#jack is far more likely to be chill and laid back around his girlfriends

[trickstercaptain]

i think what has always kept jack interesting within the context of shippy dynamics is how he can be wildly different with different partners. obviously there is the core of who he is which will never change, but there are the dynamics where he is the more chill and level-headed one and then the dynamics where he is an impulsive menace who relies on his partner to be the level headed one instead

[darling-i-read-it]

Hassun

2x03

Hannibal Lecter x reader x Will Graham 

Hannibal Re-Write Series Masterlist

Word Count: 2k 

Warnings: spoilers for hannibal, murder, mental health problems, jail, dead bodies

Author’s Note: It is 2am. Second wrench has been thrown. 

I used some direct quotes from the script so some things may seem familiar 

Official Episode Summary : As Will's trial begins, his colleagues have to pick a side. The case takes a chilling turn when someone starts recreating the crimes he's accused of.

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director 

Tag List: @llperfectsymmetryll​

(not my gif) 

@/theladyaysha made most of these gifs

You stared in the mirror of your home. Your hair wasn’t working with you but with the music in the bathroom you felt a sense of calm. You fixed the bracelet you were wearing and adjusted the jacket you had put on over one of your more formal dresses.

Hannibal looked in his mirror, buttoning up his shirt. This was a day he had presented himself to attend for a while. Although he wasn’t quite sure how it would turn out he was prepared for it. Perhaps.

Will had to look at the bars in his cell and hope that his tie was on correctly. You did his ties and he had never actually properly learned. But he was more worried about how the day was going to go. 

The three of you took a deep breath at seemingly the same time in three different places. 

-

The courtroom was cold. You walked inside and caught the eye of Hannibal who had an empty seat beside him. You wanted to sit next to Alana or someone but you couldn't’ see her. You just didn’t want to sit alone. 

You weren’t sure if it was appropriate but you walked over to him and sat down wordlessly. Hannibal glanced at you but you just held your clutch in your lap, looking forward. You could feel Hannibal look over at you.

“I hope you don't' mind,” you whispered. He shook his head.

“I understand.” 

One of the side doors opened and Will walked in. His eyes looked elsewhere and you wouldn’t blame him if he was off fishing somewhere. He caught your eye and Hannibal’s. He gave you no emotion but you gave him a small reassuring smile. 

  By the time the trail began you were already on edge. Hearing words come out of a ladies mouth, speaking the worst of your boyfriend was something you never imagined you’d do. 

Eventually Jack came out and you leaned against Hannibal, almost involuntarily. Hannibal turned to you a bit but didn’t say anything, perhaps just reading your emotions. 

“Rather than being tormented by the work he did, Will Graham enjoyed the cover his role at the FBI gave him to commit his terrible crimes,” Marion Vega, the lawyer said to the courtroom. You tensed but Will didn’t seem to react. Granted you couldn’t really see his face.

“I don’t believe that to be true,” Jack said. You raised an eyebrow. You turned to Hannibal and he looked equally surprised. 

“Did Jack just say something...sane?” you whispered so only he could hear. Hannibal scoffed quietly.

“Agent Crawford?” Vega asked. 

“Will hated every second of the work. Didn’t fake that. His girlfriend harped on me for weeks and continues to do so. She didn’t fake that. He hated it and I kept making him do it,” Jack stated. You nodded, agreeing despite no one looking at you. 

“Why then, when you gave him the opportunity to quit, did he refuse?” she asked.

“Because he was saving lives. I was warned by more than one person if I pushed Will, I would break him. I put checks and balances in place, then ignored them. And here we are.” You were astonished. 

“Looks like he did hear you,” Hannibal muttered. 

After Jack stepped down everyone started to file out. You weren’t sure if you were allowed to talk to Will but when his lawyer ushered you over you came happily. 

“Leonard Brauer, you’re the girlfriend yes?” 

“Last I checked.”

“She’s the girlfriend,” Will said, rather stoically. 

“I want you to be prepared to testify. I don’t have you on right now but I’m hoping to get you in to testify for character,” he said. You nodded quickly.

“Anything I can do. I’m working with Alana as best I can,” you said honestly and Brauer nodded as well. 

“That’s much appreciated.” You turned to Will and he met your eyes. You gave him a kind smile.

“I like your hair,” you said. He laughed quietly.

“Thanks. I like your dress.” 

“Thank you.” 

Brauer got handed a package and he started to open it. He dumped it out on the table as you and Will stared at each other and an ear fell out. You were barely surprised.

“You know, if I had a dollar for everytime I saw a severed ear…” you said quietly. 

-

The ear laid in front of you. You were standing beside Hannibal, Bev, Price, Zeller and Jack who all were looking at the ear curiously. 

“One thing’s for sure. Will Graham didn’t do it,” Beverly said. You nodded although no one expected anything else. 

“Although, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Zeller said. You let out a stiff sigh and Hannibal nudged you a little.

“The timing is deliberate, choreographed to drop the ear at the start of Will’s trail,” Jack observed.

“Such a gift has great significance,” Hannibal observed.

“A gift,” you muttered. “Interesting way to put it.”

“From who?” Jack asked.

“Wil claimed someone else committed the crimes he’s accused of,” Hannibal suggested. “It’s what Y/N believes.”

“Will said that someone was you,” Jack whispered.

“Perhaps he was half right,” Hannibal said and you turned to him, glad to hear that. You and Hannibal were not in the best speaking terms right now but you understood you had a common goal. Zeller looked annoyed. 

“You gotta be kidding me.” 

-

Hannibal sat across from Will at a table. 

“It seems you have an admirer,” Hannibal suggested. 

“It seems you kissed my girlfriend and suggested she love us both,” Will said, his voice monotone. 

“Yes.”

“You aren’t going to deny it?”

“I care deeply about you and Y/N. I believe that someone else may have committed these crimes and I believe we may have aligned wishes.” 

“That gives you no right to kiss my girlfriend.” 

The two of them stared at each other. Hannibal noticed that Will did not seem to be angry. He seemed more confused, perhaps even amused.

“That is not the priority here,” Hannibal stated simply. “You got an ear in the mail.” Will nodded.

“Are you assuming I’ve given you permission to continue to pursue Y/N?” 

“Are you?” 

Will was caught off guard a bit but bounced back quickly. 

“I don’t know.” 

A beat of silence.

“How far would you go to help me?” Will asked. 

“It hadn’t occurred to me to send you an ear,” Hannibal said quietly. “But I’m grateful and intrigued that someone has.” 

“Gratitude has a short half-life.”

-

You walked with Hannibal into a charred house. 

“Wanted to give us a warm welcome and still leave something to find,” Jack said as you looked over the dead charred body over antlers. It heavily resembled the pictures that you had seen on your kitchen table, just after the copycat killer stuck. The murder that presumabley Will had done

“An arresting piece of theater,” Hannibal said.

“It’s Will Graham’s greatest hits,” Zeller said.

“Are we addressing the elephant in the room? The charred, mutilated elephant right over there,” Price said. 

“Could we have been that wrong?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” you whispered.

“No. We couldn't,” Zeller countered. 

“The evidence we found was immediate and almost presentational. May as well have been gift-wrapped,” Bev said.

“That’s what Will said about Cassie Boyle when she was found in that field. “Field kabuki.””. Jack was having doubts. You could feel it.

“There wasn’t any evidence before Will was apprehended and there hasn’t been any since,” Bev muttered. 

“What impact could this have on Will’s trial?” you questioned. Jack took this and thought about it before a moment. 

“Hopefully a lot of impact.”

-

You stood in the room with Alana, Will and Brauer. 

“I’m confused,” Alana said. “We are-”

“We are heading one direction and now, we are heading another,” Brauer said.

“You’re going to abandon your defense strategy, the entire case you’ve built...mid-trail,” Alana muttered. She turned to you. “You’re okay with this?”

“It makes sense to me.”

“Exciting, isn’t it?” Brauer said, walking over to the table that you were all sitting around. “Not only reasonable, fashionable. There’s a killer on the loose, demonstrating all the hallmarks of Will Graham’s alleged murders. Somebody out there likes you,” he said to Will. 

“This is just because you honestly don't think he did it,” Alana said, only to you.

“I am a woman of my word,” you said. 

“She somehow got it where she wanted, which she does often enough,” Will said and you nodded happily.

“Did you kill someone to do it?” Alana asked sarcastically. 

“No but someone did. Someone who likes Will enough,” you muttered.

“I won’t have to call you in the stand,” Brauer said. 

“Who will be taking the stand in my place?” 

-

Hannibal took the stand. You watched the hope crash and fall before your eyes. The defense was ruled inadmissible and you felt an anger in your heart that you hadn’t felt in a while, if ever.

You stood up as the court was dismissed for the day. You walked up to the judge as Will was taken out. 

“May I talk with you?” you asked. You put on your best girl smile.

“About this case?” 

“Perhaps?” He let out a sigh. He wasn’t supposed to but you were pretty. Perhaps this would go in his way. You tried to look as ditzy as you could as he nodded a little.

“Come to my chambers.”

-  

You couldn’t think. Your hands were bloody and you were shaking. The door behind you swung open and Hannibal stopped in his tracks at the sight he was looking at. 

You, blood on your hands and the bashed in head of the judge. You shook your head and continued to shake, the blood staining your clothes.

“I..I didn’t…” you started but you were such in shock you couldn’t say anything. Hannibal walked forward. He wasn’t going to say that he wasn’t coming to kill this man but seeing you with his dead body was something he was not prepared to think about this afternoon.

“I’m surprised it isn’t Jack Crawford,” he said quietly. You had enough heart to scoff at him. 

“He was gonna kill Will,” you said very quietly. Hannibal nodded and looked down at the body.

“I’m going to clean this. The BAU are going to come and look over a crime scene that I made for this and I’m going to make it look like the man who is recently trying to help Will out. You will not come with me to see the body.”

“I have to. You can’t go without me,” you whispered. Your eyes seemed elsewhere. Hannibal took off his coat and put it over you.

“Wait in my car.” 

-

Forty five minutes later you were in Hannibal’s home, freshly showered and wearing his clothes. You were staring at your hands, trying to figure out how you had killed somebody. Your anger had gotten the best of you but how? Bashing someone’s brain in...you could barely think about it now.

“I want Will,” you pouted, voice breaking. Hannibal walked up to you and sat beside you on the couch.

“You can’t tell him.”

“I have to. I tell him everything,” you said, looking at Hannibal. 

“Don’t tell him this.” 

You shook your head and looked over at Hannibal, still feeling like you were shaking. Hannibal put his arms around you and you put your head on his chest. He held you until you fell asleep.

2x04

[a-milky-strawberry]

Chanyeol x Reader - Happy Virus (Angst/Fluff)

You didn’t have the… most amazing childhood. Your childhood wasn’t terrible, at least for the most part. The first ten years of your life were amazing. You had a loving mother, a caring father, two wonderful brothers, and an overwhelmingly big family. You came from a close-knit family. There were no secrets, no rumors. Everyone knew everything about family and our friends. However, there are reasons for why you used the term “had” when it came to telling anyone regarding your family. That includes your ‘Happy Virus’ boyfriend, Park Chan Yeol.

When you first met Chanyeol you fell head first in love. No, seriously, as he was walking by you got so distracted by his handsome face that you fell head first into a pond. Chanyeol was nice enough to give you his jacket for warmth while you dried your clothes. After that encounter, you two just seemed to have a lot in common and he still tells that story to anyone within earshot. You two shared everything together.

Well, not everything.

Chanyeol knew a lot about you. He knew your favorite color, ice cream flavors, types of music. He knew all your friends and even your favorite animals (spoiler alert: it’s all of them), tv shows, favorite serial killers, etc. He knew everything. At least he thought he did. Chanyeol didn’t know a single thing about your family. When he thought about it he never met you mom or your dad or even a single cousin. At first, he didn’t think much about it. He was an idol after all. You were probably protecting him from loose lip family members, he thought. But, that never stopped him from being suspicious about your behavior when he brought it.

He would always talk about his family. He’d go on and on about stories from his childhood, stories about his mother, and funny anecdotes about his father. You never got tired of hearing his stories. A bright smile would be plastered on your face the whole time. However, whenever your family was brought up your face would change. It seemed almost stoic with a mix of sadness and anger. Your body language would be closed off and you talked as if you were a bad actor regurgitating a line.

“My childhood was good. Mom, dad, two brothers, y’know. Kind of a big family, I guess. They live far away so I haven’t seen them much since moving here. Do you want to make out?”

That was just one of the many ways you’d get him to lose interest in the topic: food, making out, night markets, arcades, and so on. It worked, but the thought never left his mind.

---------

Chanyeol was exhausted. These seemed to be one of those days where schedules seemed to happen back to back to back. He wanted nothing more than to cuddle you and order takeout. After his final schedule, he hurried straight over to your apartment. He sent you texts stating that he was coming over and you couldn’t be happier. You two couldn’t help it. The both of you were just that cheesy. Not seeing each other for a few hours turns into some type of Rose and Jack scene.

As Chanyeol walked up to your apartment building entrance, he noticed a middle-aged woman looking more than a little lost. She had a small piece of paper in her left hand and a bag in her right. She looked sweaty and exhausted and her shoes looked run down. It was as if she had been walking all day.

“Um… is this it? Oh… why did my phone have to die? I have no idea where I am…”

The woman kept looking at a small piece of paper and your apartment building. Was she looking for someone?

“Um… excuse me ma’am? Are you lost?”

The woman looked up at Chanyeol startled but soon was relieved as she took a big sigh.

“Yes! I’ve been looking around all day for this apartment and I don’t remember the apartment I’m supposed to go to. It’s on my phone but my battery died 2 hours ago! Can you please help me?!” the woman pleaded. She looked pretty desperate and the last thing Chanyeol wanted to do was leave a woman outside this late at night without any forms of communication.

“Sure!” Chanyeol smiled. “I’d be happy to help.”

The woman returned the smile. “Thank you! So much! Such a nice, handsome man.”

Chanyeol let out a chuckle. He was always a hit with older women and grandmothers. You’d often tease him saying that he should be a sugar baby to a grandmother if he didn’t want to be an idol anymore.

Chanyeol took the woman’s piece of paper and quirked his eyebrow. ‘No wonder she couldn’t find this place! This address is smudged and you can barely see the apartment number.’ He looked back up at the woman. “Um… Is there anyone in particular you’re visiting? My girlfriend lives here so they might be looking for the person.” Chanyeol asked already to pull out his phone to text you.

The woman nodded. “Of course. I’m looking for a (Y/N) (L/N). Do you happen to know them?”

Chanyeol almost dropped his phone. Why… would this woman be looking for you? Is she a relative? A friend?

“Uh… yeah, I do. Are you a family friend or something?”

The woman chuckled, but her eyes seemed to dart away at the question. “I’m her aunt.”

As much as Chanyeol didn’t want to seem shocked he couldn’t help but choke on his own spit. Here was your blood relative standing right in front of him. His eyes widened. Didn’t you say that your family lived really, really far away? Well, that would explain how she got lost and the smudged address. But, why didn’t you tell him your aunt was visiting? Better yet, why hadn’t you told him sooner.

“Umm… are you alright?”

The woman brought Chanyeol out of his thoughts and he realized he had been staring.

“Oh, yeah! Ahem! I’m fine! I know them. I can take you right now.”

The woman beamed with happiness. “Oh! Thank you so much!”

Chanyeol led the woman inside the building. They got in the elevator and he pressed your floor number. As the elevator shook with movement, Chanyeol took peaks at your aunt. She looked fairly young but had lines on her face to give out her age. She seemed nervous and fidgeting. Was this woman really your aunt?

“So, uh, are you from out of town? Because of the address and directions?”

Your “aunt” nodded. “Yes. We haven’t seen much of each other since they moved away. In all honesty, I haven’t seen them in decades.”

Chanyeol nodded. That seemed to line up. You had told him that it had been years since you’ve seen anyone from your family that wasn’t your two brothers.

“I bet they’ll be happy to see you. But, why didn’t you ask them to pick you up or give you directions?”

“Oh, um… I wanted it to be a surprise.” she said curtly. Chanyeol nodded and left the conversation alone, getting the feeling that she didn’t want to talk anymore. However, it did explain why you didn’t tell him they were coming. Once the elevator reached your floor, the doors opened and Chanyeol led the “aunt” down a long hallway. Once they reached the door, your “aunt” seemed visibly nervous now.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Your “aunt” swallowed harshly. “I-I’m just a little jittery… I wonder how they’re going to react…”

Chanyeol put on a brave face. “Well, no time like the present!” He knocked on your door with a familiar rhythm.

“Come in!” he heard you yell.

Chanyeol opened the door and the smell of Chinese takeout made him drool. He always looked forward to the scary movie nights and takeout. Apparently, you were in the mood for Chinese as he saw piles of it on your coffee table as he guided the woman into the living room. You were on your knees, digging your big box of movies searching for something to watch. You were one of the only people he knew who still had a DVD player.

“Great timing! I was having a hard time choosing between Us and Ma-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” You let out a gut-wrenching scream as you laid eyes on your boyfriend… standing right next to your aunt. The air immediately turned tense and cold and Chanyeol could feel a chill rip through his spine. He has never ever heard you scream like that. In all of the scary movie nights and spiders and roaches, that scream you let out gave him goosebumps. As your aunt took a step forward, you fell on your butt trying to scramble away from her. The fear in your eyes was uncanny.

“H-Hi (Y/N)... Look, I don’t want to make trouble but I came here be-” Your aunt was cut short as a vase whipped centimeters away from her head. The ceramic shattered everywhere and Chanyeol didn’t have time to respond as a clay dish also whipped towards you aunt just barely missing her face.

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” you screamed, already arming yourself with another vase and clay dish.

“Please sweetheart! Just listen-!”

Another vase whipped at her.

“DON’T YOU DARE CALL ME ‘SWEETHEART’ AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO MY FAMILY!!”

‘What you did to my family!!’ What did your aunt do?! There was no time for questions as an ashtray you used to hold your jewelry broke on your aunt’s face. Your aunt dropped to the floor as she cradled her face and yelped in pain. The sounds of your panting were the only thing filling the silence in your apartment. Chanyeol just looked on in horror. He didn’t know what to do. Did he check to see if your aunt was okay or did he go and comfort you? His hands were shaking and he could barely breathe. Just what the hell was going on here?!

“I… I deserved that…” your aunt whispered as she wobbled trying to get on her feet.

“You deserved to have your skin peeled off with a rusty, ancient potato peeler and have all of your orifices sewn with piano wire while a mix of salt and lime juice embalms your entire body.” you snarled. Another chill rips through Chanyeol’s spine. Your voice laced with pure hatred and he has never seen you this angry. It was like you were a whole different person.

“Please… 귀여운… please just listen… I didn’t come here to fight you. I came here… to ask for your forgiveness…”

You scoffed. “Forgiveness? Forgiveness?! After everything you’ve done?! And you dragged my boyfriend in the middle of all of this!!” you pointed at Chanyeol who stood like a statue.

“I didn’t mean to! He said he knew you… and I came all this way… just to find you…”

“Well, you wasted your time! Because I don’t want to see you! Not only did you ruin my life, you ruined everyone’s life! The family, the relationship between me and my dad, and your own sister!! My mother!! She-!” Your words caught in your throat as tears streamed down your face. “I’m not discussing this in front of Chanyeol… Go home (Y/A/N)...”

“Please 귀여운!! I came all this way! I looked for you all day! I came here to give you news about your dad! And I really wanted to see you…”

You stood quiet as she went on. “No one has seen you in years… You’re the only one who doesn’t keep in contact with the family. Your brothers still keep in touch-”

“That was their choice. The moment I left was when I decided I had no family.”

“(Y/N) please…”

“You and that bastard are nothing to me. That whole family is nothing to me! That whole family knew what was going on but were too fucking cowards to have the decency to tell my mother what was going on!!”

“(Y/N)... there’s still so much that you don’t know… If you had stayed and hadn’t pushed us away you would know the full story.”

“LISTEN TO WHAT?! The excuses?! The tears?! The cries?! What “story” is there to tell?! The story about how you're selfish?! And spoiled?! And how you couldn’t just let my mother be happy even if you weren’t?! So you played with my father the same way a child plays with their other siblings' toys when that sibling gets news ones?!”

Your aunt turned silent as she looked down at the ground. Tears were flowing through her eyes too.

“Or are you going to tell him how you two were so in love that you couldn’t recognize what was wrong? Forgiveness is the last thing I want from you. I don’t want your forgiveness. I don’t want your hugs, no sweethearts, not even a damn handshake from you. Because of you… my mother is dead.”

The air dropped 20 degrees lower and Chanyeol could hear you choking back painful sobs.

“Killed by your selfishness… Can your forgiveness bring my mother back? Can your forgiveness bring back all the heartache and crying and trauma that I had to go through finding her body that morning? Can your forgiveness bring back all the years I slept on the streets, begging and crying in the alley alone, when I ran away from home because you and that bastard immediately put me and my brothers in boarding schools after my mother’s funeral?”

Your aunt said nothing more. You blinked the tears out of your eyes and turned around. “I would like for you to leave my house.”

“(Y/N)-”

“I’m afraid I don’t know you ma’am. Please leave my home before my boyfriend calls the police.”

You aunt looked over Chanyeol as they made eye contact. Her eyes were red and her face wet with tears. She gave him a sorrowful look as if to say she was sorry for having to witness this distratious reunion. She slowly picked herself up and placed her bag on the coffee table. She looked at Chanyeol once more and then the bag. Her eyes told him that whatever was in that bag was why she made the journey all the way here and was leaving with a gash in her cheek. As your aunt made her way to the door, you spoke up again.

“(Y/A/N)?”

She turned her head and looked at the corridor that led to your living room. You were standing between that entrance with a cold, tearful look.

“I don’t know how you got here. I’m 10000000% certain that it was none of my brothers, but I will tell you this. If you tell that bastard where I live or anyone else for that matter or get anyone else to come here, I’ll call my brothers and tell them what happened. They’ll cut you off with no hesitation… and then, you’ll be left with no one.”

A painful sob left your aunt’s throat as she nodded and scrambled to get the door open.

“귀여운… my sweetheart… I am so so sorry…”

The door softly shut and you aunt was gone. You slowly walked towards the door, locked it and pressed your forehead on the cold door.

Chanyeol had finally gotten up and was staring at your back, a few tears in his eye as well. He approached you slowly as not to stress you out.

“(Y/N)...?” he whispered. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” you stated curtly. Oh, but you were far from okay. As much as you were angry and upset, you were more so embarrassed that this happened in front of Chanyeol, the love of your life. You wanted to have a relationship with this man. He was one of the few that you actually trusted, just not to the degree. You always knew you’d have to tell him one way or another. Just not like this… How were you going to be normal knowing that Chanyeol knows everything. He’s not an idiot. All the clues were there and based on your reaction he knew this was serious shit he just witnessed.

“I’m sorry-”

“Can I give you a hug?” he asked gently. You turned around and were faced with your gentle faced boyfriend with his arms out already out. You looked in his eyes. They were shiny from tears and you knew rejecting his hug would only make him feel worse. You didn’t give an answer as you willfully ran into his arms and sobbed into his chest. Chanyeol patted your back and smooth your hair, shushing you and whispering gentle words like: “You’re okay. Everything’s okay.” “You’re safe now.” “Whenever you’re ready.” After a while your sobs turned into small sniffles.

“I-I’m so s-sorry you had to see that… I w-w-was gonna tell you s-s-s-soon b-b-b-but…” you stuttered trying to get your words in order.

“Shh… it’s okay… Take a deep breath…”

“I-I was so s-scared that you would leave me!!!”

Chanyeol felt his stomach drop. He would never leave you. Especially since he’s gotten a snippet of what you’ve got through.

“I would never leave you Jagiya…” he assured, giving you a tight squeeze. “We’re in this together now, araso? Your worries are now my worries. When you want to talk about it and explain your story I will always be here to lend you my Yoda ears.”

You let out a soft giggle.

“My ears can pick up anything. I can even hear your thoughts! You’re thinking: ‘How did I get so lucky with such a handsome, generous, man with a ten-pack and great hair.’

You laughed as you pulled away and looked into his eyes. “Close. More along the lines of ‘dorky’ and ‘nine-pack’.”

Chanyeol let out a dramatic gasp and threw his head back. “Are you saying my abs are uneven?! I’ll have you know I count my abs everyday in the shower, just like I count my bread!”

“Pfft-! You count your bread?! Who the hell does that?!”

“Um! Every good-looking rapper with a ten-pack, great hair, handsome face, and who’s Jagiya keeps making peanut butter jelly and honey sandwiches at 3 a.m.”

“Oh my gosh! You’re such a weirdo!” you laughed, holding your stomach with now a new set of tears running down your face. A happy set of tears. As your laughter died down you took Chanyeol’s hand and gave him a gentle almost pleading look.

“Promise you’ll wait?” you asked.

He smiled gently and stroked your cheek. “I’ll wait forever if that means I get to see you smiling everyday.”

You leaned into his cheek and smiled. “Thank you.” You gave his palm a kiss and led him into the living room. You noticed the bag on the coffee table. “What’s this?”

“I don’t know. Your aunt had it with her. It seemed like she wanted you to open it.”

You stared at the bag not knowing what to do. A million thoughts rushed through your mind before Chanyeol’s voice snapped you out of thought.

“Do you want to throw it away?” he asked gently. “Her being here made you really upset and I wouldn’t want you to open the bag if you don’t want to.”

You thought for a while before sighing. “Can you… put it in my closet? I’ll open it someday. Just not to today.”

Chanyeol gave a quick ‘of course’ before giving you a peck on the head and putting the bag in your closet. You’d definitely want to be in the right mindset before seeing what was in that bag. Chanyeol came back and saw you looking at the piles of Chinese food and giving a big sigh. “Well, this food is definitely cold now. Plus, there's glass everywhere…” you grumbled looking at the shattered pieces of once was a vase, two clay dishes, and an ashtray.

“Let’s heat these up and clean up this mess. Then we can start our scary movie night. I still need you to help me pick between Us and Ma.”

“Of course Yeobo! But first, you need to work on your target practice because you missed.”

You tilted your head in confusion. “Missed what?”

Chanyeol pointed to his lips with an adorable pout. “My lips aren’t on my palm~! You really need to work on your aim.”

You giggled as you stood on your tip toes and gave him a quick kiss.

“And just a few more.” he said before smothering your entire face in kisses. Your laughter filled the apartment once again as you both fell on the couch in a kissing frenzy.

“W-Wait! Chanyeol!”

“Not so fast! You need to pay your fees!”

“What fees?”

“What if I get glass in my foot? And what if I bite into a cold noodle because of the microwave? You need to pay for all precautions!”

“Chanyeol!!”

This was why you love this man. He could turn your pain and sobs into laughter. He could make a bad day seem like nothing more than a grain of sand in the ocean. He always made you feel loved and happy. I guess that’s why he isn’t nicknamed the ‘Happy Virus’ for nothing.

hey guys. sorry i haven’t been active recently. college has been kicking my ass even though WE HAVE REMOTE CLASSES >:( anyway. i’ll try to update as much as i can and for those wondering if i’m going to be continuing the suga x reader - cold series, i am! also, look out for some reactions coming soon! later!

[jj-lynn21]

Castlerock: All Hallows Eve Ch 3

Ch 3: Chaos

Ch 1: Creation   ch 2 accident

Warnings: angst, jealousy, creepiness, creepy kids laughing,  

Song: It's a dead man's party oingo boingo

tags @dragsraksllib​ @grandpa-sweaters​ @waywardtigersandwich​ @sunshineandskarsgards​ @loomis @goblincxnt​  @kaangwoo​     @taintedglass​

 Nadine hobbled out to kitchen. She poured coffee in a mug that her love had put there for her. Genevieve was making breakfast. The Statue of the Kid sat on the counter looking towards Gen cooking. Nadine glared at the statue sticking her tongue. She gasped as she swore, she saw its mouth turn up in a grin and one eye wink.

  “Fuck.” She backed away to the table to sit down. When she took another look the face was normal. “Fucking hell that thing is creepy Gen.” 

Gen turned around with two plates of scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, and tomato. “I don’t think that is nice of you to say about him.” She put the food on the table, then turned to grab the statue to set facing her. “He is quite a unique expression of my creativity.”

“I’m not having another fight over him.” Nadine took a deep breath. “It is just a statue made of clay.” She mumbled.

 “For now.” Genevieve mumbled back as she started eating. “Are you going to be able to come to the party tonight? I already started decorating while you were in the hospital.”

“How did you have time?” Nadine paused fork full of eggs halfway to her mouth. “You where there with me as long as they would let you. How did you decorate and sleep?”

Gen shrugged. “The point is that I did it. When the veil lifts it’s a dead man’s party as our parents always say.” She laughed. It sounded a bit wicked as she hears the clay figure of The Kid laugh to.

 “I’m still in.” Nadine started eating again. “People rising from the dead wouldn’t really be all that surprising in this part of Maine. Hopefully, they don’t kill anyone, but I guess we will deal with that when it happens.”

Both girls laugh at the absurdity of the subject. Their laughter only masks the truth they well know. If it is a strange occurrence, it is sure to eventually happen in Castlerock.

Nadine insists on cleaning everything up since Genevieve cooked. She tries to argue with Nadine to at least let her help since she still has stitches in her leg and multiple bruises, but Nadine pushes her off towards her art room.  Gen reluctantly gave in and headed to her art room. She left the statue on the table. Nadine glared at it out of his line of sight. She thought this was her chance to get rid of the thing and she would play dumb when Gen was looking for it.

The party would distract her girlfriend. She would not have time to look for it until after the day of the Dead.  Nadine grabbed the thing. Holding it out In front of her refusing to look in its face she dropped it in the trash. The trash collector was only a house away. When the trucks robot arm lifted the trash can to dumb the contents, she felt relieved and went back in the house to wash dishes.

 A few hours later Nadine knocked on the art room door with some pumpkin cookies. She made dozens for the party. “Hey, Gen do you want to be a taste tester?”

“Come in.” Genevieve was working on a poster board sign of the Marsten house. She worked with blues, purples, black and a bit of oranges and yellows for glowing pumpkins. “How do you like our party sign so far?”

Nadine dropped the plate of cookies as she looked over her loves shoulder. Sitting at the corner of the paper was the statue of the kid watching Gen work.

 “It’s not that scary.” Genevieve laughed and helped Nadine clean up the cookies. She even ate one. “I think you out did yourself. This is the best cookie I have ever had in my mouth.”

“Um thanks.” She looked to the picture then came up with a reason she was scared. “Creepy kid shadows got me, I guess. Everyone will love the sign. Did you make more statues also?”

“No silly.” She kissed the top of the clay statue’s forehead. “He is an original. There can never be more than one.”

Nadine’s heart began beating so fast she grabbed her chest. She swore she saw the thing move its head to look at her. Gen was back to working on the sign by then. 

“I will have this finished in an hour.” Gen had her tongue sticking out as she worked on detailing jack-o'-lanterns in the painting. “Then we can take everything to the house before dusk. It is going to be such a wonderful night. Did I ever tell you my parents found me in the woods near the Marsten house?” “No, you never told me.” I thought the Duchamp’s were your parents.”

“Nope.” Gen replied. “No one could figure out who my real parents were so the sheriff just let them keep me. Everyone figured whoever left a baby in the woods was not much of a parent to begin with.”

“I’m sorry.” Nadine didn’t know anything else she could say. Maybe, her head injury was worse than the Doctor thought and she imagined throwing away the statue. Nothing else really makes sense. All the creepiness about it could be all in her head because of how jealous she is of Henry Deaver, The Kid, or whatever everyone wanted to call him. 

“It's okay.” Genevieve grinned wickedly. “Destiny always finds a person no matter where they end up.”

“I guess.” Nadine shrugged. “I’m going to make more cookies. I’ll be ready when you are done.”

“Sure thing, Nadine.” Genevieve said without looking away from her project. 

An hour before sundown Genevieve brings the painting out.  She had a long blood red jacket on with a hood, a black dress underneath with legging and thigh-high boots. “Already for tonight.”

Nadine turns from bagging up the goodies. “That looks great. And you look sexy as Hell.” Nadine had on black jeans and a loose-fitting black hoodie with cat ears. “I’m ready.”

The girls took Gen’s car. Nadine’s car was still at the Duchamp auto body shop. The wind blew the leaves across the path as Nadine and Genevieve walk up to the house.

 “I’m going to put the sign up.” Genevieve troted back down the driveway with the sign.

  “Alright, just be careful.” Nadine laughed changing the tone of her voice to a deep spooky one. “The witching hour will be upon us soon.” She cackled. She went into the house alone.

Genevieve went down to the bottom of the driveway. She set the sign up and looked at the town of Jerusalem's Lot. The chill in the air made her shiver. It was not that she heard him call for help. She felt him need her help.  She walked around the house into the woods. Her ears heard a humming. Then a loud stinging ringing flooded her mind. She dropped to her knees screaming covering her ears. Then there was silence. There he was laying in the leaves shivering naked.

As soon as she opened her eyes Genevieve crawls to him.  She took her long red coat off to wrap him up. “I’m here with you.”

His lips were blue from the cold.  Expressing his bewilderment with his eyes, he looks to her. He hates this part. The travel from the other side. The surprising time it happened as he communicated with her through her art. He didn’t imagine it could happen like this. A thinning happening on both sides while he was in his bath.

 “Let me help you inside where it is warmer.” She helped him to stand. “I’m sorry my coat is not longer on you, but at least it covers what only me needs to see.’

That made him chuckle a little. As they start walking to the Marsten place, guests are streaming inside. More people than were expected. Nadine did not even notice how long Gen was gone until she saw him duck into the doorway. Genevieve was by his side.  

The Kid darted his eyes around nervously. “Too much.”

Gen helped him through the staring crowd as the sounds of children laughing made her skin crawl. She got her man to a bedroom. Genevieve illuminated the scene with only her cellphone. 

The shadows of children lost surround the bed. “Play with us.” 

Genevieve gasped and dropped the cellphone on the bed. “Make them stop. Make them stop.” She buried her head in his chest.

 He covered her ears. “Go away.” He growled the command his face morphing into a grotesque old demon scaring the apparitions.

They screeched so loud as they ran the walls shook. The house not being the most stable residents started to slowly crumble. Hearing the screaming from where she saw Gen go, Nadine rushed to the room. As she looked inside Gen was looking up at her savior lovingly with trust. His hands covered the sides of her face.

His one eye caught Nadine standing frozen as the walls shook.  “Mine.” He murmured before kissing Genevieve passionately as they laid down in the bed.

The door slammed. Someone in another room yelled “fire.” Nadine ran to put it out. A huge part of the ceiling caved in in the kitchen. The punch bowl ignited when someone dropped their cigarette into it. Chaos took over.

The guests no longer thought the children were a creepy party trick. They were trying to keep people from leaving.  Nadine was trying to help everyone out safely. She could not think of what Genevieve was doing. She grabbed a iron poker from the fireplace. As soon as she swung it, nailing three of the children they vanished.

Some people could finally start to leave yet another nightmare party. The next day many would convince themselves it was the best party they ever attended. Even if some people never got home.

Genevieve and her King start to head out of the house. In the chaos no one noticed. No one that is but Nadine who saw them start to leave out of the corner of her eye.

 “Where are you going!” Nadine screamed. “We need to make sure everyone gets out of here safely.”

“Everything will be fine.” Gen continued to walk out. “I’m going home.”

Nadine was pissed but she did not have time to deal with whatever was going on with Genevieve and that damn creepy kid. The Marstan house was starting to crumble again. The roof had not been secured. The dry wall was barely holding up. The punch bowl was on fire and all those kids laughing as people screamed did not help the situation. 

Once Nadine helped everyone out of the house, she was exhausted. Genevieve’s car was still there. She figured her girl, if she still considered herself that, had walked to their home. Taking The Kid to their place just made the anger well up in her again. She drove back to their home as fire trucks and ambulances descended on the scene.

 Nadine tore up the driveway. She stormed in the house ready for a fight. She was ready to fight for her love or lose Genevieve forever. But their place was quiet when she entered. It was to quiet. She stomped through the place thinking she would find Gen in their bed. She pushed open the door, the room was empty. She went to the art room next. No one was there. And even though Nadine never saw Gen take the statue to the party the statue was gone too.

 She panicked. She was sure Gen told her they were going home. Her mind whorled. She concluded Henry Deaver kidnapped her girlfriend. She rushed to the police station.

“My girlfriend was kidnapped.” She was breathing heaving as she approached the women at the desk. “Henry Deaver kidnapped my girlfriend.”

The clerk rolled her eyes. “Which one? I haven’t seen either in over a year.”

 “The kid.” Nadine answered frustrated. “Whatever you want to call him. He left the party at the Marsten house with her. She said she was going home, and she isn’t there.”

“Oh, you were at that house party.” She shook her head. “Who started the fire? How did all those people get hurt. That place has never been good.”

“That has nothing to do with my girlfriend’s disappearance.” Nadine was infuriated. “We need to get a search party in the woods.”

“Well you have two options young lady.” The clerk grabbed some paperwork and motioned another police officer over. “You take a substance test. We find out what you were doing in that house. Or you sleep it off. It is not a kidnapping for her to leave with him of her own free will. She will probably be home tomorrow. If not, I would forget about her. People disappear around here all the time. No amount of searching usually helps.”

Those were like the words she told Genevieve. Now coming back to haunt her. She left but she never planned to let go. She would eventually find her love and take her back from the man, if he were truly a man, that destroyed their life.                             

[jessaadventures-blog]

Week Six: Chillin’ Out

Under the Lobitos pier.

This week was nice and chill, which was much needed after the craziness of last week! Nothing too crazy happened, but there were still some fun times with the EcoTeam. I’m already two-thirds through my time in Lobitos, and it feels both like I just got here and I’ve been here forever. I’m sure these next three weeks will fly by, and I’m excited to see what they hold!

The EcoHouse

My banana and strawberry compote crepe!

We only had one addition to the EcoTeam this week. Claudia arrived on Tuesday from the UK! She goes to Bristol University like Jack, but is a year ahead of him in the same geography program  (going into her third year of uni). Claudia is great, she’s always really enthusiastic and funny and we’ve had fun pointing out differences between British and American slang (it’s her and Jack and Joris against the rest of us usually). Claudia is doing research for her dissertation while she’s here, so she isn’t directly involved in any of the existing projects. She’s been interviewing local fisherman about overfishing and illegal fishing, which is really interesting! She’ll be here for three weeks total, so her, Seth, Orianna, and Chris (who comes tomorrow for two weeks) all leave the weekend before me. We have eight volunteers right now, with two people staying at Nacho’s hostel. Jenny leaves tomorrow and Chris comes to replace her, and we have one more guy, Anthony, coming on Sunday so we’ll have nine volunteers! That’s a super full house.

Diego (the Director) and his girlfriend, Nai Ana, are arriving tomorrow as well to replace Michael leaving for a week, and then Andres leaves when Michael gets back. It’ll be a big crew for my last few weeks!

We cooked a lot this week in an effort to reduce the money we’re spending by going out to eat so much. The four girls were almost always the chefs, and the four guys were the clean up crew! We did our classic Taco Tuesday, which everyone always enjoys, and on Wednesday we made two amazing vegan pot pies! Still my favorite food I think :) On Thursday we had a sweet and savory vegan crepe night with homemade strawberry compote, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, chickpeas, veggies, and more. This was a big hit; I definitely want to make crepes again before I leave. We also had some pisco sours to go with our fancy crepes! On Friday we made our famous veggie burgers (the guys were all extremely hungry though, so they went for starters at Tranqui’s and then  came back and demolished the rest of the burgers). By Saturday we were getting low on homemade dinner materials (it’s hard cooking for ten people, six of whom eat for two or three people each), but we made a big batch of pasta and stir fried some squash and veggies to go with it and the remade pasta sauce we buy. Last night we gave up and went to Tranqui’s for dinner, which was as good as always!

A slice of vegan pot pie :)

Other than food, we had some fun nighttime activities this week! We had two game nights, one where we played BS (the card game) and Seth, who worked as a gondolier in Indianapolis, gave a wonderful performance of a famous Italian song that he would have to sing while he rowed tourists down the river so Claudia would take some of his cards (he’s quite talented). For the other game night we played the name game, where everyone writes down names of famous people on pieces of paper, and one person on each of the two teams has to get the rest of the team to guess what name they have (similar to taboo or charades), and we played some vary intense rounds of spoons, one of which was spoons hide-and-seek and we had to get up and run around the house trying to find the spoons. It was a blast!

The other big event we had was a Lord of the Rings marathon! We watched all the extended editions (each is four hours or more) over the course of four almost-consecutive days. We watched the first movie on Wednesday, split the second movie between Thursday and Friday, and watched the third (4.5 hours) on Sunday because it hadn’t fully downloaded on Saturday. Because I just finished the books, it was interesting to rewatch the movies and notice all the things they left out and little plot changes in the movies that weren’t in the books.

This weekend was really chill for me, all of the newer volunteers went to El Ñuro to swim with the turtles on Saturday, so I just hung out and read Harry Potter (I’ve just started the fifth book and I started the first one a week ago) and laid in the sun and did a big load of laundry. On Sunday everyone was tired but I got outside for a while and went for a swim (the waves were too big for me to surf) and a walk.

Overall a fun week in the EcoHouse getting to know the new interns, playing games, and cooking!

Work

Chipping paint in the sunrise!

This week was a little frustrating work-wise. I found a bunch of big cracks in the basin of the distiller that have opened up again (they originally were formed because the volunteer that built the actual wood structure of the distiller didn’t let the wood dry long enough and it warped) and the seawater was just leaking straight out of the bottom of the distiller. We got more silicone from Seth, and I did my best to fill all the gaps and create a seal between the window and the basin, but when I went to test the distiller again on Saturday morning there was still a big crack that I had missed, so all the water drained out again. Now I have to let the distiller dry again and then fix the cracks again and let it dry before testing it again hopefully on Friday. I think the seal is working a lot better, but the warping is definitely slowing down progress and making it difficult to get the distiller to perform at its best. But, I guess that’s the point of pilot unit like this one, to try it and make mistakes and learn from them! My main goal for the distiller at this point is to to a fully functional test (with no holes and a good seal) and move it up to the fisherman’s guild, where Joris has just finished building a stand for the distiller, before I leave. I think that’s doable, but I don’t want to rush it and sacrifice functionality like the guy who built the wood structure did. We’ll see how far I get! I also got my first Lobitos sunburn while painting silicone on the distiller this week, but its already faded.

Planting day was more like painting day this week. We got up at 6am as usual, and we finally decided to repaint the front outside wall of the house (there were a bunch of big paint chips in it that had been bugging me since I got here), so we spent five hours chipping the paint off the wall and getting covered in paint dust (we had catchy music to work to, so it was fun)! We then had an EcoBrunch, which was our usual big planting day breakfast immediately followed by the lunch that Angelita was already done making by the time we called planting day quits.

I’ve been keeping up with social media posts much better now, so that went well this week! We also launched and completed a crowdfunding campaign in four days, during which we raised $750 for Ale’s wind turbine project!

There’s still a lot to do before I leave, and I hope I can get it all done! I’m still very motivated to get this distiller up and running efficiently and reliably.

Adventures

Surfers jumping into the big waves at Piscinas.

There weren’t too many adventures this week, but we went to Tranqui’s for Saturday dinner and 420 for Monday dinner (we got there early and got the warm inside table and quick service)!

I went surfing a few times this week, though I usually ended up going at low tide when the waves aren’t as great, but I got up on a little green wave (before the wave had curled) which was exciting! I had only been catching the white wash before then.

My swim this weekend was nice, and my walk afterwards took me down to the Piscinas cliffs, where I watched surfers catching the big waves, saw a bunch of crabs, and picked up a bunch of trash (I haven’t talked much about it, but there’s an open landfill nearby and plastic bags and other trash tend to escape and litter the beach and everywhere between Lobitos and Talara, it’s really sad).

The EcoTeam at Tranqui’s!

This was a nice, chill week with a lot of fun nights! I’m looking forward to the next three weeks, and I’m definitely getting excited for Patagonia (we have some readings to do now, and I’m starting to read up on Patagonian energy issues) and the mountains and beauty there. I’m also missing my friends and am excited to be back on campus soon and move into my new house!

Miss and love you all as well, I hope all your summers are going well and are full of fun adventures!

[parchedlips]

Saint and Sinner x Fem!Reader

Chapter Two

Jack had been in the middle of recording when he got a sharp pain in his head. It felt like someone taking a long needle and stabbing his brain and spinal cord multiple times, even though no one else was around. The pain made him cripple to the floor, causing a loud thud to be heard, which only made the pain worse. As he curled into a ball, thinking it would help get rid of the pain, he heard a familiar voice of someone whom he had grown a custom to.

"What going on?" Anti asked as Jack began to sob from the pain.

"I-I d-don't k-know." His voice was shaky, frightened and pained. I hurt him to speak. The noise made it even more unbearable than it already was. Anti knew what was happening. This day was to come soon. Anti seemed to "detach" from his mortal entity and see where the problem lied. He tried to connect to the source.

What he saw was remarkable. He saw that, from a viewpoint which that seemed to be the other side of the room, lied a girl. This girl was incredibly beautiful but the scene that played around her was far from that. She lied on the floor with blood coming out of her head and through her fingers. She lied there in pain, screaming at the top of her lungs, grasping and pulling at her hair. There was a man towering above her, his breath heavy, his hand red from hitting something hard. Blood was dripping on the door frame.

This sight even sent chills down Anti's spine.

He sent the scene to Jack's eyes, but he didn't pay attention. The pain was too much for the mortal. His eyes were closed as he screamed and shivered and cried.

The pain subsided on Jack as the girl went to sleep in her bed. Jack got up off the ground, only having a minor headache now. He sat back down in his chair and realized that the recording had gone on for this long now. It was going to take a lot of editing to get that scene out of there. No progress has been made on the game so he could just cut the scene out of the recording and it would look like nothing happened. His community was smart, however, and when they would see his puffy eyes, slightly running nose, and the occasional rub to his temples, he knew all of the comments would consist of them telling him to go lie down or just questions of concern.

He ended the recording not long after that. He went downstairs to get some medicine and water. His head was starting to kill him again. He went to go lie down and try to sleep it off, but it was no use. To Jack, he was asleep, but Anti took over and went back to his desk. He had seen Jack do this same process of setting up a recording before, so he had this down by memory. He pressed record and began to smile at the camera.

When that video went live, he felt Jack start to wake up, so he made his way back to his room. He laid down in the bed and soon Jack took over. He say up and stretched and yawned. His headache was minute and he barely felt a thing. When he got to his computer, he saw that he was already logged on and into YouTube. I shrugged it off telling him that he just forgot to log of last night because of the major headache. He looked at the comments from yesterday's uploaded video. Some were funny and others were of criticisms of the game he had played. He answered a few, then moved on to social media. All he saw were screenshots of something from a video he didn't post. They were creepy and weird. He was sitting at his desk, in his chair, and smiled. It wasn't jack, however, and he knew it. Anti felt him start to get mad and Jack felt Anti start to grin maliciously.

"What did you do," Jack asked and he felt anti's presence grow stronger. His body language, eye color, and voice changed as Anti spoke.

"I merely made myself known."

"Why?" He got no response. Just felt his presence subside. He shook in anger and went to back to social media to see how the community had handled it. Luckily they took it as a spook for the month of October and the Halloween season. They posted gifs' and screenshots, captioned with glitched text. It made him smile. As long as that's how they took it, that was fine and made him happy.

Anti, however, had different plans and wanted to push the connection between her and him. She was useful to the mortal, and programmed it to finish the connection when the video was played.

Later that evening, Jack was at a dinner with his girlfriend when he felt a twitch of pain in the back of his head as the girl watched the video. When the video was done, he felt the pain go away, and made it unquestionable to his girlfriend. When he got home, he claimed that he was going to go work on editing videos and thumbnails. His girlfriend understood and he went upstairs. When he closed the door behind him, he started to speak.

"What did you do this time," he asked and once again his whole demeanor changed.

"Made a connection," Anti said.

"A connection? A connection with what?"

"Not a "what", but a "who" is what you should be asking".It was then that Jack was truly angry.

"Cut the crap. What happened?!" He was practically yelling now.

"I'll show you." Jack was then shown a girl laying in her bed. It was dark and the only light the flickering of the dying lamp post shining in through the blinds, but there definitely was someone in a bed.

The picture faded and Jack was in his office again.

"What was that?"

"The connection." Jack felt the presence of Anti fade so there was no point in trying to communicate.

He went to bed not long after that, but not before accomplishing something on in his computer, so he made a thumbnail.

He woke up early the next morning, because he knew he was falling a little behind. When he got to his computer, he felt Anti's presence grow strong.

"I am going to show you something that I believe is important to you," he said.

"What is it," Jack asked but it was no use. His office was gone and he was in a room.

He saw that same girl crawl out of bed, and start to get ready for, what he assumed, was school.

As this went on, he heard the faint sounds of a fight going on and his curiosity got the best of him. He tried to focus on the fight. Instead on the now empty bed he was in the hallway.

"...Why take that, of all things?" The voice was feminine. It sounded hard and rough, like it was sore.

"You don't get to talk to me that way!" That one was definitely male. It was hard, rough, deep, and strained. It pained him to talk more than he already was. He sounded tired and hungover and angry.

"It's a "TV"!!!! We have a teenage daughter-"

"Who's a slut!" Jack and the woman gasped at the same time. Jack began to tear up when the man said that. The angle was starting to change. He went closer to the door as the screaming raged on and on.

"How could you say that?" The door under the knob was pulled.

"Because she is. She's a dirty rotten slut, and that all she will ever be." Tears welled up and ran faster as they yelled. The door opened and all that was heard before the yelling was seen, was a slap. What he saw scared him more. A group of adult men were standing behind a man who was towering over a woman. They all looked hungover and some still drunk. As they began to file out, the woman started to cry with anger. She looked like she was going to collapse. The man left with what Jack assumed were his buddies. The woman's fist hit the wall and then he was going closer to her with speed, but she did not seem to notice him. Then he saw the woman go to her knees when the girl he has saw earlier started to comfort her.

The scene faded and he was back in his office.

His eyes filled with tears as the scene played again and again in his head.

"H-how could they do that to their own child!? L-let drunk men lay around in their home, s-steal their tv, and call her a slut!?" Chapter One Chapter Three: 1.19.2018

[buttercreamroyalty]

You met Jack through some mutual friends, you heard so much about each other but never got the chance to met, until a few months after, he smiled at you and your first impression of him was that he seemed to be a chill guy. Turns out you weren’t far from that.

The both of you weren’t actually that close, but you partied together once in a while, and tonight as you left the bar, both of you laughed at some lame joke Jack had said, you weren’t really drunk, just tipsy. Nevertheless, you decided to take a cab together since you could walk to your apartment after arriving Jack’s.

When the man parked at Jack’s condo you were the one to pay, since he already payed the drinks back at the bar, you opened the door and stood up quite shakily, you almost fell but held onto Jack’s arm for balance.

He smiled at you and you giggled… okay, maybe you were a tiny bit drunk.

When the cab driver finally left, Jack helped you up, by grabbing an arm around your waist, and you placed your hands on the joints of his arms. He stared at you almost dreamily, but you shrugged it off.

Until he started leaning in, that was when you somehow came to your senses and quickly pulled out “What are you doing?” You asked confused and he chuckled

“I… was trying to kiss you?” He said playfully chuckling, but when he saw the frown on your face he was a little taken back

“Jack, you’re pretty cool but you’re a party guy” you explained taking a step back to put distance between the two of you “I mean, don’t get me wrong but I’m looking for a serious relationship” he frowned

“What do you mean?” The hurt in his words was obvious “You… have fun, you’re not the kind of guy that settles down” you explained awkwardly, feeling the cold wind of the London streets hit you “I can try” he said almost immediately “I didn’t said you can’t” you replied but he seemed even more confused by your words, you couldn’t help but sigh “Look… all that I’m saying is that we’re in different stages, you’re on the stage of parties, and hookups and all that stuff, and I’m on the stage were I look for a future with someone”

Deep in his eyes, you could almost see his heart breaking into a million pieces, and that made you regret what you had said, but being honest someone had to bring him back to reality.

He liked to party and enjoy the single life and you were looking for something to long term, you weren’t actually looking for marriage, because you had only turned 22 last month, you knew you were still young to get married. But you wanted to come home and have someone waiting for you to have a Netflix marathon.

Someone who you could talk about your day and imagine a future with as you laid in bed, someone who discussed with you how many kids you would have and their names, along with other silly stuff.

Jack was amazing but as a partner… it just wasn’t what you were looking for.

“I’m sorry” you apologized after a long time of awkward silence, you tugged your hands in the pockets of your jacket searching for heat, Jack was staring at you, but he didn’t said anything, you looked down at your black small heels and turned your sight back to him before turning away and walk towards your place, slowly grazing his shoulder as you walked past by him.

Even then, he didn’t do anything to stop you, because deep down he knew you were right, and he also knew you were afraid of being in a relationship with him, since in past relationships he had cheated, and you were afraid of that.

Your had dad cheated on your mom, living that was heartbreaking, seeing your mom cry because she wasn’t good enough for the man she loved dearly was painful beyond imaginable for you to watch; of course you definitely didn’t want to live that in the flesh.

(…)

It had been quite a while since that day, although you exchanged likes here and there on social media, that was about it. Now you were in a relationship with an amazing guy, you hadn’t been in the relationship for long, just 8 months, but you were definitely serious.

Right now, you were laying on the couch, your head on his shoulder as you watched ‘Grease’ playing on the screen

“Love?” He called you, smiling at the simple nickname and the way he said it with his beautiful British accent you turned to him “I’m going at Caspar’s in a while, you wanna come?” You snuggled against his body, staring into his deep blue eyes before asking.

“Would all your mates be there?” He nodded slightly “Sounds fun” you said and he gave you a peck on the lips “I love you Joe” you whispered making him smile “I love you even more” he replied.

~||~

“Ready to meet those idiots?” He joked gesturing towards Caspar’s flat and you giggled, taking your hand in his to get out of the car, Joe quickly closed the door and locked the car before walking with you by the hand towards the door, he knocked a few times and Maddie-who you recognized from Caspar’s photos as his girlfriend-opened the door.

“Hey” she said hugging Joe, when they pulled apart, her gaze fell on you “Oh and you must be Y/N, hey” she greeted you as she kissed your cheek, you did the same

“Yeah, that’s me, I guess” you said playfully, making her smile a little wider “Come in!” Maddie said stepping aside, you both entered as you heard Maddie close the door behind you.

Almost immediately you noticed the 6 heads on the kitchen table “Joe and Y/N are here” she announced and all pair of eyes fell on you, just then you recognized Jack, the boy which heart you broke on that cold night outside his flat a few months ago.

Jack’s smiled fell at the sight of you, and after seeing your hand locked with Joe’s he seemed to pail, you both walked over to the group and when your eyes found Jack’s you smiled

“Long time no see Jack” you said casually and everyone looked curiously over to you, especially your boyfriend “You guys know each other?” He asked surprised “Yeah, we’re friends, but I hadn’t seen him after…” you started off, Jack-who felt as if time went slower, from the moment you entered the room-almost wanted to answer 'after you broke my heart and left’ but stopped himself “…A night out” he heard you finish the sentence.

“So, boys, and lady” he said referring to Maddie who was now next to Oli and his boyfriend Caspar “I want to formally introduce you to my girlfriend Y/N” he said pulling you closer by the shoulders as he placed a kiss on your forehead, at the world 'girlfriend’ Jack’s stomach seemed to drop.

He liked you and even though he couldn’t say he was actually in love with you, he found himself thinking about having a serious relationship with you, he wanted to explore that option by your side, but of course you didn’t gave him that chance, and, ironically you gave it to one of his best mates, Joe.

He spent countless nights in his bed debating himself if he should call you or not, and every time-and even though he didn’t actually admitted it at first-he decided it was best not to because of his fear of being rejected again.

But now he saw you laughing and kissing Joe, he couldn’t help but think that, he could’ve been on Joe’s place if had had the courage to actually pick up the phone and call you when he had the chance.

He would’ve been the one to hold you, to kiss you and to have the privilege to call you his and no one else’s. Then again, he came onto the same conclusion, he didn’t.

He decided to forget about you in the whole sense of the world, he gave up and instead Joe decided to win her heart, he gave himself a chance to fall in love with the beautiful girl beside him, and he succeeded.

Maybe if he had said something that night, if he had actually brought himself to prove her wrong, to prove that he was actually willing to try and love her without holding back.

Because in all this months he thought he was fine, that he was actually forgetting about you, but now that you were here, close to him after all those months, he couldn’t help but think of all the times you laughed together, that you shared popcorn at a movie, or when he caught you looking at nowhere on a coffee shop and he couldn’t help but think how beautiful you actually were.

Until he actually looked at you and Joe, he understood.

He could have never loved you the way Joe did, he would never be good enough for you as Joe, he would always be insecure about it, he would always think there was someone out there better to love you, and you would always be afraid because you wouldn’t know if he would cheat on you.

You didn’t deserve that suffering, he could picture you laying on the bed crying worriedly every time he came home late, wondering if he was cheating on you. He couldn’t put you through that.

The single thought of it made his heart break in guilt.

He wanted you to be happy and right now, that happiness was now with Joe

“Jack!” He heard Mikey call for him, he suddenly turned to his friend a little confused “Are you alright, mate?” He asked, Jack couldn’t help but look over to Y/N who was caught up chatting with Maddie, the happiness in his features made him smile weakly before turning to his friend “Yeah, I just zoned out for a bit” he shrugged off

Y/N would never love him and even though it was hard to accept that, he knew that deep down it was for the best, the only thing remaining now in his memory was all those small glimpses of their time together, that he now recognized as the echoes of love he felt for her.

[guardmesherlock-rowan]

James/MC, 10, 25

10. “Goodbye” kiss25. “We can never betogether” kiss

Send me a number and a pairing, and I’ll write a mini fic for it.

MC watched as the figures chasingMoriarty’s car grew small in the back window. “You really should turn around and buckle yourself in little Kitten,” Jameslaid his cool hand on hers, gently pulling her forward, “We’re not exactly homefree yet.”  She found herself tremblinginvoluntarily as she straightened in her seat. James reached over and tugged on her restraint pulling it taunt.  “Let’s get going Jack!”

The car screeched as it heeded it’sdriver commands.  MC cried out as shefell back and forth with the turns before James wrapped his arms aroundher.  “What is happening James?”  

He gave her a soft apologeticsmile, “It seems that coming out and saying I have a girlfriend might not havebeen the best idea after all.”  He sigheddramatically.  His arms tightened aroundher as they took another sharp turn.  “Seemsnow there are others who are curious about my little kitten-Whoa!”  They lurched forward as Jack slammed on hisbreaks and turned the car off.

Jack whipped around tohush them as a few vehicles sped past them. MC felt a chill race through her as Jack and James seem to be waiting thesame amount of time after the other cars were gone.  “So what’s the plan?”  Jack seemed at ease leaning between the fronttwo seats.  MC glanced up at James andfound him watching her.  His amber eyessoft, seeming to glow in the dim light.  “James?”  

“Let’s get MC home, she’ll be saferthere than with us.”

“Home?”

His eyes widened at her confusedexpression, “Oh that’s right, I suppose going home to where we live togetherwouldn’t necessarily be safer would it… Jack? Where do you think would be safer for MC?”

“I can think of one place off thetop of my head that they wouldn’t go looking for your girlfriend, but you won’tlike it.”  Jack whispered through asmirk, even as James glared at him.  MCglanced between them, racking her brain, where could they be referring too?  

James kept his arms around her,even as she shifted to be eye level with him, “I think it’d be best to staywith you.  You’re mine after all and Idon’t really care for them trying to hurt you. I’m in this with all of you.” Jack burst out laughing while turning the car on.

He eyed her in the rearview mirror,“What exactly do you think you could do?”

“I’ll fight them.”  MC lifted her chin defiantly.  Even with those words she didn’t really knowhow much help she would be.  James eruptedin laughter.

“That’s right Jack, don’t forgetthis kitten has claws!”  His eyestwinkled looking down at her, “How I really love your ability to surprise me,just let me look at you.”  Tenderly hecupped her cheek; he didn’t lean forward, but stayed still.  His eyes never leaving her face.  

MC found herself lost in the warmthof his gaze while she was smiling back at him. Her hand on his pressing it against her skin.

“Well… we’re here.”  Jack voice came low and hesitant.  James was the first to break eye contactglancing up.  

“I suppose so.  Look MC, I’m sure you’ll be safe here whileyou get another apartment set up.  I’llhave Sebastian by later tonight with a few of your things in the meantime.  I am so sorry you will be staying with those-”James motioned towards the place behind her, “fools.”

“Set up another apartment?  But isn’t this just while things blow over?”  A chill ran through her as she held on to himtightly.

“No, I don’t… it isn’t,”  James smiled at her through grit teeth, “Ipromise I will make them pay for getting in the way of what we want.  But I will always have enemies, so…” hisvoice choked.

MC straightened, staring at himhard, “This isn’t funny James.  If thisis a joke it’s gone on too far.  Jack weshould go home now,” she turned her attention to the driver who was looking inhis side mirrors avoiding her eyes, “Jack!”

“MC, listen.  I love you, we all love you, and it’s notgoing to be easy for any of us.  But thisis for your own good.”  James placed afinger under her chin and easily turned her to look at him, his eyes lookingstrained and tired in the dark.

“I told you I’d go with you.  You wanted me to come with you, why are you-James this isn’t- I’m not leaving.”  Asob burned its way up her chest, leaving her heart feeling flooded.

“MC…”  James lips tenderly brushed against hers fora moment.  He started to pull away as sherushed forward harshly kissing him back. Both of them trembled, warmth of the kiss mingling with the heat offresh tears.  MC hiccupped a tiny sob intothe kiss just as James pulled away, his eyes remained close.  “Jack?”

MC blinked a few times through thetears watching James as the door behind her opened.  She flailed as arms wrapped around her middleand hoisted her out.  “Jack stop it!”  Jack sniffled a few times as she yelled athim all the way from the car to the building they were parked next to. MCwatched as James blindly reached out and pulled the car door shut.  

Jack pounded on the door, his gripnot loosening even a little bit.

“James!  I’ll be fine with you!  I want to be with you!”  

“What is going on out here!”  A familiar voice yelled from the door behindher.

“Hold her,” Jack seemed to toss herat someone in the house easily, “she’s in danger and moving out of the Moriartyestate.  We’ll be back later to drop somethings off.  Take care MC.”  Jack said this rushed as a pair of rather strongarms caught her and floundered to try to keep hold.  Jack turned and rushed down the steps andback to the car.

“Stop!”  MC called out, but as she finally broke freeand chased down the steps the car was already speeding off.  “Come back!”

“MC?”  She turned to face them, her vision blurred, “Wedon’t know what happened, but you’re more than welcomed to stay here at 221Bwith us as long as you need.”  Johndraped his coat over her shoulders.  Sheshook with silent sobs, trying in vain to keep the tears from falling.

[mrevaunit42]

Collision Course (Nova Vs chapter 15)

Hello everyone, Mr.E here and it has finally arrived! THE NEXT CHAPTER OF NOVA VS. sorry it took so long. I was working hard at making sure everything was in place, that everything was going as planned and that the big arc finale is on scheduled. Finding time to write this was hard but I hope you enjoy it.  thank you so much for all the amazing artwork i got. It was great and I love every single one. Well I won’t keep you any longer. Here is the next chapter to Nova vs. My good friend Bernadette’s OCs are Kim and the colorful trio of maids. so sit back and enjoy!

Here’s the link in case anyone would like to read it from the beginning 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11773524/1/Nova-Butterfly-vs-the-Forces-of-Adolescence

“It is pointless”

Nova took a deep breath, her eyes bright with watery tears that threatened to pool onto her distraught face.

“....It's pointless” She whispered to herself, arms wrapped around her legs tightly “I'm only half a Butterfly.....half a Diaz....How can I expect to be someone my parents are proud of? How can anyone be proud of me.....?”

“I should just give up...”

Nova let out a defeated sigh, her breath icy from the coldness of her prison cell.

“I should just give up” she tilted her head to one side “No one's coming for me. I'm never getting out of here without taking Kim's offer.....”

Nova's ears perked up at the subtle low howl of a gentle breeze that seem to come from nowhere.

In the back of her mind, Nova was faintly aware of the noise but she couldn't bring herself to search for its source. The young magical princess too wrapped up in her thoughts and despair to bother.

“I mean am I even the legal heir to Mewni?” her lips curved into a frown “The nobles made such a big deal about dad being from Earth. It's their fault I couldn't see...couldn't be with my mom for 7 years of my life.” The tears grew “7 years wondering why daddy slept alone. 7 years questioning where was mommy and why wasn't she with us. 7 years I'll never get back and all because the nobles thought they knew better than my own mother about who she should choose.”

“I should teach them a lesson.”

A righteous fury grew within Nova, burning brightly and out of control. Nova clenched her fist angrily, shivering as the air within her cell chilled further.

“I should teach them a lesson!” Nova snarled “They took my mother from me! 7 YEARS! I...”

The anger drained out of her as quickly as it came and left Nova feeling appalled and even more despondent.

“What am I thinking?” she whispered to herself, shame and guilt bubbling in her stomach at her strange, alien thoughts “How could I even think of such a thing? I don't want to get even with anyone! I can't believe I thought....”

Nova sniffled, tucking herself into a little ball as the tears overflowed.

“My parents would be so ashamed of me. Everyone would....I shouldn't act that way. I'm not worthy of the wand.....I'm not a real Butterfly.....I'm a disgrace to the name.”

She didn't bother to put the hood back on her head as she so often did when she sought comfort. Instead, she laid there, tears openly flowing down her cheeks, disgrace and sadness overtaking her entire being as she curled further into a ball.

Kim stared thoughtfully at the swirling darkness that danced lazily across the monitor, its thick inky form twisting and curving as if it had ideas, thoughts.

Purpose.

It had been hours since Nova last talked to the master of the manor and even less time since Kim was able to see into the princess's cell at all. Whatever his patron ordered  him to place into her room was completely obscuring what was going on in there.

His patron promised Kim that, within a short time, Nova would change her mind about his offer, influenced by more....reasonable source than her troublesome parents and their morals.

“Lord Beelzebub” A deathly sick voice softly called

Kim turned around to find the thin, scrawny form of a figure standing before him, their body covered by long faded red robes.

“How goes the young princess's conversion?” the sickly voice crooned curiously

Kim gestured to the monitor “I haven't the slightest idea as the spell or creature that your master instructed be placed with her is currently obscuring my view of her cell. Obscuring means blocking or impeding by the way.”

The thin figure laughed with an inhuman rattle “Then all should be proceeding accordingly. Teenagers are such an influx of emotions and are so easily corrupted.”

A flicker of discontent flashed through Kim, a spark of a rebellious idea but before it could catch ablaze, it was snuffed out by a cold, dark intent and forgotten.

“I rather hope whatever is in there is not hurting my future bride” Kim muttered quietly though his tone was laced with a warning edge.

“If she succumbs quickly to the darkness” The figure shrugged “Then there should be no harm to her. At least physically.”

Kim faced away from the hooded figure's manic cackling, eyes locked solely on the shift, swirling darkness that filled the screen.

Connor was floating in the middle of nowhere, in a black, inky abyss with no signs of anything else for miles. The air was cold and harsh, a low howling of a far off wind echoed gently in his ears. He was weightless and any attempt to move was met with failure.

Connor flinched as a wet drip fell onto his forehead and causing an icy shudder to run down his spine. Connor frantically tried to escape the increasingly dripping of the water but there he remained, trapped in a nexus of darkness and emptiness.

“Wake up” A voice called through the shadows “get up four eyes, we don't have all day.”

Connor's brow crinkled thoughtfully as he struggled to piece together the voice. Why did it sound so familiar? Did he know this person?

“I will push you off the bed if you don't wake up” the voice threatened, their voice clearer and closer.

“Nova?” Connor asked carefully “Nova, is that you?”

“No” The voice replied “now get up.”

Connor fell through the shifting darkness without warning, a multitude of sensations flowing through his body as a bright light slowly filled the empty void, blinding the inventor as he approached closer and closer....

Thud

“Oww....” Connor murmured, the side of his face pressed against a moist, smooth stone.

Everything hurt and ached with exhaustion as Connor rose to his feet, his glasses dangling off a single ear haphazardly.

“Hey sleeping beauty” Jack waved lazily, the rattling of metal against stone filling the room.

“Oww, my head” Connor moaned “What happened?”

“long story short” Jack gestured with his hand, two thick sliver chains with strange symbols wrapped snugly around his wrists and attached to the wall “We got ambushed and lost. You passed out, I heroically tried to fight off our attackers but was unable to do so, finally losing consciousness after shielding your defenseless body from an unstoppable onslaught and...”

“So you overdid it” Connor rolled his eyes.

“I overdid it” Jack shrugged “I don't go full demon all the time for a reason.”

Connor glanced around the rather cozy cell, gray stonework with simple cots for a place to sleep complete with manacles restraining the young inventor.

“Why chain me?” Connor wondered as he carefully studied the metal “I'm just human.”

“You're the best friend to a magical princess, half-demon prince of the Underworld and are from Canada. I'd say you're the most dangerous person in this room.”

“Jack....”

“Besides, they probably saw what your inventions can do” Jack playfully smirked towards Connor “Remember the lunchbox?”

Connor let out an involuntary shudder “Don't remind me”

“I wonder if your ban is still in effect”

“You know it is. Where are we?”

“No idea” Jack answered truthfully “Though judging the amount of anti-demon runes craved into my chains, I'm willing to bet in the middle of enemy territory”

“Kim” Connor gently placed his glasses back in front of his face.

“Bingo and his trio of merry mechanical maids.”

“Great” Connor rubbed his eyes tiredly “We're drained, captured and no one knows where we are.”

“Could be worse” Jack supplied

Connor slowly turned to his best friend, face set in disbelief and anger.

“How?” Connor snarled, his patience stretched thin by this point “HOW COULD THIS BE WORSE?!”

“We could be dead.”

Connor blinked, realizing that Jack surprisingly had a point.

“Especially you” Jack pointed to the young inventor “A human soul? Do you know how many uses a human soul has down here?”

“Enough to treat the human with respect and love?”

Jack laughed playfully “That's cute. More like that we had to ban human soul harvesting or the entire stability of the Underworld would've been threatened.”

“Ah” was all Connor could say.

“Anyway” Jack went on, arms behind his head as he lay on his cot “Rest up”

Connor could feel a righteous wrath course through his veins, Jack's utter lack of commitment or effort infuriating him. Connor clenched his fist tight while trembling with unrestrained fury. He took a deep breath in, carefully chose his words and opened his mouth to scold the magician.

“No, I haven't stopped caring” Jack explained without turning his head “But we're locked in prison with someone who knew we were coming. Unless we can figure out a way to get out right here and now or back up is on the way, we might as well rest up. When we get out and either escape or fight our way to your girlfriend, we're going to need our energy. Otherwise, we're walking dead men. Demons might spare you on a good day but I can promise you this demon probably isn't feeling too merciful.”

“.....” Connor sighed, looking across their prison with a forlorn gaze “You're right Jack. We need to keep up our strength up if we want to join the final fight.”

“Of course I'm right” Jack waved his hand obviously “I'm always right.”

Connor gave a little chuckle as he took a seat on his bed “Sure you are Jack. Except that time you forgot that inflammable meant flammable.”

“Hey!” Jack whirled around, glaring openly at Connor “I was 8 years old four eyes! The letter I was very confusing!”

“Do you still have a lifetime ban at the circus?”

“Psst, like I would even go back to that joke of a show. I mean who wants to use flaming chainsaws anymore?”

Connor sneered mischievously “You did.”

“I WAS 8!”

Kim let out a heavy breath he did not know he was holding on to.

“Master” Jelina curtsied politely as she approached the anxious demon.

“Master”

“Master”

Mary and Berry were not so elegant in their greetings towards their master: Mary simply nodded, arms crossed with little other motion. Berry had bowed too deeply and nearly fell onto her face when her weight shifted to far forward but she quickly recovered and gave a cute, airy giggle.

“Report” Kim cut to the chase “What triggered my proximity spells and have you properly dispose of the disturbance?”

“Well” Berry cheerfully began “We had to try our bestest and hardest! Jelly even had to bring out her bazooka! You know the big boom, boom, boom!”

Kim didn't crack a smile at Berry's reenactment of Jelina trying to destroy the intruders despite how adorable the young maiden looked, tongue sticking out and energetic sound effects included.

“and then she was like woooosh BOOOOOOOM! AND AND WE....!”

“We crushed them” Mary cut in, arms still crossed despite her matter of fact tone “Nice, easy and completely without resistance. Then Jelly decided to...”

“Let the poor animals go” Jelina explained, her face indifferent and unreadable.

Mary and Berry shared a confused look, wondering if there was something wrong with the eldest maid.

“Umm Jelly?” Mary slowly asked in hopes not to provoke her fellow maid “Did you forget?”

“yeah!” Berry chimed in “We totally owned them and then you were like...”

“Guiding them outside the perimeter of our master's land” Jelina explained “The hellhounds still have not learned where not to venture. I shall be sure to reinforce my lessons about coming too close.”

Kim took a step forward, his presence cold and distant.

Mary and Berry took a step back, an icy chill running down their spines despite the fact the young demon had always been kind to the trio.

Jelina stared at the approaching Kim, her face still set in its stony indifference.

“Jelina” Kim's voice was soft yet menacing “are you telling me the truth?”

“Of course Master Kim.” Jelina answered with a slight smile “Why would I ever lie to you?”

Kim's gaze focused on the blue maid, searching her face carefully for any lies or half truths.

Mary and Berry tried to steady their breath, unsure what was Jelina was planning. In all their years of service, the trio had never lied to the young master before and no one adhered to the rules like Jelly did. Such an infraction would not be taken lightly if discovered.

There was a silent battle of wills as master and maid glanced towards one another, trying to discover or hide the truth.

Kim let out a sigh though it was unclear if he fell for Jelina's lie or discovered her treachery.

“Girls, please take the day off. You've worked hard for me and for so long. I appreciate all of it.”

“Master” The girls bowed respectfully before taking their leave.

Kim's gaze never left as the trio of girls left the room quickly, their voices dropping to low, hushed whispers.

“Are you crazy?!” Mary yelled at the blue haired girl once the maids had left their master far enough behind “Lying to the master?! I would never guessed you had it in you.” there was a pause before Mary gave a nod “I'm impressed.”

“Don't be” Jelina quickly voiced “I feel terrible but Master has been acting so strange lately. He didn't even laugh at Berry!”

“Yeah!” Berry joined in “And he always laughs at me! Wait, that came out wrong.”

“In any case” Jelina continued “We must save our master. Something has happened. We vowed to protect him from any and all harm. Self included.”

“oooooh” Mary cooed cheekily “Someone learned to bend the rules.”

“Nonsense” Jelina waved off Mary's comment “I've always knew how to bend the rules. I just choose not to. Unlike you two”

“Hey!” Berry pouted “I only snuck off once.”

“Twice” Mary corrected.

“Four” Jelina added

“ten times!” Berry cheered before she was struck with realization “Wait....FORGET WHAT I SAID!”

“Anyway” Mary began quietly as the trio began to race down the stairs “We can't just betray Master Kim. We cannot hurt him. He's been so kind to us.”

“And he has our contracts!”

“Thank you Berry. He has our contracts Jelly.”

“I know” Jelina said with a smirk “But he doesn't know about them.”

Jelina pushed open the door the maids were unknowingly walking towards and startled the occupants trapped within.

Jack and Connor leapt to their feet as the multicolored ladies briskly walked into their cells, two surprised faces and one expectant one.

“Can I help you?” Jack asked threateningly, trying to stop the confusion from spilling into his question.

“Yes” Jelina murmured softly with the biggest grin on her face “yes you can.”

The cell was deathly quiet as Kim made his way deeper within and took in the sight before him.

The dark, black inky smoke that hung above him was frozen in place, unmoving and still.

Nova just sat there beneath the strange entity, her body slack against the cold stone wall, her shackles laying lifeless across the smooth tile.

“Nova?” Kim asked slowly “Nova, are you alright my princess?”

A few moments passed with the magical princess of Mewni seemingly unresponsive. She remained motionless despite Kim's attempt to rouse any sort of response out of her.

“Nova, please answer me. My patron grows impatient and your answer is most important.”

“Kim....” Nova's voice was quiet, almost inaudible even in the silence of the cell.

Kim shifted nervously as he spared a glance to the smoky cloud that remained above, wondering if the....thing had hurt her too badly and how to enact his revenge against it.

“Kim.....” Nova repeated as she slowly rose to her feet “is the offer still.....still....”

“Of course my princess. Have I changed your mind?”

“Yes....I was so foolish before Kim. I am so sorry. Please forgive me.”

“I forgive you my princess” Kim gently comforted as he held Nova in his arms “Shall I remove you from this horrible place my princess?”

“yes...” Nova tilted her head to face the demon lord, her eyes completely glazed over and glassy as bright red orbs stared directly at Kim “Yes you may my lord.”