#and then more guys in this class piped up to support this point

[honeyviscera]

i am ready to kill

[castorcasting]

Jason Todd x Vampire!Reader

Little Vamp

Note: This doesn’t follow any comic canon. :D

Warnings: Slight bit suggestive

Lately there have been more sightings of vampires around Gotham, with the rise of vampires. Vampire hunters also increased in numbers. 

Jason was recently tracking down these ‘vampire hunters'’. He didn’t really believe in vampires but then again, he was brought back to life by green water so who was he to say what’s real or fake. He’s been keeping tabs on Penguin, Penguin has been hiring assassins to find vampires - since there’s an old legend that says a dead vampire's blood has properties of immortality, or whatever. All those reports led him to you. You're the most important vampire listed in Penguin's list. Jason had a few options in mind, it was to either kill you, or save you. He has no idea if you're a good or bad vamp. He'll find the answer to his question soon enough though .

It was in the dead of night, you were hunting. Silently stalking a creep in a dingy alleyway, that creep has been staring at some young drunk girl. You growled softly in disgust, you had class. You didn’t like to drink the blood of the low, you liked ‘normal’ blood; Preferably blood of non-creeps, though you can't be picky, especially since you had a decent moral. Which is to not hurt innocent people.

The guy slowly went up to the drunk girl, holding her waist and trying to sweet talk her into having a good time. The girl, despite being drunk, rejected him. The man didn’t take the rejection well, leading to him groping her. You had enough, you jumped in. Pushing the creep away with your enhanced strength, he fell to the floor, scurrying away as he's been caught. The girl ran away when it happened, but you panicked when she started darting towards the road. 

Deep down, you aren’t a bad person. You have the title of a vampire, and vampires have a bad rep. You killed the guilty and saved the innocent, however all that killing has rightfully messed with your moral compass. You abandoned the creep who was your meal for the night, and ran towards the girl who was inches away from the busy road. 

You ran and ran, as fast as you could. The problem was, you had super strength, and super hearing only. You didn’t have superspeed, and for some reason that drunken girl was faster than you. “Hey! Stop-..” You heaved in a deep breath. “Stop running!” Reaching your hand out to grab her, luckily you caught her by her hair. You yanked her and she came stumbling to you. The girl cried out for help and apparently god was at her side today. A red batarang came flying towards you; the whooshing sound alerted you. 

You let go of the girl and dodged the batarang. Looking up you saw a guy, covered by his red hood. “Preying on innocent people? Looks like vampire stories are true.” The stranger shouted out to you. You felt your bloodlust increase as your hunger rose, a sign that you needed to feed or you might go feral. Okay maybe the stories about vampires are not far off from the real thing. 

“What little vamp can’t speak?” He mocked. Jumping down from the high building he stood from, holding onto a metal pipe to slow down his descent. You watched cautiously as he approached you, you finally got a closer look of him. His muscles and his height intimidated you a bit. You backed off slowly when you heard the sound of a gun clocking. “Look, there have been sightings of you killing off criminals..I respect that but, that's not the way to do things.” He lifted his arm and pointed a gun at you.

“Wait don’t!-” You shouted out, using your arms to shield your face. Jason watched you, he was having second thoughts about killing you. You didn’t seem all bad, sure you killed but it was only criminals, something which he supports. Plus he did kill as well. He lowered the gun, he was still on guard. Thinking that you could be using his emotions to play with him. He observed you through his red mask, the way your body shivered in fear and how your breathing seemed uneven. There’s no way she could be faking all that? If so she could be a damn of an actor. He thought to himself. Jason carefully walked over to you, he couldn’t see your face. He looked at you up and down, trying to find any weapons on you. Nothing, however.. the way your body looks..Jason closed his eyes and just took in a deep breath. Not the time for that now. He scolded himself. 

You slowly put down your defensive stance and looked at him. He just kinda stood there, frozen in a walking stance. “Uh..? Hello?” You waved a hand to his face, he snapped out of his trance and jumped away from your hand. Jason and you stood a few distances apart, he was thinking about what to do with you now. You clearly had good strength, he was watching when you pushed the creepy dude who was twice your size away...It clicked, you could be a useful ally to have. “What’s your name, little vamp?” 

You tilted your head at him, “Why do you want to know?” It was odd. A stranger wanting to know your name after threatening to kill you, there’s clearly a catch to it.

Jason pondered for a bit, he knew that Penguin is looking for you - more specifically, your blood, or DNA. whichever does not matter. If your DNA gets into the wrong hands, it’ll be a catastrophe. The world has enough clones, it doesn't need more. “You could be of use to me.” Jason said in a monotone voice, he saw how your face scrunched up. Cute..It was odd, he just met you and yet he feels an attraction to you...But anyways, Jason saw how your once confident body language became closed off. Crossing your arms and you glaring at him. He must've hit a nerve, he quickly backtracks on what he said. 

“I mean like, you’re a vampire. Penguin is hunting for you..I could offer you protection and you could help me out. Fair trade?” You scoffed, your pride getting the better of you. “I don’t need a simple human to protect me from humans.” You didn’t believe him, because who would protect you? You’re a vampire, feared by humanity and will always be labeled as a threat. But then again..Your heart is aching, you want to believe that this stranger will protect you. Naive little vampire.

You’ve been used before as a weapon, a test subject, and a bait. You just want to be normal, as normal as a vampire can get. No more fighting and killing. Just a mundane life is all you ever hoped for. 

Jason knew what you were feeling when you stayed silent. He may be dense when it comes to emotions but he isn’t oblivious to it. “Look vamp. I get it, you feel like you can’t trust me. I wouldn’t trust me either if I were you.” He slowly walked to you. Looking down at you from his looming height, Jason crouched slightly to be face to face with you. “Just trust me alright…I’ll be honest, I see a lot of myself in you, (not like that.) untrusting, prideful. And all that other bullshit, I get it.” 

Your gaze softens and your breath hitches, you couldn’t help but want to trust him. Furthermore, his gaze made your face feel warm. Your head was indecisive but your heart has made the decision. “I’ll meet you in the Batburger restaurant nearby.” You tossed him a tracker that you made, it was in a bat symbol. Not for Batman, it’s for the fact you’re a vampire. You know, the myths of vampires being able to turn into bats. “I’ll find you tomorrow night.” Jason tilted his head in confusion.

 “Vamp..You could just come with me right now. You know that right?” You turned around and walked away. The sway of your hips commanded his attention, he looked at you up and down once again as you spoke. “I need to hunt. I’m a little vamp after all.” Your teasing tone of voice was like music to Jason’s ears. He’s entranced by you. Supposedly all stories of vampires are true to some extent. You’re beautiful in an intimidating way, just like how vampires are described to be. The way you talk and act. He’s a goner. Jason would’ve offered himself as your meal right then and there, but he didn’t want to scare you away. So he watched you jump away on rooftops, blending into the city lights. Jason is eager to see you again. He stared at the tracker you gave him, a smirk forming behind his red mask. See you soon..Little vamp. He thought, as he went on with his night as Red Hood.

[hockeyandhrsepwr]

How on Earth?

*The boys try to embarrass Eddy, but things don’t go the way they expect*

The hockey boys are at a house party and have decided to spice the evening up with a little game of truth or dare.

“Eddy, your turn” Luke says and the boy rolls his eyes. “Dare.”

“Okay, think of the cheesiest pick up line you can, then say it to a girl of our choice & try to get a date.” The boys start snickering and looking around the room. “Her!” Duke points to a group of girls chatting in the corner “Bruh there’s four of them. Be specific.” He rolls his eyes. “The redhead in the black top. 20 bucks you can’t get her number.”

“Ooh, 30 he gets shut down right away.” Luke pipes up.

“15 he can’t get a dance with her” Comes from Mark

“Wow guys, thanks for the support.” Eddy flips them off as he makes his way towards the girl.

Duke snickers and the guys ask him what’s funny “She’s in my management class. Ive asked her out before but she said she doesn’t like athletes. And she definitely saw him over here with me.” He rubs his hands together. “There no way he doesn’t get shut down.”

Y/n POV

You’re standing chatting to a few friends that lived in your first year dorm, when someone taps you on the shoulders. Your friends are smirking and you turn to see Ethan Edwards, one of the hockey players. You know a few of them from classes but haven’t met him yet. You can see Dylan over his shoulder smirking. Oh shit, he’s wearing glasses. They’re my weakness, especially given how cute he is even without them.

Ethan POV

Holy shit she’s hot. The girl looks up at me questioningly. I’ve forgot what I’m supposed to say.

Y/n POV

He clears his throat

“Sorry, I just had to come over & say, my eyesight may be crap, but I can still see you’re an absolute catch. “

It takes a second but you laugh. “Really?”

His face falls, so you rush to finish “It was cute!” And his face perks back up. “So if I asked you if you want to grab a drink?” “Now or another time?”

He smiles “hopefully both?”. Damn he’s cute. You smile back.

“How about coffee tomorrow morning?” You wink

“That sounds good! Can I get your number so we can sort it out?”
“I’m thinking more we could maybe grab one now at my place and then see…” you trail off, hoping he’s picking up what you’re putting down. It takes a sec, but he seems to get it & blushes. He nods, dopey grin on his face. “I’d like that”

“Okay, Why don’t you give me a few minutes to tell my friends I’m leaving & then ill come grab you”

He nods & heads back to the boys as you walk off in search of your party buddy.

No one POV

Ethan walks back over to the boys, getting razzed because he didn’t get her number. They ask what pick up line he used, and the response is overwhelmingly “what the hell?” “Please tell me you didn’t”

Duker starts up “God thats embarrassing man. Of all the possiblities, you come up with that? No wonder it didn’t work!” He finishes just as someone approaches the group

Y/n POV

You sling an arm around Dukes shoulder as you say hey to him, Mackie & mark, who you’ve had classes with at some point over the last 2 years.

“Sup boys, having fun?” They nod. “Cool, Eddy you ready?”

He nods & extends a hand. You grab it and pull him towards you. “Bye boys” you call over your should as you pull Eddy away “see you Monday Duker.”

You head out and start the walk back to your apartment.

Back at the party

The boys are speechless. “How in the fuck did that work?” Mackie muses

“Guess its not that she’s doesn’t like athletes, she just didn’t want you” Luke laughs as he nudges Duke, who’s still staring at the front door.

“Legend” Mark says, as some of the junior guys make their way over. “Did Eddy just take a girl home?” Jacob says, and the boys relay the tale. “Alright! He’s got game.”

[the-badger-mole]

No Sound But Silence: Derecho

If anyone had asked Katara what kept her going over the next few weeks of school, she would have told them she was running on pure spite. Her accident, and the subsequent revelation that it had been something a bit less than accidental had raged all over the school. It turned out that an attempted murder had superseded the scandal of her pregnancy, and rather than treating her like a pariah for being a teen statistic, her classmates and teachers were treating her a delicate glass sculpture of a victim. Neither was preferable to Katara because in either case, it was clear that few expected her to finish out the school year.

"Screw 'em!" Toph declared as she escorted her friend from literature to civics. She waved her white cane imperiously in front of her. "You're smarter than just about anyone in this school. Teachers included. And you're handling this whole teen pregnancy thing like a champ. You deserve to finish this on your own terms. I'm frikin proud of you!"

The support of her friends and family helped too, Katara reflected. Since Meng and Aang were still not speaking to her, she was down to three friends in the entire school where she had just the year before been voted most popular. But the support of Toph, Jin and Song was strong enough to counteract the whispers and stares from everyone else. After hearing that she had been deliberately pushed down the stairs and that the culprit hadn't been identified, they hadn't even needed to be asked to serve as Katara's bodyguards. Toph's term, not hers.

Toph's first two classes were next to Katara's, so she escorted her friend for the morning. Even blind, everyone knew that the feisty sophomore had a violent streak was not to be trifled with. Jin was in Katara's next class, and then they all had the same lunch period. The afternoon was a bit more complicated, as that was when Katara had her AP classes. Toph's classes were all on the opposite end of the school, so Jin and Song split escort duties by which teachers would care the least about them being late. Song took Katara to her fourth and sixth classes, since neither her art nor gym teachers cared about attendance in general, and since Jin usually skipped her fifth period class anyway, she took over getting Katara to and from science lab.

"Won't you get in trouble?" Katara asked her friend.

"Please," Jin scoffed. "I'm skipping shop. After that incident with the jigsaw, my teacher is thanking me for not showing up."

In between, they were all trying to figure out who had been responsible for pushing Katara down the stairs. Piando, despite his initial concern for Katara, hadn't been the most helpful in figuring out who had done this to her. He'd turned over the video to the police, but there was little they could do. So the girls had taken it upon themselves to solve the mystery over Katara's protests.

"It had to be Azula," Toph insisted. "Who else has the right mix of crazy and entitlement to push a pregnant woman down a flight of stairs. You said yourself that her dad is pissed that you're carrying his grandchild."

"Azula is too smart to do something so impulsive," Katara sighed, rubbing her temples. She willed the lunch bell to ring. Or for her friends to pick up a different topic.

"But she hasn't been caught," Toph pointed out. "She wouldn't do something like that with witnesses, but she waited specifically until there were no witnesses, and did it where she could easily slip away."

"Well, what about Mai?" Jin suggested. "She still thinks Zuko is her rightful property. I mean I had one date with the guy after they broke up, and she practically threatened my life. She absolutely would push you down the stairs, if she thought it would help her get Zuko back." Katara looked up at the clock and groaned. There was still another twenty minutes left in lunch, and there's no way her friends would let her slip away on their watch.

"You know..." Song piped in, hesitantly. "Meng was pretty upset. You don't think she could've...you know..." The table went silent and the four friends turned to the empty seats where Aang and Meng should have been. Katara wasn't sure where either of them had been spending their lunch periods, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"No way," Katara said mostly to herself. Then she turned back to her friends. "No way. I mean, Meng was upset with me, but she isn't capable of that." She expected a chorus of agreement, but was met with uncomfortable silence.

"I...I'm sure you're right," Jin said at last. "After all, she became a pacifist after Aang told her he was. She wouldn't do anything to make Aang think that she is capable of hurting someone. Not after seeing how upset he was after you told him you considered abortion." Still, the unsettled feeling didn't lift. Katara cleared her throat and picked at her meal.

"It's pointless to speculate," she told her friends for what felt like the hundredth time. "We have no way of knowing for sure, and all we're doing is making ourselves paranoid for no reason."

"I wouldn't call you being shoved headfirst down the stairs no reason," Toph snorted. "But maybe we should put a pin in this. At the rate we're going, we'll be adding Aang to the list of suspects next."

"It's not as big a stretch as you think," Jin said archly. "He did go full on Nice Guy on Katara. You know those tend to be the ones who snap and snap hard."

"Stop it," Song chided. "He's our friend."

"So is Meng," Jin pointed out.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

At home, there was little reprieve from the hunt for her assailant. Hakoda, Zuko and Iroh weren't as blatant as her friends, but Katara knew from the hushed conversations that ended abruptly when she entered a room that they were no less interested in finding the culprit. It wasn't that Katara wasn't interested, but she knew that none of them had anymore idea than she had about who it could be, and it was causing her more frustration to have this guessing game played around her than it would have to just not know.

"Can't we get a copy of that security video?" Katara heard Zuko ask her father. "I know it's grainy, but Piando doesn't know all the social circles. Maybe one of our friends would recognize who it was." Katara sighed and walked into the kitchen. The conversation, of course, came to an abrupt end.

"I have twelve weeks of school left," she told her father and fiance. "Can we please just get me to the finish line with no more drama?"

"Of course!" both Zuko and Hakoda had solemnly promised.

For a while, that promise was kept, but it turned out, that no more drama was easier said than done. Katara, through a campaign of begging, pleading, and turning the conversation back to potential baby names and plans for a combination baby and bridal shower, was able to get her friends off the hunt for her assailant. At least during their lunch break. But a bit over a month later, Katara opened her locker and a plain white envelope fluttered down somewhere near her feet. Jin scooped it up helpfully and handed it to her.

"Weird," Katara said. "You get one?"

"Nope." Jin shook her head. The bell rang, and Katara tucked it into a textbook. She needed to get to her science lab. The envelope could wait.

Katara was home before she remembered. She and Zuko were studying together, and they had set up at the kitchen table while Hakoda prepared dinner. Zuko spotted the envelope poking out of her science text book and tugged at it.

"Letter from your secret admirer?" He joked.

"Maybe," Katara said, sticking her tongue out at him. Inside the envelope was a piece of pink construction paper, and for a moment, Katara thought it actually was a card or something. The note, though, was made of letters cut out from magazines and newspapers, like a ransom note from a movie. A thrill of horror went through Katara as she read the first line.

I know who pushed you down the stairs...

Part 1.... Part 28, Part 29

[doiefy]

fuck it, why not, nct 127 as engineering students

it's midterm season and i needed smth fun to do lmao. partially inspired by dumb shit i’ve seen/done

taeil: social butterfly exchange student studying something super obscure like petroleum or mineral engineering. on his first day of school (after getting run over by a roomba), he made up some stupid lie about his home country in an effort to appear more interesting. shit escalated, the lies continued, and now four years later he’s sir moony dal tae-1-methyl-cyclohexane-il from the glorious country of kwangya on planet mars. he’s actually from korea.

johnny: biomedical engineering student who will literally never shut the fuck up about going to med school. drinks redbull for breakfast, lunch and dinner. brushes his teeth with redbull. puts redbull in his diffuser. smokes redbull. did i mention he’s drinking redbull right now so he can stay up studying for the mcat? and that he’s trying to get into med school? in all seriousness he’d be a great doctor. but he’d also prescribe redbull.

taeyong: overworked mom friend studying electrical engineering. in a perpetual state of panic, sleep deprivation and electrocution; but he always has essentials on hand for his kids. be it bandaids, tampons or condoms, all you have to do is ask. oh also he modifies roombas to chase people down hallways while singing the thomas the tank engine theme song. he’s like michael reeves but giggly and with good intentions.

yuta: part time chemical engineering student, full time drug dealer. accepted his offer to the program because he watched one episode of breaking bad while stoned out of his mind, so it's all over for you when he figures out how to cook meth in the lab. the only issue right now? yeah he failed the lab safety training like six times and thought hydrofluoric acid was edible. he's not allowed into any undergraduate lab, much less onto campus at all. yeah he got expelled.

doyoung: obnoxious industrial engineering student. won't shut up about optimization and how his very optimized schedule has allowed him to maintain a 4.20 gpa, do 50+ extracurriculars and get multiple bitches. eventually his extensive spreadsheets creep out every girl he gets with and he has a crisis over his sexuality. gets suspended for public indecency with jaehyun two days before graduation.

jaehyun: goes into civil engineering thinking he can convince everyone he's straight by working with straight members and supports in infrastructure. resident hetero fuck boy up until he learns about bending moments in his second week of school, at which point he comes out. often struggles to finish exams because he's too busy thinking about how the pipe or beam he's analyzing looks too much like a penis.

jungwoo: the nicest mechanical engineering student you'll ever meet. is so sweet and innocent that people are constantly mistaking him for a freshman. mentors younger years, has the most cracked linkedin, brings coffee and donuts to class, generally just a good guy. oh, and the guy who looks exactly like him, who gets fucking hammered at every event and once did a line off a portrait of Isaac Newton? pfft nah that's not jungwoo. no way.

mark: aerospace major and music minor, but he spends so much time in the music faculty that no one believes him when he says he's in engineering. makes a "it's not rocket science" joke at least once in every conversation. probably giggling like a fucking buffoon in the back of a class, so loud that you can hear him in lecture recordings. he also can't go anywhere without recognizing 30 people and fist bumping all of them in turn like "brooooooo."

haechan: stinky computer engineering student who only ever wears the same two hoodies in slightly different shades of grey and considers walking in the rain to be an acceptable substitute for showering. claims he's grinding league and valorant during exam week so people underestimate him. everyone's surprised when they find out he's been on the dean's list since year one AND knows how to do laundry. again his laundry is two hoodies in slightly different shades of grey.

[sburbian-sage]

Sup, Thief of Mind here. Gotta ask, how exactly *does* someone be an effective Thief, without kinda just taking control and doing what they want?

Whenever I've rolled it, it's always the same problem. I just can't muster any respect for my coplayers. And you said to the last guy that Thieves are supposed to be assholes toward the *enemies*, but that's even harder. I don't feel anything getting one over on Sburb's dumbass NPCs. It proves nothing. Beating them is the bare minimum.

It kinda feels like the point of the Thief is independence, and standing up for yourself, and I feel like that's always gonna mean stepping on some coplayer's toes.

>I just can't muster any respect for my coplayers

This is because you think you're the only real person in your life when in reality your inner dialogue is such a shallow self-parody of what an actual human thinks like that you have to reframe your own inherent unlikeability as you being too real for everyone. In your mind you're the protagonist, but in reality you're so flat and uninteresting that you'd be lucky to star in the most schlock reality TV show.

With respect.

You're close to the money, in that most Active Classes do have arcs surrounding independence and standing up for yourself. Seers and Sages both gather information, but when the red-string corkboard is filled out and the plan is ready to go off, my job is to get in and get out and push up my glasses while saying "all according to keikaku", instead of gathering the A-team and sitting in the van providing support. But you'll note that at no point do I have to mislead anybody, or make my plans in such a way that it fucks over everyone but myself, or even keep them in the dark. I'm just making making a wise, decisive action while fully calculating the consequences of said actions and where they lead, in consultation with the smartest motherfucker in the room (myself).

I made this analogy before, but Pages are also an Active Class, and their thing is "keep picking fights, keep winning those fights, earn big triumph". That does not mean that Optimal Page Behavior is slaughtering your coplayers "for the challenge". That's PK behavior, and putting you down like a dog would be a wholly justifiable decision. Similarly, if you do PK or borderline PK stuff as a Thief, you deserve what you get. If you would like to not be put down like a dog, there are two things to work on though. The first thing is not sucking as a person. This can be accomplished with a growth mindset. The second thing is realizing that "mogging Underlings is too easy" is kind of stupid. Putting aside the borderline Azurite line of "I need more challenge so I pick on my players", thinking the game is too easy is almost always a prelude for the game sidelining you in the stomach with a steel pipe. Thieves can snowball like crazy, but there are two possibilities. Either you're about to be taken down a peg, or you actually are a God Tier Gamer, in which case you should be content to rest on your laurels. Congratulations on effortlessly ownzoning all those Imps with your Thief powers man, wait until next session where you get a whack-ass Strife Specibus and a Title you've never used before. That should sate your bizarre desire to pick on other players (until they stand up to you and then you will cry about it online).

I should also point out that this message about how the "point" of being a Thief actually is about dicking over other players and how they're basically rubes and nonpeople, is coming in immediately after a post where someone described a Thief of Heart conditioning everyone in their session to be receptive to brainwashing so they could micromanage every part of their personality without remembering any of it. Like I know every SBURB player is autistic to some extent but you've gotta learn how to read the room, buddy.

[borrelia]

Fleebay getting booboo on his knee this ask better not be censored

I got your previous ask so idk what got censored the first time?? what did you say. beepo getting horribly wounded die die die??? anway. thank you :) i wrote beepo hurt his knee a little bit ft. the oh sees

Fleet was beginning to suspect that wherever Sonic’s athleticism came from, it wasn’t just the shape of his body. 

Sonic could sprint from coast to coast as easy as breathing air.  He could balance on the head of a pin without wavering once.  He could stunt with a snowboard after five seconds downhill following another five of standing on the board for the first time. 

Fleet could fly—sometimes—and shoot lasers out of his eyes.  And.  That was about it.  Whatever quirk of skill and chaos energy made Sonic so agile and strong was not something in Fleet’s half of the bargain.

          Fleet was sure he could remember Sonic on a skateboard, rolling down the street so easy and relaxed, kicking the board up to jump off flowerboxes and grind over the backs of benches.  It had felt so easy, so natural!

          Wobbling now on top of a borrowed board, gripping the arm of its owner for support, Fleet felt none of that natural ease.

          “Are you sure you’ve done this before?” Bebe asked next to him.  Somehow she was able to keep him steady while herself wearing rollerskates.  And idly kicking one foot back and forth. 

          “Yes, I’m sure,” Fleet said, his eyes glued to a blackened smudge of old gum on the ground.  “I’m just a little rusty… I think.”

          Bebe scoffed and delicately pried his fingers from her arm.  His eyes snapped up to her expression of disbelief, still holding him steady with just her hand.  Fleet didn’t know a lot of birds, so seeing the way her quail beak could twist into a smirk was still a novelty.

          “You think?” She glanced down at the board that wobbled forward and back under Fleet’s unsteady stance.  “You know, you don’t have to lie, you can just say you’ve never skate before and you don’t know how to stay on a board and you need help learning and that’s fine.”

          Fleet got the sense that his scowl was only making this girl cockier.  True, he had only tried skating as himself about—roughly, generously—two times now, but he couldn’t stand the thought of starting at the bottom.  Maybe if the lessons put on by the skate shop weren’t populated by ten year olds, he’d feel a little more comfortable with the help.  Maybe if the other people here his age were in the class instead of casually speeding down the half-pipe and spinning their boards underneath them like it was nothing, he might be more eager to take his time.

          I bet Sonic would take the class. And be able to make friends.

          Well Fleet didn’t need to do things Sonic’s way.  He was sure he could tap into that once-shared athleticism, somehow, and be just as good—better than Sonic.  And make better friends who liked him more, even. 

          Which was why he’d decided to put himself out there and ask the bird girl and the capybara guy if he could borrow a board and skate with them.  Capybara guy was currently moving in easy circles, barely bothering to kick any momentum into the board, just gliding around the flatter parts of the park.  And bird girl was giving him a teasing look that lit a fire in his chest.

          “I’m not lying,” he said, pulling his hand from her grip.  He stayed perfectly still on the board.  Now moving was the hard part… “I’ve done it before, it’s just been a while.” 

          Bebe shrugged and pointed a thumb behind her shoulder.  “Okay.  Well while you learn how to board for the first time, I’m going to have some actual fun and show you how it’s done.” She winked as she slid backwards across the concrete.  With a kick of her heel, she turned and dropped into a low stance, cutting across the flattop to the other side of the small park. 

          Fleet glared after her and clenched his fist by his side.  He could do this. He had to be able to do something right and this was it.  There was a downward rail not too far from him.  This was what he could do.  He pushed forward with a foot and wobbled over the rolling board until it stopped again.  Okay.  He looked across the park at Bebe, sweeping up and around the bowl effortlessly, her skates roaring over the pavement.  He could do this.  He just had to tap into that athleticism…

          Fleet took a deep breath and tugged on that spark of chaos energy that always sat flickering in his chest.  He wouldn’t overdo it, just a little…

          Electricity skittered through his limbs, energizing his muscles and straightening his balance.  There it was. 

He focused on the rail ahead of him.  Breathe, you’re in control.  He opened and clenched his fists to calm their shaking.  This might have been a bad idea. Don’t think about that.  Just… go!

He pushed forward, a kick of power to his heel.  The board rumbled beneath him as it shot straight ahead.  He angled to the rail—yes, yes!—crouched, and sprung up with the board—. 

The—the board did not come with him.

The metal rail vibrated with a horrible clang against his knee as he crumpled over the top and he slammed into the ground.  Bits of rock stabbed into his palms and scraped over his arms, his vision dark and head heavy.  Dazed, he rolled over onto his back.  His leg hurt.  His hands and wrists hurt.  He could feel the massive bruise blooming across his right shoulder, and his brain felt like scrambled egg.  The hum of energy had dissipated, leaving only the throbbing pain of a screw-up.

Bebe’s board rolled away uselessly as the sound of rushing wheels grew louder behind him.

“Are you stupid?!” Bebe yelled at the same time her friend asked “Aw hell man, are you alright?”

Fleet turned his head back to look at them—Bebe stopped next to him and glaring down at him, her friend holding his board up a few feet away, regarding him cautiously.  He waved them away.

          “I… It looked worse than it felt.”  Fleet shifted and propped himself up on his elbows.  Everything hurt but…well, he couldn’t say he was used to it.  Normally, blasting out chaos energy didn’t leave him feeling all that sore.

          Hmmm, maybe…

          Bebe huffed and rolled over to her escaping skateboard.  She grumbled something that sounded snarky, but the sounds of her wheels and her friend shuffling toward Fleet covered up the details.

          “Hey,” the capybara said, holding out a hand, “you good?”

          Fleet regarded his gloved hand, not moving.  “Yes, sorry.  Just give me a second, please.” He didn’t need longer than that.  He grabbed that pilot light in his chest once more and teased out another thread of jittering, electric energy that spilled through his body from his ears to his fingertips with a fiery heat.  It wasn’t pleasant, but…

          “You sure?” he asked, pulling his hand back.

Fleet stretched a hand out in front of him.  The energy made him feel sick to his stomach and hyper-aware of the other teens—watching him patiently or grumbling and putting away her board—but the pain began to fade.  He felt fresh, new.

          Satisfied, he hopped to his feet and casually stretched.  “Yep!” He twisted side to side.  “Really, it looked worse than it was.”

          When he stopped fidgeting, the other teen gave him a wide smile.  “Hey, I like your attitude,” he said and clapped a heavy hand to Fleet’s shoulder.  “Don’t let a couple falls get you down.”  He pulled his hand back and offered a shake.  “I’m Dog.”

          Fleet tentatively took his hand.  “Dog?”

          “Yeah.”

          “Oh, okay.  I’m a hedgehog.  My name’s Fleet.”  He smiled.

          “Cool.  No offense Fleet, but you suck at skating.  Do you want me to show you how not to fall down?”

          The next morning, Fleet discovered the hard way that his chaos energy could only do so much to delay the pain of a dozen falls on hard concrete.

[banannabethchase]

Set the World Alight: Chapter 12 - also on AO3

~

It was going to happen eventually. Somebody was going to be cruel. But Matt's almost astonished at how many more people are kind. And violent. She didn't expect to be so giddy about the violence.

~

Warning: there is overt, explicit transphobia in this chapter by a side character. The transphobia is dealt with the way it should be: with fists and zero mercy. Please be cautious with yourself <3

~

Tuesday, March 11th

Matt

Matt slogs out of bed to make it to school, miserable and tied and so exhausted she doesn’t even know how to process it. Hours of trying to fix the broken sink, only for her dad to decide to call the plumber in the morning, have stolen her sanity.

“Why,” Nick mumbles, chugging his large iced coffee when Matt comes downstairs, “are we forced to exist as high school students?”

“Because the world hates us,” Matt mumbles. Her eyes are half shut as she sips her coffee. “Now stop talking before I remember we have a game this afternoon. I don’t think I’ll survive until then.”

They drive to school in near silence, a quiet Spotify playlist singing Ingrid Michaelson songs, and they shoot each other drowsy waves as they go to class. Matt was barely able to pick a normal outfit this morning, so focused on staying awake, that she pulled on dress she and Willow had picked up at Target over the weekend. At the very least, she’s comfortable.

Matt yawns her way through all of her classes, glad she’s pretty much at the point of coasting.

“You look dead,” Britt says. “What’s wrong with you?”

“The water pipe in our garage burst last night,” Matt mumbles. “Nick and Dad and I were up until, like, one in the morning fixing it.”

“Can’t you hire somebody to do that?”

Matt laughs. “Not when your dad is Matthew Jackson. He had all the materials and tools and whatever and insisted we help him. My mom was in charge of towels. And then he still couldn’t fix it.” She yawns again. “Oh, god, I’m gonna suck today.”

“You won’t,” Britt says. “Because, if you do, Athena will kill you.”

“Thanks for the support,” Matt mumbles, and she drains her energy drink.

~

Nick

Nick yawns as he starts the warm up, dropping his bags next to the bench as he gets dizzy.

“What are you doing?” Mox calls to hm. “We’ve got, like, an hour before the game starts.”

“If I sit down, I’ll fall asleep,” Nick says. “Last night we were all up really late at home.”

Mox frowns. “Yeah, Matt cut the goodnight call off because of – I think she said something with the sink?” Nick nods and yawns again.

“Water pipe busted.”

Mox winces. “That blows.”

Nick and Mox practice passing and shooting hoops as the other players walk in, and, finally, the other team. They’re from the town over, so Nick sort of knows them. Which is unfortunate, because some of them are real dicks.

“Heads up,” Nick mutters to Mox.

Mox glances over and rolls his eyes. “Oh, great. Them.”

The cheer team comes in next, dressed up for the game. Mox gets immediately distracted.

“I’ll – talk to you during the game,” Mox says, sending Nick a quick, concerned look. “I don’t trust these guys.”

Nick watches at Mox jogs his way over to Matt, pulling her in close and whispering something in her ear. And then he sees the people he was worried about on the other team.

The previous year, one of the guys on the team from Granville whispered some pretty horrible things about some of the players. Racist things, homophobic things. Small town white America horrible kind of things.

Nick has a sudden wash of realization of what might happen when they lock their eyes on Matt.

“Hey,” Nick says, yanking Cole’s arm, “keep an eye out for that kid with the weird bleach blonde hair.”

Cole follows his gaze. “Oh, shit. I remember that guy.” His gaze goes hard. “Want me to kill him if he does anything?”

“You?”

Cole shrugs. “I mean, me and Kyle could take him out, yeah?”

“We’ll just see who gets there first,” Nick says, tone dark. “I’m too tired for this. If he pulls anything…” Nick trails off, letting the threat hang in the air. He can’t shake this feeling of wrong.

“Don’t worry,” Cole says, clapping him on the shoulder. “If they pull anything, we’ve all got each other’s backs.”

Nick tries to smile. But it won’t come.

~

Matt

“Mox,” Matt says, beaming up at him. “Hi. What’s up?” There’s some sort of tension behind his eyes, something tight that worries her. “Everything okay?”

Mox frowns. He doesn’t nod. He doesn’t shake his head. “Hopefully,” he mutters. “Just. If anybody says anything to you, tell me. Okay?”

“Oh, right,” Matt says, sighing. “This team.” She looks over Mox’s shoulder. “They’re the ones who were being awful about Willow last time, right?”

“Among other things,” Mox says. She can see something behind his eyes. “Just…don’t go anywhere alone, baby. Alright?”

Matt nods. She’s never seen Mox like this before. Never seen him any type of anxious. It’s almost scary.

Adam, giant backpack over his shoulder, makes his way to the bleachers. She watches his expression shift as he checks his phone, and he slides down to the bottom of the bleachers. He doesn’t pull out any books. He doesn’t even have his phone out. He’s sitting, arms folded across his chest.

She’s not used to feeling a room fool of worry, is the thing. She’s been wary at the grocery store, at the mall, at the movies. But she’s never felt an imminent threat before.

“It’s going to be okay.” She exhales, practicing some of the grounding techniques her therapist has taught her over the years. “It’s going to be okay.” Matt’s on her way to the other cheerleaders, though, when it happens.

“Oh, shit!” The tone is mocking, attention-grabbing.

Matt glances over at the person shouting, confused. She twists the ends of one of her French braids in her fingers. It’s not exactly that she knew this was going to happen. It’s not even that she knows that tone of voice is directed at her.

But you can’t fight a gut feeling.

“I told you, Alex,” says the guy who spoke. Matt can’t help but notice the poorly executed trendy haircut on bleached blonde hair. “This is the team with the tranny on it.”

Her entire body goes cold.

Matt moves to step up to him, but four things happen at once:

Adam half flies across the court toward the guy who spoke.

Jamie’s a whirl of French braids and rage zooming past Matt from the cheer bench

Nick’s jumped off of the bench behind Matt

And four, Mox, moving faster than Matt’s seen anybody move, pulls his fist back and slams it into the kid’s face.

Matt is not into this. She is not into the way Mox shakes out his hand, like it’s nothing, like he’s done this before.

“Talk louder,” Mox snarls, looming over the kid, laid out on the ground. “I fuckin’ dare you.”

Adam skids to a stop next to him, shoulder to shoulder. Then Nick, then Jamie.

It’s pretty much mayhem, the next couple of moments. Matt steps in to trip a guy, sending him to the floor. Somebody throws a punch at Mox and hits him in the nose, but Mox laughs and headbutts him so hard he falls to the floor.

The adults, stupefied for the first moment, rush in soon after. Matt’s a little smug at the way the guy she tripped is half crying on the ground, holding his face. Adam’s flattened a guy with one move with his forearm, and Mox has taken on two of them at once and gotten a bloody nose for the effort. Matt has to force herself not to climb him like a tree. Jamie has the bleach blonde kid in a headlock while Nick stares him down, hand twisted in his hair, and Matt’s never felt so safe in her life.

“Break it up,” Coach Gunn says.

Coach Rayne comes up to Matt and checks her face, her arms. “Are you alright, sweetheart?”

“I’m fine,” Matt says, even though she’s shaking a little bit. “I’m fine.”

Coach Gunn is peeling Jamie and Nick off of the bleach blonde guy, and Matt stares him down. He blinks first.

“That’s what I thought,” she says in her prissiest voice as she tosses her braid over her shoulder.

The other coach comes over. “Jesus Christ, Marcus, this is strike three.” He nods at Gunn and grabs his player by the shoulder, spinning him around. “Get your ass on the bench. You’re removed from the team.” He looks over at the other three. “And y’all are on this ice.”

Matt follows his gaze to the three on the ground, looking miserable. The other players come over. Matt doesn’t want to be that person, but he thinks he spots a few of them smiling at him, including a boy with what may just be a rainbow necklace.

“Thank you,” says one of the other team. “We’ve been wanting to do that to those four for, like, years.”

Mox lets out a great laugh, one Matt wants to hold in her pocket for the rest of her life. “You insult my girlfriend, you go through me.” He stares everybody in the room down . “Warning to everybody, I guess.” Mox turns and walks toward Matt, pulling her in and kissing her so hard she forgets her own name. When he pulls back his smile is soft and gentle. The one he saves just for her. “You hear me? Nobody messes with my girl.” He presses a kiss to her forehead. “I love you, Matty.”

Matt’s heart is beating so fast she can’t catch her breath, is so into this guy she gets to call hers she can’t think. “Okay,” she manages to say. For some reason, she feels like she’s going to cry. It could be because of the slur she had to hear, it could be because of the violence she witnessed. But she thinks it’s because of the confession of dedication she just heard from Mox, and she’s pretty sure she knows it now.

“Yeah?” Mox asks, smile reaching his eyes.

Matt nods and leans in again. Mox starts kissing every ounce of sanity out of Matt, and she’s happy to let it happen, despite the blood, despite the violence. Nick clears his throat, and Matt pulls away.

“Um,” says Coach Gunn, frowning. “Now, I think I’m legally required to, like, yell at you about that. Or take you out of the game, since you technically threw the first punch. Though it was definitely deserved.” His eyes follow the kid being taken out by his coach. “And to get you checked out by a doctor or something.”

“Oh, no,” says the referee, “no, this game isn’t happening. You just had an all-out fight on the court. I’m calling this one a forfeit on both sides.”

“Forfeit?!” says the kid who yelled about Matt, twisting around in his coach’s grip. “They started it!”

“They did not,” says the ref firmly. “You used a transphobic slur. What did you think was going to happen?”

The kid opens and closes his moth a few times, clearly baffled at the consequences of his actions, and Matt allows himself to feel a little smug about it.

“I’m fine, Coach,” Mox says, dabbing at his nose. “Shit, I’m really leaking like a faucet, aren’t I?”

“Kind of,” Matt agrees as they make their way backstage to the trainer’s. She looks down at her uniform, the white stained nearly pink. “I have blood, like. Everywhere.”

Mox grins. “Makes you look badass, though. Kind of warrior princess, you know?”

Matt leans in and kisses Mox again. She touches Mox’s face, wiping some of the blood where it’s slowed to a trickle out of his nose. She doesn’t care that it’s staining her cheer uniform, that it’s ruined her makeup, that there’s blood in her hair. “I like that idea.”

They make it to the trainer’s room.

“Mox, you’ve always bled like a stuck pig,” Doc Sampson says, a little laugh behind it. He dabs at Mox’s nose. “Matty, you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s not my blood.”

Doc Sampson raises an eyebrow. “You fought?”

“No, it’s mine,” Mox says. “But after, I had to kiss my girl. They were being jackasses. Had to show them who was the lucky one here.”

Matt watches Doc’s face carefully, prepared for shock or horror or disgust, with the way the day is going. But, instead, Doc just smiles.

“My little girl is trans, too,” he says. “She’s in third grade. Maybe…Maybe the two of you could get ice cream? Talk?”

Matt nods. “Yeah. I. I think that would be cool.”

Doc nods and tends to Mox.

“Do you know where the other guy is?” Matt asks. Mox keeps a hand on hers, fingers intertwined. She squeezes it. “Are they bringing him in here?”

“Absolutely not,” Doc says, shaking his head. “They have their own trainer. They can work in the backup room.”

Matt smiles. “Thanks, Doc.”

Doc nods. “We protect ours, right? Nobody messes with the kids, mine or my athletes.”

Doc and Matt are quiet while Mox chatters on about stories when he’d broken bones in the past, Matt’s fingers still entwined with Mox’s. It feels casual now, safe, like Matt doesn’t have to watch her back or turn around every five seconds to make sure no one is on their way to hurt her.

“Alright,” Doc says, “I’ll grab you some more gauze from the back before you leave, just in case your nose starts bleeding again. Don’t bump it!”

“I’m not gonna bump it,” Mox says, rolling his eyes. “Matt, please don’t bump my nose.”

“I’ll do my best,” Matt promises.

They’re left alone, finally, after everything. Matt hops off the bench and starts pacing the small distance she can manage while still holding Mox’s hand. She doesn’t realize how hard she’s gripping his hand until she sees him wince for the first time.

“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice shaky.

“Don’t worry about it, baby,” Mox says, voice soft and gentle. “Are you okay?”

Matt nods. She’s not going to cry, she doesn’t think. She doesn’t feel the urge. “I’m okay,” she says.

“I’m so sorry you had to hear it.” Mox reaches out with grabby hands, and Matt steps into his space, burying her face into his chest. “That guy’s an ass and the worst person in this building, by far. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Matt mumbles into Mox’s chest.

Mox sighs, tightening his hands around her, burying his now clean face into her neck. “I should – I should have hit him before he started talking. You shouldn’t have had to hear him say that – that word.” Mox exhales again, then leans back. He smiles down at Matt, adjusting her hair where it poofed out of her braids.

Matt doesn’t even think before she says what’s next. She just knows she has to say it. “I love you.”

Mox’s eyes widen. “Really?”

Matt nods, unsure that she meant to say it now, but sure. No matter what, she’s sure. “I do.”

“I love you, too,” Mox says, smiling. “But you already knew that.” And what can Matt do but lean in and kiss him again?

~

Nick

Nick is a little unsteady, trying to get his breathing under control. He’s never been in a fight before. He’s always known it was a possibility, that kind of hatred, toward his friends and Matt for being who they are, but he didn’t expect it so blatant. He didn’t expect it to come to his sister first.

“Are you okay?” Adam asks. He rests a hesitant hand on Nick’s shoulder. “You’re kind of shaking.”

Nick’s quiet for a moment. He watches the other coach go off on the boys that had backed the transphobe, half dragging them away from the court and out the door toward what he hopes is the extra trainer’s room. It’s a comfort that the coach is showing them no sympathy, but it doesn’t feel like enough. “Matt shouldn’t have had to hear that.” He looks up into Adam’s clear, bright eyes. “We shouldn’t have had to do that.” Suddenly, he feels tears well up in his eyes. “Why did that have to happen?”

Like it’s automatic, like it’s happened a million times and it’s what’s expected of him, Adam pulls Nick in. He gathers Nick in his arms, holds him to his strong chest, and they stand there, just breathing. Nick cries. He cries and shakes and mourns the day he should have had, and Adam holds him silently. He doesn’t even think about how there were probably people there waiting, people there watching. People who can now see how effected he is by all this. And he doesn’t care.

Adam is making calm shushing noises, stroking his hair.

Nick pulls back a little, looking up at him. “Are you using your scared animal voice with me?” he asks.

Adam flushes pink. “Um. Okay, yes, but I thought it would help, and it did! You’re not crying anymore.” He reaches out and, with a callused thumb, gently brushes the tear away from Nick’s cheek. “Hey. You good?”

“I’m good,” Nick says, only half aware of the way he still has his arms wrapped around Adam’s waist. Like this is how they always stand. “Thanks for joining ranks with us to kick that guy’s butt.”

Adam smiles. “Of course. Thanks for texting me heads up beforehand. I was ready.” He reaches up and tucks Nick’s ponytail back over his shoulder. “Nobody messes with my best friends, right?”

The two of them help the other girls on the cheer team clean up their bags and everything. It’s slow work, though, everyone recuperating from the stressful events.

“I would have killed him,” Jamie says as she takes off her basketball sneakers and throws them in her bag so hard they bounce. “You hear me? I would have killed them if they’d let me.”

“We know, babe,” Britt murmurs, rubbing Jamie’s back. “It’s okay.”

They talk, a little. But it’s clear they’re all killing time, waiting for Mox and Matt to come back.

“You guys can go,” Nick says, doing his best to mimic a smile. “I mean, you don’t have to. But I’ll take care of her. And Mox, too.”

“And me,” Adam says. “I’ve got them, too. Don’t forget about me.”

“No one would forget about you, Cowboy,” Cole says, clapping Adam on the back. “Good work.”

The crowd dissipates quickly, an unseasonably warm March afternoon now open to all of them, and Adam bumps the back of Nick’s hand when they’re alone.

“You good?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah,” Nick says, “I mean – I guess, yeah.” He fidgets again, bumping Adam’s hand. “I just want to make sure Matt’s okay, is all.”

“I’m not asking if Matt’s okay, Nicky,” Adam says. He steps in front of Nick, tilting Nick’s chin up to meet his eyes. Nick’s heart races. “I’m asking if you’re okay.”

“I –” Nick exhales again and can’t stop himself from falling into Adam’s chest again, hugging him close. A few moments pass while Adam rubs his back, and then Nick pulls back. He’s close to Adam’s face, and if he leaned in. If he admitted what he really wanted –

Somebody clears their throat, and Nick and Adam jump away from each other.

“Adam.”

Nick turns to see Mox and Matt. Mox looks focused, determined. Matt just looks confused.

“Yeah?” he asks hesitantly. Nick hates the way Adam tenses, like he’s getting ready to be fought. “What’s up?”

Mox looks to Matt, who, still confused, just shrugs. Mox walks up to Adam and Nick doesn’t even have a chance to step in.

Mox throws his arms around Adam’s shoulders, hugging him close. “Thank you, man.”

Adam throws a bewildered look over Mox’s shoulder to Nick. Nick can’t do anything but shrug, befuddled beyond belief. “For what?”

“Coming to back me up,” Mox says, stepping backward. “Um, earlier. You didn’t leave us high and dry.”

Adam nods, slowly, like he’s not quite sure what’s going on. “Of – of course I’d step in. Nobody messes with Matty, right?”

Nick looks over to see Matt beaming. She seems to be seeing something in the moment Nick just can’t yet.

“I’m sorry I punched you back in middle school,” Mox says. “I mean, I know it was a while ago, but I never apologized, which is shitty. I, uh, I think you’re a pretty good dude. I get it if you don’t want anything to do with me, but I just wanted you to know, like.” He shrugs. “You’re a good person, and I appreciate that.”

Adam looks bewildered. “I – okay. I mean, yeah. We don’t really have an issue now, right?”

Mox shakes his head. “Not unless you think we do, that is.”

Adam smiles. “Cool, I. I’m glad we’re good.”

“Can we get lunch or something?” Matt says, sneaking up beside Mox and slipping her hand into his. “If we don’t have a game, we can get food or something.” She blinks. “We could always go to – ”

“No Sonic,” the three boys say all at once.

Matt stares at them, blinking. “How did you all know I was gonna say Sonic?”

“Because they have cherry limeades and popcorn chicken, and those are your favorite things together,” Mox says, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “And then you complain, every time, that they didn’t give you enough extra cherries.”

“I don’t –”

“You definitely do,” Adam says. “Every time we have an option to get food, you always say Sonic and then you always complain about the cherries.”

Matt turns to Nick.

“Don’t look at me for help,” he says. “They’re right.”

“You three suck,” Matt says, pouting.

“Let’s Taco Bell or something,” Mox says. “I want a crunch wrap.”

Matt and Mox are in front as they get to parking lot, their hands swinging between them. Nick looks over at Adam quickly, fast enough he doesn’t think Adam can see it. And begins to wonder how long he can fight this off.

Adam’s quiet, too, and Nick wants to ask, wants to say something, wants to bring it up. But he’s too scared.

[sandman-vo]

I think I’ve hit a point in my life where I’m able to put a lot of the fucked up shit that’s been going on from 2015-2022 behind me.

And since that’s a long stretch of time til now, I should mention the “fucked up” has varying degrees:

Can’t get employed after college? Fucked up

Some friends turned out to be kinda shitty? Fucked up

The fun and unique culture of the city you like is slowly dying because tech and real estate bros like to gentrify and ruin everything they touch? Fucked up

Worldwide pandemic and finding out the US has always had a fascism problem. And the best you can really do is just buck up and survive this shit? Fucked up

Your State continues to decide to do jack and shit about any of their problems concerning electricity and water and you have had 2-3 winters where you had to go 4-5 DAYS without either water or power? Fucked up (fuck February in Austin)

Existential dread paired with depression, aging to my 30s with seemingly nothing much to show for it, being broke AF while your rent was suddenly raised by 50%, realizing you probably had ADHD this whole goddamn time, and thinking every part of you is broken in some way? Fucked up

Things that are more fucked up than that that I’d still rather keep to myself than write about here? Fucked up

You finish a day at work and go straight to Home Depot to cut through 80 feet worth of 1 1/2” pvc piping into 2 and 2.5 feet segments with a hand saw to finish building your new vocal booth that you have been waiting and planning for months to make, and there’s no heckin way you’re going to cook dinner after doing all that so you go pick up some Wendy’s on the way back. And you said no mayonnaise on your double cheeseburger to the guy at the speaker TWICE and they kept you waiting at the drive through for 15 minutes just for them to finally figure out that what that really meant was to SLATHER THAT SHIT ALL OVER IT, but at the same time you understand and support the concept of acting your wage and goddamn do fast food workers get paid dogshit so you don’t think it’s all that productive to file a complaint? Fucked up

But anyways, I’m gradually making it to the other side of these things.

I’m in a place where rent isn’t trying to starve me. I’m saving LOTS of money after paychecks. I’m at least in a career-adjacent job even though I’m not mega thrilled about it (could be worse, could be fucking up someone’s goddamn double cheeseburger). I’m definitely getting together a “bucket list” for Austin while I’m still in the mindset that I’ll try to give this place at least 1 or 2 more good years before I think it will be a good time to try and move elsewhere. I’m taking shit tons of classes to refine my skills, now that I have both time and money to do so. I’m genuinely building so much better of a foundation than I had 6 years ago, which I will use as a jumping off point and give my my work from home freelance careers in Voice Acting and Video Editing new leases on life. And I recently discovered yoga nidra in a class and while it’s no cure for ADHD it’s a treatment for sure!

One of the big takeaways that I’m keeping in mind lately (thanks to the yoga) is this:

“I am whole. I’m living a full life. And while it’s not how I wanted things to be, and while there’s some fucked up shit, and while it looks nothing like how a typical life would go, none of that shit makes me a lesser/broken/incomplete person.”

This was not a part of the class. This wasn’t taught. This is just what I ended up finding after I tried to figure out the deep seeded beliefs where all of my issues stemmed from. This realization has brought such a stillness to me in the past 48 hours that I can barely describe how I feel right now. But it feels good. There are only a few other places where I could have felt this, and coincidentally, it was not during the fucked up dark timeline that was my 2015-2022.

[orangevtae]

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy [S.Harrington x Henderson!Reader]

prev - next

A/N: I'm back, i think, sorry that i went missing, i'm presencially back on college so i have been on my classes by morning and going to work in the afternoon, we almost on the end of GOFLB, have a great reading!

Chapter 12: Nothing Breaks Like a Heart

"Don't tell me..." Nancy trailed off

"That the terryfying creatures are back? Sorry to inform you, but sadly they are" Steve answered, a bitter tone laced on his voice

"And we are afraid that they might be in there" Lucas added, pointing to the lab

You looked at your brother, you were sure that he would make a comment about Steve and Nancy cause he looked at you before looking back to Steve and you again, you moved your head from side to side "Don't you dare!" you whisper yelled at him and he huffed

"And if, as you suspect, Mike and Will are in there, they are in big trouble" Dustin said instead, focusing on the matter on hand

"You guys tried to get in?" You asked Jonathan and Nancy

"Yeah, but the power is out" she answered and you let out a breath, hoping that who were there beyond Mike and Will would be fine

After a while with a little bit of discussion of what you could to get in to help those who were inside the lab, you just decided that the best would be to wait for the energy be back and you just started pacing around and playing with the pipe on your hands as Jonathan approached you "Hey, how you've been? You okay?"

"Trying not to get killed and eaten by some of these things" you said, a sly grin on your face "but i bet that these three days besides Nancy were way more interesting than mine's three of trying to get rid of Dustin's mortal pet" you supported yourself on the pipe, one hand on your hips

"You will never let it down, will you?" he asked, already knowing that you caught up at what happened between him and Nancy

"Not at all" you laughed at his expression

"The power's back!" Nancy yelled

Jonathan and you rushed to the booth and Jonathan pressed the button that opens the gate but nothing happened and he hit a few other times.

"Get out of the way Jonathan! Let me try!" your brother pushed past you and Jonathan and started to hit the button

You went out of the booth and went closer to the gate, looking at the gate when you heard a sound and suddenly the gate started to open.

"Hey! I got it!" your brother chuckled, proud of himself and you smiled at him "I got it..."

You saw Jonathan and Nancy get inside Jonathan's car and they drove off to get inside the labs gate. You look over to Steve and saw a longing look on his eyes as the car went far, if he still had any doubts if his relationship with Nancy has come to an end, he finally got his answer, in the worst way possible, but got his answer, you just hoped that Nancy would end things in the right way.

You went to his side and squeezed his shoulder, so he knew that you were there to support him, knowing tht he wouldn't like to speak about it but you would be there to show that you were by his side, he smiled softly at the gesture and squeezed your hand in return.

It's funny, even if the answer was in front of him all of this time, even with Nancy telling him drunkely, he hoped, deep down, that he was wrong, he got a little bit mad that things ended that way, he even thought about apologizing to her after everything that she had said, he was so stupid. He felt stupid, for denying so long that Nancy hadn't felt nothing for him for a year, he noticed of course, he's not that naive, everytime he would try to win her over and over but everytime he would notice her eyes linger a little bit longer on Jonathan whenever you and him got in the same place as them.

He sighed when your hand made contact with his shoulder and his hand made contact with your skin, he was gald you were there, not muthering a word but rather let him know that if he wanted, he knew he could talk about it with you, he still remembers what you said to him on the conversation you had one day ago on your living room. And he was glad to have you by his side, it still hurted, it hurted like hell, but at the back of his mind he knew that what hurt most was not lose Nancy, no, he had lost her long time ago, what hurted is that he insisted on something that wouldn't go forward.

After noticing that they wouldn't get back that fast, your little group just got engrossed doing their own thing, Dustin had his head on your lap while you played with his curls, you felt a shiver run trough your arms and you wish you've bought an extra jacket before leaving home early, you forget how cold november nights are.

"You're cold?" Dustin asked concerned at seeing you

"Yeah, wish i could've been smarter and bring an extra jacket in the backpack" you giggled

"I think it's reasonable, we went on life threathining situation again, i guess that going after Dart was more important than bring the extra jacket" he laughed at you and grabed your hands "here"

He blew between your hands and made contact with his, in attempts to warm you up and you giggled at the failed attempt "It worked?" he asked looking up at you

"No, not at all, but nice try buddy"You grabbed his hat and put it over his face, the both of you laughing at the sillyness, Steve laughed softly at the distance seeing you get along with your brother.

"Guys?" Max said standing up and gathering everyone's attentions to the cars running and honking to your little group

Jonathan's car passed by you but the second one, that you noticed being Hopper's car, stoped on the road and he shout to you "Let's go!"

You and Steve rappidly moved the kids to get inside the car, when you got in, all pile up in a little space and your back to Steve's front and Max on your lap since there was no space left.

Steve's arm was extended on the backseat behind your head while one of yours was holding Max by the waist and the other one holding on Steve's leg searching for some levearage.

Steve breath was fanning over your cheek and he could smell the strong shampoo you wear, he fought against the wanting to bury his nose on your hair and a blush crept up his neck and he could see the tip of your ear a little red, he smiled to himself. At least he wasn't alone on this one.

The drive to the Byers' house took some minutes and Hopper would do some strong turns and you hoped that you weren't hurting Steve because you had no other place to hold beyond his leg, you got in touch of what happened while you were looking for Dart: Will's episodes got worse and something has going in with him till the point that the only people he knew where his mom, Mike and Jonathan, Bob died trying to save everyone, he was the one that restaured the energy back on the lab.

You felt sad at that, you didn't knew much of Bob, you had gone a few times to Radio Shack to get some things for the boys, but beyond that and that he and Joyce were dating, you barely knew him.

When you saw the Byers's house on the little frest you could see trough Max hair, you left a sigh of relief cause your legs were burning.

"Come on! Get your asses up!" Hopper said after he finally stoped the car and everyone started to get out of the vehicle, Steve left on your right and Max got out of your lap and jumped off on the left, you let out a relieved sigh and Steve helped you get out and you headed to the house, the kids on the front.

"You okay? I didn't hurt you did i? With all these turns Hopper did" you ask Steve

"No, i'm fine, i was more worried about you actually, you literaly had no place to hold yourself" he shrugged at your question

"Yes! I'm sorry if i griped your leg too hard" you tried to apologize to him and just let iut a chuckle

"Nah, it's fine" He said as you got through the front door and inside the Byers's livingroom.

You stantly felt the thick air around, tension everywhere, you had been haunting Demogorgons , Joyce was dealing with everything happening to Will once again and Nancy and Jonathan had been up onto something that you still didn't know. You squeezed Steve's arm and went straight to your brother, that had his head between his hands.

You totally missed the look Nancy gave you and Steve as you guys passed trough the door and mostly: you totally missed the fond look that Steve gave you as you went to your brother. But she didn't. No, Nancy was good at reading other people, she's always been, and getting a look on the little interactions she saw you and Steve had, she immediatly took hold on what it was, she knew she pretty much fucked everything and broke Steve's heart, she would always feel guilty, but she hoped that, whatever was happening between you both, you could help to mend the pieces of the heart she broke.

Taglist:  @mochminnie @marmol4d4 @starhastoomanyfandoms @ren-ni @xoxoloverb @nctma15 @realmoose @yeswhatever33 @lostinneverland @rinsane @0shippingtrashaway0 @fixtionlover @doctorsgirl262

[letarasstuff]

Notice me!

(A/N): This was requested by an anon. I hope you like it1

Summary: Teenagers at JJ's daughter's school get attacked. Does she fit the victomology?

Warnings: feeling uncared for

Wordcount: 2.7k

✨Masterlist✨ ___________________________________

“Good morning, my lovelies. The good news: The case is local. The bad news: Somebody is attacking teenage girls from the same high school”, Penelope starts the briefing, dressed in a bright pink dress with matching accessories.

“Are they from the same class? Age?” Hotch asks, looking over the file. Upon opening her own, JJ feels like her heart stops. “Negative, the three girls are from different years even. The only connection is the school.” “It’s (Y/N)’s school. She-she is a Junior there. I-Hotch?” Desperately she looks at her boss.

The team’s eyes soften. It’s already difficult with minors involved, but when it gets personal the case is a thousand times harder.

“Call her and tell her we get her to answer a few questions. At this point we can be sure it’s someone from the staff or a student. Time is the essence. Reid and JJ, you get (Y/N). Morgan and Prentiss, you question the first two. Dave and I take the last one and then go to the crime scenes. Garcia, I want you to find out anything about the victims and their families. Check their social media sites and look out for anything that connects them”, the Unit Chiefs orders.

Everybody gets up immediately. JJ has her phone already at hand. The longer it takes her daughter to take the call, the more nervous she gets.

“Mom? Did something happen? You know exactly I’m at school. I don’t wanna get in-” “Honey, Uncle Spence and I come to get you. There is something we have to question you about.” The teenager is silent for a moment. “It’s about the girls that got beaten up, isn’t it?”

Her mother sighs. Of course nothing like that stays quiet for long. “Yes, it is.” JJ doesn’t see the point in lying to her. “Ok. Uhm, can you just question me at school? I really don’t wanna leave, because I have soccer practice after school for the game this evening.”

A little light blinks at that in JJ’s mind. “Isn’t it that important game, where scouts are coming?” (Y/N) begins to smile. Her mother remembers it. Maybe she does pay attention to her. Maybe, just maybe, she pays enough to come and see her. After all she even took a day off for Henry’s recital last time.

“Yes, you said you will come and cheer for me.” JJ’s heart aches. She knows that her oldest often backs down due to her mother’s job. More often than the blonde agent likes to admit she has stood her daughter up to save someone’s life. “I try to be there in time, Honey. I can’t promise you anything, though. Just let us hope we solve this case quickly, ok?”

(Y/N)’s shoulders drop. Of course, how could she be this naive to think her mother cares enough to at least try to make it to her probably most important game? “Alright. Text me when you are here or just get me excused at the secretary's office. Bye.”

JJ looks at her phone in puzzlement. The teenager always is understanding of her job and the sacrifices it takes. One night under a lot of tears she confessed to her mother that everytime she is away on a case, she is in the greatest state of worry. Will reported repeatedly that (Y/N) is miserable whenever her mother isn’t at home.

So she told her daughter about the pact she made with her sister. Any time they miss each other, they go out and look at the moon, knowing that they see the same. JJ also admitted that she and Henry are the reason she is even working as a profiler. The agent wants to make the world safer for her kids. A safe space, where they can grow up and go to the park without worrying about Stranger Danger or anything else.

“Is everything ok?” Spencer asks as he sees his best friend frozen on the spot. JJ looks up to him, spotting concern in his eyes. “Yeah, no. I don’t know? It’s just, (Y/N) has an important soccer game tonight with scouts coming and such and I’m not sure if I can get there in time because of the case. She sounded really sad when I told her that. You know, I’m incredibly proud of her for getting this far and she plays really well. Scratch that, she is amazing. Especially knowing (Y/N) is responsible enough to think about college in her junior year makes me swell with pride”, she gushes unknowingly.

Spencer smiles. “I see, she is just like her mother. I’m sure (Y/N) will come around, she loves you so much and knows how difficult our job is.” JJ nods, trying to believe him.

Not long after that the duo enters the secretary’s office, explaining the situation. He immediately notifies the teenager’s teacher and a few minutes later (Y/N) opens the door. “There is an empty classroom we can use, I already asked Mr Boyle. He is such a sweetheart”, she tells her mother and uncle.

“Thank you for consenting to answer our questions. (Y/N), do you know the girls?” Spencer begins after settling down. “I do. One of them, Amy, is on the soccer team with me. We mostly talk about her family. She is in love with her little sister. The other two, Rosa and Gina, are in Freshmen. I tutored Gina briefly until her mother said she doesn’t need it.”

Unfortunately (Y/N) isn’t able to tell more useful information. “Thank you so much, Honey. Have fun at your practice later”, JJ tells her while embracing the teenager. “Yeah, thanks. Do you come home tonight?” Her mother sighs.

“I get it, you don’t know. Ok, I don’t wanna interfere any longer. Maybe you are able to solve the case faster. Stay safe. Love you!” Quickly she picks her bag up and leaves the room.

JJ looks at the genius with a face that says “Do you know what I mean?”

“My lovelies, all three girls don’t have the best connection to their parents. They often complain about the missing approval. Do you think that it’s a kid from their classes?” Garcia informs them as the team gathers back around the round table.

Rossi shakes his head. “The crimes are too organized for a kid. Every girl was drugged, but we don’t know how. Then the UnSub waits for the drug to kick in and takes her to a vacant spot, where the beating occurs. And all of this happens right after classes end. It has to be a staff member, probably a teacher.”

“Yeah, but there is one detail that doesn’t sit right with me”, Derek pipes up, “The connection between the girls is the bad relationship with their parents. It has to be someone, who is reminded by their own dysfunctional family.”

“Garcia, look for someone from the area, his comfort zone shows that he knows remote areas that you don’t find by accident. He has to be from D.C.” Spencer instructs her.

“Okidoki, boy won- Wait, are we looking for a male?” Hotch nods. “We are, the amount of strength used to beat up the girls suggests a male, same with the amount of hatred.”

Emily looks unsure. “This sounds all right, but why is he choosing the girls? What does he relive by hurting them? How does it help him?”

JJ wants to partake in the mindstorming, but a ping from her phone distracts her from saying her thoughts out loud. It’s a text message from (Y/N)

If you find the time in your busy schedule to read this, be informed that Will and Henry won’t come to the game tonight, because Henry has a spontaneous playdate. Don’t worry, he brought me my inhaler to school already.

(Y/N) sighs after sending the text. Is it really too much work for her mother to make room for her? This is probably the most important event in her whole school carriere and she decides that a team of masterminds need her more than her own daughter.

Hurt by the clear ignorance she shoulders her bag and makes her way to the counselor’s office.

“Come in”, a warm voice invites the teenager after her knocking on the door. “Hey, Mr Pembroke. Uhm, I have a class before soccer practice and I wanted to ask you if I can put my bag here? I know I got a locker, but I still got my mom’s birthday present in there and I’m scared I’ll leave it in my classroom and have to run back to get the bag if not another kid already took it away.”

Mr Pembroke looks at her with a smile. “Of course, (Y/N), I don’t mind. Speaking of your mother, will she be there tonight? I really hope so, because you are a star on the field. She’s missing out otherwise.” At the end he winks. He is just that kind of guy. Working with kids makes him desperate for appearing younger than he really is, but that is also part of Keith Pembroke’s charm.

“Unfortunately my whole family isn’t able to come. It is like- I mean I get it, serial killers are dangerous and it’s important and the right thing to chase them down. But do I not deserve some time with my mother?” Mr Pembroke evolved into a moral support over the past school year since he started his job at (Y/N)’s high school.

He always has something noice and wise to say. “You do. Everybody deserves some time with their family and especially with their parents. Why don’t you talk to them after all this is over? I can help you work on what you can say.”

Happily the teenager takes the offer and rushes to her class.

“Guys, I might be onto something”, Spencer rips everybody from their train of thoughts. JJ looks at the watch on her wrist. (Y/N)’s game ends in about five minutes. And she sits here, stumped one the case she stood her up for.

“So we thought about how he chooses his victims. The only connection we found was them having a bad relationship with their parents. But how would the UnSub know? They didn’t share any classes.

“But there always is one person, who knows about the student’s problems. They tell them voluntarily”, he finishes, giving his colleagues the opportunity to answer it themselves.

“The counselor!” Rossi exclaims, wondering how they oversaw the obvious.

Penelope’s keyboard is practically on fire from her fast typing until she nearly shouts: “I got him! Keith Pem-” The rest goes under in the loud ring from JJ’s cellphone. “I’m sorry, but this is… (Y/N)’s school! I-” Hotch nods, giving her permission to take that call.

“Jennifer Jareau?” She can’t wait until she is out of the conference room. Now that they know who the UnSub is, JJ is more on edge than ever. “Uhm, Mrs Jareau, I call about your daughter, (Y/N). She is on her way to the hospital, she collapsed during the soccer game. We suspect an asthma attack, even though she used her inhaler.” The teacher on the phone gives her a few more information before hanging up.

“I-I’m - (Y/N), she is- hospital. Her inhaler.” In that moment she makes all the connections. “Garcia, look for the girl’s medical history. Pembroke exchanged (Y/N)’s inhaler, I’m sure he did. Look for it in the other girls. I have to go, she is at the hospital right now.”

In a way even Derek Morgan would describe it as reckless JJ speeds to the hospital, ready to fight any regulations keeping her from seeing her daughter sooner. “I’m here for (Y/N) Jareau. J-A-R-E-” She tells the woman at the reception breathlessly.

“Oh I got her. She is in room 99. (Y/N) was unconscious for a certain amount of time, but she is slowly regaining her senses. A doctor will meet you there.” Before she even finishes her sentence, the blonde leaves the desk into the direction of the appointed room.

In fact there is a doctor waiting for her, updating the mother on her daughter’s condition. “I advise you to not overwhelm her. Her mind is still foggy and there may be things that don’t make sense right now coming from her. But (Y/N) will make a quick recovery, being good as new in only a matter of days.”

Cautiously she enters the room. The teenager might be awake, but her mind clearly is elsewhere. “Hey, Honey. It’s me, your mom. How are you feeling?” JJ asks softly, taking her daughter’s cold hand into her own gently.

“Oh, hi Mom. I didn’t know you found the time to actually come here. Isn’t there like a bad guy out there waiting for you to slap some handcuffs on him?” Ouch, she doesn’t expect that kind of honesty. But it’s true and JJ knows what (Y/N) is talking about.

She sighs. “I’m sorry, Honey, for being seemingly absent from your life. I swear, you can’t imagine how proud I am of you. I mean, you play soccer and there might be a scholarship in sigh. And even if you don’t get one, you can do anything and I would still be proud to call you my child.”

(Y/N) turns her head around, looking deeply into her mother’s eyes. The blonde can see all the pain she brought onto her bundle of joy. “Mom, I don’t even enjoy soccer as much as you think. I only do this, because I thought there would be finally something we can bond over. But I clearly didn’t calculate your stupid job in.”

JJ kicks herself for overseeing her daughter this much. She never stopped to acknowledge her oldest child’s accomplishments in front of her team and family. She always told everybody in the BAU what (Y/N) is up to, if they asked or not is not her problem. But in the whole process the agent forgot the most important person, the one who reached all those goals.

“Oh Honey, I’m so sorry for letting you feel like I don’t want to partake in your life. I- I was just so invested in your life that I didn’t think about you. You don’t have to do anything that I like to get my attention. You can join the school band playing the triangle and I would practically make t-shirts for the whole team sporting your logo.

“Anything you do is enough for me. You don’t need to change yourself to appeal to others, not even me. I’m sorry for letting you down. I love you so much and I hope you can forgive me.”

It seems like (Y/N) needs a few seconds to comprehend her mother’s statements before answering them. “I just need a mom, who is there more often. That would be enough for me. Just once every three games is enough. To let my friends know you care. To let me know you care.” JJ gets tears in her eyes. She promises to be there more often, fully intending to keep that promise.

“Good, now that we have that sorted out I need you to come into bed with me. I feel I could sleep for at least a year because of Mr Pembroke’s really weird tasting substance in my inhaler. Can we just cuddle until I feel like I’m my old self?” JJ smiles while happily laying down next to her daughter, engulfing her in a hug, still being cautious of all the tubes she has going in and out of her.

“I love you so much, Honey Bun”, the blonde murmurs, stroking a few strands out of her daughter’s face. But (Y/N) is too tired to answer. She just nods and cuddles closer to her mother before falling asleep.

Meanwhile, JJ watches over her like a hawk. Not even Will is allowed to come closer to her than two meters (or roughly six and a half feet for Americans), not wanting anyone to disturb her daughter’s peaceful sleep.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl @herecomesthewriterwitch @ash19871962

[slafkovskys]

ok im not gonna lie i was nervous sending the last ask so thank you for saying you loved it 🥺 and thank you to the ones who reblogged ily guys ❤️so heres some more!

so you and owen text and you agree to come over the following day to work on the homework. and some of the guys are over right before you’re supposed to be there and owen’s shooing them all out and they’re like dude what the hell. and kent pipes up with a “his girlfriend’s coming over” and then everyone’s like “ohhhh okay big dog” and they’re teasing him and he’s like “she’s not my girlfriend and we’re just doing homework and she’s supposed to be here soon so leave” the guys would tease him some more but would eventually leave. but not before brendan turns down the thermostat and owen’s questioning what on earth he’s doing. brendan would just say “trust me” and then hes gone. which leaves kent who says he’ll make himself scarce and goes to his room.

and its not long after that you show up and owen catches a breath at you being in his house and looking all cute and he’s trying to get rid of the thought because he knows you’re just here to do work. and you can’t help but think that he looks so cute in his home more relaxed and with his glasses. he’d lead you to their table instead of to his room bc he wants you to be comfortable. and you guys would talk a little before starting the homework. which is definitely taking longer than it should bc you guys keep talking about other things and having fun and laughing. until at one point owen notices you shiver a bit and he offers you a sweatshirt. and owens thinking about how he has to thank his teammate bc he cant get over how cute you look with his sweatshirt thats too big on you and you have to keep pushing up the sleeves so you can write. eventually you’d finish your homework and you’d be on your way, but not before realizing you’re still in owen’s sweatshirt. so you’re like oh i can wash this before i give it back to you. and owen goes “or you can wear it to the game this weekend” and your eyes snap up to meet his and he’s blushing a little bc he was gonna try to ask you to go in a cooler way but nows a good a time as any. and he’d be stumbling over his words like “i mean only if you want. i thought you’d maybe like to go and ice rinks get cold you know? and it’s a umich one so you’re supporting the right team” and you can’t help but giggle at how he’s rambling and standing there a little awkwardly. and you go “i’d love to go to your game. i’m sure it’s more fun to watch than to keep up with the twitter notifications” and now you’re blushing from that admission but owen thinks it’s cute and it definitely gives him some more confidence, “its definitely more fun than twitter notifications” you’d nod, saying “maybe i’ll even see you score a goal” which makes owen laugh. “i’ll try my best, for you” you bite your lip at that, trying to hold back your smile although failing bc owen can tell and he’s smiling right back, warmth spreading through his chest at your reaction. you’d finally make your way to leave, but not before a hug from owen with a promise to see you in the next class -owen anon

so cute omg 😭

[marvelcriminalhoe]

Stumbling West

Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader

Chapter 10

Sweet Sound of Silence

i.e. Season 8 Episode 1

Chapter summery: A new agent is introduced and some relationship rules get blurred.

TW: Talks of criminal minds case, typical criminal minds jargon,

AN: This is sort of just a chapter to introduce Blake to the story but there is some relationship fluff that I love :)

word count: 2,186

Series Master List

“How’s Emily doing?”

“Brilliant and lovely.”

You, JJ, and Reid greet Derek and Penelope when they enter the bullpen. They have just spent the last 10 days in London, with Emily.

After JJ’s wedding, she decided to take the INTERPOL job to run the London office. You’re sad to see your friend leave, but you know it’s what is best for her. She died, not physically, but who she once was is gone now and she needs to be able to find herself again. You support her 100% in this decision.

“Her apartments off the chain.” Morgan tells all of you, only to be interrupted by Garcia, “You mean her flat.”

Conversation goes on a little more, Presents are handed out, when Garcia sobers up, going and asking about your new teammate, Alex Blake, “How’s the new? Is she nice?”

“Yeah, she is.” JJ responds to her.

“I’m just asking.” Garcia defends herself, putting her hands up, “Reid do you know she was recruited when she was 24?”

“I’ve guest lectured in her forensic linguistics class before.”

Garcia rolls her eyes, “Of course you have ‘cause she’s a professor and an agent, which is so impressive.”

“No, really, she’s great.” You try and reassure your dramatic friend.

“Well you would think that! You both graduated from Berkeley and you both got recruited by the government at young ages. Now you guys and Reid will probably form a doctors club and have inside jokes-“

“Oh a doctors club.” Reid pipes in while Garcia keeps going, not noticing the person walking up behind her.

“- And my point is, clearly, she is smart and capable, but is she nice?”

Morgan clears his throat, putting his hand on his face to hide his laughing.

“Oh dear god this is happening, where I keep talking and the person is behind…” Garcia trails off as she turns around, coming face to face with Blake, “…me”

You and Reid make eye contact, both turning away and walking towards your desks before the conversation could get more awkward.

Just as you are about to sit down, Rossi and Aaron come through the doors, “Don’t unpack.”

The team makes there way to the round table, as Aaron stands in front, arms crossed over his chest, to give the case details, “A few hours ago there was a prison transfer to the county hospital in Abilene, Texas. The ambulance crashed and the prisoner escaped.”

You grab the file from Erin Strauss as she passes it to you. She’s been showing her face around the team more often since the bank robbery, and you’re not entirely sure how to feel about that. Based off the cold shoulder you see Blake give her, you’re not the only one. Though that seemed more personal than bureaucratic related.

“Aren’t the US Marshals on this?”

“Yes they are, but they need your help because his is what they found inside.”

Video of the crime scene gets pulled up, and everyone sees the inside of the ambulance.

Well that’s not good.

“So the prisoner is the silencer.” You state, bit of intrigue in your voice.

“Or it’s a copycat.” Rossi theorizes.

Aaron shakes his head, “Forensics confirmed it’s the same unique double knot Ligature he used in the last three murders.”

“His last known victim was in 2004 and he was never caught.” Reid shares.

When you land in Texas you, Reid, and Dave, all go to check out John Doe’s cell at the prison. The cell is filled with books and papers, each piece pointing to a solitary existence. He liked being alone, escaping his mind through other peoples words.

“The most worn book is ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.” You point out, flipping through the pages.

“Of course it is.” Rossi says ironically, picking up some of the notebooks on the shelf, “The lead characters only purpose was to seek vengeance. Maybe he relates.”

“It’s in French.”

The older man raises his eyebrows at that, “Didn’t see that coming. Looks like he wrote a lot too.”

“He’s been pent up physically and verbally far too long.” Reid states.

“So he gets into his first fight within days of being here. It got him a weeks worth of solitary.”

Reid tilts his head, “That pattern escalated until he eventually killed an inmate, got out of solitary and killed another.”

“So he silenced his victims before he gets inside. His actions get him silenced while he’s here. Ironic?” Rossi wonders.

You shrug, “His two forms of expression are silence and rage. Maybe his writings will tell us why.”

The three of you gather the notebooks and make your way to the precinct.

If there is one thing you hate about your job, it’s the motel showers. Most of the cases you are called in on are in small suburban areas, which means you stay in the towns local motel 6’s, instead of hotels. Hotels at least have the decency to have proper water pressure, even if they are bad at everything else. But motels? Never.

The crime scene you and the team went to tonight was, a lot, to put it mildly, and the only thing you wanted once you got back to where you and the team were staying, was a hot shower, to wash off all the gross that comes with this job. But stepping out of the shower now, you don’t feel as good as you were hoping to.

The water was luke warm at best, and the low pressure didn’t make you feel like you were actually getting clean, nor did the shower calm you like you were hoping. With an annoyed huff and a shake of your head, you go through with the rest of your nightly routine, before putting on your pajamas, soft shirt and shorts, hoping to maybe get a few good hours of sleep tonight to lift your mood.

Just as you are leaving the small bathroom, there is a knock on your door. You grab your gun that is on one of the bedside tables, not expecting anyone to be knocking this late, everyone you know should be sleeping, before walking towards the door and looking out the peephole.

Seeing who is on the other side, you open the door with a questioning look on your face, greeting your boyfriend, who is also wearing his pajamas, “Hey?”

Aaron smiles at you, eyes taking in your legs, before moving up to your face, “Hi.”

A small chuckle leaves your mouth, opening the door wider to allow him to walk in, “What are you doing here?”

Aaron, your wonderful boyfriend, that you love very much, also happens to be your boss, and you both made a rule when you started seeing each other.

When on a case, stay completely professional.

The lines got blurred a bit during the bank case. And during the last case in Seattle, when one of the local cops wouldn’t stop flirting with you. Aaron kissed you on the cheeks in front of him, when you were handing him a file. Aaron Hotchner can be a possessive man when he wants to be, not that you minded, the cop was annoying you.

Lucky for you, the rest of the team wasn’t in the department, but you have a feeling JJ knows there’s something going on between you and your boss. It’s really just a matter of time before the rest of the team finds out. You told Emily, before she left for London, and although she promised to keep it a secret, she did let it slip that she knew you were attracted to one another. You figure the rest have picked up on that too.

But, you both agreed to the rules, knowing that although it’s not technically against protocol, it is highly frowned upon. It’s why he refers to you by your last name at work and you call him Hotch in front of the others.

“What? I can’t come say goodnight to my girlfriend, that I only got to see today very briefly?”

You raise your eyebrows amusingly at him, “You can. But aren’t you the one that made these rules so we wouldn’t blur the lines on the job?”

“I know.” Aaron sighs, shoulders dropping, “But I missed you.”

This makes you pout at him, heart warming. He reaches out and grabs your waist, pulling you closer to him, “Plus, the lines are already blurred.” He says, resting his forehead on yours, “I’m pretty sure they were blurred the moment you walked into the conference room looking for Derek.”

This pulls a laugh from you, as you reach up and place a quick kiss to his lips, “I do remember thinking you were very attractive with that beard.”

He smirks at you, dropping another sweet kiss to your lips, “And what about without the beard?”

“The most handsome man.”

Aaron shakes his head at you, eyes gazing at you lovingly, “This is highly inappropriate of me to ask,” He jokes sarcastically, before his voice turns soft, “Can I just stay and hold you tonight?”

And there goes your heart again. Breaking into tiny pieces by this sweet, sweet, man in front of you. You swear he tries to make you cry on purpose or something.

“You don’t have to ask babe. You’re always welcome.”

You both fell asleep to the sound of the silent hotel room, and the rhythm of your heartbeats beating together.

With a kiss to your forehead and a small, “See you later.” Aaron sneaks out of your room before your alarm even sounds.

There was yet, another murder committed in the middle of the night, and now you and the team are around the conference room, given to you by the local police, trying to figure out where this John Doe is going next.

“ Ok, so he leaves words until today. Maybe he’s closer to what he’s looking for?” JJ shares her theory.

You shrug, “He could have already found it.”

“If he feels satisfied, he may disappear.” Morgan nods, going off your thought.

Blake hums thoughtfully, “We’re too close to let that happen.”

“Alright, then we go back to the first kills.” Aaron proposes, “3 women, late 40s, all working class. Mothers, Brunettes, beaten and left in a ditch. That was his message. He hated them.”

“Maybe he’s not targeting the women anymore because he already killed the person he blames?” You wonder.

“Most likely his mother.” Blake states.

Aaron nods, dialing the office phone in front of him, “We should have Garcia run all of the victims names again.”

“At your service.” Her voice comes through the speaker.

“Pull up the ‘04 victims.”

You hear her typing, “Done.”

“We need a list of their children.”

“Ok, next of kin, state welfare, give me a sec.” More typing is heard before she speaks again, “Gotcha! Ok. Some were put into foster care after their moms died, runaways, truancy, not good.”

“Any incarcerated?”

“A handful. Do you have anymore parameters?”

“Uh, not yet.” Aaron tells her, “Just send us the list.”

You all look through the files of the first victims, going over them together and looking through their family history. Trying to find anything that could lead you to the guy or what it was he was looking for.

The ending to the case is a somber one. You were able to save a fathers life, and his children from witnessing it be taken away. But your John Doe, who’s real name is John Myers, didn’t have the same fate. You saw that Aaron was rattled by it. Not being able to save everyone, even the bad. But there wasn’t much support you were able to give him in front of the team.

Which is why you were a bit surprised when he sat across from you on the plane. He usually takes the loner seat in the back to spread out and do paperwork uninterrupted, but you welcomed the close proximity. You would feel his gaze on you briefly every few minutes, or a foot nudge your leg here or there. Anytime you would look up though, he would be looking down at the file in front of him, doing his work. The only evidence of his mischief being a small amused smile on his face.

When you finally did catch his eye, the plane was getting ready to land, it was full of warmth and tenderness. You sent a fond smile his way, hoping it would display exactly what you wanted to tell him in that moment, but weren’t willing to risk the prying ears of the team surrounding you.

I love you.

Your wish being granted by the small nod and discreet wink sent back to you.

I know.

Gathering your things to get off and head to the SUV outside that will take you back to headquarters, Aaron filed in behind you on the way out, leaning down to whisper in your ear, “Come over tonight?”

You turn your head slightly to look back at him, sending him a small nod and a wink of your own.

********

Tag list: @bakugouswh0r3 @averyhotchner @rousethemouse @malindacath

[bumblesimagines]

Forgotten Fairytale

Part 3

Request: Yes or No

~

“We have two announcements today. First, we have a new student, (Y/N). As some of you may know, (Y/N) is a dragon-vampire hybrid and I expect each and everyone of you to treat him with respect. To whom it may concern, he is not our next monster. We’ve recently encountered a Night Hag.” Alaric announced to the remaining student body that had chosen not to leave. You kept your arms crossed, making eye contact with Hope. You gave her a triumphant smirk and got an eye roll in return.

“A Night Hag is a malevolent spirit trapped on the astral plane that can only interact with us through dreams. In this case, nightmares.” Alaric explained, murmurs spreading through the students. 

“So, like, Freddy Kruger?” 

“Well, in the sense that what happens to you in your dreams seems to happen to you in real life, yes. But, the good news is we’re safe, so long as we stay awake.” Alaric explained, nodding to the questions. He noticed tension rise and cleared his throat. 

“We’ve lined up more evacuation shuttles. They should be running all afternoon, so please, for those who don’t want to stay and fight, take advantage of them.” Alaric licked his lips. You gave a small snort, biting your bottom lip. Ryan had mentioned a possible run in with monsters but he seemed confident in your abilities to protect yourself. Once you had your father back, you’d make sure he faced some monsters of his own. You stood once Alaric dismissed everyone, noticing him motion for you to come over. With a deep sigh, you walked towards the stage he was on. 

“I’ve got your classes sorted out. You’ll be taking typical high school courses, plus some of the supernatural courses we typically give to everyone. You’ll have some vampire classes and finally, a one-on-one with Dorian to talk about dragons. Dorian insisted on it. I would like you to speak with Emma, she’s one of our teachers and also the counselor for those who need one.” Alaric explained, handing you a paper. You gave it a once over before looking up at him.

“And why would I need to speak with a counselor? I’m perfectly fine.” 

“Considering you walked out on Dorian after a mention of your father, I don’t think you’re fine.” Alaric gave a tight lipped smile, patting your arm as he walked by. You blew a raspberry, looking back down at the paper. 

“Oh, and by the way, these uniforms are horrendous.” You called to him, stepping off the stage and making brief eye contact with Hope as she spoke to Landon. 

“I have to agree with you on the uniforms being horrendous. We look like preppy golf kids.” You looked at the guy walking beside you. 

“All we’re missing are the pants and the golf course.” You grinned, chuckling as the guy nodded and laughed along. 

“I’m Kaleb, by the way. I’m a vampire, so I guess that means I’ll be seeing you around.” Kaleb gave a grin. You hummed, looking forward.

“Man, you and those other dudes got lucky. You don’t have to take these exams.”

“But, we do have to deal with the bullshit this school brings.” You stopped by a water fountain, leaning down and drinking from it. Kaleb leaned against the wall, arms crossing.

“Actually, I think that Landon guy was the one who brought the monsters with him. Things went to shit when he got here and-”

“It’s not Landons fault. The knife had been at this school for god knows how long.” You leaned up, wiping your mouth as your gaze fell on Rafael. 

“Well, like I said, we gotta deal with the bullshit the school brings.”

“And to do that, we have to be a team. We can’t insult or push each other away.” Rafael said, glancing between you and Kaleb. You let out a small snort, grinning as you shook your head. 

“Doesn’t that go against your nature? That’s all mutts know how to do. That and throw temper tantrums.” Kaleb snickered at your words. Rafael sighed, eyes shutting briefly in an attempt to stay calm and relaxed.

“You don’t have to worry about me, puppy. I can be a good teammate as long as you stay out of my way. Same goes for you.” You glanced at Kaleb before turning around and walking away. You walked to your first class, stepping inside and getting ready for a boring day of school.

~~~~~~~~~~

You ran your fingers over the books on the shelves, grabbing one and pulling it out of the shelf. You stepped out of the library and found a nice cushion seat, opening the book and flipping through the pages. You stopped on the one you had been looking for. 

Klaus Mikaelson: The Great Evil

Your eyes swept over the writing, searching for any mention of Hope. She was powerful but she hadn’t become a full tribrid yet. You paused, hearing footsteps coming from the hallway along with someone humming softly.

“Dr. Saltzman!”

“”Dr. Saltzman, I have changed my mind. I’ve decided to take you up on your offer and get the hell out with every other sane person here.””

“No, actually, I took your advice and I stayed busy, and I think I found something.” You lifted your head at Landon’s words, hearing their footsteps head back down the hall. You stood up from your seat, turning your head and watching them turn a corner. You looked down at the book in your hands, gently biting your bottom lip. 

“I definitely didn’t sign up for this… but I might as well enjoy the ride.” You looked back up, heading down the hall and entering the small library where Landon, Hope, and Alaric were at. You leaned against the railing, watching them speak.

“Why would a monster need to disguise itself as another monster? The Oneiroi sounds freaky enough.” Hope said, glancing between Landon and Alaric.

“Because if we knew what it actually was..”

“We’d know how to stop it.” Alaric finished for him, nodding. 

“Hope, kiss him for me.” Alaric said, turning and heading towards the stairs. He looked up, noticing you. He slowed down, head tilting.

“Need something, (Y/N)?” Alaric asked, heading up the stairs. You shook your head, fingers drumming against the book.

“Just eavesdropping.” You shrugged. Alaric let out a small laugh, nodding as he walked by.

“Don’t think you’re off my radar, (Y/N).” Hope called, arms crossing as she cocked a brow at you. 

“I’m honored you care so much about me, Red. It’s real sweet, though I think you should be more invested in your boytoy. Keep your eye on this one, Discount Jughead. She seems to have… a wandering eye. You shouldn’t forget who her mother was in love with.” You gave them a wink, turning around. You stepped towards a bookshelf, sliding the book into the shelf. 

“What about your family? What were they like?” Hope asked, approaching the stairs. You turned to look at her. 

“My mother gave my father a gift and then she left. At least she didn’t die because of me.” You leaned forward slightly as she got closer. Hope stopped a few feet from you, jaw clenching. 

“You know nothing about me.”

“I could say the same, Red. I might’ve been a dick when I was younger but atleast I never tried to kill someone who loves me and raised me. You had a mother who was invested in you and loved you. It would’ve never crossed my mind to hurt my father, no matter how pissed I was.” You sneered, watching her facade begin to crumble. Hope remained silent for a few passing minutes. 

“We should probably tell the others about our new discovery.” Landon piped up softly. Hope turned her head towards him, nodding.

“Yeah, I.. I have a plan.” Hope breathed out, looking back at you.

“Making enemies on your first day is the stupidest idea you’ve probably come up with.” Hope said, brushing past you. Landon slowly walked up the stairs, awkwardly approaching you.

“Hope is a.. She’s a good person-”

“You don’t have to defend her when she’s not around, My Chemical Romance.” You stared at him, giving a small eye roll. 

“Why are you such a dick?”

“Well, my dad told me my mom was a bit of a bitch. I probably got it from her.” You shrugged, turning around and leaving the library. You heard Landon catch up with you.

“I was in the foster system for most of my life. I can understand some of your feelings regarding not knowing your mom and-”

“Listen, Gerard Way, I’m not interested in being your friend. I’ve been taught and shown that humans are the least trustworthy creatures on this planet. It’s better to be alone than to trust a human. They’re like chihuahuas. They think they’re at the top when they’re actually at the bottom and I’d rather not have my life in the hands of one.” You looked at him.

“Fair comparison.” Landon mumbled. “But, some humans are good and they mean well-”

“We can have this conversation after I take a nap.” You entered the lounge area where Hope had gathered the rest of the boys. Hope explained that the Night Hag was actually an Oneiroi. 

“I know it sounds bad, but now that we know what the creature is, we can fight it.”

“How the hell are we supposed to kill a dream demon?”

“Leave that to me. But since I can’t fall asleep without compromising the location of the urn, I need someone else to pull it out of the dream plane and into our waking reality.” Hope explained, looking over everyone. 

“So, Freddy Krueger, like I said.” Another vampire, MG, pointed out.

“And how the hell are we supposed to do that?” Rafael asked, looking back at Hope.

“By entering the dream plane, getting a hold of it, and waking yourself up.” You answered, shrugging lightly.

“Just like in the movies.” MG nodded in agreement to your response. Kaleb hummed, nodding. 

“Is it too late to get on the evacuation bus?” Kaleb asked, tilting his head as you snorted. Hope gave a sympathetic look.

“No. I mean, I’m not gonna ask all of you to stay for this, it has to be your choice.” Hope said, silence following. Landon quickly stood up.

“I’m not leaving unless Hope does.” Landon said. Hope didn’t seem exactly thrilled as she gave a small hum. She looked at Rafael, brows raised in question.

“I’m not leaving Landon behind.” 

“You two are very codependent.” You mumbled, hearing Kaleb snicker and nod. 

“I’m a founding member of the Super Squad-”

“The fuck is a ‘Super Squad’?”

“-So I can’t bail.” MG stood up from his seat with a supporting smile. The four of them turned towards you and Kaleb.

“Y’all are gonna get yourselves killed.” Kaleb said, looking at Hope. 

“But if MG stays, I stay.” He added with a sigh, looking at you. 

“This reeks of drama and chaos so, I’m definitely staying and watching this go down.” You grinned, shrugging lightly. “But I’m not gonna be a member of this.. ‘Super Squad’ shit you have going on.” 

“In that case, it’s naptime.” Hope said, giving a small nod. 

“I’ll go speak with Dr. Saltzman. Get set up in the gym. Bring blankets, pillows, and anything else that might help you fall asleep.” Hope walked past them and Landon quickly followed. 

“Codependency is a big problem here, huh?” You shook your head, glancing at Kaleb. You grabbed one of the pillows off the couch and turned, heading towards the gym. You watched the others bring the necessary stuff, Hope and Landon entering while deep in what seemed like an argument. 

“You are gonna sleep with us, right?” Kaleb asked, noticing you hadn't made a small bed like they had.

“No.” You shook your head, arms crossing.

“What do you mean, no?” Landon frowned, brows furrowing.

“You don’t want to see me wake up from a nightmare. Accidental shifting and accidental arson isn’t pretty.” You shrugged lightly. Hope hummed.

“We don’t need a confused dragon causing an accident.” Hope looked at the rest of the guys. They lied down in a circle, slowly falling asleep one by one. Hope stepped towards you, closely watching each of them. 

“It was a shit move to bring up your mom. I’ve been on edge since dad disappeared.” You said quietly, ignoring the surprised look Hope gave you. 

“Sorry for that.” You walked away from her, careful to be quiet so as to not wake them up. You noticed each of the boys becoming more twitchy, faces contorted in confusion or fear as the hours began to pass. 

“How come you aren’t tired?” Hope asked softly. 

“You think I could sleep with my only family gone?” You looked at her with raised brows. Hope nodded, looking down to see that Rafael, MG, and Kaleb had stopped twitching as much.

“It’s almost time.” Hope turned, quickly leaving the gym. You gently toyed with your necklace, licking your lips and turning to face the boys when they all suddenly awoke. They stood and began talking all at once, making you huff in annoyance.

“Calm down, Hope’s handling it.” 

“What? What the hell-” Landon was cut off by Oneiroi and Hope crashing through one of the doors. Hope quickly got up, blowing some hair out of her face.

“Stay back, I got this.” She called, running forward and tackling the demon before promptly getting choked. 

“Yeah, she’s totally got this.” You mumbled, picking up two wooden pieces that had belonged to the now broken doors. You approached her, stabbing the pieces through the demons’ eyes. Hope let out a gasp for breath as the demon disappeared into a cloud.

“Thank you.” She coughed, rubbing her throat. 

“Next time, be prepared.” You stood, letting Landon help her up as Alaric rushed in with his crossbow. You tossed the wood aside, turning and walking past Alaric. You thought back on the urn and Hope mentioning she knew where it was. Befriending her to find it would be a problem in itself.

“(Y/N)!” Alaric called after you, quickly jogging after you. You turned to face him, raising a brow.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for helping Hope. How’d you know how to kill it?” Alaric asked.

“Like I said, dragons don’t just horde inanimate objects. I like to read as a pastime and most of the time, the books have to do with the supernatural.” You answered, shrugging lightly. Alaric nodded, reaching out and gently touching your arm.

“Thank you.. I’m sure Hope appreciates it.” Alaric gave a small smile. You nodded, licking your lips as Alaric turned and went to check on everyone. He passed by Hope who gave him a small smile and nod. She turned her head to look at you, arms gently wrapping around herself. She slowly approached you, gaze on the ground. 

“I know you could’ve just let me get hurt but.. Thank you for helping me. I know we got off on a terrible foot so, I hope we can be a bit more civil with each other.” 

“We’ll see.”

[sugarakis-p2]

Security

This is a prologue in a choose your own adventure; smut style. The other series or collection will have the same name with the charters you will have an adult relationship with. Example, Security: Dabi, Security: Mr.Compres, etc, etc, etc. All of those will be tagged with warnings and whatnot.

I like to write smut with plot. I see a lot of potential with this character. This chapter is very pg and could be a one off for that crowd. I thought it would fun and nice this way, while sparing me having to rewrite with a bunch of tags. I know I'm lazy!

You are a security guard at a museum with a personal secret when you have the misfortune of crossing paths with the league of villains. They are desperate villains and you know were all the cash is, how will you survive this bad luck?

Warning: Kidnapping and death threats

You never thought you would end up working security at a boring museum. After you and your twin trained to be heroes. Both got your license. Both of you were going to be big. Then Stain showed up and destroyed both of you. Your quirk needs a partner, one you trust. Your sister was the one who carried you both. When she was murdered, it ended your career.

Not that you were ever going to be the star. Technically you were in the hero’s program. But always considered a sidekick at best or a support item at worst. The hoops and torture you had to just through to get where you have still left its scars, both physical and mental.

Mr.Aizawa dropped you from class twice. Turns out he was right. As a standalone hero, you are worthless. So now you spend your nights walking around a museum. You look down at your fake legs and wonder was any of it worth it? They are covered in the pants of your uniform. You can feel them there and not there, a miserable sensation many don’t have to deal with. Of course not, you think. It was important to your sister.

You loved her too much to say no. Plus, she had an annoying way of cheerleading those around her to the finish line. She made you believe it would be worth it. Now that’s she’s gone, you wonder why you ever bothered even trying to be a good guy. You almost killed yourself to follow your sister, but your Mom was put into debt over your medical bills. You could not leave her like that. Two daughters and a dead husband with a mountain of debt, you are an asshole, but not that big of an asshole.

Your self-pity is interrupted by a sound around the corner. You figure it’s Tony, the janitor, but your job is to observe and report. As you peek around the corner, you see two men, one horribly burnt and the other with a top hat and cheerful mask. Oh shit. You turn to get to safety and call it in. When you are grabbed from behind by the throat, your gun disappears into dust.

“Where are you going, little hero?” Someone behind you hisses in your ear. “Why don’t you be a good little hero and help us out?” The voice gripping you tightly by the throat guided you around the corner to the two men arguing.

“Look what I found,” the voice behind you says to the two.

“Great, now maybe we can get this over with. How much is this painting worth,” the burnt man is pointing behind him at the LaVan piece, the other pipes up with the top hat; he looks like a magician to you.

“It’s not about the money. It’s a work of art, I want to add it to my collection. The other pieces can be sold.”

“If you want it, then take it,” the voice behind you rasps.

“I would if this were the real thing. It’s a fake for the public,” The magician turns to you. “You better know where they keep the real one at. otherwise, we can’t guarantee your safety.”

“One more finger is all it would take,” the voice behind you threatens. You had already seen what it could do and shudder at the thought. Cute, it was a promise of hope and a threat all at once. It has given you enough time to think, bad guys, probably killers. You want to lie to them, but one seems to know his stuff. If you are valuable, they may not kill you; they could help you. It could be a win for everyone.

You want to cry at what you’ve been debased to, working with villains and murders. Your sister would be ashamed of what you are about to do, but she’s dead and you’re not.

“I know where they are,” you say meekly.

“Oh gooood,” the magician purrs. “But I want guarantees before I tell you, no killing or hurting me. It has to be that way.”

“Sure, we promise, princess,” The burnt one strokes your cheek with a finger and grins.

“I have it, along with over fifty-million-yen worth of other things. They keep the real stuff packed underneath in a vault. The combination is 89776xb. You won’t find anything but fakes in there too, I took it all a while ago. The alarm system is hidden on the left wall twenty tiles up. Its code is 1986rox. You don’t want to know what I had to do to get it.”

“Then hand them over,” the one behind you is tightening his grip as a threat.

“That’s not how it works. The more you threaten me, the farther you are away from that money. My quirk is called the void. I can put an infinite number of inanimate items in myself but not pull them out. Only someone I feel safe with and can trust can pull them out.” You say quickly. The one behind growls, the burnt one laughs, and the magician mutters interestingly.

“Could be lying. Let’s just dust her and find something else.”

“Now wait a minute,” The burnt guy says leaning forward and tapping your leg. Upon hearing the metal, he looks genuinely pleased. “She’s not lying. Your sister was “The Bringer,” right?” You nod mournfully. “She’s a former pro-hero. She could increase our reputation, not to mention that’s fifty mil in a pretty package.” He leers at you. You can hear the one behind you scratching themselves, groaning in annoyance.

“She could be lying about the money,” it rasps.

“Ahhhh, but even if she is, she still could be useful in assisting the league,” The magician speaks up. “Her quirk is similar to mine; infinite has a lot of potentials.” More scratching, your sweating, the one behind you clearly is the leader and isn’t convinced. You swallow hard and force yourself to speak.

“I’m not a hero anymore. I’m a thief. I’m desperate. I want to help my mother. If you help me, I can help you. I promise to be loyal. I’ll have no choice. What recourse do I have as a fellow criminal?” The one behind you stopped scratching.

“She could be lying about being a thief. Mr.Compress, take this one. We’ll go check the vault. Turns out to be true, we keep her, a lie and no one will ever find you ‘hero’,” the one behind hisses. The magician touches you, and it feels like you are suspended in a cloud. You can’t tell time and have no idea how long you were in there.

You wake up in an abandoned warehouse a little disoriented. Surrounded by a bunch of weird-looking strangers. One even has a severed hand on his face, like a creep. Burnt man and the magician are there. The magician is handing you a phone.

“Your story checked out. Call your boss and quite.” You do as he says. Your boss is confused and angry, to say the least. Half an hour later, of guilt-tripping and getting chewed out. You hand the phone back to the magician.

“Congratulations, welcome to The League of Villains,” the Handyman rasps.

[thefanficmonster]

Take That!

Corpse Husband & Reader (Female) ft. Streamer Gang

Warnings: Mentions of Depression, Suppressed Sadness, Swearing

Genre: Platonic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: What is a friend? Your smile through the tears. The umbrella over your head when it starts raining. The ointment to your wound. But if you wanna put it in a more literal manner, a friend is something that doesn’t have a concrete definition. It can be the person you sit next to in class or the person who’s hundreds of miles away from you and you’re connected to through a Discord call.

Requested by Anon. Hello dear! Thank you so much for your request, sorry it’s taken me so long to complete and post it but here it finally is and I hope you enjoy the read if you happen to come across the fic. Love, Vy ❤

There are those days when I wake up excited for a new day. There are also those days when the thought of playing Among Us with my friends is all that gets me out of bed. And then there are those days when not even that can get me to budge. Today is one of those days.

I’d still be in bed right now had I not needed to use the bathroom. On my way back to hide under my covers, I heard my cat’s meow from the kitchen, reminding me she needed to be fed. After tending to that task I just sort of lost will to return to bed either. Speaking truthfully, today is a will-less day. The type of day where I have no idea what to do with myself because I feel so odd and uncomfortable: heavy and bustling head, motivation below zero no matter whether I have zero tasks to tend to or a mountain high pile of work. It’s a laying on the floor and letting my mind eat away at me type of day and I can’t say I appreciate it.

The only thing I have to look forward to is the game of Among Us Corpse invited me to yesterday. Had I known I’d wake up feeling like absolute shit, I wouldn’t have accepted. I just know I’ll be a downer the whole time because I suck at covering up how I feel - my smiling masks and faux happiness don’t cut it but staying quiet is even worse because I’m typically and energetic and bubbly person, always having something to say or a comment to add to the conversation. Always looking to make people laugh.

Well, it’s hard to make people laugh when you feel like a deflated balloon.

I can’t describe the feeling any better than that - I feel empty, maybe a little sad somewhere in the mix, unmotivated. I keep these feelings to myself cause whenever I bring them up people just blow me off, saying I’m describing laziness but more dramatically. Either that or burnout which is sometimes the case, but I’m more than sure that it’s not the culprit for today. You can only blame burnout so many times.

Anyway, I make a mental note, promising myself I’m not gonna bail on my friends regardless of whether my mood gets better or worse. Who knows, maybe a gaming session with them is exactly what I need.

                                                              *  *  *

Not much has changed with my emotional state - I’ve spent a good chunk of the day surfing through TV channels and my socials with nothing else to occupy my mind but the overwhelming knowledge that I’m not feeling ok and that hyperawareness of a void that I feel but cannot describe. At one point, Corpse sent me a text to confirm I’d be participating in the gaming session and I was this close to saying no. This close to coming up with some bullshit excuse and bailing but I didn’t, thankfully. 

Here’s the thing about this drop in mood of mine - I know it’s gonna be gone by morning. It bullies me, beats and batters me for only twenty four hours - never more, never less. Like clockwork and as precise as a Swiss watch. And so fucking annoying. No matter what I do, I can’t end it prematurely and I can never wake up feeling down and unmotivated the next morning - there’s always a surge of motivation coursing through me and it drives me to be super productive as if making up for what I didn’t do the previous day when I was in the dumps.

It’s a twisted way of it showing me I’m powerless and at the mercy of a force that, despite being mine and existing within me, I’m completely unfamiliar with. It’s so fucking unfair, it’s disheartening.

“Hi everyone! Sorry I’m late.“ I greet the five people who have already gathered in the Discord call and the Among Us lobby.

Yeah, sorry I’m late, I was contemplating not showing up at all last minute

“Don’t worry about it, many people are running late as you can see.“ Rae replies reassuringly, “How’s your day? Anything spectacular happen?“

I can’t help but scoff, “Yeah sure, a TON of spectacularism in my life on the daily. From the large stack of papers I couldn’t bring myself to touch, to the dusty surfaces all over my apartment I didn’t convince myself to clean - it’s all fabulous over here.”

Fuck, that was too real

“Whoa, where’d all this sarcasm come from?“ Rae asks, sounding genuinely baffled rather than teasing, “It’s never been your strong suit.“

“Neither has unproductivity.“ Corpse, my best friend, chimes in, “Everything ok?“

Well, I admit, I should’ve known better than to have an outburst like that in front of people who have known me for a while now and can probably gauge my emotions even without me admitting to them. I truly don’t know where it came from. Hell, I didn’t even see it coming.

“Nah, it’s ok. I’m just being lazy, I guess.” I’m quick to withdraw and brush off any suspicion. The last thing I want is to worry my friends or, even worse, receive the same response from them: that I’m being dramatic, that I’m attention-seeking, that I’m just lazy and unmotivated as are most people of my generation.

“You know, what people often self-diagnose as ‘laziness’ often turns out to be something more serious. I don’t mean to scare you, but it could be depression.“ Corpse says after a brief moment of silence in the call, his voice soft and cautious as if explaining a complex problem to a kid who’s bound to be hurt by what it’s told.

I can’t help but chuckle. He has no idea how much he’s relieved me by saying that. I always ‘don’t want to talk about it’ and ‘want to change the subject’ while what I truly need happens to be the complete opposite. I need someone to hear me out, I need someone who will not brush me and my concerns off like we don’t matter. I need someone who’ll understand. And if these people who have openly struggled with anxiety or depression don’t get me, who will?

“Yeah, I genuinely thought I thought of myself as a lowlife while I was in college cause I started losing motivation for everything and started fearing what was to come. I began avoiding going out and talking to people cause I felt like I was the sore thumb in the friend group I had - the only one without any specific goal or a dream.“ Leslie says out of the blue, “Turns out I suffered through a burnout so bad it turned into an anxiety/depression combo that I just blamed on being a lazy college student.“

“Same here!“ Toast pipes in, “I was bedridden for a while during the first days of my streaming career, for a very ridiculous reason - I believed I didn’t deserve the attention I was getting and I wasn’t doing as well as people gave me credit for. So that had me crippled with self-doubt for a long while.“

“I still don’t believe I’m doing as well as I get credit for, but oh well.“ Leslie laughs, “I already told you all about my dumpster-fire of a brain, so I’m instead gonna say: what you need is an appointment with a therapist. Also - you need to stop underestimating your struggles. Invalidating yourself and what you’re going through is gonna make things only worse for you. You need to love yourself.“

“And you need us!“ Rae exclaims, “You need the best support you can get and, lucky for you, we’re the best in the business. Count on us always being there for you, Y/N. Cause we always will be.“

“You’re never alone. We’re all just a call or a text away. Especially me.“ Corpse adds, “I’m basically at your service 24/7, just like you’ve always been for me. What are best friends for if not sharing mental struggles and lifting each other up afterwards?“

I don’t know when this smile made its home on my face but it seems to be rather happy with where it is and wants to stay. Something tells me that thanks to these guys, it will indeed stay there for quite some time. And every time it tries to slip away, they’ll be there to bring it back.

“Then let’s lift each other up, shall we? I mean, what better way to do it other than killing each other and getting away with it?“ I attempt a giggle, hiding my emotions behind it like my life depends on it. Chances are they heard all I’m feeling in my voice, but I can only hope they’re not gonna mention it.

“Y/N, hun, I’m sorry to burst your bubble but....you never get away with it.“ Corpse wheezes, causing me to narrow my eyes and frown.

“Oh, you’re so gonna get it now!“ I exclaim, cracking my knuckles before getting my hands on my keyboard, “Start the game! I have a point to prove!“

And just like that, in what felt like the blink of an eye, the clouds have shuffled aside to make path for the sunshine to grace my brain with positivity I was not expecting to feel until tomorrow morning. I can’t give myself the credit for that though - it all goes to these amazing people I have the honor of calling friends.

I may have no power over it on my own, but with the gang’s help, I can take full control of it. And as a middle finger to the melancholy, I’ll do it all with a bright smile on my face.

Take that, brain!

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