, we took out the demons that were around and about. Bobby was blessing the water and getting ready for the sprinklers when Sam and I met up and saw Ruby had Dean up against a fence. "I'd like my knife back, please. Or your neck snaps like a chicken bone." We hear her growl as we come up behind her and Sam holds up her knife to her throat.

"He doesn't have it." Sam said to her. "Take it easy." he said and she backs away from Dean, releasing him from the fence. Sam and I stand still next to Dean who turns around to face her. "How the hell did you get out?" he asked her. "What you don't know about me could fill a book." Ruby snarks then Dean suddenly reacts to her face, moving his head back just a bit with wider eyes.

"Whoa." he said. "What?" Ruby asked as Dean looks to the side, not wanting to look at her anymore. He glances at her once or twice but that's it. "Nothing. I just – I couldn't see you before, but you're one ugly broad." Dean said and she rolls her eyes.

"Sam, give me the knife before you hurt yourself." She said to Sam. "You'll get it when this is over." I tell her. "It's already over. I gave you a way to save Dean, you two shot me down. Now it's too late. He's dead. And I'm not gonna let you guys die too." She said to me and Sam.

"Try and stop us, and I'll kill you. Bitch." Sam sneered. "Hit me with your best shot, baby." Ruby challenged and Dean turns around to us. "Guys, guys! Hey. Have your little catfight later." He said and we see a two people, probably father and son, standing outside on their porch looking at us. 

We look towards the next house where a man with a briefcase is standing, staring at us. Then two other men were staring at us. "Crap." I muttered. "So much for the element of surprise." Dean said. "Go. Go. Run. Run!" Sam shouts and we open the gate and run, aiming for Lilith's house.

Sam reaches the house first and starts picking the lock on the door as Ruby, Dean ans I come up behind him, looking towards the lawn as more people run after us. "What the hell is taking Bobby?" I asked as Sam was having problems picking the lock. "I'm trying!" Sam said.

Suddenly when one demon reaches the lawn, the sprinklers turns on and she begins to flail, screaming, as the water burns her. Another demon is caught in the water and he screams and flails as well. I smile as a lot of possessed people standing outside the lawn, a few people in the water and our guys standing on the porch.

Finally, Sam gets the door opened and we run in while I hear Dean laughing at the demons before he comes in.

Once we entered, Sam, Ruby and I end up standing over a body, the three of us shocked. Dean closes the door and turns around to see the body. "You think Lilith knows we're here?" Dean asked us. "Probably." Ruby said and we look around a bit and then walk into the living room. Sam goes first, holding the knife out as if it was a gun. Ruby is behind him, closely followed by me and Dean.

Then I hear the creak of a door behind me and I quickly turn around, putting up one hand over a man's mouth. I turn him around to the others as I shush the man as he looks beyond terrified. "We're here to help. Ok?" I said and the man nods. "I'm gonna move my hand, and we're gonna talk nice and quiet, okay?" I said and the man nods his head yes and I slowly remove my hand.

"Sir, where is your daughter?" Sam asked him. "It's not...it's not her anymore." the man said, shakily. "Where is she?" I asked. "Upstairs. In her bedroom." The man said. "Okay, okay, okay. Listen to me. I want you to go downstairs to the basement. Put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?" Dean whispers but the man shakes his head. "Not without my wife." He said. "Yes, without your wife." Dean said. "No." The man said then Dean punches his lights out.

He picks him up and puts him over his shoulder and gives us a look. He then starts walking.

Moments later, Sam, Ruby and I walk upstairs, backs against the wall and as stealthy as possible, Sam is in the lead with the knife in front of him. When we get up, look around a bit and then Ruby walks to the door to our right and Sam nods at her and then she goes in, closing the door behind her.

Sam starts slowly for the door to the left while I go straight forward towards and look into a different room, but no one was in there. I looked around the third room and the bathroom then I walked out until I hear a little girl scream. I run out and into the room to see Sam standing over a bed with the girl and her mother. But Dean was also there, holding Sam's arm.

"It's not her!" Dean tells him as the girl is breathing fast and heavily from what was just about to happen. Ruby comes up behind me then we go and stand behind Sam and Dean.

"It's not in the girl anymore." Dean tells Sam as thr girl begins to cry and curl up to her mother. "Mommy!" She cries as the woman hugs her. "Mommy's here. Mommy's here. It's okay." She assures the girl while the boys and I share a look.

"Alright, no matter what you hear. You, your husband and your daughter stay in the basement." Dean tells the woman as we come down the stairs. She goes through the basement door and Dean follows. Sam, Ruby and I walk past them. "Well, I hate to be a told you so." Ruby tells us.

"Alright Ruby, where is she?" I asked as we enter the living room. "I don't know." She replied. "Could she get past the sprinklers?" Sam asked her. "Her pay grade, she ain't sweating the holy water." She said. "Ok, you win. What do we have to do?" Sam asked and she looks at him, questioningly.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "To save Dean. What do you need me and (y/n) to do?" Sam asked but then I felt a hand on my shoulder then I spin around to see Dean had come up to us. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dean asked and Sam pulls loose from him. "Just shut up for a second." Sam said to him, annoyed, then he turns to Ruby. "Ruby!"

"You had your chance. You can't just flip a switch. We needed time." Ruby said. "Well, there's gotta be something. There's gotta be some way, whatever it is, Sam and I'll do it." I said and Dean comes up and grabs me. "Don't, Dean! We're not gonna let you go to hell, Dean!" I yelled at him, tears in my eyes. "Yes, you are!" Dean shouts and we look at each other for a moment.

"Yes, you are." Dean said, calmer, while Sam and I just stare at him, breathing. "I'm sorry. I mean this is all my fault, I know that. But what you and Sam are doing, it's not gonna save me. It's only gonna kill you." Dean said and I look away for a second, tears building in my eyes.

"Then, what are we supposed to do?" Sam asked. "Keep fighting. Take care of my wheels. Sam, remember what Dad taught you...okay? And remember what I taught you." Dean said and I look back at him and I could see the heartbreak in his eyes. "(Y/n)..." he whispers and I could see tears welling up in his green eyes.

I go over to him and embrace him, burying my face in his chest. He wraps his arms around me and I feel him burying his face into my hair. I began to sob as I felt him kiss the top of my head. "I love you, (y/n)." He whispers in my ear, holding me tighter. "I love you too, Dean. So much." I cried then I pulled back to look up at him. He leans in and kissed me, slowly, like he was taking his time with this kiss.

A moment later, we hear the bell of the clock, which struck midnight. We break our kiss and tears runs down my face as he and I look at each other. Then he turns his head to look at Sam, who was also crying.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy." Ruby said, genuinely. Dean looks between them then me before his face falls and turns his head to the other side. I look at him and then look in the same direction, understanding that something's up.

"Hellhound." Dean said. "Where?" Sam asked him. "There." Dean said as he nods the he takes my hand and we bolt out of the room, followed by Sam and Ruby, and the hellhound quickly behind us. We run into another room and close the doors fast.

Dean takes out the bag with goofer dust as Sam, Ruby and I stand against the doors, holding them shut while the hellhound is pounding to get in. Dean runs over and throws himself down at the floor by the door and frantically starts pouring out the dust. The pounding suddenly stops and for a second we all stand sit still, then Dean bolts for the window and pours out the dust on the windowsill.

"Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off." Ruby said to Sam, who looks at her, a bit confused. "What?" he asked. "Come on! That dust won't last forever." She said. After a few seconds, Sam takes out the knife and starts to hand it to Ruby.

"Wait!" Dean yells and we turn to him. "You wanna die?" Ruby asked him, angrily. "Sam, that's not Ruby. It's not Ruby!" Dean said, quickly, then Sam and I turn back to Ruby who, without touching us, flings me and Sam hard up against the wall, pinning us. Sam drops the knife and it falls to the floor.

She then hits Dean, without touching him, and flings him on top of the table, pinning him. Dean grunts as he holds up his head so he can look at Ruby. Sam and I look from Dean to Ruby. "How long you been in her?" Dean asked as Ruby's entire facial expression changes and becomes childlike, which made me realized that Lilith had taken over the body Ruby possessed.

"Not long." she said as she looks down on her body as she speaks. "But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty." She said and she looks up at Dean again, her eyes turning white. "And where's Ruby?" Sam asked and Lilith's eyes turns back to normal. "She was a very bad girl, so I sent her far, far away." She said and she tilts her head step by step and I hear her neck crunch with each tilting motion.

"You know, I should have seen it before...but you all look alike to me." Dean sneers. Lilith glances at him then turns to me and Sam and she starts walking slowly towards uz. "Hello, Sam and (y/n). I've wanted to meet you two for a very long time." She said and she walks up to me. Then she grabs my face and looks me over.

"So pretty." She mutters and I try to turn my head away from her. She let's go of my face then she goes over to Sam and grabs hold of his chin, forcing him to face her. Against his will, she gives him a kiss. "Your lips are soft." She whispers and Sam moves his head up and to the side, trying to get loose from her hand.

"Right, so you have us. Let my brother go." Sam said as he looks down on her. "Silly goose. You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. And neither of you don't." She said. "So, is this your big plan, huh? Drag me to hell. Kill Sam and (y/n). And then what? Become queen bitch?" Dean growls and Lilith turns to him. 

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow." She said as Dean tries to hold himself up against her restraint. Lilith suddenly moves from me and Sam, as she looks at Dean, and walks over to the door while Dean follows her with his eyes. She grabs hold of the doorhandle and, while looking at Dean, exclaims. "Sic 'em, boy."

Sam and I snap our heads to Dean at this and Dean looks over at us and then at the door. Lilith opens the door and the goofer dust blows away as the hellhound gets in, Lilith just laughs and smiles.

Dean was yanked off of the table by his legs and pulled down. He screamed as I could see him getting ripped apart by the invisible monster. And the worst part is that all Sam and I could do was stand against the wall, helpless, scared and panicked.

"No! Stop!" Sam and I shout as Lilith just looks over at us and then down at Dean who's struggling on the floor. The hound has already slashed his right leg and is now attacking his chest as he screams in pain. He turns over onto his stomach. "STOP IT!" I screamed at Lilith but she just watches with a little smile on her face. The hound slashes Dean on his back and his shoulder.

"No!" Sam and I shout as Dean flips over and it slashes him over his chest, blood gushing out; Sam and I just watch in horror. "No. Stop it." Sam shouts as Dean takes his last breaths now. "STOP IT!" I screamed in anger as the blood pours out of Dean's chest; he's not screaming anymore, but still not dead.

"NO!" Sam and I exclaimed while Lilith smiles at us. "Yes." She said, a bit of a pleasure tone in her voice, then She holds out her hand and suddenly white light erupts from it. As it builds up Sam and I turn our head, eyes closed ready for death....but nothing came.

The white light fades and I open my eyes to see that Sam and I were on the floor, huddled up together in a corner next to a cabinet, holding pur hands up in front of our faces. When we noticed nothing happened, and the light was gone, Sam and I slowly take down our hands, look up at Lilith and rise up to a standing position.

She looks at the floor, afraid, then she holds out her hand and looks at us. "Back." She said as I take a breath and start walking towards her, Sam by my side. "I said, back." She ordered, holding her hand out. Sam bends down and picks up Ruby's knife while Lilith looks very afraid of us now.

I grab her wrist then raised my other fist and said, with a growl. "I don't think so."

But before Sam and I could do anything, Lilith exits Ruby's body, the black smoke goes out of her body and into the ventilation in the roof. "COWARD!!" I screamed, angrily, as Ruby's body collapses.,

I take a few deep breathes then look over to see Dean's body laying on the floor. Dean wasn't moving, his eyes opened, no life behind those green eyes that I fell in love with. With tears building up quickly, Sam and I slowly walk over to Dean and I begin to cry as we bend down next to him.

Sam picks up Dean, holding his head close to him. "No...no...Dean..." Sam cries and I sob then lean my head against Dean's shoulder. "Dean...no..no...no...please, no..." I cried.

*3rd Person POV*

Chains were hanging everywhere, stretched from place to place, thunder roars and lightning flashes. And in the middle of it, screaming in pain, was Dean Winchester. Dean was in the middle of the chains, hooked up by his arms and legs.

One of the hooks was attached through his right shoulder, he's bloody and sweaty. There's blood in his mouth and he looks completely terrified. "HELP! NO! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" He screams as he looks around. "Sam! (y/n)!" He screams in terror but neither Sam or (y/n) are around to help him.

"SAAAAAAAM! (YYYY/NNNN)!"

@rach5ive @kitsun369 @itzabbyxx @cevans-winchester @ellie-andthemachine

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crossover Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my other Stranger Things Reviews. Like, Reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are about the show or the upcoming final season! :)

Stranger Things Reviews/Theories

Stranger Things Comics/Graphic Novels:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Stranger Things Tales From Hawkins

Stranger Things Tie-In Books:

Stranger Things Suspicious Minds

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 1 of 2)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 2 of 2)

Stranger Things Hawkins Horrors Review

Stranger Things Flight Of Icarus

Stranger Things Lucas On The Line

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 1 of 2)

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 2 of 2)

Synopsis: Set before the events of Season 3, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, and Max take a field trip with Mr. Clarke's class to New York City (with El secretly tagging along) to explore all the sights in the Big Apple. However, when the group gets separated from the class and encounters an old enemy, they're forced to join with some unexpected allies as they attempt to stop a world-ending threat........

Observations:

This is one of those comics where I wish I had been in the writers room so I could understand what their thought-process was.

The premise: Sometime in 1985, the Party is in New York City on a field-trip with Scott Clarke's class (why and how they get this trip arranged is never explained). Along the way, they split from the main group and end up lost in the underground subway. As they try to come up with a plan, they hear sounds coming from the tunnels and go to investigate. Guess who they end up running into?

DEMODOGS...........except with robotic parts attached to them?!

To make this more surreal, the Party gets saved by (you guessed it) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMMTs for short):

Later on, after introductions are made and explanations given, the kids and TMNTs (with encouragement from their sensei Splinter) discover that:

a.) The robotic demodogs (referred to as Demomousers by Dustin) are being controlled by Baxter Stockman, a mad scientist who's one of the Turtles adversaries.

And b.) There's a gate in NYC allowing demodogs and demogorgons to come through, and the Mind Flayer is preparing to invade.

Realizing they need to join forces, the Party and TMNTs attempt to take down Baxter and the Mind Flayer before they bring ruin to the city.

If all of this sounds weird, you now know how I felt reading it.

I'll admit when it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I'm not an expert. I have some knowledge of the franchise from when I was growing up, mainly from the 1987 cartoon and the first two live-action TMNT movies (no, NOT the Michael Bay produced ones), but as far as the comics go, I've never read the original ones. In terms of my knowledge:

I know the 4 turtles are named after famous Italian Renaissance artists: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.

I know they have a sensei named Splinter, a former human martial arts instructor from Japan named Hamato Yoshi who was transformed into a rat via a chemical mutagen (since the chemical mixes the DNA of living beings who've been in contact with one another, and Splinter had constantly been in contact with rats while living in the sewers).

I know that the turtles were originally ordinary turtles that Splinter adopted in the sewers before they also got infected with the chemical and (because they were in contact with Splinter when he was human) became humanoid turtles.

I know Splinter named and trained the turtles in ninjutsu, adopting them as his students/children.

I know Splinter and the Turtles arch-enemy is Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder. He was responsible for dumping the chemical that transformed them, he runs a criminal ninja organization called "The Foot Clan," and (in the 1987 TV show at least), he has two animal/human hybrid henchmen named Rocksteady and Bebop. Also, Shredder aims for world-domination.

I know Shredder was allied with an alien brain named Krang from Dimension X, and they operated from a station called the Technodrome.

I know there was a scientist named Baxter Stockmam (who's one of the main antagonists in this comic) who created MOUSERS (also present here) that did his bidding and reeked havoc.

I know about April O'Neil, the news reporter who is an ally to the turtles, and Casey Jones, a violent vigilante who wears an ice hokey mask and has a bag of weapons, who is also an ally to the turtles. They make a brief appearance in this comic towards the end:

Finally, I know about this earworm of a song:

Like I said, my knowledge primarily comes from the 1987 show and the first two movies. What little I'm aware of about the original comics is that the turtles all wore the same red-eye masks before later media would color-code each turtle (likely so audiences could tell them apart). In typical 80s fashion, the comics were dark and gritty. Judging by how the Turtles are depicted here in this crossover, it appears they based the Turtles characterizations off their original comic book iterations:

This brings me to one of my problems with the crossover: Because it's dead-set on portraying the characters in a grim fashion, it doesn't leave much room for humorous interactions between the turtles and the kids. What little humor is present is either forced, or just recycled jokes from the show. Stranger Things is rooted in the science-fiction/horror genre, but it balances it out by having funny moments between the characters to level out the tension. Same thing can be said for the 1987 TMNT cartoon: Part of what made that work is the creators realized how absurd the premise was, and embraced the weirdness while having fun with it. This comic expects the reader to take the story solemnly, and all it does is highlight the ridiculousness of its premise.

Another issue I have is the whole crossover aspect. I know this isn't unique to TMNT and characters from this franchise have done crossovers with Batman, Power Rangers, Street Fighter, Transformers, Archie Comics, etc. The difference though is that 1.) These were usually done with other superhero or cartoon characters franchises, and 2.) To my understanding, most of those crossovers weren't usually considered canon in either universe.

This comic on the other hand tries REALLY HARD to make itself canon in the Stranger Things universe by setting it between seasons 2 and 3, before The Battle of Starcourt:

On top of that, when the kids and the Turtles finally confront Baxter at his lab about his motivations, he reveals he was a colleague of Dr. Brenner, which is how he knew about El:

This ends up creating several plot-holes:

1.) You'd think that if the events in this comic took place in the show's continuity, the kids would have talked about it at least once during seasons 3-4. I have a hard time imagining, for instance, that Dustin wouldn't have been chatting Steve's ear off about encountering a bunch of humanoid turtles living in NYC sewers, or the Demomousers they had to fight off.

2.) Same problem with Baxter Stockman and Dr. Brenner's relationship: No mention of it on the show? That's not even including how this relationship is at odds with Brenner's character since he considered other people (even fellow scientists) to be beneath him in terms of intellect. Brenner was NOT a man who saw others as his equal.

3.) Since Stranger Things is a show set on referencing 80s media and paying homages to it, and since the TMNTs were a big franchise in the 80s, does that mean the first volumes of the TMNT comics that came out in 1984 don't exist in this universe? Especially when the kids reactions to first encountering the TMNTs is not knowing who they are:

I get that Stranger Things is a fictional show that requires suspension of disbelief when it comes to its science-fiction elements (i.e. The Upside Down, El's powers, etc), but for the most part, it was grounded in a believable way. By that, I mean its universe was set up to be one that could conceivably take place in this reality. From its references to historical moments that occurred in real life, to its disturbingly realistic portrayals of bullying, bigotry, Cold War paranoia, homophobia, racism, government corruption, abuse, forced conformity, trauma and grief, and other social issues, to the whole dynamic of the Party being outcasts trying to survive middle school and high school. It's a coming-of-age story that also acts as a deconstruction of the 80s, and uses science-fiction elements in service of that goal. I've talked before about the Upside Down being a not-so-subtle metaphor for Hawkins and the 80s as a whole: Things look shiny, bright, and appealing on the surface (especially since the 80s continues to be a decade our current culture is obsessed with romanticizing), but when you actually dig deeper, there is rot underneath.

By setting the Stranger Things universe in the TMNT universe, it breaks that illusion in favor of turning it into popcorn entertainment. Some would argue Stranger Things was already this to begin with, but considering how the Duffer Brothers incorporated the themes I've just described into their work when they could have ignored them altogether, and considering how Stranger Things has a passionate fanbase dedicated to analyzing the show, its characters, and how it acts as a commentary for events and situations in the present, I would argue the show transcends that in a way TMNT never could. This comic tries to achieve this, with the Turtles (and Splinter) preaching about the importance of friendship, how everyone has challenges, not being defined by where you come from, etc, but all of these themes were already examined on the show way before this comic ever came out (and in a much more satisfying manner). Here, it comes off as repetitive without offering anything new to the table.

This isn't to say that the comic itself is bad. It still has cool moments and impressive visuals, and the fights between the heroes and the monsters of the Upside Down are a treat to behold:

The levels of detail put into these images is impressive, and it's neat seeing each member of the Party take up weapons to deliver damage to the Mind Flayer and his monsters.

On top of that, there were elements in the comic that (whether intentional or not) tie into the show and leave a lot to chew on.

For example, the whole fight against Baxter Stockman's forces and the Mind Flayer gives an idea of what we might see in Season 5. Whether it's the main characters dealing with Colonel Sullivan (who's still set on capturing El) or Vecna's impending invasion.

Even Baxter Stockman and his ambush of the heroes reminds me of Colonel Sullivan and the soldiers under his command from S4:

There's also Will's description of the Upside Down being worldwide and how the dimension isn't just limited to Hawkins (which is something S4 also confirmed):

There's also the Turtles speculating that El's powers are tied to the Upside Down, which is something I've discussed in my reviews (specifically Six and Suspicious Minds):

Additionally, the comic introduces the idea that there are other dimensions out there besides the Upside Down that can be traveled to.

While I doubt the Utroms (i.e. the alien brains) that the Mind Flayer possesses will be making an appearance in season 5 (or the TMNTs for that matter), the idea of multiple dimensions is something the Duffer Brothers could explore in the final season. It could also give more detail about what the Upside Down is, and whether the Mind Flayer really was just black particles with no conscious that Vecna formed into his avatar, or it was a multi-dimensional conqueror (as I've seen speculated by parts of this fandom) and it was simply dormant until Vecna woke it up and started collaborating with it:

But like I said, this is all speculation.

Overall, my feelings about this comic are mixed: On its own, it's a decent read and has plenty of cool moments and creative imagery. However, when you look closely at the story and how it's supposed to tie into the Stranger Things universe.........it starts falling apart. I think fans will enjoy this crossover for the sheer entertainment of it, but I seriously doubt this is going to be counted as canon.

[bookholichany]

Finally got a copy of much ado about nothing so I can anotate the hell out of it and I'm going to make it everyone else's problem.

[dark-frosted-heart]

Book of Memories ~ Leon and Chevalier ~

Collection story

In Rhodolite, the country of art and roses, there are two types of princes: those who focus on the domestic affairs and those who focus on the foreign affairs.

These days the leaders of their respective factions do not get along in regards to politics - at all.

At a roundtable meeting, Leon and Chevalier are debating the best ways to allocate money and resources. Leon wants to send more aid to areas that have, due to heavy rainfall, been struggling to recover from disaster while Chevalier wants to increase the budget for the military because Obsidian's had some movements recently.

Just your usual roundtable meeting, but the annual budget meetings are extra tense. The court bureaucrats, especially Sariel, were at their wits' end. Said bureaucrat proposes they stop their meeting here for today. Once again, the meeting ends without a decision being made. Chevalier tells Leon to draw up a realistic budget proposal if he wants him to agree. Leon turns those words right back and Chev. They're starting to argue again, and Sariel has to stop them, again. He'd like it if those two could come to a compromise as it'd make it easier for everyone.

Chevalier: Why Leon: Sorry, can't do that with Chevalier Sariel: Just a suggestion...

Leon chuckles at Sariel's resignation before saying that they've been like this for years and everything's fine. He knows it's a pain for the bureaucrat but it'd be weird if they weren't like this, wouldn't it? Sariel asks Leon what he means and Chevalier answers that compromising is pointless. He leaves while Leon stays, staring at the door as if recalling a memory. Chev's always been disagreeable

- Flashback -

Leon: Hey...are you Chevalier?

It was only after the 2nd and 4th prince of Rhodolite grew up to some extent that the two met by chance. At the time, the 4th prince was a sickly boy who teetered between life and death many times over. Because of this, he rarely ever left his room and never met his brothers despite living in the same castle. To make up for it, after miraculously recovering from his incurable illness, he tried to make an effort to actively interact with them and found Chevalier alone in the library and calls out to him-

Chevalier: ...

Leon: Hey, did you hear me?

Chevalier: ...

Leon: ...

From an early age, the 2nd prince, Chevalier, was renowned as a child prodigy. Even in his sickbed, Leon had heard his and had always wanted to meet him. But when he finally met the prodigy, he didn't even take his eyes off his book to look at him.

Leon: Are you...unaware that I'm your brother?

Chevalier: ...

Leon: Right, we've never met. I'm Leon, the 4th prince. Nice to meet you.

Chevalier: ...

The hand he offers is ignored and his brows furrow.

Leon: Hey, say something...

Chevalier: ...

Leon: Chevalier

Chevalier: Be quiet, you're annoying. If that's all, then leave.

Leon: Huh...?

Chevalier's words were devoid of emotion it was hard to believe they were directed at a brother who was sick in bed.

Leon immediately understoo.

Leon: Sorry but I don't think I'll like you.

Chevalier: What a coincidence. I don't believe I'll get along with you either.

This meeting between two princes who would later be central figures, was terrible.

- End Flashback -

It's been a few hours since Leon came to the foreign affairs faction office with a draft of his proposal. The two are arguing again. This time, Jin tries to stop them. Clavis adds on that if they continue arguing, they'll go bald. Though it'd be amusing. Jin, who had come by the office since Leon was taking a while, and Clavis, who just came back, look at each other and nod. The former brings up how he received a nice bottle of wine from a count and proposes they have a drink. Clavis agrees since arguments can be settled with alcohol. Leon reminds Clavis that he doesn't drink; Clavis tells him not to worry about it. Jin says they should take a step back and regroup. Leon agrees and tells Chevalier to have another proposal ready by the day after tomorrow. He'll have one ready by then too. Chevalier stays silent and Leon tells him to at least answer.

Jin interrupts with alcohol; Clavis says Chevalier should participate once in a while. More silence.

Clavis: That's why you're a guy who can't read the room Leon: It's not a first. He's always been terrible at socializing. Clavis: Goodness...How can siblings be so different? Jin: The usual calm Leon doesn't ever back down when it comes to Chevalier.

At Jin's casual comment, Clavis gets a look as if he suddenly realized something. He asks Leon if something bad happened between them in the past since Chevalier's the only one he doesn't hold back with. Clavis proposes an alliance to overthrow the 2nd prince. Leon explains that the two had a huge fight a long time ago and he's just stopped caring ever since. It's a bittersweet memory.

As children, Leon would visit Chevalier every day in the library to try to talk to him. Even if they disliked each other and could never come to an agreement, they would eventually have to work together for their country. Leon thought that if he kept talking to him, they might be able to one day get along. That is, until one fateful day.

- Flashback -

Leon: Why are you here.

Chevalier: ...

The 4th prince, who had overcome his illness, liked to slip out of court from time to time to secretly go out into town. Eating delicious food, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city, finding joy in once-in-a-lifetime encounters... One day while out enjoying town, he came across Chevalier.

Unlike Leon, who blends in, Chevalier has an obvious air of nobility that attracts curious gazes from those around him. Either he wasn't used to going out or he just didn't care about his surroundings...likely the latter.

Leon: Surprising to see you out here since you don't seem like the type that cares about the town. Did you come out because you felt trapped too?

Chevalier: Don't misunderstand. I'm out on an errand.

With a sigh, Chevalier turns on his heel.

Leon: Wait, you came at the right time. You can do anything, right? You're gonna help me.

Icy blue eyes turned to the young boy standing helplessly behind Leon.

Leon: This child seems lost, but I can't find his parents at all. I'd be reassuring if you looked with me.

Chevalier: I refuse.

Leon: I thought you were gonna say that. But just come here for a sec. (to the child) Oh, you stay right here okay? I'll be right back.

Boy: O-okay...

With a smile, he drags an annoyed Chevalier into a nearby alley.

Leon: As royalty, our duly's to protect the people and more importantly, the children. I don't think it's a good idea to abandon that duty and walk away.

Chevalier: Don't impose your values on me. The role of royalty is to keep the country as a whole alive, not to focus on every individual. What happens to that child is none of my concern. The country won't fall if he can't see his parents. Don't involve me in your righteousness; it's troublesome.

Leon: You...

As usual, Chevalier's sneer is without any warmth. Leon finds himself clutching his shirt. He couldn't forgive the prince for being so heartless.

Leon: I don't understand... Don't you have a soul?

Chevalier: It's unnecessary.

Leon: Are you kidding me? If royalty acts like that, then what are the people in need supposed to do? You can say that because you don't know anything about the pain of hunger or uncertainty of tomorrow.

Chevalier: You speak as if you understand.

Leon: ...

Chevalier: ... Let go of me. I'm not going to play along with your games.

Leon: Right...

- End flashback -

Leon: At the time, I thought I'd never understand Chevalier; and I didn't want to either.

Back in the domestic faction office, Leon tells the story with indifference as he looks over the budgeting materials. It was Jin who gave up on the drinking party and offered to help rewrite the proposal. Hearing the story, Jin didn't think their disagreements started at such a young age. But it's what you can expect from Chevalier, Leon replies. In hindsight, he was immature. He was trying his best, but perhaps he wasn't "Leon" at that time. Jin asks if they ever made up. The opposite happened, actually.

- Flashback -

The day after their fight in the city, Chevalier was reading a book in the library as usual. Leon approaches the prince who acts as if the previous day never happened. He doesn't even look up from his book when Leon stands next to him.

Leon: I don't think we'll ever understand each other.

Leon speaks up suddenly. The sickly prince tried to bridge the gap with every sibling, but on this day, he ended up disheartened at the fact that Chevalier was the only one different from the rest.

Chevalier: We don't need to understand each other.

Chevalier, who was usually silent, gave a rare response. He closed his book, stood up from his seat, and went to another bookshelf, but his attention was still on Leon.

Chevalier: Why do we need to be aligned with each other in the first place? If you're displeased with how I do things, you can do them your own way. Just because it's not my way does not mean I will deny yours.

Leon: You...that's unfair

Chevalier: You're just childish and inexperienced. You're convinced that your own ideas are correct and reject other views with a sense of one-sided righteousness.

Leon: ...

Chevalier: Yesterday you said something about royalty... It would be better if we saw things differently. That would broaden your horizons. There are those interested in the people, while others are interested in the country as a whole. Combined, there would be no blind spots.

Chevalier, who had picked a different book, returns to his seat and glances at Leon.

Chevalier: Neither of us will compromise with each other.

A heavy silence envelops the library as if to say that the conversation was over. Leon, who had been listening with his lips pursed, lowers his head.

Leon: Sorry for pushing my ideas onto you.

Chevalier: ...

Leon: But I have no regrets. We'll never compromise.

Chevalier: ...

Chevalier laughs scornfully and opens his book without saying anything more. Leon just shrugged and turned his back on him.

- End Flashback -

A few days later, they have their next budget meeting and it's finally come to some resolution. Leon apologizes for putting Sariel through this for so long. The bureaucrat doesn't mind as it's just work for him. He then takes his leave first, not even hiding the fact that he was in a good mood. As Chevalier's about to head out, Leon grabs his arm. He asks Chevalier if he has any plans for the rest of the day. They could go out for a drink. Chevalier refuses. Then Leon's going to bring Clavis, Jin, and the alcohol to his library later. Chevalier looks at him with blatant disgust and asks why he has to deal with them. Leon replies with that's just his way of doing things.

Chevalier reminds Leon of how he once said they'd never understand each other. Leon acknowledges that, but hasn't given up on him. They don't need to agree with each other. Chevalier sighs and waves before flipping his cape and walking away.

Unlike in the past, the two are able to properly look at each other and talk.

Leon: He's still a jerk.

The two are by no means close, but they're leaders of their respective factions that protect the country of art and roses. In this way, they continue to build toward the future while still clashing with each other's beliefs.

[lorepumpkin]

I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU ALL THIS

Okay, so on Friday night I had ANOTER LO-based dream (Mostly because of nerves about the finale) and it was actually funny.

So in my dream I went to this bookstore at the mall I usually go to as I have a membership and all that, and as I was scanning through the graphic novel section I saw volume six of Lore Olympus (The one with Hecate on the cover).

Me, a little curious on the bonus content, decided to take a peek at it....and for some reason it starts with that one episode on season one, the one where Persephone is like "wHaT's A bUtTdIaL?!" even though volume six is supposed to contain episodes 127 to 152 - season TWO episodes.

But that wasn't the weirdest part! Someone else was in place of Persephone's panels - and I'm being deadass here - instead of Persephone, it was MOTHERFUCKING PINKIE PIE FROM MY LITTLE PONY!

More specifically, THIS version of Pinkie Pie:

I'm never gonna view the LO volumes (And that butt dial scene) the same again, thank you Pinkie Pie-

[gorgojijijijito]

im gonma make bride of discord relevant againt i sweer

anybody else remember bride of discord (and daughter of discord) by that disneyfanaticbunchofnumbers on youtube? yeah i freaking loved it as a kid. still do now honestly, it was honestly one of the cornerstones of my childhood and it's my favorite thing to listen to while i work. i call it my soap opera.

that being said 90% of the morals are AWFUL holy shit. i still appreciate it because it's heartwarming as a passion project and comparably more mature piece of fanwork considering the my little pony fandom at the time; but the toxicity between discord and fluttershy? the homophobic undertones in the sequel?? the treatment of rarity as a character??? THE APPLESPIKE??????

that shit has GOT to GO. so im writing a fix-it-fic for my own self indulgence lmao. i'll be posting my progress and some tidbits here, but i'm not even halfway done with transcripting the episodes and planning out my changes, so it'll be a long while before the final drafts are ready to post. when they are, they'll be posted on archive of our own, but until then, everyone and anyone is more than welcome to offer changes that they would like made, or factors of the story they'd like to be kept. theres no guarantees that they'll be included, but it's still so fun talking about this thing with other people, and it's always good to engage with others in this phase of the process. below is a list of major to minor notes i've already got in mind.

I want to keep the serious tone of the story. By far I think the thing that kept me attached to this series for so long is how the mood differs from so much of the fandom back then. the stakes in the beginning were legitimately high, the conflict took itself seriously, and the production quality was through the roof. this is the audiodrama's hallmark, it's iconic and must be kept in mind when contemplating changes.

Many smaller changes must be made to the Fluttercord plot in order to make it healthier and more natural: the infantilization of fluttershy, discord's overbearingness and harrassment, literally nearly all of episode 9. red flags. i think the biggest issue is that the character arcs are based more on shipping and tropes than the actual characters. there's nothing wrong with this in moderation, but in this case, the relationship is unbearably toxic. the arcs in the rewrite will be a lot more character-focused.

Instead of applejack and spike being the secondary romance, i'm going to make it applejack and rarity. yes i do ship rarijack, but this decision was primarily made in order to get two birds with one stone with applejack and rarity's depictions in the series and its sequel. free my girl rarity and leave my boy spike alone :(

Take pinkie pie more seriously as a character. this isn't just a problem with BOD but also the actual show FIM. she just gets annoying sometimes and her lack of depth really irked me in BOD.

GET RAINBOW DASH AWAYYYY FROM SOREN GET THAT OUT OF HERE

i feel like fluttershy's "tragic" backstory explaining her hesitance as being adored is kinda underwhelming. so is her insecurity, her insecurity not expanding beyond the "doesn't know she's beautiful" trope just rubs me the wrong way, she deserves more depth than that.

discord. discord. the relationship is so one-sided to discord that i think i can only name 2 things he legitimately done for fluttershy's happiness (both of which he lowkey ruined not a day later. most of their "bonding" scenes are just him trying to distract her from her tragic reality and her desires by doing stuff he wants to do, which btw is a manipulation tactic so GET THAT OUT OF HERE)

theres quite a few weird undertones and stereotypes. the pedo and "nice girl" stuff with applespike is the most obvious one, but theres also some lowkey misogynistic quips thrown in there and, although this might not have been an issue at the time, zecora does fit the "wise black woman" trope that's been pointed out many times in recent media, so i do need to adjust how she's portrayed.

another problem that FIM also commits, but rainbow dash just feels so mischaracterized as an element of loyalty at some points. i want to make her loyalty more prominent, to the point of putting her career on the line because she couldn't abandon fluttershy or her friends when they were breaking down. that would be real sweet.

i dont know if im also going to rewrite daughter of discord, i might consider it after im finished with this one, though. also i promise i write way better than i do here when i try lol

[read-and-write-]

Get to know me, double edition

Two tag games running around at the same time so I'm copying some people and doing both at the same time, and for the people who tagged me in one, this is your tag for the other.

Thanks to @myheartalivewrites @happiness-of-the-pursuit @littlemisskittentoes @heybuddy-drabbles @suseagull04 @14carrotghoul for tagging me in this! I finally did it!

There's two versions of this so this is a double tag game, reduce, reuse, recycle and all that, answers under the cut

First Set

Last song: María La Curandera - Natalia Lafourcade

Last film: I can't remember which basically tells you everything you need to know about how many movies I actually watch

Currently reading: Gideon the Ninth bt Tamsyn Muir, and I'm rereading Loveless by Alice Oseman because I want to anotate the physical book that i got half a year ago

Currently watching: Interview with the Vampire, I'm in episode 6 and seriously considering just putting all my tbr aside to read the novel

Currently consuming: Chocolate Ice Cream and a cheese sandwich (✨girl dinner✨)

Currently craving: This specific fries with pulled pork and cream cheese and BBQ sauce from this specific place that are bomb every single time.

Next Set

1. Were you named after anyone?

My great-grandfather, Manuel

2. When was the last time you cried?

On friday my cat needed to get surgery done, needless to say I cried more than once during that day.

3. Do you have kids?

i am just a baby (no)

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I did Artistic Roller Skating for a long time, branched out to Figure Skating for like two months but tropical country couldn't keep up and went back to my roots until around two years ago when I started having Adult Schedules for Work. I have also done Gymnastics.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes, and also suffer the "everything I say sounds serious" sindrome

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

Hair generally, if we are speaking in Spanish, accent.

7. What’s your eye color?

Brown that leans to black.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, I am a coward and proud.

9. Any talents?

I am very good at knowing things, I am a fun fact girlie, if you have a random question ask me because 8 times out of 10 I have the answer, if I don't just give me 2 minutes and I'll have it.

And I also sing.

10. Where were you born?

Medellín ✨en la playa con la oriental✨ if this means something to you seamos amiguitos

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, reading, singing, spending my money in silly little gadgets, walking around a mall just looking (o lolear, my mom would call it)

12. Do you have any pets?

My soulmate, best friend and child, a cat named Iglesia.

13. How tall are you?

1,56m or for my american friends 5'1

14. Favorite subject in school?

English, Spanish, Art and Philosohpy, long ago the four nations lived together in harmony-

I was indeed a humanities nerd.

15. Dream job?

Right now? mantenida, now if I had to chose and ignore if it's possible or not I'd love to work in the production crew of Doctor Who or any other big fiction TV Show, turning your hyperfixations into profit and all that.

OKAY now tagging some people, no pressure y'all, if you have already done it I apologize @raysletters @ssmtskw @rmd-writes @gayrootvegetable @gay-flyboys @firenati0n @anincompletelist