#like you think he can’t do anything right so you attack him for ANY perceived slight

[cowlovely]

okay so the thing about mike is. he is a 15 year old boy raised by middle class republicans in the 80s. they have a debatable level of influence/presence in his life, and whatever influence is there is probably like. not great! he hasn’t really had many good role models growing up. and he is also literally 15. so i’m not surprised that he is not the most emotionally intelligent person and friend—even just with those two factors!

but THEN you add on the fact that from age 12, mike has been dealing with the people closest to him being in extreme mortal peril—sometimes to the point of thinking that they’re dead! for extended periods of time!! i don’t know about you, but i think that maybe would traumatize me a little! if i continued being put in really terrifying situations through my adolescence and saw everyone i cared about being put through the same (and often worse!), i maybe would not be the most well adjusted person. i maybe would even lash out or become a bit distant, or have a hard time processing and articulating my emotions well.

i recognize that all of the kids have gone through shit of varying degrees throughout the seasons, and not all of them have reacted the way mike seems to have, but jesus christ can we cut the kid a little slack?? he’s not even that bad. like he could be doing a LOT worse and i would still be saying all this. i don’t even feel like he’s at a point where i should need to go to bat for him like this.

[itadores]

my type of person.

note: on a tōdō kick rn ... sorry

pairing: tōdō aoi x gn!reader

word count: .9k

tags: gender neutral reader, meet ugly, threats of violence

“What’s your type?”

You blink, dumbfounded by the strange subject of the question. You really didn’t expect for the large and imposing man who suddenly appeared before you only minutes prior to ask that of all things. Perhaps, you should have anticipated it though. You’ve never had the displeasure of meeting Tōdō Aoi in the flesh, but many of your close colleagues have.

“Depending on your answer, I’ll beat you half to death right here. If your answer bores me that means you’re boring, and I hate boring people,” he says through gritted teeth.

He shrugs off his sleek black jacket, allowing it to drop to the floor. Then, he tears his t-shirt into shreds with his bare hands.

What. The. Fuck.

“Huh?!” You put your hands up in surrender, slowly backing away from the man, who (you’re confident) must be out of his mind. “Do you really need to resort to violence? Can’t we just, I don’t know, not fight?” You try and reason with Tōdō, who doesn’t look very receptive to what you’re saying.

“Hurry up and answer the question before I run out of patience,” Tōdō says, stretching his hands that he holds out in front of him. He’s already in a fighting stance, prepared to attack you once he deems your answer unsatisfactory.

Your eye twitches, and you scowl. Fine. If he wants you to answer, then you’ll answer. You take a moment to think about it. You fold your arms over your chest before dignifying Tōdō with a response.

“My type is someone kind.”

He pauses, his hands dropping slightly. For a moment, you think he’s going to be satisfied with your answer and leave you alone. Sadly, it’s too good to be true.

“What kind of answer is that?” He exclaims, clearly unhappy with what he perceives as such a lackluster answer.

“My answer obviously,” you say, giving him a dirty look. Why did you have such bad luck that you had to cross paths with Tōdō Aoi today of all days? All you wanted to do was enjoy your day off, free from missions and free from classes. Instead, it was being interrupted by a massive brute. “I bet your answer isn’t any better,” you retort, pointing an accusing finger at him.

“It’s much better than whatever you just said,” he scoffs, folding his strong arms over his broad chest. Your eyes dart down, following the movement before quickly meeting his gaze once more. At least, he’s nice to look at.

“My type is tall people with big asses,” Tōdō responds, looking especially pleased with himself. His brow twitches with irritation when you start laughing. “Why are you laughing?”

You quickly calm yourself down, regaining your composure, so you can respond without laughing in Tōdō’s face again. “My answer clearly didn’t meet whatever,” you wave your hand around, motioning towards Tōdō’s face, “standards you have in mind, but your answer is just as bad. If anything, it’s worse than mine. At least, I focused on personality. You just focused on someone’s physical appearance.”

Tōdō’s expression grows more and more displeased until he looks like he’s on the precipice of lunging towards you. Uh oh. You take a slow step back, ready to bolt if Tōdō decides to suddenly attack you. You’re really not in the mood to fight on your day off.

Much to your utter surprise, Tōdō begins to cackle. It borders on maniacal as he clutches at his stomach and throws his head back. This may be more unsettling than Tōdō attacking you outright.

“You’re interesting,” he states. A large grin stretches across his cheeks, and his chest still heaves with the exertion of laughter.

“Thanks?” You’re not quite sure if Tōdō means it positively or negatively, so you don’t know if you should take what he said as a compliment or not.

He takes a step forward, and you're tempted to take a step backward, but you decide to take a leap of faith and stay put. You only hope you won't regret your decision. He stands close enough that you can smell the scent of his cologne, a surprisingly pleasant aroma. Not strong and overpowering like cologne often is.

He sticks a hand out.

"Tōdō Aoi. Grade 1 Sorcerer."

You blink, surprised by the sudden introduction. You provide him with your own name and grade, clasping his hand with your own. His hand is massive in comparison to yours, his palm rough with callouses, which is not exactly surprising, but somehow, still relatively soft. You're not quite sure how that can be, but you don't think to verbalize your questions to the man. The sudden change in his personality is strange enough as is.

"Go out with me."

Oh. Things just got much stranger.

"I thought you wanted to beat me up," you sputter, shocked by this turn of events. How does a guy go from threatening to inflict bodily harm onto you to asking you on a date?

"I was only going to beat you up if I found you to be a boring person," Tōdō says as if it's a perfectly normal and logical thing to say. "But you surprised me. You're...interesting, so let's go out."

"You're out of your mind," you bluntly say. Tōdō only grins. You shake your head in response. But maybe, you're out of your mind too.

"Okay. I'll let you take me out." Tōdō's grin widens, but you hold a finger up to tamper his excitement. You don't want him getting ahead of himself now. "But if it's not a good date, I get to beat you up then."

Tōdō's smile threatens to split his face into two.

"Challenge accepted."

[wellhalesbells]

Can you tell us about How to Breathe 101?

Ah yes, the one I am actively, actually most trying to finish (before I got distracted by this week's fullmoonficlet prompt anyway). It's one of my favorite genres in fiction and in this specific fandom it's: Stiles fell first, but Derek fell harder.

It was originally just going to be a short fic about Derek learning to breathe in harmony with his pack. Since panic attacks are so woven into TW via Stiles, I kind of wanted to explore Derek having these kind of slow motion ones. Not necessarily because he wants to be alone but because that's what he knows, that's what he's gotten comfortable with, and holy shit there are so many people depending on him now, relying on him, and actually wanting to be in his space and how does he both accept that and allow himself to rely on that when he knows how transitory everything is?

I really, REALLY love when people miss their window - or, more accurately, perceive themselves to've missed their window and are now pining for someone they know once loved them. Inject that shit directly into my VEINS, please!

The plan was to have a much shorter progression but then I added in a more mage-y magic Stiles, with his power connected to growth and potential and blossoming (because no one can accuse me of being subtle LOL), and gave him an OC love interest so there was a distraction from any possible festering - I really didn't want Stiles to have even a hint of bitterness and that was a good way to be like: don't focus on the pit of despair, have casual sex! And also a good way to get across that Derek's love isn't possessive but rather focused around Stiles' happiness, which is always a big one for me (which is not to say I don't love jealous/possessive stuff, I DO, but sometimes that's just not what ya want). Then I set Stiles' magical edification in Ireland and got distracted with the wind over the bluffs and the sea crumbling cliffs and all that wild, fresh air there is to breathe and that's where I am at the moment.

Snippet:

Stiles takes him up over the bluff, fingers trailing currents as they walk, and they can see the cottage in the distance.  A dilapidated daffodil yellow and foggy gray (once white) thing that looks uninhabited.  It’s hilly terrain but clear as far as the eye can see.  The grass is buffeted up against their calves by the relentless wind and they can hear the ocean even if they can’t see it from where they are. “It’s beautiful,” Derek says. Stiles breathes deep.  “Magic, right?”  He throws a wink over his shoulder before holding out his hands, palm parallel to the ground on either side of him, and closes his eyes.  The long blades of grass shift and swirl and shoot up and up and up, getting larger and wider and greener as they grow, striving to tickle Stiles’ fingers as they pass his knees and hips.  They keep going until Derek has to tilt his head back and the strands twist at the apex above their heads and Derek can’t help the startled sound he makes as the tunnel forms, extending further with every step Stiles takes. The grass doesn’t stay static either, it’s still rustling, braiding itself together, sliding into every empty place, forming an arch above them.  The day darkens around them as they’re sealed off from above. Derek stares, first at the living thing surrounding them, and then at the man in front of him. “I had no idea you were capable of this.” “Neither did I.”  Stiles half-laughs.  “I don’t think Maire or Ciaran did either.  Honestly, I think it freaks them both out a little so, y’know, discretion?  I’ve been trying to do that whole thing.  Cutting back on it a little, pretending everything’s a bit harder, doing a little less than I’m actually capable of.  Not that—I mean, they’re supportive and all but I get the feeling this is new and therefore different for them.”  He drops his hands and the grass unbraids, slithering, sinking back down into the earth as though it was never anything else.  He’s not looking at Derek.  “It’s nice not to have to hedge.” He waits a beat then waggles his eyebrows over the pun and Derek rolls his eyes.

Wip list is here!

[timotey]

Ficlet: Sleeping Beauty

The Sign. Phaya/Tharn. AU? Missing scene from ep 10? Unbeta'd.

Tharn never wakes up when Phaya is attacked in his dreams. How odd.

(Just something that made me pause and go all, "Hm..." Ergo, a ficlet!)

*.*.*

He finds out about the pills completely by accident.

They’re set to depart for Nongkai in the morning but Phaya vetoes the suggestion that he should go home and pack - that they should sleep in separate places! No way, not gonna happen, never! One bed and with Tharn safely tucked in his arms, that's how it's going to be. Packing can wait for tomorrow, he will just throw some things into his bag when they stop at Phaya’s house to pick up his grandmother and his sister.

So, that’s how it happens. He walks out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair dry with a towel, when he sees Tharn pull a pill bottle out of the bedside table, shake out one and swallow it with a sip of water.

“What’s that?” he asks, running his fingers through his hair. He isn’t really digging for information, just being nosy for nosiness’ sake.

Tharn sets the bottle down on the bedside table, pulling the bed covers aside. “Something the Doc gave me,” he says and when he sees Phaya's face, he rolls his eyes. “It’s just a mild sedative, is all. He noticed I wasn't sleeping well after the camp. It’s not the first time.”

Phaya feels a shiver run down his spine. “Chalothon... gave you sleeping pills?” he asks carefully, a dark suspicion gnawing at his insides.

Nodding, Tharn slips into the bed. “Yeah. Like I said, not the first time. And they really help. I’ve been sleeping much better these days.”

Phaya grips the towel in his hands so hard his knuckles turn white. “I… see,” he says.

Tharn’s always been there to save him - unless Phaya was attacked in his dreams, at night, while Tharn was deeply asleep and so unable to perceive any premonitions. 

This can’t be a coincidence. There are no coincidences when that fucking lizard is involved.

Phaya doesn’t say anything, though. He just steals two pills from the bottle. Better safe than sorry.

***

Early in the morning, on their way to Phaya’s house, Phaya stops at the headquarters. He tells Tharn he needs to sign some paperwork before he can leave and that he will be back in a sec, no need to come with. He hates lying to Tharn but, well.

“Can you analyze this for me?” he asks Mayris, dropping the little bag containing the two pills on her desk in the lab.

She looks down at the bag and pokes at it with her pen. “What is it and why should I?”

Phaya sighs. “I can’t tell you and because I’m asking you. Please, Mayris. It’s really important.”

There must be something in his face or in his voice because she narrows her eyes and says, “Alright. But you will owe me one.”

He sighs in relief. “Anything.” 

For Tharn, anything.

***

Tharn’s in their bedroom at his grandmother’s house, waiting for Yai to call back, when Phaya calls Mayris from their bathroom. He hates this sneaking around behind his lover’s back but there’s no way he could explain all this without telling Tharn about Chalothon being the Naga that’s threatening their lives.

“Are you planning to tranquilize an elephant?” is the first thing that Mayris says without even waiting for a greeting. 

Phaya blinks. “What?”

“The pills you gave me,” she points out. “What do you think they are?”

Phaya's heart skips a beat. “I was told it was a mild sedative.”

Mayris snorts into her phone. “Mild sedative, my cute ass! This will put you under so hard a bomb could go off in your ear and you wouldn't even stir.”

“Shit,” Phaya hisses and closes his eyes. He was right. He wishes he wasn’t.

“Will you now tell me what’s going on?” Mayris asks.

Sighing, Phaya says, “It's better if you don't know.”

“That might be. I still do want to know. I'm nosy like that,” she says, leaving no room for debate.

Phaya rubs his forehead. This might be a bad idea but he needs to tell someone. He needs someone to know the truth about Chalothon, beside the abbot, that is. Just in case. He makes a decision.

“Those pills, Tharn’s psychiatrist, Chalothon, gave them to Tharn.”

There’s a pause. “The guy who helped us with Art’s case?” she asks slowly.

“Yeah.”

“Well, shit,” she says succinctly.

“Yeah.”

There’s a long pause, then Mayris says, “Look, I’m no doctor but I know my chemistry. Maybe Tharn really does need those pills but I can’t honestly imagine anyone but a literal walking zombie to need medication that strong. You need to get in touch with some other doctor and get him off that shit as soon as possible. Such strong meds can wreak real havoc with your body.”

“Agreed,” Phaya says, adding yet another item to his constantly growing list of Tharn related worries, most of them courtesy of one evil bastard.

“Just… don’t throw them simply out, the pills, I mean, if that crossed your mind,” Mayris warns. “You can’t go cold turkey from pills that strong. He will have to be weaned off gradually and under medical supervision.”

Phaya sighs again, feeling an even heavier weight settle on his shoulders. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, Mayris, I really appreciate it.”

There’s a pause. “You really like the guy, huh?” she asks and her voice is oddly soft. Phaya isn’t used to her being… like that. It weirds him out a little.

Still, he replies just as softly, “Yeah. Yeah, I do. A lot.”

“Good,” Mayris says, once again all brusqueness. “Then go and do something about the thing. Rip his doctor a new one, if you have to.” Then she hangs up.

Phaya stands there, in the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the fogged over mirror. Well, he was right. The fucking snake’s been drugging Tharn for months now. But what should he do about it? 

If he tells Tharn the truth about the pills, he will have to tell him the truth about Chalothon, too. And the abbot warned him not to do that. And seeing just how confrontational Tharn was with Captain Akk, a man they’ve known for mere months, Phaya can’t even imagine how Tharn would react to Chalothon’s betrayal. The guy - the Naga! - has been taking care of Tharn since Tharn was a teen…

Phaya leans against the sink, squeezing the rim so hard his knuckles turn white, and hangs his head. He feels guilty, so fucking guilty, but he has no real choice here. He will have to keep it to himself. For now. And just… watch out for Tharn even more carefully. The 15th night of the 11th moon is at hand. In a few days, it’s all going to be over and then, then they will deal with this, too. He will make sure that Tharn gets off the damn meds safely. 

Taking a deep breath, Phaya straightens up, squaring his shoulders. Throwing one last look at himself in the mirror - what are you staring at? - he grabs his towel and leaves the bathroom. 

Tharn’s still sitting at the desk, waiting for Yai’s call…

[figbian]

oooh can we see some of those fences director's cuts 👀👀

yes yes yes!! for those curious here's fences which is um. a time travel fix-it but only in the sense everyone lives... its steve pov which means you get VERY LITTLE info about the plot and whats Actually happening for the other characters, so ive been keeping a "director's cut" as a potential to explain what the hell is going on for everyone else. heres a couple moments from ch1:

“[The dreams] start in early November. Steve can’t remember, at this point, what the first dream is. In his defense, he doesn’t really expect it to happen again. He didn’t know to mark it on the calendar as the first of something important. Steve’s never had that kind of forethought. He’s never had anything happen to him and think: this is going to change my life.” i had the robin/steve scene written pretty much from the beginning. the fic rotates around two scenes: this scene, and the eleven introduction. everything else is just…fic. it’s why i wrote that last line, because the stobin reuniting scene reads: “‘Steve,’ she says, and she’s laughing, and Steve, through his concern and fondness and sudden clarity, thinks, You’re who I was looking for. Steve, for all his lack of foresight, looks at her and knows. Robin Buckley, the weird girl from band who he’s pretty sure is in Nancy’s year—Robin Buckley’s going to change his life.” its all about the stobin, baby! barb in general in this fic is rlly interesting as the foil of eddie in a lot of ways, which kind of makes nancy as steve’s foil… which makes a lot of sense, bcs while this fic doesnt deal w s2 explicitly, it’s most like s2 overall, in that nancy is spiraling bcs of the pretending and steve doesnt know how else to cope. poor barb is coping with her death just like eddie is, and in another version of this fic where it’s nancy pov (which i may very well end up writing) it affects her relationship w nancy in really interesting ways! 

“His hair is shoulder length, for one, and he’s in a flannel. His jeans are black, at least. It’s kind of weird, since Steve can’t actually picture Eddie any other way (maybe he had a buzzed head in middle school? Steve isn’t sure), but it still feels off-putting. Not quite right.” i have a LOT of like. first senior year!eddie thoughts. i spent a lot of time thinking about how ive changed in the past three years, and how i’d changed from 17 to 20, and how that’s been shaped by my surroundings (and how it hasn’t) + how i changed from freshman to senior year. three years is a long time when you’re 17/18. i thought a lot about the kinds of hand-me-downs i received when i was younger & my family was less well off, and kind of matched that w eddie. he receives his leather jacket for christmas from wayne (ill point out the scene where we see it) + in an original draft of fences, he & steve go to the concert where he gets the back patch for his battle jacket in august ‘84. in my mind, he crafts this whole jacket based on the patch (which is cut out from a shirt)––this is loosely based on when my friend made her battle jacket. but ya. in my mind, as eddie fails the more hes like. fuck it. im gonna do what i wanna do. but it also takes time to build a wardrobe, so its still slow going.

Eddie’s got this pleased look on his face. Like Steve passed some sort of test. “You quit or something?” eddie and steve are really interesting (to me) in terms of internalized homophobia. to me. eddie’s always testing steve in fences, seeing how “gay” he’ll go, because eddie still thinks being gay is shameful + assumes steve is ashamed of “gay” behaviors. eddie is simultaneously ashamed of his own “gay” behaviors and ashamed of that shame while expecting it of steve. he thinks he’s mocking steve when he points out what he perceives as “gay” activities, even though what he’s really doing is attacking his own sense of self. i’ll try and point out some instances of this as they come up. meanwhile, steve misinterprets eddie’s internalized homophobia as like. regular homophobia. steve is gay (in that he’s bisexual), and his “gay behaviors” are because of that fact he’s queer, but he’s afraid of eddie noticing because he’s afraid eddie will shun him. steve’s in this really interesting position where he has this half-memory that strengthens over the course of the fic to real knowledge of what it’s like to lose your parents’ support & respect but hasn’t lost that respect yet. he can’t allow himself to be bisexual and keeps trying to “choose” heterosexuality even though that’s not how it works because he’s desperate to get things right this time around and have his parents’ love, even if that means going against what he wants and who he is. for having this dilemma, steve’s parents are notably absent: he will never have their love in the way he craves, and instead what he’s currently experiencing is simply their apathy.

here we go!! with minor spoilers for what will happen next lol... man i miss writing fences so bad! hopefully ill return to it soon bcs its SUCH an interesting piece to write and has made me think so so deeply about the characters and source material. id also like to go back and edit it at some point just to clean up phrasing, fix typos, etc.

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

3rd Life: Final Part

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.1k

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there is any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

Hotch calls the local police and the coroner to come take care of the body. As soon as they arrive, your team heads back to the police station with the pictures you took of the body and of the crime scene. Jack and Pat were eagerly waiting for your arrival, and Hotch told him everything that they found like he promised.

"A teenager did this?"

"He was involved. There is no evidence he actually hurt Katie or Lindsey."

"So, do you think she's still alive?"

"I do, but I also think you should let us do our job. Can you do that?"

Jack sighs and steps back to signal that he will step back from this investigation. You can't believe Rossi told him anything since he is too close to this. Your team has gathered enough evidence to put together a profile, so following hotch's orders, Detective Payton gathers his men and women to hear the profile your team put together. Jack and Pat are stuck in the conference room since they don't need to be part of this.

"Defensive wounds, bite indentations, and scratch marks on his face, hands, and arms all indicate that he was involved in the murder and abduction of Katie and Lindsey," Hotch starts off.

"He's just a teenager."

"So were the Lords of Chaos," you point out. "Three teenagers were bewitched by a boy named Kevin Foster. Kevin persuaded his friends to murder their own high-school teacher. It's the social dynamics of teenage boys. In this case, intoxicated by drugs and alcohol. When worked up into a frenzy by a dominant male, the adolescent mind can be pushed past what the adult mind perceives as acceptable.

"What started out as a good time quickly devolved, and Katie fell victim to the violent drunken rage of a juvenile gang. We believe this unsub got scared and wanted out, and the dominant male, in order to maintain control, attacked him."

Spencer isn't part of the profile since he is working with Penelope to ID the young man you found, so when he walks into the main room with determination in his eyes, you know he's got something.

"The victim's name is Douglas Silverman, eighteen years old."

"We need to interview kids in his class, parents, and teachers to find out who his friends were."

"It's at least two or more boys. One older, early to mid-twenties. He'll think of himself as a real badass, somebody who broke the rules and defied the system. He might have flunked out or gotten kicked out of high school, possibly the same one. He'll also have a record--petty theft, and larceny."

"But Douglas Silverman's been missing for two days. How come no one's called?" Payton asks.

"It's a three-day weekend. His parents are out of town, or he called and said he's okay."

"Now that the weekend's over, I can tell you that with what's happened, it's gonna end violently. Thank you."

"Do you want to come with us? Prentiss and I are talking to Doug's father," Hotch offers.

"No, thank you. I'm sure you and Emily can handle it. I want to stay here and watch Jack. I still think something is wrong here. I can't pinpoint it."

Hotch nods and leaves with Emily to talk to Doug's father. Katie's parents are called into the police station to talk about Doug, but JJ and Derek can handle that. You want to keep a close eye on Jack, so the best thing for you is to be inside the conference room while Rossi is talking to him.

"Did you figure out who the teenager is?" Jack asks.

"His name's Doug Silverman. He went to the same high school as Katie and Lindsey. All we know right now is he was involved. There are others."

"Well, I vetted every boy that came into Katie's life and made sure I knew everything about them. I had to. I can't afford to forget a face. His, I've never seen."

"Maybe she didn't want you to meet these guys. Maybe she was afraid of what you might say or do," you say.

"Lindsey and I don't have any secrets."

"That's not quite true, is it?"

"No, it is true. She knows who I am... what I was."

"Ten years ago, your wife died in a car accident. Is that why you turned state witness?" Rossi asks.

"I promised my wife on her deathbed that I would do whatever was necessary to protect Lindsey."

"Did you tell Lindsey it was supposed to be you in that car and not her mom?"

"Yes."

Rossi is getting bold, but it seems to be working. Jack is talking and revealing a lot about himself for this investigation.

"Why, then, with all that you taught her, would she allow herself to get caught up in this?"

"She wouldn't."

"What about Katie?" you ask.

"Lindsey protected Katie like a sister."

"So, what if a few boys pulled up and offered Katie a ride?" you ask.

"Lindsey would have gone along to make sure she was okay."

"Lindsey is still alive because of what you taught her."

"I taught her to stay away from men like me," he says regretfully.

The door opens and Bruce walks in. You look at him and freeze from the unexpected amount of emotion coming from him. He is unusually calm, and he is masking his anger with sadness. It's almost as if he recognized Doug.

"I'd like to speak to Jack if I may, to apologize," he says regretfully.

"Sure."

Everyone leaves so that it's only Jack and Bruce inside the room. You have suspicions on Bruce which is why you keep an eye on the two of them. You cross your arms and shake your head lightly, catching the attention of Rossi.

"What's wrong?"

"You know, ever since I arrived in this state, I couldn't read Jack because of who he is and what he's done. I've been able to read Bruce like an open book. He's been emotional and in denial of what happened to Katie. He's actually angry, and he's masking his anger with sadness. Something isn't right, Rossi. I'm going to see what Spencer has. Keep an eye on them."

You leave Rossi's side and head over to Spencer who has been trying to work with Penelope on whom Doug used to hang out with. Hotch and Emily told Spencer that Doug used to hang out with a kid named Ryan, which is why Spencer is using Penelope's abilities to figure out exactly who Ryan is.

"Okay, I got three Ryans," Penelope says over speakerphone.

"The Ryan we're looking for probably went to high school with Lindsey and Katie a few years back. He got expelled or at least flunked out."

"Ryan Phillips. He was expelled for smoking pot years ago."

You look back at Rossi who isn't watching Bruce and Jack. Your eyes flit to the conference room and they widen when you see Bruce leave... and Jack is nowhere to be found. You rush out of the room Spencer is in and over to Rossi.

"Rossi, Jack is gone. I knew something was wrong."

Pat comes rushing into the room with his hand to his head. Blood is trickling down from underneath his head, and you can only assume Jack got to him before escaping. Bruce was open and emotional before, but now he's tight-lipped and silent. Bruce had something to do with Jack's disappearance, and you have an idea of what happened.

"He's taken my car. The bastard took my car." Pat takes out a radio so that he can communicate with the local PD. "This is Pat Mannan. All units, all units, I want an APB out on Jack Vaughn."

"Where's he gonna go? He can't know where Lindsey is."

"No, but he might know who's got her."

"How?"

"You showed Bruce Doug's photo. He recognized it. He knows the kid who killed Katie and who has Lindsey. So, now he's sent a psychopath after his daughter's killer."

"Garcia's got a name. Ryan Phillips, twenty-eight," Spencer reveals.

"You need to get a unit over to Phillips' house before Jack turns up there," Hotch says to Payton, who gets right to work.

"One thing's for sure is that we know Ryan won't be there."

"We'd better figure out where he is before Jack does."

Half of the team splits up to head to Ryan's house, and the other half stays at the police station. You decided to stay with Spencer at the station because something inside of you is telling you to stay by him... and you're never ignoring your gut ever again. Spencer gets to work on creating a geographical location of where Ryan could be by draping on the map with different colored markers.

"You gotta find him and fast," Pat rushes him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Coloring a map."

"Pat, all the activity is focused on the southeastern district of this state. We need to create a geographical profile of where Ryan could have Lindsey."

"There's gunshots coming from Jackson street. Are you two coming?"

The rest of the team but you and Spencer leave with Pat to head to Ryan's place to help out. Spencer still works on the map, even after Hotch calls to ask how it's going.

"Reid, Y/N, good news, please."

"After inputting all the sites, I've come up with a two-dimensional probability service overlay map that indicates where the offenders' are operating."

"Reid, where is he?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but I think he's taken her to the Mayford High School two blocks from here."

"I'll meet you there, and Reid, Y/N... be careful."

"You got it."

Suddenly, you remember how scared you got when Jack confronted you inside his house when you were looking at his computer. He reminded you too much of Frank, and that is the exact reason why you're not going to let Spencer go at this alone. You knew why your gut was telling you to stay behind with Spencer.

You two quickly get one of the cars and head over to the high school. Jack must have just arrived because he is letting his anger show through pretty easily. You're able to use this energy to follow wherever he might be.

"Come on, I can see his energy. I'm not leaving you this time."

"I don't want you to."

You and Spencer don't wait for the others to arrive, but you're okay with jumping head first. There are two of you now instead of just Spencer. You hold your gun out in front of you and let the energy lead you into one of the buildings and to one of the bathrooms.

"Kill him! Kill him, daddy!" Lindsey says from inside.

You two barge inside the bathroom to see Jack standing there with a shotgun pointed at Ryan's face. Ryan is whimpering on the ground, pleading for his life.

"Put the gun down, Jack!"

"Please! Please help me!" Ryan cries.

"Jack, put the gun down."

"She begged him to stop and he laughed at her! He laughed at her!" Lindsey antagonizes her father.

"I didn't laugh at her. I would change it if I could, but I can't. Please... just don't kill me."

Ryan is telling the truth, so you can't let Jack kill him. Jack is teetering on the edge of doing it and not doing it, so you have to be stronger than Lindsey..

"Jack, remember what you promised your wife? You'd do anything to protect Lindsey. Do you hear what she is asking you to do? She's begging you to kill someone right in front of her," Spencer tries.

"Jack, what did your wife want you to protect Lindsey from? Your life has been nothing but violence, and if you do this, Lindsey's will be too. Please, Jack. Do you want that to happen?" you also try.

"No, you don't want that!" Ryan yells in agreement.

"When does it end, Jack? Put down the gun!"

"Kill him," Lindsey presses.

"When does it stop?"

"Tomorrow."

Jack pulls the trigger and kills Ryan right in front of his daughter and right in front of you and Spencer. Spencer is frozen to the spot, but you have tears streaming down your cheeks. Two seconds later, Hotch, Derek, and Rossi come barging into the bathroom. Jack and Lindsey are escorted out of the bathroom, but you can't seem to leave.

You start to cry for the loss of Ryan's life when you know he was telling the truth. You kneel down next to Ryan, not caring that your knees are getting soaked in his blood. You sob and drop your gun on the tile, causing it to make a loud noise.

A hand places itself on your shoulder, and you jump at the touch. You look back at Derek who has a sympathetic look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

"What's going to happen to Jack?" you sniffle.

"It depends on how important a witness he is," Rossi says.

You turn back to Ryan and continue to cry, even after Derek helps you to your feet and escorts you out of the bathroom.

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." - William Shakespeare

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[dirtbag-linecook-kyloren]

There’s a scene that I’m just calling the orange juice scene and I can’t stop thinking about it so here’s a piece while I move scenes around in scrivener instead of writing. Gotta keep the chronology right first y’know

-

Without another word, Dameron lets the back door slam behind him, and in his weakness, Hux flinches at the noise. His father would be so disappointed, and so as if to further spite him, Hux’s hand reaches with trembling fingers for the small cigarette case at the bottom of his apron. It takes him three tries to light it, but the first pull forces him to think about breathing. Between that and the nicotine, Hux can feel his head start to right itself. “Terrible fucking habit,” Solo mutters, likely to himself. As usual, Solo is incapable of reading the room. Unfortunately for him, Hux is still in a state of panic, but he’s come down just enough for fight to be his response, instead of flight. “Because property damage is so much better,” Hux cuts back. “Next time I’m teetering on the edge of a break down, I’ll be sure to just start throwing pint glasses at the wall and shouting. I’m sure I won’t get fired. That’s a thing we’re all allowed to do, right?” Solo’s eyes narrow, his hands clenching into fists. “Of course, Mr. Always in Control. How can I forget, the great and powerful Hux has never had an emotion in his life, and as such, finds all us beings will feelings to be lower lifeforms.” Standing, Hux let’s a bitter, broken laugh escape before taking another drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke into the sky and watching in float away in the flood lights. “Indeed. Before you stands the paragon of control, about to throw his dinner up onto the concrete.” Dameron should have come back with his water by now, Hux thinks. He’s not upset; if anything, he’s worried. Is the restaurant falling apart while he breaks down by the dumpster? “Are you sick?” Solo asks. “You shouldn’t have come in for your shift if there was a chance you had a food-borne illness.” “Panic attacks aren’t contagious,” Hux snaps, dropping his cigarette into the bucket of sand and kicking it to cover it. “So our guests are safe from my malady, and your precious health codes haven’t been violated.” “The health and safety of our guests is incredibly important,” Solo says, and then, “panic attack?” For a moment, Hux can feel his hands start to shake again, can feel his heart beating a little faster than it had been just moments before. As he falls apart, surely the restaurant has been lit aflame, he thinks. Finn and Dameron are spreading the story of his infirmity all throughout the servers, and he’ll be a laughing stock in some group chat he’s not in by morning. Any respect his coworkers have for him will have vanished into the ether, and in shame, so will he. “I haven’t had one in a couple of years,” he says instead, keeping his internal thoughts to himself. “I used to handle them much better, but I suppose I must be out of practice.” Looking up, he can see on Solo’s face the desire to ask, different from Dameron’s need for gossip. There’s genuine concern there, but Hux doesn’t need the manger’s kid knowing all the ways he has trouble doing his job, the various walls and coping mechanisms he’s constructed out of duct tape and nicotine. “It’s nothing important. I’m sorry to have bothered your tantrum, but I can’t ask my coworkers to cover my slack any longer, so I really must return to my tables.” Hux watches a flash of rage die, as if he’s finally beginning to see through Hux’s bullshit, and isn’t that a terrifying thought. Ben Solo, being fully aware that Hux’s personality, his cutting remarks and his dry wit, are a lie. If he is unlikeable, he never worries about how people perceive him. He’s simply the bastard. “You should drink some orange juice,” Solo says. “It always used to make me feel better, after mine. Something about the sugar, I think?” Not trusting himself to speak, Hux nods, opening the door and heading back inside the restaurant. For the rest of the night, he’s sure to avoid Solo, eager to avoid any further conversation about his incident. Finn and Dameron, though they eye him with concern, appear to have kept the details of why Hux was pulled off the floor to himself. Phasma won’t stop looking at him, no doubt having noticed that he’s camping in the server alley, hiding from an entire half of the restaurant, lest table 23 spend a second too long looking around and connect his face to his name. Hux chooses not to meet her eye, sipping his orange juice instead and staring into the middle distance.

[hanafubukki]

Can I ask why does everyone like Grim? Not that I dislike or hate him but I’ve seen some people who absolutely love him and being besties w him and I’m just like ??? Did I miss the part where he became a total sweetheart? If anything I’m just used to his antics and knacks for trouble….

Genuinely tho, is it bc the eng does a poor job translating mc and grims relationship progress, or did I really miss the parts where he is a much better beast? All I can remember is the trouble he brings and the fact mc just goes w it…? Oh and then the part where he “attacks” us, tho ik it wasn’t really HIM but do to the stones he eats…

Hello Anonie 🌺🌻🌺

Of course you can ask anonie, and while I can't speak for others on why they like him so much, I can give my personal views.

Personally, I didn't like Grim very much in the beginning. I thought he was annoying to say the least, and didn't very much like how he would get MC into trouble along with the others, especially since it seemed early on most of the actions were taken by him to move the story forward rather than MC which I can understand since MC can't communicate all the time and someone else has too. But, it was getting annoying real quick how much trouble he would cause, but I guess as time went on, I got softer for him.

This is mainly because how others portrayed him and how they viewed him in fanfics and art that I started to change my mind. After all, Grim was one of your first companions in Twisted Wonderland and he very much parallels you.

He was the first one you met in twisted wonderland.

He has no ideas of any of the customs or backgrounds on this land.

He is alone as well and can’t recall where he came from.

He’s just trying his best to succeed and become strong.

He’s literally your partner in school as a 2 in 1 student.

He shows moments of companionship and softness towards MC.

At the end of the day, Grim is a friend and someone who is basically in the same situation as you.

Those are the reasons off the top of my head on why I started liking him more and more, but it doesn't mean I don’t want to sometimes shake him out of frustration or just keep his tuna away when he causes trouble.

Another reason why I started liking him more was because of book 6. I’m guessing from your ask that you are an EN Twst player only so I won’t expand further, but there are instances within the book where I started feeling softer for him and even sad. Basically, half the fandom went, “give my cat back right now.” 

I also think we all have a version of Grim in our heads as well, and how we perceive him that makes us like or hate (or both) him. I also know that his chaotic energy is attractive to some people and I know that some people just want to see him grow and see how he plays a part in the Prologue. He wants to be one of the greatest wizards and some want to see how he achieves it. 

I hope that helps anonie 🌺💕💚

[purefandomonium]

Unused Snippet from Connection

I came across this while working on the next couple chapters. I forgot all about it, but it's not something I'm going to keep in the story. So I figured I'd post it because it's still a decent "chapter." I think I wrote it kind of early on but ended up scrapping it because it didn't really fit in how I wanted. Anyway.

RED: I don’t think I ever asked, but what’s it look like out there?

RED: Outside, I mean.

Leann hummed. “That’s kind of a tough question. I guess it depends on how much you understand certain concepts.” She inspected the screen, curious as to how Red perceived that virtual world of his. She doubted he fully understood weather, or sunrises and sunsets, or temperature. The bare minimum she hoped he knew was light and nature, otherwise she was at a loss.

“You, uh, know what plants and stuff are, right?”

RED: Of course.

Something about that particular block of text emitted sarcasm.

RED: I know what the sun and moon are, and what animals are too.

“Do you?” She was genuinely surprised. The sun and moon made sense, but Red knowing about real world animals was odd. “I wouldn’t have thought any previous players would have sat you down and told you about the literal birds and bees.”

RED: I don’t know everything, but I do understand they’re essentially like Pokemon but with no special moves.

She could almost hear the ‘whoosh.’ Unable to stop the grin, she said, “Yeah, that’s sorta right. It’s just… Pokemon aren’t the most scientifically accurate example. And making animals fight is hella illegal.”

RED: …That’s strange…

“How so?”

RED: Do people… want animals to fight?

“Er… no, not usually.”

RED: Then why make a game entirely about making fictional creatures attack each other until one of them passes out?

Leann’s brain failed at conjuring an answer. She sat there, gently spiraling into life-questioning territory. The more she thought about it, the more disturbed it sounded. She couldn’t fathom how Red must feel. After all, he spent many years gathering innocent creatures against his will only to be forced to sic them on others until they beat the opposing creature into submission.

RED: Do you think they feel?

Leann was tugged back to the conversation at Red’s chime. Oh boy. It wasn’t hard to see where this was going. “I… I don’t know, Red. Do you think they can? You’re the one in there with them.”

RED: How would they even tell me if they were like me? The only sounds they can make are those blasted “calls.” Even if they were trying to tell me something, I wouldn’t be able to understand it.

RED: …Maybe they think I’m their tormentor. Maybe, to them, I’m this horrible monster who makes them fight for my own enjoyment. All they want is to run free and I’m the one holding them prisoner.

RED: If I can’t understand them, how could they possibly understand me when I tell them I don’t mean it and I’m just as much a prisoner as them?

She could feel rising panic at the words. “…Red, no. That’s not… For what it’s worth, I don’t think that’s the case at all.”

RED: How can you be so sure?

“Because if I know anything, it’s code. And the code for the Pokemon and the code for you are not the same thing. I don’t know what’s so different about you that you became self-aware, but I do know there’s no chance the Pokemon are.” She didn’t know that. She hoped Red wouldn’t call her bluff. “They’re just… How do I explain this?” She needed something believable. Suddenly, “They’re just placeholders. All they are is a stored sprite and a single sound. That’s it. They can have certain moves attached to them and that’s it. They aren’t designed with anything else in mind.

“You, on the other hand, are the player character. Of course you’re more important than the Pokemon. There’s way more code going into you than them. Besides, if they were sentient in any way, don’t you think you’d have noticed something different about them?” She let that sink in and hoped it would calm him down.

The panic she felt hadn’t been her own.

Red said nothing for a long while. He thought back on all the years he’d been trapped in the game, all the time he’d spent lamenting his fate, and not once did a single instance crop up where the Pokemon had done anything different. Even the glitched ones, though chaotic, had a set pattern they tended to follow. None of them ever deviated like he had.

RED: You’re right. All this time, they’ve never changed. They can’t be like me.

He wanted to laugh at how ridiculous he was being.

Leann was silent for several moments. “Is there a reason this bugs you so much?” This was the first time he’d ever mentioned the Pokemon to her. On the rare occasion they did come up, it was because she was telling him stuff about the current series or whenever she told him about an animal one of the creature’s designs were heavily based off of.

At best, Red seemed to harbor disinterest about the ones in his game. Seeing him get so upset over them now was bizarre.

Though he kept his true self hidden in the void, he could feel Leann’s gaze on his avatar. He sighed to himself. Sometimes thinking just sucked.

RED: It’s just… I always wondered why it had to be me.

RED: No one else became sentient. No one else sees this world for what it is.

RED: I’m surrounded by mindless drones.

“You sound like you got lonely,” she offered, tone gentle. She couldn’t blame him for getting so worked up. Being in his position would be agony for anyone.

RED: I used to love Pokemon. I didn’t really have a favorite, but I used feel a bond with each and every one I caught.

RED: I took pride in my team. I considered them friends. Before I…

“You hoped that maybe they’d be like you, right? Because they were friends to you before everything changed.”

RED: I tried to save them. I didn’t want them to suffer like me. I didn’t wanna make them fight each other, let alone things they had no hope of beating.

RED: …I know it’s stupid.

RED: Out of everything… I always thought they were the one thing I could choose…

“Oh, Red, I’m so sorry,” Leann said around the lump in her throat. The GameBoy felt heavy in her hands as she rubbed her thumbs along the sides, contemplating what could even be said to remedy Red’s mood.

RED: You don’t have to be sorry, Leann. Like I said: it’s stupid.

RED: Once I saw things for what they were, making them fight felt wrong.

RED: But I couldn’t stop it. And even though I knew they’d always come back after resets, it still hurt to watch them get torn apart by the same forces that tormented me.

She felt guilty for ever playing the game the way it was intended. She couldn’t look at the franchise the same after this. She remembered the whole thing with PETA, and while it was still the most ridiculous argument she’d ever heard of, it did carry a bit more weight to it now.

[mia-preston556]

Day 73 -Part 2

I opened the door but to my surprise I didn’t see any of those disgusting creatures on the other side of the fence, I took a step outside holding my hand up to signal to Sebastian to stay put. It was eerily quiet despite the soft breeze and gentle rain I felt as I surveyed the immediate area outside focusing on the fence, an electric fence, after people started turning into “Zombies” despite their ability to talk to lure those not infected to them, so after the military failed, quite quickly I might add. We took up residence in a large, fortified military base and luckily they can’t get in.

No holes in the fence or perceivable threats in the area, good… Not wanting to turn my back to the fence just in case, I motioned to Sebastian that it was all clear over my shoulder.

“There is no way that at least one of those things aren’t near by Henry!” Sebastian hissed trying too be quiet, though it wasn’t working well…

“I know Sebastian please be calm, the scream didn’t sound too far, let’s just do our rounds and if we see one of them we will rush back inside, Deal?” I said my voice calm and collected, though on the inside I was anything but that.

“Deal.” I heard Sebastian grumble in response along with a few curses though I chose to ignore them.

I pulled out my knife ready to attack if need be, well Sebastian pulled out his 92 Revolver he found well raiding houses a few weeks back, he wasn’t going to take any chances. As we started the long walk to secure the base, neither of us said anything.

~2 hours later

The walk felt much longer in the awkward silence me and Sebastian shared, and we continued to say nothing as we entered the main building making sure the door was shut all the way behind us. As we walked down the long hallway to the cafeteria he finally spoke…

“ Hey Henry have you ever wondered how it’s mostly kids and teens that are immune and rarely adults? I mean it’s obvious it’s not an age thing as are immunity hasn’t seemed to change with age, do you think it’s a generational thing?” He seemed genuinely interested in the answer though I didn’t have a concrete answer I decided to humor him.

“Maybe, Michael has been scouring all the documents left in this place for answers so that’s more of a Michael question, though I think if he found something along those lines he would have told me…” After I spoke I really thought about it, maybe this was all planned I didn’t want to believe it though now it seemed more plausible than ever.

Sebastian opened his mouth to say something but was suddenly cut short by a loud bell, almost like a school bell, and then the same voice that spoke every night said…

“Team Dragon please return to your rooms or to the mess hall, Team Wolf please report to your assigned commander.”

Though the voice stopped many other people in the hallway, I wasn’t surprised I was the top of command around here despite my age, so I expected Melody’s announcement as it was on the schedule and always perfectly timed as to not overwork anyone.

I took a sharp turn right towards my room deciding to sleep instead of going to social time, I entered my room after a few minutes and flopped down onto my bed after removing my gear. I laid in silence for what felt like hours until I finally drifted off into my usual restless sleep…

[msfbgraves]

i’m watching the first karate kid movie, and i had forgotten how really awful johnny was to daniel in this. he was such a bully to the poor boy! but i had also forgotten how absolutely lovable daniel was—he was such a scrappy, cute, kind and sweet boy. the first thing he does when he gets to the new apartment is find some water for a neighbor’s dog—without being asked or anything! what an angel. and i love the relationship he has with his mum. so adorable!!

that’s something i didn’t like about ck—how they made the mum not like amanda when she’s so loving and supportive in this movie.

and i can’t stand how in ck, they downplay johnny’s mean bullying actions to daniel, but play up daniel’s responses to them or his short temper. wtf!!!

johnny is 100% in the wrong, fuck the ck writers. trying to make daniel into an aggressor when he was 100% the bully, and a friendly sweetheart to boot.

What is so sad about how they handled the way Johnny sees Daniel is that it could have made for such a good show. Because Johnny is objectively wrong, but the new audience doesn't know that, and they could have fanbase go "Wait, I don't remember that at all...?!?"

Because it is fine that Johnny is an unreliable narrator. That is fun, actually. He begins the very first episode on a lie: Daniel did not leave him lying facedown on the floor, as the first episode suggests, but it's been over 30 years and maybe Johnny remembers it this way now, because he looks on that moment as the moment his whole life spiralled downhill.

That is good storytelling! That is cool storytelling! They could even frame Daniel through Johnny's eyes as doing things Johnny perceives to be asshole moves, because that's how he wants to think of Daniel.

But where they went wrong with Daniel is that they showed him doing asshole things even when Johnny was nowhere in sight. And that's just not Daniel. That's bad writing! I really admire how Ralph managed to make it pretty clear even then that Daniel is reacting to the threat that is Cobra Kai, not the threat that is Johnny Lawrence, but it would have been much better if, for instance, you only see Daniel through Johnny's eyes, freaking out completely over Cobra Kai, and then the story would shift to Robby, being Johnny's son, and then everybody already loves Johnny, and they're like oho, no, Robby is getting pulled into that asshole's world and then it turns out that Daniel simply isn't an asshole. And then you get to the fight between Robby and Miguel and Robby is not an asshole at all, either. He's good, he's polite, Daniel is a good sensei, and Miguel wins because he attacks Robby's injury outside the fight and Johnny has to go like, ah, shit, AITA?

But they had to make it that Johnny was right! And you can't do that without making Daniel a completely different person! I'm glad they had this moment midway season two where Daniel went "Wow. That was out of character, huh?" and was simply allowed to act more like himself, but it would have been a better show if the writers had not been so obsessed with having found their anti-woke icon who cannot do wrong and acknowledged far earlier that Johnny's mindset is messed up and getting people hurt left right and center. And maybe even delved into the fact that if Robby is messed up to no end, which he is too, possibly giving him the skills to hurt people more effectively is not a good idea. Mr. Miyagi did not go around teaching karate either; you need a very strong student sensei bond, a real need to fight (Robby wasn't being bullied), and even then I think that Mr. Miyagi very consciously steered Daniel away from the attacking side of karate. Not because he wasn't good enough, as ck has Chozen imply, but because Daniel does have a little Cobra Kai in him, Terry isn't wrong. Daniel loves the thrill of the fight a bit too much, actually. That's in the films. "Why didn't you kill him?" Because murder bad, Daniel-san? (Tf, boy, I'm not teaching offense any time soon...) and how they built on that in CK is actually interesting! Of course no karate is defense only. But Miyagi only taught Daniel to fight with a bo because if he'd taught him to fight with sai somebody might have ended up very dead...

...Anyway, the reason I write all that is because of Robert Mark Kamen and Ralph playing Daniel, not the CK writers writing Daniel.

And yes, what they keep doing with Lucille is so bad. Nagging mother-in-law, really? Like she doesn't understand what being a working Mom is. And with her own business. Also that story about Daniel lying to her as a young boy, "it wasn't me?" Daniel is an atrocious liar, honest to a fault, he only ever lies to save others pain. "I have it under control!" [He did not, in fact, have anything under control] that's Daniel. Lucille wants Daniel to have someone, why would she come between them? If anything, that sends up red flags about Amanda. But the writers do not care, because what to mothers in law do other than nag about dinner? They have not thought about what it actually means to be a working Mom for ten seconds. The only thing they really care about is redeeming bullies and dealing with Daddy issues.

And yet so often they write something really interesting without meaning to, or the actors play it in a way where it suddenly does add 20 layers to what we knew before but that is about as often despite the writing rather than because of it. It has so much heart, and commitment, and it's often almost good and then they're like no, our self-insert Johnny is the best Johnny even when Billy and Marty are like, 'actually, you're dead wrong...'

[faeiapalette]

My biggest problem with Ayato is his stans. 😭

I don't mind if his stans want to make a thousand posts a day about how much they love him, but what does bother me is that they always try to throw in his face that he "is the only canonical/true route". I even read that "the real Yui" is only the Yui that appears in Ayato's routes. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

I swear, his stans are so annoying. Yui is the "real Yui" in all the damn routes, NOT just Ayato's. All routes are equally canon because at the end of the day it's us fans who decide who we prefer to see Yui/MC with. In any case, Yui/MC loves all the guys in her harem in equal measure, there is nothing she has done or said for Ayato that she hasn't done or said for the other Diaboys. And in fact, she has died more times protecting Yuma than Ayato, (that's never mentioned by Ayato's stans, why is that?)

Something I can't stand either is that they say that Ayato's Dark Fate route "is the best route of all the games", literally in Dark Fate you have routes like Carla and Shin's, who are new characters and yet have better development and a much more interesting background than Ayato could have had in four games.

Same anon, same. (Wow… the statement about Yui 💀. The idolism got to that point? Come on 😅. And i thought the level of entitlement couldn’t surpass the “Ayato is the main character”.)

Though my problem with them is

1, They think they have the priviledge. To whitewash (idk how this word works yet, like is it only apply to skin color? Or does it mean “bleaching one’s wrong doing” too? I’m going with the 2nd one) their oshi; for example, “Ayato has never engaged in harmful coping mechanism and never project it on others.” In Bold. That’s blatant lie. Check out Sakamaki Saga for more detail plus his LE route too! I don’t remember much about HBD MB and DF but i think there are some. Mainly in the first two games.

While they reacted like sodium meeting water whenever the other boys did an equal bad thing. Some even make up tell tales about them. Way to go.

To say “not a positive opinion” about other boys, but non-Ayato fans can’t. “Ik everyone has their opinions but why don’t keep them to yourself if they’re not positive ones??? Don’t wonder why Ayato stans reacted that way because everyone would defend their fav Diaboy. Acting like he isn’t the Sakamaki most prone to put his life on the line for others pfft. Girl, you will obviously get such negative”reactions if you start drama. You claim you don’t want to but you did start it already because you spread hatred in this fandom with your “opinions”.

Lady and gentlemen, look at that mindset. These priviledged people allow themselves to shove fake facts into other people’s face. They be dissing your fav boys everyday and people applause them for that. Then when you raise your hand to voice out your not-a-one-way-tunnel thoughts, they brand it as “negative”. Why negative? Oh. Cuz you don’t support Ayato and put him on an altar; instead, you tell them that “Ayato’s at fault too”. That means you hate him right? You want to discredit him, right? You want to start drama, right?

2. Some of them just love to assume. Pulling things out of no where. If you have time do take a look at the previous asks on my blog. Oh my. If you say smth on the level of “perceiving” they’ll think that you’re “complaining” and attack you. And this one will be the complement for

3. They prone to put things in boxes. Because they don’t understand perceptions and perspectives, plus, they’re so used to reacting, they won’t be able to see that you’re only giving an opinion that could be the complement for their opinion to create a complete picture. They’ll think that you’re reacting. That you’re attacking them, their oshi, anything of such. So they attack you.

4. They value fairness, but only if Ayato’s in the picture. For all the rest… nope.

Prove is what you just said anon. “Ayato’s the real route”, “Yui’s the real Yui in Ayato’s route”, ect. I don’t have to say more than that.

(Oh your last statement. 🤔 True true some characters “have better development and a much more interesting background” plus mindset; AND, by “interesting” i don’t mean that i’m encouraging their twisted behaviours and wrong doings. Just that they would be fascinating subjects to do research on. This note is for the Ayato’s fan who haven’t been able to see things seperately yet so that they don’t jump onto me and attack me for things i never said. 👌

Though i barely check the T boys out… Maybe later. Carla’s question for Yui at the Tsukinami Prologue and for Subaru in Subaru DF pique my interest. Defi will read.)

[notbigondoors]

{out of equations} Here comes a little random rant about SWORD’s treatment of Vision... under the cut for some descriptive, graphic language.

Can we talk about this scene? As terrible as this is, I think a lot of us still have this level of desensitization to it because he’s not a flesh and bone human. This is truly horrific if you really stop and think about what you’re looking at. Imagine for a second... that this was done to an actual human being. Setting aside, of course, that the body would have rotted after five years. Let’s assume it wasn’t and it was kept on ice. How would this scene have been different? Because I think for many of us, there would definitely be a difference in how we would take this scene if it was with a human body.

Imagine... a human body being dismembered... pulled apart and dissected... veins and arteries strung about where Vision’s wires are. Limbs removed. Their head removed... just ripped off. For some people, decapitation is incredibly upsetting. I mean, it’s always upsetting, but for some people it borders on a phobia or even a trigger. They can’t look at it, read about it, or even talk about it. The very idea is so terrifying and sickening to them that they can’t deal with it at all. I’ve known people with this trigger, and if they had seen that scene with Vision, it would have thrown them into a panic attack at the very least. Especially if Vision had been a character they really cared about, seeing him like that would have been traumatizing.

When you think about it that way, it really puts into perspective how terrible this is. It’s not just that SWORD had his body when they shouldn’t have, or that they didn’t let him be buried, or that they wanted to do something else with it, as bad as all that is. It’s also that they completely desecrated the body. Ripped it all up. Imagine that happening to a human. Like, there's a lack of gore with Vision because there’s no blood, you can’t see any bones, or jagged flesh dangling, or anything, so I feel like for some people it’s easier to see Vision like that then another human character.

That means that we are thinking about him differently, whether we want to admit it or not. And really, think about it, would Disney allow this to be shown in one of their movies if it was a human body? It would be much too graphically gory. So... there is a difference, at least in the minds of the creators, between this being done to a human and this being done to Vision. I don’t have a point to this post except to just be like... this scene shouldn’t just be brushed aside because of a lack of gore or it somehow being cleaner or easier because he looks like a machine instead of a human and there’s no blood or many recognizable anatomy inside him. This was depraved, horrific, and cruel, especially to those who loved him... like Wanda.

That’s something else that can’t be underestimated in my opinion, is the effect this must have had on Wanda. Think about all she’d suffered up to that point and how invested emotionally she was in Vision. For Wanda, there is no difference between Vision and a living person with feelings and rights and meaning in her life. So she is essentially seeing the same level of upsetting gore in her mind as anyone else would looking at a dismembered human. Just think about that for a second. To her, there is no desensitization. It’s not cleaner. It’s not easier. It’s her dismembered lover fileted like a fish. How would you react to seeing someone you love like that?

This is just me thinking about how this scene would I think be perceived or received differently if it had been a human being, and the fact that there is that difference means there is some inherent bias in how we think about Vision, even if we say there isn’t. Which is both interesting from a psychological standpoint and sad. I think this scene needs to stay disturbing and maybe should have bee

*shrugs* Again, no point to this, I’m just in an analyzing mood tonight. I saw that other post and had to write something about it. 

[animeomegas]

Who is the most needy while in heat?

I decided to write for a few characters for different categories: Clingiest, Horniest, Territorial and Requires Support. Enjoy~

Who is the clingiest:

1.     Itachi – Itachi has only ever had soft heats in his life(heats that are not sexually, but instead emotionally charged). He didn’t have his first heat until he was already part of the Akatsuki and didn’t feel safe enough for a proper heat. His health also isn’t the best, so his body knows to have soft heats rather than normal heats. Because he only has these types of heats, they are very strong. He feels a constant urge to be by your side, ideally with you touching him at all times. He can’t take suppressants because they mess with his illness, so he can’t minimise the effects. He spends the two days holed up in his room, the door locked and sealed shut. He won’t let you leave his nest much, growling and whining if you try. His instincts are screaming at him that he has to protect you and that you have to protect him. He can get a little addled and confused because the impulses are too strong. He’s extremely clingy in heat and he hates it. He always feels embarrassed afterwards.

2.     Izuku – Izuku is prone to crying and feeling very rejected if you neglect him during his preheat or heat. He feels the sting of rejection very strongly and feeling abandoned during a heat is… not good for omegas to put it lightly. It can make them sick if it’s serious enough. So, Izuku will definitely try and keep you in his nest as much as possible, asking wordlessly to be carried with you if you need to leave for a moment. Going to work or leaving the house during his heats (even when he’s on suppressants) is a no-no for him. He will do anything to get you to stay with him, including but not limited to hiding your keys, seducing you, and begging.

3.     Mammon – From the second he’s in preheat, he literally will not leave you alone. He’s very attention starved, but his slight tsundere tendencies keep him from acting on his need for affection. His heat and preheat remove the tsundere tendencies and make him even more desperate for attention. He’s hanging off of his Alpha constantly, following them around and sleeping in their room. He enjoys laying on top of them while they stroke his hair or rub his back. Will growl away anyone who tries to take you from him. If the growling doesn’t work, he’ll whine at you to stay with him because he knows you can’t refuse him when he’s like that.

4.     Kaoru – He doesn’t like how clingy he is, but it’s very uncomfortable for an omega to ignore their heat urges, so he doesn’t bother trying to resist it. He’s very prone to loneliness when he’s in heat or preheat, so he likes it if you’re with him as much as possible. He will spend most the time sitting on your lap, innocently and not so innocently.

5.     L – He isn’t particularly fussed about constant physical affection, but he wants you to be in the same room as him at all times. He constantly turns away from his work to make sure you’re still sitting in the room with him, and in the evenings, he likes if he can sit on your lap while he works. His heats are reduced from suppressants, and his libido is very low generally, but he still likes to make sure his alpha is safe and with him during his heat and be surrounded by his alpha’s scent.

Who is the most territorial during heat:

1.     Sasuke – Will straight up growl at anyone who gets too close to you both, and it won’t end well if someone shows up at his house when he’s in heat. Sasuke immediately views whoever it is as a threat and would likely try and attack them, especially if they were a stranger or someone he didn’t like. He is a lot less stressed during this time if you both just hole up at home for his preheat and heat. One of the reasons he makes his nest in a walk in wardrobe is because it’s an easily defendable place.

2.     Shikamaru – He has to have an arm around you or vice versa at all times. He makes sure you always smell like him during his preheats, just as a warning to other omegas. In heat, he gets very intense and caught up in the feelings, so interruptions from outsiders will be jarring and he’s likely to react aggressively.

3.     Shinsou – Is very paranoid when in heat and preheat. He gets nervous about people coming to try and hurt him and his mate while he’s weak, so he doesn’t like anyone he doesn’t know around you or him. Shinsou is fiercely protective of his family and his alpha. When he’s actually in heat, he would probably try to attack anyone who got too close.

4.     Belphie – Likes to just lay down and sleep with you when he’s in preheat, and whenever any of his brothers (or anyone else) try and get you to move, he growls them away, wrapping his arms around your chest to stop you from going anywhere. Would definitely bite someone if they were brave enough to try and remove him from you by force. When he’s in heat, he uses compulsion charms to keep people away from the attic where he likes to spend his heat with you.

5.     Diavolo – He can’t keep his hands or lips off of his alpha during preheat, but not just in a horny way, mainly in a ‘they’re mine’ kind of way. He likes to show off his relationship to others as a warning to stay away. He is delightfully smug if you return the treatment.

6.     Kusuo – He pretends he isn’t being territorial when he’s in preheat, but whenever you end up in conversation with someone, Kusuo is just suddenly standing next to you, I wonder how that happened? He also makes a way greater effort to ditch anyone who might interrupt his alone time with you. He turns his friends away if they show up at his door when he’s in preheat. When in heat, he gets off on the ‘you’re mine and I’m yours’ aspect.

7.     Light – This boy in greedy for your attention when he’s in preheat, and very bitter if he doesn’t get enough of it. He directs most of his anger at anyone who he perceives as taking you away from him. He will lie and manipulate others away from you both during this time with zero hesitation or regret. Would be possessive if you gave too much attention to a book while he’s in heat.

Who needs the most support:

1.     Alois – I headcanon that Alois has some specific heat related trauma, that I’m not going to get into right now, that impacts him greatly. His alpha is his protection. He only feels safe during his heat if you’re there with him. If you leave him alone, even just for a minute, he will panic, fear mixing with his already heat addled brain. For that reason, he needs a great deal of support, he needs a gentle touch and a constant presence.

2.     Shouto – His father paid to have him on illegal grade suppressant without him knowing just after Shouto’s quirk came in. Endeavour got the quirk he wanted, but not the dynamic he wanted, so he tried to change that. He experiences similar heats to Neji when he first comes off of suppressants. He’s so sensitive everywhere that it hurts. He wants to be touched so badly, but it hurts him. His alpha needs to work with him slowly to help him overcome the sensitivity.

3.     Neji – I mentioned before that due to the suppressant abuse that was inflicted on Neji as a child, his heats can be very painful, especially at first, much like Shouto. For a more in-depth analysis, I have headcanons on Neji’s suppressant abuse listed on my pinned masterlist.

4.     Keigo (Hawks) – He suffers from really bad paranoia during his heats. At first, it’s unclear what’s triggering the paranoia, but eventually it becomes clear that his treatment in the hands of the Commission have left him some nasty mental scars. When Keigo is in heat, he needs to have the door locked and bolted, the windows lock and covered with thick curtains and blinds, he needs to be rid of all technology or anything a person could use to contact him, and he needs all supplies to be in his nest with him so that neither you nor him have to leave that one room. It’s why the room he nests in must have an ensuite. He tends to have soft heats (emotionally charge rather than sexually charged) because his paranoia makes his body think he’s in too much danger to have a proper heat. It’s lucky that his heats normally only last for a day.

 (N-sfw under cut~)

Who is the horniest:

1.     Sebastian – He barely manages to keep it together during the day when he has to serve Ciel, but at night? You better be fucking him so well that he can’t stay coherent. He needs a full eight hours of sex before the heat withdraws enough for him to focus. A demon’s heat is very intensive after all.

2.     Kakashi – Every little thing sets him off when he’s in heat. Maybe you knotted him and the heat is subsiding a little, but then you bit your lip or stretch in a certain way, and immediately he’s consumed by his heat again. He struggles to keep it in his trousers long enough to hydrate and sleep. Sometimes he needs to cockwarm his alpha just to be able to calm his instincts enough to sleep.

3.     Tamaki A – He gets so horny at the peaks of his heat that any and all nervousness completely vanishes. He will beg his alpha shamelessly to get what he needs. He cannot control his voice at all, so you better hope your neighbours are forgiving, because Amajiki shouts some filthy things when he feels really good.

4.     Asmo – No one is surprised that he is completely and overwhelmingly horny for his entire heat. Most omegas have down moments for resting and hydrating while their heat isn’t so bad. Not Asmo. His heat lasts for three days (a maximum amount) and is intense for all of it. You have to make him to eat and drink something while he begs and writhes on your lap for you to fuck him.

5.     Kiba – Has a very high sex drive in general, even when he’s not in heat, so it’s no surprise that he’s basically insatiable when he’s in heat. He jumps his alpha five times a day when he’s in preheat, and every hour when he’s in heat. If you can’t provide for him as often as he needs, he will absolutely buy a knotted dildo and use it while he’s on top of you. Most of the time that convinces his alpha to help him get off.

[jakesavocado]

Who Would Have Guessed? || P.SH

Pairing: Sunghoon x Fem!Reader

Genre: Smut (Unprotected Sex)

Words: 1.48k

Warnings: 18+ content, read at your own discretion

Synopsis: Your brother's best friend comes over for some video games, only to end up spending the night with you.

﹅﹅★

“Y/n! Can you get the door? It’s probably Sunghoon,” your brother Heeseung shouted from the bathroom. Groaning in annoyance, you got up off your bed and quickly stomped to the door, pulling it open to reveal your brother’s best friend. He smiled at you, brushing past your shoulder without a word. You watched the way he sauntered up the stairs, most likely entering Heeseung’s room for another night full of video games. Rolling your eyes, you went back to your room, getting back to the book you had been reading.

Hours passed, but the boys’ yelling didn’t cease. You wondered why your parents didn’t tell them to keep it down. But then you remembered, if they were home, Sunghoon wouldn’t have been here in the first place. Having enough of their chaos, you huffed and walked over to your brother’s door. As usual, it was locked. You pounded on the door with your fist, not stopping until you heard the lock click on the other side. Instead of Heeseung, Sunghoon poked his head around from behind it, giving you that same, kind but forced smile.

“Can you guys be quiet? I’m trying to sleep.”

Sunghoon’s smile widened. It only looked more insincere. “Sure thing. We’ll try our best.” He didn’t wait for a reply, slamming the door shut on your face. Scoffing, you turned around and returned to your room, trying your best to fall asleep before their chaotic shouts reached your ears again.

Spoiler alert; it didn’t work. You stared at the ceiling, completely exhausted. It was almost 4 in the morning and though your body was tired, you couldn’t seem to get any rest. There was no noise coming from your brother’s room, a sign that the two boys had put their games away and most likely gone to sleep.

Unsure of what to do, you left your bed and ventured downstairs, in dire need of a glass of water. You didn’t bother turning on the lights, mind too fatigued to worry about anything spooky. As you sipped your water, you heard a creak near the stairs. Whipping your head towards the sound, your eyes widened when you saw a tall figure standing in the shadows. “Heeseung?” you called, setting the glass down on the counter. The lights flickered on, revealing the silhouette’s identity. “It’s me,” Sunghoon said, walking into the kitchen. He saw your half-empty glass and picked it up, downing the water inside it, all in one gulp. “You could’ve gotten your own glass you know,” you said, unamused. Sunghoon tsked. “You were done with it anyways.” Scoffing in disbelief, you crossed your arms over your chest. “No I wasn’t. I just put it down cause I saw you creeping around in the dark.” Sunghoon grinned. “I wasn’t creeping around. I just couldn’t sleep.”

He kept his eyes fixed on yours, poised expression not faltering even in the slightest. You narrowed your eyes at him. “Stop looking at me like that. It’s weird,” you said, in an attempt to disturb the unsettling silence that fell over the room. “Don’t flatter yourself y/n,” he said, licking his lips while running a hand through his hair.

“Why are you even awake,” he asked? Why was he trying to keep up a conversation with you? Never once in his five years of knowing Heeseung, had he ever spoken to you for so long. You were breaking records tonight. “I’m awake because you and Heeseung were being too damn loud,” you shared, still quite bitter that you were missing out on some much-needed sleep.

Sunghoon laughed apologetically. “Sorry about that. We were having a tense match.” You didn’t care how serious their match was. It was no reason for you to lose sleep over. How very inconsiderate of them both, especially Sunghoon. He seemed to read your mind, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

You weren’t expecting him to ask you that, but now that he had, you didn’t know what to say. You shrugged. “How about you put me to sleep?” It was a sarcastic remark, but you noticed the way Sunghoon seemed to consider it. Somehow, you went from standing at the kitchen counter to being tucked under the covers of your bed together.

Sunghoon made sure to keep a fine gap between you. This was new for both of you.

“I can’t believe you’re in my room right now,” you said, thinking out loud. He smiled. “Me neither.”

You sat up, turning towards him. “How come we’re actually getting along? I mean, I always thought you were a douche like Heeseung, but honestly, you’re not that bad.”

Sunghoon surely hadn’t expected to be perceived that way. He shrugged. “I guess it’s just my charming personality that really draws you Lee’s in.”

You threw your pillow his way, rolling your eyes at the ridiculous comment. “You’re delusional.”

Sunghoon caught the pillow and tossed it back at you. Yelping, you threw it back at him, this time more forcefully, and took another pillow in your hands to defend yourself. Sunghoon chuckled and got on his knees, raising the pillow above his head. “Are we seriously having a pillow fight,” he asked dubiously? You shrugged and hit him with your pillow. “I guess we are.”

He managed to dodge your next attack, lunging forward to slam his pillow on your head. You fell on your back, holding your pillow above your face protectively. Sunghoon whacked it out of your hands, toppling over and falling flat on top of you. He froze, as did you. You could feel his heart beating rapidly against your chest, breath hitching when he pushed himself up hovering over you. His eyes locked with yours, shining in the dark. You had no idea why you were having such a hard time looking away from him. Sunghoon’s eyes wavered from your eyes to your lips. Without so much as a second thought, he leaned down and pressed his lips to yours. You found yourself closing your eyes and kissing him back. Sunghoon grabbed your waist, moving his lips against yours passionately. The kiss escalated quickly, with you tugging at the hem of his shirt, wanting it off. Sunghoon sat up, pulling you with him and made you sit on his lap. He threw his shirt to the side, doing the same with yours. His lips were back on yours in a matter of seconds, fingers reaching behind your back to unhook your bra. He didn’t bother pulling it off, choosing to leave it be. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, playing with the hair on the back of his head. Sunghoon hummed as you rolled your hips over his. You could feel him starting to harden up underneath you. The sensation made wetness pool in your panties.

“Is the door locked,” he asked, pulling away from your lips for a moment? You glanced behind your shoulder. “I don’t think it is but what’s there to worry about? Heeseung sleeps like he’s dead anyway.”

Sunghoon laughed and kissed your shoulder, going down till the valley of your breasts. Your head fell back, lips parting in awe. Sunghoon groaned against your skin. He was going to cum in his pants if you kept grinding on him like that. So, he made you sit up, tugging your shorts down your legs. He pulled his own pants down, throbbing member slapping up proudly. You took it in your hands, angling his tip at your entrance. Sunghoon held your waist, biting his lip as you sunk down on his cock. He was bit, stretching you out incredibly. Sunghoon guided your hips over his cock, lips finding yours again. You moaned into his mouth, clinging onto him desperately. “Hmm you feel so good,” he praised, squeezing your thighs. You cursed and pulled his body close, nails digging into his shoulders. Sunghoon ran his tongue over your collar bone, sucking on it softly. You mewled and kept bouncing over his cock, feeling a knot begin to form in your stomach. “Are you close,” he asked, feeling the way your walls clenched around his cock? You nodded frantically, not able to form the words to say it. “Me too,” he said, starting to buck his hips up into you. “Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” you warned a while later, toes curling in bliss. Sunghoon grunted, pulling your hips down on his one last time before his cum spurt out into your walls. You moaned, feeling your orgasm hit as a result. Sunghoon dragged your hips over his, riding out your high.

You smiled giddily, placing a small kiss on his lips. Sunghoon returned your smile, not wanting to let go of you. “This was nice,” you spoke, biting back a grin. Sunghoon agreed. “Your brother’s gonna kill me.”

- ♡ -

requested by anon

[dragonmuse]

izzy as a migraine sufferer come to them late in life makes perfect sense. picture him being mildly furious about it the same way he is/was/has been about his allergies, because it’s another dumb physical limitation of his stupid body. and now i’m dying to see eddy, who has probably seen stede have a couple, see izzy have a bad one. i get the feeling eddy doesn’t often perceive izzy as a vulnerable person, or a person capable of vulnerability (deliberate on both sides, imo) so it would be interesting to see how she reacts to him being physically unwell in a way they probably haven’t seen since an allergy attack decades ago.

They met up at the diner most Wednesdays these days while the weather wasn’t godawful. It was a perfect late spring evening, still cool enough for a sweater, not cold enough to worry about a whole jacket ensemble. Eddy pulled up to the diner, already thinking about their route.

He’d probably have something in mind, but they could usually hash it out quickly to both their satisfaction fairly quickly. 

Izzy’s bike was there, but he wasn’t pacing around it like he normally would. Instead, he was sitting on the railing of the ramp. His had sunglasses despite the overcast sky.   

“Hey,” she dismounted. 

“Tried to call you,” he grumbled. “Your phone die or something?” 

“You did?”  They pulled it out of their pocket and saw three missed calls and a text ‘can’t do tonight, let me know you go this’. “Shit. Must’ve put it on silent last night and forgot to take it back off.”

“Figures,” he wasn’t moving much. 

“If you can’t do tonight, why are you here?” she frowned. 

“Didn’t want you showing up with a dead phone and no one here,” he shrugged. 

“Why can’t you make it since you know.…you made it.” 

“Got a migraine,” he said it flippantly, no more weight than anything else. “Happens sometimes since the concussion. I can push through it. Pay for it later though. Eye sight in the right eye goes weird.” 

“Sounds bad.” 

She leaned on the railing, planting her elbows next to his thigh. Stede got migraines sometimes. Real beasts that leveled him. He was surprisingly good with pain most of the time, but the migraines made him curl up in a ball, blanket pulled over his head. Sometimes she’d sit and rub his neck, but mostly he needed to sleep it off more than any ministrations.  But that was Stede. 

“Happens,” Izzy said dismissively. He was facing straight ahead and she could see clearly, the scar that slashed the side of his neck.

Eddy had watched from the roof, the day that Izzy had fallen through the skylight. It had taken her an entire minute to get down to the floor more safely and then she’d held his flesh together, heat spilling over her hands. She'd barked orders until the ambulance had gotten there at the same time as the client.

Izzy went to the hospital, Eddy ran the job with his blood soaked through her shirt and the knees of her pants. The hospital kept him for two days, but on the morning of the third Izzy had turned up with her coffee in one hand and their flight arrangements in the other. The lurid white of the bandage on his neck was mostly swallowed by his shirt collar, the grey pallor to skin just made him look more dangerous. Not one person asked if he was going to be all right as he handed out details. 

“Is it happening right now? The eye thing?” They clarified. He didn’t answer which she read as answered. She slapped his knee. “Come on then, I’ll drive you back to your place. Read can pick up the bike.” 

“Not necessary,” he contended, but it came out tired. 

“Iz, come on. My fault you’re here, let me get you back.” 

Not that it was her fault he was just as ruthless with himself as he was with anyone else. Maybe more so.  

It had been a very long time since they had ridden double like this together. The last time had been so he could drive and they could shoot and it had been their hand on his shoulder, steadying. Izzy hesitated, but gave into the inevitable, wrapping one arm around their mid-section. He would’ve gone for the chest years ago, but the shape of that, as with so many things, had changed. 

She didn’t fuck around, just drove them straight to his apartment building. These days it wasn’t unfamiliar territory. Not that he was inviting them over on the regular, but they’d wound up there anyway a time or two.  They parked. 

“Coming in?” Izzy asked, resigned. 

“Don’t mind if I do.” 

He knocked on Read’s door when they got upstairs. She answered it quickly, glancing between them. For the most part, she didn’t give Eddy the side-eye anymore. It was nice. Even if she missed terrifying someone a little occasionally, it certainly shouldn’t be Read.  The dog was at her feet, whining expectantly at Izzy. 

“What’s up?"

“Left the bike at the diner,” Izzy grumbled and held out to the keys to her. “Probably better to get it tonight, not exactly a crime-free neighborhood.” 

“Why?” She frowned.  

Izzy leaned down to let the dog get a greeting in, “Eye started going. Eddy drove.” 

Just like that. Someone asked and Izzy had just…answered. Like it was nothing. But maybe Read had seen this before, she realized. They spent at least a part of most days together. She’d notice eventually. 

“Kay,” Read said easily. “I’ll get it. Could use a walk anyway. You need anything while I’m out?” 

“No, thanks,” Izzy got back to his feet. “See you in the morning.” 

“Or not,” she said wryly. “If you need to sleep in, no one will die.”

“Pete might. Don’t lift so much in front of him that he gets competitive again,” Izzy chided. 

“Yeah, yeah, not my fault, but point taken. Night, Iz.” 

He waved her off and turned to his own door. Bemused, Eddy watched him go in and followed, no longer sure why they’d come up here with him in the first place. The kitchen light was on, a soft beacon in the otherwise dark space.  The cat was on the windowsill, only the swivel of it’s good ear betraying that it heralded Izzy’s return at all. 

“What do you do for the whole…” Eddy waved a hand at her own head. 

“Took the pills already, after that it’s waiting it out,” Izzy found his way to the couch and sat down on it heavily. “There’s a cold compress in the fridge if you have to be helpful.” 

“Weird way to say please,” they rolled their eyes, but went and got it, bringing it over, then sitting down beside him as he laid it over hie eyes.  “Didn’t know you were still getting after effects. Never happened after the last time.” 

“Might’ve actually,” Izzy admitted. “I don’t know. It can be cumulative too, apparently. But they think it’ll pass eventually. Brian just trying to fix itself.” 

“Be nice if it did more of that on its own,” they folded their hands together over their stomach and leaned back. “You want me to go?” 

Izzy didn’t reply right away. He looked older all of a sudden. Nothing had changed, exactly, but Eddy had a picture of him in their head. Frozen at thirty-ish and no matter how the years went by, that’s usually what she saw when she looked at him. Today though, he was exactly the amount of years that pressed on him, carved deep into his face. 

“No,” he said quietly. “Might as well stay. Boring as fuck just laying here anyway. Find something to watch?” 

“You can with your eyes covered? New talent?” 

“Fuck off, my ears still work.” 

So Eddy turned on the TV. It had been left on HGTV which she was not going to ask about. Flicking through, she found a movie near enough to the start. They didn’t talk much, though Izzy was clearly still awake.  The traffic rumbled by. At some point, Eddy pinpointed the motorcycle arriving back, then a few minutes later Read’s tread in the hall and her dog greeting her return exuberantly.  The cat was apparently used to that too, undisturbed as it slumbered in the window.  There was a book on the coffee table, some thick tomb that had definitely been Stede’s first, she recognized the cover art. The bookmark was a bar napkin.   

What had Izzy come home to after that long trip and his neck still stapled together? What had Eddy? The clothes with his blood had still been in her suitcase. She remembered holding up the pants, considering if it was worth trying to lift the stains. Had he come back to this place? The place before? Had he contemplated his own clothes as he sat in a room unmarked by other human hands? 

“Sometimes, it’s like waking up from a nightmare,” she said into the dark.

“What is?” He asked, sleepily. 

“All of this.” 

Izzy didn’t ask what she meant. He dropped the, by now warm, compress from his face and turned to regard her. Migraines were an agony and from the tightness around his lips, this one was still linger, but he smiled faintly anyway, 

“But no one disappeared. Usually happens with dreams. We’re both still here.” 

“Yeah,” she smiled back at him. “Guess we are.”