#had her people been knocked unconscious / if she would have let them die

[chaosgenasi]

thinking about. potential leader of the "death-obsessed cult" within paragon's call / inferred worshipper of the duskmaven, otohan thull, using poison that seals souls behind one of the divine gates and prevents resurrection. there's also an interesting piece of dialogue from treshi, who, in relation to the ruidus superstitions of those within paragon's call, said: "i've seen enough interesting, weird things in my life to know that most nothing makes much sense, so you get what you can with the time you are given. and when your time is up, it's up." also, it's very out there, but if the poison is less about preventing resurrection and moreso about redirecting the souls elsewhere if possible -- say, behind a different gate -- there's this interesting piece of lore from c2:

"there is a prominent belief, superstitious as it is largely considered, that most of these meteors that do come through in meteor showers themselves are parts of ruidus, the distant moon, breaking apart and making their way towards the planet. some believe because it's decaying and just showering its decay upon the planet in clumps, others believe it's supposedly distant warriors' spirits that themselves are returning to the planet after being lost on the battlefield."

[jarofstyles]

Illicit 9

Hello my loves... we are nearing the end of the main Illicit story, but we will have tons of extra one shots for them. Flashbacks, memories, looks into the future etc. We have one more part left for the main series, but here is an intense part... :-)

WC- 4.8k

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Illicit Masterlist

Warnings- home break in, weapons, guns, knives, injuries, stabbing, mean harry, crazy Katherine, hospital/medical scene and mention of treatment, stitches, talk of concussions and wounds...

————-

It was too quiet. 

Harry arrived home, paper bag in hand but the entire way up there had been unease in his stomach.  Something wasn’t right and he had felt it in his gut. 

He’d gotten word that Katherine had been spotted a few streets over just a few days prior and he knew he’d been on edge when the cops had said they’d tried to follow but she’d gone to the wind again. It unsettled him to know she was seen outside the coffee shop Y/N frequented, more than anything. He’d upped security again, but when he entered the penthouse he couldn’t see the guard supposedly meant to be in the foyer. His stomach dropped, hand dropping to his waistband to feel for the gun he had stuffed in there since she had gotten back. 

It was insane to him. How a deal had been so dumb, but made into such a big deal that he had to worry about the safety of his home and his lover. That a wannabe socialite had managed to fuck with him just because he didn’t want her. He’d never led her on, making sure to be as brutally honest as possible, but it seemed like that didn’t matter when she was disturbed. 

It was stiffly quiet in the house but when he stood still and listened he could hear the classical music drifting from up the stairs. The unusual chill settled down his spine as he tiptoed across the foyer- only to be stopped in his tracks. 

The guard was knocked clean out on the floor. Eyes closed, gun across the room and blood trickling from the side of his head. A cleaning cart was parked by the edge of the stairs, making his hackles rise and stomach sink. He knew exactly how she had gotten into the place, and she was a lot crazier than he expected. Of course she would pull this sort of desperate thing, he’d half expected it, but he’d been so hopeful that it would happen at his job. Somewhere his love wasn’t around to bear witness to. She’d been so stressed, and he had failed to keep her safe.  Y/N was home. He knew she was, he’d texted her not even an hour and half prior to confirm he’d bring home the bagels she wanted. The paper bag he had carefully set down, weapon drawn as he crouched down to take the pulse of the guard. 

It was there. He was alive, just unconscious- thank god. Harry didn’t want anyone to die on his dime. He didn't have time to waste, taking his phone out and hurriedly typing the SOS signal into the message system to the other guards along with telling them to be as quiet as humanly possible coming inside. 

He tried to be silent as he scaled the steps, holding his weapon out in front of him. If this was indeed Katherine or someone who had sent her? Who knew what they had on them. What state they’d be in. He could only pray that Y/N was unscathed, that she’d target him and him alone. It was his fault, after all. 

This was what he had been afraid of since Katherine had disappeared. Obviously in order to break and enter along with taking intimate photos of people in their own home, there had to be something wrong with her- but he had hoped that maybe Y/N’s shiny optimism had been correct, that she’d gone away to lick her wounds and would restart somewhere else. He should have known she wouldn’t go down that easy. The woman had gone through so much effort in order to really sell the idea that she was in a relationship with Harry despite his uninterested gaze, barely looking at her- let alone touch. She had seen him as her ticket up in the society she was desperate to be the queen bee of and Harry had been the perfect goal she had thought she acquired. 

Of course when it came tumbling down she would lose it. The difference between Harry and his lover is that he didn’t have any empathy for her. While Y/N may frown and empathize with the fact she had been stripped of everything, Harry was pleased. She’d been a thorn in his side for ages, always clingy and managed to be a true annoyance for him. She was entitled, bratty, vapid, loud, desperate for approval and obsessed with validation. Everything he disliked rolled into one. She had fucked around with his business and wasted his time, not to mention the fact that Harry had resentment over her being unwilling to cut the deal so he could be with Y/N in an easier way. He’d brave any storm for her, of course he would, but  he’d prefer smooth roads rather than bumpy ones. 

His heart pounded in his chest so hard it hurt, mouth dry and rage boiling in his stomach as he got up to the second floor where the music got louder. Of course, the one room with the door open a smidge was his office. He couldn’t see or hear Y/N, but he couldn’t chance opening another door when he was a shadow pass under the open door. The closer he got, though, he could hear mumbling under the music. 

“You really didn’t need to tie me up.” Y/N. He could hear her now, the tiniest wave of relief washing over him knowing the was awake, talking. 

“I really did.” The sneer belonged to her. To Katherine. His spine stiffened as he tried to be as silent as possible, keeping his breathing as even as he could as he slowly approached his office. “You’re a snake. Taking people’s boyfriends from under their noses. Homewrecker.” The woman hissed like a snake, Harry’s stomach rolling as he heard the sharp sound of a slap. There was nothing else said for a moment, making Katherine growl in rage. 

“God, you disgust me. I can’t believe you were the one to steal him away from me. You're no one.” Her voice sounded a bit more unhinged as he listened to it, hearing pacing in the room. He braved a glance in, the crazy woman’s back to him as she paced in front of Y/N. His heart hurt as he saw blood smeared on her cheek and her hair was messy, falling mostly out of the messy bun she had styled. “You don’t have any reason to date a man like him. What can you offer him? Hm? You’ve got no assets besides your family’s money, and that’s pathetic in comparison to both his and mine. You don’t have any appeal to pop culture. You just… what? Make your stupid, ugly art? How do you think you’re going to keep him?” 

“I love him.” Y/N said softly, trying not to lose her cool. “I’d love him if he was bankrupt tomorrow. I’d love him if he was a mechanic, a farmer, a pop star, if he was a stripper. I don’t care too much about his money. He’s got plenty because he’s a good worker but, when he comes home…” She frowned. “When he comes home, he likes tea because he drinks coffee all day at work. He likes his house shoes and would wear them all the time if it was fashionable. He takes cold plunges often, he likes broccoli but not cauliflower. He has a tense neck and pretends its fine but falls asleep when I massage it. I offer him stability, Katherine.” Y/N wasn’t being rude, but talking to her with an even tone. “You have to understand that my money, my social power means nothing to me. Harry has someone who he can rely on to take care of him when he’s sick, to be honest and vulnerable with. Not someone who calls paparazzi for a surprise ambush. If you paid a lick of attention to him, you’d know he hates cameras. Despises having his photo taken most of the time. He wasn’t the man for you, but there are a lot of men who would love to be with you.”

“Stop fucking pandering to me.” Katherine hissed again, striking Y/N again on her cheek. It was too much for him, watching her head snap to the side and the ring on Katherine’s hand tear at the skin near her lip. “You don’t know anything! You stole him from me. He was going to give in! He was going to love me!”

“No I wasn’t.” Harry held his gun out in front of him, kicking the door open as he looked at them with eyes darker than either woman had ever seen them. He was seething, rage visible on his form. There was no doubt about it. “I was never going to love you. I was never going to give in, you are just fucking insane.” His disdain was visible on his face but he could see that Y/N was tied up, blood on her face making his stomach hurt. She was going to have a swollen eye from the hit on her right cheek, the hit having cut her right underneath it. 

Harry had never felt more livid in his life. 

The relief on her face was the only thing that settled him slightly, glad that she still trusted him despite the fact he was the reason she was in the situation to begin with. 

“Why are you pointing a gun at me?” Katherine was quick to show the knife she had, approaching Y/N until he aimed the weapon a few inches from her feet and let off a warning shot. It punctured a splintered hole on the bottom of his desk but it made the both of them scream, Katherine scrambling away but still holding the knife up- as if it was going to intimidate him. 

“Because you’re psychotic, because you’ve tied my woman up, you’ve broken into my house a number of times and you just don’t seem to be getting the fucking hint. Pick a number.” He grunted. The smell of the residue the shot had left making his throat tight, but he didn’t care. The approach was slow, the whole idea to get her away from Y/N. “I’m the one you’re mad at. Why the fuck are you here, hurting her? Think she stole you away from you when I’ve never belonged to you in the first place. I’ve always been hers.” He sneered, moving his body in front of Y/N’s. At least there was a barrier now. 

“No!” The growl that left her was a bit chilling. She sounded possessed, huffing and puffing as she pointed the knife at him. “You were mine! You signed the contract and you had to take me on dates. You had to have liked me. We had sex!” The crazed tone to her voice returned with a fierceness, making him wonder just how far she was willing to take this. “We were the power couple, you were falling in love with me and she ruined it!” There was pure hatred in her crazed eyes as she tried to catch a glance at his girlfriend. 

“No. Look at me, not at her.” He barked. “I’m telling you now, I didn’t want to date you. I’ve told you this countless times. I have never wanted you, the only reason people called us an it couple is because you were pathetic and lied about me buying you gifts and sending you flowers that you bought yourself and hung all over me like a desperate bitch when I was forced to be out in public with you. The sex was subpar at best, you sounded like a dying fucking cat and there’s a reason I didn’t want to look at you during.” Yeah, he was being a dick, but he didn’t care. She needed to get it through her thick skull. “Y/N is and always has been the love of my life since I met her. If I knew her before being offered the contract you’d never have gotten a breath of my air. But that was because of me and me alone. I never wanted you, and I’m the one you should be angry at.” No matter how desperately he wanted to turn around and check on Y/N when he heard her sniffling behind him, no matter how panicked he felt internally and how bad his heart hurt, he kept his eye on the danger. 

“You’re lying!” She screeched, trying to lunge at him but he aimed to the side and shot again- this time into the wall. As much as he wanted her to suffer, Harry didn’t like the idea of Y/N being here and witnessing something extremely violent. He wanted Katherine to rot in jail, wanted her to go insane all alone. He didn’t feel like hiring someone to scrub the floors and his carpet either. “What the fuck! Are you trying to kill me?” Her face had paled as she turned to look at the bullet lodged into the wall. 

“I should, but I won’t. You invaded my home multiple times, put hands on my woman, caused emotional and physical distress. Tried to fucking hide from police and your father alike because you knew I was going to destroy you. I don’t know how you’ve turned it into some delusion, thinking that if you hurt Y/N that I’d somehow want you but I never have. I never will. I want to see you rot behind bars, miserable. A bullet in you would be an easy way out.” Maybe Harry was…. Slightly crazy as well. But he didn’t run around kidnapping people, breaking in places, and he sure as hell didn’t waste his time trying to humiliate himself over someone who clearly didn’t want him and never had. “For every fucking scratch, bruise, and tear that comes from her, I’m going to pour more and more money onto the lawyers that will get you the longest possible sentence. I know you’ll do terribly there, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.” His own evil smirk rose to his lips as he heard the guards enter the room, more footsteps following up and the police announcing their presence. “You are nothing to me, you never have been. Now I’m going to make sure you pay for the shit you did. I know she’s nicer than I am, but I disagree.” He hissed. “Hope you find a lover in prison, because that’s the only hope you have now.” 

Harry sort of expected it, but he hadn’t expected the quickness. Katherine screamed in rage, lunging at him and slicing the side of his arm and shirt with the blade. He barely recognized the pain, more focused on yanking her knife out of her hand to throw to the side before handling arms and forcing her to the floor. Her body thrashed, screeching out insults as the guards came in quickly, taking over and keeping her restrained as they clipped handcuffs on her. She spit and kicked, looking like a rabid animal as she somehow called out for Harry to help her as they lifted her up to carry her out of the room. 

“Harr-Harry!” Y/N’s voice sobbed as he turned to her again, finding one of the other guards cutting the rope off of her. Her teary eyes looked towards his now blood soaked shirt and jacket, shaky hands gently grabbing it and pulling the latter off of his form. “Oh my god, are you okay? She stabbed you!” Her breathing was frantic and he could feel her trembling as she grabbed the other side of the jacket and applied pressure to the wound. He didn’t feel the pain quite yet, adrenaline still going strong. All he could focus on was her own injuries. “Can someone call an ambulance? Please?” She choked on her sob. “For him and f-for.. She knocked him out downstairs, I heard it. I hope he’s okay, we… Please?” She pleaded to the guard who nodded with his phone to his ear already.

“Hey… I’m okay.” He whispered to her, his uninjured hand reaching up to hold her chin. “I’m okay, love. S’a scrape. Promise. I’m completely fine. I’m worried about you.” His face was full of that concern, scanning over her injuries. Seeing them up closer made his stomach turn, almost like he was about to be sick all over himself. “M’sorry, baby. I’m so, so sorry.” His eyes burned. “I promised she wouldn’t hurt you. And now you’re all bloody.” There were a few marks and he wondered how many times she had slapped Y/N around. One scrape on her forehead that was bleeding a lot more than the face ones, bruising already forming around her eye. “Where else are you hurt? What happened?” He pulled her into his form, ignoring any warning about being careful with his arm as she still tried to apply the pressure. 

“I’m fine. She- she hit me with a book, back of the head to stun me. My vision went wonky and I blacked out a little, came to all tied up. I heard her coming upstairs after the stuff downstairs but I wasn’t quick enough to lock the door.” She sniffled, feeling his lips press against the top of her head. His shirt was ruined, bloodied and torn at the arm but he didn’t give a shit about the clothing. He wanted her as close as possible. 

“Fuck.” Voice wrecked, he held her tight. “Okay. We need to get you checked out first, please. You probably have a concussion or worse. I need to… I’m not letting you out of my sight.” This was going to be an issue later on down the line, but he didn’t care. He was going to exercise every bit of his money privilege to make sure Y/N got the best care possible and every single thing was taken care of. He failed her once, and he wasn’t going to do it again. 

—----

Harry had fought to ride in the same ambulance as her. He’d fought hard, cussing and snarling but ultimately was forced to be calmed by her gentle words and the contact they had at the hospital insuring that they’d be in the same ER room together. The man was terrified to leave her side and Y/N could see it. Despite his cold and hard look, his anger coating his words, the venom in his tone, it was all out of fear. It’s how his anxiety manifested when it came to her and she knew all too well. 

So he’d given in and gave her a slow kiss, promising that he wasn’t going to let anything else happen to her- all before threatening the poor EMS pair in charge of Y/N with their jobs if something happened to her. She had to make sure they knew they would be fine as soon as the door closed and Harry was wrangled onto his own ride, which she could hear grumbling and complaining as he did so. Y/N loved her grumpy man so much. 

He arrived first to the hospital which meant he had demanded to wait for her to be wheeled in, making sure she went first. There was triage, which meant a knife wound would be looked at first, but he barely flinched as they sat in their room with the door closed, two separate teams looking over their injuries. A set of the guards were outside said doors, taking updates about the one who had been injured on the job and ensuring no one else got in or out other than approved medical staff. Harry wasn’t stupid and he knew the media would catch wind as soon as it leaked. It couldn’t be too long now considering he knew Katherine must have continued her tantrum all the way down to the police cruiser. 

“Is she okay? What’s going on?” He asked across the room, trying to look over shoulders to see the doctor looking over her injuries. The frantic beat of his heart had been a slight cause of concern when they took his vitals but then again, who would be calm after a situation like that? 

“Mr. Styles, please stay still so we can properly stitch.” The poor woman working on him most definitely had her work cut out for her and he felt bad only slightly considering he liked to be a good patient, but Y/N was more important to him than the stupid fucking stitches. Luckily it really had only been a cut. There wasn’t a lot of muscle damage, and it was even on his arm without tattoos. If he was going to be in a knife fight this was the luckiest outcome someone could hope for. 

“Harry, please.” Y/N shot him a tired look. “I’m okay. I promise. Let them stitch you up so you have the best chance at healing. It would make me happy.” 

“My goal is to always make you happy, my love, but I know it’s serious when you black out.” He stressed. For his own good, he should have been calming down but it was hard to when they hadn’t told him much yet.

“Can I disclose to Mr. Styles of your condition, Miss?” The doctor asked, which normally would have made him happy to know he respected her privacy- but his blood pressure was rising by the second with the lack of information. 

“Of course.” She murmured, giving him a softer look as one of the nurses began to clean the cuts on her face. Even still, she was his beautiful girl. He was going to push for the most harsh charges he could for that evil bitch. Y/N didn’t deserve that. He definitely did. 

“Well, the cuts are going to heal just fine. They don’t need stitching as they aren’t too deep, a few are just scrapes. The one on her head was a bit deeper but headwounds tend to bleed more, so it looked worse than met the eye. Shouldn’t scar badly, if at all.” He explained, making a bit of relief flood his body. “However, I do believe she has a concussion. We were discussing sending her for a CAT scan to ensure there was no further damage, but I don’t think there will be. She’s a lucky girl.” 

Harry bristled, lip curling in a snarl. “Lucky? Having your home invaded and being tied up and abused is lucky to you? Who the fuck are you to say-” His defense was calmed by a call of his name, a frown on his love’s face as she shook her head. 

“H, you know he didn’t mean it that way.” She looked towards the paling doctor. Harry’s bark was very mean, and his bite was meaner. The fear was understood but she would make sure her lover relaxed. “He means that for what could have happened, it’s good. Just like how you could have been stabbed in a worse place. He isn’t minimizing what happened to me.” It was difficult because she couldn’t physically touch him with them being in separate hospital beds across the private room, but the words had the desired effect. 

His eyes narrowed at the doctor as he set his jaw, deciding to leave it for her sake. “Get her in there immediately. I want every person qualified to look at the results to ensure there's nothing missed.” Harry didn’t swing his name and money around in this sort of setting too often, but it seemed necessary. “Or I’ll make sure my father pulls funding for those very nice golf retreats for the staff.” There was a Styles wing here, after all. There had been for years. 

“Y-Yes, I’m going to call over to them now. I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Make it fast.” He snipped, eyes only softening when he left the room and he locked gazes with Y/N. The man had no clue how he was going to possibly make it up to her. It was extremely rare that he ever felt genuine, punch in the gut guilt, but seeing her smile at him only made it worse. How was she not angry at him right now? He had gotten a human angel, that’s for sure. 

How would he make her feel safe in their penthouse again? He knew it wasn’t a forever home but it was the first place they’d cemented themselves as a couple. He was going to do anything he could to ensure she felt safe again, though he knew it was probably going to be a while after Katherine was locked up. He’d be looking at a new building regardless after finding out that she had been cleared by the building security to go in the back entrance. She’d apparently been deranged enough to find out the shit changes and hopped into what had to be the only unmonitored elevator ride that day. She had a valid key card to get into their place and had snuck up on the in house guard, making her efforts very apparent. Katherine been plotting for a while.

As soon as his stitches were finished and they gave him some pain relief, he walked over to her bed and sat himself down in it. There was no semblance of personal space, frown on his face as his fingers traced over the gauze on her forehead cut. She looked sleepy, his poor girl, but they’d still have to wait for the tests on her and they wanted to monitor his heart rate for a bit. Their stay wasn’t over quite yet. 

“M’gonna get us out of here for a bit, as soon as you’re okay to travel.” He whispered, closing them into their own private little bubble. They finally had a minute alone. “Wherever you want to go. Think on it.” He tipped her chin up to place a few kisses to her lips, needing the comfort for his own sake. A shaky exhale made him pull back, eyes burning as she lifted her hand to cup his cheek, thumb brushing the hot skin. 

“Anywhere with you.” Y/N smiled, her own pain meds kicking in. “Probably can’t go on a plane with a concussion for a bit. I dunno, m’not the doctor. But… maybe we can go to the lake house for a bit?” Laying on her side, she scooted over so Harry could properly be comfortable on the small hospital bed. It wasn’t built for two but they made it work. “It’ll be a bit of a drive but I think it would be nice to get out of the city for a little bit. Just spend time with you alone.” 

In all honesty, Harry knew he’d sort of dropped the ball with Y/N. He hadn’t given her every single thing she deserved and he’d been limited by the stupid deal. Now that it was over, though? He wasn’t going to pull back any of the things he wanted to do. She deserved a vacation, his uninterrupted attention and a true break from work. As much of a workaholic as he was, the only thing he loved more was the girl in his arm. If he didn’t think they’d scold him for popping stitches he would use both of them to tug her on top of him. 

“I think that’s a lovely idea, my love.” He approved, the softest smile he could mange painting his lips. “I know things are going to be a bit hectic for a while but m’gonna take care of you. S’all I want to do. You’re my favorite person and… I know I haven’t been the easiest person to be with. Know I failed at keeping you safe, but m’a bit too selfish to let you go.” His eyes shined, trying not to let too much emotion out in here. “I’m going to spend every day for the rest of my life taking care of you and making sure every bit of your body is safe. You’re the most important thing in the world to me. My heart.” The soft croon was rewarded with her shy smile, a little peck placed to his lips as a secondary bonus. Butterflies were the last sensation the grump of a man ever expected to feel in his life, but Y/N had lit up his life. “It’s a forever thing, you and me. Just have to wait and see.”

[acourtofmarvels]

You Called

Rhysand x she/her POV

Warnings: Miscommunication :D

Word count: 2746

Rhysand watched as she danced under the starfall. Absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful female he'd ever layed eyes on.

She was his mate.

That word seems foreign in his head. 200 years old, he never thought he would ever find his mate.

She didn't know though. The bond hadn't set for her. At least thats what he thought. He'd known for about 20 years now. His brothers had some suspicion but he didn't tell anyone.

He tried for about 15 years to get the bond to set for her. He wanted it to come naturally and not be the one to tell her. It's not the right time, he thought. So he gave it a rest for now.

He couldn't be around her though, so he distanced himself for 5 years. Only approaching or speaking to her when needed.

Her POV

"Did I do something to Rhysand?" It was late at night, Starfall was over. I had drug Mor to stay with me in the House of Wind. Usually we would stay at the townhouse but I wasn't feeling entirely sure I was welcome.

"What do you mean?" Mor mumbled. She was very drunk and trying to sleep. I didn't drink much tonight, which was not normal for me. I always go all out for nights like this like but I had to much on my mind tonight. I couldn't even fully appreciate starfall.

I had a nice night, don't get me wrong. But the whole time I just had this aching pain in my chest I didn't understand. 

"He just seems different. He barely talks to me anymore. Barely even acknowledges me. I don't know what I did..." He can't possibly know. 

"Babe, just relax. It's probably nothing. He gets in moods sometimes." More voice was quiet. I know she was fighting sleep to talk to me. I shouldn't have had this conversation at a time like this.

"Some long ass mood..."

***

"Az! Please wake up! Open your eyes, Azriel." I shook his shoulders. We had been shot down from the sky. When he hit the ground he was knocked unconscious. Even with the ash arrow through my wing I was still able to land.

We had been on a mission for the past 2 weeks. We were flying home from Spring Court when multiple ash arrows started flying through the air. Azriel blocked most of them from me but I still got shot. I couldn't grab him in time before he hit the ground.

It was night time. I could barely see anything through the trees and the dark sky.

I could hear footsteps and voices getting closer. I must protect Azriel. I'm wounded but I won't go down without a fight.

I needed to get help. I covered Azriel's body with my own as I closed my eyes. Rhys. I wasn't sure if I could reach him from this far. Rhys I need you. What if he has me completely blocked out? Rhysand please, they're coming.

The footsteps were close. I pried myself off of Azriel, pulled my sword off my side and stood up straight. My body ached. I could feel the poison from the arrows weakening my body, making me sicker by the second.

I think I blacked out, fighting these people, whoever they were. I didn't stop, couldn't stop. My body was drenched in their blood, or maybe it was my own blood.

I was overpowered. Knife to my throat. This was it. This is where I die. I can't save Azriel. I can't save myself. Killed by men in masks.

"Cowards," I choked out, blood dripping from my mouth. "Show your faces."

"Illyrian scum." The one holding the dagger to my neck said viciously. "Don't worry. We'll send your wings to your High Lord. Then we'll take his when we-" his sentence was cut short by his head coming off his body.

I gasped as the dagger nicked my neck slightly. The rest of his men began screaming loudly, holding their heads as they all fell to their knees. Then, absolute silence. And they were all dead.

I turned around quickly, still on the ground to see who killed my attackers. I let out a sob as I saw his familiar, piercing violet eyes.

He was on his knees before me, taking hold of my face in his hands. He looked over at all my injuries.

"You came," my voice failed me. I was holding onto him for support. I knew I was about to lose consciousness from the ash poison and the loss of blood.

"You called. Of course I came. What happened?"

"Azriel, you have to take him. Take him home now, Rhys." I pleaded with him, tears I had been holding back began to roll down my face. "He's hurt. I couldn't wake him up. Take him, please."

Rhys whipped his head over to Azriel who was unconscious in his own puddle of blood. I was praying that he was just unconscious and not...

"I'll be back for you." Rhys placed a kiss on the top of my head before he picked Azriel up in his arms and winnowed away. 

He's gonna be okay. He's gonna be okay. He's gonna be...

I'm not sure how long Rhys was gone. Minutes or seconds but I was growing tired. My body was failing on me. I was defeated. The poison was still in my system. I had to stay awake.

"Keep your eyes open," the order was from my High Lord. Not my Rhys. 

"I'm tired Rhys." He picked me up off the ground. I wrapped my arms around his neck weakly. 

"You're gonna be okay sweetheart. We're home now. Just keep your eyes open." I could hear other voices around me. I could recognize Madja's voice. But I was only focused on Rhys. He set me down on a bed and began to walk away. 

"Please don't leave me." I held onto his hand tight. His promise that he would never leave me was the last thing I heard before I finally slipped into sleep. 

That's me. Why can I see myself sleeping? Is this a dream?

"She's okay, we've got her." I looked around the room, Madja was by my beside working her magic to heal me. 

"What the hell happened?" My line of vision went to Mor as she burst into the room. My heart was beating so fast, anger coursed through my veins. 

"Keep your voice down." That voice rang in my ear as if I just spoke. Rhysand. Rhysand spoke. Where was he? "They were attacked outside of Summer. They're okay."

I was looking at myself again. Aching sadness and guilt ran through me. No. No this wasn't me. This isn't what I'm feeling. I see myself through Rhysand's eyes. These are Rhy's emotions I feel.

His emotions were overwhelming. Everything he felt for me was maxed out to 100. He felt sick. Guilt was the most I could feel. Then sadness... Anger... Regret.

He felt guilty for not getting there sooner. For not being able to protect his brother and me. Sadness for the state we were both in. Anger for the men who hurt us. And regret for not making them suffer longer. 

Mor was talking to Cassian. I could hear their voices but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Rhys was tuning them out as he watched my sleeping figure on the bed. His thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand. 

Theres something else here. I can feel it within him but... but I don't know what it is. 

I finally awoke hours later. That was such a weird dream. Or at least I thought it was a dream until I looked to my right and Rhysand was sitting beside me. His hand was still holding onto mine but he was fast asleep. 

He didn't leave. He stayed like I asked. He looked cold. I should give him my blanket. 

I barely moved a centimeter in my bed before Rhys woke up. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He moved closer to me. He placed a hand on the side of my face gently as he looked me over. 

My whole body warmed to his touch upon my cheek. He was so close. 

I opened my mouth to speak but my mouth was far too dry. Rhys noticed immediately, using his magic to bring me a glass of water. "Here." His voice was so soft as he brought the glass to my lips so I could drink.

I was trying not to laugh at his protectiveness. I know he was worried, had been worried. But I'm alright now. I wanted to tease him but maybe I'll take this attention some more.

"I'm alright," I assured him. I took the glass from his hand and placed it on the nightstand after I took another sip. 

He kept looking me over. I was sore but I know my wounds have healed now. 

"You can go now, I wouldn't want to bother you any longer." I tried to remove my hand from his but his grip only tightened. 

"You could never bother me," he sounded hurt by the word I used. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Damn you heart. Don't flutter now. You can't do this.

I tried to slowly inhale and exhale out my nose, trying to calm my breathing. He can't know how I'm feeling. He can't know that I'm his mate. 

"Azriel, is he alright?" I tried to cover up my nervousness by thinking of something else. Why does he keep staring at me?

"Azriel will heal, it will just take longer for him. But he'll be back to himself in no time." 5 years. This was the longest conversation we had in 5 years. He pushed me away right after the bond snapped for me.

I honestly didn't know how to react after it. It was so unexpected. I had know Rhys for so long, he was my family and my best friend. Why did it take so long for this apparent bond to snap into place? Was the Cauldron playing a game with us?

I'd always had a little crush on him but always pushed it aside. Falling for my High Lord? It was embarrassing. Everyone in Velaris most likely had a crush on him. How could you not? Have you seen him?

He still hasn't let go of my damned hand. Gods, it felt like my hand was on fire. 

There was silence for so long. Rhys wasn't looking at me. He stared down at our conjoined hands. His brow furrowed as he was deep in thought.

"You seemed surprised when I arrived. Like you expected me not to come help you." He seemed angry.

My face heated up in embarrassment. "I-I just didn't think you would be able to hear me from so far away."

"No, that's not it. You expected me not to come to your aid. Why?" 

I was flustered. I hated he could read me so well. My shields were always in tact so I knew he wasn't in my head.

I tried to pull my hand away but his grip only tightened. "Let me go." He of course let go at my wish. 

"Why did you think I wouldn't help you?" His voice raised slightly.

He would keep pushing if I didn't give him an answer. He had no right to be mad at me. I should be mad at him. "Because you have been cold! Distant! Did you know this is the longest conversation we have had in nearly five years? I did expect you not to come. You hardly speak to me and when you do, you answer with one worded responses. You avoid me. Do you think I haven't noticed when you make some sorry ass excuse to leave when I enter the room? I don't know what I have done for you to dislike me so. So sorry for expecting you to not come to my aid when i ask of you."

I was furious. If my body wasn't so sore and tired I would have stormed out of the room dramatically. Now it's just awkward because he is sitting there not saying anything. Not denying it either.

"You think I dislike you?" His voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear it.

"Why else would you ignore me?"

He looked like he wanted to say something else but he bit his tongue. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "You are not ready for that answer."

So he admits it. He has been pushing me away. Purposefully it seems. The answer 'I'm not ready for'. Asshole.

I hated myself for the tears that weld up in my eyes. My mate doesn't even want to be around me. 

"You don't get to decide what I can and cannot handle." I looked away from him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"This isn't easy for me." Gods I wanted to punch him so bad.

"I have zero pity for you. Must be so hard pushing someone away who has done nothing but love you." I was already humiliated enough, why not put a cherry on top. Might as well tell him how I feel.

"No, no. Don't say that. You don't love me." He was pacing back and forth in front of my bed now.

"Of course I love you. I have loved you even before we-" I was the one who bit my tongue this time. 

His eyes bore into mine. "Before what?"

Can he really not feel it? This bond between us? I feel it in every bone in my body. From the bottom of my feet to the top of my wings.

"Before what?" He almost yelled.

"Before we were mates!" I yelled back at him. "There! I said it! Are you happy now? Get the fuck out!" I threw a pillow at him.

"How long have you known?"

"Get out, Rhys! I don't want to have this conversation right now." I threw another pillow at him. It was all I had around me. He caught it and threw it at the wall behind him.

"Goddamit it, Y/N! How long have you known?"

"5 years. 5 years of feeling this bond with someone who has given me the cold shoulder."

"15 fucking years I tried. I tried 15 years for the bond to set into place naturally for you and of course the second I stop trying... The moment I stopped putting myself through all that pain and decide to give you space it fucking clicks."

I think my heart stopped beating for a second. I was temped to reach my fingers to my neck and check my pulse to make sure I hadn't died.

"What?" I almost didn't even hear my own voice.

"I've known for 20 years that you're my mate and loved you for even longer before that. Guess the cauldron really wanted to fuck us over." He walked back over to the side of the bed and sat back down in his original spot. He let out a sigh of defeat. 

"How could you not tell me?" Tears rolled down my face. 

"You didn't tell me either..." I almost rolled my eyes. I had my reasons, I wanted to know his. He must have picked up that I wanted a legitimate answer. 

"I... Wanted you to love me, for me. Not because we were mates." He looked down at his hands folded in his lap.

"Rhys..." I pleaded him to look at me. "Rhysand." He lifted his head finally. "You're my best friend. I am lost without you. Sometimes I-I feel I cannot breathe without you. My heart beats for you," pushing through the pain I moved to the side of my bed. I grabbed his hand and placed it over my heart. "It has always beat for you."

"You are my everything," he replies, taking my own hand and placing it upon his heart as well. It felt as if our heart's were both beating erratically in sync. He leaned forward till our foreheads were pressed together. My eyes closed on instinct, the tears still rolled down my cheeks.

"I thought I lost you. I have never been more terrified in my entire life," he whispered, his voice cracking slightly.

"I am here." I pulled away only an inch. I placed my other hand on the side of his face, beckoning him to look my in the eyes. "I am not going anywhere."

"I love you with everything that I am. I cannot live without you. My heart calls your name." He wiped the tears from my face before pressing our lips together.

Acotar Masterlist

[dyns33]

The Big Nice Punisher

I never gave love to Frank and Frank only in a story so I decided to change that

Y/N should have gotten used to it, now that she was friends with Matt, Foggy and Karen.

It had happened several times that the devil of Hell's Kitchen had knocked on her window to ask for a medical kit since she knew his secret, even if the fool preferred to die in a trash rather than ask his friends for help.

It had taken everyone's intervention to force him to admit that he had a problem, and that he could count on them if he wasn't being chased by an army of ninjas.

More than stubborn, his priority was above all to ensure that he did not bring any danger into their home.

Karen wasn't Matt.

She didn't want her friends to be in danger either, but her moral compass was visibly broader, and allowed her to do more things.

Like coming to Y/N with the Punisher losing a lot of blood, asking if she could hide him for a few days and make sure he was still breathing.

Y/N had followed Frank Castle's trial on television, like the whole city. She had heard about all the people he had killed, but also the people he had saved. She had heard what happened to his wife and children. And above all, she had read in all the newspapers that he was dead.

“Can you explain to me or are you going to tell me it’s better if I know as little as possible ?” she asked as she helped Karen place him on her couch.

"Actually, I don't know. I found him like this when I came home from work. Your apartment was closer, excuse me. He doesn't want a hospital, for obvious reasons, and I was afraid he wouldn't manage to get to my place."

"Okay. Just promise me he won't jump on me when he wakes up."

“Frank is very nice, don’t worry.”

'Nice' probably wouldn't have been the first word Y/N, or anyone, would have used when talking about the Punisher, but Karen was pretty good at judging people, and that was out of the question to leave him to die anyway.

Even if she managed to see the good in him, it still seemed a bit exaggerated and even very optimistic that Karen would decide to leave Frank Castle unconscious in a stranger's house. She took the time to write a little note, telling Y/N that she could show him if he didn't trust her, but repeating that everything would be fine.

If he didn't have a reason to hurt her, he wouldn't hurt her. Really very reassuring.

Sure enough, the Punisher woke up in a panic as Y/N was making dinner, looking around with wary eyes and grimacing when he saw her. His first instinct was not to attack her but to try to flee, but his injury did not allow him to reach the door, his path ending in the middle of the living room.

“Karen warned me this would happen.” Y/N sighed, hesitating to put down her knife.

"Who are you ? Where am I ? Where is Karen ?"

“In order, I'm Y/N, you're at my house, and Karen had a job emergency so I'm babysitting for her.”

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter.” he groaned, holding his leg.

"Look, you don't want to be here, I'm not really happy about it either, but if you let me help you, you can leave quickly."

"I'm leaving now."

"Oh, no way ! I promised Karen I wouldn't let you die and I feel like you're just as stupid as Matt, so you're going to rest your ass on the couch, you're going to eat, then I'll see if you haven't reopened your wound !'

"… Yes Ma'am."

The terrible Punisher then began to look like a little lost dog, speaking little and accepting the plate that Y/N offered him, thanking her with a nod, his big black eyes following her as soon as she moved in the room.

He insisted that he could take care of his leg, but just one look made him shut up again, letting Y/N do what she wanted, since he obviously had no choice.

"I'm not a doctor, but between your broken ribs, the bullet that was in your leg, and the other marks on your body, I will say that it would be best for you to rest for a few days before you start punishing people again."

“No time to wait.”

"That wasn't a suggestion, doctor's orders."

“You just said you’re not a doctor.” he said with a smirk.

“I’ll tie you to the bed if I have to.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

In the end, his leg was causing him too much pain and Karen had forbidden him to move over the phone, it was decided that Frank Castle would stay with Y/N ​​for at least a week. He seemed to be the most annoyed by the situation.

Both women were right about him : he was nice, and he was like Matt. He didn't like asking for help, and he was afraid of putting innocent people in danger by his mere presence.

Yes, he had tried to find Karen when he was injured, but Karen knew how to defend herself, and he would have found a way to convince her to let him go. He didn’t know Y/N. He didn't like the idea of ​​intruding into her home, into her life, into her world, even if Red wasn't far away.

"I also know how to defend myself if necessary, Mr. Castle."

"Of course Miss. And it's Frank."

“I can do the dishes by myself too, Frank.”

“I have no doubt about that, but I’m squatting on your couch, it’s the least I can do.”

A week might not seem like much, but aside from her colleagues and the trio, Y/N didn't see many people. This daily proximity to Frank made the atmosphere strange.

He always spoke little, almost never about himself, hiding his wounds like a proud animal, but being interested in her, not missing an opportunity to help her around the apartment as a sign of gratitude, and listening to her talk about her days with patience and sympathy.

It was almost difficult when his condition allowed him to leave. They had gotten used to each other and the separation gave them as much pleasure as their meeting.

Still looking like a puppy who didn't know how to behave, Frank gave her his number, just in case, taking hers if he needed to check on her. He wouldn't call her for a favor, it wasn't like him.

Obviously, his style was to stop giving any news at all and to completely disappear from people's lives.

Y/N could try to understand. He was dead in the eyes of society, he had a complicated past, his main occupation was murdering criminals… But all the same, a little message from time to time wasn't complicated.

The worst part was that he was in contact with Karen. Her friend seemed surprised that he hadn't contacted her. According to her, Frank loved her very much.

"He's shy, that stupid man. I'll tell him to call you."

"No, that's not necessary. I'm glad to know he's okay."

"Don't be ridiculous, you want to talk. He also asked me about you, I should have known he would do that."

Y/N probably should have too, but because in hindsight she didn't see why someone like Frank Castle would want to keep in touch with her. She had been useful, nothing more. Next to Karen, beautiful, intelligent Karen who he had known for a long time, Y/N didn't stand a chance.

There was also his family, for whom he had sacrificed everything. If he was only "friends" with Karen, there had to be a reason and that was because he refused to betray his dead wife.

This enchanted parenthesis of a week had been nothing other than a parenthesis.

It was stupid to be so sad for a man she had only seen for a week. And yet, Y/N was sad. So sad that she didn't pay attention to the time while having a drink at Josie's.

No doubt she forgot that despite the presence of Daredevil, Hell's Kitchen remained a dangerous place. Matt couldn't be everywhere.

So it wouldn't have been a surprise when she was followed by two guys, who cornered her in an alley and threatened her with a knife so that she would give them her bag. Then one of them looked at her with a funny look and licked his lips, and she tried to run away.

Before they could touch her, the first one had his head smashed against the wall. The other screamed, trying to defend himself with his knife, but the weapon ended up in his leg, and he was knocked out with a punch.

Slowly so as not to frighten her further, Frank helped her up, checking her for injuries and returning her things.

"Are you alright ?"

"Yes. I was careless."

“Not your fault, sweetheart.”

"I guess we're even now." she tried to joke, while sobbing. Y/N hoped he would think it was because of the shock, and not because she thought she wouldn't see him again afterwards.

This didn't make him laugh. He looked at her with his sad, worried eyes, shyly rubbing her shoulder as he listened to her breathing, waiting for her to calm down.

Then still without a word, he took out his coat to put it on her shoulders before walking her home.

There, he only left her when she was sitting on the sofa, to go get her a glass of water, letting go of it when he was sure she was holding it well, and remaining kneeling on the floor right next to her.

"… Karen said you were angry. Because I didn't call." he whispered, his eyes stopping from staring at her for a second.

"Karen is talking nonsense. I'm a big girl, and you owed me nothing. Nothing at all. I was happy to help you, and stupid to think that… Thanks for saving me. You don't have to stay."

Silence returned, but Frank didn't move. He stayed until she finished her glass, then until she was done shaking and crying, his hand never leaving hers.

But he still didn't move. And in that moment, Y/N wondered if he too had been disappointed when their week together was over.

Maybe Karen was right, he was shy, and he didn't want to put her in danger by staying in contact with her. As stubborn and insufferable as Matthew. And also nice. Why else would he have been there to protect her ?

"It's not a good idea." he suddenly muttered, closing his eyes.

"What ?"

Frank sighed, seeing that she might cry again. He could have left right away, because he didn't think his presence was a good idea, and probably he was right. No doubt it was ridiculous to love the Punisher.

But continuing to mutter, he stood up slightly, pressing his forehead against hers. Now he held both hers hands, looking desperate, opening pleading eyes.

He couldn't stay, but that didn't mean he didn't want to more than anything in the world.

"It's not a good idea." he repeated, however, as if to force himself to move, to remember his course of action, and he was quickly on his feet, ready to leave.

“Frank…”

"No."

“Frank…”

The door was closed as quickly as it had been opened and in an instant Frank was there again, kissing her like a thirsty man who had just found an oasis in the middle of the desert.

But the moment was furtive, almost a mirage, because the soldier quickly shook his head, swearing and saying again that it really wasn't a good idea, before fleeing the apartment.

Y/N could have been mad at him for that. But she was too busy touching hers lips, thinking that if he had kissed her against his principles, maybe Frank Castle loved her enough to come back.

This idea stayed with her, after she received a message just before going to sleep. Simple message, which made her smile.

"I was happy too. You're not stupid. Good night."

Yes, they would probably see each other again. In secret, at times when she wouldn't expect to find him in her apartment. But she was a bit used to Matt, Foggy and Karen. This wouldn't be a problem at all.

[judesmoonbeauty]

Fairytale Final Assessment 1st Anniversary SE: Jude Jazza's POV Chapter 2 ཐིཋྀ

Fan translation only. Not 100% accurate. Please expect grammatical errors. Cybird owns everything. Feel free to re-blog, but please do NOT post my translations elsewhere.

Translation notes are marked with *** Alternate translation is marked with/// Hour Glass Banners Credit: @/natimiles ཐིཋྀ

I glared at Kate at a distance where the tips of our noses touched.

(Ha…….Really, not good.)

(Her eyes.)

Despite being pinned down and being shown the overwhelming difference in power, Kate’s eyes never gave up.

She glared at me too straight on, with a glow in them. 

(……Ah, something like this happened before.)

She was kidnapped on my birthday, and had collapsed because she didn’t leak any information about me.

When I saw her injured, my core went completely cold. 

FLASH BACK TO HIS BD STORY

Jude: As ya said, I'm threatenin’ ya now.

Jude: But ...... I could snap your neck in an instant. Besides, the people I'm dealin’ with won't even hesitate.

Jude: If you're aware that you're being pushed away, I'm sure a smart young lady would know what to do.

Kate: I would have stayed out of it if I could have.......

Jude: But?

Kate: Every time we go on a mission together or escape from a predicament, I realize various things and change.

Kate: I don't mind that kind of change in myself.

FLASH BACK ENDS

I don't remember being kind to her or taking care of her carefully.

There have been times when she looked at death.

She has learned so much that she can no longer be called a “naive young lady.”

Despite this, she is a brazen woman with annoying eyes who maintains her clean side even when she knows of dirty maliciousness.

(I know I like this girl.)

(It’s interesting to see the fighting spirit that comes from her, but…)

(If I don't kick her out now... one day...she’ll die.)

(Then, why don't I draw the line here?)

I put my hand around Kate’s neck and squeeze it tighter than I did that day.

Kate: …..Ts…….ah.

Jude: I told ya before that when your carotid artery is constricted, ya instantly can't breathe.

Jude: Are ya scared? Is it painful?

Jude: If you're going to give up here, I'll make it easy for ya, but what are ya goin’ to do?

Kate: Oh……ugh.

Jude: I can't hear anything. Could ya speak more clearly?

When I applied more force and tried to knock Kate unconscious, Kate’s arm suddenly pushed me away.

Kate: Cough….cough……

Jude: Ha, you’re so powerful.

Kate: Again, please!

Jude: ………

(This girl, really?)

After that, Kate kept coming back to fight again and again.

Perhaps Ellis couldn't bear to see it, and suggested another game, 

Even so, I still ate many episodes…..***

Kate: …….

Jude: Ha, ya look exhausted.

Jude: There's no need for me to sign the consent form. Why don't ya give up quietly and pack your things?

Kate: There's still time until today ends.

Kate: I won't give up until you sign it.

Ellis: Kate…..

(She really is a stubborn woman. There's no end to it.)

It's not that I didn't imagine this would happen.

Jude: I don't want to be with ya forever. Let's go settle the matter. 

Kate: This is the port where you manage the logistics depot, right Jude?

Jude: As ya know, we rent our warehouses to others with interest.

Jude: There was a man there who was making a living doin’ bad business.

Kate: I'm sure... something like that happened before, right?

Kate: He was using Jude's warehouse for human trafficking...a man with a bowler hat!

Ellis: That's when Kate was with Jude for the first time.

Jude: What a good memory!

Kate: I was attacked and almost killed, so even though I hate it, I will never forget it.

Kate: So, since you brought me here, you're trying to make me do something, right?

Jude: There’s a guy who has done something similar to that man in the bowler hat.

Jude: He’s got some classified documents hidden somewhere in a warehouse up ahead.

Jude: Get me those classified documents and then we'll talk. 

Kate: I’ll find the classified documents that’ll benefit you, Jude.

Kate: If I find them, will you sign it?

Jude: That’s what I’m sayin’.

Jude: I’m not patient, I’ll only wait until midnight.

Kate: I understand. Your promise is absolute.

Ellis: Kate, so you want me to follow you?

Kate: Thank you, Ellis. But this is my game, and I'll do my best on my own.

With that said, Kate ran away from the scene.

Ellis: A guy doing bad business in a warehouse who is hiding classified documents. Just like the one I killed yesterday……..

Ellis: Jude, no way!

Jude: No, of course not. There is no such person or classified document anywhere.

Jude: She’s gonna keep looking for something that's not there, and at midnight, I'm gonna call it a night.

Ellis: It's like Cinderella in bad taste.

Jude: The best fairy tale mistake.

Lighting a cigarette, I inhale the smoke deeply into my lungs, and exhale.

(Now she’s washed her hands from Crown with this.)***

(This is a happy ending. It's a lukewarm happy ending that suits her.)

He tossed the shortened cigarette to the ground and stomped it down with his foot.

The on-site supervisor came running towards me, the color of his complexion changed.

Supervisor: Mr. Jude, why are you here? I’ve been trying to contact you! 

Jude: What happened?

Supervisor: You remember that guy you sent to the lab for illegal human trafficking here before.

Ellis: Is that.….that's the guy in the bowler hat who Kate was talking about earlier, isn't it?

Supervisor: That man escaped from the lab and attacked a weapons store. He killed the clerk and stole a gun...

Supervisor: As he was escaping he said he was going to kill Jude Jazza!

Jude: ………

Supervisor: The man's goal is revenge against you. Please run away and hide yourself quickly…..

FLASH BACK

Jude: We had a contract that said you couldn't buy or sell humans, right?

Bowler Hat Man: I'm hoping you'll let me off the hook there.

Bowler Hat Man: Well, even poor people can sell at a good price.

Bowler Hat Man: It'll line your pockets and clean up this docklands cesspool that is the Port of London.

Jude: ……….

Bowler Hat Man: You, who love other people's misfortune and money, will let me off the hook, won't you?

Bowler Hat Man: If you agree, your lover will be returned to you unharmed.

FLASHBACK ENDS

(He’s seen Kate’s face.）

Jude:…..Damn, how bad can her luck be?

Supervisor: Oh, hey, Mr. Jude, where are you going?

Ellis: Jude!

Running through the bay, I opened the doors of the warehouses with a fine-tooth comb.

(……Where the hell is she?)

Then I heard a noise in one of the warehouses.

When I opened the door to the warehouse, I found-

[Previous] [Bitter End] [Premium End] [Master List]

***HELP! I could not t/l this line to save my life! It’s a simple sentence (?), but it literally said he was consuming editions. I managed to t/l it into “episodes” after a lot of research. I believe he is implying that because Kate keeps coming back to spar with him, he is comparing each fight to an episode and consuming it as his win and her loss??

*** 足 denotes leg or foot. 洗 denotes cleansed, scoured, wash. So, I decided to nix leg/foot and use hands as an alt since westerners are more familiar with that term.

[xxladyballadxx]

Reunited

Richter Belmont x f! reader

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Summary: Richter never thought he would see his long lost childhood friend, (Y/n) (L/n). When they were both children, the two of them got separated during the invasion in London. An army of vampires attacked the city, the war tore the two apart from each other.

Nine years later, he bumped into someone he knew from his past...

Note: Nothing to do with the events from the story. This is something I unexpectedly came up with. If you don't like this, don't read it then.

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Richter scouted ahead with Maria and the revolutionary group, checking to see if there were any vampires to hunt down. They summoned their weapons when a band of vampires with a human girl ambushed them. A few children were being held captives by them. Richter and Maria wondered why they have that bruised human girl dressed in ruins with them, why her hands have been chained. Ashes of black and small pale bruises were noticed on her face. The commander of the vampire clan grasps one of the children roughly, the poor woman watches in horror as he swiftly places the blade close to the child’s neck threatening her if she doesn’t transform into her elemental goddess form. The woman had no energy to do so since she was in her weakened condition during her fight against people that she had been forced to kill. The prisoner had the chains off her hands, she grunted after being kicked in the back, her body slammed the ground. “Transform or else those children will die!”

(Y/n) coughed, her head held up. The vampire threw a rapier sword towards her, “If you can’t transform! Then you will have to fight them with steel!” 

And so in order to protect the children, she obeyed him. The girl slides her hand to reach the hilt of the rapier sword. She rises from the dirt, readying herself to fight the target, “Let my life come to an end…”

Richter crashes through the vampires and faces towards the girl. The prisoner twirls in the air and begins her attack on him. “Shit!” The Belmont evaded and dashed to the side. The two fought against each other as Maria and the revolutionary group focused on killing the vampires coming their way.

“No more….NO MORE!” The prisoner cried, switching from fire to using wind magic. She blasts the Belmont away and tries to pierce her sword through him.

Richter dodged, lashing his whip at her. “Ugh!” The girl grunted, elicited the hit from his whip. She shot the ice cold spikes aiming towards him. “Disappear!” The girl shouted, her voice hinting of pain. Richter could tell that she had been forced to do this, seeing the suffering in her sorrowful eyes.

 As the girl spun up in the air, striking towards him. Richter unsheathed his sword and blocked her attack quickly, their blades clicking together, “For fuck’s sake!” 

With his sword being pressed on by hers, Richter looked deeply into the girl’s face, her eyes and everything. Memories of his only childhood friend flooded in his mind. 

It was her…

It was (Y/n)….his long lost childhood friend.

Before Richter could call out to her, Maria summoned her magical glowing birds to move (Y/n) away in a distance. “Maria, wait! Don’t hurt her!” Richter sticks out his hand, giving her a sign to not harm (Y/n). Too late, Maria summoned her turtle close to (Y/n), knocking her out as she dropped to the grass , “Finally, I can be at peace…” she mumbled her final words as if she was about to die.  (Y/n) shut her eyes slowly, her consciousness fading after being hit by that summoned turtle.

“(Y/n)!” Richter dropped to his knees, carrying (Y/n) in his strong arms. Maria rushed off to see Richter holding the girl in her arms, “Richter, why are you-“ 

“I fucking told you not to hurt her!” Richter shouted, his hand caressing (Y/n)’s cheek. He was too focused on her. A single tear dropped down the girl’s face, her unconscious face tilted to the side. 

“Richter…” Maria walked closer to take a glance at (Y/n), “do you know this girl?” 

Richter embraced (Y/n) close to him, her head resting on his chest, “I do.” He stands up to carry her in his arms, his blue ocean eyes showing a spiral of sadness, “We were friends ever since childhood. She was the only friend I had since we were both children.” 

“You two seem pretty close…” Says Maria, feeling apologetic for harming the girl. The group came back with the children they saved, they asked Maria what to do with them since they have no one or nowhere to go to. The group were being told to take care of them for a while till they find them a home to go to. 

Richter held unconscious (Y/n) close, carrying her as he headed straight home with Maria, “(Y/n)...” he mumbled her name in a soft , sad-concerning face looking down at her. 

~~~~~𖤓~~~~~

After (Y/n) was saved by Richter and Maria, Tera laid her to rest in the extra room upstairs. Nursing her back to health, doing everything she can to wake up Richter’s dear lost friend. 

Richter couldn’t believe his own eyes after fighting (Y/n) without even realizing it was his dear friend from his past. When the vampires attacked London nine years ago, he assumed that (Y/n) was killed during the attack. 

How come she’s here? In France?

How did she survive?

Where did she get those strange powers from?

A few days have passed, (Y/n) hasn’t woken up yet. Richter checked up on her a few times, growing concerned for his childhood friend. He begged her to wake up. Her eyes remained closed.

One night, while Tera and Maria were sleeping, Richter headed off to the room where (Y/n) was resting, he pulled up a chair next to her and sat down. Just sitting there, watching an unmoving (Y/n) sleeping to the window. A moon shone through the glass pane, its radiant light shimmering on (Y/n)’s resting face.

Richter smiled softly, admiring how beautiful she is. Grown into a fine young lady. He reached his hand out to hers, his thumb rubbing her knuckles in gentle circles.

“Please wake up, (Y/n)...” he murmured, wanting her to open her eyes…

…Still her eyes stayed closed

~~~~~𖤓~~~~~

The very next day, Richter and Maria came back from the revolutionary meeting. Talking about a bunch of politics that bore the hell out of Richter while he sat by the tree, pretending like he was listening. 

Tera came rushing down the stairs, “Richter!” She called out his name, walking towards him as she began to tell him the good news, “Your dear friend, (Y/n)...she’s finally awake!”

Richter was clouded with shock after hearing this. Maria huffed in annoyance, giving him a smack on the back and yelled, “Well, what are you waiting for?! Go to her, you stupid fool!” 

“R-right!” Tera moved out of the way as Richter jogged upstairs, rushing off desperately just to finally see her. He swung open the door and saw a conscious (Y/n) sitting at the side of the bed, looking through the window. 

“(Y/n)?” Richter made her turn around when he said her name loud and clear. (Y/n) set her eyes on him, her face fell into shock, “R-Richter?!” She rose up, looking deeply into his blue eyes. (Y/n) took a moment to finally recognise him, a few drops of tears flowing into her eyes, “It’s you…it really is you!” 

Richter smiled softly, relieved to see his very dear friend, “It is. After nine years, I…I thought you were dead. (Y/n), I…” he lost the words to say to her after not seeing her for so long, assuming that she was killed by the vampires in London. 

“I thought I would never see you again, Richter…” (Y/n) sobbed tearfully, she never dreamt this day seeing him again. Richter pulled her into his arms, his hand placed on her head while the other on the back. 

“We will never lose each other again…as long as we stay together..”

||Here’s a second part to this!||

↳ To Love and To Cherish

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

(A/n) - I really don't know whether to like this or not. I kinda rushed it. Well, hope you all like this though!

UNTIL NEXT TIME 𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

[andie-platonically]

Fantasy High characters as songs by The Mountain Goats

1. Kristen Applebees - Before I Got There

“And the tapestry above / Torn down, trampled then re-hung / Now illegible forever / An oracle with no tongue/ All of this, all of this / All of this before I got there”

I think this song so perfectly mirrors Kristen’s relationship with both Cassandra and Ankarna. Like, both of them had been corrupted and used to further other people’s evil plans with no regard to their original followers’ intent. Until Kristen arrived. Until she lovingly restored them to their original forms with such respect to why they were created, and her compassion is one of my favorite things about her character.

2. Riz Gukgak - Ground Level

“You can light a cigarette / against the cooktop if you need to / feel the heat against your forehead / let it bleed through / you’re never gonna get by / on three hours of sleep a night / unless you absolutely have to / and then you get by alright.”

I almost picked Bones Don’t Rust, which you should also add to your Riz character playlist but I went with this one instead. We see Riz take up smoking in Junior Year, we see him not sleeping and overworking himself throughout the series, and I think a lot of that does come from a place of going beyond his breaking point, steadfastly refusing to break, and thinking that means he’s okay.

3. Fabian Seacaster - Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome / Great Pirates

I’m cheating and giving Fabian two songs because he changes so much throughout the series. Here’s the first one:

“Stay independent, make adjustments as needed / it’s losers all the way down, you stay undefeated / wage wars, get rich, die handsome.”

I think this song is peak Fabian from Freshman Year. It references motorcycle riding, the narrator genuinely thinks he’s such hot shit, and I mean like, come on. Wage wars, get rich, die handsome. It’s literally perfect. But Fabian grows. He changes. So here’s the second song I picked for him:

“On the morning when I stop looking back / I’ll be up to see the sunrise in deep, bruise black / And bright, blood red / And pale desert rose / And several other colors like those / great pirates, testing the waves.”

Okay, so obviously it was fun to use a Mountain Goats song with pirates in it, but also, I interpret this song as being about moving on from your past and looking towards an uncertain future. So much of Fabian’s arc has been him figuring out who he is beyond his dad’s legacy, and so I think this song works really well with that. (I probably could have picked any Jenny from Thebes song and it would have a lot of those themes, but come on, pirates!)

4. Fig Faeth - Cry for Judas

“Speed up to the precipice / and then slam on the breaks / some people crash two or three times / And then learn from their mistakes / But we are the ones who don’t slow down at all / and there’s nobody there to catch us when we fall.”

I think Fig’s self destructive tendencies are more evident early on in the series (see: all her affairs with middle-aged men) but honestly, the way she puts herself on the front lines again and again for her friends is just as destructive imo. Also, this song gives such difficult child-energy, and I think sometimes this is how Sandralynn sees her. This kid who didn’t deal with her curse because it didn’t seem important when her friends had other things going on. This kid who skips her classes, is straight-edge except for drugs. This kid who was knocked unconscious in her first combat and wanted everyone to think she spent the whole time fighting.

5. Adaine Abernant - Up the Wolves

“I’m gonna get myself in fighting trim / scope out every angle of unfair advantage / I’m gonna bribe the officials, I’m gonna kill all the judges / It’s gonna take you people years to recover from all of the damage.”

Trigger warning to those who need it: Sunset Tree is about abuse, which is obviously quite prevalent in Adaine’s arc Freshman/Sophomore Year. It was between this and Lion’s Teeth. What I like about this song for Adaine is that it is tragic, of course it’s tragic, but it also shows her rage, not just for herself but for Aelwyn too. This is a girl who took what her parents did to her and said that’s not fair and punched her dad so hard in the face that he died. I also think that given how Adaine’s relationship with her mother is so much more complicated, the other parts of this song work well with that.

6. Gorgug Thistlespring - The Slow Parts on Death Metal Albums

“Drive home alone and listen to the slow parts / In a new universe / trying to find the mask that still fits me / shaking the curse.”

I’m gonna be so real, I really struggled with this one because I just don’t relate to Gorgug as much, but I’m so infatuated with the idea that he listens to the slow parts of death metal albums, and I do think that this song, to me, fits the fact that Gorgug doesn’t really fit the roles anyone expects from him. He’s not just a mindless raging half-orc, he’s also kind and shy and gentle and loving. But he does have a lot of rage and he reacts violently at times and his parents love him but they don’t always know what to do with that.

Bonus song! Jawbone - Midland

“Come and stay with me as long as you like / I live outside of town where the straight highway curves / three years I lived next door to the airport / so nothing you can say to me can get on my nerves.”

Jawbone collects fucked up teens like pokemon cards, so I every time I hear this song I think of him. Also, the way the narrator of this song gives the subject time and space to go through things and assures them that yeah, I’ll still be here, is so very Jawbone-coded imo. Also, later in the song, he says “stay till you can grieve like normal people do / I’ve got room, room in my house for you.” Like, every line of this song is just so Jawbone I need y’all to understand.

Bonus song #2! The Bad Kids - When a Powerful Animal Comes

“Speak in gestures only we can understand / we’ve made mistakes / everyone spots their own mess / when the dawn breaks / we get so exhausted / lost kids, just wasted / sleep in short shifts then rise to our feet / life is short and life is hard and life is sweet.”

This song is the most Bad Kids shit I’ve ever heard in my life. If it’s not in your Bad Kids playlist, you gotta add it now and Weary Adventures by Skull Puppies haha anyway It’s just literally so perfect. It’s just these kids with the weight of the world on their shoulders, so fucking tired of saving the world. It’s literally the overall arc of Junior Year!

[mysoftboybensolo]

Dirtyhands and his Songbird

Ever since I saw @macncheeseass-blog​ post about wanting a soft Kaz x Reader enjoying domestic bliss, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Plus, I have been listening to Halle’s gorgeous voice in The Little Mermaid soundtrack, and a story formed from it. This is also my first Kaz x Reader fic, so please be kind.

Kaz Brekker, known in Ketterdam as Dirtyhands, Bastard of the Barrel, a man whose heart was as cold as his eyes, was an unmovable and unfeeling man, so said everyone in Ketterdam. Was there nothing or anyone who was able to reach his cold heart? Everyone would have answered, no, there was nothing and no one. But they were wrong.

She was a secret to all in Ketterdam, not even the crows knew about her, and Kaz wanted to keep it that way, safer for her. He hadn’t been looking for her, in fact, if things didn’t go as wrong as they had, he would have never met her, but sometimes, he was glad that it did. It was a few years ago when Kaz was following a lead regarding a merchant, leading him outside of the city, where the peaceful glens lay and quiet was undisturbed. Kaz usually calculated things perfectly but he hadn’t expected an ambush, and he barely made it out alive, with the thugs being dead or near dead. He had to find shelter, somewhere to heal, and he stumbled with his cane helping him stay up, and before he black out, he saw a small cottage, reaching for the door.

The injuries would have had him at death’s door if left unattended, but there was someone who had been there to help. Between unconsciousness and awake, Kaz swore he heard singing, a voice unlike any he had ever heard, so lovely and pure, that it pulled him through the fog of pain and back into the clearness of consciousness. Slowly coming to, he found that he was laying on a couch, a bandage wrapped around his chest, and a face of someone who had knelt beside him, tending to the wound on his forehead. She was lit by the sunlight behind her, and her voice softly harmonizing, continuing her work to help him.

She had been careful with him, and he did not find a reason to recoil from her touch. Instead, he had felt a sense of calm and peace, one he hadn’t had in a long time. When he had fully come to, he had asked her where he was, and she simply replied they were in her home. Her speaking voice was just as lovely as her singing, calm and beautiful. She told him that he had knocked at her door, and she helped him in once she saw how he was badly injured, that his injuries would require him to rest for a few days. Kaz knew he couldn’t stay here, but when he tried to get up, a sharp pain radiated through him, knocking him back down onto the couch, breathing heavily.

“Please,” she said, “You must rest, you have broken ribs and if you move around too much, it can puncture your lung and you will die. If a healer lived around here, I’d have them here in a heartbeat, but as there isn’t one, you need to rest like everyone else.”

“I have to go,” he grunted out, the pain slowly easing, “I have people who will wonder where I am.”

The young woman thought for a moment, then went to her desk and pulled out paper and a pen. “Here, you can write a letter to them, explaining that there is nothing to worry about. The postman comes around in the morning and goes into the city by the afternoon.”

Kaz looked at her suspiciously. “How did you know I am from the city?”

“Your clothes,” she says quite obviously, “It is too nice for country folk, and too dark. I promise, your letter will reach your friends.”

Kaz agreed, writing the letter and careful to not let the woman see the contents, before sealing it and giving it to her. The letter was brief and obscure, simply stating that he took shelter and will be away for a while, that he’ll keep them posted if anything happens. They must have gotten it because no one came around trying to look for him, and he was able to rest in as much peace as possible, given the pain as well as the anxiety of wanting to get back to make sure things haven’t gone straight to hell at the club.

But as much as he was anxious to get back, he also found himself enjoying the company of the young songbird, whose touch was gentle and always avoiding his skin, much to Kaz’s silent delight. What he didn’t know was that while she was tending to him, he spoke unknowingly, calling for Jordie, breathlessly wondering why his skin was so cold and clammy. It didn’t take much for her to understand that he had an aversion of skin from this, and spoke nothing of it, not wishing for him to feel embarrassed at this fact having been unknowingly given. Instead, she treated Kaz like a frighten animal, allowing him to come to her and share whatever he wanted, which at first was not much. He said his name was Kaz, just Kaz, and for the time he was with her, that was all he was. He wasn’t a criminal, he wasn’t a boss, he wasn’t someone who could pretend to not care as much as he did, he was simply Kaz.

A hard lesson Kaz had learned as a boy was that everyone had another side to them, that things are not always what they seem, so with her he was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, to see when the not so sweet side of her would come out, but as much as he waited and observed, he saw no fakeness with her, just truth. He couldn’t understand why he felt at ease with her, why he could let his guard down enough that he could smile with her, that he’s trust her to take care of him, to laugh at her jokes and share whatever small pieces of his life with her.

A few days had turned into a week and a half, and still Kaz was recovering in her home. He had started to become accustomed to her ways; getting up early to tend to her animals, then making breakfast, singing as she did her chores, and at every half hour she’d poke her head in to see if he needed anything, if the pain was bearable, before going back to finish her chores. No matter where she was, he could hear her voice, singing for her own pleasure, not caring who heard. He once asked her why she never considered singing in a club or theatre, no doubt becoming a hit with the masses, but she replied that she had stage fright and could never sing in front of people she didn’t know.

“You don’t know me,” he countered.

“You are different. I don’t know why, but you are.”

A broken rib would have taken about three to six weeks to heal, but it was luck that a healer, who was passing by to visit family and knew the young woman, was kind enough to help their friend and do this favor. While Kaz was grateful to be able to move and go back to work, he also found that he was sorry to go and leave behind this kind woman. “My door is open to you whenever you wish to visit, and I do hope that you will.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I will see,” he answered, not wishing to give her too much hope, but also not wanting to crush her hopes. It was a difficult situation that he was now in; on one hand, he should never return, never risk the chance of her getting hurt, or himself for that matter. But on the other hand, no one had to know about her, ensuring her safety, it would be a good excuse to escape the city life, and-damn him for thinking this- he’d miss her too much if he stayed away too long.

He lasted only two weeks before the urge to see her again became too much. In his dreams he could hear her song, calling to him like a siren, and despite his efforts to fight it, even having a few close calls, he finally broke down and went to see her. He told the crows that he was following another lead, that he could be gone for the weekend, and he made his journey back to her cottage. It was exactly as it had been before, peacefully quiet, the flowers by her fence in bloom, and the sound of her singing echoing from wherever she was. His heart clenched when he saw her smile, clearly happy to see him again, and he hated to admit it, but he was glad.

She had the guest room ready for him, made him lunch and tea that had spread through him with a warmth like a hug. “How long may I have you?”

“A weekend, if that is alright.”

“More than alright,” she replied with a wide smile.

For the first time in a long time, Kaz had been able to sleep peacefully, dreams of Jordie hadn’t plagued him as much as they did in the city, the space was much more open so there was no chance of accidentally bumping into someone and the water washing over him. His songbird even had made him an ointment to help his ache in his leg, which had helped him, especially on the days where he was on his feet for so long. She insisted that he didn’t need to help around her home, but he wouldn’t hear of it, mostly because he hated to see her work so hard while he sat and waited for her and helping her had brought out the memories of him as a boy on his family’s farm, coming back to him like a second nature.

The evenings had been the best for him, for she would talk, share how she was an only child and that from illness her parents had left her alone in the world, how she didn’t mind the solitude sometimes, but others, well, let’s say she was glad Kaz turned up at her doorstep. Under the clear and starry sky, Kaz found he was opening up to her, even if it was slowly, but nevertheless, he shared more with her willingly than he had with any other person. She listened and accepted, and as much as Kaz was glad that she wasn’t turning him out, he feared the day when he’d tell her the worst things he has done, that perhaps, someone was good and pure as her would not want to be with someone who had blood on his hands. That perhaps she wouldn’t want a broken man who could barely stand to have his bare hands even brush against another’s hand.

The weekend went by all too quick for Kaz, and it had broken his heart to see the sorrow on his songbird’s face, wondering when she would see him again. Quit her, the voice of Dirtyhands spoke in his mind, quit her like a drug, quit now before it becomes dangerous, before you become a danger to her. “I will see when I can come back, but I cannot make any guarantees.” It was a feeble promise, it could be easily broken or easily kept, the ball was in Kaz’s court, all she had to do was wait.

It was the same every time; Kaz would tell himself to forget her, stay away, but then he’d remember and dream of her face, her touch, but most especially, her voice, and then he’d find himself right back at her place. Weekends turned to weeks, and then, to avoid the growing suspicion of his crows, he would only stop by in the evenings when he would not be working. And each time, his songbird was overjoyed that he had returned to her, somehow always afraid that something terrible would happen. She understood from day one that Kaz was no innocent, that his business often included making shady deals and doing dirty deeds, but he never exploited innocent people, never harmed those who didn’t have it coming to them. He called himself a monster, but she saw him as a necessary monster, and maybe Ketterdam called him Dirtyhands, maybe they saw him as cold and unmovable, but she knew the truth. He was Kaz Rietveld, the boy from a farm, the boy who had nightmares, the boy who craved love and intimacy even if his body shouted no. Dirtyhands belonged to Ketterdam, Kaz Brekker belonged to the Crow Club, but Kaz, just Kaz, belonged to only her.

It was hard to believe that a year had passed since he had met his savior, his songbird, the feeling of disbelief always hitting him in the morning when he woke before her, seeing her peaceful and beautiful face near his. She had been wonderfully patient and kind, helping him to overcome his aversion to touch, and though they have not moved forward as much as Kaz would have liked to, he was proud of himself for being able to sleep in the same bed with her and not have to worry about their skins touching on the middle of the night, that he can reach out to her and brush her cheek with his thumb. He made so much progress in a span of a year, he can make even better progress in the year to come.

“Good morning,” her voice hummed softly, still sleepy.

“Good morning,” he replied, his arm reaching over to lay against her hip. “Sleep well?”

“Mmm hmm,” she murmured against his chest, burrowing herself closer to him. “Don’t want to get up.”

He huffed out a laugh, “That’s alright, neither do I.”

“Then stay,” she sighed, knowing that he would leave for work, “Stay a little longer, stay with me.”

Kaz was always punctual when it came to things, he never liked to be late of he could help it, but he had to admit, the feeling of her body so close, warm, and alive next to his, and to do it without feeling like he was drowning, how could he not take advantage of this moment and stay in her arms a bit longer? He’ll just explain that there was a lead that he had to follow right away or traffic, anything that would explain his late arrival.

They spent another hour in bed, before leisurely getting up to have a cozy breakfast, the scent of warm waffles hung in the air, tea softly waking them up, and the ever beautiful sound of her voice as she sang about the kitchen. It was like being a boy on the farm again, where everything seemed so peaceful, happy, and feeling so loved. He loved her, and she had often told him how she loved him, though how he couldn’t understand why, and they had lived out this wonderful life together, free from the expectations of the world, free from the hauntings of their past. She kissed him before she sat beside him on the window seat, looking out into the golden morning, the flowers gently swaying as a cool breeze blew across the sky, and birds singing their song in a nearby tree.

To anyone from Ketterdam, they would be shocked by the domestic image, Dirtyhands and his Songbird. But to anyone else, especially the couple inside the cottage, she was just a simple farm girl, and Kaz was just Kaz. And it was a wonderful feeling that he wouldn’t trade for all the world.

Tagging: @thedelusionreaderbitch​ @ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes​ @babyblue-chaos​ 

[krookodyke]

thinking of how all the yellowjackets are cursed in one way or another. not even just the obvious ones, but all of them.

shauna is cursed to remain as a haunted house forever— she’s been grieving a girl for longer than the girl herself was even alive. most of shauna’s existence was already built on guilt even pre-crash but with jackie and shauna being directly responsible for it knowing that jackie had felt so cut-off from the group and yet she let jackie storm outside and didn’t fetch her at any time during the night, it’s that much more harrowing. she’s always going to be trailed by jackie’s ghost for the rest of her days. and even when she dies, she’ll be old and weathered and broken from all she’s done and jackie will still be the 17 year old teenage girl she’s always been and will always be.

taissa is cursed with a rot she was born with that she’ll never escape— her nana saw the man with no eyes and now she does, too. it was inevitable, even as tai, stubborn as she is, denies it and pushes it off. above all else, she’s pragmatic and a realist, and to be constantly watched by something inherited from her nana doesn’t make sense. she can’t be watched by something that doesn’t exist. that doesn’t make sense. she can’t let sleepwalking interfere with her life, she didn’t plan it that way. even as the rot festers and gets worse she still continues because she still wants to maintain this sense of Normality and this idea of Success she’s had in her mind since she planned her whole life out when she was a kid. she’s ignored the mold in her lungs for so long that she doesn’t even notice until she’s choking on it.

nat is cursed with a constant, pulsating sense of brokenness— her curse may be the most grounded and realistic, and yet it’s also not. she lives in a trailer park, she inadvertently killed her father, the other girls give her shit for filling the emptiness within her with alcohol or drugs or otherwise. and yet, 25 years later, she’s the same— in and out of rehab, occasionally making sure her mom isn’t dead. would it have been the same if the crash didn’t happen? we can’t say for certain, because she already had it the worst pre-crash. you were born broken. that’s your birthright. nat can snort, shoot up, smoke, take whatever she wants. it won’t erase her past and it won’t erase what’s in her blood.

misty is cursed with the all-consuming desire to be liked and loved and yet is so batshit in her desire to for such it never comes— misty wasn’t unpopular because she was weird, but rather because she’s insane. drugging coach ben and acting as his nurse, crystal dying with her worst secret, when misty reveals what’s closest to her real self everything crumbles. because while she could’ve fit in with the weird kids at high school, she didn’t because she has something much darker within her. because ultimately, she wants control over the narrative— that’s why she’s a nurse to senior citizens in present day. but no matter how many old people or vulnerable people or whoever else she plays with, she’ll never have the control she wants, and as such she’ll never get the love she’s been begging for all her life. after all, her life is a tragedy, not a comedy.

van is cursed with being unable to die— she doesn’t want to get up, but something always brings her to anyways. there was no explanation as to how she wiggled out of the plane set ablaze, there was no explanation as to how her face was torn asunder and she was only knocked unconscious, there was no explanation as to how she was lit on a funeral pyre and then came to, bloodied and beaten but alive. she doesn’t want to fight, but it’s the only thing she knows, and death refuses to claim her. rejected by her mother, rejected by her peers, rejected by death herself, even. she will always endure being on the edge of death, feeling all the pain and mercilessness of it, and yet is forced to live through it.

lottie is cursed with the package deal of hallucinations from her mental illness and real psychic visions— she could never tell which is which, and how was she supposed to? and yet, she’s crowned the leader, the all-knowing, the prophet. but she doesn’t even know, does she? when they put all the pressure on her initially there’s the stark reminder that she’s just a deeply traumatized kid. she’s both not psychic and simply severely mentally ill and yet also psychic and not mentally ill. but the horror of it lies in the fact she’s both— there are real visions there, but she has to endure scorching tricks of the mind to get there. she can’t be one without the other, and yet she doesn’t know which is which, what’s real, what’s fake, and she never will.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for sacrificing myself to save my best friend's life?

My best friend ""Wendy"" (21F, not her real name) and I (20F) are adventurers. Due to an encounter with godly power, I have a skeletal hand that's lethal to touch but enhances my combat skills. This hand can absorb death energy to heal people from the brink, but using this power causes the skeletal effect to spread and makes it deadlier. Anyway, a few months before all this, we were forced into a deadly trial by combat in a pirate city against a very powerful pirate. I hit him harder than intended with my skeleton hand, and ended up killing him. We got out of town, but I learned later there was a bounty for my head. Bounty hunters harassed our loved ones, making it evident they wanted me dead.

As the skeletal condition worsened from healing others, we devised a plan to fake my death, claim the bounty, and elude the pirates. Well, we were betrayed on the way there and I was thrown into a combat ring, where the winner would join the council of ruling city judges. Wendy entered the competition so she could protect me. I also found out one of my old friends, ""Thomas"" (20sM, not his real name) was entering the ring. One of the judges was his old mentor who didn't respect him at all and he really wanted to earn the guy's respect. Thomas told me he was sorry it came down to this, but he wanted the role of judge more than he liked me. Not a great thing to hear, but we've got this!

My friend and I defeated a ton of enemies, and I was very careful to try not to kill Thomas, even promising him I wouldn't. Finally, Wendy was knocked out, most of the challengers were dead, and it came down to me and Thomas. I knocked him out nonlethally, meaning I was the last person standing. But the judge running the competition told me if I wanted the judge role, I needed to kill Thomas. I refused— I'm not killing a defenseless friend even if he tried to kill me first. The judge told me I would have to choose and kill one of my friends, or he would come in the ring and kill them both, and then me.

So, this is where I might be TA: I still refused, used my skeleton hand to heal up Wendy, and told the judge if he entered the ring, I'd kill him myself. This may have been a bit of bravado because I was injured and completely out of combat power and Wendy had no spells left. The judge was true to his word and immediately killed Thomas, knocked Wendy unconscious, and was about to kill her too. Seeing no other way out and wanting to save her, I used my skeleton hand and let all of my life force seep into her, costing me my life but healing her up and allowing her to escape.

I've been dead about a year, and Wendy ended up venturing into the afterlife to rescue my soul. I told her I wasn't super eager to come back: I chose an end I was happy with, and my soul was at rest. Well, she blew up at me. She told me I almost got her killed by provoking the judge into an impossible fight when all I had to do was kill an unconscious person who was trying to kill me (and who ended up dying anyway!), and that it was selfish of me to die for her without even asking her if that was what she wanted. She said I took a pointless, risky principled stand that did nothing but get me killed and force her to spend a year grieving me and coming apart at the seams. She also told me said pirate judge has been gearing up to attack our hometown, so she still isn't even safe. I told her I'm sorry I hurt her but I'm not sorry I did it, and she got even more upset and said I don't always know what's best for other people. I don't think that's fair. I died to save her, and I didn't do anything wrong by refusing to kill my old friend. But she's really hurt and upset now, so maybe she has a point. AITA?

[utilitycaster]

I know there have been many Takes about Laudna and Orym after latest episode. Yours saying that this is not a bad development for Orym is interesting to me because my knee-jerk reaction while watching was being horrified he went so cold about Bor’Dor’s death. But after some time, I guess him finally choosing to be pragmatic after days torn by his own idealism would be a much healthier route for him in the long run.

I want to know what you think about Ashton, though. Some people are saying, they “let” Laudna kill Bor’Dor because they thought it’s what she needed. That sits wrong with me because Laudna made that decision and she’s not a child, but Ashton is my favorite character and I can’t help think I am biased lol.

Please excuse my badly structured sentences, I’m not native speaker.

Hi anon! Your English is great!

I think this is a revealing question in that, in fandom, I think a lot of people lead with "well, obviously, my favorite character is clearly morally in the right, or, failing that, the character I don't like is morally in the wrong" rather than considering the situation, the context, the genre norms, what makes for the most interesting story, etc. So recognizing that Ashton's your favorite and that might be coloring your opinion puts you ahead of a lot of people.

Anyway: I think it can be true both that Laudna made her own decision and that Ashton could, had they wanted, chosen to make an effort to stop her and they didn't. I don't think that means Ashton is responsible for what Laudna did per se, but I also don't personally think he had a moral imperative to save Bor'Dor. I think someone who thinks he did have that moral imperative might disagree, but they should also be blaming Laudna just as much in that case.

Someone else remarked to me that based on the discourse you'd think Orym - the only person who did not attack or restrain Bor'Dor - executed him in cold blood. Just to recap the fight: we only really had one round during which Orym gave Prism a potion to heal her up and did bait and switch to protect her; Ashton hit, with non-lethal intent; Deni$e restrained Bor'Dor; Laudna cast Hunger of the Shadow, knocking Bor'Dor unconscious; and Prism punched him. The following round was technically not run as combat in initiative order, and had it been, Bor'Dor could theoretically have died of a failed death save before Laudna's turn, but Orym and Deni$e made no attacks and Ashton chose to lead away Prism. Probably any of the three martial class characters could, had they wanted to, stopped Laudna. None of them did.

Which I think goes back to the second paragraph: In the end? I think most people are making their judgments of whether or not they think Bor'Dor should die, and even further back to whether or not the Ruby Vanguard is a cultish, terrorist organization, deciding on whether his death was justified or not, and then, if they think it was not, pinning blame on the character they like least. You can argue for any, though frankly, I think Orym is the weakest argument: Laudna is the one who literally killed him, both knocking him unconscious and taking the final death save. Prism took the most death saves with her punch. Ashton dealt a significant amount of damage and did not intervene when Laudna had an unconscious Bor'Dor at her mercy. Deni$e is the one who initially brought up her suspicions, forcing Bor'Dor's hand, and similarly made no physical effort to stop anyone. Orym indicated his approval to Laudna and did not try to stop her.

I think that had Bor'Dor not attacked the party, and had instead simply run away, tracking him down and killing him would have been excessive, but on the other hand, he had a lot of information that could have been extremely dangerous to Bells Hells, so at the very least I think they needed to take him prisoner; but he's not wanted by any specific legal system, so I think he'd just be their hostage, dragged along, indefinitely, as they attacked his friends over and over again. There isn't a nice, neat solution where everyone is happy. Deradicalization is an admirable goal, but it requires a massive amount of effort and resources that I don't think Bells Hells have, and no one should be expected to deradicalize someone who is actively committing violence against them. Once Bor'Dor attacked, to me, this became self-defense and an admission that he was lost: that he'd spent several days with them during which they were kind to him, but because of their ideologies, he attempted to kill them anyway. At that point, I don't fault any of the characters present for killing him/letting him be killed in response.

I guess the last point I'll make is that while, in terms of empathy, there is obviously a huge difference between killing someone regretfully, and killing someone and relishing it, they are, in the end, dead either way. I don't interpret Orym's behavior as cold, but rather merely calm acceptance that he can no longer avoid the inevitable war - and I do think that acting as though Orym's subjectivity in this situation is problematic while ignoring that Prism and Laudna were in no way objective either is an incredibly poorly considered argument, and deeply unfair- but in the end, whether Orym is stoic or whether he breaks down crying, Bor'Dor is still dead. I am not going to fault a character for having an outward emotional reaction that doesn't match what I think it should be when I think their motivations were reasonable.

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Promised words and deeds

John Allerdyce x tva agent!reader

warning : emotional, hurt/comfort, revival, kissing, cuddling, fear

Summary : He had relied on the organization of time and now he was lying dead on a road, his neck broken in a universe that wasn't even likely his. But a soul in the Time Organization had promised him something, and she wouldn't let her own boss do nothing. Was there any hope for the flame tamer? Was there the peace he had always wanted in the end?

info : Soo something very angsty sad it just had to be he had experienced too much sadness not to use it. So have fun reading and have a nice day :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The TVA was an organization that only a handful of people knew about, an organization that was necessary to monitor the flow of the timelines, to correct them or to let them die.

An organization guided by duty and loyalty, each group, each team had a task to do precisely, all except for one team that was to take care of a very special universe under the supervision of Paradox.

A man who liked to hear himself talk, but most of all her boss who had made a promise to her beloved, a deal that involved John Allerdyce working as a spy to keep Cassandra in that damned void…to the point where everything broke down and the tva agent had to watch all that precision and rules end in chaos.

,,What about John!" she had shouted at her superior as he was still nursing his broken nose and looking stressed at the flickering and flashing screens, he didn't seem to hear her plea to do something to finally pull him out of the void after Wolverine had knocked him unconscious.

They had left John there for too long, it had been years since they had said goodbye, since she herself had sought him out, a lost mutant who would otherwise have strayed from his path, it was he who showed her for the first time how beautiful something without rules could be and all this freedom, this love and possibilities.

It was all a devilish creatures blown paradox who had her in his hands and wanted to do something good for John for the first time, which is why he had gone instead of her to be your pawn.

But this sacrifice now seemed to end with a blow as she saw her beloved lying unconscious on the floor, ,,Paradox! Get him out!" she called out again, rising from her seat at the desk and rushing to the larger main console, seeing the older man only now turn his gaze to her and make a puzzled expression, his hands suddenly gripping her shoulders before he shook her.

,,Are you completely stupid! If we intervene now, she'll understand what we've done!" he shouted back as they heard a flicker and bede looked at the screen in shock and worry as Cassandra had actually found some semblance of kindness when it came to her life and actually let Wolverine and Deadpool go.

It was all just a matter of time but the fear that tightened around her heart turned to panic as she realized that John was now alone ,,She's going to kill him" went through her mind and she tore herself away from the man before punching him in the nose again ignoring the yelp and grabbing the timepad that was taken from her for "reasons" so she wouldn't do anything.

She still heard the ban, heard the guards who wanted to capture her, who wanted to prevent her from doing what John had told her for the first time and disappeared into the bright golden portal.

Moments, fractions of seconds could be like years when it came to someone you loved, someone you would defend with your life. John back after the battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants was an outcast among outcasts, a wanderer who wanted to give up on his path as a villain.

She knew and he knew that he was tired of killing that he wanted to go back to the people who could truly be like a family but it wasn't meant to be and so they met, those bright eyes looking at her with interest he demonstrated his power to her and she was assigned to take care of him.

It was almost cute how he seemed puzzled by the technology as if there were hundreds of years between them, his compliments and flirting attempts as much as she tried to ignore it set her heart on fire and the hand-holding hid soon after work became kissing and more.

He was a love, a real love for them both and it could have been something if it wasn't too late this damn deal and this universe, the timeline had turned against them both.

When she had stepped through the portal nothing had happened she was in her office in the place where she had last seen him, still seeing the blood on the floor where the fight had taken place she still seemed to see him in front of her that grin she knew he had every right to freak out she blamed herself as well as Paradox that all this had happened.

The hit wouldn't kill him but Cassandra that crazy psychopath would, it was just a question she didn't want to get answered at the moment.

But he would only have to wait a moment, a moment that had passed and her gaze still saw the portal of magic, there he was there she would have to endure a moment of uncertainty and death and she would try to free herself from Cassandra's clutches all in a moment as she stepped through her own portal. She wanted to feel his warmth again, to know he was with her and to rekindle his hope, his flame of hope together in a shared future.

But the second time through the portal, arriving at the subway entrance, the underpass with the steel bars, the smoke and the bald woman who walked past her in the blink of an eye, neither noticing nor killing her, left nothing but death.

A man lying motionless on the floor she had heard the crack within a heartbeat knew what had happened as tears filled her eyes she rushed to her John and knelt beside him on the floor, ,,John…it's me-I'll-I'll bring you back" she sobbed tears blurring her vision as she shakily reached for her small device she knew she didn't have forever as she carefully lifted him with it.

It was only a moment but he was clinging to life, she was clinging to his heart and he was clinging to hers. she would not lose him even if she had a dead man in front of her. The promise of the future and life would both be hers while her apologies and tears fell on mute ears.

His body that slowly extinguished the warmth of life, the fire as she looked into his fearful expression, wishing she could warm him, wishing he could hear her as she took him back with her to the tva, directly to the center for emergency medical care.

The moment of his last life his breath was decided when she took him to her known of the ward knew it was against the rules but with her attention, the greater threat and a threat he was taken care of immediately, a matter of simplicity but it would take some time a horror as he slowly came back to consciousness while she could only be beside him.

She held his hand in state as his condition slowly improved, staying with him for hours until the doctor told her she could now take him with her, breaking the rules by stealing someone from the organization to testify against Paradox afterwards and then disappearing from her time with John, but it was all worth it when he woke up.

When she rushed out of the hospital with John her evidence had long since gone to the right places but none of this mattered when they found themselves in the apartment the agents had been given as a hideout in alternate universes it would serve as home and a new beginning she continued to hold his hand as he lay in the dark bedding his breathing calm the only sign he was alive.

She knew that at some point he would wake up, that he would be able to feel his fire again and that he would not only experience justice but also peace, ,,I'm sorry-I'm sorry I didn't act sooner," the guilt she gave herself finally burst out of her as she grabbed his hand again and kissed it, feeling the light warmth of life clinging to him.

Tears threatened to well up in her eyes again, the cracking of his neck and everything he had to suffer, all of which would not have been done sooner.

Laying her head on his stomach she tried to cuddle up to him lightly tiredness was slowly pulling at her she had barely slept the coffee was keeping her body awake but not her mind ,,I'll stay with you John" she mumbled before giving her eyes a little rest listening to his calm heartbeat before drifting off into a light sleep.

A sleep filled with memories of the past with John, of beautiful loving moments that meant everything to her and that she had looked at again and again.

His warmth seemed so close and his voice called her, he reached out his hand to her and held her close, finally lying in his arms again, it was the only thing they both wanted.

Until she saw the shadow in her dream, the dark shadow spreading over her, the fingers reaching out to destroy her, she saw those crazy eyes, the mutant who could kill her if she wanted to, the destroyer who had already killed him.

Fear flooded her body and her fingers automatically clung to John unconsciously that when she felt a hand on her head her eyes opened and she looked into a soft painful smile, ,,Hello Flame" she heard his voice slightly scratchy from the use but his warmth was back his hand caressing her head, he held her and didn't let go as she fell into his embrace.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as murmured words of apology and love left her and she felt his hand run down her back, ,,John I'm-I'm sorry I should have-" she began to stammer between tears and relief as he placed his hand on her cheek, wiped away some of the tears and pulled her into a long, deep kiss.

She saw his own devastation, the slight tears in his eyes as he realized it was past time he realized he was safe and didn't have to be afraid, ,,You saved me…it's over, isn't it?" he dared to ask, sniffling and blinking to get the tears away as she nodded hastily, hearing the relieved exhale as he dropped into the pillows and pulled her back to him.

Practically sitting on his lap, he had his arms wrapped around her again and she heard his heartbeat quicken and life was truly back with him, a quiet moment between them as she listened to John's almost relieved breathing while she was simply relieved to have him back.

The fear she had of not having his death recalled vanished, ,,We can finally have our own future," she said, feeling his hand on her cheek again as he placed a kiss on her head and reached out his other hand to feel for a source of heat until a heart flamed in his hand.

A heart like the one he had made when they parted, a heart of flames that would burn away the past to make room for a new beginning together in love in their own self-created timeline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@thefandomqueen2882 , @oceansrose2002 , @girlypieee , @paintmekala , @gingersnaps-obsessed12 , @arisja3701

[anonymousewrites]

A Good Day for Death (Book 1) Chapter Two

Wednesday Addams x Reaper! Reader

Chapter Two: A Good Day for Plans

            (Y/N) looked up from where they were tucked into an alcove reading Book of Night by Holly Black. A (more than usual) frustrated Wednesday walked by, a fresh cut on her forehead. They stood up and walked over, shielding themself from the rain.

            “Hey, Wednesday. Are you doing okay?” asked (Y/N).

            “I have tasted the bitter tang of defeat for the first time,” said Wednesday gravely. “Bianca Barclay beat me in a fencing match.”

            “Ah, I’m sorry. I’m rooting for you to take her down a peg or two,” said (Y/N), sighing.

            “I shall have my revenge,” assured Wednesday, straightening her posture even more (if that was even possible).

            (Y/N) ducked under her umbrella more to avoid the rain. “Can’t wait to see it! I’ve known you for like a day, but I can safely say that if anyone can manage some revenge, it would be you.”

            “Thank you,” said Wednesday as if that was a compliment she liked to receive. Honestly, for her, it was. At least if she was going to be bothered by company (energetic company), then it was someone who had some sense of who she was.

            (Y/N) grinned and was about to respond when there was a creak above them. Wednesday and (Y/N) looked up and saw a stone gargoyle falling from the roof above directly on top of them. (Y/N) tackled Wednesday out of the way as the gargoyle crashed to the ground. Wednesday’s head knocked against the room, and she went unconscious.

            “Shit,” groaned (Y/N).

            “What happened?” called a new voice.

            (Y/N) looked up and saw Xavier running towards them. “The gargoyle almost crushed us. I pushed Wednesday out of the way, but she hit her head. We need to get her to the infirmary.” Poor Wednesday. Just left and going right back in. She’s not going to be happy. “Help me carry her.”

            “Of course,” said Xavier, helping pick up Wednesday.

l

            “I’ve never seen someone sleep like that,” remarked (Y/N).

            Wednesday had been deposited on an infirmary bed, and once the nurse decided they just needed to wait for her to wake up, she had, somehow, in her sleep, arranged herself in the pose of a corpse.

            “It’s very Wednesday,” said Xavier.

            “Definitely,” agreed (Y/N). As if called by mentions of her, Wednesday’s eyes snapped open. (Y/N) leaned over and said, “Welcome back to the land of the living. I’m sure you don’t want to be here.”

            Wednesday sat up. “The last thing I remember I was walking outside feeling a mixture of rage, pity, and self-disgust. And a certain degree of amusement as someone was trying to…cheer me up?” Wednesday raised an eyebrow, and (Y/N) shrugged.

            “What else was I supposed to do? Let you walk around even more gloomy than usual?” commented (Y/N).

            “I do prefer lurking, like my uncle, instead of sulking,” admitted Wednesday evenly. “Then I looked up and saw that gargoyle coming down, and I thought, ‘At least I’ll have an imaginative death.’ Then you—” Wednesday looked at (Y/N) “—tackled me out of the way.”

            (Y/N) nodded. “And then Xavier came along and helped me bring you back here.”

            “Why help?” asked Wednesday.

            “I’m guessing you don’t want the whole ‘I believe in helping people when they’re about to die’ speech, so I’ll skip to the self-preservation explanation. That gargoyle was gonna crush me, too,” said (Y/N) cheerfully.

            “You know,” interjected Xavier, scooting closer on his chair. “Most people just say thank you.”

            “I didn’t want to be rescued,” responded Wednesday.

            “We—(Y/N) should have just let that thing smash you to mush?” scoffed Xavier.

            “I would have saved myself.” Wednesday considered. “And (Y/N), I suppose, if they didn’t move out of the way.”

            “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me,” said (Y/N).

            “You certainly haven’t changed, Wednesday,” said Xavier, trying not to roll his eyes. “If it makes you feel any better, let’s just say I returned the favor.” Wednesday’s stare became more intense, and she looked to the side as she tried to identify if she actually did know Xavier. The boy looked at her incredulously. “Xavier Thorpe? You probably don’t remember me. Last time we met, I was about two feet shorter, forty pounds heavier.”

            “What happened?” asked Wednesday.

            “Puberty, I guess,” said Xavier.

            (Y/N) resisted the urge to groan. “She meant when you guys met.”

            “Oh. Uh.” Xavier shifted in embarrassment. “Yeah, it…it was my godmother’s funeral. She was friends with your grandmother, and they spent their twenties in Europe, swindling the rich and notorious. I don’t know. But we were ten, and we were bored, decided to play hide-and-seek. I had the inspired idea to hide in her casket.”

            “Xavier, that has got to be one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard of,” said (Y/N).

            “Obviously, since I got stuck as it was headed to the crematorium,” said Xavier.

            Wednesday’s eyes lit up in recognition. “I’d heard muffled screams. I just figured your godmother had cheated death and was trying to claw her way out.”

            “My father is not infallible,” admitted (Y/N).

            “Either way, Wednesday hit the big red stop button and saved me from being flame-broiled,” said Xavier. “So—Now we’re even.”

            I don’t think carrying someone to the infirmary is equal with saving them from death, but if he wants to show off, I’m not going to stop it. (Y/N) glanced at Wednesday, who had only been entertained by the memory of thinking someone cheated death. Poor Xavier. Doesn’t seem to be working, either.

            “What time is it?” asked Wednesday, looking at (Y/N) and completely moving on from the discussion with Xavier.

            “Nearly three, why?” responded (Y/N).

            “I am being forced to see a therapist. Court mandated sessions,” explained Wednesday.

            “Ah.” (Y/N) nodded empathetically. “Good luck.”

            “It is the therapist who will need luck.” Wednesday made eye contact with (Y/N). “I sent the last one running.”

l

            (Y/N) hummed along as Wednesday played her cello from outside the window. Clearly, she was trying to work through the frustration of not being able to escape Nevermore yet. It was a nice way to work through her feelings though, the music was very precise and Wednesday’s skills was clear.

            Not to mention, it created the right atmosphere for (Y/N) to write some poetry. Sure, it was a little more dramatic and darker than their usual work, but hey, it wasn’t like Wednesday was going to inspire “happy-happy” topics.

            The air howls in pain around me,

            And I am left to bow to the world against my will.

            They finished the last two lines and contemplated. It wasn’t exactly Poe, but it was alright. Shrugging, they stood up and jumped down to the dorm room. Pulling their sweater tighter around themself, (Y/N) pushed open the window and walked out to where Wednesday was playing.

            “Hey, Wednesday. You sounded good,” they said.

            Wednesday didn’t turn around but responded, “I entertained the idea of enslaving the minds of men with music like the sirens of old for many years.”

            (Y/N) nodded as if that was a normal career to consider and then held out the poem they had written. “Here. It’s not my best work, but your music inspired it.”

            Wednesday glanced from their face to their extended hand before taking the poem. She tucked it into her jacket’s pocket. “I hope it is morbid and depressing as I expect my music to inspire such feelings.”

            “It’s definitely melancholier than some of my other work,” said (Y/N).

            “That’s acceptable,” said Wednesday.

            Behind them, Enid opened the window and walked out. “Listen, that sounded good, but how did you get that oversized violin out the window?” she asked.

            “I had a hand.” Wednesday looked at her music stand where disembodied hand waved at them all. Enid gaped while (Y/N) waved back.

            “Where’s the rest of him?” asked Enid.

            “It’s one of the great Addams family mysteries,” said Wednesday, setting her bow down.

            Throughout the school, the sound of howling began to echo through the air. (Y/N) moved to their friend’s side as Enid cast her eyes to the ground. They often told her it would only feel worse to listen to the other furs wolf out, but Enid could not help herself and listened to them each night.

            “Why aren’t you wolfing out?” asked Wednesday.

            “Because I can’t,” murmured Enid. She lifted her hand and showed off her claws. “It’s all I got.” She sighed and walked to the edge of the balcony. “My mom says some wolves are late bloomers, but I’ve been to the best lycanologist. I had to fly to Milwaukee, can you believe it? Yeah. She says there’s a chance I may never…you know. And then I become a lone wolf.”

            “Sounds perfect,” said Wednesday, walking up next to them.

            “Are you kidding me? My life would officially be over,” said Enid. “I’d be kicked out of my family pack with no prospect of finding a mate.”

            (Y/N) leaned closer to Enid. “You’d always have a home with me.” Enid smiled at them. They were tempted to reach out and hug Enid, but their fear of using their abilities and draining Enid’s energy at all was too strong

            “I fail to see the problem here,” said Wednesday.

            “She could die alone,” said (Y/N), sighing.

            “We all die alone,” said Wednesday.

            “Living alone isn’t fun, though,” said (Y/N), making eye contact with Wednesday. “I have to keep contact with people to a minimum due to my abilities. I can’t risk accidentally hurting people. I’m bad luck to them.” They looked up at the sky. “And it’s not fun. Lonely outcasts among outcasts, that’s what we are,” they murmured.

            Wednesday looked at them appraisingly. For her, not having to touch people was wonderful. She didn’t understand why someone would complain about that. But Wednesday did understand the idea of being an outcast among outcasts. Her mother wanted her to find her place at Nevermore, and yet she had found no place to belong yet. To her, it didn’t matter, obviously, but she understood the idea of still feeling out of place.

            Enid smiled at (Y/N). “At least you’re good at cheering people up. You’re a good friend.” She glanced at Wednesday, not really angry. “Unlike some people.” As the werewolf howls began again, she hurriedly wiped her tears away.

            “Why are you crying?” asked Wednesday.

             “Because I’m upset,” muttered Enid.

            Trying to divert attention from Enid so she could work through her emotions without Wednesday being a tad insensitive, (Y/N) said, “Haven’t you ever cried?”

            Wednesday glanced to the side before looking back at them. “It was the week after Halloween. I was six years old. I took my pet scorpion, Nero, out for his afternoon stroll, and we were ambushed. They wondered what kind of freak would have a scorpion for a pet. Two of them held me down and made me watch while the others ran Nero over. It was snowing when I buried what was left of him. I cried my little black heart out. But tears don’t fix anything. So I vowed to never do it again.”

            “I’m sorry that happened to you,” said (Y/N). “Your secret’s safe with us.” They smiled empathetically. “And if it helps, we still thing you’re no nonsense and scary.”

            “Good,” said Wednesday. She was silent for a moment before saying, “How would you two like your room back? You just need to show me how to use your computer or phone.”

            “Still trying to make your escape?” (Y/N) pulled out their phone. “I guessed you wouldn’t give up that easily. I think you’re pretty cool, but who am I to keep you here against your will?”

            “I would break out of your hold easily,” said Wednesday imperiously.

            “I can’t wait to see you go,” sighed Enid. “Hurry up and show her how to use a phone, (Y/N).”

            “Who do you need to contact?” asked (Y/N).

            “I will give your number to Tyler Galpin with Thing’s help. He has a car and agreed to drive me to the train station,” said Wednesday.

            “The sheriff’s kid?” (Y/N) made a face. They remembered what the towns kids had done in the past to the students of Nevermore, but if Wednesday of all people had decided she could trust (more likely use) Tyler, they’d let it go. “Alright.” They wrote down their number and handed it to Thing, who skittered away.

            Enid stretched and yawned. “I’m heading to bed. Good luck with calling the normie.”

            “Night, Enid,” said (Y/N). They sat down on the edge of the balcony and looked out over the academy. “So, how long do you think it’ll take Thing to get to Tyler?”

            “Thing is stealing a ride on a delivery truck,” said Wednesday. “So not too long.”

            (Y/N) hummed. “And can you trust Tyler?”

            “I don’t need to trust him,” said Wednesday. “I just need his car.”

            “Fair enough,” said (Y/N). They pulled out their phone and offered it to Wednesday. “Do you want me to leave this with you?”

            Wednesday took it. “You may stay. I trust you know what will happen to you if you try to reveal my plans to Weems.”

            (Y/N) smiled. “Sure do.”

            “Good,” said Wednesday.

            From the phone, Hell by the Squirrel Nut Zippers began playing. (Y/N) grinned sheepishly. “My ringtone. Just press the green button to answer.” Wednesday pressed it hesitantly and watched as Tyler’s face appeared on the screen.

            “Uh…hi,” said Tyler. He glanced offscreen at Thing.

            “That’s Thing,” said Wednesday.

            “Is he, like, your pet?” asked Tyler.

            “He’s sensitive,” said Wednesday.

            “Look, I know Nevermore is ground zero for all things weird, but this is next level,” said Tyler. “So, what happened to not wanting to be a slave to technology?”

            “Desperate times.” Wednesday tilted a phone, and (Y/N) waved from the background. “I’m borrowing from someone. Are you still willing to help me escape?”

            “After what happened today, I figured they’d have you in solitary,” said Tyler.

            “There’s the Harvest Festival this weekend. Attendance is mandatory,” said Wednesday. “I’m going to use it as cover. If you’re willing to drive me to the station, I can make it worth your while.”

            Tyler was quiet for a moment. “I’m in. And no charge. Consider it a freebie.”

            Wednesday face was perfectly impassive except for the smallest narrowing of her eyes. “Why?”

            “’Cause I wish I was going with you,” said Tyler. “At least one of us will get out of this hellhole town.”

            “Fine. I’ll see you at the festival, then,” said Wednesday. She looked at (Y/N). “How do I turn this off?”

            “Red button,” said (Y/N). Wednesday hung up. “Well, you’ve got your escape plan. Good luck.”

            “An Addams never needs luck,” said Wednesday.

            “All the same.”

Taglist:

@strawberriesareprettycool

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@champagnewitnocham

@simpcreator

@ksunoosworld

@dot-and-co

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[lowkeyerror]

could you possibly write something similar to your ‘drowning’ but with wanda? she’s my cc and i just kinda need some comfort right now. don’t worry if not :)

Strong

Word Count: 1.1k

Notes: Comfort & Fluff, Feelings of inadequacy

An: I know it's a bit late. Hope this helps you 🖤

Drowning ( Kate Bishop) | Masterlist

You were supposed to be strong. It was one of your defining character traits. You took pride in your strength, which is why you didn't like to let people see you at your weakest.

Currently, you were there.

You had failed a solo mission. They thought it was going to be a simple extraction, but turns out the enemies were expecting it. So it was you against all of them.

You fought until you couldn't fight anymore. You fought like if you didn't you'd die. By the time backup came, you were unconscious.

People were dead. Old, young, women, children; all dead because of you. At least that's how you felt. You had to leave the tower, your friends would try to comfort you, and you felt as though you didn't deserve it.

Thor could've done it, Wanda could've, Tony, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, hell probably even Clint, but you failed. You had innocent blood on your hands and that broke you internally. In your mind, there was no one to blame, but yourself.

You had been glued to the couch in your rarely used apartment. The last time you moved, being a mystery to yourself. The days bled into each other. The first few days, your phone rang relentlessly, but you never answered. It would probably still be ringing now if you didn't let it die.

There was a loud knocking on your door that brought you out of your head. You planned to ignore it.

" Don't you dare leave me standing out here all day, Y/n," Wanda's voice was muffled from the other side of the door, but still very recognizable.

You were reluctant to get off of the couch, but you couldn't leave her outside. All of your bones cracked as you got up from the couch. Your feet dragged on your way to the door.

You turned the lock and made your way back to the couch. Wanda let herself in, following after you. The apartment was cleaner than she expected. It looked as though nothing had been touched.

" I came to check on you."

" I'm fine," your response was short.

Wanda's eyes stayed on your figure," I brought you some food."

" Not hungry."

Wanda tried again," It's homemade. It's one of my favorites from Sokovia."

You relented a bit," You made it for me?"

The red head nodded," I did."

That's all it took for you to make your way to your dining table. Wanda sat the plate in front of you. After the first bite, you began devouring the food. You were uncertain when the last time you ate was, but you did know the food was delicious, and you were starving.

" You haven't been eating," Wanda spoke like it was a fact.

You were going to dispute it, but she had more to say," Or showering. Have you even moved from the couch?"

You stared down at the empty plate of food," It's great to see you too, Wanda."

" Stop deflecting and come on," she took your hand, dragging you away from the table.

She brought you into the master bedroom that you had yet to sleep in. You watched as she pulled out some pajamas from your drawers. She shoved them in your arms," Go shower."

" But-"

" No buts, Y/n. Except your butt in the shower."

Against every fiber of will in your body, you went into the master bathroom. The shower felt huge when you stepped inside. Almost as if it was going to swallow you whole. When the water touched your skin, you let out a heavy sigh. You needed this.

When you got out of the shower, you slipped on the pajamas and made your way back into the room. Wanda was in your bed, wearing your pajamas, watching something on the tv.

" So I take it you aren't leaving?"

She shook her head," Not a chance. Now, come get in the bed."

When your back hit the mattress, your body was grateful. The material was much more pleasant than the couch.

Once you were in the bed, Wanda moved closer to you and her hand rested on yours. You didn't intend for it to happen, but your head landed in her lap. Her other hand ran through your hair, soothing your worries.

" Talk to me, Y/n."

You let out a large breath," What do you want me to say? I failed everyone. People died because of me, Wanda."

" People died because of the bad guys. They died because the intel we had was wrong. Sending you on that mission by yourself was a mistake, but not because of your capabilities. It was too much pressure," she explained what you already knew deep down.

" You could've saved everyone," you muttered in her lap.

" I have powers, which aren't always reliable. I would've done the same thing you did; my best."

" I just-fuck," you felt the tears streaming down your cheeks. You tried to angrily wipe the tears, but Wanda stopped you.

She gently wiped them from your face, which made you cry even more. She repositioned your body so that she could hold you. Your head was buried in her chest and her arms were holding you in place.

" I'm supposed to be strong," it was a sob escaping your lips.

Wanda moved, so she could be face to face with you," Detka, you are strong. The strongest person I know."

" I failed those people, and all I want to do is sit here and cry about it. I've tried so hard not to cry, but it just hurts."

" It's ok to cry. It's ok to mourn them. You are allowed to feel, Y/n. Your emotions don't make you weak, they make you human."

You rest your forehead against hers, causing her breath to hitch," You always know what to say."

Your eyes were closed, but Wanda's searched every inch of your features," I think I just know you."

" Or you've been reading my thoughts."

Wanda smiles," Maybe I have."

" What am I thinking right now?"

That's when Wanda couldn't take it anymore. Her lips surged forward, capturing yours. Her lips were gentle as they melded with yours. They felt delicate against your slightly chapped lips. She didn't care, she just wanted to keep kissing you.

" You were thinking about kissing me," she spoke breathlessly after her lips detangled from yours.

" I guess you were thinking the same thing," your smile was plastered widely across your face.

" I have been for a while now," she blushed and turned to look away from you.

You snuggled into her further," Thank you for coming. I needed it, I needed you."

" I'll always be there when you need me Detka," she kissed the top of your head.

You let out a relaxed sigh and mumbled against the skin of her neck," Don't tell the other's that I'm a softie."

Wanda chuckled," I'll tell them you're my softie."

" I guess that doesn't sound too bad," your eyes began to drift close and you let out a large yawn.

Once your breathing was steady Wanda placed a soft kiss on your neck," My big softie."

[sirenspells]

I was informed you have a "Witch Sunny" au, can you tell me more about it?

Oooo yes yes I can!! The whole argument before the recital still happens, but Basil isn't present for it. After Sunny pushes Mari and he's panicking over her body trying to figure out what to do, he hears someone knock on the front door, checking in on them (it turns out to be Hero). In his panic, Sunny runs out into the backyard and into the woods behind his house.

After running for a while, he comes across an abandoned cottage where he sits and cries to himself about having just killed his sister. His powers as a witch manifest for the first time here, and while he's freaking out, a black cat suddenly appears and calms him down enough for his powers to die down.

The next morning the cat, who is now talking to Sunny, introduces himself as Omori, and reveals that Sunny has become a witch, with Omori being his familiar. For the next three, almost four, years after, Sunny remains in the cottage in the woods, learning magic from Omori and hiding himself. He doesn't want to return to Faraway because of the guilt over what he had done, believing that he doesn't deserve his friends.

Sunny's friends and family are unable to find him after Mari is taken to the hospital, and he's officially deemed missing. And as it turns out...Mari isn't actually dead! She had survived the fall, and was unconscious in the hospital for a bit, but she wakes up and later makes a full recovery from her fall. But when she's visited by her friends and family, she notices that Sunny isn't there, and when asked, they reveal that he's gone missing, and she is obviously devastated by this news.

When she's by herself later, she breaks down crying about Sunny being gone, believing it to be her fault. Then she starts manifesting magic powers and then a black and white cat shows up to help her, calling herself Hikki. As it turns out, Mari ALSO became a witch and has a familiar. She isn't able to really practice her magic until she's out of the hospital (and after she goes through a depressive episode where she tries to ignore that she's a witch and TL;DR that's a bad idea don't do that).

Sunny eventually learns that Mari's alive. Omori goes out to Faraway occasionally to check up on Sunny's friends and so he sees her and tells Sunny that she's alive. Sunny's still too guilt-ridden to return, though, and it had been three years by that point so he also feels it's too late.

The "main" story of the AU takes place almost four years after Sunny runs away, when Kel, Aubrey, and Basil get lost in the woods while exploring and they come across Sunny, except he wears a dark cloak that hides his face, and goes by the name "Stranger." He provides them shelter for the night from a coming storm, and afterward the group keep intentionally seeking him out so that they can learn more about him and figure out who he is, though they do end up actually becoming friends with him. And "Stranger" meanwhile has to pretend that he doesn't know these people and keep pretending he's someone else...

OK I NEED TO STOP BEFORE THIS BECOMES THREE HOURS LONG but if you're curious about more parts of the AU do let me know, there's a lot I didn't mention here cause this would get so long. I recently made some refs for the characters if you're interested!

[moreespressoformydepresso]

TreeMina AU in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Long before the Fire Nation went all conquest crazy, the water tribes came into massive conflict with each other. While the North agreed to let the South keep their own government, the current chief of the water tribes started imposing more and more on the South. Eventually, this led to an all-out war.

The North has one massive power on their side: the avatar, Lamina. She only recently returned from her travels around the world in search of masters to teach her how to wield the elements and came home to assist her tribe in the war. Of course, the leader of the North have not been honest with their people, as they know most would not support it. Everyone has been told the South tried to be completely independent through force, without even bothering to talk about it or negotiate. Since the Southern style of waterbending is more aggressive than the defensive Northern style, the Southerners are clearly more combative. If they’re given their independence, who knows what they’ll do! One day they’ll take over the North and attack other nations, so they have to be stopped! And since the South attacked first, the North has justification for a hostile takeover as they siege the South non-stop. Of course, the truth is that the North attacked first, but only a small amount of people knows about that.

Meanwhile, in the South, there’s a young waterbender named Treech. He’s not much of a fighter, though he’s proficient in the Southern style of bending. His skill mostly lies in healing. His attacks are his defense, keeping the enemy away for long enough so he can heal whoever needs it and get them to safety. If it’s just him, he’d rather run away or hide than fight, but when the lives of others are in the balance he won’t rest until he’s saved them. It is that quality that ends up getting him noticed by the biggest threat to his people.

During a new siege, Treech runs and hides as troops pass through the settlement, laying waste to his beautiful home. Finally he comes across a sort of safehouse, where injured and non-benders try to stay out of the line of fire. Treech is the only bender there who is well-enough to heal, and does his best to help everyone. That is, until they’re found by a group of Northerners, including a certain someone. Treech realizes he’s the only one that can do anything, and if he doesn’t everyone there will die, so he tells them to stay put and runs upstairs. From the window, he attacks the Northerners from above and starts fighting them. While he manages to take out the three or so waterbenders, he stands no chance against the avatar on his own and he knows it. But he can’t let her touch the helpless innocents inside, so he fights. Despite holding out far longer than expected, she eventually manages to knock him out.

Lamina knew she was doing the right thing, but the boy was around her age and looked so desperate as he fought her that she couldn’t help but doubt. But the captain was certain soldiers were hiding here, and she wouldn’t let anyone endanger her people. She could spare the boy, though. The others were unconscious, so once she was done inside she’d hide him somewhere safe. No one had to know. Except once she busts down the doors of the house, she sees nothing like what she was expecting. Instead of terrifying soldiers and battle plans, Lamina sees a group of civilians, mostly children, almost all of them with minor injuries. One of the more gravely injured ones has a massive wound on her side, water diluting the bloody pool underneath her, and that’s when it hits her. That boy hadn’t attacked them out of anger or a lust for blood, he’d been protecting these people. He’s been using his bending to heal the wounded! Lamina looks around the room once, before stepping towards the wounded woman. Everyone looks terrified, then confused when she heals the wound. Perhaps the captain was misinformed? It says nothing about the South as a whole, surely, but every group has its innocents! So she leaves, but just as she leaves the house the boy outside wakes up. He panics, and as Lamina tries to calm him down a new squad of Northerners comes around the corner. She tries to stop them from attacking, but they don’t listen. Before Lamina can do anything, the boy has brought up a massive wall of ice to block their attacks and yells at the civilians to run, before stomping on the ground. The ice cracks around them, and before anyone can react Lamina, the soldiers, and the boy all fall as the ground collapses underneath them. Then there’s darkness.

When they wake up, it’s just Lamina and Treech in the rubble. At first, Treech slinks into a corner and is fully prepared to fight her, but she calms him down and then they talk. At first, Lamina refuses to believe the North are the agressors here, but Treech shares some of his experiences and tells her to stay in the South once the siege is over to see the world like he does. To look at this conflict from the eyes of a Southerner. So she does. No one bats an eye over Lamina not returning to the ships because she often makes her own way back, so once the Northerners have left she pulls her hood up to hide her identity and Treech leads her around the city. She’s never returned to a settlement soon enough after a siege to see the extent of the destruction the North caused, and she’s horrified at what she finds. Treech leads her deeper into the city and when she asks why, he tells her he wants to show her something she needs to see. The depths of what the North will do to keep control over them.

Back in the cave, they’d argued briefly about what caused the war, with Treech stating it was the North pushing for more and more power over them while Lamina says they attacked first and need to be kept under control. When they finally reach the center of the settlement, Lamina is horrified to see the rows upon rows of injured. Treech leads her around as he heals as many as he can, with Lamina joining him while she works through the shock. Finally, he pulls her to the side so they can talk privately.

“Does that look like keeping us ‘under control’ to you?! Because all I see is needless cruelty!”

“I-“

“And when did we attack you? Because I don’t remember such a thing happening!”

Treech offers to show her some other Southern settlements so she can see that this isn’t a one off, this is the status quo. Lamina is starting to realize maybe she doesn’t have the full story and agrees, starting their journey across the Southern water tribe. During this time, the two start as grudging companions only working together for their own reasons (Treech trying to make the strongest warrior of the North realize what she’s contributing to so his homeland isn’t destroyed. Lamina trying to figure out what’s happening because as the avatar she must do what’s best for the world, not just her own people, and she cannot let her bias lead her). Over the course of their journey, they evolve to friends and then start to fall in love with each other. By the end they’re simping for each other and Lamina realizes that the North is being lied to by their leaders. So she comes home and tries to convince them to stop and while most of the army listens to her after some convincing not everyone cares. A small group of soldiers goes to attack the south again and Lamina and Treech rush back to stop them and there’s a climactic final battle. When Treech is nearly killed Lamina loses it and enters the avatar state, at which point she becomes a living, unstoppable nuke of nature. The North is forced to surrender and the peace between the tribes is restored. The South regains the power to govern themselves for the most part and the two lovebirds get to happily live out their lives.