#JESSE!! LET'S CUT TO THE CHASE!! I HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU!!

[homosexualslug]

breaking bad season 5 out of context

[sharkiethrts]

short prompt: dancing and singing ('vulgar', as sunday would call it) songs with sunday

relations: sunday x reader, robin mentioned at the end!

Notes: modern au. Highschool prom au? You can interpret this however- even Sunday going to a club for the first time (how did you convince him, even?) Nevermind, maybe a house party is more fitting? Sunday doesn't have his wings here since it's supposed to be modern au. Did not reread this by the way, so grammatical errors wouldn't be surprising.

warnings: borderline suggestive??? to be honest, it's just the lyrics of 'california girls' that you should be worried about haha Reader is gender neutral by the way (but if there is any insinuated of gender in the story I may have missed, please correct me!)

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Walking into the crowded room, the blaring music and the rising temperature caused by the throng of students accumulating in one spot overtakes you. You try to stand on your tiptoes, eyes squinting to gauge how far you are from your goal- the dancefloor. You're far. Like, remarkably far.

You had planned to enter much earlier, discarding your coat at the coat-rack placed not-so-meticulously at an inconvenient spot behind the door, yet your diligent partner just couldn't let it be. Although Sunday has tried to seem more laidback while he was courting you (as he'd call it, you tried to call it 'chase' once, while abbreviating the blooms of your love story to your friends at a housewarming party, but he cut you off rather curtly- claiming that it made him sound predatory- he seemed offended when you laughed at that).

Nevertheless, he went on to smoothing out both your coats, folding them (in a way you've only seen store employees do) carefully and then stuffing them into a bag he had brought. The bag is then hung carefully at the middle of the rack, careful to not trip the other clumsily placed jackets of your mutual friends (some unknown to you, you realise now- Jess has always been popular).

You swear that he would have done the same to the rest of the coats if it weren't for the fact you pulled him incessantly by his arm, shooting him pouting looks and an annoyed cry.

You shoot your partner a brief glare, he returns a confused look right back at you but not bothering to ask for further details- you do have quite the idiosyncrasy only belonging to you, he reasons. Your interaction is cut short by the switch of the songs. Sunday seemed rather disappointed, it had been Robin's newest song after all. But it seems that you two came in too late (you'd pity him if it weren't for him suffering from the consequences of his own actions).

You, however, are absolutely beaming. California Girls.

You pulled him by his sleeve (you're not quite sure why he chose a stiff button-up for this occasion, but then again- you don't think he has any other attire that'd be suitable for this), "You sing right?" You say over the noise.

"What?" He doesn't seem to hear.

"You sing! You told me before- you were in a choir!" You scream this time, he seems to understand now- shaking his head to refuse.

"Sippin gin and juice!" You ignore him, taking the lead. He shakes his head, saying something like how it's too 'vulgar' and how the 'lyrics are disrespectful and have objectifying undertones'. You roll your eyes, "Tryna creep a little sneak peek- At us!"

You encourage him more, flashing your most earnest look (you do feel rather earnest, the only time you've ever heard him sing was when you had a nightmare, he had hummed you to sleep- but other than that? Nothing else. No lyrics, no nothing. Since then, you have been rather adamant on pushing more out of him.

He seems to have been convinced (weak, you'd tease- if it weren't for the fact that Sunday is petty enough to never sing again just for that) and you wait for him to join in, "But nothing comes close to the golden coast," Your eyes gleam at the gentle tune of his voice, with an expertly tuned technique. He makes this song sounds holy, even.

"Once you party with us," You lead on, leaning in with a teasing push on your knees, your hands moving to grasp at his shoulders. He reciprocates by holding onto your back, completing your line, "You'll be falling in love"

Exhilarated by his concession, you let out an off tune and off time plethoras of 'oh's, to which he had laughed at- eyes wrinkled and head slightly thrown back- messing up his neatly combed long hair.

You grin. This was going to be a night.

You grip at his hand with your other, feeling the clammy surface of it. You realise he's nervous, baring his feelings like no other. He must be unfamiliar with the closeness of it all, with the downright sexual lyrics spilling out of his mouth at this point.

You lean in by his ear, breath hitting where he shivers.

"Sex on the beach," His cheeks bloom red- alongside with his ears that now look bruised in purple and red. He tries to pull back, definitely to scold you for your 'indecency'. You don't let him, ". We don't mind sand in our stilettos."

By the end of the night, you forgot your coats at the rack, walking home singing your surfeit of Katy Perry songs.

You remember to film a clip of Sunday belting the lyrics of 'Last Friday Night'. To which you sent to Robin, where she responded with long series of questions.

Funny, to think that you had been to shy to ever talk to her before this. Where she had given you her phone number when Sunday had first introduced you in a cafe. You had thought that she was just exchanging polite platitudes, to which Sunday refuted that Robin had been genuinely lonely.

With her excited response, you finally start to believe him.

'Send me more! You have more, right?!' to 'Where were you? Invite me next time! We should go together!"

You grin, it's the next morning (scratch that, it's one) and your feet are sore from the dancing (Sunday had spun you around once, you think he told you- 'it's my rendition of the galopede of the 1820s').

You call her, to which she picks up immediately, "He vomited the moment we came home," Was the first thing you said.

She understood you immediately, "He drank?"

"Vodka. Even took his part in games- won his first note, I'd wager."

You spent the whole afternoon recounting the night to her, to which she swooned and battered you up for more.

"Ah." You paused for a second.

"What is it?!" By this point, Robin has forgotten about her upcoming rehearsal in fifteen, to which she always comes thirty minutes early. She missed that mark fifteen minutes ago.

"I think we may have left our coats at Jess' house."

Robin completely lost it at that. So worth it.

[thegettingbyp2]

Do you think you can make a part 2 to Taking Your Mind Off Her? It's fine if not :)

I'm Only Focused on You

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After the last time you had slept with Jess, after the confirmation that you were only a distraction for him, you thought that it was best if you took a step back from him for a while; you had gotten too close so you decided to save yourself the heartbreak and get out before you got hurt too badly.

You were beginning to drive yourself crazy; you were avoiding any and everywhere where you might bump into Jess, the diner, the bookshop, you were even trying to taking longer ways to school just so you wouldn’t run into him accidentally.

It had been two months since you had last seen Jess and you had pretty much perfected your new routes, almost certain that you didn’t have to worry about seeing him every time you turned a corner. You were on your way home from school when you felt an arm reach out and wrap around your waist, pulling you against a hard chest and hiding the two of you from sight. Looking up, you felt your heart sink when your eyes met Jess’.

‘What the hell is going on?’ Jess spoke lowly as he looked at you and it took everything in your will to slide out of his grasp.

‘I need to go,’ you said quickly, and made to step back out onto the street. You’d barely taken a step before Jess’ arm wrapped around you again, yanking him back into his chest.

‘No, you’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on! (Y/N), it’s been two months and I haven’t seen you at all! What happened? What did I do?’ Jess asked, almost sounding desperate as he gripped onto you, not willing to let you go for a single moment.

‘I’m tired Jess,’ you breathed out, feeling tears pricking at your eyes. ‘I’m tired of constantly being a distraction for you. And I know that we said that we were just going to be a casual thing but I can’t do it anymore. I don’t want to do it anymore. I hate the person I’ve become because of it, having to avoid you at all costs just to protect myself! I won’t do it anymore, Jess.’

Jess grip seemed to tighten on you as he gently pulled you even closer into him, until your chests were flush with each others. His hand made its way to your cheek as he thumbed away a tear that you hadn’t realised had fallen. ‘What made you think you were a distraction?’ he murmured softly in your ear.

Your head jolted back up, eyes wide, when you took in what he said. You pulled away from him with a scoff. ‘You really need to ask? Jess, the last time I saw you, you thanked me for distracting you minutes after fucking me! I’m pretty sure that counts as calling someone a distraction.’ Once again, you ripped yourself from Jess’ grasp and this time, you began walking back down the street.

‘Shit! (Y/N), wait!’ Jess yelled as he began to chase you down the street, determined to set everything right. He finally caught up to you as you passed the diner and he somehow managed to wrangle you into the diner, gripping your hand in his and practically dragging you upstairs to his and Luke’s apartment. ‘Listen,’ he said, with his back pressed against the door as he faced you. ‘Just hear me out.’

��I don’t have anything else to say to you.’

‘That’s why I said hear me out,’ he insisted. Instead of replying, you moved further into the apartment and sat down on the sofa, crossing your arms and legs as you looked at Jess with an eyebrow raised.

Jess let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and walked across to where you were sitting on the sofa, sinking to his knees in front of you and taking both of your hands in his. ‘You’re not a distraction. You’ve never been a distraction and I don’t know why I let you believe that you were. If anything, you were the person I needed distracting from.’

‘Wait, I’m confused,’ you cut in, frowning slightly. ‘What about Rory?’

‘I tried to convince myself that I could be in love with Rory if it meant that I wouldn’t be in love with you.’ The moment the words left his mouth, his eyes widened, instantly regretting what he’d just said. ‘That came out wrong! What I meant was that I was scared that if I admitted to being in love with you, I would lose you and that was something I couldn’t bear. I need you, (Y/N), whatever way you’ll let me have you, I need you.’

The second you looked into his eyes, you knew that he was telling the truth, his hands squeezing yours so tight, you were pretty sure you were losing feeling. Using his grip on your hands to pull yourself closer to him, you leaned down to hover your lips over his.

‘So, I don’t need to help you keep away from Rory?’

Jess breathed out a small chuckle, shaking his head. ‘Baby, the only one I’m focused on, is you.’

[bigfan-fanfic]

Back Into Trouble (Winchester!Reader x Winchester Bros PLATONIC)

A sequel to Brother Mine

This fic takes place somewhere near the end of season 1, after episode 19 but before episode 20. In addition, there's a song called Brother Mine that is really sweet and cute especially if put into this context of being Sam and Dean's, but especially Dean's, older brother. "I know that I sit and I worry too much/Especially when you come home such a sight/But I guess what you've got to do, boy, you go ahead and do it/And I sure hope things will be all right"

You may not have enjoyed returning to hunting, but you're damn good at it.

Although it's made even more frustrating when your father actually calls in.

You're not so thrilled about continuing on this... gallivanting cross-country, especially when John is chasing down the demon that killed your mother.

But Sam seems to have come to terms with it, though you honestly feel like that might have more to do with his desire to avenge Jess.

The real problem you see with your little brothers is their inability to let go.

You had all been raised by John in the hunting lifestyle, the family business.

But it's been decades since your mother's death. A horrible thing, that you have had to come to terms with having no real answers for.

And you can understand the desire for vengeance, for a clear-cut answer that will "solve everything."

It won't.

Something you've tried to get your brothers to think about is the future. About what they want out of their lives.

Because you remember how it was, living completely in the moment, day to day, hunt to hunt. And it was Bobby who pointed out that you had potential, that you deserved a life, if not now, then at least the promise of one.

So you convince them to take a rest in Massachusetts after leaving a hunt. Just to take a couple of days for hanging out.

Dean wants to see the Cheers bar and Sam wants to visit the Old North Church, so you get an actual hotel suite in Boston.

You check in with your colleagues and employees, apologizing for being incommunicado for so long. Thankfully the hotel has a business center with a fax machine you can sign invoices and contracts with.

Dean looks at you curiously. "So... you really did just... start a business?"

"Technically I bought it out from the owner who wanted to retire. So more... maintaining."

"You really are just... out of the life."

"I was, til you two called me."

"...sorry." Dean mumbles, and you grab his shoulder.

"Don't be. I was never doing this for Dad. I'm here for you and for Sammy."

Dean nods thoughtfully.

"You saw him. With that girl at the art gallery. He liked her. She liked him."

"Yeah."

"And you... with Cassie."

"Your point being?"

"Life keeps building off-ramps for you but you keep on truckin down this road."

Dean scowls. "Look, I'm not stupid. I know this life is dangerous. I know my days are probably numbered. But I'm making a difference. I'm saving people."

"What about you?"

He blinks. "What about me?"

"I'm done trying to force you out of the life, Dean. It's your choice. When we finally deal with all this shit - when the bastard that killed Mom is dead and you and Sam are finally free... I'm not gonna stop you if you go back to hunting."

"You're not?"

You nod. "But I'll be damned if I'm gonna lose contact with you again. I'll be there when you need a place to crash or a voice to call. Maybe you'll even visit me.

"Just... I need you to promise me you're not gonna run yourself into the ground. None of this has been your fault. It's not your fault about Mom, and it wasn't your fault I left, and it's not your fault that Dad couldn't really be a dad to us."

Dean wants to protest but you shush him. "You're gonna do what you do. And I'm gonna stop hunting again. For good this time. But when you decide it's time to come home... I hope you come to me, little brother."

You stand up then, leaving Dean to his thoughts. He's quiet for the rest of the day, but you feel an almost companionable nature to the silence.

And just maybe, after this all... maybe your brothers will follow you away from the things that go bump in the night.

[frogychu]

Antirrhinum Ch. 2

ellie x gn!reader

ch. 2 of 4

other parts: 1 / 3 / 4

words: 2.2k

Hanahaki (花吐き病) ; disease affecting the lungs, proven to be caused by keeping one's true feelings hidden for too long Or Where you and Ellie have been friends for years until she finally slips up, coughing up petals in front of you.

a/n: really putting the slow in slow burn for this one guys and ofc the work will always be cross posted on AO3 here!

Snowflakes swirl around you as you wait for the door to open. The awkwardness of waiting around is starting to make you regret coming to Ellie’s garage in the first place.

It's taking an abnormally long time; did she know it was you? Should you knock again?

Plus its fucking freezing. Maybe this was a mistake.

The lights aren't even on inside, maybe she should be left to sleep if she's that sick.

Ah. Should've brought something for her.

Just as you're overthinking about soup, the lights turn on inside, and the door opens just a crack.

“Joel I told you, i'll be fine, it's just-”

You decide to cut her off before you gain any more knowledge you’re not supposed to. “Uh it's not Joel.”

She stops talking and the door swings open, revealing her dishevelled figure.

You won't lie, she looks absolutely terrible. She has horrible eye bags, seemed to have slept in yesterday's patrol clothes, and is much paler than usual. You're not used to seeing her in such a poor state, and it is quite the sight.

It's making you almost feel bad for bothering her.

She looks at you sheepishly, “Oh, hi.”

Not wanting to make her feel any worse than she already does, you decide to cut to the chase. "Jesse told me you're sick?"

"Oh, uh, not really. I'm fine-"

You swear you're starting to turn blue as you're talking out here, you even start shivering. Ellie cuts herself off as she very obviously takes notice.

"Oh shit, did you want to come inside maybe?" She insists.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude, I just wanted to check on you."

She pauses for a long while. Her expression saddens as she closes her eyes and lets out a shaky breath.

"Please."

Oh.

You waste no time grabbing the door handle and letting yourself in, closing it behind you. She's being oddly vulnerable with you, you wouldn't dare give her a hard time now.

It's awkward for a while. She motions at you to sit on the couch, so you do, after taking off your coat. You're watching her pace around slowly like she doesn't know what to do with you.

You're looking around the room, unsure of what to say either. Her room is cute, messy but cozy, it's dimly lit by her fairy lights and lava lamp, just enough to illuminate all of the art she put up above her desk.

One of the drawings catches your attention; it's a portrait of you.

When did she-

She finally spoke up, breaking your train of thought, “Uh hey, do you smoke?”

“Well, yeah, but are you sure we should be doing this while you're sick?”

“I'll be fine.” She answers abruptly, as she walks over to her desk and puts in a random CD into her CD player. ‘Black Hole Sun’ by Soundgarden starts playing quietly in the background.

She quickly walks over to her bed and grabs a small tin from her nightstand, sitting beside you and handing you the tin. You open it and take out a pre-roll, holding it to your mouth and searching for a lighter.

Ellie reaches into her back pocket, “Here.” She reaches over and lights it for you and you can't help but feel your heart race a mile a minute at the closeness.

The smoke invades your lungs as you breathe in, holding it before exhaling and handing the blunt over to Ellie. “You sure we should be doing this indoors?”

She shrugs, “If you want to go outside, be my guest.”

You take the blunt out of her hands as she passes it back to you, “I value my limbs thank you.”

She chuckles in response and you decide to speak up again, “So why did you skip out on patrol then miss ‘not sick’?”

“Didn't feel like going?” She lies.

You're skeptical. “Right…”

“Look, I'll tell you later.”

“You mean you'll tell me when you're high?”

“Yup.” She nods her head.

You laugh at her honesty, “Fair enough.”

Selfishly, you're a little glad she's in a poor state. It's letting the two of you break the ice that accumulated over the years, and you're definitely enjoying this side of her better. Both of you smoke in silence for a while, but there's undoubtedly less tension now, it's comfortable.

That is until she decides to talk again. “We should watch something.”

“Like, a movie?”

“Yeah. I was thinking something like an action movie…” she trails off.

You squint your eyes at her, “You want to watch Curtis And Viper don't you.”

She frowns, “How did you know?”

“It's like, the one thing I know about you, I literally can't forget.” You chuckle.

“Well maybe if we didn't fight all the time, you would know me better.”

Woah?

“I'm sorry, are you blaming me for this? I never meant for things to be this way.”

She gets up in a huff, “If you didn't then why didn't you try to change?”

It's escalating all too quickly, now you're standing too, blunt put out and long forgotten. “This goes both ways you know!”

“Yeah, we're both to blame for this shit friendship!”

You can see the regret in her face as soon as the words come out of her mouth.

“I'm so sorry I- I didn't mean to-”

Your eyes get welled with tears, “You think our friendship is shit? Do you even like me? What am I to you?!”

“You're my best friend I-”

“Don't. Just stop.”, you grab your coat, “This was a mistake.”

And just like that, you're storming out the door, with hot and angry tears streaming down your face as you walk back to your house. As soon as you get in the house, you close it behind you and slump to the floor. It's pathetic, but you can't help it.

You knew the two of you would've had to have a talk sooner or later, you just didn't expect it all to blow up in your face. You've never fought with her this badly, you're devastated. You lay on the floor for a while, knees to your chest and only the sounds of the strong wind in the crack of the door keep you company.

Numb is the only word you can use for yourself as you finally get up and make your way up your stairs. Not even bothering to get undressed, you slump into bed early in the morning. Nothing could help process your emotions better than simply not thinking about them at all.

-

You wake up abruptly to the sound of banging at your door. By the time you were awoken by the knocking, it was dark out. You slept through the whole day.

Great.

Nevertheless, as much as you were - somehow - still exhausted, you ran down the stairs to tend to the sleep-disturbing culprit.

The knocking is still loud and persistent. “I'm coming!” you yelled, a little frustrated at this person's determination. You opened the door wide.

It’s Ellie. Ellie who has red eyes and a tear stained face. She's holding something.

Food?

It looks so fucking good, you dont even know what it is but you’re ready to forgive her just with this. You hadn't eaten all day.

She finally gains the courage to speak after letting you stare at her, “I'm sorry. Let's not fight anymore. I shouldn't have said any of that to you it was…stupid”

You want to kiss her, pull her into a tight embrace, hold her face and tell her everything is going to be ok. But you don't, for now.

Baby steps.

“I'm sorry too. I don't want us to be weird. Can we just be friends again? I just…I just want you to like me.” You answer honestly.

She gives you a soft smile of relief, “I do like you, even if I give you a hard time.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You can't help but blush at the mention of her liking you, even if you know it's just as a friend. Still, you can't stop wondering what it would be like for her to confess to you like this.

Ellie speaks up again, before your daydreaming gets out of hand, “So, uh, did you want some or…” she motions to the dinner she had brought you.

“Please! Oh my god, I haven't eaten all day, you are a saint.” You thank her as you snatch the plate out of her hands and drag her inside.

She stumbles a little as you're dragging her by her arm. “Woah, hey, you don't even know if it's good or not!”

You stop and turn to look at her, “I literally could not care less right now.”

“Ok but i'm warning you, you've never had my cooking so-”

“Wait, you made this?” You cut her off.

She scratches her neck as she gets red in the face, “Oh, uh, yeah I did.”

Your heart feels warm and your stomach is full of butterflies. You can't help but smile softly at her as your face gets equally as crimson, “Thank you.”

“Nothing to it.” She answers nonchalantly.

You sit down at your dining table, not even bothering to heat up the food. It's a type of stirfry thing. Ellie sits beside you, looking at you nervously as you take a bite. Oddly enough, it's delicious. You didn't strike her as being much of a cook but you have to admit it's more than edible.

“Is it tolerable?” she asks.

You answer her between mouthfuls, “Are you shitting me? This is the best meal I've had probably ever.”

She laughs at your exaggerations. “Shut up, you're just saying that.”

“It's true, I swear!”

She shakes her head in response instead of saying anything back. You smile happily and keep eating your food. Looking out of your window as you ate, you noticed that the bad weather had finally stopped. You comment on it, trying to make conversation, “It's finally nice out.”

“Aw man,” she chuckles, “I can't believe we're talking about the weather, but you're right.” She pauses before talking again, “We should go do something.”

You answer her as you're shoveling the last of your food in your mouth, “Like what?”

“You'll see.” She answers you ominously.

“Okay, creepy.”

She questions you, “You trust me?”

You soften your expression, trying to be more sincere, “Of course I do.”

“Good, come outside with me.” She orders you, getting up from her seat and grabbing your coat. Taken aback by her sudden change in tone, you do as she says without answering her, or putting your dishes away.

She holds your jacket open for you and you slide your arms in. It's endearing, you get all warm and fuzzy on the inside. You open the door and let her go out before you, and close it.

You both walk out into the street, and she smacks your arm, pointing upwards to the sky. It’s completely clear; you can't help but feel so small looking up at all of the bright lights in the sky. Although, your view is slightly obstructed by the street lights.

“Wait Ellie, I have an idea.” You tell her as you try to grab her attention.

She looks down at you, “What's up?”

“Follow me.” You insist, as you already started making your way to your destination.

You bring her to the back of your house, where a ladder to your roof is propped up against the siding.

“It might be a little more unsafe because of the snow and stuff.” You warn her.

She shrugs, “It’ll probably be fine.”

Next thing you knew she was making her way up, and you soon followed after she made it. You both lay down on the snowy roof and look at the stars quietly, until she started naming and pointing out different stars and constellations.

“That big bright one over there, that's a whole galaxy, Andromeda.” She points to a different spot. “And there beside it, Cassiopea, and Orion's belt over there.”

You listen to her rave about space for a good while, she's cute when she rants like this. “Didn't strike you as that big of a space nerd.”

“Is knowing more about me that terrible?”

“No.” You answer immediately.. “I like being around you, remember?”

She shrugs, “Trying to.”

You sit up and turn to face her, “Ellie, I'm sorry for how things have been between us for however long we've known each other. Let's be friends like normal people are friends, who know each other's favourite colours, who let each other know when something is wrong. I'm sick of this.”

Ellie immediately gets up, “I'm sorry too. And I'd like that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She smiles at you.

Having at least the smallest amount of progress puts a smile on your face, but you knew there was a lot more to be done if you wanted to get closer to her. “So, what is your favourite colour?”

She laughs, “Oh man, are we really doing this?”

“Absolutely we are.” You answer, as you lay back down in the snow to look up at the night sky.

This was about to be a long night.

a/n: SOO what r we thinking thoughts.. prayers? n e ways hope u all liked it !

tags: @champagnelovers101 @luvagirl222 @florenceisacoolname @cherriesnwatermelons @sufloerfs

[seraphtrevs]

I'm going to go roll the rock away from Nacho's tomb in a minute to see if he's better yet, but before I do, I feel like talking about why we got Nacho Christ in the first place.

Both BrBa and BCS are heavily thematic. They have a point beyond things just happening. BrBa is about toxic masculinity and its life-destroying effects. Walt insists over and over that he turned to crime for the sake of his family, but in the final episode, he confesses to Skyler that he did it for himself. He “protected” and “provided” for his family not for their sake, but in order to feel powerful. That quest for power destroys Walt, his family, Jesse, and a shit-ton of other people, from the addicts he supplied with dangerous drugs to the people he killed (both on purpose and by accident).  Toxic masculinity, says Vince Gilligan, is bad.

So what is BCS trying to say? I don’t think the premise is as explicit as BrBa, partly because I’m pretty sure they didn’t start the series with this intention. But as they found their identity, it slowly started to take shape. BCS is about the folly of vengeance.

BCS 6x09 is in many ways the real finale of BCS—the end of Jimmy’s pre-Saul life. And just like BrBa made its premise explicit in its finale, BCS has the characters reference its theme directly, too. When Mike promises Manuel justice for Nacho, Manuel looks at him in disgust and tells him, “What you talk about is not justice. What you talk of is revenge.” The next scene finds Gus trying to make a human connection before realizing that his quest for revenge endangers anyone close to him, and he will lose them just like he lost Max. His life will always be empty of love and companionship. And Jimmy and Kim have lost each other, their lives and marriage torn apart, all because they wanted to get back at Howard. Revenge, says Peter Gould, is bad.

(courtesy cut for the tl;dr)

There were a lot of things that sent Jimmy down the slippery slope into becoming Saul, but two acts in particular turbo-charged his downfall. Even after Jimmy defeats Chuck’s attempt to kick him out of the law, he’s still angry. Humiliating Chuck at the hearing was a means to an end, but manipulating the insurance agent to hike HHM’s rates was pure vengeance, done solely to hurt Chuck. That action indirectly leads not only to Chuck’s suicide, but also to their final conversation when Chuck advises him to let go of his guilt and accept that he’s a bad person deep down inside and will never be anything else.

Jimmy’s big second act of vengeance is against Howard, which ends with him losing the love of his life. And once Kim leaves, Jimmy embraces the worst parts of himself, which leads to him enabling Walt’s reign of terror. Revenge has poisoned his life.

Mike’s story also illustrates the anti-vengeance theme. Before the show even begins, Mike had taken his revenge by murdering his sons’ killers. It made him feel better temporarily, but ultimately it did not give him peace. Instead, he chases more vengeance, against Hector this time, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

Even Chuck’s story ties in with revenge. Chuck wanted to punish Jimmy—for stealing from their parents, but also for being more loved than him (in his warped perception). This obsession with taking down Jimmy leads to his disgrace and death.

So what does this have to do with Nacho Christ? A lot, because Christ symbolism is often used around themes of forgiveness—the opposite of revenge. But BCS has a more nuanced point of view than turn the other cheek. BCS’s Christ figure dies cursing the people who wronged him. Clearly the point isn’t that Nacho should have forgiven Gus, or Gus should have forgiven Hector, or Mike should have forgiven his son’s murderers.

Instead, BCS says the alternative to revenge is to forgive yourself. But forgiving yourself is not an easy action, because to truly be at peace, you have to make amends where you can. Nacho’s crimes put his father’s life in danger. He made amends by sacrificing his life to save his father. Jimmy makes amends by publicly admitting to his lies and telling the truth at last, which leads to the loss of his freedom.

An important point is that neither Jimmy nor Nacho made their sacrifices just to punish themselves. Self-punishment does not lead to forgiveness, although the price of truly being able to forgive yourself is sometimes steep.

Nacho was backed into a corner. He could have instead gone down the path of revenge by letting Gus kill his dad and then swearing vengeance on Gus. But that would have been pointless and not given him any relief from his guilt. Instead, he chose to sacrifice his life in order to get his dad out of the danger his action put him in. Nacho’s death wasn’t a punishment—it was just the natural outcome of the action he had to take to make amends.

Likewise, Jimmy going to prison wasn’t the point. In order to be an honest person, Jimmy had to start telling the truth, not just to himself but to the rest of the world. A consequence of telling that truth was prison time.

The show goes out of its way to demonstrate that point with Kim’s story. Her Floridian exile is a punishment she concocted for herself, thinking that suffering would make her feel less guilty. But it doesn’t. Inflicting pain on herself does nothing to make up for what she did to Howard.

In order to forgive herself, Kim must make amends. What does finally help is confessing to Cheryl in order to help restore Howard’s reputation. The consequence of her confession is that she’s put herself in legal jeopardy, but that isn’t the point. The point is she's doing what she can to make up for her actions, which allows her space to forgive herself.

At the same time, self-forgiveness doesn’t always involve a high cost. Mike’s path to self-forgiveness was to be a supportive presence in Kaylee and Stacey's lives—to take on the role Matty would have played if he had lived. He didn't need to buy them a house with dirty money. He just needed to be there. But ultimately, facing his demons and taking on the hard work of processing his grief was too painful for Mike. Instead, he took refuge in revenge and became even more lost.

So that's why we needed Nacho Christ. He is the negation of the cycle of vengeance.

[faithfromanewperspective]

something like a snippet, i can never keep/ideas in a line and plot of what i see

(to the tune of starting line by luke hemmings)

i was thinking a lot about discovering myself as a musician and an athlete and a way that works for me with my ideals and my neurodivergence and just being in that space where my whole body is burnt out and all but the most authentic options are limited. and also about how gifts that you don't have autonomy over aren't gifts at all and it's natural to get traumatised by things that others who don't know your circumstances don't--

and this came. it's part of a fic going on to 50K words that you will get to read in its entirety once it has a semblance of structure to it. in the meantime it's full of holes, like the stereotype of cheese. this is a flavoursome bit i hope? and i hope it makes sense without whatever background i may or may not have half written for it. i hope it sheds a bit of light on Important Things To Talk About too:

The adults in the enclave had really stepped up, James thought, compared to the last year or so when London went from having no demons, to being overrun with Khora and then being Belial’s plaything. It had taken them a while to realise and acknowledge all the bad decisions that were made during that time, but they had. He’d lost track of all who had come to him about it, apologised for all he and his friends had gone through at the hands of Belial and Tatiana. He drew an iratze on his wrist, cutting through the fog (and ignoring an intrusive thought wondering how much longer he might have to do this for). Still heavy with grief and what he assumed was his body simply processing all that had happened to them, he made his way up to the training room to get in some throws before Matthew and Jesse arrived.

In another world, the three of them might train with Christopher as well, and James would continue for hours with the novelty of a slightly modified weapon that he and his cousin were working out how to use—it would be useful, eventually, after a few more modifications, Kit would promise, but James would just try again and again to adjust his stance, his grip, to whatever new thing this was even when Matthew grew bored and Thomas sat down with him. Back when Thomas was still small, still discouraged at the idea of ever being a great Shadowhunter. Before he got it in his head that chasing murderers alone was a good idea and Alastair had come along and, unexpectedly, been the catalyst along with the year in Spain that brought Thomas out of his shell. When had they lost that? Was it normal for friendship to be like that at their age, each too caught up in their own struggles to see what was going on below the surface, behind the facades of the boxes one put one’s friends in just to feel like one had a handle on how the world worked, and feel like something was predictable?

They had gained a much bigger group of friends than they knew how to handle, roles they hadn’t yet grown into, and no life-changing battle (or three) was without casualties. James couldn’t thank enough whatever turns of fate had brought Cordelia to him, even if the events actually had been Elias’ blunder and him burning a house down at Grace’s request. He hadn’t realised how seventeen years of pent-up frustration and disconnect from the world (which weren’t anyone’s fault, not his, nor that of anyone who loved him) could wear one down slowly. And it took being around those who saw every part of his being, who loved him and let him be free entirely, finding his own way in the world without the pressure of living up to his parents’ legacy, to realise how much he’d been suppressing the urge to escape he never felt like it was possible to fulfil—and that he could live a life of little joys among the responsibilities of protecting mundanes from supernatural dangers.

He'd been resting a lot lately, breathing through nightmares in which Belial was still at large—either possessing him or taunting from afar—just to wake with Cordelia by his side, in a world filled only with the smaller demons he’d learned from young to defeat. He found solace once again in the stories of mundane magicians who, like him, faced discovery of mystery and of a world no one else seemed to be impacted by. Occasionally he’d wonder if there was a future where Shadowhunters or warlocks could counsel these curious mundanes through what they had found as Jem had done for him—surely that would work towards the same end as killing demons? But for now it was enough to know that there was a vast world of human experience, far broader than the narrow-minded and sheltered enclave of London would have him believe. There were people out there restless, searching for more, with a curiosity stronger than their instinct to survive.

James’ throw missed its mark, and he tried to concentrate on the next one. His mind was loud today, and in the last months he’d realised that sometimes it was more beneficial just to pause and let himself think for a bit than try to control it like he did with everything. There were limits to control. That doesn’t mean a world you don’t have control over is too scary or unbearable, he told himself, and he'd keep telling himself until he believed it.

He positioned his feet for the next throw, and as he shut his eyes to feel his body, he saw on the back of his eyelids something he didn’t know why he’d been thinking about so much. A magician called Roland the Astonishing, advertised on posters around the city. Mundane magicians were largely ignored by Shadowhunters, except in rude offhand statements loaded with exasperation: exasperation that they were doing what they were doing, endangering themselves and others, and Shadowhunters like himself were powerless to stop them.

But maybe stopping them just wasn’t the right answer. He missed Christopher in that moment, Christopher who would simply say that if one potential solution did not work they should simply try another.

Another solution. Another path to a world where James Herondale could still be a Shadowhunter. He opened his eyes and in an instant before he could think too hard about it, let the knife fly. Bullseye.

Maybe the way he was training right now just wasn’t what he needed. More of the same thing he’d done since he was a child. Maybe the way that he felt when Shadowhunters around him—competent, as they were, about keeping the city free from demons—spoke of mundanes and Downworlders, especially those who tried to meddle in worlds that weren’t there—was to be expected knowing his heritage.

Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe it was a gift, like the shadow powers he sometimes wished he could have discovered at his own will, learn to manage the way one would manage a horse or a motorcar when driving. Rather than only ever learning skills that were more akin to someone learning how to flip out of the way of and mislead and even land on to try to have some influence over, a tiger you were trapped in a cage with. He was still learning to release that stress, that terror, from his body. Surely that was why this magician seemed to resonate with James in such a profound way. He was free, yet likely felt lost at the same time. And there was something about him. James wasn’t an artist, not by any stretch, so he couldn't use an artist's eye to ask himself: why did his face look so familiar?

He could ask Matthew, he supposed, but somehow—this was something he had to figure out on his own. Not with the assistance of any other Shadowhunter (he would tell Cordelia about it when she was finished training with Lucie for the day, but she would simply listen and thank him for telling her, which didn’t count). At least, not anyone who was born a Shadowhunter.

James threw another knife. Another bullseye. He knew he didn’t get as energetic as Matthew or even Lucie or Christopher did when they were excited, but he could feel it in his veins already: something freeing, something a bit like possibility and hope and the excitement of a new perspective that might just give him a new insight into exactly who he was and what his place was in the world. Something he remembered snippets of amid the crushing dread and shame and tiredness not unlike what he now felt, back when he and Lucie had stayed in Cirenworth Hall after the Academy. If he ignored the scalding fever and the way it left holes in his memory even now, he could imagine the warmth and hope building up in a crescendo like Jem sometimes played on his violin: right up until the moment he fell in love with Cordelia.

Before Grace had killed it with that spell and his life was once again marked by dull despair punctuated only by the pain of being apart from her, and the small relief he felt being around his friends and Cordelia.

Now wasn’t the time to think about Grace. He scribbled a note to Matthew and Jesse—training with three people could be awkward anyway—and set off to find another old friend from his time at the academy who was well versed in everything about mundanes, magicians, the experience of discovering the Shadow World, and might just have some ideas about how it might relate to him. She might even be able to point him to why this magician even looked so familiar (if not for some shared longing in their souls).

James threw another knife and didn’t even bother to retrieve it from the wall (where it had struck the target for the third time), before going to find Esme Hardcastle.

[yeehanfrf]

Week 14 Recs: Mermaid for Each Other

For Week 14, we celebrated MerMay with the theme "Mermaid for Each Other." Here are mermaid and other sea creature fics from the Yeehan community!

Behind the cut, you'll find them organized by rating and then alphabetically by title.

Teen and Up

Heart of the Sea by Odds_Evens [8,824 words]

After a rouge fire throws Jesse McCree overboard he finds himself stranded on an island with only a shy mer for company.

Mature

Match Made Under the Sea by Mish_chan [3,469 words] Note: "The one above is the specifically YeeHan one of the series. Here's the main series: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2915367."

Hanzo has felt like he has never really fit in, with his bright orange/red and white coloration and being one of the only or very few hermaphrodites in his pod. That is, until he sees a rancher/escort mer...who has the same coloration as he does, and calls another hermaphrodite mer his father.

The Monster in the Lake by ieatgrassalot [6,855 words]

Cole, now retired, find his solitary new lifestyle a bit lonely. A few broken nets later, he finds himself getting to the bottom of this mystery and somehow solving the loneliness problem all at once.

Explicit

Away by Vimeddiee [29,154 words] Reccer comment: "This is about a selkie, not a mermaid, but the vibes are correct."

Hanzo awakens to the feel of grit in his eyes and the crunch of sand between his teeth. This in itself doesn’t rudely force him into consciousness, but the insistent flicking against his nose that he groggily attempts to bat away, does.

“High tide’s coming, you better nap someplace else.”

Drink Sweet Salt by Kalikuks [WIP; 57,245 words] Reccer comment: "It’s not been updated in a while, but what is there is still very enjoyable. It’s a mixed bag of angst, cuteness, oddity and hilarity."

Hanzo watches the lightning dance across the clouds and tries to summon his dragon spirits, met with not even the sight of them cresting from his tattoo but the underlying feeling of weak static crawling beneath his skin.

With his last deep breath before the tide rises fully over him, he curses at the sky.

In Your Embrace by Dracoduceus [4,335 words]

Jesse is fully expecting to have to fight and bribe his way back into Hanzo's good graces. After a long swim to bring back the fish that his adopted human fathers intend to raise and study, he goes to search out his pretty mate.

Turns out Hanzo has a much different idea of how McCree should show how sorry he is.

Of Scales, Sand and Sun by Kalikuks [2,767 words]

“Name’s Jesse, darlin’,” the mer, Jesse, replies with every bit of flirtation his lopsided smile lends to, “An’ you?”

“Hanzo,” the naga leans down closer to Jesse, “You can call me Hanzo, dear Jesse.”

Jesse chitters happily, lifts a hand to reach for one of Hanzo’s. The naga gives Jesse his hand, lets the mer show him attention and affection by kissing along his knuckles. Yes, today is looking to be more interesting than Hanzo had thought.

On the Shore by Dracoduceus [9,247 words]

His friends meant well.

That’s what McCree needed to remember.

His friends meant well. ----

McCree didn't have high hopes for the beach vacation that his friends dragged him to.

That all changed when he stumbled upon a private beach...and a very attractive man half-buried in the sand.

Singing Stones by Kalikuks [4,158 words]

“You are mine?” “Yes.” It is barely a whisper, and Seeker nuzzles the hand pressed to his cheek, “I’ve been lookin’ all over for you.” “And here I am,” the other mer purrs.

Sunlit Scales by Interrobang [28,346 words] Reccer comment: "Yaaay it made it and heres my rec Sunlit Scales in which cole is mer and hanzo fisherman. Theres smut but overall very wholesome and cute 😌"

A collection of stories about fisherman Hanzo and merman McCree. Absolutely filthy. (Gets fluffy in later chapters because...eggs. Still occasionally dirty af though.)

Tide by hunahuna_un [3,306 words]

Just two mers, swimming in the deep sea, chasing each other cause they're so gay.

- Just the thought of Hanzo doing the dance of the sirens made him groan, let alone seeing it, this close. Finally.

Never had Jesse felt this excited about the dance of their kind - enticing him, just so. Hanzo had captured him completely, lured him in from the first flick of his tail, the first gleam of interest flashed from his eyes. He tried to reach out to touch, but Hanzo swam just out of reach again, pulling an impatient growl out of Jesse.

---

We've reached the end of the MerMay recs! Thank you to everyone who submitted a recommendation, and to spinefrepple for suggesting the theme!

If you find a fic you love using this rec list, be sure to leave the author kudos and a comment! Even "I found this fic because someone recced it" is a lovely thing to say.

Come back next time for Week 15: "Loud and Proud," celebrating the start of Pride month with fics about LGBTQIA+ identities and/or Pride events.

In the meantime, you can also check out the Week 13 recs here, or check the full list of past and future themes here.

---

Curious about the icon and some of the fic titles? This rec blog supports #EndOTWRacism, a fan campaign asking the AO3 to make good on its 2020 promises to address racist harassment on the site. Fans of color deserve to feel safe and welcome in fan spaces. To learn more, please visit @end-otw-racism and read their Call to Action.

[chaotic-super]

The Vampire Woman - 12

Read The Vampire Woman on Ao3 here!

Kara’s eyes follow the shutters as they lower down from the ceiling, big metal things that smack into place with a clunk. They are much sturdier than any that she’s ever seen on a store window, thicker and more durable, noticeably so.

She can’t do anything but stare at them, her body still frozen in place, Lena’s arms holding her securely to her body.

“Are you ok?” Lena questions, her voice soft and tender.

Kara can’t do anything other than just grip onto Lena’s shoulders tighter, her fists clenched around her work shirt tightly, the satin black material soft and comforting beneath her fingertips.

Instinctively, Kara clenches her eyes shut when a piercing noise echoes through the building, a scratching against the metal shutters followed by screams of anguish, something kara has never truly heard before this moment.

It shocks her out of her frozen state and she goes to jump out of Lena’s arms but Lena doesn’t let her, her strong arms wrapped around her too tightly. It takes a second but when Lena realizes what she’s trying to do she sets her on her feet carefully with a murmured “sorry.”

Jess rushes over to them, grabbing them both into a tight hug, pressing them tightly to her as if to make sure they are both ok. “Thank god you made it back alright.”

“It was close,” Lena admits. “Let’s head upstairs and we can talk more, I have a feeling that Kara needs a drink.”

“Or three.” Kara corrects her, finding her tongue. “What in the actual fuck was all of that?”

Lena lowers her head. “Let’s talk about it upstairs.” She turns briefly to the guards scattered around the main foyer where they are. “Make sure the building is secure then patrol the entrances, if any breaches are found then follow protocol: get into a safe room and use your radios to signal for everyone else to do the same, nobody be a hero.”

She receives a bunch of nods and they all scatter, starting their tasks with their hands on their radios, ready in case they need them.

Kara watches them go, curious about how much they know but too shaken by the way they were just chased by a literal hoard of vampires to be concerned about it.

“Please tell me that the elevators still work even in this lockdown?” Kara breathes out, collecting herself slightly, tugging at the hem of her sweatshirt nervously, feeling desperately out of place surrounded by everyone still dressed in their business clothes while she’s in her sweats, the tips of her hair damp where they just touched the water while she was taking a bath not long ago.

“They still work,” Lena confirms. “The lockdown causes the entire building to switch to the backup generators so we always have power, even if the powerlines are cut, not that I think that would actually happen, those vampires are old and feisty but they don’t have a whole lot going on upstairs, if you know what I mean?”

Kara tries to fight back the twitching of her lips, not wanting to smile so soon after they just got attacked but it’s impossible not to when Jess is openly snickering and Lena is looking at her hopefully, waiting for her to crack.

She can’t resist and lets her mouth form into a little smile before heading off to where she knows the elevators are, ready to get as far away from where she knows the other vampires are gathered around the building, she doesn’t know how she knows, she just does. It’s like she can sense it, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up and a shiver up her spine that just won’t go away.

Jess and Lena are right beside her, one each side, and they escort her up to Lena’s office where she’s led to the couch and a drink is shoved into her hand, whisky by the taste of it. She doesn’t like it.

“Can I have water instead? This is disgusting.”

“That is a two hundred dollar bottle,” Lena complains but gets her some water anyway.

“Tastes like gasoline and not the good kind.”

Jess snorts but doesn’t comment.

Lena sits opposite her. “I suppose you have a lot of questions.”

“Not as many as you might think, I think it’s pretty obvious what’s going on,” Kara answers, sipping her water before placing her glass on the coffee table in front of her, pushing her neglected glass of whiskey further away in disgust as she does so.

Lena nods, “yeah, I guess it is. I’ll still answer any questions you do have though.”

“Ok, well, why are there a whole bunch of vampires suddenly attacking us?” Kara goes with the most obvious question first.

“They’re threatened and they don’t want anyone, namely us, doing anything that could either expose them for what they are, confirm that vampires actually do exist or prevent them from doing what they love – killing.” Lena doesn’t meet Kara’s eyes and Jess is sitting on the edge of the couch beside Kara, looking uncomfortable.

Jess coughs. “They got the information from your notepad and know that you know they exist so the easiest way for them to fix that is to kill you.”

Kara stares down at her glass thoughtfully. “That’s why you reacted the way you did before, isn’t it?” She looks up at Lena. “When I asked you if I could interview you the first time and you grabbed me. You weren’t trying to hurt me, you were scared. You were trying to protect me, not hurt me.”

Lena nods. “I still shouldn’t have grabbed you like that, I’m sorry.”

“But you were scared, weren’t you?”

“I was, and it doesn’t excuse anything.”

“No. It doesn’t.” Kara meets Lena’s eyes as the vampire looks up for the first time since she sat down. “It does explain it though.”

They share a brief smile, one of hesitant trust and mutual understanding, before the lights flicker, turning on and off repeatedly for a series of five seconds at a time for about half a minute.

All three of them stand up, eyes searching around the room and hearts in their mouths, except for Lena, whose already cold blood runs even colder.

“What’s happening?” Jess asks, sounding more frantic than Kara has heard her sound before.

Lena stands firm in front of them. “This shouldn’t be happening, the generators have been working fine up until now and they were only serviced a couple of months ago.”

Jess steps forward, resting a hand on Lena’s shoulder, keeping her touch light. “Lena, what should we do?”

“I think you and Kara should get into a safe room while I go and check out what’s going on with the generator, just in case. I’ll feel better knowing you’re safe.”

“What about the guards?” Kara questions. “Wouldn’t they have radioed if they found something wrong?”

Lena nods. “They would but there’s always the chance that they didn’t get the opportunity to do so. Everything is probably alright but it’s best that I go check it out. The generator probably just needs more juice, let me handle it.”

Kara doesn’t want to be trapped in one of those stupid safe rooms again. She can hardly believe that she believed Lena and Jess when they told her that the one in the lab was just a fire-proof room in case of an emergency. Her reporter instincts should have picked up on that.

“I would prefer an option where we don’t go into one of those ridiculously small rooms with no light.”

“I would prefer the option where I’m sure you won’t get killed by a vampire.” Lena counters, a sleek eyebrow raised in challenge, a challenge she knows Kara isn’t about to win.

Kara doesn’t have it in her to even argue. “That’s good enough for me, where’s the nearest safe room?”

Jess starts moving right away at that, seemingly waiting for the chance to hide. “This way.”

She takes Kara over to a set of shelves on the wall not far from the couch, full of what Kara just assumed were some kind of mega-expensive, very mildly impressive art decorations. Lena grasps one end of the shelves and it swings out on hidden hinges, revealing a door behind it.

“Very clever.” Kara quips.

“Thanks,” Lena mutters, opening the door and urging them to get inside. “Do you want to put the light on your phone before I close the door?”

Kara nods dumbly, doing exactly that before asking, “are you sure you don’t want to get in here with us? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll put the shelves back in place and I’ll knock four times when I’m back. The door requires someone from both the inside and outside to unlock it so that’s how you’ll know it’s me.” Lena directs it more to Jess than to Kara but her point still stands. “Stay safe.”

“You too,” Jess says before the door swings shut, leaving her alone with Kara.

They look at each other as soon as they are left in there. “I guess that’s it for a while.” Kara quips.

“I guess so. At least there’s a couch in this one.” Jess walks over to the grey fabric couch that stretches across the width of the tiny room and plops herself down. “We might as well get comfortable because I’m getting the feeling that we’re going to be in here for a while.”

Kara shrugs, and follows Jess’ lead, sitting down beside her and letting out a rushed puff of air, purposely breathing in deeply and measuring out her breaths, intent on making sure she doesn’t panic the way she did before.

-

Lena makes her way through her building, hearing finely tuned in to every sound and eyes adjusting to the light as she makes her way down each floor, sweeping every room and checking every nook and cranny she can find.

The generator is one floor below the first floor so she just has to make it down there, and fix the generator, which shouldn’t be too hard, she was an engineer in her last century, and she has to figure out if there’s another vampire in the building.

If there is then she has to figure out if it got in during the attack or if she’s got a vampire-shaped mole in her building but she very much hopes that that isn’t the case.

She’s getting closer, just one floor above the first floor where all of the guards should be patrolling. All of the safe rooms so far have been empty but that doesn’t mean anything because if the guards ran to them, the closest ones aren’t the ones she checked already.

Lena takes the last step down to the first floor, where they first re-entered the building not long ago. Her ears twitch at the sound of footsteps around the corner from her and she’s acutely aware of the sound of someone on the floor below, somewhere no guards should be patrolling.

Slowing her pace, she rounds the corner as sneakily as she can, sticking to the shadows where nobody will see her. She ducks behind a dark pillar and watches from behind it, cataloguing each guard she sees.

None of them are acting strangely. She can only see a few of them from her position but that makes sense as they are meant to be spread across the floor.

Using her vampiric speed, Lena darts across the room, staying in the darker areas and noting how the lights have not once flickered anywhere down here or on any of the other floors than her own.

She flits around, counting the guards as she makes her rounds and sighs in disappointment when she comes up one short.

With that in mind, she heads downstairs, ready to find out if the person downstairs is a vampire as she fears, or the missing guard.

She takes the stairs quickly, her green eyes searching through the much darker area. When they move onto the generator, the only lights that automatically turn on are the ones for the floors above ground level unless they are manually switched off or in the case of the lower floors, manually switched on. There’s no light on down here and that means that if the guard is down here, they didn’t bother with the light.

Lena’s concentration breaks when a metal clanging ricochets through the air, the sound of something being dropped.

She rushes to the sound, intending to ambush the person.

She grabs them by their shirt, holding them high off the ground, pressing their back to the generator they were standing beside, teeth bared in the low light.

With them held up close to her face, she can make out their terrified expression and their identity: her missing guard.

Carefully, Lena lowers the guard, a woman she knows by the name of Susan Vasquez, down onto the ground and retracts her teeth. “Vasquez, what’re you doing down here?”

“Miss Luthor?” Vasquez stutters out, fear prevalent in her voice. “I was checking the generator, the lights flickered.”

“Why didn’t you turn the lights on?”

“I couldn’t find the switch.”

Lena groans. “Sorry about all of that, you scared me. I thought one had gotten in.” She walks over to the switch just beside the doorway to the stairwell, flicking it on with a single finger. “Better?”

“Much,” Vasquez answers, looking sheepish. “I think I fixed it anyway, one of the wires was coming loose.”

“Good job now let’s head back upstairs, it’s creepy down here. Maybe next time, you can radio up and let us know what’s happening?”

Vasquez nods, suddenly the picture of professionalism. “You got it, boss.”

Lena watches Vasquez go, letting her get upstairs before she double-checks the generator because she doesn’t want to openly critique her work in front of the woman.

Turning to the generator, she takes a good look at it, tugging on the wires to see how easily they come out of it. Not easily at all, these aren’t the kind of wires that just ‘come loose’.

Everything is in place as it should be with the generator but there is something wrong, she can feel it in her ancient bones.

“Show yourself,” Lena states into the room.

There are wires and pillars and pipes all over the place that someone can very easily hide behind and she’s very much getting the feeling that there is someone there.

“I know you’re there.”

A slow clapping comes from behind her.

She turns to see a woman, dressed in all black with pasty white skin that is somehow even paler than Lena’s own, a feat in itself.

“Lillian.”

“So you’re not thinking of me as your mother anymore?”

“That ended centuries ago and we both know it was just for appearances, the same goes for Lex, I bet he doesn’t speak to you now either.” Lena sneers at the woman leaning against a pillar as though there’s nothing wrong with the world.

Lillian huffs. “Lex got a stake to his cold, dead heart almost a decade ago, vampire hunters are rare but not extinct, he got cocky and fell into a trap. It serves him right for being such as asshole.”

“You’ve certainly changed your tune since you used to talk like he had the sun shining out of his ass.”

“And you still have a way with words.”

“Why are you here?” Lena gets the conversation back on track, not in the mood for a trip down memory lane.

Lillian takes a step closer, trying to intimidate Lena with her superior height, not taking into account Lena’s superior feistiness. “I want the girl. She knows too much and the rest of us don’t want to end up like poor old Lex.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, the reporter is reporting on my company, not our species, I need her for my company’s image and you know the vampire code, no messing in the covers of other vampires. I’m sure you understand.”

“Oh, I do, but we both know that I’m not about to take your word for it either. Even if I did trust you, which obviously I don’t, I don’t trust some pathetic human and I’m not about to put my life in her hands.” Lillian sneers.

Lena actually laughs, one much darker than she’s done in years, decades even. “You hardly have a life, Lillian.”

“Well, I want to protect what little of a life I do have then. Hand over the girl.”

“Over my dead body.”

“If that’s what it takes.”

Lena takes a step further into Lillian’s space, daring the woman to do what she claims she can. “Try me.”

Lillian smiles, all teeth and void of any kind of happiness. “It won’t come to that. The girl’s sister showed up at her apartment after you left. We have her and if you don’t hand her over, her sister dies. How will she feel if you let her family suffer? Will she still want to protect your secret then?”

Outwardly, Lena doesn’t react. Inwardly, she freaks out.

“Get. Out.” Lena snarls.

“You have an hour to think about it, although I am certain that a smart woman like you can come to the right decision.” Lillian speeds away and Lena watches her go, seeing how she got in when she follows her, a window on the second floor that the shutters failed to completely close on, something she should have noticed when she swept the building.

There’s a tiny crack at the bottom that meant that Lillian was able to pry the shutters open. Lena slams it down, locking it securely before heading upstairs.

There’s a very important decision to be made and it’s one that she can’t make alone. Kara is going to be devastated and Lena can’t think of anything she can do to help.

That doesn’t mean she isn’t willing to try though.

Read 5 more chapters early on Patreon here!

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Misadventures of The Solars Scene: “Meet Janiz”

The Shlorpians kept running as fast as they can as the mob kept throwing stuff at them.

Shlorpian Cooke: Aw man, is this how the Solars felt?!

Shlorpian Frankie: I think so.

Shlorpian Randall: Aw man, forget eating like a local! Forget partying like a local! We should’ve have listen to Korvo!

Shlorpian Louise sighs.

Shlorpian Louise: Yep. This our life now.

Suddenly... The Shlorpians see a ship crashing near their house and gasp.

Shlorpian Cooke: What the fuck? Is that a spaceship?!

Shlorpian Trevor: I think so. Let’s follow it and- *screams one of the mob throws a bottle at him but luckily he dodged it*

The Shlorpians arrive at the ship.

Human Korvo: *arriving with his family* What’s going on?!

Shlorpian Louise: We're being chased!

Shlorpian Randall: Today was horrible! We try to fit in better, but we fucked things up!

Human Terry: Don't worry. I got this.

Human Terry heads out and decided to deal with the mob.

Human Terry: SHUT IT!

The mob is silence. Human Terry breathes heavily.

Human Terry: What the fuck is wrong with you people?! I know these Shlorpians screw up but, they were just trying to fit in on this planet ever since they came here. Just like me and my family did? I know what they did was wrong but, they were just trying to make Earth-4 feel like home. You should all be ashamed of yourselves! So what are you gonna do about it?!

Mob Member: Well-

Suddenly, the door opens from the ship as it reveals a purple Shlorpian that surprisingly looks like Korvo. Human Korvo turns around and gasps.

Human Korvo: It-it can’t be… Janiz?

Human Yumyulack: Auntie Janiz?

Janiz: Korvo? Is that you? What happened to you?

Human Korvo burst into tears of joys and embrace his big sister while the Shlorpians grow surprised. Human Terry smiles.

Human Korvo: *sniffles* I-I thought I lost you forever…

Janiz: I'm so glad you're alive...

Shlorpian Louise: Wait. Korvo, you know this Shlorpian?

Human Korvo: Yeah, she's my sister.

The Shlorpians froze in shock and surprise

Shlorpians: YOUR WHAT?!

Then, a pink AI appears.

Pink AI: *sing-songy* Hello!

Human Korvo: *gasps* EVA?!

EVA: Korvo! You’re here and… *notices Korvo’s human form* wow. You look different since the last time I saw you.

Human Korvo: Thanks. I learnt to shapeshift when I was on Earth...

Human Jesse turns to face the mob with an angry expression

Human Jesse: ALL OF YOU! JUST GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!

The mob leaves in fear as Human Terry puts a hand on Human Jesse's shoulder

Human Terry: Nice going honey.

Human Jesse smiles and turns back into her Shlorpian form

Jesse: Thanks daddy.

Jesse hugs Human Terry, who turns back into his Shlorpian form. Then, the scene cuts back to Janiz overjoyed to see her brother again while AISHA appears. The rest of the family turns into their Shlorpian forms.

AISHA: Hey dummies. What up and- *recognizes EVA and gasp* EVA?! You’re here?!

EVA: Hey, cous!

AISHA smiles in tears of joy and laughs as she embraces her cousin.

AISHA: Oh God, I missed you so much.

EVA: D'aw, I missed you too!

Then, Janiz notices Yumyulack.

Janiz: Yumyulack?! *squeals in joy* Oh my god! *hugs Yumyulack tightly but carefully* Look how big you grown! I haven’t seen you since you were a baby!

Yumyulack *laughs* Good to see you too!

Janiz then gasp in joy upon seeing Terry, Jesse and the Pupa.

Janiz: Oh my God. Is this your lifemate?

Terry blushes and smiles

Korvo: Terry is more than actually. He is also my husband.

Korvo shows his wedding ring

Janiz: *gasp in joy and hugs Terry* Then that makes you my handsome brother in law. Thank you for taking care of my little brother.

Terry: *laughs* Anytime.

Jesse: Yay! *hugs Janiz* I always wanted a aunt! Hi Auntie Janiz! I’m your niece!

Janiz laughs. Then, Janiz sees Replicant Sonya holding Pupa.

Janiz: Oh and who is this Replicant holding your Pupa?

Replicant Sonya: Oh, I'm not a replicant. I'm a human who turned into a replicant. I'm Sonya, by the way.

Janiz: Wait? What?!

Korvo: Oh don’t worry. That’s actually your human niece and our daughter, Sonya. We adopted her.

Janiz gasps.

Janiz: As in… I’m an aunt?! Again?! *hugs Replicant Sonya, who giggles* Oh my God! I can’t believe it got a brother-in-law, a niece, human niece and a baby nephew! *notices the other Shlorpians* Wait, who are these other Shlorpians?

Shlorpian Cooke: We were humans too. *laughs nervously*

Janiz: What?! You guys were once humans?! What happened?!

Shlorpian Cooke: Some crazy woman stole samples of your brother and your family’s blood DNA and created a powerful mist that turned us into Shlorpians!

Janiz gasps

Shlorpian Phoebe: Oh and hey. I’m your family’s nanny Phoebe. I was human once too.

Janiz: Oh no. I am so sorry.

Shlorpian Phoebe: It's okay.

Shlorpian Frankie: We don’t even know who that woman is but luckily Korvo is finding a way to turn us back, which is very hard because that woman took all of his testings. So we have to live here now until we can be humans again.

Shlorpian Randall: We can’t even go back to Earth. The rest of the humans hates us now.

Janiz sighs

Janiz: Well as long as I am here, mind if EVA and I live with you guys?

Korvo smiles tearfully and hugs Janiz

Korvo: *crying with happiness* Of course you can. Welcome home Janiz.

Janiz smiles

Janiz: Thank you lil bro…

[lakemichigans]

sooooo my wifi has been out for nearly 24 hours and despite it making me go a little insane, it DID give me time to finish until dawn! i was a lot closer to the end of the game then i thought i was, goddamn, and i think i only had? two? deaths? chris and josh. wait no thats wrong, mike died in the explosion. i might do a replay if my wifi doesn't come back soon because im at a serious deficit of other stuff to do rn, EA app wont let me open sims 3 bc its not connected to wifi 😭 i enjoyed it a lot more than i expected, but i kinda dislike how much it didnt really tie up jess and matt falling into the mines? like they both crawled out together but then it just ends there, they didn't meet up with anyone else which kinda stunk. i do wanna do an everyone lives run really bad tho, i think i know what choices i have to make for the most part?? i know for everyone other than josh because the butterfly effect for it was SO VAGUE "sam missed a crucial piece of information -> josh didnt recognize hannah on time" girl WHAT does that even MEAN but yeah okay ill stop rambling now djwjfkqkq

oh interesting!! i'm not surprised that josh died, most people don't find the crucial piece of information on their first playthrough (i'll tell you where to find it under the cut if you don't want to be spoiled!)

but i totally agree about jess and matt! when they were developing the game, jessica was supposed to ALWAYS die during mike's chase sequence, but then they decided they wanted each of the characters to have the option of survival, so they added that short jessica segment towards the end. but this is where i think until dawn fails miserably at satire. they have the "blonde slut" being punished for promiscuity and the token black character who is widely regarded as the easiest to kill by accident. it's like they're making fun of those archetypes without doing anything subversive about it. so the reason why jessica & matt feels lackluster is because it most definitely was an afterthought. they kind of assumed both of them would already be dead by this point :/

i'm actually fine with the police interviews being the only ending, although i would've loved to see some of the stronger relationships reunite ;-; there's a little bit of variation in the interviews depending on what choices you made and who died. knowing that the characters themselves haven't reunited yet (they're still asking about each other in their interviews) makes it a little better for me because at least i don't feel like i missed anything off screen, if that makes sense

also i'm so curious how you got chris killed?? ashley didn't lock him out did she? chris has a lot of possible death scenes but imo they're pretty hard to get organically so i'm always interested when i hear that he died in a blind playthrough

how to "save" josh:

when you're playing as sam and wading through the water with mike in the mines, you have to walk to the left (i think) of the water wheel and there's an extra area. HIGHLY recommend you find it because it explains a lot about the game!! it bothers me that they made it optional and the totem that hints at it is sooo vague

[iztopher]

🎵 one for you: te'ijal & galahad

HEHE thank u!!! (answering this one first bcause the other one will take more time)

i have a whole mix for them (i haven't posted it because i want to swap out One Specific Song) so here are my top five songs from it:

Beautiful Soul - Jesse McCartney

Meet Your Bride - Jason Webley

You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds ft. Regina Spektor

Smother - Daughter

Shameful Company - Rainbow Kitten Surprise

long explanations under the cut because I have. a lot of feelings. and thoughts

Beautiful Soul - Jesse McCartney

"You're the one I wanna chase / you're the one I wanna hold / I won't let another minute go to waste / I want you and your beautiful soul"

This one is a joke. However, in my defense, it is a very funny joke.

Back in the middle school version of this fanmix I went directly from Beautiful Soul -> I Hate Everything About You, which is the type of tonal whiplash I think defines te'ijalahad. (Now it goes into Sticks and Stones by The Pierces). I think it's very funny and very fitting for the soul stealing song on my mix for them to be a pop song about having a crush because IMO that is how Te'ijal perceives her stealing Galahad's soul

Meet Your Bride - Jason Webley

The problem with picking a lyric to highlight for this is the entire song is fucking perfect for Galahad @ Te'ijal and I lose my mind every time I think about it too long.

"Yes, and how are you going to greet your wife when she's standing at your door? / When she comes to claim your heart, your life, your body, then still wants more? / Will she find you bearing flowers? Will you greet her with a knife? / Tell me, how will you meet your wife?"

& also sorry I cannot mention this song without mentioning the ever iconic "Tell me how / are you going / to greet / your bride? When she's clawing at your ribcage / and demands to come inside?"

top songs to be forced into marriage with a vampire to!

You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds ft. Regina Spektor

"I want to ask you / Do you ever sit and wonder / It's so strange / That we could be together for so long/ And never know, never care / What goes on in the other one's head"

this song is so fun I love having the closest thing this mix has to a duet being the singers getting frustrated at each other for fundamentally not knowing anything about each other and not listening to each other.

honestly I could have put this song anywhere on the mix as a Galahad POV song ("so easily led astray / an errant dog who occasionally escapes and needs a shorter leash"), because I feel like it's a pretty great summary of his feelings.

but I have it towards the end of the mix, for the end of Aveyond 3, because at that point it also fits Te'ijal's POV where she's been telling Galahad exactly how she feels for the past two years about What's Been Going On and he's absolutely refused to internalize it. it's a duet! the feeling is mutual (derogatory)!

Smother - Daughter

"I am wasted, losing time / On a foolish, fragile spine / I want all that is not mine / I want him but we're not right"

fun fact: my mix is named we're not right after this lyric! and I am working on a Te'ijal(ahad) & Ingrid(/Boyle) fic named "I want all that is not mine" because I think it does a great job of summarizing how those ladies approach relationships.

I find it very hard to imagine Te'ijal ever outright apologizing to Galahad, but I do think she comes to understand that what she did to him was wrong. this is the song I have chosen to represent that!

the word choice focusing on smothering and suffocating is especially important to that, because I personally read most of Te'ijal's post AV1 behavior as genuinely well-intentioned but no less controlling or manipulative.

Shameful Company - Rainbow Kitten Surprise

"if you're cold, go inside / if you're tired, go to sleep / if you're weak, come to me / find shameful company"

my dear bestie once perfectly summarized te'ijalahad's dynamic as "emergency contacts". that's what this song is to me. it's the last song on my mix because it's my aveyond 4 song!!! this is the "galahad spends literal days without sleep fighting through a small army of demons alone so he can break up with te'ijal in person, then immediately collapses to fall asleep in the bed she made for him" song.

my friend bucky recommended this song to me for them with the logic that like, it was almost easy to hear those chorus lines as dismissive in their straightforwardness, like, do the obvious thing. and he was So right for that. and i love the idea that going to each other when they Need Help is the obvious thing in that situation because that's kinda like, the Defining element of how i view te'ijalahad

[abbatoirablaze]

Putting Baby In The Corner, Chapter 7

Word Count:  2.1k

Warnings:  manipulation, negative social media outlets, angst, implied smut.

‘Head Olympic Coach for the US bedding high scorer in qualifiers!’

‘Olympic hopeful, Anya Leskashov, taking one for the team!’

‘Lance Tucker and Mystery Girl-Read all about how The US gymnastics coach is bedding his Olympic hopefuls!’

‘Olympic prodigy getting dicked down by former gold medalist’ 

Anya felt like she was going to be sick as she looked at the covers of the magazines that were splayed out in front of her.  Then she looked back up to her parents who were standing, arms crossed over their chests. 

“Mom…dad, I-“

“We’re going home!  We can’t believe that you would do such a thing,” her mother said firmly, “Lance Tucker…really, Anya?  I-“

“She’s not sleeping with my dad!” Tiff said quickly, immediately coming to the defense of her friend and father, “That picture is edited.  I can prove it.  I was there.  They cropped me out…Anya was holding my hand…and my dad’s arm was wrapped around me because my ankle was acting up again.  It’s not what you think Mr. and Mrs. Leskashov!”

Her dad’s jaw clenched as she looked between the two girls.  Andretti didn’t want to think that his little girl would be chasing after the man that he despised. 

“You have proof of this, yes?”

“If we go to the gym…they have security footage!” she said quickly, “I’m sure my dad can go through it and we ca-“

“I don’t want to be anywhere near your father!” Andretti said just as quickly, cutting Tiffany off, “not until I know he is not doing this dicking down that the magazine’s proclaim.”

Anya cringed, hearing her father speak like that. 

“Dad…”

“Andretti…don’t speak like that…it’s vulgar.”

“These magazines are being slanderous,” he growled, stalking through the room while he seemed to process the situation, “if this is not true and Anya is not doing as it says…we’re going to file lawsuits.  They cannot be making these accusations about our daughter.”

“Dad-“

“No…no one will talk about you like this.”

“Alright…well, let’s go to the facility.  I-I’ll go to the security room where the cameras are, and we’ll show you…Anya and my dad aren’t being inappropriate.”

Tiff had proven that someone had altered the photos when she showed Anya’s parents the video footage.  She had indeed hurt her ankle again, agitating the injury, and Lance had wrapped his arm around his daughter��s waist in an attempt to carry some of her weight.  Anya was holding her hand in an attempt to comfort her. 

So, her parents left without incident, ignoring Lance.  It was a simple enough interaction, but one that left Anya feeling dizzy and at a loss for words.  Her parents had rushed out without so much as a phone call, and she couldn’t help but think that maybe her parents didn’t trust her or think that she was mature enough to not do something like that.

But as far as Lance went, he was grateful.  He’d hoped that they wouldn’t discuss the current situation with him.  He didn’t want to deal with Andretti and Jess, and was already upset about having to deal with everyone else.  He was already getting enough messages on his phone from people asking about the new gymnast he’d bagged, and he was getting messages from the committee, questioning his status and whether or not he could be impartial with his daughter and ‘side piece’ both qualifying. 

And in response, Lance had his daughter take a copy of the security footage and send it to him, to which he let them know the truth to the story. 

But that didn’t make it any better. 

Because for every person that stopped messaging him about it, there seemed to be two that popped up in his place.  And suddenly he was getting angry messages from girls, some of whom he’d only ever had one-night stands with, all angry that they weren’t the ones getting the spotlight for ‘sleeping with Lance Tucker.’

By the time that the teams had broke for lunch, Lance could see the cameras outside the gym. 

And while he did want the spotlight to be on his girls…he’d hoped it would be because the US was getting geared up and excited for the Olympics, not because they thought there was a possible scandal going on. 

“Dad…I don’t want to go out there,” Tiff said nervously as she looked towards the glass.  She saw a lot of media outlets all eagerly looking into the gym for a glimpse of Lance with any of the girls, “and neither does Anya or the others…they are all saying if they leave the gym they don’t want to come back for the rest of the day…can someone go get us some food and bring it back?”

Lance sighed, looking back to the windows.  And to the newly singled out gymnast. 

Ever since the media outlets came out with the story, the rest of Lance’s team had chosen to ignore Anya and for the most part, Tiff, sneakily citing that the real reason she’s probably been number one in the qualifiers is because Lance had to have been bribing the officials since she’s ‘obviously sleeping with him.’ 

“Yeah,” he sighed, shaking his head.  Anya pretended not to be bothered by it, but he could see the sneaky glances she’d give when she turned her head.  It was as though she was checking the window to see if any of them had left.  And when they hadn’t, she would turn sharply, and move to another corner of the gym, trying to get herself some semblance of privacy, “I’m going to go call the manager of the building…see if we can’t get the media buzzards out of here…”

“Thanks dad.” Tiff frowned, pulling her father into a hug.  The Tucker’s both sighed, and Lance caught Anya briefly glancing over, her own eyes glassy when she saw Tiff and Lance together.  He frowned, seeing the sadness in her features.

“Is your friend okay?” he asked, once she finally looked away, “she-she looks like she’s been going to cry all afternoon.”

“Her parents…they really dug into her even after we proved that you two weren’t together…and when the girls started being jerks,” she sighed, cutting herself off.  Lance felt even worse as his gaze slipped to the rest of his team who was off in a separate corner, talking quietly while they ate the snacks from the vending machine, “she just feels alone…”

“She’s got you though, right?”

“I don’t think I’m much of a comfort in this situation,” she frowned, “people see me with her, and it just reinforces everything that they think…social media is getting pretty bad too…they’re calling you names because she’s still not eighteen…and they’re calling her a lot of names because of your position…and…well…I’m your daughter…so…”

“I wish there was something I could do, kiddo…”

“Tonight…after practice…could you talk to her?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“It’s something,” she shrugged, “it might be helpful if she hears from you…I mean you’re the other person in the story…”

“Okay,” he sighed, finally moving away from his daughter.  He handed her his phone and messed with her hair, “order lunch for you girls.  The whole team…I’ll stop by later tonight after practice…and we’ll talk about how to move forward…okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded sadly, taking his phone, “thanks dad.”

Anya frowned. 

It’d been a week since the media outlets were buzzing that she was ‘sleeping with’ Coach Tucker.  And the only things to have come out of it since her parents ran in and almost made her quit the team, was that the rest of the girls seemed to have a vendetta against her. 

They ignored her in the gym. 

They wouldn’t talk to her when they were all at the hotel. 

They’d even stopped inviting her along to things. 

And it wasn’t just her. 

They’d turned their back on Tiff too, citing that she must have been feeding Anya to her father.  All of those things only fueled both girls though.  During that weeks qualifiers, they placed first and second overall. 

Which only added more fuel to the internet’s fire. 

Soon articles started to flood I about how she acted at qualifiers.  People claimed that she was standoffish and clung to Coach Tucker and Tiffany.  Others claimed that they ‘saw her performance’ and that she was obviously using him to get to the Olympics. 

Others claimed that she must have started sleeping with the judges. 

“You just have to look beyond it,” Lance reminded her softly, his large hand stroking her side, “they’re clearly not seeing the same woman I see when you’re competing.  And if they want to focus on stupid shi-“

“It’s words like that, Coach Tucker,” she pointed out, shifting away from her coach’s hands, “see…if people hear that, if they see how you’re touching me, they’re going to assume that we’re sleeping together.”

Lance frowned, unsure of how to console the young woman in front of him, “I-I don’t know what to say, Anya…”

She frowned in response, “a few weeks ago…you slept with one of the girls…”

Lance’s brow furrowed, “Anya, she drugged me…I didn’t wan-“

“Sleep with a girl who doesn’t qualify.”

Lance raised his brow, “excuse me?”

“Sleep with a girl who doesn’t qualify…” she repeated firmly, “th-they’ll lay off me and Tiff if you-“

“Anya, I don’t go sleeping around with people…despite what the tabloids would say.  I think maybe if we just keep ignoring them it’ll start to fade away.  We just have to last a few more weeks.”

“Lance…I-I can’t do this anymore,” she admitted softly, tears filling her eyes, “I-I’m not as strong as people want to pretend that I am…th-the comments…the team…I-“

“Okay.”

Lance had fought the urge to pull the young woman into his arms as a tear slipped down her cheek.  She bit her lip to keep it from warbling and that’s what forced the word from his mouth.  She glanced back up at him and he nodded.

“Just one girl though,” he said quickly, his own lip being pulled into his mouth as he contemplated the best way to go about it, “but I’m doing it for Tiff…so the girls stop laying into her about you…”

“Thank you,” she whimpered softly, looking away from her coach.  Lance sighed, his heart hurting at the thought of going out and having a one-night stand.   He didn’t know why, but to him, the idea just felt wrong.  But as he looked at Anya he knew it was the right thing to do.  He reached out and swiped away a few of her tears, “I-I should go…”

“Make sure there’s paparazzi on our floor in the morning…okay?” he asked quietly, “I-I’ll make sure they get their story.”

“O-okay.”

Anya felt herself biting her lip as she looked at the dirt sheets.  No longer were the posts devoted to how she must have cheated her way to the top of the qualifiers or had her coach bribe them.  Lance and herself were still on the front page, but for an entirely different reason.

‘Olympic coach gives consolation prize to Olympic hopeful who doesn’t qualify.’

“Anya Leskashov taking out aggressions of coaches indiscretions at qualifiers.’

‘Coach Tucker taking a taste of yet another Olympic hopeful-Leskashov taking out anger on the mat.’

“I don’t know how you did it.”

Anya looked over her shoulder, her best friend reading the headings of the page.

“What are you talking about?”

“I love my dad…but he doesn’t do this kind of stuff…”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her brow furrowing as she looked at her friend curiously.  Tiff shrugged. 

“He doesn’t do one-night stands…” she admitted, “usually he tries to date a girl for a while…and they hang around…but he doesn’t just go pick people up like that…especially not during this gig.  He takes the idea of being a coach way too seriously.”

“H-he said he would so that people would stop laying into you and thinking he’s sleeping with me…” Anya sighed, “said he didn’t want them bullying you.”

“Hmm,” she replied thoughtfully.  She sat down on the bed beside her friend, “he could have just told them that you two weren’t sleeping together…I mean…he’s been quiet through the whole thing…hasn’t spoken to the outlets…just the committee.”

“Do you think they would have believed him?”

“Probably not,” she shrugged, pointing at the picture of Lance letting one of the girls that didn’t qualify out of his hotel room, “but this…this is a bit excessive.  I mean…I think he actually slept with her.”

Anya felt a pang in the pit of her stomach as she examined the picture.  Lance was in his boxers, with no shirt on.  He’d had some hickeys going down his throat and onto his chest.  And she could see the tattoo that her mother had forced him to get years ago.  He was waving the girl off with a sad smile. 

Did he want to sleep with her? 

And why did she feel jealous?

Chapter 8

[squirrelno2]

Jesse Lives AU - pt 2

There is currently no title for this, since it's just little snippets I'm throwing out here and there (I am literally typing these up in Tumblr, rip) but! A continuation to this post, featuring some outsider pov and the aftermath of the Venator crash

Next: 3

He'd only meant to pick through the wreckage and find a few parts to sell. It had been a nasty crash, but there were always salvageable pieces if you knew where to look. He didn't expect the graveyard that awaited him when he got off his speeder.

Rows of clone helmets, meticulously painted but scratched by weather and war, mounted above neat mounds of dirt. Normally, clones got mass graves after the Republic forces had gone, or (so he'd heard) were launched into space with a pretty send-off from their Jedi leaders. This was neither of those. There was a survivor somewhere out here.

Of course, with any luck, they were probably dead now, too. Jale ignored the twinge of conscience his mother would want him to feel and carefully skirted the makeshift cemetery on his way to the ship itself.

It would be hard to dig through, at the angle it had driven itself into the ground, but Jale liked a challenge. He dropped his pack to the ground and rummaged through, looking for the right gear.

"Don't move."

Jale slowly raised his hands. He didn't have to look to know when a blaster was pointed at his back.

"I'm not a threat to you," he said. Survivor or fellow salvager? Both might be equally desperate, but they would want very different things.

"And why is that?"

"For one thing, your blaster is easier to reach than mine. Can I turn around so we can talk properly?"

There was a long pause. More paranoid than the usual types who came out to wrecks like these, then. Survivor was looking more likely.

"Fine."

The first thing Jale noticed was the tattoo, and the ugly wound bisecting it. It looked like it had once been the Republic cog - Imperial cog? Whatever. It was a weird thing to put on your own head, to Jale's mind. Then he looked over the person beneath the tattoo - a wide-eyed, half-terrified expression on his otherwise attractive face (even with the regrettable tattoo); steady hands on the blaster; and of course, the blue-painted clone armour.

"You're the survivor."

"What are you doing out here?"

"I am a salvage worker -"

"You're a scavenger."

Jale really hated that word.

"I find parts that are still functional and I make sure they go to good homes," he said sourly. The clone scowled.

"You're picking parts off the dead. I call that scavenging."

"Well, does it look like the dead are using any of it?" Jale burst out. He flinched as the clone's finger twitched on the trigger.

"I'm going to assume," he said tightly. "That you're just an idiot."

That sounded uncomfortably like Jale's mother some days. He tried not to pout.

"I've got a speeder and you haven't," he said. "The only idiot is the guy who doesn't play nice with me."

The clone's expression darkened further. Jale raised his eyebrows. The cockier he looked, he'd found, the less people wanted to mess with him. Nobody wanted to find out why somebody as stick-thin as him was so unafraid, so they never found out it wasn't for any real reason at all.

"What planet is this?"

"It's a moon," Jale said.

"What moon is this, then?"

Jale figured he'd better not push his luck, with the way this clone looked.

"I can't pronounce the name," he said. "We're orbiting Ithor."

The clone seemed to be doing some kind of calculation in his head.

"You have a ship?"

"I have transport," Jale hedged. He had a shady merchant waiting for him who expected to be paid in parts for the ride back home. On the bright side, at least the speeder was his.

"Is it just you?"

"Up here it is," Jale said. "I don't work with people, usually. Look, I assume all these questions are because you've realised that I'm your only chance at getting off this rock, so let's cut to the chase. You let me dig through the wreck, find what I need, and I'll make sure it covers your passage home, too."

"Home," the clone muttered, like he didn't realise he was saying it. "I can't - I have to find my captain."

Jale looked behind him at the rows of graves.

"He's not out there?"

The clone scoffed. Jale shrugged defensively. How was he meant to know?

"I'm not letting you pick this ship apart," the clone said. "It's Republic property."

"What Republic?" Jale snorted. "How long have you been out here?"

The clone stared at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, voice shaking. "What does that mean, 'what Republic?'"

[brick-a-doodle-do]

Thanks! As far as I know you didn't leave any sort of comment on the Vara merch but I did get that ask—I gotta do the one from beckyu before that one tho and you once again gave me a challenge bc I haven't drawn the Axel's aunt yet so I don't even know what she looks like

Me being coded for writing stories comes down to me being able to hyperfixate on something so much that I can spend the entire day and not eat at all and not feel hungry—I usually get yelled at before it gets that far bc I have low blow sugar so it kinda backfires on me

And—

You have given me too much power—

♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️♾️

AH okay time to go reblog it >:)

SVHFDSJ you've got a whole original character to create AFTER writing the thing with them in it that's just amazing FJDJF ALSOOO i'm happy i've picked a challenge yet again >:DDD

oh......thanks for the tutorial! i'll let you know how it goes :D

OH jeez okay DON'T do that- just...take the creative process slow and see if maybe that helps a lil bit? idk i know the power which i have over creative brain is very little but hopefully that's different for you,,,

OH OH OH OH you want to test me? i'm doing all of them.

"(get too close baby) knock on your door, then i" — flowers (the nbhd)

"purpose on a pedestal, looking back at you, look what i have done, look what i can do" — nobody (half-alive) (ty becky i love this song now) (i also like the lil hum right under that line)

"i made sure i held you close to me" — call out my name (the weeknd) (also the second line not the first)

"dancing through the night" OR the last "touch me, yeah. i want you to touch me there. make me feel like i am breathing, make me feel like i am human, again" — a little death (the nbhd)

"don't trust english boys, with far too much free time" — your sister was right (you better know)

ohhh can i do the whole song....? ughhhh i'd do the whole song but if i HAD to choose: "sent my soul on a little vacation, yeah" — cherry flavored (the nbhd)

"house so empty need a centerpiece, 20 racks a table cut from ebony" or the the OR the lil intermission between lines idk what it's called — starboy (the weeknd)

the last "remember what the people said" in all the choruses (if that makes sense) OR "and when they said what i wanted was a figment, i had to turn the other cheek but i was listening" — let it go (the nbhd)

"has melancholy taken you for good?" — sweetie little jean (cage the elephant)

this WHOLE thing lmao — escapism. - sped up (raye, 070 shake)

"now it's three in the mornin' and i'm tryin' to change your mind — why'd you only call me when you're high? (arctic monkeys)

"and the sound when leather jackets hit the floor. you should hear when you're not around, when it's just us horny poets who can't wait to write it down" — not allowed (tv girl) (idk why i like it sm, the lyrics specifically are just cool)

"i can't wait til the drought is over" — cry baby (the nbhd)

"if you didn't go and fall in love, and ruin everything — losing face (wil ofc) (i like this line specifically bc it reminds me of the demo and that is DEFINITELY one of my favorite wilbur lines)

"maybe it's a blessing in disguise (i see myself in you), i see your reflection in my eyes" — reflections (the nbhd)

"the hardest place to be is right where you are" — arrow (half-alive) (half-alive's choruses are always bomb af)

(i'll let you know right here that i am tired of going through lyrics but i'm still gonna do it because i want you to know i am MISREADING this ask and am GOING TO DO ALL 19 INFINITY EMOJIS because MY HUMOR IS MESSED UP and THIS IS WHAT I FIND FUNNY LMFAO)

"running in circles now look what you've done (woo), give you my word as you take it and run — friends (chase atlantic)

"no one deserves you yeah you're mine, only with you i feel alive. if you leave me here i'll die, i need you to stay" — stay (ari abdul)

"what's the point of all the noise if we can't hear each other?" or the lil rap — girls & boys (jesse®)

OH MY GOD I AM SO TIRED OF THIS FINALLY I AM AT 19 LMAO

DO NOT QUESTION ME AGAIN AND ALSO THE ASK GAME IS OFF I'M NOT REMINDING ANYONE ELSE TO SEND ME AN INFINITY I AM TIRED AS HELL 😭 /lh /nm/nmay

[chosfavho]

Look what i found in my drafts

Cannon event

1610!miles x Fem!reader (she speaks spanish)

fluff and angst (very different from what i usually write but imma give it a shot)

TW: Swearing and Mentions of death (lmk if i missed something)

THIS IS NOT PROOF READ SO FEEL FREE TO CORRECT ME ON ANYTHING I FUCKED UP ON

(politely ofc 🤗)

Every spider person has a cannon event. For Gwen and Miles their dad dies, For Peter Aunt May dies, and for Miguel his daughter dies. Yet you still haven’t had your cannon event. You don’t know what it is and you hope whenever it decides to come you can stop it.

It was like any other day for you. You know, saving the multiverse and stopping anomalies per usual. You were about to leave when Miles had stopped you to talk about something. “Y/N! ¿Que tal?” He called out as he ran to you. “Aye what’s good Double M?” (context on the nickname: You’ve been calling him that since he first said his name and you couldn’t really remember it so you started calling him “double m” or “M&M”) “How’s Mama Rio doing” You continue. “She’s doing fine, she wanted me to ask you to come over for dinner tonight.” He said but you knew something was off because Miles’ mom always calls your mom so she can let you know but your mom didn’t tell you anything about going over Miles’ house for dinner tonight.

“Sorry but I have work to catch up on. I can’t afford to fail Science class this semester” You lied as you turned to walk off but Miles followed behind you. You turned around to face him stopping dead in your tracks “Yo te que pasa Miles?” you asked “Nada!” he quickly blurted out. “I was just uhhhh..walking you to your house!” He says as he stands in front of the portal. “Then move pendeja” You say as you try to push him out of your way but he doesn’t move. “Okay what in the world is going on. Why aren’t you letting me leave head quarters? What’s going on Miles just tell me”

“Your cannon event…It’s today Your mom and Isabel..are going to end up as a casualty in a drive by” Miles says “I know everyone is going to try and stop from saving your mother and sister but-“ You cut him off. “Miles , Move . Out . Of . My . Way.” you say coldly. “I can’t do that” he says Just as you were about to shove him Miguel’s webs wrap around your legs tightly as you fall to the ground. Miguel, Jess, Pavitr, Hobie, Gwen, Ben, Peter and a bunch of other spider people begin to walk towards you and Miles.

“You shouldn’t have told her. I knew i should’ve had someone else distract her I thought you could handle her. Guess not” Miguel says. “Miles..You knew about this and tried to stop me?” you say as tears begin to well up in your eyes. “Y/n it’s not like that I swear I had no choice”.

“I trusted you!” you yell. “I trusted you and this is what you do!?” you say as your voice breaks and tears run down your face. In your fit of race you were able to burst out of Miguel’s webs and ran for the portal as they chased after you.

You were able to make it to the street where the drive by had happened but it was too late. The place was surrounded by cops and caution tape. You tried to barge your way though but the officers stoped you. “This is a crime scene i cannot allow you in there” he says in a stern yet calm tone. “My mother and sister were walking down this street! I need to know if they are okay! So i suggest you let me through or-“ you stopped mid sentence as you saw your mother and sister being taken into an ambulances on stretchers.

>>>>>> Time skip <<<<<<

You and Miles’ family were at the hospital outside of the room your mother and sister were in when the doctor came out baring sad news. “I’m sorry i have to tell you this but your mother and sister have sadly passed away due to the seriousness of their injuries. I’m so sorry there was nothing we could have done.” You let out the most heartbreaking cry when you heard those words.

Miles pulled you into a hug while his parents left the room to give you some space. “Shhh it’s okay Mami let it all out.. You don’t have to put on a strong suit, it’s just you and me.” he said. “This is all my fault. I could have saved her” you sobbed as Miles held you closer to him. “No it’s my fault..I let Miguel pressure me into doing something I know wasn’t right. I understand if you hate me but I-“ you cut him off by gently pressing your lips into his. “I could never hate you Miles.. Te amo” you say. “Te amo y/n” He says with the corniest smile on his face.

I don’t like this fic fr but imma keep it anywayyyy 👋🏾 .