#i just need allison to be happy again and then go on a long long long journey of self discovery and ethics lesson

[countlessimagines]

Downfall [ Five Hargreeves x Reader ]

Summary: No matter the timeline, you and Five never get your chance.

A/N: well I think I can agree with everyone that season four was not good… so my way of coping is making angsty imagines for it… I’m trying to cope with the fact this is the last time we will ever see them ): This is also super short, apologies

Warnings: Season Four Spoilers

MASTERLIST LINK

-

Five had seen multiple timelines with Lila throughout their time spent together. And in almost every single one they saw, you were dead by the hands of him or vice versa. Eventually it became normal to see you mourning Five or him taking revenge for you.

Lila could see how distressing it was for him to see every timeline play out the same for the both of you.

Fate never seemed to be on your side, and even in your timeline, Five never had the courage to tell you his feelings. Despite spending six years by his side, being his roommate, helping him with cases, being there emotionally for him… he never seemed to catch on to the fact that you held feelings for him, too.

On one of their multiple train rides, Lila tried to address what the two of you meant to each other, but Five didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Because he feared the moment he’d open up, fate would play it’s cruel trick again and guarantee he would never see you again.

So he buried it deep within himself so it would not haunt him.

-

For you, it was mere hours you had last seen Five. You had helped Allison and Claire rescue Klaus from being buried alive, and had found your way to Lila and Diego’s home.

Everything seemed to be alright, and although you could sense something was wrong with Five, you didn’t have the energy to ask, simply from the long day you were all having.

However, you didn’t fail to notice the looks Lila and Five were sharing. It made not only you suspicious, but Diego as well. It was started to grow more and more tense as he pried information from them.

It almost felt as if your heart was being ripped out of your chest, being stomped on by the universe, as Five and Lila confessed of their infidelity.

You weren’t sure if you wanted to console Diego or slap Five.

You decided on the latter before storming out of the house. Diego tried to stop Five from chasing after you, but Five was quicker and blinked to your side.

“Let me explain.”

“Get away from me!” You screamed as you exited the house. Nobody followed the two of you, so you only assumed Lila was in the hot seat.

“(Y/n)! Stop acting like a child and listen.” Five grabbed your arm and whipped you around to face him. He was close now, his breath fanning your face.

“How could I listen to the fact you and Lila shared such an intimate relationship while I have been waiting years for you to do the same with me.” You made sure to throw your words in his face, making all of your emotions clear as day. Pretending to not hold feelings for him was beginning to weigh you down, so you needed to let go of those weights now.

“All we did was kiss,” Five said it like it was the most simple action in the world. “One kiss and we realized our mistake immediately. We got wrapped up in our own little bubble and forgot the important things. I just… I couldn’t handle seeing you die anymore…”

“What?” You pushed away from him. Had he seen a timeline with you dead?

“I… we don’t get a happy ending in any timelines. No matter what we do, we fail to be together.” Five sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I lost hope that even if we got back, it would lead to our demise.”

You didn’t know what to say to him as your heart began to beat uncontrollably.

He looked into your tear filled eyes and said, “I want to be with you, but I don’t want to kill you.”

“I don’t want to be with someone who, after forty years in the apocalypse, couldn’t even keep his heart on one person for seven years. It doesn’t matter if you realized your mistake, Five. I’ve been here the whole time waiting for you. I took care of you when you came home bloodied. I stayed up with you while you had panic attacks. I made sure that you had coffee brewed every morning.”

Five felt ashamed he had let everything you had done for him go to waste with his one mistake. “I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

“Maybe I’ll be the bigger person and actually forgive you, because I know deep inside I am that person. And I for sure know you aren’t because you kissed your brother’s wife, Five.” You scoffed and wiped away your tears. “Good luck with that.”

You began to walk towards your car without another word, and Five just watched as you left.

He was smart enough to know that if he chased you, it would lead to a grave.

And not too long after, he would sacrifice himself with his family, his last thoughts only consisted of you and how much he failed your relationship. Some selfish part of him hoped that he’d come back, to be able to see you again.

But the more rational side of him knew that he would never touch you again.

Because for once, you would be able to live in a peaceful timeline without him there to cause your downfall.

[messylustt]

hii since u said you’d do something for stilinski can i request a fic where the alpha twins were just introduced and stiles and reader (best friends) like each other (everyone in the pack knows but them) and reader thinks stiles doesn’t like her so they start hanging out with the twins more and stiles gets jealous and it’s like a angry love confession and maybe smut?

++ thank u so much for taking the time to read & write this!! your writing is actually making me happy as sappy as that sounds💗💗

you’re my friend, not theirs — stiles stilinski + reader ( teen wolf ) : stiles getting jealous over the blooming friendship between you and the twins.

contents : jealous!stiles. kissing. sorry no actual p in v. i need to watch teen wolf again — that shit was gooood, and thank you so much ur actually so sweettt

"I want one." Lydia said, eyes focused behind you and Allison.

You both turn in your chairs to see the two new twins talking by a bookshelf. "Which one?" Allison asked, turning back. You kept your gaze on the twins, mainly for the fact that they were said—by your strange friend group—to be alphas.

Why they chose to go to school you could only guess. Most likely not to actually enjoy classes, but to keep an eye on said strange friend group.

"The straight one." You answered for Lydia. "I'd hope." You turn back in your chair to see Lydia narrowing her eyes.

You smile, just as Stiles slumps in the free chair beside you. Scott taking one beside Lydia. You glance back around at the twins, tilting your head in a slight observation.

Then you feel a poke on your arm. You turn your head to face Stiles, who is eyeing you with furrowed brows. "What are you looking at?"

"Our new classmates." You say, gazing back.

"You know they're alphas, right?" Stiles asks, making you nod. "Like, deadly...scary alphas?" He re-asks narrowing his eyes, as you chuckle.

"I heard they can shift into...like...one big werewolf." You say, in slight awe.

Stiles scoffs. "It's not that impressive."

"It kind of is." You mutter. Then you hear your seat scraping against the floor as Stiles jolts you around to face away from the twins.

"Do you know the distinction between friends and enemies?" Stiles asks, making you scoff. "Scott, did you know that y/n's rather stupid?" He asks Scott, making you elbow his arm.

"Yeah. She thinks the twins are cool." He continues, as you try to shut him up with your hand.

"I'm not the only one." You say defensively, before gesturing to Lydia, who is still eyeing up the straight twin.

"Well that's...Lydia." Stiles grabs your wrist, removing your hand from his mouth.

"Wow, your reasoning is impeccable, Stiles."

Stiles tilts his head at your sarcasm, the edges of his lips curving up a fraction. You get your wrist out of his grip before looking at Lydia—Allison and Scott caught up in conversation. "It's called having taste, Stiles."

Stiles raises his brows. "Taste?" He nearly exclaims. "Did you get hit in the head?"

"Alright...I'm gonna head to science." You say, ignoring stiles, standing, as the others spare you 'goodbyes'.

Stiles calls to your leaving form. "You have zero taste, y/n. Nada!"

You chuckle as you walk out into the hall. Stiles has been your best friend for almost forever. You enjoyed his jokes and even his incessant sarcasm. But you hated the fact that whenever he smiled butterflies would swarm your stomach. Whenever he would look at you a certain way your cheeks would pinken.

You had to brush it all way, knowing he wouldn't feel the same. And ruining such a long friendship would be horrible. Your mind is caught as you nearly collide with someone.

"Shit— sorry." You say looking up, holding a tighter grip on your notes.

One of the alpha twins stares back at you, a small smirk edging his lips. You quickly take in his appearance and the way he holds himself. "And I'd take it your the...straight one?"

He chuckles before beginning to nod. "Aiden." He introduces.

You nod. "Nice to meet you."

He raises his brows awaiting your own introduction. You go to speak, opening your mouth, but pause, seeming to remember exactly who Aiden is. "Will I be in danger if you know my name?" You whisper ask.

Aiden leans down to whisper back. "You might be safe."

"I might?" You ask, raising your brows.

Aiden smirks. "A pretty face usually makes it far."

Your mouth partly opens in slight shock. "Ha. So, you are a flirt." You straighten up. "Lydia's gonna love you."

"Mm, and what about you?" He asks, brushing a strand of hair away from your shoulder.

You chuckle. "Again—Lydia's gonna love you." You then step around him, walking into your class.

Stiles had seen one of the alpha twins follow you out. And of course, with a narrowed gaze—he followed him. He stopped upon seeing the twin speaking to you. Stiles' grip on the doorway was tight as he watched. A scowl formed as he saw the twin brush your hair over your shoulder, you chuckling about something.

What the hell were you talking about?—Stiles wondered, wishing he had scott's hearing. His stomach had tightened the moment he saw you with him. Hating seeing you smile at the enemy. But it wasn't just for the sake that it was the twin you were talking to. Stiles would feel like it no matter what dude it was. He wanted you to smile at him like that. Not someone else.

When you passed the twin for your class Stiles saw the way he eyed your form before leaving for his own class. Stiles scoffed to himself, glaring holes into the back of the alpha's head. No way was that beast getting you.

A few days had passed and through the halls you had caught yourself talking to the twins. It started off brief, just passing nods and a few hello's. But then you started picking up conversations where you'd left off the next time you'd pass eachother.

Stiles saw as you would wave at them or smile, them cracking a joke or a compliment. On the occasion that he would walk with you, Stiles' expression couldn't be more gloomy. You'd bump his shoulder making a comment on the "glare" he'd mastered, but Stiles' couldn't laugh, only hearing Aiden's compliments on your outfit or hair.

At first he didn't want to acknowledge that he was jealous. Because then he'd have to remember his large crush on you. He had had to push it away, knowing you wouldn't feel the same. You were freinds, and Stiles hid behind that concept, forcing himself to reason his glares to him just being a good friend, not wanting you to date someone like Aiden.

But once the days drew out, you and the twins seeming to grow closer, Stiles finally accepted his jealousy. You were his friend not there's. So, when he saw you smile and blush at a compliment Aiden gave you, he couldn't help himself but grab your wrist and pull you somewhere secluded.

You swiftly turned to face Stiles as you stared at him in confusion. You both are in the boys locker room, it being empty—the laccrosse team not practicing today. "What the hell-"

"What the hell is that?" Stiles cuts you off angrily. You stare at him, brows furrowing.

"What?"

"That." Stiles gestured to the now closed door. "Them. The twins."

"Aiden and Ethan?" You ask.

Stiles scoffs at the first name basis. "Yeah, Aiden and Ethan."

"What about them?" You slowly ask, never really having seen Stiles so mad.

Stiles clenches his jaw, all the past days annoyance bubbling up. "What about them? Really, y/n?"

Your still displaying confusion, as Stiles steps closer. "Why the fuck are you talking to them?"

"You're mad at me becasue I've said hi?"

"Oh, you've said more than hi." Stiles scoffs. "You keep talking with them in the halls as if your the closest of friends."

"Look Stiles, I know you don't like them. And I know they aren't particually saints. But if you spoke to them you'd realise how not in control they are. Deucalion—"

"I don't care for their sobstory, y/n. And you shouldn't either. You barely know them." Stiles has progressively gotten closer, before he's backing away, running his hands through his hair in annoyance. "God." He mutters.

"Stiles." You say, making him meet your gaze. "What is this?" Your tone has stayed calm, not wanting to start an arguement with Stiles of all people. "Are you okay?"

"No, y/n. I'm not." He finally says, fully stepping closer. You slightly stumble back at how swift his movement was. "Why do you want to talk to them?"

"Stiles, they...they're nice. They make me feel good, strangely enough."

"They make you feel good?" Stiles asks, eyeing you.

"They make me laugh. They are quite funny." You mutter, seeing how close Stiles is getting.

"Oh." Stiles chuckles, though the humour is lost. "Aren't they just amazing. Making you laugh and smile. You even blush around Aiden."

Your cheeks begin to redden on embarrassment as you cough. "No, I don't."

"Yeah, you do. And it's really annoying." Stiles says. "You know what else is annoying?" You meet his gaze, pressing your lips together. "The fact that you're blushing for him right now."

You scoff. "I'm not."

You can feel Stiles' breath hit your face. "I really hope that's true."

"Stiles, why are you so angry about this?"

And he cracks. "Because I don't want you to like some rabid wolf, I want you to like me!"

Stiles freezes, processing what he just revealed. Fuck. You stare at him, mouth beginning to open.

"What..." You drift off, your heart beating rapidly in your chest.

"I-" Stiles begins, stepping back, shocked and incredibly nervous at his own words. "I didn't-"

"You...like me?" You slowly ask.

Stiles goes to shake his head for fear of your rejection, but then he thinks of Aiden, and switches to a small nod.

Now your shocked, confirmation that his first confession wasn't a slip up. Silence has engulfed the locker room and Stiles can't bear it. "Say something...please."

"I didn't know...you liked me like that." You mutter, your life long crush's words having taken a toll on you.

He couldn't let you date Aiden and now you knew why. But your moments of silence were crushing his heart. He began to step farther away, thinking he just ruined your friendship, when you quickly grabbed his cheeks, and kissed him.

Stiles eyes widened, before they became hooded, the feel of your soft lips making his stomach do somersaults. But then your pulling away far too soon, eyes wide, your own shock at what you just did easily visible.

But Stiles doesn't waste another moment, smashing his lips back to yours. You slightly stumbled back at the force as Stiles began to lick and eat at your lips. He groaned into your mouth when he was able to finally push himself against you, your back hitting a locker.

"Oh, god." Stiles muttered against your lips. "This means you like me back...right?" He asks as he began to kiss your cheek and jaw, leading all the way to your neck, as his hand slipt around your waist.

"No, Stiles." You sarcastically say, making him chuckle against your skin. You grab his face, bringing him back to your face. "Kissing you doesn't mean I like you." You kiss him, your tongues eagerly meeting.

"I'm glad you've picked up my sacrasm." He says, continusously kissing you. "Otherwise that would hurt."

You smile into the kiss, your head buzzing with this reality. You had begun to unbutton his jeans, making his breath hitch, but he quickly grabs your hand, making you meet his gaze in question. "I didn't like hearing that the twins make you feel good." Stiles says, putting your hands over his shoulders, as he lead one of his hands back down.

He unbuttoned your jeans, slipping his hand inside making you grip his shirt. "I want to make you feel good." Stiles kisses you, as he reaches your panties, pushing them aside as he finds your wetness. You jolt when his fingers find your clit. "Much better than them." He whispered as he began to rub your pussy, circling around.

"Christ." You whispered into his neck, before your head hit back against the locker.

Stiles trailed one finger to your hole, pushing inside, making you whimper. "At first I was hurt, because you were my friend not theirs." Stiles said as he pushed another finger inside you making your hips stutter. "But now that doesn't matter, because you can be their freind all you like." Stiles littered kisses along you collerbone and neck. "As long as I can kiss and touch you like this." He grinned against your skin as you moaned, his pace quickening.

"Oh, god— please." You breathe, finding your hand in his hair. You kiss him, letting your lips bruise as he laps at your tongue. Stiles then kisses your cheeks. "You look so cute when you blush."

Your cheeks had heated due to the actions given by Stiles. "I thought you got annoyed when I b-blushed."

Stiles chuckles, curling his fingers inside you. You pant, sweat forming across your forehead. "That's only because you were blushing for Aiden. But now your blushing for me." Stiles smiles. “All for me."

© messylustt.tumblr please don’t steal, copy or translate my work onto other platforms

[pretzel-box]

STREAMER AU MASTERLIST HERE

PART 5: PAINT YOUR DOUBTS

Tags: Fluff, Drama, Angst, Stolen Identity, did I mention drama already? Also Painter!

Words: 3k

Authors Note: It’s almost Thursday and I couldn't wait. If it's weirdly written or you see mistakes: This was edited on my phone and I am suffering. Please bear with me.

Allison could see the lovestruck gleam in Sebastian’s eyes, and she knew she had won. Leaning closer, she gently rested her forehead against his, her lips curling into a sweet smile as her fingers intertwined with his. “I love you,” she whispered softly, her voice dripping with sincerity. “I always have.”

Sebastian drank in her words, soaking up the affection he so desperately craved. Those three simple words were enough to seal his fate. He pressed his lips to hers once more, the kiss soft but full of unspoken promises—promises to never leave her side, to always be there. In his arms, he finally had his Jelly, and he knew he would never let go.

As Sebastian held her close, his heart pounding as if it had been waiting for this moment all along. In his arms, he believed he finally had everything he ever wanted. Allison—Jelly—was his, and there was nothing that could break this moment.

Their kiss deepened, Sebastian’s grip on her tightened, not out of force, but from a sense of security, like he was holding on to the one thing that could keep him grounded. He pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against hers once again, his breath heavy but steady.

"I never thought I'd have you like this," Sebastian murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "I waited so long... I was scared I’d lose you before I ever had the chance."

Allison smiled, a hint of triumph hidden behind her gentle gaze. “You’ll never lose me, Sebastian,” she reassured him, her fingers tracing lazy circles on the back of his hand. “I’m right here. And I’m not going anywhere.”

Inside, she felt a surge of victory—Sebastian was completely hers now. She had taken Jelly’s place, and he was none the wiser. Allison savored the way he looked at her with devotion, not realizing the depth of her manipulation. She had him right where she wanted him.

But as the two stood there, locked in the warmth of what felt like love to him and power to her, a tiny flicker of guilt brushed against Allison’s mind. She quickly pushed it away. This was for her, for her happiness. Being close to Solace, even if it meant betraying her friend, was worth it.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Sebastian continued, his eyes soft as he gazed at her. "It feels right—finally."

Allison leaned in, pressing another kiss to his lips, silencing him for the moment. She didn’t need to hear his words of devotion; she had already won the game.

And as they stood together, the world outside of this moment seemed distant. For now, Sebastian’s world revolved around Allison—his supposed Jelly—and she would make sure it stayed that way.

“How about I pick you up for lunch tomorrow? We can finally test out the new sushi bar you wanted to try so badly.” He whispers against her lips, hoping she would agree to his planned lunch date. He remembered every single thing about her, the way you excitedly rambled about sushi once. Sebastian had mentioned it to Allison again and of course she had to play along, telling him about a sushi bar that opened near their place.

The truth? Allison hated sushi. The smell, the texture, the taste—it all repulsed her. If she wanted the taste of raw fish, she'd rather go lick the ocean. But she couldn’t let that show, not now. Not when Sebastian was falling deeper into her trap. If she had to eat sushi to keep him hooked, she’d swallow every last bite with a smile.

She nodded, giggling like a schoolgirl. “Of course, I’d love to. Just the two of us,” she said sweetly, masking her distaste behind a charming facade.

Sebastian’s face lit up, his heart swelling at her response. “Just us,” he echoed, his voice full of affection. He kissed her forehead softly, pulling her closer in a warm embrace. “I can’t wait. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.”

Allison smiled sweetly, but internally, she was already dreading tomorrow. The thought of raw fish made her stomach turn, but she couldn’t show any hint of discomfort. She had to play her part perfectly. If sushi was what it took to keep Sebastian wrapped around her finger, then she would endure it.

“Neither can I,” she said, her voice dripping with false excitement. She leaned into his chest, hiding the small grimace that flashed across her face for a brief moment. Allison could handle this. After all, she had gotten this far.

Sebastian stroked her hair, feeling content in her presence. To him, everything was falling into place. He had his Jelly, the one person he had been dreaming of for so long. Nothing could go wrong now.

As the night wore on and they eventually parted ways, Allison’s mind raced. She needed to make sure her disguise as Jelly was airtight. No slip-ups. She couldn’t afford to reveal her true identity now, not when Sebastian was already so smitten. She would suffer through sushi if that’s what it took. She had worked too hard to let it fall apart over something as trivial as food.

Tomorrow, she would smile and pretend to enjoy every bite. Tomorrow, she will play her role perfectly, just as she had from the start.

The next day arrived with the soft rumble of Sebastian's motorcycle pulling up in front of Allison's place. She stood at the entrance, wearing a carefully curated outfit that screamed casual, yet put-together. Her heart raced, but not out of excitement—more out of the looming dread of what she would have to do once they reached the sushi bar.

Sebastian flashed her a grin, his helmet already in hand as he handed her a second one. "Ready?" he asked, voice warm and full of affection.

Allison nodded with a smile, sliding on the helmet and hopping onto the back of his bike, wrapping her arms around his waist. The engine revved, and they sped off down the road, the cool breeze whipping past them as they navigated through the city.

The sushi bar was quaint, tucked into a quiet corner of the street. Sebastian parked the bike, helping Allison off before they entered the place together.

They were greeted with a soft glow from the restaurant's paper lanterns, the delicate smell of rice and fish wafting through the air. Allison tried to suppress her gag reflex as they were seated by the window. Sebastian looked relaxed, glancing over the menu with a small smile on his face, oblivious to her discomfort.

"I think I'll try the chef's special. What about you?" he asked, looking over at her expectantly.

Allison forced another smile. "That sounds great. I’ll have the same."

The waiter soon arrived, jotting down their orders and disappearing into the kitchen. Sebastian reached across the table, taking her hand in his. "I’m glad we’re doing this. Feels like it's been a long time coming."

Allison nodded, keeping her facade firmly in place. “Me too.”

But just as things seemed to be going smoothly for her, the door to the restaurant swung open, and her stomach dropped.

It was you.

You walked in, scanning the place casually before your gaze locked onto them. Sebastian noticed too, sitting up straighter, a grin forming on his face. He waved you over.

“Hey! Come join us!” Sebastian called out, his voice breaking through the serene ambiance of the restaurant. "Allison's here too, and you're her friend, right?"

You hesitated for a moment, unsure of what you were walking into. But with no real reason to refuse, you offered a polite smile and walked over to the table. A thousand questions flew through your head as you tried to come up with a reasonable idea why the two of them sat together. “Hey guys,” you greeted them, sitting down as the waiter brought you a menu.

It wasn’t until you sat that the tension became palpable. You looked at Sebastian, then Allison, back and forth, trying to piece together the dynamic between them. The two of them seemed strangely close, almost too close.

Sensing your confusion, Sebastian spoke up. “I meant to tell you… actually, I was going to soon. Allison and I are… we’re dating now.” He said it with pride, glancing at Allison with that same lovestruck expression you recognized all too well.

Your heart sank. A thousand thoughts flooded your mind, each one cutting a little deeper than the last, but you kept your expression neutral, unwilling to let anything show.

“Wow, that’s… that’s great,” you managed to say, forcing a smile that you hoped looked genuine. “I’m really happy for you both.”

Sebastian beamed, clearly oblivious to the sudden shift in your demeanor. Allison, meanwhile, met your gaze with a triumphant smirk barely hidden behind her own facade.

You swallowed hard, your appetite vanishing as the reality settled in. Sebastian had moved on, with Allison of all people. But you had to play along. “So, what’s good here?” you asked lightly, trying to keep the conversation going while your mind raced.

Sebastian eagerly dove into a conversation about the menu and what he planned to order, but you could hardly focus on his words. Your thoughts were too loud, too heavy. You felt like an outsider sitting at the table with them, despite their warm invitation.

Pretending to be happy for them both was the only option you had.

In the span of the next five days, Allison seemed to make your house her permanent residence. She was loud, obnoxious, and clung to Sebastian like bubblegum that just wouldn’t let go. Your motivation to stream was at an all-time low, work had drained you completely, and the heartbreak you were going through felt like the final blow. You’d posted a community update on your streaming account, apologizing for your short absence without getting into much detail. Thankfully, your fans were understanding and flooded the post with messages of support. At least the strangers on the internet still had your back.

It was Thursday evening, and you carried two boxes of Chinese takeout—your favorite. Every third Thursday of the month was Chinese Takeout Thursday, a tradition you and Sebastian had started. Either one of you would bring home food, and the two of you would settle in for an episode of How I Married a Wall Dweller, your favorite TV drama.

You kicked off your shoes and set the takeout on the counter, feeling a brief flicker of hope for a cozy evening. But as you moved through the apartment, a soft, melodic strumming drifted out from Sebastian’s room, followed by Allison’s unmistakable, girly laughter. Your heart sank.

Sebastian was playing guitar for her.

He’d never played guitar for you. He always claimed he wasn’t good enough, that he didn’t want you to hear him make mistakes. Yet here he was, strumming away like he had nothing to hide, serenading Allison while you stood there, boxes of takeout in hand, feeling like you didn’t belong in your own home.

You grabbed one box of takeout and tossed the other in the trash, not even caring. The excitement for your shared tradition had evaporated, leaving a dull ache in its place. With a heavy sigh, you retreated to your room, settling into bed and turning on your favorite TV drama. The room felt unusually cold that night, a chill that settled deep in your bones.

Allison, however, wasn’t resting easy. The more you withdrew from Sebastian, the more threatened she felt. She couldn’t stand the thought of you finding solace in streaming—one thing she couldn't control, especially since she knew how much Sebastian cared about your streaming career.

So she concocted another plan: get Jellycatfished banned.

It wasn’t difficult. You’d been careless enough to use the same password for everything, and Allison had no trouble logging in to your streaming account. It took her mere minutes to get you banned by triggering multiple violations. She knew Sebastian would be concerned and question what had happened, but she was ready with a perfect excuse:

The platform must have made a mistake. They banned you for no reason.

It was flawless. You’d be out of the streaming scene, and she’d make sure Sebastian stayed oblivious. No more streams, no more collaboration invites—just her and Sebastian.

Another win for Allison.

The moment the notification hit your inbox, your heart sank. Your account—Jellycatfished—banned. All the hours, all the work, gone in an instant. It felt like the final straw. You could handle work stress, you could even tolerate Allison’s constant presence, but this? This was your safe space, your escape, and now it is gone.

Without thinking, your first instinct was to message Solace. He deserved to know. You quickly typed a message, your hands trembling as you tried to explain the situation.

"Hey, I just got banned from the platform. I don’t know what happened... but I thought you should know."

What you didn’t realize was that Allison had already gotten to him. She’d mentioned it casually when he asked why you hadn’t been streaming, spinning her story about how the platform must have glitched and banned you for no reason.

Sebastian had seemed concerned, sure, but Allison’s explanation had been so confident, so convincing, that he hadn’t questioned it too much. So when your message came through, his response was quick but flat.

"Yeah, you mentioned that during our date earlier. That sucks, but I’m sure it’ll get sorted out."

You stared at his reply, your heart sinking even further. The words didn't make sense, not at all. Date? What date? The realization crashed over you, an emotional tidal wave that made your head spin. You flung your phone onto your bed, letting out a muffled scream into your pillow, your nails digging deep into the fabric as rage, betrayal, and frustration surged through you. Allison had done it. She had somehow stolen your account, your identity, and now, it seemed, she was trying to steal everything else too.

As the echoes of your scream faded into the stillness of your room, you pulled yourself up and grabbed your phone again. The silence around you was stifling, heavy with the weight of everything you’d just uncovered. You took a breath, your fingers trembling as they hovered over the keyboard.

"Solace, we are not dating."

The reply came quickly.

"What do you mean, we are not? We had so many dates already, Ally. You want me to actually officially ask you out? Let me prepare at least, cutie."

He didn’t get it. He didn’t catch the weight of your words at all.

You hesitated for a moment, then typed, "Solace, I am not Ally. It's me. Your roommate."* You added your name for clarity.

And then... silence. Nothing. No response. No footsteps coming toward your door. Nothing at all.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hallway, Sebastian was staring at his screen in growing confusion. It’s you and not Allison? How? His thoughts raced, his heart pounding in his chest as he struggled to process. He quickly opened another chat, the one he’d been using with Allison for weeks, his fingers moving frantically across the keyboard.

"Babe, why is my roommate on your Discord?"

Miles away, Allison had just stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around her as she glanced at her phone. Her face paled, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Sebastian’s message. You sneaky little worm... she thought, fury bubbling inside her. You were trying to expose her, daring to unravel the web she’d so carefully woven. But Allison wasn’t going to let that happen without a fight.

She quickly typed back, her fingers flying over the screen.

"Oh god. Seb, I didn’t want to tell you at first..."

“Your roommate is in love with you…they are actually stalking me now since I became your girlfriend and they are jealous. Seems like they even hacked my discord and pretended that they are me…What if they got my streaming account banned too?”

"I'm so sorry, Ally. I promise I'll get this sorted out. No matter what happens, you're my priority, and I support you."

Sebastian’s words echoed in his head, gnawing at him days later as the whole situation weighed heavily on his nerves. He hadn’t even had the chance to talk to you yet, having blocked your Discord account per Allison's suggestion. She'd convinced him it was safer that way until she could switch out her email and password.

Sitting in Painter’s little tech shop, Sebastian sipped on his cup of instant coffee, his mind swirling. "Man, you look horrible," Painter, his friend and confidant, remarked from across the counter. Painter’s small shop was filled with parts and gadgets, tech stuff scattered everywhere, but today it felt heavier with the weight of Sebastian’s troubles.

“It all makes sense now, Painter. The movie nights, Chinese takeout days, working together...Meeting them in the Sushi Bar even. God, I was so blind." He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair before pulling out his phone and sliding it over to his friend. Painter picked it up, scrolling through the chat history and screenshots Sebastian had saved before blocking you.

As he scrolled, Painter’s brow furrowed. Something wasn’t sitting right. His fingers moved faster across the screen, pulling up messages and logs, all while Sebastian sat there, completely spaced out. Painter and Sebastian had a close bond, and having his friend type on his phone wasn’t unusual. In fact, they often shared stuff like this.

"I'm sorry, man. This really sounds tough," Painter mumbled, his voice distant as he dug deeper into the details. Secretly, Painter unblocked your Discord, his technical expertise kicking into high gear. After a few moments, he managed to pull up something that made him pause: the IP address.

He cross-checked it with the logs and Sebastian's own information. It was the same IP. How could that be? Painter’s mind raced. If this account really belonged to Allison, there was no way it would have the same IP as Sebastian’s unless…

Painter’s heart sank as the realization hit. The only possibility was that the account was yours. You had been telling the truth all along.

[poppadom0912]

Her father's daughter

Warnings: Kidnapping, crying, canon-typical injuries, blood

Summary: When all is well, someone just has to barge in and ruin Will and Faith's lives.

A/N: Soo, I am back more than a month later. I didn't mean to disappear for so long... It will happen again i am sorry. This Ramadan has come with more work and I have exams in two weeks that i refuse to fail. I will most likely return at the end of april/beginning of May.

i've been thinking about writing this for a while because of how much I love Faith but I didn't want to hurt her but then I thought, no one can turn down some good old angst. Sorry again for being mia for nearly another month but randomly wrote this all in one sitting after doing some psychology and having an existential crisis soooo. This is going to be a little longer than usual, happy reading!!

Will was at work when it happened.

He was getting ready to assist Connor in a surgery when he got a call as they were scrubbing in.

The part-time nanny he hired was now basically considered family over the two years she'd been looking after Faith whenever she wasn't in school and Will was at work. So to have her calling him at work was odd but when he answered her call and was immediately met with tears and gasping and hyperventilating, Will felt his heart stop.

Will wasted no time. simply telling her he was on his way before hanging up.

Connor, without hesitation, encouraged Will to leave, saying he'd find Goodwin and tell her himself.

As soon as Will was in his car, the first person he called was a no brainer.

Whenever Will called, Jay would always come running, day or night for his older brother and niece, consequences be damned.

Will found himself struggling when Jay answered, grappling for words he couldn't muster.

"What's wrong Will?"

"Faith's gone Jay... Someone's taken her."

*****

The brothers met up at Faith's school, Will arriving before Jay.

The second Will got there, Allison, the nanny, found him instantly. She ran up to him in tears, hysterically crying as if it was her own child that was taken.

"Will I'm so sorry." She gasped, on the edge of a panic attack, eyes impossibly red as she hyperventilated, tears showing no sign of stopping any time soon.

"They- Reception said a woman picked her up in Maggie's name three hours ago-" She cut herself off with a sob. Poor women was a mess, seeing her so distraught made Will want to cry along with her.

"Allison, please listen." Will said sternly, holding her shoulder so she would pay attention to him. "None of this is your fault, okay? If it wasn't for you, it would've been another two hours before someone found out."

She exhaled shakily, nodding fervently when Will pressed her to stop apologising and accept she was at no fault, there was no reason for her to take any blame.

Before either could say anything more, the sound of sirens scared them, making both of them jump at the sudden loud sound.

At the sight of familiar cars, Will wasn't too sure if he felt relief or impending doom.

"Intelligence Will need to take a statement but after that you can go home." Will told Allison, squeezing her bicep with a timid smile for reassurance.

"As soon as they find Faith, you'll be the first to know, I promise."

*****

Jay was struggling to concentrate on the CCTV footage him and Adam were meant to be watching.

He could say with 100 percent confidence the he never thought he'd find himself in such a situation.

intelligence have been involved with numerous kidnappings. So many in fact that it was usually what they would be expecting to be called in for every day.

But, this was his niece's kidnapping. This wasn't the norm for him let alone the rest of them. A five year olds kidnapping was something they'd never want to deal with, especially someone who was family.

"Here it is." Adam said, clicking the mouse a few more times before settling on a frame, the scene being the reception of Faith's school.

Shaking any deprecating thoughts away, Jay pushed his chair forward, looking closely and minimising his blinks as to not miss a single second of valuable footage. Footage that would show the final moments of Faith being alive and safe.

The halls were empty for the most of it, bar the occasional janitor or teacher walking by. Two minutes passed when a woman in a black trench coat walked up to the desk. Her brown hair obscuring her face from the camera's view along with the thick scarf wrapped around her neck.

She spoke to the receptionist, signing a sheet of paper before a lady walked away, soon returning with a small familiar bundle.

Faith was in her little purple puffer jacket, bobble hat covering her ears and mitten on her little hands. She wore little winter boots, her my little pony backpack sat nicely on her shoulders and Will's old scarf held in her hands. Unconsciously, Jay thought about how she always complained about the itchiness of the scarf that Will would always wrap around her masterfully, his method luring out the most wonderful sound to mankind; Faith's laughter.

Faith looked perfect, just like her fathers carbon copy and even from the shitty camera footage, Jay could see the pep in her step and the twinkle that never extinguished from her eyes.

Jay's thoughts trailed back to earlier this morning when he was still fast asleep in bed but his brother had messaged him, sending him a picture of Faith in all her adorableness. Nothing had changed from that picture and it warmed his heart slightly.

Usually, whoever picked her up was met with the biggest hello, the widest smile and incessant talking and she retold the adventures of her day but this time, Faith's steps faltered at the sight of the stranger.

Jay struggled to watch the rest.

*****

All Will could hear was his baby girls cries echoing in his ears.

He'd heard her cry plentiful, he raised her since birth for goodness sakes but this cry was different. It was like he could hear just how scared she was and it felt like a literal stab in the heart.

Will forced Allison home twenty minutes ago after Hailey took her statement and was told everything. She was still very torn and upset, she refused to leave Will for several reasons but before she started blaming herself again, Will forced her to leave, promising once again to call her later.

Jay had shown Will the footage of the woman who never showed her face, maybe there was some chance Will could recognise the back of her. Somehow, she knew the exact school Faith went to as well as knowing the list of very few people that were allowed to pick her up. The list consisted of Will obviously, Jay, Allison and Maggie.

Somehow, whoever this person was, they knew who was on the emergency contact list, information that only the school and said people were privy to.

That small bit of information made Will want to be sick.

They had tried other means to try identify the woman but they were coming up with nothing. Another hour had passed, now being give hours since Faith had been taken and Will was slowly losing the plot.

"I've contacted a bunch on my CI's." Jay said, face set in stone as he finished presenting. "Still waiting to hear back."

"I have several CI's in that area." Antonio added, Kevin nodding to also confirm. "Waiting for a call any time now."

Voight hummed, giving no indication of what he was thinking or feeling. But not too long ago, he had taken Will aside and promised they would bring Faith back to him, no matter the cost.

No matter the cost. Ethically, Will wasn't too sure what to feel but emotionally, he felt relieved.

Will must've zoned out for a bit because the next thing he knew, only him, Jay and Antonio remained in the bullpen. Everyone else seemingly disappeared.

Wow, he really needed to fix up.

"Hey, how are you-"

Just as Jay opened his mouth, he was cut off by a phone ringing.

*****

Jay wasn't allowed to accompany Antonio to his CI, instead taking Kevin with him. The Latino was never once persuaded by Jay, even when he promised to stay in the car.

The sun was now starting to set and there was a clear shift in the atmosphere as the sky grew darker. To ease broth his own and his brothers fears, Jay sat with Will, sitting together in a silence neither could stand.

This was an uncommon occurrence since Will had returned from New York, the two brothers being alone together. Since coming back, it had always been the three of them. So to be in this moment, both Halstead's would rather die than to have to repeat this again.

"You want a coffee?" Jay asked, eyeing up the half empty coffee pot. At the rate this investigation was going, they'd be needing more than just coffee to help them stay up.

"Sure." Will hadn't meant for his answers to be monosyllabic, Jay had done nothing but right now, he had not much left in him to continue being so forth coming.

The silence enveloping their space, Will usually relished in any moments of silence he could get but this was just uncomfortable. Never did he ever want his little girl to be causing such a ruckus.

"Maggie called me back." Will said, watching Jays' back, following his actions as he made both their coffee's. "She doesn't recognise the woman nor has she told anyone outside the ED's staff about Faith - that's all people I know and none of them know that woman."

Jay hummed as he stirred the tiniest bit of sugar when his tasted a little too bitter for his liking. "That's good but it does mean we have even less of an idea as to who this is."

Will didn't reply, only mumbling a small thanks as he took the mug from Jay's outstretched hand and sipping the lukewarm drink.

"Have you butted heads with anyone at work recently?" Jay asked, knowing his brothers stubbornness very well.

"No." Will rolled his eyes. "I've been under Goodwin's strong scrutiny after the last stunt. Go ask anyone, I've been good."

And for a second, nothing felt as heavy but such a feeling didn't last.

"Antonio and Kevin are back." Trudy suddenly appeared in the doorway of the breakroom causing both of them to flinch. "Go see them downstairs."

*****

"My CI works in a restaurant. When I reached out, his story matched up with ours." Antonio started, standing tall besides the computer screen where Kevin was trying to connect it to the USB they were given.

"At the same time Will called us, a different woman came and ordered a takeaway with a kid he said looks a lot like Faith."

Will felt his heart rate picking up the more Antonio spoke. Hearing all of this felt like a fever dream, he didn't want to get his hopes up just in case they reached another dead end.

The camera footage started to play, Kevin skipping it when nothing was happening, only to abruptly replay it when someone walked in.

All they could see was the back of the woman, her black hair in a braid, scarf wrapped around her neck with a long jacket on. As Will's eyes studied the stranger, he followed her outstretched arm to-

Faith

Will's breath hitched at the sight of his little girl who hadn't seen since the early hours of the morning when he dropped her off to school. He held his breath, watching closely to see if a single hair was misplaced on her body or to try and see what she was feeling from either her scrunched up eyebrows or her quivering lips.

But he couldn't see anything.

The woman went to the counter, ordered her food and stood there for however long it took for the food to be made. Only when she was handed a carrier bag with several containers did she finally turn around and show her face.

Will's face paled in recognition instantly.

"What's wrong Will?" Jay noticed his change immediately, his question causing everyone in the room to turn and look at him. "Do you recognise her?"

Will swallowed harshly, blinking repeatedly to bring himself out of shock.

"Yeah, it's Faith's mum."

*****

With this newfound information, it didn't take Intelligence long to track her down.

Stephanie Brooks, 'Steph' was what she insisted everyone call her. For just over a year, she was Will's girlfriend and as of five years ago, she was Faiths absent mother.

Ever since that night five years ago, Will never thought he'd see his ex again but here he was, sitting in the back of his brothers truck as he waited for Intelligence to get his daughter back.

Once they had her name, they found the car she had under her name in Chicago and the place she was renting out as of three months ago. Three months of which she had been watching them under a microscope.

Will actually had to go be sick in the toilet when Kim turned around with all of Stephanie's activities since she arrived in Chicago, all of which suspiciously looked very familiar and aligned with everything he and Faith did recently.

That aside, all Will had to do now was wait.

Jay and Kevin stood in front, Kevin ready to kick the door down before Jay could go in first. All they were waiting for was for Voight's signal.

"Now!"

Within seconds, they were all entering the bungalow, guns out and pointed in any direction, covering all corners as they searched for Stephanie.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

They all went separate directions, covering every room in search of any life and soon enough, they found their culprit.

She screamed.

"Stephanie Brooks, your under arrest..." Adam went on, reciting the words they all had memorised for years now, his gun lowered slightly as Antonio went forward to handcuff her.

"What, no! You're crazy!" She shouted, struggling against Antonio's grip. Despite the cheap bungalow she rented, she was dressed as if ready for a night out. Her hair was curled, makeup perfect, heels and a tight fitted dress on.

"Kidnapping?" She scoffed, continuing to struggle as she was forced onto her feet. "She's my child, my daughter!"

"You can't take her from me." She told them, getting more riled up when she saw Adam rolling his eyes at her. "I want my lawyer, you have no right to take my daughter from me."

On the other side of the bungalow, Jay heard nothing but thundering in his ears as he frantically looked up and down for his niece. Nearly every room had been covered and they hadn't found her yet-

Jay felt his heart break the second Faith was in his sight.

He found her stuffed in the bathtub shivering. He had to kick down the door, finding her with zip ties around her wrists and ankles, sat in the bathtub with on her knickers and vest on.

Faith started crying.

Without another thought, Jay dropped his gun and rushed forward, kneeling at the edge of the bathtub before picking her up and dropping her into his lap.

"Oh Faith." Jay sighed, wrapping his arms around her as she curled into him. "It's okay, your safe, Jay Jay's got you now."

As sobs racked her little body, Jay took out his knife and carefully cut the zip ties off. As soon as the were chucked to the side, she wrapped her arms as far as they could around his torso.

Standing up, Jay took strides out the bathroom and made his way outside. Hailey found him on the way, taking her scarf off with Kim not too far behind taking her jacket off.

Both garments swaddled Faith, protecting her bare limbs from the torturous snow but she continued to shiver.

Jay felt himself breathing easier with her in his arms but Will was firmly on his mind.

Only a metre away from the premises did Jay find Will who was already bounding towards them.

"Faith, look." Jay gently poked her, watching her carefully pick her head up and turn in the direction Jay was pointing.

The cry she let out, it would forever haunt him.

"Faith."

Jay handed her over to his older brother who's arms encased her small body. Will dipped his face in her hair, inhaling the comforting smell that he never wanted to forget.

"Oh baby. It's okay, it's okay." Will repeated as she sobbed, showing no signs of stopping any time soon. "Daddy's got you."

Will pressed several kisses wherever he could: in her hair, her forehead, her ear poking out from her curls, her cheek anywhere. His arms tightened in their embrace and if it wasn't for Jay who was supporting him, he would fallen into the snow as soon as he lost all feeling in his legs.

Will could barely hear his own thoughts over Faith's gut wrenching cries. Somehow, her tears weren't running dry. To see her in such a state but to have her back and safe with him, Will finally let his emotions get the better of him.

He sniffled, hiding his face in her wild curls he always struggled to tame, his tears dropping like rain but his cries were muffled. Screwing his eyes shut, he tried to even out his breathing, Jay's hand on his back comfortingly rubbing circles kept him somewhat sane.

"We're driving to Med." Jay told him, directing the father-daughter duo towards his truck.

Sitting in the back, the outside world no longer existed, his entire universe was sat in his lap. Will had lost track of time, she had been continuously crying but Faith was silent now as she was knocked out, crying herself to sleep, that's how tired she was. All he could hear was the occasional soft snore, but he could feel everything from her rising chest against his own, her curls that needed to be brushed, her skin that was slowly warming up from both his own body heat and the garments wrapped around her and the tears that were drying on his shirt.

Will felt like he could finally start to relax.

*****

Faith remained in Will's arms at Med, even when he woke her up, neither of them made any move of letting go.

As soon as they got to the hospital, Will was surrounded by all his colleagues, all riddled with stress that was slowly disappearing when they saw Faith.

Currently, Natalie was doing the standard tests, letting Will do all the convincing which wasn't a lot. As soon as he asked, Faith complied.

"I'll go grab some heating blankets." Natalie said, stepping back as she finished off. "I'll make sure to put a rush on these."

"Thanks Nat." Will said, letting Faith curl back into his embrace.

"It's no problem." She smiled, her eyes looking down at the little girl, the sight of father and daughter making her think of Owen. "We're all just glad she's safe and mostly unharmed."

Will tried not to think of the scrapes and clotting up scabs that littered her body. He hadn't seen any of them till they got to Med, his chest restricting to know she had been hurt and he wasn't there to relieve her of the pain.

"Thank Ethan for me." Will added when Natalie was about to leave. "Faith loves the my little pony band aids."

And with that, they were left alone for the first time surrounded by the muffled sounds of the bustling department and the occasional beeps of machinery and the faint drips of the iv.

Despite being a doctor for years, Will found it difficult to see the iv needle in Faith. To have two worlds collide, Will would never wish this upon any parent.

Small pokes to his collarbone caught his attention, Faith poking it ever so gently as she stared up at him imploringly with the widest eyes that still glistened, their colour identical to the woman who was going behind bars.

"Missed you." She whispered, voice breaking towards the end. It was the first time she had spoken since she found her and the two words made his eyes water.

"I missed you too. Missed you so much baby." Will replied, tucking her hair behind her ears so he could see her whole face. "I'm so sorry baby. Daddy loves you so much."

A smile appeared on her cherry lips, her dimples not too far behind. Seeing them made it feel like nothing was wrong with the world and only the two of them mattered.

"Home?" She asked, her voice filled with so much innocence and hope that Will has to give himself some time before replying.

"Not yet, I'm sorry bubbles." He apologised, rubbing circles into her back. "Jay Jay still needs to come back and Maggie needs to bring you some medicine. She might even ask you to sleepover."

For once, Will was glad she was so eager to stay at his workplace. She had such wonderment surrounding his job, the thought of sleeping over at his work was almost a dream come true.

To finally see her mood pick up, her eyes glistening now with newfound happiness at the prospect of a sleepover, unaware of the connotations it had, Will allowed himself to feel good.

For now, all that mattered was that his daughter was rightfully back with her father and surrounded by family that would do anything for her.

[farfromharry]

Let it be | Dating Stiles Stilinski

pov: you’re dating Stiles Stilinski

Summary: Between werewolf stuff and having to now babysit Jackson, you and Stiles didn’t get much alone time. So any opportunity to head out on a date was taken and savoured. But tonight was different, tonight you decided was the night you were going to tell Scott you were together.

Word count - 3472

Warnings - language

Based on: season one, episode ten

. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Let it be by The Beatles ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ .

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

Chasing after Jackson’s dumbass on a Saturday was not your ideal way to spend your weekend. You’d tried to worm your way out of it with sly kisses and puppy dog eyes to your boyfriend, hoping to butter him up enough that he’d just let you sleep in instead. But it backfired completely, he still dragged you out of bed and out of the house with a simple statement that you had to go babysit Jackson from the Argents. This was all Peter’s fault and you were really cursing him right now.

“Don’t you think he can look after himself?” you tried for possibly the thousandth time from the backseat of your boyfriend’s jeep. Scott just sighed again. “No, and you know why. So please stop asking.” 

When you pulled into the empty parking lot you could already see Chris Argent making conversation with the boy you were looking for, the one thing you really could’ve done without. It meant you actually had to engage with Jackson, rather than just watching him from afar. 

The rock music from Stiles’ radio was blasting, that plus the screech of the car’s tires alerted the two males of your arrival. “Yo,” Scott greeted. Stiles nodded. “What’s up?” 

You stayed silently, firmly placed in your seat, intent on not interacting with Jackson for the sake of your own sanity. You really didn’t like him, not that your friends did. He was just so unbelievably unbearable to talk to.

Scott pretended like you hadn’t just been watching them from a distance. “Is everything okay?”

Chris greeted the boy but you could sense the irritation even from where you were sitting. You'd obviously interrupted the start of his plan and he wasn’t happy about it, but that’s exactly what you were there for. “Your friend here was just having car trouble. I’m taking a look.” 

There was so much tension between the older man and your bestfriend that it could literally have been cut with a blunt knife. Jackson was shuffling awkwardly, feeling like he’d been caught in the middle of two parents fighting, unsure what he was meant to do or say. He didn’t even know why Mr Argent was being so kind to him, nor why you, Scott and Stiles suddenly wanted to be best buds. 

“There’s a shop right down the street, I’m sure they’ll have a tow truck.”

“Do you want a ride?” Stiles asked. Scott pushed open his door, making it obvious that he’d let him in if he agreed. You knew this was the plan but part of you was actually hoping he’d say no so you didn’t have to sit with his arrogant ass for however long.

“Come on Jackson. You’re way too pretty to be out here all by yourself.” You snorted in the back seat, muttering a ‘yeah right’ that earned you a light swat to your knee, a quick glare from your boyfriend having you holding your hands up in surrender.

Scott just stared at him, lowering his eyebrows slightly to try and emphasise the fact that he really needed to get in the car. Jackson just nodded, heading over to where the door to the passenger side was still open.

“Hey boys!” The roar of an engine had the four of your heads snapping back in the direction of Allison’s dad. “Told you I knew a few things about cars.” 

The four of you watched him strut his way back over to his own car, abandoning whatever his plan for Jackson had originally intended to be. You all saw him drive away with just as much intention as Stiles had stopped here when you found the rich kid. It was silent for a few seconds between you all as you and Stiles clambered out of the car to stand around outside the vehicle with the other two teenage boys. 

Jackson was the one to break the silence, rather aggressively you may add. “What, are you following me now?”

“Yes, you fucking idiot. You almost gave away everything right there,” Scott responded with a similar level of irritation in his tone. 

“What are you talking about?” He looked confused, his head tilting slightly. 

“He thinks you’re the second beta. He thinks you’re me!” In a burst of anger he hit his fist into the door of Stiles' jeep, the younger boy gasping slightly. “Dude my jeep.”

You just giggled, earning yourself another slight glare and a small push. When you gathered your footing again he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, letting your body lean slightly into him as you watched the two teens bicker.

“I can hear your heart beating from a mile away, literally! Now he thinks that there’s something wrong, and now I have to keep an eye on you so he doesn’t kill you too!” You truly believed the anger was unnecessary. The two were just yelling nonsense at each other at this point, and the other had no care for whatever came out of their mouth. Jackson’s mind was made up, and so was Scotts, neither willing to listen to anything but their thoughts; especially a certain Porsche driver, but that’s the way he’d always been. 

Scott once again stepped to hit the door of Stiles’ car in his blind fury, this time it being you who stepped in to move him away from that area. 

“Okay, okay. How about we just step away from Stiles’ jeep.” Your boyfriend sent you a grateful smile as you guided your friend forwards a little so he wasn’t within hitting distance of the car behind him. Stiles almost let out a verbal breath of relief at the gesture. Your attention was quickly drawn back to the two males who hadn’t been paying attention to anyone but each other, you and Stiles may as well not even be there, it’s not like they’d notice. Hell, Argent could come back and they probably wouldn’t notice. 

“You know what, this is your problem, not mine, okay? I didn’t say anything, which means you’re the one that’s gonna get me killed, okay?” Jackson said. Apparently your idea hadn’t worked, especially not when the next thing the boy did was shove your friend right into the passenger door, increasing Stiles’ frustration. “This is your fault.”

“Can we stop hitting my jeep?”

You saw the two go for each other, taking the initiative to step in and place a hand on either of their chests. Trying to be the reasonable one. If Scott went wolf mode on Jackson, he wouldn’t survive that kind of attack. Although you’d love to see him prove he couldn’t protect himself from even the babiest of werewolves. “Just stop, all right?” you insisted. 

“When they come after you, I won’t be able to protect you. I can’t protect anyone.” A chill ran up your spine when his eyes flickered over to you, your heart sinking in your chest slightly at what that was meant to imply. With a quick over to Stiles you confirmed that he was wondering too. “Why are you looking at us?”

You went unanswered as Scott turned his head back to face the boy in front of him, leaving you and Stiles to ponder what he meant silently. 

Jackson broke yet another silence with his spite this time. “You know what? Now you have to do it. Get me what I want and I will be fine protecting myself.” 

He was desperately trying to get him to see reason. “All it does is make things worse.” 

He scoffed. “Oh really? You can hear anything you want and run faster than humanly possible. Sounds like a real hardship, McCall.”

“Yeah, I might be able to run faster, but I can also hear stuff like my girlfriend telling people she doesn’t trust me anymore, right before breaking up with me.” You could see him getting slightly emotional, the breakup was still very much a sore spot for him, especially with the way he was being taunted by Jackson through it all too. So you decided to speak up in hopes of doing what your friend couldn’t.

“Jackson,” his head turned towards you. “He’s not lying. I’ve witnessed all of it, first hand, this hasn’t been easy for him.” Your friend nodded along. “It ruins your life,” Stiles added. 

He shook his head with a quiet chuckle, his eyes flickering to look Scott dead in the eye. “It ruined your life.”

With that statement he headed back to his car, climbing in his Porsche and taking off like Scott hadn’t just been trying to save his life, a muttered ‘asshole’ slipping out of your lips.

»»——⍟——««

Another date was what you and Stiles believed you deserved after being stuck basically babysitting the Whittemore kid for days on end. He’d told you to dress fancy, a difference from your usual dates but you didn’t mind, and then he’d surprised you by taking you to an exceptionally fancy restaurant for the only Stilinski child. 

It’d been bliss, the entire night. He’d made you laugh, he’d complimented you more than you could possibly even begin to count and god you were so in love with that boy. The last thing you wanted to do was finally tell your best friend about the two of you, now felt like a good time, and that’d really complete your night. 

“Hey, Sti,” you called. His attention had previously been focused on how much of his food he could fit in his mouth at once, so you found much amusement in watching him try to quickly swallow it all down so he could respond. You were patient with him, but you also found it quite funny so you were going to enjoy the sight as long as you could.

He nearly choked once or twice but eventually cleared his throat. Squeaking out a response. “Yeah?” 

“Do you think we should tell Scott? I know we were waiting for the perfect moment but, everything just seems to keep getting worse so maybe now’s a good time. And it’s been so long and I-'' He shushed you calmly, taking your hand in his and resting them on the table, lightly stroking his thumb over your knuckles. “I’m sure he’d understand if we waited. But we can tell him whenever you’re ready.” 

You nodded, biting back a grin. The only thing holding you back from loving on Stiles every minute of the day was that Scott didn’t know, so if you told him it’d just make everything easier. 

“Stop by his house after dessert?” you suggested. He nodded, bringing your hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it gently. “Whatever you want, lover.”

You stuck to the plan, heading to the McCall house after you’d finished your desserts. You were positively stuffed and so full of love and joy in that very moment that you actually thought if Scott hated the idea of you being together as much as you feared he would that even that couldn’t dampen your mood. 

Stiles was the one to actually knock on the door, something about you claiming you were much too nervous to do it, like heart nearly beating out of your chest nervous. Which only increased tenfold when Scott opened the door to you both.

“Hey guys..” He eyed you both in your nice outfits suspiciously, his hand lingering on his front door as he waited for you to tell him something insane. He knew you’d both done something, because you wouldn’t have those ‘I can’t wait to tell you what I did’ looks on your faces if not. An expression of Stiles’ that he was actually incredibly familiar with. “What are you doing here?” 

“We have to tell you something,” Stiles announced. He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “Oh really?” His eyes trailed to the hand Stiles had slyly placed on your lower back, and he inhaled deeply as he realised this was probably going to be the moment you let the secret out. The same secret he’d known for weeks. 

You couldn’t contain it anymore, your smile wide as the words finally blurted from your mouth. “Me and Stiles are dating!” 

The boy beside you rolled his eyes, mentally cursing you for spoiling the secret when you were the one who insisted on breaking it to him easily. That certainly wasn’t easy, you’d basically just yelled the information in his face. He seemed rather unphased though, which slightly confused you both. Why was he not more shocked?

“I know.” Those were not the words you expected him to say, both your faces morphing into ones of similar confusion. “You know?” you simultaneously asked. It was actually kind of creepy if Scott said so. He nodded his head in confirmation, doing nothing to explain how he knew or how long he’d known. “For how long?”

He paused as he thought about it before a lightbulb went off in his head. “Remember that night at the animal clinic, when you went to get some air.”

Your jaw gaped, eyes widening slightly as you stared in disbelief. “That long, and you didn’t think to say anything?”

He shrugged, smiling at the two of you as he noticed how Stiles’ arm had wrapped around your waist and you were subconsciously leaning into his side. He would’ve noticed the little things like the small touches and looks even if he didn’t already know you were dating, and he would’ve pieced it together eventually. “I thought if you wanted me to know then you would’ve told me. I wanted you to tell me on your own terms.”

It was actually a rather sweet gesture, one that had your heart warming a little bit that he’d taken that extra care to let you get comfortable with it. 

“So you aren’t mad we kept it from you for so long?” you asked. That was the one question that had worried you the most when you thought about telling him. You didn’t want to- You couldn’t deal with him being angry at you on top of everything else the three of you were suddenly going through this year. He shook his head, pulling you into a quick hug to reassure you. “I’m happy for you both. And I’m not angry, but I’m glad you finally told me, cause now I can stop pretending I didn’t already know.”

After visiting Scott you headed home with Stiles, planning on staying the night with him to make the rest of your night just as sweet as the beginning had been. 

You entered the Stilinski household with a wider grin than Stiles had ever seen, the boy following in right behind you as the two of you headed towards the kitchen to put away the leftovers from the restaurant. Just for a moment everything felt impossibly perfect. You halted in your spot though when you found Noah sitting at the table adjacent to the kitchen, a bottle of some kind of alcohol beside him and multiple case files scattered in the space surrounding his exhausted figure.

“Hey Noah,” you greeted sweetly. He raised his head from his work, offering you a short wave and his son a small smile. “How was your date?” 

Stiles made an overexaggerated groaning noise. “The food was to die for.” 

“Not that you even tasted it with how quick you were eating,” you teased, poking at his stomach lightly to further your point. “Is that all you can remember from your night?” 

He grinned, momentarily forgetting his dad was there as he pulled you into his chest, intending on leaning in to kiss you before the Sheriff cleared his throat. The boy nodded, suddenly remembering where he was. “My date was lovely too, very beautiful girl.” 

You rolled your eyes, ignoring the heat that rushed to your cheeks as you dipped out of his arms so he wouldn’t sense your embarrassment.

“Well, I’m glad you had fun.” Stiles obviously knew his dad inside out, so just from the way he delivered that sentence he could tell there was something major bothering him, and he hated to see it. His dad deserved nothing but happiness, and it hurt his heart a little bit that he didn’t also feel that way.

“Why don’t you go up to my room? I’ll be there in a little bit.” You nodded, sensing it had something to do with him talking to Noah. You pecked his lips lightly before heading upstairs like he’d said, leaving him alone in the room with his father.

It was a good while before he came back, so you busied yourself with filing through some of his stuff while he was gone, after you’d changed into some comfier clothes that happened to be his. You shouldn’t have, but it was only little things like pictures or the little scribbles he’d made in various notebooks of his. 

You were focused on a certain picture of the two of you when you were around seven, that’d been pinned on his wall when he came barging into the room, finding you sitting at his desk chair. You turned to face him, a nostalgic smile on your lips as you turned it so he could see, not that he was focused on it at all. “D’you remember this day? Scott was on vacation and you were missing him, so your mom took us both to get-” “I’m a horrible person.”

You frowned, setting the picture down on his desk before shuffling over to him. He barely even took note of the fact you were wearing his clothes, a sight that would usually bring a lovesick smile to his face. He was too far gone in his thoughts to even notice. His hands were frantically running over the short hairs on his head, snapping out of his daze when he felt your gentle touch on his forearms. 

“What happened?” you asked quietly. He sighed, eyes welling up a little bit in a way that made your heart clench. “I-I asked if my dad needed help on the case, and he asked me to pour him an ounce of whiskey,” you nodded, eyebrows furrowing to ask if that was all. “I poured way too much because I thought it’d get him to talk about the Hale case with me, b-but he ended up just getting sad and talking about my mom.”

“Oh bub.” He obviously felt guilty about it, bringing a frown to your lips as you guided him into your arms. There was a barely there whimper emitting from his throat, but you heard it, holding him impossibly tighter as you tried to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault.

He wasn’t listening though, and it was getting fairly late, to the point where the best idea was probably to just head straight to bed rather than having a long winded discussion about how he shouldn’t feel guilty. Which would probably only end in him overthinking it anyway.

“Why don’t we just go to sleep? hm?” you whispered. “Then you don’t have to think about it.” He nodded, following you to his bed where the two of you crawled in together. The boy immediately clinged to you like a scared child, his arm slipping over your waist as the big spoon so he knew you were there in his arms. “Goodnight Stiles.” “G’night Y/N/N.” 

You weren’t bothered until mere moments after you’d finally fell asleep, pulling a groan from your lips as you buried your face deeper into Stiles’ pillow. He huffed, rolling over to blindly grab his phone to stop the horrible blaring noise. He must’ve accepted the call because you were soon listening to Stiles’ sleepily mumbling something to whoever was on the other end of the phone. But his words eventually became much clearer when something unbelievable was said by the other person. “Okay, okay, I’m on my way.”

You protested when he tried to leave the bed, shaking your head to tell him you really didn’t want him to leave you, not when you were so comfortable how you were. “I have to go meet Scott, he needs my help with something.” His hand gently ran over your hair, the motion only managing to lull you back to sleep. 

“Do I have to go?” you questioned. He confirmed that you didn’t and you took that as your sign to drift off back to sleep in what was Stiles’ ridiculously comfy bed. “I’ll come back later, you just get some more sleep.”

You hummed, happily accepting the kiss he planted on your head as he left to get dressed before he could go meet his friend. You didn’t know what kind of trouble they were planning on getting into, but you were too tired to care all that much. “Sleep tight, babe.”

━━━━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━━━━

[samdeancass]

Jealousy Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Requested by Anonymous

Pairing: Scott McCall x fem!reader

Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst

Characters: Scott, Y/N, Stiles

Description: Y/N and Scott broke up a while ago, but when Scott gets together with Allison, old feelings stir up again, and Y/N becomes jealous.

You had no right to be jealous. You and Scott were completely over —you even ended it—but you hadn't expected him to move on so soon. There he was, once again, walking hand in hand with Allison down the school hallways without a care in the world. A pang of sadness soared through your body as you saw how happy he was; it made you long for those times he was happy with you, for the way he looked at Allison, completely loved up. Each time you see them together, it makes you regret the decision to break up with him a few months ago. You were completely falling for him, and it scared you so much that you pushed him away, and it left you alone, miserable, and jealous. At that moment, you decided to act on your feelings to get him back with a determination that surprised even yourself.

You walked past Scott, and he looked over at you with what seemed like longing. He gave you a small smile, which you reciprocated before heading towards Stiles's locker; he would be the one to help you with your plan. You rounded the corner and spotted him at his locker, getting annoyed with how many books he had crammed inside. "God dammit!" The books spilt all over the floor as he finally managed to place all of his books inside. "Y'know, Stiles, it may help if you kept some of these books in the Jeep instead of cramming them inside here." He closed the locker door and narrowed his eyes at you before bending down to pick them up. "Haha, never thought of that smartass. The school won't let me keep them in the Jeep; something about the stench of dog or something lingering on the pages when I bring them back. I don't have the faintest idea of what they're talking about."

You chuckled. "Yeah, sure you don't. I wonder if it has anything to do with your best friend being a werewolf?" You raised an eyebrow at him, and he shot you a dirty glance as he got up from the floor. "Is there anything particular you wanted, or did you just come here to revel in my misery?" You opened up his locker again as you had memorised his combination and began stacking the books in an orderly and organised fashion. "Well, truthfully, I need your help with something." "Yeah? And what would that be? You never ask me for help."

A slight blush crept onto your cheeks as you took another pile of books. "It has to do with Scott, actually. You're his best friend, and I figured you were my best bet to help me with my little problem." You took the last of the books as Stiles leaned against the other lockers, arms across his chest. "Oh? And what problem would that be?" Closing the locker, a sheepish expression crept onto your features. "I'm in love with Scott. I have always been and need a plan to get him back. Truthfully, I'm jealous of his relationship with Allison. Still, it won't be too hard to pry him away from her; I have a feeling that Scott loves me, too. The little glances he takes when he thinks I'm not looking, he's not very inconspicuous with how he acts." Stiles stays silent for a moment until his eyes light up. "I have the perfect idea. He's really not going to like it when he sees his best friend with his ex-girlfriend, is he? That's really gonna get his blood boiling."

You and Stiles walked hand in hand down the corridor that just happened to be where Scott was residing. He stared at you both with his mouth wide open, completely shocked. You stopped at the toilets opposite where Scott was standing and pulled Stiles down for a kiss, running your hands up and down his back as his fingers tangled in your hair. You both broke free and glanced at Scott, who was staring daggers into Stiles, his chest heaving with anger. You chuckled as you knew your plan was working; you were breaking him. Stiles slung his arm across your shoulders, walked down the rest of the corridor, and rounded the corner.

"Do you think it worked?" Stiles took his arm from around your shoulders and crossed his arms. "Yeah, definitely, he was pissed." Just as he finished his sentence, a fist collided with his face and knocked him to the floor. You looked over, and Scott was seething with anger. He went to jump on top of him, but you got in the way just in time. "Move, Y/N. I don't wanna hurt you." He was staring past you at Stiles, who was slowly getting to his feet and sporting a bloody nose. "No. What was that for?! You can't just go around hitting people, especially not your best friend!" You knew perfectly well why he did what he did; it was all part of your plan. "My best friend, supposedly, kissing you. That's what that was for." "Hey, man. You're broken up. We haven't broken any rules." Scott lunged at Stiles again, but you stood firmly in the way, grabbing Scott by the arm and dragging him to a nearby empty classroom. "We'll be back in just a minute."

You pushed Scott inside and closed the door, locking it. "Just what in the hell do you think you were doing? You can't go around hitting people!" Scott stared at you with both frustration and lust, clearly battling with himself at what to do. Without any words, he stalked up to you, and your lips clashed as he backed you up against the door. Both battled for dominance, but Scott won, biting your bottom lip to gain entrance. He kicked your legs apart and placed his leg in between to keep you firmly pressed against the door. Unable to move, he broke the kiss and stared deep into your eyes, his fingers softly caressing your cheeks. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. Being with Allison just isn't the same as being with you, and seeing you with Stiles awoke something in me. I needed you back; I needed you to be mine again. I know you broke it off because you were scared and you weren't ready, but I'll wait for you, Y/N. It's always been you."

Your heart melted at the loving confession Scott just made. It made you fall deeper for him if that was even possible. Slinging your arms around his neck, you pecked his lips sweetly. "Truthfully, Scott. I regretted breaking it off the first time I saw you with Allison. I became jealous, and I needed to have you back. I guess jealousy makes the heart grow fonder. Stiles helped me with that; that's what you've seen before."

He stepped back from you, gently grabbing your hand and kissing it. "Y'know, you could've just told me how you felt. I love you, Y/N." You looked into his eyes, took a deep breath, and said the three words he never thought he'd hear from you. "I love you, Scott." He smiled widely and brought you in for another soft and sweet kiss before you both headed out of the classroom where Stiles was waiting, practically bouncing on his feet with giddiness. "So? Are we back on?" You and Scott looked at each other, then Stiles, and nodded. "Yes! Finally!" Stiles fist pumped in the air, and you chuckled at his antics before heading out of the school doors to head home.

Your plan had worked, and you were finally back together. Although you did feel guilty about Allison, you couldn't help how you felt about Scott. He was your true love, and you weren't letting him go again.

Tags: @bxoken-heartss @hellomyweirdos @redcoatgirl

[moonlightazriel]

Son of the Darkness Epilogue /// Azriel X F!Reader

Summary: Hidden for so long The court of shadows thrived, and things were great until the high lord's death, now the next in line should assume the crown of high lord of shadows, will he accept his duties?

Warnings: None

Word Count: 625

Notes: It’s a bittersweet feeling as SOD is finished, this was my first multichapter series and I love it so much, it was a very nice journey.

Son of the Darkness Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Y/N sighed, her hands resting on her desk as she sipped the warm tea, a soft knock sounded on the other side of the door, and as the door opened, a male stepped in.

“High Lady.” He bowed his head a little. “This appeared today, it’s for you.” He approached the table and left the letter on top of the papers that were scattered around.

“Thank you, Yur.” She said and the male just nodded, leaving her office. She reached for the letter, no name on it, but she opened the envelope, grabbing the paper inside.

“Dear Y/N!

It’s been a while since we saw each other, things have been great ever since our last encounter. Nyx is growing up so fast, it makes my heart ache with the change.

Nesta and Cassian are happily enjoying their mated life, training the priestesses and whoever wants to join them in combat.

Elain is out in Spring Court with Lucien, the two of them are doing a great job in rebuilding Spring alongside Tamlin, and slowly learning about their bond. Elain told me she plans to accept it soon.

We’ve been happy, and we miss you dearly, but I’m afraid things aren’t as good as we thought, as things with the Mortal Queens are still tense and a new threat looms in the dark.

Rhys doesn’t want to disturb, he says that you and Az need your peace, but I know he is distressed, that he hasn’t been sleeping, fearing that we’re forced to go to battle again.

From a High Lady to another, I beg for your help. We need to prepare for whatever is coming.

Love, Feyre!”

The words made her heart twist on her chest, what could it be now? She clenched her fists, the thought of another thing to disturb their well deserved peace made her blood boil.

She got up, going after her mate, the letter clutched in hands. She found him by the sparring ring, Eris was there, she had no idea they were even coming today. Eva quickly wrapped her from behind.

“I missed you baby.” She says and Y/N smiles at her.

“We missed you too.” She replies, still feeling tense. Azriel immediately turns to her, blocking Eris and striding towards his wife.

“Something wrong?” He asks, feeling her distress through the bond. His hand rested on her belly.

“They need us.” She said, letter in hand. Azriel quickly reads through it.

“I’m sorry but we can’t go.” He replies.

“Of course we can, I still can handle myself Az.” He rolled his eyes.

“You’re four months pregnant, woman.” He pointed and Y/N shrugged.

“I still beat your ass any time.” She argues. “I’m not dying Azriel, I can fight just as well as I could.” Azriel held his mate closer.

“Please, reconsider.” He pouted and she pinched his cheek.

“No! Now we need to get ready, all of us.” She looked around, Eva and Eris nodded but Azriel still didn’t want her risking her life.

“There’s nothing I can say to make you give up?” He begged.

“I never ran away from danger, and I certainly don’t plan to do it now.” She rubbed her belly.

“Okay, but if I feel like you’re in danger, no matter how small, I’m protecting you, and only you, you’re my priority.” He warned.

“Such a Mother Hen.” She joked, pulling her mate in for a kiss. “We will be safe Az, with you, we’re always safe.” She reassured him.

“I can’t say no to my mate.” He finally gave in. “I bet they will be quite shocked about you.” He pointed to the round belly forming.

“Let’s just say that I love to do a big entrance.”

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Taglist: @allison-rosewood-maximoff @devilsfoodcake22 @fieldofdaisiies @valeridarkness @brekkershadowsinger @margssstuff @patdsinner33 @justdreamstars @dr4g0ngirl

[lala1267]

Take me to Paris

Summary: dilf elvis takes his lil baby girl to Paris, they flirt and be cute.

Notes: Ally calls Elvis "daddy" is this story it's used in a non sexual way so dw. This is just a little piece of writing that has been rotting in my drafts for a few days. And btw I'm working on loads of pieces of writing currently, so it will take some time for me to upload your requests 🩷🩷

Allison (ally for short) had been dating Elvis Presley for a good 2 years. She went from just a young girl with daddy issues to a girl who calls Elvis her daddy. Her father was never there for her, so Elvis took that spot. He was 39, and she was only 18. Of course, the press had a blast, creating rumours:

Elvis is dating a child! Is Elvis a pedophile? Is she a victim?

These were only some of the many headlines that covered the magazines. But that didn't get in the way of their undenying love for eachover. Ally was his little baby girl, and he was her daddy. He would care for her as if she were his own. He would cradle her at her lows and dance with her at her highs. His pretty baby. He was protective of her. If another man would look her way, he would throw a fit. If she layed eyes on another man, God knows what would happen. She was his, and no one else's.

They were currently on a private jet on the way to Paris. Elvis had promised her a trip to Paris if she was a good girl. That meant not throwing tantrums and not being a crybaby. That was a hard task for Ally, but she miraculously did it. Ally sat in Elvis' lap as he read a book. She twirled her caramel hair around her fingers as her bug eyes scanned the lavish jet. One of Elvis' arms was around her waist as the other held his book that he was sucked into. Ally was filled with excitement and happiness. She needed to get it out. She looked at Elvis as a large smile plastered over her delicate face. She tugged onto Elvis' silk shirt with her small hand, aching for his attention.

"I'm so excited, aren't you?"

She said cheerfully as she bounced in his lap happily. His didn't even bother to pry his eyes from his book.

"Mhm"

Ally's smile faded slightly as she heard his blunt answer. It quickly reappeared before she began to speak again.

"Well I'm so happy that you are taking me to Paris!"

She said excitedly.

"Mhm"

He said. Ally's smile dropped as she heard him.

"What are we gonna do there?"

She asked in an upbeat manner. Elvis just shrugged his shoulders, not bothered to look up at her. She frowned.

"Daddy, why are you ignoring me!?"

She raised her voice as she spoke. Finally, Elvis' eyes shifted towards her. They had an underlying anger to them.

"For goodness sake, I ain't ignoring ya!"

He exclaimed.

"But you are! It's not nice!"

She said before looking at him with her bambi eyes. Elvis looked at her with anger before pointing to the empty seat next to him.

"Get off my lap."

"What, why?"

She asked, offended.

"I ain't gonna have a little drama queen on my lap, not until you fix your attitude. Now, off."

He grunted as his long finger was still pointing at the cream lever seat. Ally looked at him and huffed.

"No."

Elvis quickly gripped her hips and lifted her up with ease. He aggressively placed her in the seat before looking at her with fury. He picked up his book and began to read once more. Ally looked up at him as if she was going to say something, but she made the right decision to shut her mouth before she really got under Elvis' skin. She crossed her arms angrily before looking out of the window. She couldn't help but feel a bit scared. She was so high up in the sky, but she wasn't in Elvis' arms. She needed him to comfort her. Ally looked through the window before biting her nails and moving away from it slightly. The sound of the engines just added to her nerves. She brought her hands up to her ears, silencing any noise. She glued her doll eyes shut in hopes of easing her fear.

Elvis looked down at her, his brows furrowed, and a slight frown formed on his plush lips. He knew that she was scared. He could read her like an open book. He picked her up with his big hands and cradled her in his lap. His fingers ran through her long hair.

"Aww baby, don't be scared."

He whispered into her ear as he held her close to him. He could never stay mad at her, even if he tried.

At the Hotel

Ally jumped onto the king bed. Her long hair spralled out over the white sheets. She looked as fragile as the cotton sheets. Elvis followed behind. He was carrying all of the luggage. He placed it on the floor before he checked himself out in the mirror. He messed with her velvet black hair a bit before straightening out his clothes. Ally walked up behind him before hugging him like a teddy bear. Elvis chuckled before looking down at her. He stroked her head softly.

"Can we go and do something, like see the Eifill Tower?"

She asked in a high-pitched tone. Elvis pulled away from her hug before looking down at her.

"Baby, it's 10 pm, we haven't even got settled into the hotel."

Elvis said as he looked down at her. Ally looked up at him.

"So?"

Her large eyes looked into his.

"Baby, it's late."

"Pleaseeee?"

She pleaded as she put on her best puppy eyes. Her eyes shot diamonds into his.

"Fine. You make me do some crazy things."

He said before walking over to the luggage and grabbing the hotel room keys. A large grin played on Ally's face. She followed him out of the door like a lost puppy.

They finally arrived at the tower. It was illuminated by bright golden/white lights that twinkled and shined like the stars in the night sky. Elvis hugged Ally from behind as they both looked up at the tower. Ally's hair blew everywhere as the cold night wind hit her. Her cold cheeks were bright pink, and her lips were a cool purple. The moonlight played in the dark green branches as Elvis placed candy sweet kisses onto her neck and cheek. Elvis' large hands were wrapped around her as if she were a Christmas present. She felt as fragile and satiny as silk, and she smelt of fresh vanilla and roses. Elvis' precious hair messed in the wind.

"Do ya like it baby?"

Elvis asked. His warm breath hit her collarbones. She turned her head to look up at him.

"I love it!"

She said with the sweetest and most innocent smile. Elvis bent his head down to kiss her cold lips. He pulled away to speak.

"That's good to know baby."

Ally turned herself around so that she was directly facing Elvis. She looked up at him before lifting her delicate self on her tiptoes. She puckered up her lips before kissing Elvis. Her cheeks dimpled as she smiled.

"I love you, Daddy."

She said as she looked up into his deep blues.

"I love you too, baby."

Elvis picked her up with his big arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She buried her head in the crescent of his shoulder. His hands traced along her body. The smell of Elvis' woody cologne lingered I'm her nose. He smelt like heaven. Their little lovey dovey moment was interrupted by a round of loud bangs and cackles. Ally jumped. Elvis held onto Ally tighter as the bangs continued. They both looked up at the sky. It was fireworks. An array of rainbows and sparkles decorated the sky. The pale moonlight was no longer visible as the fireworks illuminated the sky. Elvis pointed up towards it.

"Look baby."

He said happily. Ally looked. She began to smile and giggle as the bangs kept on coming. Elvis joined her in her laughter. Their childish laughter could be heard from a mile away. They were truly in love. They were inseparable.

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hello there! I don't know if anyone has asked for this, but do you happen to know any fic on which Stiles and Derek are colleague nurses or doctors, and they meet each other in that setting?

Hey @darkmind-ofmine! Here you go.

(^gpoy at work. true facts)

Pretty Eyes by Inell

(1/1 I 1,720 I Teen)

Stiles doesn’t intend to become a resident during a pandemic, but he’s learned to roll with whatever life throws his way.

The Anatomy of an FBI Agent by orphan_account

(2/? I 7,347 I Mature)

Stiles nodded. It sounded like a day full of machinery and doctors muttering over his scans.

“Will I be hanging out with you or one of the babies?”

Dr. Cutie grinned. “How could I trust them with my most prized patient?”

Stiles laughed.

He barely noticed the pain.

Bet On It by IDreamOnlyOfYou (lauren3210)

(1/1 I 8,343 I Mature)

Stiles is an RN and Derek the attending trauma surgeon at Beacon Hills Hospital. They're constantly arguing, much to the amusement of their colleagues, who ultimately decide to take bets on when the sexual tension will finally explode. The only question is, who will win the jackpot?

Or

5 times one of the guys try to push Derek and Stiles together, and the time they worked it out all on their own.

Complications by DIEMONDS

(3/? I 17,273 I Teen)

“We can still be strangers. Strangers that hook up.” Stiles had to mentally curse at himself for liking Derek’s smirk. He honestly couldn’t help it, the man’s smile was too gorgeous.

“No!” Stiles ran a hand through his hair. “What we did-you and me-that cannot happen again! You’re an attending, and I’m your intern! It’s wrong on so many levels.”

(this isn’t exactly) where you’d want me by decideophobia

(1/1 I 19,070 I Teen)

“Do you even have any nice and soothing words in your repertoire?” Stiles asks, holding still while McBroody shines a light into his eyes. “Or is it only me who they let you loose on?”

“I actually just downloaded a new set of comforting phrases to use on patients this morning but I haven’t had a chance to listen to and internalize them yet. I do know how to say, Good news: you’re not dead, and We only need to take off one of your legs, though.”

OR, the one where Stiles keeps ending up in the ER and Derek almost gets brain damage from so much stupid.

Hazardous to Our Health by HenleyBeck

(6/? I 21,590 I Explicit)

Derek has just moved back to Beacon Hills and he works at the hospital with his sister. He loves his job, he loves the people he works with and then there's Stiles. Stiles who seems to pop up everywhere that Derek is and it doesn't help that everybody loves the kid. But Stiles is also the Chief of Surgery's son and there's no way he can get involved with Stiles right?

Wrong. As a doctor, Derek knows that certain things can be hazardous to one's health but sometimes it's nice to live dangerously.

Yin To His Yang by weirdwithhumor

(9/? I 26,125 I Teen)

Derek always wanted kids. He just thought he would find the perfect man, get married and settled down first.

He just never thought he would be left pregnant, unmated at nearly 30, and on a journey to become a single father.

But, Doctor! by stilinskisparkles

(1/1 I 30,269 I Mature)

“We had to splint a girl’s leg in a ditch,” Scott says excitedly.

“Bro, you sound way too happy about that,” Stiles complains, opening up his bag and pulling out a Twinkie.

Derek removes it from his hand silently and replaces it with an apple. Stiles scowls at him for a second then bites into it, regardless. Derek sits back and lets the group discuss the merits of dramatic lifesaving feats for winning over the ladies. Scott is convinced it’ll help impress Allison; Isaac thinks Scott’s a loser. Stiles—

Stiles is falling asleep on Derek’s shoulder.

AND

@wolfspurr suggested this one!

No Superman by WhoNatural

(6/6 I 48,830 I Explicit I Sterek)

(AKA The Sterek Scrubs AU)

In which Stiles learns that med school didn’t prepare him for much at all; even the most epic of bromances can be weakened with the right amount of long, curly hair and dimples; and sometimes, first impressions aren’t all they’re cracked up to be - it’s the digging beneath the bravado that reveals who’s worth getting to know a little better.

Dr. Hale’s probably still a dick, though.

[mummybear]

My Brother's Best Friend - Part 3 - Explanations

Words: 6287

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, Tiny Bit Of Smut, Multiple Heart To Heart, Protective Scott, Possessive Stiles, Jealously, Talk Of Marking, Talk Of Mates. Think that's it.

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall, Reader/Sadie McCall, Lydia Martin, Liam Dunbar, Allison Argent, Melissa McCall, Derek Hale.

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski and Reader

Summary: A little bit more of the truth is revealed and things get heated between Stiles and Sadie, not in all positive ways. Just how much can Sadie take?

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I know I missed a week there, had a busy week at work! And hopefully this extra long chapter will make up for it, I was going to cut it into two chapter but I felt it flowed better as one, so I hope that's okay! Please let me know what you think, really hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3 - Explanations

Scott’s whispered confession reaches your ears and you collapse against him almost immediately. Being turned was the one thing Stiles had insisted that he would never want, and he’d become increasingly adamant as the years had gone on. You can’t help but worry how this has affected their friendship, this was a pretty big thing to come between two friends. You also need to find out just how badly it’s currently affecting the two of them individually. They were two of the most important people in your life, which only made hearing all of this that much harder.

Scott pulls back to look at you as soon as you’ve recovered from the shock. You know that he needs to talk, to get this off of his chest, so you don't say anything in reply. You're slightly unsure of what to say right now anyway, because he’d done it, you knew he wasn’t lying, he’d bitten Stiles and that only meant one thing. 

Besides, It's not like you can argue with him, because given his choices and his abilities, you would've done the same thing, especially in the heat of the moment. Knowing your brother the way you do, you know how hard it was for him to make that decision. He’d never wanted to turn anyone, let alone somebody who couldn’t make the decision for themselves.

A fleeting thought crosses your mind, does Stiles still have the beginnings of his mothers condition? Or had his new werewolf side shielded him from that reality? But Scott speaking pulls you from your thoughts.

"Trust me, nobody can hate me more than I hate myself for what I did that day. I know it was selfish, I do. But I couldn't lose my best friend, Sadie. Not like that, not when I had the chance to save him."

You hug him again, making sure to squeeze him extra tight. 

"I won't tell you that you made the wrong decision, Scott, because that would make me a hypocrite. I'm pretty sure in your position I would've done the same. But have the two of you spoken about any of this? The guilt you're clearly feeling? Are you guys okay?" 

"Sorry, I’m just worried about you, well, both of you." You mumble under your breath, pulling back to look at him. You're sure that your wince is visible as soon as the words leave your lips. 

Not that Scott shows any sign of being overwhelmed by your inquisition, nothing new there though. He simply gives you a fond smile as he looks you over, as if contemplating if you can handle his next words.

"Typical, Sadie. Always thinking of everyone else, never yourself.” Scott sighs softly, before he continues. 

“Stiles knows how I feel and why I feel it, and he gets it. We've talked at length about this, trust me, I think he’s sick of me asking at this point. He isn't happy about what I did, not by a long shot, but he's had time to process and he understands why I did what I did." Before Scott can continue he groans in pain and clenches his teeth.

You quickly grab his shoulders and force him to look at you. "I guess I got it from my big brother, huh?” You state matter of factly, trying your best to distract him from whatever pain he’s feeling but you watch as he balls his hands into fists, clearly doing his best to ignore whatever is wrong. Then you watch as his face begins to contort in pain, instantly worrying you. 

“Scott, what Is it?" You demand as the worry tightens your stomach almost painfully. He reaches out and quickly grabs the couch and his claws start protruding from the tips of his fingers.

"I hate to ask you this, Sadie. But I need you to go down to the basement with me. Stiles needs you, he's in pain and he and I, our connection, it’s diff…" Scott's sentence is cut off when he moans, grabbing at his head and dropping to the floor. 

You don't even think as you leave your brother, making a run for it, heading towards the basement door. You rip the door open and charge down the stairs, flinging open the final door as soon as it’s in reach.

"Stiles?" You call out as soon as you round the corner, but you come to a halt as soon as your eyes fall on the man in question, he’s chained to the wall in front of you. Growling low and sinister the closer you get to the men. You glance at Derek and Liam standing off to the side, looking like they’re ready to pounce at the slightest hint of trouble, and move away a little.

Lydia quickly grabs your hand and pulls you with her all the way to the other side of the room, with Allison and your mom. 

You very quickly realise that you can't look away from Stiles. His eyes are a much deeper purple than you had initially seen earlier. Maybe they changed depending on the situation and perhaps his emotions played a part in it too. Simply another thing you were yet to find out. 

You finally allow yourself a real look at him and the man he’s become. Your eyes move over him slowly, taking your time to check him out. He's certainly not the same Stiles Stilinski that you remember. He looks mouth-wateringly good, even covered in dirt and blood, his corded muscles ripple as he strains against the restraints, his clothes clinging tightly to his sweat-soaked body. You’re unable to get over how he was still the skinny defenceless boy you’d fallen in love with. His hair is a little longer than it was the last time he’d been home. Yet another thing you’d failed to notice. Stiles had you so distracted earlier tonight that you’d barely managed to pay attention to anything, except the things he was doing to you. You didn’t give much thought to how much he had changed. 

"Mine." Stiles growls suddenly for the second time tonight. Hearing that word again snaps you from your admiration of him, especially when he begins to thrash in his chains to get to you.

However, the tighter he pulls against his bindings the more blood drips from his elbows, but he either doesn’t care or he doesn’t seem to notice. Almost like the rage had consumed him. Stiles doesn’t even seem like himself right now, It’s almost like he’s possessed. And It’s killing you to watch him like this, to see him hurting himself in this way. The fact that it’s because of you doesn’t escape your notice.

You swallow thickly as you step closer to him, almost like you’re hypnotised by him once again. Except that this time you're very aware of the pull, so you don't put up any resistance. You wince when you catch sight of just how deep the handcuffs and chains have cut into his wrists. You’re really hoping that Stiles heals just as quickly as Scott, or he’s gonna be in a lot of pain for quite a few days at least.

"Let him free, please. I need him out of there and so does my brother." You whisper to nobody in particular, eyes locked on Stiles’. 

"We can't, Mini. I’m sorry, really. But we don't know what he'll do. He isn’t himself right now and we need to wait for Scott. Alpha’s orders." His words are careful, almost like he’s worried about upsetting you. Apparently he’s right to be worried about your reaction, because suddenly anger creeps up your spine, almost as if it isn't your own and you round on the Beta.

"I said let him the fuck out. Now. It's hurting him and my brother. So your Alpha can’t exactly speak for himself right now. So do it, let him out.” Your voice is practically a growl as you march up to Liam and shove him back against the wall. He holds his hands up to try and placate you, for some reason that just makes your anger spike higher. Your hands tighten in his jacket as you shove him back harder. “Or we can find out what happens if you really piss me off."

Anger is thick in every one of your senses. Although now this anger is one hundred percent your own. It’s a feeling you’re all too familiar with, though not at this intensity. It’s the feeling of needing to protect something that’s yours, so even though you might not have the same power as the people in this room, it is something you can’t stop yourself from trying to do.

You feel everyone’s eyes on you. Of course they don’t look overly concerned about you hurting anyone. It’s probably just that they don’t like seeing you upset, you quickly glance at Derek, “just wait okay, I’ll go get Scott.” 

You give Derek a stiff nod in return, watching him leave until the door closes behind him. No matter how much you try to calm yourself, it feels like the anger and despair are drowning you. It’s beginning to scare you now, there’s no controlling it, your hands shake as you screw your eyes shut, searching for some semblance of calm.

"Don't do this, this isn’t you, Sadie. It's okay, I’m okay. Breathe for me, please." You spin around hearing his raspy breathless voice and once again your eyes lock with Stiles.

His eyes have returned to the chocolate brown colour you've always loved. "Stiles," you sigh in relief. Taking a deep breath and stumbling back a little, as the anger seems to leave you in a dizzying rush, almost as if Stiles had helped you gain control of your emotions. But that’s not possible, right?

Your mother wraps her arms around you, right as Scott stumbles into the room with Derek’s arm wrapped around his waist to hold him up.

"He's back. For everyone's sake let him out." Scott’s breathless as Derek releases him and helps him lean against the wall to catch his breath.

Allison quickly undoes Stiles' chains with the key that she’d been tightly clutching the whole time, and with a nod from your brother Lydia and Liam rush to grab Stiles as he collapses under his own weight. You have to look away when Stiles rests his head on Lydia’s shoulder, jealousy and sadness hit you all at once, like a punch to your gut. Turning around in your mother’s arms you wrap yours around her too, burying your face in her shoulder.

Suddenly goosebumps raise at the back of your neck, “not now, Stiles. Sadie needs rest. Now that you’re back to yourself. I hope you understand that.” Your arms tighten around her, and you thank the stars that Melissa McCall is your mother, she has this ability to sense what you need before you even say anything. 

Without another word she turns you both and wraps her arm around your shoulder, pulling you into her body tighter, as she leads you out of the room. You follow silently, unsure of what to say. This day has already been completely crazy, you just need a little time and space to process everything. It’s so damn late you’re surprised the sun hasn't started rising yet.  

As soon as the two of you walk inside your room you collapse on the bed, throwing an arm over your eyes, but you can feel your mom watching you. 

“Can we not talk about it, momma. I just need the rest of the night to myself, we can talk tomorrow, okay? I promise I’ll be fine.” 

You inwardly flinch as the images of all the times you’ve seen Stiles and Lydia together flash through your mind on an unforgiving loop.

“Sure baby girl, you’ve got it. But you need anything, you know where I am.” She gives your leg an affectionate squeeze before heading out of the room, with a sigh you close your eyes and roll onto your, doing your best to sleep. Feeling a tear roll down your cheek as the images continue to assault your senses.

Some Time Later That Night

You wake suddenly, hearing the creek of the bedroom door as it opens slowly. You sit up and quickly turn on the bedside light, squinting at the brightness it brings. Your heart hammers in your chest as you feel yourself beginning to panic. Then a mop of brown hair appears around the door, “sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to talk, or sit, or I guess just be near you. If that’s okay? This is… I sound like an idiot, I just-” you cut him off, unable to stop yourself from giggling at him, his cheeks are bright pink and he looks so nervous. Which is so strange with how he looks now, but it’s also so much like the Stiles you used to know. 

“Come in, sit down. Dork,” you smile, patting the bed beside you trying to pretend all he is your brother’s best friend coming to talk, and completely ignoring the fact that you’d been making out a few hours ago.

He watches you closely, almost like he’s worried about scaring you off if he moves quickly.

“You sure? I couldn’t sleep, I just… I guess I just need to be near you, if you don’t mind that is. I don’t want to overstep, guess I thought we could talk.” He’s rambling and fiddling with his own fingers as he watches you closely.

You carefully lay your hand on top of his when he sits beside you on your bed. 

“Stiles, It’s okay that you’re nervous. I am too, this whole thing is kind of crazy.” 

“You have no idea just how crazy it is. Scott said he told you what happened to me. With this,” he says as he waves his hand over his body. 

“This is so strange to talk about, I never saw all of this in my future. Even though I don’t even know what this is exactly. Deaton has some running theories. Unfortunately none of us have anything concrete to go on right now.”

“Can I ask where Scott…” you can’t finish the sentence, unsure if it’s rude to ask about his mark.

Stiles swallows hard and nods, meeting your eyes, he shrugs off his hoodie and extends his arm. The mark is half way up his forearm, and to your surprise it’s still visible. You vividly remember how Scott’s had disappeared pretty quickly after he’d been bitten by Peter. 

“Yeah, I kinda got that you’re not just any kind of wolf, you’re different. Right?” you ask as he links his fingers with your own. 

Stiles leans back against the headboard and you do the same, turning so that you look him in the eyes. This feels good, like he trusts you, like he wants to confide in you, it’s something you’d always wanted. To feel like you could be there for him when he needed somebody the most.

“I was starting to get used to it, the whole wolf thing. Well, as much as was possible. But then I saw you and something changed, it was like I couldn’t control myself, I needed to get to you. I know you probably don’t want to talk about this, but when I found that douche in that room with you, I lost it. The thought of him touching you made me feel sick, the fact that you clearly weren’t interested both helped and made things so much worse. I wasn’t just angry as your brother’s best friend or even as your friend.” He reaches up and cups your cheek with his free hand, “I didn’t want his filthy fucking hands anywhere near you. I had to have you, make you mine. Possess you, mark you,” he rasps, his voice becoming breathy and laboured, and the purple in his eyes flashes again, before quickly returning to brown.

You swallow thickly, arousal and nerves swimming inside you like an uncontrollable force. “What about now?” you whisper, leaning in a little bit closer.

“Right now, I can’t lie. Those thoughts haven’t changed, they’re still there, no matter how much I try to push them down. The more time we spend together, the harder it gets to ignore, and it gets harder by the second not to throw you on this bed and make you mine.” He all but growls before clearing his throat. 

Stiles gives you a wry smile as he shakes his head. “But now I’m in control of myself, I won’t do anything, not until you know everything. I won't let you do anything more with me, not until you know as much as we do.” 

“Wow,” you whimper, clenching your thighs together as his words continue to stoke the fire inside you. You clear your throat and take a shuddered breath when Stiles subconsciously edges a little closer to you, so that your thighs are touching.

“What, you’re not even going to kiss me?” The words leave your parted lips in a breathy whisper.

“No.” His words are sharp and blunt. You wish it didn’t turn you on more but it does. 

“What else do I need to know?” you question quietly. Licking your lips as you watch him closely, wishing that you could just get this out of the way and get to the good stuff.

His thumb brushes your bottom lip, “stop doing that for starters, beautiful.” 

“Why’s that?” 

He chuckles quietly. “I think you know exactly why, so stop being a smart ass.”

Your nose brushes against his as you lean in the last little bit, “maybe you should tell me what I need to know Agent Stilinski, then we can get down to business.”

“Ugh, come on you little minx. Don’t do that to me,” Stiles groans, brushing his nose over yours softly.

“Just a little taste,” you whisper before moving in and pressing your lips to his. Stiles sighs in defeat and pulls you closer. 

“Fine. You win for now…” Stiles mumbles, pulling away briefly to meet your eyes, “but we’re not doing anything permanent. Not until we talk.”

“Yes Sir,” you grin, throwing off your duvet and climbing into his lap. The sleep shorts you’d pulled on before bed pull tight against your ass as you settle your knees either side of his hips.

You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him, letting everything you have ever felt for him pour into the kiss. He holds you close, wrapping his arms around you as his tongue moves to brush against yours. The kiss quickly deepens and you feel his fingers beginning to dig into your skin soft harshly, but it only makes you want him more. You whimper as the passion intensifies and you feel like your heart is about to beat out of your chest. You can’t get close enough to him for your liking, It’s almost like you want to be a part of him. 

“Please,” you moan against Stiles’ lips as he pulls your hips tighter against his.

The rigid length of his thick cock settles between your thighs, and you can’t help but whimper as you experimentally roll your hips over him.

“Don’t, Sadie.” Stiles demands, his eyes glowing purple once more, only this time the colour doesn’t leave his eyes and you quickly stop your movements.

Stiles tightly grips your ass now in both hands and his fingers dig into your bare skin. You cup his cheeks and watch him closely as you tell him what you need to. Both of you breathing heavily against each other's lips, then the lust that was thick in the room quickly begins to fade.

“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry, we should talk.” You sigh regretfully, looking down into your lap as you drop your hands to his chest.

“Hey. Look at me,” Stiles asks you, moving his hands up and gently squeezing your hips.

“I guess I’ve just wanted this for so long, you and me I mean. I never even considered you’d look in my direction.” You look up to meet his eyes, instead you find him chewing on his lower lip. “What?”

“How long?” Stiles asks as his thumbs rub soothing circles into your hips.

“What does that matter?” You ask nervously, looking at the wall behind him, too afraid to meet his eyes.

“I’m just interested. I never noticed anything, you never said anything.” 

“Come on, Stiles. You’re my big brother’s best friend. I’m just some huge cliche. Not to mention the fact that you’ve been in love with Lydia for so many years. I accepted a long time ago that I never stood a chance. Maybe this thing between us will just fizzle out soo-”

Stiles cuts you off when his lips meet yours, you squeeze your eyes shut as a tear rolls down your cheek. You wrap yourself around him tighter, doing your best to hold onto whatever this is for as long as possible. Stiles threads his fingers through your hair as he attempts to pull you closer. Both clinging to each other as you pour everything you have into a kiss once again, too worried this will be your last. Stiles pulls away slowly, giving your lips a final soft peck.

“I might not know everything about us just yet, but don’t say that we’re temporary. I’d never do that, not to you. I don’t want you ever even thinking that ever again. This is exactly why I said we needed to talk.”

You sigh and rest your forehead against his, “okay, so talk.”

“Okay. So I guess we should start from the beginning. Back when Scott turned eighteen he started having these urges. They were so intense and he really struggled to stop himself from taking every opportunity to be with Alison. When I say be with Alison I mean like be with her,”

“Okay, eww. Stop with the visuals I get it.”

Stiles clears his throat, failing miserably to hide his laugh before continuing. “Anyway, it didn’t matter where they were or who they were with, they couldn’t stop themselves. Frankly I almost threw up on several occasions, frankly I’m surprised that you didn’t notice. Anyway, it only got worse, he started getting visions, he was unbelievably possessive and protective of her and anyone who was around her got the brunt of it, specifically men.” Stiles gives you a sheepish smile as he pulls back to look at you.

“Okay, so some of this sounds familiar…” you trail off, admiring the way he looks in that moment.

“Right, I’m getting to that. So, when Alison started acting out, feeling things that were far from the usual, experiencing not only her emotions but Scott’s as well, amongst a bunch of other things you’ll probably soon notice with us, he went to Deaton for help. Scott asked Deaton if he knew what the hell was going on with him and with Allison, especially since she wasn’t a wolf. As it turns out the good doctor had some idea, he’d been doing some more research into the whole true Alpha thing, while the research is limited, for obvious reasons, it did mention something about the true Alpha and their pack having mates. Where regular werewolves aren’t heard to have mates specifically, Scott is different, and by extension so is anyone in his pack. More specifically the wolves he has turned will be the ones more likely to be affected.” You can almost feel his excitement the more he talks, and his grip on you tightens.

You gently pry his hands off of you, doing your best to ignore the hurt look that crosses his face when you climb off of his lap, moving to sit beside him instead.

You’re pretty sure that you’re starting to connect the dots, as much as you want to listen, you can’t deny that you’re becoming increasingly nervous the more that he talks.

“Please, don’t run. Not again. I know this is alot to take in, but…” you cut him off with a shake of your head.

“I’m not gonna run, Stiles. This is just a lot, and it only confirms everything I was worried about to begin with.” You sigh, rubbing your hands over your face. Stiles carefully and hesitantly wraps an arm around your waist and tries to pull you closer.

You can’t deny the comfort you feel being close to him, his skin touching yours only adds to everything you feel.

“Okay. It’s your turn to talk, what exactly is it that you’re worried about?” Stiles asks, turning your face so that you’re looking at him. 

You feel a tear roll down your cheek as soon as your eyes clash with his, “let’s be honest here, Stiles. If it wasn’t for this whole mate bond thing, would you have even looked at me twice, in a way that wasn’t like I was your sister? Can you honestly tell me that anything would have changed between us if Scott hadn’t been forced to bite you that day?”

Your heart hammers painfully in your chest as you watch him, you can see the unease written all over his face. However, that only serves to prove your point and that just breaks your heart that much more.

“It doesn’t matter how things used to be, Mini, things damn well change. And we don’t know what would’ve happened. Please, don’t talk like this. It feels like you’re saying goodbye before anything even has a chance to start between us.” Cupping your face he wipes your tears away carefully. “Please, stop crying.” 

“Well we don’t know that now do we!?” You can’t keep your voice down, there are too many emotions swirling inside you uncontrollably. 

You jump off of the bed and start pacing your room, fully aware that Stiles is yet to take his eyes off of you. Hearing you bed creek you turn to face the movement, watching as he slowly walks towards you.

“Goddamit Sadie! Just stop. I get that you don’t understand how any of this works, well neither do I, not really! Not first hand! I understand that you don’t see that I could go from not seeing you the way I do now, seemingly out of nowhere. But it was like a bolt of lightning hit me the second I saw you tonight. I laid eyes on you and everything made sense, I know that you don’t completely understand, but surely you feel it?”

“Of course I feel it! I’ve felt it for the last decade of my life! My feelings didn’t just appear overnight! They only got stronger. And It fucking hurts, Stiles!” 

“Then why can’t we give this thing a go! Just let me try, please! You don’t know what this mate bond means. At least let me explain that. If you don’t want to talk to me, then ask your brother or Allison, I’m trying here okay! Just tell me what I can do?” Stiles begs, stilling your pacing when he gently takes you by the arms.

“I want to talk to you about this, whatever this is… I just don’t know what to make of all of it.”

Running your hands through your hair you inwardly groan knowing what you’re about to say. 

“But first I need to ask you something, and I want only honest answers. Even if it means that I won't like what you say, because I need to know that I can trust you. Especially If we do go through whatever needs to be done to complete this mate bond.”

“How do you know you need to do something to complete the bond?” Stiles asks, a slight grin kicking up the corner of his lips.

“Stiles,” you sigh, folding your arms across your chest.

“Okay, sorry. Go ahead, I promise I’ll be honest whatever that means for us, I won’t lie.” He looks nervous, but there’s a determination you can see written all over his face. 

“Do you still have feelings for Lydia?” Your voice remains even and steady, no matter how much you’re dreading the answer to that question. One thing you’re sure of though is that you can read Stiles like a book, always have been able to. Or maybe he just wasn't a very good liar, you just hoped he hadn’t honed that particular skill while working with the FBI.

Stiles smiles at you and shakes his head. 

“Honestly, no I don’t, at least not in the same way that I used to. A few years back Lydia talked to me about it, the guys had been joking with me about it, she overhead and pulled me to one side. We talked for a while and I realised my feelings weren’t the same as they used to be, sure I still love her, but only in the same way that I love Allison, that’s it.” He takes your hand and places it over his heart. His heartbeat remains steady and controlled, and his eyes stay locked with yours.

You’re so shocked that you just stare at him for a full minute with your mouth open, but then he begins to look a little too smug so you decide to speak.

“So, let’s say I believe you. Did Deaton say Scott and Allison needed to do something to complete the mating bond? Or was it just a sure thing the minute Scott turned eighteen?” you ramble, fully aware these questions are practically spilling from your mouth.

“I’m guessing you’re using your brother and Allison to try and distance yourself from this. I’ll play along with it.” Stiles agrees reluctantly, and you hate that you have to use your brother and his girlfriend as cover, but you need to distance yourself from the situation a little. 

“Deaton’s research indicated that a lot of the myths and stories around werewolves aren't so crazy. As it turns out there’s actually a lot of truth behind them. A werewolves mate is its other half, almost like a soulmate. So when they finally find each other it’s usually instinctual to mark each other. Obviously, like I said, Scott is different. Mates haven’t been mentioned in decades amongst wolves, not until now. So far It’s only been Scott and our pack that we know of, but still, it also means that not both halves are always wolves. Like with Scott and Allison, and you and me.” Silence surrounds the pair of you as you stare at him, he smiles and tucks a finger under your chin to close your mouth. 

You frown when Stiles’ smile suddenly drops, and he seems to be contemplating telling you something. However, then you hear him sigh and he screws his eyes shut. When he does open them you see his nervousness and worry staring back at you.

“I should also tell you something else. Something I wish so badly I could lie to you about, because right now I’m terrified you’ll want to choose this option. But I meant what I said, I won’t force you into this, and definitely not without all of the information.” 

“Okay. I’m listening. But don’t be so sure I’ll take the easy route.” You smile, trying to reassure him somehow.

Stiles seems to ignore your words, and the worry doesn’t lift from his face as he scrubs a hand over it before speaking.

“You can refuse to be my mate. You can reject me and I can reject you. We also both have the option to refuse or accept the rejection. But I promise you here and now that if you chose to reject me I would accept it. If that was what you wanted, I won’t stop you. But I will NEVER reject you. I need you to understand that whatever happens, It won't be me rejecting you.”

“Is it painful? To reject someone I mean? How would we even do that?” you ask with confusion lacing your tone. 

Stiles winces as at your reply and looks down at his hands, which he quickly tucks in his pockets.

“If that’s what you want to do, I understand. But the selfish part of me can’t explain to you how to do it. So you’ll need to get Deaton to explain it properly, I wouldn’t want you to mess it up, not if you truly wanted to do it. But yes, it is. It’s apparently the worst pain a wolf can experience.”

“And you’d do that? For me?” you ask in disbelief stepping closer.

“I’d fucking die for you Sades. What’s a bit of pain?” 

Your heart practically breaks at that statement, the look on his face alone could shatter you right then and there, so you decide to try and change the subject. Especially since you have no intention of rejecting him either.

“Wow this is a lot,” you half laugh in disbelief, running a nervous hand through your hair.

“As soon as I caught your scent, my mouth watered and I knew instantly what you were to me, even before I knew who you were. Then I saw you, and that need to make you mine was so insistent and constant that I felt it everywhere. But I wouldn’t ever do that to you, not without you having full knowledge of the situation. I was doing okay at keeping my cool, but then we kissed and I lost it.” 

“Has Scott marked Allison?” you ask swallowing thickly when you don’t find yourself completely against the idea.

“Sure has, right here,” he rasps as he trails his finger along your collarbone. 

“Scott wanted it where everyone could see it.” 

He licks his lips as your heart rate increases, you take a step back as he advances on you, until your back hits the wall.

You clear your throat as you look into his eyes once more, “have you thought about where you would mark me, if we did go ahead with this whole mating thing?” 

“You little Minx are playing with fire right now. But since we’re being honest, I haven’t thought about much else. So don’t tease me.” 

“C’mon! Tell me, please,” you whisper, unintentionally leaning into his touch. 

Stiles chews on his bottom lip thoughtfully, you can feel his eyes roam across any uncovered skin, almost like it burns under his gaze. He hums thoughtfully as he traces several places with his fingers. He starts by tracing the line between your neck and shoulder, before he slowly moves down, lingering on the curve of your breast a little longer than necessary and your heart rate speeds up as he makes his way down your body. His eyes saying everything that his mouth won't.

“So many perfect places,” he mumbles, moving next to trace the line of your hip where your t-shirt has ridden up, lastly he moves between your thighs, tracing along your inner thigh keeping his touch high. He’s so close to your pussy that you can feel an intense heat beginning to overtake you when his fingers dig into your skin.

“Guess it depends just how badly I want people to know who you belong to, doesn’t it? Or If I want it somewhere only I can see.”

You're speechless as you tremble with need in front of him, the need to have him inside you is almost overwhelming. You would do anything to please him right now, you want him more than you’ve ever wanted anything. Stiles’ deep chuckle catches you by surprise as he leans in, inhaling deeply.

“I can smell your need, mate. You’re wet for me again, aren’t you?” he rumbles as he nuzzles into your neck. You’re fully aware it’s a statement not a question.

“That werewolf nose of yours is gonna be a real big pain in my ass, Stilinski,” you giggle as his breath tickles your skin.

He pulls back to grin at you again. “How about you? Where would you want my mark? I know you’re thinking about it, my little minx.”

Licking your lips you slip out from in between Stiles and the wall keeping your eyes on him. “Well, I could tell you the answer to that. But I think we’ve talked enough.” 

You slowly slip your shirt over your head and Stiles’ rumbling growl fills the room. He steps forward and you step back another step, slowly letting your shorts drop, leaving you in your underwear.

“I think It’s only fair if we get a good, long, hard look at each other. You know, for research.”

Stiles doesn’t speak and his eyes haven't moved from your body. He quickly pulls off the black t-shirt he’s wearing, and you have to hold your breath at the sight in front of you. If you’d thought he was ripped before, dear lord were you in for a surprise. He has a six pack you could only dream of and he looks like he could throw you around the bedroom with those arms. That deep V at his hips has you itching to run your tongue along it.

You swallow thickly as he smirks at you, and those purple eyes return, only showing you that his emotions have some control over their colour. 

“Well damn, you certainly healed up. Real fucking nicely.” You groan, licking your lips as he dips his thumbs into the waistband of his track pants, exposing more of that V.

“Glad you approve, Minx.” He grins, letting his pants drop to the floor, leaving him in his boxers.

“I’ve never been happier to be part of research. Because you look good enough to eat.”

Tags: @julzdec @lettersofwrittencollective @mogaruke @lilulo-12fanfiction @charmed-asylum @defenderrosetyler @emilyshurley @foxyjwls007 @mylovelydame21 @akshi8278 @peaches0007 @stylesismyhubs @peachyyybabyy @fantasy-myth1 @death-unbecomes-you @coffeebooksandfandom @magssteenkamp @screamxqueenx94 @brien-odylan @riseandshinelittleblossom @ceceliaking-18 @mrs-mitch-rapp93 @missindecision @deans-number-one-fan @onethirstyunicorn @amberboo329 @chewie-redbird @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone

[sailorstarlesbian]

I made a harukyon playlist! Because I have intense brainworms and because I noticed there's a severe lack of TMOHS playlists on spotify (except for itsukyon, good job).

Explanation/rant about each song + link to lyrics and translations under the cut! (tldr: tsundere x tsundere realness)

Weird Autum (Shardrow/Night in the Woods). Sometimes you can't see someone until they're gone. But some people never stop, they're always moving on. This song pretty much reflects how people view Haruhi at the beginning of the story, plus the curiosity? the singer has about Autum also reflects Kyon's curiosity for Haruhi and wanting to know more about her despite thinking she's "weird".

Dakara boku wa ongaku wo yameta (Yorushika). Even I had a faith in something too, but now it has turned into rubbish. I wrote to you again and again. Shoutout to letyukisayfuck for suggesting this one on the discord because yeah... I feel this one really resonates with Haruhi's feelings pretty much through the series, but mostly during Melancholy. Her inner turmoil between wanting to believe in the supernatural, wanting to believe she's special, but also being a pretty rational person who deep down knows it's impossible. The "you" the singer is talking too pretty perfectly fits Haruhi's vision of John Smith too.

Yoake to Hotaru (n-buna). I can't find what I want to do, so I hang my head down low and pretend to be in a hurry. They laugh at me when I fell down, but I notice not to notice the laughter. Yea this is pretty much a continuation of the last song (they're written by the same person it's not my fault). Haruhi's melancholy, her negative feelings towards a boring world that has no use to her, etc etc. I like that this song is less angry than the others in the playlist because Haruhi also has her moments of just. Feeling sad, man.

I Hear a Symphony (Cody Fry). I used to hear a simple song, that was until you came along. Now in its place is something new. I hear it when I look at you. I feel like this is pretty obvious, but, yea, Kyon's world literally gains color after he meets Haruhi. He, a self-defined cynic who thought he was over believing in supernatural stuff, is suddenly thrown into Haruhi's whole mess and he loves it. I'm gonna lay down and cry now.

Die Anywhere Else (Alec Holowka/Night in the Woods). I just want to die anywhere else. If only I could die anywhere else. So come with me, let’s die anywhere else. Pretty much Haruhi's feelings during Melancholy, especially at the end. The song talks about feeling insignificant, about not liking where you are but being unable to change anything. This girl needs therapy.

I was an Island (John-Allison Weiss). I was a fighter, and I was so brave. But I lowered my sword when you held me and swore you'd stay. This is one of those songs that fit both of them pretty well! It's a bit more obvious is that Haruhi finally found in Kyon someone who would stay with her despite everything (I feel like their fight in Sighs is the best example of this), but it's also true that Kyon trusts Haruhi more than anyone else, and he found in her someone who helps him be himself (even if he's tsundere about it).

Bouken deshou deshou? (Aya Hirano). Please come with me. Look at me--I'm free everywhere I go. Literally a Haruhi song! I couldn't not add it. I feel like it sums up Haruhi's feelings right after meeting Kyon and forming the brigade, of excitement and feeling like doing things that aren't normal, and wanting Kyon to come with her and look at her as she finally feels some happy after so long.

Rock in God's Shoe (Sushi Soucy). God is a narrator but He left His mic off, and now we are left without guidance. Okay this one is less about their relationship and just a good Haruhi song. The "God is a middle schooler, we are a science project" part reflects pretty well both Haruhi's mentality during and before the did whatever the fuck to the world three years ago, and the song reflects pretty well how the different factions view her. The God is a narrator part also fits really well with the Kyon is god theory. I wanna make an animatic with this song someone please bully me into doing it.

Despair (Leo). 'Cause it's not romantic, I swear. I'm not gasping for air. I want you to be here, but please don't come near. It's the tsundere song! They're both tsundere!! What else can I say. They're both so in love with the other but are too stubborn and prideful to admit it.

Avalanche (Walk the Moon). One glance and the avalanche drops. One look and my heartbeat stops. This is to me like, the pinning song. Again kind of self-explanatory, they're both in love with the other but are too tsundere to admit it. "Sometimes the past echoes in the future" also speaks to how their relationship literally started before they met for the first time (the sense of urgency in the lyrics is me pushing them together like dolls).

Kimi no shiranai monogatari (Supercell). Since when did I become someone who chases after you? I'm begging you, listen without being surprised, to these feelings I have. It's super important to me that this is Kyon's POV. This is a song about Kyon realizing too late he was in love with Haruhi the whole time and regretting not telling her (if you wanna get sad, this is after they graduate and lose contact, or it could just him being dramatic). The brief mentions of the "you" in the song sound a lot like Haruhi, and the mentions of summer to me are reminscent of how brief the three years of high school really are. I also really really love the scenario of Kyon finally realizing/accepting he's in love with Haruhi. Plus it's important to me that back in like 2010 every popular ship got an AMV or a MAD with this song, AND that it's a Bakemonogatari ED and Bakemonogatari owes sooo much to Haruhi let's be real.

Zenzenzense (RADWIMPS). We met at the far extremes of so many galaxies. How should I grasp your hand to keep it from falling apart? All of this song is just harukyon. From the very beginning with Haruhi telling Kyon he's late, the mentions of basically "I would stop the earth to save you if anything happened to you", to "the parts of the story that happened while you were sleeping" (everything Haruhi doesn't know about the brigade), plus the singer's cocky attitude (calling the other person's smile awkward or their voice annoying while talking about restarting the world for them) that fits Kyon so well. "You stole from me my ability to ever give up" is just. I need to lay down I'm getting emotional.

(break in the list because tumblr got mad at me)

One Man Live (RADWIMPS). You make this perfectly round earth in to a theater, and you make yourself on the stage, there you will play until the sound of the ringing stops and the applause echoes around. Kind of a similar vibe to Zenzenzense, though this is more about Haruhi's strong personality and Kyon being willing to be his support (even if he's tsundere about it). The way it talks about overcoming pain speaks to me about both Haruhi overcoming her issues, and about Kyon overcoming all the real stuff that comes with being in Haruhi's orbit, but "the feedback is no problem, that sound will become your voice".

Shut Up And Dance (Walk the Moon). "Oh, don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me" I said, "You're holding back". She said, "Shut up and dance with me". The chorus just always makes me think of Haruhi and Kyon, and their typical kind of banter, while in the "narration" Kyon knows them getting together is just matter of time. Maybe not as deep as the rest but it's fun and I like it.

Super Driver (Aya Hirano). I found you all by myself, isn't it obvious I'd fall in love with you? I mean this is another Haruhi song so, you konw. I really like the bridge, where Haruhi says "none of this is a dream, so why is my heart pounding?", because it refelcts how she's finally having fun without having to "force" anything, just being with the Bridage. Haruhi being happy makes me happy.

Melancholic (Junky). Ever since you appeared in that dream, I haven't been honest to myself. Another tsundere song! What I like about these is that it fits both of them, though this is a bit more Haruhi-centric. You can tell the singer is angry about having her heart stolen, but happy about it at the same time. Haruhi and Kyon are both a bit angry at the other for their feelings, but at the end of the day it's still a happy feeling and they both enjoy each other's presence (no matter how tsundere they are about it).

Sokkenai (RADWIMPS). Why are you so indifferent? Turn around and face me. You’re the one who told me to come. Listen it's not my fault so many RADWIMPS songs sound like Kyon's POV. This really feels like the rare moments when Kyon gets emotionally mature with Haruhi, where he knows what Haruhi wants from him but wants her to say it out loud (like exactly the end of Melancholy, "looks good on you" etc etc). Deep down Kyon knows Haruhi is both embarrassed and afraid to admit her feelings, even though she's the one that keeps pulling him closer and closer. The way the chorus says "if I'm not the one, tell me because I don't have that much time", but then "if you'll teach me about love, I have all the time in the world" just... feels like the type of thing Kyon would say. Even the part at the end when the singer admits he's only being this bold because he's a little drunk anddoesn't know if he'll be brave enough to admit all this later is spot-on. I need to lay down again.

My Life Would Suck Without You (Kelly Clarkson). Maybe I was stupid for tellin' you goodbye. Maybe I was wrong for tryna pick a fight. This is another tsundere song, but at least now it's Established Relationship Tsunderes. I have a hard time believing Haruhi and Kyon would stop fighting even if they got over their issues and started dating, they're both still very stubborn and prideful and I feel like fighting is just how Haruhi communicates sometimes. But at the same time it just works for them? They're the type of couple that have a lot of small "fights" that are never serious but are actually very well-balanced and barely ever get into any real fight.

Still Into You (Paramore). Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'cause I don't really need to wonder at all. I know this isn't necessarily a tsundere song but I've interpreted that way for years so hey. I don't really have much to say about this one, I think it's really sweet and the kind of relationship described in the song is just Established harukyon.

Sparkle (RADWIMPS). Even if it may become a tragedy, I wished for seemingly unreal days… with abnormal meaning… But once I did, you were standing outside the door, all of your baggage in tow. What can I say. This is just Kyon during Disappearance, this is a song about being in love with someone through the pain and wanting to stay together through all. It's one of those songs that to me really capture the heart of harukyon, and that's that while they may be tsundere and they may get on each others' nerves, they trust each other more than anything, they bring meaning to each other's lives, and they will quite literally find each other in every universe

Magic Mirror (RADWIMPS). Can you protect yourself? Do you know how to use your courage? I'm sure you're bad at it, So I'll help you out as I can. Staying in line with the previous song but in a more general sense, kind of similar to One Man Live, this song is about Kyon wanting to help Haruhi through her issues. However I like that in the end, "the person crying in the mirror was myself", is basically saying that Kyon also has issues! He's also a weird little man who isn't honest and he tries to help others to distract from his feelings. Go to therapy boy!

Iin desu ka? (RADWIMPS). When I searched for the meaning of being with you, the answer was to live through tomorrow. When I searched for the meaning of living through tomorrow, the answer was to be with you. Don't complain about the amont of RADWIMPS songs this is my playlist okay. This is another song that feels like it fits both POVs. They're both tsundere, they're both unsure if it's okay for them to like the other, but they also know that it's okay, because it's them. The part where it says "because I know my last words in this world will be 'thank you' to you" hits me every time.

God knows... (Aya Hirano/ENOZ/you know this song it's okay). I'll follow you. No matter where you are in the darkness of this bitter world you will shine, and exceed the limits of the future. This is kind of an honorary addition? In that I don't really think it fits them as well as the other songs, but I just wanted to add it lol. I do think there's a bit of both of them in this song, again with their motif or "I'll follow you anywhere, I'll share your pain, we will make the world fit us". Also there's no better way to end a harukyon playlist than with Aya Hirano.

Shoutout also to Kyon's character songs, especially kentai life returns and daga soredake janai, which I love unironically but just didn't fit the vibe of the playlist. Also thanks for reading this far this was very very long whoops.

[ladykailitha]

If I Rescue You, Will You Rescue Me, Too? Part 18

Everyone wave bye-bye to Allison. She’s off to start her life anew in Indy. And Lucas has some thoughts on the matter.

Edited to Add: Shit, shit, shit! I thought I changed that. Max is still in the hospital and doesn’t meet Allison here. Shit! Updated to reflect that.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15  Part 16  Part 17

***

Steve decided after that they would need to throw a party to introduce his mother to the rest of the Party because Dustin bursting in like that did not make for a happy Steve.

His anxiety had shot up the second Dustin pushed Eddie. Of course Allison smoothed it over like she always does, but Steve didn’t want a repeat. And they both had a good reason to celebrate.

Steve had bought the house that she had pointed out and Allison Harrington was now Allison Kincaid once again. Harold didn’t have a leg to stand on, so much so that he had gone through three separate lawyers before he gave up and let her have whatever she wanted.

She got the house and immediately turned around and turned into a safe house for battered women seeking her help to divorce their horrible husbands.

Allison had then bought a nice penthouse suite in Indy. Steve had tried to convince her to stay in Hawkins but it wasn’t her home anymore. It was Steve’s though and he deserved to have that life without her shadow looming over him.

But she promised she’d call and visit often. So this was a housewarming, divorce, good-bye party all rolled into one.

Before the party started Steve corralled everyone in the front room, before letting them enjoy the first really warm day of the year by splashing around in his brand new pool.

Wayne, Robin, Eddie, and Dustin stood on the outskirts of the room while Steve stood in the middle of the room.

“Why can’t we just go into the pool?” Erica whined.

Steve’s lip curled. “Because there is someone else here that I want you guys to meet but I need to explain some things first before you do. Because it could be very disastrous otherwise.”

Mike looked at Eddie and then back to Steve. “Is this about the lady I saw you with at the store the other day?”

Steve blushed. “Yeah, it is.”

“You seemed really friendly with her...” Mike said suspiciously.

He laughed. “God I hope so! She’s my mom.”

The room erupted in a roar of disbelief and anger. Steve whistled long and loud and suddenly the room was so quiet it was almost as deafening as their roar.

“And this is why I wanted to talk to you all first,” he said. “She thought I was fine because my dad lied to her. She had been building up a divorce case for the past four years and didn’t know about all the shit that was going on.”

“And you believed her?” Mike asked with an eye roll.

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You’ve clearly never met my mother. When she saw the wound on my neck, I thought she was going to murder my dad right there in the front hall.”

“Are you sure, Steve?” Nancy asked, timidly. “She should have been here for the first concussion at the very least.”

There were some murmurs of agreement that skittered across the room.

Steve nodded. “Dad kept that all from her. He thought I wasn’t as bad they said because clearly I was just doing it for attention.”

Will’s eyes went wide. “Just how much did he hate you?”

“Far too much,” a calm voice said from the doorway.

All the heads in the room turned to see the most striking woman they had ever seen. Her long dark brown hair was artfully arranged on her head. Her makeup was flawless, but designed to highlight her age and not hide it.

She wore a simple black one-piece swimsuit with a billowing white robe.

The boys’ jaws were on the floor, as El and Erica looked at Steve in shock.

Steve ducked to hide the fond smile that came to his lips when he saw his mom these days.

Allison made her way to stand next to Steve and kissed his cheek. “I know it’s hard to believe, but everything he told you is true.” She whispered, “I hope you don’t mind me taking the floor?”

Steve shook his head. He knew that he probably would have started doubting her if she hadn’t come to his rescue.

“And it’s Allison Kincaid now,” she said warmly. “I went back to my maiden name after the divorce.”

Joyce shook her head. “I told you not to marry that knucklehead, Ally.”

Allison giggled. “And you married Lonnie, darling. Pot meet kettle.”

Joyce laughed. “Fair!”

“I see you’ve made a significant upgrade, Joyce dear,” Allison teased, nodding to Hopper who blushed a deep red.

“I think we all made decisions in our youth that were bad,” Hopper said. “But they made us who we are and we wouldn’t have our kids without those mistakes.”

As all the adults looked fondly at their children.

Steve cleared his throat. “But you aren’t here for that sentimental bullshit, you’re here for a brand new pool, good food, and fun.”

Allison smacked his shoulder and then kissed his cheek again. She walked out with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin following her movements with their heads.

El just rolled her eyes.

“Go on, you menaces,” Steve said, shooing them toward the pool. Everyone stood up and rushed toward the back where Allison had gone, leaving behind Eddie and Steve.

“That could have gone better,” Steve sneered.

Eddie pulled him close. “They’re just looking out for you, sweetheart. I know it’s hard to see that right now when you’re still riding the high of getting her back after all this time. For you it’s a god damn miracle. For them it’s suspicious that she came back after you moved a rather large sum from the account your parents setup to one of your own.”

Steve snorted. “Oh that’s why Dad came home, no question.”

Eddie smiled and kissed the top of Steve’s head. “Good to see you’re not totally blinded by this whole thing.”

“If they had given me time to explain,” Steve murmured into Eddie’s chest, “that she was taking the money she got from Dad in the divorce and moving to Indy, maybe they wouldn’t have been so skeptical.”

Eddie held him tighter. That right there was the only reason that Wayne and he didn’t close ranks when she showed up on their doorstep. That she had deliberately stayed elsewhere, talked about the divorce in very specific terms, didn’t fawn herself over Steve. She approached Steve like she would a spooked deer and that’s why Eddie was team Allison.

“Let’s go party!” Eddie said with a grin.

Steve laughed and followed his boyfriend out to the pool.

*

If anyone still had doubts about Allison’s sincerity it vanished with how Joyce treated her.

Apparently they had run in the same circles in high school and easily fell back into the old grooves of their prior relationship.

Even Nancy and Mike were charmed by her by the time they left to go home.

Allison had pulled Nancy aside and talked her about being a mom and having a career and that it didn’t have to be an either or. That she could have roots and wings if she wanted. Allison admitted that she hadn’t done right by Steve the last few years but she had seen the good a right balance to bring to both mother and her children.

Allison loved talking with the Byers boys, really getting to know Joyce’s kids. El was a little shier with Allison, until the older woman had complimented her style and then El just opened up like a flower.

“It’s good for El to see other kinds of femininity,” Joyce said to Hopper later that evening. “That she doesn’t have to be one way or the other. She can like pretty clothes and still kick ass.”

Hopper chuckled. “She’ll definitely get that from Ally,” he agreed.

Dustin managed to get Allison away from El long enough to do his own talking her ear off. Steve smiled when she laughed brightly at something he told her.

Robin had settled into an easy relationship with her since they had gone house hunting together. Robin had come out to her and Allison was able to help her overcome some of her nerves of talking to pretty girls.

Erica got into a heated debate with her over the better fantasy series Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, one that Eddie was drawn into almost against his will.

Erica was for Narnia and Allison and Eddie were for the Shire and Middle Earth.

It really looked like Erica might win when Allison pulled out her best argument: the trouble with Susan. And Erica folded like a house of cards.

Steve laughed when Erica came to him pouting.

“What did you think was going to happen?” Steve asked her. “You went up against one of the best courtroom lawyers of her age.”

Erica made a face. “Then I’m going to become a lawyer and come back and win next time.”

“You be sure and tell her that,” Steve said, knowing his mother would be proud that she had inspired Erica in such a way.

Erica grinned up at him and ran off to just that.

The only one that seem to hang back was Lucas. So Steve went to go check on him.

“Hey, you okay?”

Lucas let out a huff. “How can you forgive her, man? Like I get she didn’t know, but she also wasn’t home. She could have spent time home with you, actually getting to know you instead of running around the world chasing your dad.”

“Ah.”

That was a fair question and Lucas deserved an honest answer. He pressed his lips together and then licked them. “It’s not easy. There is a big part of me that is so sure that once she’s in Indy she’ll forget I exist. Because you’re right. She didn’t have to rely on my dad for information, but she did anyway. So I guess it comes down to faith I guess.”

“That’s lame,” Lucas bit out. “You shouldn’t have to have faith that someone will love you.” He ran his hands over his face and sighed. “I don’t know, man. A big part of it is knowing that she’s paid to be charming and put people at ease. She wouldn’t be a good lawyer otherwise.”

Steve nodded. “I know. And it’s okay if you don’t like her. It’s okay if you don’t trust her. I’m not going to make you. But you won’t know for sure unless you get to know her.”

Lucas sighed again. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Steve chuckled and said, standing up, “She’s a Bulls fan. You can start there.” He winked at Lucas’s open-mouthed stare and walked back to the group.

The sun had gone down so people had gotten dressed and were now dancing underneath the stars to Eddie playing his guitar.

Turns out Eddie was pretty good at slow songs, too.

***

Part 19  Part 20

Tag List: @anaibis @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @goodolefashionedloverboi @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @messrs-weasley @val-from-lawrence @plyerice27 @thedragonsaunt @chaoticlovingdreamer @sapphirecobalt-1 @a-little-unsteddie @i-must-potato @danili666  @carlyv @rozzieroos @wonderland-girl143-blog @itsall-taken @justforthedead89 @whalesharksart @nburkhardt @snapshotmaestro @shrimply-a-menace @theotalksalot @child-of-cthulhu @bookbinderbitch @cr0w-culture @punctualhowell @obliosworld @eddiemunsonswife @sharingisntkaren @dididisrespectyourbridgegoatman @lillemilly @ravenpainter @nightmareglitter @dbquills

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

🐺 Old Flames: Chapter Three

Old Flames: Juniper Camden died, but now she is back. After being revived by the supernaturals of Beacon Hills, Juniper is in for a heartbreaking whirlwind of ‘What the Hell Do I Do Now?’. Her boyfriend has twenty five years on her and a family of his own, she was declared dead years prior, and yet June still looks like the twenty year old she was before she disappeared. What is a girl to do? Avoid Christopher Argent at all costs.

Warnings: Peril, Blood, Angst.

To Note: Chris Argent x NAMED!FemReader.

Word Count: ~5.3k

Previous | Masterlist | Next

You would be trembling where you lay, if you could feel your body that is. Whatever venom the Kanima had laced in its tail and claws worked fast, super fast, because you could no longer feel any part of your body and no matter how hard you tried, none of your limbs responded to your mental commands. You really were stuck.

At least you were still breathing though. The Kanima’s rage of pain quieted, and your heart sped up in your chest again as your ear picked up its movement. The creature, while light footed, was most certainly not happy that you had taken a swing at its head, and you could feel its rage as it stood over you, a hiss building in its chest.

But your luck, as it were, had not completely run out, because one moment you were waiting for it to hit you again, or deliver a finishing blow, and the next it was flying through the air with a disgruntled screech. You heard the sound of it hitting what had to be a tree, and then its roar of pain. There were a few more hisses from the Kanima and just as it had appeared in front of you, it’s sounds disappeared.

Boots crunched on leaves and moss and soon enough someone was crouching down in front of your prone and paralyzed body. Flinching as a hand entered your vision, your head was gently turned so you could see who your rescuer was.

“You have got to be kidding me.” You mumbled underneath your breath as he flashed a smirk down at you.

“Long time no see, Junie,” If you had the facial muscle control to do so, you would have scowled at Peter as he lifted your limp body from the cold ground. “You know, I would have thought that you would’ve had a little more self preservation than this after everything that happened to you.”

God, you wanted to smack him so bad right now.

“She’s just a teenager, Peter,” You huffed from where your head lolled against his shoulder. “And my quick and not so thought out plan wasn’t that bad of an idea. It got confused.”

“Yeah, it got confused, but then you had to go and piss it off,” Peter snorted back as he started walking. “It has your scent now, Juniper, which makes you a target.”

“I was already a target, Peter, have been since the Mendoza’s took me.” You said tiredly. “And it’s not like I have people at home worrying about my safety.”

“I’d say that you did it because she’s your boyfriend’s daughter… but you were already a bleeding heart long before you were put to sleep.”

“You can’t deny that it wasn’t a smart idea, though,” You snipped back, your eyes staring at the buttons of his loose jacket.

“No, it was clever, confusing it with two trails of Allison’s scent, but you still painted a big target on your back and I highly doubt your boyfriend will be happy with you.” Your heart throbbed in pain, that you could feel, a sense of that deep rooted yearning you had been drowning in at the Martin house.

“He’s not my boyfriend, Peter,” You answered softly, closing your tired eyes. “And people need to stop referring to him like that. He hasn’t been mine for years, decades.” Luckily for you, Peter didn’t make a smart ass reply.

Back on the edge of the preserve, Scott, Derek, Jordan, and Chris were gathered, listening to Allison explain what had happened.

“… which ended with her forcing me to switch jackets with her. That’s the last I saw of her.” Chris let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead while Jordan put his hands on his hips and looked into the dark forest.

“So you’re saying we’ve got a forty five year old, who just woke up from a twenty five year magical coma… running around the Preserve in the middle of the night with a Kanima chasing her?” Jordan repeated, trying to wrap his head around what the teenager had said. Allison shifted where she stood.

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds terrible… but Juniper said she knew the preserve like the back of her hand… and have you tried arguing with her? She’s kind of scary.” Jordan let out a deep breath as Derek joined in on the conversation.

“What was she doing out here in the first place?” Derek asked, crossing his arms with his usual scowl. His eyes flickered to Chris. “She looks like she couldn’t even swat a fly.”

“She said she could’t sleep so she was clearing her mind.” Allison said before fishing out the iPod from Juniper’s coat pocket. She looked at it before holding it up. “She’s been taking a lot of walks. Dad, I really think that you—”

Allison cut herself off when Derek and Scott snapped their heads to the side. Peter was emerging from the dark woods with a limp body in his arms. For a moment, Chris felt his heart stop in his chest, but then the highly annoyed voice of one Juniper Camden echoed through the misty night.

“If I wasn’t paralyzed, I’d be slapping the shit out of you right now, Hale.” Juniper snapped out, much to Peter’s amusement. “I am not above kicking your ass now that you’re an adult.”

“How about you get the feeling back in your body first, Junie,” A growl rumbled in the back of Juniper’s throat and from where he stood, Derek sighed.

“Peter, stop antagonizing Juniper,” He sighed out as his uncle approached them.

“I got blood on your coat, Allison, sorry,” Juniper said as the four of them took stock of the damage Juniper had taken.

“Shit, Juniper,” Allison breathed when it became apparent exactly how Juniper had gotten poisoned by the Kanima. On her left thigh was a full set of parallel scratches, revealed through torn jean. Her chin wasn’t looked good either, mud and blood had smeared down her neck and the open wound was still dribbling blood. “What happened!?”

“I… may or may not… have pissed off the Kanima,” Juniper announced vaguely.

“And what exactly do you mean by ‘pissed off the Kanima’?” Chris asked, crossing his arms and giving Juniper a stern look. She didn’t even bother to shift her eyes to look at the scowling Argent, choosing to remain silent.

“Let’s just say the Kanima won’t be seeing out of its left eye any time soon, she gave it a good wallop with a rock.” Peter explained. “It was rather impressive.”

“You gave it a good wallop?” Derek repeated, a snort coming from his nose.

“I’m not entirely defenseless and I don’t appreciate reptilian creatures breathing over me with razor sharp teeth in range of my neck.” Juniper said shortly. “Now I am cold, wet, and covered in mud. No way am I going back to the Martin house looking like this, Lydia’s mom will freak.”

“My mom can stitch you up at my house,” Scott spoke up. “I’ll give her a call.”

While Scott was calling his mothers cell to give her the heads up, Juniper could feel the heated gaze of one Christopher Argent on her body, despite being paralyzed. Once again she chose the cowards way out and pretended that he didn’t exist.

It still hurt too much to even look at him.

You were laying on the McCall kitchen island, still paralyzed, but you were down to your t-shirt and underwear while Melissa cleaned up the dirt and mud from your skin. The cleaned half of your body was covered with a blanket to keep you warm, but your left leg was still uncovered and in the process of being cleaned up and stitched.

“I’d yell at you, but considering that you and I are close in age, I won’t.” Melissa said dryly as she wiped blood and mud from your neck. A soft snort slipped passed your lips before you sighed and quietly responded.

“Allison’s still got her whole life in front of her.” Melissa’s eyebrow rose.

“And you don’t?”

“I’m still trying to get my feet under me, let alone stand straight.”

“You still got plenty of years left, you can start again.” You didn’t want to start again. You wanted to go back to your safe and happy life. “Juniper, you’ve been dealing with your situation pretty well, but you aren’t addressing the elephant in the room. Actually, I’m pretty sure you are avoiding it… well, him.”

“What elephant?” You mumbled. She snorted at you and gave you a look.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” She was correct, you knew exactly what elephant she was speaking of, but you didn’t want to even think about it—him.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You said as Melissa pulled a syringe out and drew medication from a little bottle.

“You’ll need to at some point.”

“Not right now,” You persisted. Melissa sighed and shook her head before looking down at the supplies she had laid out on the kitchen counter across from the island.

“Fine, I’ll drop it, for now,” She said, turning back to you and dabbing at your oozing thigh. “I’m going to give you an injection to prevent you from feeling pain, it’ll make you sleepy and you’ll be out of it for a few hours.”

“I still can’t feel anything…” You pointed out, her eyebrow popped up.

“But you will be, this’ll will stop your body from going into shock when the paralysis wears off.” Melissa explained as she gave you the shot.

From there, Melissa started methodically stitching your skin back together. You couldn’t even feel the tugging on your skin as it was pulled closed, the venom was that powerful. Like she said, you started feeling sleepy, and eventually it felt like you were floating in the clouds.

For the first time since you had woken up, you didn’t feel like the weight of your heart was trying to drive you into the ground.

“Juniper?” A voice asked.

“Hmm?”

“How do you feel? You in any pain?” The voice sounded concerned.

“I’m floating,” You murmured to the voice, your eyelids fluttering up at the darkened ceiling over head. “Sky’s dark though, I think the moon went missing…”

“She is really out of it…” Another voice, a haunting familiar one, echoed.

“Medication I gave her does that, she’ll need to be watched until it is out of her system. We don’t need her wandering off while she is high as a kite…”

“I can’t fly,” You helpfully interjected. “So you don’t need to worry about me flying as high as a kite. Plus, it’s kind of dark for flying anyways…”

There was a snort of laughter and you received a pat on my shoulder.

“Good to know, Juniper… anyways Chris, I think you two really need to talk things out, because at this rate, she is just going to continue avoiding you like you’re avoiding her, and you are going to drive yourself mad listening to Allison talk about everything they’re doing together. Neither of you are handling this very well.”

“How exactly are we supposed to handle this, Melissa? This isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence and there isn’t a handbook on what to do when the girlfriend you thought died twenty-five years earlier, turns up alive and not having aged a day. I’m in my forties and she’s got her whole life ahead of her.”

“Seduce her!” You exclaimed loudly, trying to swing an arm up in emphasis. Your arm stayed in place, still paralyzed so you continued speaking. “Silver foxes are ho—“ You were cut off when a hand covered your mouth.

“This isn’t a conversation I need to be having while we’re dealing with a Kanima and a rogue pack, let alone after Juniper’s had her thigh scratched open.”

“Yoo shwyud toattwy dwate hwer.” You tried adding, despite the hand still covering your mouth.

“Is she usually this chatty under anesthesia? Because I am getting the feeling that this isn’t the first time you’ve had to shut her up.” A deep indentured sigh echoed in the kitchen.

“This is mild compared to when she had her wisdom teeth taken out… How long does she have until the meds are out her system?”

“It’ll be out by morning, she should sleep it off.”

There was a deep throbbing sensation in your thigh that roused you from a dreamless sleep. Shifting where you lay, your face scrunched while you slowly stretched out your aching and very stiff body. Sharp pain ran up the side of your leg and you froze in place, gasping slightly in surprise. Opening your eyes you stared up at unfamiliar ceiling as your hand searched beneath the blanket covering your body for the source of your pain.

Your fingertips brushed fabric wrapped around your thigh and it came back to you. Walking the Preserve. The Kanima. Allison. Allison. Grunting, you lurched into an upright position and looked around for a sign of where you were. You still didn’t recognize where you were, but at least one of your last memories rattling around in your brain was that Allison was safe.

Letting out a breath, you ran a hand through your hair and looked down at the large shirt you was wearing. Tugging on the soft material, faint memories of your jeans being cut from your body surfaced along with flickered of images where your shirt had gotten blood on it. Mellissa wouldn’t allow you to continue wearing bloody clothes, so someone had changed you.

You grimaced as your leg ached against and shifted on the couch you had been laid out on, pulling yourself into a sitting position. Your hair fell over your shoulder in a tangled mess and while you were wracking your brain on the foggier memories, a door opened and closed.

Allison appeared and for a millisecond you felt fine, but then he appeared too and you were freezing in place, your eyes going round. While you gripped the edge of the blanket covering you in a death grip, Allison’s face brightened up in the corner of your eye. But you were not really paying attention to Allison, your attention was completely taken by the blue eyed man who was currently staring back at you.

Twenty five years and those blue eyes were exactly as you remembered. Warm and gentle, homely, and beautiful. He was older but still just as you remembered and loved.

“You’re up!” Allison said brightly. “How’re you feeling? Those scratches looked really nasty and by the number of stitches Mrs. McCall had to put in… I can only imagine the ache.”

You blinked rapidly and managed to tear your gave from Chris’s to look at Allison. You gave her a meek nod and dropped your eyes to your lap.

“I’d ask where my jeans are, but I distinctly remember Mellissa cutting them up before things go foggy,” You murmured, curling your fingers into the blanket. “As for my shirt…”

“Yeah, the blood kind of ruined it to the point of not being salvageable. Sorry.” Allison stated happily as she trotted over. “She also told me to tell you no more midnight walks while there is a Kanima on the loose… or in general since it’s not safe.”

You snorted and looked away, choosing to observe a bookshelf and its contents.

“Something tells me I won’t be doing my normal walks anytime soon anyways.” You said softly before pulling back the blanket to reveal your bandage wrapped thigh. “So… what’s the verdict?”

“I’d tell you, but dad and Mrs. McCall kicked everyone out… so I don’t really know anything at this point.” She explained with a shrug.

“Then why am I here?” You questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Because you needed to be watched and your stitches checked when you woke up.” Your teeth sank into your lower lip at his voice getting closer, and tentatively sneaking a glance up, you saw that Chris was holding a box with a Red Cross on it. “You’ve still got class this morning, Allison, scoot.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Allison replied, rolling her eyes and rising to her feet. She gave you a small smile. “I’ll update Lydia on your situation, you’ve got all our cell numbers so text if you need anything.”

“And I am still slow at texting,” You muttered back to her, slumping in place. “Weird technology in such a little device…” Allison walked to where her backpack leaned against a wall and picking it up, she grabbed her car keys off a nearby table. From there she was hurrying out of the apartment leaving you alone with the one man you had been trying so hard to avoid.

Chris sat down on the edge of the coffee table next to where you were laid out and opened the first aid kit, pulling out several gauze pads and antiseptic wipes before setting them aside. All while he was doing this, you tried to keep your gaze straight.

“I’m going to need you sling your leg over my knees, unless you want to lay on my kitchen island…” Pulling the blanket from your left leg, you carefully scooted over to the edge of the sofa and tried to raise your leg to do as he asked. You over estimated your ability to lift your injured thigh and hissed as pain burned across your skin. Chris was immediately sliding his hand underneath your trembling thigh and doing the lifting for you, placing your leg across his knees at an angle so he could reach the wrapped stitches. “Easy, Melissa said your body might take some time to realize that it’s been injured.”

“Well, I’m certainly feeling it,” You snipped beneath your breath before slumping back and staring at the ceiling. “Is there anything else in this town that might potentially kill me while I’m taking a walk? The local vampire perhaps?” 

“Most of the creatures here just want to live in peace,” Chris explained as he gently began to unwrap the ACE wrap from your thigh. It took everything you had not to sigh as fingertips brushed against your bare skin. “But you shouldn’t take walks in the middle of the night in the first place, it’s not safe. What were you even doing out there?”

“Clearing my head,” You vaguely answered. He wasn’t satisfied with your answer, you knew that, but he didn’t say anything as he finished taking the ACE wrap off. Chris’s fingers gently peeled the taped gauze covering the stitched wounds, revealing the diagonal lines neatly stitched shut. You had been unlucky enough to get scratched by all five claws and the evidence would forever be etched onto your skin in five diagonal lines. The skin around the area looked red and angry, but at least didn’t look like it was infected. Chris grabbed an alcohol pad and carefully ran it along your skin, occasionally pressing his fingers into your skin.

“Can you feel me pressing?” He asked, his finger tips gliding over your skin. Shivers were going up your spine from his touch alone. You gave him a short nod before looking away once more. There wasn’t much more said or exchanged between the two of you. Once your stitches were all checked, Chris rewrapped your thigh. “I’m sure Allison’s got some sweatpants around somewhere.”

Chris carefully moved your leg back to the couch and rose from the coffee table. While he was hunting down a pair of sweatpants for you to wear, you stared at your rewrapped thigh. You could still feel his gentle touch brushing against your skin, and that made old memories of when his touch wasn’t gentle, but hungry. Fingertips digging into your skin, palms wrapping around your thighs, body pressed against yours…

You dug the heel of your palms into your eyes and willed the images to leave your mind. Why did your brain have to keep torturing you like this? Hadn’t you hurt enough already? Your eyes started burning with unshed tears. You sunk your teeth into your lower lip and bit down hard, hoping physical pain would stop the prickling of tears. It worked, sort of, because by the time Chris walked back into the room, sweatpants in hand, the only evidence of your upset was a sniff.

“Juniper?” Chris asked, a frown now on his face. “Are you in pain?”

“I’m fine,” You stated flatly, holding out your hand for the sweatpants. You wanted out. Now. It was suffocating just being in his presence.

He wasn’t happy with your flat answer but let your snatch the sweatpants from him. Sitting up on the couch, you grimaced your way through pulling the sweatpants on and started looking around for anything else that was yours. More specifically, your iPod. You couldn’t find it, and panic started to rise in your chest.

“Looking for this?” Momentarily freezing where you stood, you turned to Chris to see him holding out the little iPod, the headphones neatly wrapped around it. You snatched it out of his grasp and clutched it to your chest like it was your lifeline.

“Am I to assume that you are my ride home?” You questioned, your fingers rotating the iPod in your hands nervously.

“Well you aren’t walking home, not on that leg.” It was going to be a long car ride to the Martin house.

“You’re avoiding him.” You glanced up from the kitchen counter to look at Lydia. Concern was plastered across her face.

“I’m avoiding who?” You questioned her, feigning ignorance. Lydia rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

“You know exactly who I’m talking about, Juniper.” She stated, drumming her manicured nails on the granite. “I also know for a fact that you barely talked to him when you spent the night at the Argent apartment, and haven’t said a word to him since then. It’s been three weeks.”

“I fail to see why I need to talk to him. Or be around him in general.” You huffed drolly. “ Why are you nitpicking my social life?”

“Because you are becoming even more reclusive, Juniper, and I care about you.” Hunching where you sat, you stared at the countertop and remained silent. You didn’t have much to say to that, You were avoiding going out, and people in general. “You know I won’t tell the others anything you say, right? You have my complete confidentiality.”

You sunk your teeth into your lip and sat in your turmoil of thoughts, feeling the need to burst into tears again. Holding onto your true feelings about your current state was dragging you down. You felt like weights had been attached to your ankles.

“I don’t think I can get over him.” You spoke softly, twisting your fingers together. “I just want my life back where I felt safe and comfortable, happy. Now, now I just feel empty. What’s the purpose of my life? What was the purpose of waking me up?”

Looking up at Lydia, you saw that her look had softened.

“Everyday it only hurts more and I don’t know how to make it stop.” Your voice dropped to a dead whisper and your lips wobbled. “God, I feel so pathetic and weak.”

“That’s not weak or pathetic, it’s called heartbreak.” Lydia said gently. “And they woke you up because they thought it was the right thing to do, it is the right thing to do. No matter how much you’re hurting. You can’t sleep forever.”

“Even if it meant not feeling like someone ripped my heart out with a fork?”

“You still have your whole life ahead of you, Juniper, that’s why they woke you up. Are you going to let this be the reason you don’t find happiness again?” Lydia asked, waving her hand. “The Juniper I’ve gotten to know doesn’t seem the type to be defeated by heartbreak.”

“I don’t know how to be happy without him.” You answered with a halfhearted shrug. “I don’t know how to be me without him.”

“Who says you have to?” She pointed out. “You’re the one pushing him away. Granted he’s not chasing after you… but I get the feeling he’s trying to give you the best chance you have at a normal life. That means keeping you out of the supernatural business, keeping you out of his life.”

“I don’t want a normal life, I want him.”

“Have you told him that?”

“What do you think?” You retorted, planting your elbow on the counter and dropping your chin into your hand. “I can’t even look him in the face.”

“Well then we need to come up with a plan.” Lydia said frankly, putting her hands on her hips. “Because I am not going to allow my new best friend to remain heartbroken.”

“Come up with—“ You were interrupted by the sounds of the Martin front door bursting open. Lydia and you turned your heads to see Allison out of breath with Stiles hot on her heels.

“We’ve got a big problem!” Allison burst out. “The other pack, they came to have a negotiation which my dad was helping with, but instead of the pack showing up a group of hunters did. Isaac has a bullet in him and they won’t let anyone near him until a deal is negotiated for the McCall pack to leave Beacon Hills.”

“And you came to me for?” Lydia asked in confusion.

“We didn’t come for you, no offense Lydia.” Stiles interjected before turning his eyes to you. “We came for her.”

“Me?” You questioned in confusion. “Why me?”

“You dated my dad, surely you know something that will help. We think it has to do with Gerard, you worked with him so you know him better.” Allison explained in a rush.

“We also panicked and you’re kind of an adult so…” Stiles added before getting elbowed by Allison. “What? I’m not wrong… we’re gonna get yelled at, at least with Juniper we can say we had adult supervision…”

“Pretty sure that still doesn’t count since I spent twenty five years of my life asleep.” You sighed, rubbing your forehead. What could you do? You had spent plenty of time learning all about Gerard’s true colors from the Hale’s. He was vicious man, you knew that from your own experience, and the only thing that would solve this would be to be just as cutthroat if they were sent by Gerard. “He’s your grandfather, Allison. And if Chris is there, everything will be handled.”

“Yeah but I don’t know him that well.” Allison pointed out. “And he and dad have not been getting along since Dad started enforcing the ‘we don’t kill those that do no harm’ rule. They’ll be at each other throats soon. Well, I think they already are.”

They were at a cross roads, hunter on hunter, with teenage supernaturals stuck in the middle. You sighed.

“Allison, does your father keep an armory in your apartment?” You asked. Allison frowned for a moment before responding.

“Yes, but he keeps the guns and hunting equipment locked up.” Another barrier. You heaved a breath and rubbed your forehead again.

“It’s a start. Let me get changed.”

After you had changed out of lounge clothes and into jeans and sturdy shirt with a jacket, Allison had brought the four of you to the Argent apartment. From there she let you into the makeshift armory.

“Like I said, everything we’d need is here, but I don’t have the codes for most it.” She said as you looked around. Your eyes brushed over heavy metal boxes that no doubt housed weaponry appropriate for hunting. Most of the boxes looked relatively new and had complex locks, you wouldn’t be getting into them. This wasn’t unusual for the Argents to have since Chris was the son of the of Argent Arms International creator.

Then you spotted it.

A small smile started creeping on your face and walking over to a workbench, you crouched down and grabbed the handle on the side of the older container. You hefted it out from under the bench and maneuvered it onto the workbench top.

“I’ve seen that box before, dad always kept it around, but I’ve never seen him actually open it so I don’t know what’s inside it.” Allison said as you picked up the lock and looked at the five number scrolls.

“That’s because,” You said, your finger swirling the little dials until you had the right number combination. “This isn’t his.”

Pulling on the lock, the locking mechanisms released with a click. Setting the lock aside, you grabbed the lid and pushed it open to reveal the two desert eagle hand guns you had.

“Oh come on, Chris,” You grumbled out in disappointment. “Twenty five years and you still haven’t changed the code?”

“Holy shit,” Stiles muttered as you reached for one of the desert eagles and held it in your hand, rotating it and getting used to the feel once more.

“I’ve learned a thing or two from your father.” You spoke up, glancing at Allison before seeing a flash of silver in the corner of your eye. Setting the hand gun back in its respective place, you dug your fingers into the case until they found the object and pulled it out. The silver necklace Chris had given you all those years ago glittered back at you. “I was wondering where you went.”

Rotating the silver necklace in your fingers, you were deaf to Lydia approaching.

“That looks pretty,” She said. “Silver?”

“Argentium, actually.” You spoke. “It has more pure silver in it than regular. Christopher got it for me for graduation after we agreed to wait on getting married.”

“All Argent’s get an Argentium piece at some point in their life.” Allison explained as she slowly strapped her quiver to her back. “Right of passage I think, I got mine after my first test. You should wear it, Juniper, you’re one of us.”

“Am I?” You questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Considering my dad is still pining over you? Yes.” You stared at her with an unchanged face.

“We are also running on limited time.” Stiles unhelpfully announced. You shot him a look over your shoulder and he shrunk back. “I’ll just be over here, not touching anything…”

You decided to hook the silver back around your neck, it was a present from Chris and you were going to cherish it, even if you were no longer together.

Returning your attention to the contents of your container, you pulled out your hunting knife and it’s leg holster, quickly settling it on your right thigh since your left was still sensitive from being scratched open and reached for one the desert eagles. Plucking it from the case, you grabbed a magazine and checked for bullets before sliding it into the gun and placing on the workbench.

“Allison, do you have qualms about putting an arrow into a man?” You questioned as you reached for the belt holster for your gun. “Because in my experience, those that Gerard works with are not people to underestimate or give leeway to.”

You wove the holster through your belt loops and clipped it in place before tucking the hand gun in its respective place.

“If you are asking me if I have qualms about shooting something, or someone, in the ass if I need to… no, it won’t be a problem.” Allison said as she tested her bow string. Stiles was nervously looking between the two of you.

“Do I need to be worried?” He asked. You looked at him as you reached for a second knife and tucked it into your boot.

“Very.” You said shutting the lid on your box. “Lydia, can you head back to your house and keep your mom busy tonight? I don’t know how long this will take and Gerard is always unpredictable.”

“I’ve got you, just don’t get killed. I’ve actually really liked having you around.” Lydia told you as you headed for the exit of the armory.

“I don’t plan on it.”

Date Published: 6/17/22

Last Edit: 9/15/23

Previous | Masterlist | Next

[nightskyfangirl]

No Time To Rest

Summary: Set after season 3. Five warns the family that the Commission has sent agents after them. Allison doesn't take the news well and Rumors him.

Characters: Five Hargreeves, Allison Hargreeves, Lila Pitts, Diego Hargreeves, etc.

A/N: I'm posting my fanfictions from AO3 to Tumblr so that yall have options while the main site is down. This version is not as edited as my A03 version, so sorry for any typos <3

--

Five was missing. Again.

It’d been well over a week since anyone had seen him. Last time Lila had seen him he was in his room, scribbling furiously on his wall with a small piece of chalk. When she mentioned it to Diego all she’d gotten in response was a “yeah, he does that.”

But now Allison was worried, and she called a family meeting. When Diego heard, he had rolled his eyes and Lila agreed with him. They all knew Five could take care of himself, so what was the point?

But she was also a little excited for the meeting and insisted she and Diego went. Sure, the topic was pointless, but she felt like she was part of a family. It was a bit weird for Lila to be included in these things, but also kind of sweet.

She sat beside Diego, her head on his lab, on the living room sofa and as the rest of the family piled in.

Allison stood in front of Five’s portrait, anxiety clear in her stance.

But before she could even start speaking, Five stepped into the room, the blue portal closing behind him.

Klaus clapped. “Oh yay! He’s back! Can I go now?”

Allison looked at Five. Lila expected Allison’s face to be happy or relieved, but she looked angry. Lila figured stress had funny ways of making itself known, but recently Allison didn’t have the best control on her anger.

Five didn’t look harmed. His blazer was a little dusty and he had blood on the collar of his shirt, but it must have belonged to someone else because he seemed fine.

“The Commission is here,” Five said, skipping pleasantries.

Lila sat up. “What?”

“They’re in town. I found them—"

“That’s where you’ve been?” Allison asked. “We have all been worried—”

“That doesn’t matter. The Commission is heading this way right now.”

“I hadn’t planned on dying today,” Klaus said, twirling his hand. “Can they postpone to another day?”

“How long do we have?” Lila asked. They weren’t ready for a fight, Lila knew that. She and Five may have a shot, but the others didn’t know the Commission like she and Five did.

Five shook his head. “I don’t know. Not long.”

“How do you even know they’re here for us?” Allison asked. “I think they have other things to worry about other than us. Just because you see an old coworker, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.”

Lila shot a confused look at Allison. End of the world? That was a bit of cheap shot.

 “Five,” Klaus said before Five could reply to Allison. “Are you sure you’re not just looking for a fix? I mean, you literally just walked in on us planning an intervention of sorts.”

Five turned to Klaus, eyes squinted. “What?”

“I know what’s it’s like. The feeling of withdrawal. It starts with itching under the skin, insomnia, paranoia.” He stressed the last word Five’s jaw ticked.

“We don’t have time for this,” Five said.

“You may not have a drug-addiction, but you have an—” Klaus waved his hands around to make his point while he thought of the words, “—impending-doom addiction.”

“When Dad reset the timeline, the Commission was impacted too.” He looked at Diego first then Lila. “Herb is no longer holding the reins.”

“Who is in charge?” Lila asked.

“I don’t know,” Five said. “We just need to leave.”

Lila felt like Five knew more than he was letting on.

“Hey, no,” Diego said, “I’m not running from a fight.”

Luther shook his head, ignoring Diego. “Five, you seem to be missing a lot of information. I’m thinking Klaus may actually be right this time.”

“Thank you, Luther,” Klaus said, pointing at him. “We need to work on your compliments though. Fewer ‘actuallys’ and more praise.”

Five pushed a hand through his hair. He searched each of his siblings’ faces, maybe looking for belief or determination, but whatever it was, he didn’t find it.

Allison’s eyes narrowed. “When was the last time you slept?” She asked.

Five ignored her. “These people are trained to kill, and they know about our abilities. We won’t have surprise on our side. They won’t send just another Hazel and Cha-Cha duo. It’ll be more agents and we will be outnumbered.”

“You are spiraling, Five,” Allison said. Something about Allison’s tone was putting Lila on edge. “When was the last time you stopped? Got a night’s rest or even just a nap.”

Five glared at her. “I’ve been busy.”

“Right, busy. I just got my daughter back. I’m not letting you drag us into another one of your ridiculous fights just so I lose her again,” Allison said.

“Oi, that’s not fair,” Lila said.

Five gritted his teeth. “I haven’t been wrong yet.”

“He has a point,” Lila said.

“Don’t encourage him,” Allison snapped. She looked back to Five. “Go, take a nap for just a little while and afterwards, we can talk about this. If you still believe the Commission, or Dad, or even the Swedes are coming after us, we will listen.”

Five scoffed. “You want me to take a nap? Are you serious right now? There is not time for rest. I’m not a child.”

Allison crossed her arms. “Then stop acting like one.”

Five took a deep breath, then smiled and it didn’t reach his eyes. His eyes were lit up with anger and maybe a hint of desperation. “Fine. I’ll handle it myself.”

Lila stood, “Five, no—"

Five looked down at his fists and slowly the blue sparks started appearing. It took longer than normal for his powers to work.

“Five,” Allison said. He didn’t stop, but his powers weren’t cooperating either. “I heard a rumor—”

“Allison, don’t!” Luther said.

Lila jumped to standing. “Whoa!”

“— you slept.”

The blue disappeared.

A look of betrayal crossed Five’s face, but only for a second. His eyes clouded over, turning milky white, before his legs went out from under him.

Luther’s hand shot out and he grabbed Five’s arm, managing to catch him.

“The hell was that?” Lila snapped.

Five was limp as Luther picked him up and carried him over to the sofa.

Allison looked at Lila like Lila  was the problem.

“He wasn’t thinking straight,” Allison said, as if it were obvious. “It’s for his own good.”

“His own good?” Diego said, eyebrows raised. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“That was so bloody stupid,” Lila said. “If the Commission is coming, we are going to need Five.”

Allison pointed at Five. “He was borderline hysteric. He disappeared for a whole week, and we had no idea where he was. His paranoia is getting out of hand, and the Commission isn’t coming.”

Almost like a response to Allison’s declaration, a gun fired. The shot came from the front room.

Allison jerked back, grabbing her shoulder.

“Allison!” Luther said.

Allison cursed as blood leaked from between her fingers.

Luther grabbed Allison and Lila grabbed Diego, pulling them to the ground as more gun shots rang out. Luther flipped the coffee table on its end, using it as a shield against the bullets. Klaus was crouched beside them, covering his ears.

The front door was kicked down, the glass shattering as the door hit the floor.

Lila stayed low the ground, scanning the room for a weapon. She didn’t have anything to use and the family had hidden most of the weapons. After Allison got Claire back, they didn’t want to risk it in case Claire came to visit.

“I think Five may have been right,” Klaus said, over the gunfire.

Lila pulled Five off the sofa, so he was behind Luther’s makeshift shield too. He wasn’t reacting to the gunfire or anything else. He was completely passed out.

Lila hissed a string of her favorite curse words.

Five was the one she needed in this situation and now he was deadweight.

Lila grabbed one of Diego’s knives. She stood, as five people in red gas masks walked through the door, guns on their shoulders. She threw the knife and it hit right below the mask of one of the agents. He fell.

A few more were coming in from the kitchen, wearing the masks too.

These weren’t average agents. These didn’t care about making a scene or a mess.

Lila was about to duck when movement behind the agents caught her eye.

A woman in a poofy dress, red heels, and blonde hair.

Lila froze as her mother smiled.

She lifted her gun, pointing it at Lila, but she couldn’t move. She knew the gun. Her mother’s favorite. A Walther.

It was just like the barn all over again.

Diego grabbed Lila and pulled her back down.

The Handler’s bullet hit Five’s portrait.

“Can you get us out of here?” Diego said, yelling to be heard over the gun fire.

He sounded far away, too far. Lila was staring straight ahead. She wasn’t seeing the fireplace though. All she could see was her mother on the tiny screen of the infinite switchboard. The Handler shot Lila, then was killed by the Swede. She was supposed to be dead.

“LILA!” Diego snapped, shaking her shoulder. “Snap out of it!”

Lila looked at him, trying to pull herself away from her thoughts. She nodded jerkily. “Grab Luther,” Lila said.

Diego squeezed her shoulder before turning to the others. “Everyone hold hands!”

Lila kept one hand on Diego, the other on Five. Diego grabbed Klaus and Luther and Luther had Allison.

Once everyone was accounted for, Lila reached for Five’s power. She hadn’t Blinked with anyone else before and now realized Five made it look easy. Lila pulled, gritting her teeth with effort. The blue sparks started to wrap around her hands, slowly spreading until it surrounded all of them. Then they disappeared.

[w3tn3t]

[2021 Mortal Kombat Movie AU]

I think Shang Tsung granted Bi-Han his immortality after he killed Hanzo & the Shirai Ryu, so this time Bi-Han adds one more thing to their agreement: his brother will also become immortal. (Kuai Liang is probably the only thing he feels something for)

He wants Kuai to fight beside him, but Kuai can't bear to see what his brother has become in action so Bi-Han convinces Shang Tsung to let him go and live his life, even if he's not happy about it. Bi-Han is capable and vicious enough to do whatever the sorcerer asks of him on his own.

So Kuai spends centuries in different countries, doing different jobs, eventually settling down somewhere in America. Maybe he owns a farm, lol. Living in a remote location would help him go unnoticed on how he's not aging. All the while, Bi-Han keeps an eye on him from afar, getting rid of people who get too close to blowing Kuai's cover, not that he knows about it.

Anyway, after Cole escapes Bi-Han for the first time, Shang Tsung decides to play dirty and has Bi-Han bring Kuai Liang into the fold. He glamors a kombatant mark onto Kuai and has him run into Sonya while "escaping" Bi-Han. He joins her, Cole and Kano from there on. He strikes up a friendship with Sonya, but it's Cole he really hits it off with. Kuai was already doubting his mission but it's getting worse every moment.

They do the whole arcana thing, and the defenders are kind of put off when he "unlocks" his ice powers, but he's nothing like the creeping menace Bi-Han is so they write it off.

Kuai does his best to support Cole as he tries and fails to unlock his. Having lived so long without regular human contact, Kuai can come off as a bit intense, but he makes up for it with how earnest and genuine he is. (Cole might be starting to doubt his sexuality, a little.)

Kano still betrays the team but he runs into Kuai when he's about to destroy the relic that keeps up the force field. Kuai has a change of heart and attempts to stop Kano, but they destroy the relic anyways during their fight. Kano gives Kuai "a chance", to keep what happened to himself as long as he won't get in Kano's way again. Afraid of what the sorcerer will do, Kuai goes with Kano. He stands by Bi-Han's side before the defenders, to the tune of betrayed shouts. Sonya seems angriest while Cole is just disappointed.

The next time he's seen again is in the final scene with Bi-Han. Allison and Emily are still frozen, but the reason they aren't completely encased in a block of ice like Bi-Han might've done by himself is Kuai's coaxing. They can still be saved by design.

Hanzo's appearance was a bit funny imo, so I'd turn that into just him "possessing" Cole to a degree, or enhancing his abilities/guiding him like Sento does for Kenshi. Even with all that, Bi-Han gets Cole into a "say your last words" position. So Cole does a bit of a BotR speech that finally gives Kuai the push he needs and he turns on Bi-Han. He freezes Bi-Han solid but has to keep at it lest Bi-Han break free. He tells Cole to tend to his family, and that he'll deal with Bi-Han.

The defenders arrive, thaw Allison and Emily and get out of there, reluctantly leaving Kuai behind. The rest goes as normal.

After Shang Tsung is defeated, Bi-Han and Kuai go missing. The good ending is the brothers' lifespans becoming normal in the absence of Shang Tsung (if they were 30 they still have like 40 years to live), and Kuai taking steps to rehabilitate Bi-Han. Maybe his path crosses with Cole again, someday.

The sad ending is the brothers perishing immediately without Shang Tsung's magic, lol

(I wanted to make Kuai the Kitana to Cole's Lui Kang but the plot had a mind of its own, lol)

[tslightninginabottle]

We Are Reputation

Or, An Argument For The Reformation of Community Subculture

Two Days Ago The Tortured Poets Department for Taylor Swift dropped. I have friends who like Taylor Swift. I have friends who love her. I’ve tried to explain to them what this album makes me feel and the more commentary I see online from Twitter, Threads, TT… I feel like, while no one needs my opinion, I want to say it online. So this post is going to be long. If you don’t want to read it, if you don’t care, scroll away. It’s anonymous, because at the end of the day, I doubt I’ll come back to this blog.

I've shifted between posting or deleting for days. This is not very well edited. It's mostly rambling and I understand that. Some points may be connected vaguely. It might seem like I'm contradicting myself. It's messy and raw, and I'm just tired. But if I’m going to do it at all. I’m going to do this as right as I can.

Thus it’s in the form of an academic essay. Unlike other Academic essays, it is not riddled with an intense amount of quotes or sources. This is an opinion piece. But I think for the sake of the TTPD release, the structure is very… fitting.

Introduction (I.E. the TLDR for those of you who don’t understand how an academic paper is structured)

Taylor Allison Swift, has been Taylor Swift (capital T, capital S, with the TM brand symbol) since the age of 16 years old. She has gone through a cycle of expectations three times, and now she is tired. She is begging her fans to listen, and many of them refuse to do so. She is capable of creating great art with great vulnerability, we as fans are no longer equipped to handle it. Ultimately there is a chance that she is afraid of shaping her own ability, because of us. The only way we as a fandom can change is if we redefine our community now before it’s too late. And if she stops after album 13 it will not because she does not want to, it will be because we have destroyed her. 

Taylor Swift (TM)

For those who are reading this, and have made it thus far, chances are you know who Taylor Swift is. Whether that means you know where she grew up (Christmas Tree Farm), when she moved to Nashville (14), the names of her cats, her mother’s medical history, secret sessions, VMAs, easter eggs, accidents, eating disorders, a myriad of too many details that we know about a person we have never met, and the loves of her life. Whether this is friends or relationships, you probably know, all of their names. How each one came and went in her life. Through songs and through tabloids, screaming her name, screaming their names, trying to defend her honor when the world calls her childish for only singing about the heartbreak. You know. Thus, this message is to you: for all you know about Taylor Swift, have you stopped to think of who Taylor Swift is? Truly? Not projecting your own thoughts onto her. How using your long list of check boxes and check marks and “I’ve been here this long and I’m a better fan because I know this much.” Have you, do you, know her? Because I don’t. 

When I got my first iPod in 2006, I had five songs on it that I bought with my own money: Thnks fr th Mmrs, Umbrella, Fergilicious, Our Song, and Tear Drops on My Guitar. In 2008 I had my who family memorize the lyrics to YBWM because we listened to it too often. I saw the 2009 VMAs happen live on television. In 2010 I was screaming Mean in the shower when I had no reason to; I was happy. In 2012, I got my choir to sing a mashup of IKYWT. In 2014, I was racing down the aisles of Target at Midnight to get 1989. I was a bystander during Snakegate. I was sitting in my car in 2017 reading potentially my favorite prologue I’ve ever seen. Then I was subsequently let down by the album as a whole. I was likewise disappointed in 2019. When Folklore came out, it was the first album I ever sent to my non-tailor swift friends. They loved it. I did it again with Evermore. Midnights came out and I sat in my living room with my brother and his girlfriend, screaming, talking, the first listen party I ever had where it was not just me alone. When TTPD came out, I was alone again. 

Don’t come for me and say I’m not a real fan. It’s okay to admit disappointment. I never expected her to change to my will, however. I never yelled about it online. I simply accepted that it wasn’t for me and moved on, waiting to hear the next thing to see if it was. I stood by her, not because I loved her or I idolized her, but because I resonated with her, and sometimes that resonating wasn’t perfect but I accepted that. 

Or maybe do call me a fake fan. I really don’t care what you think of me. I just need you to know that I’ve seen this. I know this. I know what you know, if not more. But all the same, despite me reading the tabloids, reading the magazines, having the posters, listening to all the music, I have never thought I actually knew Taylor Swift. And yet… 

There are people online right now, being critical about this album. Some say it sounds bland, the same as what has come before but not as electric and ground breaking. Some say she needs an editor. Others say she is trying to recreate catching lightning in a bottle and failing. There are those online who are giving the paternity tests to the songs right now, proving to me that you never bothered to actually read, let alone understand what TS is saying to you. 

You were too focused on  “If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalize or sexualize that-right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.” That you MISSED: “I had become the target of slut-shaming-the intensity and relentlessness of which would be criticized and called out if it happened today. The jokes about my amount of boyfriends. The trivialization of my songwriting as if it were a predatory act of a boy crazy psychopath, The media co-signing this narrative. I had to make it stop because it was starting to really hurt. / It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hand out with. If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him. And so I swore off hanging out with guys, dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponized against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the victorian era.” 

Go reread the Reputation prologue for me real quick. Or actually better yet, here:

Here���s something I’ve learned about people. We think we know someone, but the truth is that we only know the version of them they have chosen to show us. We know our friend in a certain light, but we don't know them the way their lover does. Just the way their lover will never know them the same way that you do as their friend. Their mother knows them differently than their roommate, who knows them differently than their colleague. Their secret admirer looks at them and sees an elaborate sunset of brilliant color and dimension and spirit and pricelessness. And yet, a stranger will pass that person and see a faceless member of the crowd, nothing more. We may hear rumors about a person and believe those things to be true. We may one day meet that person and feel foolish for believing baseless gossip. This is the first generation that will be able to look back on their entire life story documented in pictures on the internet, and together we will all discover the after-effects of that. Ultimately, we post photos online to curate what strangers think of us. But then we wake up, look in the mirror at our faces and see the cracks and scars and blemishes, and cringe. We hope someday we'll meet someone who will see that same morning face and instead see their future, their partner, their forever. Someone who will still choose us even when they see all of the sides of the story, all the angles of the kaleidoscope that is you. The point being, despite our need to simplify and generalize absolutely everyone and everything in this life, humans are intrinsically impossible to simplify. We are never just good or just bad. We are mosaics of our worst selves and our best selves, our deepest secrets and our favorite stories to tell at a dinner party, existing somewhere between our well-lit profile photo and our drivers license shot. We are all a mixture of our selfishness and generosity, loyalty and self-preservation, pragmatism and impulsiveness. I've been in the public eye since I was 15 years old.   On the beautiful, lovely side of that, I've been so lucky to make music for living and look out into crowds of loving, vibrant people. On the other side of the coin, my mistakes have been used against me, my heartbreaks have been used as entertainment, and my songwriting has been trivialized as 'oversharing'. When this album comes out, gossip blogs will scour the lyrics for the men they can attribute to each song, as if the inspiration for music is as simple and basic as a paternity test. There will be slideshows of photos backing up each incorrect theory, because it's 2017 and if you didn't see a picture of it, it couldn't have happened right? Let me say it again, louder for those in the back... We think we know someone, but the truth is that we only know the version of them that they have chosen to show us. There will be no further explanation There will be just reputation.

You don’t know Taylor Swift. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read her lyrics and you’re sure. I don’t want to hear another person say “She’s giving us her diary.” She is curating it. Editing it. She is a poet. She is shaping her image into exactly what she wants it to be. She is showing us the worst parts of herself on purpose, because it feels as if she is tired of hiding the full maltifaceted person that she is.

However, she is a marketing genius. She is a billionaire. She is not the girl next door, your very best friend, the girl you’d give your kidney to. You don’t know her. You don’t know anything about her relationships other than what she says on her songs — and the tabloids that are like 90% wrong anyway. We only know what she is giving us, analyzing the lyrics and coming up with more incorrect conclusions than correct. You don’t know her. You only know her reputation.

And every time you chant. Reputation! Reputation at her concerts, in the comments, in the theories, the more feral you are over it, the more you prove her point. At this point, it feels like people care more about her reputation than her. And it seems as if she’s tired of explaining it to us, because all we care about is the show. “Breaking down, I hit the floor. / All the pieces of me shattered / as the crowd was chanting “more!” (TTPD, ICDIWABH)

The Cycles of Hate

We all know the story of reputation. Snakegate. Kanye. Kim. The social media blackout. The comeback of a century. The KYS. I wish Taylor Swift was Dead. She’s just a bitch. I knew she couldn’t be trusted. 

Fun fact. That was Taylor Swift after 1989. Taylor Swift during the Era’s tour could eat that Taylor for breakfast. Her fame is astronomically bigger, full on universal. If you didn’t know this, IDK where you’ve been, but it’s the truth. We’ve seen her grow from that It Girl Popstar. To THE Generation defining popstar. Taylor Swift was named Artist of the Decade for the 2010s because she was the artist of the decade. And to the haters out there, this post is not meant for you. I don’t want to hear it. You can in fact walk down the street and start the song Love Story and people will know the song. Even in other countries. People know Taylor Swift (TM). 

In the cycle of popstars, newer shiny popstars often replace the older ones. And Taylor Swift, one day, will be no exception. The difference is, unlike most of those other women and men— I’d dare to say that none have gone through the torment that Taylor Swift has. In 2009, after the VMAs, the world turned against Taylor. Publicly and through the media, people were criticizing Kanye West. But Taylor said herself that she thought people were booing her on the stage. There were think pieces about how she ‘wasn’t good actually.’ This is when the true hate train began for Taylor Swift. The: she only writes about love and boys. The: she dates too many of them. The: she doesn’t write her own songs (even though her whole brand was built on it). When Taylor Swift released Speak Now, it included the song Long Live. Based on the lyrics, Taylor thought this album could be the end of her career. “Will you take a moment? / Promise me this / That you’ll stand by me forever / But if God forbid fat should step in / And force us into a goodbye / If you have children someday / When they point to the pictures / Please tell them my name.” 

I like to tell my friends that I see Taylor Swift has having three cycles in her career so far. We are living in the third. This isn’t based on music genre, completely. Because for argument sake, Taylor has touched on many subgenera. But it is based on Main Genre, and the cycle of vitriol towards Taylor Swift —i.e.l over saturation. 

Cycle 1: Debut - Red; Country

Cycle 2: 1989 - Lover ; Pop

Cycle 3: Folklore - TTPD; Folk/Folk Pop

The Cycle goes as follows: Taylor Swift has massive world breaking success after catching lightning in a bottle. People get outraged. She has to respond, in order to defend herself. The world gets more angry and irritated. TS is everywhere. There are horrible things being said online, everywhere in every way. People want her to DISAPPEAR. She writes an album for herself, and the fans cherish it. Then she says, it’s time for something new. The Cycle repeats. 

To most, non-fans, that I have met or seen online. They seem to agree that Taylor has only ever had three “good” albums: Fearless, 1989, Folklore. What do all three have in common? They were smash successes. Before Midnights, they were the only three that won AOTY. People around the world know their songs. She has been given critical acclaim for them by people who don’t listen to Taylor Swift. They are all sonically cohesive. They are all lyrically creative, and musically engaging. And, most importantly, they were genre defining (at least for her). 

I ignore Debut here, because Debut was her setting the ground work, and while Debut and Fearless are similar and close, it was not Debut that started the cycle. Debut started her career. For this reason, Debut classifies as an Album 0. It is the album zero, ground zero by which the whole cycle was built. 

In the Cycle that I’ve defined, after the smash success for Album 1, there is a string of vitriol and some sort of incident. She then writes an album response either to it, or about it, trying to prove herself as an artist and that she deserves what she has and where she is: Speak Now, Reputation, Midnights. Each one of these albums are Taylor Writing to prove herself, as being allowed to exist, and create art, her snapping back in some way. This may be the most esoteric in regards to Midnights, but the concept is the same. The big vitriol after Folklore/Evermore was that she could write deep songs, but not deep pop songs. So she made a concept album about the sleepless nights of her past and made an anthology of well crafted lyrics and considerations, thoughts and prayers, and proved she could do it. Midnights shouldn’t have gotten AOTY. It was good, a world wide smash success, but that’s because she has a bigger fan base no than she did years ago. It wasn’t lightning in a bottle. It wasn’t genre defining. It was a good pop album. But ultimately, Midnights is an Album 2, it is a continuation.

Now many people may say, but Evermore was the album after Folklore. It wasn’t. It was written at the same time as Folklore. She didn’t have time to process anything. It is, for all intents and purposes, a double drop with Folklore. The two are one, the same mindset. Midnights was different. 

In the case of Album 2 it is, or was, always a failure. Before Midnights, at least, with both reputation and Speak Now, even though she poured her heart out and made excellent music, and yet for some reason it did not receive the same accolades or awards — or maybe was even ignored by the general public. She did not catch lightning in a bottle again. I would argue this is the same for Midnights, but the difference is that her fan base is so much larger than it was before. 

Now, after Album 2, there is always the ramp up. The actual over saturation. It grows and grows and grows and the world begins to fully hate Taylor Swift. Yes, I know Snakegate had everyone turn against her, but look at the way people said things to her during the Lover era. Once again she thought it was the end after Reputation, that her career was over. Red, Lover, and TTPD are Album 3s, or the “this one is for the fans” album as the fans like to say. The “You don’t get it because you don’t understand Taylor like I do, album.” The Album Taylor writes for herself. Red was the only breakup album. The heart wrench album. The sing it and scream it in your car album. Lover was, at the time, unapologetically, a be you album. The be in love, be happy, it’s okay to be “me” album. TTPD is the I’m falling apart, please see me album. It is the I’m going to have to be okay on my own album. The I’ve healed and move on from this part of my life, but you don’t know me, album. And each and every time general society says it is not great, fans say that they simply don’t understand it because they’re not fans. 

Rinse Repeat.

Album 1: The Critical, Genre Smash Success. Album 2: Is the Critically overlooked Concept Album. Album 3 is the: This one is for the “Fans” (herself), Album that is critically panned. 

Dear Reader

Right quick, go reread the lyrics for dear reader for me. Follow that up with YOYOK and ICDIWABH. Come back to me when you’re done. Good? Let’s go. 

Are you listening yet? Are you hearing her yet? Taylor Swift fans are realizing this now, but TTPD was written for Taylor and it was written for us. The fans. We don’t know her. We don’t know her life. She is begging us, on her knees. Crying to us. She is messy. She is far from perfect. She makes bad choices. She is not a good person. She is simply a person and she is asking us to stop the idol worship.

“Please. / I’ve been on my knees. / Change the prophecy. / Don’t want money. / Just someone who wants my company. / Let it once be me. / Who do I have to speak to. / About if they can redo. / The prophecy?” 

And you may say, but that song is about love. It is. It’s about us. The greatest love Taylor has ever known. She said that. To us, at the Eras tour. We are the longest relationship she’s ever had. We’ve been there with her through the good and the bad. The ugly and the sad. The beautiful and the change. 

“You, who saw that I reinvent myself for a million reasons. And that one of them is to try my very best to entertain you. You, who have had the grace to allow me the freedom to change.”  (1989 TV)

But are we?

“This is a story about coming into your own. And as a result… coming alive. I hope you know that you’ve given me the courage to change. I hope you know that who you are is who you choose to be, and that whispers behind your back don’t define you. You are the only one who gets to decide what you will be remembered for.” (1989)

What is the legacy we are currently leaving behind for her?

“I want to be remembered for the things that I love, not the things that I hate, not the things that I’m afraid of, not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night. I just think, you are what you love.” (Daylight, Lover)

Stop and think. For a moment. Every time we bring those men up. We bring the possible relationships up. We bring the heartache up. We attack the people online. When we hold her to impossible beauty standards, and impossible moral standards. We speculate and wonder and question… yes, there is a level of media literacy that comes from asking these questions. But there is a vocal majority, a large subsection of people online who are doing it again. Who are asking when she’s going to get married and have babies. Who are trying to burn Joe or Matty or Harry or any of the other boys before to the ground. Who are taking us back to 2012, the “she only writes about hs and heartbreak.” The fans who hang on her every word, every breath, and aren’t allowing her to change.

Taylor Swift (TM) has always been about change. But how many times have you seen or heard people scream, “this isn’t like folklore?” Some are like, they’re not real Taylor Swift Fans. But they’re comparing everything to it. And they are, her fans, and they’re not allowing.

Some of you may be like, but other artists don’t change. Don’t branch out. Write the same thing over and over and over, and maybe she wants to do that. Yet, girly has shown us time and time again that she actually likes challenging herself to write other genres. She likes doing it. If she didn’t. Reputation would have been more like 1989. Lover would have been more like 1989. Folklore and Evermore wouldn’t exist. I do think there is an argument to be had that expecting her to change and forcing her to do it is wrong, but I’m saying that we aren’t even accepting the chance that she may want to change for herself. Whether that means into a stable sound that never changes from album to album or into a wildly different genre. RN the FANS are dictating what should and shouldn’t be, and that’s… messy.

How many of you breathed in relief at 17-31 because it sounded like Folklore and Evermore? How many of you liked 1-16 because it was like Midnight’s sister? How many of you were waiting to hear the heartbreak about Joe? How many of you have given the songs paternity tests? It’s only been 48 hours. You can be honest. 

We are Taylor Swifts greatest love, if things are to be assumed, and the muse in TTPD is strangely many people in one — because we are a part of the problem now. She had to plead manic insanity to us, in her prologue for this album. 

How many of you look at the rerecordings and have forgotten the reason for them? I mean, I know you know the reason, but it’s not supposed to be a count down, doubting everything, pushing her, pressuring her, to give us her art. She is trying to reclaim her art, for herself. It’s called Taylor’s Version. Not the audience version. Yet, you scream Reputation at her concerts. Reputation. Reputation. Give us everything you are Taylor. Give us, your love Taylor. Entertain us Taylor. 

All she has left are her name and reputation. She’s already given away her reputation once. Do you think she wants to give it away again after she’s finally reclaimed it? Do you think she wants to give her name away again? When it’s finally her’s? 

And don’t get me wrong I think that reputation (TV) and Taylor Swift (TV) will come, and the world will be excited for the vault tracks, and be angry that it doesn’t sound identical to the original. And feel betrayed that it’s not 100% perfect the exact way they wanted. They’re tired of her failing them. Gaslighting her into believing she’s not good enough. Threatening to quit her and leave her behind because she’s disappointing them, by doing the one thing she’s good at but it’s not good enough anymore.

Oh sorry, not the world.

Her fans. The love of her life.

Critical Critique

The thing about giving good feedback and critique is that it needs to be helpful. You can’t simply say, I hate this, and expect someone to use it. 

Taylor Swift is not above critique. She is not perfect. She is a human being, it’s legitimately impossible to be perfect. Yet we ask her to be perfect. Now I’m not saying perfection with saying one thing (that she cares about social justice) and then doing the opposite. I’m not saying she’s above critique of her private jets or being a billionaire. These can all be valid critiques. I think we should be critical of her billionaire status, and white feminist tendencies, and marketing exploitation. This is looking at an idol and holding them to human standards that you may have for yourself.

I don’t think that being critical and holding someone accountable is toxicity. I do think it’s toxic tho, that we are starting to read into everything. Search for clues in everything. Showing up to weddings we were never invited to. Stalking her across venues. (And I don’t mean the plane guy, I mean you weirdos who show up at her house and her recording studio and scream at her to tell you about her latest breakup). Looking over photos, like you’re a tabloid editor from 2010, like “Where’s the ring?” “Is that a baby bump?” 

And when she tells us the truth we say no, I don’t believe you. When we, her fans, hear her say with her whole chest “I’m not perfect, stop defending me.” and we turn around and say… mmmmmm I’m not going to do that. You are my perfect little baby who can do no wrong. You must be confused. You must be shocked. Let me correct you. She knows she’s making bad choices and she has a whole marketing team to fix what she does. 

Taylor Swift fans have been demonized by media as ravenous brain dead worshipers, and in some ways we are. We defend her at every turn, at everything she does and justifies it, but this is more than that. And yet is also only that. I am defending her when she doesn’t need me to. But more than that, I feel like I need to call out the fandom cuz we are toxic. We have secret sessioners leaking albums. We are gate keeping. We are screaming at each other when people don’t agree with are arbitrary and subjective opinions. We say that the real critiques of her work aren’t actually listening to her— they are, you’re not listening to the critiques. Like the 1830s line. There are so many ways the same sentiment could have been written, better. No one is saying Taylor is a racist. They’re saying she needed someone to check her on the line and be like, is there a different way to say this? 

To everyone we talk to, we are hated. There are think pieces about how toxic we are to others online, how we attack everyone who dares to actually be critical of her. How we attack eachother, like the snake eating its tail. We defend her like its or dying breath and then turn around to Taylor and say, look I was a good fan, give me what I want and only what I want. People hate us. Outsiders hate us. Casual fans hate us. We hate each other. Taylor swift says she sometimes hates us.

Welcome to the age of Aquarius, the downfall of celebrity. We shouldn’t worship people, like idols and gods. However, we should judge people as people and we aren’t doing that either, to the random person on the street saying “see me” to the girl with the lyrics crying “hear me.” 

Social Media Literacy

Hate Taylor swift if you want to, whether that is because she’s over saturated or because you have grown disillusioned. But Taylor swift has built a brand about being relatable, and as much as people may say she’s manufacturing it now, I don’t think she is trying to. I personally think she’s trying to do it the way she always has, and it’s backfiring. 

Not because she’s less relatable, but because we as a society have lost what it means to accept other people. We are holding everyone to a high near high level of perfectionist accountability, where you must be perfect and never change, and never make a mistake. There is a fact to be said that billionaire mistakes hurt millions of people, and that everything you do cosigns another terrible thing. However, we are not building a community. We are not holding people accountable and then pulling them back into the community to help them change their mindset. We are not creating a network of support, we are snipping away at the web at every single point. Saying, you’re wrong, and isolating further. And while this can be said about everything and everyone, it is more apocalyptic for Taylor Swift, because her entire brand is a microcosm of society. 

This is happening to everyone, not just Taylor swift. Everyone. Nuance is gone. Grace is gone. Understanding, just like media literacy and critical thought, is disappearing. People are making value assessments of others based on the media they consume. And that alone should be a concern for all of us.

We are saying if you aren’t perfect, you are kicked to the outside. Immediately. No remorse. We are saying, if you aren’t exactly the way I think is morally right, just, or perfect, you are forbidden from anything ever again. And I’m not talking about Taylor Swift. I’m not talking about critique. I’m talking about us. The fans. Who attack each other. Who demonize each other. Who send hate threats to each other. Who call each other crazy. Who joke about other’s demise. 

Oh, that’s just an issue of Taylor’s brand. No. This is a wider spread issue, it’s just magnified in the Swiftie fandom, because the swiftie fandom has always been a parasocial relationship with Taylor. From the day she began on Myspace, the Swiftie fandom has broken down clues together, kept secrets together, been a community together, in a way that most others have not been. And it’s falling apart, just as Taylor swift’s brand of relatability. Because we as a society, and we as a fandom have snipped away the entire network of support. The only way down is through, and there is no one to catch us at the end of the fall.

Parasocial Relationships, have been seen to become toxic very fast, as soon as a person thinks that they have some sort of control or are heard by the person they follow. For the longest time, Swifts staid back, followed the clues like rabbits and it was a game. She left us a puzzle, and we went to solve it. Now we are trying to solve puzzles that don’t exist. We made the game bad. We have made it awkward for everyone. The Parasocial relationship we have always had with Taylor, which was kind and filled with space and grace, has fallen apart. We are the worst parts of toxic parasocial relationships.

We are screaming for more. Ignoring what has been given. Skipping too fast and onwards to the next thing. All while saying, this thing that you’ve given me? It’s not absolutely perfect. Do more. Be better. Oh but that’s too many now. How about this one thing instead. 

I know with my heart of hearts that when Reputation (TV) comes out. It’s going to be hell on fire. Because there is such a pent up image of this special album in everyone minds, that they keep saying things that are wildly untrue. That it’s going to be release randomly, because “there will be more explanation. There will just be reputation.” 

Go read the prologue AGAIN. I’ll wait. 

Don’t Blame Me, Love Made Me Crazy

We are not capable of listening anymore. And I know that many people of the world won’t read this, won’t understand this, won’t even know it exists. 

But we, are the most toxic love affair that Taylor Swift has ever had.

It was good, when it was good. But we’ve turned on her time and time again. And there are some of us, myself included, who will say, we’ve been here the whole time! Supporting her, even during lover when her concerts were at the lowest. But. 

We are tearing each other apart. We are tearing her apart. We are holding her to impossible standards we don’t even hold ourselves too. Our very real critiques of her are being ignored and some fans say it’s just hate instead. Critiques to her, become massive amounts of backlash at her, that is visceral and appalling. We say, “I love you.” She says, “It’s ruining my life.” 

We say we love you, and then turn around and say but I hated that. We say we support you  but we need “MORE.” We say take a break, but you had better not disappear on us. We say we want you to be in love, but on our terms. We want you to be happy, but the way we want. 

And it has gotten more and more and more, as she has skyrocketed to the Eras Tour level of fame she has right now. Our reactions to her are millions of times over across multiple countries. Where people are saying, she shouldn’t have become a public figure if she couldn’t handle it. She shouldn’t have opened up her life to us and written her songs like a diary, if she couldn’t handle it. She shouldn’t be a human being if she can’t handle being hated for being human. She created this parasocial relationship, it’s her fault it’s toxic. She talks about the men and love, she should handle when we judge her for it. You wouldn’t even judge your friends. Will you say, that’s just the way they are? And ignore the ways they are hurting you and others? And if you did, will you hold grace for them to change and grow or will you cut them out immediately and leave them isolate? Will you forget community? 

And it’s all divisive and anonymous online. This virtual signaling, and hate towards one person, when you can’t even hold your own families accountable. When you can’t even hold yourself accountable. When every moment that this relationship of us to Taylor continues, it proves that we are the worst parts of humanity. 

I’m not immune to that. This post is antagonistic and anonymous. I see the irony. I know the hypocrisy. 

And there are reasons the jokes aren’t funny about us on the internet, but that they’re true. They’re true, what outsiders and non-fans think of us. We are a rapid fan base that gets worse and worse each year. We are not only the good parts, the friendship bracelets and joy of the eras tour. We are all the terrible parts as well. We are the racist, homophobic, terrible parts. We are getting worse and worse the more and more we love her, that we are starting to scare people even more than we ever had. It’s my way, or you’re out. And if you, another fan, don’t agree with me then you’re not actually a fan at all.

Some people, fans, have said that the Eras Tour feels like the end. That she’s saying goodbye. She burned down the lover house. TTPD is alienating people. Taylor Swift is everywhere and she is so oversaturated that people are concerned.

And look. I can’t blame TS for what is happening right now. If she’s feeling alone. Afraid. Lost. Unsure what will happen if she puts one foot out of line. She’s given us this messy album that is filled with the dirty and worst parts of her thoughts and feelings. It’s not edited it’s raw. It’s angry. It’s saying “Fuck you.” Because we made her crazy. And I’m pretty sure we sure as hell aren’t letting her feel like she can change. She can’t trust us to let her change or to become something else. She can’t even trust us to be there as a support network. 

Even if the Cycle dictates that she should do it.

Maybe she’s grown up. Maybe sh’s found her genre and want’s to stay here forever. Maybe Taylor is tired. Maybe she just needed to get all the emotions out and away so she can move on and be fully happy. Maybe she’s terrified of what will happen this time when she falls from grace. She saw it in 2009-2012. She saw it in 2016-2017. 

I don’t know. I don’t know her. But I know this:

When you’re standing at the tallest peak, how far does the valley look? Especially when the wings you built through years of blood sweat and tears are burned by the very people who helped you make them.

There Will Be No Explanation. There Will Just Be Reputation.

We all know the iconic opening sequence from the Reputation Stadium tour. Where she took the media commentary and made it the opening. For years. Taylor has been in a war with the media and the powers at be. When the media slut shamed her. When the media made paternity tests. When the MEDIA said, look at this woman and all the stupid shit she does.

Guess what? The media loves her. 

Taylor Swift reclaimed her reputation from the media in 2017. 

But now who does she have to take it back from?

For as much as Taylor has made a commentary about how women are constantly told to reinvent themselves, to become something new and shiny, in this way and that way for “me.” The greatest changes Taylor has ever made in her music career have been for herself. 1989, was because she wanted to go Pop. Folklore was because she needed to process and try a new type of songwriting style. 

And yet, now Taylor’s fans look at all her clothes and choices and say “ah this is a new era.” This is “reputation era coded.” The fans are now adding paternity tests to every single song. We are going after the exes online and in person. We are asking Taylor to reinvent herself constantly over and over and over to entertain us. We shout “MORE!” over and over again. The fans are feral for reputation. Ignore everything else. 

And with TTPD she said, we need to chill that we don’t know her. That she’s going to make up her own choices and fuck up. And the line about “you should see your faces?” that is about US.

We, the fans, are now in the place of the media. We are the ones that are dictating her reputation in a way that she does not agree with. When Taylor Swift reclaims her reputation again, it will not be from the media, it will be from the fans itself.

We are now giving paternity tests. We are now the ones asking if she’s going to get married and when. We are the ones constantly wondering if she’s pregnant. WE are saying and doing and acting the same way that the media did for YEARS. When before we used to tell the media to back off and ignored it all. We have become the very thing we used to hate. 

And now we, as fans are saying to Taylor Swift that she MUST “Be new to us, be young to us, but only in a a new way and only in the way we want. And reinvent yourself, but only in a way that we find to be equally comforting, but also a challenge for you. Live out a narrative that we find to be interesting, to entertain us, but not so crazy that it makes us uncomfortable.”

This time when Taylor Swift reclaims her reputation, she’s going to be reclaiming it for herself, from the men who stole it from her. From the media who dictated it. From the world. From her fans. For herself. (Taylor’s Version)

Lightning in a Bottle

I was always of the opinion that she’d continue making albums after 13. Now I am not sure. I think she’ll write music, but I think 13 might be it. There is a chance, she is preparing to keep coasting. Get 12 out while she’s still at the high. Ride out this Cycle longer than it should. Get 12 out to critical acclaim, face the fall and release 13, her Magnum Opus. Say goodbye for good. People will look at it and wonder what happened, who she is, but she’s been warning us since Long Live that this could happen. 

However.

Taylor Swift is capable of bending lightning. 

To many fans, each Taylor Swift Album is perfect. To some each album is something new that she hasn’t tried before. To me, Taylor’s albums come in the form of a cycle. Where, when she changes for herself and is embraced for that change, she is able to create something no one has ever done before. She defines a generation in a healthy and productive way. 

She’s done it once with Country. She’s done it twice, with Pop. She’s done it thrice with Folk. In each instance she was raw, she was curated. She was honed in on the concept, on the lyrics, on the vulnerability, on the genre itself. Taylor Swift can capture lightning in a bottle when she’s trying an entirely new genre. When she goes all in on everything for the genre, in a new form, and learns and masters that form well. And most importantly, when she decides to make this leap of faith not because she’s reinventing herself to make the world entertained, but because she wants to make the change- the choice- for herself.

I’ve always hoped and prayed for that Rock album. I thought it would be 12 (or 11, in a world where Evermore was not Folklore’s sister/twin). I’ve always thought that if Taylor was going to catch Lightning in a bottle again it would be in rock. I don’t think we’ll ever get it. And that’s okay.

I always hoped that album 13 would be about us, the fans. The coming of age story of Taylor Swift. Her relationship with us and the music industry. The album that has pop and rock and country and folk. Songs that remind me of Girls Just Want to Have Fun, I Want to Dance With Somebody, and This Ones For the Girls. I hoped it would be for us. For her. For the love of it all. And album that said Long Live, with a capital TS, that touched on every era she ever did, recreating the sound perfectly. Into 13 perfect songs and not a song more. I doubt it’s going to happen. And that’s okay. 

I won’t be disappointed. I’ll be here for the ride. I’ll critique her as much as I always have, and hold grace for her to change as a person. I’m going to build my community with the paradox of Tolerance in mind. And if I’m wrong and she continues after 13, I’ll be there too. But I think that right now, The Taylor Swift fandom is not in the place to be able to catch Taylor if she makes a jump, a change, a decision that is not tailored for them or considers them. We can't even talk with each other without getting into fights.

Ask yourself how much of our community is left:

When the parasocial relationships Taylor built, is weaponized against her and ourselves. Like some sort of awardshow, where you get a gold star for being the best.

When we are giving her a paternity test at every lyric.

When we see our faces at every new lyric. 

When the games aren’t fun anymore. 

When we scream more. More. More. More. But only the way I want and in the way I deem appropriate.

When her reputation has been stolen from her again. AGAIN by the people she trusted most. 

When we only book mark her life by failures and endings. Gossiping like old women asking how did it happen this time?

When we won’t even remember ALL the things that she loves. 

When that’s all she’s ever asked for us to remember her by. 

When she says we, her fans, "are the love of my life."

But “The Story of Us, sounds a lot like a tragedy now.” 

Because "the story isn't [hers] anymore."

Yet, we're all she’s ever wanted.

I think that with TTPD, she is processing but she's telling us, that this is it. She's going to make the first change of her life not knowing if we're going to support it.

Cycle 4 is coming. Whether that is with 12. 13. With the end of the Eras Tour. With the burning of the lover house on the first night of the Eras Tour. Cycle 4 will end the Cycles. Will end the Eras. 

One more fall from from the precipice. But this time not from the public. Not from the media. From her fans. I think Taylor Swift is ready to take that leap with or without her fans. With or without the safety net. With or without the wings we built her that got her this far. One more fall from the pedestal. One more descent into the horrors that Taylor Swift has ever known. This time into uncharted waters, facing the one true love of her life. The change that is going to shatter the fandom. 

What happens then?

Change

So how do we fix it? How do we, as a community, come together and fix this toxicity? Because we have to be the ones to do it. If we don’t do it now, then there is a chance we’ll never do it in the future. We have to change, and reclaim our own reputation as Swifties.

How? I wish I had all the answers, but I do have a place to start.

Stop sending death threats and hate and KYS to people you don’t agree with. 

Stop arguing like you’re so smart because you understand her lyrics. If someone says they don’t interpret something the same way as you, maybe listen. There is no One Way to read a Taylor Swift song. There just isn’t. 

Tolerance Paradox: Support differing opinions of your own. However, we can not accept intolerance. Those who wish to spread hate, those who wish to spread anger, we can’t support them. We have to call them out. We must call out the racists and the homophobes and the literal nazis and white supremacists who find our fandom home. 

We must be critical of her AND our community. Whose voices are we not listening to? Take a self inventory on why the critique of her bothers you so much. Legitimately. 

We must take inventory of what we have done in the past and take accountability for the ways we’ve hurt others.

We must stop asking for more, legitimately. Stop asking for more Folklore like albums. Stop asking for more 1989 like albums. Stop begging for reputation.

We must be kind to those who are new. Gatekeeping can only be so far as to keep the space a place of tolerance. 

We must support each other in hard times, in times of need. Be the community that comes together to say, I have your back. We must start helping each other, legitimately.

We must hold our ground, and stop the leaks IMMEDIATELY.

Stop speculating, and I don’t mean analyzing of reviewing easter eggs. I mean speculating. We aren’t with her 24/hrs a day so stop acting like we should be.

Easter Eggs are only fun, when people aren’t having full break downs about being wrong. Maybe we should chill. 

Hold space for your opinions to change and for others to change. Validate those changes, and the processing. 

Remember our roots. We are the fandom who has stuck together through everything, who believes in the magic of connection. Draw those 13s on the back of your hands and make a wish. Long Live.

Ending

In the end, there is nothing great about this essay. I’m really not saying much to anyone. I'm saying this for myself because I'm changing the way I engage with Taylor Swift and other Swifties. I’m tired of creating a network of hate. I’m tired of feeling like I don’t belong in this community, because I am not perfect. Or because I don’t agree. 

We, as fans, are the new enemy that we have always fought against.  

I might not be able to fix everything, but I'm going to do my part to change the prophecy.