#also i had that “I'm dead inside” shirt but i wore it out so this is how I'm keeping it alive

[laughingsapphic-creates]

God I don't think I've posted art online since I was active on deviantart

I wanna draw some dpxdc comics so I wanted to get used to drawing my boy

[bigdumbbambieyes]

for @thissortofsorcery, who wanted more Billy with a belly button piercing (hehe) and inspired by @robthegoodfellow's amazing tags!!

nsfw

The first time he sees it, it's on accident, and he's not entire sure what he sees.

He's about six beers and two shots deep, so his eyes aren't really focusing as he catches a glimpse of Hargrove's stomach, perfectly toned because he's a fucking asshole, but the peek of silver around his belly button had caught Steve's wandering eye.

They're in Tommy's backyard with a dozen of other people he can't remember the names of, but Billy had invited him so he had gone, and Tommy had glared at him the entire night but also hadn't approached him because the guy clearly doesn't care enough. Which, admittedly, hurts Steve because they had been friends for forever, but not anymore.

But, it's whatever. Hargrove has taken a liking to him and Steve's not about to pass up on someone he can have decent conversations with - even if the guy irritates him to no end.

And, apparently, intrigues him.

Billy had raised his arms in a stretch once he stood up from his chair by the campfire, groaning out a soft sound as Steve had eyed him from above the rim of his cup, the beer catching in his throat as he saw the quick reflection of something shiny on Billy's belly button.

There was no way, right? He's seen plenty of girls with their belly buttons pierced. It was a girl piercing. No guy he's ever known has ever had one.

Until Billy, it seems.

And Steve, as he coughs up a lung and tries to soothe the burn with more beer, thinks back to the times where Billy wore his shirt unbuttoned almost down to his navel, and he'd never seen them before. He's met up with Billy after his shift at the pool, when he wore his cropped Everlast shirt, and there hadn't been anything there except a dark blond happy trail.

It has to be new. Recent.

"You good, princess?" Billy asks him suddenly, his brows furrowed.

His eyes watery from coughing, Steve nods and waves him off, watching the blond roll his eyes and go back inside for another drink.

There's no way, right? 🖤 It's been a week and Steve can't stop thinking about it.

He has to make sure he wasn't just seeing anything or else it'll eat him alive.

So, he calls up Billy that weekend, asking, "You wanna come over for a swim? Maybe some beers, too?"

"I worked at the pool all day, the last thing I want is to fuckin' swim, Harrington. How about we just have some beers? Maybe take them over to Heather's?" Billy offered cooly, like he wasn't ruining Steve's perfectly laid out plans.

Pursing his lips, Steve covered up his indignant huff by palming the bottom of his phone before transferring it to his other ear, saying, "Yeah, I suppose we could."

Because he was a sucker for Billy. He couldn't help it.

"I'll pick you up in twenty, be ready."

The line went dead and Steve huffed again.

🖤

A couple days later, he's finally got Billy at his house, but his parents are home. Not that they're going to ruin his plans or anything, but his parents actually enjoy Billy's company, so they ask him to stay for dinner and who is Billy to decline such a generous offer?

His dad's barbecuing in the back and he and Billy are chatting about something regarding sports while Steve helps his mom prepare the table. He had immediately noticed Billy's new shirt when the guy arrived, a soft light green t-shirt, tightly fitted - and if Steve could only get a damn glance at his stomach, he might be able to see the shape of it through the fabric.

It's almost comical how much stuff gets in the way: Billy's standing behind the barbecue, his dad is in front of him when they come in with food, his mother passes his father the salad bowl just as Billy goes to sit at the table.

He kinda wants to scream.

And again, Billy asks him, "Everything alright, Steve?" Because he's Steve in front of his parents.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he smiles tightly, their eyes locking for a moment, and there's something shining in Billy's blue eyes.

After dinner, when they've had their full and it's time for Billy to go, he watches the blond pat his stomach and keep his hand there as he stands, thanking the Harringtons for the meal.

Steve manages another tight smile as his parents tell Billy to come back soon.

🖤

A couple guys they know from school are playing basketball at the park when he and Billy drive by a couple days later, and Billy glances over at him with a grin, saying, "Wanna join them?"

Steve stares at him for a moment before flicking his gaze over to the guys on the court, noticing that they're shirts vs skins. And knowing Billy, he'll want to take off his shirt.

Oh, yeah. This will work.

"Sure," he hums, playing it cool.

They park and head over, standing on the sidelines until Patrick stops dribbling the ball and asks them, "You two come to join?"

"Yeah, thought maybe you'd want some actual competition, McKinney," Billy smirks, grinning when Jason gives him a glare for his smart mouth.

"Alright," Patrick nods with a smile, "Harrington, you're skins."

Steve feels his shoulders drop, and he glances at Billy, figuring he'd say something like 'nah, let's switch' but Billy just looks at him, quirking an expectant brow.

"You gonna strip or what, Harrington?" Billy asks with a leer.

Sighing, Steve rolls his eyes and pulls the bottom of his shirt over his head.

🖤

It's gotta be on purpose, right? Steve's suffering from some kind of karma that he doesn't deserve. How fucking hard is it to catch Billy Hargrove without a goddamn shirt?

He has Billy's aviators from the other day and he's on his way to Cherry Lane to return them, his thumb tapping his steering wheel as he replays the memory of that simple little lift of Billy's shirt that started all of this. It's honestly infuriating how unlucky he's been.

And he knows he could just ask, but there's no dignity in that. Billy would just tease him about it and never show it.

When he pulls up to the Hargrove house, Billy's outside mowing the lawn, in shorts and a white tank top. He's sweating a bit, his face so unfortunately attractively flushed. His lips go red whenever he's working out too hard and Steve can't help but to stare at them.

He shuts off his car and gets out, calling, "Billy!" over the sound of the mower.

Billy looks up, squinting in the sunlight, and shuts off the mower. He smiles at Steve, in that mean way he does, and shouts back, "Miss me so bad you had to come and track me down, Stevie?"

He's Stevie when Billy's teasing him, when they're alone.

Steve leans against his car and holds up the aviators, "Figured you'd want these back, asshole."

The smile that blooms on Billy's face is beautiful and he actually says, surprisingly without sarcasm, "You're a goddamn lifesaver."

But, it's not what he says that has Steve freezing in place - it's his hand, going down to the bottom of his shirt, like he's going to lift it to wipe away the little beads of sweat on his forehead, and Steve's breath catches in his throat.

Holy shit. Finally.

His stomach clenches in anticipation, his jaw dropping a little, until he hears a sudden familiar voice screech, "Billy!"

It's Max, on the front porch, with anger written across her face, and Billy's immediately turning to face her, his hand falling to his side, sweat forgotten.

Steve lets out a groan and rests his forehead on his car, closing his eyes as he half listens to the step siblings yelling at each other over something petty.

Goddammit.

He's really at his wit's end.

🖤

It's been two weeks and Steve finds himself at a party on a Friday night, at his wit's end about the whole stupid thing. He can't even talk to Robin about it.

Well, he could, but he doesn't really want to see the look on her face and the deadpanned 'you're such a dingus' she'd say to him.

He knows he's being a dingus, but it's not like he can stop.

What he can do, though, is shoot back some vodka with Carol like they used to in freshman year.

"What, no Billy tonight?" She hums, words just a touch slurred, and he gives her a shrug as he reaches for his half-drunk beer.

"Dunno where he's at," he replies, glancing around the busy room, "Assumed he'd be here."

"You two are, like, attached at the hip these days," she smirks, giving him a look, "What's the deal?"

"No deal," he shrugs again, feeling the vodka warm his belly, "He's just...nice to hang out with, I guess."

"Hm," she hums, giving his arm a pat, "Well, if you wanna know where he is, I saw him go down to the basement like, five minutes ago."

Steve's eyes widen and he immediately looks towards the door leading down to the basement of her house, which is cracked open a little.

He eyes it for a moment before asking, "He take a girl down there?"

"Nope," Carol shakes her head, "Probably went to get more beer, or something."

Maybe he should go check on him.

"Maybe you should go check on him."

He turns and looks down at her, eyeing the impish look on her face, and he doesn't know why it's there or why she's saying that, but he nods anyway.

"Yeah, 'kay," he slurs softly, pushing himself off the counter, his beer left behind there as he makes his way to the door.

The basement is cool, and dark, except for the warm glow of a lamp that he can spot at the bottom of the staircase. He pulls the door closed behind him without meaning to, and slowly descends, hearing the rustling of bottles in the fridge that he knows is down here. Carol's dad had the basement fully finished and furnished for his poker nights a couple years ago, and the fridge in the corner is always fully stocked.

He steps down onto the landing and sways, holding onto the railing as he watches Billy compare two bottles of beer, as if he really prefers either. The best beer is a free beer, and the only thing better than a free beer, is a cold one.

Steve breaks the silence first, saying, "You didn't tell me you'd be here."

Billy glances over at him, surprised, before he recognizes him and then he's smirking, "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd be here anyway, pretty boy."

He's pretty boy when they're alone and Billy's flirting.

Steve feels his face flush, from the alcohol (he tries to convince himself), and he quietly watches Billy put one of the bottles back in the fridge before bringing the other one to his mouth, opening it with his molars, and it makes Steve cringe every single time.

"You're gonna wreck your teeth doing that shit," he mutters, like he does every time.

Billy flicks the cap away with that smug smile still on his face, and like every time, he replies, "Haven't yet."

He watches Billy come over to him, to probably go back upstairs now that he's invaded Mr. Perkins' stash, but he can't help the way his eyes flick down Billy's body.

And his eyes stop at the bottom of Billy's Metallica shirt, which might've shrunk in the wash or something, because it's short than Steve remembers and that's when he sees it.

A shiny metal ball, just peeking out from under the dark fabric.

His heart skips a beat and he doesn't even hesitate to step off the landing and push Billy back against the nearest wall, listening to the soft rush of air as the blond's back hits it a little too hard, but he's smiling like the prick he is, staring down his nose at Steve as he tilts his head back.

"Mm, Stevie, that wasn't very nice," he purrs, and that's when Steve smells the alcohol on his breath, but he doesn't care.

He grabs the bottom of Billy's shirt and rucks it up, his jaw dropping as he breathes out a rush of air, like he's just been punched in the gut.

He wasn't seeing things. He was right.

A silver curved barbell, pierced through Billy's navel, sitting so pretty and perfect just above his happy trail.

"You like it?" Billy hums, arrogant, because he already knows Steve does.

His mouth is too dry to answer, and he can't help it when he begins to touch the skin of Billy's stomach, his dark eyes trained on the piercing as his fingers dance around it, his thumb daring to draw closer and closer until he strokes the barbell, giving it a little tug that has Billy making this sound that goes straight to his cock--

"Fuck," Steve breathes, feeling his cock throb in his jeans, so fucking turned on and he hadn't even known it until he heard Billy make that sound, and now he's arching into Steve's touch, seeking it out, and...and...

He flicks his eyes back up to Billy, sees this look on his face, like he kinda wants to eat Steve alive but also wants to be kissed, so Steve does.

He surges forward and Billy meets him halfway, their mouths meeting in a frenzy, like they can't get there fast enough or close enough. He can hear glass break, knowing it's the beer bottle, but it's forgotten because it's dizzying - the way Billy pushes his tongue into his mouth, not wasting a single moment, groaning into his mouth and it goes straight to his cock again.

His hands go to Billy's waist and he pulls himself against him, tilting his head to suck at Billy's lower lip as he grinds his hips into the blond's, revelling in the choke moan he receives for it.

"Knew you'd be into it," Billy breathes, when Steve kisses down his neck and licks at the cologne there, his skin bitter and salty, and he bites down on the junction between neck and shoulder just to hear Billy moan again.

"Shut up," Steve pants, pouting as he sucks on Billy's neck, and then pauses because--

He pulls back just enough to look at Billy, admires the flush on his face before he says, accusingly, "You knew."

"Of course I knew," Billy chuckles low, his teeth flashing as he grins, "I couldn't help it. It was fun watching you lose your mind over it."

"You're such a fucking brat," Steve growls, fisting a hand in Billy's hair and pulling him into a hard kiss, hearing Billy's chuckling hums turn into soft moans as Steve slides his tongue against Billy's.

He can't help but to imagine a stud there, sliding against his tongue, against his skin, against the tip of his cock--

Billy hooks his leg around Steve's hip and reaches down to grab his ass, pulling their hips together until there's a delicious but restricted friction, the blond growling into his mouth, "Yeah? You gonna do anything about it?"

It's enough of a taunt for Steve to pull them away from the wall and turn them, once again pushing Billy back towards the poker table in the middle of the room, a fire in his blood that Billy notices in his eyes and it has him grinning, flushed and pleased as he crawls back onto the table, letting Steve push him down onto his back.

"You gonna suck my cock like you've been wanting to, princess?" Billy breathes, cocky as always.

"Maybe," Steve hums, pushing Billy's shirt up again to get another look at the piercing there, thumbing over it and giving it a playful little tug that has Billy hissing.

"That hurt?" He asks gently.

"S'fine," Billy hums, licking his lips, "Just got it caught on something this morning, kinda tender..."

"Good," Steve says, pushing the shirt higher with both hands, until he's thumbing at Billy's nipples, feeling them harden under his touch and he watches the pleasure cross Billy's face as he squirms under it, sensitive.

"Wonder how sensitive they'd be if you pierced them, too," he murmurs, feeling his blush spread down to his chest as he images it, silver barbells through each nipple, playing with them until Billy had tears in his eyes, begging him to stop or make him cum.

"Maybe we should find out," Billy sighs, moans when Steve gives them a little pinch, arching into the touch like a girl.

"Maybe we should," he agrees, thumbing over them again as he lowers his mouth, pressing and sucking kisses into Billy's stomach, unable to help himself as his mouth wanders lower, his tongue peeking out to guide the metal ball of the barbell into his mouth, groaning as he closes his mouth around it and gives it a little suck, feeling Billy's hips buck under him as he gasps out, "Steve!"

"Yeah, baby? Feel good?" Steve murmurs as he flicks his tongue over it again, sliding his hands down from Billy's chest and to his jeans, tugging his belt open and kissing lower and lower, nuzzling that happy trail with the tip of his nose as he tugs Billy's jeans down, lower and lower until his cock is out and Steve can feel it bump his chin.

He's like a man starved, opening his mouth wide and taking Billy's cock onto his tongue, moaning at the taste of him, salty and bitter like cologne and he still fucking puts it on his dick, the freak, but it's too good and he doesn't even care at this point, not when Billy's grabbing a fistful of his hair and gasping his name.

It's messy, because he's kinda drunk, but he does his best, sucking and minding his teeth, swirling his tongue over the tip before taking Billy as deep as he can, gagging on it gently because Billy makes the prettiest sounds when he does.

"Fuck, Stevie, so fucking pretty like this," Billy moans, watching Steve bob his head up and down on his cock, and he glances up at the blond, their eyes meeting as he slurps at the tip like a fucking slut, and it makes his cheeks burn red.

"Shit--I'm close," Billy gasps, his face twisting in pleasure, which is honestly a compliment because Steve knows he can blow him better than this if he were totally sober, but it's not exactly the time to drag things out, so he sucks harder and brings his hand down to fondle at Billy's balls, giving them a little tug and pressing his knuckles to his taint, enraptured as he watches Billy's eyes roll back as he cums, gripping Steve's hair hard.

It makes him whimper, feeling a streak of cum in his mouth, and he pulls off Billy's cock with a soft gasp, feeling another streak or two paint his chin and cheek.

"Holy fuck," Billy laughs quietly, going limp on the table, but he's still staring down at Steve, humming, "You got a lil something there, Stevie..."

He doesn't even care, too turned on to fucking think as he straightens and goes for his own jeans, yanking them down and pulling out his cock with one hand while the other goes to his face, spitting Billy's cum out onto his palm while he wipes the mess on his chin and cheek with his fingers, bringing that hand down to wrap around himself with a moan.

It's gross but it's worth it to see the stunned and awed look on Billy's face, his jaw slack and blue eyes wide as he looks down to watch Steve stroke himself, clearly admiring his cock.

"Jesus, Stevie," Billy sighs, "You've been holding out on me."

"You've seen it before," he grunts, stroking over the tip and feeling his balls tighten in response.

"Not like this," Billy hums, licking his lips, and Steve's locked in on his mouth then, imagining it stretched around his cock, knowing that it eventually will be.

He feels his stomach tense and he whimpers out a quiet 'fuck' as he cums, aiming right for Billy's stomach, sighing happily when he watches it cover Billy's piercing.

"Oh, you fucker," Billy chuckles, breathless and almost fucked out, looking up at Steve with annoyed amusement.

"Pay back, for the two weeks you put me through," Steve pants with a grin, triumphant.

But, like he knows, he's a sucker for Billy and he doesn't leave him like that. He goes over to the couch against the wall and grabs the box of tissues there, pulling a few out to clean himself with before taking a few more to Billy, who grabs them from him.

He watches Billy carefully wipe away at his piercing, smirks when he hears the annoyed grumbling as he wipes the cum from his belly button, and he grins when Billy shoots him a look.

"You had it coming," he chuckles, scrunching his nose when Billy throws the crumpled up tissue at his face.

"Asshole," Billy hums, tucking himself back into his jeans, slow and unhurried.

Steve does the same and watches his best friend push himself up with a wince, until they're face to face again, although the table has Steve looking up at Billy a bit.

They stare at each other for a moment, in that warm lamp light, until Steve leans in and presses a sweet, chaste kiss to Billy's mouth. Way too sweet for what they just did.

"So," he hums against Billy's mouth, "About those nipple piercings..."

He feels Billy smile against his mouth, his chest rumbling with a chuckle as he mutters, "I'll think about it."

They both know he's definitely doing it.

[lucy90712]

Road to recovery- part 7

Masterlist

This morning Pablo told me when he was going to come and pick me up and by him I mean him and Pedri as he still can't drive yet after the surgery. Going with Pedri means we are leaving quite early as Pedri has to arrive a while before the game but that's fine by me as it gives me time to get used to the environment and feel a bit less anxious. I suppose in that time I'll also get to meet the rest of the team but I'm trying not to think too much about that or else I start overthinking everything. 

When it was time to get ready my job was made quite easy as earlier this week Pablo gave me one of his shirts and not just any shirt with his name on the back one of his actual shirts that he had for a game. I felt so special having the shirt as not many people will ever get one of these yet here I am wearing one while waiting to go to a game with Pablo himself. With the shirt I just wore some comfortable trousers that I can easily get over my brace as I like to hide it when I can especially when out in public. Seeing as my outfit was relatively simple I did my hair all nice and put on a bit of makeup so that I don't look like someone who hardly sleeps every night.

Pretty much as soon as I was ready Pablo text to say him and Pedri were outside so I made my way down to be greeted by both of them waiting for me outside Pedri's car. I gave them both a quick hug and Pablo kissed my cheek which apparently is our thing now even though it makes me blush every time. Pedri helped me get into the backseat before him and Pablo got into the front which was fine by me as I'd rather no one knew I was with them in the car. As we got closer to the stadium there was more and more fans every corner we turned all of them had their phones out filming and taking pictures leaning right against the windows of the car. Luckily the back windows were tinted but I still slid down in my seat to hide as much as possible as I could do without the tirade of abuse I know I'd get if I am ever seen with Pablo or even Pedri. 

Once we made it into the parking lot everything was a lot calmer so I was able to get my heart rate back to an acceptable pace. Just as I was getting my nerves under control the car stopped and before we could even get out I heard Fermin calling Pablo's game. I have met Fermin countless times so it was nice to see him but him being there reminded me that half the reason I'm here is to meet everyone else. Don't get me wrong I'm sure they are all lovely people and that they won't judge me at all but I can't help but be super anxious. We all walked in together and somehow we didn't see anyone else along the way although as we got to the locker room all I could hear was everyone inside talking and laughing. Knowing that everyone was just behind that door really made all of this feel real. I was on the verge of spiralling into a full blown panic attack but before I could go beyond the point of no return I felt someone grab my hand. It didn't take long for me to realise that it was Pablo's hand in mine, he squeezed it a few times before offering me a comforting smile which calmed me down a bit. 

I was able to take one more deep breath before we went into the locker room as we went through the door Pablo's hand dropped out of mine but he stayed close to me and put one hand gently on my lower back once we were inside. Everyone was talking until they noticed us stood there and it felt like the room was dead silent for hours but it was probably only a few seconds. When the silence finally ended all of the boys seemed to stand up and once to rush over to Pablo. Despite my nerves it put a smile on my face seeing Pablo's teammates give him the love he deserves he makes it clear just how much he loves this team and it's nice to see him getting some of that love back. 

"So who's this you've brought with you?" An older man who I have learnt is Lewandowski asked 

"This is Lola she's the girl I mentioned that I met in the hospital I brought her to watch her first ever football match" Pablo said 

"It's good to meet you Lola hopefully we can make your first game enjoyable" Lewandowski said 

"Tell us about yourself Lola Pablito here refused to give us any details when he mentioned you" Balde said 

"There's not much to say I'm 19 I'm a gymnast and I'm studying sports psychology at university" I said 

"You're not just a gymnast she was supposed to go to the Olympics in the summer she already qualified for the squad" Pablo said 

"Wow that's amazing" a few of the guys said at once 

"That's an incredible achievement" Fermin said 

"Thanks guys but it doesn't really matter as I'm not going now anyway" I said 

"It's still an incredible achievement remember we're both going to come back stronger" Pablo said 

The boys kept asking questions and I learnt a bit about all of them too as I only knew what Pablo had told me and what I'd learnt from watching the last few games. All of them were so sweet and they actually seemed to care about what I had to say which felt good as I did wonder if they would just pretend to listen and care but they seem to actually be interested in my life. Once I relaxed a bit it became so much easier to talk to them all and it didn't feel so daunting anymore it just felt like I was talking to some friends. Eventually we had to leave as they all needed to prepare for the game but I left the locker room feeling a lot happier and more relaxed than when I went in. 

After we left the locker room we made our way to our seats which were right at the top of the stadium out the way. Pablo explained that he wanted our seats to be out of view as he doesn't want to be seen going to games as he wants to keep his recovery out of the spotlight. He also knew I wouldn't want to be seen by loads of people so seats in the boxes at the top of the stadium are perfect for us. When we sat down there was still a little while until kick off so we got to sit and talk for a while. Pablo made sure that his teammates were all nice to me and that they didn't embarrass him but the jokes on him as Pedri and Fermin have already told me all sorts of embarrassing stories about him so it's them he should've been worried about. While the team were warming up Pablo explained all of the exercises they were doing and he told me how he thought they should line up to get the best result which meant nothing to me as I'm still trying to learn about all of the positions and everything. 

The second the game started the whole stadium filled with noise it was incredible the atmosphere was like nothing I've ever experienced before and I've been to some big competitions myself as well as some of Alonso's races. I was on the edge of my seat watching as the ball got passed from player to player I never realised how fascinating football was if I had I definitely would've been to a game before. I was loving watching the game but Pablo was stressed as the team had already missed a lot of chances that was until Raphinha finally got the ball in the back of the net just after 30 minutes. If I thought the atmosphere was crazy before it was even wilder after the team scored if I had the ability I would've jumped out of my seat like everyone else but instead Pablo and I just high fived each other. When the other team equalised the whole stadium went quiet apart from the few away fans at one end I could still hear Pablo swearing under his breath though which had me stifling a laugh at how passionate he is. 

Halftime followed not long after the equaliser but as the adrenaline of the first half wore off I realised how cold it was at the top of the stadium. It was supposed to be pretty warm tonight but the temperature has really dropped and it's a little windy so it's definitely chilly up at the top of the stadium. Without thinking too much I rubbed my hands across my arms to try and warm them up a bit as goosebumps were beginning to form. 

"Are you cold?" Pablo asked 

"A bit but I'm fine I'll warm up soon" I replied 

"Here take my jacket" he said taking his jacket off to give it to me 

"But I don't want you to be cold" I said 

"I'll be fine I already have a jumper on just take it I promise it's ok" he said 

"Thanks" I said 

He helped me put the jacket on and once I had it on I was so glad he made me put it on as it was so warm and it smelt like Pablo which made it ever better. The second half was stressful to watch as the same issues the team have been having were persisting but I was warm so that made it better. When the match finally came to an end Barcelona won 3-2 which is a good 3 points for the team but it was very stressful to watch. I'm sure Pablo nearly had a heart attack a few times during the game and the amount of swear words I heard come out his mouth was enough to rival a sailor. He seemed to be glad that the match was over but I was kind of sad I enjoyed the match so much despite the stress that I never wanted it to end. I can see why people love this sport so much if I could go to every match I definitely would but instead I'll just watch on tv. 

Pablo and I stayed sat down until the stands cleared a bit and then we made our way down to the tunnel so we could wait for Pedri as he's driving us both back home. Even though they won most of the players still seemed a bit dejected as they came out but they all still said goodbye to us as they walked past. Pedri was the exact same but he put on a smile and asked if I enjoyed the game, I couldn't help but go on a bit of a tangent about how much I enjoyed the game but it seemed to cheer Pedri up even if Pablo was laughing at my enthusiasm. I wasn't as nervous on the way back home in fact I kind of forgot about the fact that there would be people on the streets but when we reached the first group of people I didn't care I just kept talking. 

It didn't take long before we reached my apartment building, Pablo insisted on coming up with me so we both got out the car and made our way inside. Once we reached my door I realised I was still wearing his jacket so I tried to give it back to him but he told me to keep hold of it until we next see each other. Like always he hugged me and kissed my cheek which again made me blush but luckily I was able to close my door so he didn't see just how red my face turns every time he does that. Once Pablo was gone I realised just how exhausted I was, all of the excitement had worn off and now I was just tired. I did my skincare and got myself ready for bed before crashing into my bed which has never felt so comfortable in the few years I've lived here. I was reminded that the world still exists not too long after as my phone dinged a few times which reminded me that it had been going crazy for the entirety of the second half but I ignored it as I wanted to enjoy myself.

My lock screen had so many notifications on it that I couldn't work out what was going on. First I checked to see if my parents had text me which they hadn't which meant that it wasn't anything horrific. Alonso had sent me a few texts but I chose to ignore him as he's probably just making fun of me or sending me memes. I had loads of Instagram notifications so that's what I was drawn to. I quickly regretted checking Instagram as all I was met with was people tagging me in various posts of a picture of me and Pablo at the game. My instagram which earlier had about 20,000 followers now has nearly 200,000 and my lastest post has been flooded with new comments. I don't know what compelled me to do so but I started scrolling through not only my comments but also the comments on the other posts. It was a stupid decision because of course I didn't like what everyone was saying but once I started I just couldn't stop.

[echotrinityme]

See You Again Chapter 6: A Bittersweet Reunion

Rupert has left his old life to reunite with someone he hasn't seen. After catching up with them, he feels lost and decides to what to do next. 

Rupert was walking through the dark, cold road as the snow fell on him and stuck to him like glue.

Rupert kept walking while shivering in the cold and holding his bags.

The snow crunched as he walked toward a huge building with multiple walls and windows. The building looked like a prison because it was a prison. 

The Wall is an infamous prison that houses the most vile, petty evilest criminals in the whole world. Many criminals were sent here to be contained and serve out their sentences. It was when a certain former dead thief was placed here despite being pardoned and he escaped along with Ellie Rose, another inmate who was there for unknown reasons.

Rupert saw some guards with guns at the entrance of the Wall.

The guards were talking when they saw Rupert, they immediately pointed their guns at him with angry expressions.

"Who are you!" Guard 1 said.

"And state your business!" Guard 2 added.

Rupert didn't say anything. He just stared at them with cold, dead eyes.

The guards were about to ask again when Rupert suddenly shot forward and grabbed the first guard's collar. The second guard was startled when he saw Rupert grab his colleague's shirt and he was about to aim his gun at Rupert when he yelped in pain. Rupert successfully kicked a rock at the second gun and dropped it. 

The first guard glanced at Rupert in fear as he felt himself being pulled closer, the first guard felt hot breath and trembled in fear. 

"My name is Rupert Price," Rupert replied coldly, making the two guards' blood turn ice cold, "I'm here to see my mother. Her name is Rita Petrov and she told me to come here so LET ME IN!" 

Both guards flinched at the yelling, the second guard went to open the gate to the Wall. The gate opened and Rupert let go of the first guard. The first guard dropped on the snow as Rupert started walking, the guards closed the gate and Rupert started heading toward a door to the building. Several guards avoided him and some guards were afraid of him. Not because of the commotion he caused earlier, it was because of what happened between him and Henry. 

Rupert ignored them as he went inside.

The door made a loud sound as he closed the door, he then started walking down the hallway. He passed by more guards and staff, he also ignored their looks and stares. Rupert stopped at a door that looked different from the others, he hesitated on knocking on the door. He stared at the door for a couple of minutes but to him, it seemed more like hours. He swallowed as he held up his hand to knock on the door, his anxiety spiked when he knocked on the door twice.

"Come in," said a feminine voice.

Rupert took in a deep breath and exhaled as he entered the room.

An older woman with a small stature was at a desk writing something on a piece of paper, he cleared his throat to get the woman's attention. The woman glanced up and she gasped in shock. She stood up and quickly ran up to him. She stared at him with her golden eyes and touched Rupert's cheek.

Rupert stared at his mom in sadness, it's been a long time since he had last seen his mom. The last time he saw his mom was when he was little. She still looks the same as before she left except she looked more brightly and doesn't always look sad. Her long, onyx black wavy hair was tied into a bun and she wore glasses. She was also wearing a staff uniform and had her name tag.

"Hi, Mom..." Rupert said solemnly.

"Oh, my son..." Rita replied sadly as she hugged him. She knew her son would need her and she's glad he's here. They started talking before Rupert joined the Government and they repaired their broken relationship.

"How are you feeling, my Rupert?" Rita asked gently.

Rupert looked away from his mother, confirming her answer.

"I know it's been tough for you but I'm here for you," Rita said softly.

Rupert smiled faintly. 

He's glad to have his mother to support him during his time of need.

Rupert told his mom everything that had happened recently.

After he told his mom what happened, he put his face on his hands and silently sobbed. Rita pulled her son into a hug and whispered comforting words but he kept sobbing. After a while, he stopped sobbing and just hugged his mom. Rita felt her son stop trembling and become motionless. Then she heard soft snoring and looked down.

Rupert fell asleep in his mother's arms.

Rita smiled softly as she held her son, he must have been so tired. Rupert did have dark circles under his eyes after all. Rita hummed a quiet tune while Rupert slept, Rita quietly and carefully put herself and himself on a chair. They stayed there for a few minutes, Rita still holding Rupert as he slept. The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful. So quiet and so peaceful.

BAM!

Both Rita and Rupert jumped as they turned to the door. Rupert's vision was blurry when he saw a figure at the door, he rubbed his eyes while shaking his head to get rid of any sleep. Rita stared at the figure at the door with wide eyes and a bit of anger.

"Henry Stickmin is dead!" said a deep Russian voice.

Dmitri Petrov, the warden of the Wall burst into the room with a shocked look.

Dmitri Petrov was not only the warden of the Wall, he's also Rita Price's father and Rupert Price's grandfather. 

Rupert looked between Dmitri and his mom. Rupert didn't want to tell his grandfather that Henry was dead and he was the one who caused it. However, he saw his grandfather was grinning. Rupert tried not to laugh since Dmitri lost a couple of his front teeth due to a certain dead thief and he looked silly without his front teeth. 

Rupert nodded slowly as he bowed his head down in shame.

It was silent for a few minutes, and then Rita and Rupert heard laughter.

"Ha... Hahahahaha!" Dmitri laughed as he smiled, "HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Dmitri kept laughing while Rita and Rupert stared at him in confusion. "Uh... Father?" Rita said tentatively, "You alright?"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Dmitri kept laughing, ignoring his daughter in the process. He stopped laughing as he stared at his daughter and grandson, He wiped some tears from his face and smiled.

"I'm fine, Rita," Dmitri replied happily.

"Then why are you laughing?" Rita questioned.

"Because Henry Stickmin is dead, thanks to my grandson!" Dmitri exclaimed, making Rita and Rupert feel awkward. Rita nervously glanced at Rupert who was looking at his grandfather blankly. Dmitri either didn't see Rupert's reaction or ignored it.

"Rupert, I'm so proud of you for doing something right for change," Dmitri said as he got out his walkie talkie, "So proud,"

"Grigori! Tell everyone to take the day off!" Dmitri ordered excitedly, there was some static and a deep Russian voice, "Yes, Grigori, I'm serious," he continued, "Why? Because we're going to have a party! For what?! Because Henry Stickmin is dead!"

Dmitri rambled on while Rita and Rupert watched him. Dmitri headed out of the room, still explaining to Grigori about Henry Stickmin's death. Rita shook her head and glanced at Rupert who stared at the ground with blank eyes.

"Rupert?" she said tentatively, "You alright?"

Rupert didn't respond. He just kept staring at the floor.

Rita was about to ask again when Rupert stood up, startling her. Without answering his mom, he left the room. 

A/N: This is an early Christmas present for you guys. Also, refresher, Rita Petrov is an oc created by me and Blue_Fanlady and she is the daughter of Dmitri Petrov and the mother of Rupert Price. 

[rivangel]

First off, I would like to say I thoroughly enjoy your Levi posts, especially the ones where you break down his character, very insightful ❤

I've been stalking your tags a bit, and I noticed you mentioned Levi incorporating his mother into his wardrobe can you elaborate on this?

And secondly, you've likened Levi to Joel from TLOU, but for some reason I'm stuck on the dynamic of Levi losing two fingers vs how Ellie lost hers, and the aftermath, the mental gut-punch with losing something that is part of what makes them feel "useful". (I'm a masochist lol)

Thank you!!

awweeeee thank you so much!! :D

haha yes about the wardrobe part, either you mean the crossdressing post, or the kid levi in canon post😭😭😭?and there's quite the steep difference in theme.

to summarize for anyone else, 1: it's plainly obvious to me that Kenny first came upon Levi while he wore his mother's dress (or one of), and throughout his childhood, he cut it into a shirt (and speculatively, later keeps it with him as a handkerchief/his cravat).

2: I hc that Levi enjoys crossdressing with some resemblances to his mother because of, basically, the positive associations (similar to tea). for example, the perfume she used to wear.

there's not much to say that i can think of that i haven't already said🤔Kuchel was Levi's WORLD. she - would have - taught him the value of humanity and how to be kind, even though she didn't know what he'd go on to do. she was the foundation for the hero he'd go on to be. Levi's childhood is the antithesis of happiness (lol), but his mother was the closest thing to pure joy. it's just a fact.

similar to tea-drinking (as suggested in canon so far...), i don't see why cherishing memories of Kuchel would stop at that + there's the psychological implications.

as far as that goes, Kuchel died at what is the brain is soaking up info and experiences like a sponge. + the comparison is valid that Kuchel was heaven to Levi whereas he (and she) lived inside hell, so he as a child would latch on to her in common (ie, keeping her dress) and anomalous ways (ie, crossdressing as an adult (((w/ her as the primary influence for this behavior)))).

reminders of her are a source of comfort, tldr.

OMGGGG i've never thought of this!!!!

haha i've actually made a post on the symbolism around levi losing his fingers😅....and another post.... but to cut to the chase, levi's fixation on violence as pointless, unending (literally unending, bc zeke was healing as he cut him...), cruelty was his downfall + so was his selfishness when he chose armin while fully believing that erwin was the key to saving humanity.

his injuries were his punishment, but they didn't... destroy a priceless part of him like ellie's injury. he could still fight. in fact, if it weren't for levi's special way of holding one sword backwards, he would've had a much harder time.

but without her two fingers, ellie can't play guitar anymore. so her and joel's song won't ever ring out the same; that last connection she still had to him is ruined. also, what led to it, ellie succumbing to thoughtless, cold, cruel violence was her downfall in the world of the last of us, where one's humanity, so to speak, is the greatest refuge. in that fight, in the end, ellie tells abby to "just take him", referring literally to lev, but figuratively to joel. but along with that, ellie took away her own connection to joel herself.

so in the end of that, ellie loses everything, reconciles with her feelings towards joel, and - assumably - moves on. it's bittersweet... and she loses loses joel... but it's peace.

it's different for levi. yes cruelty that went against what His Person would want was his downfall like her, but he didn't lose everything. he almost did: his miraculous survival was out of his hands; if he wasn't an ackerman, he'd be dead. and dying would've been breaking his promise to erwin. levi's injury is a punishment of the highest order, and the establishment of his last chance to "keep his connection" to erwin, if you think of it in terms of how ellie's and levi's situations are related.

they both have their ups and downs :')

[lunar-writes-things]

23) it's not really that simple, is it?

The smell of redstone always had Y/n’s nose tickling, it always smelled of cinnamon and apparently tasted like hot Cheeto dust to all the redstone people. 

A sneeze escaped them when they lost their train of thought too quickly. 

Currently, You were watching Mumbo who looked dead on his feet. His hair was mussed and he shedded his overcoat in favor of his button-down which he unbuttoned for most of the way down having Y/n drooling at the now human skin.

Y/n had no idea when that happened but they sure weren't complaining 

Currently, Y/n sat on a bench with Mumbo's tools beside them, and when he asked for one they handed it to him. As he worked Y/n told him about their dates with Pearl, Scar, and Grian.

"It sounds like you had a lot of fun," Mumbo said as he stood up straight and wiped the sweat off his forehead  with a smile on his face as he walked toward and in front of Y/n and leaned down to their level, caging them in with a soft smile "Would you like to go on a date with me later today?" 

"As hot as you are right now," Y/n said over a dopey grin and flushed cheeks "The smell of sweat makes the redstone cinnamon smell stronger and I'm doing everything in my power not to sneeze in your face." 

Mumbo burst out laughing and moved away so y/n could sneeze and wipe their nose with a smile that warmed hearts and could melt anyone.

"And the answer to the date?" Mumbo asked hours later, finally done with the redstone and had washed up a bit 

"It was always a yes." Y/n replied softly "Any ideas on what to do?" 

"Nope!" He grinned and scooped them up in his arms pressing chaste kisses to their face as Y/n squealed and laughed, enjoying the attention 

"HEY!" Impulse called over from his house "I WANT IN!" 

The man came running over and Mumbo ran away yelling that they were his 

Y/n enjoyed the ride in his arms but eventually Impulse caught up and tackled the two of them, careful of Y/n wings before both smothered Y/n in kisses all over their face and body... 

As if they worshiped them 

oh they felt absolutely wonderful 

Later, Mumbo met Y/n at their door and held up an armful of snacks and other fun things. 

"Why don't we stay here tonight and just relax?" He asked, "You told me, Pearl, Scar, and Grian took you out so I figured we could stay in and watch a movie, maybe do some facemasks, and-" 

Y/n had tugged him inside with their grin as big as the evergrowing moon saying "yesyesyesyesyes," 

Mumbo laughed as he was dragged along inside the house and Y/n grabbed some clothes before rushing in their bathroom to change. 

How endearing. 

"My goodness I love them," Mumbo muttered to himself as he leaned his chin to his hand to lean on "Thank goodness I-" 

Mumbo's muttering slowed to a stop and his cheeks lit aflame when y/n came out in the white button-up he gave them not so long ago. They probably wore shorts underneath but if they did, he couldn't see them. Mumbo swallowed the saliva in his throat that felt as dry as the Sahara before attempting to say something. 

 "It's what I've been wearing to sleep," Y/n said before he could open his mouth "This and Impulse's shirt." 

They looked so shy to say that and their cheeks also flushed the most beautiful shade of red and Mumbo had to swallow the drool that almost escaped from the corners of his mouth 

He needed them in his veins

how would he survive the night? 

He barely did... but that's a story for later, right now however

Mumbo laughed at what y/n was saying as they told him the gossip around the dimension and painted his nails dark mauve. 

They had decided to do their nails before they started on dinner and allowed Gossip and movies to play through their whispers. The two had created their own atmospheric bubble that felt like their own little world. 

It felt amazing

Mumbo shivered with excitement as she spent time with the one he adores but he knew if he really wanted this to be great he would invite the rest of boatem...

is it selfish to have them all to himself? 

No

it wasn't

everyone else had them for themselves for a short time, he could too. 

Y/n loves them all equally as he knew it, it was okay to spend one on one time with them. Why would they not want to?

"Mumbo?" Y/n whispered softly to catch his attention and a gentle yet firm hand on his thigh grounded Mumbo and brought him back to what was important. 

Y/n

“Yes Sweetheart?" he asked 

"There you are..." Y/n said, "I got a bit worried there, you began to zone out." 

"Sorry," he muttered 

"Don't be sorry," Y/n said "Penny for your thoughts?" 

"Am I being selfish by wanting you for myself?" He asked 

"Nope!" Y/n answered and put the nail polish away before carefully grabbing his hands "You are not selfish for wanting me to yourself. Personally, if I could, I would have all of you living in my house and me taking care of you all. Unfortunately, none of you guys would allow that and it could be considered Kidnapping and that's illegal." 

Those words got a laugh out of Mumbo and Y/n smiled 

"I love all of you so so so much and I adore spending time with all of you, alone or not." Y/n said, Moving their hands from his and to Mumbo's face where he melted into the touch "I'm unsure too, sometimes I'm terrified that this is a dream and that one day I'll wake up and its okay to think that but its important to remember that You deserve what you are getting. I'm so happy to be able to be spending time alone with you. It's so much fun and I get to be in comfy clothes? Talk about the best date ever." 

Mumbo's laugh echoed throughout the house and Y/n laughed with him 

"We are together, and that's all I could ever want." Y/n said and pressed a chaste kiss to Mumbo's slightly chapped and gritty lips and when she pulled away she muttered "You're right, Redstone does taste like hot Cheeto dust."  

Cue a burst of Intense laughter that had Mumbo gagging after a few minutes

Mumbo and Y/n had laid in bed, limbs tangled within each other as the two watched a movie that was mostly playing for background noise. As the movie ended and Mumbo began to doze off, Y/n turned off the tv and curled up into his frame. Just like with Grian, Y/n had never felt so safe in someone's arms. 

"Can I tell you something?" Mumbo whispered, voice gravelly and soft with sleep ringing at the edge 

"Of course, Darl," Y/n said, voice hush 

"I heard a song that reminded me of you... can I sing it to you?" his mustache tickled their forehead as he pressed a gentle kiss to it 

"Yes please," They replied, voice softening at the kiss and their eyes shining with adoration even in the dark

"I used to hear a simple song, That was until you came along," Mumbo's voice wasn't perfect, it was wobbly and he kept almost nodding off with the first two lines "Now in its place is something new, I hear it when I look at you."

Y/n smiled at him, eyes closed with tears threatening to escape, they knew this song they related so much to the last four lyrics

"With simple songs I wanted more, Perfection is so quick to bore..." Mumbo trailed off sleepily, hand reaching up to cup Y/n's cheek and in the dark, Y/n could swear they saw the stars in his eyes "You are more beautiful by far. Our flaws are who we really are..."

"I used to hear a simple song... That was until you came along," Y/n continued when he missed the last beat to start off the new lyric, presumably starting to fall asleep "You took my broken melody... And now I hear a symphony." 

The two stayed quiet for a few minutes and right as Y/n was about to ask Mumbo something, a soft snore came from his side of the bed and Y/n had to stifle their laughter by slapping their hand over their mouth 

"Thank you for loving me, with all my flaws and imperfections," Y/n whispered and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his lips before snuggling up to him even more and finally falling asleep with a smile on their face 

Masterlist

[kincalling]

hookay this is gonna be a major longshot but I'm calling in as a non-canon overwatch kin/link(?).

Buckle in cuz there's a lot to go over. My name was Camryn Xenakis. Age 33 in source (bodily 19 so keep it in mind if it bugs you, I'll interact w anyone tho tbh). Hailing from Ilios, Greece, uhh. This is hard lol. He/it trans guy, mentally ill and it showed ksjdkdkd.

I'll go over what I know Talon knew about me. Child engineering prodigy, I won a lot of awards in middle and high school (I lived in America for most of my life, moved here when I was like...four or five? Young enough to acclimate, old enough to feel homesick for Ilios), and I eventually got funding for my medical research into aiding disabled people with my tech. There were news articles about me and shit it's crazy to think about. Had a workshop garage thing and everything.

Until I didnt. Long story short I did a lot of activism for disability rights and pissed off some powerful people. Got my workshop burned down with me inside- I made it out alive, but I was deemed legally dead and had to go into hiding from said powerful people. Basically lost everything I had lmaoooo. Hence how I ended up with Talon.

By current timeline standards I've only been with Talon for a few years, three or four. I'm the resident hermit engineer, I augment weapons and do repairs as well. I spoke both Greek and English, as well as snippets of the languages I heard around Talon just by exposure lol.

Appearance wise I'm a short little fella, maybe 5' 3". Bleach blonde mullet with shaved sides, I'm a natural brunette though and my roots always showed so fast after I rebleached 😔. I had a lot of freckles, and I usually hung around in shitty tourist shirts bc they're fun and comfy. I had some tattoos too, but I'm struggling to remember what they looked like. Uhh. Hm. I was a glasses wearer is that important.

I also wore an exosuit type frame on my lower half most of the time. Disability L, my leg joints were weak and I was in pain often, so they took the weight off and helped me stay mobile. I used a wheelchair sometimes, and crutches when I couldn't use either.

On missions I had a fullbody suit, but I tried not to get caught in 1v1 unless I had to since I was support over fighting. But I have a mean right hook and I do know some martial arts for when I'm in a pinch. My codename was Riot Mekanism, which was also my online forums username back in my youth.

I've already got my Sombra in our system, and likely my Gabe too (tho I wouldn't mind just chatting w other Soms and Gabe's anyways) but anyone else is very welcome, especially from Talon. I do have memories of being romantically interested in Maugaloa Malosi, but I can't recall if there was anything between us or if he reciprocated.

I had a habit of giving people nicknames in my native language, Moira was kounéli (rabbit) Mauga got tígri (tiger), Sombra was skiá (shadow), I think I called Sigma astéri, etc.

we are a nontraumagenic system, so I'd rather anti-endogen people don't interact as it makes us very uncomfortable.

feel free to message us @camotherogue on here, or interact w this and I'll dm you if you'd prefer. thank youuuu!!!

⚡️

[happypopcornprincess]

The Heartbreak Prince - Chapter Two

Warnings: Major Spoilers for Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

A/N - I had to do a literal ton of research for this one, and you can check on google maps that the campus of UC San Diego is a lot closer to Miramar than you might think, even I was shocked. A marvel easter egg if you squint. featuring a very awkward ex-best friend's meeting.

Italics are thoughts and/or emphasized words

Taglist is open and feels free to request headcanons or drabbles on this series

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My Main Masterlist

Send your requests here!

Present Day

“Hey.” Nisha step forward, donning the same smile that was once Bradley’s favorite thing about her. The way her eyes wrinkled and her nose scrunched, he was always enamored by it.

Can someone’s smile get better with age?

“What- hey!” he practically ran to her, opening his arms to engulf her in a hug at the same time she extended her hand.

He stopped.

He extended his hand to shake hers then, but this time she opened her arms to hug him. They stared at each other, realizing how awkward it was between them after so many years. Bradley retreated his hand and shoved them into the pockets of his khakis. Nisha nodded once and held her cart.

Bradley took his time to look at her. She wore a maroon shirt and black pants. Her hair was loose, falling elegantly on her shoulders, once reaching her waist, but now just above her elbows.

“You finally grew the mustache.” she smiles, pointing at his face.

“Yeah, I did.” He laughed.

Silence fell between them, Nisha subconsciously rolling the shopping cart.

“Okay, I'm just gonna to say this, what are you doing here?” Bradley asks, the question nagging him at the back of his head for quite a while.

“I’m a professor at UC San Diego, I got a transfer from LA.” she nods.

Bradley’s eyes rose up, “wait, so that means…”

“Dr. Bagchi. She points at herself and says, "Doctorate in Physics."

Bradley’s jaw dropped. 

The conversations of their youth played inside his head, how Nisha was dead set on getting the highest grades, the best scores in every single subject. How she could solve lengthy equations in seconds, the piles of books and test papers her room would overflow with. He realized Nisha understood the biggest life lesson first; respect isn't given, it's earned.

“Nisha! I’m so proud of you!” he held his head with both his hands, in awe of his best friend accomplishing her dream. He could just imagine how hard she had to work to get to this point in her life.

Can he still call her that? After years of not exchanging words.

“Thank you. Seeing as you're in fighter town, you're now an aviator?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and cocking her head to the side.

“Yeah, I’ve been flying for 12 years now, give or take.”

"That’s… a lot of jet fuel.”

Bradley rolls his eyes, which in turn makes her grimace, “that was, very lame. I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I did use a lot of jet fuel, you know,” he smiles.

The sound of his ringtone fills the air as he pulls it out of his phone, Amelia’s name flashing on it.

“Just, gimme a second…” he says, and picks it up.

“Hey, there brad brad.”

“Hello,” he answers unamused.

“Just want to say I’m waiting for whatever 80s monstrosity you’re about to show me, and also for my popcorn.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there, just ran into an old friend.”

"Oooh, old girlfriend? Is she hot?”

Bradley turned red, “I’ll be there Amy. Try not to burn the house down.”

He turns to Nisha, “sorry, it’s just Amelia, we’re having a movie night…”

"Who?” she asks him confused. He then realised she had no idea what a roller coaster ride the past few months have been.

How would she? It's not like you talked to her about it, or anything, for years Bradley.

“She’s Penny’s daughter. Mav’s wife.”

“Maverick got married!” her eyes blew wide in shock.

“Yeah, it’s a long story.”

—/—/—

There was no way Bradley was gonna let go of Nisha when she insisted on calling an uber. Therefore, he just grabbed her groceries and shoved them in his bronco. Nisha had no choice but to follow. As they drove towards Nisha’s house, Bradley caught her up in the whirlwind of plot twists that happened in the past few months.

“...and now Pete and Penny are in Hawaii and Amelia is making my life difficult.”

She squints her eyes at him, “Wait, so, Pete has been living in a hangar all this time?” 

“I told you all this and that’s what you ask me?” he laughed out loud.

Nisha looks at Bradley sitting in the passenger seat of his bronco. This brought back memories of how she used to open the window and stick her head out when Bradley would drive on deserted roads. Also, that one time when they spilled milkshakes all over the front and Carole made them clean it in the driveway. He had grown into his features, a darker tan, and a 70s mustache that suited him way more than it should have. Those eyes were just as sweet and bright as they've always been.

We used to laugh until our stomachs hurt.

Her eyes met his and she snapped out, “Enough about me, what about you?” he asked, leaning back in his seat.

“It’s going well. San Diego is an absolute dream. The campus is much more lively than LA, and the people are amazing! Bradley, you have to visit the campus.”

“Of course I will visit!" he exclaims, “Do I have to call you Doctor when I’m there? Or is it reserved for the kids you teach?”

“I don't know, do I have to call you Lieutenant? Or is it reserved for your girl?” Nisha scoffs as Bradley turns red, letting out a chuckle. "Yeah... I don’t have anyone. Too busy with the Navy.”

“Oh shut up! I bet the girls here would be throwing themselves at you any chance they get.”

“They do that because they want one night with a pilot, to tell tales of how they once hooked up with the hot pilot guy from fighter town. I learned my lesson watching Jake.”

“Hmm,” she says, drumming her fingers on the dashboard, resisting the urge to mention Elena, the old ex.

“You got anyone?" he asks as he slows down the jeep nearing the location.

"I did," Nisha says, fidgeting with her fingers. His fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly, he was definitely not expecting this, “What happened?”

“That,” she takes a deep breath, “is a story for another time.” she looks at him and purses her lips, giving a sad smile.

Bradley stops the jeep in front of a small suburban-styled house, complete with a frontal porch and the side door indicating a backyard. It was somewhat similar to her parents' house in Virginia, but that had a wrap-around porch and a swing in the front.

“I have an early lecture tomorrow, got to be there at nine,” she says, as she collects her things, Bradley gets out and helps her with the bags.

“ I’d have dropped you at the campus, but I have to report at the base at 7.”

“It’s fine, thank you sunny.” she squeezes his arm, taking the groceries from him.

“Well, I'll call you, let’s hang out when you’re free.” He shoves his hands in his pockets, ignoring the jump that his heart did at the moment, watching her as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I, uh, changed my number.” she shrugs her shoulders.

“Oh, okay then, you’re on my Facebook. I’ll see you there,” he replies.

“You’re still on Facebook?” Nisha chuckles.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?" he furrows his brows, offended.

“Believe me, I got the same question from my class. Everyone’s abandoned the app that started it all!” she backtracks, spreading her hands. She turns to the house, waving back at him, “Bye sunny!”

“See you Pun- uh- see ya,” he shouts, closing his eyes as he almost called her punk.

What the fuck was I thinking?

—/—/—

Nisha rested her head on the door once she was inside. It was spinning from whatever had happened in the past few minutes.

Bradley Bradshaw.

The first guy to sweep her off her feet, who didn’t even know it.

It's always the unrequited ones that hurt the most, isn't it?

Flashes of her past flood her mind, how she would always save his seat during classes, how she would make sure to attend all his games and help him with academics. And him holding onto her hand as they walked, pinching her cheeks during arguments, and lifting her off her feet every time he hugged her, all of his acts that never failed to make her heart race faster.

Without realizing it, their innocent glances and stupid conversations turned into more. She had fallen for him, unapologetically. His smile, his laughter, the way he held her hand, his eyes, his hugs that always felt so full.

Nisha loved him too much, the amount that you couldn’t handle at seventeen.

And Bradley never saw it.

Some part of Nisha knew she will always be his best friend, his punk, but she still waited for that moment when he would see her more than that. In fact, she almost told him on their last night together, and she would often debate whether he would have stayed if she told him.

“Who was that?" The silky voice of Nisha’s friend filled the air, as Erin walked into the living room carrying a box full of doughnuts.

"Bradley Bradshaw,” Nisha replies

Erin gasped loudly and he would have tripped off the box of doughnuts but caught it just in time. "The Bradley Bradshaw!" He practically ran to the front door to catch a glimpse, but he had already left.

“Do you know him?” Nisha asks.

“Do I know him? Girl, the entire town knows him! You were not present at The Hard Deck when he sang that oldie song, had the whole bar on their feet! And he looks like that!" he says, pointing in the general direction where his bronco went.

“Let me guess, it was Great Balls Of Fire.”

“Yes! How do you know that?”

“We were friends in high school,” she says as she takes the groceries to the kitchen.

"Oooh, did you ever hook up? Because I would have if I were you. Oh my god, is he hot now or was he the same back then? Like, on a scale of Zac Effron to Chris Evans.”

“Erin,” she looks at him, crooking her head to the side and giving him a look. He was years younger than her, but he knew exactly what was going on by the look on her face.

“Oh honey,” his smile disappears, “you never told him, did you?”

Nisha takes a deep breath, “It was a long time ago, plus he had someone back then.”

"Nishiii…” he rushes to her and gives her a sideways hug, “it’s gonna be okay honey. I will plot you against each other like the fucking Parent Trap.”

“Erin,” she looks at him, “I don’t… want that. Bad things happen when I fall for someone, and you know it.”

Erin rubs her arm, hugging her tighter. "You say that because you haven’t found the right person yet. When you do, it will feel like you’re at peace, you know. You don’t question yourself, or anything, your inner self knows that it’s true.” he gives her a squeeze and let go, “now,” he straightens up, “I want you to go pick a book, and read it. I’ll make the dinner, and then we’ll have a sleepover.”

“We literally live together!”

“We’re crashing on the couch then, I won’t take a no. Now moooove!" He practically shoved her into her bedroom and Nisha silently thanked the higher power for having friends like Erin. Who annoys the shit out of her, but also has the purest of hearts out there.

—/—/—

Bradley did not protest when Amelia put on some superhero movie instead of Goonies and was fawning over the guy with the metal arm. He let her eat all the popcorn and the chips, leaving the soda, and was zoned out the entire duration of the movie.

His mind reverted back to Nisha's smile. It felt exactly the same, but years in his profession made him question it. He felt like there was something else. A sort of darkness hung over her features. She had grown into a capable and intelligent person. Despite being only a year younger than him, she seemed more mature, more elegant than him. She was more reserved than before, and she kept fidgeting with her hands a lot.

Holy Shit.

Amelia was startled by the sudden movement as Bradley sits up in sudden realization.

Nisha had a lighter tan on the ring finger of her left hand, reminiscent of a ring.

Prequel || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

A/N - Thank you everyone for sticking with me till the end of this fic! if you liked it please let me know through the asks and the comments. Any and all requests, headcanons, and drabble requests about this AU is mostly welcome. Love y'all, Take Care!

Requests are open! Feel free to request anything.

Tag List:

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[dribs-and-drabbles]

Chains of Heart ep 7

So yesterday really was a bad day to publish my eps 4, 5, and 6 posts 😄 I guess something else seemed to make tumblr collectively lose their sh*t...can't think what now 🤔 Anyway, the links are at the bottom of this post in case you're interested and missed them.

But on to ep 7!

Of course the dodgy doctor, who knows Lue is Din, is wearing green to come and rescue him. I'm curious to know whether his tattoos are important since the camera fixed on them for a moment or if they just add to his 'look'.

OMG I just noticed in the ep 6 recap that the grey sleeveless top Ken was wearing when he rejected Lue in ep 6 has a small figure in black (possibly a fighting figure?) over his heart - maybe indicating that he will eventually open up to the MiB (i.e. Lue). Incidentally, this is also the shirt Ken puts on when his friends show up after he's woken up in bed next to a naked Lue in ep 7.

Anyway... It's also interesting that Hin is looking up information about Lue on a green tablet, whilst Payu wears a green tie. I wonder if all the beige comes from the original Lue's wardrobe. The beige sofas are a nice complement here then. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY DOES NO ONE ELSE TALK ABOUT LUE'S CHILD?!

Ken is emphatic that the MiB is Din and he's still alive...and his passion seems to be supported by the burgundy in his clothes, the red vase he's stood behind, and the red light in the bedroom. But it could also indicate that he'll eventually come around to Din being Lue once the truth comes out. The friend group is once again colour co-ordinating with the blues/greens/reds and again I wonder if these colours will correlate to who knows that Din = Lue in the end...

...these three especially below - three doctors, I think. We now know the one on the left (in the left photo) is potentially a psychiatrist, the one on the right has visions of the future (!), but the one in the middle stumps me still. He returns with Hin, Payu, and Boon later and it's incheresting that Hin/Sai/Ken's extended friend group seems to be losing the green and gaining the burgundy (whilst keeping a stable base of blue) 🤔

Ken rushes off to meet Deedee (still suspicious if you ask me, even in his blue t-shirt) and I love that Lue is wearing Ken's blue whilst Ken is for the first time in Lue's burgundy. Also note the blue curtains on the red wall - it's not going to take much for Lue to be shut out of Ken's world...and we see that very shortly after as Ken is shut away inside the blue cab.

Ingpha again wears the blue waistcoat and green shirt combo...this time he's livid about the MiB trying to kill him and wants him dead. (He also wore it when paying his respects to Din's family when the body was found and when he met Lue for the first time. I currently can't see a red thread connecting these (pardon the pun) since when he goes to tell Din's parents that Din is most likely alive he's in the red waistcoat again. Maybe he only has 4 different outfits that he rotates through 😄).

Ah the fabulous green and red dramatic lighting for the street fight.

I loved that, underneath his blue suit, Lue had a green scarf that gradually got revealed over the course of his scenes and finally got removed in Ken's living room - his hidden old-self cannot stay hidden once he loses control. Also that he was put down onto a green seat...and the leather sofas in Ken's apartment are green.

And more dramatic use of the red and green lighting...this time the red on Lue as he sleeps, reminding Ken of memories of Din, then the green in the hallway as Ken passes the huge photo of Din, then the red in the bedroom as Ken collapses under the weight of his grief.

But then this...the red light connecting Ken and Lue in the morning when they almost kiss. Delightful!

Din's mum wears more green as she comes to the realisation that Din may not be dead...although I don't think the visitor to Din's room this time round was Lue. I think it was probably Nok trying to find the video camera. But it made Din's mum question and that's all that matters.

Then Lue is back to his beige for his meeting with Ae - hiding all his colours - and Ae is once again in blue. Maybe this is her mask...or maybe she only has a certain number of outfits like her brother (despite their wealth!).

But this shot in particular is delicious. I love the line separating them, how it's not fully there (indicating how they're coming to some agreement about the illegal trade but for Lue it's only to uncover their shady business), and how they eventually drive away in different directions and in opposite coloured cars. Magnifique!

[ep 1] [ep 2] [ep 3] [ep 4] [ep 5] [ep 6] [ep 7] [ep 8] [ep 9] [ep 10]

[pbandjesse]

We are just leaving Jason and Jackie's wedding! It was such a nice event. I wish we could stay longer but it's a long drive home and James has work in the morning. So we are on the road again.

Today was great. Mostly. It did actually feel like fall which was really nice but I was not prepared for it and froze half to death at the market.

I did sleep a little better. But I woke up at 6 and had to use the bathroom so I stumbled over to the bathroom and was a me to sleep for a little after which was something at least.

I got home for real at 710. I got washed and dressed and wore my yellow shorts romper and a big black Henley shirt. I was like. This will be great. Socks and birks. I am so comfortable.

And I would be for a bit. We got outside and James had already put my market box in the car. And we headed to get bagels.

I always like sam's bagels. But it is always super tough to find somewhere to park. James would go inside and got bagels and we headed to the market.

And I was pretty good at first. We got my table set up. James went to royal farms to get me a drink and themselves some snacks. And they headed inside. But then the wind picked up.

I was fighting for my life at times. Just everything trying to fly off my table. Specifically my stickers. I would ask James to bring me some paperclips and that would help but it was still a struggle the entire morning.

And I was getting cold. Thankfully I keep a jacket in the car now. So I was still cold and pretty uncomfortable but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Callie was there and I was so happy to see her. She looked great and I had been worried after her break up the other week. She gave me a broken dalia to press. Love when she's at the market.

It was really the highpoint of the market though because it was dead dead. Like really bad. Rosia came by in the morning to say hi and she was my only sale of the day. She got one of my last piggies. And some stickers. She loves the museum designs. She always makes me feel really good about my work.

But that was my only sale. Ah well. I worked on some sewing. But mostly I just talked to Ann and Cj and fought the wind and the rain.

In contrast it was very busy inside. They had a free day at the museum but also had the children's entrepreneur market. That is usually outside but the museum decided it should be inside. Which with the weather was smart but Stanley would come out and tell us how overwhelming it was in there. I would go in to check it out and man it was very very full. But it was cute seeing the kids work.

You could really tell which parents are "helping" and have intense branding and perfect set ups. And then there are the kids that are clearly doing it on their own and have cardboard signs. It was all still very cute.

I would be pretty uncomfortable outside. But I knew it wasn't forever. I tried to just be cozy best I could and be positive. I did give out some business cards and have nice conversations. But it was very cold still and it was hard to not focus on it.

One really cute thing that happened was when a little toddler girl who I have talked to a little before made a beeline for me and gave me a big hug. Just holding onto my leg. I was just like. This is great. And her mom was like I am so sorry! And I'm like no this is the best I have been chosen. But she took her away. But not even a second after she put her back down she ran back across the pavilion and hugged me again! It was so cute!! What a sweety. While this was happening we were also explaining to her slightly older brother that the things I make are for money and he kept pointing at things and saying "this for money. And this for money. Will it still be for money next week?" Such cute kids.

It started pouring. So now it was raining and crazy windy. And basically everyone was like. We should leave early. The market should close early. And it wasn't an all at once but around noon everyone started packing up. I waited until 1215. I would check in with James. They asked me to go get them a coffee for the road. So after I packed up and gave Callie a big hug. And then I drove across the street for coffee.

I got James pumpkin spice and also used pumpkin spice cream. I got bugles for myself and a donut for them. And then back to the museum to wait for James to be done.

We only ended up leaving about 5 minutes later then we had hoped. I drove us home and when we got back to our neighborhood we saw so many bikes! Because it is open doors Baltimore this weekend and you can tour some of the old homes. Which is very neat but I never know when it's happening so I'm always surprised.

But we quickly headed upstairs to get ready. James wasn't going to get changed until we got there so they wouldn't be to wrinkly. But I washed my face and did my makeup and got dressed and I felt so hot. Like wildly attractive. Which felt super good. Like I haven't been doing much makeup lately and that was nice to see and then the dress just fits me so well and I come out of our room and James is like

Woah you look hot. And I'm like you are so lucky to be married to me and we had a nice laugh.

James made me a grilled cheese because my hands had started shaking. And once I finished eating that we said goodbye to Sweetp and got back on the road.

We were in the car by 150. And were scheduled to get there at 4. With the wedding starting at 430.

And at first everything was great. The first hour went smoothly. Besides James being dramatic listening to the baseball game, it was a smooth ride. I was listening a YouTube video doc and watching the world go by. But after that first hour all of a sudden almost 30 minutes were added to our trip?? So then we were like. Okay Google please give us an alternate. And it did but everyone else was trying to take the exit and being very unsafe. But our new eta got us at the venue at 415. Only adding 10 minutes. We had to make a stop to get gas. But we handled it well and got to the venue. Where James found someone in the wedding party they recognized and they were able to tell us where to park.

But this also lead to a rumor that James was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. But once we parked they quickly changed and looked so handsome.

I was a little teetery on my heels but I was feeling super cute. I'm really glad I brought my little jacket because it was chilly. But we were in our seats at 428.

And it was a lovely wedding. I really do love seeing wedding and seeing what people do or chose not to do. This couple had a lot of like nerdy movie and show references. They had a friend read a lovely poem about how love is like having a puppy. It was very sweet.

I felt a little weird at cocktail hour. There wasn't really any nonalcoholic options I wanted. Only ginger beer? Which as gross to me but whatever. I spent most of the hour talking to the few people we knew there. Diaz, Joselyn, Xavier, Kaitlyn, and Yona. It was fun hanging out with them and having a little crew. But at time I needed to just not be around everyone

And went to explore the flowers. And there were some really excellent flowers. They had a pollinator garden and a medicinal garden and I had fun taking pictures and checking those out. Then returning to the group to show them the pictures I took. Made my own fun.

Me and James took pictures but I was struggling to find something to prop my phone on plus there were a lot of lighting issues so I didn't get as many pictures that I loved as I hoped. But it's all good. I still got a few.

There was slight drama when we found out one of the guys that was supposed to be there wasn't because him and his girlfriend broke up in a very explosive way and he was just super shocking because not an hour before we were talking about his relationship and how he has basically become a step dad and it was just super surprising how quickly it changed.

We all walked to the reception after that. The couple looked so nice. I was really happy for them. Their were slight hiccups. But mostly it was great. The groomsmen came in like secret agents and the bridesmaids had a whole dance to Shania Twain. It was all very silly but I liked it.

The food was excellent. They had a pizza truck and it was wood fire and really good. We also had some pasta and salad. I was really enjoying the chatting and the being silly. Diaz had a baseball game on and I was ragging on him for being to loud but it was all in good fun.

We would dance and that was fun. I always like dancing with James. Me and Kaitlyn and Joselyn realized pretty quickly we sent the guys away to take their group picture at the wrong time because it was the first slow song but that's fine. There are worse things to miss. It was very cute to see them doing a big group hug with all the guys from the fraternity. They are so sweet.

I saw people at the dessert table and was like. Yes. It is time for cake pops. And because they had little baggies I got two of every flavor to share with James. Which was go many cake. All's but it was so fun and silly so it didn't matter. I made James laugh with all of them.

Me and Joselyn conspired to take our cups with us. And I spent some time just dancing by myself while James went to give goodbye hugs. But around 830 we were out.

We wandered in the dark to the car. I enjoyed seeing the stars. James got changed again and I was happy to take my heels off. I had fallen out of them while we were getting dinner and hurt my ankle again so I was happy to be bare foot.

And that's where I am not. I am enjoying the ride but I am also really looking forward to being home and going to sleep. I have been texting my brother and Jess and enjoying the podcast James picked. I feel full of love and really happy. I just feel lucky to have the life I have with James. I am so happy for the new couple. I hope they have a great night.

We will be home in an hour or so. And quickly to bed after that. I don't know what tomorrow will hold but I hope it's a good day.

Sleep well everyone. Be safe out there.

[whats-wild-to-you]

Hellooo! I hope you’re doing well and healthy :)

Can I request you write a smut if you’re comfortable and when you have time

So the reader is playing with herself to Reply by Jay and he catches her

Thank you 🫶🏻

Goddamn! 🥵🥵 THAT SONG !!! It’s been a while since I wrote a smut 🫣🤭

Also, why are Jay’s sexy songs always so damn descriptive. They’re like a manual on how to seduce him 🥵

________________________________________

With Jay being away so much, it gave you an opportunity to declutter your shared home. You had wanted to do it for a while but always procrastinated.

Your phone beeping startled you, and you almost spilled your coffee.

Baby, I’m coming back early! Did you miss me? Tonight, you are going to be all I’ll be concentrating on 😊

Even though he attached an innocent looking emoji at the end, your cheeks almost immediately heated up.

Right. No more delays. You’d clean up and prepare his favorite dish for him.

It was past 10pm and you still waited for Jay, barely able to keep both eyes open. The food was cold and your outfit felt uncomfortable. All you wanted was to take off your clothes and lie in bed.

But just in that moment, another text lit up your screen.

I’ll be home in 30 minutes 😏

You chuckled, staring at the flirty message. Immediately you felt alert and went to the kitchen to get some candles. With the mood set, you looked through your CD collection for some slow music to put on but no song seemed fitting.

Then you remembered how you found some of Jay’s old albums earlier today. Without thinking too much, you decided to put on EYW.

First, lock the door girl

Cus this song is rated R

Focus now

Listen baby to what I am trying to say

Take off your T-shirt first

Take your pants off too

Don't take off your underwear

Leave your bra and underwear on

“Good Lord!” You chuckled, but felt the heat rise to your cheeks.

You leaned back on the sofa and closed your eyes. It had been 9 weeks since Jay left and you missed him terribly. His voice, his laugh, his touch. His body weight on you.

Driven by an all-consuming desire, you slowly unbuttoned your jeans, shimmying out of it and dropping it on the ground. Next it was your cropped top that landed unceremoniously on the floor.

You wore your fanciest, sexiest underwear today, your lace panties caused an arousing friction. Getting rid of them first, then lastly taking off your bra, you laid there completely naked, letting Jay’s voice slowly caress your body

Don't move and close your eyes

Imagine my tattoos touching your body

I'm standing here so keep looking at my body

Tonight, I wanna make your bed into an ocean

Automatically, your hand landed on your pussy, as you started playing with yourself, not surprised at all that Jay’s voice was enough to get you wet.

You moaned loudly, your other hand massaging your breasts rather roughly, imagining that Jay’s fingers caressed your body, touching every inch of you.

[Jay’s POV]

Completely exhausted, I punched the numbers on the keypad and watched the door spring open. Dragging my luggage inside, I was startled when I heard one of my songs playing.

I noticed the lights were turned off. Instead, candles dipped the place in a soft light, creating a sensual atmosphere.

I chuckled. I missed my girl and wanted to nail her to the bed. Judging by the setup, I guessed she was feeling the same way.

I was just about to call her name when I stopped dead in my tracks.

I was marveling at the sight in front of me, my mouth dropped open, my eyes glued on her.

There she was, laying naked on the couch playing with herself, while my song was playing on repeat.

Her eyes were closed and her head thrown back. I knew she didn’t hear me coming in, otherwise she would’ve panicked. Who knew a sexy vixen laid dormant inside her?

Debating whether I should make my presence known or slip past her to the bedroom, the choice was taken away from me when she suddenly opened her eyes, realizing she was no longer alone.

She stared at me in shock, her fingers still on her swollen pussy. I realized what was happening. She was close to climax. Throwing her head back again, she moaned loudly, making my dick twitch.

Covering herself with a blanket, she got up rather clumsily, I assumed because her legs were still wobbly, and walked towards the stereo. Turning the music off, she looked at me with her best poker face on.

“You’re late.”

I wanted to protest, say that I hadn’t given her a specific time window, therefore I couldn’t be late, but my throat was dried up.

“I made dinner. You can wash up while I reheat it.”

Am I being punk’d?

We had dinner in silence, when I finally put the fork down, sighing from all the pent up sexual frustration.

“Are you for real? We’re not going to talk about what happened earlier?”

“I thought we did! I told you you were late.”

A glint in her eyes, she yelped when I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder like a sac of potatoes, taking her to the bedroom.

“You know I’ve made a playlist full of songs like this. Buckle up honey, it’s going to be a long night!”

[inky-snowdrop]

Mortal Kombat 11: Civil War

A Mortal Kombat Multi-Chapter Fanfiction

Pairings: Mileena/Scorpion || Hanzo Hasashi, Kitana/SubZero || Kuai Liang (implied), Sonya Blade/Erron Black

Rating: M (18+)

(canon-typical violence, implied sexual content, strong language, cannibalism, graphic depictions of blood, gore and death)

Originally Written In: 2015

<- Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 ->

Chapter 2 ~ Cassie Cage

🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀

"I'll get it!" Johnny yelled as he jumped from the top of the landing to the front door. He wore a blue t-shirt with a black vest and hoodie. He had his tan pants on with his black belt and silver buckle. He also had biker gloves on, but his were black. He opened the door and there stood Sonya Blade. She was wearing her general's uniform and was wearing a squat hat. She looked very imposing, even though she was smaller then Cassie. Sonya crossed her arms and looked inside the door. "Hello? Earth to Sonya!" Johnny said as he waved a hand in front of Sonya's face.

Sonya looked at Johnny and asked, "Alright. Where's the food?"

Cassie could only hear snippets of her parent's conversation and it didn't sound good so before things got ugly, Cassie walked up behind Johnny and said, "Hey mom." Cassie peered around her father and saw Sonya staring at her. It made her feel like she did something wrong.

"Sergeant Cage," Sonya said as she stepped inside the mansion and towards Cassie. Cassie reached out to give her a hug, but Sonya held back. "Are you prepared to leave now?" Sonya asked with hands on her hips. Cassie stared at the ground and nodded yes. She HATED the feeling that her mother gave her. Like your not good enough to be here. Sonya nodded and turned on her heel back to the car that awaited them. Cassie sucked in a bunch of air to try and slow her heart rate.

Johnny must have noticed because he said, "Hey. Don't let your mother get you down. You'll always be one of the greats." Cassie looked at her father and smiled, the sinking feeling gone from her stomach. Cassie then marched out the front door, more confidence in her then any other time.

She choose to sit next to her mother in the front. Johnny sat in the back. "How are you doing in school?" Sonya asked as she started the car.

"I'm doing fine. I got A's in math and social studies and B's in science and E.L.A," Cassie replied cheerfully as she buckled her seat belt.

Sonya looked over at her daughter and asked with a smirk, "How was game day?"

"Well, other then the fact that the house smells like piss and was covered in a bunch of crappy food, it was all good," Cassie said sarcastically. Sonya chuckled.

"Hey! Way to throw me under the bus!" Johnny yelled from the backseat. He kicked Cassie's seat pretty hard.

"Hey! No roughhousing back there!" Sonya barked as they pulled out of the driveway onto the main road. Cassie laughed. 'Mom's back,' She thought with a smile.

+++

The car stopped right in front of a warehouse. Cassie stared at it and got goosebumps on her arms.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Cassie asked as she popped her gum Johnny gave her. Sonya give her an are-you-serious look.

"I wasn't made a general for no reason," she grumbled as she stepped out of the car. The warehouse stung Cassie's nose with the bitter smell of oil and she nearly gagged. Sonya give her a look and walked over to the double wood doors and took out a key. The door opened with a lurge. Cassie cautious walked over to the door and peered inside.

"Okay mom. I've seen some pretty scary things in my 17 years of life, but this has got to be one of the worst," Cassie said as she took out one of her hand guns.

"Yeah Sonya. If you were going to kill me, why didn't you do it at the house?" Johnny said as he walked up behind Cassie, scaring the shit out of her.

"Raiden told me to meet him inside here for some sort of meeting. And believe me if I was going to kill you, you would already be dead," Sonya snapped as she stepped over the threshold. It took a couple of seconds for Cassie to fully understand what her mother just said.

"Raiden contacted you and you didn't tell us!" Johnny called as he followed Sonya into the gaping jaws of the old warehouse.

"Cassie, if you can't come into a old warehouse then you have no business being a sergeant," Sonya snarled when she saw Cassie was still outside. Anger inside Cassie boiled to the surface as she marched inside, with a haughty spring in her step. As soon as Cassie was next to her mother, a freak wind blew the giant doors shut. Cassie turned around quickly, clinking her guns into position. Sonya grabbed her arm and yanked her around.

"What the hell, mom!" Cassie shouted as she wrenched her arm away.

"It was only the wind," Sonya said coolly as she adjusted her arm bands.

Cassie nodded her head and shouted, "No. Why didn't you tell us that we were coming to see Raiden!?" Sonya breathed in deeply, rubbing her temples.

"Because, Raiden didn't want me to tell you. To make sure only the people who were supposed to come came."

Cassie rolled her eyes and snarled, "Wow. That excuse is a bunch of bullshit." Before Sonya could say anymore, the lightning struck. Cassie had to close her eyes to make sure she wasn't blinded. Then there was a feeling like she was falling. Out of pure confusion, she screamed. Then it stopped. She hit the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Something cold and wet was running down her back and gave her goosebumps.

"Need a hand?" a voice asked right in front of Cassie. Cassie looked up and gasped when she saw Jacquinn standing in front of her. She reached her hand out and Jacquinn yanked her to her feet with a good amount of force.

"Hey, Jacquinn," Cassie said slowly as she clutched her side in pain.

"So, how was the trip?" Jacquinn asked with a tease in her voice.

Cassie didn't hear her though. "We're back at the Sky Temple," Cassie whispered as she looked at the Jinsi Chamber's entrance. And at the Earthrealm greats entering it.

"Yeah. My dad told me that there's some sort of meeting," Jacquinn said as she steadied Cassie from stumbling.

"I've gotta find mom," Cassie mumbled as she pushed Jacquinn out of the way.

"Okay. Good catch up," Jacquinn called as Cassie descended into the heart of the Sky Temple, gripping her gun all the way down.

+++

The Jinsi Chamber was alive with blue energy as Cassie stepped into the chamber. It smelled of fresh dirt and metal, like magik. The room was filled to the brim with heros, some so famous you'd have to be stupid not to know them. Cassie cautious made her way through the crowd, her fingers never leaving her gun. 'Some of these guys have a rep,' Cassie thought as she came to a halt next to the Jinsi Chamber's life force. 'Better safe then sorry.'

"Cassandra Cage," a voice said behind her. Quickly, Cassie clinked her gun into place and turned around to meet her attacker head on, but instead she found herself pointing a gun in Sub-Zero's face. He wore a blue vest with chinese symbols running down both sides. He wore no mask and Cassie could see a scar that ran down one eye to the other. Cassie froze as Sub-Zero placed a hand on the gun, freezing it solid. She dropped it from shock, smashing it into a million pieces as Sub-Zero said smoothly, "I do not wish to fight you, Cassandra. I wish only to tell you that you and selected others are to join Raiden outside for a conference. Make haste, for we will be starting soon, with or without you." With that said, Sub-Zero turned on his heel and walked away, leaving only a very confused Cassie. 'Okay then,' Cassie thought as she made her way back to the world outside. 'What could be a more ridiculous way for mom to yell 'Cassandra Cage! Get your ass up here now!''

The first thing that greeted Cassie as she emerged from the belly of the Sky Temple was a burning smell. "Somethings on fire," Cassie mumbled to herself as she stood next to the entrance of the Jinsi Chamber. Then she saw what it was. Far off, she could see that something or someone was on fire. Then it just disappeared. Cassie frowned and examined her buffed nails as she waited for her mother, hoping that she wouldn't be mad that she went off by herself. 'I'm a grown woman now,' Cassie yelled silently. 'I can do whatever I want!'

The burning smell was back and it was stronger then ever, roasting the inside of Cassie's nose. She hacked a little and was going to find a new spot if it hadn't been for the flames that engulfed her. The pain she felt now was nothing compared to anything she had ever felt before. She let a small cry and felt the feeling of falling again. Everywhere she looked there was fire. She tried to reach her metal rod on her back, but she burnt her fingers trying to grab it. Just as quickly as it came, the fire subsided and left a coughing, burnt Cassie in it's wake. Cassie could hear talking but couldn't make out the words. Her vision blurred and Cassie almost passed out, but she then felt something freezing cold on her neck. She jumped up and almost gave herself whiplash. Behind stood Sub-Zero, applying frost to one of her burns. She hissed in pain as the frost found a tender spot. She turned around quickly and slapped Sub-Zero's hand away.

"I'm fine," Cassie snapped as she patted out a bit of fire still on her arm.

"Cassandra Cage!" a voice called from behind her. Cassie made a face and turned around to see her mother barreling towards her. "Where the hell were you!" Sonya barked as she threw her arms around Cassie, pulling her in for a hug.

Cassie wrenched her way out Sonya's grasp and said, "I was still at the flipping Sky Temple! Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

Sonya gave her a puzzled look and said slowly, "I texted you that I was going to the forest. Why didn't you respond?"

Cassie smiled slyly. "You should ask dad that question." Sonya sighed loudly and rubbed her temples.

"Well. We shouldn't be anymore late then you already are. Let's go. MOVE IT!" Sonya started walking back towards the trees she came from when Cassie shouted, "I'll be right there, mom!" Sonya turned around and said as she walked backwards, "Follow the line of trees to a rock. Press the keyhole!" Sonya turned back around and ran into the trees.

As Cassie watched her go, she asked Sub-Zero, "How'd you know I'd be here?" Sub-Zero looked at her with his crystal like eyes.

"I knew Scorpion would teleport you to this place. So I came to make sure the wounds did not harm you too much. I wished that savior of Earthrealm would not succumb to the flames of hell fire," Sub-Zero said slowly as he walked over to her.

Cassie thought for a moment and then said with a thumbs up, "Good answer."

🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦

🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀🪦🥀

[mosmorem]

Blondie and the Toad (part 1)

The damage was worse this time. Not in a, the fire spread to the whole neighborhood, sense. As usual, the work was precise, kept to one building. But this time, this one... burnt to the ground, down to the foundations, traces of melted glass from the windows... The fire was raising in temperature. This was not technology. I was clearly magic.

The man, tall, dark, really fitting with the style of, well, arson in the city, had been standing in the cold for at least fifteen minutes, which he would have considered a short time if it wasn't for that crippling mid-January cold. He hated winter. His breath was fucking visible.

He wasn't even supposed to be coming here to inspect the damage, but—the one ought to was busy puking his guts out (again, fucking winter), and he had sent all of the others to deal with that cargo thief from last week. So... his fault really.

"Uh, excuse me..."

Surprised, he lifted his eyes. A boy, in his twenties, blond, eyes blue like a damn angel and framed with equally blond lashes, which he really wouldn't have been able to see if said eyes weren't so big and round and looking really lost. The boy's arms were folded against him, clutching a phone and a crumbled piece of paper. No gun, non-aggressive body language.

He wore blue jeans and a violently orange shirt. Too visible, and also, why the fuck wasn't he dying from the frost?? He wasn't even shivering.

But that wasn't the weirdest thing. These streets were empty for a reason—few people came here by choice, with all the fires lately. Arson, newspapers said, but who knew for sure. So, a lost boy, no doubt.

"Yes?" he answered, admittedly a bit curious, trying to keep his annoyance out of his tone because, well. The boy was cute.

In fact, he matched his type so well he might also totally be a spy. Damn.

"I'm looking for a, uh..."

Why the fuck was he blushing now.

"...Pickled Toad?"

Oh. That stupid name. Only one person really calls his that, and still it's been a while since he heard it last. Mostly because he thought that person was dead. Who was this boy ? His curiosity grew. Actually yes doubt, because he wasn't so lost after all.

"What do you want with the Toad?", he said, in a totally normal voice like this was a normal name. Normal conversation. Normal fires.

"My sister gave me this for him." And he unclutched his hand to show the crumbled paper, which turned out to be a crumbled envelope. "I'm supposed to give him directly".

He got this little fierce look like you'd have to kill him to get the thing, and the man smiled. Cute. Too bad his sister was a damn fucking witch, and a psychopath. She had a brother like this? No wonder she hid him all this time.

"I'm who you're looking for, blondie, that's me."

The boy hesitated.

"How can I know for sure?"

He snickered and threw him a look. "Cause Betty Greenland's the only fucker to call me The Pickled Toad."

He spit the 'name' like the insult i was, and that made the boy blush like a tomato and give him the envelope without a word. Inside was a slightly less crumbled message.

Hi pickled toad, I'm calling out your life debt. This is my brother, he needs :

And the bitch made a fucking list:

...shelter, food, to learn how to get his magic under control, protection, ideally a new phone, really anything he asks.

Okay this was definitely from Betty; he could recognize that mix of weird and shameless. He lifted his eyes without moving. The boy—the brother—was looking around, eyes wandering amongst the ashes and remains of a burned building...

Was that... guilt in them? Oh, he did not like the picture that was coming to mind.

Don't worry, I didn't teach him to bite. Actually yes, you should worry, because he wouldn't need teeth to hurt you. Don't hurt him. See you when I can (which could be in some time, won't lie), Betty. P.S.: don't ask question but don't make dumb assumptions either.

That... was actually a little reassuring. Still. What the fuck.

"Blondie do you know what this says?"

"I actually don't, but I know I'm supposed to go live with this uh, toad, so you I guess. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. And, well, sorry to be the bad news itself... I guess. Sorry."

His voice had gradually gotten lower and lower, until his last sorry was mumbled. The man softened against his will. Whoever this guy was, his sister's horrible personality definitely hadn't rubbed off on him. He sighted, folded the whole thing together and put it in a pocked inside his jacket, containing the wrecking shivers that threatened to get him before he closed it again. Then he lifted his hand in front of him. The boy, a bit late, shook it hesitantly. That's when he noticed markings on his forearms and hands; very light, lighter than his skin, and just lines and curves following each other.

"Well I guess you're coming with me then. What's your name?"

"I'ts Sael... but what do I call you then? The Toad?"

Cheeky. He started walking away and he followed him.

"Call me, uh, Teddy. It's similar enough."

Sael seemed to gather that it wasn't his really name, either, and made a face but dropped it.

"Where are we going?"

"Well Sal-"

"Sael..."

"-your sister put me in a pretty bad predicament. See, I deal in dangerous business, but I am now obligated to keep you safe and happy. The two won't go hand in hand I fear."

"Do you work for dangerous people?" Sael asked, before tripping on a stone and catching himself last second.

He laughed. "No, blondie. I am the dangerous people. Now come on, we're going home."

[mrallnight57-blog]

Epilog of The Crystal of Mordokia

After the events at The Gothic Lights compound. A lot has happened. First off, there was a full scale investigation. The police in the D.C. area had never seen a blood bath on this scale before.

A lot of mystery was left behind on how certain people died. Cops were still trying to figure out how one Punk Rocker got embedded into the front of the building, and none could come close to figuring out the circumstances behind the death of Mr.Tucker. Even the death of Travis Marko a.k.a. Gothic Mirror was a mystery. From all perspectives. Travis's body was completely healthy. There was no clear cause of death. It was like he just stopped living.

Witnesses were no help either. All the people who were there that night had agreed not to say anything about Billbo or Litias. Not even Jenny. In fact the only explanation given is that the Gothic Lights and The Punk Rockers started to fight each other, and it ended with them killing each other.

Jenny believed this was for the best. There was no reason to mention Billbo, or Litias, because there was nothing that could be done about them anyways. They were gone, and even if Litias chose to stick around. There would be no prison to hold her. Even if there is a special prison for Cosmic Children. Jenny believed Litias would not be in it for long. There is a huge difference between a person with powers, and a god like being. If anyone ever did find away to capture her. They better pray she never gets free.

Jenny was also keeping tabs on Sherrie through Facebook. The two were friends on there. Sherrie tended to post a lot of pictures of her and her new friends. It seems Katey, Matt, Franklin, and Samantha all gave up on the Gothic lifestyle, and along with Sherrie, are now doing a lot better in school. Jenny was proud of all of them.

Three months had passed since the events at the compound, and once again Jenny had found herself in front of the building. This time she had no intention of going inside. The building was condemned, and even though the police and paramedics did their best cleaning up the corpses. The building was still a blood stained mess.

Jenny made her way around the back of the building. There was an alley back there wide enough for a single vehicle to pass through at a time.

Jenny propped herself up against the wall of the compound and waited five minutes. That's when a small red Ford Ranger pick up arrived. Jenny watched as a medium sized man stepped out of his truck. He stood about 5'7, and was slightly husky. He wore a red T shirt, blue jeans, and glasses. He also was wearing a very generic pair of tennis shoes.

The man took a couple steps towards the bed of his truck, so he could see Jenny better. Then he asked. "Are you Captain Jenny Ramirez with the F.B.I.?"

"Yes I am." Jenny replied. Jenny had recently gotten a promotion. After it was discovered her supervisor had been up to some shady activity. He was also dead.

The man went back to the cab of his truck, and grabbed a folder from under his seat. Then he slammed his door, and began walking around his truck to make it over to where Jenny was standing.

The man extended his hand. "I'm Stan Maverick. It's nice to meet you."

Jenny reached out and shook his hand. Stan wasn't anything at all like she imagined. Stan was the leader of the vigilantes in Texas. She had expected a Muscle bound brute who was sporting a cowboy hat with cowboy boots.

The two shook hands, and got down to business. Jenny grabbed the folder and began flipping through it. "So is this everything I need to know about the organization that funded the Gothic Lights?"

Stan smiled. "It's everything I want you to know." I don't normally work with the government."

Jenny raised an eyebrow, and continued going through the folder. She stopped when she saw a picture of the Punk Rockers' leader. "The incident in Chicago. Did you have anything to do with that?"

Stan shook his head. "No. That was someone else."

"Where is The Punk Rocker now?" Jenny asked. "He disappeared after he was arrested."

"He's been delt with." Stan replied. "Don't worry about him."

Jenny gave Stan a disapproving look. Then flipped to the next page in the folder.

That's when she saw a picture of Zachary Davis. Jenny grabbed the picture and showed it to Stan. "What can you tell me about this man!?!"

Stan kept his cool. "I say he is no longer a concern for you as well."

Jenny looked at Stan and thought, now is the time to play her trump card. "What about the demon Trylon?

Stan's eyes grew wide. He knew Zachary Davis was wanted by the F.B.I., but only a few people knew about Trylon The Demon. This caused Stan to ask a question of his own. "What makes you think there was a Demon?"

Jenny smiled. "A friend told me."

Stan gave Jenny a quizzical look. "This friend of yours. Would you say there from out of town?"

Jenny smiled again. "Let's just say there on their way home."

Stan nodded. "Maybe we are on the same team after all. Tell you what. Here in a month or so. I could probably get you some more information."

"That would be appreciated." Jenny replied.

Stan began walking back to the driver's side of his truck. Then as he walked, he yelled out. "If your city ever has a power outage, give me a call." Stan stopped and stared at the Gothic Lights former compound. A building that no longer had any running electricity.

Suddenly Jenny saw light coming out of all the windows. The power had some how been restored to the building. This nearly left Jenny speechless.

Stan began walking back to the driver's side of his truck again. He yelled out. "In some circles I'm known as The Electrical Phantom."

Jenny watched as Stan got into his 2010 Ford Ranger. The moment he sat in his seat. The engine started, with out him even using the key. It looked like he was about to leave. Instead he backed up, and his passenger window rolled down. "Then he looked at Jenny and asked. "You were a cop in Roswell New Mexico. Right?"

Jenny nodded, and Stan continued. "Well you maybe interested in knowing that the group who funded The Gothic Lights originated in Roswell New Mexico. There leader was wanted for both arsen and kidnapping. I hope this information can be useful to you.

Jenny jaw was about to drop to the ground. She wanted ask Stan a ton of questions, but before she could. The window on the truck went up, and he drove away.

Jenny was lost in thought. Could this be the mother fucker who killed her sister, and brother in law? The asshole who kidnapped her nephew.

Before she could ponder on it more. She noticed a black and white cat walking across the alley. Jenny eyes widen. "It can't be."

Jenny slowly approached the cat. Expecting it to run away. To her surprise it didn't. In fact it had stopped moving, and began waiting on her.

Once she got to the cat. She noticed it had a very fancy collar, and on the tag it said Elvira.

Jenny picked the cat up, and began petting it. The cat didn't even try and fight her. It was almost as if the cat belong to her. It even began purring as she held it close.

As Jenny pet Elvira. She felt the presence of something else. She looked around and saw nothing. Then she looked at Elvira who was looking up at her.

Jenny held the cat close. She still felt like something was watching her. It was like she was still feeling Litias energy, but had no idea where it was coming from. That's when she smiled, and yelled out to the heavens. "You better hurry back Litias! I got your cat!!!"

[sardonicnihilism]

Missing

By Me

Chapter 7

Sarah dashed around her bedroom, trying to get dressed as fast as she could. There was no time for professional attire; she put on a red T-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of black Chuck Taylor's. She pulled her long, black hair into a quick ponytail and rushed out the door. For normal travel, she used her car; tonight, she hopped on her bike and rode off.

As soon as she arrived, she haphazardly parked her motorcycle and ran inside, past the on-duty clerk, down the steps to the computer lab, and into Jerry's office, where he was standing, waiting for her.

"What've you got?" she panted, nearly out of breath. "A call for help, a picture of a perp, a picture of Lucia?" She talked at maniac speed, fueled by adrenaline, hope, and fear.

"I can't describe it," he replied in an awed confusion. He sounded like a biologist who had discovered a brand new but rather repulsive new species of bug. "You're just going to have to take a look at it."

Sarah stopped and looked at Jerry with apprehension. "I'm not going to see a dead or mutilated kid am I? Please tell me that's not what I'm about to see. If it is, let me know now so I can walk. I can't take that, not now."

"No! I would never do that to you," he replied, hurt she would even assume that about him. "You still need to prepare yourself though." He pushed a button on his keyboard and the image came up.

"Jesus!" Sarah exclaimed in shock. The picture was of a Caucasian man. He looked old, and somewhat hunched over. He had long, boney fingers, with his nails grown and sharpened into talons. He wore an occultic-looking long robe. On his head, he wore a demon mask, but it wasn't a mask to make him look like a demon, rather it looked as if a demon was eating his head; leaving only his lower face exposed. The angle of the picture showed that whoever was taking the picture was looking up at him, and he seemed to be recoiling in surprise. Around him, the interior looked like a medieval castle, with grey and white stone walls. There were banners with strange symbols hanging from the ceiling. At various intervals, Sarah could see offshoots from what she assumed was the main hallway.

Sarah looked at the image, almost mesmerized by the sheer offness of it. "What the heck is that?" Sarah asked in awe and fear.

"I have no clue. I'm doing searches on all occultic attire and symbology, trying to image match it, but nothing so far."

Sarah went to touch the screen but stopped for fear this creature might come to life and grab her.

"Anything at that campsite look like it might contain this?" Jerry asked, hoping he didn't sound as sarcastic as he thought.

Sarah shook her head. "No. Nothing big enough gauging by the scale of everything in this picture." She then turned to Jerry and asked, "And this is legit right? No Photoshop or digital manipulation?"

"I'm going to have to do a full analysis, but, so far, it looks like the real deal." Jerry sat down behind his computer and said, "There's something else I have to show you". He moved his hands across the keys and the picture shifted, resized several times.

"Who's she?!" A shocked and even more frightened Sarah asked as she pointed to the area Jerry had zoomed in on. Peaking around a corner, seemingly staring in the direction of whoever was taking the picture, was a young girl around 14 or 15. Her hair was dyed pink, however; her natural brown roots were starting to show. She wore a dark grey and black medieval-style tunic, with lavender-colored leggings and sleeves. She looked like she was both fearful and interested in what was going on.

"Don't know. I'm also running a facial recognition program with the missing children database, but so far no hits." He turned to Sarah who was just shaking her head in disbelief. "Maybe you should do that cleansing ritual."

***************************************************

Elana and Hector waited in the conference room for Sarah to come in. She had called them early this morning, telling them that she had some news to tell them but she needed to see them in person. Elana called off work and Hector canceled all his meetings for the day. As anxious and as fearful as they were, they still refused to comfort, talk, or even look at each other.

Sarah opened the door and came in holding a manilla folder. She sat down and just looked at the folder for a bit, not knowing how to proceed. She took a quick breath, looked up at them, and began talking. "Mister and misses, sorry, Hector and Elana, we were able to find out what the deleted text was that Lucia had sent you. It was a picture. I believe it might be a picture of the man who has her. From the way everything is angled, it looks like she caught him by surprise. My guess is she took the picture, sent it, and was made to delete it."

Elana burst out crying while Hector just sat rigid and stone-faced. Sarah did her best to calm Elana down. Once she was sure she was ok enough to continue, Sarah started speaking again.

"I have a printout of the picture here," she pulled an upside-down picture from the folder and slid it over to them. "I want to warn you first. You might find this picture rather disturbing. I'm only showing you this to see if you recognize him or where this might have been taken?"

Both Hector and Elana reached for the picture at the same time. Despite the warning, both of them were desperate to see the face of the man who might have their daughter. Hector, having the longer arms, got to it first, flipped it over, and almost jumped back in his chair when he saw it. Elana saw it, let out a gasp, and started crying again.

"So this, this is the monster who has my baby," Hector was finally able to say through clenched teeth.

"That's my theory so far," Sarah replied. She had compassion for him, but she had seen that look, heard that tone of voice before. It was the look and tone of a man determined to take the law into his own hands. "I take it that he doesn't look familiar to either of you?" Both shook their head with Hector actually saying no. Sarah nodded and continued. "When we enhanced the picture, we also found this," Sarah pulled out another picture and slid it to them. "This girl was in the background. Do either of you know who she is?" They both looked at the second picture of the pink-haired girl and shook their heads no.

"So, so this man, he, he has other little girls as well?" Elana asked through her tears.

"It appears so," Sarah sighed with regret.

"Detective Redcloud, may I keep this picture?" Hector asked, holding up the one with the demon masked man.

Sarah stared at Hector sternly. "No. I know why you want it. That's the man who has your baby, doing God knows what to her. You want to find him, make him suffer, possibly kill him. I get it. I understand. But here are the facts: you're probably not going to find him, if, by some miracle, you do, most more than likely, you'll be the one who ends up dead. And, if you would kill him, then you're talking about a premeditated murder charge. Oh, and if he is part of a larger cult, you'll have his buddies coming after you and everyone you love. That road, the one you're planning on going down, never ends up anywhere good."

Hector nodded and handed the picture back over to Sarah. The three continued to talk for about another forty-five minutes before Sarah said she had to go. She walked both of them out and promised to be back in touch. Hector and Elana gave each other one quick look before going to their cars. Once inside, he pulled out his phone and brought up the picture of the man. He had secretly scanned back in the conference room. He looked at the beast, thinking over and over, I'm going to kill you.

[independentzaun]

❛ You know, this is an interesting and efficient method of murder. I need to write this down. ❜

From Rosie in the ww2 verse

(So I'm just going to put this up here for anyone that might need it. Content warnings for blood, violence, and brutal killing/death. Ahhh... monster vampire Silco gona monster vampire?) Silco had never been a man opposed to violence, and after having been turned into a vampire he found himself fully embracing the monster inside although he did his best to ensure it served a purpose. After all someone who killed, and took advantage of people indiscriminately soon found the pitch forks and torches at the castle gates. With the advent of WW2 however and the accompanying occupying German forces as well as the cooperating Italian fascists it became quite easy for him to find any number of reasons to kill for the simple reason if there was one thing he hated it was the Germans and the traitors working with them.

This particular evening had led to one of his more inventive kills that had been equal parts efficient, and brutal while also hiding a bit of an inside joke. Silco had stepped out of the shadows just long enough for the guard to turn around to face him, and then with a bit of his vampiric speed he moved. A knee to the mans gut slamming into him hard enough to knock the air out even through any armor he wore. Next was Silco’s right hand immediately moving for the straps of the guards helmet using them to force the humans head back, and as a loud gasp for air started to sound out with a mouth opening wide Silco’s left hand moved. There was a wood gardening stake in his hand, and without any real effort it found it’s way into the guards mouth slamming downwards. Unable to get a breath of vital air and with a sudden exhalation of blood splattering across the stake now embedded in his lungs, and throat his eyes rolled back and if it hadn’t been for Silco’s hand holding him up by the helmet he would have collapsed. Moments later between a lack of air, drowning in his own blood, and pure physical trauma the human would be dead.

Eyes flickering to one side Silco’s eyes had been gleaming, and his fangs fully out as he savagely grinned during the attack. Upon spotting Rosie he blinked, and the fang hid themselves while the odd gleam in his eyes mostly ceased. He had one eerie eye however that almost seemed to hold a spot of fire nestled in blackness while various scars stretched over that side of his face with a section that swept upwards towards his scalp as though he’d been burned once be it by chemicals or fire. “Well I endeavor not to bore if only for my own sake. It’s always best when one enjoys their work I find.” Opening his hand the body flopped to the ground with the garden stake still out enough to make the human’s neck tight around it and his head stay back like a doll that had gotten stuck in one position.

Offering a nod of greeting he turned wiping his hands off on a handkerchief pulled out of a pocket in his vest. A tie, and a button up shirt under the vest with the sleeves rolled half way up his forearms made him almost seem like a businessman… or with the blood on his hands perhaps someone involved in less savory affairs. Regardless he had a certain authority, and confidence to him. “I’m Silco, and as I’m sure you’ve gathered I’m not particularly in favor of certain events happening around here. Now how exactly can I help you?” Silco was of course assuming that who, or whatever the woman was she knew the truths hidden from so many of the common population. That vampires, and many other “mythological creatures” were in fact real. Regrettably there were higher ups in various governments, and military's that knew the truth but such was life. If she didn’t know that’d make her casual response a bit surprising, but all the more interesting.