#because yeah when he was human he would've done anything to protect his loved ones

[lunarspiral1127]

X-Men 97 episode 8 *SPOILERS*

Bastion

Not gonna lie, I busted out laughing when I watched his origin story. This is the second time an antagonist had to wait for a couple to make a child and use said child for their plans. Nimrod was lucky that the guy he infected was in a relationship. Plus, I thought it was gonna make Bastion sympathetic due to his childhood flashbacks, but nope.

So, he made a Utopia for humans, but the mutants are enslaved. Saw old Polaris and the Phoenix. But, what bugs me is that he claims that many of the humans consented to be turned into Prime Sentinels without knowing all the details and won't have any memory of being turned. I find it hard to believe that every single one of them would've consented, especially his elderly mother. Dude omitted many details and I'm pretty sure he turned some of them without them knowing. Plus, I'm still mad at him for killing Gambit.

Cameos of Dr. Doom and Zemo (hydra n@zi Zemo, not the MCU version). Wasn't expecting to see them being members of OZT.

Mr. Sinister's just in it for the mutant experimentation.....y'know what? I shouldn't be surprised with that reason why he "teamed up" with Bastion. More test subjects.

Summers Family

Not gonna lie, I was really annoyed with the drama between Cable and Scott. If this was comics Scott, I can understand why Cable's giving him the cold shoulder. But, this Scott didn't wanna abandon Nathan like his dad did to him! It was Madelyn that gave him to Bishop. So, if Scott was there with her, things would've been cool?! God, I'm so sick of this drama. Thank goodness that it didn't last long and that Jean stopped them from escalating it further.

Summers family vs. Prime Sentinels was pretty cool. I like that father/son fistbump, which means things will get better between the two.

It's funny that Jean's being the mom at Cable who's like this big man in his 50s.

Also, Jean and Scott's relationship is getting better which is a relief.

Nightcrawler

Once again, precious boy and MVP. What he said to Jean was really nice. He's always been there as someone's shoulder to lean and cry on. When he talked about Mystique, I felt so bad for him. Honestly, I hated what she did to him just because he was born that way. In the 90s show, she did feel guilt for what she did when Nightcrawler talked to her. But, I still didn't like her for what she did to him. However, with all the words and hugs he's given to others, I hope he has someone who'd give him words and hugs too. He also needs a shoulder to lean and cry on too.

SWASHBUCKLING NIGHTCRAWLER HELL YEAH!!! I've been waiting to see him use swords and it was worth the wait. Him teaming up with Wolverine was really cool. Plus, seeing how his teleporting works was cool too. Love that he was protecting his sister, and I'm glad that we got something with him and Logan cause we haven't had anything like that since he first appeared.

Beast

Why the hell would he let the reporter stay in?! Even if she's not doing her job, she's shouldn't be involved! It has nothing to do with her, plus, I'm pretty sure he revealed a lot of classified information that only the X-Men should be allowed to hear and see. Dammit, Beast. And, dammit Morph for letting her in too.

*sigh* Anyone else think, he's been done dirty in this episode? Cause having her stay in there got his butt kicked. Sure, he didn't know that she was a Prime Sentinel, but they do know the possibility that any human could be one, right? Now, Beast is knocked out along with Rogue, who hasn't woken up still.

Jubilee and Roberto

Okay, so they are gonna be part of the main plot, good. I was worried that they were gonna be sidelined, especially Jubilee.

His mom is a beech. She sold her son out to the Prime Sentinels and didn't believe him and for what? Her reputation?! Man, f**k this beech, she sucks. Poor Roberto though.

Finally using his powers more than once! I counted four times in this whole series so far of when he used them. It's also something that annoys me about the character. He said that he was training in the Danger Room to surprise Jubilee, but why couldn't we have seen that?! Why couldn't we have Roberto training with one of the X-Men's help and see him develop his abilities?! Hell, have Jubilee be there to train him! That way we could've seen more of his abilities and see him grow more and have him interact with other characters, bonding with them. Not just Jubilee. Maybe have him open up to when he first awakened his powers and why he wants to hide them, instead of just telling us.

On the plus side, they should be okay thanks to Magneto's magnetic EMP ability. Speaking of which....

Magneto

I'm glad he didn't get turned into a Prime Sentinel, but I still don't understand how Bastion and Mr. Sinister got his hands on him from Genosha. That blast should've killed him along with the Morlocks. I don't even think it's gonna be explained how they captured him.

His prisoner numbers....yeesh. 😬

The one good thing that Cooper did. Letting him go and realizing that he was right. Aside from that, f**k her. Seriously, was the only good human (regular human, not enhanced) shown in this was Moira?! Cause that's what it feels like.

Now, I was confused at first with what Magneto did, but I think he went to the North or South Poles and used the Earth's magnetic field which is strongest there to cause a worldwide blackout, disabling all the Prime Sentinels. Not killing them, mind you. All while in his underwear, too.

Honestly, I wouldn't blame him if he wages war. He tried to be good. He tried to respect Xavier's dream. But, look what happened. So, I wouldn't blame him if he did this.

HOWEVER! I like that Magneto was good. Part of me doesn't want him to go back to his old ways cause that's gonna be more conflict between him and Xavier. Plus, only Logan claimed that Magneto waged war. If he did, he would've killed the Prime Sentinels, but he didn't. If anything, he'd be waging war on Bastion since he's the one responsible. But, yeah, I'm sorry Xavier. You're cool and all, but Magneto was right.

Cameos

I mentioned Zemo, Doctor Doom, Future Polaris and Future Phoenix. But there were much more.

Omega Red and the Silver Samurai, but one that made me so excited to see......SPIDER-MAN!!! I was so happy to see 90s Spider-Man. I know many would want a sequel to the animated series, but we'll have to wait and see.

The rest I wanna talk/rant about

Professor X shows up finally, but I got miffed when he said "I hope I'm not too late". CHARLES! YOU ARE VERY VERY LATE!!! I know space travel takes time, but COME ON! He better do something real quick to help stop all this crap that's been happening. Dunno how, but it better be something good.

By the way, I'm still annoyed with that black hole excuse. Why couldn't he just contact Scott and the others and stay in touch with them right when he was fully recovered or was well enough?

WHERE THE HELL IS STORM?!?!?! I know she's with Forge, but you'd think the moment she heard about Genosha, she'd head back home flying. She'll probably show up next week, but it's been like two episodes since she got her powers back. Is her not being there sooner a choice the writers made cause if she was there, the fight with the Prime Sentinels would've been over quicker? *sigh* I just wanna see one of my favorites come back and kick some butt like she used too.

I dunno if Forge is gonna come back with Storm, but I hope he does. I want him to help with this Bastion mess. Plus, he did take a photo with him, which has me worried that he was connected somehow but I hope not. It also would be cool, if he contacted the rest of X-Factor and meet up with the X-Men and team up. But, I don't think that's gonna happen.

So, Bishop is definitely out of the picture for the rest of this season, which is bullcrap. It would've been cool to have him and Cable work together again like before along with the X-Men. But, instead, the excuse was they got separated from the time stream. So, we don't even know if he's okay or if he's lost again, or if he actually made it back home. God, I feel like his character's purpose of the show was to help create another characters origin.

Okay, I think that's pretty much it. It was a good episode, even though I did rant on a lot of stuff. We'll see how parts 2 and 3 play out in the next two weeks and hope that the finale will stick the landing.

[my-names-angel-but-im-not-one]

Replaced or not?

Part-1 Part-2 Part-3

For summary n details check out part-1

Pairing: Obey me character x mc!

"I really despise her, she gives me creepy vibes ngl " Dandil said.

"Yeah she's like ugh, if only the brothers had spend time with you they would've seen how much better you are!!" Ebella joined

"But it's a good thing they haven't we get to keep you all to ourselves" Norain said hugging you as you giggled at their clingy behaviour.

Dandil is a demon succubus. Ebella is another demon that holds the sin of greed. And Norain she's another average level envy demon.

I've been friends with them since I came here ..... actually I've been friends with almost all the demons here...diavolo has also praised me for it.

We chatted as our recess bell rang once again.

"what's your class ?" They all mused .

"......... mathematics" i groaned as they did too . They groaned because it's one of the subject we're not together.

My mathematics class go with Satan , Levi , and mammon and unfortunately Run hai. There's only one class i don't have with her and that is magic. The only good thing run hai has done so far is that she's able to bring Levi school......offline.

You sighed as you thought 'i still have Satan thou' but all that went to waste as you saw run hai was sitting beside Satan and was trying so hard to get him to talk. Satan saw you entering the class and eyed you in apology . You understand thou....not like you can do anything. You took and empty seat and sat down and took your notebook out try to do the homework you didn't do at HOL. (Cause like same bro)

"Oi human!! Liste-"

"I don't have any Grimm to spare mammon so you can go"

"The great mammon isn't here to ask for gri-!!"

Before mammon could say anything another person sat behind you.

You tensed and went stiffed bodied as you don't know this demon and you could easily die by his hands . You peeked from under your eyelashes and saw mammon was stiffed bodied as well.

"Lucien...grr" mammon growled at him . Thou unfortunately the professor asked him to go back to his seat. Now Levi , mammon and Satan all were eyeing you like you really are going to die.

"i don't like this..." You muttered under your breathe.

"Oh but I do very much darling~" the said demon beside you smirked and grins showing his sharp canine.

"I'm Lucien ". (This is how he looks)

You tensed . "Ah-i-i didn't meant that about yo-you" you stuttered as you tried to not look at him-

"Look at me when I'm talking to you love~" well damn. You looked from under your lashes and boy were you charmed.......no literally you couldn't move .....you tried but you couldn't he did something you are sure.

'move, move , move damn it MOVE!!'

"HAA-" You breathe in the air as you moved again .

"is something wrong mc?" "Sir i do not feel quite well...maybe I can go early please?"

"yes you may...it must be hard being a human " the professor said with a sympathetic smile and went back to teaching.

You packed your stuff and give a look to Satan . He nodded his head. As you just went to pick up your bag you froze again.

You could see this Lucian guy moving but you could not . You watched in horror as he grabbed you immobile wrist and did something that burner your hand in pain . When he removed his hand to your horror there was a bracelet like mark on your wrist now. (The mark)

"hah hah!" You panted and ran away from RAD and made your way toh HOL.

The main door creaked as you enter . Waiting for you in the hall was Lucifer. 'huh why is he here didn't he have to do sone stupid council work or something '

"MC"

"umm-"

"Don't worry i was already informed about your health , care to explain what happened? Why were you suddenly unwell? Did you ate something bad?"

"What? NO!! What do you think happened? And whatever happened to me is none of your concern ...Run hai is still at RAD you should go back she might need you " you spat at him

'why does he care now huh'

"Of course it is my concern you are under my protection-"

"Yeah so much for protection Whatever" you ignored him and tried to went past him . But he grabbed your wrist.

The same one that had the mark . And it was still hurting .

You howled in pain and Lucifer immediately let go. His eye scanned your wrist and he let out a gasp upon seeing the mark.

"What is the meaning of this?" Suddenly he was in his demon form and you knew that you fucked up . And you fucked up very very bad.

[A/N]: oooohhh we fucked up didn't we ෆ⁠╹⁠ ⁠.̮⁠ ⁠╹⁠ෆ. Also i introduced an oc . The art is not mine thou!!

Comments are appreciated!

Thank you for reading!!

[occasionallyprosie]

Nah, I don't mind rambling it's just longer than replies on Tumblr will allow.

The wonderful and difficult thing about First is there is not much to go off of even for someone who read First's story in Hyrule Historia. And there's only a few people who have roped him in so it's not like there's a wealth of fannon to build from either.

I personally see him as heartbreakingly tragic. Guy tried to fight evil and ended up locked in a dungeon for years. He was finally freed only when Demise was already a huge problem and could honestly have been so bitter for it. Dude was asked to lead the people when he'd spent years being left to rot. Add to that the goddesses loftwing (who looks a lot like Crimson) basically challenged him of "Are you worthy to be my rider?" And he still tried. He still died defending the people while Hylia raised Skyloft above the cloud barrier. He could have been "look, y'all want me to save you, but you made me so I can't. Maybe I could have (and been willing to) if I hadn't been chained in a dungeon for years..." But he had people he loved enough to go fight even though he had no chance.

@bokettochild has a wonderful characterization of First in her Blood Between Us series. I know she also is rewriting it but seeing First interact with the heroes was one of my first fics where they included him. He's so observant and almost unnervingly accurate of the heroes that get dumped in his lap.

I need to catch up on @adrift-in-thyme 's Give the Lion Fangs but everything else I've read by them is amazing.

And I still didn't answer all the questions but if you're looking for First content, I think I have one more fic rec with his direct characterization in it and one where they paint Warriors in a similar light as a sort of becoming First or channeling him... I don't know it tickles something at the back of my brain Involving First but that's so probably partly because First has a scarf but his is red.

Wow, thank you! That's some great thought food.

Yeah, most of the things I see of First is some mix of Legend, Time, and Warriors. He's got that sense of jadedness usually associated with Legend and Time, he's got that sense of duty where he'd do what's asked of him no matter its effects on him(like every Link). From what I've been looking through, he's very much a Link, and it makes sense seeing as he's their predecessor. The difference is that the first and main source of his trauma and struggles are the people he's called to protect, and yet he still protects them and gives his life for them even after all they'd done to him. A kind man would've turned his back, yet First didn't.

I did love the characterization of First in The Blood Between Us, it leans more into the jadedness that I think would set First apart from the others. Even Time and Legend, who in canon and fanon are the most jaded, don’t compare to what I'm seeing and working on making First into. He's tired, he's seen not just the worst of the darkness in the world (Demise) but some of the worst of the world itself, humans included. But he hasn't just seen it, he's experienced it.

Tell me if I'm wrong, because I have limited experience with anything related to First

But as I see it, he has that unbreakable hero's spirit, but he is broken. He's lost hope in humanity itself, the people are who he will protect but he doesn't hold any hope or trust in them. He still fights, and he will always fight (he is reincarnated to fight again and again), he will always protect the people of hyrule, he will serve his purpose. He will get up no matter what happens to him, he's unbreakable in that sense just like every single one of his reincarnations, but he has broken in that he can't truly trust or believe in anyone but himself and his goddess.

[writingintheshadowsforever]

Headcanons for Klaus Being A Simp For You

First thing under no circumstances will Klaus ever admit to being a simp

You know he's a simp for you, and so does his siblings, but none of you are able to get him to actually say it

But it does show just how bad he's got for you all the time

You're the only person in his life that he will allow to stand up to him, or outright defy him without consquences

When Klaus wouldn't lift the death threat he placed on Tyler's life, Caroline begged you to talk to him about it.

Which you did pointing out all the ways Klaus wronged Tyler, but also feeding into his ego

"If you're really the almighty true hybrid who can't be killed. Why are you acting like Tyler is still a threat to you? Do you perhaps fear him Klaus?"

Klaus immediately went into a rant about Tyler being no match for him, but nevertheless once he was done. He told Caroline the death threat was lifted.

Whenever Rebekah would piss him off to much she came to you looking for protection. When Klaus locked eyes with you in search of his little sister to dagger her. He simply let a out sigh of annoyance and gave you the dagger. You were holding your hand out for.

Everyone in his life knew that you were the one person Klaus would give into every single time without a fight.

But your influence did have its limitations in certain situations

Because you meant so much to him that brought a lot of his enemies to your doorstep

One time Klaus found you bloodied and bruised after one of Marcel's vampires attacked you to send a message

You tried to reel his anger in but he took one look at your state, and vamped sped away. The whole city of New Orleans felt his rage that night as he went on a rampage.

No human or vampire was safe as Klaus was hell bent on not just taking revenge, but also breaking every single one of Marcel's rules

He gave the vampire a werewolf bite and locked him up in the Mikaelson's mansion to watch him die a slow and painful death.

He ordered his siblings to keep a watchful eye over you after that. You weren't aware of it at first but wherever you went a Mikaelson wasn't far behind protecting you from anymore attacks.

Klaus also moved you into the mansion afterwards. You came home to find your apartment empty except for him standing there with a key.

Oh yeah and when it comes to sibling squabbles all of them know better than to involve you. Kol threatened your life one time when he first came back, and was terrified to even look in your direction for a month after Klaus was done with him.

You're one of the few people who can bring out his goofy and fun side.

He seemed like he was more irritated than anything when Rebekah brought the camera to take family pictures

Later on that night you presented him with the small camera, and the two of you had your own personal photoshoot

It took years for him to confess his feelings for you, because he had never felt this kind of love for someone, and every time he did try to love someone. It always ended in tragedy and heartbreak

Klaus didn't want things to be that way with you

But at the same time he was scared you wouldn't wait around forever for him, even though you definitely would've.

Klaus treated you like a literal queen, and only gave you his best. He was careful to never slip up and take his anger out on you

You began helping Klaus learn a better way to respond to his loved ones whenever they hurt him

Klaus would end up turning you at some point because he couldn't bear the thought of losing you

But he waits for you to come to him and ask.

Klaus wouldn't dare pressure you

If you asked for the world Klaus would find a way to give to you. There isn't nothing he wouldn't do for you.

[koumeowkami]

🪐 no celestial ; kanallen

— chapter four

"Kanata was a poor little angel that heaven couldn't help. He'd always been a tough one, not trusting anyone but his little brother Nayuta, the only person that ever made him feel love. Growing up by themselves, he did everything in his power to protect his sick brother, things that dirtied his holy hands. "It's for a good cause though", he thought. But it wasn't enough, and Nayuta died soon after.

Kanata's soul was completely spent. He became unable to feel love, and adding to his dirty dealings that soon were found out, he got cast out of heaven. Fallen on Earth with his wings blackened, he felt so lost and empty he thought he could've just died.

But a random encounter with a very annoying, persistent, stupid redhead human boy would've made him discover love again."

2389 words

genre: supernatural, hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

previous ✧ next

"...And who the fuck are these people now?"

Kanata's head was spinning. Having to deal with that Suzaku bastard was already plenty enough, he definitely didn't need other nosy people to bother the fuck out of him. He wondered if all humans were like that, unable to mind their own business; at least now he knew why he hated them so much.

"Yeah, um..." the guy stuttered again, probably because Kanata was looking at him as if he was ready to kill, "they're my roommates. I didn't know they were there either, to be honest..."

"I'm sorry, Allen! We were worried about you..." the pink-haired one spoke, joining their hands together, "It looked like you constantly had something on your mind and it was annoying to see" the mushroom-head continued, eyeing Kanata weirdly. He didn't know why and it was getting on his nerves.

"So... do you want to take this stray kitten home? Honestly, I don't want him to get my house dirty."

So he was of those filthy rich guys, huh.

Although he was used to being treated like that, it had always made Kanata's blood boil. Those people represented everything he hated the most: they ruined his and Nayuta's life, never helped them when they needed it despite having all the means to do that; they just watched the twins suffer and pretended they didn't exist. Of fucking course everyone would've been like that on Earth, too. He didn't even know why he was expecting something to begin with.

"Are you pickin' a fight with me!?" he snarled. If that guy thought Kanata was scared of him, he was so damn wrong. He started inching towards him.

"Oh, do you maybe prefer being called a rat?" Mushroom-head provoked him, "Sorry, but I don't take part in such vulgarities. You better do that with people of your kind". He smiled. God, he really wanted to beat the shit out of him.

"HAH!?"

"Hajun, stop being an asshole, will you?" Pink Hair intervened, then turned to Suzaku, "Allen, did you guys meet here?"

"Uh... yeah, a week ago" he scratched the back of his neck, "he has no other place to go, so I was trying to help him. I can feel he's not a bad guy... so guys, please."

The redhead looked at his friends with big puppy eyes, begging them. Kanata couldn't stand that look. He just hated being pitied like that, but something deep inside of him didn't want to stop him anymore. He could've done anything to drive that annoying little bastard away. He could've shown his black wings, could've proven he was an angel in order to scare him, but would've that been enough? Fighting again and again would probably only be a waste of time and energy. But was it really the only reason he was about to admit defeat? Kanata honestly didn't know anymore; his thoughts just turned into a mess whenever he was around that kid. The flames of his soul were desperately trying to burn the ice around Kanata's heart.

"...Are you gonna stop botherin' me if I agree to this?" he started, making Suzaku turn around, "Will you finally leave me alone? I'm so sick of you stickin' to me like that."

"Sure! I told you, the apartment is big" he smiled, "you won't be bothered. We'll make one step at a time."

"Stop actin' like we're gonna become besties or somethin' like that, it makes me gag" Kanata looked away. He feared that if the redhead kept shining just a bit more, he would've turned him into dust. So annoying.

"It seems we agree on something, at least" Mushroom-head spoke again. "If Allen is so desperate about taking the stray kitten home, then I guess I can't say no?" he huffed, "However, I can kick him out whenever I want to if he messes up. It's still my house, after all."

"Come on, Hajun... he doesn't look like the kind of guy who causes problems" Pink Hair said, turning their gaze on Kanata, "Allen is naive, but not enough to let weird people into his own house!"

"Hey, stop treating me like a kid!" Suzaku pouted, again. He looked so damn punchable. "Then that settles it! Thank you guys, I love you!" he hugged the other two so strongly they were gasping for air, then went towards Kanata.

"Don't even think of huggin' me! Who do you think you are!?" Kanata was panicking. He hadn't been close to another being in ages and got so unused to it he didn't know how he was supposed to take it anymore. Fine by him, human interactions never really mattered to him as long as they weren't with his brother, but this somehow got him more nervous than it should have.

"Ah, sorry... I promised not to bother you, didn't I?" the redhead smiled shyly, "I'm pretty sure someday I'll be able to hug you, though!"

"Yeah yeah, sure. Your friends are leavin' us behind, by the way." he pointed towards the park's entrance and started running in that same direction. He could hear a muffled "Oi, wait for me! " from behind him but he didn't look back.

Why the fuck was he even blushing for?

— ☾ —

Kanata couldn't believe his eyes. That apartment was huge, in a massive skyscraper. He had never seen something like that before, being used to the small ruined buildings of the slums back in the Celestial Kingdom; many people there, including the twins, didn't even have a home in the first place. He had missed that warmth.

"If only Nayuta could feel this, too..." he thought. He felt horrible knowing he couldn't share it with his brother, guilty that he had originally planned to rot somewhere in the streets to reach him, since he had nothing to lose anymore. He was still alone, after all; living in the same space of those humans didn't mean anything to him.

"I'm sorry, Nayuta..." he muttered, his voice so quiet no one even heard him. Then, a huge smile in front of him pulled him out of his thoughts.

"We're finally here! Make yourself at home, yeah?"

Mushroom-head interrupted him, "Before making himself at home, I'd like him to take a shower. He stinks" he said while walking to what seemed to be the kitchen, "I'll make dinner in the meantime."

"I don't have other clothes, though..." Kanata said in a small voice. He didn't like how things were turning, as he already knew that the answer would've been -

"Oh, no worries about it! Allen is gonna lend you some!" Pink Hair cheerfully replied with a smile.

"Why me!?"

"Why him!?"

The redhead and Kanata screamed at the same time, the former astounded and the latter clearly pissed. Yeah, things were definitely turning worse than he expected.

"You dummy, Hajun's clothes would be too big on him so you're the only option left." they turned to Suzaku, then glanced at the poor boy, "That is, if he doesn't want to wear some frilly dresses~? He'd be so cute in them, like a little doll-"

"No fucking way!" Kanata was so embarrassed he thought his cheeks were about to explode from how much they were hot. Why the fuck did they enjoy playing with him so much?

"Then it's decided! The bathroom is over there" Pink Hair pointed to a door in the corridor, "See you later~" they said before disappearing in their room.

Suzaku then turned to Kanata, a bit embarrassed himself, "Well, then... I'm gonna bring you some clothes later" he smiled softly. He was blushing a tiny bit, Kanata noticed it immediately. He suddenly got that weird feeling in his chest, the same one he had after meeting the redhead for the first time. And once again, he did his best to ignore it.

"Yeah, um... thanks" he said looking at the floor, "By the way, if you even dare to peep in while I'm showerin', I'll kill you" he went back to his intimidating gaze.

"Whoa, uh... believe me I won't!" the redhead gulped before dashing towards his room. Kanata didn't know if it was because he successfully got scared or he was simply embarrassed. Maybe both.

— ☾ —

"Hey, you don't look bad dressed like that!"

Kanata appeared in the kitchen wearing some black sweatpants and a grey hoodie. Those would look just right on Suzaku, but that bastard was at least 15 centimeters taller than him; this resulted into him looking tiny as hell and he hated it.

"Yeah, you look cute! I mean, my clothes still look a bit big on you but-"

"Stop lookin' at me! I ain't cute at all!" he screeched, stomping towards the nearest chair and sitting. That was the reason why he hated being small. He definitely was not cute, and he felt like dying even more when the redhead said it. For the second fucking time, even.

"Exactly. Now can you all sit, please? Let's have dinner before it gets cold." Mushroom-head sat at the table, showing some food Kanata had never seen before. Not that he used to eat a lot when he was in Heaven, but he had no idea how human food was supposed to taste or look like.

"...The hell is this?" he questioned, while he let the food sit on his tongue, "Never seen this kinda stuff before."

"Please don't talk while you're eating, it's gross" the other guy sighed, "It's samgyeopsal, a Korean dish. I'm Korean, so I cook these traditional dishes often."

"Oh, I just realized I didn't introduce you guys to each other!" the redhead suddenly raised his head from the plate, "Kanata, these are Hajun and Anne", he pointed first towards Mushroom-head, then towards Pink Hair.

Kanata didn't reply. He could care less about their names. Hell, he didn't even bother to call Suzaku by his actual name. They weren't close and surely will never be, so that didn't matter, right?

"Well, Kanata doesn't seem to be the talkative type, does he?" Anne looked at him a little concerned, "He must be really tired. Honestly, I can't wait to go to sleep, too~"

"Yeah, we should hurry up. I'm also kinda sleepy..." Suzaku yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Uh... where am I supposed to sleep, anyway?" Kanata intervened, at this point craving to be finally left alone and have some time for himself.

The redhead nervously laughed, "Ah... well, about that..."

"You told me I got to have personal space! Do you call sharing a room «to have personal space»!?"

Kanata wasn't mad. He was absolutely fuming, mentally regretting ever saying yes to that dumbass. This was probably one of the most disastrous things that could've happened to him: he already couldn't manage to sleep alone anymore, but having a stranger in the same bed as him sounded even worse. He couldn't believe how the redhead had accepted this thing right away, as if it were normal; he really was way too naive and it irritated him so damn much.

"I'm sorry, okay! I worded it a bit wrong." Suzaku took a step back from him, who looked like he was gonna jump on him at any second. "The apartment is big and you can go wander anywhere you want to, but we only have three bedrooms! And I'm definitely not letting you sleep on the couch." he concluded, looking dead serious for once.

Honestly, Kanata didn't mind sleeping anywhere, as long as he had at least a roof on top of his head. But he got to the conclusion that arguing about this wouldn't have led nowhere, since that guy didn't seem to budge.

"So here's what we're gonna do! I got my sleeping bag here" he proudly showed that weird puffy bag to Kanata, "I'm gonna sleep on the floor with this, while you can use my bed. Sounds good?"

He really couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was he really that determined to stay in his room and still give him some space? To a random kid met in the park, who could've seemed suspicious in any possible way?

What the hell was wrong with this dude.

"Alright..." that was all he could say, a bit taken aback but mostly too tired to think about anything else to say. So he swiftly got on the soft bed covered in red sheets and turned on the opposite side, facing the door. He heard a faint "Good night" but didn't reply. The room fell silent.

He knew he wouldn't have slept as always, but at least he finally got to close his eyes for a while. There was the tiniest bit of comfort in that.

And then, it came back.

The image of his dear brother passing away with a smile on his face, cursing him forever, making him remember that the only thing he ever loved in this shitty world disappeared. The voices would tell him it was his fault. It was his fault he wasn't a good boy and their mommy didn't love them. It was his fault he wasn't a good brother, who couldn't even protect his precious little treasure. It was his fault he was left alone and deserved it.

He didn't even realize he ended up crying in his sleep, calling Nayuta's name.

"Nayuta... miss you..."

Allen was almost falling asleep when he heard some sniffling from over the bed. Slowly and cautiously, he got up and got closer to Kanata, who was talking in his sleep. He couldn't quite register what he was saying, though.

"He must be having a nightmare..." he thought, noticing the kid was shivering while slightly holding out his hand, as if he was trying to reach out to someone. Before he could even process what he wanted to do, he took his hand, but luckily Kanata didn't wake up. Instead, he gradually stopped crying, until he turned into quiet snores.

Allen smiled, hidden by the darkness of his room. He slightly got up from the bed, but the boy's grip on his hand was so strong he just couldn't go anywhere without waking him up. So he just stayed there, laying down a bit far from Kanata not to bother him.

"How am I gonna explain this to him tomorrow?" he asked himself, falling asleep.

[magicalqueennightmare]

Sins & Amends Chapter 30

Billy Russo x Female Reader (60 part story)

This follows pre- the punisher into the storyline of daredevil, punisher season 1 and beyond

This is NOT Canon Billy. This is decent human being Billy left with bad options over worse decisions

This was also posted to A03 under: WaywardGaPeach. That account and this one is the only place you'll see me post this. If you see it on any other platform/account know it's not me.

Chapter Summary/ Warnings: No matter how you and Curtis try Frank won't let anymore slip about Kandahar. Matt is a safe haven for you [tip toeing into the punisher season 1 events]

You were surprised that after seeing Billy that night Matt didn't ask any questions. He knew how Billy had broken up with you so suddenly and what had happened after Maria and the kids were killed. Hell he had heard Alice's side which you would even admit painted Billy as nothing short of having devil horns peeking out. You couldn't hold it against her, she'd known you for years and was very protective. 

You couldn't help but think had you been in his position you would've been curious. Especially considering you knew for a fact he'd heard how fast your heart was pounding when you saw Billy. 

You let it go for about two weeks until you were laying awake one night in the bunk room and couldn't handle it anymore so you grabbed your phone off the charger and hit his number as you walked outside into the cool night air.

A few of the guys were up in the common area watching t.v. A few moments later he answered with a sleep ridden "Hello?" "Are we good Matt?" You heard him make a confused sound then heard his bedside clock read him the time "Y/N it's two in the morning. What do you mean are we good? Is something wrong?" You let out a sigh suddenly feeling very self conscious about the fact that you had apparently been over thinking again. "Wait this is about us seeing Billy isn't it?" He asked once it truly registered what you'd said.

"Yeah I mean...the rest of that night you were quiet and didn't exactly even attempt to initiate anything for a few days afterwards. Did I do something?" You could hear him moving around in the bed and could imagine him pushing himself up to a seated position, probably rubbing between his eyes while he did so.

"Y/N we've been honest with each other from the start. I know you still love him in a way and that you probably always will and that doesn't bother me. The reason I backed off is because I wanted to make it clear to you that if you decide that you want this to go back to a non intimate friendship that I'm not removing you from my life. You want to keep going the way we have? Ok. I just want it crystal clear that we're going to remain friends. Hell like Karen says this insane little group of ours is the closest thing to family most of us have left" 

You felt a little lighter just hearing him say that. "You do know you're clear to change things if you want and I'll be ok with it too?" You asked and he replied "I know. Now you feel better?" "Yeah I do actually" you tried and failed to stifle a yawn and he laughed "Why don't we meet at the diner when you get off?" "Sounds good to me" you replied and heard Alice come out the door behind you as you and Matt said your goodbyes then hung up. 

You turned around to see her leaned against the doorway "You were over thinking weren't ya?" You nodded so she held out her arm and you let her throw it across your shoulders "C'mon honey let's go try to get some sleep before we get called out again" about the time the words left her mouth another yawn escaped your lips as if to emphasise her point.  

------------------

By the time eight rolled around the next morning you and Alice had done your entire check list and were waiting on ready when Ash and Riley walked through the doors. "Freedom!" Alice cheered grabbing your arm and running out the door with a laugh once the baton was passed on rig duty.

"So what's the plan for the day?" She asked as you followed her out to the street where she was trying to hail a cab. "I am going to meet Matt for breakfast, go home and sleep for a couple hours in my own bed then I will probably see if Curt needs me to pick up anything for the meeting" a cab pulled to a stop in front of the two of you but before she climbed in Alice stared at you for a second then shook her head with a laugh "I love you chic. See you tomorrow" 

You watched the cab pull away then turned to head to the diner. 

--------------------

When you walked in the door Kaitlyn, the waitress who normally worked this shift smiled at you and nodded towards a table in the back. You followed her line of sight and thanked her when you saw Matt drinking a cup of coffee. 

He smiled when you sat down across from him "How was your shift?" "It drug on and on" you replied with a light laugh. 

Kaitlyn bought a cup of coffee over and sat it down in front of you "Your usual Y/N?" "Yes ma'am" She looked towards Matt "Same for you just eggs over easy instead of scrambled?" He smiled "Yes, thank you"

Once she walked off you bumped Matt's hand and teased "Do we come here that often?" He shrugged and said "If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure she knows Karen and Curtis' order that well too" 

-------------------

You were feeling better by the time you and Matt walked out the diner. He had his arm through yours like he normally walked and the two of you were laughing over Foggy making the opposing attorney forget their line of questioning. "He doubts himself at times but he is really an amazing lawyer. I'd want him on my side that's for sure" you said then quickly added "you too of course" 

Matt grinned at your slip up "oh of course" the two of you started walking towards your apartment and he asked what your plans were for the day. "I'm going to see just how hot of a shower I can take then sleep for a few hours. After that I'm thinking I'll just get out later for some fresh air. Curt has a group meeting tonight. I may swing by after it to see if he needs clean-up help"

You were also hoping Frank may show up this week. It'd been too long since you saw him last and you were starting to worry, Karen was too. "Well if you want to get together later I'm free" he offered about the time the two of you made it to your building. "I may just take you up on that offer Murdock" you replied then left a light kiss on his cheek "I'll call you after I leave Curt" 

He smiled and said "I'll keep my phone close by" then turned to walk away. You headed inside and spoke to Ms Johnson who was gathering her mail. "Y/N you just getting in?" You nodded "Yes ma'am. I got some breakfast after shift now I'm going to go get a little more sleep. It was a hectic night" "Remember to take care of yourself sweetie" you smiled "Yes ma'am" and walked onto the elevator.

-------------------

You fell asleep a little after ten and woke up around one thirty to your phone ringing. For a moment you considered just not answering it but then on second thought you grabbed it "Hello?" You didn't bother trying to cover the sleep in your voice, everyone that would be calling you with maybe the exception of Frank pretty much knew your schedule. 

"Shit Y/N you're coming off a back to back shift aren't you?" When you heard Curtis' voice you pushed yourself up in the bed to a seated position "Yeah but it's fine Curt. What's up?" "I'm going to be running a little behind today. I'll be there to actually run the meeting but can you set up everything?" You nodded still half asleep then remembered he couldn't see you over the phone "Yeah no problem. Bakery run this week or no?" "Just coffee should be fine. I appreciate it" he replied and you smiled to yourself before saying "any time Curt"

After he hung up you considered going back to sleep but thought better of it. You kicked your blanket off and decided on getting out and getting some fresh air before you headed across town to set up for the meeting.

-------------------

You had been wandering around for the better part of a couple hours. That was the beauty of living in New York. There was always some place you could go.  

You had considered dropping by the bulletin but given the time of day they'd be running around doing last minute stuff for the following day's edition and you didn't want to be in the way.

You did drop Karen a text asking if she wanted to grab lunch the following day and she'd quickly replied with a yes and a smiley face.

-----------------

You walked into the meeting hall humming under your breath. A part of you was tempted to play music on your phone while you set up but you didn't want to chance Curtis walking in and getting a laugh at your expense.

By the time you had the chairs in a nice wide circle and a fresh pot of coffee going you heard the outer doors open a few moments before Curtis walked in with a smile "You're a life saver Y/N!" You greeted him with a smile and said "I told you way back when I'd help in any way"

The two of you still had a few minutes to kill before anyone would show up so you grabbed a cup and leaned against the wall not far from where Curtis was sitting. "How's the planning going for Alice and Kenz?" You stifled a laugh considering they'd called you the week before because Alice's grandmother bless her heart was trying to figure out a way for them both to have a piece of her wedding dress to wear when the day did roll around.

"It's going. They're planning on a longer engagement like next year-ish. I'm happy for them. They love each other a lot" he nodded then cut his eyes up at you "How are things with you?" "I'm good. Work's been insane but then again when is it not" he seemed like he wanted to say more but about that time more voices started drifting in out the hall and although you recognized some as regulars you talked to there were a few unfamiliar voices not to mention O'Connor who annoyed the shit out of you.

You pointed to the opposite door "I'll be in the hall" he chuckled lightly as you quickly retreated.

----------------------

You were listening to Curtis tell a story you'd heard before, about a soldier in a hole. You actually liked hearing the way he told it and was trying to listen until the door at the end of the hall opened and Frank walked in.

Anyone else on the street passed him daily and didn't recognize him but even if you didn't know to look for the beard and longer hair, there was no hiding the way he walked and carried himself. You'd known him for far too long. When he met your eyes he didn't say a word, just came to stand next to you holding a book under his arm. 

The two of you stood silent while O'Connor went on yet another of his bullshit rambles. What made you turn to glance at Frank was when Lewis said "All I know is we risked our lives, did terrible things and it meant nothing when we got home" you still had no clue what actually went down in Kandahar. Frank didn't want to talk and you didn't want to push it but fuck he had to know that it would take something major to make you ever think about turning your back on him.

-------------------------

Once the vets cleared out you walked into the room with Frank close behind him. Curtis hadn't looked up until you said "Look who I found" 

The two of them greeted each other while you started putting chairs away. What drew you back into the conversation was when Curtis said "Nobody wants to be themselves anymore. Internet, social media, god damn talent shows for assholes. Everybody wants to be somebody else. Nobody is happy to look in the mirror and just see themselves"

"Because then it means they don't have to be responsible either" you spoke and turned to see they were both looking at you so you shrugged and continued what you were doing. "What about you Frank? What's it gonna take to make you happy?" Curtis asked and you had to bite your lip not to laugh at least sarcastically when Frank's response was "Happy's a kick in the balls waiting to happen"

"He isn't wrong" you agreed and could see Curtis sigh simply from the fact that he'd signed on years ago to have you both in his life and it was far too late to turn back now. "I'll get to you later" he told you pointing his finger then looked back at Frank "So your solution is to kick yourself in the balls first? That's crazy lieutenant. Look you got half a life to live my friend. If you don't, you might as well be dead" 

He cut his eyes at you as he spoke but you knew what Frank was going to say even before he scoffed "Oh I am dead Curtis. You didn't hear?" You knew better than to try to get between the two of them so you hung up the chair in your hands then found a place between them to watch.

Curtis shook his head  "Bullshit. You've got a name, a passport as I recall. Frank Castle's dead. Pete Castiglione, he's got a life. Anybody that had anything to do with what happened to Maria and the kids are dead. Mission accomplished. I don't have a problem with that, hell I would've helped you if you would've asked me" you knew to your heart Curtis meant that and hoped maybe he could talk Frank out of his own head.

"I know you would've" Frank spoke so low if his voice wasn't so deep you wouldn't have been able to hear him. You hated seeing just how much hell he was still putting himself through. "But now the only person you're punishing is yourself" Curtis added and you agreed whole heartedly.

Frank looked down at his cup then threw it away. "Thanks for the coffee" he took the few steps to where you were and pulled you into a quick hug "Good seeing you Y/N" "You too Frank" 

You watched him start to leave but he stopped at the door. "Hey Curt?" Curtis glanced up in response so he asked "How often you think about it? You know, the shit we did over there?"

Frank's eyes ticked towards you, so you busied yourself cleaning out the coffee maker.  "All the time, but my conscience is clear" Curtis sounded genuine but you felt your heart twist at how Frank sounded when he said " Afghanistan was different, you know?"

"Different how?" Curtis asked and you started to wonder if maybe Frank would talk to him more if you walked out but Frank answered him "Just different. The things we did. They kinda got blurred" that honestly made you curious because during that timeline you were still with Billy. What had they been into? Curtis asked just that question "What were you into Frank?"

Frank didn't say anything so you turned back to face them both. Curtis shook his head "You see, what worries me the most is that you've been in a hole long enough that it's become home" Frank didn't meet his or your eyes when he said "Maybe that's where I'm supposed to be" there was a little pause of silence before Curtis finally said "Do me a favor Frank. Don't be a wallowing asshole. Before I have to take this fake leg off and beat you to death with it"

All three of you cracked up at that. Curtis smiled at the tension having been broken "Just imagine that headstone. Here lies Frank Castle. He lost an ass kicking contest to a one legged man… I'd do it" Frank glanced at you with a half smile "I'd actually like to see that" you laughed "Me too"

Frank put his hat back on then pulled his hood up "Take care of yourself Curt. You too sweetheart" "Don't stay away so long next time" you told him and he nodded before walking out.

After the outer door shut Curtis glanced back towards you "Now should we get started on your issues too tonight? Or put a pin in them for another time?" You grinned and held up your phone "I'm supposed to meet Matt when I leave here so can we stick a pin?" He laughed and said "As long as you don't try be a wallowing asshole either"

"Nope. I'm good being a normal asshole" you teased with a wink.

-------------------------

Curtis offered to drop you off with Matt instead of you walking or having to grab a cab. It wasn't worth arguing him that Matt's place was the opposite direction of his so you just took the ride.

When he pulled up in front of Matt's building he parked and you were about to climb out when he said "Think we'll ever get him out that hole?" You let out a hard breath thinking over the last few months "I hope so Curt" he reached across to hug you then once you were out the car he rolled the window down "I'm not pulling away until you're inside" you laughed and mock saluted "Yes sir" and walked into the door, stopping to wave at him before letting it shut behind you.

-----------------------

No matter how many times you slept at Matt's his alarm clock always managed to startle you. It was louder than yours and spoke the time instead of buzzing or playing music. "Ugh make it go away" you grumbled burying your face in his back. He laughed and reached over hitting the right button to make it be quiet.

"What time do you go in?" He asked leaning back into your touch when you started to trace across some of the more prominent scars on his back. "Later today. Technically me and Alice are off but there's some meetings we have to attend" 

"Aren't you meeting Karen for lunch?" He asked turning in the bed so his chest was now under your fingers instead of his back. You laid your head over on his chest and nodded "Yeah. You've got court don't you?" He closed his eyes before saying "Yeah" "Meaning we need to get up?" You asked closing your eyes too. "Five more minutes?" He suggested so you agreed "Five more minutes"

@intothesoul

@weallhaveadestiny

[demonsfate]

since @coldbloodeddevil inspired me when i was kinda talking to them about it, i thought i'd make a separate post about devil / abaddon & my process when writing him regarding 'redemption'. the funny thing is, when tk8 was first announced, i kinda,,, assumed devil was Dead. a lot of y'all from the Older Days may have remembered all the jokes i made about him being dead & excluded from tk8. the reason for this was because jin using devil moves. at the time, i had assumed this meant jin had taken control over devil at the end of tk7, and i assumed he did it through a similar method that kazuya did in tk4 over his devil. at the time, i didn't realize jin would only have control over the powers for like, one chapter of the game LMAO.

but at the time, i was pretty certain jin would either "kill" devil in the story, or devil would at least become "dormant" within. i would've never guessed that the game would've ran with that retcon i despise so much lol. i can't say i've never considered the idea that jin & devil may have a truce. that was a theory i had due to jin using the powers & devil still being around, as well as certain game articles claiming jin can be heard "calling out" to his devil for strength in the very early game trailers. (which uhhh... i guess he kinda ends up doing in the actual game itself lol) again, i still wasn't expecting that retcon. also, i can't say i wasn't expecting devil to become a good guy either, just because... i did kinda "guess" it in an old post from 2022!

this was before the story trailer even dropped too btw lol. the funny thing is, instead of theorizing that retcon, i theorized basically what i ended up doing with this blog. (y'know, instead of the idea that devil was always a Protecting Jin, it was that jin just purifies him instead)

but seriously speaking, before the release of tk8, i wasn't actually... planning on redeeming abaddon. why? it's as i also said before the game dropped - i could never see jin & abaddon working together because, at the time, they both hated each other more than anything. another reason is because, much like harada, i was depicting both jin & abaddon as "tragic" in their own ways. yes, jin is the much more tragic one, but abaddon had his own tragedy, too. abaddon finding out that he was nothing more than a tool and so desperately trying to avoid this fate and to become a real person, only to have ultimately failed this. abaddon is also a creature who doesn't understand emotions properly, and would never be able to comprehend love in the right sense as well. (even though i once intentionally left it vague for the longest time - abaddon was always meant to "like" jin, it's just that... abaddon didn't like jin in the proper way a human would - again, viewing jin more as property, and abaddon also still chose himself over jin - no, chose his ambitions over jin.

to me, abaddon was pretty much pure evil in the sense of human morality. most of the "good traits" he had all came from jin. (such as caring about jin's friends because jin cares about his friends, and their Stronger Emotions tend to affect each other)

anyway, to avoid a huge paragraph - the point was, in a way, abaddon was supposed to be tragic, too. being a fucked up little creature. the point i was originally gonna make though is that jin is a tragedy who is sympathetic because he tries hard, but always ends up coming up short due to mere misfortune. meanwhile, abaddon is also a tragedy, but unlike jin - abaddon is immoral, and hurts people because of his "feelings" or "desires." even if it was also always canon that many of abaddon's negative feelings were indeed implanted from his creator, azazel - abaddon still hurt & killed thousands, if not millions of people. abaddon is a tragedy who deserved to end in further tragedy.

so yeah! i was not planning on redeeming abaddon. which is kinda funny, 'cos like... had tk8 played out differently, i'm unsure what i would've done with this blog since i consider abaddon to be just as important as jin on here and i want to keep writing him. which leads me to talk about how tk8 did redeem devil... except in the most unfavorable way imaginable. but i didn't actually mind the concept of devil being redeemed, whilst it goes against my initial vision, it's not something i didn't loathe the idea of writing - unlike tk6 jin, where i absolutely HAD to rewrite that in order to make this blog lol. so like, abaddon being "good" now is not an idea i felt the need to completely write off, just... how it came to be lol. (y'know, him just being purified by K-Magic!)

plus, for this blog, it's still a way for me to not only write abaddon, but place him in different scenarios as well. (a new take on him rather than him just being screechy to everyone he comes across... even though, admittedly, that was really fun to write! xD) why do i not entirely mind the idea of a "redeemed" abaddon? although i still believe abaddon deserves death for what he did lol, it's just that... his circumstance is different. people must question how much of him is to blame if he was ""influenced"" by his creator, and has now been wiped of that influence and would never do anything like it again. there's also the consideration if he's even considered the same person because of this drastic change - humans cannot have their souls "changed" or "purified" literally like a devil can. and finally, he shares a body with jin and so far... there hasn't been a way to truly get rid of devil without getting rid of jin or vice versa it seems. so you can't execute an innocent, not only an innocent - but one that saved the world, just to get to the other guy.

A FINAL THING i want to say is that . . . just because abaddon is a "better" person now - your muse DOES NOT have to forgive him or even be nice to him. that is not expected on this blog at all. no matter what, abaddon still killed and harmed a lot of people - and all out of selfishness or an irrational hatred. i am never trying to intentionally write him to make people feel sorry for him (at least not in a "uwuuu presh baby" way) or to say "yah he's better he's forgiven." abaddon is just trying to be a better person now, and help when he can. it's up to another person if they want to forgive him or not. and like i said, if they don't - if they even wanna oppose abaddon because he was once cruel, then definitely go for it. with abaddon rn, i'm more so just trying to explore a theme with a devil who's had his nature changed / suddenly became more Angelic, rather than an actual proper "redemption arc".

[reginarubie]

Regarding the Viserys/Aemma ask, the show had scenes of Viserys rubbing his ring from his marriage to Aemma, mistaking Allicent for her and then later saying her name right before he died. All popular fandom spaces of HoTd keep stanning him, calling Aemma his true love and keep drawing parallels between Rhaenyra and Aemma to justify his preference for his firstborn. They call him Ned 2.0 because to them he's a hero that died too soon and they see him as honorable man lacking political skills

Ciao nonny,

sorry for the delay! Yeah, as I've said there are some instances in which the authors have played with his similarly with Ned Stark. For example in his interactions with Rhaenyra (even the frustration, if Ned had survived during Arya's teen years would've been there).

If anything with the ring rubbing he strikes me more of Cersei, who, before the dragon pit meeting rubs Joffrey's ring on her finger, as she still mourns for him and all of her children, and her father.

Wether he might have favored Rhaenyra because she looks like Aemma can be debated and it is human, what is human but completely wrong and neglecting is him neglecting his other children (the children he killed Aemma for — boys) because they are not Aemma's, especially when he keeps maritally raping his wife.

Ned loved Jon and defended him, despite Jon being the son of someone Ned might have hated fiercely, because he's Lyanna's boy. Because he loved Lyanna deeply and fiercely enough to look past Jon's parentage, and did it help that Jon favored his mother? For sure. If Jon had looked more like Rhaegar for one it would've been more difficult for Ned to justify it, but he probably wouldn't have been as forthcoming with him, not at first anyway. Instead he loved Jon and raised him as his and yet he never neglected his other children over Jon.

In show canon Cat even says that she begged Ned to give Jon the Stark name after he had that fever, and Ned adamantly refused. Why? Naming Jon a Stark would've made sure Jon would be safe for ever more. What Ned was doing was, despite loving Lyanna's boy and protecting him with his life, keeping his own children safe. Jon might have been the son of the heir to the Iron throne, but the Targaryen dynasty had been overthrown, and we still don't know if despite the secret marriage or not Ned considered Jon trueborn. It's completely possible he didn't, or that Jon wasn't and the show gave him part of Aegon's plot and Ned was defending his children, whilst not loving Jon any less, against what would've essentially be wrong by the context and standard of the time.

Whilst Viserys neglected his own children, trueborn at that, not only over his own daughter but her bastard sons. It's the exact opposite. Which again nothing wrong with loving your daughter's children even if they are born out of wedlock for our modern sensibilities, but for the time and context and even for our modern sensibilities neglecting one's children over another is wrong and it's not something Ned has ever done.

Viserys fans can continue try to climb on mirrors over this matter, but they're going to find themselves back at the start.

I am not saying they can't stan him, tho I'll never be a fan of a man who abuses his children, neglects them only because they are children of a woman he chose to marry who was not his first wife.

Ned Stark would never.

He loved the children he had by Cat even if he was forced by the situation to marry her, and his heart may have in the beginning laid elsewhere. He loved them to the point that for his eldest daughter he swallowed his honor the same way he did for his hidden nephew.

As always thank you for the ask! Hope you have an amazing day! Sending love ~G.

[carewyncromwell]

[HPHL] Dark!Bartholomew “Bat” Varney AU Moodboard

--Inspired by the Dark AU started by @cursebreakerfarrier--

“They all deserve to die... Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why: Because in all of the whole human race, Mrs. Lovett, There are two kinds of men and only two -- There's the one staying put in his proper place, And the one with his foot in the other one's face! Look at me, Mrs. Lovett, look at you! No, we all deserve to die...even you, Mrs. Lovett, even I! Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief -- For the rest of us, death will be relief! We all deserve to die! And I'll never see Johanna... No, I'll never hug my girl to me...FINISHED!”

~ “Epiphany,” from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

x~x~x~x

Robert Harker, A.K.A. Bat Varney, didn’t have a great time of things in his original life where he died in the War for American Independence alongside his best friend, only to be brought back to life as a vampire trapped in his friend’s reanimated corpse. But along with all that, he was still able to find a way to enjoy the half-life he was cursed to lead, rediscover the joy of loving others through connecting with Atticus Grimsley @cursebreakerfarrier​, the Selwyn-Ellisons @that-ravenpuff-witch, and others, and even save many lives through helping the Ministries of Europe fight back against the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

Amazingly, however, there was a nightmare far worse that Robert Harker dodged.

In this particular nightmare, when Robert first stumbled onto the Varney estate in Bartholomew’s body to get help, Cecelia Crouch-Varney out of guilt and shame didn’t tell him what she had done, feigning ignorance about what must have happened. She promised to help Robert and persuaded him to stay with her under Bartholomew’s identity and cloistered away from everyone else until they could find a way to satisfy his blood lust. Robert begged Cecelia to tell his wife Loretta what was going on, but Cecelia reminded him that under the Statute of Secrecy, she wouldn’t be allowed to tell Loretta anything about the Wizarding World. If she did, she could get arrested, which would leave Robert with no safe place to stay and no chance of seeing his family again. And so, very reluctantly, Robert relented, but he made Cecelia promise to take care of Loretta and Irene until Irene received her Hogwarts letter, at which point she’d be allowed to learn the truth.

Robert, now solely called Bartholomew, stayed with Cecelia, who as the original Bartholomew’s widow acted as his wife around her servants and guests at the estate. The arrangement made Robert a bit uncomfortable, given that he still so desperately missed his real family, but Cecelia had been his friend for such a long time that he didn’t dislike spending time with her. Unfortunately for Bartholomew, Cecelia’s romantic attachment to him made it so that she treasured every moment they were together where she could care for him and treat him like her husband. And over time, she grew to resent that one day she’d have to “give him back” to Loretta and Irene, leaving her completely alone at the Varney estate with neither a husband nor a child for company. And so, when that special September arrived when Irene was to receive her letter...Cecelia lied, when Bartholomew asked if she’d spoken to Loretta about his condition. She claimed that Loretta was a bit overwhelmed by everything she’d learned, and needed time. Then Cecelia lied again, saying that Loretta seemed very troubled about Bartholomew’s condition and said it’d be best if he stayed at the estate a while longer. Then Cecelia lied again, and again, and again, with it becoming worse each time. First Loretta was scared for Irene’s safety -- then she was scared for her own safety -- then she was scared because of her religious convictions that ascribed vampiric traits to demons. Bartholomew, still unable to control his blood lust enough to be too close to anyone let alone leave the estate, knew he couldn’t ask to see Loretta himself to try to reassure her, so he wrote letter after letter for Cecelia to deliver to Loretta. At first, he received nothing back -- then, after seven whole years, Bartholomew finally received a letter written in his wife’s hand and enclosing her wedding ring. Her husband, Robert Harker, was dead, it said -- may Bartholomew Varney live the best life he can. 

Brokenhearted, Bartholomew resigned himself to remain at the Varney estate. He was all the more determined to get a handle on his blood lust, if only to see his precious daughter Irene once, even if it had to be from afar. Cecelia tried to encourage Bartholomew to move on, saying Loretta already had and that she seemed to be a bit happier now, after so many years. Cecelia even admitted that she cared for him deeply, that she always had -- and that she didn’t want him pining after the woman who had started her life over without him. Bartholomew was actively repulsed by Cecelia’s advances -- she had always been enamored of him? Even while she was married to their best friend? The unpleasant feeling sparked a flicker of doubt, one that slowly grew as Cecelia grew into an old woman and seemed more and more desperate for Bartholomew’s love and Bartholomew caught snippets of conversations from her Crouch family relatives talking about “the mess she’d put them in,” regarding him. And so, one night, while Cecelia was asleep, Bartholomew did some digging -- and he finally found the original notes that had guided Cecelia in how to bring back the dead.

Bartholomew at first didn’t want to believe it -- he couldn’t believe that his best friend, the woman who had housed him for so many years and had tried so hard to reunite him with his family, could’ve done such a thing. At first he kept his discovery to himself, determined to make sure those notes truly could create a vampire, rather than an Inferi or some other unknown creation. In the end, though, Cecelia unknowingly answered that question herself in the winter of 1887, while confined to her bed with sickness. She had lived to the ripe old age of 126 years old caring for Bartholomew, and on her death bed, she begged Bartholomew to turn her into a vampire too, so they could care for and accompany each other until they could die in peace together. With this, Bartholomew put it all together -- Cecelia had been the one to curse him! He furiously confronted her, and the trembling old woman eventually confessed everything. Her prediction about his death -- her feelings for him -- her guilt and shame -- and, worse of all, the truth about Loretta and Irene. Cecelia had in fact never told Loretta about her husband coming back as a vampire -- Loretta had even died not long after Irene graduated from Hogwarts, thinking she’d at least rejoin her husband in Heaven. Cecelia -- always a master at mimicking other people’s handwriting -- had even forged the letter from Loretta, taking custody of the wedding ring from the priest who had collected her body and enclosing it with the letter, so that Bartholomew would stop asking after Loretta when she was already dead. After her mother’s death, Irene had also left Britain all together, so Bartholomew would have no way to reach her anyway, since his blood lust was too strong for him to safely try to cross the ocean by boat again.

This betrayal was a hundred thousand times worse than the one from Bartholomew’s original life. His rage and anguish was so great that his brilliant, passionate, lighthearted mind cracked. He tore out Cecelia’s throat with his teeth, draining her of all of her blood, and then proceeded to do the same to the rest of her servants before leaving.

Bartholomew then spent the next fifty years prowling the streets of Britain, hunting down prey of all stripes, but especially wizards and witches and even more especially those of the Crouch family line. After a while, the vampire serial killer would even send the Department of Magical Law Enforcement taunting letters about how long it was taking them to stop him.

Now, gents -- this is getting embarrassing. One would almost think you want innocent people dying gruesomely every day. If you’re truly so eager, I could always pay you and your families a visit.

Should you wish to find my current address, here’s your clue: from the campaign to Saratoga, take away the day that the weather itself evoked a public bath. Then add it to a street name blood purists now disdain in a city whose name you’ve already read.

I will be gone by sunset, off to roost somewhere new.

                                  Catch me if you can.

                                                               the vampire Bat

Every night, he continued to kill, and every day, the Ministry continued to hunt him. As much as Bat kept out of their reach, however, it was only to increase the odds that, when he was finally caught, they would slaughter him quickly. For he knew he deserved to die -- just as all people deserve to -- just as all should.

[wildernessuntothemselves]

personally, assigning morality to fiction is a slippery slope. of course tyun has the moral high ground over gyu in yamqn, but oc also doesn’t have any frame of reference of love and morality in relationships is, so of course she’s not really capable of making a true choice between the two.

it would be out of character for her to take what’s best for her into account, because it’s not anything she was ever taught to do. people don’t come preloaded with the idea of what love should feel like when it’s done right, it’s a learned skill. and oc was only ever taught to be used, and to get the most she can out of those using her. gyu was the closest person to ever showing her that she is valued, as twisted as that value is, so i can see why she misses him and the feeling of being “loved.”

and as to gyu himself, what is his frame of reference for what love is? his parents are clearly not an ideal couple, and while he has siblings, that’s not really the same, is it? what does a prince who has never known relations outside of being used and manipulated himself (his mother and sister aside) understand about loving in a moral way?

and then we get to tyun, who lives with constant burden, telling himself that he has to remain strong in the face of every circumstance, who was only ever taught pain and abuse. he isn’t capable of loving freely, is he?

while as a reader, we can assign morality, we are stepping out of the immersion of the story. these characters can learn and grow, of course, but through whom? everyone is twisted in some way in this story, by circumstance or by the simple fact of it being a different time and a different world. that’s the beauty of having conflict in a work of fiction, seeing how each character reacts and how they grow (or regress!) from it.

anyways, tldr of all these run on sentences, these characters are not the reader, and you’re unfolding a story of pain and uncertainty in a beautiful way that is true to the world you’ve built. -🖤

Ugh thank you so much for this nuanced take. I couldn't ask for more as a writer honestly. You understand the characters and understand the context they operate in. Yeah a lot of us nowadays know what toxic relationships look like but for these characters they don't. Honestly even for us modern humans, I have had to explain to my male friend that the relationship he is in is toxic because he couldn't see it and me and my family had to intervene with one of my brother's relationships along with his friends just to point out to him that he is in a very abusive relationship and he should leave it despite the other person's manipulations. And that's in modern time, imagine what these characters are going through, they don't know shit about this. Toxic relationships are the norm.

For OC most of her contemporaries would think she's being too much either with gyu or with tyun. With gyu they'd say that she had the prince willing to give her anything she wanted so she should've taken it and with tyun they would’ve dismissed her need for love because he provides for her and protects her so what more could she want?

OC herself would see that she could either get love with Beomgyu or respect with taehyun and that it's impossible to have both. And gyu wouldn't think much of her bring his concubine because he's doing her a service, isn't he? He's giving her way more than she would've ever gotten with anyone else. Tyun too would think that he saved her from her captor and gave her the independence she wanted so why is she fishing for emotions right now?

Idk I'm a bit tipsy so maybe I don't make sense but your point about the context of their lives and the time period is so so important. Readers are judging them according to modern standards when these characters operate in a very different system. That's why gyu's father is so against oc because he doesn't understand why his son is fighting so hard for a low born noble. And why tyun is struggling so hard to be sweet with her because that was never expected of him (plus his other issues). And why oc feels like she has to choose between love and respect.

[nakamoto-aesthetics]

Guardian Angel | Johnny

synopsis: on the way from a friends house you bump into a man who was trying to harm you but luckily a guy named johnny saves you before you were taken. from there you get to know him a bit and things get… interesting. (the synopsis makes the story sound boing but i promise it’s not :)

pairing: johnny suh x fem!reader

genre: angst, fluff, a lil smut

warning: something similar to human trafficking in the beginning (if you’re sensitive to that topic please don’t read this fic), heavy make out shesh, not proofread!, other than that there’s nothing i can think of

a/n: also remember that this is a FIC and not real life, please don’t welcome strangers into your home :))

word count: 4.1k

“where do you think you’re going in that cute little dress baby?” an unfamiliar voice is heard as you walk down the fairly dark street. you don’t say anything and continue to walk not paying any attention to the voice. there was no one else really around, barely any cars passing by, let alone people.

“I asked you a question, I expect an answer” the tone was firm, his footsteps getting faster and so do yours. you hurriedly pull out your phone, quickly forming a plan that involved some of your friends but that all crashed and burned once you saw the dead battery flashing on the screen. your heart sink and tears instantly pooled in your eyes, threatening to fall from your eyes. that was your only escape, what were you gonna do now?

you were just trying to get home that was all. maybe you should’ve let your friend drive you home but you didn’t because you didn’t want to cause your friend an inconvenience. you were beginning to regret that decision, all because of that small reason. at least you would’ve been home safe and sound but no, you decided to be the unselfish and independent person you are, and look where it got you.

“hey!” a hand grips your shoulder from behind and swings you around. “I asked you a question when I ask a question I expect an answer” the guy wasn’t a foreigner, he was most definitely korean. he seemed to be in his mid-30s, the age definitely showed. there were creases and wrinkles in some areas of his face and his clothes were all black including his shoes. you try to pull away from the grip but he only grips your shoulder harder, hurting you more than you would like to admit.

“maybe I need to refresh your short memory,” the guy chuckles lowly, his finger shifting your head up to meet his eyes. “where are you going in that cute little dress?” his eyes looked you up and down, his free hand gliding down your waist, slowly traveling to your ass. your face stayed straight the entire time even while tears fell down your face. you knew who had the upper hand power in the situation, you knew there was little you could do even if you didn’t dare say it aloud.

“still not talking? well maybe I should force it out of you huh?” he tilts his head. no, because the whole time you were creating a plan b in your head since plan a failed. there was no way you were going to allow yourself to be trafficked.

“well then, you made this choice for yourself. i’m sorry to do this sweetheart” his hands grope your ass and that's when you strike. you move your leg up to kick him in the balls but he’s faster than you, grabbing ahold of your leg before it collided with his area.

“is that what you were doing this whole time, creating that wack-ass plan? you didn’t think i’d see it coming that’s so cute,” he fake coos. “i’ve been doing this longer than you, i’m smarter and faster than you love” he throws down your leg and in the blink of an eye, you are turned around in his grip with an arm around your neck. your hand flies to his arm and you pull on it, not wanting to be choked to death.

“is there a problem over here miss?” another unfamiliar voice calls, making both you and the guy look over to where it came from. it was a tall guy with light brown hair. he had tan skin and different pieces of clothing put together that oddly worked. his eyes were a soft brown, not too harsh. he was… kinda cute if you were being honest. he was also In the process of taking his headphones out of his ears, for what reason? you didn’t know.

“there’s no problem here, keep on walking buddy” the male answered for you.

“I asked the lady not you” the new stranger spoke harshly to the trafficker and look at you once again. “are you okay?” he knitted his eyebrows. your eyes caught his, filling with tears, threatening to spill from your eyes. he nodded softly understanding how you were feeling through your eyes. he then looked at the male behind you.

“let her go, I don’t wanna hurt you” he said firmly.

“oh yeah, what can you do?” he looks him up and down and laughs at the guy, walking back to his original place, which was a block or two away.

“Im can do a lot” the stranger walks in front of you and the guy, making you both stop once again.

“listen man, this is my girlfriend. we’re just having a little disagreement aren’t we honey?” the guy tightens his hold around your neck. you open your mouth trying to suck in more air but his hold gets tighter. you tap on his arm in hopes that he’ll release you but he doesn’t. there was no way you were gonna agree with him.

the stranger doesn’t think furthermore and before either of you knew it, your head was being moved out the way carefully and a punch was thrown at the guy's face. you heard a crack of a bone and quickly moved away from the area, running out the man's hold.

it was like an action movie, the man was the villain and the stranger was the hero, and you were the one in need of help. the fight ended with the stranger still standing and the man now on the floor. he wasn’t moving but his chest was still rising and falling. he wasn’t dead although you weren’t sure what was gonna happen in the next few minutes but you weren’t gonna find out either.

“are you okay?” the stranger rushes over to you, sliding off his jacket and handing it to you.

“that won’t be necessary” you chuckle and wave your hand at his jacket.

“please, I insist” he places the jacket around you, not wanted to make you feel uncomfortable by touching you.

“thank you” you look down and smile softly.

“it’s no problem, I could never just walk by if I saw something like that” he smiles gently. “do you want me to walk you home? you know, to make sure you get there safe?”

“uhh… why not” you smile and begin to walk in the direction, he comes up beside you and walks along with you.

you pulled his jacket closer to your body for warmth as you kept your eyes glued to the sidewalk, scarred by what had just happened. you’ve never experienced something that traumatic before. you could’ve been snatched up a while ago if it hadn’t been for the guy walking beside you right now.

“thank you” your voice was quiet in a way it had never been before.

“anytime” he glances over to you, seeing your small frame wrapped in his jacket.

“I really do mean it, if you wouldn’t have been there I don’t know what I would've done”

“yeah, i’m glad I was there too. it hurts me to see things like that happen” he shakes his head. “I wish I could protect everyone around the world,” he breathily laughs. “that’s probably why I want to be a police officer” your ears perked up when you heard that. you looked up at him with surprised eyes and he looked at you nodding his head.

“it’s always been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid. when I read my first comic book I loved everything about it, I knew I wanted to be some kind of hero after that. I wanted my parents to buy me every single superhero costume so then I could feel like that character, with all the powers and stuff.” you breathily laugh at that, he notices and laughs with you. “anyways that’s enough about me, I wanna know about you” he looks attentively to you.

the conversation continues until you got home. you learned that his name was johnny and that he was 25. he grew up in his hometown chicago but his parents are both korean, and he moved to seoul for better job opportunities. you gotta admit, the guy was interesting and you wanted to know more about him, you thought he was pretty cool.

“so… this is it?” johnny stuffs his hands in his pockets and looks up at the house.

“yep” you look at the house and back to him. it got quiet for a few seconds, neither of you wanted to say bye to each other. johnny wanted to get to know you more and you wanted to know him more also.

“listen, I don’t know if the feeling is mutual but I wanna talk to you some more so how about this, I give my number and you get to choose if you want to text me” he offers and you instantly take it up. he smiles softly and enters his number in your phone. once you receive it back you see the name option blank.

“you’re not gonna name yourself?” you cock your eyebrow at him and he lightheartedly chuckles.

“I want you to have free will and set it as whatever you want. I want you to always feel like you have a choice when you're with me y/n” a smile was blatant on his face, allowing the corners of your mouth to pull up also.

“well thank you very much johnny,” you say, staring into his eyes, which seemed to catch the light from the streetlights in a way you’d never seen before. would it be weird to say that you wanted to get to know the sweet guy in front of you more?

“um.. i guess i should get going, it was nice meeting you y/n” his hypnotizing but kind eyes still staring into your soul. you never wanted to part away from them, from him. johnny was captivating, too captivating to let slip through your fingers.

“it was nice meeting you too. see you later johnny” you dismiss him yet his feet don’t move, they stay in place and so does he, looking at you with eyes of fondness. this continues for about a minute before you break the silence/slight sexual tension.

“uh- actually, do you wanna come in? i’m not going to sleep right away, honestly might have some trouble falling asleep” you shake your head, looking down and pretend to find your nails interesting.

“a-are you sure? i wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable-” he seems caught off guard by your words, obviously snapping him out of whatever trance he was in.

“not at all, now come on. i’ll put on a movie and get some food and drinks. it’ll be good” you smile brightly, grabbing his hand without thinking and taking him up to your front door. you unlock it quickly and turn on the lights, stepping into your clean house.

“this is a very nice environment you have y/n” he looks around staying still in his place, nodding his head, seeming genuinely impressed with it.

“thank you, it took a bit of work to get to this point” you chuckle, taking off your shoes and then his jacket. “oh, here you go” you hold the piece of heavy fabric out to him. he utters a ‘thanks’ once he sees it and takes it.

“you can put your shoes there” you point to the shoe rack beside to door. “and your jacket can go there” you point to the coat racket right next to the shoe rack. he doesn’t say anything and does as you say.

“now make yourself comfortable i’ll be right back” you point to the couch and then walk away but not before you caught his eyes. damn those eyes..

“now why did she do that? i swear horror movie characters are so fucking dumb” you roll your eyes and johnny laughs, agreeing with you.

“i mean what would you do in her position” you look at him. the light from the tv illuminating him perfectly. it was dark everywhere else so the only light you had was from the tv.

“i would’ve saved the friend and then booked it not stand there like an idiot waiting for someone to kill me” he looked at you right back, giving you that same look from earlier but his eyes were a bit brighter, filled with joy.

“exactly! so why can’t she do the same?” you sigh.

“y/n it’s just a movie” he chuckles.

“i know, i know but they really irritate me yk? like why stand there knowing damn well a killer is in the house with you i mean it’s-“

“alright it’s time to turn this off” he backs out of the movie, returning to the netflix screen where you started.

“hey!” you look at him with confused eyes.

“you were way too into it, it‘s not good for your blood pressure.” he says and looks at the tv, going through the comedy section.

you kept your eyes on him watching the way his eyes watch the screen attentively. you nibble on your lip, beginning to get lost in your thoughts. he could be your friend, best friend, boyfriend... husband- too far y/n, too far. you just met the guy but you felt like you’ve known him for a long time. you could see him being a potential boyfriend honestly. it’s been a while since you’ve had a boyfriend, really only focused on work. it wouldn’t be a bad idea. johnny seemed nice and he was interesting in a way nobody has been before, you could stay up talking to him and it wouldn’t get boring ever. what if you guys-

“y/n?” his head turns toward you and he catches you staring back at him with your lip between your teeth. he smiles softly and that’s when you are dragged out of your thoughts.

“here” you say out of nowhere making johnny laugh harder than before, his head is thrown back and his eyes are closed, filling the atmosphere with his beautiful laughs. meanwhile, you sat there a little confused and startled, blinking multiple times.

“huh?” you furrow your eyebrows.

“nothing” he waves his hands continuing to laugh.

“yah!” you hit his arm playfully. “i was lost in my thoughts im sorry” you look down feeling your cheeks heat up.

“while staring at me? what were you thinking about?” he says after his laughter dies down.

“uh.. nothing important, what did you pick?” you look at the tv trying to change the subject and you’re thankful that it works.

“that was a great movie, what’d you think?” johnny looks over to you and you nod tiredly, letting out a yawn. “oh somebody’s tired” he says and you don’t know if it was because you were tired but you thought it was cute.

“i enjoyed it and yes i am tired” you lazily chuckle and rub your face.

“alright, i’ll leave-“ he goes to stand up.

“no-“ you say abruptly and grab his wrist and his eyes shift down to your hold on him. “i mean… no you don’t have to, it’s late and i don’t want you going home at this time of night” you checked your phone with your free hand, completely forgetting about your grip on his wrist.

‘4:08 am’

“damn it’s four already?” your eyes bulge out your head and look up at him, his eyes still watching the way your skin was touching his. “you mister aren’t going anywhere, wouldn’t want anything to happen to you” you move closer to him and he notices this. you take your hand off his wrist and interlock your arms, resting your head on his shoulder. maybe it was the sleepiness that put you in this position but you didn’t mind it one bit, too tired to care.

he seemed surprised tensing up almost immediately but relaxing once he realized what was really happening. you were like the little bear that found comfort in the big bear. johnny brushed the extra pieces of hair out the way, how was it that he’d just met you but he felt so connected to you as if you were a lifelong friend he hadn’t seen in a long time. he didn’t under but at the same time, he didn’t want to understand it. he’d rather just let whatever this was flow at its own pace.

“do you think we’re moving too fast?” you say out of nowhere, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“i was just thinking about that and i think we should just let it happen naturally. whatever happens, happens” he says in a sweet voice and caresses your arm gently with his free hand. “if it feels right then act on it right? anyways, that’s the motto”

you move your head to look up at him and nod, intending to catch his eyes and you do. you’re only inches away from each other’s faces, eyes shifting from his eyes to his lips and so do his before either of you knew it your lips collided. johnny holding your jaw between his index and thumb. you wrap your hands around his neck and sit up slowly shifting onto his lap. your heart began to race as you kissed him deeper, johnny too, feeling his heart pumping with adrenaline, moving his hands down to your waist and gripping it. you moan softly against his lips as his hands travel inside your shirt. he felt like pure ecstasy against you. his touch, his lips, his words, everything him felt so good with you.

his hands then slid down to your hips and he gripped them, continuing to kiss you like no tomorrow. he pulls away from your lips, you following his lips for more, and he chuckles; before you knew it his lips were on your neck, pressing soft kisses to it making you moan softly. when his lips found your sweet spot he attacked it, leaving a dark red hickey in that place. you began to move your hips against his, hungry for some type of stimulation down there. his hands fly to your hips and he rests his head in the crook of your neck, letting out soft grunts.

you bite your lip and pull him up to kiss his neck, one of his hands rest on your shoulder. once you find his sweet spot you do as he did and leave a dark red hickey. you pull back and look at it proudly.

“an eye for an eye” you wink at him.

“yeah, yeah” he smiles and pulls your face closer, kissing you again, this time using a bit of tongue. you moan instantly, letting him win and he explores your mouth as your hands glide down his chest, you could feel all of the contours and lines of his muscles and abs, letting you know he was fit. which only made him sexier. your hands slip under his shirt and you explore the area. he was too hot for you to handle, you could pounce on him again even though you kind of already pounced on him. he’s just too hot.

you pulled away abruptly and he looked at you with a confused expression. you smirked and stood up, him still looking at you, obviously confused. he reached for your wrist but you pulled it away and before he could say anything, with the help of his thighs you got on your knees. his confused expression was now gone as he watched the scene unfold, his jeans were so tight against him and you knew that. his hard-on wasn’t small either, it was actually pretty big, you could still see his print though it was dark and you wanted to help him out so you teased him by gliding your fingers up his thighs and then teased his dick by running your finger up and down his hard-on.

“stop t-teasing” he breathily moans, watching your every move.

you smirked, looking up at him and unzipped his jeans.

did you guys fuck? no. just oral sex, that was all you guys agreed to. johnny thought it would be a bad idea to have sex during the initial meet. he said it would be best to give it at least a few weeks. he truly did wanna get to know you some more as did you and that’s why you were okay with not going that far.

you slept in your room after you guys were done giving each other head. you’d given him a blanket to sleep with and a comfortable pillow instead of making him use one of the uncomfortable decor ones on your couch.

“thank you johnny,” you said as he grabbed his coat. you let him stay for breakfast, that you and him cooked together. (he wasn’t going to let you cook it by yourself)

“for what? i should be thanking you. i had fun” he says as he puts his coat on.

“because i had fun too. the most i’ve had in a long time so thank you for that”

“it’s nothing really, i’m glad i could reflect some light on” he laughs and slips his shoes on.

“i hope we could do that again” you hint your fondness toward him.

“of course we can you just gotta let me know. i’m always free” he looks at you with that look once again and you can’t help but let it slip out.

“why do you keep looking at me like that, you’ve been giving me the same look since you met me” you say softly so then it doesn’t one out harsh and you know it doesn’t when he responds.

“because...” he moves closer to you which makes your heart skip a beat. “i actually like you y/n, and i mean it. you’re so different from other girls i’ve met. i’m not just another handsome guy to you. you take an interest in the things i say and the stories i tell you, not many girls do and i thank you for that alone. thank you for listening to me.” he moves even closer to you, grabbing your hands which makes your heart begin to race. “so when i look at you like this, i’m thanking you.” he doesn’t say anything after that continuing to stare deeply into your eyes.

you felt so drunk in the moment, hypnotized by his eyes and soft words. you could already feel how head over heels you were gonna be for this guy, that's if you guys kept it up, which you think you will. the chemistry was way too strong for either of you to let go of.

“thank you” you whisper and he nods gently not breaking eye contact. “you should get going, i wouldn’t want you to be late for work. you still gotta get home in time to change out of these clothes... do you need a ride or?”

“kind of... only if it’s not too much trouble” he answers.

“of course it’s not, come on” you quickly get your stuff on and take him home.

“this is it” he says and you stop the car once you’re in front of the house.

“okay, i’ll see you later” you look over to him and he’s already looking at you. nothing happens for a few seconds but then johnny leans over to you and kisses you. you sigh into the kiss and grab ahold of his neck and kiss him back as his hand rests on your neck, he kisses you just as deep as last night but before anything serious happens he pulls away and lets a ‘text me’ roll of his tongue before he exits the vehicle and walks to his front door, unlocking it and walking inside. all without looking back.

you however, were in complete awe. he kissed you like that and then left. damn was he a good kisser, you could still feel the sensation of his lips on yours even after he was gone. you touched your lips and then smiled, pulling off.

bonus: later that day; the evening

you decide to pick up your phone and do exactly what he said earlier.

you: what was that all about earlier? - y/n

johnny🥰😫: so you decided to finally text me😊

johnny🥰😫: and what was what about👀

you: you know what i talking about. the kiss in the car

johnny🥰😫: you know, it was just a see you later kiss

you: mhm, okay mr. suh

johnny🥰😫: what?😂

you: imma give your ass a ‘see you later’ kiss and then walk away. see how it makes you feel

johnny🥰😫: bring it on then sexy, let’s see what you got

you: oh i’ll show you what i got👀

johnny🥰😫: are we still talking about kissing?😳

you: maybe, maybe not🤷‍♀️👀

NCT Masterlist

[cocastyle]

Robin — TWO

Pairing - Joel Dawson x reader

Word Count - 4,476

A/N - new update for Robin!! yay!! this series as been so much fun writing so far and I’m overwhelmed by the unexpected love for this series so far! I hope you all continue to enjoy it as much as I! I have a lot in store for our very own Batman and Robin duo :))

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

R O B I N

Robin Series Masterlist

⭒❃.✮:▹  TWO   ◃:✮.❃⭒

Dear Aimee,

This week has been especially shitty.

We lost Connor to what looked like a really big ant. It helps me to draw them. I try to capture their essence, scribble down some notes on how to kill them.

Turns out Robin's katanas can pretty much solve anything. Although, I'm pretty sure it's just because Robin's the one wielding them.

Sometimes I think drawing them is the only way I know how to cope with these things. That and having Y/N. She helps me a lot more than I give her credit for.

I owe her my life.

We've lost a lot of people over the years. You'd think you'd get numb to it after a certain point.

You don't.

- - -

Y/N walked through the hallway with a small skip in her step. Despite everything that had happened in the past week, she still managed to feel happy just at the thought of being with her best friend. With her activities for the morning already done, she was determined to spend some time with Joel who she knew was still a bit down on himself about what had happened during the breach.

She had set up the target in the room where Gertie and Mav1s were, knowing that the boy had been begging her to teach him how to shoot for a while now. She had about a half an hour before she had to be back with the hunting squad, so she was hurrying to get to Joel so that they could have more time working with the crossbow.

She was almost to his room when she heard his voice echoing down the hall. Furrowing her eyebrows, she picked up her speed and went pass his bedroom until she was at the radio room. She poked her head inside, her eyes landing on the boy who sat at the desk with the radio turned on.

"This is 7045. Come in, 3022. I repeat, come in, 3022. Over," Joel said, his eyes flickering over the map in front of him where he had 'X's marked everywhere except for the circle around their bunker and 3022.

"This is 3022. What is it now, Ray?" a voice replied over the radio making Joel sit up a bit more.

"Hey, Janice. No, it's actually. . .It's, uh, Joel," he told her making Y/N smile softly as she watched the boy.

There was a long moment of silence before the woman chuckled, "Oh. Joel."

"Yeah," he replied, smiling slightly.

"All right. Hold on one second," Janice said. "Aimee, it's Ray!"

Y/N’s smile faltered at that, muttering softly to herself, "Aimee, of course."

"Joel," the boy corrected with a small sigh into the radio. "Thanks, Janice."

"Joel! Hey!" a new voice said, instantly making the boy perk up as a big grin took over his features.

"Hey, Aimee! Hi!" Joel exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Hi. Yeah. I, uh. . .I'm good," Aimee told him.

"It's so good to hear your voice," Joel admitted, relaxing a bit at finally being able to hear her voice once again.

Y/N watched him for a moment longer before smiling sadly and turning to walk away. She knew how much getting to talk to Aimee meant to him, so she wasn't about to interrupt him with something he honestly probably didn't care to do. Besides, she wanted to give him some privacy to talk to the girl he was in love with. After all, that's what she would've wanted if it were her having to talk to Joel over the radio.

The girl walked aimlessly down the hallway, lost in her own thoughts about Joel before she was snapped back to attention when a voice softly called out, "Y/N, are you alright?"

She came to a stop, her head lifting up to notice Kala standing in front of the memorial they had for all the lost colony members. The girl's eyes were on her, concern evident despite the sadness in her eyes.

Y/N gave her a forced smile and said, "I'm fine, Kala."

Kala just stared at her before giving her a sad smile and whispering, "Joel's talking with Aimee again, isn't he?"

Y/N looked away at that, swallowing thickly before asking, "How. . .how are you?"

Kala went quiet and glanced down at the hat in her hands that had belonged to Connor. When she continued to not respond, Y/N walked across the room and pulled the girl in for a hug. Kala melted into her embrace, her body shaking a bit as she softly cried.

"I know," Y/N whispered, holding onto the girl tightly in hopes she would realize she was no alone. "Connor. . ." She trailed off as she felt her own sadness bubbling into her throat. After all, Connor and her had been close. He was a part of the hunting team with her. He had been like brother to her and she had lost him. "He was a great person and he loved you so much. He died protecting you."

Kala sniffled and nodded her head. "I know," she said, her voice cracking a bit.

The sound of footsteps approaching pulled the two apart and they turned to see Joel walking in. He plopped down on a seat beside one of the tables, a numb and upset look on his face that made Y/N’s heart break.

"I'm going to go put Connor's hat up," Kala muttered, her hand gently squeezing Y/N’s arm in order to pull the girl's attention back to her. "Thank you."

Y/N nodded and Kala gave her a small smile before walking back over to the memorial while Y/N walked over to Joel. She sat down in the seat beside him, the boy instantly looking her way while she offered him a small smile.

"Hey," she whispered. "How are you?" Joel looked away at that and Y/N sighed, "Joel, you need to put the breach thing behind you, okay? No one was expecting it, so you can’t blame yourself for being scared."

"But you're not scared," Joel retorted, his head still hung low.

"Are you kidding me? I'm always scared," Y/N told him, her words making him look up at her. "It's my fear that keeps me going.It's my fear that pushes me through whatever challenges may come my way."

Y/N didn't go into the fact that her fear was never truly about herself. Her fear had always and would always be for Joel's life. For if she died, then that meant Joel could die simply because she wouldn't be there to protect her. And that's what scared her more than anything in the world.

The thought of Joel dying.

So in her mind, she survived for him. She survived so that Joel would survive.

The boy was looking at her, still not saying anything. Sighing, the girl reached out and placed a hand on top of his own. She gave him a reassuring smile before saying, "Even Batman was afraid every once in a while, Joel. That's what makes him human."

Joel smiled a little at that, squeezing her hand and rubbing his thumb over the top of her skin while Y/N smiled back.

She let go of his hand and leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up on the table as she looked to the boy. "How's Aimee?" she asked.

Joel looked at her in surprise, not sure how she could've known he was talking to the girl, before saying, "I think she's fine. We. . .we didn't get to talk much before the radio cut off."

Y/N frowned, "I'm sorry, Joel."

Joel smiled weakly and looked down at the table before whispering, "I just miss her."

Y/N felt her heart ache at the sight of him and she quickly dropped her feet to the ground before wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leaning her head against him. "I know," she whispered softly, ignoring the way her heart slightly broke knowing that even after seven years of not seeing her, Joel still loved Aimee.

Y/N had gone through seven years of watching him pine after a girl who barely even seemed to understand what she had when he was her boyfriend. Yet she still stuck by his side even though she found herself falling in love with him even more with each second that passed.

Joel let out a soft sigh and leaned his head against her own, relishing in the comfort of his best friend while his heart ached for the girl he loved.

Still oblivious to the fact that the girl holding onto him loved him more than Aimee ever could.

- - -

"I wanna know how it got in," Karen demanded, frowning from where she sat down at the table. The whole colony was there, the discussion about how the monster had gotten in finally being brought up after giving everyone enough time to mourn.

Y/N was watching Joel, her eyes flickering over the boy who sat on the opposite end of the table with his gaze on the table and a numb look upon his face. Frowning, she pulled her gaze away and looked to Karen. "You sure about that?" Y/N asked. "Sometimes it's better not knowing."

Karen was hesitant, knowing that what the girl said was true. After all, the hunting team didn't always tell them what went on unless everyone agreed on it. It was better for some people to have to worry about certain things over others. When she gave a small nod in response, Y/N looked to Tim and gestured for him to go ahead.

With Connor gone, Y/N was one of the designated leaders at the moment. She had a bit of a reputation in the colony anyways, having worked her way to top hunter on their squad within a matter of weeks. So Tim didn't hesitate to comply to her orders, looking around at the others as he explained, "It appears to have ripped through one of our perimeter defenses."

"What, it ripped through steel?" Anna Lucia asked, having not known that bit of information.

"Y/N, Anderson, and I resealed the breach point and the vent. Nothing's getting in that way again," Tim assured them.

"And if they do, we'll be ready. I set up triggers around possible breach points to help alert us when something's attempting to get in. Next time one tries to strike, the team and I will be out there ready to take it down," Y/N said.

"But why did it happen?" Karen asked.

"It was a freak occurrence," Ray told her. "There's no reason to think it'll happen again."

"Ray's right. We only took precautions just to be safe," Y/N spoke up. "We should try to stay calm. There's no use worrying—"

"How far away is Aimee's colony?" Joel spoke up, his voice making them all go silent while the boy looked over at them.

"What?" Tim asked.

"Aimee's colony," Joel repeated, ignoring the fact that everyone's eyes were now on him including Y/N who looked like she didn't understand what was happening. "How far away is it?"

"About eighty five miles," Ray answered.

"How long does that take to get there?" Joel questioned. Y/N sat up a bit, her feet that she had propped up on the table falling to the ground as she stared at her best friend.

"Joel, you're not actually thinking of going?" Tim said confused.

"Tim, just. . .humor me," Joel pleaded. "How long?"

"Seven days," Y/N spoke up, causing the boy to look her way. She was watching him, her eyes flickering over his face while she had a completely blank look upon her face. It was enough to make Joel still, for he had never seen her act that way, but he was too focused on her words to speak up about it. "Minimum."

"An armed and trained hunting party would be lucky to last fifty miles on the surface," Anna Lucia said, the others all looking at each other and mumbling in agreement while Joel looked off in thought and Y/N continued to study him with narrowed eyes. "But you, Joel. . ."

"All right," Tim spoke up, noticing the way Y/N had obviously gotten distracted by what her best friend was saying. "Now I need volunteers to help reinforce some of the outer perimeter."

Everyone began to speak up, agreeing to help out, but Joel spoke out again, his voice making everyone freeze as he said, "I'm gonna go."

Everyone was dead silent as they looked to him, Y/N’s face growing a bit pale while Joel ignored her gaze. "It's an impossible journey, Joel," Tim told him.

Joel shook his head and stood up. "No, I'm serious," he said. "I love you guys, but Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy, and she's only eighty five miles away. And I'm gonna go see her." He let out a breath he had been holding before smiling slightly. "That felt awesome." He then turned and walked out of the room, leaving everyone staring after him.

All eyes turned to Y/N who was staring at the place Joel had just been with tears in her eyes. All she could hear were Joel's words playing over and over in her head.

Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy.

Aimee is one of the only people in this world who ever truly made me happy.

It took her a moment, but Y/N was up and out of her seat without a second thought. She ran out of the room, leaving the others to sigh and exchange a look for they knew Joel's words had hit her harder than he meant to let them.

By the time she reached Joel's room, her tears were long gone and her mind was already made up. She appeared in the doorway, her eyes instantly locking on Joel who was shoving his few belongings into his backpack. He glanced up at her, his eyes hesitating on her form for a moment before he looked back down.

"I have to go, Robin. I can't stay here anymore and just wait for something to happen. I'm done waiting," he told her, shoving his journal and pencils into his backpack as he did so.

"I know," Y/N replied. "You have to do this. You should go." Joel looked up to her at that, his face displaying a look of shock for a small second. She smiled softly at him before walking towards him and saying, "But I'm coming too."

"You're. . .you're what?" Joel asked in surprise, his eyes flickering over her face as she came to stop in front of him.

"Joel, you're the only person who makes me happy," she began, her words making his heart skip a beat which he quickly pushed aside as nothing. "I can't let you just leave without me."

Joel was reminded of what he said earlier and his face softened as he reached out and cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "You know I didn't mean that you don't make me happy, right?" he eyes searching her own to make sure she understood what he was saying. "Cause you do, Robin. You're the one that keeps me going every day."

He let go of her and turned to his backpack which he zipped up, missing the way Y/N’s face heated up for a second due to his words and display of affection. She quickly pushed her feelings aside, knowing Joel always had been an affectionate person. It was just how their friendship worked.

"But I have to go see Aimee," Joel continued, letting his gaze fall back upon his best friend. "And I can't just make you come with."

"You're not making me do anything," Y/N assured him. "I'm coming. We stick together through everything, remember?" She took a step forward before holding her hand out to the boy. "Batman and Robin, right?"

Joel hesitated as he looked to her, a smile slowly making its way onto his face while he felt his heart swell with an emotion that he pushed aside as nothing else but relief in getting to keep her by his side.

"Batman and Robin," he agreed, clasping his hand in her own while they exchanged small smiles.

Y/N gave him a short nod before taking a step back which caused Joel to frown because it suddenly felt like he was missing a warmth he hadn't known had been there when she was right in front of him.

"I'm going to go grab my things," Y/N said. "I'll meet you by the exit." And with that, she ran out of the room, leaving Joel to stare after her. He was a bit confused as to what he had just felt, but didn't think much of it as he turned back to his bag and smiled.

"I'm coming, Aimee," he whispered, thoughts of reuniting with the love of his life running through his head.

- - -

Dear Aimee,

I am done hiding. I am done waiting for things to get better.

It's time to take matters into my own hands. Time to let someone else make the minestrone.

I'm taking a radio, even though it doesn't have power. But I'm gonna take it anyway.

Robin's coming with me. She's just the best, you know?

I didn't want to admit it, but the thought of leaving her behind had scared me. Knowing she'll be there with me every step of the way, it provides me a sort of comfort that I can't even begin to describe.

I can do anything if I have her with me. Walking eighty five miles through a monster infested world will be a piece of cake.

- - -

When Y/N was done packing, she went off to find the rest of the colony, knowing she would have to explain to them that she was going with Joel even if they might not want her to. Muttering rehearsed lines to herself, Y/N walked into the main room where the colony was all huddled around a map and writing things down.

"Guys," Y/N began, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm—"

However, she didn't get a chance to finish before she was being tackled in a hug by Kala. Y/N fell into a stunned silence, hesitantly hugging the girl back in confusion before Kala pulled away to look at her.

"You're going with him," Kala stated. "We know." Y/N blinked in surprise before looking around at the others who all just nodded softly despite the sad smiles on their faces. The girl looked back to Kala who just smiled softly. "It's okay, Y/N. We knew you would."

"I didn't want to do this to you guys," Y/N admitted. "I know we just lost Connor and losing another person on the hunting team isn't ideal, but I have to go with him. He's my best friend."

They all nodded in understanding before Tim reached out to clap a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to explain to us, Y/N," he told her. "We get it. Just know that we'll be waiting for you two when you get back."

Y/N smiled softly at that, falling into Tim's embrace while everyone smiled at the exchange. "So," Y/N began as she pulled away from the man, "what are you guys doing?"

"Attempting to make a map for the two of you. Well. . .mostly for Joel in case he somehow gets lost," Anna Lucia said making Y/N chuckle softly before she walked over to the table.

She smiled softly at the sight of all the notes on the front before noticing that there seemed to be something on the back. She flipped the paper over, her smile growing even more at the notes the crew had all written on the back for the boy.

"We were going to make one for you too," Kala spoke up. "But I think Joel needs more of a reminder of how much we love him than you do. I have a feeling you already know that."

Y/N smiled and looked up at the people who had become her family. "I know," she whispered making them all smile before she looked down at the paper snd grabbed ahold of one of the pens. She scribbled down a small note on the back to go along with the others before Karen folded the map up.

It was when she was almost finished folding it that they heard Ray call out, "He's not joking."

They all walked out of the room at that, Y/N catching sight of Joel making his way over towards them with his backpack on and two crossbows and her katanas in hand. His eyes locked with hers and he smiled before holding out her weapons. "I think you may have forgotten something," he mused making the girl roll her eyes.

"Thanks, Joel," she said before grabbing the katanas and strapping them into her back and under her backpack. She then took the crossbow and the two turned to head towards the ladder that led to up above when Tim stepped in their way.

"We're not letting you two leave. You're needed here," Tim told them, even though Y/N knew that he understood he wasn't going to be able to stop them.

"Tim, Y/N may be, but I'm not. Come on. I don't do anything," Joel said.

"Joel, that's not true. You fix the radio. You make the minestrone," Tim stopped after that and winced slightly at his own words. "Okay. Doesn't sound as important when I say it out loud."

"I appreciate you trying," Joel assured him. "Really, I do. I just don't feel like I belong anywhere. I don't really wanna die all alone at the end of the world, so. . ."

Tim stared at the boy for a moment, his eyes flickering over to Y/N who gently shook her head at him to let him know he shouldn't say anything about her feelings for the boy. Tim sighed and turned away, allowing the two to walk by.

Joel moved forward, but paused before looking back at the others. "Look, I know you guys all just think of me as, like, some little, pathetic, adorable hedgehog. But I can take care of myself. I'm actually probably a lot stronger than you might think," he told them.

Y/N smiled softly at the boy's words, knowing how badly he wanted to prove to them all that he could do this. She placed a hand on his arm and Joel looked her way, smiling as she squeezed his arm before looking to the others. "We'll take care of each other," she assured them. "We've survived seven years. We can survive seven days."

The colony didn't say anything until finally Karen stepped forward and held the map out to Joel. "We made you a map," Karen told him.

"Thanks, Karen," Joel whispered before the girl reached up to hug him. Joel hugged her back and Karen pulled away with a sad smile before going over to Y/N and hugging her as well.

"Just. . .take care," Karen whispered before she pulled away and backed up to join the others. Y/N stared out at the people who had become her family, her eyes tearing up a bit as she knew that there was a possibility she would never see them again.

She felt a hand latch onto her own and Y/N looked to her left to see Joel giving her a reassuring smile as his fingers intertwined with her own. Y/N gave him a shaky smile in return while Joel rubbed his thumb across the skin on top of her hand.

"Everything will try to kill you," Ray told them.

"Oh," Joel muttered, making a small face which made Y/N chuckle softly.

"Be observant. Use the advantages that you have. You're fast and small and Y/N is one of our best hunters, so, Joel, don't fight. Just run and hide. Y/N, you should do that too, but if you need to, use those katanas and crossbow like your life depends on it cause it does," Ray said.

"Don't fight," Joel repeated, making another face before looking to Y/N. "So Robin fights, but Batman doesn't?" he whispered to her. She just smiled shyly at him.

Ray reached out and pulled the two into a hug, Joel and Y/N hugging him back while their intertwined hands still stayed by their side.

"You're both assholes if you get eaten," Ray told them.

Y/N smiled at that before saying, "And you all are douchebags if you don't answer our call when we get there."

The group all chuckled while Joel went to hook his crossbow to his backpack. Everyone fell silent as they watched him, their smiled falling as he struggled to simply latch the crossbow to his back. Y/N sighed and brought her free hand up to facepalm herself while Joel just awkwardly laughed and tried to latch the crossbow one more time.

This time it latched into place and he smiled before saying, "Okay."

"Nice," Ava muttered.

Joel ignored her comment and squeezed Y/N’s hand before turning to climb up the ladder. "I love you guys. Tell Aimee I'll see her in seven days," he said before climbing up the ladder.

"We believe in you," Karen called after him.

"Love you, buddy," Tim said.

Y/N walked over to the ladder before hesitating at the bottom. She glanced back at the colony, her eyes flickering over each of them. Karen and Kala were softly crying as they hugged each other, the others all looking at her sadly before Tim just gave her a small nod.

"Take care of him," Tim said before hesitating. "And yourself."

"I will," Y/N whispered, smiling at the group one last time. "I love you guys."

"Love you too," they all chorused as she began to climb up the ladder like Joel had. The latch was already open by the time she reached the top and she was blinded by the sunlight until Joel moved himself above the hole and looked down at her.

"You sure about this?" he asked, his eyes flickering over her face for any signs of hesitation.

Y/N smiled softly, "I'm sure."

Joel smiled at that before holding his hand out, the girl looking to it for a moment as she realized just what it is they were doing. Was she really about to help the boy she loved reunite with the girl he was in love with? It was crazy. She knew that. Yet seeing that smile on Joel's face and knowing that this was what he wanted, what he needed, to be happy was enough for her to know this was the right thing to do.

Then, without another second thinking about it, Y/N took ahold of the boy's hand and he pulled her into the world above.

- - -

Tag List

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[hepaidattention]

I love when I find articles that love to find things wrong with Stiles Stilinski. they'll name crap off like "omg he didn't tell his dad about the supernatural" and "he was so paranoid like wow," or my favorite "he like murdered someome" (literally a whole half season with him dealing with the guilt of self protection but you're going to dump on him for killing a murderer before he killed him???? hahaha wow anyway I just crack up. you mean he was a fictional character that was written like a normal human being??? 😂 like literally that was Stiles' thing. he was the human in the group of supernatural beings and he did very human things. someone once shamed him in an article for letting the nogistune take over !!! like !!! what !!!

Stiles Stilinski was not written to be perfect. He was flawed because he was written to be a human being.

was Scott? honestly to an extent, yes. he was supposed to be the guy who always did everything right. he became a true alpha because he was an amazing human being. even SCOTT did crappy things though. why?? because no one's perfect. like okay guys the only reason Scotts mom knew he was a werewolf is because he had absolutely no choice but for her to find out. You think he would've just willingly told her without that happening? absolutely not. Stiles had even more reason not to tell his dad because their relationship was always rocky, and his mother literally died of a disease that made her lose her mind. I wouldn't want to tell my cop of a dad I believed werewolves were real either. PLUS Stiles was a very protective character and his dad was all the family he had.

And yes, he was possessively protected. Of course he was. He was was written to be FLAWED. people with DAMAGE tend to be to that way. (literally they make clear he was damaged pretty early on guys the writers weren't just hinting at it ok.)

anyway I'm just dead. why do people feel the need to dump on characters that were just solid, well written, flawed people?? want a character to dump on, find any single one of the characters Vampire Diaries. Absolutely none of those characters were well written and they all sucked as human beings. Don't even get me started on self-righteous Stefan and Elena. I'll go on for hours. They were written as the heroes and they SUCKED.

Stiles wasn't supposed to be the hero. He had moments where he could be, because he found his potential through his friendship with the extraordinary people around him. But Stiles was an ordinary guy with a lot of damage done to him surrounded by extraordinary people. The fandom sees him as a hero because he did selfless things for people with his life on the line all the time. Stiles could've died just like Allison at any point. Stiles did die a few times (if you count nogistune and sacrifice for a tree and erased from existence all dying).

He was a hero because he was a very flawed, human being that was selfish and possessive and damaged that still stuck his neck out for the people he loved despite the high risk of dying. He was a hero because despite his human flaws, he still would do anything for the people he loved.

Yeah he was a jerk sometimes but Scott (disclaimer I love Scott with all my heart) literally almost killed ppl in s1 because he refused to believe he was a werewolf (THE BOY COULD JUST CAUSALLY HEAR CONVERSATIONS THRU THICK CEMENT WALLS AND WAS MAGICALLY HEALED FROM SEVERE ASTHMA AND WEREOLF WAS ABSURD??), technically was the entire reason Allison ever got caught up in the supernatural world which eventually killed her, the entire reason Stiles got caught up into it and almost died/died on numerous occasions, and chose Theos trust over his own best friends which resulted in a lot of bad things. I say that to say Scott is still a precious bean whom I love. He just did stupid stuff sometimes. That's just life. He was a teenager for Pete sake. they all were. And Stiles with his panic attacks dealt with it more normally than anyone.

Yeah he did let the nogistune in. He was human and it was a supernatural mind trickster that tortured him until he had hardly anything left. And then it was kill someone you care about in front of you or finally give in. I'd pick the life in front of me too. Stiles didn't know all of those people would die.

anyway that's my long rant. do with it what you will. i just think those articles are hilarious because not a single bullet point is valid. (okay wanting to see a dead body was twisted ill give you that)

end of Ted Talk.

[l-egionaire]

Owl House Fanfiction: I love The Found Family Trope!

Posted on Ao3 here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29417493

Eda had gotten used to a lot of different ways of waking up after her getting her curse.

The first few times it happened, she'd unfortunately routinely woken up to find herself naked. (Titan, was she grateful when she'd finally found a spell that made her clothes change with her and didn't have to keep dumpster diving or "borrowing" clothes)

Once that was taken care of, her post transformation wake ups were slightly more comfortable, if predictable. She'd come too laying on the ground, her body's usual aches, pains, and stiffness seemingly doubled to the point where she could barely move. If she was in someone's house she'd likely be surrounded by overturned furniture and fixtures all covered in claw and bite marks. If she was lucky any people that might've been there would've already run and hid. If she wasn't….well, she knew a good amount of healing magic and potions.  No matter how much damage she might have caused, most people wouldn't turn down having their injuries taken care of.

And after that, things changed. Even if the person she was living with didn't kick her out, she could still see how they acted differently. They avoided eye contact with her, didn't stay in the same room with her for longer than two seconds, and she couldn't help but notice how they always seemed to lock their doors at night, nevermind whether she'd taken her elixir or not. Needless to say, when that happened she was gone before a week even passed. Someone being afraid of her or thinking she was a freak she could handle. But she preferred that to them tiptoeing around it and pretending to be okay with her when they were secretly scared. 

Considering all of that, waking up safely in her nest with a bottle of elixir in her mouth was a new experience.

She wasn't that shocked once she'd gotten the whole story. She'd never explained what her elixir did to King, and Luz thinking it was some special magic boosting potion sounded just like her. But what really surprised her were their reactions. 

After making sure Hooty was put back up and okay, they'd come by to check on her. Luz, having worried she might not be feeling well, had brought her a bowl of some strange human concoction called "chicken soup" that she'd gotten from a can in her junk collection. ("It's no magic potion but my mom. always made me chicken soup when I wasn't feeling well.) She'd also gotten her a person sized pillow that had the image of some male human character with spiky hair on it and with a little work slid it beneath Eda in her nest. The thing may have looked weird but it was comfy as heck and felt great for her sore back. Meanwhile King, still looking regretful about snatching her elixir, had fixed her a mug of apple blood as a peace offering.

While the mixture of alcohol and salty human bird water helped soothe some of her pain, Eda couldn't help but notice her apprentice and her housemate still standing off to the side of her nest. Both of them simply stood and watched as she ate and drank, staying oddly silent and staring at her as if she might disappear mid slurp.

It was almost a little unnerving. She hadn't expected either of them to be this quiet after discovering her curse. She figured Luz would've had her usual million questions about anything magical while King would be demanding to know why she hadn't told him before now. 

Then again, it wouldn't surprise her if they were still too in shock. After all, while she had never been able to witness it herself, she knew her cursed form could be pretty terrifying to see. One person she'd lived with had been so freaked out by it, he hadn't been able to make any noise except terrified squeaks for 3 days.

Plus, the way they found out was pretty sudden. Sure, King shouldn't have stolen her elixir but it wasn't like he knew what it was for or why she took it. In fact, a part of her hoped he'd never find out.

But the cat was off the staff now. She knew that the two of them must still be curious, otherwise they wouldn't still be there. So it was time to witch up and deal with it.

Eda drank the last few dregs of soup from her bowl and drained the rest of her apple blood for a little courage before turning to King and Luz.

"Alright you two. I know you probably want to know more about all this. So, let's have it."

Luz and King took a moment to look at each other, almost seeming to have a full conversation in two seconds before turning back to her.

"No thanks." Luz said.

"Yeah, we're good." King agreed.

Eda blinked in confusion. "What? What do you mean?"

"We don't need to know anymore." Luz explained. "This whole curse thing seems kind of personal and besides you already told us all the important parts. So we don't need to know anything else."

Eda stared at her in stunned silence. She looked to King and was even more surprised to see him nod in agreement.

To say this was not what she'd been expecting would be an understatement.  Where was the yelling at her for putting them in danger? The demanding answers? The blaming her for not telling them about her curse before all this? Heck, the two of them didn't even look that upset. They just still had those weirdly concerned looks on their faces. Maybe they just worried she'd still be mad about them stealing her elixir and were too scared to bring it up.

But that brought another issue to mind. And while she might have become pretty fond of those two, she knew it would only be a matter of time until it came up.

Ignoring the tight feeling in her chest, Eda said slowly. "Listen…..if you guys want to find somewhere else to stay, I understand."

They both became bug eyed.

"What?!" Luz cried.

"What are you talking about?!" King asked.

Eda looked away from them, doing everything she could to keep the wetness in her eyes from turning into full blown tears.

Suck it up. She thought. It's not like you haven't done this before.

"Luz, you could probably see if one of those Hexside kids might be willing to let you stay with them, and King I-."

"You're kicking us out?!" Luz yelled.

"No!" King scrambled into the nest, got onto his knees  and clasped his paws together. "Please Eda, don't!  I'll never be able to find anyone else willing to  let me live with them without paying! If this is about stealing the elixir, I'm sorry! I swear I won't steal anything you don't tell me to!" 

Eda frowned in confusion and turned back to them. "What? No. I mean, yes King, if you steal from me again I'll turn you into a tiny fur rug, but I just meant….you guys really don't want to move out?"

They both looked shocked at her question. "No." "Why would we?"

"Why would- how about  because I could have killed you two last night?" She felt bile begin to build in her throat and not the magical kind. "I could have eaten one of you like I did the snaggleback!"

"Oh come on Eda, it wasn't that-."

"Luz." Eda said, her voice hard. She didn't have it in her right now to deal with Luz sunshine attitude.

Luz must have noticed because she sighed and said. "Okay, look Eda. I'm not going to lie and say that today wasn't terrifying or that I wasn't afraid but….Eda, once I realized that the monster that was chasing after us was you? All I could think about was how I could help or what I could do to get you back. I didn't want to lose you."

Eda stared at her apprentice in complete shock. In her past talks with her living mates after they discovered her curse, they always talked about them . Their safety, their terror at her transformation, their discomfort at having Eda stay around after what happened. But Luz was thinking about her and whether she was okay.

It felt….weird. But in a good way. Kind of like a lot of things Luz did come to think of it.

Eda looked down to where King was still sitting in her nest. "And what about you King? You aren't freaked out by my little secret?"

King shrugged. "Eh, at first it was horrifying but after thinking about, its actually pretty cool. You're a demon just like me! Which technically makes you one of my subjects!"

Eda rolled her eyes. Typical King.

"And, since you are one of my subjects…."

"King, I swear to Titan, if you-."

".....than, that also means you fall under my protection." King finished. He walked over to Eda, climbed into her lap where he curled up into a ball. "If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll first have to go through me!"

Eda couldn't hide the amazement on her face as she gazed down at King. Then she felt something softly touch her shoulder. She looked over and saw Luz had placed a hand on her and was giving her a loving look.

"We're not going anywhere Eda. Us weirdos have to stick together, remember?"

Eda couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even after they both spent the night being terrorized by her and knew about her curse, they still insisted on sticking around.

They weren't going to leave her.

Luz suddenly frowned and looked at her worriedly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

It took Eda a moment to realize that there was a tear streaming down her face. She quickly wiped it away.

"Uh, no Luz, I just, uh, really loved that soup you brought me. There any chance there's some more?"

"I'll go dig through trash for another can!" Luz excitedly sprinted out the door.

Eda looked down at King. "Would my so-called "King" be willing to fix his new subject another apple blood?"

King stood up from her lap and stretched. "I suppose its what any humble ruler would do for his wounded subject." King took her mug and scrambled out of her nest and out the door.

Eda sighed fondly and layed back on her spiky hair human pillow, taking in the sight of the many light orbs that now dotted her ceiling thanks to her apprentice.

We're not going anywhere Eda.

If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll first have to go through me

Eda chuckled. "Thanks you two

[mitchie02]

https://youtu.be/H6GmVCD7cxk

Plz for the love of God watch this. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. Believe me! Trust me! This video perfectly explained his character and what you & I said were right especially you. The first I sent was good too! But this one just goes more deeper & was published after the series ended. I really enjoyed the video.

I already saw it and I agree with him 99%. He even says that Eren didn't care about "his people", only his friends. That's it.

Now, in his last conversation with Armin, Eren says that he would've gone all the way if they didn't made the choice to fight him. 

Let's pretend his friends stayed back, Eren completes the rumbling and dies in 4 years. Paradis, most likely, destroys itself at some point because conflict never ends. Eren knows that. He knows Eldia started the conflict, the cycle, he knows the rumbling/violence doesn’t stop the cycle of hate, yet he did everything to ensure he would do it: schemed with Zeke to make sure Paradis would have no chance at negotiating peace and almost no allies, proved Willy right when he said the island needs to be invaded, let the contaminated wine to be distributed. 

How do I know that Paradis will go into civil war at some point? Eren knew he would start the rumbling when he meets with Zeke and he didn’t order his cult to evacuate the people near the walls, In fact, everyone should’ve been sent to the underground, because there was a possibility, and a high one, that Zeke would scream and mindless titans will roam free. The yeagerists refused to learn titan killing, so “his people” were doomed. After that, we saw people turning against Eren because he allowed their own to get crushed by the walls. He could’ve tried to save them, yet he didn’t. Conflict was bound to happen no matter how many Eren killed.

Now let's say his friends try to stop him and Mikasa never makes the choice to kill him. What happens to his friends? They die after him. The Eren cult already considers Levi Public Enemy #1 and in the epilogue, they don’t even live on the island, they are hated by the yeagerists. If they wouldn’t have a place to go to, they die after Eren’s death at the latest. He didn’t know what will happen to his friends after his death, he only speculated. Saying he did it for “his people” is like saying he became a crazy nationalist, like Floch, and committed genocide for a nation that hates the people he loves most.  

So yeah, the rumbling was, first and foremost, done with selfish motives in mind: seeing That Scenery from Armin’s book. Eren said so in chapter 131 and 139. “His people” other than his friends weren’t a motive, Jean(who was chosen to say those lines specifically for his own character arc) didn’t “confirm” Eren was doing it for them, Eren confirmed later that “for the island” was just an excuse and he was doing it for himself. And to protect less than 10 people, the friends he cared about, at the cost of 80% of human population ( keep in mind that the most bloody war we had, World War II, resulted in the deaths of 3% of the world) is, obviously, selfish. Eren wasn’t doing anything noble by destroying the world. He wasn’t punishing the world for being racist(he admits to Reiner that they are all the same), he didn’t know if the island would be destroyed without the genocide, he knew they had the option of the partial rumbling, Marley was focused on getting better technology so they had time to find ways to negotiate peace and assuming everyone is racist and no one will listen is awful or would make Isayama a bad writer. It’s impossible that everyone was so cartoonishly evil to hate an island that as soon as more anti-titan weapons would be invented, would be powerless. Keep in mind that Hange killed a few colossus titans with only the thunder spears she invented. The world ignored Paradis for 100 years when they knew they were no threat and went against the island as soon as Eren confirmed their fears. 

Eren resembles Walter White, who I have every reason to believe was an inspiration. They both start doing something wrong and use excuses to justify it (Eren: for the island and and Walter: for his family) and, in the end, admit they did it for their own selfish desires. And even if they achieved some good things by pure chance, can’t be seen as noble characters. 

[ladyemberswrites]

[Oh boy, OH BOY! Like some people are going to hate me for this, but here it goes!]

Author's Notes: Okay, so like I've had this in my drafts for awhile now. So, this is like a very, very rough draft of a Gargoyles Human Au I was working on, but then I ended up changing a whole bunch of things as I went along, so this is pretty much a scraped draft, drabble sort of thing, though I will probably end up keeping many of the main elements in the final product. So, yeah-

!Warnings! [ Adultery/Cheating/References to Toxic and Unhealthy relationships/Age Difference/Age Gaps]

● If any of this isn't your cup of tea this isn't for you!]

Summary: "Elisa?" She hated the way he said her name. He said it so delicately, so soft as if he feared it might break on his tongue. She hated that she loved how he spoke  it "Elisa". It made her feel wanted, feel desired, feel protected with just an utterance of her name. And that's where the problem lay.

Why she can't look him in the eyes, but she does so anyways to catch his tired, obsidian eyes.

"We need to talk." She blurts and she can see him physically wince the moment the sentence leaves her lips.

"I know"

It was long after midnight, but of course, New York isn’t called the city that doesn’t sleep for anything. 

But, the point was moot.

For the first time, she hated the noise of the city that she called home. The lights too bright, the sounds, the smells of greasy street vendor food made her want to vomit. She just wanted everything to shut up and give her some peace. She wanted to wallow but she had work in the morning so getting drunk like any sane person would have was out of the question.

And the thought of sitting around any longer in the silence of her dark, cramped, shitty apartment made her want to rip her own hair out and scream.

So, where does that leave her?

Not much of choice, no, not really she has a choice, a choice that needed to be made no matter how much she didn’t want to do it. She can be a coward and run, but her mama didn’t raise cowards. She’s no coward even though at this point and time she wanted to be. 

To go run and hide away from the big scary world.

The 23rd precinct came into view and her dread only intensified. No one was there which only worsen the feelings even though the building being entirely vacant is a blessing. No one to hear, no prying eyes nor ears. Yet, that didn’t lessen the fear; her heart felt like a rock sitting inside her chest and every exhale and inhale of her breath burned as if her lungs were drawing smoke and brimstone. 

The scent of roasted Ethiopian coffee wafts under her nose and it warms her, almost comforting her as she turns the corner and finds the only light in the dark beckoning her. Her feet kept going, they wanted to stop and turn around and run until her feet bleed.

But, she can't. She had to do this, she had to, not just for herself, but for them and too selfishly appease her own guilt that's been gnawing away at her consciousness every waking moment. 

The rap of her knuckles across the worn wood sounded like a death toll in her ears. In a way it was.

"Captain Wyvern." Her voice wavered, she sounded so damn mousey and timid, but the door and rumble of his deep baritone made her feel so small and tiny. 

"Come in." She didn't notice the tremble of her fingers until she struggled to turn the knob of his office door, she stopped and swallowed, her throat feeling raw and scratchy. Inhaling, she finally finds the courage to open it and meet Goliath's boring stare.

The dark circles of his eyes were hard to ignore nor the fading blemish that stained his dark skin a nasty shade of blue and black. She recoiled at the sight, darting her eyes away to peer at the floor.

"Elisa?" She hated the way he said her name. He said it so delicately, so soft as if he feared it might break on his tongue. She hated that she loved how he spoke it "Elisa". It made her feel wanted, feel desired, feel protected with just an utterance of her name. And that's where the problem lay.

Why she can't look him in the eyes, but she does so anyway to catch his tired, obsidian eyes.

"We need to talk." She blurts and she can see him physically wince the moment the sentence leaves her lips.

"I know" she steps closer, her eyes briefly scanning the mess of his desk scattered files and unfinished documents laid about, a whole pack of cigarettes burnt to their very buds sizzles in the mini ashtray she bought him as a last-minute birthday present. Her eyes lifted to meet his scrutinizing gaze and hated that too, that inhuman inquisitiveness his eyes give off, watching her every movement like that of an apex predator.

"I want to transfer" the words tasted bitter on her tongue, heavy as they were she had managed without tripping over her them in haste. Goliath looked at her like she had just punched a hole through his gut and suddenly that bruise on his face didn't sting so much.

"What?" 

"I-want to transfer" 

"Why-" as if he didn’t know. 

"I overheard you arguing with your wife about me the other night." His face fell blank "Captain-Goliath you know why I can't stay here. You know that I can't." Dammit, she hissed she fumbles with her oversized police bomber and rubs her watering eyes. She hears a creak of his mobile chair and the soft pad of shoes hitting the floor and suddenly he's towering over her.

"Elisa, you belong here" of course she did, didn't she? But, the matter isn't about her sense of belonging, it's about what is right and what is wrong. And she can't stay no matter how much she didn't want to leave, she can't because she knows she won't be able to control herself. 

"You're making this harder than it has to be" she mumbles exhausted and emotionally worn "I have to go" 

"The problems between me and my wife have nothing to do with you" he's trying to placate her, to affirm what she has so unsuccessfully tried to do for months on end.

"It has everything to do with it me!" She snapped pulling away from his warmth "how can you say that!? I kissed you! And before that, I confessed to you drunk off my ass!" She shouted as she had to hammer those facts into his thick skull because he wanted to ignore the blatantly obvious. To put behind them and pretend that night didn’t exist at all.

You're a married man dammit!" God, she can only imagine what it would've sounded like if the 23 precinct was packed airing her dirty laundry for all to hear without a care in the world. Even in the quiet of the empty halls, she felt beyond mortified.

Goliath watched her almost apathetically mingled with what she had come to know as his " unable to process anything" look. 

Whatever torrent of emotions were stirring through him she hadn't the faintest idea. Her captain was known for having a rather volcanic temper, but she had never, ever had him lash out at her, raise his voice yes, but never unadulterated anger. Right now, she wished he would get angry, lash out at her, throw something, flip the desk and let all its contents crash upon the floor. It'd make things easier for her, easier to pack her things and leave and never look back. And not cling to him like a lovesick puppy.

But he doesn't. 

He runs a hand through his long mane smoothing it back for a lack of anything better to do or say. 

"I need coffee." he mutters. For Goliath its code for "I need a minute to think".

He wanders out his office lost and leaves her behind struggling to keep her dwindling mental state from going straight to utter hell. 

The silent tears do the opposite of what she's supposed to do, to keep a level head, but they come anyway, pouring down her cheeks in pathetic, wet globs. By the time he returns with two mugs of piping hot coffee her eyes are red and scratchy and he looks worse than when he left. Still stolid, still uncomfortably rigid as if he's standing trial.

She takes it and sips at it, just the right amount of sweetness she liked because of course, he knew exactly how she wanted it. Because he's attentive and she comes to hate him for that.

"Goliath?" 

"Yes." 

"Was she right? About what Demona said about you being infatuated me? About having a thing for me?" His chair squeaked, deafening in the silence.

"I-" her brows scrunch "you kissed me back that night. It was brief, but I noticed" 

"...Yes…" he confesses and her fingers squeeze her mug so tight she feared it might break.

~

Brooklyn came in like a whirlwind, slamming the glass door of his office behind him it resounded like a thunderclap. Goliath glanced up from his documents, his prescription glasses sliding off the bridge of his nose.

"What the hell did you do!?"

"Pardon?"

"You're transferring Elisa!?"

He looks away from Brooklyn's accusatory gaze "Yes…"

"Why!?" He slams both hands on his desk "Elisa's a damn good cop and you know it! Just what the everloving hell did she do to make you want to transfer her!" Goliath hardly faltered under his younger brother's fury, he remained passive and unnerved.

"I thought you liked her"

"I do." He murmured, but Brooklyn took note of something, the perks of living with each other so closely for so long.

"But, I'm betting a little much, huh?" His tone was far from sarcastic his voice instead dripped with condescension, if not disgust.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Is that what you're doing!? Huh, covering your own ass because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants!? Never thought you'd stoop so low-"

"Enough!" He barked detesting the very insinuation that he'd kick Elisa to curb, that he'd use her to only abandon her for mere lust made him sick. As understanding he is of his brother's upset; he refuses to be accused of such a low, foul deed. Like a scolded puppy Brooklyn reels away with wide eyes.

"I know you're upset but I will not stand here and let you accuse me of something I did not do."

His gaze sharpened "This is not a decision I make lightly, but it has to be done." 

"But, why!?"

"Enough, Brooklyn. You do not need to know the specifics only that I'm transferring Elisa to the 22nd precinct. My decision stands and you will accept it all the same."

"Just like that." He snapped his fingers.

"Yes." He says with finality.

"You're not getting away with this…" he hissed before he tapered away, slamming the door the way he had opened it earlier with a thunderous clatter.

As Brooklyn's loud, angry footsteps recede, Goliath resisted the sudden urge to hurl his mug across the room, to watch it crash and hit the floor, to shatter into a thousand little pieces upon the polished wood. 

An appropriate metaphor for his current state of mind. 

He heard his office door swing open again this time without a deafening noise.

"Always a lively lad" Hudson jeers. Goliath cracks his knuckles scowling at his desk.

"It is not always a good thing" his mentor hummed "Brooklyn lets his emotions run wild without thought or consequences too often." 

"Aye, but the sentiment rings familiar" Goliath grimaced "lettin' one's emotions run rampant" 

"I wasn't that bad" 

Hudson laughed but shook his head "perhaps, but I'm not speakin of that" his mirth falters "it's about you and the lass" 

There's no accusation in his voice.

"There is nothing between me and Elisa" as if it needed to be stated.

"If you're going to be carrying on an illicit affair, ye should be sure the walls don't be having eyes and ears" Goliath stiffened.

"I was in my office gettin some shut eye until the yelling woke me up. Nice thing to wake to seeing the two of you gettin' to know each other" Shame curled at the pit of his stomach his eyes left his mentor's questioning gaze.

"I had a serious lapse of judgment" 

"I'll bet!" Goliath swallowed. Hudson crossed the room and took a seat.

"I do not  know what's coming over me." He rubbed the bridge of his nose ", this isn't like me, Hudson." 

"It'd be love I suppose" 

"I don't-" 

"Don't love the lass?" Hudson lifted a bushy brow "ye sure?" Goliath didn't answer, he didn't want to answer.

"I'm married, Hudson. A married man with a child! How can you say that!? In fact, you of all people should be furious with me!" 

"And say 'I thought I taught you better'?"

"Yes!"  he slammed the desk “What I did was wrong! I shouldn’t-I shouldn’t-” he ran both hands over his face in utter frustration “I should never have kissed her the way that I did. I shouldn’t be infatuated with her in the first place! Dammit….” 

~

Goliath did not know what lunch with his wife might entail. He considered canceling out of guilt, but his conscience won in the end. He needed to face her, Demona, his angel, and to confess to her how he betrayed her in the worst possible way. He wasn't looking forward to it as he traps through the tables and chairs of her favorite french restaurant.

"Love." She was eerily at ease "you came."

"Of course."

"You are troubled" 

"You stormed away last night. I was worried." Demona only let her lips downturn only a millimeter as she dusted her pencil skirt of invisible dust.

"I suppose I let my emotions get the better of me" 

"I-before we eat. I must confess something to you" 

"Is it about the Maza woman?" her tone dropped. To be fair her momentary jealousy wasn't as intense as it was before. She felt more aggravated by the fact she hadn't noticed earlier, she hates rude surprises. And what did she have to scorn the Maza woman over anyway? She's rich, she's powerful all gained and created by her very own hands. What exactly did she have to prove to her? It's an embarrassing sentiment, but a sentiment all the same.

Goliath nods mutely and Demona speculates that something serious between must have happened and as he spoke-not as nearly serious as she had thought. However, she found it both shocking and utterly amusing that Goliath of all people-it was almost laughable. He was cute; being completely racked with guilt. This Maza woman had certainly worked a number on him without actually intending to do anything at all. Quite impressive.

"I will not excuse my behavior"

"Why didn't you?"

"What?"

"What caused you to stop?"

"You of course!" 

"A bit too late for that."

"I-" he swallowed "Y-yes." 

"Seems my assumption was correct then?" 

"I'm not going to leave you for another woman"

"But, Maza isn't just another woman." She cuts him off "Is she?"

Goliath froze.

"You feel a strong attraction to her more than anything I can garner "

"That isn't-" 

"Isn't what? Why are you trying so hard to deny the obvious truth? You want Maza." 

~

"So what!?" Elisa snaps "Do we just bang each others brains out? Then what?! Be consumed by a lifetime of guilt? Or do we just play pretend and spend the rest of our lives shacking up at some moldy, shitty motel acting like we did nothing wrong once the lights come on?" 

Her shoulders sag, her voice cracks "Is that the kind of life you want, Goliath? Living out some lie that we know damn well isn't true?" She wiped her eyes with the back of her palm, she was crying again. Dammit! 

Before she knew it, she's enveloped in warmth, his large arms and body wrap around her and she's pressed into his chest. Him and the oversized blue police bomber that he had given her to replace the once she lost on her first-night compasses her. 

She inhales his scent; the heady smell of burnt oak. 

And before she knows it she crumbles, her vision is blurred, everything outside is nothing more than white static in her ears as she wails against his chest. 

A childish part of herself wanted to scream and say it wasn't fair, but she knew she can't-couldn't say it out loud.

"No." He finally says "that isn't the life I want for you." He squeezes her tighter, his fingers brushing through her short hair "you're young, so much younger than I am, you have your whole life ahead of you. I cannot keep you here, no matter how much I want you to stay." 

It wasn't fair for him either. Forced to stay within a bitter, toxic marriage. But, that wasn't her issue to meddle in. 

She sniffed "you're not that old" her tone is watery, heavy with grief, but she tries to lighten her mood.

"I'm old enough to be your father, Elisa." He says dryly with no ounce of humor.

"Yeah," she sniffs "but you're not my dad." She sniffs again "he's been gone for a long time…now.." as if this wasn't depressing enough, she shudders. Goliath holds her closer, letting his head fall upon her head.