#like. your body HAS to. it just HAS TO. readjust to being alive and living and moving and blood flowing warm again. theres just no way

[ulteri0rm0tives]

Johnny as a chronic illness/pain allegory after his body is rescued from cyrofreeze, where something about him will always feel too cold, down to the ice chips wedged between his joints, even though every check up or physical therapy appointment (that he barely even wants to go to btw) Vik tells him his vitals and body temp seem to always be within range so he can't find why and doesn't really know what Johnny seems to mean when he says he still always feels so fucking cold to this day </3 (it never really does go away, he just gets used to it, and though some days are better than others, he'll never know what it's like to fully feel warm on his own again)

[trafalgarya]

Hashiras x reader who doesn't know how to show emotions.

Plot : The Hashiras (from Demon Slayer (not all of them)) x a stoic, inexpressive reader. Headcanons.

With : Giyuu Tomioka, Muichiro Tokito, Kyojuro Rengoku, Shinobu Kocho, Mitsuri Kanroji.

tw : giyuu's backstory is briefly mentioned. kyojuro's part involves anger and sadness. shinobu's part can be seen as slightly suggestive, but there's nothing explicit.

gn!reader. reader feels emotions just like everyone else, but they're just not too fond of displaying them.

hi ! so, uh, it's been a while. tbh, i completely forgot about tumblr. lots of things (not in a bad way, rest assured) are happening in my life rn, and i hadn't much time to spend time on tumblr. i won't promise you anything about me definitely coming back on tumblr, as i don't want to give you guys any hopes that'll eventually reveal themselves false, but i'll try.

my english has improved a bit, but i'm afraid it's still shitty, so i apologize if what i say isn't always coherent enough.

one last thing : i'll often mentions headcanons about when the both of you are going to bed to sleep together, but of course, these are when the characters in question aren't assigned on a mission.

Giyuu Tomioka

Giyuu himself doesn't like to publicly showcase his emotions, so you being inexpressive as well is kind of a gift for him. Don't make me say what I haven't, though ! He'd love you just as much if you were someone expressive by nature, but you being inexpressive suits him even better, because he knows you'll understand how he feels about this subject.

Both of you being a stoic couple doesn't prevent either of you to show your love for the other, though. You're just... not doing it outside closed doors. Hugs and kisses are at the rendezvous once both of you find yourselves in a quiet place where you know you won't be disturbed.

However, Giyuu isn't too fond of being overwhelmed of affection. Sure, he enjoys feeling the warmth of your body as you lay your head on his chest, his arms wrapped around your waist, and I'll tell you, he even enjoys being the one to lay on your chest. Hearing your heartbeat acknowledges him with the fact that you're still alive and not leaving anytime soon, so he won't be having a mental breakdown about losing one other person he cherishes. He loves the feeling of your hands grasping his, your fingers intertwined together as you enjoy the peacefulness and calmness of that loving moment... That said, I can't really imagine Giyuu being so touch deprived that he'd want affection all day long. He needs a bit of space sometime — not in a "Leave me alone" way, but in an introverted way, if that's the correct word —, and he knows you'll respect it as you're not one to make a scene about such things.

I can see Giyuu enjoying to read in your presence. He'd especially love it if both of you were lying on your double-sized bed, wrapped in each other's arms as he's holding a book for you both to read as you readjusted your position to make yourself more comfortable on his chest. That'd kind of be your dates, I guess ? I mean, Giyuu isn't someone to willingly go outside and take long walks at night.

You're the type of couple to either have deep, philosophical talks at night, rambling about your lives or something intriguing that happened during the day, or the type of couple to stay silent even when you're together, just silently enjoying the other one's presence and the amount of joy they're bringing to your life, no in-between.

If you're the second type of couple, however, that doesn't mean you'll never talk at all. If there happens to be a problem within your relationship, as mature adults, you'll talk through it and find solutions together. Neither of you will leave until you've both found a solution. Giyuu wouldn't mind doing compromises for your relationship to work better — he's not risking losing you just like he did with Sabito, Makomo and Tsutako — and so would you. Despite not showing him at all times, you love him with all your heart, and you know it's reciprocal.

Overall, you being stoic suits Giyuu just fine, and he loves it even better. He knows you won't question his lack of emotions on his face at any times, and that's probably what's keeping him in your relationship. Outside of his undying love for you, of course. He's undeniably the best one to go to if you want some calm and peacefulness.

Muichiro Tokito

Despite his age, Muichiro is a mature boy, and he knows better than to question whether your lack of expression is due to the fact that you're growing tired of him — which you clearly aren't, quite the opposite actually —, because he's in the same situation as you are. Just like everyone else, he's able to grow attached to someone, to cling onto them, just like he can feel joy, sadness, anger, etc.

He knows you're mainly showing your love physically, and privately, and he respects that. Not that he isn't too fond of PDA, but he doesn't crave it, and so do you. So, just like with Giyuu, you both keep your love within closed doors.

However, unlike Giyuu, Muichiro is much more clingy. Whenever he can, he'll go on and hold your hand, immediately intertwining his fingers with yours, he'll stand on his toes and kiss one of your cheeks, having the satisfaction of bringing a faint blush to the inexpressive being you are, he'll snuggle in your arms and rest his head on your chest, immediately closing his eyes to appreciate your warmth the best he can, he'll play with your hair after asking you if you were okay with it... You got it, he's quite the clingy boy.

Speaking of hair. If you have long hair, he'll gladly brush them and style them for you. Just know, he especially love braiding your hair, he thinks it looks good and cute on you. However, if you have short hair, he'll ask you to brush his instead. He's gifted with natural, long, beautiful hair and he knows it, and he wants to keep them maintained. As you do so, he'll probably sit on your lap, crossing his legs as he hums a melody, trying his best not to move too much so as not to complicate you the task at hand. When you're done, he'll reward you with a small kiss on the lips and a warm smile.

When it's time for you to go to bed, you already know he's clinging onto you as if it was the last thing he'll ever do. You're usually spooning. He doesn't mind being the big spoon, but he usually prefers being the little spoon. It just brings him a sense of comfort, he can't explain why exactly, but all he knows is that he loves it. He'll wrap his arms around your waist, snuggling his face in the crook of your neck to smell your scent. It relaxes him and helps him to go to sleep.

You're often training together. As a Hashira, he acknowledges his strength, and he'll go easy on you. The last thing he'd want to do is to hurt you. In that case, he'd act more as a teacher for you, helping you with moves you're struggling with. However, if you're strong enough to keep up with him — first of all, he'd be proud of having such a strong S/O, and that'll make him relax about knowing you can protect yourself — but ultimately, he won't hold back as much as he was planning to. He'll still do his best not to hurt you, but he'll be having fun training with you. It brings him a strange sense of pride and satisfaction knowing that he can freely showcase his strength while you're keeping up with him.

Overall, one of the best Hashiras to be inexpressive with. He's someone understanding, but that said, it doesn't mean he'd hold back at all. You're his and he's yours, so why restraining himself when it comes to showering you with affection ?

Kyojuro Rengoku

Well... He's the complete opposite of you. That man is full of energy and always seen with a smile on his face. He's loud and always up for a challenge, while you're... well... usually quiet and stoic. But, in his eyes, that's what makes your charm !

He's completely respectful of your boundaries. If you don't want to do something he wants to do, then be sure he won't do it. Despite how hard it would be for him to not do it, he's putting your health and well-being before his own needs. Don't want a hug ? That's fine, he can settle for your presence instead ? Don't want to go outside ? He's just as fine staying at home with you ! Don't want to cook ? Just rest in bed, he'll take care of everything !

You got it, he's very respectul of your boundaries and doesn't want to pressure you into anything that could make you uncomfortable. That's the last thing he'd want to do, to make you uncomfortable.

Whenever you need some calm, some relief or simply to talk, you can count on him ! The moment you appear to be sad or angry, he's already sitting next to you. He'll gently rest his hand on your shoulder, or your thigh if that's okay with you, and he'll ask you what's wrong, and if you want to talk about it. He'll wrap a warm arm around your neck, bringing you closer to him, and he'll run a hand through your hair, putting you at ease the best he can. He's someone quite skilled with his words, he'll always find the right words to comfort you, and he'll be careful with his choice of words. He doesn't want to accidently say something that'll make you feel worse than before.

When it's time to go to bed, he'll sneak in the blankets and wait for you to get ready as well. Just know, he's a man who usually sleeps without a top, his torso and strong, muscled, well traced arms displayed, for your eyes's pleasure. If you don't want to cuddle, be sure he'll at least kiss you on the lips. If you want to, however, he WILL cuddle. He's not missing the opportunity ! He likes to be the big spoon, it brings him a sense of protection knowing that you entrust him enough to let him carry you in his arms in such an intimate way. He isn't someone to fall asleep so quickly, so he'll admire the peaceful look on your face as you're deeply asleep, wandering how such a beauty could have fallen in love with him, someone who's so different from you.

When you both are going out, he's always having an arm wrapped around your waist. Not to display affection or to show to everyone that you're his, but to protect you. He knows you can protect yourself, but he's an overthinker, and wants to make sure you're always by his side. You never know what could happen, especially in public places, so he makes sure to at least have an arm wrapped around your waist.

Overall, Kyojuro is someone very understanding and respectful of your boundaries who'll make sure to protect you at all cases. He loves you very much and is always there for you. Probably the best one if you're feeling down, as he's the most skilled one with his words.

Shinobu Kocho

That woman is such a tease. If you agreed to be in a relationship with her, you also silently agreed to be made fun of at all times. Not in a mean way, of course, she just likes to tease like no one ever did.

You kind of remind her of Giyuu, that's probably one of the reason she's "bullying" you at least as much as she does to Giyuu, if not even more. With a playful smile on her face, she'll often do remarks about how you're not smiling enough, and how pretty you would look for her if you had a smile on your face. She's probably the one who leaves you all blushing and flustered the most out there, although you're usually not used to blush and be unsettled that much. You kind of hate her for that, but oh how you love it as well. Kind of like a love-hate relationship.

On a more serious tone, she's always reminding you that it's all for fun. She doesn't want you broken and saddened because of her playful personality. If it ever made you uncomfortable, she'd immediately notice it and stop her remarks. She'll feel remorseful, although not showing it. She doesn't want you to know that.

As the insect Hashira, she possesses lots of medical and pharmaceutical knowledge to make up for her lack of physical strenght — although that doesn't mean she's physically weak, she's actually pretty strong, her physical strenght is simply not enough to cut down a demon's neck —, she's the best one to go to whenever you feel sick. Whether you've returned of a mission and you're full or bruises and cuts, you're having a fever or a simple headache, she has all the best medicines already prepared for you. It won't take much before she finds the medicine she's searching for, and she'll immediately administer it on you. If your case is serious, she'll make sure you're lying on a bed and moving only for the necessary. And trust me when I say that if she has to tie you up on the bed for you to stop moving, she'll do it. She always has some... accessories ready for these cases.

As one of the doctor of the Demon Slayer Corps, she's often busy healing slayers and creating medicines. However, if you need to talk to her about something important, she'll make sure to talk to you while doing the task she's assigned. If she's healing a slayer, you both will talk standing up while she's doing her job. However, if she's producing some medicines, which often happens in her personal office, she'll grab a chair for you to sit. Whether the medicine needs constant attention or not, she'll prioritize you first and will be sure not to make you feel ignored. Although she may not always look at you in the eyes because of whatever she's doing, she's attentive and listening to you, and you know it.

Despite her petite figure, she's not one to underestimate. If, for some reasons, you decide to tease her back and acting bratty on her, may the Lord forgive you, because she won't be holding back. She'll remind you of your place and punish you suitably to how much of a brat you've been. She's not afraid to use radical solutions to get what she wants — as long as you've given your consent of course — and to prove to you that her height doesn't mean shit. It might be publicly, also reminding to everyone that she's not a woman to mess with, or it can be in a private setting, where you won't get disturbed. Rest assured, though, she won't hurt you... much.

Sadly, you're often sleeping alone. As I mentioned before, she's a doctor, and is often busy working on medicines or injured slayers. Even though she's sneaking into the bed at night and you both ultimately sleep together, you rarely fall asleep together. If that's hurting you at any point, she'll find a solution, whether it's to stop working for the night to sleep with you, or to bring you to her office, letting you sleep on her lap as she keeps working, she'll make sure to find a solution not to make you feel abandoned and neglected.

One thing she loves to do with you, even going as far as making it a daily thing, is having breakfast with you. Whether she has slept or not, she'll make sure to take ten to twenty minutes each morning to have breakfast with you. It is a must in your relationship, and you're happy with it, as she's probably the one out of the other Hashiras you'll see the less. She'll ask you if you've slept well, how was your night, etc. If you're not a morning person, she'll just restrain herself from talking that much, but she at least wants you to be there with her.

Overall, she's the best Hashira to go to if you feel sick. She's a busy woman but she makes sure to fulfill her duty of keep the relationship healthy and maintained as your girlfriend. She's not one to mess with, so as long as you respect her, you're fine. She's making sure you know she loves you very much and wants to keep you in her life for a long-term relationship, she doesn't like short relationships where y'all break up over a small argument, she's a mature woman who's talking through everything and makes sure to find a solution while doing her best at work.

Mitsuri Kanroji

Do I really need to specify she's the complete opposite of you ? Even worse than Kyojuro, she's a cheerful and happy being who always showcases her emotions. Rare are the moments where she isn't seen with a smile on her face. The difference between the both of you is so obvious that people can't help but ask how did you two ended up together.

Your lack of expression doesn't bother her in the slightest ; Trust me, she'll make up for the both of you, as the emotional person she is. She finds your lack of expression charming, cute and hot at once. She loves this side of you, seeing you so calm and unbothered makes her heart melt. All she wants to do is to pamper you and shower you in hugs and kisses. But if you aren't too fond of it, that's okay too ! She'll make up with other things she knows you tolerate, such as hand holding, words of affirmation or buying you gifts, often food.

Just like Shinobu, having breakfast with her is a must... except it's not only breakfast. In fact, she wants to spend the three dinners a day with you, she'll find herself all saddened and upset when she can't spend even one dinner with you. She wants to be by your side at all times, even though she knows it isn't always possible and is more of an utopic desire of hers.

She knows you're not talkative, and that's fine by her. Just like for your emotions, she'll make up for the both of you. She's the yapper to your listener. She'll often talk for hours and hours about her life, her day, about that one stray cat she crossed paths with on her way to a restaurant and how she couldn't resist the temptation to caress him, about that new, young and prodigious slayer called Tanjiro she sympathizes with, etc. Sometimes, she's afraid she's talking too much, but you assure her she's not, and in fact, you love listening to her.

Obanai was jealous of you at first, but eventually he realized you were treating Mitsuri well enough after lots of conversations with Mitsuri herself, so he kind of gave up on the idea of seducing Mitsuri and entrusted you with bringing her the joy she deserves to have. Be wary, however — if he hears ONE bad thing you did to Mitsuri, he'll knock your ass, going on and on about how she deserves to be treated like a princess and all. But Mitsuri often gets in his way, stopping him before he goes too far. Eventually, he stopped loving her, realizing you were the one who got her heart, and started acting just a little bit more friendly towards you.

When it's time to go to bed, she's often the one lying in the it first, tired of her day. Yup, whether she has done something or not, that's what makes it funny. When it's your turn to sneak under the blankets, she'll immediately snuggle to you, it goes from simply hugging you to spooning you — she doesn't mind being the little one or the big one, it's honestly up to you — to lying on top of you and resting her head in the crook of your neck. She'll whisper a weak "I love youuu" before quickly falling asleep. She's a quick sleeper, unlike her master Kyojuro, so you're often the one finding yourself admiring her angelic traits as she's peacefully sleeping next to/on top of you.

Overall, the sweetest Hashira to be in a relationship with. She's the one to go to if you need affection and for a sunshine to invade your life.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PRELIMINARY ROUND - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL THE SERIES

PROPAGANDA

Fred Burkle

1.) She is chronically a damsel in distress in the canon even though she has demonstrated her intelligence and ability to use weapons. The canon consistently takes away her agency over her body and ability to make decisions just to further plot. Why does she die because she gets possessed by a god for no reason </3

2.) ok I promise I'll be more normal about the other ats female characters than about cordy. fred was introduced as a genius physicist who had spent five years stuck in a demon dimension where humans were persecuted, surviving on her own and trying to somehow find a way back home. after being rescued from the demon dimension by the show's main characters, she joins the main cast and starts trying to readjust to the normal world. the setup for her character is really interesting, with her having a lot of trauma from her time in the demon dimension, feeling helpless, and struggling to become comfortable living in the human world again. but I guess because she's a Woman the show instead reduces her to just being at the centre of a love triangle with two of the other main characters, which she has almost no agnecy in and gets stretched out over like two seasons. and then after she breaks up for good with one of the guys and it looks like MAYBE she'll at least be freed from love triangle hell, the show introduces a NEW love interest for her just to keep the love triangle drama going. she basically never gets any focus or to be an active player in the show's plot aside from in a couple of episodes, pretty much being reduced to just a damsel in distress. and as if all that wasn't bad enough, fred's story ends with her being killed by a demon that takes over her body and destroys her from the inside out in a way that isn't Technically a mystical pregnancy but is like. close enough to one and presented close enough to one for it to count. (if you read the cordelia submission and are perhaps thinking to yourself jesus christ did they actually fridge both their main female characters in exactly the same way? Yes. Yes they did.) the demon in fred's body then allegedly becomes a new member of the main cast but the show does pretty much nothing with this character and she doesn't play any important role so it really does just feel like fred died for no reason other than to make her boyfriend sad. This is because fred died for no reason other than to make her boyfriend sad. It fucking sucks but I guess it's not like she got any agency or development when she was alive either

3.) Poor Fred. Amy Acker is a fantastic actress and Fred had the potential to become a truly wonderful character - a brilliant scientist who goes through intense trauma and finds her purpose in helping other people. I have a lot of love for her. Unfortunately she was the victim of a lot of really misogynistic writing. For starters, a lot of her characterisation falls into the ‘quirky weird girl who’s hot but doesn’t realise’ camp which Joss Whedon is fond of. Like other examples of this, her trauma is turned into something quirky which fades away once they get bored of it. Also, she becomes completely sidelined and silenced in a love triangle where the feelings of the man pining over her are given all air time, and her own opinion is never mentioned. Additionally, she’s constantly sidelined in the final season after being made the token girl, and is finally killed off unceremoniously to generate drama and pain for the aforementioned man who was pining over her. And you know what the worst part is? She still gets off more lightly than Cordelia.

Cordelia Chase (CW: Pregnancy)

1.) (downs an entire bottle of vodka and slams it back on the table) SO. CORDY. Cordy started off as a supporting character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At the start she was your typical high school mean girl character, but as the show went on we got to see more depth to her character: her insecurities, her courage, her capacity for incredible acts of kindness. Then after the third season she moved into the show's spin off, Angel, where from the beginning she was basically the show's secondary protagonist. Her and Angel were the two mainstays of the show's main cast, she gets the most episodes centered on her out of all the characters aside from Angel (and yes, I've checked), and we really got to see her grow from a very shallow and self-centered and kind of mean person to a true hero who was prepared to give up any chance at a normal life to fight the good fight while still never losing the basic core of her character. There were some… questionable moments like the episode where she gets mystically pregnant with demon babies and things got a bit iffy like halfway through season 3 where the writers seemed to run out of ideas for what to do with her outside of sticking her in this romance drama/love triangle situation with the main character but overall, pretty good stuff right? THEN SEASON 4 HAPPENED. In season 4 she gets stripped of literally all agency and spends pretty much the entire season possessed by an evil higher power, and while possessed she sleeps with Angel's teenage son (who BY THE WAY she had helped raise as a baby before he got speed-grown-up into a teenager it was a whole thing don't worry about it) and gets pregnant with like. the physical manifestation of the higher power that's possessing her. it's about as bad and stupid as it sounds and also is like the third time cordy's got mystically pregnant in this show and like the fourth mystical pregnancy storyline overall (you will be hearing more on that note in other submissions I'm so sorry). after giving birth she goes into a coma, in which she remains for the rest of season 4 and the first half of season 5. SPEAKING OF WHICH DON'T THINK SEASON 5 IS GETTING OFF SCOT FREE HERE. yeah so in season 5 the show just FULLY starts trying to erase cordy's existence. she gets mentioned ONCE in the first episode and then never again until halfway through the season where she wakes up, helps out Angel for a bit and encourages him in his fight against evil, and then goes quietly into that good night and dies so it can be all sad and tragic. I'd call it the worst fridging of all time but even THAT feels generous because the whole point of fridging is killing off a female character so a man can be sad, and after Cordy dies basically no one's even sad about it because the show immediately goes back to pretending she never existed. she is not mentioned ONCE in the two episodes after she dies. in the whole stretch of time between her death and the end of the season she gets mentioned exactly four times. again, I counted. anyway the fun twist to all of this is that all of this happened because the actress who played cordy got pregnant before season 4 and joss whedon was so pissed off about this affecting his plans for the show that he decided to completely fuck over her character and then fire her and write her out of the show. so cordy's a victim of both writing AND real life misogyny!! good times!!

2.) OH SO MANY THINGS they menaced by giving her terrible hair cuts, making her seem like she'd get together with the guy she loves (and who loves her back) but instead she was killed and when she was brought back, she got possessed by an evil entity who used her body to give birth to itself. afterwards she was in a long coma and died. her character was so throughoutly assassinated

3.) She got demonically pregnant TWICE - there was this real sense of a womb/ability to get pregnant as like, a place for evil to get in. She got positioned as femme fatale and evil mother. The actress basically got fired for being pregnant, and when she agreed to come back for a single final episode she specifically said they could do anything but kill off the character. Guess what happened

[ruinedbylanadelrey]

King of Your Heart

Chapter 8 "No more Frankie"

summary: All that Frankie has ever wanted to be was your everything. After years of being best friends one phone call changes everything between the two of you.

inspired by The King by Sarah Kinsley

warnings: 18+, MINORS DNI, age gap (reader is 28-29, Frankie 38-39), friends with benefits -> situationship, Frankie isn't a dad, jealously, best friends with benefits, reader is lowkey toxic, reader wears makeup, reader has long hair, self-hate (both characters), drug usage (coke), drinking, benny's house party, princess and fish love to argue, FRANKIE IS GETTING CUCKED, light smut, angst, oh yeah and a lot of angst, biting, no y/n, pet names, possessiveness, triple frontier boys, Tom is dead, reader is a flirt

AN: i was inspired by recent life events and these two songs: you don't go to parties by 5SOS wish you were sober by Conan Gray alone by halsey

inside the world of king of your heart

playlist

series mainlist | main masterlist

taglist: @hiroikegawa

'I'm sorry too but Frankie we can't be together if you don't trust me,'

You left Frankie when he fell asleep after going back to his bedroom for another round of sex. The drive home was silent, with no music playing beside your crying. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

You and Frankie were supposed to get married, have babies, and grow old together. You could see yourself having children with him. You never wanted kids until you fell in love with Frankie, your mother was right when she said to you about how you didn't ever want children. 

'When you meet the right person you'll want to have kids with them, it's not about procreating it's about expressing your love for each other. To have the best pieces of each other made into another human.'

You unlocked the apartment and saw Frankie's aero science book sitting on the coffee table. You glared at the book mocking your relationship, you were completely wiped out of Frankie's house but he is still set up at your apartment. You grabbed the book, shoved it into the junk drawer, and then slammed it back into place. 

Your gaze was wandering all over the apartment trying to find anything that was tied to Frankie. His holster, his pocket knife, and a hat that he wore once and shoved into the junk drawer too. Your anger was clouding your mind, time to move on, no more Frankie. 

Your body is tired and aching for rest but you comb through the entire apartment, going through the closet in the hallway for anything Frankie might own, going through the bathroom, the cabinets, and your closet.

There was a pile in the living room of anything Frankie left or gave to you which meant you didn't have a toolbox anymore. Sunlight creeps in and you are sweating from running around like a madman. 

You get an empty cardboard box from moving in and putting the pile of Frankie memorabilia. 

It was difficult readjusting back to a life without Frankie, without having someone to text first thing when you wake up in the morning. You just get ready for work and come home to eat takeout and watch old romance movies with a bottle of wine that changes day to day depending on how you feel after work. 

When poker night comes around, you grudgingly get dressed and went to Will's house hoping just to talk with his fiancee Charlotte. No Frankie that night or the next poker night, everyone was doleful when you wouldn't show up and Frankie did, and vice versa. Ben decided it was time for you and Frankie to face each other but maybe not in an intimate setting.

Benny's end-of-summer house party. He told you it was the pre-game before his infamous Halloween bash. You haven't been to a party since Halloween and well Ben had thrown quite a few of these house parties. You always hear about the next day when you go over to make sure the guys are alive, making them breakfast and getting them to clean up the house while you supervise. 

But here you were 3 months clean from Frankie and you were in a dress that Frankie just loves so much, a white cami top dress with pink roses decorating the center of the neckline, and the hem stopping a little bit short of the mid-thigh.

Why were you wearing this? Maybe to make Frankie wish he had tried harder with you.

Maybe to get some dick tonight whether from Frankie or some friend of Benny's. Maybe Frankie won't be there and you wore the dress for yourself. 

"Princess is here!" Pope yells with a beer in his hand almost having it spill out on your shoes. Your eyes dart around the room, seeing people you barely know and a lot of people you don't even know. Ben was coming right at you with a tray of shots. 

"You have to take these before you're allowed to make a drink," Ben hands you the first one of 4 shots. You throw them back inviting the burning in your throat, it was nice to feel a different kind of pain other than emotional.

You start to warm up while you walk into the kitchen and pull out your vodka that Benny hid away for you. The tartness of the cranberry juice and alcohol hit your tongue and downed the drink, a split second later you are mixing another drink.

The sliding door was opened and people going in and out, you looked around to see Mari making rounds with talking to everyone, the backyard caught your attention when you see Frankie talking to Charolette's maid of honor who was making herself comfortable on his lap. 

You roll your eyes grab the bottle of vodka and start drinking it straight. You were feeling the buzz and take a walk out of the crowd, there was your poison, Daniel from that terrible blind date. Might as take him up on his offer about having a big cock and knowing how to make a girl cum. 

"Well look who it is, Miss Princess," Daniel smirks from the couch and you sit down on his lap, you swing your legs over his thighs and play with the button on his collared shirt. 

"Hi Daniel, I've been thinking about showing how much fun I really am." You lean down to his ear and look out the window watching Frankie walking to the house. You dip into Daniel's neck and lightly graze his skin with your teeth. Then come back up, watching Frankie to the hallway, going into the first room on the left, the guestroom with an ensuite bathroom. 

You stand from the couch and hold your hand to Daniel, he quickly takes your hand. It was blind leading the blind, stumbling your way to the guestroom. You quickly slam the door, seeing the light of the bathroom on. Daniel was opening a tiny baggie with a white powder. He scoops some with a key and snorts it. 

Of course, the finance bro has a coke problem. 

"Want some?" Daniel scoops again and offers, you laugh and bring your nose to the key, sniffing the coke and burning your nostrils. You throw back your head and scrunch your nose, and he starts touching your body, extra sensitive to every motion.

Frankie shuts the sink off when he hears giggling and the door slamming. Moans fill the room, the hair on the back of his neck. He knows those moans, Frankie slowly opens the door just enough to see you riding the bastard Daniel, you were in reverse cowboy, playing with your tits and you looked Frankie right in the eyes. 

"So hot, princess!" Daniel pants, watching you bounce on his dick. Frankie gripped the door knob tighter almost ripping it from the door. 

Of course, this is how you want to be. Your hand slides down to your clit and draws tight little circles around it. 

"F-Fuck yes! Oh, you're so good!" You performed for the sake of Daniel's ego and for Frankie to see you getting pleasure from someone else.

You quickly succumb to your orgasm as Frankie gives you a glaring stare.

"Cum in me, baby," You continued to slamming yourself back down on Daniel's decent cock, nothing to be too fucked out of.

Frankie closes the door, quickly and quietly when Daniel spills his cum inside of you. He gets up and leaves to get another drink. You walk to the bathroom door and slip inside. Preparing you to face Frankie but there was the window above the tub opened and scuff marks from his boots on the tub. 

Frankie crawled out the window and tried to make his sudden appearance seem normal. His heart racing after watching you fuck another guy and came because Frankie just watching it happen. The image of your beautiful body on display made him hard even if you were having sex with someone else. 

You stumble out to the living room and see Daniel talking to a girl who is just equally as trashed as him. You find the vodka and make another drink before going to the backyard.

There were all the guys standing in a huddle, Pope saw you first and nudged Will and they broke apart and greeted you. Frankie stands there with hands in his pockets. Will apparently was being called over to his fiancee and Pope and Benny needed more to drink with cups still full.

Frankie breathes out and looks at your pupil's blown and glazed eyes. He never thought you would become this. He feels responsible for your destructive way of coping. 

"If you wanted to make me jealous, you could've just kissed the fucker not have sex with him." Frankie finally admitted his jealousy for anyone who even looked at you and is now jealous of Daniel for getting to have you the same way you had Frankie. 

"Frankie-"

 "I don't care that you fucked him. I care more about the fact that you did coke. Something you know that I've had past with." He was right. How could you do that? You know about the last time Frankie had his coke problem? What kind of friend does that?

Are you even still friends?

[scover-va]

I love your fnaf stuff so much! And I'm very sorry if you've already covered most of this, but like- any more details on Michael post-scooping? Idc whether that be how to fits in publicly (if even possibly lol), relationships he builds, his mentality, or just important events you planned for him after the scooping! Idc if it's even an AU you have, I just love how you write Michael and would love to hear more of anything! :)

cracks my fucking knuckles oh BABEY ok this is going under a read more because i know damn well this is gonna be multiple paragraphs long. Ty anon, michael afton is my favourite topic ever

Okay so, something important to note here is that even if I choose to ignore all of Dittophobia, my au still does have Sister Location occurring after FNAF 1 - Specifically late December, so like. A month after fnaf 1. It ALSO coincides with the fnaf 3 minigames that lead up to William's death. That's a longass discussion all in itself tho so I'll probably make a follow up post on that if requested

But! Post-Scoop Mike! During the time period of Ennard inhabiting his body he was essentially unconscious for the entire ordeal. Like. Yknow how majority of the ghosts are kinda lacking some level of awareness while in the suits? Yeah. Michael doesn't really remember it, but he still remembers the time passing, so it's not just. Like. Dying on the scooping room floor, then BAM! Alive on the sidewalk. It's sorta like. Yknow those movie/show/game cutscenes where everything's vague and blurry and slow-motion and the audio is funky. Like that

When he DID get his body back, for a few minutes it was sorta like. He was back to full awareness. Noticed he could see things, and that his limbs felt heavy, and that he could hear a mix of ringing and the "You won't die" line and flies buzzing around him. The sunlight felt too bright. You know when you take one of those naps that severely fucks you up, and because of that you wake up half-numb, dizzy, and disoriented? Now imagine that but a million times worse. He's in pain everywhere, his senses are readjusting, he knows he shouldn't be able to see or hear or speak but he can do those things anyway. And he can tell that despite it being a bright, sunny day, no one's coming to his aid. So he forces himself up and painfully stumbles home.

Now, well my timeline of events between SL and 3 is a bit vague, I do have the important stuff down. He gets home, and despite not having been allowed to contact his mom since late '86 (this is important and relevant guys i prommy) and having been told she was dead, he called her anyway. Long story short, one phone call later and also lots of general, messy emotional stuff, Michael. Left the state of Utah as a whole and went and lived with his mom over in California. Because of the whole being dead thing, he did kinda unfortunately sever ties with Jeremy and Henry (aka the only two living people left he even spoke to, besides William but he's a week dead by now), but like. He wasn't really sure how he could approach those situations. A guy who's lost a bunch of cognitive and motor abilities, and a man who fell into a deep depression after his daughter's death. Michael kinda saw telling them as like. I dont really have the word for it, but he saw abandonment as the better option. Figured it'd hurt them less

When it came to fitting into public, it was essentially the same as how he blends in during fnaf 6, just with MUCH darker clothes. He likely did hide away for a while, refusing to go outside, but started slowly readjusting. He didn’t make any bonds while there (unless his mom’s adoptive parents count), mostly keeping to himself. He worked, but it was always nightshift jobs where no one else would be around.

Luckily, his hygiene has gotten MUCH better! Due to being a rotten corpse, he tends to start smelling bad and being a general safety hazard rather quickly, so typically he’ll do a thorough shower in the morning, and then another quick shower at night, just to be safe. And also he wears perfume, to avoid a smell building up. Just to be safe.

About 10 years (ish. I picked a general number so I didn’t have to pinpoint exact timing) into his 30 year disappearance, his mom does unfortunately pass. Lung cancer, turns out smoking a shit ton out of grief is a bad idea. Better than the murders, probably. It was very much so a rough time for Mike, given being in and out of a hospital (bad memories from Evan’s death and Jeremy’s near-death kept him in a constant state of anxiety during this time, not to mention those events already made him plenty anxious, paranoid, and overall jumpy when in hospitals) and then the eventual death. That’s when his goal to hunt down his dad kinda went into full swing. Because, well, that last sorta tether just snapped, so now he’s far more goal oriented.

It was probably full of him following small leads. Contacting some distant relatives of his, contacting his father’s old business partners - he kinda tried to procrastinate going back to Utah (specifically Hurricane) for as long as possible. But then news about Fazbear Frights came around, and the return kiiiinda became inevitable. Because unfortunately, it was a damn good lead. Also, once again, Michael remains friendless in this time. Outside of any possible employers or the people he contacted, he hasn’t actually properly, freely spoken to anyone since his mom or grandparents. And he kinda cut ties with his grandparents out of guilt after his mom passed.

And Fazbear Frights is. Interesting! Because as he’s used to, he has to go in to meet his employer! But what he’s not used to is seeing his estranged kinda-cousin-kinda-brother whom he hasn’t seen since they were, like, 14. Aka Sammy. It’s an incredibly awkward experience all around, despite them both having somewhat similar goals. They agree to pretend not to know each other.

Work goes, well, as it pretty much does in game. Nothing special. Probably some panic and resurfacing trauma on night 2. Anyways the fire! That’s the important part!

As one would expect, Michael was quick to get out of the fire. Wasn’t exactly hard to set it - the place is old and dirty and fucking *moldy* - he just tossed a half-smoked cigarette at some loose oil or something and the bitch was ablaze.

William (slash springtrap but im just saying william for simplicity’s sake) caught him in one of the hallways. And had the fucking *audacity* to try and plead with Michael to help him out of the building. And the kicker is that if it weren’t for survival instincts kicking in and causing Michael to topple William over and crush Will’s arm with an arcade machine to keep him down long enough for a quick escape, it would’ve worked. Michael is. Uh. Very emotionally and mentally vulnerable.

A couple years pass after that, before a new Freddy’s place opens, needing someone to run it. Michael does have experience business-wise thanks to watching and learning from his dad as a kid, so it couldn’t be *that* hard, right? He applied under a fake name, got himself all disguised and whatnot, and headed in!

Michael Afton’s Emily Family Reunion Counter: 2

It did take a few minutes for the recognition to actually happen. But. Yeah it was a lil awkward. Considering Michael’s very silent and very sudden exit 32 years ago. Oh yeah also i have fnaf 6 taking place over more than just a week, stretches out from about 2025-2026. No specifics, just a general span of time. Feels more realistic to me, idk. I get the 1 week thing for gameplay/continuity reasons, but hey! This is just an au! I can do whatever shit I please!

And Iiii! Still need to actually flesh out the fnaf 6 stuff beyond my silly lil jokes. Uhh, I think majority of the stuff gets covered here? Feel free to ask further questions on anything, im more than happy to talk about it :-)

[all-for-geek]

Unfinished Business - Love, Family, and Possession Chapter 4: Crooked Teeth

Chapter 3

Chapter 5

Fandom: Julie and the Phantoms

Word Count: 3,510

TW: depictions of anxiety, an abusive nonromantic relationship (Willie and Caleb), and manipulation

Summary: As Willie begins his plan to rescue Nick, Julie is getting psyched out by her meeting with Andi Parker later that day. Meanwhile, Reggie introduces Luke and Alex to Alice. Can she be trusted?

One of the songs I used for this chapter is actually a fan-made song based off of the in-universe Sunset Curve/Trevor Wilson song by HwaYoun. Link to it

Willie read the address over and over. He had to make sure that he could recite it without a thought. Poofing somewhere you had never seen was hard enough, and he doubted that Caleb would let them leave without a fight. 

Caleb’s power painfully pulsed through him at the thought of his upcoming betrayal. He briefly reconsidered the plan. Maybe this was a bad idea. If you could keep your head down and behave, Caleb was a forgiving person. He could play it safe and maybe-

Another jolt shocked Willie to his senses. This would never go away, not completely. Not as long as Caleb still owned his soul. He ripped up the address and threw it in a nearby dumpster before poofing back to Nick’s house. 

Nick bolted up when he arrived. Willie couldn’t help the look of pity on his face. The lifer had been doing the bare minimum to keep himself alive, and it was starting to take a toll on him. The bad news that Willie had wouldn’t help.

“Are we ready?” Nick asked. The light in his eyes reignited for the first time in days.

“I’m really sorry, Nick,” Willie admitted, “We’ll have to wait until tonight.”

The light was extinguished once again. “What? Why?”

“Look, Caleb is going to be back any minute,” Willie explained, “If you want a chance of out running him, we’re going to need as big of a headstart as we can get. We’ll do it tonight after he goes back to the club.”

Nick nodded. As if on cue, Caleb poofed in with his usual dramatic flair. His eyes fell on Willie’s hand on Nick’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s nice to see that you two are getting along,” he said with a hollow smile, “Are you ready for the day Nick?”

“Why are you asking like I have a choice?!” Nick asked, throwing his arms up in the air.

Caleb chuckled. “Good. You’re learning.”

He approached and regained control of the boy. Caleb flexed as he readjusted to a living body. He smoothed down Nick’s hair.

“Any problem’s last night William?” Caleb asked.

“No,” Willie answered perhaps too quickly, “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Excellent.” Caleb gave his signature smile. “I’m glad that I was able to trust you with this job. After your recent betrayal…” Caleb trailed off as a mini-jolt caused Willie to twitch. “I’m just glad that we can put the past behind us.”

“Thank you, sir,” Willie said, his eyes never leaving the floor.

“You're welcome.” Caleb made his way to the front door before turning to Willie one last time. “I would hate to drag this out longer than it has to. I never enjoy having to be the bad guy.”

Willie exhaled once the door was shut. This was a horrible idea. How did the kid convince him to do this? Alex’s face popped into Willie’s mind. He steeled himself and went over the address again. He just prayed that this worked.

Julie and Flynn coasted through the halls of Los Feliz High School. Thankfully, the mania from a couple of days ago had settled down. The occasional student would approach Julie in the hallway, but at least now she wasn’t being bombarded. 

Julie had finished explaining last night’s dinner. While Julie was trying to remain calm, Flynn made no such attempt. She had been bouncing off the lockers since Julie mentioned Destiny Management.

“Dude! They are huge! You know they’re meeting to give you a record deal,” Flynn stated.

“Maybe, but it can’t be that easy,” Julie pointed out, “We’ve barely been a band for a month. Companies like destiny don’t just hand out deals to up-and-comers.”

“They do if the band has a super-awesome-talent lead singer.” Flynn rebutted, causing Julie to laugh. “Besides, you managed to play at the Orpheum in that time.”

Before Julie retorted, Flynn grabbed her arm and dragged her into the left-hand hallway. For a moment, Julie was confused, they’re first class was the other way, until she turned around to see Carrie laughing with her back-up dancers.

Julie hadn’t spoken to Carrie since her invitation a couple days ago. It was weird how fast Carrie had gone from hating Julie’s guts to being all buddy buddy again. Julie wanted Carrie’s about face to be genuine. As much as Flynn rolled her eyes when Julie brought it up, Julie did miss their friendship. But she wasn’t going to let go of the year of bullying that easily. Especially when Carrie is conveniently nice once Julie starts getting popular.

“Thanks,” Julie mentioned before continuing their conversation, “We got the Orpheum because the guys did some ghost stuff to make it happen. This is different. We’ll know after tonight.”

“What’s happening tonight?” Caleb appeared by Julie’s side out of nowhere. It had shocked Julie, but Flynn was undeterred.

“Julie and the Phantoms have a meeting with a record exec from Destiny Management tonight,” Flynn announced.

“Really?” Caleb turned his gaze onto Julie. “That’s a pretty big deal.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Julie replied, visibly more nervous.

Caleb could have spotted his opportunity from a mile away. “Hey, you got this. With your band backing you up, I’m sure it will go great.”

“Um, actually they can’t be there. They’re still across the world and wouldn’t be able to make it in time,” Julie lied. Of course, the boys were going to be there. They wouldn’t miss this for the world, but no one else was going to know that.

“Oh,” Caleb’s face dropped perfectly, “You think the company is going to take well to them not showing up?”

Julie’s face paled. It was something that she had even considered. “I mean…I’m sure they will. It’s pretty common knowledge that they aren’t local.”

“Still,” Caleb rebutted, drinking in the girl’s increasing anxiety, “To not even appear over video chat…” Caleb paused long enough for Julie to spiral further before changing tactics. “But I’m sure you will do great! An impeccably talented girl like you has what it takes to go far. Good luck Julie.”

Caleb turned and walked away. He tried to hide his smirk as he heard Julie’s anxiety filled worries behind him. Sometimes, this was just too easy.

“Flynn I'm going to get laughed out of that room,” Julie ranted. “They’re gonna not see the boys and they’re gonna be insulted that the whole band wasn’t there and we’ll be blacklisted and then the band will break up again and-”

“Hey, Julie, look at me,” Flynn gently grabbed Julie’s shoulders, “Breath in…and out.” Julie did as Flynn instructed. “It’s going to be okay, girl. Destiny knew that it was only going to be you when the meeting was set up. If it was gonna be a problem, we would already know. And you are going to kill that meeting!”

Julie closed her eyes while internalizing everything Flynn was saying. “Thanks, Flynn.”

“Anything for my bestie. Now come on, it’s time to be bored to death.”

The two laughed as they continued to class.

Luke, Alex, and Reggie hadn’t been to the Orange Grove in decades. The park had always been a haven for the many struggling artists in LA. Musicians, painters, sculptors, and even a few filmmakers could always be found sharing art and giving feedback. The three and Bobby had played there even before they became Sunset Curve. After they decided to go legit, they moved over to the pier so they could try making money. As they grew, they had less and less time to return to the Grove, but it always held a fond place in their hearts. 

The three were thrilled that the place had barely changed. Artists of varying types were still sprawled over, some working independently and others huddled under the trees discussing their works. All that had really changed was the updated technology and the occasional dance move that the boys didn’t recognize.

It took them a while to find her amongst all the people. Perched atop a low hanging branch was Reggie’s mystery girl: Alice. She had traded out her spray cans for a traditional artbook but the clothes and swagger hadn’t changed. Like when Reggie had first seen her, she was busy listening to her walkman, muttering the words:

I can't remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride

But something touched me deep inside

The day the music died

“Um…Alice?” Reggie gave a small wave in her direction.

Alice looked up to see the same puppy-faced boy from the beach. She rested her headphones around her neck and quickly shoved her artbook into the inside pocket of her jacket before poofing down from the tree.

“Hey! Reggie, right?” Reggie quickly nodded, earning him a stifled laugh from Alex. “These your bandmates?”

“Yeah. Hey, I’m Luke,” Luke said, raising his hand. Alex did likewise when introducing himself. 

“So, what brings all of you to my humble stomping grounds?”

“We were-” Alex started.

“We just wanted to come and meet you,” Luke interrupted. Alex was a very direct person. Luke knew that Alex was about to blurt out their suspicions, and he wanted to give Reggie a chance with this girl. So far, she seemed cool. “We haven’t gotten the chance to meet many other ghosts, so we thought we’d tag along.”

“Questions about the afterlife I’m assuming?” Alice asked. By the look on her face, this was a common occurrence.

“Well, actually-” Alex perked up before being interrupted again, this time by Reggie.

“Nope, no questions. Just kinda vibing with the afterlife.” He paused before asking Alice, “Did I use that right?”

Alice ignored him and focused on Alex. “They speak over you often?”

Alex was taken aback. “I wouldn’t say often…”

“You gotta speak for yourself, man,” Alice told him. “Come on. What’s on your mind?”

Alex stood there for a moment, flustered both from the attention and from the question he was about to ask. “Well, I was just wondering, you haven’t seen a ghost named Willie have you?”

Reggie immediately felt bad. He thought that Alex was going to ask Alice about Caleb point blank.

Alice stared off as she thought. “I don’t think so. I could ask around though.”

“Nah. It’s fine. Just figured I’d ask.” Alex quickly brushed it off, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment from his friends.

“So,” Alice continued, “You’re a band right? You guys any good?”

“Good? Dude, we were great!” Luke corrected. “We were top billing at the Orpheum before, well…” He gestured to the three ghosts. 

Alice nodded. “That must have been rough. At least you still get to play. Reggie mentioned that your band is still active.”

The three boys stared at each other, mentally discussing what to do. They had agreed to not mention Julie, but they were getting dangerously close to a point where they couldn’t do that without lying. Luckily, they were saved when Alice changed the subject.

“You guys got a demo or something? I could always use new music.”

Reggie’s face lit up. “We can do you one better.” Reggie’s bass poofed into his hands. “You’re own personal Sunset Curve concert!”

Alex and Luke’s instruments poofed into their hands as well. Whether it was for a crowd of thousands or a crowd of one, they never passed up a chance to perform.

While the boys decided what song to sing, Alice looked on curiously. She could have sworn that Reggie had told her a different band name yesterday, and there was clearly something that they were trying to hide. For now, she was going to let it slide. Everyone had their secrets. Besides, they seemed like sweet boys.

Luke turned to Alice with a giant grin plastered over his face. “Alright, we’re ready!”

“I would like the record to show that I was against this song, but I was out voted,” Reggie piped in.

“Come on, man, it’s the one about you.” Luke gently punched Reggie on the shoulder with a wink. Reggie rolled his eyes, but his goofy smile betrayed him.

As the music roared, the three fell into an all familiar rhythm. They hadn’t played just the three of them since that day on the beach right after they discovered they were ghosts, but no one would have been able to tell. 

Crooked teeth behind a sideways smile

Can’t disguise those feelings, I know

Tell your friends that your confident

And you play it cool for the show

It wasn’t until the beginning of the chorus that they felt something missing. Normally, Bobby’s would have riffed them into it, but the silence caused them to hiccup in the song for a split second. It was another painful reminder of the friend that they had lost. 

Alice bobbed her head to music. She couldn’t deny that they were good. The song felt vaguely familiar, but she could quite put her finger on it. 

To Alice’s surprise, she wasn’t the only one who found the song familiar. The lifers around them began to bop to music as well. At first, Alice wrote it off as a coincidence. If Reggie was telling the truth, they shouldn’t have been around long enough to interact with the living. Even if it was just music, it would take most ghosts years to have their presence felt beyond a slight chill in the air or moving furniture. She got her confirmation when a few began to sing along:

Crooked teeth and your rockstar hair

And your classic style and sideways smile

Cover the scars and run from the demons 

But I still see where they are

The boys were relishing in their impromptu concert. Even if the lifers could only hear their music and knew the song for all the wrong reasons, it was still a thrill for them to recognize their music. That connection that could only be gotten through the power of song. The every thrill that caused them to create a band in the first place.

As Reggie’s riff completed the song, an echo of cheers and applause rang through the little corner of the grove. The boys took a moment to bask in it before turning to Alice. She was clapping as well.

“You weren’t kidding about being great,” she said.

“I told ya,” Luke said cockilly.

“Hey if you’re ever looking for an audience,” Alice offered, “I help run a hangout spot for ghosts. We do open-mic nights on occasion. You should come check it out.”

The ghosts froze and stared between each other. The chilling, familiar invitation sent them all spiraling into worse case scenarios. Surely, she wasn’t talking about the Hollywood Ghost Club. Even Alex, who often took pride in getting to prove himself right, desperately clung to the hope that she meant something else. It’s why he was the one to speak up.

“What…uh…what’s the name of this hangout?”

“Oh, there’s not really a name for it,” Alice replied, causing all three to relax, “We just pick a run-down building every decade or so and call it home.”

“Oh, phew. I was starting to get a little worried that you worked for Caleb,” Reggie blurted out. Luke smacked his hand over Reggie’s mouth a second too late.

Alice chuckled with no sense of comedy behind it. “I take it you’ve already been introduced to the Ghost Club, then.” The boys nodded. “Look, a little word of advice: don’t trust a word that that snake says. I’ve seen too many good people fall under his charm and lose everything because of it.”

“Oh, believe us. We know,” Luke said.

“Good.” Alice’s smile didn’t fully reach the coldness in her eyes. “The hangout right now is at the Roxie if you ever wanna stop by.” Alice poofed away.

Julie and Ray Molina stepped into the building of Destiny Management with their mouths agape. The lobby was covered with memorabilia of all the greats and most of them were signed. Nearly every name had multiple chart topping hits and platinums under their belt. Their music played softly through the speakers. It was like a mini Music Hall of Fame. 

“Woah,” said the ghosts standing behind them. Julie did her best to ignore the three, but she agreed wholeheartedly.

The receptionist gave them a bright, fake smile. “Welcome! Do you have an appointment today?”

“Yeah, I…” Julie tried to answer, but found her words drying up. Despite Flynn's encouragement, Julie hadn’t been able to stop thinking about what “Nick” said earlier, and the intimidating decor was sending her over the edge.

“We have a meeting with Andi Parker at 3:30,” Ray answered. He gave Julie’s shoulder a light squeeze. “Should be under the name Molina.” 

The receptionist’s fingers clicked away on the computer. When she found what she was looking for, she handed them two red lanyards that read “Visiting”.

“Ms. Parker’s office is in suite 504 on the 5th floor,” she responded. “The elevator is just down the hall to the left.”

“Thank you,” Ray answered as he guided Julie down the hall.

“You got this, Mariposa,” he whispered as they entered the elevator.

“Yeah, Julie, you got this,” Luke added, placing his hand on her other shoulder. Julie smiled as a familiar warmth flowed through her body. She stilled her shaking hand and walked out of the elevator.

An assistant waited outside of suite 504. After confirming the meeting once again, they shuffled into the office. The Molinas heard whispers on the other side of the door. It took the boys all of their willpower to not poof into the room. They would discover what was being said soon enough.

The assistant stepped back out and held the door for them as they entered. Andi Parker was sitting behind a dark wood desk covered in paperwork and the occasional gift from a grateful client. She smiled warmly and beckoned the Molinas to sit in the cushioned chairs in front of them.

“Julie, it’s great to see you again,” Ms. Parker greeted, “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Julie responded meekly.

“I’m sure that you are curious as to why that is, so I will cut to the chase.” Ms. Parker straightened her suit jacket before leaning in. “Destiny Management is attempting a new kind of talent drive. A musical competition between promising acts chosen by our talent agents and execs. The winner of the competition will be given the chance to sign with Destiny. I wish to formally invite Julie and the Phantoms to join.”

The boys were cheering behind Julie, and it took all of her willpower not to join them. She put that energy into nodding her head vigorously. “Yes! We would love to.”

“I’m glad to hear it. The first round of the competition is this Friday evening. Each group will perform one original song that they wrote.”

Julie’s face paled. Today was Wednesday. That only gave them a day to prepare. Andi gave a comforting smile. “I know it might seem last minute, but it’s not the worst turnaround that your band has had to do. You had a full set prepared for your show at the Orpheum the same day. Congratulations on that by the way.”

“Thank you,” was all Julie could manage to get out. She shook the record exec’s hand and followed her dad back down to the elevator. 

The butterflies in Julie’s stomach exploded into fireworks. The boys excitedly poofed away chatting and discussing what song they should perform at the audition. Julie couldn’t wait until she got back to the studio to join them.

“Oh hey Julie!” A voice called out as Julie stepped off the elevator. A familiar voice that Julie had been avoiding for the past couple days. Carrie Wilson was walking past the reception desk right towards her.

“Hey Carrie,” Julie replied through gritted teeth.

“Well, well, well, what brings you to Destiny Management?” Carrie didn’t wait for a response. “Wait, let me guess: you’re in the competition aren’t you?”

Something sank in Julie’s stomach. “How’d you guess?”

“Oh come on, don’t sell yourself short. We may be competing, but even I’m not surprised you got invited.”

“You’re in the talent drive too?”

“Of course! Dirty Candi had a spot reserved weeks ago.” Carrie’s bubbly demeanor faded slightly as she started choking on her words. “You know, this competition is going to be tough. Destiny Management is only choosing the best of the best. If you rethought my offer-”

“It’s not happenin’ Carrie,” Julie interrupted. Julie suppressed the lump growing in her throat. The Carrie she was talking to was so close yet so far from the one that she called a friend.

Carrie’s face slipped before her cheerful mask was put back in place. “Suite yourself. It was good seeing you Mr. Molina.” Ray gave a curt nod. He hadn’t forgotten what Carrie had done to his precious girl, but he wasn’t about to make a scene with a child in public.

“Good luck, Julie. May the best band win.”

[weebsinstash]

And if one of the batfam just so happen to develop not-quite-so-platonic feelings for the reader, so be it :)

Honestly I've consumed Batman media but when it comes to comics and the lore of the Robins and all that, I'm remarkably uninformed, but the one I'm leaning towards the hardest, besides Bruce obviously, is Jason

I mean, for the sake of informing those not in the know, the original first Robin was Dick Grayson and after he became older, Batman found another protégé in Jason Todd, but at some point Jason is kidnapped by the Joker and horrifically tortured over the course of i think its a full year, beaten with a crowbar, and presumably killed with the "evidence" sent to Batman who believes he's dead and, never finds Jason, who is resurrected with the Lazarus Pit (something something evil league of assassins and also the mother of Bruce's blood son Damian is here, Talia Al'Ghul)

Eventually Jason comes back to Gotham as his own antihero identity, Red Hood, and he has his own take on justice greatly varying from his mentor: he now uses guns and even kills when he deems it necessary. And when Jason and Bruce finally meet and Bruce finds out Jason was alive this whole time, Jason's reaction is "I wasn't mad you never found me. I'm mad you let Joker do that to me and you still let him live" like he was deeply wounded by this betrayal and has to be basically rehabilitated back to being a hero (and also that performance is by Jensen Ackles which I never knew until today lol)

So I can just only imagine the levels of unhinged if Jason gets over his, you know, constant killing and is finally back to being like somewhat relatively normal and a vigilante again and then you have a situation like "oh Reader is kidnapped and hurt by the Joker too, maybe even sexually assaulted" and when Jason finds out it just triggers him being Red Hood all over again. I can imagine him wanting to take you away from this horrible life and this man (Bruce) who keeps getting everyone around him hurt and still doesn't have the balls to get the job done, at least in Jason's eyes

I remember watching this scene from Death in the Family and thinking about, what if Jason is just sitting there in that bed having this angry monologue and his thoughts shift to Reader and he has no hatred or animosity towards them at all, in fact, he's horrified. Why is Bruce risking your life by bringing you into this sort of lifestyle? So the man doesn't love Jason OR you? And he makes the decision that you're only going to get hurt if you stay with "the family" as it now disgusts him to even call it that

Like can you even imagine the rage and trauma and anguish he would feel if you know, the Batfam is gathered around and welcoming him back, and then, after everyone else has gone, you come into the room and you're just an absolute mess, shaking at the sight of him, instantly crying. "I wanted to keep looking for you," just absolutely weeping "they told me you were gone and I needed to move on but I kept wanting to at least-at least find your body and they... they...!" And Jason finds out, well of course YOU never could have rescued him or killed the Joker, because Jason's disappearance and 'death' was the last straw that finally sent you into a mental breakdown after dedicating yourself to Bruce's "mission" and you're not even allowed to leave the manor by yourself anymore and he can tell by looking at you that you've lost so much weight and not in a healthy way

And just like that, Jason readjusts his plans. He is not the only one who is going to escape from this mansion tonight. He feels rage boiling his blood as Bruce finally realizes you've spent so long in his room talking to him and one look at your puffy eyes and ragged breathing and the man decides, well you're just simply too overwhelmed to keep talking to Jason right now, you better go eat dinner and get some rest. And Jason grits his teeth as he sees you just, relent, as if you're used to not even having an option, still crying and obviously not wanting to go, still wanting to see him and touch him and talk to him and know he's still alive, but Bruce says to go, and so, you go.

And Jason would rather die a second time than let things end here.

[pascallllllll1]

We Can Be Heroes: Apocalypse

Marcus Moreno x reader

Summary: Reader has powers similar to the force and meets Missy and Marcus Moreno while trying to survive the apocalypse.

Word count: 1,563

Fuck, I need to find water soon. The airs dry and fills your throat with a gritty sand like texture every breath you take. Smoke continues to rise from the ash off the fallen buildings lining the long stretched street. Pushing your way threw the rotten and decayed bodies, you climb on top of an old black hatchback. From your now raised point of view you spot your next destination just a short distance away. A brick building; roof collapsed, three walls fighting hard to stay standing, while the forth facing the alleyway is torn. With flames still burning in areas and ash still falling from the sky, it’s safe to say the poor excuse for a pharmacy should be free of living, or dead, threats.

Nothing much of what’s deemed valuable to you remains, cleaned out long before you even began your journey to this city. Moving in towards the US seemed like a good idea not too long ago, Canada’s resources and supplies having dried up early in the quarantine stages of the virus, you had hope of finding more left here but now you’re beginning to rethink your actions. Big cities in the US got hit first the hardest, subject one being from New York, travellers began visiting and returning home, spreading the shit around the world like the god damn plague. Airports got shut down pretty quick, no one in or out of their home countries, quarantines put into action. After the bigger heroes began to fall, they brought whole cities down with them. Fighting a zombie is terrifying and hard for regular folks as it is, fighting a super fucking human trying to eat your face off while shooting lasers or invisible is a whole other challenge itself. It would take heroes to fight and defeat undead heroes.

After digging around for roughly 20 minutes you’ve managed to round up some medical tape, a half full plastic bottle of water, blood thinners, Tylenol and a box of granola bars that was hidden in an employee locker out back. A decent haul for now. You’ll need to continue scavenging in order to sustain yourself and keep going. The water though warm and dirty, provides instant relief making you moan into the bottle with your eyes closed savouring this precious moment. Just as you’re recapping the bottle you catch the glimpse of light reflecting off something making its presence now known in the distance. Quickly pulling the bandana back around the lower half of your face and readjusting your backpack, you step through the torn down wall, hand swiping against a bloody patch. You look down at your hand annoyed with a deep inhale, exhaling sharply. Seriously? You wipe the thick crusty blood along the front of the building making your way back to the road to continue your previous route.

“Mom!”

“Mommy is hurts! Make it stoP! MOMMM-“

Your shoot up from your spot slouched against a tree, heart pounding like a marching bands base drum. Static ringing fill your ears and you can’t breath. -I can’t breath. Fuck. I can’t breath. fuCk FUCK FUCKKK. Ground yourself common, breath idiot you can do this. In 1.. 2.. 3.. out 1.. 2.. 3.. Again. Again. Again. The ringing halts, pulse evens out. You’re calm. You’re alive. But you can’t say the same fo-STOP. Closing your eyes you back yourself against the tree again letting your body to slide to the ground, sleep taking over once more not long after.

When you wake your view from the side of the highway you rested at is clearer, less smoke blocking the clouds now that the fires have burned to coals, the remaining ash that once fell from the sky now covers every surface like a fresh blanket of snow on an early winter morning. It’s time to move on, they’ll be coming if they aren’t nearby already. After the smoke settles the dead always come to admire the destruction, called upon by the sounds of screams and fighting. It won’t be long before they come to see what was left behind by whatever undead super caused this. From the laser burns in the road, it looks like they went the opposite way you’re headed. Lucky me.

Later into the day your back is aching, feet swollen and blistered, you’re just about ready to take a well deserved break when you spot a “Welcome to California” sign on the set of lights ahead of you. Picking up your pace you rush forward, eager to make your way towards the inner city.

The heroics base stands tall and proud in its walled in grounds obviously made to withstand a hero’s attack. Walls scorched and dented but still in place, a few windows blown out but still looking better than most places you’ve come across in your journey. You’re taking in the proud building when a metal creaking and something dragging against the parking lot gravel to your left catches your attention. Stilling yourself you look from the corner of your eye. An infected is reaching for you about 15 paces away, pulling along a metal pole it seems to have been tied and locked to. Obviously not very well. You scoff to yourself. Slowly, you reach down to your waste, fingers wrapping around the hilt of your hatchet. In a split second you send the hatchet towards the infected slicing it’s head of clean, pulling the weapon back into your hand with the trusty rope you tied to it, and returning it home to its place on your side. The body drops to the pavement with a wet thud, an unnerving screech follows from between cars piled ahead, almost bursting your eardrums. Sounds of metal being crushed and glass breaking is followed by none other than mrs. Vox’s corpse spider crawling from inside the mountain of vehicles, dead eyes set on you. You activate your force field just as the rotten bitch jumps at you, clawing against your power. Using all the energy you can, you shoot her forward letting down your force field and grabbing your double barrelled shot gun from strapped behind your back as she rushes back, pulling the trigger an blowing her head off as she goes to bite the end of the gun. This would be so much cooler if I could shower but now I’m covered in brains. Awesome.

“Who are you.” It’s spoken like the person it bellowed out of was trying to sound intimidating, strong but came out intimidated and spooked. Young. Spinning around you ready yourself and aim in the direction the unknown voice came from. A young girl, maybe twelve or thirteen, wearing all black combat gear. Brown hair pulled in 2 braids against the back of her head, similar to your own, brown eyes and tan skin. She kinda looks like a little me. Huh.

“You alone kid?”

“I asked who you are.” She responds in a snarky manor, whipping out a pair of katanas. Cracking a grin at her tough girl persona and attempt at being threatening, you lower your shot gun. I like this kid.

“(Y/N).” Putting one hand on your hip, the other resting the gun on you shoulder you ask.

“And you missy? What’s your name?” At that she drops her act and actually laughs, placing her katanas back in their holsters. Giving a genuine smile the young girl reaches out to shake your hand.

“Missy. Missy Moreno.” Oh shit. Meeting her in the middle you shake Missy’s hand then step back, face stoic as ever.

“Missy. Hunny where’s your dad?” Missy’s smile drops almost as fast as your stomach does the second you see it, kid looks at you like you just gutted her puppy in front of her.

“I um, I don’t know, I lost him 5 days ago while we were trying to escape the heroics underground safe house. Miracle guy came back from gathering supplies sick, bu-but we didn’t know.” Missy’s eyes being glazing over and filling to the brim with tears as her words become stuttered. You quickly kneel down and place your hands on the sides of her arms, bending your head to the side trying to get her to keep eye contact.

“Hey, hey, hey, Missy I can help you find him don’t worry, breath for me. We need to be calm in order to think and plan, ok? You got this deep breath 1.. 2.. 3.. out 1.. 2.. 3.. good good, you’re doing such a good job.” Nodding and doing as you say Missy gets herself under control. You stand and survey the surrounding area, the suns setting and any buildings near by seem to be filled with undead. First things first you both need a semi safe place to gather yourselves and form a plan of action.

“Do you know a safe place near by Missy?”

“My house, it’s farther out, about 4 hours walking from here.” Fuck. Too long we need to get there quicker, can’t risk having her out past dark. Noticing your hesitation about travelling that far in the dark Missy speaks up again.

“We could always go inside head quarters, but the infected heroes seem to like to stick around here, if they notice us they’ll call for more to come.” With a deep sigh you nodded once to her.

“Lead the way Miss.”

Part 2?

Idk if I’m gonna continue this or not, we’ll see😪

[cyncerity]

Would noms become common in the shifter tommy au?? If so I’d love to see the first time bee n boo get nommed >:)

This is by far my most shitpost-y story ever because the bench trio are chaotic idiots

tw: vore and stupidity (I had a lot of fun with this one lmao)

“HOLY FUCK TOMMY YOU CAN EAT PEOPLE?!” Tubbo screeched as he slammed Tommy’s door open, causing the blonde to practically throw his phone against a wall in shock. Thankfully, he only dropped it onto the bed he was sitting on.

Tommy looked up to Tubbo and saw the shorter teen with his stupid mischievous grin on, and also saw Ranboo standing behind him in the doorway, looking confused as hell and really tired. Phil had invited the two over to hang out with Tommy while his family went to pick up things from the grocery store (which Tommy was banned at for being a dumbass).

“Tubbo what the fuck man why did you ask th-“ Tommy tried to finish as Ranboo interrupted with an explanation. “Phil told us that we were here so you wouldn’t be alone and Wilbur clarified that the last time they tried to leave you by yourself you swallowed them and had a panic attack and me and Tubbo are arguing over whether or not that was a joke.”

“Come one, Boo, if he can grow he can hypothetically swallow people, right?” “Stomach acid exists, Tubbo.” “Maybe he doesn’t have that?” “We’ve both seen him eat before.” “Phil wouldn’t have looked as pissed at Wil if it was a joke…”

Tommy sighed as the two argued. Well, no use in hiding now. “Yeah, I can eat people.” Tommy shrugged, effectively shutting both of his friends up. After they didn’t believe Tommy about his powers the first time and were proven very wrong, Tommy’s friends had taken to believing every word Tommy said about his abilities. Ranboo just stared at a complete loss for words as Tubbo jumped onto Tommy’s bed. “That’s so fucking cool! Can you eat me?”

“Uh, thanks? That’s honestly not the reaction I was expecting. But sure, if you want.” Tommy said, trying to act nonchalant when in reality he was losing his shit over the fact that Tubbo had just asked to be eaten. Tommy secretly loved the feeling of having people in his stomach (even if it had only happened once and even thinking about it made his stomach feel sore), but he would rather die then ask someone if he could eat them. Even if he had technically eaten everyone he lived with, but that was an accident. Technically.

“Hold on a minute,” Ranboo finally said. “You’re telling me that you can just…swallow people? And they’ll be fine?? How do you… what does… I… How??”

Tommy laughed at Ranboo’s attempt at a question. “I don’t know, man, it’s just something I can do. I guess my body can just tell when something alive is…in me, for lack of a better term, and keep them alive.” “What if it backfires?”Ranboo asked. “Are you alive?” “Wh-yes??” “Then it won’t.”

The taller teen sighed and looked at Tubbo, who was practically vibrating with excitement. “Well then, I’m not letting Tubbo go in alone.”

Tommy didn’t even have time to process the response before Tubbo was dragging him into the living room by his wrist. “Come on, there’s a higher ceiling in here, do your thing, big man.” He said, finally letting go of Tommy’s wrist.

Tommy took that as his cue. He focused his energy on making himself big enough to swallow two people before having to readjust himself after remembering how tall Ranboo was. When he was ready, he picked up both of his friends and held them to his face.

“And you’re both ok with this? Ranboo, there’s no fault in chickening out.” Tommy smirked. “Actually there is, since I know neither of you would ever let me hear the end of it.” Ranboo jokingly replied before forcefully opening Tommy’s upper lip. Tommy took this as an incentive to just shove Ranboo and Tubbo in his mouth, causing Ranboo to yelp and Tubbo to start giggling wildly as Tommy coated them in saliva.

The flavor of his friends made Tommy practically melt, and he had to keep himself from purring at the taste. Not because he thought it would scare them, but because the thought of them learning he could purr was somehow more embarrassing than having to explain that he could eat people.

Tubbo tasted like citrus honey and Ranboo had a vanilla caramel taste to him that made his mouth water. Tommy wasn’t sure how long he kept them in his mouth but eventually someone (probably Tubbo) kicked his tongue, reminding him that he couldn’t keep his friends in his mouth all day no matter how much he wanted to. He squished the two against his cheek with his tongue just to be an asshole for a second before swallowing them down. He felt the weight slip down his collarbone and took a moment to marvel at how much better swallowing felt when no one thought they were going to die.

He felt the two drop into his stomach and his hands instinctively went to his middle. He felt the slightly heavier weight, almost certainly Ranboo, try and stand up before falling back down immediately. He heard and felt Tubbo laugh at him before Tubbo started trying to stand and explore his surroundings himself, getting the bright idea of leaning on the walls around his as he walked around the small space. As soon as Tommy felt Tubbo near the front of his stomach, he made it a point to push his stomach in just enough to knock Tubbo over, causing Ranboo to laugh this time.

“Pfft karma bitch.” Tommy laughed. “No fair, Ranboo fell on his own, you pushed me.” “All’s fair in love and war.”

Tubbo responded to this by playfully shoving at the front of the stomach, causing Tommy to pause. Last time he did this, his stomach throbbed with pain because of the abuse his family had put it through. But now he couldn’t deny how nice it felt when Tubbo did that. It felt like an internal massage, and Tommy had to resist purring again. He did, however, start rubbing circles at where he felt his friends in what he hoped portrayed an appreciative gesture, happy that time found friends to share his weird abilities with. He loved them, and he knew they knew that without him even having to say it.

“So…what do you guys wanna do now?” Tommy asked, drumming his fingers on his middle.

Ranboo tried to reply before Tubbo cut him off. “Well, we could just sleep like normal people but I’m sure Tubbo has a worse sugges-“ “You should jump of the roof, I wanna know what that wound feel like from in here!!”

“I like that idea better!”

“Oh my god, seriously-“

[ssahoodrathotchner]

Tumble

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

Requested by: @realtrashcan

Word Count: 1.5k

Prompt(s): 9 “You are very attractive. Therefore, I will stare at you.”, 10 Falling asleep/cuddling on the jet, and 19 “You’re an idiot.” “But I’m your idiot.”

Summary: you fall down a hill, but luckily, Aaron still thinks you’re beautiful.

Warnings: swearing, brief mention of blood, lots of fluff

A/N: sweet sweet fluff. i wanted to write something a little more case-centered, but still cute for this one. enjoy !! 

Masterlist

---

All things considered, the case was a success. However, part of what made it such a success was the slight tumble you took down a hill. Whatever it takes, right?

To be fair, you hadn’t planned on tumbling down a muddy hill while pursuing an unsub, but these things just seem to happen. The case had taken the team to the Sierra Nevada mountains that border California and Nevada, as the unsub, Trevor Northridge, kept crossing state lines with his…activities. Activities that involved 12 year old Caleb Kingston, who was now safe, and had told you the location where the unsub had taken him.

The team had tracked Northridge to a specific trail on the California side of the Sierras, and you had caught him exiting his car. That was, of course, when he decided to take off into the forest. Shaking your head, you share a look with Derek before pursuing the unsub.

“You’ll never catch me!” Northridge screams over his shoulder.

As if.

“He took off, Hotch,” Derek’s voice filters through your comms. “Your lovely girlfriend and I are chasing him down.”

Even though the only thing you can see is his back as you run through the underbrush, ducking to miss branches and stepping over shrubs, you just know Derek is smirking.

How Morgan has the ability to be snarky while literally sprinting after a murderer is beyond you, but nevertheless, appreciated.

“We’ll cut him off further up the trail, just don’t let him get away,” Aaron says sternly.

“Obviously,” you can’t help but mutter under your breath, rolling your eyes.

You can just imagine the frown that Aaron has right now.

Northridge takes a hard turn to the right, up some steep hillside, and you barely keep up with him.

Damn him and his knowledge of these mountains.

You pass Derek and vaguely hear his voice through your comms as he notifies the team. However, you keep going, trying to track Northridge as he weaves between trees and over rocks.

How the hell does he know where to go?

Breaking the top of the hill, you can see Prentiss and JJ up ahead on the new trail—thank God—weapons drawn and ready to take him into custody, with Dave, Spence, and Aaron not too far behind them, holding steady.

Just a little further, now.

And that’s when Northridge comes to a sudden stop, in the middle of the trail. Given your close proximity to him and the speed at which you were climbing, you do your best not to run him right over, and instead, try to swing left and take him down. The only thing, is that to his (and your) left is the hillside you just scaled.

Fucking great.

You miscalculate your next few steps, and end up just a touch more left than you wanted, which sends you stumbling and then tripping and then rolling down the side of the trail with a short yelp.

Back to the beginning.

The world passes by in a stinging green and brown blur as you make your way to the base of the hill in a crumpled heap. Ouch. With a huff, you lay still for a second, letting your mind catch up with your body that now resides at the bottom of the hill. Sitting up and catching your breath, you pull a few twigs from where they’ve lodged in your clothes and hair before looking up to the top of the hill.

Well, shit.

Running a (muddy) hand over your face, you begin your trek upwards. Again.

About halfway to the top, you can see Derek and Aaron looking over the edge, worriedly calling your name.

You pause and really assess how you feel, making note of the bumps and bruises you acquired on your trip downwards.

“I’m fine!” you shout up at them, voice hoarse. “I’ll live,” you say with a slight groan.

Of all the team members this would happen to…

Looking up at the task ahead of you, you take a deep breath before grabbing ahold of a nearby tree root and pulling yourself up. Hand over hand, you continue your way upwards, stopping occasionally to catch your breath and curse Trevor Northridge. Nearing the top, hands appear above you, and you gratefully reach for them, allowing Aaron and Derek to pull you to the top.

Slumping to the ground, feet still dangling over the edge, you lay in the dirt for a moment, closing your eyes and letting Aaron pass a hand carefully over your back and sink into your hair before you roll over and face the sky.

“Sweetheart?” you can hear the apprehension in Aaron’s voice.

Oh you sweet, sweet man.

“You got him, right?” you pant, eyes closing for a slow moment. “Please tell me you got him.”

Hotch huffs a laugh at your question, running his fingers through your hair and over your cheeks before standing upright, and you watch as he readjusts himself into being BAU Unit Chief after reaffirming that you’re fine.

“You’re an idiot,” comes his reply with a fond shake of his head.

“But I’m your idiot,” you say hopefully, sending him a cheeky smile.

With another shake of his head, you let your eyes fall shut for a longer period of time, reveling in the first actual moments of tranquility you’ve had since the case started.

You hear footsteps retreating, and you know that Aaron has gone back to check on Northridge, who is hopefully in custody by now.

Taking another moment to collect yourself, you refocus on the mission at hand before letting Morgan and Spencer to pull you to your feet. Spence immediately starts brushing stray leaves and forest debris from your person, as you zero in on Northridge in the back of the cop car that’s on site. Walking over, you cock your head at him before smirking.

“Got you,” you say, as he stares straight ahead, jaw clenched.

Turning back to the team, you can’t help but shoot them a tired smile.

“Anyone else ready to head home?”

“Hell yeah, Princess,” Derek responds, and you can’t help but shoot him a tired smile.

---

On the jet, you land heavily in your seat, tipping your head back against the headrest and taking a deep breath.

“That is the last time I chase an unsub,” you sigh. “Prentiss and JJ? You’re up next.”

The team laughs in response, and you shoot an amused look over at Emily, who playfully rolls her eyes.

A body lands next to you, and you know it’s Aaron; you can almost see the concerned look on his face before you even glance at him.

“You have leaves in your hair,” his voice reaches you, serious as always, before you feel his careful hands extracting whatever else has caught in your hair.

“Thanks, Aaron,” you say quietly, gently.

His hands still, coming to rest on both sides of your face, and you can’t help but turn and look at him.

The look on Aaron’s face can best be described as pensive, bordering on caring, as you stare into his eyes and try to let him know you’re okay. Leaning forwards, you let your lips rest against his in a soft kiss. 

I’m okay. I’m here. A little banged up, but I’m alive.

You pull back and scrunch your face up at him, feeling the blood from some cut on your forehead drip further down your forehead.

Ugh.

That doesn’t seem to hinder Aaron’s adoring looks as he gently swipes mud from your cheekbone.

“You liking the show, Hotchner?” you quip, lips brushing his with each word.

“You are very attractive,” he says in a low voice.

You scoff, pulling back and rolling your eyes.

“Therefore, I will stare at you,” he continues, a soft look on his face.

You allow yourself to smile—well, smirk, really—before responding.

“Even with shit in my hair and mud on my face?”

“Especially then, Sweetheart,” he answers with a small smile.

“Well, lucky for you, I happen to have both, my Love” you say before leaning your head against his shoulder with an exhale.

With a sigh of his own, Aaron takes one of your hands before bringing it to his face and kissing your knuckles while leaning his head against yours.

“Lucky for me indeed,” he murmurs into your hair, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

Closing your eyes, you let your body finally relax into the comfort of your boyfriend, moving yourself closer to him.

“I’m happy we caught him,” you whisper softly, lips brushing his shoulder as you speak.

“Me too, Sweetheart,” Aaron responds, shifting so one of his arms can rest around your shoulders and pull you further into his body.

You hum in response, sinking further into Aaron’s suit jacket.

“I love you,” you mumble, consciousness slipping away as the jet takes off.

“I love you more,” Aaron states, the certainty in his voice comforting you as you fall asleep.

With one final deep breath, you allow your full weight to fall into Aaron’s side. A weight he easily—and happily—accommodates.

Tumbling down a hill will always be worth it, as long as you can end the day in the arms of the one you love.

--- Taglist (dm to be added): @hotch-meeeeeuppppp  @averyhotchner @prentisswrites @mylovelysnowflake @hqtchner @fakin-it-til-i-make-it @emlynblack @clarawatson @andromedasstarship @madamsnape921 @mac99martin @midsummernightdream @itsmytimetoodream @homoose @whosscruffylooking @agentaaronhotass

[boytouya]

Can I get a male FTM cow reader who's in a relationship with dabi which he's constantly bullied for his appearance because he's not like a bull and he stays close to dabi nibbling on his shoulder when he's nervous. Or he likes to give out moos when he's very comfortable with his burnt bf at any chance

𝐄𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐭

Warnings: Blood, (poorly written) fighting, hinted transphobia/homophobia, bullying

When you collide with sturdy shoulders you automatically expect to hear nasty comments. You grew up hearing them from just about everyone. You were too weak, too ‘fragile,’ and some even made the effort to call you...creative nicknames. Growing up, you didn’t understand the hierarchy behind bulls and cows. It never mattered to you, and you didn’t have many friends because of that. As you got older societal changes pushed all of its weight onto you, and presenting as a cow crushed your reputation, not to mention being gay and trans. You found yourself being relentlessly bullied. You just couldn’t understand why.

Your boyfriend is a bull, with broad shoulders and scarred skin. His body is littered with piercings (you once laughed at his septum because of the irony) and modifications; when you first met him you assumed he would join along in bullying you. Perhaps that was your fault, falling into your stereotypical place as a meek cow. It was just a reflex, though. Who could blame you?

He found you under the fist of a rather large bull, about triple your size. Normally he minded his business, keeping his sharp gaze straight forward and large hands stuffed into his pockets. He couldn’t when he saw someone so powerful picking on an easy target. It made his blood boil, reminded him of the people he grew up with. You learned his name was Dabi (or at least that’s what he “currently goes by”), and he was just passing through. He claimed to have saved you only because you “looked pathetic,” but his ice blue eyes were checking you over for injuries.

You stayed glued to his side ever since.

Dabi lived in the city, staying in a small apartment sitting upstairs from a bar. His bedroom wall was littered with a few posters, but it was bare, like he was ready to leave at any moment. You only knew this because after a particularly bad fight you had to bite down on his belt and focus on the space on his walls. You didn’t know how Dabi knew how to give stitches, but you never asked. It seemed like a touchy topic.

Walking through the busy streets of the city was always a challenge. It was like no matter where you went there was someone out to get you. You knew you were different from others, but you couldn’t understand why it made them so angry.

As of now, you’re pressing your cheek against the sleeve of Dabi’s jacket while you walk back to his apartment. He took you on a date, but it was cut short by a pack of stubborn bulls. Dabi ended up earning a blossoming bruise to his right cheek. Crickets chirp, cars pass by, and passerbys quietly make their way home. The city was always so much prettier at night, and you wondered what everyone was doing with the night. There’s a bull coming your way, who smells of something familiar. You can’t quite place it, but it makes you uncomfortable. Your eyes flicker over to Dabi, who’s nursing a freshly lit cigarette between his lips.

“Things never go according to plan, huh?” He says to himself, his voice slightly altered by the stick in his mouth.

You tug at his sleeve, folding the fabric between your fingers, “Dabi?” Your voice is barely above a whisper, but it’s all you can muster out. It was an anxious tic, nibbling on your clothes or pulling at its loose seams. When Dabi noticed it he volunteered to “help with your weird fetish,” as he called it. You just had to make sure he was really okay with it.

Dabi doesn’t respond verbally at first, instead jutting out his arm to offer his sleeve to you. You nibble happily, letting out small moos of appreciation. God, you’re so cute. Dabi silently curses himself for not pulling out his phone to record. There’s a smirk tugging at his lips as you lean against him, and he can’t wait to get home. “Letting your worry get ahead of you, casanova?”

You nod along absentmindedly, but pausing to actually look at your boyfriend. He looks focused on something else, his nostrils flaring as his face scrunches up. He pushes you behind him with the same arm, and you can see his feet stutter as he kicks them against the ground. He's clearly agitated.

Watching bulls fight is never pretty. It’s always messy and reckless, there are always concerning sounds coming from their bodies and aggression that could send you into hysterics. You hated it, and yet you had to see it every day. Sometimes you wondered how Dabi was even alive.

It happens so fast, starting with one landing bone cracking punches into the other’s stomach and ending with budding heads until they both get nosebleeds. Luckily Dabi gets the first offense, and the smell of blood quickly thickens the air.

It was one of the bulls that interrupted your date, and you remember hearing him threaten to come back with more of his friends. His friends.

It’s almost like you’re invisible, as you punch and claw at the new pairs of arms that hold Dabi back and pin him down. There’s one, two, three punches to his stomach and ribs, but he doesn’t seem to audibly react. You can tell he’s seething, as his teeth are grit. Your breathing is shallow and rushed (damn, you really should’ve taken a break from your binder like Dabi said earlier), there’s sweat beading at your forehead and your heart is in your throat as you swing uncoordinated punches and throw yourself between the unfair fight. Dabi has helped you so much, it’s only fair for you to repay him.

You pack a surprisingly powerful punch, the forced adrenaline coursing through your veins as sirens wail in the far distance. Dabi’s weight drops on you briefly, but it quickly vanishes as he turns away from you and almost starts after them, the cigarette he had just a second ago crushed in his hand. He must’ve burned one of them. You pull him back, hot on your heels as the sirens steadily grow louder.

“Pretty weak.” You can't tell if he’s talking about himself or you, but you don’t have time to unpack it. Gripping your boyfriend’s bloodied hand, you hurry back to his apartment.

“Don’t make that face,” Dabi says, pressing a bag of frozen peas against his ribs. You hate seeing his healthy skin damaged, he only has so much of it. You just finished treating his busted lip. “I’m sure we’ll still have time to talk, and they probably have more bruises than me.”

Dabi readjusts his seat on his bed, pressing his back into the headboard. He pulls you over by the waistline of your pants and offers the end of his shirt. One of his eyes may be swollen but he can still see your nervousness.

He pinches your ear, steering clear of the bruising on your face. There’s a slow sigh flowing from his mouth, and he looks like he’s holding back some sort of emotional monologue. Instead he clicks his tongue, dimples forming on his cheeks as his staples pull at his flexing skin. He pulls you into his side, the coldness of the frozen bag making contact with your skin. Dabi uses his free hand to run his hand along your forearm, feeling out the goosebumps. His shoulders shake as you quietly moo with relief.

“You must throw a mean one.”

[animereaderinsertwriter]

Cupbearer (Eren/Reader)

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV (in progress)

Warnings: MINORS DO NOT INTERACT (im watching you, if you see this, begone!), vampire!eren, hunter!reader, fem!reader, smut, some amount of predator/prey dynamics but only kinda?? there is also a significant age difference but only cos eren is immortal and all that jazz. we're all adults here. there will eventually be smut.... and do i really need to say that there's gonna be blood in a vampire fic?

Description: A story of falling in love in 4 parts.

Eren is a bad man (well, a bad Creature) who has done bad things. When he meets the great-great-great granddaughter of one of his former friends in his favorite blood bar, however, he thinks it might not matter so much what happened in the past, so long as he can make the future something worth living to see.

Ao3 link here

Part I

A lamb in a den of lions, he thought, watching the newcomer as she settled in, ordering whiskey neat. A fool, for sure.

A fool she may be, perhaps, but even fools could be dangerous. Eren had known that the young woman was a Hunter from the moment she entered the bar (everyone else had, too) but something told Eren that she was hardly cut from the same cloth as the average Bane of Creatures. There was something in her movements— a predatory grace in her stride, perhaps, or a stiff, straight posture, with muscles tensed and ready for action— that betrayed her power to him; but for all that, she really was lovely, and the image of a rabbit caught in a patch of bramble came to mind whenever he looked at her.

Sitting in a corner, drinking his B-neg, he watched the woman as she sipped her drink, checking over her shoulder now and then. She was wary— as anyone with good sense would be— but she didn't appear frightened, and Eren's curiosity was piqued. It wasn't every day that someone so bold happened across his path, and it became harder and harder for him to resist the urge to approach her.

Eventually, Eren gave in to his curiosity— he never had been very good at or even particularly fond of restraining himself— and when he came silently up behind her, the newcomer didn't even notice his presence until he murmured a greeting close to her ear.

"Hello, little love," he said, and she startled in her seat. "Are you lost?"

She turned around then, her eyes big and bright in the dim lighting of the bar, but by the time she managed to look at the spot where Eren would have been, he was already seated on the barstool beside her. Eventually, though, her eyes found his, and when their gazes met, Eren was amused to find no fear in her visage.

"Far from it," she told him, turning her body towards him. "I am precisely where I mean to be."

Eren blinked, nonplussed.

"Curious," he said, leaning forward so that she could see the sharpness of his teeth as he spoke. "Do you fancy yourself a wolf among sheep, little Hunter? Did you really not think we would know you for what you are the moment you crossed the threshold of this place?"

Any normal, human ear would have missed the way her heart leapt in her chest, but Eren missed nothing. The fear he had hoped to inspire in her was present after all, but her face never moved from its impenetrable mask— an affectation that was somehow both soft and steely at once.

"That's not what I'm here for," she told him, widening the distance between her knees as she readjusted on the stool. "I'm here to discover the truth."

The truth— what an odd notion!— and yet Eren sensed no lie in her.

"You're a strange one," he told her, but forced himself to relax his posture to appear lazy, almost drunk. "Most Hunters— even ones so pretty as yourself— shoot first and worry about the truth later. What's your name?"

Her nose crinkled. "It's polite to give your own first."

Sharp, he thought, watching her closely. Names have power.

"Eren Jaeger."

"Eren Jaeger," she echoed, then extended her hand. "My name is (Y/N)."

That name sounded familiar to Eren— and though most names did after living a few centuries, this one seemed to hit closer to home. He knew that name, and knew it well…

"What's your surname?"

(Y/N)'s eyes flashed with an emotion that Eren didn't catch.

"Kirschtein," she replied, averting her eyes. "I'm Jean Kirschtein's great-great-great granddaughter."

And damn if Eren didn't want to laugh. Perhaps his nosiness into the posterity of his old acquaintances really was as bad of an idea as Armin always seemed to imply.

"I see," he said, and he truly, truly did. "Then you know who I am— what I am— and what I've done."

More than that, if she truly did know who he was, it was unlikely that she had come without a specific purpose in mind.

(Y/N) nodded, confirming his suspicions. "I was digging around in my family history and— well— I read what my grandfather wrote, and I just— I wanted the truth."

So wide-eyed, so innocent— so alive. Eren could see now her resemblance to Jean; if they were not similar in looks, she had his sharpness, his humanness… and, as he always had Jean, Eren envied her for it.

"If that's the case, then I'm sure you know that you don't get something for nothing," he told her, sipping his drink just to watch the expression on her face as he let the warm blood slide down his throat. "And that dealings with me can be dangerous."

"Jean Kirschtein loved you, Eren Jaeger," she told him fiercely and with such conviction that Eren nearly choked on his drink. "To take such a tone with me, to threaten me, the last living remnant of him, is the most disrespectful thing I've ever heard."

Eren was about to say that he didn't owe her, Jean Kirschtein, or anyone else any sort of respect, but she plowed on, unwilling to let him say his piece.

"You broke his heart a million ways by doing what you did, but— but he was your friend through all of it, no matter what side each of you were on," (Y/N) continued, passion aflame in her eyes. "I can't even imagine what inspired such a love, such a loyalty from him that he would forgive you for the horrors you caused. That's what I'm here to find out— what you have that a man such as him would find you redeemable."

The reproof in her words stung, but Eren was too old to argue. She could never understand what it was like back then.

"I understand more than you think," she snapped, and Eren actually flinched. "I understand that you hurt the woman my grandfather loved immeasurably, and that he forgave you for that even though he never even particularly liked you. I understand that you were ready to sacrifice the world for that selfsame woman, for Jean, and for all the others. I understand that you're a monster who loved and was loved back, but I want to know why."

How? Eren thought, shaken.

How had she known his thoughts? It was as though she had seen straight through to his innermost being.

Without speaking, she answered his question. (Y/N) took a hand and rolled up her left sleeve, presenting to him a scarred marking in the shape of a pentagram.

"My grandfather didn't settle down with just anyone," she told him, holding his gaze. "I come from a line of powerful witches, all of whom possessed strong claircognizance. Paired with my nature as an empath, you can assume I know what you're going to say before you say it."

Eren hummed, trying to appear less perturbed than he was.

"And yet you hunt Creatures for a living; strange, since you're practically one of us yourself."

(Y/N) glowered. "I hunt monsters that prey on my people, not Creatures. No innocent has died by my hand."

The unlike you went unsaid, but that didn't mean that Eren didn't hear it anyway.

"Don't get high-and-mighty with me, girl," he told her roughly. "Knowing is one thing, but experiencing what we experienced is another."

"I'm not here to judge you," she replied. "I told you, I'm here for truth, nothing more."

"And I told you that the truth doesn't come for free," he told her darkly. "You must give me something in return."

(Y/N) set her jaw.

"What would you have of me?"

It was a mean, base request. Eren was wicked for even thinking it, and vile for wanting it— but looking at the great-to-however-many-degrees granddaughter of a good man that he had once known, seeing the vitality that brought a flush to her cheeks and thumping to her heart, he knew he couldn't pass up this golden opportunity.

It had been so long since he'd had a Companion.

"Become my cupbearer for six moons," he told her, crossing his arms. "Starting with tonight, the moon becomes new; let me drink from you until six of these have passed, and along the way, you will learn what you want to know."

(Y/N) eyed him warily.

"Can you assure my physical safety?"

Eren grunted, almost amused. It was a bit late to be worrying about that.

"I think you know that I can."

"And will you let me continue in my duties as a Hunter?" she asked, her eyes searching his own as if she would find the answer to her question there inside the same eyes he'd had since he was nineteen. "Completely uninhibited?"

"That depends. Will you kill Creatures in the discharge of your duties?"

(Y/N) made a face. Eren had forgotten how expressive mortals could be, but he found that being reminded was not altogether unpleasant.

"You know I will," she replied, "But you have my word that any killing won't be unprovoked."

Eren supposed it was as close to a compromise as he could expect.

"As you wish it, so shall it be."

He turned away, signaling to the bartender for another drink, but a lightning-fast hand shot out to grab his wrist.

"Swear it," she demanded. "I need us to be Bound by it."

The meanness in Eren finally won over. He reached forward, grabbing (Y/N) by the neck, and the silver rings on her fingers burned him as she pulled at his hand to try and restore her breath. Eyes from all around the room were on the two of them— had been, since the very beginning— but it was only once the Hunter before him began to look appropriately humbled that he withdrew.

"Do not touch me without my permission," he said, "And I will return the favor."

(Y/N) looked at him then, but there was still no fear in her eyes. Anger, yes, but no fear.

She must be mad, or foolish one, he thought, considering her for a moment. I always have been partial to mad fools in general, but…

Something about her seemed different, and Eren didn't know what to do other than accept what she had to offer. Heavens knew he was getting the better end of the deal anyway.

"Swear it," she repeated, this time more quietly. "Give your word, and I will be your cupbearer."

Eren brought his hand up and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt. At his will, the nail tip of his forefinger sharpened, hardening into a point; he used it to draw an 'X' onto the skin just over where his heart rested inside his chest, cold and dead. Blood welled into the cut— precious little, compared to that of a human, but still enough to run down his chest in smudges— and it was by that blood that he swore. He spoke the terms of their agreement, then took the blood from his wound with the pad of his finger and marked the same spot over (Y/N)'s own heart.

"Satisfied?" he asked, their faces almost touching, and (Y/N) shivered.

"Yes."

Her warm, living breath fanned over his face with her reply, and Eren took the moment to close his eyes and appreciate the scent and sensation of it.

"You may think you're satisfied," he told her, pulling away, "But you don't know the meaning of the word."

She eyed him warily, but before she could speak, he added, "In six months' time, I'll ask you the same question, and it is then that you will truly know what it is to feel satisfied— satiated in every way."

"As you say."

It was a throwaway comment, nothing more than a dismissal, really; but Eren felt like it was the start of something truly remarkable.

[saturatedboy]

Greetings! it is me again

im here for another request for m'lady donna

Could you do Mafia Donna x Mafia Reader

Enemies to lovers please ( ╹ v ╹ )

Donna Beneviento x GN!Mafia!Reader

Words: 6k

Warnings: Mentions of death, gore and violence

Requests: Open

Smoke drifted into the crisp cold air as the clouds overhead began to turn into a darker grey, carrying the weight of all their pent-up water. The breeze had turned against the sky, picking up speed as time went on. “Seems to be a stormy night tonight boss,” A croaked voice spoke out, putting out their lit cigar as they scraped it alongside the cobbled wall that they were leaning on.

With an audible sniff and eyes turning upwards, a smile was drawn upon your lips. “Seems so. However, don’t let the simple trickle of water make you forget your place. We are doing this tonight, rain or no rain. I can’t have any more fuckups you hear me?” The other cowered down a little, turning their head to face the other way down towards the open entrance of the alleyway that both of you were hiding in.

“Yes boss,”

“Good, now get the horse and cart ready, we have an order to deliver.” soft noises of the worker footsteps travelled down the alleyway, echoing with each step. Once out and turned, you shook your head and pulled fingers through your hair. The slight texture of grease made you sigh, disappointed at the fact your hair wasn’t as soft as it had been in previous days. “I need a shower,” you moaned, glancing up as you felt the first drop of water touches your skin and slide down. The feeling of its coldness made you groan, pulling your hands away from your hair onto your shoulders where the hood to your poncho over your head keeping you dry from any further water droplets. Once you made sure it was secured, you began to set trail off down the same way your partner had travelled, down the alleyway and made a sharp right as you entered back onto the streets of the village. Although it was bustling with life, you found not many people had travelled down the small areas of darkened light between houses. So instead, you and your team began to meet up there to discuss matters upon next delivers.

Keeping your head low, you walked down the dirt pathways, only to look up when the noises of soft neighing could be heard. A horse stood tall; its brown of its body being sploshed with bits of dirt along with the odd leaf in its mane. Smiling at the beautiful creature, you ran your fingers through its mane, starting with the top of its head and working your way down, picking the fallen leaves out and throwing them onto the ground. Beng caught up in pleasing the horse, a sudden tap of your shoulder made you turn and huff. “What.” You spoke, the word coming out as a demand rather than a question. Another partner of yours looked at you, rubbing the back of their head sheepishly as they cracked a long-side smile.

“Time to get going, everything is ready.” Nodding, you looked back at the horse one more time and placed a soft kiss upon its mussel, cooing as you stared into its black eyes.

“Aren’t you just magnificent.” You whispered, giving one last stroke through its mane before you walked away, letting your hand wonder over the side of its rather plump body. The horse whimpered under your touch, missing the feeling of your warmth soothing its headache from staying up all day since the crack of sunlight.

You stopped just behind the horse, grabbing hold of your partners hand as they pulled you up upon a wooden cart that had the edges as benches and the middle being filled with bags. Waiting for the rest of your team to climb on, you fiddled with your dirt and cracked nails letting your mind wander. Everything had changed after the disappearance of Mother Miranda. People had no one to worship so instead a vote for mayor had been decided as the village needed someone to keep everyone in shape. Although the Lords and Ladies still existed, no one had really known much of them as it sometimes felt like they too had disappeared. ‘Fools’ you spoke within your mind, leaning back against the wooden rest as you relaxed your body slightly, opening your legs taking up much space since a small of your group would be coming with you for this delivery.

Soon once everyone was settled, the cart began to move with the horse towing it. As the journey had begun, you checked in on everyone in your team making sure that they were okay and that any sort of fuck up they make, you would handle it appropriately- not like they really made ay fuckups; a generous pay drop would be the worst thing you could do to them. Back to your thinking, you smirked as a sudden image crossed your mind.

The fair and sweet Lady Beneviento.

Oh, was she a kicker to your reputation amongst the vast of villages. Although not many knew this, but their ‘oh so wonderful’ Lords and Ladies hadn’t actually disappeared. They just worked in more secretive jobs, like you. Now, being a contraband giver was more of an illegal crime now that the mayor had placed down laws but what's the fun in following when breaking them gave you such more of an experience to be truly alive. Now, knowing the whole area, you had knowledge of where the Lords and Ladies were hiding away and doing their own nasty deeds.

When you first got into business by delivering the ‘secret bags’ as the Duke would sell them to their buyers, you had stumbled across The Lord Heisenberg being someone you were delivering to. It didn’t come to any shocker that you and him got along almost instantly. The dynamics of your relationship with the fourth Lord was nothing more than a buddy to see very now and again- it was your listening skills that got him to like you on a mutual level.

In the past 3 years, you had stumbled across what the other lord and Ladies were doing. Lord Moreau would ask for you to deliver DVD’s that he could watch, Lady Dimitrescu would ask you to deliver your services to her to help out with her three daughters and lastly, Lady Beneviento. She has never asked you for such things. She was quite secretive in the past, keeping to herself. You did expect so much her to keep that up- but you never expected to find her doing such activities like yourself.

It was a dark night that you saw her for the first time. You both had crossed paths that faithful night. You were doing a private mission of walking to Lady Dimitrescu’s castle for a ‘play date’ with her three daughters. Upon arriving, you had bumped into the Lady Beneveinto and knocked her onto the floor. The doll cradled in her arms came to life and attacked you by the legs, with small bruises, you huffed and picked up the doll, holding her out at arm reach so her long limbs of wood couldn’t hit you. The Lady on the floor stared up at you as the impact had revelled something one might describe to be ‘horrifying’ to the human eye. She had quickly began engaged with red as she stood back up and swept her veil back over her face, walking over to you and giving you a straight punch in the face just as you were trying to apologise for your mistake. The impact had you falling onto the ground, and the doll was released being brought back to its owner the doll maker. “How dare you,” She spat out, letting the doll in her arms glide above her shoulders.

You got up again and muttered a ‘sorry’ before trying to proceed past her, already knowing you were going to be a little late to the ‘play date’. However ,it seemed the doll maker had other ideas, seeing as you did reveal something she was so self-conscious about she had the doll at her shoulder swipe down at you, using a thin string to wrap your arms behind your back. The quick movements of the doll flying about had you unbalanced as you tried to keep up with the doll’s movement moving around your head. Misplacing your step, you fell back onto your knees and received a harsh blow to your face by a black shoe. With your head tilted to one side, blood running down your nose with the taste of metal between your lips, you could feel a sweep of warmth burst in your chest as your senses began to argue whenever you should try fight the Lady or scream for help. You didn’t know what to do so you kneeled in silence, waiting the next move. “I see you again I’ll make you more broken than porcelain doll that has fell of the highest shelf” Lady Beneviento had spoken, walking out with her doll back in her arms. It wasn’t till the daughters had gone searching for you that they found yourself in a bloodied state, holding back their hunger and instead getting you cleaned up. You kept the meeting between yourself and the doll maker a secret, saying that you were simply ambushed by a maid that worked at the Castle not really thinking about their lives since anyone who worker for the Lady Dimitrescu would be dead anyway.

The cart had come to a sudden stop, awaking you from your memories. Biting your lip, you could feel one of your canines scrape along- the tooth being chipped after being kicked in the face. A frown came to your face, another day doing business was not the most amusing thing you could be doing but none the less you had to get it done. A day’s worth of money was more you could ask for, being the secretive organisation that brought the outside technology and knowledge into the homes of those willing to pay large amounts for such items. Scanning the cart, watching as your team for this mission take some of the bags from the middle, you readjusted your hood on your head and jumped out after. Turning around to face the empty cart, you leaned in and collect the last of bags that were carrying such items that you didn’t know since the Duke gave no information what-so-ever, just to deliver the goods and collect the money.

“Let’s go.” You called out, walking in front of your team as you felt the water of the rain come more intensely down, matching your sudden mood. Rain was the worst of the weather; it wasn’t like you had anything to shield yourself from its droplets since your last umbrella was back at the base. Water fell off your frame, your poncho soaking it up and letting it cling to your clothes underneath. Shaking your head, you took in your surroundings. It appeared you were in a wood, maybe forest? You weren’t sure, you hadn’t exactly explored such parts since you were a child. “Charles, recite what Duke said,” You called out behind you, waiting for the other to respond.

“he said we should head Nother-West to deliver these bags. A mansion that he had spoken of should be there and we are to give the bags to the house owner.” Nodding to the words, you kept along a path that was littered with the dried leaves and dust from the dirt below. It was as though the bright colour from the grass had been taken away, leaving nothing more than distress and dust of those had become one with the ground. As you walked with your team trailing behind, the hairs on your arm shad spiked up, peaking interest at the sudden change in atmosphere. It felt as though you were being watched, maybe by the owls, maybe by the squirrel's that gazed down at your forms from the high trees- all that you knew was that you had eyes watching you and your every move. You felt mildly disturbed.

Deep breaths had calmed your nerves slightly, a silent voice in your head telling you that you were safe yet the nagging guy feeling had you on your toes, leaving our shoulders to be tensed. The quietness had been broken by one of your team mates, them speaking up in a high pitch voice. “What was that?!” Turning heads stared at him as he looked to the side, his eyes focusing on the trees that were staggered about.

“What was what.” You asked, arching a brow as you stopped walking. The man that had spoken up stayed quiet, staring at one spot until he shook his head getting rid of his thoughts.

“Nothing, let's keep moving. I thought I saw the doll moving.”

“Great he is going insane,” A woman had joked, making others around you laugh at her comment.

“Keep talking and each word you all say is a deduction of your payment. Let's go, we can’t be late.” That had shut them all up, this time you all were walking a faster pace to find the mansion, still sticking on the path hoping it led you there.

Each minute that had passed, you felt the feeling of your disgust growing. You were fine with the one doll that was laid against a tree a moment ago, the thought of a child that came through crosse our mind and they may had left it but every minute that passed and the deeper you followed the trail, the more dolls that were hanging, left and stuck to trees, branched and the floor had grown in popularity. Mentally you were no prepared for such toys, ever since the doll maker had attacked you, you had grown disgusted of the creation finding it to be a taint onto your pride to let such a dainty, yet somewhat nerve-ticking woman to beat the crap out of you. How she made the blood that circled your body become thick with hatred. “I can see the house up ahead!”

Your team and yourself had heaved the bags onto the front porch of the mansion, being wary to not knock over any plant pots that were settled amongst the rocking chairs that were soft rocking in the wind. Pulling down your drenched hood, you rolled up your sleeves of your grey dress-shirt and knocked against the door waiting for the house owner to answer. “This place is giving me the creeps,”

“You can say that again, I mean look at that doll in the window.”

“Oh gosh, it’s so large.”

“That’s one creepy ass-looking doll.”

Rolling your eyes at your employee's comments, you knocked again getting slightly impatience waiting for the owner to answer. It was hammering down with rain; the wind was picking up and not to mention you have yet to head back to base and sort through all the money this week to give out. You were a busy person; you had no time to be waiting around for-

The door had creaked open slightly, letting the small amount of light from the inside pour into line on the dark porch. “We have brought your package.” You spoke, stepping into the small amount of light in between the double doors hoping to see who the buyer was. The door creaked more open and you stepped back, taken back at the sudden appearance who you were facing.

Lady Beneveinto had stood, her veil over her face and swarmed by her feet were many small dolls, dressed and suited in different colours. You could feel your nose twitch, the sudden reminder of what she had done to you last time. You bit back a hateful comment and breathed out heavily. “Your order...ma’am.” You stepped aside so she could stare behind her veil at the bags your employees were carrying. She slowly nodded and she took a step outside to stand next to you. In a low voice she had spoken.

“Please, leave them inside by this door and you may get going.” She turned to look at you. “I’ll give your...boss their money.” Oh, you could clearly here the smile playing at her lips, the way her voice had deepened slightly when saying the last part brought your jumble of nerves to appear more. Hearing your team agreeing, you watched as each of them entered her house and left unharmed by the dolls that sat waiting patiently by the door. You did however find it humorous how each one of them had carefully stepped over them, as though they would come to life and attack them if they dared to accidently touched them. Once all bags were safely inside, they nodded at you and began to leave the porch, disappearing the further they walked as a lonesome fog had taken up the atmosphere. Soon, it was just you, Lady Beneviento and the creepy dolls. “Why so tense,” She spoke up suddenly, scaring you half-to death. Placing a hand over your fast beating heart, you looked away and pulled your hood over your head.

“Because its cold,” You weren’t going to back down to her, yeh she has creepy dolls but you have pride and dignity to not be stricken down by such a sly woman. Her laugh had caught your ears, it was eerily soft and gentle, as though she was the one nervous in this situation.

“Hm, sure. Do come in then whilst I fetch your money- if your cold you’ll warm right up.” She backed away into her home, looking back waiting for you to make your move. Looking back at the fog becoming thicker, you quickly gathered the much-needed courage to walk into her home and close the door behind you. You couldn’t lie, you almost moaned at the heat you felt surrounding your body. Seeming to approve, Lady Beneveinto began to walk away and out of your sight, leaving you with the hundreds of dolls surrounding you. Leaning against the wall by the doors, you looked down at your nails and picked at them finding comfort when doing so...

“Boo,” A voice had whispered into your ear, making you jump and grab the hunter knife that was hidden in your boots. Pointing the knife at the offender who floated above you, you scowled at the so-called-being. “Oh, I see your nose isn't bleeding. How sad, red is a pretty colour on you.”

“What do you want,” Sneering your words at the doll, it in response laughed at your facial features.

“Ya know you squint when your mad, that’s pretty cute but that isn't why I’m here. Lady Beneveinto was hurt deeply when you scared her- and I don’t like those who harm my mistress in any way.” The doll had stepped onto the wooden ground Infront of your feet. It slowly touched your left knee and watched in amusement as you tucked them under your body, being sat on your knees holding the knife out at it. “Sadly though, you work for the Duke and we can’t harm the only person being a life saviour brining the goods to us.” She smiled as you lowered your knife, a little relive that you won’t be dead within this place that you now wanted to badly leave.

Taking another step, the doll was now close to your position, looking up to see you staring down at it. “You work for a mafia, right?” It asked, it’s eyes never leaving yours.

“Maybe, though I see it much more as a bunch of individual enjoying breaking the law.” You responded, not even noticing the feeling of small hands gripping your knees gently as they lean up further to your face.

“Enjoy breaking the law hm? Too bad we can’t break your nose again-” the doll spoke, fully climbing onto your thighs ignoring your protest against it. “Your kind of fun,” it said, smiling up at you. “I’m Angie, and you are play mate?” You grimaced at the word. Playmate. It sounded weird.

“(Y/n), pleasure.” The doll giggled, jumping up and down slightly and clapping her hands.

“I have a name to a face, how fun. Playmates don’t normally get to speak their names, but you're weirdly different.” an awkward laugh erupted from your throat, you were silently hoping that the Lady would come back and save you from the doll of hers. “She hates you.” Angie said, humming slightly at your reaction. You pursed your lips into a thin line and nodded.

“I hate her to, she didn’t have to attack me and neither did you,” Angie stared at you, her smile disappearing of her face.

“You revealed her insecurity, how could you take her safety and pull it away from her.” Her posture on your lap held little aggression, yet her voice held anger. You were taken back from her change in mood, what had you done exactly?

“I don’t understand, what has she to feel insecure about?” Your question lingered between the both of you, the other dolls that you didn’t even bother to register had stood off to the side in a line watching you, hushed voices of their own talking amongst each other.

Angie turned her head slightly to look at the, you followed her gaze and a small gasp came from you. You hated dolls even more- BECAUSE THEY FUCKING MOVED AND THEY WERE MORE OF THEM! “Jeese calm down, they aren’t going to hurt you...unless you want them to-”

“No, I’m good thanks.”

“Okay goodie! Now let's talk more! You revealed her face! Everyone knows Lady Benevento hides her face for a reason. And you went ahead, pushed her and made her veil show her face to you. Of course, she hates you! I do too! Well- sort of. You’re fun!”

You sweated at Angie’s word, giving a half-smile. “Yeah, you said that earlier that I was fun. Now c’mon. She has nothing to hide, she’s pretty why would she need to hide her face? -wait I didn’t mean to say pretty she’s average, ya know? Like all females, average and cute- not cute just-”

“Shut up, please. You’re becoming less fun and more annoying.” You nodded and stayed quiet, going back to biting your bottom lip. Any further conversation between you both had been left alone. You just wanted to get your pay and go back home, to everyone in the village and to never come here again. You’ll have to talk to Duke about this.

“Apologies for waiting, I was caught up in looking at one of my finest creations all dolled up for me. And had to make sure the others had done their jobs.” Her clicking of her shoes had you pushing Angie of your thighs and as swift as a fox grabbing prey you stood up, your hood falling down and splatting against your shoulder remining you of how wet you felt around yourself.

You stared at her, looking down at her hand to see she was carrying a money bag that looked rather filled. She walked further towards you, her expression unseen to your eyes as she held the bag out for you to reach. With itching fingers, you grabbed the bag and nodded a ‘thanks.’ “We do hope to have you over again, maybe this time we can play with you.” She tilted her head, hands clasping in front of her. You gulped and didn’t reply too shocked or scared to even use your words.

“I’m going to head back now,” You whispered, turning around to face the double doors and grabbing hold of the handle. When pulling the handle, a familiar hand caught your laying over it.

“It’s quiet the storm tonight, Stay over hm? I’m sure you can stay the night.” Her voice was right beside your ear. You felt intimidated by her as her grip on your hand had soon stung as the iron handle under your grip had pushed itself up into your flesh, marking it with red.

Not answering her, she let go of you and walked away again, letting her shoes echo against the wooden floor. “Take those wet clothes of you, you’ve already started to make a pond in my house and I don’t appreciate it from the likes of a low-life like yourself. At least my dolls do high quality services and not try to strip someone of their safety.” Body freezing up, you dropped your hand to your side. You still didn’t understand why she was so mad at that- she's a Lady for Mother Miranda’s sake. She has no need to feel self-conscious about herself, in fact you didn’t even think of any questions about when you saw her face. She was somewhat...pretty you guess.

“Oi daydreamer, c’mon. I’ll show where you shall be sleeping- that is if you can even manage to sleep hehe!”

‘stupid fucking doll’ the thought of even sleeping in this house surrounded you with dread, a frown placed upon your face however it was soon wiped away when you felt Angie’s hand wrap around your own. She led you up the stairs that were on the right, pulling up and chanting that you should ‘hurry up’ like there was something chasing after you both. Once making to even the top, after slipping one time on the stairs, she unshed you to continue forward and into a room that was plain. A simple single bed with a wardrobe and rocking chair in the corner. You looked back to see Angie gone and a sigh of relief was released between your clenched jaw from holding back your tongue when it touched you. Finding yourself wandering to the bed, you stripped your poncho off and let it sit on the windowsill, opening the window a little to let cold air rush in, and after you laid back on the bed. Getting yourself comfortable you laid down against the pillows and closed your eyes, letting your hands lay upon your stomach interwind with each other. “Quicker I get to sleep, quicker morning will come,”

The feeling of something petit touching your cheek had you groaning. “What is it mum?” You mumbled out, forcing an eye lid open. Soon the tiredness within your eyes had been slapped out of exitance as you scrambled awake. Letting your body scrunch up as you laid fully back up against the head board of the bed. Sat on the other side of your bed, near the bottom, were a range of different size dolls. All of them were giggling, making you once again grabbing the hunter knife in your shoe and pointing it all at them. “Stay back!” Your throat felt slightly sore, only have woken up. The dolls all looked at each other as though they were whispering to each other, soon they had scrambled off the bed and out of the door, running past the Lady. “I see you’re all dry now,” She spoke, walking into the room with a silver tray in her hands.

You quickly let your fingers glide over yourself, finding new clothing on yourself. This time a baby blue dress-shirt accompanied with white pants. You glared up at the Lady as she placed the silver tray on the end of the bed. “You changed me whilst I slept?”

“Why yes, it took all my power to not turn you into a doll when doing so.” Her remark sent shivers down your spine, your body reacting by feeling your skin just to make sure you weren’t actually wood. Your shoulders slumped when you felt your skin, finding the meat still on and attached. “I suggest you eat up; my dolls don’t like guests that stay too long and I’m very busy today.” She left the room in long stride, having the decency to close the door behind her. Wiping a hand down your face, you leaned towards the end of the bed and grabbed the tray, gabbing it and pulling it towards your body. Upon the tray sat a plate of toast and a cup filled with water. Hearing your stomach rumble suddenly, you dug into the food which soon settled the unknown hunger. Once done, you swung your legs out of bed and placed your shoes on that were settled under the bed. Once they were slipped on, you took your partially dry poncho of the window sill and placed it over and arm- like a butler would do with a towel or a waiter.

Walking out the room, you jumped slightly back as the smaller dolls once again were running bout, each carrying different doll limbs with themselves. Waiting for them all to go past, you stepped fully out the room just to have Angie swing by quickly. “Hey there! Morning, now c’mon you can be helping hands!” She exclaimed, grabbing your hand like she did the previous night and dragging you along with her.

“B-But Lady Beneveinto said I had to le-”

“Thats because she doesn’t want you to get mixed up but oh well- now c’mon slow poke!” You could already tell Angie was trying to sit trouble between yourself and the Lady, you were so close to going back home as well. Following you complied, going through hallways and down the elevator shaft with the many dolls.

‘I hate dolls’

“Why are they here Angie,”

“They can help”

“Why would I want them to help us, we are doing fine.”

“But it’s nice to have a more interactive company”

“Angie”

“They can be of use.”

You were sat on a stool, overlooking a deceased child body that was paced on a medical table. At first glance, you had almost thrown up your breakfast into your mouth however you weren’t going to give the Lady satisfaction of getting under your skin with her wicked ways a ‘mortal can’t handle’. The body was cut open, limbs cut and replaced with wooden and iron ones. It wasn’t until you saw the sun and moon crest that had been burned into a wooden leg attached to the body that some things made sense.

‘so, she is the one that sends the so-called gifts and toys into the village.’ you thought as you placed a hand over the creates and stroked it, feeling the indents under your skin.

“Okay fine, if you want to stay then stay. Don’t touch anything you hear me?” The Lady spoke, pulling back her veil and rolling her sleeves to her black dress. You nodded and stayed in your place, staring at the body again.

‘They aren’t giving me any sort of reaction...no words spoken even.’ The Lady stared at you, feeling a little more comfortable with the situation. A small smile even broke out on her lips, eyes drooping a little as she felt a warmth claim her normally cold body. “If you could grab the screws over there on the able behind you, that would be helpful.” You turned to face her, nodding and got up out of your seat to do as told. Angie waited until you had sat down again, nodding at the teamwork you both had unknowingly fell into. Soon she left the room, leaving you both alone to work on the ‘gift’ for the children down in the village.

“So, I’m guessing these creepy things are given to the children?” You spoke up, watching as Lady Beneveinto as she weaved stitched upon the open cuts on the body.

“Yes,” she spoke out softly, tying a knot at the end of her thread and cutting it. “It’s so I can keep an eye on everyone. The dolls, I can look through their eyes and watch the world play. Mother Miranda had ordered me to do so before she left to wherever she had to go.” You listened, muscles relaxing as you watched her work.

“I’m sorry for taking your safety away, I honestly didn’t realise what I had done to do so but I believe an apology from me is the right thing.” She stopped her hands, looking up at you with a soft smile.

“My veil hides my deformed face; it hides the scar on my right side. I’ve been told by...villages when they accidently saw it that it scares them.” Her words had wiggled their way into your heart, you felt so much sympathy for her as she had been outcasted by such people. “But you didn’t scream...It was a new feeling.”

“I suppose we are all feeling new feelings. I didn’t even question your scarring, it’s a part of you. It shouldn’t make you different.”

“For someone who does illegal crimes, your oddly nice.” You chuckled at her, sending a smile of your own her way whilst a soft heat took over your ears.

“Many people are within the business; we just are hidden from the society we are forced to grow up in.” Your words hung into the air; the conversation cut off as Angie came flying in screaming as a fox chased after her.

“Angie!” Lady Beneveinto had shouted, grabbing her and bringing her close to her chest as the fox clawed at her leg. Getting your hunters knife at, you jumped at Lady Beneveinto and made a clean cut through the fox, blood splatting onto the floor. The heavy breathing of Angie was only heard now, Lady Beneviento to shocked to even say a word whilst you stood above the now dead fox, hand dripping in blood a little. ”Like I said...your oddly nice.”

A total of a week had passed after that day, Angie was house bound for at least another week after she had brought in the fox chasing her. Within that time, you and Donna (as you found out), had settled differences and began acquaintance with one another. Whenever you didn’t have an order to give out from the Duke, you would visit her to join her and Angie for a tea party or to just help around the mansion. Her company was far more peaceful than you would expect, she had slowly started to greet you without her veil over her face and instead a warm smile is what you would see when she answered her doors.

Weeks had turned to months, and months had turned to years. You were still a successful business runner for contraband, still not caught by Mother Miranda as she had returned from wherever she had gone off to. Life was running smoothly, you felt safe when at Donna’s house, the dolls somewhat warming up to your presence and not giving you so much of a creepy vibe.

On this particular day, you were sat on the front porch in the rocking chairs with Donna, a China cup in both your hands. “How has the selling been Donna?” You asked, sipping upon the herb tea feeling your body settle in comfort. Donna shifted in her chair, looking over at you on her left side.

“I’ve heard so much gossip lately so you better be careful out there. They are starting to get suspicious of your recent buyers, the blacksmith in particular. Apparently, he left a ‘television’ out in his workshop and the sewers wife with her child by her side was suspicious. Luckily, he lied and spoke that it was a random object he created.”

You chuckled and leaned over, resting your hand on her knee. “You worrying about me? Isn’t that sweet.” you teased, only fake pouting when she slapped your hand playfully.

“Oh yes, I worry about you a lot. So much I’m scared one day I may not kiss you being alive.”

Time stopped, her words replaying in your mind. “You...want to kiss me?”

“Well yes, isn’t it obvious I have taken a liking towards you?” Her forwardness had you blushing deeply, your whole face, neck and ears covered by the red. You opened and closed your mouth like a cod fish, making her sigh and lean over this time to meet your face in the middle. Using her free hand, she cupped your cheek and forcefully pulled you into a soft kiss. Her lips moved in sync with your, yours reacting to the feeling of both love and affection almost immediately. The moment was blissful, you enjoying the feeling of her being closer than ever to you.

Until you dropped your China cup upon being to focus on the kiss- making a perfect memory for your first ever kiss with your future wife.

[coeurdastronaute]

Nerd 14

Previously on Nerd

There weren’t many things considered as decorations in the house on the corner of Inglewood Street. The old stone house, with its black shutters and manicured lawn hid behind a stately oak and the polished Porsche in the driveway, glowed as a beacon in the neighborhood, of perfection and wealthy modesty. Inside, it was less populated than one might expect, never fully lived-in, at least not to the casual observer. 

Clarke moved her way down the stairs as she balanced the bag on her shoulder, fully prepared for work and then studying with her girlfriend on a fairly boring Saturday night. For the first time in a long time, she looked at the sparse frames of pictures of her family. 

Unsure of what made her pause, she furrowed, pushing her eyebrows tightly together and leaning into the image of her mother and father on a random date when they were together in college. They were carefree and at some bar trivia night. Abby hugged Jake’s bicep and nearly hid in his shoulder as he leaned forward, other arm lifted to interject an answer. He was smiling wide despite his eagerness, the flash ricocheting off part of his large glasses. His hair was floppy and fully, swept to the side and neatly arranged, while Abby was brimming with life. Clarke loved the candid picture because sometimes she looked at it, and these were two people who had entire lives and experiences and she forgot that. They probably got butterflies like she did when Lexa smiled at her. They probably spent hours excitedly waiting to see the other. 

In that picture, her mother wasn’t the person she was now, though both seemed insanely far away from Clarke. This college-aged person was alive, vibrant, in-love, awake, eager, and not cheating on her husband. The body language alone showed how much she adored him. 

In that picture, her father was the funny, charming man she remembered, not the angry, frustrated man who was skin and bones, who couldn’t eat, who couldn’t swallow, who had difficulties moving most days and remembering his own daughter others. He was alive as well. He was the man everyone wanted to sit beside for some reason, for som inexplicable reason he had this… he had a spark that drew those to him like a moth to a flame, except he was that flame, and he shared his light eagerly with those around him. 

Clarke relaxed her face after a few moments of looking and seeing and trying to find some kind of detail in that picture that would indicate that the couple in it would know what their life would like like two decades later. There wasn’t a single indication, and that terrified her. 

“Did you finish you math?” her mother’s voice called from the hallway, hearing her daughter shift and move to look at the next picture without seeing her first. 

“Yes.” 

The next image was a very tiny Clarke on her father’s shoulders and her mother hugging his waist as they all stood beneath a redwood tree. They had hiking gear, shorts, sunglasses, hats and sunscreen. They were all smiling. They were a family. 

“Did you email me that draft of your personal essay for applications?” 

Clarke gave up perusing, no longer feeling the yearn for that family unit that was far away. She rolled her eyes and stomped her way down the steps to find her mother sorting through envelopes and mail. 

“No.” 

“Why not?” Abby didn’t look up as she flipped.

“Because I’m a junior, and I have five months before applications are due.”

“That’s no excuse not to be prepared. Maybe if you didn’t spend so much time chasing after some gir--”

“Who am I chasing after?” Clarke scoffed, crossing her arms and peering at her mother. “Do you mean helping Lexa on her submission for film school? Do you mean tennis practice? Do you mean working part time? Do you mean having a social life?” 

“Considerate that you can help someone else get into college.” 

“It’s going to take her months to edit, which I can’t-- I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

That did it. Clarke knew it would. Clarke new an overt expression of her own independence would trigger her mother. She knew arguing and not appearing to care about college would give her the satisfaction of a righteous fight. She wanted it. It’d been brewing for about a week and a half, ever since Clarke said she was going prom dress shopping without her. Ever since Clark forgot to tell her about spending the night camping with Lexa and the film crew while the powered through the project. Ever since Clarke didn't’ come home for dinner last Tuesday and then raved about Mrs. Woods’ garlic chicken. Tiny things Clarke did with spite because she didn’t know what else to do, because she couldn’t do anything else. 

Abby’s nostrils flared and Clarke jutted her hip, shrugging to herself as she dug for her phone, ready to go to work and escape the house and the persistent smell of medical equipment and cleaner that haunted her until she was about two blocks from the house. 

“I’ll be home around midnight.” 

“Like hell you will. You’ll be home right after your shift.” 

“No,” Clarke paused as she turned to leave. “I’m going over Lexa’s to study. We’re watching a Cary Grant movie.” 

“You’re under the misconception that you get to make your own schedule and plans without asking permission. But that is not the case, Clarke.” 

“I’ve been doing fine.” 

“You’ve barely been home. Your father is--”

“Right there, in that room, asleep. I know this because I spent the morning with him. We made pancakes and played a game of cribbage. We talked about school and Lexa and I showed him pictures of the past week of my life. And I helped him with his meds because he’s having a bit of a flare. I told him I’d see him in the morning for omelettes because we’ve been watching cooking shows together and he wants to try the french style. I know exactly what is going on with my father.” 

She hadn’t meant to, but her voice began to raise as she spoke. Clarke felt her fist shake. She felt her muscles tighten and her jaw clench. She was okay with being considered lazy and unmotivated, but to be accused of negligence was uncalled for, especially from someone like her mother. 

“Don’t you raise your voice! You are greatly mistaken as to the nature of our relationship. I am your mother, and I am sick of your attitude, and your priorities not being your father and your family or your education.” 

“Lexa has nothing to do with any of that. Are you just mad I’m dating a girl? Or that I don’t care what you think anymore?” 

Slightly taken aback by her daughter, by her words, by her actions, by her entire demeanor over the past few months and frankly just sick of dealing with being the bad guy. 

“I don’t even know who you are anymore,” Abby shook her head. 

“I could say the same thing.” 

The two stared at each other before Clarke shook her head and adjusted her bag. She toyed with her keys in her pockets before checking her phone again. 

“I’m going to be late for work. I’ll be back tonight.” 

“You’re not going anywhere,” Abby insisted again. “You’re grounded indefinitely.” 

“Except I’m not,” Clarke sighed and shook her head. “I’m not because I don’t care anymore. I genuinely don’t.”

“You’re going to. Give me your keys and your phone.” 

“No.” 

“I’m not joking, Clarke. You’re going to need to readjust your priorities and attitude.”

“I think you should take your own advice,” Clarke insisted as she reached the front door. “Or are you too busy fucking Kane to realize that there is no more family here?” 

With a satisfying slam, she yanked the door shut. The anger that was stationed in her shoulders dissipated with the noise and movement. Clarke stood there in the quiet of her perfect neighborhood, the flapping of the flag lazily moving in the spring breeze was all she heard at first. Then the birds came. Then a lawnmower started in the distance. 

Clarke felt lighter than she’d felt in a long time. She also felt emptier than any other time in her life. It was officially the end, and now she had to deal with that because the anger and the hurt and the betrayal was all she’d had in her for what felt like months. It hadn’t made anything better, and it certainly ruined everything, but Clarke took some solace in the fact that now she could try to fill herself up with something else. 

XXXXXXXXXX

The party at Bellamy Blake’s house was in full swing by the time Lexa made her way up the winding driveway and into the belly of the beast. She wasn’t sure how she ended up there exactly, except that her girlfriend texted and said to show up. That seemed to be enough of a reason, though Lexa wasn’t particularly prepared. They’d had plans. Quiet plans. Private plans. Movie plans. 

And now Lexa was going to her girlfriend’s ex’s party. 

She shoved her hands in her pockets as she moved through the crowd, clearly not getting the memo that jeans were not entirely good enough attire, and in fact she seemed to be extremely overdressed. Her eyes bugged slightly as she watched a girl from her physics class walk by in a very tiny, very teeny lime green bikini. Lexa became suddenly aware of the appeal of such things, as if she hadn’t noticed them before, but then MIchelle who sat diagonally in front of her third period looked like that and she gulped. 

The music thumped loudly. The beats were rattling the walls and shaking the windows while the screams and giggles of her classmates sought to shatter glass. It wasn’t like the other parties she’d been to with Clarke. It wasn’t even like thrones Anya dragged her to when she visited. This was a night of debauchery and she hadn’t had time to prepare. 

And as much as she saw everyone else wearing bikinis, she hadn’t thought about Clarke wearing one. She’d seen Clarke’s boobs before. That was nice. But there was something to her girlfriend in a bikini that was… good. Very good, even. 

Lexa pushed her glasses up slightly on her nose and stared. 

“What are you doing here?” Gus asked, approaching quietly. She didn’t move or say anything else, just stared from across the pool, the steam billowing upward to ward the sky while everyone seemed to glow blue and green and red, the lights alternating around them, the flames of the fire pits dancing to keep everyone warm. The warm glow of the lights inside were lost on the white-blue shade to the water. 

“Lexa, focus,” he snapped his fingers in front of her face. “What are you doing here? Your sister would kill me if she knew you were at a Blake party.” 

“How is it different than any other party?” 

“It just is.” 

“Because of the pool? I’ve been to pool parties.” 

It hadn’t been since seventh grade and didn’t look like an episode of a CW show, but still, she’d been to a pool party with many of the same cast of characters that were currently on display. It was before puberty, but still. 

“We need to get you home.” 

“Clarke invited me.” 

“It doesn’t matter. This isn’t your scene.” 

“I can be in any scene. I’ve watched every John Hughes movie.”

“This is more of an episode of Euphoria than an 80s teen flick,” Gus sighed and took another swig from his cup. “And I fully believe you would fit in fine with Molly Ringwald.”

“That’s very kind of you to say,” Lexa nodded. “I’ll be fine.” 

She took her eyes off of her girlfriend long enough to assure her friend that she was perfectly fine now. She was dating the head cheerleader. She’d been to parties and seen--

“Gus-- is that cocaine?” 

“Okay, yeah, we have to get you out of here,” he shook his head and tossed his empty cup into a flowerbed. 

“Is it really?” she asked, craning her neck as he pushed her forward. “I’ve never see that in real life before. People actually do that thing with the credit cards and dollar bills? Astounding. Where does one get cocaine?” 

“You don’t need to know that.” 

“I’m not going to do it. I’m just curious.” 

They only made it a few steps before the ran into a sopping body. A tall, muscular, tan, perfectly chiseled and dripping body. It was the body of an actual god. It was the body of the perfect specimen, with biceps and the long swimmer cuts that pointed firmly toward his… his-ness. 

“Gus, long time, man. How you been?” Bellamy Blake grinned before slipping his cup in his teeth as he hugged the other football player. 

“Not too bad. Heard you’re heading to Oregon in the fall?” 

“Yeah, partial scholarship. We’ll see what happens,” he shrugged. “Staying close?” 

“Yeah, St. Johns, about three hours away.” 

“Full ride?” 

“Yeah. I got offered half to OSU, but would rather not have to pay anything.” 

“No, that’s smart.” 

The whole time they spoke, Lexa watched Clarke’s ex intently. She frowned to herself and wondered how her girlfriend broke up with him. He was effortlessly cool. He was huge. He looked like he knew how to go down on a girl, and Lexa was still apprehensive. She wished she could fast forward in life until she was really good at sex. 

She watched him grin and sip from his red cup, meeting her eyes curiously as Gus explained something about his college recruitment process. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever met before. I’m Bellamy.” 

He held out his hand. And though she didn’t want to do it, she sighed and shook his hand. 

“Sorry, I should have introduced you. This is Lexa.” 

“Lexa… Lexa…” He mulled. 

“Anya Woods’ sister.” 

“Wow, you’re Anya’s little sister?” 

“Yeah.” 

“How is she? I forgot she had a little sister. I remember her little brother died-- oh shit.” 

“Yeah.” 

“We were just heading out,” Gus interrupted. 

“I was actually just going to go talk to Clarke.” 

“Why would you--”

Before anything else could be said, before anything else could transpire between the two of them, before Gus had to interrupt again, Clarke appeared, launching herself into her girlfriend’s arms, wrapping her own around her neck, her body still slightly damp from the pool she must have just climbed out of during the awkward introduction. 

“You’re here. I’m so happy,” Clarke hummed against Lexa’s warm neck. She buried herself there, suffocating herself happily, slightly tipsy. 

“I told you I’d stop by.” 

Clarke kissed her girlfriend’s neck. She leaned most of her body against her there and giggled, oblivious to the eyes, too drunk to care about anything else happening. 

“I am have the worst day. Maybe the worst week. Maybe the worst year ever. No, wait. Definitely the worst year, and today I finally told my mom everything and then left. So Yeah. It’s been terrible. I got drunk.” 

“Not the healthiest coping mechanism.”

“Not a bit,” Clarke grinned, agreeing eagerly and with a wide grin. She leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend despite her words. 

“You can be healthy tomorrow,” Lexa offered. “You okay?” 

“As okay as can be.” 

There was some throat clearing that happened behind them, and Lexa felt a burning in her ears and chest at the display, unaccustomed to it all. 

“So this is your new girlfriend?” Bellamy asked, looking at the pair. 

“Lex, I suppose you’ve met my ex,” Clarke gestured. 

“Kind of.” 

“Is this party a little much?”

“If I remember correctly, this was exactly the kind of thing you liked. We went to many a party in our tenure,” Bellamy shrugged, lazily leaning against a counter. “Things changed since I left, I guess.” 

“I enjoyed not thinking,” Clarke offered. “You were great for that.” 

Gus and Lexa looked between the two and then at each other. She was almost certain she didn’t know what was happening, but that certainly, something was, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. 

“You moved on quick, huh?” 

“Hey, step back,” Gus interrupted as Bellamy took a single step. “This is Anya’s sister.” 

“Woods?” he furrowed. “You’re dating Anya Woods’ kid sister?” 

“Yup,” Clarke nodded. 

“I heard she was--”

“Standing right here,” Gus finished. 

Lexa felt Clarke’s hand move into her own and she smiled despite the fact that she was picking up a drunk girl at her college guy ex’s party. There was a lot in that sentence she wasn’t happy about, now that she thought about it. 

“You ready to get out of here?” Lexa asked innocently, ignoring the rest. 

“I think we still have a few more shots lined up, Clarke,” Bellamy smiled and Lexa understood the need to punch. 

Noticeably torn, she looked at her girlfriend and back at her ex before realizing that she was actually drunk, and that wasn’t good. Lexa smiled softly and rubbed her girlfriend’s back. She kind of imagined how it must have felt to implode and take her mother down with her. Lexa remembered the feeling of telling her father she was gay and sad. Clarke’s implosion didn’t seem as successful as her own, and Lexa was more than happy to try to help in whatever way she could. 

“Can I stay at your place tonight?” 

“Yeah,” Lexa nodded quickly. “I’ll text my mom to let her know.” 

“You’re seriously leaving?” The college football player and terrible ex scoffed. “The night is still young. It’s barely after eleven.” 

“Thanks for getting me drunk, but I should probably go do something better.” 

“Thanks for showing me around,” Lexa offered nodding her head slightly toward the host before he could argue. “Have a good night. I’ll see you on Monday, Gus.”

“Get home safe,” the linebacker warned. 

Slightly dumbfounded, Bellamy Blake stood there, hands on his hips as he watched his ex weave through the crowd of people and disappear. As much s everything stayed the same, he couldn’t shake the sinking feeling of change, and how averse he was to it. 

XXXXXXXXXX

“Here, you can, uh,” Lexa quickly moved through her bedroom, leaving her girlfriend standing by the bed. “I have some old sweats if you want.” 

Already, Clarke began taking off her pants, and Lexa quickly looked in the drawers of her dresser. She felt the tips of her ears burn slightly as she looked over her shoulder, her girlfriend slumping into the bed, pants lost to the floor. 

“I knew I shouldn’t have gone to that party. I knew it,” Clarke sighed, rubbing her face with both hands to ride herself of the spinning. “But I didn’t care. I just wanted to… you know…”

“You had it out with your mom. You just anted to go far away. I get it.” 

“Don’t be nice to me. I knew better than to go, especially to anything involving Bellamy Blake.” 

“Why?” 

“He doesn’t care about any of it. Just has drinks. I should have called you or like done something else.” 

“You’re allowed to want to take a night off from a giant secret after a huge fight. And you don’t need my permission,” Lexa reminded her girlfriend, offering an old shirt. 

“It was stupid.” 

“Do you feel better?” 

Gingerly, Lexa tugged at Clarke’s shirt, pulling it over her head until she flopped back down on the bed, her hair fanning out against the pillow. Agitated at herself, at her clothe, at the unfathomable uncontrollability to the entirety of her life, Clarke growled to herself as she tugged off her bra, tossing it to the side and gracelessly pulling on the shirt Lexa offered. 

“I don’t feel better at all.” 

It was certainly a pout, and Lexa did her best to ignore it. Instead, she slicked off the light beside the bed, and slid between the sheets next to Clarke. Lexa laid there until Clarke turned to face her, until she placed her hand on her neck and cheek. 

“I’m sorry you had to pick me up.” 

“It’s okay,” Lexa whispered. 

“It’s not. I’m not like this… I don’t mean to be… I mean--”

“It’s okay.” 

Clarke leaned forward, shifting beneath the blankets until their knees were touching. She moved to only push the hair from Lexa’s forehead and she paused before kissing her lips. She tasted the warmth of the tequila there and she didn’t care. Lexa signed. 

“Please don’t give up on me anytime soon,” Clarke murmured. Stunned from the kiss, Lexa blinked in the dark and shifted closer. 

“I wouldn’t ever.” 

“I know you wouldn’t. I just had to say it out loud.” 

“Okay.” 

Lexa was certain she was going to get another kiss, but instead, Clarke dug her forehead under her girlfriend’s chin and pressed their bodies together, hugging her tightly and disappearing, being overwhelmed, anchoring herself to a steady force. Lexa rubbed Clarke’s back for a few moments until she fell asleep, and then she allowed herself the option of sleep.

NEXT

[lucyintheskywithxanax]

The Night Shadows Watching The Darkness Approaching

Pairing: Wilhemina Venable x Fem Reader

A/N: oh look, another fic in which Wilhemina cries :) This one has been sitting in my drafts for months because somehow I couldn’t let it go. It’s short and sad and I hope you’ll like it. x

Title from Come On Out by The Airbone Toxic Event.

Word count: ≈ 1 900

Something woke you in the middle of the night to find the bed empty. You reached out; the sheet was cold. Squinting in the dark, you made out the outline of Wilhemina’s pillow, creased, and of the door, half-opened. Somewhere in the house a light was on. You sighed.

You got up and walked through the darkness towards the light. It came from the living-room, whose door was slightly ajar. You took a peek inside.

Wilhemina was lying on the couch, hands folded on her stomach. Her eyes were closed and her face was contorted with pain. You noticed the bucket she had placed on the floor at arm’s length, in case the pain became too much, too much to bear just too much and she would have to throw up. Let it out one way or another.

You watched her for a minute, swallowing hard. Your heart clenched painfully in your chest. It tended to do that often, since you had started dating Wilhemina.

You didn’t want to embarrass her, so you knocked on the door and waited, to give her time to compose herself. When you eventually walked in, her face was completely blank, if only slightly pale.

“Hey,” you called, forcing a smile. “You’re up late.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Her voice was calm. “Go back to bed.”

You crouched by the couch, staring up at her. She was avoiding your gaze, resolutely scowling at the ceiling.

“Did you take your meds?” you asked after a while.

“I’m not stupid, Y/N,” she snapped.

You frowned, but didn’t snap back. Instead you rested your chin on the couch and waited.

“What can I do?” you asked.

“Go back to sleep,” Wilhemina repeated. This time, the words were uttered through gritted teeth.

“I meant to help you feel better.”

“I’m feeling perfectly fine.”

“Mina.” Her eyes flicked to your face before she scowled back up at the ceiling. “I’ll go get the hot water bottle,” you said.

She was exactly in the same position when you came back. It seemed to you her face was even paler than before, and you saw her chin tremble, once.

“Here, can you prop yourself up just a bit?” you asked gently.

She didn’t move.

“This is stupid, Y/N,” she said.

“Mina, you know it’s not. Heat really helps ease the pain. It does wonders when I have period cramps. Please.”

Carefully you helped her sit up, placed the hot water bottle on the couch, and helped her lie down again with her head in your lap. You laid one hand on her arm and gently stroked her hair with the other. “Are you feeling sleepy at all?” you whispered.

She shook her head.

“Do you want me to sing something to you, to help you pass the time?”

You had done that before, once or twice, when she had come back from work particularly pissed off. You loved to sing, and you had noticed how your voice always seemed to help her relax, even though she would probably never admit it.

“Suit yourself,” she answered in a slightly strained voice.

You thought for a second, combing your fingers through her hair. “Take my hand,” you started, voice low and soft, “take my whole life too.” Wilhemina scoffed. You held back a smile. “For I can’t help falling in love with you,” you whispered, poking her ear playfully.

Wilhemina reached for your hand on her arm and laced her fingers with yours. “Like a river flows surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be.”

You gently rubbed her forehead, just as your mother used to when you had a headache. Ran one finger down her nose, patted her upper lip. Her chin trembled again. She blinked several times, swallowed.

“Mina?” You waited until she met your eyes. “It’s okay to cry when you’re hurting, you know?”

She scoffed, gave you an angry look, but her eyes immediately filled with tears as if a dam had broken.

“I won’t judge you, or think you’re weak.” You paused, gulping back tears of your own. “I think you’re so very strong all the time.”

You ran your finger over her lower lip, then up her cheek to catch a lonely tear. Wilhemina blinked quickly, raised her free hand to wipe her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said in a firm voice.

You knew how she hated showing vulnerability. She had only ever cried once in front of you. The first time you had held her close. Her body pressed against yours, her face buried in your neck, one of her legs trapped between yours, your arms wrapped tightly around her. You had heard her breath hitch and just like that she had burst into tears. As if no one had ever held her before.

You leant forward and dropped a kiss on her forehead. There was that sadness in your heart you couldn’t quite get rid of.

Wilhemina shifted to readjust her position. You combed your fingers through her hair again, gazing at her face, trying to think of something to say to try and distract her from the pain.

“Did I tell you about that article I read the other day?” you said eventually. “It was so very interesting. Some guy wrote ten pages on the Placebo effect. I didn’t know much about it.”

You rambled on, telling her about what you had learnt, until she suddenly interrupted you in a quiet, dull voice.  

“My parents told me it was all in my head, too, the first few times I complained about my back pains. More than the first few times, actually. They told me I should quit being a baby and work at being stronger. When they finally took me to a doctor, it was too late to do anything about it.”

Your fingers froze in her hair.

“How long?” you asked in a breath. “How long before they took you to a doctor?”

It took her too long to answer. In the silence you heard your heart break.

“Three years and a half.”

You felt like punching something. You felt like screaming. You could have, could have jumped to your feet, could have knocked over the coffee table, thrown the bucket at the wall. But anger wasn’t what Wilhemina needed right now. She had been so alone. Never again, you promised yourself. You’d lasso the stars and bring them down and give them to her so she would always have company when you were gone.

“Go to bed,” Wilhemina repeated.

You kissed her mouth. “Not without you,” you murmured into the kiss.

She let out a small noise and lifted her head to claim more of you. She was being too harsh, too clumsy, teeth drawing blood and lips sucking on the wound, but you let her. You were grateful for the pain, for it made you feel closer to her.

One of her hands came up to tangle in your hair. “I won’t be weak,” you heard her whisper, voice angry, as her mouth launched a new attack on yours. Her nails dug into the nape of your neck. “I won’t let you rip my strength from me.”

Somewhere far away a clap of thunder growled. Wilhemina bit your upper lip. “I see what you’re trying to do,” she hissed. “Using tenderness to try and break me but I won’t let it happen, do you hear me? You won’t win. I’ll break you first.”

“Wilhemina,” you whispered – pulling away, panting, and pressing one hand on her chest to pin her against the couch.

“I’ll break you and I will scatter all the tiny pieces of you so no one after me can ever assemble them again.”

“Wilhemina,” you repeated. You leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead.

She tried to push you away, rejecting tenderness, she tried to sit up; her fingers wrapped around your hand that held her against the couch and clawed viciously at your skin.

“I will destroy you,” she hissed.

“Mina.” A kiss to her brow. A kiss to her nose. Her lips parted on a shaky breath like the last breath a soldier draws on a battlefield.

You removed your hand from her chest and held it out in surrender. “Go ahead, then. Destroy me. I don’t mind. It’d kill me to lose you anyway. So, one way or another, you win.”

You smiled at her. For you meant it, every word of it. And it felt exhilarating. It felt like you had finally found home. No matter how dark and scary the place, no matter how full of lethal traps. You would choose her, over and over again, for no one else would do.

“Go ahead,” you repeated, laughing. “Destroy me.”

You grabbed her hand and wrapped it around your throat. Something in her eyes changed. She seemed to hesitate.

“What are you waiting for?” you cried, squeezing her fingers; you could feel your own elevated pulse through her flesh. “I’m ready. Choke the breath out of me. What are you waiting for?”

It was starting to hurt, your head was starting to buzz, but you didn’t care. You had rarely ever felt so alive.

“Stop it,” Wilhemina whispered, her eyes growing wide. She tried to free her hand from your grip, but you held it firmly around your throat.

You leaned towards her. “Don’t let me undermine you. Claim back your strength. I don’t want to rob you of what you hold dearest. Do it!”

“I said, stop!” she cried, wrenching her hand free; she turned her head to the side, and bit her lip as fresh tears spilled from her eyes.

You watched her, your whole body burning and quivering from the excitement and the love and the passion. Wilhemina gasped in a breath, wiped her cheeks fiercely. She shifted a bit, nuzzled the back of the couch, looked askance at you.    

You waited a few minutes before you started combing your fingers through her hair again. She eagerly leaned into your touch.

Another clap of thunder, louder, closer. You laid your free hand on Wilhemina’s cheek at the sound, almost protectively, felt her warmth build under your fingers. She turned her head to kiss the inside of your palm and whispered, “Hold me.”

And then she was sitting up, tears dropping from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks, and she wrapped her arms around your waist and pressed her face against your shoulder and let out a broken sob.

You closed your eyes against the sting of tears, holding her close, trying to make her shift so her back would be as straight as possible but she pushed deeper into you, clutching the back of your shirt, hair tickling your neck.

“I don’t care,” you heard her say, small and muffled. “I don’t care. Just – hold me.”  

And you did. For you had only ever seen her cry once before, the first time you had snuggled up to her, your body pressed against hers, one of her legs trapped between yours.

You held her, and stroked her hair as you listened to the thunderstorm roar in the sky, tear at the clouds and rip them to shreds and howl in pain, and then, slowly, subside.

[dreamkidddream]

Heya! It’s me again!! Can I request a BSD crew with Dazai, Chuuya, and Atsushi with a older siblings reader that really cares for them and is overprotective. (Really cold on the outside, but with them its a whole different story) Sorry it’s long!! Looking forward with your works!

Thank you for the request and thank you for reading!! Sorry about the wait, and it got kinda long. Reader is gender neutral and hope you enjoy!

TW: Suicide talk in Dazai’s (nothing too heavy is mentioned), and small spoiler for Oda (I know I keep bringing him up but I love him okay), abuse mentioned in Atsushi’s 

Being an Overprotective Older Sibling (Sour but Sweet) with: Dazai, Chuuya, and Atsushi

Dazai

He stresses you out so, so, SO MUCH

You were ready to just wrap him up in a straitjacket and just attach him to your back, but you figured he would find a way to break free or kill himself (or even both)

When people saw the two of you together, on the outside, it looked either like a: you were handling an overgrown toddler or b: he was being held hostage by this scary looking individual that looks like they could rearrange your organs from the inside out

But, with you guys, it was the complete opposite. You were the best relative that Dazai had and could count on, but you refused to let him try any suicide attempts from his book (at least while he was in your presence). You were really sweet, always made sure to look out for him, and constantly protecting him. 

When you came into the ADA looking just for him, everyone was confused. Who was this random stranger coming in with the coldest expression, asking specifically for Dazai, holding a wrapped box. They knew that he had many enemies that range from now to his past, so now they were assuming that you were someone that came to get revenge.

Kunikida tried to intercept you first, but you told him that you only came to see Dazai and no one else. And that he better still be alive and uninjured or else. Well, they obviously took that as a threat and before a whole brawl could break out, here walks in Dazai and Atsushi

“Oh, (Y/N)! What a surprise to see you on this lovely day. Here to check on your dear little brother?” Hold up...BROTHER?? DAZAI HAS A SIBLING, AND HE’S THE YOUNGEST??! Poor Kunikida is about to malfunction and Ranpo is just sitting back enjoying the show with his snacks

“Osamu...How many times do I have to tell you...stop forgetting your lunch! You need to eat properly. And before you even say anything, you are going to eat this. I know you didn’t eat breakfast this morning, because just drinking coffee is not breakfast, and...”

You went from getting ready to whoop some ass to nagging him what is going on

 And that was the day that the Agency found out that Dazai had an older sibling. They were wondering why you never came to the office, and when you responded that is was, “none of their damn business”, they decided not to question it (at least in front of you). And they were so shocked to see you act, no be, so delicate with him. You were still talking to about your lunch, looking at him with the softest expression telling him, “I know you struggle with caring for yourself, so let me do it for you. You’re my younger brother, Osamu, let me do my job in taking care of you. You won’t let me protect you when you’re on the job, so let me protect you everywhere else.”

So, he was the reason why you weren’t working in the office alongside him? And it was true. After his days in the Port Mafia, when you were working alongside him, it was fine. He hated that you always got in the line of fire to “protect” him (and he knew and kept telling you that he didn’t need it, and if he did get hurt, to just let him suffer, to let him die). You didn’t understand his complete need to end his life, and it ate you up inside, but it also you a new resolve. Maybe he didn’t believe that his life was important or that he mattered to someone, so you took it to show him that someone did care, that you cared. 

It backfired one day on a mission, when you took a bullet that was meant for him. You were so close to death that day, knocking right on His door, and it shook him to his core. Back in those days, he cared for you and Oda, and cared little for himself. He came so close to losing you, and he realized he wouldn’t know what to do without you. You were one of the only people (honestly beside Oda) that he actually felt some kind of emotion for, and he would be damned if he lost you too

So he came with a new resolution after he left the Mafia, he would handle the dangerous life, while you stayed home. You obviously strongly rejected this idea, but he left no room for refusal. He rather be the one close to death than you, you still deserved to live life, not him. 

It led to a very long, emotionally draining, confrontational argument for hours, but the decision was made. You would live a regular life, far from any kind of violence or death, working a regular job while he would put his life on the line. On the terms that he would constantly keep you updated (ie. not ignoring your hourly calls and texts), actually eat the food that you prepare (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and not push you away whenever he needed someone to leave on. 

You also threatened politely let him know that if these conditions weren’t followed, then all bets are off and you would raise hell. You were here to stay and you’ll make sure that he is too

You were a positive influence on Dazai’s life, and it was so funny how you would switch personalities. How you switch from being so kind and childlike to so frigid and antisocial was very entertaining to see. He does love you, and while you would try to police his every move (which was literally impossible), he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Plus he LIVED for you coming to stop by in the office now, seeing how Kunikida would try to avoid eye contact with you and Atsushi nervously sweating in his seat was hilarious. He knew you wouldn’t hurt them, but it was still pretty amusing

Chuuya

Opposite of Dazai, you stress him out SO MUCH

Part of it is because you’re overprotective, another part of it is because you are a complete smartass and you knew it

“Damn (Y/N) can you LET ME BREATHE FOR A SECOND?!”

“...”

“Seems like you’re breathing fine to me.”

“WHY YOU-“

But, he may complain, but he actually didn’t dislike that you were working with him in the Port Mafia. You could keep an eye on him, and he could make sure that you didn’t get into any extra trouble that could interfere with his missions or have you get disciplined by Mori. It was a win-win for you both

If there was one thing that he could change though, is your constant need of trying to take the hits designated for him. He doesn’t need you always jumping in front of him, defending him with your own body. He was more than capable of taking care of himself, if he wasn’t then not only would he not be one of the top executives, but he also wouldn’t still be alive

Also he has a reputation to uphold. How was he suppose to display his raw power and talents when you were continuously intruding on his cases?! Not to mention the fact that you act so detached when you’re dealing with the other members. It’s to the point that they’re too intimated to even make eye contact with you

Which he thought was so bizarre because you were one of the nicest people that he has ever come in contact with (even though he was your brother and you guys interacted with each other every day). You played the annoying sibling role very well (too well in fact), but you still make sure to look out for him and make sure that he’s okay, emotionally and physically. 

He understood why you did it, but at the same time he didn’t. You were both extremely strong, and he was the one with the better ability (not to mention that he’s the one that has Arahabiki inside of him). It came off that obviously you wanted him safe, but also that he couldn’t handle what comes at him. He’s not a little kid, he’s not some weakling that needs to be persistently protected, you both didn’t survive this long solely because of you, it was because of you both. It was a teamwork effort, and while he gets that he’s your youngest brother, he worries about you too

And he proved his point one night, when he had to dress your wounds after a mission went south. Here he was, scolding you and cursing about how stupid you were being, and the more he went on, the more you figured that he was angrier at himself for letting this happen. 

“Why is it so hard to understand that I want to protect you too?! Why don’t you give a damn about yourself like how you do about me?! You act like this entirely new person on the field like you don’t give a damn what happens to you and it PISSES ME OFF! Just like you protect me, I can and will protect you. I may be loyal to the Port Mafia, but you come first, always.”

After that, you did let him handle his own battles (but if he got a single scratch on him, then you will be joining whether he agrees or not). You were still annoying in Chuuya’s eyes, but it was just him being his stubborn, short tempered self about his older relative. He wants the best for you without a doubt and he wants you to realize you don’t have to carry this imaginary burden of protecting him, because you weren’t the powerful one in the family. He had your back just like you had his. You were one of the only things that still convinced him that he was still human and not a monster, and no words will measure just how much he appreciates you for that. You had your moments when you were irritating the hell out of him, but he still loved you regardless

Besides, you were the only person who somehow was able to get one of his favorite vintage wines (it still confused him so much how you got it and not him, and you refused to tell him) so he definitely couldn’t afford to lose you

Atsushi

Okay, you do not play about this man, ever

After growing up in the orphanage and joining the ADA, it took a while to get readjusted to being around people that weren’t trying to purposely harm you for just existing. For Atsushi, even though he was hesistant to join the agency, you were honestly against it. Sure, it was a fresh start from that horrible place, but it was also another gateway for danger. Not to mention how sketchy this suicidal guy was, if he was able to join the agency there’s no telling what other nut cases are apart of it too

Plus, you needed to keep your brother in your presence at all times. Enough has happened to him already, and you were going to do everything in your power to prevent him from going through that type of pain ever again, you swore

But after he discovered that he’s the weretiger that’s been causing trouble (which you had a hunch about but no way to confirm) and with him having no type of knowledge on how to control this new ability, it seemed like you two had no choice but to stay with the ADA. You weren’t very happy about this arrangement, but if it was able to help Atsushi with his newfound ability and provided you with the means to support you both (ie. getting paid), then so be it. You sucked it up and both joined

It took...some time for the other members to get used to your demeanor. Having someone in the agency give off such an intense deadly vibe was a little unsettling. It seemed like Kenji, Ranpo, and Dazai were the only three (besides your brother) that weren’t phased by it, but other people like the Tanizaki twins tried to steer clear of you as much as they could

It wasn’t that they hated you, it’s just...your aura wasn’t the friendliest. And it was even more confusing since you were the exact opposite for your brother! You conversed and laughed with him, but you never did it with the others. Watching Kunikida and Dazai do their daily banter didn’t even make you crack a smile. But whenever you were around Atsushi, it seemed like you were carefree, glowing even. It was evident that you both kept each other smiling and positive, and it warmed everyone to see

Whether it was desk duty or field missions, you were both always paired with each other. If Dazai and Atsushi were assigned to a case, guess who was also magically assigned with them too? If he was stuck on desk duty, you were too. No one had a problem with it surprisingly. Which was a complete lie but after you...made a convincing argument, they left you alone and let you tag along with your brother as long as it didn’t interfere with the success of the case

Junichiro low key understood it though, don’t be fooled cause he’ll snap for his sister too if he had to

You didn’t even give any enemies the chance to even come close to Atsushi. That’s how serious you were with keeping your word. Even when him and Akutagawa fought, you would find a way to get involved. You will not let anyone else hurt your brother again if you could help it

He did get upset with you, whenever you did this, which led to a really bad blowout between you two. You figured this was going to happen sooner or later. It just seem like Atsushi was ready to prove himself to someone when he didn’t have to, but you didn’t understand why he felt that need.

Ever since you guys have been in that hellhole of an orphanage, you always tried to protect each other, but you always tried to take the beatings that were meant for him. He always blamed himself for you being beaten and tortured. It was his fault, if he just takes the abuse and the “punishments” by himself, then you wouldn’t have to get involved and suffer because of him. If Atsushi wasn’t so frail, if he wasn’t so weak, if he just wasn’t a mistake-

“Naka, you okay? You’re zoning out again. You’re gonna walk right into the street if you don’t stop that!”

“R-right. Sorry (Y/N). I guess what happen-“

“The orphanage still gets to you, I know. Please stop blaming yourself, Nakajima. It wasn’t any of our faults, and I don’t blame you for none of it. If anything, I should have done a better job of protecting you. There’s no excuse, neither one of us should have went through what we did, especially you. If anything, I’m the one that needs to apologize. I should’ve tried harder in keeping you-”

“(Y/N) stop saying that! Neither one of us deserved it! You can’t be the strong one for the both of us. I want and have to protect you too! I want to be confident enough in myself and my ability to keep you safe. I already failed when we stuck at that damn orphanage, I’m not going to fail you again! Damn it (Y/N)! Give me a chance to prove to you that I can take care of you like how you took care of me!”

You were stunned. Did your little brother carry this much of a burden because of you? How long has he been feeling this way? He didn’t have to prove himself to you! He was more than enough, and you couldn’t help but feel guilty thinking that it was your fault for him feeling this way

After a very long heart to heart with him, you finally understood where he was coming from. You couldn’t promise him that you would stop your protective nature, but you did let him fight his own battles for once (but you still weren’t letting him get seriously hurt, that still wasn’t going to happen obviously). He told you that he was getting older, and that like it or not that you weren’t always going to be by side. He needed to learn how to stand on his own two feet, and while he loved that you were there for him to lean on, he needed this for himself and for you. He knew that being the best brother that he could be was getting stronger and getting better with his ability, he owed you that much

Atsushi loves you, and he has the same resolve like you. Being that you two are the only thing that you both have left in this world, he wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t lose you under any circumstances. Him bettering himself everyday with the help of you and the agency members and was more than enough to make sure that wouldn’t happpen