#also i know the animation looks poorly paced right now but i will slow it down when i work on it next o7

[giddlygoat]

animation wip i did late last night while procrastinating sleep. i am my most productive when i’m not supposed to be, unfortunately 

[outofangband]

Maedhros at the Palace at Alqualondë, Part Two

Previous Part

Next AU masterlist + explanation Other masterlists

CW: abuse of power, gaslighting

Fun fact! This AU was originally going to be about Thingol! It’s different enough that I might still write it actually, I’ll make a longer post about it soon

I used formal but modern grammar here for the most part (exceptions are intentional) to indicate the difference between elven and Valarin dialects when translated into English. I’ll go into more about this later, it’s kind of hard to explain but I hope this is ok and that the language is in character enough.

Random clarification: The exact age difference between different members of the house of Finwë actually differs throughout Tolkien’s notes and there aren’t really a lot of clear answers. I do personally headcanon that Maedhros is younger than all of Finwë’s children although he is not much younger than Írimë and Arafinwë who were still children when he was born.  

I’m slowly writing something in chronological order but I’m taking requests for short pieces from anywhere in the timeline

One night’s lost sleep should not cause noticeable distress among the highborn elves but Nelyafinwë (the name still brought a twinge of distaste to his lips, even now) looked to be in poor condition at the early hour Arafinwë entered the room he had left him in. Eyes were widened, hair askew as he twisted around to look at his visitor.

“I hope you did not spent the night struggling against these, Russandol,” Arafinwë says calmly, moving forward to examine the restraints, debating whether or not to remove the leather from his nephew’s mouth. The younger elf tensed visibly as his fingers moved towards the straps on his face.

“I mean this for your own sake, of course. No harm will come to you here. There was no need to remain in such a state of agitation.” Despite his calm and even tone there is no denying that his words are almost mockingly empty; Nelyafinwë is naked, strapped down, completely vulnerable and Arafinwë knows perfectly well how much the younger elf detests this so vividly and why.

“I will remove these now, provided you remain calm.” Nelyafinwë doesn’t look anything resembling calm but Arafinwë moves to undo the straps around his head, carefully pulling the leather piece from his mouth.

He pants softly for several minutes as the other straps were removed. When his limbs were freed, he sat up, knees pulled to his chest in an attempt to cover himself. The look he gave Arafinwë was a deeply uncertain one. There was no avert animosity to it but the elf king was nevertheless cautious as he moved around the bed as though he might be sprang upon at any moment. Nelyafinwë’s eyes did not leave him as he walked to the cabinets and removed a sheet. His pace was slow, deliberate as he stepped back into plain view and offered it out to his guest.

“I will retrieve your clothes from the guards later today, Russandol. In the meantime you may use this.”

A small gesture of acknowledgment as he pulled the sheet around himself. Arafinwë wondered if Nelyafinwë was aware of how poorly he hid his apprehension. He wondered too if his half nephew would trust in it or simply dismiss it as paranoia caused by the traumas of the past.

“Thank you, Lord Arafinwë,” Nelyo says curtly once he has settled his arms in front of him again.

The king nods in response before walking over to the small table by the door and returning with a glass of a breakfast juice, something like a thin smile playing on his lips as Russandol eyes it.

…

It should have taken a bit longer for the effects to take hold, perhaps he had been too heavy handed with the mixture.

Arafinwë takes the glass before the younger elf’s grip becomes too unsteady. Nelyafinwë’s eyes appear rather blurry and unfocused but he’s still lucid enough to be angry.

“You had no right to..” he stumbles on a word and Arafinwë coolly cuts him off.

“No right to ensure the safety of my subjects when I am housing a kinslayer, however temporarily?” The look Nelyafinwë gives him might be described as dour but he does not, or perhaps cannot retort.

“Besides,” Arafinwë continues smoothly, “I was under the impression that being held in restraints brought back unpleasant memories. Is this not a reasonable alternative?” He searches his half nephew’s face; a blink that might have been a prelude to an argument had he been more able to articulate,

“I have read the reports of the healers who initially treated thee following thy rescue from the Iron Prisons. I know of thy tendency to lash out should you receive enough provocation.” He was given another blink, the expression clearly impudent but there was nothing Nelyafinwë could do to argue so Arafinwë went on, his face closer to the other’s now, his voice softer, “You are not the only one to return from the clutches of the Dark Foe with the disposition of a wounded animal but I would not be remiss in saying that you are one of the most dangerous cases. Both because of thy previous actions and because of the rather…unique connection that you shared with Him.”

This brought a reaction. Nelyafinwë actually made an almost convulsive gesture with both arms as though attempting to throw himself up and off the bed.

“None of that, now,” Arafinwë chides softly, pushing him back with minimal force, “But really, Russandol. This was precisely what I spoke of.” Arafinwë eases him down again on the bed, allowing him to keep his sheet to cover himself. Nudity was not typically a source of shame among the Eldar but the Fëanorian became so agitated with his clothes taken. And he could not afford for Nelyafinwë to become so agitated. Yet.

Nelyafinwë can’t see it, he can barely keep his eyes open but there is the slightest hint of satisfaction on the king’s face as he stood and turned to leave.

Author’s note: I should add here that Arafinwë actually knows a decent amount about Maedhros’s trauma in Angband. He’s seen the healer’s reports including Nolofinwë’s wife’s private journals. I headcanon that Anairë is a healer and after the events of Silm she becomes very good at treating survivors of torture and long term injuries from their experiences on Arda. Arafinwë asks her to borrow her notes on a different case and she agrees, trusting him to not look through the private parts of her journal. But he does read them. They contain not only her own observations but very personal details of Maedhros’s torture that he had confided in Nolofinwë. Ara also has information from what his own son has confided in him.

Tag list: @elarinya-nailo @iwenttomordor @mozart-the-meerkitten @tears-and-lilies @oswaldinator3000 @much-ado-about-whumping

[life-rewritten]

THE GIANTS OF THAI BL 2020 AKA SHOWS STEALING MY HEART IN NOVEMBER

UPDATE AND UPCOMING ANALYSIS NOVEMBER 2020

It's the moment I've been waiting for since the excruciating silence of Thai BLS during the lockdown. It's November, the month of thanksgivings, the month of pre-Christmas jitters, nanowrimo and the month that has finally made me realise we are so close to ending this godforsaken year. Still, most of all, November means that we are getting buttloads of shows that are about to take my breath away. This year has been such an exciting year for BLS because of the increasingly amount of companies and directors willing to produce and release different types of BLS. In this list, we have awaited sequels, delicious plotlines and shocking comebacks. But most of all we have lots and lots of romance and men. Which of these have you been waiting for? Let me know. Let's squeal about it. November is going to be so great!

Ratings: From 1 to 5 (1 being least excited to watch, 5 being most,) how excited am I to delve into these shows?

Shows already airing

1.I TOLD SUNSET ABOUT YOU/ INTERPRET, MY LOVE, WITH YOUR HEART

Genre/Themes: Romance, Melodrama, Coming of Age, Angst, Drama, Childhood friendship

Country: Thailand

Verdict: So finally I rise from the memories of poorly produced bls, and pains of bad acting, and toxic writings, and traumas of stiff actors and homophobic agendas to finally say that without a doubt. Nadao has produced another masterpiece after my other favourite (Non) BL; Greater Man academy. Nadao stuns me, and for a very long time, I couldn't understand that this was how everyone was feeling, one because I wasn't fully educated or in the know about the company, I only saw tv shows in Thailand that were produced by GMMTV and to be honest I didn't think there was anything else above that standard in shows apart from Lakorns and Movies. (I know Sacrebleu) Getting to know and watch Nadao shows has been an experience, and for BL, I am hooked and ready for what else they have to offer. The only qualms that prevent me from gushing about the show are how international fans are treated. It took me a very long time to forgive ITSAY for its subbing platform (and price range), and that's why I refused to watch it with positive feelings. After episode 2 though, I'd be a fool to hold on to resentment when there is no doubt that this BL (despite not knowing if it's a sad ending. I'd hate if it is but it wouldn't change anything) is the best BL of this year. With ridiculous, incredible production, outstanding breathtaking cinematography, beautiful and talented actors and writing so good it blows me away. Episode 2 left my heart in pieces, but in a good way, I haven't recovered from the angst.

Ratings: 4.5/5 Would have been a 5/5 if the pricing made sense but also I'm terrified about a sad ending which I won't be too happy about.

2. FRIEND FOREVER/ OUR LOVE IS SICK

Genre/Themes: Romance, Music, Coming of Age, Angst, Drama, Childhood friendship, Rich vs poor,  Bullying 

Country: Thailand

Verdict: It's a pity this show is not available for international fans. Because I think people would actually love this show the way I do. It's so precious, reminds me so much of my first ever BL Lovesick (made by the same production team so makes sense) but better. What can I say about this show, really adorable cast, actually so good on the screen, great chemistry, and good storylines that keep me hooked. I am so in love with surprisingly one of my favourite couples this year Tin and Sea. I have such a great time watching this show, and I enjoy also analysing and just piecing together some of the mysteries in the show. It's been so good so far, and I can't wait for more. The first episodes are a little slow-paced, but it gets better as you keep watching it. I'd advise you to watch the director's cut because that has all of the storylines in the episode instead of the tv version which is more censored and has a lot of deleted scenes that mess with the flow of the storyline. Still, one of my favourite Thai shows right now. 

Ratings: 4/5  I think 4/5 is a fair score just because of some confusion when trying to watch it internationally and getting the right version and I do think the story feels like a whiplash between the different styles of writing of the main two couples. Go watch this though if you haven't, dm me and I'll show you how. 

NON-THAI

3. GAYA SA PELIKULA

Genre/Themes: Romance, Drama, Comedy, Angst, LGBTQ+ Education, Contract relationship, Haters to lovers

Country: Philippines 

Verdict: Normally with verdicts, I have so much to say about a show, also when I analyse I can write essays and essays of information. When it comes to this show, I'm speechless. I'm in awe; I'm crying just even trying to explain how great this show is. How great Fridays are because of this show. How upsetting and damaged I am when the end of the episode occurs, I literally mourn waiting for the next episode the next week because it's too long. This show pulls you in, and it never lets you go. I'm mindblown by the writing of this show, mindblown by the acting, by the production, music, but most of all I have become a mess because of this meta in this show. I have cried so much because of how much I care about this show, the characters are all fleshed out, are so powerfully written, and emotionally tugs at your heartstrings whilst still educating and representing LGBTQ community fantastically. I don't know what we did to deserve a show like this. Maybe its because after years of waiting for something to finally show up and just be unproblematic and be so great with no questions, no confusions, no struggle, this show is just that. And I will be forever thankful to the whole team that brought this to us

Ratings: 5/5 I would give this more than 5 if I could. That's how much this show means to me. 

4. CHERRY MAGIC 

Genre/Themes: Romance, Comedy, Supernatural, Office drama, Slice of Life

Country: Japan

Verdict: Kurosawa and Adachi. That's it. That's the reason for the 5/5 stars when it comes to watching this show. First of all, I like Japanese romantic comedy shows, and anime, and manga. So seeing cherry magic come to life as this amazing form of that makes me so happy. Typically with Japanese BL, everything feels so serious sometimes, and then sometimes it feels too crazy and over the top. But Cherry Magic just feels like a warm hug when you watch it; you can't help your self but to smile and giggle at Adachi's adventures realising that he can read minds because he's a virgin at 30 years old. To add to that, he is given Kurosowa this incredible, amazing, wonderful non-toxic man who absolutely adores him and unconditionally is there for him. I just like what? Where do I get my own Kurosawa? Like it just feels so unfair haha. But really cherry magic is full of great acting, fantastic plot and unique as well. Every character is also written well, and all have interesting dynamics. We also have another side couple who is so funny and ridiculous but also just cute and heartwarming. I have a great time watching this show and the fact that it's ending on Christmas day? Already tells you what this show is, a gift and its a great one. 

Ratings: 5/5 I want my own Kurosawa. That's it. That's all I want Universe.

Shows Upcoming

5. THARNTYPE 7 YEARS OF LOVE

Genre/Themes: Romance, Drama, Comedy,  Mature, LGBTQ+ Representation, Internalised homophobia, Sequel

Country: Thailand

Verdict: This is a complicated show to gush about. First of all TharnType, the series in 2019 was one of my favourite shows that brought me back to this BL thing. I absolutely adore all the actors, and I also loved the storyline like I said before there's something about Mame's writing that I appreciate, I think most of her strengths is found in TharnType. Because of this, this sequel is one of my most anticipated show this year. However, I feel conflicted because I hate sequels. I hate couples having to go through the weird-ass, shallow, conflicts that just end up ruining the meaning of their previous show and leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth about the couple I once loved (Looking at you Together with me the next chapter still traumatised honestly). Enough of the negatives, Tharn and Type from the trailer looks like it's going to be a wild ride, I can even see the great chemistry that made me fall for MewGulf, and I'm so excited to see the new couples and characters. I also am so excited to see TECHNO again and laugh with him every Friday. We also know that the awaited wedding between our couple is also going to be in this show. And that's going to make me bawl like a baby. Let's hope we don't have too many toxic or troublesome storylines, let's hope we don't have too many breakups and fights (because that hurts so much seeing Mew cry) and let's hope we finally have a sequel that is better than its predecessor. 

Ratings: 4.5/5  This is how I feel about it, I don't think I can rate it as 5/5 because of all the worry and anxiety at what the storyline entails—still a great show to look forward to. 

6. MANNER OF DEATH

Genre/Themes: Romance, Crime, Mature, Angst, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Haters to Lovers

Country: Thailand

Verdict: Think about it. Why wouldn't this be number one on everyone's list of upcoming BLS? We have the return of one of the best actors in this genre MaxTul the actual godfathers of Thai BL; we have an incredible team here with a director that has won multiple awards, with a storyline that is unique to Thai BL, we're getting crime, detective, mystery BL with mature characters who are not in university? As if that's not enough, we also have a really incredible plotline about this forensic doctor who falls in love with someone who we are not sure if we should trust because he could be a murderer! Like oooh yes please, the drama, the angst, the thrill?? I'm ready for this; I am so prepared to give my whole heart and attention on this show. I want it to be so good, to defeat the shows of 2019 that came and took our hearts away, to be the best BL ever. It's so difficult not to raise my expectations when it comes to this show when I know we have a great cast, great chemistry, non-stiff acting, and just a really non-toxic author as well. I look forward to this so much. Only issue/question? Where is the trailer? Hello WETV, where is our teaser? Why don't we know the date for when this is coming out? I want it out now. But I'll try and be patient okay? 

Ratings: 5/5 I can't think of how this show won't be good. And that's really worrying. But for now, I'll keep my expectations high and wait.

7. TONHON CHONTALEE 

Genre/Themes: Romance, Coming of Age, Angst, Comedy, Childhood friendship, GMMTV

Country: Thailand

Verdict: Podd and KHAOTHUNG, (my sun, my heart, my favourite person ever) Sorry just gushing over my two faves. GMMTV has shocked me this year with the announcement of this show. First of all, Khao gets to have a show where he's the main lead. I've been waiting for this, and I'm so proud and excited for him. Not only that obviously, but TonTonChontalee looks really good with a vibe of a  comedic spin to one of my favourite shows Theory of love. I am ready to see Podd act so stupid as Ton and at the same time sob when he finally realises that Chon is the one. I'm so ready to see Khao act his socks off, and the show looks so funny, so fun and just like the chemistry between two is definitely a winner. I cannot wait for this next Friday. And it also has Mike and Toptap! What's not to love? Seriously though I'm praying this is successful, and it helps both Podd and Khao to dominate GMMTV. Let's find out next Friday.

Ratings: 5/5 For Podd and Khaothung. Just worth the rating.

8. GEN Y THE SERIES

Genre/Themes: Romance, Drama, Comedy, Angst, 2moons Fanfiction, Haters to Lovers

Country: Thailand

Verdict: First of all 2 MOONS Reunion! What?? Very shocked to see this show tbh one because it's like a direct copy of 2moons the series; the same cast, the weird alternations to the same name, the same kind of plot as well. Channel 3 has finally decided to invest in BLs,  one of the biggest companies in Thailand, so the budget is high, the actors are known and famous, the production is good. This is so exciting to see. Also, 2moons was one of my favourite past BLs the whole time it was airing, and I had a massive affinity for Kimmon and Copter, so it's great to see them play their characters again but with a better budget and now glow up and grown. Their acting seems to have improved, Kit and Ming's storyline being the main focus is also really lovely to see. I also love seeing Bas and the other actors from other Bl series (The Moment actors) and I'm excited to know more about the new cast as well. So yeh this show has a great potential to win my heart as well, and the competition is not easy at all. But with a great company behind them and an exciting premise, this can also be a winner. 

Ratings: 4/5 I'm intrigued by this show, and I look forward to seeing what it brings.

November is such an exciting month for someone like me who just loves watching tv and analysing and just seeing romance bloom. These couples, stories and actors have a great potential to be the best things of 2020 so far, each of these shows holds evidence that they're worth paying attention to and honestly I've missed seeing Thai BLs that make me so excited so much. I've missed these actors, I've loved each and every one of them, and I can't wait to see them this month on my screen. What about you, guys? What do you look forward to? Who are your favourites? What are you worried about when it comes to these comebacks. Let's discuss.

[hannah-schooler]

i heard you were doing requests so i was thinking queen annes lance for hurt ahsoka and anakin please?

Hey friend!! Thanks so much for the ask, I loved writing this one!!

From these flower dialogue prompts

Queen Anne's Lace—"Who did this to you?"

This one also got really long so if you'd rather read it on AO3 you can do that here. Story continued below the cut!!

Stepping off the transport into the Temple hangar, all Ahsoka could think about was getting a hot meal and an even hotter shower. She was exhausted in every sense of the word. She wouldn’t have been at all surprised if, at any moment, her knees buckled and sent her crashing to the floor.

Chewbacca, the Wookie who had been trapped on the moon with them, seemed to notice, and stuck a little closer to her side during their conversation.

Then Ahsoka’s mind was lighting up like a supernova and the crowd parted to give her a view of her Master rushing her way. The mixture of concern and relief and worry plastering itself on his face for all to see nearly had her come undone right there.

There was not a doubt in her mind that he’d searched for her ceaselessly the entire time she was missing. And while, in the end, he didn’t find her—after meeting the abandoned younglings—it meant everything to be able to know absolutely that he tried.

There was Plo Koon, calling her Little ‘Soka with kind words. There was Chewbacca, and a paw on her shoulder telling her goodbye.

And then there was Anakin. Hands on her shoulders replacing the breath-stealing hug he couldn’t give her in front of the Council. His kind eyes deep and searching her for injuries. There were his apologies, and the self-loathing she felt from him turned her stomach.

It had never been his fault. He was the only reason she had survived in the first place.

A sharp, stinging pain on the side of her abdomen had a grimace crossing her face. It was a stark reminder of the adrenaline leaving her body. Of how battered she was after that last battle with the Trandoshan leader.

Not missing a beat, Anakin swept his gaze over her. Taking in the bruises, the dirt, the blood—Ahsoka was sure she looked like hell.

A gentle hand on her shoulder guided her toward the Temple. “Come on,” Anakin said. “Medbay.”

She was too tired to protest, so she followed him out.

Ahsoka awoke to harsh lights. She didn’t remember much of her visit to the Healers, only yelling and a sedative after her injuries proved to be much worse than she’d even realized.

She squeezed her eyes shut, groaning at the aching sensation plaguing her entire body. She could feel the thickness of bandages wrapped around her, smell the cloying sweetness of bacta in the air.

She took stock of her body first. Hefty dressings on her abdomen—A deep swipe of Trandoshan claws. A brace around her ankle—the crack she’d heard upon landing from the dropship. The stiffness of bacta patches pulling her skin—every hit she’d taken that had no doubt left her skin more black and blue than orange.

Slowly, Ahsoka sat up. It took several moments with her hand pressed against her eyes for the room to stop spinning, and only then did she take stock of the presence nearby.

It burned hot and fast through the bond in the back of her mind. An aching pit of anger and fear. And it was coming from Anakin.

She glanced over to see him sitting in a chair next to her bed, forearms braced against his knees. At her movement he looked up, and his face was impassive. Cold in a way she hated to see. Skyguy was always warm. Always wore his heart on his sleeve.

“How do you feel?” he asked quietly.

Ahsoka eyed him. “Like I got run over by a tank.”

Instead of the chuckle she’d hoped for, Anakin’s face only hardened further. He looked toward the door for a long moment while Ahsoka waited in silence.

“Who did this to you?” he finally asked. His voice was still soft but beneath it he was seething. She could feel it in the Force—his anger. It was roiling. A boiling ocean, and if he let it, it would drown both of them.

In one swift movement, he was on his feet. Pacing was nothing new for her Master, but his sharp movements reminded her of the sharks she’d seen on ocean planets. Their body language turned jerky and aggressive right before they attacked.

He pulled to a stop at the foot of her bed, hands wrapped around the bar there. She heard metal creak and couldn’t decide if it was his prosthetic straining, or if he was crushing the hospital bed beneath his grip.

“They won’t get away with this,” he murmured. And now he was starting to scare her. Anakin’s anger was normally a fire. He was explosive in short, sharp bursts that dissipated as easily as they’d begun. But this was glacial. This was something that burned low and slow—an ice that took centuries to melt.

“Master.” Her voice was small, even to her own hearing.

“I’ll find them. They don’t get to hurt you like that and just—”

“Anakin.” Her shout brought his attention back to her. His eyes were wide and surprised like he hadn’t just been plotting murder right in front of her.

“Stop it,” she whispered. “Please.”

“Ahsoka, they—they hurt you. They hunted you like an animal.”

“Stop it!” she repeated when his hands began to curl into fists once more. She didn’t remember when she started crying, but warm tracks of tears were falling down her cheeks. “I need you more than you need revenge right now.”

She didn’t truly know if it was her tears or her words that caused Anakin’s face to fall, but suddenly he was her big brother again. All warmth and safety and strong arms that wrapped around her and pulled her against his chest.

She sobbed, finally falling apart after the terror she’d suppressed in order to survive finally came through. Anakin just let her, a gentle hand sweeping up and down her back, careful to only ghost over the many bruises littering her skin.

She clutched his tunics in her fists, not caring about the tears and snot probably staining them. He wouldn’t either. She knew he’d let her ruin all his clothes if that’s what she needed. Ahsoka felt him settle next to her on the bed, and readjusted her position so she was leaning into his chest, one of his legs behind her while the other dangled towards the floor.

“I’m sorry, ‘Soka,” he murmured into her montrals. “I’m so sorry.”

A few moments, or perhaps hours, later, her breathing finally returned to normal. Heaving sobs dissolving into the occasional whimper or sharp breath. Healer Eerin came in at one point to change Ahsoka’s bandages.

She stared numbly at her wounds as the Mon Calamari woman redressed them, and Anakin kept a soft hand on her back the whole time.

When she was finished, the healer took both of Ahsoka’s hands in hers and looked Ahsoka straight in the eye. “Rest, little one,” she said in the soothing, calm tone all the healers had. “You are safe now.”

Anakin nodded his head at her, a soft “Thanks, Bant,” leaving his mouth.

Ahsoka curled up against him again and let him rock her softly side to side. His chin came to rest in the valley between her montrals and she gave a soft laugh. The action never failed to amuse her, mostly because Anakin had taken to doing it in the first week of their partnership, simply to remind her how small she was. It had started out annoying—had Ahsoka wishing it was appropriate to hit your Jedi Master—but ultimately turned endearing, a way he kept her close.

“You’re safe, Snips,” He repeated Healer Eerin’s words in a whisper. His presence, surrounding her physically and in the Force, only emphasized his sentiment. “You’re home.”

She didn’t recall falling asleep, but she rose to wakefulness still in Anakin’s arms and now covered with a blanket. She was still tired—still hungry and sore and in need of the longest shower of her life—but something in her soul had replenished as she slept.

Ahsoka glanced up to find Anakin still awake, his head turned toward the window and staring out into the distance.

He looked down at her and grinned. “Hey, kiddo. You hungry?”

“Starving,” Ahsoka muttered. “All I’ve eaten for a week is bugs.”

For a moment Anakin stared at her blankly, then he started laughing. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

“I did try it,” she deadpanned. “I’m knocking it.”

Anakin shook his head, messy hair flying into his face. It was more unruly than usual, and with that observation came others. The bags under his eyes were darker and more prominent. His face looked pale and gaunt—like he’d been eating as randomly and poorly as she had. His shoulders were still lined with tension.

She resisted the urge to sigh. Anakin had always been terrible about taking care of himself. From the minute she became his padawan it was always a team effort between her, Rex, and sometimes Obi-Wan to get him to sleep.

It appeared her capture had only exacerbated his bad habit.

“Obi-Wan should be back soon with Dex’s.”

“Thank the Force,” she breathed, deciding not to push the issue for now.

And speak of the Sith Lord and he shall appear. Master Obi-Wan pushed through the door to her room in the Halls of Healing only a beat later. His arms were laden with two takeout bags that read “Dex’s Diner” in big, red letters.

Obi-Wan settled onto the end of her hospital bed, placing the bags down between the three of them. Ahsoka practically scrambled away from Anakin to begin rifling through the food.

A plastic cup containing something thick and pink then settled into her line of sight. Ahsoka nearly squealed in delight at the milkshake. “Thank you, Master Obi-Wan,” she smiled.

“Yes, well.” His voice was the same cool, Coruscanti tone it always was, but his eyes were unbearably fond when he grinned at her. “Only the best for our little padawan.”

Obi-Wan dished out some more food—Anakin’s spicy curry, his own favorite pasta. Ahsoka’s nerf-burger with extra bacon and no vegetables just the way she liked it.

At the first bite, she nearly cried at how good it tasted.

“Here, Anakin.” When she looked up from the culinary miracle she held in her hands, she saw Obi-Wan with his arm outstretched, another milkshake—this one chocolate—in his hand.

Anakin took it slowly, eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t remember the last time you bought me a milkshake.”

Obi-Wan shrugged, looking away briefly before his eyes rested on Ahsoka for a moment. “All things considered, I thought you could both use something sweet.”

“Oh,” was the whispered answer out of Anakin’s mouth.

Breaking the silence that was quickly descending from nice to awkward, Ahsoka finished the last bite of her nerf-burger. “Is there more?” she asked quickly.

Broken out of their spell, Anakin laughed and handed her another foil wrapped burger. As they ate and talked and laughed, together again, Ahsoka glanced between the three of them.

Her time on the Trandoshan moon was already fading into a distant memory. And even if it came back to haunt her, Anakin and Obi-Wan would be there to help her through it. With strong arms and warm hugs. With soft smiles and milkshakes.

Anakin took a sip of his shake, slurping loudly through the straw. Obi-Wan fussed at him about “decorum” and “manners.”

Ahsoka smiled. She was home, now. She’d be okay.

[amesstm]

Like A Movie

Characters: almost all of Class 1-A. Almost.

AN: Hello! I decided to venture to BNHA/MHA because this has been on my mind for a bit as of late. And I have some ideas for more AOT in mind! :)

You never expected that Bakugo Katsuki - aka that explosive hedgehog inside a human body - would ask you out on a date. Sure, you two had been on team building exercises together and survived several villain attacks with each other’s help, but there was also the rest of Class 1-A there. Yet, as you two spent more time together, you slowly began to admire him.

So, when Bakugo timidly asked you out, you were just as nervous. “U-uh, wait you’re asking me?”

Like a light switch, his mood changed to his common anger, “Yeah, you got a problem with it?”

“No!” You said, raising your hands slightly to show you weren’t upset by it. “I’m just taken aback by it.”

“Well, get used to it. I’m taking you to the amusement park since I’ve heard you’ve never been.” His eyes turned away, a clear sign of hiding something.

Your eyes widened as you took note of the subconscious mannerism. You’d only told... Kirishima. Gosh darn it, you’ll have to smack him later. But this also meant they had talked about you, which neautralized what could’ve been possible damage. “When will this be?”

“Tomorrow.” Then, class started soon after he said that, leaving you in a dazed state.

Since you all lived in the dorms, word spread fast. You were carrying out your Friday night ritual of self-care, when you heard a knock on the door. A face mask on your face, you had to withhold a sigh as you opened the door. Immediately, all the girls started swarming you with questions; they ranged anywhere from which amusement park; what you’d wear; if you wanted to kiss him on the first date. Overwhelmed, you became a blushing, flustered mess.

“Okay, okay. I think we’ve all overwhelmed Y/N enough,” Jirou muttered. You wanted to kiss her in that moment, but then remembered the last question. Once again, your face reddened.

“You’re right; we’re sorry, Y/N. But we’d love to help you get ready for your date!” Momo added, ever the voice of reason.

Mina jumped with a fist in the air, “Yeah! We want you to look as cute as possible to make that Bakugo blush!”

Through the face mask, you sputtered out. “Ah, thank you all. But that won’t be necessary since I already chose something to wear.”

Ochako’s face lit up, “Can you show us?”

You smiled with a nod. Opening your closet, you pulled out a short, white dress. It would look especially nice since your skin was beginning to tan and it’d compliment your hair.

After several nods and compliments, you felt much more confident for your date with Bakugo. Then, the morning came. Your skin was glowing, your hair was shining, and everything was amazing. Thank goodness. You slipped on your dress, some comfortable shoes, and gathered some money just in case.

~

To say you were nervous around Bakugo was an understatement. Some elderly woman, around Ochako’s height, complimented you two as being cute together. All you could do was stutter out some alien language. Beside you, Bakugo was blushing. Was it the sun or were you just hot from embarrassment? Did Bakugo even like your dress? Well, he blushed so that was a sure sign.

As you two entered the amusement park, there were shops for candy and food everywhere. Some rollercoasters and rides could be seen in the distance, with the water park in a separate space. “What do you want to do first, Bakugo?”

He smiled, “I want to get on some rides first. Have you ever ridden a rollercoaster?”

When you gave a slight shake of the head, Bakugo basically picked you up and ran towards a rollercoaster. It was called the Diamondback and it was the tallest one there. As you looked at where the top practically reached the sky, you gulped. Bakugo was excitedly looking at you, but you could only pray for your safety.

“Hey, you don’t need to be scared,” Bakugo reassuringly said. His usually fiery eyes were demure, soft, and concerned. “You’re one of the best students at UA; you’ll be able to make it out safe if anything happens.”

You gave a soft smile, happy to see a softer side to his rough edge. “Thank you, Bakugo.”

A blush rose to his face and then he laughed it off, “Plus you’ll be with me. So nothing bad will happen at all.”

Before you knew it, you were locked into the ride. The ride started slowly, and then took a fast, wild turn. You screamed and yelped, “Bakugo, hold my hand.”

His sweaty, caramel-smelling palm took yours instantly. He smiled as you screamed. When you reached the top, muttering “no, no, no” under your breath, he started laughing. Once the ride was over, Bakugo had to nudge you so you both could exit. Your legs were jittery and you were still shaking from the thrill.

“As much as I loved it, we don’t have to do more. I don’t know if you’ll be able to take it,” Bakugo challenged. You didn’t want to take the bait, since you were already wobbling as you walked and clutching your stomach.

But you took the bait. “No! We’re getting on the next one!”

“If you need to hold my hand again, I won’t mind,” he said, standing next to you as you held onto him to stay standing.

You blushed and whispered, “When did you get so flirty?”

After a few hours of rollercoaster riding, you should’ve stopped. Your body was no longer having fun but mentally, the excitement of the drop grew on you. No longer were you screaming in fear, but from enjoyment. No doubt, you still had that shaky feeling after getting off, but it was now seen in a different light.

You laughed, having conquered all the rides available. Bakugo smiled, his hand still in yours, just watching you beam. It was a few hours before they would have to return to the dorms - unless they wanted Mr. Aizawa to murder them - so they started walking back towards the entrance.

“Bakugo, I want to thank you for this,” you grinned ear to ear.

“Katsuki. You can call me, Katsuki. And of course, it’s about time.”

An initial look of surprise turned into a small smile, “Okay Katsuki, thank you again.”

The two of you were towards the entrance now when you eyed a cute stuffed (favorite animal). In fact, you slowed down to look at it. Katsuki, who had a quick pace, noticed. His eyes followed yours to where the stuffed animal was, hanging above a basketball game. “Do you want it?”

“O-oh, it’s fine. We need to get goi-“

“I’m getting it for you,” he declared and stepped towards the little game. The person in charge of the game provided Bakugo with three tries to get at least two through the hoops. If he could get three in, he could get the big stuffed toy you were eyeing.

With a confident “tch,” Katsuki threw the balls with ease. Each ball landed in perfect sequence one after the other. An impressed look reached the host’s face and he asked Katsuki which prize he wanted. The best student at UA pointed to the animal you wanted like he was simply going down the aisle of a grocery store. Aka, he acted like this happened easily and all the time.

A stranger screamed, “Whoa! So manly!”

Katsuki smirked from that comment. He lifted the big stuffed animal and offered it to you with pride. Eagerly, you took it in your arms and squeezed it with joy. You didn’t notice but while your face was buried in the softness of the toy, he smiled at how lucky he was.

The two were waiting at the train station, sitting side by side. “Thank you again for this, Katsuki. I loved it!”

Your happy face made him blush. He averted his eyes, “Tch, don’t mention it.”

“I mean it. It was like a movie,” you smiled, looking at his flustered form.

“Really?” He sounded unsure, like you’d make a fool out of him at any moment. But when you nodded, a small smile graced his face. “So do you mind if we end our date like one, too?”

Now you were red, “I-I mean, if you want to.”

He didn’t say anything, but responded by leaning in. His eyes were beginning to close and so were yours. You met each other’s lips and it was like his quirk was working on its own. It was explosive. Once you retracted, you heard a small gasp.

Looking around, you both saw the rest of your class in poorly dressed costumes. It was Mina who did it, as made evident by her wide eyes and hand over mouth. You facepalmed, embarrassed by being watched. Next to you, crackles of tiny explosions made themselves known.

[anotherhellchild]

📂 i love your headcanons!

Aaahhhh thank you so much!! 

Alright so, in honour of ur username…. Imma spout a Dadzawa + Bakuson + cat headcanon 

(Quick shout out to @arschemy first tho! This was originally her idea and she really helped me <3)

The sun’s going down and Katsuki is on his way back to the dorms from his run. 

It’s cold out, not cold enough for a jacket but definitely cold enough for a long sleeved shirt. The sky is getting darker and Katsuki’s heavy breaths become visible after every short exhale. The boy’s maybe got another three or four kilometers left before he’s back at UA’s gates, he’ll probably be there in about ten minutes.

A small, dark gray dot appears on the light gray concrete about two meters away from Katsuki’s feet. Then another falls a little away from there. Soon, more specs materialize and before Katsuki knows it, rain starts pouring down all around him. The street is empty. His hair dampens and falls down his forehead, wet locks of blond hair cover the top of his eyes. Raindrops slide down his neck and partially soaked socks make every step uncomfortable. 

He should probably pick up the pace.

There’s a loud shriek. Or more accurately, there’s a loud shriek-like sound. 

The noise comes from the alleyway to Katsuki’s right and the teen halts his movement right away. 

Taking a couple steps back, Katsuki peeks past the corner of the wall. He’s just in time to see a cardboard box flip over and fall to the ground. After a moment of nothing, the thing knocks itself about three centimeters to the left.

Katsuki’s pretty sure unanimous objects aren’t supposed to be able to do that.

He should probably investigate this. 

Making sure to keep his footsteps light, Katsuki carefully steps closer to the box. He needs to be cautious, you never know who or what could pop out from under a box in a sketchy alleyway. 

mrrreowwww!

Oh. It’s just a fucking cat.

Great. 

Somewhere, deep in the teen’s heart, Katsuki’s honestly a little relieved. Everywhere else though, Katsuki feels really stupid. 

Not everything is out to get you, you fucking idiot.

Maybe he’s starting to turn a little paranoid.

The side of the box lifts up slightly, just enough for a little black paw to stick out from underneath. 

Katsuki stares.

A black nose nudges it’s way underneath the box too, it fits perfectly in the gap created by the small paw. Whiskers and pointy teeth poke out from under cardboard.

Soundlessly, Katsuki crouches down.

The cat's head nudges and squirms it’s way out from underneath the box, once the small, drenched face completely finds its way out of its cardboard prison, it freezes.

Katsuki doesn’t move.

Big, red eyes stare into his.

Neither of them blink.

Rain still falls around them. Fat drops of water crash to the ground and two creatures get soaked in a stare off.

The cat gives first, it carefully tilts its head before cautiously continuing the process of getting out from under the box. It’s eyes stay locked on Katsuki.

Katsuki blinks then, the movement is slow and he doesn’t dare move any other muscle.

The cat blinks back. The thing’s found its way out from the box and it takes a cautious step towards the blond. Its black, spikey fur is a little tangled and really wet. Its ears are back and flat against its head. The thing looks underfed, cold and ready to pounce.

Katsuki offers his hand.

The distance between the two is closed slowly. After a couple sniffles, the cat comes even closer, maybe it senses Katsuki’s warmth. Maybe it craves that warmth.

Fuck.

Katsuki didn’t think he’d be relating to a fucking alleycat when he left for his run an hour ago, yet here he is. 

The boy carefully gives the shivering creature a pat on its head. The thing immediately demands for more.

No.

Fuck. 

He can’t get attached to the fucking cat. He’s not even a cat person for fucks sake.

mew

A little black paw comes up to tap Katusuki’s hand after it paused in its movement. Big red eyes seem to glow in the dark.

Tch.

When the hell did he become so weak?

---

Katsuki prays to any deity that nobody hears him enter the dorms. He really really really does not need anybody talking to him right now.

The cat squirms around in Katsuki’s shirt. The thing’s still shivering a little bit, but it’s already much better than twenty minutes ago. It serves as a nice lil’ heater on Katsuki’s chest too.

After looking around to make sure the coast is clear, Katsuki makes a bee-line for the stairs. By some miracle, he actually manages to make it to his room undetected.

Once he’s got the cat inside, Katsuki does his best to help the little guy out.

First, he takes the thing to the showers. Luckily for them, it’s too early in the evening for anybody else to be around in the bathroom so they get all the space they need to clean/ warm up. 

It doesn’t take long for Katsuki to discover the hardest part of the whole ‘cleaning process’. Even though the damn thing is already soaking wet, it absolutely refuses to touch the warm, clean water Katsuki prepared for it. Lets just say that giving the cat a much needed bath has earned the boy quite a couple scratches. 

The cat’s an annoying lil’ beast.

After both of them are all cleaned up though, it’s easy for Katsuki to brush the tangles out of the cat’s fur. The animal doesn’t put up any fuss and it actually seems to lean into the touch.

Katsuki finds some dinner for the both of them after all that is said and done. The cat desperately needs some food and water and although there isn’t any cat food in the dorms, they both make due with some random things Katsuki finds in the kitchen.

It’s too late to go out to a pet store right now, that’s just going to have to be done tomorrow.

The rest of the night, Katsuki and the cat just chill together. Katsuki honestly never knew watching a cat chase a laser could be so entertaining.

This kind of sucks, he thinks a couple hours after he found this monstrosity of a creature stuck under a fucking cardboard box in some random alleyway. 

He looks down to where the bundle of black fur is curled up on his chest, the damn thing is purring and maybe maybe it's definitely already earned a special spot in Katsuki's heart.

I can’t keep you.

Katsuki knows he can’t. It would be unfair to the cat and it would be too selfish of him.

It’s not like he wants it this way, but he knows- he knows the cat deserves better.

So, there’re really only two options:

1) Take the cat to a shelter. It’d probably find a good home to live in. There’s no guarantee that would be the case though.

Or

2) … Aizawa’s birthday is coming up. Katsuki hasn’t thought about what he wants to give his sensei yet but, everyone knows the man has a soft spot for strays. 

Yeah, Katsuki’s already made up his mind.

---

It’s been a suspiciously normal birthday so far. Shota’s a little over 15 hours into the day and somehow, with his hell class, nothing drastic has happened yet. It’s almost unsettling, not that Shota’s complaining of course. He just… isn’t used to this relative normalness. 

Whatever, he’s decided to just enjoy it. Perhaps the gods have finally decided to grant him a small break and the least Shota could do is accept that.

Anyway, Shota’s almost done giving his feedback speech to the kids and once it’s over, he’ll finally be free to take a much deserved nap. 

“All in all, you guys did a good job today. Each of you know what you need to improve on individually so make sure you do. Dismissed.” 

The class tiredly falters to the changing rooms at his words, except one stays where he is. The sight makes Shota sigh.

This is gonna be trouble, he thinks. The particular kid who's decided to stay behind is kind of notorious for- well he’s notorious for a bunch of things, but Shota will just use the word ‘danger’ for now.

Bakugou walks towards him as soon as the rest of the class is gone.

“Hey teach, I uhh gotchu somethin’.” The absolute hell child kind of awkwardly scratches the back of his head with those words. It’s obvious he’s having trouble with this, nevertheless Shota is incredibly proud of how far he’s come with his people skills. “Happy birthday I guess.”

Bakugou hands him a small, poorly wrapped package.

Honestly, Shota’s pretty surprised by the gesture. He… wasn’t expecting this. The class has already congratulated him with cake and gifts this morning, it was cheesy and sappy and sweet and it was done. The moment has already been had and it’s also already passed. Now Bakugou, of all people, is showing an extra form of affection towards him with whatever is wrapped in that paper.

Has the kid been hit with a quirk or something?

Unwrapping the package, Shota discovers... a collar. 

Oh god.

It’s red with black seams on the outside and black with red seams on the inside. 

Shota’s getting a very foreboding feeling about this, he’s also quite confused.

The man looks up to find Bakugou smirking.

“You can flip it around so either the black or red side shows.” The boy says.

“Bakugou, wha-?” 

“I chose this colour cause it matches with his eyes.”

The kid crosses his arms over his chest. Somehow, the smirk on his face grows, an unnamed feeling in Shota’s chest grows with it. 

“Also, I haven’t gotten a name tag yet cause I figured you’d want to name him yourself. Personally, I kinda liked ‘Dynamite’, but it’s obviously up to you though.” 

Shota gulps. Pieces are falling together and he’s not sure he likes the picture they show. 

What exactly did his devil spawn student do?

There’s no way- did he? Did he do what Shota thinks he’s done?

“Alright alright, look.” The kid says, hands up in a defensive stance. “Calm down sensei, jeez. Stop looking at me like you’re having a heart attack. I’ll explain, Okay?”

Shota takes a deep breath. He will show now sign of hope or excitement on his face.

“I was out on a run last week and I found a stray cat. I brought it back to the dorms cause it looked like shit and I- I just didn’t wanna leave it there.” Bakugou frowns at that, his gaze tears away from Shota’s and focuses on the ground instead. “Whatever. It’s really sweet and it deserves a good home. I knew you really liked cats and with your birthday coming up and all I just kinda figured you might want him? If you don’t then that’s fine of course, I just- hmph. It’s a good cat, okay?” The words are spoken clearly, Shota knows they’re used to hide insecurities though. Katsuki’s on the defensive.

There’s a lot to unpack. The main thing Shota notes is that Katsuki’s clearly gotten attached to this cat of his. 

To be honest, Shota’s already made up his mind about this. 

“So, you’re telling me you’ve been hiding a cat in your dorm room for a week now? You’re aware that’s against the rules right?” He keeps his voice calm and monotone.

The kid huffs. “Yeah, I have. And I do. I wanted to wait till your birthday to give him to you though, it’d kinda spoil the surprise if I told you.”

“True.” Shota stands up, thank god his capture weapon is there to hide his smile. 

Katsuki looks up to him and there’s a bit of a pause. He stares at Bakugou and Bakugou stares right back.

 “Well, am I going to be allowed to meet Dynamite or what?” Shota says, one brow quirked up in challenge.

Bakugou releases a breath, shoulders relaxing. “Yeah, you better take good care of him though, sensei. You won’t be forgiven if you don’t.” There’s a smirk on the boy’s lips, but his eyes are dead serious.

A fucking shovel talk.

Heh, leave it to his hell child to give such a casual yet intimidating shovel talk about a cat. 

Pretty impressive.

He’ll be a fine hero, Shota thinks.

---

So, Dynamite is a fucking angel. Shota loves him and it’s no wonder Bakugou got so attached to him, the cat literally follows the boy around everywhere and Bakugou is definitely its favorite person.

It’s kind of nice, seeing the kid relax and let loose whenever he comes over to the teachers dorm for the creature. It happens quite often and Shota even brings the thing over to the dorms sometimes, just so Bakugou can hang out with it for a while.

What? It’s good to see the kid’s shoulders slump down whenever Dynamite sits on his lap. Bakugou absentmindedly strokes soft, black fur and the actions automatically makes his guard drop, albeit slightly. 

Honestly, at this point Dynamite isn’t even his cat anymore. It’s his and Bakugou’s cat.

Shota doesn’t mind.

[drabbles-of-writing]

Meet Me in the Void (pt 3)

This is part of my Fallen AU Part 1, Part 2

AO3

Masterpost

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Purple either has to be remarkably stubborn or ridiculously inhuman, because Luz is pretty sure any regular human, or even witch, would’ve collapsed from blood loss at this point.

She decides it's probably a bit of both.

Purple had insisted on moving as soon as their injuries were bandaged up. Luz protested, but clearly, when Purple had an idea in their head, they couldn’t quit. Because despite that, Purple still got up and limped their way through the trench. Luz couldn’t do much but follow. Or, really, lead.

Every few minutes Luz would stop and turn around, seeing that Purple had fallen back a bit and was struggling to keep up. And Luz found Purple was...a lot less intimidating. Obviously, because of the whole injured thing, but they had taken off their cloak and wrapped it around their side, leaving them just in black. They seemed far skinnier than Luz imagined, like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Who knows, maybe those animals who made themselves look bigger had the right idea on intimidation.

But back to the topic at hand.

Luz would insist on slowing down whenever Purple seemed to take an extra minute to catch up, but at this point, they’d stopped responding. Luz figured they were just tuning her out.

So, clearly that wasn’t going to work. But what else was Luz supposed to do? Walk in awkward silence for hours on end? She’d rather try to climb the trench with her bare hands. 

And for the dozenth time in half an hour (she thinks, time is weird when you're underground and lost in a ravine), Luz was leaning against the wall of the pit, arms crossed as she waited for Purple to limp their way over.

“So,” She started. Upon no reaction from Purple as they continued limping by, she took it as a go-ahead. “Do you have a name?”

Purple finally looked up at her (progress!), giving her a tired look. They then went right back to limping, now beginning to pass Luz.

“...okay, no name then.” Luz said, pushing off the wall and deciding to walk slowly alongside them. “Is it cool if I call you Purple, then? Cause that’s kind of what I’ve been doing lately.”

Purple blinked, or at least gave the impression of it, and looked over at Luz incredulously. 

“So I’m not original, sue me.” Luz mumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets. “You got a preference for something else?”

Purple grumbled a few throaty clicking sounds, turning their head back to paying attention to what was in front of them.

“Well, I can’t pronounce that, so I think Purple will have to suffice.” Luz said simply.

She could’ve sworn the light chuffing sound Purple made was almost a laugh.

The silence started up again, and Luz reached for anything to talk about. Or, ask, really. It was a little hard to keep up a conversation with someone who couldn’t talk, but she could make this work.

“I’ve also just been calling you a they,” Luz started, waving her hand around. “Is that alright, too?”

Purple glanced over at her again, and Luz got the feeling they very much didn’t want to entertain her questions or pestering. To their credit, they weren’t outright ignoring Luz anymore.

“Do you go by he?” Luz guessed, kicking at the small pebbles beneath her feet in some attempt to not have to focus solely on the conversation. “She?”

Purple raised a claw, chirping as they pointed at Luz and nodded. Praise them for using gestures that Luz could understand.

“You're a she?” Luz guessed. Purple nodded calmly, going right back to dragging herself over the stones.

Luz resisted the urge to pump a fist in the air. She was getting somewhere! Purple seemed to not have an aversion to yes or no questions, probably because they were easy to answer, so if she just kept asking those, she could maybe not get murdered after all this.

Or at least be entertained for a while.

“Uh, lets see,” Luz thought aloud, searching for questions. “Well, since we’re down here, did you see where anyone else fell off?”

Purple shook her head, not bothering to look over at Luz this time.

“Not even the other two Chasers?” Luz inquired. “Actually, do they have names, too? I never managed to get any for them. We kind of just identify those two as ‘the one with darts’ and ‘the one with the rivet.’” 

Purple snorted, raising a brow as she looked to her side, where her needle was resting on her belt. She pointed to the needle, then to her, with a faint amused air to her.

“What, you think we should’ve called you Needle?” Luz huffed. “That...huh,” She paused. “That actually might’ve been more creative than Purple.”

Purple snickered, Luz was sure of it this time, their body shaking slightly with a laugh. Luz will admit, she felt quite proud of her feat. For a solid five seconds.

The movement made Purple wince, and she hunched her shoulders as she stopped in her tracks, hissing.

“Crap, are you alright?” Luz fretted, stepping closer. “I told you, we really should rest, that wound could--” 

Her hand brushed Purple’s shoulder, and it was like a switch was flipped.

Purple snarled, a feral, guttural noise Luz would be terrified to hear at night. And was more than a little scary to hear in the moment.

Purple jerked away from Luz, claws unsheathing as she stumbled right towards the edge.

Luz was somehow thinking clearly enough to sharply back away instead of reaching out, fearing the Chaser would fall right off into the Void.

And, thankfully, Purple didn’t take a step too far. The edge of her heel went over the edge for barely a moment, pebbles clicking and falling silently in the blackness beneath them. It was enough for Purple to look back and retract her foot.

Once again, the Void almost seemed to reach for her, like a hundred hands towards a raft in the middle of a sea. Though none were close enough to be anywhere near actually grabbing her.

Luz swallowed and Purple stepped away from the ledge, shaking herself and tightening her hold around her wounded side.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t--”

Purple growled, glancing at Luz before straightening up somewhat, though it was clear doing so completely would be too painful. With a gruff and a sharp turn of her head, she went right on walking (poorly so). At a much brisker pace this time.

Luz, who personally didn’t want to see how else Purple would react if further prodded, resigned to keeping her mouth shut and shuffling after her.

Well, at least she had made some progress.

,

The next pits of walking were far more silent than earlier. Luz wasn’t even rambling or saying something brief to break the anxious silence like before. She didn’t even bother walking ahead of Purple, even though her regular pace was still faster than hers. Being in Purple’s line of sight and having to wait for her seemed like a death sentence at this point.

Purple either knew Luz was doing this on purpose or didn’t care, because she hadn’t looked back once. Only hobbling along and growling quietly if she stumbled, to which Luz had to bite her tongue and let happen.

It continued like that for what seemed like an eternity, though now that Luz thought back, it was probably about fifteen minutes or so. And Luz had been so wrapped up in feeling awful for startling Purple that she hadn’t noticed said Chaser had stopped moving.

It was a miracle Luz managed to realize it in time before walking right into her, giving a small squeak as she jumped back.

Purple glanced back, for the first time, with nothing short of an annoyed glare.

“Uh, sorry,” Luz mumbled with a shy smile. “What’s the hold...up…”

Luz trailed off as she peered around the assassin. There, in front of them both, was nothing but a gaping hole straight into the Void.

The large jut of rock they had been walking across had ended, leaving a sizable gap before them. There was another ledge a few feet in front of them, though it was also well above the height of their current standing. Not an impossible jump, but Luz was a little antsy about someone as banged up as Purple trying to traverse it.

Purple paced, limping to the side as she looked between their ledge and the one above and across from them. Her eyes were narrowed, and she made a lot of odd steps as she tried to figure out how to make the leap.

Luz, meanwhile, was pretty sure she could make it in one bounce.

Easily? No, but she was fairly certain she’d made worse before. And Purple was definitely going to have some trouble getting over that.

So Luz took a few steps back, sizing up the gap between the two ledges. This would be a lot easier with her sword, but it would have to do.

Purple chirped quietly as she looked between the distance. Her hand went to her needle right as Luz crouched down, bunching up her legs.

Now, were anyone else here, they probably would’ve caught on right away to Luz’s (heart-attack inducing) plan. But fortunately for her, none of her friends were here right now. And Purple had yet to get used to how impulsive Luz’s plans could be.

So when Purple turned around, she had no time to prepare or stop Luz as she took off straight towards the gap between the ledges.

Purple’s eyes widened and a sound similar to a cat’s wail and yelp came from her as Luz leapt off at the very end of the rock, completely untethered in the air for a few seconds. Right before she slammed, rather harshly, into the other jut of stone.

“Woo!” Luz cheered, despite the fact that only her hands had a good grip, and half her body was dangling precariously over the Void.

Purple was now rapidly pacing across the rock she was still on, sounding like a strained, slightly less painful chalkboard. Luz paid no heed, instead moving her feet around to try and get a good grip on the rocks to hoist herself up.

“Don’t worry, I got it!” Luz called (rather optimistically) behind her.

Purple’s distressed calls didn’t cease, neither did her lopsided pacing. It took a few more agonizing moments before Luz had managed to get her foot caught on a nook in the rocks and heave herself up, rolling over onto her back once she did so.

“I’m okay!” She assured, not even bothering to lift her head as she caught her breath, calming from her adrenaline rush.

Then, and only then, did Purple finally stop. Luz sat up then, looking down and seeing a thoroughly pissed off witch (if Purple counted as one) glaring up at her.

“Oh, so you can walk for hours on end while bleeding out, but when I jump a gap, suddenly it's an issue?” Luz demanded.

Many loud, chittering squawks came from Purple as she began waving her hands around and gesturing to Luz, her irked tone not lost on the human in the slightest. She still held the needle, and Luz was rather grateful she wasn’t within stabbing distance.

“Yeah, yeah, should’ve warned you,” Luz mumbled, crawling to the edge of the ledge. “But look on the bright side! Now I can help you cross over. So I’d say it was worth it.”

Luz swears she saw Purple’s eye twitch.

And then, immediately after, Purple raised the needle in her hand and stepped back. Luz knew that stance well enough and quickly backed away.

In a mostly fluid movement, she threw the needle like a spear almost towards the exact spot Luz had been sitting. It embedded into the stone right below where Luz had been, albeit not very deep. Either Purple’s aim was failing, or the rocks were very tough down here.

“Is that a good ide--”

Luz was cut off by Purple giving her a dirty look, and Luz slowly shut her mouth. Right, not her place to bring up how bad an idea is.

Purple tugged on the string connecting her belt to her needle, experimentally testing it out. Luz, fairly certain that needle would hold about as well as the first time Purple tried that stunt, made sure to grab the other end of it with her hands. A safety-line of sorts.

Purple seemed exasperated but didn’t argue. Instead, she crouched at the edge and bunched her legs up like a cat underneath her. One wrist had the string loosely wrapped around it, her hands free to become clawed and grip the stone underneath her.

With far more grace than Luz, Purple sprung.

Granted, it was as much grace as someone bleeding from two injuries could muster.

Purple hit the rock, a little lighter, and instantly dug her claws in and gave a hiss, coiling in on herself. Luz winced, that had to hurt.

Purple was quick to begin pulling herself up, and Luz began to offer her hand for a moment before deciding better of it and scooting to the side. She gave the Chaser room as she kept her hands tightly around the safety needle.

The assassin flopped onto her front when she climbed up, her feet hanging off the edge as she deflated with a groan. Luz, who felt assured Purple wouldn’t roll off to her demise, wiggled the needle for a few moments until it popped loose. She set it down before looking back to Purple, crawling closer until she was peering over the bug.

One of Purple’s eyes opened, landing on Luz. Her ragged breathing slowed then as she growled and pushed herself onto her knees. Luz didn’t move back, instead gazing over Purple’s side and noting that the cloak had gotten dirty once more.

“You should probably change that up again.” Luz mentioned, a lot more casual than one should probably be when next to an upset assassin.

Purple grumbled, flicking her wrist that was still wrapped up in the string. It quickly brought the needle closer to her, and in one movement, Purple had grabbed the needle and raised it to Luz’s face.

Luz instinctively stiffened, the point of the needle pressed right on the bridge of her nose. Luz crossed her eyes to look at the point.

“So,” Luz said with a click of her tongue. “I take it...you're still mad at me?” She guessed sheepishly, her eyes uncrossing for a moment to look towards Purple, who seemed like she was debating if she was too tired to be bothered.

Instead, Purple sighed and pushed at the needle, causing Luz to lean and then stumble back so as to avoid getting a new injury on her face.

Which ended up not working when Purple gave one last tiny push and pierced the skin between Luz’s eyes.

“Ow!” Luz yelped, jerking away and pressed a hand to the wound. Purple snickered and sat back, strapping the needle to her belt.

It wasn’t bleeding very much, barely anything really, but Luz was still miffed. Purple didn’t seem to care and rolled to her feet, muttering as she shuffled towards the stone wall.

Luz blinked, watching her from where she sat as Purple flopped against the wall, already messing with her cloak wrapped around her injury so she could press slightly-cleaner cloth against it.

“A...are we resting now?” Luz asked incredulously.

Purple raised a brow, looking around and gesturing with a hand as though the answer were obvious and not at all a legitimate question in these circumstances.

“Seriously?” Luz groaned. “I ask you to break for hours, and all I have to do to get you to take a break is to be quiet for fifteen minutes? Or was it the reckless behavior that made you decide it's time to have a break?”

Purple puffed with a shrug, and Luz had a sneaking suspicion she was grinning under that mask. If there was anything under the mask. Maybe it was just void, that’d be cool.

The assassin then gestured with her claws to a spot a couple feet from her, even snapping her claws in emphasis. Luz, who was in a mix of being excited that Purple didn’t appear to want her gutted and very mildly annoyed, decided it was alright to talk more.

“What, think I’m going to dive off headfirst for fun?” Luz grumbled, though she did get up and walk to the spot Purple wanted her to sit in.

Purple nodded calmly, to which Luz gave an offended gasp. 

“I’ll have you know that I have some impulse control,” Luz scoffed with mock-annoyance. “And I am honestly appalled that you’d think otherwise.”

Purple looked at her strangely then, her head tilting like she was looking between Luz and whatever else was around them. As though she were confused at Luz’s dramatized outrage.

“I…” Luz hesitated, but decided she’d already made enough bad decisions that she could risk looking like a further idiot by guessing incorrectly. “You know I was joking, right?”

Purple’s brows raised at that (mimicking doing so, really), humming in realization. She looked far more assured before nodding and going back to re-tying her cloak around her side.

So, Purple had a little trouble with sarcasm at times. Good to know.

Luz took the moment of calmness to look up the chasm. She could see faded lights from nearby towns shining just over the trench. Luz had no idea what time it was now, the Boiling Isles didn’t really have a sense of night and day, but she could figure that now was generally when most people were asleep. Though knowing Eda, she’d be wide awake right now. She’d always insisted the ‘normal time’ for everyone else was stupid.

“Do you think we’ll find the others?” Luz wondered aloud, turning her head slightly to the Chaser. “I’d say I’m pretty alright at finding wherever my friends run off to, but that’s usually because Eda leaves a wake of destruction in her path. You gotta be good with tracking to find us all the time, right?”

Purple didn’t respond, as per usual. But she did glance up to Luz, her claws twitching. Her shoulders seemed to raise, becoming stiffer as she looked out at the canyon they were in. She didn’t look at Luz as she shrugged and leaned back against the wall, one hand laying across her wounded leg and pressing at it.

“Do you need new bandages for your leg?” Luz asked, perking up and leaning just a bit closer. “I can help with--”

Luz cut herself off when Purple shrank away from her getting closer. There was still at least a two foot distance between them, and yet Purple coiled right back in on herself.

“Right,” Luz mumbled, moving back to her previous position.

And that was that, she supposed. 

Luz drew her knees close to her chest, noting that Purple had turned her back to her and was likely attempting to sleep. Or at least get some rest.

Luz figured she should probably try to rest, too. She had a lot more walking ahead of her. So she stretched her legs out, using her hands as a pillow on the very uncomfortable ground.

“Night, guys.” She whispered to no one in particular. Nobody around right now, at least.

Silence answered her.

[a34trgv2]

Why Bad Writing Makes Me Mad

So, I just watched several episodes of Robotboy and I found myself getting more and more frustrated with the show with each passing episode. You can read my full review on Imdb (https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6188540/?ref_=tt_urv) but generally speaking, one of the things that made me mad about the show is just how terrible the writing is. I’m often called too harsh when it comes to shows like Robotboy and Summer Camp Island, but I think it’s 100% valid to express how you felt about a movie or TV show that legitimately frustrated you in some way. All the while being fair and not condescending towards the cast and crew, of course. Allow me to explain why bad writing makes me mad and how I express that anger in my critiques.

Obviously there’s no right or wrong way to tell a story. It’s all a matter of taste and how a story succeeds or fails varies from person to person. For me though, a story fails when it’s either sluggishly paced or way too rushed. I’m all for slow burn stories, but something interesting needs to be happening before we get to the best part. I hate it when a movie or show constantly pads the story with pointless segways that lead to nowhere or are otherwise just not funny. Animal Crackers comes to mind of a film that’s loaded with montages and musical numbers that amount to nothing. I also don’t like it when jokes are predictable and have a lame punchline. For example: “Hey, who’s the freak?” “G-Man and Belly Man here; and the freak is Tommy.” That’s from Robotboy episode 2a and I audibly groaned as I heard this. Of course Gus would throw Tommy under the bus being the obnoxious stupid little brat that he is. Perhaps you found that joke funny and I respect your opinion, though I disagree strongly. If a show or movie is going to take its time building up to a climax, the least it can do is be funny/interesting. As for stories being rushed, I get cartoons these days clock in at 11 minutes, but they really need to not cram in so much plot in so little time. The first episode of Chuck Chicken packs in at least 3 episodes worth of plot into one 11 minute episode. I hear the counter argument “well kids have a short attention span” and I feel that undermines kids. Sure, they can be impatient, but they’re not stupid. They will sit down, shut up and watch a show if it’s telling a good story in a fun and interesting way. I was having a hard time sitting still watching Robotboy and I’m 24. I think it’s best to take your time with your story but not too much time that it becomes sluggish and boring.

Another problem that stems from bad writing is forcing a conflict to happen. Remember that episode from Dexter’s Lab where Dexter got detention not because he was being a bad kid, but because some dumb kid kept asking him the question to #1? Yeah, that’s what I call forced conflict. Every conflict needs an inciting incident, but the ones that don’t come naturally are the most frustrating to sit through because the main character can’t catch a break. I recall Trey Parker describing a story outline and saying if the words “and” and “then” belong in story beats, you’re toast. The words “and” and “then” are exactly how you force a conflict to happen. All too often in shows and movies I find this happen and it frustrates me because I get what the writers are trying to do, but they’re not doing it well that’s the problem. The Devil All the Time is full of moments like this and in addition to being a downer it’s also a pretty boring film. Watch the full video of Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s writing advice because they’re much more accomplished writers than me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGUNqq3jVLg

Another pet peeve I have when it comes to bad writing is when it tries to tell a good message in a muddled story. The most recent and infamous example is the French film Cuties. The film itself is a boring coming-of-age story made worse by having underage girls twerking and gyrating among other obscene things kids should NEVER do. I get the director wanted to criticize the sexualization of young girls, but in doing so the film became part of the problem. All the film did was give me uncomfortable flashbacks to the Powerpuff Girls reboot in 2016, which did the exact same thing with the exact same results. There was also the episode Nobody Doesn’t Like T.J. from Recess which tried to convey the message “not everyone is going to like you” but did it poorly because TJ never did anything for the kid to dislike like him. I get writers want to teach good lessons and be good influences, but they still need to tell a story. One of Pixar’s rules for storytelling is “Trying for theme is important, however you won’t see what the story is about until you’re at the end of that story. Got it? Now rewrite.”

I suppose a counter argument to my take is “writing is hard” and yeah, I agree it is hard, but that’s not a get out of jail free card. Look, I’ve written my fair share of terrible tales and I’m very critical of my amateur self because I now have the knowledge and experience to do better. This is something I expect every writer to do. If you’re and aspiring writer, the last thing you want to do is make the same rookie mistakes you made when you first started writing. Storytelling 101 dictates that you show, not tell. In my early years, I used to do a lot of telling and not nearly enough showing. On my Booksie page (https://www.booksie.com/users/benjaminfenty-157553) you’ll find I reuploaded several stories I wrote back in the early 2010s. I cringe every time I look at them because I did everything a writer is NOT supposed to do. I told instead of showed, I valued quantity over quality, I crammed in too much plot into one story, I forced conflict and poorly handled good messages. I’m not infallible and I don’t pretend that I am, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to get angry when a movie or show makes writing no-nos because they’re on a tight schedule. I know no ones perfect, but I can’t expect every writer to be an amatuer like me either. Make no mistake, I have nothing but respect for every single writer in the entertainment industry and me getting mad at their work doesn’t mean I despise them. It simply means I see their potential and it makes me bitter that is was squandered. In my reviews, I don’t stoop to the level of calling the writers (or anybody working on the show or movie) incompetent or lazy. I’m frustrated, yes, but I’m also critical and fair in my feedback. Just as good writing makes me happy and proud of the writers, bad writing makes me mad and disappointed in them.

[trippic]

“now say aaah.” tripp instructed as he held the cup in his hand. the female that sat next to him opens her mouth wide with her head slightly tilted back. rogue hovered the cup right above her mouth and cocked it down some, pouring some sprite into her mouth. “good girl.” he stated with a burst of laughter while coco was covering her mouth in a try to swallow the drink and not to giggle at the same time. “shit, i hate ya! i almost chocked!” her palm hit tripp’s shoulder and now both of them were sharing a good laughter together. 

they were at mc’donalds, higher than jesus, and instead of eating, they were messing with food, and with each other as well. “but did you die?” he smirked and threw a frie at the female. it hit coco right in her chin and fell down into her decollete. “shit, my bad.” tripp fake-sincerely apologizes and leans his face down to her chest, his lips brushing against her smooth skin before his teeth could capture a damn frie. coco’s manicured fingers kept covering her mouth to hold in the loud giggles, but she was failing at doing so. tripp’s mouth fished out a frie and ate it before licking over her bare skin. “you’re such a fool!” coco cupped his face so she could shower his face with kisses which trippie accepted with a mellow grin. rogue took a moment to capture the moment of getting smooches on his ig stories while his other hand snaked right underneath her skirt, finding it’s way to the female’s privacy. she exclaimed out a loud moan and hid her face in rogue’s neck. “can you shut the fuck up, dumb bitch? i’m trying to eat!” an annoyed yell flew at the two from the other side of the room. it was a guy in his twenty something, who was also with a girl. tripp’s face lost all the shades of fun and excitement; instead, it became cold and emotionless. “who the fuck ya just called a dumb bitch, pussy ass?” trippie’s tone was still yet loud enough for the male to hear. “ya hoe, and you too, motherfucker!” the male had something else to say, he kept going on but rogue couldn’t hear him no more. nor did he care. almost pushing coco off himself, he rapidly rose from his seat and headed towards the guy who kept running his mouth. with each new step rogue was getting closer to a lot of trouble for himself. he knew damn well he’s on parole, but at the same time, he didn’t care at all. just like that, just a few wrong words can start the fire of rage, those moments when trippie is not himself anymore. all he could see is his aim, the victim, and here he was, throwing a punch in the male’s  face before he could even get up from his seat.

the scene has changed once trippie dragged the male outside. coco was screaming and crying somewhere behind, but rogue was deaf to her begging. his fists gleamed with the mix of the man’s blood, and his own that was pouring through his knuckles. it’s not like the other one haven’t tried to fight back; he did, until the moment when he figured out that this red headed devil is just crazy. the way his fists flew right into the male’s face and under his ribs, it was clear as a day tripp went for a kill. like a pitbull, he wasn’t going to let go until he’s done. 

the sound of the sirens. someone screaming. a steal kissing his wrists before clenching onto them tightly. the backseat, where it smells like shit, dirty hoes and vomit. trippie shook his head and finally got back to reality. the wave of rage has disappeared and left trippie all by his lonesome with realization of him being caught by the fucking cops. “fuck!” he growled out and kicked the front seat with his foot. busted. and there’s no one else to blame for that. “fuuuuck...” he murmurs lowly to himself as he throws his head back and closes his eyes. a slow exhale and sequacity with the situation. what’s done is done, he just violated his parole, and he’s going back to jail.

he did it to himself. but, to tripp’s surprise, the car has stopped but not by the police station. it was the secluded area with the old, abandoned warehouses. the place where no one is going to bother you when you need some business done. rogue squinted his eyes some. what in the hell is going on? but he barely had time to think about it, instead, the door opened and his body got pulled out the car and pushed right over it’s hood. “well, well, well, rogue redd. long time no see.” one of the officers walked back and forth in front of him. trippie knew that motherfucker damn well, it wasn’t his first time meeting officer bellic. “yea, i missed ya’ll.” tripp hissed while trying to re-adjust his posture. “fuck ya’ll need?” he questioned and got a hit with a baton in a reply. “language.” bellic smirked while his colleague prepared to deliver another hit in case if trippie might have some more questions. instead, rogue scrunched the side of his face while his wolf like, animal stare focused on bellic. “i don’t care about the son of a bitch you just beat up out there, kid. and guess what, i’ll let you go but we need to have a little chat before that. is that clear?” bellic stopped from his slow pacing and looked down at trippie, who was leaning back against the hood. rogue refused to reply, so bellic continued. “okay. dan hernandez. taykashi. i bet this name is familiar, isn’t it?” bellic chuckled as he kept his eagle, piercing glare on trippie’s face. rogue did his best to show zero emotions, but, he knew that name damn well. his ex-best friend. “me and my friends got so sad after finding out taykashi is no longer with us. such unfortunate. you were probably sad as well, right?” bellic questioned trying to force emotions out of trippie. still, silence. “oh come on, i know you have a lot to say. he was your best friend who ended up snitching on you. you were probably dancing on his grave.” bellic lifts his eyebrow in already annoyed manner, awaiting for trippie to finally speak up. “may his rainbow hair rest in peace.” rogue mumbled through his teeth, something that tickled bellic’s nerves. “you’re being funny again, son? okay, looks like your best friend’s death didn’t bother you that much, but it did bother us. i think you know he was very helpful.” bellic chuckled and then smiled like a damn villain from the cheap, poorly executed cartoon. he saw how tripp’s top lip jerked some. “wait, what’s that? oh, right! he sung like a bird and dropped a few names. your’s included. so here’s my question, kid, and i better get my answers.” in the next moment bellic’s hand grippied around tripp’s throat. “who the hell killed taykashi? i need names, now. was it you?” trippie could feel bellic’s sour breath, he wanted to close his eyes and stop breathing so he won’t smell nor see this pig, but he wasn’t going to do that to please bellic’s ego. “i don’t know. i don’t fucking know!” trippie rasped trying to free himself from bellic’s grip. and, it wasn’t really welcomed by bellic. “stop lying, little motherfucker.” bellic grunted and tossed trippie onto the ground. bellic wasted no time throwing the same question over and over again. trippie wasn’t replying, instead, he tried to cover his head with his arms while bellic and the other officer tried to beat the names or confession out of him. but, they got nothing.

trippie coughed some and spit out the blood. he carefully peeked up. the car was gone. his hands weren’t handcuffed anymore. his body on fire, his busted lip swollen and his clothes all fucked up in the dust. rogue slowly got up and looked around. it will be a long way home, but taykashi was dead and trippie’s laughter boomed through the empty area.

[stones-x-bones]

Where Is Your Mind? ||Kyle and Bex (ft. Morgan and Mina)

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @darkh0wl @inbextween @mor-beck-more-problems @drowningisinevitable SUMMARY: The culmination of having each other’s thoughts in their heads for so long brings Bex and Kyle together in a fateful encounter. CONTENT: Domestic abuse mentions (very brief), Blood, Violence, Medical blood (stitches)

He just needed a second to breathe; he just needed to clear his head. Except he couldn’t. Kyle couldn’t still the tightness in his chest or the feeling that he was falling both into and out of himself. Maybe it was a little bit of an overreaction. But he worked nights at the bar and tried to sleep in the day. Bex was awake in the day and had a bad sleeping schedule. There wasn’t a moment, not even in his dreams, where he truly had privacy. It was Mina this and Frank that and bubbling anxiety and classes and worrying about what his--no, what Bex’s--parents thought. To call him irrationally irritated would be an understatement. He was exhausted of Bex’s thoughts and her quiet judgments on his own thoughts. The wolf disrespect was just uncalled for. “I want out of your head, Bex,” he growled, more to himself than her. His head throbbed dully and he pinched the bridge of his nose. Just get through your shift, Kyle. Just finish this work day. He checked the clock for the tenth time in 20 minutes and sighed deeply. He could get through this. 

Just get through your shift rang again in Bex’s head and she pinched the bridge of her nose. How was she supposed to concentrate on this essay with Kyle in her head, thinking about keeping his cool and not overreacting and how he had to be careful the rest of the week for some reason or another. Something else about wolves. She was so tired of hearing about wolves. If she never had to think about them again, it would be too soon. Her pencil was clicking wildly against the paper as she fidgeted with it. The ticking of the clock was increasing her anxiety with each second. This essay was due tomorrow and she only had 3 pages of scribbled rough draft. She’d already missed so much school, she couldn’t afford to flop on this assignment, too. And if she got anything less than an A in this class, her parents would be livid. Not that she’d talked to them at all in the past three weeks. Which also was not good. Just like the last time, the longer she waited, the worse it got. She knew this. She dreaded it. She hated it. She could feel the panic beginning to pump in her chest. No, no, not now, please not now! Hands shaking. Memories trying to force their way into her head. Raised fists, angry nails. The pain in her ribs. Bex squeezed her eyes shut and tried to breathe, just like Morgan taught her. In for three, out for five.

But it wasn’t working. It wasn’t working.

The pain in her ribs. Kyle let a glass drop into the full sink, and soaked the hem of his t-shirt. He braced himself on the edge of the sink, screwing his eyes tightly shut. These weren’t his memories, but they clutched at his chest anyway. He could feel his heartbeat quicken, feel the sweat collect at his collar. In for three, out for five. He needed to step outside, he needed to sit down, he needed to breathe— Kyle’s feet were moving before he had fully registered the motion. He brushed past a few coworkers who no doubt said something to him. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears. He pushed out the back door of the bar and walked out into the poorly lit alley. Once outside, Kyle leaned against the wall, urging himself (or maybe Bex) to calm down. His stomach flipped as he squatted down, trying to ground himself.

Calm down. As if she could just do that on command, as if she didn’t wish she could just do that herself. Bex would have given anything to be able to just calm down. Kyle’s thoughts were echoing in her head, but his thoughts were just her own, mirrored back to her. A perpetuating cycle of panic as she listened to him plea desperately to relax, to calm down, to not change. Not change into what? Bex leapt up from her chair, pacing the room. Her hands were shaking. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, her throat. It felt suffocating. She shook her hands out, paced. The room was too small, it was getting stuffy. She burst from the room and raced down the hallway to the sink. Splashed water on her face. Knuckles white as she gripped the edges of the sink. “It’s okay,” she said out loud and in her head, “it’s okay, it’s okay. I’m sorry, it’s okay. Please, don’t--” whatever was happening, it started with a thought of pain. Kyle what’s happening? She asked, expecting an answer.

It’s okay, it’s okay. Kyle felt water on his face. He reached up to brush it away and realized he was crying. If this weren’t so scary, he could almost laugh at how absurd it was; crying in an alleyway through a panic attack that may or may not have been his. His throat was tight, constricting his breathing to the point that Kyle coughed raggedly, and the pain in his chest doubled. He felt like he was splitting in half right down the middle. What’s happening? How does one even begin to explain the feeling of shifting? If Kyle had words for what was happening—the total unbecoming of himself, only to let out the true self within—he was at a loss now. His nails dug into the detritus lining the alleyway and he snarled. Deep and guttural; a proper snarl. Panting, the only thought that wasn’t about the pain consuming him was I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

Sorry? Why was he sorry? What did he mean? The pain he was experiencing-- Bex couldn’t feel it herself, but she didn’t need to. His thoughts were enough for her to make a guess. Kill. Bex’s heart pounded. Hunt. Her head swirled. Blood. She burst from the bathroom and ran out the front door. She’d left her phone behind. It didn’t matter. She knew where he was. Something was wrong. Either someone was going to hurt Kyle or he was going to hurt someone. Either way, she had to stop him. She was the only one that could. This was her fault, after all. She’d connected their minds through her stupid, uncontrollable magic. She’d had a panic attack in the middle of a homework assignment. She had to be the one to protect people this time. She hoped Mina would forgive her for being so stupid.

Her feet pounded the pavement. It was chilling out, having just freshly rained. The streets were wet. The bar was up ahead, and Bex made a bee-line for it. But she didn’t need to get far. Kyle was nearby. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did. He smelled her. What did that mean? She spun in a circle, looking for the boy. “Kyle!?” she called out. No one answered. Something in the alleyway snarled. “K-Kyle?”

Pain. Kyle pushed himself to his feet, all four of them, and groaned with the effort it took. His nose was overwhelmed by the scents in the alleyway; garbage, booze, cigarette butts, and… Kill. There was someone here. Kyle’s head snapped up as a figure stepped into the mouth of the alley. He breathed in deeper, smelling the figure fully. Blood. He was salivating at the mere thought of sinking his teeth into flesh and ripping them apart. Something within him quivered with anticipation. Hunt. Slowly, Kyle turned to face them. He lowered his head and, step by step, stalked towards them. If they made any sudden moves, it would be over; he would pounce. The figure spoke, but it made no difference. It didn’t slow him. Bite.

Bex stumbled in the alleyway. A wolf. A giant wolf. A giant disfigured wolf. Kyle. It made sense. Suddenly, it all made sense. But she didn’t have time to think on it. The wolf-- no, Kyle-- was pouncing. He was running straight at her. “Kyle!” she cried. “It’s me! Wait! Stop!” But he didn’t. Bex’s eyes grew wide. She ducked behind a dumpster, heard it crash. Kill. A shiver ran through her. Hunt. She scrambled away from the trash can, grabbed whatever her hands could find purchase on and threw it at the wolf. “Kyle, stop! Kyle, it’s me!” Bite. She didn’t know anything about werewolves, she only knew what movies had taught her. She remembered what Dani said. Sometimes they got things right. Don’t get bit. Don’t get bit. Bex tried to remember what Nell had been teaching her. Focus, concentrate. But how was she supposed to do that with a wild animal in her head? It wanted to kill her. He wanted to kill her. 

She sprinted from the alley. She needed to get somewhere safe. The bar. If she just went in-- no, there were people in there. Innocent people. She needed to stop him, but what use was her magic when all she did was mess up like this? The wolf was still coming. She couldn’t stop him.

She couldn’t stop him.

He wanted to kill her. The collision with the dumpster sent Kyle reeling. A fresh wave of pain surged through his shoulder and ribs. Stiffly, he stood again and shook it off, regaining his composure. Wheeling around, he looked for Bex behind the dumpster. Not finding her there, he whipped his head back and forth looking for her. Prey. The sound of her running away finally registered. Kyle spun towards the sound and darted after her; four legs carrying him faster than two could. Momentarily, he skittered to a stop outside the bar, locking Bex in his sights. The streetlight in front of the bar flickered. Kyle’s eyes caught the flickering light and reflected it back. His fur stood on end--his hackles raised. His breath came in deep pants; the night was just cold enough that steam rolled from his mouth. He took one step towards Bex, then another. That low growl was once again coming from deep within his chest. She couldn’t stop him. Kyle broke into a sprint, closing the gap, and leapt towards Bex paws first. 

Prey. Bex was frozen. That’s all she was to him. Prey. Food. Blood. Her heart seized. Hadn’t she told Mina that next time she’d just run? She wouldn’t try and be stupid, she’d just run? So why wasn’t she running? Why couldn’t she run? Heavy paws hit her chest. Her back hit the ground and the world went blank for a moment. Ringing in her ears. Nails dug into her chest. She screamed. Threw up her arms. Heard the cloth of her sweater tearing. Tears clouded her eyes, and even though she could see now, it was all blurry. It hurt. It hurt a lot. The cool air stung the cuts. She was sobbing now. “Kyle, please!” she begged. “Stop it!” Panic shrouded her head, her chest, her throat. He wanted to kill her. Her words turned to gurgles as she sobbed. She didn’t wanna die. She wished she’d said bye to Morgan before she left. She wished she’d gone to sit by the pool one more time with Mina. She wished she’d told Nell how happy she was they met. She wished she’d told her parents she hated them. 

Her heart beat so fast, she wondered if it had just burst from her chest already. Dying certainly felt like a new type of anxiety. She wished someone had told her that first.

If Bex said anything Kyle understood, he didn’t react to it. Claws in her chest, he knew this hurt her. He could almost taste how close he was. This was it. Kyle had caught his prey. Yet, his heart pounded in his chest faster and faster; he could hear his pulse whooshing in his ears. 

Kyle fully intended on killing her, but his mind was ablaze with fear. Fear of death, of dying, of loss—his eyes squeezed shut. The panic that gripped him now was just as intense as what had set him off before, but this time it ground him to a halt. He was a predator, hearing—feeling—all the panicked thoughts of his prey. Like an ouroboros, attacking Bex was attacking himself; the snake eating its own tail. Kyle’s ears flattened against his head, and his tail was tucked. He let up off of Bex, shuffling away from her with a whine. Recognition finally clicked to some extent as the thought of their library interaction crossed Kyle’s mind. Pretty girl. He took another few steps back, then turned to run. He frantically glanced over his shoulder at her, eyes wide.

Bex knew, instantly, that she wasn’t dead. Because there was no way being dead hurt this much. She looked down at her shirt and saw the bloody, torn threads jutting up from her chest. Her tears were mixing with the blood that had splashed onto her face. But the wolf was gone. Retreating. Pretty girl. Bex’s eyes snapped up to where the hulking figure was, hunched over, cowering. She could see his entire body shaking, like a scared puppy. Her fear was his fear. His fear was her fear. Their minds had connected them. Their connection had saved her life. Bex fell back onto the ground, breathing heavily. Her chest hurt so much. So much. She couldn’t ever remember being in this much pain. Maybe she could. But bruises faded, broken bones healed. 

She was still crying when she lifted herself up off the ground. Kyle was still shrinking away, tail between his legs. If he left, he might hurt someone else. What would Mina do? She needed to get help. She was way out of her depth. She needed a safe place to bring Kyle. Please come back. She begged through swirling thoughts. Please, I want to help you. She scrabbled through her pockets for her phone, but it wasn’t there. She’d left it at home. 

Stiffly, she pushed herself to her knees. She had nothing to offer him except her blood and her words. Please. Reached a hand out for him. She needed him, too. She couldn’t walk, her chest hurt too much. Pretty girl, remember? I’ve got beef jerky. If you come with me. It was her last ditch effort. No wolf could deny beef jerky, right?

Kyle wasn’t afraid of Bex. Not really. He was afraid of hurting her or, more specifically, he was hearing all of her thoughts about how much his claws had already hurt her. Her panic attack, or maybe both of their panic attacks, had launched him into fight or flight and he had hurt her. Bex’s thoughts were still too loud in Kyle’s head for him to calm himself enough to hear himself think. He shuddered and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to shut her out. Except she kept asking him to come with her, and that was off the table. What if he clawed her again? Or worse, what if he bit her? Kyle was proud to be a wolf, but could he justify putting this on someone else? He remembered his first full moon—how scared he was, how he had almost hurt his family, the look in their eyes. If you come with me. Kyle’s thoughts were still a whirlwind of anxiety. He had to get away. He had to get away.

Kyle started running before he fully considered where he was going. He veered sharply into the road, just trying to go anywhere that wasn’t by the bar and Bex. The headlights were almost on top of him before he could fully register the sudden blinding light. The crunch of metal against his body made his ears ring. He was sent careening sideways with a yelp; he slammed into a parked car on the side of the road and slumped against it. Kyle’s chest heaved as he panted. He whined in pain and started to struggle to his feet before slumping against the car again with a groan. Fuck.

Fuck. Kyle was running away and there was nothing Bex could do about it. “No…” she groaned, coughing. Pain ripped through her chest again and she fell back to her knees, her hands, toppled over, clutching her stomach. She was so scared. He was so scared. They were both spiraling. She couldn’t help him, she couldn’t help herself. Tears pooled on the ground beneath her, mixing with her blood. Oh, she needed to do something about that. She didn’t know what to do about it. “Come back,” she croaked at him, but he had already bolted. She heard the crunch of metal, the loud yelp. Someone was shouting. A person. They could help. Please, she thought desperately, please help. But all she heard was a man shouting, a car door slamming, tires screeching away. The night was quiet again. 

Kyle wasn’t moving. Kyle wasn’t thinking. Something was wrong. Something was wrong. “Kyle!?” she croaked again, but nothing. Kyle!? But nothing. But nothing. She had to do something. She had to do something or they would both die right here. Her eyes screwed shut. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she had to do something. She pooled all of her energy into the pit of her stomach, just like Nell had taught her. She concentrated on one thought-- get help-- just like Nell had taught her. And then she released it all, in one fell swoop, and hoped for the best.

And then she was falling through the sky. No, she was being pulled along the road. No, she was flying towards a house. Everything was going so fast. She blinked and suddenly she was in a room. No-- her room, at Morgan’s. The pain was gone. She looked down at her shirt. It was still torn to shreds, there was still blood, but it didn’t hurt. Why didn’t it hurt? That didn’t matter. She needed to get help. “Morgan!?” she called out, her voice strained. She coughed. Went to take a step-- but instead in another blink she was standing in front of the TV. Grey’s Anatomy was playing. She swerved on her heels. Faced a mortified looking Morgan. “Help me!” she said, rushing forward, stepping through the coffee table. “Morgan! I-- Kyle, and he-he-- I panicked. I’m sorry, I panicked! I went to find him. He got-- hit by a--” By a what? By a what!? Her head hurt. “Car. He got-- and I--” Her head hurt so much. She groaned and put her head in her hands. Sank to her knees, still inside the coffee table. “Help,” she said again. “Please help!”

“What the fuck!” Morgan screamed when she saw the vision of Bex, blood spattered and torn up. She didn’t look like a ghost, and ghosts usually didn’t hold conversations with invisible people. And whoever the hell this Kyle was had to be invisible, or something, because if he was a ghost she would be able to see him too. Which meant this was a whole other kind of supernatural fuckery, and Bex was really in trouble somewhere. “Bex? H-help you with what? Why are you bleeding! How are you even doing this, Bex! And who the hell is Kyle? Is he the one who hurt you? Are you in active danger right--” She stopped. Pinched the bridge of her nose. Too many questions. “I need to know where you are,” she said, getting to her feet and digging up a jacket to put over her house sweats. “Mina!” she called. “Get dressed, we have a situation!”

Bex was trying really hard to concentrate, but something felt like it was pulling at her, yanking her away from where she was. She flickered, like bad TV reception. “He didn’t-- he didn’t mean to. I didn’t know! I didn’t mean to make him change!” she said finally, memories coming back to her head in a jumbled mess. “I had to-- I tried to--” Her chest hurt. She shuddered again, pressing hands against it. They came away red stained. “Blood,” she said. A sign flickered into view behind Morgan’s head. “Stake.” She blinked, concentrating. She needed to concentrate. They were both going to die if she didn’t concentrate. “Amity Road. The Bloody Stake.” She finally managed, turning her gaze back to Morgan. Someone came running down the stairs and Bex turned to look at them. If she’d been in any other way, her face would have lit up. “Mina,” she said, neither surprised nor worried. More pain in her chest made her cry out. She fell back to her knees. Only this time, when she fell, she landed back in the alley. Her face was pressed against the gravel of the sidewalk. She was cold, so cold. Shivering. Her hands felt numb. “Kyle?” she tried again. But no answer. “Morgan? M-Mina?” But no answer. 

She hoped they would come. Hoped they would come soon. She wasn’t sure she could hang on much longer. But maybe just to see them. Just one more time. 

Get dressed, we have a situation were officially Mina’s least favorite words as she’d stumbled down the stairs, pulling shoes on as she went. She wouldn’t have been called to if it wasn’t serious, so that meant it was serious, and she got just a glimpse of how serious as she watched Bex or some version of Bex, covered in blood, fall to her knees and fade out of existence in the middle of the living room. So, it was the worst kind of situation, then. It was the kind of situation that was going to haunt her for forever, then. Mina grabbed the keys and barely waited to see if Morgan was behind her before heading to her car. Morgan’s was bigger, but Mina’s was more equipped to handle things that caused claw marks on people’s skin. So she drove and forgot how to obey traffic laws and gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white, and she just kept repeating the address over and over in her head until she pulled up to the damn bar with the worst name possible (if this was another vampire, then Mina was about to take up a profession in slaying). 

Throwing the door open and jumping out of the car, Mina immediately began looking around frantically for the younger girl. “Bex? Bex!” She didn’t know where she was supposed to be looking, didn’t know what she was supposed to expect. Her chest felt tight, and her heart was stuck somewhere in her throat. “Morgan, do you see-- What’s-- Bex?!”

Morgan didn’t have it in her to snark at Mina for driving so recklessly. Any place that called itself The Bloody Stake couldn’t be good. And what was Bex even doing by a bar? What had this Kyle person changed into? Morgan wasn’t even sure if she should believe Bex that it was her fault. Bex was the sort of person who’d apologize for someone stepping on her. As she followed Mina into the night, she couldn’t help but feel her insides crawl with dread. She could spot some very real fanged faces and shadowy antlers through the windows. They shouldn’t be here. They absolutely, absolutely should not be here. She gripped Mina’s hand tight. “We aren’t going to find them or be any help by freaking out--”

And then her eyes caught the dark sheen of blood under the street lamps, and a trail that led to Bex and a large sleeping wolf. A werewolf. “No,” she whispered, “No-no-no, shit!” She pulled on Mina’s hand and ran toward them. “What happened!” She let go and fell to her knees in front of the girl, gaping with horror at all the blood. “Did he bite you? I need you to be honest, this is important, did he bite you?” But before the girl could answer, Morgan pulled her against her chest in a strong, desperate hug. “We’ve got you. We’ll figure it out, okay?”

Kyle could hear voices somewhere. They sounded distant, like they were coming from the end of a long hallway and he was standing at the opposite end. He didn’t recognize who was talking. It would be so easy to go to sleep now, especially now that his head was quiet. For a moment, he was lulled by the quiet talking and the silence in his head before he jolted out of it, realizing he couldn’t hear Bex. Kyle opened his eyes with some effort, and looked around frantically. Why was he lying in the road? He’d worry about that later. He struggled to get to his feet, fighting against the pain that coursed through his entire left side. He managed to halfway sit up and turned enough to see Bex being cradled by someone he vaguely recognized as Morgan. Was she dead? Had he killed her? He couldn’t quite make out what was being said over the pounding in his head or the ringing in his ears. With a whine, Kyle laid back down, telling himself that he didn’t deserve to shift again--didn’t deserve the wolf connection--if he was going to kill. 

Voices. Noises. Not in her head. Bex felt a pressure on her body, like gloves in warm water. There but not feeling it. Her body lifted from the ground, someone was holding her. She blinked heavily, opened her eyes. Bit. Did he bite you? “Kyle…” Bex managed to mumble, her voice gurgled by the blood in her mouth. She spit it out, looking up at the figure that was holding her. Morgan. “You came…” Her face pulled into one of stress, worry, confusion. “Where’s--” she tried to move, but the pain in her chest was too great and she cried out. “What h-happened? Where is--” breaths coming up in heaves, she reached out, grappling around. “Kyle-- he--” she needed to answer the question. She couldn’t remember. Had he bit her? Had he stopped? Did it matter? “Is he okay? Where is-- no. He didn’t, I d-don’t--” Just claws. She remembered claws. Digging into her chest. That was why it hurt. She managed to move enough to look around. Her eyes fell on another figure crouched next to her. Mina. “No, no-- you shouldn’t-- you can’t--” Bloody hands smeared the ground. “Please help him. Please. It’s my fault. He’s-- because of me.”

Sometimes, Mina still saw her dad in a pool of his own blood. It was only in her dreams, but it was there. His chest was shredded, his throat ripped. He bled out right in front of her. Bex looked like she was bleeding out in front of her. And, actually, it was because of the wolf lying in the road, so, so, close, and Mina saw red. It was baffling, really, how instantaneously furious she was over this as opposed to how she’d felt when she saw her dad. She hadn’t been able to do anything then. Now, she could have killed. She looked down at Bex, not quite seeing her face as she spoke. Can’t. She was going to kill a werewolf. Can’t. She was going to kill a werewolf. Can’t. Mina looked at Morgan and got to her feet. She said, “I have a first aid kit. I’m going to grab it.” She stumbled to her car and got in, opening the boot of the car from the driver’s side. There was a bag with medical supplies, enough for quick fixes or on-the-go medical treatment while out in the middle of nowhere. There was a silver knife, long and wicked. Swallowing, Mina grabbed the medical supplies. She headed back over to Morgan and Bex. She couldn’t go near the wolf. She was trying very, very hard not to kill a werewolf. Her hands were shaking. She looked at Morgan, not knowing what to do.

“Of course I came,” Morgan said, squeezing Bex tighter. “There is nothing you could ever do that would keep me from coming if you asked. We’ll take a look at him, but right now, we need to take care of you first, honey, alright? You’re not okay, and I can’t let you bleed out on the street.” While Mina went for her kit, Morgan took off her jacket and started sopping up as much of the blood on Bex as she could. “You still haven’t told me what happened,” she said softly. “Can you take a few breaths and try?”

Mina returned and Morgan shifted, unfurling her arms to let Mina in. “We’ll work faster doing this together,” she said, giving Mina a meaningful look she hoped would be deciphered as, be thorough, don’t let her get away with leaving anything unattended. “Lucky for you, we are both really good at this. Mina, check on her bones and limbs?” The nix looked panicked, no longer a hunter but a very frightened girl half in a memory. “We’ve got this, okay?”

Take a few breaths. Explain. How could she explain? There was too much to explain. Bex didn’t know where to start. She opened her mouth, but found her voice gone. She was worried. Her head was so quiet. Was Kyle okay? Was he alive? He needed to be okay. She needed to know that he was okay. That she hadn’t gotten him killed. That her stupid magic hadn’t hurt yet another person. “P-please,” she stuttered again, trying to push away from Morgan, “I n-need to know. I need to know i-if he’s a-alive, please.” Her body shook with ragged breath. She needed to know. “I can’t-- I did this. I panicked and I didn’t mean to.” She knew she wasn’t making any sense, but she couldn’t make any sense of her thoughts, either. She wheezed with breath. The world was growing darker. “I did this,” she muttered, sinking back into Morgan’s arms. She looked up at Mina, haloed in streetlight. Her face was so worried, so scared. She’d never seen Mina so scared. Not even when they’d almost toppled off the waterfall, or when the cockatrice had attacked, or when Frank had pointed a knife at her. “I’m s-sorry,” she stuttered, “I t-tried.” 

“He’s alive,” Mina said, not even sparing the wolf a second glance as she managed to focus on unpacking the medkit. He was probably alive. He didn’t deserve to be alive. She looked at him and saw a three legged wolf, snarling and fangs dripping with saliva. She couldn’t understand why Bex was so concerned about the monster that attacked her. She didn’t have time to worry about that, and she pushed her hair out of her eyes and started to check Bex over. Her limbs were fine; as fine as they could be, at least, with all the cuts and bruises.“I don’t think broken bones are the main problem right now, Morgan.” Mina was more worried about the gaping wound in Bex’s chest, and she kept reaching to help before holding herself back, reaching out again. To hell with it. She started helping Morgan clean up the blood. When had iron-rich blood ever stopped her before? “You don’t have to apologize,” she told Bex quietly. She didn’t want her to talk. That wasted air, wasted energy, wasted precious heartbeats, and, if Mina thought about any of that for too long, she might cry. They needed to fix this.

“Shh…” Morgan urged, cupping Bex’s face. “Don’t try to talk too much, honey. Please. Just lean against me and try to keep breathing. Cough if you need to, don’t swallow the blood, just keep breathing…” She pulled her hand away to inspect her head for injuries and her hand came away red. Morgan shivered and looked at the mess dribbling down Bex’s chin, the heavy stains on her shirt, so thick they looked brown, almost black, and bright rivulets coming down the sides. Had she looked like this when she died? Was this what Deirdre had seen? The blood that wouldn’t stop, the holes that went impossibly deep, and a sad, stubborn voice that wouldn’t stop long enough to make anything better? 

Morgan went stiff and trembled at the sight, then she bunched up her jacket and pressed it down over her chest while she felt around her hair. It was clumped together toward the back, which meant a gash somewhere. Morgan couldn’t quite tell where exactly, but she didn’t feel any holes, so maybe her skull was still intact. “Mina, do you have supplies for stitches in there? I think her...I think we need them. I can do it, if you can’t but she needs more than just pressure, i-it’s--I don’t know how deep it is--” She closed her eyes and she was pinned to the street. Her back was so soaked, she felt glued down until Deirdre came and lifted her as far as the pole would let her. She opened her eyes. Bex wasn’t bleeding from both ends. They could save her. “She needs it. Please.”

Just keep breathing. Just keep breathing. Just keep breathing. Bex coughed, spit out more blood, felt it gathering in her throat. Her head throbbed. Her chest throbbed. Everything hurt. She hated this. She didn’t like this at all. She wanted to go home. He’s alive. She felt herself sob with relief. He’s alive. He was alive. She couldn’t hear him anymore-- had she grown used to it? His voice in the back of her mind?-- but he was alive. Mina wouldn’t lie to her. He was alive. “Thank you,” she sobbed, “thank you.” She knew Mina hated those words but she didn’t know what else to say. She wanted to sleep. Took in a shuddering breath, coughed, sputtered. Each breath wheezed on the intake, shaky on the exhale. “I-I’m s-sorry,” she repeated again, looking up at Morgan. Both of them were looking at her with mortified, paled faces. She wanted to stay awake for them, but it was so hard. “Please...don’t l-leave him. P-please.” Managed to sputter a last few words. She looked directly into Mina’s eyes. “Please,” before her arms sagged and she went limp in Morgan’s arms. It was time to sleep now. She just wanted to sleep now.

Pay me back by not dying, Mina thought. Thank me by not dying. Instead of saying that, she reached into her medkit and got out the supplies to start cleaning the wounds, doing sutures. She could see Morgan go stiff out of the corner of her eye. Both of them weren’t doing well with this, were they? “It’s fine. It’s fine. I can do it. It’s fine.” How many times had she given stitches, anyway? She could do this. “Make sure she doesn’t choke. She lost a lot of blood. Do you-- Would the Fae doctor help her? Do you know someone else who can help? Because I can do the stitches, and I can--” Her fingers were growing more and more irritated as she worked, and she really just didn’t care. She needed to stay focused. She would have been grateful that Bex had passed out if she wasn’t so damn worried. She looked Morgan in the eyes. “She needs more than just stitches.” And apparently they needed to do something about the bloody werewolf, as well. Because of course Bex wanted to help the wolf.

“Have you met fae doctors?” Morgan scoffed, her voice rising. “We--no. I don’t even know if she’d understand human anatomy! But we can’t take her to a hospital, they’ll identify her, they’ll know who she is and they’ll call her parents and we’ll never get her back, we can…” Breathe. Her voice was getting stuck in the back of her throat. She needed to breathe. She needed to think. “Nell! Nell knows some healing, and I can coerce someone stronger with her, if we have to. We’ll call Nell and she can meet us and take care of things at the house.” She gripped Bex a little tighter, watched her chest rise and fall and rise. “Take her to the car, stay with her, make sure she’s on her side, don’t let her choke on her blood, she shouldn’t have to do that. I’ll get the wolf and drive us back and we can put him in the basement until he wakes up as himself.” Her hands held onto Bex even after she passed her into Mina’s arms. When they were on their way, trudging up the alley toward the car, she got to her feet and approached the wolf. It was dark, but she could tell from the sheen on his fur that he had some injuries too. She took some gauze and cotton from the abandoned med kit and wrapped it around the animal where he looked the most matted and damp. Then she hauled him over her shoulders, med kit in tow, and followed Mina into the night.

The first thing Kyle became aware of was someone touching his side. It hurt and it startled him. He bared his teeth weakly in the direction of his medic as his eyes cracked open. It took his eyes a moment to adjust, but he relaxed slightly when he recognized Morgan. He’d seen her before through Bex’s thoughts. He knew she could be trusted; not that he had any other options. The rest of the journey, he remembered in flashes. It felt like he would just blink and lose a chunk of time. Kyle wasn’t sure if he was losing consciousness or if this was what dying was like. The thought gripped him with a sudden panic and he whined softly. 

He blinked. Suddenly, he was being hoisted onto Morgan’s shoulders unceremoniously. He let out a groan that tapered off into a low growl. This wasn’t Morgan’s fault; it was the best way to move him, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. His side was on fire and his head was splitting open, he was sure of it. That was the only logical way to justify the pain. 

Kyle closed his eyes. Now, he was being loaded into a vehicle. The transfer into the car was less than smooth and his eyes shot open again, this time in pain. He didn’t recognize this car, but it smelled like Mina. Beyond that, he could smell the old penny scent of Bex’s blood. Bex? Was she alive? Or were they simply transporting her corpse? Again, he whimpered quietly. He did his best to just breathe through the pain and stay awake long enough to make sure Bex was okay. She needed to be okay. There were people who were counting on her--people who loved her. Kyle couldn’t even say the same for himself. He had a handful of friends and his parents, but he wasn’t important to somebody in the same way. Bex had to survive.

Kyle closed his eyes. When he next opened them, they were moving. The car was speeding through the streets; the road raced along beneath them. Kyle’s eyes were glazed over and he stared at the road as it zipped away. He had to close his eyes this time. The movement was making him lose his grip on which way was up and which was down. It flipped his stomach and he figured Mina would appreciate it if he didn’t make even more of a mess of the car. 

The next time he opened his eyes, he was being unloaded from the car. Again, he became acutely aware of the pain. He yelped and struggled briefly against Morgan’s grip. It wasn’t her fault he was hurt. It was… Kyle couldn’t clearly remember what had happened. There was a bright light, then there was pain. What had he done?

Kyle closed his eyes. When he opened them he was...indoors? He wasn’t familiar with this house, but it smelled like Morgan and Mina and… Bex. Kyle’s eyes widened and he began to push himself up onto his feet. The effort was wasted as he slid back down onto his side with a wet thump. Where was Bex? Was she here? Was she alive? His eyes darted around the room, landing on another familiar face. Nell Vural. If Nell was here, surely Bex was alive. Nell, Morgan, and Mina didn’t owe him anything. They could’ve left him bleeding out in the street. They could have left him to die. If being in Bex’s head taught Kyle anything, though, it was that she wouldn’t let that happen. Kyle focused on the silence in his head again. She had to be alive, right? She had to.

Kyle closed his eyes.

[redxblueihateloveyou]

This is a personal opinion but from where I see it the Given movie and the anime itself definitely was... something that I would question because somethings just.. didn't make sense to me. The development of the Characters were either super fast or super slow and it made the pacing really really weird for me idk. But I do think that a huge reason so many people love the Given movie is because of the fact that when you compare Given to OTHER JP BL animes, there's very very slight improvement in terms of the story itself of Given. Is the story poorly executed? Fucking hell, who the hell is going to say no here. But is it better then some of the JP BLs out there? That's depended on how you view BL to be. For a lot of people things like Super Lovers or Hitorijime My Hero are super unbearable to watch because it's "problematic" (which honestly okay, you do you BB) which then leads them to look for BL animes that DON'T have such "themes." Leading them to actually liking things poorly executed but just "not problematic", Given for example.

Given is “not problematic”? Debatable.

Their first kiss was right after Mafuyu finally had a courage to sing a song about his ex who commited a suicide. ???

Problematic doesn’t only mean stuff like “he’s underage”. What about using someone to get over your grief or getting into a relationship with someone who is still not over his ex death and is vulnerable at the moment? Is this suddenly “not problematic” bc they’re same age and he haven’t pushed him into a wall in throws of passion?

To me it’s not even about the fact if it’s problematic or not (it’s rarely not tho, no matter what ppl think), it’s about whether its believable and feels genuine or not. It depends on many factors: situation, characters past, traumas, etc, etc. It depends on the story and how you write it.

Change some stuff and it’s gonna be a completely different thing. Make it like Uenoyama only hugged Mafuyu after the song, even tho he wanted to kiss him, but knows that it’s not the right moment. Make Mafuyu heal first, make Uenoyama be in his own angst that he loves Mafuyu so much for example, but cares about him recover more, so he doesn’t expect for it to go somewhere, then he tries to date someone and Mafuyu first starts getting out there, when he feels like he can start trying again. Someday he gets sick and Uenoyama cancels his date to take care of him even tho it’s nothing serious and then the realization comes. Make Mafuyu kiss him first and take the first step. This would’ve changed everything so much. He should’ve made the first step when he was ready, this would’ve felt so right. Uenoyama kissing him after that song is just.. it feels, I was like ehhhmmm.. weird?

Seeing someone saying that Given is a masterpiece is hilarious to me. The fact that it includes heavy themes like suicide, doesn’t make it a masterpiece, esp when it’s handled this badly. Once again, if you pick such thing as a base for a love story, do it right then, not in a “bibbidi bobbidi boo” kind of thing. 

BL or not BL, any relationships, it depends on whether you watch it and it feels plausable or not. 

For example, if Yuu says that he can’t live with Mika, my tongue won’t even twist to call it “unhealthy” or be like “dude why”. But if some high schooler in slice of life anime who has a caring family tried to end himself bc his two weeks friend left him, I would’ve yelled “bitch go see a doctor”. 

Depending on the story you can sell some feelings or not.

Nezumi and Shion are also problematic according to ppl’s logic these days. But I 100% believe they’re each other’s true loves. Only 11 episodes and it’s sold.

In Given I didn’t believe it. Bc it’s ridiculous, ok? It wasn’t the right place or time to start this relationship. It is not a new love story, it’s just a sad story. 

Given movie is slightly better compared to other japanese BL? Why would you offend Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, Uragiri wa boku no namae, No.6 and many others?

Also better where? They kept the same old “’stop, i don’t want to’, but he did it anyway” stuff AND on top of that the story sucks.

The way he used him knowing very well that he was unrequitedly in love with him for so long is so disgusting that it leaves a much grosser feeling than many yaois combined. You’re saying “it’s slightly better” bc they’re of age or don’t have an age difference? I don’t get it. It somehow makes everything better?

No, thanks. I’d rather watch Onodera sleep with Takano in high school with them being genuinely into each other and it going great than whatever happened in the Given movie. I don’t care if they’re both 18 there, it made me feel bad.

I didn’t feel bad, when Wei Wuxian thought “why the fuck didn't I have sex with Lan Zhan back when I was 15? I've really pissed away all my days, haven't I?”. I wonder why is that.

Like what you’re saying here is that their opinion on BL is so low that they automatically would give it 10 out of 10 bc it’s slightly better than smth that they find “unbearable” to watch? What kind of evaluation is that exactly? Maybe also let’s compare each anime to “boku no pico”, then everything will look like a masterpiece.

Like excuse me for the fact that when I watch some shonen-ai and yaoi, I judge it the same way I judge any other genre and any other relationships (hetero or gay) in animes. On a scale whether I care or don’t care, whether I believe that they love each other or don’t, whether it’s a good story or not. I don’t get what it means “it’s good for yaoi”. It’s just not good. This movie is trash, I mean, the relationship in it is trash. Who the fuck cares gay or not gay. Trash relationships are trash. Bad story is a bad story. Whether it’s a bad gay story or a bad hetero story, I don’t give a shit.

The reason I’m more into boy on boy ships is because I love the relationships there more than relationships in most heterosexual couples. My fav hetero ships are either “from hate/attraction to love” stories like “gone with the wind”, “anastasia” or “pride and prejudice” or stuff like “equals without pink goo, who only see each other and don’t need no one else and would die for each other, epic soulmates” like Richard and Kahlan. In anime 99% of those fit bromances, not romances. Like I don’t find Midoriya/Uraraka appealing at all for a reason that “she said ‘hi’, he blushed as a tomato, now they’re supposed to be each other’s romantic interests” is not what I find romantic. I find romantic the fact that Todoroki is forever devoted to Midoriya bc he knows he’s amazing and is not afraid to say it; and he’ll always be there for him when he needs him, no matter what it is, him just sitting there crying, some villain trying to kill him or if he’s too late out ther grossery shopping. Uraraka most of the times doesn’t even care where he is.

Most hetero romantic animes, I just find ridiculous, too cheesy and unrealistic and I’m not ready to watch 50 episodes for them to hold hands. I’m not in that age and I also never found things like this romantic before either. Stuff like Kisa/Yukine, when you meet someone, find him attractive, wanna fuck him, then fall in love accidentally.. yeah, that’s understandable to me. Stuff like Takano/Onodera “I was an naive idiot in high school, but now life made me a sassy bitch and I can’t open up to people as easily” also yes, relatable. 

When you’re turning into a tomato bc someone said “penis” and think holding hands will take your virginity or smth, that’s not my thing.

So when I watch BL, I expect more, not less. So if it’s bad, I just say it’s bad, I’m not gonna be like “hmm... unproblematic... then 10/10″ like what? 

1stly, even “little mermaid” and “cinderella” are problematic. 

2ndly everyone is so focused on purity these days, like storyline don’t matter at all. It’s like any great love story is automatically trash if they have age difference. Any trash love story is great, if they don’t?

Let’s then also rate “Dororo” as 1, bc it’s like 24 episodes of them falling for each other while she’s 11 and he’s 16. Wow, such gross relationships they have during the whole story. Doesn’t matter that she grew up at the end of the last episode, the whole anime she’s a child. And let’s rate Noragami 0, bc 2000 years old perverted Yato is into 15 year olds.

No one has to fuck asap (heck even in the same hella problematic “Super Lovers” you talk about, Haru refused to fuck Ren even tho he was 17 in s2 and wanted to fuck another guy) and the rule “you can only fall in love after 18″ doesn’t exist. Also underage is not BL thing, it’s all anime thing. It’s time to shut it already. There are zillions of age gap couples out there who are great. Hyakkimaru waited for Dororo to grow up, it’s fine, seriously, they love each other in the right way, he didn’t want to fuck her when she was 11, okay? They did love each other tho already then. Pls excuse them for that.

3rdly, some relationship that ppl here call unproblematic are 20 times more problematic, than what they call problematic.

4tly, why the heck it’s like couples who have an amazing character and relationship progression, who love each other to death and will do anything for each other, ppl go: “wow, at the very beginning, he grabbed his wrist, he needs to go to jail”. Meanwhile a relationship who has no base, no story, no logical progression, no anything are “yes, best love story in the world”. Yeah... who cares if it feels like it’s all been pulled out of an ass and doesn’t make sense, very healthy tho.

It sounds lately like if most ppl here had two stories in front of them and one would be about two men who just met and the next day one proposed and they lived happily ever after and 2nd would be some complicated incredible story with a natural progression of the relationship, but they yelled at each other once, they’d be like “1st is better”. Well, not to me, no.

[petri808]

Hauntober prompt Black cat

Inukag requested by @malditamigs

AU story. I seriously need to learn the meaning of keep it short xD. 1800 words. Hope it came out okay, I liked the idea lol.

There was only one night that Kagome had any chance of lifting the curse, or she’d have to wait another year for the opportunity. For decades she’d tried and failed, and at some point, had almost given up on being human again. A witch had cursed her to be a black cat saying she needed to understand love before she deserved to be human. Okay, she had to admit back then she treated men like toys, getting them to fall in love only to drop them and move on. But to be cursed for it?! That wasn’t fair at all!

She’d take any man just to break this curse! At first, she thought how hard could it be to get someone to love a cat? Humans loved cats as companions and pets, surely, she could parlay such affections into breaking her curse. She’d play the role, the ever-loving kitty, using her wiles on the man, and on Halloween once the sun set, she would transform into a human, praying that because they’d already cared for her as a cat, they would instantly fall in love with her as a human. But it never worked. One after the other, they would freak out and kick her out the door. Be gone witch!

But she wasn’t a witch! Kagome just wanted to be human, to love, to have a family and grow old with someone. It may have taken a few years of trial and error, but she got it now! She understood how important love really was and begged for a chance to prove herself. Because this time, Kagome was the one who’d fallen in love.

It had been a fluke that she’d met Inuyasha two days after Halloween and being kicked out of another home. She’d been wandering the streets when an early snowstorm hit the city and his house was the closest shelter she could find. He took pity on the scrawny black kitty, taking her inside, feeding her and warming her up by a fireplace. Handsome and adoring to animals, this man she’d come to learn was only half human, a product of a human mother and demon father. Rare in this world, but also shunned to some degree. So, animals became the man’s company.

Kagome wasn’t sure at what point her affections had crossed the line into romantic love, but she knew that’s what she was feeling. It didn’t bother her that he could have a brash personality or how his social skills were poorly developed, because she understood the pain of being different. As a young woman, her lavish and selfish attitude would have scoffed at such a person but having been forced to see the error of her ways, it broke her heart when other people treated him like a freak. So, for the entire year she was with Inuyasha, Kagome did what she could in her limited capacity to make sure he felt adored by someone or something. To know he was special and important to her, not just because she had an agenda, but because he deserved to be loved for who he was.

The afternoon of Halloween, Inuyasha had returned from work a little more sullen than usual. From what Kagome could gather, some teenagers on a construction site were teasing him about his appearance, especially his canine ears, asking if he stayed in costume all year. Stupid, but not the worst insult he’s probably ever had, it still brought him down. So, Kagome works her magic, immediately purring and rubbing along his legs, pawing at them and begging for affections to make him forget about those creeps. And Inuyasha obliges, instantly taking a long exhale and picking her up for cuddles.

“Thank goodness I have you,” he scratches behind her ears and under her chest as he holds her in his arms. “I think you’re the reason I didn’t kill those dumbasses today cause then who’d be home to take care of you?”

“Merow,” she mewls and purrs at his ministrations, offering a feline response to his venting. If only she could tell him with words just how much he meant to her. The man gives her a few more scratches behind the ear before putting her down and going about his routine. Feeding her, taking a shower, and dinner for himself.

Kagome was growing nervous, fidgeting as the sun slowly set, because soon enough, Inuyasha was about to get the surprise of his life and her world could come crashing down around her. It was very different this time for her. She paces back and forth next to the dinner table as Inuyasha eats, just watching the light outside dim away. The anxiety driving her crazy, but the wait pained her more than ever before. If Inuyasha reacts like all the others before him, well... this time Kagome really might just give up from a broken heart.

Seeing his cat acting distressed, Inuyasha picks her up and places her on his lap. “What’s wrong?” She stands up and puts her paws on his chest, forcefully rubbing her face against his chin. “Aww, you really want attention today, huh,” he chuckles and snuggles her back, scratching her back and near her tail.

The familiar tingles start racing through her body, the signal that her transformation was imminent. So, Kagome tries to jump off, but he holds her down, preferring to cuddle. She tries a second time, struggling against him in concern of changing right on his lap!

“Kuro, first you’re all love me, now you want down?” He laughs, “typical feline.” She stops struggling and looks up at him, their eyes meeting. It was too late now. So, she stands up again, stretching as far as she can to wrap her paws around his neck. “Awww,” he hugs her, “that’s my girl.”

The transformation begins in a flash of light. “What the?!” Inuyasha shouts, but Kagome grips tighter to his neck. “K-Kuro?! Kuro what’s going on?!” He was about to find out as he watches with shock and awe as his sleek little black kitty changes right before his eyes, elongating, her feline features turning human. Her whines and cries from the pain torture his ears. They pin back as he gives up trying to understand, closing his eyes to the light and tightening the hold he’d had over her growing body.

Several moments pass by until finally... silence and a much heavier weight on Inuyasha’s lap causes him to release his hold. Kagome leans back slowly, her hands still around his neck, staring forward with trepidation to gauge his reaction. “I-I know this is a shock.” Her voice soft and tenuous on the verge of tears.

But all he can do was stare at her, processing the fact that his cat wasn’t a cat anymore but a beautiful woman with raven colored hair just like the fur he was used to seeing. Her yellow eyes were a chocolatey brown now, large and doe-like, with such porcelain white skin... holy shit! He had a naked woman on his lap! Her scent was interestingly still the same, just heightened and mixed with such pain and fear, his inner demon growled in annoyance. It didn’t like her feeling that way.

“Please, say something,” Kagome worries her bottom lip. The silence was killing her, and she couldn’t gauge his thoughts. ‘He’s in shock. Any second now he’s gonna bounce me off his lap and tell me to leave. I know it, it’s just like the other times.’ “I’m sorry,” tears quickly trickling down her cheeks, “this must be... maybe I should just leave...”

“What?! No, way, you— I’m not!” He stops and takes a deep breath to calm his own adrenaline, picking Kagome up and bringing them to the couch. He then pulls the throw blanket off the back of the couch, wraps it around and takes a seat beside her. “Tell me, who are you really?”

Kagome let’s out an exhale and tells her story from start to finish, tentatively at first but as the words flowed, so too, did the emotions tied to her journey of pain and understanding. It was like a cork being popped on a bottle of alcohol. She didn’t hold back anything seeing as she’d finally had an opportunity to tell her tale. By the end her cheeks were red and eyes puffy from crying, but a weight felt lifted off her shoulders. This was the longest conversation she’d held with another human in fifty years. “So, that’s everything,” her words dying out in a wisp. Though her tears had slowed they continued to trickle. “I’m sure it must all be overwhelming, a-and I’ll understand if you tell me to leave too.”

That’s when it was Inuyasha’s turn to surprise her. He reaches out and cradles her face in his hand and wipes away some of the tears. “I don’t want you to leave Kur—Kagome,” eyes softening. “You’re still my girl, even if... ehm, not in the same form. I’m not exactly complaining about it by the way.” The statement causes her to blush something fierce and her eyes avert away in embarrassment. “I mean, you’ve made me so happy this year, I think more so than any other time in my life. Cat or not, that was all you, right? Not some trick if your honest tears are telling me anything.”

“It’s not a trick. I think— know I’ve fallen in love with you Inuyasha.”

A second burst of light suddenly catches them off guard and Kagome’s body starts to glow.

“What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know! I don’t usually turn back till morning...”

But as quickly as it hit, the light dies away leaving her in the same human body. “Oh, my goodness...” Kagome looks to a confused Inuyasha, “I-I think it’s broken. Does that mean, you love me too?”

His eyes widen, “um, I mean I do like what I see, but I don’t know if I can say love yet.”

“But,” she looks at herself in confusion, “the witch said only love can break the curse and I assumed she meant the guy had to fall in love with me.”

“Based on what you told me, maybe it was you who had to feel real love.”

The sudden realization dawns on Kagome. It was true. All the others... she’d never loved them, only resigned herself to be stuck with whoever loved her to break the curse. This has always been a lesson for her to figure out. Fresh tears break free, so Inuyasha wipes them away, letting his thumb sweep along her skin. He’d been honest with her that he couldn’t use the word love yet but knowing how much this woman truly cared for him was certainly enough to let it enter a heart he’d walled off to love. He runs his thumb over her lips, then sweeps in, kissing her and letting his hand weave into her hair to test this newfound possibility. Needless to say, his inner demon was delighted.

“This is gonna take some adjustments, but so far I’m liking it,” he smiles. “I will miss how you greet me when I come home rubbing against my legs.”

Kagome bursts into tearful giggles. “I think that can still be arranged.”

[thesecondcircleofkel]

Forever

Kenpachi x Reader

1.5K

Summary: One of the 1000 Follower Event winners. The prompt was ‘Forever’ and the summary was ‘I’m about to blow y’all minds, but how about some fluffy smut? Kenpachi tends to be really intense during sex, maybe even wild at times, but the reader has yet to really experience his passionate and romantic side. Of course, they’ll get to experience that during this scenario, and there will be plenty of fluff and feelings to go around.’ 

Notes: In honor of the return of the anime, have this scenario. 

Warnings: NSFW, vaginal fingering, vaginal sex

You were starting to see why your lover avoided the Fourth Division like his life depended on it, even though the opposite should be true instead. You were bored and frustrated out of your mind, sore and stiff,  miserable in every way. A two week stint in the Fourth Division had left you this way; it wasn't like the healers had treated you poorly or anything, but one could only handle so much, no matter how cordial their captors were.

It didn't help that the Eleventh Division had been deployed out to Rukongai, some Hollow outbreak requiring their attention, and as the Division's Captain, your lover had gone right along with them, no doubt terrifying everyone in the vicinity with how menacing he was when he was looking for a good fight. He hadn't visited you the entire time, and while you weren't mad at him for that (it wasn't like you were on your deathbed or anything, and you knew how he felt about the place), it had made your hospital stay that much more unbearable.

You were relieved when you were finally discharged. You looked forward to seeing Kenpachi again, but you didn't even know if he was back yet. Gossip was already in short supply in the Fourth Division thanks to Unohana's distaste for it, and with the hostilities between the Fourth and Eleventh Divisions added to that, you hadn't been able to get a word out of anyone on the Eleventh Division's status. It irked you to no end because it was so petty and pointless, but in the end it didn't really matter, because you would soon find out yourself, anyway.

Your walk back to the Eleventh Division made you feel a little better. You still had various aches all over your body, but you felt a little less stiff than you had. It would probably be a while before you limbered up completely, but it was a start. The fresh air was also doing wonders to clear your head, and when that was combined with the bright day around you, you were definitely starting to feel a bit more upbeat and your mood was improving considerably. The only thing that you needed now was Kenpachi and you'd truly feel alive again, and as luck would have it, he had already made it home.

Your shared quarters were dim when you entered them, only a few candles lighting casting out their light while the windows were covered. There were a few articles of clothing slung haphazardly around the room, and on the futon lay your lover. Based on how the covers were pulled down just enough for you to see his exposed chest and the dip of his bare hip, you were guessing that all of his clothes were on the floor. Meaning that he was naked.

You were suddenly feeling much more exuberant, soreness be damned, and you were firmly of the belief that the specimen in front of you would be the perfect diversion for that newfound energy. You just had to wake the sleeping giant up.

After stripping down to your underwear, you made your way over to Kenpachi, easing yourself down beside him and wedging yourself between his extended arm and his torso. He was still sound asleep. You laid your head against his chest, bringing one of your hands up to his stomach where your fingers started to trace, dipping into the crease of every muscle, memorizing each line. That got a sleepy hum out of him, and the arm that you were wedged against lifted up to wrap around you, a sure sign that he was awake.

Suddenly, you felt yourself being pulled over, and you found yourself lying completely on top of Kenpachi, who was groggy but still awake enough to haul you around. His gaze was already lazy as he tried to focus on you, but it softened even more as his grip tightened on you. Your mind was probably playing tricks on you, but you could have sworn that you saw a glimmer of guilt flickering in his eye.

"Missed you."

His voice was even rougher than it usually was, and that had you clenching your thighs together. You always loved his voice, and it never failed to inspire the filthiest of thoughts in your mind.

"They didn't give you too much trouble, did they?"

You couldn't help but laugh a little.

"No, Kenny, the people who were healing me didn't give me too much trouble. What about you? How'd that mission go?"

"Too easy."

"Hm, I'm shocked, really."

"Sorry I didn't make it around."

"It's fine, I know how you feel about going there."

"Doesn't matter, I still should've-"

"Shh."

You held your finger to his lips.

"It's fine, I promise. Although, if you feel bad about it, I've got a few ideas about how you could make it up to me."

He certainly looked tempted, but confliction was also etched into his sfeatures, and you had a pretty good guess as to why.

"You won't hurt me, Kenny."

He seemed to think about it for a moment longer.

"No, I won't."

You were disappointed at first, thinking that he was going to wait until you healed a bit more, but then he adjusted you until your hips were balanced over his, the evidence of how tempted he was by your suggestion pressing along your core, and then he leaned down to kiss you.

It wasn't like how he usually kissed you. Normally, he was always so unrestrained, wild even, intense in a way that always made your body and soul burn for him, but he was much more tame with this kiss. His kiss was calm and slow, his lips taking their time as they memorized the feeling of your own, his movements gentle as his thumbs massaged into your hips. It was so different from what you were used to with him, but that was hardly a bad thing. Your toes still curled at the sweetness of his kiss, and you still yearned for him so strongly that it made your whole body ache.

Kenpachi helped you finish undressing, his hand immediately slipping between your thighs so his fingers could caress your core. You moaned as he brushed his thumb against your clit, a fire slowly starting to kindle in your core as he slipped two fingers inside of you, your sex already slick enough for him to do so with ease. His lips never left yours the entire time, and his free hand began to roam your back, lightly kneading as he went. By the time that he gently stroked your neck, you were desperate for him, more than ready to take him.

Kenpachi made you wait, though, not stopping until he had worked a third finger into your core and made you come on his hand. The orgasm was sweet, washing over you gently as you ground your hips into your lover's hand. You groaned when that hand was taken away from you, feeling empty in its absence, but that groan of disappointment quickly turned into a moan of anticipation when you saw Kenpachi pumping himself with that same hand, spreading your slickness doing his thick, engorged cock.

You soon found yourself hovering over that same cock, the tip of it prodding your waiting entrance, and then your lover lowered you, slowly, easing his cock into you in a way that had you squirming in pleasure. He kept you steady, though, and you were almost in tears by the time that he bottomed out inside of you, so desperate to come on his cock.

If you had been able to ride him like you wanted to, like your body craved to, you would have been frantic, but Kenpachi's pace was anything but that. His hands held your hips in a grip that was as sturdy as it was loving, and he worked you along his cock, keeping your movements show and steady so he wouldn't hurt your prone body. It was as frustrating as it was magnificent, the slow build to your second meeting with euphoria overwhelming in every way, but no matter how much you pleaded, Kenpachi maintained that careful pace.

When you finally came, you cried out your lover's name, the waves of ecstasy washing over you relentlessly and leaving your body limp. Kenpachi kept moving you, chasing after his own satisfaction as you fell against his chest, unable to hold yourself up any longer. You whimpered at the overstimulation, your body sensitive thanks to your lover, but there were still embers of pleasure burning in your belly, and by the time that Kenpachi finally reached his own orgasm, bursting deep inside of you, you came again.

Your third orgasm wasn't as intense as the other two, but it still thrummed through every fiber of your being, leaving you prone and vulnerable as you went through its aftermath. Kenpachi held you close, though, protecting you while you needed him to, something that he swore he would always do, no matter what, forever until the end of time.

[a-closet-emo]

Phic Phight 2k20

Team Ghost

Title: Fenton, the Theory.

Prompt: Wes forms a Conspiracy Club or something similar. A couple people join because they're interested, but it's really just a cover for Wes to rage about how Fenton is Phantom... except he actually convinces at least one person.

Prompt by: @babyhedgehog-cutebutdeadly

Word Count: 1411

Warnings: Gore

Edward Lancer strode down the empty halls of Casper High, cup of coffee in hand and clipboard in the other. It was a Saturday, and the school’s building was a ghost town (well, a ghost town in the more traditional sense), almost completely devoid of life. Today was not the first time he had taken an extra shift to make a little extra cash, and he was in charge of overseeing the clubs that held meetings on weekends and the students who had to take make-up tests.

He passed by the classrooms being used by the clubs, peeking in every now and then. The science club, the drama club, the anime club…. Lancer yawned and took a sip from his coffee. Everything was business as usual. He slowed down as he approached a classroom where a few teens were standing in the doorway. This club wasn’t familiar to Lancer and he looked at the list on his clipboard. Hmmm, let’s see, classroom 5B was scheduled to be used by… the Conspiracy Club? That’s new.

“—whenever he runs off, Phantom shows up!” Wes exclaimed.

“But haven't they been seen in the same room?” one student said as another interjected, “Save it for when the club meeting actually begins, Weston.”

Wes smacked a hand to his forehead and went on, ignoring the latter student. “Ghosts can duplicate! He obviously did that to save his sorry hide from being found out!” the redhead insisted.

This earned Wes a few skeptical stares. “Look, I bet you a couple - no, five - bucks that Fenton’ll come charging out of that classroom,” he said pointing at Lancer’s destination, “ any minute now, saying that he needs to use the bathroom or some other poorly concocted excuse.”

Lancer moved on, shaking his head. Another glance at his list told him that Wes was the club’s president. Of course he would form such a club. Oh well, the boy’s been too worked up lately. It would be good for him to have a healthy outlet to discuss an interest shared by others in an organized and calm setting rather than shrieking his theories at the top of his lungs standing on a table in the cafeteria. Lancer shook his head and moved on. By The Screwtape Letters, he would not forget that eventful lunch.

As he made his way to the classroom where the makeup tests were being held, the only student scheduled to take the tests today burst out the door, sprinting toward Lancer.

“Oliver Twist! Mr. Fenton, what are you—!”

“Sorry, Mr. Lancer, but I really gotta use the bathroom—,” Danny called over his shoulder, the boy already past Lancer. “—super quick I forgot to go earlier and now my bladder is acting up it’s really bad is that cool? Ok bye!”

Lancer stood speechless as Danny spewed out the last part while already sprinting down the hallway in the opposite direction of the nearest toilet.

Nearby, two kids lost ten bucks to Wes.

——

Lancer made his way back to the classroom where Danny was supposed to be taking the makeup tests, his spirits low. He had looked everywhere for the boy. He had gone in the direction Danny had sprinted away, he’d checked all the bathrooms on the floor and the one below it, he’d explored classroom after classroom, he’d gone on the intercom, but the boy seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Lancer sighed deeply. He knew the teen was bright and had lots of potential, if only he would attend class. By this point, he had missed so many classes he was at risk of being held back or even being expelled. Especially now, he just couldn’t understand why the young man was evading a makeup test he had even arrived early for, seeing as how he had been in the classroom before Lancer had even arrived at the school.

It was a shame, really.

As Lancer passed the classrooms currently in use, he heard muffled shouts coming from one of the clubs.

He stopped in front of the Conspiracy Club’s door and sighed. He hoped against hope that the commotion had nothing to do with Wes. He peeked through the door’s window, eavesdropping in case intervention on his part was necessary.

“—AAAND ANOTHER THING!” Wes said, pacing the room and making agitated gestures with his hands. He must have been relishing the only audience he’s had in months.“He always comes back or shows up with mysterious injuries! Cuts, bruises, hell, he even showed up to gym one time limping!—“

A brunette wearing glasses spoke up, “Wes, we know you’re president, but you’ve gotta give us a chance to talk here.”

Wes, however, went on. “—And once, I caught on on video Manson and Foley RESETTING HIS SHOULDER in the boys’ locker room! Of course Fenton later broke my camera, but how can everyone ignore all the other blatant evidence I’ve collected—“

Lancer shook his head as he moved forward, and the sounds of the club were replaced by the silence of the empty halls. The Rats of Nimh, that boy did not stop. He would have a word with Mr. Weston about spreading rumors later.

He finally made it to the classroom where Danny was supposed to be. He stopped in front of his classroom’s built-in window, and was surprised to see the boy already there. He moved to enter the classroom, but something stopped him.

The boy was at his desk, but the lights were dimmed and flickering, the curtains drawn. He was cradling his right arm, and Lancer peered closer through the window, brows furrowing in concern.

Then Danny stretched out his arm, and Lancer paled. The limb was peppered up and down with cuts and bruises, colored green and red by the malfunctioning lights. The arm itself was bent completely in the wrong direction, the lower half of it perpendicular to the floor in a way it never should be. He felt sick, but he stood transfixed, hand on the doorknob, and watched as Danny gritted his teeth and brought his other hand (also covered in scrapes) over to the injured one. There was a split second as Danny grasped his injured arm at the broken area that gave Lancer time to realize what the boy was doing. Then Danny quickly and forcefully pushed his bones into their proper positions, making terrible snapping sounds as he went.

Lancer let out a small whimper. Suddenly, the teen looked directly at Lancer, their eyes locking for a split second before the room’s flickering lights went out. That split second, however, had been enough for Lancer to doubt that the toxic green eyes he had seen were a trick of the light.

He backed away from the door, trembling.

Meanwhile nearby, a classroom door slammed open, and Wes stormed out.

——

“I can’t believe this! I’m the president of this club! I started it! How dare you form a conspiracy to depose me?” the redhead pointed accusingly at the brunette with glasses whose name he had forgotten. She was now standing at the front of the classroom, with the rest of the club standing literally and figuratively by her side.

“Wes, admit it, you made this club just so you could rant about your crazy theory.”

“I-“

“-Which,” she continued, “we wouldn’t have minded so much if you’d simply given everyone else a chance to share their theories and conspiracies. This is a community, and you completely ignored that.” The small crowd around her nodded and murmured their agreement. Someone in the crowd added, “Your theory is dumb, anyway!”

Wes spluttered, looking for a defense. Looking around, however, he realized he was defeated. So he held his head high, turned on his heel, flipped the bird, and marched out of the classroom slamming the door open as he went.

——

The young man stalked past Lancer, mumbling a few insults and curses.

“The theory’s not dumb,” Wes said to no one. “And it’s not a theory! Fenton didn’t even come up with a clever name! Phantom and Fenton sound the same!”

Then he noticed Lancer, whose back was against the wall.

“Uhh, Mr. Lancer?” the boy asked, waving his hand in front of Lancer’s face. With the man unresponsive, Wes shrugged and moved on, thoughts still on his recent kicking from his own club.

——

There was no way Wes was actually right, was there?

Moby Dick, Lancer needed a drink.

[ahsokadrabbles]

𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐫 [dan torrance x reader]

request: First off I love your writing and hope you're doing well :) I was wondering if you could do a Dan Torrance x reader(f) where his shine is drawn to her for some reason-u can pick why- and how they connect through that. Like maybe he could talk to her in her thoughts and what their dynamic would be like together. Thank u! Hope it's not too complicated. -i had a lot of fun writing this request, thank you anon! <3

warnings: age gaps and lots of fluff!!

word count: 2,091

Dan Torrance was passionate about his job at the local retirement home. It was there that he discovered he enjoyed helping people. It also gave him a way to use his shine for good and because of that, he earned the nickname Doctor Sleep from the patients. For the first time in a while, Dan felt purpose, he felt needed. He didn't think anything could make his job better, but that was before you showed up to be the new receptionist. You were one of the youngest employees and had just graduated high school. You were sweet and polite and maybe one of the most beautiful girls Dan had ever seen, but he couldn't say a word to you. He knew that you were all too young for him and worried that you'd turn your nose up at him if he even said a word to you. But what if he could speak to you without showing his face? Dan tried to use his shine at a minimum, but this situation seemed like an exception.

Dan peered around the corner and into the main entryway where you sat at your desk with Azzie the cat in your lap, peacefully stroking his white fur. It was a slow day at the home with very few visitors so you figured it called for a break. "Who's a good kitty?" You cooed, throwing the cat over your shoulder like a rag doll. Azzie caught a glimpse of Dan in the doorway and skirted off to your dismay. Dan slunk around the corner as he quietly cursed the cat for nearly blowing his cover. He realized that it was now or never, he had to say something. He swallowed hard and then deeply concentrated, letting himself enter your mind. "Hey," You lifted up your head, expecting to see a guest at the door, but no one was there. "Hello?" You called out, scanning the space around you. "Please don't freak out-" The same voice said, causing you to now stand up from your seat. "What the hell?" "My name is, Dan. You don't really know me, but-" "Where are you exactly?" You questioned, stood in the middle of the room as stumped as could be. "In your head I guess?" Dan poorly explained. "I'm losing it aren't I?"  "You're not crazy, I promise." You pinched yourself, feeling as if you were trapped in some weird dream, but you could still feel the sting of pain. "If you're in my head, can you see my memories?" You tested. "If I tried, yeah." "Say something no one would know about me."

Dan obliged and began his trek down the long hallway of your mind. The last time he had done this was long ago, but he found it funny how everyone's mind looked so different. Your mind was a massive library with towering shelves made of polished oak, your memories were written in leather-bound diaries that smelt like dust with a hint of your perfume. Dan picked up one of the diaries and flipped the pages in search of your most specific memory. "In middle school, everyone made fun of you for still having stuffed animals at the foot of your bed. It hurt you a lot, but you couldn't bear to get rid of them and you still have them now."  You swallowed the golf ball-sized lump in your throat as you anxiously twiddled your fingers. "Where did I start to hide them when my friends came over?" You asked. Dan was quiet for a moment as he scanned the cream-colored page for an answer. "You pulled back the paneling in your closet and shoved them back there." He replied. "Your mom pitched a fit when she found out that you had torn up your closet, but when she discovered why she felt sorry for you."

You used the heel of your hand to wipe a stray tear as you let out a dry laugh. You hadn't thought about that in so long. You could picture your stuffed animals at the foot of your bed back in your apartment, you really did still have them. "How can you do this?" You puzzled, sitting back down in your chair. "I always called it the shining. It's like being a psychic."  "Are you a ghost?" You innocently asked, earning a chuckle from Dan. "Not since the last time I checked." He wittily replied. "Can you see me?" You further questioned. Dan paused and carefully thought out his next move. You didn't know who he was so technically he could say whatever he wanted. "I see a very beautiful girl behind a desk."  You felt your face heat up as you smiled softly down at the floor. You didn't even know who this man was, why was he making you feel this way? "I-I should get  back to work." You stammered. "Will you talk to me again sometime? It's nice having some company around here, it gets too quiet." "Of course," Dan replied as he smiled to himself.

After a few months of talking, Dan realized why his shine had been attracted to you in the first place; you were lonely. He could already sense this about you, but he saw the full extent of your loneliness when he caught you crying one night. "You okay?" He asked, in his mind, he was projected at the foot of your bed. "Yeah," You sniffed, aggressively rubbing at your eyes which only smeared your makeup worse. "You don't look fine."  "I don't want to talk about it. It's embarrassing." "Y/N, you know you can trust me. My job is to be here for you and I can't do that if you don't tell me what's going on."  "I just feel really alone." You simply put it. "All I have is you. Everyone else I've ever known is out doing something with their lives or has just left me behind. This is gonna sound selfish, but nothing feels like enough anymore." "That's not selfish, Y/N. I know how you feel." Dan solemnly replied. Suddenly, a wave of guilt struck him deep. He had been there for you all of this time, but not psychically there. He felt like a coward because he was watching you break down and fall apart when he could probably walk to your apartment and fully be there for you. "What time do you go to work today?" "I almost forgot!" You groaned, turning your head to glance at the alarm clock on your nightstand. "I've got to be ready in an hour. I should really get going." "Alright, have a good day. Don't be afraid to reach out if you need me." Dan added. "Um, before you go-" You quickly said. "I love you." Dan froze in shock at the words that left your mouth. You had said the three words he had been dying to say to you. "I love you too, Y/N."

You had managed to collect yourself after your pity party and successfully made it to work. Your chest was filled with butterflies after the earlier events you had with Dan. You couldn't believe that you had said you loved him. You had never even seen his face before, but your affection for him was growing harder to hold back. Truthfully; you didn't regret a thing. You spent the first few hours of your shift smiling to yourself and organizing paperwork and suddenly you found yourself on cloud nine. He said I love you back! Maybe you weren't so alone after all. While you swooned over your somewhat secret admirer, Dan paced back and forth down the hall with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Earlier that day he had built up the courage to reveal his identity to you, but that courage got watered down with the passing hours.  "What do you think I should do, Azzie?" Dan asked, crouching down to rub the head of the cat that had been weaving between his legs. The cat purred in reply and stared up at Dan with striking blue eyes. "I bet you're telling me not to be such a coward, huh?" He chuckled as he came up out of his crouched position. "Let's go woo the girl, kitty."

"How's work?" You heard Dan's voice say. You made note of how he sounded a lot less echoey than he normally did, but you brushed it off and figured that it must've been some sort of telekinetic interference that you wouldn't understand. "It's fine." You sighed. "I'm feeling a lot better after talking to you. You were right about-" You lifted your head to look forward as a man's shadow cast itself across your desk. "Hi! how can I help you?" You kindly asked, admiring the handsome smile on his weathered face. You'd seen him around before and recognized him as one of the nurses. You figured he just needed some paperwork or something like that. "It's a lot easier to talk to you in your head." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Dan?" You nearly choked as you shot up out of your chair. "In the flesh." He grinned. You ran out from behind your desk and wrapped him up in a tight hug that nearly knocked him off his feet. "I can't believe it's you!" You exclaimed as you tucked your head beneath his chin. "You've been here with me all this time?" "Yes, and I wish I could make it all up to you. I feel like I've been playing you." Dan explained as he sunk deep into your touch.  He hadn't been hugged in so long, it felt even better than he remembered. "You have nothing to make up for. I just want to know why you kept yourself from me for so long." You said.

You were still holding onto him as if he'd disappear if you let go. He was so warm and soft and he smelt like nice aftershave.  "Let's just say I didn't expect this reaction," Dan replied as you slipped out of his arms and sat on the edge of your desk. Once you got situated, you pulled him over by his hands so he was stood in front of you. "I thought I would come off as some creep because I'm so much older than you. The last thing I would want is to scare you away." "Well, you already scared me pretty bad you started talking to me in my head!" You giggled. "Why would I be bothered by the fact that you're older than me?" You knew what point he was trying to get at, but you wanted to hear it come from his own mouth.  Dan was furiously blushing at this point as his blue eyes shifted to the linoleum floor beneath him. "Doesn't this drive the point home?" He nervously replied as he held up his bouquet of flowers. "You wanted to give these to me because..?" You drawled out, fighting back your smile. "Because I love you." Dan grinned, setting the flowers down beside your thigh. "I love you too, Danny." You hummed, contently smiling up at him.  "Are you free for dinner tonight?" He asked as you held your flowers flush against your chest. "Yes!" You exclaimed as you pulled him into a hug again. "I can't wait!" "Neither can I," Dan replied, hesitantly stroking your face with the back of his hand. "Kiss me?" You softly asked, looking up at him with those sweet, wide eyes. "How could I say no to that?"

You giggled as he pressed his lips against yours and cradled your jaw in his rough hands. You followed suit and wrapped your arms around his neck.  The kiss came to an end after a loud crash cut through the air and the two of you looked over to see nearly everything pushed off of your desk, including the flowers, with Azzie stood in the middle of it all looking as guilty as ever. "Azzie!" Dan scolded, kneeling down to retrieve your fallen paperwork and flowers. "I think Azzie is telling us to get back to work." You teased, resting your hand on the small of Dan's back. "I can take it from here, you should head back before you get in trouble." "I'll pick you up at six o'clock?" Dan said, looking up at you from the mess on the floor. "Perfect." You answered before placing a kiss on his stubbly cheek.

You found it funny how the person you needed most was just down the hall.

[helgabatwrittings]

You and Me Against the World, M’lady, Day 10: Breakdown

Hiii! I’m back! I really wanted to write this one so I skipped all the other days, maybe one day I’ll write them xD.

@ladynoirjuly2020

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“Miraculous Ladybug!” Marinette could not drift her gaze from the man sitting on the floor with his head hanging on his hands in shame. It was a mess. Reporters were already shoving their way through the police barrier, shouting all kind of questions she could not discern, the magical ladybugs had restored the previously destroyed manor, and police officers were already rushing inside.

Everything was happening at slow motion and at the same time, her thoughts were racing at the speed of light. She was trapped inside a bubble of shock while she watched Officer Raincomprix and another agent she had never seen before approaching the man pitifully sitting on the floor right in front of her, and Marinette involuntarily took a step back, the remnants of adrenaline and the swirl of emotions from the battle still lingering inside her.

Adrien…

Her heart missed a beat at the thought of the boy she loved so dearly. He did not deserve any of this. So many questions resurfaced as she focused on him. Where was he? Was he at his room? Was he seeing what was happening from somewhere else in Paris? Had something happened to him when the mansion was completely wrecked by Chat’s cataclysm?

Chat… Her mind focused on an entirely new subject. Marinette kept looking at Gabriel being escorted handcuffed by the police, narrow cold eyes staring back at her. Her mind, however, could only think of her partner for a reason she could not explain. She finally broke her gaze from Gabriel in search of Chat Noir, and that was when she spotted a black shadow rapidly leaping away from all the commotion around them.

Her instinct ordered her to follow him, and so, without any hesitation, she also leapt away from the scene, ignoring the yelling reporters, ignoring Gabriel’s faithful assistant being carried in a stretcher with an oxygen mask on her face and accompanied by two police officers as well. For whatever reason, all she could think about was her partner and Adrien, but the voice in her head, strangely sounding like Tikki’s, told her to follow Chat Noir, and so she did.

She raced through the rooftops, always behind him in what seemed like an endless chase, until he suddenly stopped on a familiar balcony. A remarkably familiar balcony whose owner she knew was not in her room. Said owner was currently chasing after her partner, leaping from rooftop to rooftop until she could get him. She ignored how much all her muscles were throbbing, still recovering from the exhausting battle they had endured.

Marinette stopped right behind Chat Noir watching as he gripped the iron balcony fence with all his forces, he was shivering uncontrollably despite the warm summer night. A weight dropped in her gut and she felt nauseous.

“Chat?” She approached him slowly as if she were trying to get closer to a scared and wounded animal.

He did not react.

“Chat? Please…” Her gloved hand stretched trying to reach to him. He flinched before she could even touch him.

“Kitty, what’s wrong?” Her voice was quivering. She had thought that defeating Hawkmoth would be a moment of elation, of victory, but all she could feel was defeat. Why did he have to be Gabriel? Paris won that night, but she knew that somewhere in the city, a boy had just lost everything.

She heard Chat releasing a shivering sigh. He had his back turned to her, but Marinette knew that tears were strolling down his face, just like she could feel the moisture in her skin.

“Chat… talk to me… please…” She whispered knowing that she could not control her voice if she talked any louder. Marinette took a step forward.

Chat’s shoulders were shaking, his head was hanging low, staring at the ground below. “We won…” She heard him say. It was supposed to be a celebration, but his toned revealed the complete opposite, it came out as nothing louder than a broken breath. Well, Marinette would have to work with it.

“We did, Kitty…” She smiled softly, her eyes never leaving the back of his head.

She saw him covering his eyes with his hands, his entire weight fully supported by the iron fence of her balcony. “We won…” He repeated, letting out a sad chuckle.

Her heart constricted at the shattered state her partner seemed to be. It didn’t make sense. They had met Gabriel before, but she could never imagine that this would affect Chat Noir so much! Gabriel was a secluded man, the only family she knew he had was Adrien, and, well, he was also close to his assistant Nathalie, he was closer to her than anyone else could ever be. Could Chat be a relative too? Did he know the Agrestes personally? He had said that he was a model, perhaps he has worked with Adrien before. Her thoughts were interrupted by Chat’s quiet sniffs.

Marinette took another step closer to her partner.

“Ladybug…” Her breathing stopped. “You should go… People down there need answers for what happened tonight…” Chat was speaking slowly, his voice unsteady, mirroring his stance.

“Chat…” Was he seriously trying to pretend that everything was fine? “I won’t leave your side… Not like this… Kitty, I care about you!” Her heart doubled its pace.

She saw as he increased his grip on the fence. Marinette heard the dark chuckle Chat emitted. “You care for me, but you don’t love me…” his voice broke in the end as if he were coming to that conclusion as he spoke.

“Kitty…” How was it possible that her chest felt so cold, yet her face was getting warmer and warmer? She was doing everything in her power to be strong for her partner, to contain the tears that were gathering on her eyes.

“It’s okay, Ladybug…” She flinched at his numb statement, the absence of any of the nicknames he had so sweetly given her, to which she always pretended to be offended whenever he used them, heavy in her chest. “I should be used to it… That’s just my life…” Marinette heard him gasp, “I’m unlovable.” He stated as it was a well-known fact, and the coldness she was feeling grew ten-fold.

"I'm unlovable... Isn't it ridiculous?" He suddenly turned to her with a fractured smile adorning his face, with tears streaming down his cheeks, "No matter what I did, I was never enough for him..." He sighed, "I did everything he asked of me, never fought back. The fencing, the Chinese classes, the piano, the ph- photoshoots, it was all for him..."

Her heart shattered as her brain suddenly halted all function. Only one thought was present in her mind.

ADRIEN.

She was staring at him in shock, suddenly the two boys who threatened to rip her heart in half became one, and he was so broken. Marinette had always thought that Hawkmoth's defeat would be her greatest victory, but it turned out to be his greatest loss.

Chat Noir, Adrien didn't even notice how stunned she was, petrified as her mind zeroed on his face. He wasn't looking at her, instead, his emerald eyes were glued to a spot on the balcony floor, "I did all that for him, and it was never enough", he looked back at her with a broken smile, "It would never be enough. I would never be enough because I'm not her..." he paused, “And she will never come back…”

Her fingers hurt like they were being stabbed by thousands of little pins and needles, she wanted to throw up. Adrien had been the partner who had stood by her side since the beginning, he had died for her. Chat was her kind, gentle and lonely classmate who had spent most of his life trapped in his room. His father, that man used him as a puppet, twisting him and twisting him until he finally broke, drilling into his head that he had to earn love, that he was unlovable because he had not worked hard enough to earn it. Her heart broke for him.

Her hands gripped his shoulders before she even noticed it, "Adrien, look at me." she felt him flinch, and Marinette gathered all her energy to keep herself steady, she couldn't cry now, she needed to be strong for him, "You are enough. You. Are. Enough", she punctuated every word making sure they got into his thick skull. "You are enough for Nino, for Alya, for Chloé, for Kagami, for everyone who ever had the luck of meeting you. You are enough for me! Adrien, we all love you. We love your kindness, your sunshine personality, your infinite patience, and I cannot believe I am going to say this, but I even love your poorly timed puns! So, you, Adrien Agreste, are enough for me!" She did not say the words she wanted to say ever since she had fallen in love with him. He was already overwhelmed by everything that had crashed into his life in the last hours. Marinette decided to wait.

"Marinette..." He closed his eyes, resting his forehead on the top of her hair, she felt his mouth move and a sob racked through his body, "You are m’lady…", her heart stopped, and she felt like her spirit had left her body as she heard those words. She knew who he was. He knew who she was. The secrets between them had finally ceased to exist.

“Marinette…” Adrien repeated her name, and she felt the water pooling from his eyes, as sobs and gasps replaced any coherent speech he had intended to make.

Adrien lost his forces and dragged them both to the balcony's wooden floor, he hugged her deeply. She was his lifeline, connecting him to this cold new reality. She hugged him back, his head resting on the crook of her neck while she softly petted the back of his soft hair, while earth-shattering sobs shook his entire form. Marinette finally let go of the tears gathered in her own eyes. Tomorrow she could tell the world what had happened that night. Tomorrow she could deal with the stolen miraculous that were finally back to where they belonged. Tomorrow she could tell him that she had always and would always love him. Now though, all that mattered was to survive the night, all that mattered was him and only him.