#and like a solid 20 chapters were missing for a while…

[obstinaterixatrix]

Han Yu-na gave up being a girl.. but secretly loves girly things. She encounters Lee Yu-na with one big misunderstanding which creates something brand new….

happy femslash february, here’s a 60 chapter webtoon about office ladies

the way I generally pitch this series is it’s yuri that feels a little more like BL, because 1) it’s high-energy shenanigans, 2) the main character… kinda sucks LMAO. like, it doesn’t come from a malicious place, and some of it is very much exaggerated webtoon shenanigans (like kidnapping someone for a makeover), but in general lee yu-na is manipulative, fake as hell, pushier than she should be, and more than a little inconsiderate. I love her.

since lee yu-na and han yu-na are extremely different characters, it takes a solid while before they get on the same page

worth the read if you want to see office ladies being kinda stupid together <3

[yellowbunnydreams]

Bunny Ears (Part 20) ~William Afton X F! Reader~

~Fluffy husband is always welcome! He's so dorky in this chapter it's almost cringy but we all need some golden-retriever Henry Emily in our life too. Sorry it took so long to write, I was really struggling with some writers block for a while so I apologise for any issues with the flow~

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* Want more or something different? *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Tag List: @ruh--roh-raggy @h4nluv @sleepy---head @do-double-g @confiscated-peaches-main @dij-ology @viviennemuerte @robin-the-enby @shari-berri @randymeeksisafinalgirl @hallow1090 @aponia-yue @likoplays @dilflover-3 @oak-leafs @phd-in-fuckery @weirdoartist21 @nicolezghostz @fauine @emmbny

Sorry if I missed you on the tag-list!

CW: Minors DNI, (18+ ONLY), Female Reader, legal age gap (Reader- 20's, William - 30's), divorce/processing divorce, Afton being a sarcastic hot ass, grumpy x sunshine . Faz-Fuck TM

The sweet smell of something syrupy and sugar, fruit hidden beneath it, filled your nose in the morning. Turning over in the large bed, your hand reached out for William only to find the mattress cool beneath your fingertips and making your eyes snap open as sit up. Wincing slightly as your body twinged unhappily and you blinked away the last of the sleep clinging to your eyes before your legs slipped out of the bed and padded barefoot across the cool wooden floor.

The space looked so different in the daylight, a window built into the slanted roof opposite the bed let in a lot of natural light, chiffon curtains fluttering in the slight breeze as you realised it was open. His bedding was black sheets with a blue comforter and black pillows, a stark contrast to the pale walls and matching the dark wood of the furniture around the place. It weirdly felt appropriate that William straddled the line between open and airy space with darker elements.

Your footsteps were silent as you pressed on through the house, coming to the old stairs and pulling down William's t-shirt around your body before you reached the bottom. Hearing humming coming from the kitchen, you managed to peek your head around the corner and smiled as you saw his broad back to you. Still wearing those sweatpants that he'd pulled on last night, but clearly focused on cooking as he partly turned to grab something from the counter, his sharp features looking handsome in the soft lighting as his greying stubble made his cheeks look a little more hollow. His salt and pepper hair messy like he'd just woken up, squinting as you realised that this was the first time you were properly seeing him without his glasses.

"Welll good morning handsome." You called sleepily, watching as he practically jumped out of his skin and hissed as the distinct sound of somebody slamming their foot directly into the nearest solid surface was only just covered by the sharp intake of breath. Your hands flying to cover your mouth as you gasped too even though you were completely safe. "Oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry!"

"You're alright bunny, I didn't see you there." He laughed, crouching down to inspect any damage, more to his kitchen than himself before standing up tall once again and gently padding his way around the counter, his thick arms wrapped around you and holding you closely in a warm hug.

"How's my cute little superstar doing this morning?" He asked, kissing the top of your head as your arms wrapped around him in kind.

"Superstar? And I'm good...sore but good." Feeling him squeeze you tighter as he pulled back and inspected you with a frown, squinting in what looked like a slightly accusatory fashion.

"Bunny, baby-girl, you should have lead with that!" He began to ramble slightly as he focused on you, holding onto your shoulders and stroking his thumb over the curve of the joint appreciately as he seemed to tune you out almost in his slight panic.

"Will-"

" I'm sorry you're sore if I went too hard last night say and we don't have to do that again! Gosh I'm so stupid, I should have given you aftercare and made sure..no maybe I should have prepped you more-" Your own brows raised in slight amusement as you looked up at him, head cocked to one side as his voice slipped into that deep gravel.

"William."

"I am such a fool, an old fool! Bunny please can y-"

"WILLIAM AFTON." You finally broke through to him as he seemed to jolt at the use of his full name. Tensing before your hands reached up and cupped his cheeks lightly, thumbs stroking them over his stubbled cheeks and feeling him relaxing, torn from his little concerned spiral.

"William Afton, I love you. And last night was beautiful, and I wouldn't change it for the world, you hear me?" Watching his expression soften as you spoke,

"I do bunny...sorry I just..I wanted it to be special and I wanted to make you breakfast in bed and bring it up to you because you're special to me..I love you too."

"Good, now you've stopped panicking...is it bad timing to mention whatever you're cooking is burning?" Looking over his shoulder and towards the pan that was producing a little black smoke and smelt acrid, making William snap his head around and release you as he sprinted to the stovetop, swearing profusely as you dissolved into laughter over the whole situation.

If it was any indication as to what mornings were like in the Afton household, you were certain that you could live with that for the rest of your life.

It took William about another hour to clean up breakfast, or rather the cremated remains of the original breakfast plan and then to make some pancake batter, making sure that you had heaps of syrup, butter and cream on your pancakes that he even cheesily poured into a little heart shape.

It was entirely silly, but it was so cute that it made you smile even as you tucked in. Moaning at the taste on your tongue and William occasionally stealing bites from your fork and you from his as in the morning light, you both felt that playful spark passing between you. The cuteness of the morning suddenly broken by the telephone on his kitchen wall which had escaped your notice the night before ringing, William rolled his eyes and stood up, cracking his back before he picked up the reciever and crossed his broad arms across his chest, pressing a button on the wall unit so you could hear the full conversation.

"Morning to you Henry."

"Good morning Wil- Hey, how did you know it was me?" You stifled a giggle around a mouthful of pancake as William rolled his eyes again and rubbed his hand over his face.

"It's always you, the telemarketers don't even call this early anymore." William sighed before leaning against the wall, giving you a playful wink as he spoke to your mutual friend. "Anyway, you're not just calling for fun are you?"

"No, right! Yes... The reason I called!" You nearly choked as you could hear the mild confusion in Henry's voice before returning to it's naturally chipper state, probably forgetting why he was confused in the first place. "The reason I called is that I really need you to come in Will."

"It's my day off."

"Yes, I know I know, but one of the arcades isn't acting right and it's spitting out tickets when it's hitting low scores and nothing on the jackpot."

"Is it a One-Dee-Aye-Zero-Tee error?" He asked, taking a moment before you realised what he spelt and trying not to laugh even more as William gave you that confident smirk again that made your chest tighten up.

"No? You know I'm not familiar with all the error codes like you are! Please, please just come in for half an hour?"

"I uh...I would love to Henry but I genuinely can't." He replied, looking suddenly slightly sheepish as he moved his weight from one leg to the other, making you raise an eyebrow and point to yourself. William simply made a non-commital motion in return.

"Why? Wills if this is about your little guest that I presume is still there, just bring her along and I'll pay both of you for the day!"

"I can't drive, Henry."

There was a pregnant pause as you looked at the taller, older man with a furrowed brow and confusion written over your expression. Watching as even through the stubble you could see his cheeks flushing red and practically hear the gears of Henry's mind turning.

"Damn Will, I mean..did you like...break... it? Cause uh...wow that's mildly impressive almost if she-"

"No. No! God, no! Nothing like that!" William rubbed his hand over his face as he turned even more sheepish looking and could barely look in your direction as he tried to mumble something into the phone, only making you raise your eyebrows again. You could just hear Henry through the phone asking him to speak up however, clearly struggling to understand his friend as he tried to be discreet before William got frustrated and spoke loudly again.

"Look, I broke my damn glasses last night okay? I'm blind as fuck right now." You blinked in surprise as you vaugely recalled William throwing his glasses as they fogged up and bursting into uncontrolled giggled. Trying to clamp your hands over your mouth as you recieved a squinting death glare from your boyfriend as Henry spoke up again.

"You....How? Wait no, I don't want to know! But I do...but...how? How do you even???..." confusion evident in his voice as you tried and failed to stop your laughter.

"Look so I can try to get in but-"

"OH MY GOD IF YOU BROKE YOUR GLASSES WHAT DID SHE BREAK?!" you were unable to hide it as you burst out laughing, hearing Henry calling your name panickedly through the crackle of the telephone. "SPEAK TO ME, IF YOU NEED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE SAY 'PINEAP-"

William slammed the phone down on his friend as you looked at each other and burst out laughing again after a moment. Jokingly holding up some fingers and asking how many there were before William flipped you off and came over to kiss you, humming against your lips as he smiled into your laughter.

~~

"Bunny, we're going to be late." William laughed as he poked his head around the door to his room, looking at you sat on his bed and turning up the cuffs of the jeans he had leant you so that they wouldn't drag on the floor. He had had to lend you clothes for the day since you certainly weren't being let into Freddy's wearing that cute little dress from the night before, but his jeans drowned you even with one of his belts as tight it would go and a flannel shirt over a t-shirt.

You looked like you were a kid playing dress-up, but William simply smiled and padded over to you, wrapping his arms around you as he carefully tucked and adjusted the flannel to sit a little better on your much smaller frame.

"You look very cute though." Grinning as compared to his own lazy black t-shirt, opened pale yellow plaid shirt and jeans, you looked like a mini-him. Sticking your tongue out slightly as you shook your head.

"I look like a kid."

"No, you look like my beautiful bunny," He chastised playfully, giving you a slightly squinty smile as you noticed the bulge of his glasses tucked into his top pocket. It had admittedly been quite amusing when he revealed that they were really broken, one lens popped out and cracked so even if he could force it back into the frame, the vision would still be way off. You didn't remember him throwing it that hard the night before, but you supposed that you were focused on a lot more intense things instead.

"You're always going to say that, you love me." Rolling your eyes and watching as William raised an eyebrow before giving you a stern look and tutting through his teeth.

"I do love you, and here I thought you were a good girl."

"I am!"

"Good girls don't act like brats, they accept when their boyfriend says they're cute." Chuckling as he held your hand and kissed your forehead, humming against your skin before squeezing your hand and looking at you sheepishly again. "Although...I do need to ask a really big favour."

Crossing your arms after a moment, even in his squinty state, you looked all too cute and not in the least bit intimidating. Afton blinked and gave you that lopsided smile that made you melt, wrapping his arms around you and holding you close as he put his chin on your head. Breathing in and realising with a pang of both sadness and comfort that you smelled a little like his cologne as well as your own sweet perfume.

"I need you to drive us to work," He asked quietly, nuzzling into your shoulder as he dropped his head down, feeling you gently shake yours. "Please, I know you have a drivers licence."

"William..." You whined, feeling him turn his head and begin to place scratching kisses against your sensitive skin on your neck, murmuring 'please' against you between each one that made you think back to each delicious kiss the night before, groaning softly as you cradled the back of his head. "You're not playing fairly kissing me like that."

"You'll learn I don't always play fairly, bunny. Pretty please? I promise I'll take you to breakfast afterwards." Hearing the almost childish whine to his voice, you shook your head and laughed, carefully bringing his head up and kissing him as you looked at your handsome, older boyfriend and boss pouting like he hadn't gotten the candy he wanted.

"We've had breakfast, Will, both cremated and edible.

"Then I'll treat my pretty little bunny to ice-cream and cake and all the attention I can humanly lavish upon you?"

"Fine, twist my arm then. You're showing me how the hell to drive your car, and I'm not responsible for any scratches or paint work damage!" Kissing him again before taking his hand and walking down the stairs together, William holding your hand tightly and glad for the excuse that he could keep holding it for just a little bit longer.

~~

Driving through the small town and towards Freddy's whilst trying not to crash in William Afton's car that you definitely could not afford to replace, and you really hoped no cops pulled you over to ask for your registration details, was more stressful than you could have ever wanted to experience. Sure, you had a driving licence, but you didn't own a car and you were sure that the last time you had actually driven a vehicle was during your driving exam. But Afton had made it as comfortable for you as possible, and even allowed you to get out a block down from Freddy's and walk, since you both agreed that you weren't sure it was quite time to tell people about your relationship.

It felt strange, being inside the pizzeria without your uniform on now, and you called back to your first time arriving there, how nervous you had felt and how overwhelming the bright lights, colours and noise was. Now it felt strangely like home, like it really was a place where fantasy and fun could come to life.

Stacey wrapped you up in a bear hug once you got in, taking you slightly by surprise as you watched William slip in and through to the back hall to get his tool kit to fix the arcade, moving slower than normal to avoid earning an additional moniker to 'Wiffle Bat Willy' by punting a child in his blind state.

"Oh, em, gee! You're here on you're day off! Mr. Emily said you were sick on Friday and went home early and I was so worried!" The young woman gushed as she held you close and then at arms length, raising her eyebrow as you realised she had finally noticed what you were wearing. "And this...honestly isn't what I thought you would have as a personal style."

"Gee, thanks for your total vote of confidence!" You laughed, making your work friend laugh too as you shook your head. "It was what was clean and available." Not a total lie.

"Girl, stick a...darn...wash on, wear a skirt or something, god knows I would if I could right now!" Rolling your eyes at her statement, you looked over her shoulder at the groups of children running around carrying paper cups filled with half-strength sodas and hyper from pizza grease and carpet candy, raising your eyebrow as she followed your line of sight.

"Are you sure you want to keep to that statement?"

"On second thoughts, I have enough stains to get out of my clothes without having to scrub my legs raw to get off fizzy-Faz."

"Come on, find me a seat and I'll get a drink or something, I have to hang out for a bit anyway." It was Stacey's turn to raise an eyebrow now as you blushed, wondering if you had given too much away before she looked at the already blazing sunshine outside and sighed.

"Yeah, you don't want to be out there at the moment unless you're in some air conditioned car or bus. Come on, let's get you a table and I'll even get you a colouring sheet if you play nicely with the other kids!"

"Ha-ha, very funny." Ribbing her playfully in the ribs as you managed to snag a seat by the stage, prime real estate at Freddy's, and had a good view of the arcade, where you could see Will knelt on the floor and opening the back of a machine that had the 'out of order' panel placed over the screen.

"Oh look, you get a great view of Afton too!" Stacey laughed, making you blush more and smacking her arm as she retreated to just out of your reach. Cackling as she clearly enjoyed teasing you about what she presumed was a crush on your boss. "He's rubbing off on you too, that looks like one of his shirts."

You weren't sure how much hotter your cheeks could get as she disappeared to continue working, leaving you to sit and wait with your day dreams about what you would rather be doing as William Afton glanced over and gave you a soft smile that made you melt all over again.

[cursedvibes]

I like the tragedy of Gojo “always being seen and used as a weapon by jujutsu society” Satoru not even finding peace in death and still being used as a weapon as if he’s some flesh mecha but that is literally the only good crumb I could muster from this chapter (and some kinda solid Gojo characterization in his talk with his students).

The constant sidelining of Yuuji is not making me excited, it’s making me annoyed. Yuuta and Sukuna didn’t need a revenge battle- the only thing connecting them is the motif of love and Yuuta already got his shit rocked in like 3 chapters 😭. Leave Gojo’s poor corpse alone.

Yeah, him seeing himself as a weapon fits with his The Strongest mindset. So I'm not that surprised he's fine with it, but you'd expect the others to have a little more sense. Kusakabe seems to have been the only one who had a strong moral opposition to this and I imagine Yuuji would have too, but he wasn't asked. The thing with Yuuta giving up his humanity to become stronger was set up, but him refusing to do that was the only thing that set him apart and spoke for him as a character. Now he just buys into the Strongest ideology like everyone else. Well, guess he can die like them too then. He's the only Special Grade alive anyway (being new gen I thought Gege might want to keep him alive, but with that mindset I doubt it). But then he's like mememe nobody can help except for me, so I have no choice but to take over Gojo's body.

Yuuji and Todo were handling Sukuna just fine. We got a confirmation last chapter that everyone except Choso made it out of the Furnace blast. Maki could've helped with Soul Blade for immediate back-up. If things are so dire that Yuuta has to resort to this, then that should've been shown. Although him being selfless in a selfish way is consistent I guess. But the timing of it was still wrong. I thought whatever that apparition ended up being could be a distraction, so Yuuji could contact Megumi, rip out Sukuna's heart, further tear at his soul, literally anything useful. But nope, he gets shoved aside, so we can get Sukuna vs Gojo 2.0. Thank God, that's exactly what I was missing right now...another character who has no connection with Sukuna throwing himself at him to die. Just drag this out even further why don't we? Maybe Yuuji and Todo will help this time, so it's not as much of an idle standby as last time, but it's still...why?

Also, we just established that gaining new techniques takes skill. You'd especially expect that to apply to six eyes and Limitless. Yuuta would see the world completely different. Even Gojo had a learning curve and took at least 20 years to get to the level he's on now. But Yuuta has been in that body for a minute and can already use Unlimited Void. What a fucking genius. Nobody does it like him. Why not leave the rest to him as well? Strength is all that matters right?

Also, while the humanity stuff and Yuuta being Gojo's successor was foreshadowed, he still has zero(0) connection to either Kenjaku or Sukuna. Sukuna even less than Kenjaku. With Kenjaku you kind of have the justification that he wanted to put Geto's body to rest (for Gojo), but that's it and that doesn't justify him having that level of involvement. With Sukuna it's literally just: he's a bad guy and needs to be defeated. And I guess Yuuta buys now into his mindset as well. But that is consistent you could say because he never had much of a thematic connection with Geto either aside from "please don't kill my friends because I put all my self-worth on them".

Sorry for the rant 😅 just had to get it all out of my system

[sissy-the-siren]

Borderlands: Debt or Alive

"You seem to misunderstand who you're talking to," I growled. "We did this to save you. We're the good guys." "Funny," Fittzwiggins said, a cruel smile curling his lip. "I seem to remember one Handsome Jack saying much the same thing."

Things I was expecting from Borderlands: Debt or Alive--my girls, guns, and fun.

Things I got from Borderlands: Debt or Alive--my girls, guns, fun, Rhysha goodness, Fiona being Very Gay, existential crises, and class revolution.

A solid entry into the Borderlands universe, Anthony Burch doesn't disappoint, returning with the same wit and charm to his writing that made me fall in love with Borderlands 2. Fast-paced and action-packed, this isn't your standard novel and reads almost like a movie script, but it's so much fun, and, well, so MUCH FUN!!!

(If you haven't played Borderlands 2 and Tales from the Borderlands, this book might not make much sense or be enjoyable for you, just a head's up.)

After running and gunning for so long, when con artist sisters Fiona and Sasha finally get their Big Break, they find themselves wallowing in apathy, missing...what, they're not quite sure, but whatever it is, it's preventing them from enjoying their new life of luxury. It only takes Sasha's second death, Fiona's first death, Deathtrap's destruction (don't worry, he gets rebuilt!), Gaige's torture (twice), and an uprising against Eden-5's uber wealthy Elite for them to figure it out, but they get there!

I was hoping--PRAYING--for some Rhysha goodness, and Burch more than delivered; in-between bouts of dealing with her own mortality and the cold realization that nothing awaits her after death, Sasha examines her life, where she's at, what her future holds, and where Rhys slots into it all. I've compiled the following list of Rhysha moments:

Chapter 1 p. 13-14 - Taking place during the last battle with the Guardian, Sasha reflects over the events of Tales, with an emphasis on how she developed feelings for Rhys (and vice versa), largely due to how loyal he was to his friends and the lengths he'd go to protect them. p. 16 - Sasha's death scene, where Rhys is sobbing uncontrollably (described as "heartbreak" by Fiona) and Sasha thinks to herself that he's "[d]umb as a rock" but that he has a "big heart".

Chapter 2 p. 20 - Fiona wonders if she's going to be stuck in the Vault forever while Rhys is free to go and hit on her sister. p. 25 - Sasha's eyes light up with joy, something they haven't done since they were kids--and, Fiona adds in a footnote, since Rhys started flirting with her (she tries not to think about that though). p. 27 - Sasha wishes for a Vaultlander collectible from the Vault, something she learned about from Rhys. He told her about them when she "accidentally brushed my hand against Rhys's arm and he got so nervous he wouldn't stop talking about these things for twenty minutes." Fiona tells her that she can do better, to which Sasha tells her to stop being "such a mom" and that Rhys is "a nice guy".

Chapter 4 p. 39 - The sisters discuss the Vaultlander, Rhys, and whether or not Rhys has ever taken his Vaultlander figures out to play with them (he told Sasha that he hasn't because they're a "sound financial and artistic investment"; the sisters both think he has though).

Chapter 6 p. 50-51 - NOT Rhysha related, but just one--and the most significant--of the many sections that screamed "FIONA LOVES WOMEN!!!!" to me. There is no hetero explanation for the amount of detail with which Fiona observes Holloway. NONE. Chapter 9 p. 71 - Sasha says that meeting Rhys couldn't have been for nothing. Chapter 10 p. 79 - Sasha is able to get a debt cuff off of Fiona because Rhys taught her how to hack. This comes in handy several times throughout the book. Chapter 15 p. 111 - Fiona notes that Sasha ECHOchats with Rhys almost every day. Chapter 16 p. 114-116 - Half of this chapter is Sasha talking to Rhys. Both admit that they miss each other, even if they're in a weird are-we-or-aren't-we place. Sasha thinks that Rhys is a kind, handsome himbo with ambition. Rhys blushes while saying she means a lot to him and Sasha realizes that she likes him. Chapter 31 p. 220-226 - Soooo much happens in these pages! The first thing that comes up is that Sasha notices the beginning of Rhys's mustache and that he's altered his voice. The tone turns serious when Rhys asks if he can call her his girlfriend, to which Sasha apologizes and says that she's not ready for that until she knows that she can promise him with certainty the future that he deserves. Rhys understands and is willing to do whatever is necessary as long as she's happy, to which Sasha admits to herself that she can see them being more--eventually. Things take a MORE serious turn when Rhys asks her how she's doing and Sasha tells him the truth--the full truth, which isn't something she normally would do, but feels comfortable doing so with Rhys because she cares about him and actually wants to let him in to her life. Rhys helps the sisters get back on track and renews their fighting spirits. Chapter 32 p. 227 - Fiona once against questions why Sasha is crushing on Rhys when his brilliant idea to disguise the guns he sent to them is by writing "Not Guns" on the pallets. Sasha says that his heart is in the right place, to which Fiona responds, "[w]here his brain should be." p. 228 - Sasha quotes Rhys ("Mustaches are a facial accoutrement that convey trustworthiness, masculinity, and culture without ever needing to leave the cozy confines of one's upper lip."), much to Fiona's horror, and when his parroted words succeed in swaying the secbot to let the "mustache wax" (pallets of guns) through, Sasha gets an air of "see-Rhys-can-be-useful-who-looks-silly-now" about her. Chapter 34 p. 237-242 - Taking up the bulk of this chapter, Fiona and Sasha argue over Sasha and her inability to make up her mind when it comes to whether or not she wants to be in a relationship with Rhys. Fiona points out that they're not living out of a caravan anymore, not constantly on the run, and that Rhys is a "decently handsome idiot who worships the ground you walk on", going so far to admit that she--Fiona--even likes him. She encourages Sasha to make a decision one way or the other--it's only fair to the both of them. Chapter 36 p. 255 - Fiona hands Sasha a note that Rhys handwrote for her that he sent with the gun shipment. A "big, dumb smile" appears on Sasha's face. Epilogue p. 308-309 - Fiona sends a text-only ECHOcomm to Rhys. Fiona thanks Rhys for everything he's done for her, and for being good to Sasha (of course, she follows up by saying that if he's ever NOT good to her, she'll hunt him down and fill his brain with bullets). She reluctantly congratulates him on officially being Sasha's "long-distance boyfriend".

…and there you have it! RHYSHA GOODNESS IN THE YEAR 2024 THANK YOU ANTHONY BURCH!!!!!

Even without all that Rhysha goodness, Debt or Alive is a solid book and a wild ride with plenty of love, laughs, and anarchy. (Side note: The sisters' last name is Dillon? Dillon?????)

[sparklypinkflightsuit]

Star Crossed: Chapter Five

Pairing: Detective David Loki x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Cheating, Intimacy Issues, Slow Burn, Sexual Themes, Smut, Investigative Inaccuracies. I think that’s it?

Summary: Loki can’t keep himself away from you.

- Chapter Four Here -

———————————

18+ only beyond this point

———————————————

The next few days, Loki promised himself he would try to keep away from you, and threw himself into his work.

The day after he spent the evening with you, he went to the golf course to question Melanie. She admitted to the emails, saying how Carter was this attractive older man who frequented the golf course, they struck up a relationship but it quickly faded and he stopped coming around. She said she hadn’t seen him in a few weeks and they’d ended things on sour terms.

Loki thanked Melanie and said he’d be in touch if he needed anything else.

He spent a few days trying to track down the women in the photos using Rodger’s facial recognition technology, and interviewed the few he could find, all of whom admitted to having a brief sexual relationship with Carter, but none knowing where he was or having seen him in some time.

Loki was quickly growing frustrated at the constant dead ends, and even more so that he hadn’t seen you in a few days.

Just as Loki was about to give up for the day and go home, he got a call from the forensics team leader, Marco.

“Marco, what have you found, give me some good news.” Loki asked, hopefully.

“Hey boss, we found three sets of prints in the vehicle. One is the fiancés, one we can only assume is Carters and the third belongs to a Mrs Taylor Johnson. She was booked in 3 years ago for shoplifting, nothing since then, but the address we have listed is 92 Fitzpatrick Way, might be worth checking there.” He confirmed.

“Marco, you’re the man. Thank you.” Loki hung up and left the station, he knew it was late but he had to follow this lead, as it was the only solid one he had in a while.

He drove the 20 minutes to 92 Fitzpatrick Way and pulled up outside the house. The lights were on inside and he could hear a man’s voice bellowing. “What did I fucking tell you about that goddamn console. Turn it off and come and eat your dinner!” The stern voice echoed.

“Fuckin’ A.” Loki sighed to himself, he knew this would be an awkward conversation.

He knocked sharply and heard the voice say “Who the fuck?” Before the door flew open. An angry man with a red face in a white tank top stood in the doorway.

“Can I help you?” He said.

Loki smiled and pulled out his badge, “Hello sir, I’m Detective David Loki from the Conyers Police Department, I’m hoping to speak to Mrs Taylor Johnson, does she still live here?”

“Yeah she still lives here. What’s this about?” The man asked angrily.

“We’re conducting a missing persons investigation sir, and we think she may be connected somehow. We have to rule out all possibilities. May I speak to her?”

“She’s not home right now, she went to visit her mothers for a few days.” He said, his anger calming down somewhat.

“Do you know when she will be back?” Loki asked.

“She didn’t say. Would you like me to call you when she’s back, Detective?” The man offered.

“Please.” Loki handed him his card. “Thank you sir, have a good rest of your evening.”

Loki left feeling slightly deflated, but at least this was something.

He went home and spent the night frustrated and bored, unable to take his mind off of you.

He thought about how your eyes lit up when you laughed, how you bit your lip when you were worried or nervous. Loki felt himself growing hard thinking about you biting your lip, and how good you felt against him when he kissed you. His breathing shuddered and his heart rate sped up as he tried to push the thoughts away, palming himself once over his trousers to relieve some of tension before he stood up and went to take a shower, hoping that would help.

Forcing himself to sleep that night was difficult, and when he eventually did, his dreams were plagued with you and Carter, happy together again, and Loki being discarded into the background. He woke up sweating the next morning, his mood worse than usual.

Loki went to work and tried to find what he could on Mrs Taylor Johnson.

He found that she was 25, married young and had 3 children with her husband, the man he had met yesterday. Her mother lived about an hour away in the next town and Loki had managed to find an address.

He drove to the little town and parked outside Mrs Johnson’s mothers house.

He knocked on the door and a woman opened it, looking surprised to see him.

“Hello ma’am, I’m looking for Taylor Johnson, her husband told me I might find her here?” Loki said, holding up his badge.

“Oh, she isn’t here. Is she missing?” Her mother asked, not overly surprised.

“No, no. Probably just a misunderstanding. Sorry to worry you ma’am.” He grunted and was about to walk away when she called him back.

“Officer! She might be with her boyfriend. I’m not sure how much her husband told you, but she’s been seeing someone else.” She said, looking ashamed for spilling her daughters secret.

“Do you know the boyfriends name, ma’am?” He asked, hands in his pockets as he turned around to face her.

“Yes sir, his name is Carter, can’t recall the last name.” She nodded.

“Thank you ma’am. That’s all I need for now. Have a good day.”

Climbing back into his car he sighed heavily. Still no sign of either of them but now at least he had a solid lead. Find Taylor and he’d find Carter.

Loki made the drive back to Conyers, his mind plagued with the idea that he’d lose you the moment he found Carter, but he knew he had a duty to uphold and had to do everything in power to find him. His mind raced and he kept thinking about the dream he had, we’re you were in Carters arms instead of his. Loki realised that was not something he was willing to deal with, so instead of heading to the station, he drove to your house.

He quickly closed the distance to your front door and knocked impatiently, blinking hard a few times.

You threw the door open, surprised to see Loki standing there.

“David-“ Loki grabbed you in his arms, pressing his lips against yours hungrily. You gripped his shirt in your fists and pulled him inside. Loki pushed the front door shut without breaking the kiss and pushed you up against the wall, a sudden desperation taking over.

He grabbed you by the back of your thighs and lifted you up so you could wrap your legs around him as he pinned you to the wall. His lips moved to your neck and he sucked marks into your skin. He groaned as his body moulded into yours against the cold living room wall. “David..” you whimpered.

“Hmmm?” He grunted, still kissing your neck.

“What happened to waiting?” You breathed, head thrown back against the wall as you savoured his lips against your jugular.

“Couldn’t stay away. Need you.” He mumbled, moving his lips back to yours. Your lips moved together passionately, as Loki ground his hips into yours.

Loki pushed harder against you to pin you up against the wall while he discarded his jacket and unbutton his shirt. You pushed his hands out of the way and took over unbuttoning for him. While you did this Loki lifted your dress up over your hips and tore the sides of your underwear so he could discard them. You gasped in surprise as you felt Loki’s hand on your bare ass, massaging you with strong fingers. You finished unbuttoning his shirt and tried to remove it, getting as far as his shoulders. Loki pulled the shirt off of his arms, leaving him bare chested in front of you.

You took a moment to admire him, his broad shoulders and toned muscles, how his chest was slightly hairy and how ruggedly handsome he looked, his eyes dark with lust.

Loki stared back at you in the same way, admiring how flushed and beautiful you looked, your pupils blown and panting against the wall.

“Do you want me to stop?” He asked, leaning his forehead on yours.

“Don’t you dare.” You rasped. This spurred Loki on even more, and he pulled your dress up over your head and threw it on the floor. He kissed your neck and collarbone and made quick work of removing your bra. His left hand held you up by your ass and his right hand came up to palm your breast gently. You moaned loudly at the contact, and Loki connected his lips to yours again.

You snuck your arms inbetween your bodies and began to unbuckle and unzip his trousers, tucking them down as far as you could reach. Loki removed his hand from your breast to remove his trousers completely, and then kicked his underwear off.

You were both completely naked now, and completely vulnerable. Loki took a moment to admire you and gave you one last kiss before he put you back down on the ground.

“What are you doing?” You whined, hoping he hadn’t changed his mind.

He silently took one small step back, eyes never leaving yours, and sunk to his knees.

“Oh my god.” You breathed, not sure if you were ready for what was about to happen.

His big hands traced from your stomach down to your thighs and he pushed them apart slightly. He placed gentle kisses to your core before flattening his tongue against you and lapping up your growing wetness. Your fingers tangled in his hair as he lifted one of your legs over his shoulder.

“David, Jesus… where did you learn to do this?” You moaned.

He chuckled softly into you sending vibrations through your body, you gasped loudly. He continued this for several minutes before you gently tugged on his hair, pulling him away and to his feet.

“I need you.” You panted, “do you have any.. you know?”

David frowned, “No, spur of the moment kind of thing and it’s been a while.” He admitted, standing in front of you as he peppered kisses along your neck and face.

“Ok, I’m clean, and I’m still on the pill, if you want to-“ you were cut off by Loki scooping you up in his arms and carrying you to the bedroom. He laid you down gently on the bed, his demeanour changing from rough and desperate to gentle and loving. He took each movement slowly, making eye contact with you where possible.

He climbed on top of you and cupped your cheek gently. “Are you sure?” He asked. You nodded. Loki gently spread your legs and positioned himself. Slowly, inch by inch, he pushed himself into you, moaning softly as he did so. The arm propping himself up over you, bulging and veiny, turning you on even more. The stretch of him fully seated inside you caused you to moan loudly. Loki gave you a worried look but you smiled back at him and encouraged him to move.

He slowly pulled out and back in again, finding a rhythm. His free hand wandered your naked body, memorising your curves and how soft your skin felt. His eyes didn’t leave yours until he began to pick up speed.

Your legs wrapped around his waist and you began your own rhythm, bucking into him. Loki kissed your neck and collarbone in an effort to stifle his moans and grunts. You felt so good to him, not just how tight you felt around him but just being in your presence felt good. Loki hadn’t felt this good in years, and the realisation that popped into his head caused him to slow to a stop, leaning back to look at you.

“Are you okay?” You panted, stroking his messy hair back out of his eyes.

He was quiet for a moment while he looked into your eyes, hesitant. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.” He blinked hard.

You were now worried, so you pushed him off of you and onto his back, you leaned over him propping yourself up on your arm.

“No you’re not. What’s wrong?” You asked, brows furrowed.

He chucked sweetly at you and thought it was adorable that you worried about him. He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

“I promise I’m fine, you just take my breath away, that’s all.” He lied.

You smiled down at him and pecked his lips.

You and Loki continue until you were both spent, and you lay in each others arms in the afternoon sun. You both felt amazing in that moment and all the other worries seemed worlds away from you now. But the reality of it was that your fiancé was out there somewhere and you still had to deal with that, and Loki was still the lead detective on this case, and he was falling in love with you. So no, he was not fine.

————————————

- Final Chapter Here -

[little-miss-moonstone]

The Red Thread (Carmy x OC)

Chapter Three | The Phone Call

Next | Previous | Series Master List

Summary: Carmy comes over for dinner.

WARNING: bad language, anxiety, flashbacks?, little editing. idk what else.. you know the drill, let me know if i missed anything :)

2019

Rori danced around her new apartment putting away items from the few moving boxes she had left. It had always been a dream of hers to live in New York City, and now that was her reality. To her, life seemed like it couldn’t get any better, she had her new apartment, she was halfway through writing a book she knew was a masterpiece, and she and Carmy were now living in the same city, again. And the most exciting part of all of that, to her, was that Carmy had no clue she had even moved to the city, only a few blocks from him. She almost wanted to run over to his apartment and surprise him, but she knew he would be calling her in only a few minutes, and thought of how nice it would be to hear the happiness in his voice. As if he knew she was thinking of him, her phone began to ring. She killed the music and dashed over to her phone.

“Hey,” she smiled, pressing the phone to her ear as she made her way to sit by the window that looked out at the city.

“Hey, what are you up to?” He asked, sitting on his fire escape and smoking a cigarette.

“Nothing really, just waiting for your call. How was work, or do you not wanna talk about it?” She replied, waiting for the right moment to share her good news.

“No, it was the same. I, uh, was thinking about fishmas this morning,” He shared before taking a drag.

“Bear, that was, uh, an interesting night for everyone. I’m okay and you’re okay, we made it out. That’s all we can focus on. Donna is, well, Donna, and I don’t know what got into Mikey, but from what Richie tells me he’s okay,” She tried to comfort him and it did help, but that wasn’t what he was referring to.

“Yeah, I know. I was thinking about our talk, outside. You never finished what you had to tell me,” He reminded. It had been driving him crazy for the last 7 months, but he hadn’t dared to bring it up. Rori froze on the other end of the phone. Her mind went back to that night, a night she had tried so hard to forget, especially what he was now asking about. She could lie, say she forgot, or she could take a chance and tell the truth. Her mind combed through all the moments from their teens and early 20s, the brushing of fingers, the glances across rooms, the tension, and flirtatious undertones.

“Uh, yeah, umm. I don’t know if it’s really all that important anymore,” She spoke in a shy demeanor, this was something Carmy easily picked up on.

“Come on, Rori. It’s you and me, you can tell me anything,” He promised, just as he always had. The caring nature of his voice made her fold like a piece of paper.

“Carmy, I-I want to tell you, and I’ve wanted to for a while I just don’t know how. You and I, we’re solid, and this might change that,” She explained.

He knew what she had to say. It was what he had wanted to say for years, but the thought of it all going wrong had silenced him. He couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving him and he knew it would happen. He couldn’t give her the love she deserved. The words “You are nothing” began to ring through his mind.

“Tell me,” were the only words he could get out.

“I’m in love with you. I have been since we were kids,” She confirmed. They were both quiet, neither of them wanting to speak, but as the seconds passed by her anxiety began to take over. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. It was stupid, God, just- we can forget about it, right? Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s o-okay, uh, we- we can just- uh, we can talk tomorrow,” He replied. This was his way out.

“Okay, uh, I’ll talk to you then,” She replied before she hung up the phone. She stared out at the city as tears slipped down her face, she knew deep down they would never be the same.

Present Day (2022)

Rori was preparing dinner, she didn’t know if Carmen would even be hungry but she couldn’t help to think how nice it would be to cook for him. She was making a classic carbonara, something they both grew up eating. She was stirring the egg yolks rapidly when she heard the knock on her door.

“Just come in, Carmy!” She yelled from the kitchen, while she continued to stir.

He was shocked her front door was unlocked, this was Chicago after all. What if it hadn’t been him at the door and some maniac had just barged in? He locked the door behind him, finding his way to her kitchen easily, as he followed the delicious smell. He found her in front of the stove, her back to him as he took his surroundings in.

“Y’know, it’s really unsafe for you to leave your front door unlocked,” He got her attention, as she turned the heat off and began plating.

“I know, but I knew you would be here soon, and had I come to the door we would’ve had noodles and scrambled eggs,” She informed while she plated the food. “I didn’t know if you had eaten yet or at all today, but don’t feel like you have to.”

“No, no. I haven’t,” He assured, “This looks great. Is this your mom’s recipe or my mom’s?” He asked, bringing his plate closer to inspect.

“Your mom’s. I prefer her sauce,” She gave a soft smile, “Uhh, let me get you something to drink, I have water, wine, or whiskey.” She turned to the cabinet where she kept the glasses.

He chuckled at the options, “Water is fine.”

She quickly got him and herself a glass of water, while directing him where to get forks, and then they switched out items. It was for a brief second they both felt a moment of domestication like he had come home from work to her cooking dinner. They both shrugged the thought from their minds, taking a bite, and letting the dish take over.

“Wow. Don’t tell her, but this might be better than mom’s,” He smiled. He was being genuine and she knew that, returning the smile.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of telling her that. She would kill me, then you,” She chuckled. There was a brief moment of silence before she spoke, again, “I haven’t talked to her since Mikey, I, uh, figured I would just give her some space. I actually haven’t even told my parents I moved back, either. I- well, that situation hasn’t changed in the last 3 years. I, uh, well, my mom’s like your mom, and my dad is…”

“M.I.A.,” He finished her sentence. His mouth continued before his mind could catch up. “Have you spoken to him since that night?”

“No, I don’t think I can. He just left so easily, like I was nothing to him. I’m worth more than that. I miss him, though, the old him. I think about that version of him a lot. How he used to take us for ice cream, or how he and your dad would joke abo-“ she stopped herself, “while we played in the yard, or whatever.”

They continued eating through casual conversation and when they were done she rinsed their plates and left them in the sink to wash later. He moved into her living room looking around at the pictures on the mantle. One of Rori and Mikey from what had to be only a couple of years ago, one of her and Sugar from her first book signing, one of her holding Eva the day she was born, and lastly, one of the two of them from Fishmas, it was different from the one he had of them. In this one they were both smiling, only she was looking at the camera and he was looking at her. He remembered that moment, it was just after the picture he had was taken.

“We won’t have another Christmas like that, I fear,” She joked while taking a seat on her couch. He let out a soft chuckle before taking the seat opposite of her.

“I guess, we should talk about the elephant in the room,” She suggested and the atmosphere changed back to between comfortable and awkward, and Carmy couldn’t stand it.

“Honestly, this is all my fault. I-I, well you know how I am, I push people away. You gave me an opportunity to push you away that night and I took it. I know it was a dickhead move and I’m really sorry. I completely understand if you can’t forgive me, we can just carry on and I won’t bother you at al-“ He was cut off.

“I forgive you.”

He sat there for a moment trying to process the words that had come out of her mouth. How could she forgive him that easily, after he had completely cut her out of his life? She couldn’t even forgive her father for basically doing the same thing.

“You forgive me?” He repeated, not quite believing it only took an apology and his idiotic rambling.

“I forgive you. Carmy, all I ever wanted was an apology and a fucking explanation. You just gave me both. I want us to start fresh, well, like from before that night. I know it’ll probably take some time for us to get back to that, but I’m willing to give it a shot. If you are,” She replied and he smiled at her forgiving nature. He was about to agree, but she continued, “On one condition.” He nodded, almost begging her to speak, he would do anything to ensure she was back in his life like she was before.

“If you ever think you can pull some bullshit like that on me, again. I swear to God, Carmy, I will beat your ass. You don’t get to push me, of all people, away,” She was firm and yet, gentle and he couldn’t help to admire that.

He nodded, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”

From there the two fell into a comfortable conversation catching up on the last few years and then reminiscing on their youth. She was in the middle of telling him a story about a night out she had in London last year and he couldn’t help to think of how lucky he was to be sitting in her home with her, while she seemed to be enjoying his presence. He felt almost whole for the first time in years, and he knew it was her that had been missing.

It was late when Carmy left, both of them so caught up in conversation that it would be a rough day running on little sleep. Sugar beating on Rori’s front door didn’t help as she jolted awake to see it was 6:45 in the morning. Rori opened the door in her sweatshirt and shorts she had slept in, along with bedhead, and an unamused look on her face.

“Good morning, Sunshine. How was your dinner date with Carmy?” Sugar smiled pushing past Rori into the house.

“Oh, fuck off. You woke me up to be nosy? You couldn’t just call me at lunchtime?” Rori huffed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Did he sleep here? Oh my god, is he in your room?” She asked, quieting her voice and throwing Rori for a loop. The girl felt like her brain had short-circuited at the thought of Carmen staying over, much less in her bed.

“What? No, he did not sleep here,” Rori got defensive.

“Oh, I drove by at 10:30 last night and I saw his car was still here, s-“

“You did what!? Sugar, I cannot believe you were stalking us,” Rori sighed, rubbing her hands over her face in frustration. “Okay, I’m going to give you a summary of the night and then you're going to get the hell out of my house, and then I’ll give you a call when I’m not as angry as I am right now, okay?” When Sugar nodded, she continued, “He came over, we had dinner, he apologized, and I forgave him. Goodbye,” Rori finished guiding her friend outside. She shut the door, and locked it, leaving Sugar on her front porch while she returned to bed.

Only now that she was lying in bed, she was wide awake. Fucking Berzatto’s, she thought to herself as she leaned over grabbing her laptop from her nightstand. She sat up to work on the squeal she promised her publisher would be done by the end of the year. In her defense, she had half of the year left, but she also had only written a few chapters. She opened her notes and began mapping out the rest of the story.

Carmy had already been at the restaurant for a couple of hours, his mind not allowing him much sleep. When Sydney arrived at the restaurant she noticed that he was in the best mood she had ever seen him in, her first thought was he got laid, but she couldn’t imagine he was into hookups and she knew he wasn’t in a relationship. She began her prep while trying to figure out if she should ask, or just enjoy a happy Carmy for once. She let it go knowing Richie would ask, but when he arrived he didn’t. He did notice, and he wanted to ask, but the fact that it could have something to do with Rori made him bite his tongue, that was until she stopped by the restaurant just in time for family. While she was formally introducing herself to Sydney and signing her copy of “The Red Thread”, Richie decided to take this opportunity to question Carmy.

“Yo, Cousin,” He said, getting the younger man’s attention, “This whole “Mr. Nice guy” thing doesn’t have anything to do with Rori Bear, does it?”

Carmy almost smiled at the nickname he hadn’t heard in year, but he caught himself. “Uh, I don’t know. I went to her house last night, we, uh,” Richie seemed extremely hopeful in that moment, “talked about- I apologized. Um, we’re just kind of starting over from where we left off.” He explained, and while that was still great news, Richie was hoping there was more.

“You just apologized?” He asked, “You guys just talked like that’s all?” Carmy could tell what he was implying and it reminded him of the talks he used to get from him and Mikey.

“Cousin, stop. We’re not doing this. Rori and I are back at a place where we actually talk to each other and she doesn’t seem to be freaking out about being in the same room as me. So we’re going to leave it right there, okay? I don’t need you putting all that bullshit in my head like you and Mikey used to.” He assured.

“Bullshit? Cousin, are you fucking stupid?” Richie questioned.

“Yo. I just said we're not fucking doing this. Go take your seat for family,” Carmen ordered.

Rori sat in between Carmy and Richie at the table, Tina was quick to start up a conversation with the girl having not seen her in a few years. Rori could feel Carmy briefly tense up when her time working at The Beef came up, and it didn’t help when Richie joined in. She tried steering the conversation to a new topic knowing Carmy would ask about her time at the restaurant. She thought he might forget if the topic changed a few times. Sydney started gushing over her book and trying to get any information about the sequel.

“I mean Rose and Cameron have to end up together, right? Like they can’t be that oblivious, especially when everyone around them is constantly telling them,” Sydney explained. Carmy turned to listen, wanting more details of the book he hadn’t read yet.

“You would be surprised. I know some real stubborn motherfuckers, who make Rose and Cam look normal,” Richie entered the conversation.

“Cousin, quit acting like you read it,” Carmy let out a small laugh.

“I did fucking read it, all 319 pages! And let me tell you Cameron’s a real jagoff. How can he be so in love with Rose and then do fuck all about it, and then be miserable? Stupid rat does it to himself,” Richie remarked, jolting up from his chair.

“Okay, Richie. It’s fictional, let's not lose our heads,” Rori guided him back down to his chair. “Guys, I’m going to be honest. I’ve only written a few chapters of the next book, and I have no clue yet whether they are going to end up together or not in the end, but even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. You’ll just have to find out when I send your copies,” She smiled, returning to her food.

When family wrapped up, Carmy was quick to step out back for a smoke break, learning that Rori worked at the restaurant, and all the talk about a book he felt guilty for not reading, was taking up his mind. He wasn’t expecting her to come join him, she had never cared for the smell of cigarette smoke, so when she asked for a drag, he was completely caught off guard. He studied her face trying to pick up on any subtle hints as to if she was joking and when she furrowed her brows in confusion, he knew she was serious. He cautiously handed it over watching to see if she inhaled when she took a drag.

“When did you start smoking? You hated it when we were kids,” He asked, leaning back on the brick wall. He could tell she was reading him like a book with his cigarette between her lips, and he hated how much he adored it and how jealous he was of a fucking cigarette.

“Like 3 years ago. I thought it would help with the stress and anxiety. News flash, it fucking doesn’t. I don’t allow myself to smoke all the time, but with this next book, I might become a chain smoker,” She gave a small giggle and handed him back the nicotine stick.

“When did you work here?” He asked before he could stop himself.

“Pandemic. I moved back temporarily and Mikey needed help, and I had writer's block so I figured “What the hell”. It wasn’t long, maybe a few months. I, uh, do you know who Nico is?” She wondered, not wanting to snitch on Mikey. When Carmy nodded she continued, “I caught them, Mikey and Richie, they were back here in the alley dealing. I was pissed, Mikey and I got into this huge fight, mostly over the coke. He told me I couldn’t work here anymore, he didn’t want me around his “bullshit” because I had made something of myself,” She paused again, “He felt the same way about you.”

It was silent, both of them just looking at each other as he passed the cigarette back to her. It was comfortable, but only for a second. Carmy couldn’t figure out if they were the same people they were three years ago, there was still so much he didn’t know about her. He was relatively the same, but it was as if she had lived a thousand different lives.

“Where were you living before the pandemic, and before now?” He didn’t want her to feel like it was an interrogation, but he was just so curious. He noticed her slightly tense up and for a moment he regretted even asking, but that was only until he heard her mutter the words, “New York City.”

“You were in New York?” There was a mix of emotions behind his words, he wasn’t even sure what he felt in that moment. Was he upset, confused, or was he angry?

“Yeah, I moved there the day of the phone call. I was going to tell you, but I didn’t really get the chance. I’ve been there for the last three years. A few blocks from Madison Park,” She confirmed.

Carmen felt like an even bigger dickhead at that moment. All he could think about was the fact that he threw away what could’ve been the best years of their lives. What if, instead of pushing her away that night, he pulled her closer? He thought of all they could’ve done together in the city away from this breeding ground of family trauma and anxiety, they could’ve been so happy… together.

A/N: I’m so sorry for the delay. I got caught up with my birthday this past weekend, work, and registering for classes because i decided to go back to school.. not to mention the fucking Calvin Klein ad and the golden globes. Ugh, anyways, I hope you’re enjoying so far and hopefully another chapter will be out soon!!

[sir-sunawani]

Quicksand

Fem Reader x Sir Crocodile

20 Chapters - 46,838 words

Read it on Ao3 or Wattpad

CW: Language, violence, blood, moral ambiguity, murder, sexual themes and situations, yandere, angst with a happy ending, a referenced instance of physical abuse. 18+ only

Chapter 5: Sand Kissed

The cool feeling of glass against the nape of your neck sends shivers down your back as the surprisingly gentle hand slips down your spine and settles into the middle of your back. You were sure the soft gasp of air that escapes you is audible, and certainly the heat that's already rising in your face was noticeable.

Warm fingers sweep the errant strand of hair you hadn't bothered fixing since the meal back behind your ear. Trailing slowly down the line of your jaw, you feel your face tilting upward seemingly on its own. His thumb slips over the curve of your lips, and you release a soft hot breath at the sensation, your very core shuddering at the idea of what is to follow.

He leans down, those amber golden eyes practically glowing in the dark room, holding your gaze and seemingly catching your breath as well. An approving smile reaches those eyes, in contrast to the nearly disinterested half-lidded gaze. You wonder idly what would cause those eyes to open wide, what emotion, pleasure, or moment could release that intense gaze completely - and who would be able to survive it.

His lips brush over yours so lightly that it's nearly painful in the haze of your desire, and you hear his deep voice in your ear. "Breathe, Miss (Y/N)," he commands, a light kiss near your ear. "While you still can."

You suck in a breath, unaware you had stopped in the first place, and let it out shakily. There's a soft chuckle rumbling from somewhere in his chest, as his hand slips over your eyes. You take a sharp breath in, and feel his lips against yours, warm, dry, commanding. His glass hand holds you in place against his body as he gives you a moment to breathe before deepening the kiss.

There is no request for your surrender, no sweet lick along your lips to urge entrance, you simply submit as you fall to the will of the man before you. There is no disinterest in the energy of his kiss, nothing to be called calm. There is heat and passion, will and dominance, you can feel yourself getting lost in the unspoken commands swirling around you.

Your fingers find purchase against his arms, tight and solid, more powerful and fit than you had expected. There was no escape to be had, and you wanted none. Your hands move over him, trying to pull him closer even as the relentless kiss makes your head spin. Your moans mix into the kiss, and your fingers clench and pull against the turtleneck he's wearing.

There's an illusion of control as you mistake him ending the kiss as you successfully leaning back to break it. You sink into his arms, the kiss having nearly buckled your legs. Between the rush of it and the dizzying lack of air as he had taken what he pleased, he had given you all you had desired and then some.

Your breath is hot and heavy, your face flushed and bright with heat and desire. You want more of his lips, but the rush of the kiss has you reeling and slightly hesitant, unsure how much more of him you could survive.

"My desires in this are clear," he catches your gaze, pulling you in as his voice demands your attention. "Yours must be as well."

You swallow hard. You know what you want, and know what was likely to happen, from the moment you had decided to follow him to the hotel. Even before then. Old fantasies swam in and out of your mind as you try to find the words needed.

"I want you." Your voice is soft, but steady. It's only your body trembling with anticipation that shivers within his grasp.

"Mm, but how, Miss (Y/N)?" He questions, amusement dripping from his voice. You can practically feel the teeth at your throat; he may be asking you, but you're already being devoured by him.

"I... am in your care, Sunawani." You manage, a dangerous smile slipping across his face. His lips close in on yours and you manage a quiet, almost whimpered, "please don't break me." Before he claims your mouth again, with a deep, hopefully positive, grunt rumbling in his chest in response.

Rough hands grab your ass, and you can't tell in your haze which is flesh or glass as you're lifted from the ground, pressed against the wall briefly as your legs wrap around his waist, and your arms wrap around his neck. Your fingers slip through his hair, and you find a little control in the kisses that pass between the two of you, his hands too occupied with holding you up as he moves you through the room.

The smooth transition from being held to being laid on the bed isn't fully appreciated by your pleasure addled mind. You have a few moments free from his deep kisses as he leans back, looming over your body that's unfolded before him. There's something in his fiery gaze that spurs you to move without him saying a word.

Your fingers begin to undo the buttons of your blouse. You want to toss the garment aside in a swift motion, but something in you decides to take your time. There's no sense in letting him have complete control so easily.

You continue undoing buttons even as you reach the waist of your jeans. You can see the approval on his face as you loosen your pants and pull the zipper down, kicking your shoes off and onto the floor as you wiggle the band of your jeans down your hips a little. Cool glass fingers slide across your hips as he leans down, lopping a finger around the thin lacy band of your thong with an amused hum.

Any explanation on your part dies on your lips as he steals another kiss from you, the deep moan rumbling up from his chest into the exchange is enough to convey his approval. He moves enough to pull your pants off, leaving the lacy undergarment in place for now, and tossing the jeans onto the floor. He puts a knee on the bed and pulls his turtleneck off.

The motion tussles his hair, which wasn't staying back very well on its own before this point anyway. You mean to remove your blouse, but the revelation of what was under his shirt has frozen you in place. No wonder it had been like walking into a brick wall when you crashed into him on Wednesday. There was no true apathy in this man's personality, maybe the world at large did bore him, but the dedication he had to himself was... appreciable.

Hands slip underneath your blouse and back, lifting you up off the bed.

"I don't often have a desire to mind others' possessions," Crocodile's voice rumbles through you. "But it seems I am so inclined for you."

He slips the blouse from one of your arms, and you place your fingers on his very near, very solid chest. "Distracted." You admit, not having mind enough to say much past that.

"Mm," you can hear and feel his voice as your blouse is removed entirely, forgotten on the floor with your jeans. "Allow me to help with that."

Warm fingers slip along the back of your neck, curling through your hair and pulling you into another deep kiss as cooler fingers trace down your side, eliciting muffled squeaks and moans from you as the touch tickles you. He breaks the kiss as the glass fingers move under the band of your thong and slip deep into the hot wet lips between your thighs.

You gasp as the cold, hard, smooth surface of the glass finger teases your clit. Your hips buck and your back arches, as the slow motion pulls airy, shaking gasps from you. The slow delicious assault only stops enough for him to pull your bra up and over your breasts, since his other arm is still holding you off the bed a bit.

The glass digit resumes between your thighs as a hot, wet tongue licks up the curve of your breast before his mouth devours a hard, sensitive nipple. Tongue and teeth lick and nip at the sensitive flesh, seemingly in time with the steady movements of his prosthetic. Your legs twitch and shift, toes curling as your body tenses under his desires, your arms torn between wanting to explore his body, and wanting to push yourself away from the building pleasure.

Your airy gasps and moans are deeper and louder, your fingers flexing against his arms and chest.

"Sss-u-wani...." You whimper as you feel the pleasure building up inside you.

"I only meant for you to use that in public, but I do like the way you're saying it right now." He purrs, his breathe teasing your flesh as he takes the time to speak. "Cry for me, (Y/N)."

His mouth continues its assault and the glass finger speeds up. The rush of renewed pleasure sends a shock through your body, and the orgasm crashes into you suddenly. Your cry of pleasure was cut short by the rush of things, strangled in your throat and your body spasms with the hard orgasm.

As you sink into the bed, you can hear the sound of a zipper, and the rumple of clothes falling to the ground. The sounds of a wrapper breaking brings some comfort to your addled brain, too lost in the haze of your orgasm to have had a mind to ask on your own.

He holds both of your ankles in one hand, lifting your hips enough to pull your thong to your knees. Your legs press into his chest as his erection presses against your entrance. That golden amber gaze finds the last traces of focus in your eyes as your hands reaches out to him.

"Please," you beg. The position gives you little capacity to move into him, but you feel the sweet pressure of his cock pushing you open, filling you up and driving deep into the wet needy mess you had become. Your fingers clutch at the comforter under you as pleasurable sounds bubble up from your chest and escape into the space between you and him.

"The sounds you make are addictive," Crocodile admits, his voice nearly a growl as he fights to control himself, finishing his slow and steady push into you until he's completely in. He stays still for a brief moment, for your sake or his it's hard to say, and then begins a steady rhythm.

After a few long strokes he pulls your thong from your legs completely, tossing it aside and putting your legs on either side of his chest, against the tops of his shoulders. He leans forward, pushing deeper as his hands sink into the mattress on either side of your waist. The new sensation sends a shiver through your body, and your fingers wrap around his forearms as his earlier steady pace picks up.

You have no control over the sounds that escape you, but the gasps and moans and broken bits of pleading are appreciated by the one responsible for eliciting such noises from you. As the pleasure builds in you, your legs tremble and your breathing comes out in shuddering heavy breaths. He leans down a little more and the shift in angle hits you so deliciously you're clamping down on him in orgasm without warning.

His pace picks up and the new deep assault pulls the first unexpected orgasm into a second stronger one, with seemingly no relief between the two of them. Tears fall down the sides of your face as the overwhelming sensation overpowers you, and you're on the verge of begging him to stop when his thrusts become erratic and his thick cock twitches inside of you.

Your feet flex as he pulls out, your whole body unbelievably sensitive as you're lost in a thick haze of pleasure and exhaustion. You hum contentedly as his hands move down your legs, easing them into the comforter as he leans down and kisses you. The soft and tender kiss is in contrast to his earlier passion, but it's warm and still sends little shivers of pleasure down into your chest.

He untangles your bra from your limbs as you have all the capacity and coordination of a puppet that's had its strings cut at the moment. You turn and nuzzle in his chest as he sinks into the comforter beside you. Propped up on his elbow his warm hand runs down your shoulder and arm, to your hip, sliding over the soft lines of your body comfortably.

"Not broken yet, I hope." He muses, your eyes still hazy with pleasure, your fingers idling along the lines of his chest.

You shake your head lazily, "You're surprisingly considerate," you muse, especially for a Warlord, nuzzling your cheek against the warm hand moving across your jaw and into your hair.

There's a strong, but not painful tug, as your head is tilted so that you're looking into his eyes. The sharp intense gaze burns into you, pushing back the haze that the earlier pleasure had dropped you in.

"And now I know the unspoken third concern." Crocodile says pointedly, and with growing horror you realize your internal thought had not been as internal as you thought.

[furryprovocateur]

fire emblem, or, as i like to call it, the game where you can make no mistakes and still lose. yeah i'm fucking mad but whatever, i did it.

this chapter really isn't THAT bad, i feel like the strategies for dealing with everything are fairly apparent. i just got some really dogshit luck on multiple attempts (3 60% attacks in a row missed and then in a separate attempt 2 90% attacks missed 🤪) so it really soured the shit out of my mood. the basic strategy you want to use is send two cavs + hector + priscilla and one other unit (in my case, it was guy) to the north, send matthew to the west and give him a buddy unit to kill the shaman unless your matthew has gotten stupidly good (or you just want to roll dice loaded against you 3-4 turns in), leave two of your units (one of them should preferably be lyn) behind to deal with the cav + nomad reinforcements. lyn benefits greatly from mani katti here and will nail kills she otherwise has next to no business getting. in a bizarre twist of fate, my lyn has 14 strength and 13 speed. can't tell if i should be arguing that she's blessed in strength or getting burned in speed. probably both.

speaking of level ups, i feel like i got an okay assortment of them. feel like i'm getting mostly average level ups in that people are getting the stats they should be (i.e. florina's getting speed and resistance, hector's getting strength and defense, lowen's getting whatever + defense), and while i wish i was getting ever so slightly better level ups on people like guy (he's always juuuuuust shy of 1RKOing and can't double with the iron blade), i feel like i should largely have no complaints. kent's basically caught up as well, low on skill but skill is a meme stat.

the biggest annoyance of the map is the thieves that spawn in the north. one of them will just fuck off (i assume this is because it's there to go for the chests to the west that i always end up getting before he's even a presence), but the other one is a super asshole. on my previous attempts i was able to intercept him and kill him before he looted more than one chest (meaning you can still get all the treasure), but in the one that beat the chapter, the little cunt got to the silver sword then the knight crest, meaning i lost the silver sword. the only positive i can say is that he never does the reverse (which would be a colossal hit (that i would reset over)), and the silver sword is only 1500 gold. but it's really just the principle of the matter. way more annoyed about it than i really should be but i'll survive.

people shit on lucius but he does one solid thing, regardless of whether or not you used him in lyn mode: he's able to lure out one of the knights in bernard's room and kill it with a 3HKO. it's nothing impressive but it's something. meanwhile, his boyfriend raven unfortunately wasn't able to do much for me since i needed him to recruit lucius. he doesn't need experience that badly for now, but the sooner i can make him a frontliner, the better. he is one of the stars of HHM after all.

speaking of bernard's room! capital F FUCK that mage in that room. dude's a gigantic fuck and i wish the worst on him.

bernard himself was very "whatever" to kill. hector with wolf beil deleted him in 2 hits. i would've vastly preferred to get the kill with someone else, as hector's about to hit level 15 (which is fairly overleveled compared to the rest of my units and enemies in the current chapters + i don't need him hitting 20 early), but there were no really good options out of the people available (eliwood, kent, guy, lowen). eliwood could've maybe done some damage, but the rapier only has 4 uses and eliwood isn't as reliable as ol' hector.

i am grouchy and bitchy rn, but i'll probably wake up pretty happy with how things turned out. i was very worried about hitting both tactics and experience goals, so to clear both that well is very fortunate. i'm at the point where i need to start cycling some units out (i.e. lowen), and i'd like to make use of rebecca/bartre but it's hard to catch them up. maybe pirate ship will be kind to them. but you know what chapter isn't going to be kind to me? the next one! not looking forward to port of badon, but at least it's got double the turns for 5 star compared to HNM (seriously, fuck doing that chapter in 5 turns). also gonna have to decide how many units i want to bring just for the premise of using them in the arena. erk in the arena for experience buffering is extremely tempting. i'll meditate on it.

[darthvashtique93]

Return of the Hawk

Chapter 33

Shayera and Chey-Ara attacking each other had not surprised Batman. Green Lantern and Flash, however, were prepared to rush to Shayera's aid, but J'ohnn immediately held them both back with his powers. "No," he said, "this needs to happen." Batman watched the two fight while his teammates made quips here and there. Chey-Ara had solid form, good footwork, hard punches, but she was nowhere near as good as Shayera, who was going easy on the smaller hawk. Shayera had yet to throw a single punch. Clearly, she didn't want to hurt the smaller hawk. "Ooh," Flash flinched as Shayera's fist made contact with Chey-Ara's ribs.

Batman warched as Shayera allowed the young hawk to recover and attack. She could have easily ended the fight just now, he thought. A moment later, the fight ended when Shayera placed her opponent in a chokehold. "You go Shay," Flash cheered loudly. Shayera then slowly released Chey-Ara instead of delivering a final blow. "That's it? That's all we get?" Flash asked.

"You are so immature," Green Lantern murmured.

"What are they doing now?" Flash asked incredulously. "Are they seriously having a conversation? They do know we're 20 feet away, right?"

"Let them talk, Barry," J'ohnn said.

A few moments later, Flash asked Green Lantern, "Do you know what they're saying?"

"No," Green Lantern answered back.

"Can't you use your ring to translate?"

"I can. But I won't."

"Why?"

"Flash," Wonder Woman said in annoyance, "if they wanted us to know what they were saying, they would speak English."

"You guys do know that us standing here while they debate… or whatever is very, very weird."

"Shut up, Flash," Wonder Woman and Green Lantern growled at the same time.

Batman continued to watch the two hawks. He saw Shayera motion their away a couple of times. Then she started sneaking glances at them…or him? Interesting. A moment later, the two were shaking hands and walking to rejoin the group.

"You guys stood here and just stared at us the entire time?" Shayera asked with a raised brow.

"What else were we supposed to do?" Flash asked with a grin.

"I trust everything has been sorted," Batman said in a monotone voice, looking between the two Thanagarians. Chey-Ara glanced at Batman before covering a smile with her hand. "Yes, everything is okay," Shayera said, "Chey-Ara will help us."

"Just like that?" Wonder Woman folded her arms with a scowl. "Do all Thanagarians change their allegiance so easily?"

"Excuse me?" Chey-Ara glared at the Amazon. Shayera placed a hand on Chey-Ara's arm.

"It's fine, Diana," Superman gave Wonder Woman a harsh look before saying, "We'll bring the other league members up to speed later. Right now, we need to prepare for the attack."

"I already have a plan," Batman said.

"Of course, you do," Flash muttered.

Batman glared at the speedster. "I'll bring you guys up to speed later. Right now, Shayera and I need to get back," he said glancing at he comm in his hand. "Something has come up. I'm needed in Gotham ASAP."

"Anything we can help with?" Superman asked.

"No," Batman answered before turning on his heel and walking out the door. Shayera gave a small wave before following him.

"I can provide more information," Shayera heard Chey-Ara say as she and Batman walked out. Shayera only hoped Wonder Woman wouldn't attack their newest recruit.

"What's wrong?" Shayera asked Batman as they appeared in the batcave, teleporting from the Watchtower.

"Ah, Master Bruce," Alfred greeted them on the teleportation pad. "Miss Shayera."

"He is here," Batman said stiffly.

"In the gym, sir."

Batman gave a nod before saying, "Let's go, Shayera."

"What?" Shayera followed not understanding what was going on. "What is going on? Who are we meeting?"

"You'll see," Batman responded, his voice not giving anything away.

Shayera entered the training gym behind Batman and saw a male hawk standing in the gym, inspecting it closely. "This is the hawkman you were telling me about?" Shayera asked.

Carter turned. "Hey, Bats," he greeted.

"Do you have them?" Batman said.

"I do," Carter said. He placed a wide, thick briefcase on the bench and opened it. Shayera's brain didn't register what she was seeing until Carter held them up. "Here they are," he stated proudly. Something white was draped over his forearms. "For you," Carter said to Shayera, holding his arms out towards her.

Shayera moved closer to inspect the item in Carter's arms. It took her five seconds to realize what was being given to her. Her mouth dropped open in awe; she was speechless. Draped over Carter's arms were a pair of white, Thanagarian faux wings.

Shayera slowly, stiffly reached a hand out to touch them. "I hope they're okay," Carter continued. "Bats here wanted it to be a surprise, so I had to trust the measurements he gave me. I don't want to know how you were able to get the lieutenant's measurements, but I hope they turned out just right." Carter continued speaking, but Shayera didn't hear him as his voice faded into the background. She was…this was…and he was…Shayera turned to Batman. "You did this for me?" she asked him, interrupting Carter who was still talking.

"Carter made them," Batman answered, "I just umph." Batman was stopped midsentence by Shayera kissing him. Shayera was on her tiptoes kissing him. They were kissing. He and Shayera were kissing. And she had initiated it. Batman remained calm on the outside as he slowly wrapped his arms around Shayera's waist.

"Uhh," Carter shifted uncomfortably. "I'll just…I know my way out," he said, slowly backing out the gym.

Once he was gone, Shayera broke the kiss, removing Bruce's cowl. "Shayera," Bruce muttered softly.

"I'm sorry," Shayera said still standing on her tiptoes, breathing heavily. "I shouldn't have kissed you while you were still Batman, but I just – you just – and the wings – you," she didn't know what to say. So, she planted her lips on Bruce's once again, pressing her body into his. Bruce didn't know how to proceed. Any other female, they would have already been naked – or he would have had her up against a wall. But Shayera wasn't any female. He didn't want to scare or startle her. He wasn't sure how…experienced…she was with sex. Following her lead was the best course of action.

Bruce wasn't the only one having an inner monologue while kissing, Shayera was having one, too. This wasn't how she had planned to share her feelings with Bruce, but then she saw the wings. She didn't know what to do. She had never felt this happy about anything before. Her wings had been the most precious thing in her life, and Bruce had just given them back to her. Her heart was swelling with joy and a whole bunch of other mushy emotions. "Thank you," Shayera breathed out. "Thank you. I – I don't know what else to say," she felt tears gather in her eyes.

"You don't have to say anything, Shayera," Bruce said, resting his forehead against hers. He gazed into her large green eyes.

"Yes, I do," Shayera whispered, not shying away from his gaze. "I have so much to thank you for," she said as tears slowly rolled down her face. Bruce used his thumbs to wipe the tears away as she continued, "No one's ever…" her voice faded.

"I know," Bruce said stroking her cheek as gently as possible through this black, military grade gloves.

"I can't – I have nothing to give you – "

This time, Bruce interrupted her with his lips covering hers, all the while wishing he wasn't still wearing his stupid suit. "You owe me nothing," he said breathlessly as he continued kissing her senseless, sucking her lower lip, slipping his tongue in her mouth.

Shayera was drowning in feelings and sensations. She had never felt this with John. Then again, she never actually let it get this far with John. She was loyal to Katar when it came to…bedroom intimacies. "You should try them on," Bruce said, pulling his lips only a few millimeters away from hers.

"I don't want to," Shayera said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not now."

"It's okay," Bruce pressed a quick kiss to her lips, "we will continue this later, I promise." He kissed her hard before releasing her. "Try them on," he demanded, falling back into his Dark Knight role. "I'm gonna change." Shayera nodded, biting her lip. She had just made out with the Batman. She wanted to scream for joy, but she wouldn't because that would be weird for her. Instead she turned to the wings resting on the bench and began studying them, looking them over. It would feel weird, but these wings would definitely come in handy…as soon as she learned how to put them on. "I should have asked Carter when he was here," she realized.

Diana sat atop the Eiffel Tower, watching the city below. The meeting had been…eventful. She needed a moment to process. "May I join you?"

Diana turned to her right. "Kal-el," she said in surprise. "Of course you can join me. You do not have to ask."

Superman sat next to her. "Paris is beautiful at night," he said.

"Yes, it is," Diana agreed. "I come up here every now and then to think. To clear my head."

"Well," Kal-el said, "penny for your thoughts?" he gave her a simple nudge.

Diana smiled. "I have been on this planet for a very long time, and I still do not understand that particular phrase. Do humans really believe thoughts to be worth a penny?"

Kal-el shrugged before saying, "I don't know what it means either, and I actually lived with humans. Don't feel bad about not understanding their vernacular at times. But really, Diana, is everything okay?" he asked in concern.

Diana released a heavy sigh. "I hated Shayera. I hated what she did to us. When they took her wings, I did not care. I thought she deserved it. I only fought them because you did. But I wanted her to feel how I felt when she betrayed us." Diana stared out into the distance. It was one hour before sunrise. "And then Chey-Ara said she would fight with us."

"Yeah," Superman said. "That surprised me."

"Does loyalty mean nothing to them?"

"Diana," Superman leveled her with a look, "you were there when Shayera's wings were torn from her back. You know loyaltly is everything to the Thanagarians."

"If Chey-Ara can be so easily convinced to go against her own people, who's to say she cannot be easily swayed back to their side?"

"I see," Superman frowned. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "Diana, what is Thanagar like?"

"What do you mean?" Diana furrowed her brow.

"Well, you and Shayera spoke often. Did she ever tell you about her life on Thanagar?"

"No, she didn't," Diana frowned. "I never asked."

"Hmm. Neither did I. J'ohnn has told me what he has gleaned from Chey-Ara. By the way, I do believe our resident Martian has developed a crush."

Diana's jaw fell open in surprise. "On the prisoner?" she asked.

"Chey-Ara? Yes."

"That's…it is sort of exciting," she smiled.

"It is," Superman agreed. "But from what he's told me, life on Thanagar is no paradise." Diana looked at him. "Instead of thinking in terms of loyalty and disloyalty, maybe ask – how bad was it for them on Thanagar that they were willing to walk away from their lives? It's not like she was kicked out of her country, Diana, Shayera can never return to her planet."

"I never thought of it like that."

"Your right about how fast Shayera was able to get Chey-Ara to our side. But didn't it make you wonder about Chey-Ara's life before if walking away from it all is so…easy?"

Diana frowned. "I do not know the real Shayera. I can't honestly say I made a great effort to know her before Thanagar's invasion. We were the only two females on the team. We should have been as close as sisters, but I always kept her at an arm's length. When it turned out was a spy, I was happy. I was justified in my reasons for not befriending her. Now I can't help but think…maybe if I had been a friend to her…" Diana didn't finish that thought.

"Before she flew away that day, she did say she didn't know the Thanagarians were planning an invasion."

"I didn't believe her," Diana said, tearing up. "I didn't believe her. I thought it was another lie. And so, I hated her. It was much easier to hater than it was to empathize with her."

"Diana," Superman placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"When I close my eyes, I can still hear her scream from when they tore her wings," Diana said, pulling her knees to her chest. "That horrible cry - I have never heard such a heart wrenching noise in my life.

"You can't beat yourself up over this. You were not the only one mad at her that day. We all were."

"Barry was not. Bruce once admitted that he might have done the same thing had he been in her position. And J'ohnn…" Diana thought back to that day. "Actually, I do not know what J'ohnn was thinking at all. He probably knows more about that invasion than any of us. He probably knows more than Shayera." Superman nodded in agreement. "I do not know what to do," Diana admitted.

"What do you want to do?" Superman asked.

"I want to yell at her. I want to hit her. And then I want to hug her and tell her how much I missed her." Superman stood to his feet and held a hand out to Diana. "What?" Diana asked, not sure what to do.

"Let's go. It's been a while since I've visited Bruce. No better time like the present."

Diana placed her hand in Superman's and allowed him to help her to her feet. "Wait," Diana said. "Do you know a country where it is daytime? I would like some strawberry ice cream."

Superman laughed. "I actually taught myself how to make it," he admitted shyly.

Diana's eyes widened with glee. "Really?" she gasped.

Superman nodded. "How about we go to the Fortress of Solitude and…chill?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye as he pulled her closer.

"Like a date?" Diana asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Exactly, like a date."

"That would make it date number 3," Diana said.

"Is the third date special?"

"Not that I know of. I was just counting." Superman rubbed his nose against hers.

"What about Bruce?" Diana asked breathlessly.

Superman shrugged. "I'll visit him later. Let's go," he motioned for her to follow him before taking off into the night sky for some homemade ice cream…and whatever else followed.

Chey-Ara sat in the cafeteria, rigid and unmoving. According to the Martian Manhunter, it was almost 6 a.m., and the newer leaguers would be coming to breakfast right about…now. The doors to the cafeteria swished open, and Chey-Ara turned to see a group of heroes walk in. They froze when they saw the dark-skinned hawk sitting in their cafeteria. "Who are you?" a guy covered in blue from head to toe with pointy, thin wings sticking out from his back asked.

"Aren't you one of those bird-people who invaded us like three years ago?" another hero Chey-Ara could not see asked.

"It was two years ago," a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl stepped forward with her hands on her waist. She wore the same outfit Superman did, except she had a skirt. "Who are you?" the blonde demanded, her eyes glowing red. "How'd you get in here?"

"Enough," the calm voice of the Martian Manhunter echoed throughout the cafeteria. He appeared right in front of the blonde, staring down at her. "Her name is Chey-Ara. She's our guest."

"Does my cousin know about this?" the girl demanded. Chey-Ara rolled her eyes. J'ohnn simply walked away from blonde much to Chey-Ara's amusement. He sat across from Chey-Ara. "That is Supergirl. She is the cousin of Superman," he stated. "You don't want to eat anything?"

"I am fine," Chey-Ara replied firmly.

"Chey-Ara," the green man said calmly, "you are safe here. You can relax."

Chey-Ara looked down. She had never relaxed a day in her life. Thanagarians were trained to always be on guard, even when sleeping. "This is my first time away from home, and now I will never be able to return there."

"Was it just you and your parents on Thanagar?"

Chey-Ara nodded. " And then when my parents were arrested and executed for speaking out against the ruling class, it was just me. My mother was beheaded. My father died in prison. I was just entering my first year of training when they were arrested. I never saw them again. I was raised in a…a…um…you guys have a lot of them in Gotham. With bunches of children."

"Orphanage."

"Yes," Chey-Ara said, "orphanage. That is where I was raised before my recruitment into the Thanagarian army."

"I am sorry for all you've been through, Chey-Ara."

Chey-Ara shrugged. "I am not. I do not even remember what my parents looked like."

"But learning how to fight from an early age is no childhood."

"I do not know what a childhood is, but I survived my first obstacle course at age 5. I was…humans say…overachiever," Chey-Ara stated proudly. Her face then fell.

"What is it?" J'ohnn asked curiously.

"If I do survive this…invasion. I will need to find a new home."

"Chey-Ara, I thought it was obvious," J'ohnn said. Chey-Ara stared at him confusion. "You are welcome to stay here, on Earth."

"Where?" she asked.

"Here. In the Watchtower."

"With them?" she pointed to group of young heroes openly gaping at her and the Martian Manhunter. "Why can't I stay with you?"

The Martian Manhunter blinked his red eyes once, then twice. For a moment, he said absolutely nothing. "You would want to live with me?" he asked.

"Yeah. You're the only one who really talks to me. I don't want to be stuck here in this building. I will feel trapped. Do you not live on Earth?"

"I do live on Earth."

"You do not have enough room in your house?"

"I have plenty of room."

"You just do not want me there."

"That is not it at all, Chey-Ara," J'ohnn said firmly. "I just was not expecting you to ask." J'ohnn paused, seemingly weighing his options. He stood up. "Come with me. I will show you where I live."

"Really?" Chey-Ara asked, not bothering to hide her excitement.

"Yes, besides, you have been locked up in here for a month. You need real air," he said as he escorted her out the cafeteria, ignoring the prying and spiteful eyes around them.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13461097/1/Return-of-the-Hawk

[amazildoessomethingstupid]

Chapter 84: Scenic Route

So with that out of the way ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER: chapter 84 Scenic Route! Which if there was a runt of the litter for the Paulo Show, this would be it. Not to say that it’s bad or anything, it’s wonderful and really sweet, and much like all the other chapters it has a really strong and memorable character moment in it.  The problem is… this chapter has a certain heavy weight attached to it that… It just couldn’t shake off. Even back then when I read this chapter I couldn’t fully appreciate it, because of the unshakable knowledge that this… would be the last time Tess got to hang out with the gang. And worst of all, even here she wasn’t allowed to shine.

The chapter is centered around Tess inviting the gang (minus Sue) to a picnic to a familiar riverside park. With callbacks a plenty for old readers to enjoy! Look!

They’re gonna race along the trees, just like that one time when-

Oh… yeah… Well thankfully that doesn’t happen here! Instead we’re treated to some nice subtle nods to Abbey and Daisy’s relationship being a little shaky still with Abbey seeming to be absentminded throughout the chapter, if not a bit negligent towards Daisy.

Honestly a most of this chapter is just the kids goofing around and… well… acting like kids.  Which is refreshing! I really like it, the chapter serves as a sweet reprieve from the heavier chapters that we’ve had and it’s nice seeing the gang just have fun.  And yes, that does include you…

Mike… And before you ask, no I am not going to have a gush session over Mike.  He hasn’t EARNED it yet.  I may have accepted Mike’s failures as a decent human being, but that does not mean he is FORGIVEN! It is nice though, and I wish to reiterate that yes.  Inbetween all these skipped over pages, THERE IS GOLD HERE!

Oh that Paulo~ So the set up is paid off as Abbey’s negligence ends up getting him left behind, meanwhile Daisy does accidentally get hurt, which leading to her staying put with Paulo as company while the rest of the gang goes to get Abbey leading to the actual meat of the chapter as Paulo and Daisy sit and talk, thinking about where they are in life and what the future may hold. It’s a really nice and sweet scene… So nice they did it twice but we’re not talking about that. POSITIVITY! So overall this chapter is solid.  On its own, it serves as a great nothing chapter that shows that the kids are alright and looking to a brighter future, although for some it’s not so certain.  If this chapter came out now, one could argue that it’s shipbaiting for Paulo and Daisy, but to me their dialogue came across more as siblings that care about each other, with both seeing the best in the other with a bittersweet tinge of sorrow as they see how they’re both headed on different paths. It’s really nice, but

But I would be remised if I didn’t bring up the one gripe I do have about the Paulo show that this chapter just happened to fall in line with an anecdote I have.  Because, while I was going through my 2 years of illiteracy I did actually take a look at a page just because I heard grumblings over the art style.  And I figured I’d take a glance and see what all the hubbub was about, and it just so happened to be this page! I remember it because, my exact words were, “Wow! This is actually pretty neat!  Y’know the proportions did make the characters’ ages seem a bit older and ambiguous, but this is actually pretty cool!  These proportions, the washed out colors… This is a really good way of artistically showing a flashback without just blatantly using cloud panels!  This is great! Good job Taeshi!” and the old dogs I talked to at the time just went:

And sadly the chibification of characters was the one thing that actually did carry over from The Paulo Show. But… I’m forgetting something aren’t I?  Did you notice there was something missing from that summary?  Oh yeah, TESS!

Despite her technically being in it the whole way through aside from the Paulo and Daisy scene, Tess really didn’t get to stand out here.  Sure, we get a nice heartfelt bit where she says how much she enjoyed just being there with the gang, but all it really does is remind us of the unfulfilled promise that this character gave.  And it makes my heart ache as I knew this was the end for The Rich Girl, the OG Golden Girl, my favorite lie… Tess. For context, Tess was a PIVOTAL supporting character in Volume 1 for BCB.  In fact, a number of great character moments, chapters, and arcs can be traced back to her involvement. From the Christmas Chapter

To setting up the Acapulco Arc!

Her purpose in the toolbox of characters in BCB, was very versatile.  Setting up adventures, new conflicts, and at times, serving as an audience surrogate to ask questions about the other characters’ history and allow exposition naturally.

 She had a spunk to her that made her likable, a complicated history that made her sympathetic, and a perspective on life and drama that set her apart from the rest of the pack. As the oldest member in the group she brought a more mature perspective to a lot of the drama and scenes that the kids would get into, but she also had this childish excitement and eagerness to be involved with the gang.  She wanted to see them grow and help them become better people.  And that falls right into the biggest involvement she had, when she had her relationship…

With Paulo! Serving as a positive force in his life, Tess dating Paulo was a perfect match as two punky kids trying to make it in this cruel world.  And with Tess’ maturity being a great opportunity for her to build him up to follow suit, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect!  Except for one liiiiiittle snag, a small chink in her immaculate armor, and no it wasn’t that she wanted more out of Paulo that he couldn’t understand. You see, Tess was afflicted with a terrible, debilitating disease when she was born into this world.  An awful condition that she had to deal with early in her life… She was a Fan Character.  A death sentence, for most cursed with such a cruel fate.  But she showed so much strength in what she was able to do in those early chapters, that we all hoped that maybe she could beat her condition maybe she had one last trick up her sleeve, one last hurrah, one last adventure, one last send off to carry us through and remember her by… But alas the damage was already done, and in this chapter we see her succumb to the bitter sudden end.

The promise of suspense in Volume 2.  Setting up Tess’ final year with the gang to be a senior year to remember would sadly only lead to her being muscled out in favor of more heavy drama.  Her presence becoming less and less, as she was forced into irrelevance.  From being a powerful force in moving these characters, with deep connections to all them, to being just a shadow of her former self as she would become nothing more than a side-note in Volume 2, and an occasional speedbump in Volume 3. The fact was the fireball, take charge, punk rock girl we all once knew and loved was dead.  She died years ago.  And this chapter just shows…

She was the last to know. 

9/10

Gone but not forgotten;

Replaced, but forever remains

[hsvh-hp]

Hiii! 💝 and 🌈 for the ask game. :)

Oooh ok so—

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

I had to think on this one for a while because it seems like about 75% of the time I'm off the mark on how a fic performs, lol. I've learned to expect nothing and then be pleasantly surprised when anything gets any engagement. After writing a handful of Drarry fics, anything else can be really humbling in comparison! That part of the HP fandom is just that massive.

To answer the question, I would say None So Vile. It was a fest fic, of which mine generally don't do as well as my other works. It featured a rare pair: Sirius/Rabastan, which at this time of writing has a whopping 12 works attributed to it on AO3. I (spoiler alert) killed off Remus in it, and rather callously at that since Sirius was responsible for his death. It's implied at the end of the fic that Sirius will shortly (and happily) become a Death Eater.

But people seemed to really like it! It's my most popular non-Drarry fest fic, and the comments are overwhelmingly positive. I thought I'd get like, 5 kudos and maybe one comment going 'umm Sirius wouldn't do all this, kys' that would just end up deleted once I finished rolling my eyes lmao.

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

This one is easy. I still have writer PTSD from Across the Multiverse, lol.

I wrote it entirely before posting in weekly updates, like I usually do for longfics. The first 9 chapters were solid, but I started having problems around chapter 10...and didn't realize until I had posted that far. So instead of being a normal person and putting the fic on hiatus while I fixed all the issues (it reeeally needed to be more fleshed out in the second half), I raced the clock and rewrote chapters 10-20 while keeping to my update schedule.

On top of that, and not that I minded the reader feedback at all!, but posting each new chapter was so stressful for what plotholes I might have missed being pointed out, what language was unclear, etc. I really wished that I'd thought of getting a beta reader. But I was on my own, and for the first time in a very long time as a writer, that was scary.

Thank you so much for asking! 😘

[crystalelemental]

Engage, day 4.  Not as much to update, but you know.

I want to put this out there: I am an idiot who should not be allowed to do things. I like clearing everything that pops up, but doing the side battles absolutely over-leveled me for future chapters.  I beat the shit out of Hortensia, it was not a challenge.  Chloe could've soloed that map if she wanted.  She almost did.  I had to actively back her out of just annihilating Hortensia like it was nothing.  The side maps are...honestly the biggest challenges, though admittedly the one with the fog of war shit was the worst.  There were a lot of enemies, and I had a metric ton of issues with that map.  It absolutely broke me.  I used the Time Crystal.  I don't even care.  I hate Fog of War, man.

But I'm also an idiot because I kept using my mains for it, instead of the backup units like Boucheron and Clanne, and now they're way behind and I don't know if they can reasonably catch up.  I need to try.  But I feel dumb for letting it reach this point.  Ugh.  Once everyone starts hitting level 20, that'll be a good time to just leave them there, and work on the backup units.  I like getting like...all the supports in the first runthrough.  I like to know what everyone's like.

But as a preliminary assessment, it's already become difficult to choose a team. I'm on Chapter 8.  Chloe is MVP of this army, she is literally untouchable.  Solid defenses, fantastic speed, solid offensive presence, Sigurd ring for complete map control and Canter, just an absolute wrecking ball of a unit.  Celine is second best, but I'm ready for a slight drop-off.  Celine has been carried, in part, by Celica's ring.  Warp Ragnarok is obscene.  But, as I'm learning, Celine is also the only reasonable option for it.  I have it now on Cittrine, who is...super physically frail, so she gets annihilated really easily when she warps, and her speed is atrocious when Thunder is equipped, so she...really needs to be careful or she just dies.  Celine has none of these issues. I think she hit 10 defense, and is almost as fast as Chloe.  Celine just wins.  Third best is Framme, though she's gunning for second.   She's gotten so many strong levels that the only other unit who can beat her in Arena battles is Chloe.  She's bulky, decently strong, absolutely insane with Micaiah's Shine active, and just a delight overall.  These three are the backbone of the team.

"What about Alear?"  Yeah, not gonna lie, Alear's been fairly strength screwed. Not badly enough that she can't manage, but I think it's worth noting that 11 strength at level 13 isn't exactly great.  I also wanted to use Etie a bit, but no one has had worse level luck than her.  It's bad, guys.  It's real bad.  Barring the Marth situation, I think Lapis is just outright better than Alear.  Less bulky, but just as strong and fast with more room to grow.  Alcryst has also taken over as main archer.  He's, uh...he's really good, actually.  The other big name right now is Anna.  I adore that she's an axe fighter, and I kinda love kid Anna being adorable and also a goon.  Early access to Hammer and Poleaxe has also made her a really, really good generalist.  I just wish she wasn't so...the way she is. Her strength is just slightly too low to one-shot most cavs, her speed isn't fantastic, these weapons come with lower accuracy so she sometimes misses at critical moments, and her luck is really low so she gets crit, which is usually death.  It's a lot of problems to have.  I don't think this girl would survive Hard mode.

While I do like Alfred, he's just so far behind Chloe, and is more a tank than a well-rounded unit.  And I do mean in the physical sense.  He's Horse Louis.  Res is bad, he hasn't gotten the best speed growth, but he is bulky.  Which is good, he'll make a nice backup option.  And eventually Chloe will cap Sigurd's ring at rank 10, and it'll be his time to shine.

As for units I don't like...Boucheron isn't doing much.  Clanne was incredible right up until Celine arrived and took everything from him.  I don't really like Jean, and his growths have been sad for a high-growth unit.  I'm not really keen on Jagen characters, so Vander isn't doing much either.  I feel like I'm forgetting someone, so if I did, they're in this bucket too.

By tactics...I kinda like these new bigger weapon options.  They can smack a unit back one space and potentially into hazards, but they result in the foe attacking first, even on your turn.  It's a really cool idea, I just don't know how much it's going to matter.  I've also officially started using the guard effect on Framme and Jean.  Framme's new-found bulk means she's blocking a metric ton of damage for the team, and it's frankly hilarious.  I talked about that whole fog of war issue?  Yeah, this was a solution.  Block all damage from everything except one ally.   Completely stall out the enemy's movements and set them up for a KO next turn.  It's great.

The rings are...interesting.  I'm going to be honest, I think they're a ton of fun, but also hysterically overkill.  Sigurd grants +5 range.  +5!   Chloe, a flier who cannot be stopped by terrain, covers a map in like two turns.  And then gets Canter for another 2 move after combat.  It's nuts.  Celica's Warp Ragnarok has been a clean one-shot against any foe.  It's devastating in the extreme.  And Micaiah's Great Sacrifice is a beautiful effect that I've seen give Framme a full level, as late as level 14.  Like, that skill is free EXP, man.  If someone's behind, just slap Micaiah on them, turn them into a Staff-based utility bot, and let them farm those levels.  It's so busted.  The only one who doesn't initially seem as busted is Marth, but I assure you, he is.  The evade stacking is unreal, any fast unit effectively becomes untouchable.  Add in a skill that lets you recover to 20% when under 20% HP after battle, and all I'm waiting for is something that gives me survival at 1HP from a single lethal blow, and you're effectively immortal.  It's just so extreme.

But I also think that, for challenge maps anyway, that extreme response is necessary?  All foes move instantly, and you start out surrounded on nearly every challenge map.  This results in needing some really extreme solutions. Warp Ragnarok, while absurd, also becomes necessary sometimes to snipe out an opponent that could be a problem.  Micaiah's Sacrifice becomes a necessary hard reset after a rough round of combat.  Marth's evasion is necessary just to stay alive.  The only one out is Sigurd, who...might be my favorite, because his utility is just perfect for getting where you need to go.   Like, you know those maps where it's like "Oh no!  That enemy thief is so close to that chest, they're going to steal that thing!"  Sigurd ignores the danger and gets you right to them. Even his big attack is more about movement than damage.  I love it.  I love Sigurd's ring so much.

The story's reasonably simple, and if my character talk being focused on combat rather than characterization wasn't much of an indication, they're all pretty straight-forward and simple.  I like it, though.  It's fun in a simple way.  They just have to not do anything too stupid with the ending and I think we'll have a decent experience.

On the whole, I'd say I'm enjoying myself a lot.  This...might even be the rare Fire Emblem game I attempt to clear on Hard once I'm through the game once. My next mission is getting Lyn's ring, so I'm pretty excited about that.  And I met Goldmary!  Who...yeah.  I like her a lot.  Looking forward to that recruitment.

[gingersnappish]

KYLUX RECS 2020-2021

My Kylux Recs in the last year (Aug, 20 2020 - Aug 20 2021)

SO. MUCH. GOOD. FIC!!! We are really lucky in this fandom to have so much good stuff to read!

Fic is part of the lifeblood of fandom, in my opinion-it shares new ideas and AUs and fleshes out the characters and most of all it inspires and entertains us all and engenders all sorts of feels for the characters-it’s part of what keeps us shipping! So a big ‘thank you’ to all the fic authors out there who work so hard at their craft and are generous enough to share it with all of us!

The following list is by no means comprehensive-there are LOTS and lots more very good fics that have been published in the last year that I haven’t read. I just wanted to offer up a few recs from what I know I enjoyed so far! (I also have more than fits on one list to rec-I’ll try and do another list soon!) As always, I rec based on personal taste, and I highly encourage reading all the tags/warnings on any given work to make sure it’ll be to your taste! -

The Flirtation Of Flowers 

DaisyChainz

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771553

Words: 5,917

Rating: Teen

Summary:Kylo runs his farm's stall at the Farmer's Market every weekend. He has a new customer, a gorgeous redhead that is curious about the meanings of his bouquets. Kylo doesn't know anything about that, so he makes stuff up to keep the man coming back every week.

My thoughts on the rec: This is the cutest slice of a modern AU kylux-it really nails Kylo’s personality as a (slightly awkward) flirt who is trying his best and just really likes the redhead who keeps coming to buy flowers. Just a sweet little fic all ‘round!

all i have to do is dream

kyluxtrashcompactor

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18709426/chapters/44373613

Words: 11,456

Rating: Teen

Summary:Armitage Hux has been going to the same bar every Thursday for the last year, nursing a crush on the gorgeous, unobtainable bartender, Kylo Ren. He finally gets up the courage to ask him out, only to find out he has some unusual competition: the memory of a red-haired boy from Kylo's past, who Kylo swears is the soulmate that got away from him.A fill for this SoftKyluxKinks prompt:Anonymous asked: Benarmie with young Ben (around 11 years old) having a huge crush on Armitage (16). Hux finds it adorable but mostly ignores him because he's a kid. Flash forward a few years when Ben is all grown up and Hux is the one with a huge crush.

My thoughts on the rec: This is another really cute young modern AU! I like the idea that Ren has liked Hux forever, but this deals nicely with the age gap and that Hux really wouldn’t notice Ren back until they are both appropriately older. And they make such a cute couple-it’s a great progression from just ‘he’s hot’-like, there is a lot more to them than that in the end!

Homecoming 

sigo 

(really, read anything by sigo, it’s all my favorite)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27150808

Words: 13,450

Rating: Explicit

Summary:“We’re off the next two weeks, you know.”“Yes, I know.” There was emergency construction scheduled to fix cracking asphalt too near a pipe in the center of campus. The buses couldn’t run, and that phenomenon was the only thing that ever cancelled classes. Halloween was dead center in the unplanned time off school, and every bar within a fifteen mile radius would be untenable as the students celebrated. Hux was planning on staying home, catching up on grading. He was rather looking forward to an opportunity to reread his favorite novels. They were already stacked by the couch in preparation.“My family always throws a Halloween party and they got word that I could come this year,” Kylo said, shuffling his feet. He looked almost bashful.“Ren, it’s midnight,” Hux sighed at his infuriating coworker. “Get to it.”“I may have informed my entire family previously that we were dating.”

My thoughts on the rec: One of my all-around fav fics from the last year’s worth of my reading material! It’s got the modern AU vibes down pat without losing their personalities or making them too OOC, it’s got the fake-dating trope done REALLY well, it’s got a wonderful creepy vibe strung delicately throughout for the Halloween haunted setting, it’s got plot and make-outs (and more). Can’t recommend highly enough!

Thaw

thesevioletdelights

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28557180/chapters/69982587

Words: 14,316

Rating: Explicit

Summary:They have managed cooperation - efficient cooperation, even - in these past months, which is more than enough. And already nothing short of a miracle for both of them.Still. Ren was a fool to think he could simply run off and keep Hux in the dark.-----When Ren goes missing on a mysterious planet, Hux sets out to find him. He doesn't yet know that he just might find himself.

My thoughts on the rec: This, like all of violet’s fic, is HOT! Like, scorching vibes between them! It’ll draw you in and not let you go ‘til after the boys are ‘done’! And, like all of violet’s fics, the character voices and personalities are also impeccable!

Rocks Break Gifts

elderbwrry

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25840237/chapters/62777839

Words: 16,706

Rating: Mature

Summary:The Rebellion has been crushed, a coup affected, and Supreme Leader Ren and his Grand Marshall Hux have settled into a domestic routine as the joint rulers of the Galaxy. Kylo wants nothing more, now, than to make his relationship with Hux official, but he can't seem to rise to Hux's challenge of a satisfactory proposal.Or, the five times Kylo proposes, and the one time Hux says yes.

My thoughts on the rec: Ahhhhh, the premise in this one is great! Like, I don’t wanna spoil the plot reveal at the end, so I can’t say too much, but there is a really good reason throughout the thing that this is a Five Times type fic and it works! It works so well and while we spend the fic ‘with’ Kylo, when we find out what Hux’s deal is, it is so satisfying! I Paint My Dreams

Marlon

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26685907/chapters/65090566

Words: 26,122

Rating: General Audiences

Summary:Kylo Ren is struggling to make a name for himself in the art world but as the grandson of the great Anakin Skywalker, a legendary pop artist of the 1950s and 60s, the weight of his famous family and his own expectations is a lot to bear.After he’s rejected from a prestigious exhibition because his installations “don’t fit the theme”, Kylo heads to the pub to drink away his disappointment. Later that night as he stumbles home, he’s set upon by some would-be thieves but before they can take what’s left of his money, he’s saved by a strange man with unbelievable Medusa-like powers. The ethereally beautiful man, Armitage Hux, is a visitor from Oweynagat and he has a simple proposition for Kylo - room and board in exchange for making all Kylo’s artistic dreams come true.Sounds easy - what could possibly go wrong?

My thoughts on the rec: Oh goodness, where to start? The Irish Mythology and Fae aspect of this fic is superbly woven throughout the whole thing and the author makes it work really well! Like, this is such a unique and original take on the kylux pair, I love them, especially Fae!Hux in this! And the plot is solid and you get invested really heavily in how they are gonna wind up-at least I did! There’s some beautiful language in this-descriptions and dialogue! And I have a soft spot for Artist!Kylo!

Dating a Monster

mysticmilks

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703904/chapters/65139415

Words: 30,401

Rating: Explicit

Summary:Ben Solo was raised to be a demon hunter, as everyone in his family has been before him. He wanted nothing more than to prove that he was worthy to his family. He lied to them and went on an unauthorized mission to catch and kill an elusive incubus. His search led him to Arkanis University, one of the most prestigious schools in the country.He was sure the mission was going to be easy, before he met the cute freshman Armitage Hux. This meeting would change the fate of both of them.

My thoughts on the rec: Add another really good one to the slightly-creepy-kylux subgenre filled with demons and dark powers! This is a great depiction of Kylo as a very determined demon hunter and Hux as a very unique quarry! I love the tension in parts of this too-well crafted! The Green Ribbon

xzombiexkittenx, Lilander (art)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28630845/chapters/70176921

Words: 39,679

Rating: Explicit

Summary:When Ben was fifteen he left the Jedi temple and took extreme measures to prevent the shadowy creature that infiltrated his thoughts from dragging him to the dark side. What he did left him with a great deal of chronic pain and removed his most valuable weapon, but Ben got his stubbornness from every side of the family, even the adopted ones, and he was determined to find and kill the creature.Now Senator Amidala of Naboo, Ben uses his position to make the galaxy a less awful place when he can, but being senator also gave him very useful contacts in his search for the creature. When he met Major Hux of the First Order, Ben thought he could get game-changing information out of him, one way or another, but things rarely go Ben's way and it got complicated much faster than Ben had prepared for. It's never a good idea to mix sex and politics, but Ben takes his fun where he can get it.

My thoughts on the rec: I feel like this is a very original take on ‘Senator Amidala’ Ben, at least from the stuff I’ve read-many props to the author for such a fleshed out universe, filled with likeable, believable OCs, a wonderful plot, great character motivations and voices, and a take on our main man Ben that pulled me in from the get-go! He’s sorta magnetic (in universe and to the reader)! And the sexual tension and sexy bits are very well done! I’m rooting for Ben and Hux in this, on opposites sides though they may be! Comfort Zone

LydiaBSlade

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26783797/chapters/65338117

Words: 66,766

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Hux is running away. He meets a tall, dark, and somewhat annoying stranger at the airport.

My thoughts on the rec: Travel writing at its best; also kylux fic at it’s best! Young, modern them trying to find their places in the world and finding each other in the process is so cute and almost tenderly done in this! This is a gentle, friendly version of modern Kylo that I fell in love with, right along with Hux! And by the way, I’m not kidding when I say travel writing-the southeast asian setting is vivid and enchanting in it’s rich detail! Outnumbered, Outgunned, Outmanuevered, and Winning

Coriesocks, Ellalba (art)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28217253/chapters/69144672

Words: 80,372

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Hux’s plans for ridding the First Order of Kylo Ren are ruined when Ren discovers his deception. With no choice but to flee, Hux ends up in the hands of the Resistance. It’s not ideal, but at least he gets a break from Ren. Until he doesn’t.When Ren starts appearing in Hux’s dreams, Hux wonders if the stress of being a spy has taken more of a toll on his sanity than he’d previously thought. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he has to deal with constant pestering from Poe and a mildly inconvenient kidnapping. Of course, it’s Ren who saves him in the end. There’s clearly no getting away from him.

My thoughts on the rec: A really interesting take on something that is both a alternate rewrite of what could have happened instead of TROS and a TROS-fix-it of sorts! Hux is stellar in this, we really get a good look in his head and Coriesocks handles it masterfully! I really liked how their relationship develops gradually in this, it’s Enemies To Lovers at its best! Bloodlines and Brandy

EmperorsVornskr

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989934/chapters/54963601

Words: 130,785

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Sebastian Hux is a native of the Deep South who loathes his origins, and seeks to pull himself from the stifling quagmire, but his bloodlines call him back to the property that has blessed- and plagued- his family for centuries.Unspoken secrets fill his inheritance, skeletons fill every closet, and a monster lurks in the shadows, tied to two bloodlines joined by fate, greed and hatred that has spanned across generations.As Hux learns about his family’s tainted legacy that has now become his burden, he discovers there is more involved than just having to be the curator of property that the locals shun with hushed whispers, that he has inherited more than an estate- he also has a terrible and loathsome horror tied to his very blood.When curious young locals come calling, and Hux’s past tormentors come out of the woodwork to simper and scrabble for a piece of the newly rich, the body count begins to rise, the smell of blood in the old slaughterhouse is getting harder to hide, and Hux realises that he will need to find a better way to pacify the hulking shadow that perches on his roof every night before his hometown’s tiny population is completely decimated.

My thoughts on the rec: This one is EPIC! Like, in length (which it needs every word of for the story that is going on here) and in the great portrayal of Kylo and Hux and their relationship! It’s super original too-not just the plot but the depiction of Kylo as something ‘other’ and the Southern Gothic vibes, and Hux-this is a wonderful take on Hux! He loses none of his edge, in my opinion and yet the reader is ‘with’ him all the way through, rooting for him! The descriptions are killer too-EmperorsVornskr has a felicity of expression that kept me reading (albeit in more than one sitting). Also worth noting that this is a wonderful and carefully handled depiction of trans!Hux, in my admittedly cis opinion. The theme of finding your tribe/your people/and your special someone in this, albeit in sometimes unexpected places is warming! I enjoyed every moment of this fic! Gravity Well

kyluxtrashcompactor

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13062495/chapters/29879001

Words: 176,421

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Snoke is gone, but his death has solved nothing between Hux and Kylo Ren. The First Order's trust in their leaders wanes as they vie for power over one another, and if they cannot learn to work together, they may both lose everything they've worked for.Forging that alliance after years at each other's throats will not be as easy as letting the past die, however—they will face subterfuge, enemies in the shadows, treachery, and being stranded on a hostile planet with creatures out of nightmare, barely escaping constant danger with their lives while having only one another to rely on.And that is just the beginning.

My thoughts on the rec: I realize this one is very well known by now, but I’ll rec it again for good reason! It’s quality long-fic! I love how competent Hux is in this surival-style fic, even without the Force to save him! And Kylo is a badass! kyluxtrashcompactor is a master of the slow burn here and we’re even lucky enough to be getting a sequel (although Gravity Well will also stand perfectly on its own). The writing in this will draw you in and not let you go!

----

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I did!  

[libraryofnesta]

Tied to Ruin

ao3 link

Summary:

Cassian and Nesta were lovers, partners in crime. They did everything together. That is until tragedy strikes, causing Nesta to run away, far from everything she once knew.

Over five years later, Nesta is living life to as full as it can get. It’s not until an incident occurs that drags her into far more than she bargained for.

Notes:

thanks so much for reading. i'm a huge hoe for exes to lovers, so i have like 20 ideas in my head, and this is one of them. It's multichapter. i'm not sure how long this is gonna be, but definitely over ten chapter. this fic has two timelines. One will show them from when they're kids to teens, and one while they're adults. Both will occur at the same time, so things will start to unravel as you read.btw! velaris is gonna be like a super small town in new york. like no one knows about it.

TW: implied domestic violence, nothing graphic.

Chapter 1: lonely beds, different cities

Words, how little they mean

When you're a little too late

I stood right by the tracks

Your face in a locket

Good girls, hopeful they'll be and long they will wait

-

Sad Beautiful Tragic

Taylor Swift

2016, Small Town Velaris

“Please,” she whispers, voice hoarse. Nesta is practically begging at this point, but she has nothing else to relent to. “We can get out of here.” She swallows hard when he doesn’t reply. “We’re still young Cassian, we can still-”

“Nesta.” He says. It's one word, but it makes her pause. He rarely calls her Nesta. It’s always ‘Nes’ or ‘Sweetheart.’

“I can’t.”

Their lives have changed so drastically over the past few weeks. Nesta’s whole childhood is here. Everything she’s ever known. She’s not sure how much more of it she can handle now.

She’s well aware of the tears streaming down her face. Nesta doesn’t know what she can say to convince him, so she says the one thing that she’s been repeating over and over.

“You can…”

Cassian’s face seems to harden. The look he gives her makes her take a step back. He hasn’t looked at her like that in years. “Go ahead and leave Nesta.”, he says, voice rising. “Go live that picture perfect you always wanted. I won’t stop you.”

“Not everyone wants what you do.”

2021 New York, Manhattan

Something about leaving Valkyrians still makes her feel at odds. She’s not as resistant to the sight of blood anymore, and she’s not sure if she can ride a motorcycle as well as she used to. There are still parts that linger though. She still remembers how to throw a punch. A damn good one too. She still feels uneasy when someone walks in the same direction for too long though. It might be the worst part of it all.

Nesta doesn’t do much for fun.  She doesn’t dance as much as she likes. The amount of books she reads has decreased. Her days consist of work and eating, even though she skips more meals than she should. But she’s free. That’s what really matters, doesn’t it?

The muscles in Nesta’s body ache. She just finished a seven hour shift, and got a promotion that pays much better. Nesta wants to celebrate. She wants to talk to someone. It’s been so long since she’s talked to anyone. The fear of someone finding out about her past is lodged so deep in her head it caused her to isolate. The simple way of putting it is she has no friends.

Coworkers are the only source of non-work related conversation she engages in. It’s always small talk too. Just as Nesta is about to fall asleep, she rubs her eyes and forces herself to stay awake. Getting up from the lumpy couch, Nesta walks to her cabinet, grabbing a random mug and pouring wine into it. Once she gets a better look at the mug, she can’t help but scoff.

It’s ironic. Complaining about being lonely. It’s almost like she chose loneliness. She loves the quiet. When she was younger, all she wanted was alone time. She dreads it now. Nesta gets up after finishing her glass.  She’s a bit drowsy, and is way too tired to walk all the way to her room. Instead Nesta walks back over to her couch. She lies horizontally, staring into the abyss until she eventually falls asleep.

She dreams of seeing him that night. It’s a regular occurrence. It’s lessened over the years, but never fully disappeared. The image of him is blurry. It’s not as precise as it used to be. She hates still thinking of him. It doesn’t stop her from reminiscing a little though.

Her being upset makes sense of course. They’d known each other for over ten years, hating one another at first. Eventually, he began to grow on her. Their bickering had become playful, before they once again became estranged.

“Cassian?”

The figure turns around, and he knocks the wind out of her. His hair is out of it’s usual bun.  He gives her that familiar boyish smile, walking towards her and putting an arm on her.

“Missed me Sweetheart?”, he says, ruffling her hair a bit. Nesta scrunches her nose in response.

“You wish.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah yeah whatever.” He talks for a while. Nesta’s barely paying attention. It’s just nice to hear his voice again. He asks her what she’s reading, and she replies the same every time. It’s silent after a while. They’ve talked themselves out. It’s a nice silence though. Her favorite silence.

Cassian stares at her for a few seconds, giving her a soft smile and pushing a loose hair behind her ear.

“Come back,” he whispers.

Her breath stutters. “It’s been five years, Cass,” she mutters, breaking eye contact. Her eyes flicker between the ground and his face, gauging his reaction.

He doesn’t stop looking at her.

“I didn’t want to leave,” said Nesta. There’s a lump in her throat.

He scrubs a hand over his face. “Yet here we are.”

“You know why I left.”

Her eyes feel like they’re beginning to water. “I asked you to come with me. You’re the one who didn’t.”

Cassian looks to the side. He looks impassive, yet also emotionless. “You’re the one who ran away, Nesta.”

“I didn’t run away.”

He scoffs in response. “Keep telling yourself that.” Cassian starts walking away. It’s cloudy and has no solid ground or sky. At that moment she remembers where she really is. Nesta stands there, waiting until he fully fades away. It always feels too real.

The dreams always end like that.

Nesta can barely pry her eyes open when she wakes up. She has the next two weeks off. Her boss, Helion, had insisted she take a week or two off, since the bar was under a small renovation. She checks her phone and it reads 12:03. Jesus, she really had overslept.

In all honesty Nesta had no idea what to do with her free time. Maybe she’ll finally finish that book she started months ago. But in reality Nesta knows all she’ll do is go to a bar and let a stranger fuck her into oblivion until she kicks them out or leaves.

By the time Nesta leaves her house it’s around 3:00.  She goes to the coffee shop next door. She orders a coffee and sits in the corner of the room. Nesta somehow feels like the center of attention. It’s an empty shop, but it feels like all eyes on her. The room feels too cold.

The feeling follows her when she goes to the local bookstore. It’s crowded, but the area is quiet. Nesta browses through the shelves, sticking to the romance section. She holds a few books. It’s not until Nesta drops one, people begin to look at her. It makes a loud thump hitting the floor. Several pairs of eyes turn to her. The cover is of a shirtless man too.

Fuck , she thinks, This is embarrassing. Nesta purses her lips, hand curling into a fist as she puts the book back on it’s shelf.

It’s around 5:00 when she takes the train home. Nesta spent the rest of her day at the park, not wanting to stay at home. It doesn’t feel like home as much as she’d like it to though. Finally, Nesta makes it home.

She’s in an empty parking lot. The area she lives in is pretty small.  Nesta knows basically everyone in her apartment complex. It’s a tiny place. She never talks to anyone, but they do acknowledge each other. Barely anyone has a car either, herself included. So it is a bit weird to see an unrecognizable car. It’s odd, but Nesta thinks nothing of it. It’s probably just someone visiting.

Nesta goes into her apartment, before leaving once more to go to the bar that’s the second closest to her apartment. She’s usually working at this time, flirting with customers and taking them home when her shift ends.

The bar is crowded and loud. Lights are flashing, voices yelling, bodies moving. It’s out of her comfort zone. She’s been doing this for years and is still isn’t used to it. She sits on one of the stools where the drinks are served. A girl approaches her. Nesta never approaches anyone. She can’t see clearly in the light. The girl’s hair is brunette, though her roots are dark. Her brown skin illuminates in the flickering light.

“Hey”, she says “I’m Nora” Nora extends her hand to her. Nesta smirks in response, resting her elbow on the counter grasping her hand with the other.

“I’m Mila,” she says. No matter what she does, Nesta will never use her real name. Nora’s eyebrows raise. Nesta can see her lick tongue move as it pushes on her skin.

“Pretty name.”

They talk for around five minutes. It’s all small talk. They drink while they talk. Most of the things she responds with are lies anyways. Nora grasp’s her arm with her hand. “Wanna get out of here?” she asks. Her words are slurred, and Nesta has to restrain herself from flinching.

Something in her head tells her not to let anyone in her house though. Something is wrong, but she can’t put her mind on it. The idea of letting a stranger in her house sends goosebumps across her arms. Before, she’d never question it twice. Now that she thinks of it, doing this practically screams stranger danger. Especially with her past, this person could be anyone. Nesta slowly probes herself from the girl.

“I’ve gotta go”, she says. “Sorry, but there's something I need to do.” The girl doesn't seem to mind, either too drunk to care, or only looking for a one night stand. She nods, before introducing herself to someone else. Nesta feels her chest lighten, exiting the crowded bar to call an uber.

Whenever it’s quiet, she always reminisces.

2006, Small Town Velaris

Nesta wakes up and finds herself stranded. She has no idea where she is. She’s lying in a bed inside a mostly empty room. There’s only a few pieces of furniture, a stool and a drawer. It’s relatively small.  The last thing she remembers is being in a car with her sisters and parents. She hears voices outside of the room yelling.

“You expect me to leave-”

“Her father is-”

“She’s nine what would she-”

“So what if she’s young!”

“-s innocent so what if-”

She hears a loud smack. The silence after is deafening. The voices are quiet after, whispers. Afterwards, Nesta hears footsteps approaching. She scrunches her eyes shut, trying to pretend to be asleep. Nesta hears the door open and close. A hand lays on her forehead. As the person removes it, a calming voice talks. “Are you awake?” Nesta slowly looks at the person, opening only one eye, then another. She sees a woman with black hair and tan skin. Her cheeks are flushed and she has a small smile on her face.

The woman squats down so she’s the same height as the bed Nesta is laying on. “Hi,” the woman whispers, voice solemn and comforting. “My names Aurora,” she says. Nesta squishes her lips together. She’s confused and feels like crying. Nesta doesn’t cry though. She’s pretty sure her eyes water though, because Aurora strokes her hair and whispers, “It’s okay to cry.”

Nesta gasps and shakes her head. “Mommy says I’m not supposed to cry.” Aurora seems to be shocked silent. The silence makes Nesta become aware of everything that is happening. She slowly sits up. Once her feet are off the bed, Nesta quickly sprints to the door, opening it and running out. She has no idea where she’s going.

Suddenly, Nesta is hit with a hard impact, and falls down on her butt. She looks up and sees two boys. They’re both around the same height. They have the same dark hair too, except one is longer than the other. Nesta gets up and brushes off the dust on her leggings.

She notices it then. The leggings. She’s never worn pants before.

It’s also when she notices the juice smeared across one of the boy's shirts. It’s the long haired one’s. He drops the red cup to the ground and makes an angry noise. “That was my favorite shirt.”

Nesta feels sheepish as she whispers a quiet, “Sorry.”

The one with longer hair whispers to the other boy, obviously meaning for her to hear too. “She’s probably not even double digits.” The other boy is quiet, looking at the ground. He seems nervous and shy.

Nesta feels a sense of outrage course through her. She pouts, crossing her arms. “I’m almost ten. I’m nine and a half” The boy crosses his arms too.

“Well I’m ten and a half,” he says.

“Cassian,” Aurora scolds. “Play nice.” She puts a hand on Nesta’s shoulder and bends down. “I need to talk to…” She doesn’t continue.

Nesta turns towards her, and realizes she needs her name. “Nesta,” she says.

Aurora smiles, “That’s a wonderful name.”

Cassian still seems angry. “I think it’s stupid.” Aurora sighs and gets up. “Azriel”, she says to the other boy. He hadn’t talked the whole time, Nesta almost forgot he was there. “Make sure he stays out of trouble. And Cassian, please change your shirt.” The two (stupid) boys walk away. Once they’re from a far enough distance, Aurora looks back down at her. “I have to talk to you about something.”

2021 New York, Manhattan

Nesta walks into her apartment tired and half asleep. Once inside her apartment, she changes into more comfortable clothes, sweatpants and a grey t-shirt.

Nesta’s about to go to bed, until she hears the sound of glass shattering and liquid spilling. She freezes, thinking about the mug of wine she left out.  

No.

Nesta scrambles towards the kitchen and grabs a flashlight from a cabinet, flashing the light to the ground. The mug is shattered to pieces, and she can still see little droplets of wine. The words aren’t visible anymore, letters broken and unreadable.

There’s no way it could’ve fallen on its own. It was in the middle of her counter. Unless...

Suddenly it all makes sense. The unrecognizable car in the parking lot. The uneasy feeling in her stomach. The constant nagging in her head, telling her that something is wrong.

She thinks about calling the police but goes against it. Years in a fucking biker gang taught her better then to trust those scumbags.

She always kept a gun in her house. Just in case. She really hates how no matter what she does. she’ll always be connected to this.

The person inside her apartment most definitely knows where she is. Nesta grabs a broom, sweeping the glass shards into an empty bag. She can fix it later. Tying it up, Nesta leaves it on her counter.

There's a wall blocking the entrance to her bathroom. She walks towards it, opening and closing the door so it seems she went inside. Grabbing her gun from the small drawer, Nesta lays her back against the wall, barely peeking out the wall, but just enough so she can see them as they crawl out from behind her couch.

The figure moves stealthily, back turned towards her. If she weren’t directly staring at it, there would be no way of knowing it was there. The moves look familiar, but she can’t put her mind on it. The moonlight shines on them so she can see the most obvious features. It’s not until the floor creaks the figure turns towards her direction. Nesta turns back to face her bathroom door, hands drawn to tight fists. There’s no way they hadn’t seen her. She moved too slow. Nesta peeks her head out to look again.

It’s not until she sees a familiar pair of scarred hands in the moonlight, it all comes together.

“Azriel Night?”

In dreams

I meet you in warm conversation

We both wake

In lonely beds

In different cities

And time

Is taking its sweet time erasing you

And you've got your demons

And darlin' they all look like me

PSA!! go to ask’s to be added to tag list

[hellimagines]

Collateral -- JJ Maybank (Part One)

Masterlist

Summary: JJ’s stunt with Barry bites him in the ass when the angry drug dealer kidnaps you and decides you’re JJ’s collateral for the stolen money.

Warnings: kidnapping, violence, angst, mentions of child abuse and drug use

Pairing: JJ Maybank x fem!Routledge!reader

Word Count: 4,800+

A/N: I started writing this after binge-watching Outer Banks, and before I knew what was happening, I had written 20 pages of this and hadn’t even gotten to the climax… So, this has clearly been broken up into parts. I have part two already finished, and I’m almost finished with part three, but I’m not uploading them tonight because I want this to see the light of day first, and gain some love before I do anything. Please let me know what you guys think of this! I know there isn’t a lot of mushy-feely stuff in this chapter, and it’s mainly angst but, I had so much fun writing this, so please give it a chance and tell me what you think. Also, it’s canon divergent because I tweaked the DCS storyline and everything after John B. finds the first gold bar.

|Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Final Part|

Your shift at The Wreck had been a long and strenuous one, more so than usual, because Kie hadn’t shown up for her night shift which left you to pull a double and cover for her. In your opinion, the nighttime customers were always worse than the morning customers since they typically consisted of kooks and tourons who expected the best of the best and nothing less. You had a short fuse, similar to your boyfriend, and would often get snippy with customers who complained about trivial things: their drinks having too much ice, their salad too much dressing, or their Chef’s Board not enough cheese or the wrong kind of cheese. Kie’s dad kept you on morning and afternoon shifts as much as possible due to the locals of The Cut coming to the cafe during those times, and your ability to make them feel at home while they ate their toast and sipped their coffee. So, having to work a night shift unexpectedly without a break from your morning shift left you feeling exhausted and detached from the world.

As peeved as you were with Kie for pulling a no-call-no-show, you were more worried than anything; especially when you noticed JJ wasn’t waiting outside to walk home with you like he normally was. You hadn’t heard from any of the other pogues since yesterday, when you had to go to work and they went over to Crain Mansion in search of the gold. You would’ve gone with them, but you couldn’t risk missing another day of work and possibly being fired. After your shift yesterday (and noticing the lack of blond curls outside the cafe), you had headed home with the plan to meet up with your friends and learn of any new updates--but, when you arrived, nobody was there. You waited around for the rest of the day, but when 10 o’clock rolled around and nobody had shown, you retreated to your bedroom and fell asleep. When you had woken up around 5 a.m to get ready for your shift at work, you were relieved to find JJ curled around you fast asleep, and your brother, Sarah, Kie, and Pope passed out together on the futon in the living room. They had a pot cradled between the four of them, but you thought nothing of it as you got ready for work. You left behind a note, asking them to stop by The Wreck when they woke up to fill you in on whatever you had missed, but they had never shown up. 

Now, as you locked up The Wreck at the end of your 10 o’clock shift and waved to the cooks and other wait staff as you all parted ways, your worry only increased. The Cut was warm and humid as you made your way toward the chateau, forcing you to shed your work shirt in favor of the tanktop laying beneath. Your hair was pulled into a high-pony, and while it had been sleek and put together at 6 o’clock this morning, you now had frizzed strands falling into your face and the bottom of your hair was sticky from an exploded champagne bottle earlier that night. Your feet ached and your hips felt unbalanced from the constant speed-walking and maneuvering around tables and patrons, and you wanted nothing more than to collapse against JJ in your room and sleep for a solid 12 hours straight. Before you could do that, though, you had to continue your thirty-minute walk to said paradise and make sure everyone was okay. 

As you left the hustle and bustle surrounding The Wreck and the docks, and ventured further into The Cut, you felt the tension beginning to ease out of your body at the familiar surroundings. As much as you loved The Wreck, you were not a fan of the kooks and tourons that migrated there throughout the night, bothering you during and after your shifts. As expected, the night held the worst of the batch, with alcohol and other drugs filtering their systems and giving them loose tongues and firm hands. Even though you could handle yourself and those who tried making a move on you, you never felt at ease or safe while leaving The Wreck; unless JJ or your friends were with you and you didn’t have to check over your shoulder every few feet. Crossing the imaginary threshold between The Wreck and The Cut always eased your mind, allowing you to slow your steps and cease checking your shoulder. This was also primarily because on The Cut, people knew who you were--not only as a waitress, a pogue, or (Y/N) Routledge, but as ‘JJ Maybank’s girl’. It pissed you off to no-end that people referred to you as ‘JJ’s girl’ more than your own name and you’d often chew people out on it, but you couldn’t deny the protection (and love and warmth and all-things-JJ) it gave you. You and JJ had been dating for two years, and while you loved him more than life and he loved you more than surfing, you often wished you could be seen as your own person: as (Y/N). Regardless of your annoyance at being solely known as JJ’s girl, as you walked the barely-lit streets of The Cut in nothing but a tank top and shorts, you were appreciative of your unofficial title. Very few people were walking around this late at night, but those who were offered you a simple nod or kept their eyes trained on the ground as you passed by, a complete contrast to the tourons near The Wreck. You expected this to continue until you reached your house, no longer looking over your shoulder for an unwanted kook or a touron that didn’t know the rules. 

You turned another corner, now only fifteen minutes away from home, and rolled your shoulders to try and release some of the built-up tension you gained from your shift as you walked. You closed your eyes for a brief moment, letting your muscles relax and a gentle breeze from the ocean to cloud your senses. Just as you were about to open your eyes and continue forward, you heard footsteps approaching you from behind. Your eyes shot open and your body turned but before you could see who it was, you felt the barrel of a gun press against your lower back. The metal was cold against your tank top as it dug into you, the owner’s hand coming up to grab your shoulder and keep you from moving away. 

“Maybank shouldn’t be leaving his things unattended, especially ones as pretty as you,” a voice muttered into your ear, jabbing the gun harshly into your spine. You froze, trying to place the voice to a face as you heard a vehicle approach and stop beside you.

“I’m not a thing, actually,” you retorted, keeping the fear out of your voice as the man behind you jerked you forward toward the black SUV. The backdoor swung open, but you couldn’t see who was driving it or if there was anyone else waiting for you inside. “What do you want? JJ isn’t his dad, whatever Luke’s done to piss you off is his own problem, not ours.”

The man laughed sharply in your ear as he shoved you forward, causing you to drop your shirt and tumble off the sidewalk, and your torso to fall into the backseat. You yelled out when the man grabbed your legs and pushed your body into the car, your body bending painfully as he slid in beside you. The door slammed shut and the man backed you into the corner of the SUV, caging your body against the door. Your hand shot down to the door handle, yanking on it to open the door and let you fall out, but it didn’t budge. 

“Child lock, snowball. You’re not going anywhere.” 

You looked up, finally able to see the man’s face as he grinned down at you. His grill shined each time the SUV passed under a streetlight and the black hair dangling in his face tickled your nose from how close he was. Instantly, you brought your foot up and kicked him in the stomach, pushing him away from you as you struggled to sit up. 

“What the fuck do you want, Barry?” you snapped while the dealer across from you laughed loudly and held onto his stomach. 

He smirked at you, “I forgot how much of a kicker you were, snowball.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have been tryin’ to sell blow to fucking 8th graders,” you shot back, glaring at him. “Now tell me what the fuck you want.”

He raised his hands in surrender, the smirk never falling from his face. “I want my fucking money back. You little shits stole 25k from my goddamn house.”

“What the fuck are you on about? The last time I went to your shithole was a year ago to buy an 8ball,” you scoffed. 

“And while I do miss the revenue you brought me during your time as a cokehead, I’m not talking about you, snowball. Your boy, your brother, your brother’s new whore, the ex-kook, and Heyward’s son stole from me. I know you’re too smart and levelheaded to pull a stunt like that, and the ex-kook and her boyfriend have too much going for them to fuck it up by crossing me. This means it was either your boy or your brother,” Barry explained, his jaw tight with anger as he spoke.

“First of all, Kie and Pope have names. Second of all, they’re not dating. Third of all, what makes you think it wasn’t Sarah? From what I’ve heard, the Cameron’s have a history of robbing you blind.”

“Because my sister is too much of a pansy to pull a stunt like this, and she doesn’t even know who the fuck Barry is.” Your head shot up at the new voice, and you made eye contact with Rafe in the rearview mirror. “You dirty pogues have corrupted my sister.”

“I see someone’s been bitched,” you chuckled with a roll of your eyes. Rafe’s foot slammed on the break and caused you to slam into the back of the passenger seat with an oomph. He turned around, his arm already raised to throw a punch, when Barry grabbed it first.

“Chill the fuck out, Country Club. Can’t go beaten on her just yet. Now hurry the fuck up and get us to the hanger.” Rafe’s nostrils flared at Barry’s demand, and after a moment of his fist flexing in Barry’s hold, Rafe relented. He jerked his arm back and continued driving in silence. “Don’t piss off the driver, snowball,” Barry tsked, waving his finger in your face.

“Look, why would JJ or Birdie steal 25 thousand dollars from you? You know how much JJ despises you and your business because of what it’s done to his dad and the hole I fell into last year, and my brother doesn’t even know who the hell you are. It doesn’t make any sense.” 

Barry chuckled, “I see they’ve kept you in the dark. Did they tell you about the gold they found? That they tried pawning off to me this morning?” At the frown on your face and your furrowed brows, Barry laughed even harder. “Oh yeah, they brought in a seven-pound chunk of gold to the shop this morning. Offered ‘em a cashier’s check worth a couple thousand, but your boy is quite the negotiator. So, I sent them to the warehouse for the cash they wanted.”

“And let me take a wild-fucking-guess: on their way, you jumped them, stole the gold, and left them with nothing but dirt under their nails?” 

Barry grinned at your words, his tongue sliding over his grill as he laughed. “See, this is why they should’ve brought you along! Would’ve saved them from all the trouble they’ve gotten themselves into.” 

You rolled your eyes, “Well fuck, no wonder they stole from you. You stole from them first, Barry. An eye for a fucking eye, it’s the way of the jungle ‘round here. It’s the only damn law you follow.”

“You’re right, it is the only law I follow. Which is why you’re here, snowball. You see, before I could complete my task, they jumped me and stole my wallet and the gold. You’re smart, I bet you’re starting to see the problem now. No gold, no wallet, no 25k,” Barry seethed, the smirk falling from his face as he leaned forward, pushing you back into the corner of the seat. “JJ Maybank stole from me, plain as day. If I had seven pounds of gold in my hand it would be different, I wouldn’t be as pissed. But, you see, I don’t. So, as you said, it’s an eye for an eye. And what better to steal from JJ Maybank, than the only thing he cares about? The only thing he owns?”

“He doesn’t own me, so jot that down.”

Barry threw his head back and laughed loudly, shooting an unnerving feeling down your spine. Rafe laughed along, though anyone could tell it was forced as his eyes darted from the mirror to the road. “This entire goddamn island knows that he owns you, snowball, and you damn well know it too. Which means until I get my money back, you’re my collateral.”

--

The bruises decorating JJ’s torso ached with each step he took, but he had to keep moving toward the chateau: he had to prove to the others that he was good. He had to prove that he could do the right thing with the money he stole. Even if his dad couldn’t do the right thing, and wouldn’t let him back in the house without another beating, JJ could do the right thing and be good. Even if he stole the money it didn’t matter, because Barry stole his life, and Barry didn’t deserve the money, and Barry wasn’t good. The money would pay off his restitution, and you wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore and Pope wouldn’t have to feel guilty or worry about it anymore, either. Nobody would have to worry about him anymore, and it would all be good. 

But as JJ limped up the chateau’s steps, repeating to himself that, ‘it was all good, he was good, and everything would be good,’  he wasn’t expecting for the screen door to slam open and for John B. to body slam him into the ground. The blue thermos shot from his grip as he was flung down the stairs, and JJ couldn’t bite back his scream of pain when his already-aching body slammed into the dirt. He didn’t get a second to gather his bearings before John B. was pummeling his fists into his stomach and his arms and his face and anywhere else he could land a hit. JJ couldn’t even lift his legs to fight off his best friend from beating on his twice-battered body.

“This all your fault!” John B. screamed, his face an angry red as tears and spit rained down onto JJ. “He took her because of you!” He ceased his punches only to wrap his hands around JJ’s throat, squeezing and pressing down in an attempt to strangle the life out of his best friend.

Faintly, JJ could hear Pope, Kie, and Sarah screaming, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. His entire body felt cold but his head felt hot, and the buzzing in his ears was growing louder and louder until it was all he could hear. He could see John B.’s face above him, his lips moving as he screamed and sobbed, and JJ could see his own blood splattered on his best friend’s jaw and shirt. Black spots began to dance in front of his eyes, moving inward until he could only see the murderous rage filling John B.’s eyes. Just as the darkness settled over him, he felt John B.’s weight lift off of him and air came rushing back into his lungs. For a few seconds, all JJ could do was choke on the air whilst his body convulsed, and someone rolled him onto his side in a desperate hurry.

“-eathe, breathe JJ, come on.” Someone was talking to him, rubbing their hand up and down his back as he continued to shake. He still couldn’t see anything and he couldn’t tell who was talking to him and rubbing his back and all he really wanted to do was blackout for a bit. A harsh slap against the center of his back had other plans, causing the air to finally force itself into his lungs. JJ began to cough violently, continuing to choke on the air that was now entering his body. He tried pushing himself to his knees as he dry-heaved onto the ground, but his shaking arms and legs were too weak to support him.

Pope was yelling in the background, “Chill the fuck out, JB! You almost killed him!”, his voice bringing JJ’s senses back to where they belonged. 

“He fucking deserves it! He’s the reason she’s gone!” John B. yelled back, his voice deeper than JJ could remember. JJ blinked a few times, trying to focus on the bloody grass in front of him while his two friends continued fighting in the distance. 

“Hey, just keep breathing,” the person helping him - who JJ now recognized as Kie - soothed, pulling his sweaty hair out of his face as more blood dribbled from his lips. She was upset, JJ could tell by the way her hands were shaking and the sound of wet sniffles every few seconds. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, who John B. was talking about, but all that came out was a harsh wheeze from his burning lungs and even more blood. “Don’t- don’t say anything. Please, JJ, just… just breathe for a few minutes,” Kie whimpered before a sob slipped from her lips. 

He did as she asked and allowed his eyes to close, his body sinking into the ground as he focused on regulating his breathing. After a few minutes, JJ could hear John B. storm inside the chateau, kicking JJ’s crumpled body on his way up the stairs.

“John B., stop it!” Sarah yelled as she followed him inside. 

Pope came and knelt in front of JJ, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up. “You fucked up, JJ, worse than I ever thought possible,” Pope sighed as he adjusted JJ against the railing. 

“What-” JJ broke off to cough into his fist, ignoring the blood that splattered across his hand, “what happened?” His voice was hoarse and barely understandable, but Kie and Pope knew what he was saying. 

“You stole twenty-five-thousand dollars from a drug dealer. One of the most nefarious drug dealers on this island, that’s what happened,” Kie said, standing up and pacing in front of the blond. “What did you think was gonna happen, JJ? That he’d let it go?”

“What did he take? The HMS Pogue?” JJ rasped, looking up at his friends in confusion. “(Y/N)’ll be pissed, but we can get it back, or I’ll buy her and John B. a new one with the money.” His thoughts didn’t make sense inside of his pounding head, but he still voiced them regardless. 

“How are you so stupid?” Pope yelled, causing JJ to flinch as the other to shot to his feet. “Why would John B. try to kill you over a boat? Don’t you think (Y/N) would be out here yelling at you, too?”

“My girl doesn’t yell, you know that, Pope,” JJ shook his head. “She’s got work and the boat- the boat is all they’ve got left of Big John,” JJ said, coughing a few times. His head was foggy and his vision was still blurry, so he couldn’t see the mentioned boat sitting on the dock to his left.

“No, JJ,” Kie sighed, “Barry didn’t take the HMS. He took (Y/N). He left a note on the van--he wants his money back, plus the gold, and an extra 5k in exchange for (Y/N). He’ll be back in a week to make the trade.”

“He didn’t say what he’d do to her if we don’t give him what he wants but… it’s not something that needs to be said,” Pope whispered as he carefully watched for JJ’s reaction.

A cold chill fell over JJ, causing him to shiver violently despite the warm temperature outside. “You’re lying,” he spat, forcing himself to his feet. Pope and Kie backed up, steering clear of his sudden burst of energy. “You’re fucking lying, she’s not- she’s not gone, he didn’t lay a fucking finger on her. Barry knows better. You just… you just want me to return the money, that’s it, she’s fine, she’s inside right now, she’s-”

“JJ, stop, please,” Kie cried as JJ spun around, tripping over himself in his haste to run up the stairs. Pope grabbed ahold of him before he could make it very far, pulling him away from the house and John B.’s anger. JJ flailed in his grasp, but he was too weak from the lack of oxygen and two beatings his body had just endured, to fight Pope off. 

“She’s fine!” he screamed, not noticing the tears that were falling from his eyes. “I told her I would protect her, I promised nobody would ever lay a finger on her! She’s inside, and she’s fine--Barry didn’t fucking touch my girl, you’re lying,” he sobbed, straining against Pope’s hold on his biceps.

“Why would we lie about this?” Kie yelled back, suddenly overwhelmed with having to watch JJ fall apart like this in front of her. “Why would your best fucking friend try and beat you to death if it wasn’t true? Why would the gold have been included in the letter? Huh JJ? Do you think (Y/N) would have ever gone along with something like this?” she screamed, her voice hoarse from crying as well.

“We’re telling the truth, JJ. She’s gone,” Pope said, holding onto JJ even tighter as his thrashing momentarily increased. 

JJ let the words wash over him, the truth of his mistake settling deep in his bones. The guilt, and the grief, and the anger weighed him down, and before he could stop himself, he let out a deep, guttural, inhumane scream of agony. Pope couldn’t hold him up anymore as JJ’s knees gave out, his entire body collapsing to the ground while he screamed. His throat burned more than it had before and he didn’t notice when his voice gave out, leaving him a mess on the floor with spit and blood dribbling from his gaping mouth. Pope cradled JJ to his chest, crying into his best friend’s shoulder while Kie fell beside the two, trying to get JJ to breathe again through her own tears.

--

Half an hour later, you were pulling up beside a hanger at the very back of a storage facility. You knew kooks used this area to store their boats, planes, cars, and other expensive things when they weren’t intending to be used in the near future--so you weren’t surprised when Rafe got out of the van and opened up the hanger, revealing a vintage boat and a handful of different furniture. With hurricane season already underway, and summer having begun, you knew kooks weren’t going to be visiting the storage facility very often, meaning there wasn’t a high hope that someone would stumble across you. 

“Welcome to your new home, snowball,” Barry leered, before opening the backdoor and dragging you out of the SUV. He kept the gun pressed against your waist while leading you into the hanger, leaving Rafe to pull the SUV around the corner. It was cold inside, much colder than you were expecting, and you had to fight to keep a shiver from trickling down your spine. “You and I are gonna be real comfortable in here for the next week, maybe longer if your boy doesn’t come through.”

‘He’ll come through’, you thought to yourself, worry spiking inside of you at the mention of JJ. You looked over your shoulder as Rafe came into the hanger and loudly pulled the door down behind him. “So, what? You’re just going to keep me locked up in here until you get what you want? I have a fucking job, Barry. I’ve already called out enough as it is, pulling a no-call-no-show for an entire week is going to get me fired.”

Barry reeled around to stare at you, an incredulous look on his face. “I’ve just kidnapped you and held you at gunpoint, and you’re worried about your damn job?” he asked, waving the gun in front of your face for emphasis.

“Uh, yeah, no shit. My job is the only reason DCS hasn’t snatched me and my brother into the system. Mr. Carrera has agreed to help us maneuver a few technicalities with DCS--so long as I take on extra shifts when needed, and show the fuck up. Plus, a week’s worth of zero tips means bills won’t be paid and stomachs won’t be fed,” you scoffed, knocking the gun away from your face.

“I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in, snowball-”

“Ay, nuh-uh, Country Club. Get your own nickname,” Barry cut in, prompting you to raise your eyebrows.

“But you-”

“Nope. Get your own.”

Rafe paused, glaring down at you in thought, before nodding to himself. “I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in, Maybitch-”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” you groaned, pressing your fingers to your forehead in exasperation. ‘It’s got a nice ring to it, though, and JJ would eat it up… Could even get a laugh out of Pope, I bet,’ you couldn’t help but think.

Barry knocked the gun against Rafe’s shoulder, shutting him up with a look of annoyance. “Your boy has gotten himself in a lotta trouble, 25k worth of trouble. So until I get my fucking money, you’re not going anywhere,” Barry simplified.

You pouted in mock disappointment, “Could you at least write a note to my boss?” Barry groaned with a roll of his eyes before he nodded his head at Rafe and directed him toward something you couldn’t see. “Look, I’m gonna be honest with you, Bear. JJ and the others have probably spent the money already. JJ’s got restitution to pay, Pope has an interview he needs a suit for, Kie’s been wanting a new surfboard, and Birdie’s been wanting to fix up our boat with somethin’ pretty. There’s no way they’d let 25 thousand dollars burn a hole in their pockets.��

Barry chuckled darkly with a shake of his head and turned your body around. He forced you to face the spot he had sent Rafe to, where you saw a metal chair bolted to the ground with Rafe stood beside it. He held a boat chain, a lock, and zip ties in his hands and a wicked grin was cracked along his face. Barry moved your ponytail out of the way so he could lean his chin on your shoulder, taking satisfaction in the way your body trembled. “Trust me, snowball, after they see how well you’ve been treated at Hotel Barry, they’ll find a way to get me my money. And you,” he paused to laugh softly in your ear, “you’ll be providing me all the information I need on where to find the rest of that gold.”

‘I’m so fucked.’

--

All Writing Taglist (OPEN): @sophster1881​ @alilcloudy​

[ghostiiiee]

Just Like Me

To read at my Ao3 CLICK HERE This is the first chapter. sorry is its a little rough. :sweatdrop:

Almost forgot! Tw: i will be going heavy on quirkless discrimination and mental health issues. Theres not much in the first chapter but i do want to touch on it at some point.

School was never something he looked forward to. After all, what was there to look forward to? He was used to getting bullied, made fun of for being different, called names, shoved around. The irony wasn’t lost on him. Many years ago, maybe he would have been the normal one? 

Then again, what even was normal?

It used to be normal to go to school- learn history, math, science and whatever language the school taught. 

It used to be normal to not have any powers, after all -  superheroes were a dream. Stories people made up to tell themselves. Heroes existed, yes, but they never had powers. Heroes were just people, average people. 

Again, there's another word that's changed. Average. 

Normal. Average. 

Two hundred years ago, it was normal for the average person to look human.

Two hundred years ago, it was normal  for the average person to have no powers.

Two hundred years ago, it was normal for superheroes to only be a thing of stories.

That was two hundred years ago. Not now.

Now it's weird to not have powers.

Now you get bullied for being regular. Quirkless.

One of 20%. 

Mathematically, he thought it was stupid that so many people get treated so differently. He did remember Mr. Lancer telling him of people getting treated for less. Mr. Lancer told him two hundred years ago, 10% of the population was seen as satanic because of what hand they used to write with. A similar estimated percent was discriminated against because of who they loved, or what they identified as. 

“Sadly, Mr. Fenton, the human race has a history of not tolerating those who they see as a minority.”

“I remember that from history Mr. Lancer.” Danny sighed, leaning his head on his hand. His eyes stared out the window, looking at the stormy weather. “I remember you talking about how things used to be.”

The teacher pursed his lips, staying quiet and looking at him with concern.

Lancer had asked Danny to stay after class to speak to him. He never did like how Daniel’s peers would gang up on him after school ended. The best he could usually do was this. Casper’s principal was... far too likely to be accepting of anything the more wealthy students’ parents had to say.

“Is that why you’ve been spacing out all day then, Danny?” 

It was asked gently. Danny’s eyes glanced over to the balding teacher before darting back to the window. He hummed for a moment. “...Kinda. I got a lot on my mind.”

“Penny for your thoughts then?” Lancer pulled his chair next to his desk.

It was quiet for a few minutes, the sound of rain gently pattering against the classroom windows filled the room while Danny collected his thoughts. Blue eyes watched raindrops roll down the glass.

“I don’t get it, Mr. Lancer.” His voice was quiet as the floodgates opened. “Everyone in my family has quirks. Dad is strong. My mom can copy anyone’s fighting styles just by watching. Jazz can look at someone and-.... well you know.” He sank down into his chair. “Aunty A, even has a quirk. I've never seen her miss a shot. And then there's me. Daniel James Fenton. The first quirkless person in our family in a long time. Don’t get me wrong either, it doesn’t bother me too much.” Liar. “It’s just... it feels like the cherry on top of everything else.

“My parents got an invitation to teach some classes at UA in Japan. In Japan, I've never lived anywhere but here. Amity Park. It’s not like they can leave me here. PLUS, Jazz has always wanted to go there for the General studies.”

“I understand your concern, Danny. But I’ve seen your work,” There was slight amusement in Mr. Lancers voice. “Aren’t you good at building things? I know I’ve caught you tinkering with something more than once in class.”

Danny’s face flushed red. “...My parent’s usually make those. They’re old models of support gear they have made. I was seeing if I could get a glitch out.”

“And?”

“...I keep shocking myself.” He mumbled. “It hurts like hell.”

“While I can’t say I’m happy that you are getting injured. As long as you are safe, I'm glad.” Mr. Lancer offered a smile to the teen. “As for the other predicament, you are always open to contact me if you need me after you move.”

“Thank you Mr. Lancer.”

~~~~~~~

Danny was thankful that they moved over the summer and not in the middle of the year. School was already hectic enough as was. Moving in the middle of the year was not something he ever wanted to do, let alone moving across the globe in the middle of the year.

He kept to himself for the first few weeks. He liked to walk around, exploring the new area. It felt different than Amity park. More crowded. He noted early on there was definitely more hero around too. It didn’t bother him too much.

That's a lie.

More heroes means more villains.

He didn’t like villains.

He also didn’t like being a hostage.

Lucky him!

He was held hostage by a villain not even before the end of the second week. Not that this was a first time experience for him, having been a favorite target back in Amity Park. He knew all the heroes back home personally because of it. People just loved to take quirkless people hostage. One would think, with the target that seems to hang over his head, that Daniel James Fenton wouldn’t take such risks as walking around alone at night. One would think that if he did, it would be out of necessity, and he would at least have something on him to defend himself.

...yeah no that's not the case. Why in the world would that be the case?

Danny was shoved onto the ground, air leaving his lungs as he hit. He gasped for air, trying to look at who was targeting him now. He couldn’t really tell much about the person, ratty clothes and a hoodie pulled up to cover their face. Nothing could be seen under the hood, it was just shadow, pure, black shadow.

“What’s a runt like you doing out right now?” The villain crouched next to Danny. Chuckling when he tried to scoot away. They put a foot on one of Danny’s wrists, “Ah-ah. Now that’s rude. I’m talking to you punk.”

Danny didn’t respond, wincing at the pressure on his arm. 

“It’s rather rude to ignore your elders.” The villain put more pressure, adjusting so they were crouched like a vulture next to prey.

“F-fuck you. I’ve seen worse.” He growled

The regret in saying that was nearly instant. In the blink of an eye, the ground next to his head - that was solid concrete what the hell- was shattered. The villain was making an inhuman noise, a low gutteral sound coming from them. “You haven’t seen my worst. I wasn’t gonna do much to ya, but I’m starting to change my mind kid.”

He knew he should do anything else - he was already on a thin line - but fuck it. He had a free hand anyways. He grabbed something from his pocket and slammed it against the villain. “As I said before. Fuck. You.” He pressed the button on the side.

The machine sparked to life. Quite literally. Danny still didn’t know what it was supposed to do, but he could make it shock things. Like a weird taser. Unlucky for Danny he was literally pinned to the ground beneath the villain getting tased. And as everyone knows. Humans are conductive. Very conductive. 

Strangely the villain didn't even flinch. The growl getting louder as they grabbed the device from their shoulder and crushed it with their hand. Danny started shaking. Okay so that was a horrible idea. 

The shadows of the alley gathered around the villain. Climbing up their clothing and slowly slithering along their arm. They held Danny down, forming chains around him. In the villain’s hand, a knife, absorbing all light, The villian made the move to attack, and Danny closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

It never did.

It lessened. 

Weight lifted from him, a weight he hadn’t realized was there besides his arm. Tentatively he opened his eyes. 

The villain was on the ground a few meters away from him, knocked out and tied up to a fire exit- similar to how Batman would leave criminals for the cops. Danny blinked. He hadn’t heard anything. So what in the world happened? And how could that have happened so fast? 

Standing up, he looked around for a sign of anyone being there to help him.

Oddly enough. It seemed no one had caused the villain to go down, at least not that Danny could see. Blue eyes scanned the area for a moment, looking for anything that wasn’t there before. Nothing popped out. Nothing was out of place. It looked like no one had been there.

He let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. The air condensed, forming mist as it left his mouth and floated away. It was like when he first stepped outside in the winter. Which was strange- it was the middle of summer. A small frown formed on his face. The nights here weren’t that cold normally. 

He brushed it off, ignoring the goosebumps running along his skin as the air chilled. Perhaps whoever knocked the villain out had a rather cold quirk, he mused to himself. Heroes normally make themselves known at this point, checking to see if he was okay. 

He had an inkling it wasn’t a hero. At least not a licensed one. Not that he minded. He didn’t care who it was really. They saved his life… he was grateful for that.

Danny looked up to the clear sky, moonlight peaking over the buildings enough to illuminate the alley where the street lights glowed. He smiled up to the stars. “Thank you.” He said softly. “I wasn’t paying attention tonight.”

He left the alley, starting his way back home. He never caught sight of the figure watching him.