#out of a swarm of bats emerges...a girl?

[e-dubbc11]

Goodnight Sweet Prince

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Death, description of injuries, vomiting, crying, grief

Word Count: 2.8K-ish

Summary: After a night out, on your way home, there’s a horrific accident

A/N: Ok I’m just going to say I’m sorry right off the bat, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Based off of a conversation between my lovely lovely friend @ittybxttykxttytxtty if you’d like to read the conversation, check it out HERE There is a surprise at the end so I will do another author’s note at the end. This was very hard to write at times, I had to walk away from it and come back to it a few times. I know, I’m rambling again. I’m just gonna say I’m sorry again and forgive me but I hope you like it anyway. Oh and the song I listened to on repeat to put me in the right mindset was Storm by Lifehouse. I’ll link it at the end. ♥️

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

There wasn’t anything that could be done for the outcome to be different. You were living a real life nightmare over and over again, always starting and ending in the same place, never finding out what happened after the accident or how you were supposed to figure out how to break the time loop you were stuck in.

The scorched heart that beat inside your chest burned every time you had to watch that truck hit the patch of black ice. His strong hands had pushed you out of the way and you fell across the faded white lines of the crosswalk, toward the sidewalk, just as it hit him.

Choking on the icy winter air, you tried to get to him as people started to gather around. All other sounds had been blocked out, you couldn’t hear the pedestrians that were trying to ask you if you were ok. You could read their lips but there was no sound.

With your palms pressed firmly in place, you could feel the vibrations of the traffic along the cold cracked city streets before crawling on all fours through a sea of legs looking for him. You could finally hear the faded sounds of approaching sirens and see the blinking red emergency lights against the somber night sky.

Your heart sank into your feet when you finally saw him. The attempt to control his pain and shock was futile. He didn’t have to say anything because it was all over his face. He was scared, calling out your name over and over again through shuttering, halting breaths.

Bright red blood slowly dripped from the scrapes on his knuckles and trailed out of his mouth. His legs twisted to impossible angles; you knew they were broken.

The dialogue was always the same.

As you hovered above him, you tried to stifle your sobs as you gently scraped his scalp with your nails.

“BILLY!” You cried out.

He struggled to get his words out. Between labored breaths he managed to ask, “A-are y-you o-ok? T-tell me you’re ok!”

Cupping his cheek, you replied, “I’m ok, baby…I’m ok. They’re coming, Billy! Just hold on! Why did you do that?!!”

Billy tried to smile.

“I-I couldn’t l-let any…thing h-happen to m-my s-sweet girl.” He choked out before his eyes closed.

“Billy! Billy, open your eyes for me please! Don’t you dare leave me, Billy Russo!” You yelled, gripping and shaking his shoulders.

Just as his eyes slowly started to open, you were surrounded by a swarm of paramedics who whisked you away toward the ambulance. And as you struggled to get away from them and back to Billy, a warm white light would appear and take you to a happy memory of him like the day you met, the night of your first date, and the first time he told you he loved you.

These memories felt like dreams. You observed them from the outside, like you were a spectator watching your own life as it played out in front of you.

“She left me…she didn’t want me…she never did.” He had said softly.

You remembered that night vividly. That quiet night with nothing but the sound of the fire crackling and hissing in between the words the two of you exchanged. A mother had left her own child on the doorstep of a fire station with nothing but the clothes on his back, not bothering to look back as she walked away from him. She made a choice and she didn’t deserve any forgiveness for it you thought to yourself because you couldn’t get any words out.

You struggled to swallow as tears silently fell from your eyes and in a way, you felt sorry for her because she would never know that her son grew up to be probably the strongest person you had ever met.

Billy had pulled himself out of that gutter she had left him in. He defended his country as a marine, became a successful CEO of a company he started without help from anyone, and he was so much more than anyone ever got to see.

You were the only person he ever showed that side of himself to.

Even the warmth from the fire couldn’t keep you from shivering as you listened to his story. The words kept pouring out like blood from an open wound and his words left you stunned and unable to move.

There wasn’t anything you could say to take that pain away, to make the nightmares disappear, help him forget about the Ray of Hope group home, the bodies left behind in Afghanistan, or the pain he suffered from feeling unwanted and unloved for so long. But you could listen and be there for him whenever he needed you to and he loved you for that.

Your story wasn’t like Billy’s but it was still a painful one. The memories you had from when you were really young made you happy but as you got older into your pre-teen and teenage years, everything unraveled.

Your parents divorced, you had to leave the house you grew up in, and your mother even gave away your dog. She treated you like she didn’t want you, not going as far as Billy’s mother did but you felt just as he did…unwanted and unloved.

“What did she do to you?” Billy had asked.

Gazing at you fondly, his eyes were the color of freshly turned soil after the rain. His long fingers softly brushed across your knuckles as the heat from the fire warmed one side of his handsome face.

You swallowed hard before answering him, it was nothing like what he had been through, and it just sounded so marginal but you answered him anyway.

“She ignored me.” You replied with your voice cracking.

You didn’t want to cry but tears fell from your eyes anyway as you tried to look away from him, realizing how stupid it all sounded but he wouldn’t let you look away or down. Billy wanted your eyes on him.

The look in his eyes was understanding; they silently told you he would never do that to you and he would always be there to listen to you because, in a way, you were alike. The two of you had managed to find one another and he never wanted to let that go…and neither did you.

The broken fragments of your lives that you carried around never quite fit back into place, no matter how hard you tried to put them back. Those scars are forever; they never completely go away but you didn’t need those pieces anymore. The healing you did together helped to patch the holes inside that you thought might never be filled with love again.

Patiently, you had waited for someone to love you as Billy did, to love you for who you were and he had only wanted the same. Not for his money or his good looks but for someone to love him, to be patient with him, but also to put him in his place when he was wrong. He wasn’t used to that but he did whatever it took because, with your help, he liked the man he was becoming.

He felt…content.

And in an instant, everything changed. The cycle would start all over again. Truck…screeching tires…hitting the pavement…sirens and lights…blood…broken bones…hearing your name…flashes of light…a fond memory.

You couldn’t keep watching him get hit by that truck over and over again. It felt like moments of your life were being taken from you each time it happened but still you loved watching the wonderful memories and moments between you and Billy again like it was the first time it was happening.

Every emotion you had experienced in those memories, you felt again watching them unfold in front of your eyes. The butterflies in your stomach fluttered again watching him kiss you for the first time. And goosebumps peppered your skin every time his lips touched that spot on your neck you loved so much…you felt them all.

But no matter how hard you tried to prevent him from being hit, you couldn’t do it. The universe wouldn’t let you. The cruelty of it all, watching the worst moment of your life play over and over again like a broken record. The flashes of light would always happen before learning Billy’s fate but you needed to break the loop.

How were you going to do that?

Maybe? No, no that can’t be the answer. You couldn’t do it. You couldn’t just let him die. “There has to be another way!” You thought.

The scent of tires and pavement mixed together burned into your sense of smell and left you sick with nausea as you tried to comfort him or ease his pain in any way you could. But it didn’t do any good. You could feel him slipping away as the obliterating pain you felt in your chest increased when the paramedics tore you away from his side.

The light came for you, ready to take you away to another memory but you didn’t let it. That’s when you realized that there was no other way to break the loop. Your body went numb, admitting to yourself that you had to let him go.

You had exhausted every option, tried everything, but the time loop kept going. The memories shown to you were all you were going to have left of him which was excruciating to think about.

You broke free from the paramedic’s strong grip and hurried back to him just as the other EMT’s were putting him on the stretcher.

You weren’t going to let him be alone.

No other words were exchanged inside the ambulance. With the oxygen mask over his face, his long fingers had laced with yours, he squeezed your hand periodically as the ambulance raced toward the hospital until his heart stopped beating and you heard the unmistakable sound of a flat line. His fingers went limp, his hand dropped away from yours as the EMT’s tried to revive him but he wasn’t coming back.

The tears came thick and fast as all noises dissipated like a heavy fog burning off over the ocean. A piece of you was gone, it had died along with him and that space in your heart that had been filled in with his love was empty once again.

The air inside suddenly became heavy and you struggled to breathe. As soon as the ambulance doors opened, you vomited onto the pavement in the parking lot and collapsed into the arms of one of the paramedics.

Before you blacked out, you heard him call out to you, “Miss! Can you hear me?!”

**********

Slowly, your eyes fluttered open, the bright lights above you stung as you waited for your vision to adjust to them. The voice you heard next to you was a familiar one.

“Hey sweetheart.” He said.

The voice was deep and gruff but soft. It could only be one person…Frank.

Frank Castle was Billy’s best friend. They served together and when Billy started Anvil, he had Frank come and work for him.

A hazy sense of sadness filled the room and after a moment of cold silence, you burst into tears, clawed at the sheets and tried to get out of bed.

“Y/n…no, no! What are ya doing, ya have to stay here. He’s gone, sweetheart.” Frank embraced you tightly and choked on his words. “He’s gone.”

Still trying to pull the cold sheets off your body, you cried, “He was all I had, Frank! He was all I…had!”

Frank squeezed you as hard as he could, held you in his arms as you cried while he tried not to and stroked your hair to try and soothe you but it didn’t do any good. You were heartbroken and numb as you sobbed against Frank’s shirt before passing out from shock once again.

The only person in the world who understood you, who you went to when you were having a bad day, or when you just needed someone to hug you in silence was stolen from you and he wasn’t coming back.

The only thing you felt was helplessness, lying in your hospital bed desperately trying to think of how you were going to move on with your life without him. You didn’t have anyone else, so what were you supposed to do now?

The weeks following Billy’s death all ran together in a blur. Frank and his wife, Maria, insisted you stay with them, but you couldn’t eat, or sleep, and when you did sleep, you were awakened by constant nightmares. Billy came to you in your dreams, they felt so real, his hands cupping your cheeks, lips colliding with yours, and his fingers tracing along the curves and hollows of your body.

Suddenly, his face was covered in cuts and blood and his life force grew fainter. You reached out but you couldn’t touch him. He slipped right through your fingers as he was just a vision, a figment of your imagination and then he disappeared.

Cold sweats and waves of nausea resulted in you vomiting up whatever food you had managed to eat. Maria became concerned when it would happen every time you tried to eat something so even though you told her you were fine, she brought you to the doctor anyway.

Sitting in the exam room, you said to her, “I told you, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.”

“But I am worried.” She said. “You can’t keep anything down. That’s not good, y/n.”

It felt like they had kept you waiting in that room for days, so she just sat with you, talked, and comforted you. She knew how hard all of this had been on you.

Maria had become a really good friend to you after starting your relationship with Billy. She was so happy that he finally found someone that understood him, was patient with him, and had taught him how to be in a relationship. Some days were harder than others but she did her best to try and ease your pain.

“I know it hasn’t been that long y/n, but Frank and I, even the kids, would do anything to see you smile again.” Said Maria, as she laced her fingers with yours.

You tried to give her a slight smile but immediately your eyes welled up with tears and streaked down your cheeks.

“I see him everywhere I go, every time I close my eyes, he’s there but I can’t touch him. My hand just floats through him! It’s so hard without him, Maria!” You sobbed.

She held you tightly against her as she bit back her tears.

“I know it is…ssshh, ssshhh, I know it is. I know you miss him, we all do, but we are always here for you.” She said, choking on her words.

You remembered when your grandfather passed away. The nurses told you that hearing was the last sense to leave the body so he could still hear you even if you didn’t think he could. And you remembered that in the ambulance on your way to the hospital with Billy.

Before he squeezed your hand for the last time, you whispered in his ear how much you loved him and told him he was the best thing to ever happen to you.

Then he was gone and you knew he wasn’t coming back. He died knowing he was loved which is all he ever wanted but you didn’t know if you would ever be able to process your grief. Everything was difficult. Getting out of bed, eating, taking care of yourself. It was all so painful.

Maria was still holding onto you when the doctor knocked and walked through the door. She had a kind smile and was very aware of the ordeal you had been through so her tone of voice was very gentle.

“Hi there, y/n. I’d ask you how you’re doing but I know the answer to that but I think I know why you haven’t been able to keep any food down lately.” She said.

You and Maria looked at her, very interested in what she was about to say.

“Your bloodwork came back and, well…you’re pregnant y/n.” She said with a warm smile.

As those words echoed inside your head, you suddenly became lightheaded and you were thankful that Maria was holding onto you because you could feel yourself starting to lean off of the exam table.

“I’m…pregnant?” You questioned. “A-are y-you sure? How can that be? I was on birth control.”

She shrugged. “Well you know it’s not always 100% effective. We should schedule you for an ultrasound so we know how far along you are.”

Maria cracked a smile as her tears went from sad to happy.

“Oh my god…” She said, stunned.

“Oh my god…” You replied, in return.

Billy didn’t leave you all alone after all but how were you going to do it without him?

A/N #2: I’d love to continue this, explore her grief a little more, past times with Billy, maybe the birth of the baby? What do you think?

Tag List: @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialend @k-marzolf @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf @danzer8705 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @mysteriouslydeafeningwerewolf

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @jvanilly @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend @ittybxttykxttytxtty @russosafehaven @mrsbillyrusso

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

[boimlerkisser]

Tbh I don't know if I'm just tired or busy but I don't have a ton of specific thoughts to share about my ship with Luigi, I'm just rotating him in my mind atm

[artiststarme]

The Up and Downs in the Life of Eddie Munson

The other one didn't seem angsty enough and I am in a mood. Grab your tissues, my friends!

~*~*~*~

Eddie knew he was never going to amount to anything, Munsons never did. For him especially though, it wasn’t written in the stars that his life would be for naught. The universe and fate were against him from the get-go. His life was on a downward slope since the day he was born. 

On that one freezing night in December, Mary Munson was rushed to the emergency room to deliver a premature baby boy. After four hours of excruciating labor, a C-section was performed and baby Edward Munson was born (he would later joke that he’d never been in a vagina a single moment of his life). He had to stay in the NICU for weeks until his preemie lungs were strong enough to handle the cold of the Indiananian winter. Less than a month old and Eddie was already the biggest burden to his parents. Old Richie Munson had to find extra work to pay off the extensive medical bills and he took it out on his wife. 

Poor Mary struggled on her own to take care of Eddie. He was a colicky baby so when he did go home from the hospital, he kept his mom up all day and night with wailing cries. She had no choice but to turn to drugs to escape the torments of being a young mother with a raucous baby and an absent husband. He was only seven years old when he found her body in the kitchen. She’d done heroin that was laced with fentanyl and her abused heart never stood a chance. 

When he was eleven, his dad got arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and armed burglary. He’d been trying to put food on the table for Eddie after losing his job and had gotten too sloppy through desperation. When the nasally and overworked social worker dragged him away from his dad in the visitation room, he thought he was going to be placed in foster care. Instead, his bald-headed and knobby-kneed self was plopped onto the trailer porch of his dad’s estranged brother. 

The man introduced himself as Uncle Wayne and he might have been the best thing to happen to Eddie. He didn’t hit him when he got frustrated like Eddie’s dad did. He didn’t turn to drugs and alcohol when he threw a tantrum like his mom had. Instead, Uncle Wayne was patient. He didn’t get mad at him when Eddie flinched away at physical touch or when he didn’t talk for the first six months of moving to Hawkins. No, Wayne earned his trust and looked out for him from the very first moment he laid eyes on him. He was a good guy and an even better uncle. 

That’s why it hurt so much to leave a dead girl in his trailer for him to find when he got off shift. Over Spring Break, his potential that was steadily declining rapidly accelerated. He went from being the weird, gay, metalhead teenage loser that no one liked to the serial killer of three fellow high school students that couldn’t graduate and led a cult in his free time. He ran away from the murder of a girl that had been nice to him and started getting hunted by the Hawkins townsfolk in a ridiculously uncoordinated witch hunt. He almost certainly wasn’t going to graduate this year, not from the inside of a prison cell because that’s where he was headed. 

And all of that doesn’t even mention the demon from another dimension that chose to paint Eddie as a scapegoat. ‘86 really wasn’t his year. 

Nothing has ever gone right for Eddie in his life and he knew it never would. So when he saw an opportunity to save his young friend and the rest of the world, he jumped on it. He couldn’t protect Henderson from inside the trailer with the bats prying themselves through the vents. He had to go out and fight them. Eddie knew as soon as he saw the swarm that that was how his life would end. If Steve Harrington, god among men, couldn’t hold his own against them, what chance did he have? Like an answer to his own prediction, the bats attacked. They tore through his chest and ripped his skin as if it were paper. The blood that gushed from his wounds bathed Eddie in warmth quickly followed by an empty numbness. When all of the bats fell from the sky, Eddie had the brief thought that just like all of his other suffering, his death would be for nothing too. 

The next moments passed in a haze, his body was going into shock. Dustin cried and begged him to get up. Harrington pulled him into his arms and sprinted for the gate. The girls yelled in the background of it all. And Eddie slipped away from the world that had only ever looked down on him.

He awoke in a drab white hospital room. His body felt heavy but he could move and he could feel his heart beating, his lungs breathing. Eddie was confused as all hell but he was alive. When he looked to his right, he saw Steve Harrington lounging in the uncomfortable hospital chair, head tilted unnaturally with drool dripping from one side of his mouth. For the first time in Eddie’s entire life, things started to look up.

@doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @pyrohonk @straight4joekeery @trippypancakes

[yumejo]

I have this old lilimana thoughts I always wanted to share but couldn't. I was too shy;;

There's this old Filipino courting tradition called Harana, it's about a man who'd sing underneath a girl's window/balcony at night to court them. I thought it would be cute if Lilia does it to Mana with the rest of Diasomnia as his wingman🩷

this made me so happy!! 😭 thank you for thinking of me and lilimana... it fits them perfectly!! it was really, really sweet; i couldn't help but write myself something..!

lissome fingers sewed stitches into a new outfit, one that grim had implored for, as mana listened to the crepitating fire and the aforementioned beast's snores emitting behind her; the hour well past bedtime.

tap, tap, tap!

mana's concentration was ruptured as a noise resounded throughout the room, her blue eyes trailing to the window and espying a pitch-black bat bonking its precious little head against the pane.

"hm?" startled by the critter, mana dropped her needle and thread and padded over to the window; unlocking the latch and prying the glass apart. "lilia-san?!"

down below the newly repaired balcony was lilia—with the three children he considered family suspended behind his short frame. the sight alone has mana's heart fluttering, hearts emerging from the depths of her eyes.

"did we interrupt your sewing, my little thimble?" lilia inquired, albeit the simper curved on his lips was indubitably unapologetic. "do you think you could spare me a moment of your night? i have a gift for you♪"

mana's gaze shifted over to the diasomnia boys, and how they each retained an instrument in their possession. silver and sebek have various instruments mana remembered seeing in lilia's room before, and malleus has his violin—and that along is enough information for her to surmise what her beloved has planned.

tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, mana sheepishly leaned against the balcony's railing as she smiled down at them, "for you, i do."

and truthfully, she expected the music to be as chaotic as the light music club's performances—but she's pleasantly surprised as malleus' bow begins to slide along the strings, a dulcet sound pulsing through the night air. silver and sebek's instruments gradually begin to coalesce into the soothing melody, highlighting the grace of malleus' playing.

the three of them continue to play, and mana felt lilia's eyes fixated on her; as if observing her reaction, his entity radiating a rhapsody of joy and excitement.

lilia was content knowing she's enjoying herself; that they had enraptured her and monopolized her attention completely.

mana found her breath being thieved from her lungs the moment lilia's guitar pick thrummed with his own strings, and the mellifluous sound of his singing voice echoed afterwards.

"even if your hand, your voice, and your afterimage fade; i am here—please let this message reach you~♪~♪"

finding her legs growing weak, quivering from the white-hot ache imbuing itself in the crevice of her chest, mana rested her weight forward onto the railings further. 'how beautiful...' she thought, overwhelmingly emotional, 'lilia-san, and everyone...'

"for it won't be long before i find you, keep the way home in your eyes; someday everything will return to the way it once was~♪~♪"

those lyrics evoked a tender yearning from within mana, her dewy-eyed expression shining as she kept her own gaze riveted onto how lilia's body swayed.

as the song's culmination came and went, the euphonious tune simmering down into steady, gradual beats, mana clapped and cheered. "that was wonderful-!" she effusively praised, giggling as the boys behind lilia all flushed.

even if she didn't understand the reasonings behind the sudden serenade, mana loved every second of it.

"kufufu, did you enjoy our performance?" lilia called up to her in congruence with a swarm of bats accumulating around him—and in an instant, he was fluttering right beside her; his body nestling down atop the railing as a hand reached out to cup her cheek. "i wanted to surprise you. i learned of this tradition on my many travels; isn't it perfect for showing my love to you?"

an airy laugh overflowed from mana's lips as she nodded her head, agreeing, "it is. why not let me sew you a new outfit next time you wish to show me a song?"

"does that mean you'll accept my affections?" lilia teased her adoringly, the devoted gleam sparkling in his eyes enchanting.

overlaying her hand overtop of his, mana avowed, "always, lilia-san."

[gale-gentlepenguin]

GUYS! IT LEAKED!

THE FIRST TWO EPISODES OF ML GOT LEAKED! AND THEY ARE IN ENGLISH!

I don't know how long they will be active but I got the links to them while they are still up.

Truth

Lie

After you guys watch let me know your thoughts. And check out my review and live reaction of the episodes underneath the read more. Spoilers below

(This is an April fools joke)

Gale Reviews: Miraculous Ladybug, Season 4, Episode 1: TRUTH

(With Live reaction)

-So Marinette is trying to find a place to store the ladybug miracle box. Its funny for a bit.

-Tikki suggests hiding it under her bed. Which Marinette does for the time being. But find its way to hard to access normally.

-"Ill figure something out" Marinette explains.

-The Kwami are swarming around the room, exploring. Barkk found the TV.

-Marinette's phone rings, And its Luka. With a heart at the end of the contact. (Resisting urge to gag)

-Luka calls to ask if she remembers that they have a date planned for today. Going to see Jagged's new movie.

-The kwami are f***ing creeping on the conversation. Marinette says she remembers and that she won't miss this one. Like she did the other nine times. I cracked up at that part.

-Luka tells her that he made sure she wouldn't forget. Since he showed up to her place.

-Marinette quickly tells Luka that she has to go. Then yells at the kwami to get in the box.

-Sass asks if the boy she was talking to was Luka.

-"Yes. Now in the box."

-Sass ships Lukanette.

-Hilariously Barkk does not. I love Barkk.

-So Luka is in Marinette's house with her parents as marinette rushed downstairs.

-Its a really awkward scene since Marinette never told her parents she was dating Luka.

-Protective Tom activated.

-Luka assures them that they haven't been on their first official date yet.

-That eases the parents.

-Marinette tells her mom and dad a bit about Luka before her phone goes off, letting her know the movie is gonna start soon.

-The two leave in a hurry.

-"I prefer the one she confessed to last time."

-"TOM!"

-Tom ships Marichat

_____________________________________________________________

-Adrien tries calling Kagami to see if she wants to see the Jagged stone movie, but she says she is busy with archery.

-So Adrien tries calling Nino, who is with Alya.

-So Adrien thinks about it and remembers Marinette loves Jagged Stone. She would probably love to see that movie.

-"I will call Mari... wait."

-Adrien has an imaginary scenario.

-He asks Marinette to the movies, Luka is mad and Kagami is mad.

-"Maybe that wouldn't be a good idea..." Adrien said kind of bummed.

-Plagg asks why it isn't a good idea. Isn't he friends with marinette?

-Adrien explaining why asking another guy's girlfriend to the movies is wrong.

-"You sound more bummed that you can't go with marinette then your own girlfriend." Plagg is SPITTING TRUTH!

-Adrien dismisses that notion, and decides he will try a few other people.

___________________________________________________________

-Wow Nathalie looks awful. She tries to get out of bed with a cane and falls down.

-Gabriel there to help her up. I wish the show would stop shoving the adultery subplot down our throats.

-Gabriel explains that he finally figured out how to use both miraculous at the same time. Which means Nathalie can focus on resting.

-Nathalie insists she can help. But Gabriel tells her that she has done more than needed. She deserves a break. He can't thank her enough for everything.

-Nathalie looks like she wants to confess.

-"You are truly an irreplaceable friend and confidant."

-MOTHERFUCKING GABRIEL 'just a friend' AGRESTE! ITS GENETIC

-Nathalie says of course, and says she is tired.

-I feel bad for Nathalie.

_____________________________________________________________

-Okay so Lukanette date.

-Marinette springs the gift on him.

-Its a necklace made with the guitar pick he first gave her in Captain Hardrock I think.

-Luka loves it.

-Okay the scene that was leaked in the trailer. Big moment, WILL THEY KISS?

-and its really close and... AKUMA ALERT! Right off the bat. So close.

-Marinette gives an excuse about her dad calling. She will be right back before the movie starts.

-Luka says its okay. And says when she gets back to grab some popcorn

-Marinette gives him a peck on the cheek and rushes off.

-Well you get a cheek kiss. But DAMN they really made me think they would actually do it. I got nervous.

-Ladybug arrives on the scene and its... mr.Pigeon again.

-Ladybug is really annoyed, until she sees the Giant PIGEON SENTIMONSTER!

- Chat noir arrives and comments that this might be more difficult then they thought.

-Ladybug says that they will handle it in a flash.

__________________________________________________________

-Luka watched the whole movie alone. The Usher told him to leave the seat.

-Just OUCH, I legit feel bad for Luka. My dude. I am so sorry

-Luka looking for Marinette at the theater but she is gone.

-DOUBLE OUCH

-He tries calling... and straight to voice mail. and 3 strikes!

-Luka starts walking out very disgruntled

-He gets to that bridge in the promo (its sunset) and Marinette arrives running to him. Telling him to wait.

-He turns around.

-She starts apologizing. Some excuse that its a bakery emergency

-"Your not being honest."

-Marinette tries to recover, but Luka says he wants to know what she has been hiding.

-"I am not hiding anything."

-"Marinette, please stop lying to me. Just tell me whats going on. I will understand. Just tell me."

-Marinette says softly she can't.

-"What?"

-"I said I can't tell you. Im sorry"

-She runs off.

-Luka looks hurt, and then angry. Looking at the necklace.

-"Why can't you trust me... What is so big you can't trust me?" He looks so angry. And frankly, I don't blame him.

-And cue Shadow moth, who is now revealing his transformation as shadowmoth. And I still think its ugly.

-Hawkmoth comments the spiel about being a disgruntled boyfriend who is felt put out by his girlfriend.

-Sends the akuma and Amok.

-Luka gets akumatized.

-Okay, now THIS is a good akumatization. I am not spoiling it but Shadowmoth and Luka's dialogue is TOPS here.

-He runs into Alya and the girls and tests out his powers on them. Alya thinks Nino looks better without glasses. Rose admits she only loves some of her stuffed animals and the guilt is killing her. Juleka admits that Luka dating one of her friends is creepy. THANK YOU JULEKA FOR SAYING IT.

_____________________________________________________________

-Adrien is bummed that he didn't get to see the movie. and as he was walking Bumps into marinette. Who ran into him

-Okay so this scene, TOP TEIR ADRINETTE.

-Adrien comforting Marinette, saying that Luka would understand.

-"Is it wrong to keep secrets from him?"

-"Sometimes we keep secrets because it will keep them safe. There is a right time to tell them, but it isn't always when we want to tell them."

-Marinette thanks Adrien for the advice and... OH KWAMI! TRUTH IS RIGHT THERE WATCHING!

-He knocked Adrien into the water.

-Truth and the Sentimonster are tailing Marinette.

-Adrien got a chance to transform.

-Marinette swerved to get to her house. Getting the giant eye sentimonster to bump into something.

-Marinette gets to her room, where truth tries asking her what she is hiding!

-AND CHAT NOIR JUMPS IN WITH A HIGH KICK.

-They fight and Marinette tries to make sure the miracle box is hidden.

-Chat noir asking if Truth had a bad date or something. VERY POOR CHOICE OF WORDS!

-Chat noir knocks Truth out of the bedroom. He tells Marinette to go hide. He and Ladybug will get her boyfriend back to normal.

-Marinette thanks chat noir and runs out of view.

-Shadowmoth tells Truth to get Chat noir's secret, it will help him deal with the pest so he can achieve his goal. Truth agrees.

-Ladybug arrives and wam bam.

-Ladybug tells chat noir NOT to get caught in the gaze of that

-If you are still reading this at this point I gotta say I admire your dedication, but this is an elaborate prank.

April fools!

[colemacgrathtkz]

Trouble at the market

Breaking out of Hooty's owl pellet was bad enough. She had to pick leaves out of her hair. Not to mention, bits and bones of whatever the tube demon last ate. Now came the crowds of fans of "Luz, the human ''.

Witches of the (unofficial) "bad girls coven" raced upon seeing one of their idols. Witches, young and old, swarmed around her. While others were snatching Penstagram selfies, uneasy fans wanted to know what caused the Isles to tremble just a short while ago. This might be a taste of fame. But it was still the pressure of everyone counting on a high schooler. Not exactly something Luz counted on when she helped save her friends. The witch apprentice turned hero, Luzura. Her identity as "the dummy in the principal's office" was crushing. But this was a new kind of pressure.

She tried to calm down the flock of worried admirers. But they kept asking about the "rainbow geyser" that rained down on the titan. From its head to its toes, liquid metal-like substances crashed down onto the ground.

Unable to answer all their questions, Luz nervously agreed to let everyone know when she learns more. One thing she learned to always keep on her, a bottle of fog brew. After her first day of Hexside, she wanted to ace her first potion. Now, the results spoke for themselves. Using the smokescreen and an invisibility glyph, she snuck away.

Young witch: "So cool. Like that other human hero. What was it? Man-bat?"

Luz(under her breath): "It's actually Bat..."

The slight exhale caused her glyph to wear off. Before she could use another one, she spotted a Glandus student sprinting in her direction.

Luz: "No,no,no, wait, I don't..."

They sped past her, completely ignoring the confused human. And then another, and another, and another. Panic could be heard getting closer, as the sounds of battle grew bigger as well. The ground shook as she saw witches retreating. The former emperor's coven guards fell under the banner of the "C.A.T.S". Those accepted were under the leadership of the original rebels against Belos. Raine Whispers, Daruis, Eberwolf, Lilith and Eda Clawthrone. Only those personally approved by one of them were made into peacekeepers.

C.A.T. guards fired spell after spell as they fell back. Dust and debris approached ominously toward Noceda's direction. She wasted no time running towards them, in hopes of being able to help.

From the dust cloud, two C.A.T. guards were launched through the air. Noceda used a glyph to catch them in greenery and created an ice wall with another. She readied herself and thundering footsteps approached. The sound of metal bending greeted her before the sight of a 30 foot blue humanoid newt emerged. In one arm, he held what looked like a sci-fi energy sword. A large abomination attempted to focus its attacks on his head. The witches responsible for the goo champion became over confident. One of them spotted Luz and became careless.

C.A.T. guard: "It's the human!"

At that moment, the large newt swung its tail. A chunk of rubble was sent crashing into the origin of that call. Their partner ran to their aid. With eyes irritated from the blows, he could just make out a familiar sight. A fuzzy silhouette of hair with leaves and sticks. The huge armored creature closed in on his human target.

King Andrias: "A human, huh?"

Luz: "Um, hi. You're a big boy, aren't ya?"

King Andrias: "What have you done with the box?"

Luz: "The box? I don't know what you're talking about. What box?"

King Andrias: "The power of Amphibia's greatest treasure. My battle on Earth just moments ago. Now, I'm here amongst these creatures. Of course, you sent me here. Always a little thief misusing its power."

Luz: "Listen, um, sir? I don't know anything about a box, but if you just..."

Wait, he knows about earth. He said, he was just there? What's going on in the human world? Did what happen back at the pool site reach there, too?

King Andrias: "You want to play games? Catch!"

Using his sword to bring down a wall, he swung his tail like a bat. Debris went flying towards Noceda's direction. She quickly slammed an ice glyph on the ground. But the frozen wall it created only held against the stone projectiles. Her attacker charged at her almost immediately. Swinging his sword through, he completely closed the distance between them. Despite towering over her, she could see the reds of his eyes. Even with his vision impaired, he was still a threat.

King Andrias: "You've got ice powers now?"

He caught her in his massive hand in an attempt to crush her. But she activated a fire glyph she planted on him, just under his fist. Right when he loosened his grip, she escaped and used a plant glyph to swing from his arm, up to his face. He spotted her aim and headbutted her before she could use another attack. She came down on the ground, hard.

He quickly tried to stomp on her. But she rolled out of the way.

King Andrais: "You think sending me away was going to save Earth?"

He swung his sword without giving her any reprieve. One of the blows cracked the street, causing Luz to lose her footing.

King Andrais: "I'm going to enjoy crushing everyone you care about when I'm done here."

At that moment, several spikes of ice went right for her opponent,

Luz(angrily): "What did you just say?!"

She coated a rod, lying on the ground, in ice. It almost looked like a shimmering sword.

King Andrias: "Touche."

She used a combo of fire and ice to create a fog. Using the cracks in the street, she used a plant glyph to attack from below. He evaded, but took his already poor eyesight off her. She used the distraction to slip away, using an invisibility glyph. Sneaking up on him, she surprised him with a large flash of light. With what felt like looking directly at the sun, he covered his eyes. His reaction from the pain made the opening Luz wanted. Using an ice platform, she launched herself up to his collar. With her makeshift weapon, she lodged it into his armor. Using vines, she knocked the sword out of his hand. She had to use one arm to hold on. But she appeared to immobilize one of his arms with a plant glyph. They managed to drag his arm closer to the ground. Unfortunately, she forgot about his tail. He knocked her off his back and snatched her out of the air with his spare arm.

King Andrias: "So many new powers. You’ve outdone yourself, chosen hero. I underestimated you. But now you die.”

Just as he raised his fist to smash her into the ground, sunlight allowed him to get a better look at his captive.

Bringing her closer to his face, he studied her features.

King Andrias: “You’re not Anne Boonchuy.”

Not wasting this opportunity, she remotely activated one of her last two glyphs. Using a vine to reach the rod under his collar, she set off a series of ice glyphs coated around vegetation that shackled his arm.

King Andrais: “What’s happening?”

He flung her in the direction of the floor. Fortunately, her last glyph allowing her to stop in mid air and land safely on the street.

The barrage of glyphs managed to reach underneath his armor. Finally, immobilizing him completely and ending the battle.

Author's note:

I was worried about how much I could fit here.

[grammaraygirls]

G(r)amma Ray Girls - Story Beats and Treatment

STORY BEATS:

A news anchor reports on a breaking story

An old woman watches the news from her coach, silhouetted by the light of the TV

The silhouette of a different figure watches multiple screens

They furiously type away at their computer

A graphic of an old man’s ID appears on the screen to their left

‘IDENTITY: STOLEN’ flashes underneath it

An explosion comes from behind

The figure turns in surprise

Three women stand at the hole in the wall created by the explosion

Frightened the figure turns back to their computer

They hit a large button next to their keyboard

Multiple robots emerge from the shadows of the room they stand in

The figure flees the room

The first wave of robots surge forward

The girls break their original formation to charge

A montage of fighting begins

A hammer smashes the body of a robot

Sword slashes appear in another robot

It breaks into pieces

Bladed whips tie around a flying robot before it explodes

A pile of robot parts sit before the compute

The girls run to the next room

They reach the hallway

Beneath them the floor begins to shake

It opens into a pit of water that buzzes with electricity

Thousands of electric eels swarm the water below

A few have laser pointers attached to them, that make marks on the walls surrounding the hall

The girls stand at the door in hesitation

The middle girl perks up – an idea coming to her

She uses her whip cuff links as a grappling hook, lodging into the ceiling

She then swings the other two girls across the pit

They all make it safely to the other side

The last girl brought over’s costume catches one of the lasers

They quickly stomp it out

The girls run to the next room

Its empty with the exception of a small little kid holding a bat

They pause, confused

While looking to each other for confirmation of what to do, a thunk sounds out

One girl squats down holding her knee

The kid hit her with his bat

The girls, exasperated grab the bat from the kid

They use his shirt to hang him from a hook in the room, giving him disappointed looks

The girls move to the next room

The original figure stands atop a large robot

They move it forward revealing the weapons on its body

The girls jump into action

A hit here, a parry there, the scene explodes into smoke

The smoke clears

The girls stand over a beaten villain, resigning to their fate.

The girls leave the villain tied to a telephone poll

As they walk out of sight a large flash appears

Where the three young girls once were, they’re replaced by three old women

They pass a building with a graffitied mural that shows their magical girl personas

STORY TREATMENT:

A dolled-up news anchor sits behind her desk holding papers with the days stories on them.  A ‘breaking news’ banner appears across the bottom of the screen, and the anchor begins to report on an epidemic of stolen identities occurring in the city of Oldsville.  An old CCTV blasts the story into a living room where an old woman sits on her couch, the light of the TV silhouettes her as she listens to the report.  Another silhouette figure sits in front of several screens, all flashing different things, as they furiously type away at their keyboard.  To the left of the figure, the drivers license of an old man appears on the screen.  More scrambled typing occurs, then a graphic flashes below the ID, “IDENTITY: STOLEN.” The figure continues to work, the computer screens are the only source of light in the dark room they sit in.  From behind them, an explosion leaves a large hole in the wall, the figure turns to face it.  From the hole, smoke clears to reveal three girls holding various weapons, they look determined and powerful. The figure scrambles back towards their computer and presses a large red button next to their keyboard, before quickly fleeing the room.  From the shadows, a menagerie of robots appears ready for battle.

The girls break formation to begin their fight.  The first wave of robots surge forward, and the girls begin to fight, swinging hammers and swords and whips.  They manage to create a hefty pile of robot parts when they turn to leave the room.  In the hallway, they stop when the ground begins to shake.   The floor beneath them starts to move, revealing a pit of water that buzzes with electricity.  Electric eels writhe below, a few have lasers strapped to their heads, the beams occasionally coming out of the water to zap at the surrounding walls.  The girls hesitate, wondering what to do, when the middle girl perks up, she has an idea.  She uses her whip cuffs as a grappling hook, launching it into the ceiling, creating a vine like swing.  She swings over with the first girl, swings back, and does the same with the second.  They paused only for a moment to stomp out a small fire started on the costume tail of the second girl, where the eel laser had hit it.  Entering the next room, the girls slow to a stop when faced with their third foe.  A small boy holding a bat stands at the center of the room.  Confused, they exchange glances with each other when a thunk is heard.  The girl with the hammer crouches down with pain, holding her knee.   She glares over at the boy who had smacked the back of her knee with his bat.  Exasperated, they grab the bat from the boy, and hang him by his shirt on a hook on the wall.  They give him matching disappointed looks as he pouts from where hangs.  They move on to the final room.

At the top of a large robot, stands the original figure.  They have hooked themselves up to the robot, controlling it like a jaeger pilot.  It steps forward, arm coming out to reveal the weapons placed on its body.  The girls waste no time, jumping into action, moving with each other in a practiced formation, hitting at the robot.  They hit, parry, and shoot at it, a flurry of action that explodes into dust and smoke.  When it clears, the villain lies defeated, battered, and bruised on the floor, the girls towering over them in victory.  They tie the villain up on a telephone poll, leaving them with the bat boy as guard, before authorities come.  The girls walk away, a successful mission.  When they crest a hill disappearing from sight, a large flash appears in the sky.   Where the three girls once were, now walked three old ladies, chatting casually with each other as they moved through the city.  They pass by a building with a mural painted on it.  It’s of the Gamma Ray Girls, and as the old ladies walk by they match up with their individual alter egos.

[justasimptm]

The Bride C7

The walk to the village he doesn’t let a moment go quiet, poking and prodding, making jokes or inappropriate comments. His favorite is to tug on the laces of my corset, never enough to undo any of the knots, but just enough to make me jump and glare at him. Everytime he does it he lets out a hearty laugh at the look on my face, puts his hands up in surrender and swears he’s going to stop, only to do it again minutes later. I try to keep myself out of his jeering, far enough ahead he can’t reach me with his hands and far enough he doesn’t see the flush that coats my cheeks as he whistles at me. As annoying as it is, he does keep it at least mostly respectful which does soothe my fraying nerves some.

“Say, sweetheart, is that a new corset? I don’t think I’ve seen you in it yet, and I definitely would remember,” He calls out, voice dipping down an octave. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something I shouldn’t, but this time he takes my silence as an invitation to continue. “If you ever need help getting into it again-or getting out of it, you know where to find me.” That pulls a sharp, quiet breath from my lungs, surprise causing me to whirl on him, jaw dropped and eyes wide. He couldn’t have behaved for a few minutes longer, we were on the outskirts of the village, so close to the end of our journey. The smirk laced across his lips tells me he is expecting me to ignore him again, to turn back and finish this.

I can’t tell which makes me boil more, that assumption, or the fact he had the gall to say something like that to me, knowing who I am and who my mother is. He steps closer, bordering on too close but far enough not to be rude, tips his head down slightly and stares at me over the rim of his glasses, waiting for me to do something. As smoothly as I can I close the gap, completely entering his space, having no more than a few inches between us. He freezes slightly as I reach up, calmly pinching the arms of his glasses and pulling them down off his face, leaving us eye to eye. I smile sweetly, tucking the arms in and then into the collar of his shirt, patting his chest with two gentle bats. I pretend I don’t notice the firm muscle under my palm, or the way his breathing hitches slightly as he tries to hold still.

“And what, exactly, makes you think I would ask you for that kind of help, hm?” I whisper, cocking my head to the side, “I’m sure that if that’s something I wanted, I could find someone more, how can I put this, experienced.” His eyes narrow, “Maybe you can find a toy in the gaggle of sad little ducklings we’re taking today. I bet if you ask real nice Mother Miranda might let you keep one.” The teasing tone in my voice is more than obvious, and I know he hears it, but he seems finally stunned into silence. Taking this as a victory I back up, grinning at him before making towards town to finally put an end to our less supervised trip. I make it roughly two steps before his hand latches onto my wrist, jerking me slightly off balance. Enough to wobble but not enough to crash down or into him. My eyes snap to his in a fraction of a heartbeat and I have no words to describe the look I find embedded in his. It’s the oddest mix between ego, surprise, and fire, and it sends tendrils of fluttering through my stomach.

“You should be careful how you use those pretty words of yours. Don’t need you getting in any trouble you can’t handle.” He states gruffly, briefly flickering his eyes down and back up before dropping my arm like I burned him. “Come on. We should get this done before your mother worries. We both know that we don’t want that.”

The rest of our walk towards the square is finally quiet. Heisenberg stopped pulling on my strings, physically and metaphorically, and part of me is wishing the silence wasn’t so harsh. It feels like it’s drowning in rejection, stinging and unforgiving. The excited chittering of our soon to be unwilling experiments helps drown it out, they keep to themselves mostly, but I can feel the way they side eye us. We don’t typically interact with them in a group like this, Mother Miranda tells them that they’ll only see us if she has something special for them. They think this is going to be an honor, and how blissful it is to be unaware of the horrors waiting for them at that church, in Moreau’s laboratory. To them Miranda is a God, my mother and the others their protectors who they only hear whispers of when we need more of them, they are so so naive of the monsters we really are.

God I envy that. The flaming jealousy streaks through my chest before I can stop it and I know my face has soured. Unable to tone it down very much I elect to keep my face forwards, walking at the beginning of the pack, a few paces in front of everyone. Heisenberg’s taken up the back, I know it’s to keep his Lycans at bay, but part of me thinks it’s because he wanted to be separated. I catch a breeze of one of the girls speaking. It’s too quiet to make out fully but she sounds so happy. What a fool.

Mother Miranda greets them all joyously, opening her arms and thanking them all for joining her. They nearly collapse to their knees at the sight of her, a flood of thanks and awe soon floods the still air. She takes a few moments with them all, taking down their names. They think it’s so she can address them, but really it’s for their labels so she knows who was the most successful. As she reaches the end of the line she tosses a nod at the two of us, as we hover by the door unsure of if she is expecting us to stay or not. She asks them all to thank us for guiding their passage, for keeping them safe from ‘the devils’.

Our murmur of praise is much shorter than hers was, very clear they’re only doing it to please her. None of them spare us another glance as she dismisses us. The air is smothering as we step back outside, just the two of us again. I hesitate for a split second and he sighs, choosing to break the silence.

“Let’s go sweetheart. Gotta walk you back up to Castle Doom.” He mutters, motioning with his hand for me to start walking. The way he says it is defeated, like he has no interest in doing it but he has no choice. Stubbornness flares up inside my chest and I have to fight a snarl as I roll my eyes.

“You don’t ‘gotta’ do anything, Heisenberg, Just go back to your fucking factory doing whatever the hell it is you do up there. I am more than capable of walking myself.” My voice is filled with anger, shaking with it in fact and he is visibly taken aback. The fact he’s acting like I’m a child that needs babysitting absolutely burns my core. He doesn’t have to watch me, make sure I don’t fall down and get a boo-boo. I have more than enough ways to protect myself.

I don’t give him a chance to argue back, to tell me that he does in fact need to escort me back, because Mother Miranda can’t risk something happening to the source of her progress. Yet another thing I have to exist for that isn’t myself or my choice. Instead I let the fluttering beats of my rage turn into the beats of wings, swarming from my full form into my mass of moths. Vaguely I recognize the sound of his cursing as I take off towards the castle. Everything feels so much calmer when I’m like this, simpler. Just move the wings, keep the destination in mind and trust in myself to get there.

I make it to the gates before I force myself to reform. Mother doesn’t like seeing me like that. Says I should use it for emergencies only because it leaves me more exposed between the fact I’m literal bugs and the time it takes for my body to set back. I push the heavy iron gates open with a resounding creak, surely announcing my presence to everyone inside that I’ve returned. My feet barely step over the barrier when I hear him shout my name from behind me. Why couldn’t he just leave, I wonder, especially if he is oh so concerned about my safety. He calls out to me again, closer this time, but I set my pace with purpose, not slowing or stopping when he curses again. Steeling my bones as I hear the gate slam back shut loudly so I don’t jump. I know my mother is waiting for me inside, ready to ambush me, to push me for every last detail to make sure I behaved appropriately. With some luck, hopefully my sisters will be off somewhere, tormenting some poor servant so I don’t have to deal with them immediately as well. Given how frayed my nerves are, I don’t entirely know how well I would be able to keep myself from doing something I would be punished for. But honestly, after all of that, it might be worth it just to blow off some steam.

@foggyturtleknightangel @beingviolentlyhappy

[hostess-of-horror]

M.B. v.s. Brenda

[M.B. is my Cadetsona OC, M.J. and Brenda belong to @sleepy-heads-blog]

It's another day for the Freelance Police, and M.B. is still in training as the Cadet. She knew that being a new recruit requires physical challenges, but she never thought that she would become almost part of Sam and Max's family. Other than the obstacles back at the Aquabear Theme Park, M.B. had to do grocery shopping, cleaning chores, and had to watch over their son, M.J., every now and then. Not that she complained - a job is a job, after all. Of course, spending time with M.J. is never a chore for her. On this particular day, Sam and Max received news that the Commissioner gave them a day off since there were no cases to be found. M.B. decided to take this opportunity to spend a day around town, going window shopping and getting herself a gyro for lunch. All was well, until she finds a rather upsetting scene.

---

[As she finishes her lunch, M.B. hears yelling in the distance. She looks over to find a distressed M.J. power-wslking away from a girl, who is chasing after him.]

M.B.: *to herself* "...the hell?"

[M.B. throws away her trash and immediately begins to go after them. Moving closer, she realizes who this person is: Brenda. Brenda is shouting obscene insults towards M.J., as if she was oblivious to the world around her.]

M.J.: *turns around in anger* "Leave me ALONE!"

[As he does, Brenda gets right up to his face and shoves him into the ground.]

M.B.: "HEY!"

[M.B. immediately runs up and gets in-between Brenda and M.J.]

M.B.: "What the f*ck is wrong with you?! Leave him alone!"

Brenda: "Who the f*ck are you, b*tch?"

M.B.: "A friend, now leave him be!"

Brenda: "Who do you think you are?! Get the f*ck outta my way!"

M.B.: "No! I said, LEAVE M.J. ALONE!"

[Offended by this outburst, Brenda swings at M.B., backhanding her right across her face.]

M.J.: "Miss M.B.!"

[M.B. yelps. The impact stings with pain, leaving a fushed, throbbing feeling on her cheek.]

Brenda: "Don't you f*cking yell at me! This is none of your business, so f*ck off and go to Hell, you Satanic-@$$ wh*re!"

[M.B. winced at the pain, her eyes watery. She stands silent for a moment. The urge to fight back rises up from her chest. Her heartbeat quickens with adrenaline and fury. M.B. takes in a deep breath.]

M.B.: "You're right. I will go to Hell. There's a place for me there." *turns to look at Brenda* "It's called a throne."

[With a snap of her fingers, a burst of green and purple aura shoots out and surrounds M.B. Both Brenda and M.J. jolt back.]

Brenda: "What the hell?!"

[M.B.'s face remains expressionless as she raises her arms, bending the strange aura to her will. It gathers in her hands, illuminating like small starlit galaxies. On the ground, a magical circle appears around M.B. and M.J. like a barrier. Brenda takes more steps backward.]

M.B.: "I suggest you run away... Right now."

[Suddenly, from M.B.'s back sprouts two giant, black skeletal bat wings. As they spread, three monstrous gremlins crawl out from the circle, snarling and groveling, all looking at Brenda. M.B. lets out a mighty battle cry and the gremlins charge for the attack. Brenda screams in terror; the chase begins. M.J. finally gets up and watches as M.B. follows behind. He is speechless. Brenda runs away in fear as M.B.'s gremlins inch closer and closer. She tries to dodge them by entering a long, dark corridor in-between shops. She is stopped at a dead end.]

Brenda: "Oh God! Oh God, oh God, oh... GOD!"

[M.B. and her gremlins catch up to her.]

M.B.: "Ah, there you are!"

Brenda: "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

[Brenda grabs a nearby rock and throws it at M.B., but one of the gremlins jumps and catches it mid-air.]

Gremlins #1: *cackling* "I caught it! I caught it!"

M.B.: *giggles* "Yes, you did." *lightly pats him on his head* "Good boy..."

[Brenda is completely cornered. There is no way to run except forward. But why would she run towards this powerful Goth chick and her "pets"?]

M.B.: "Hm. Not so tough now, aren't you? To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, I have the high ground." *flips her off*

[Brenda back up, and instead of hitting a brick wall, she feels something moist and slimy. She looks up, finding her up against this huge mass of flesh, teeth, and boils. It squirms to her touch, excrementing saliva and mucus. A boil pops with pus every now and then. Brenda freaks out and falls onto the ground. M.B. and her gremlins laugh at her terror.]

M.B.: *looks up* "Oh look! They're hatching! You know, you'd make an excellent meal for the little ones!"

Brenda: "L-little ones?!"

[The wall of flesh begin to swell into one massive boil. Then it explodes! Emerging from this putrid crater are swarms of large baby maggots, chewing everything in their path. Brenda panicks as she is suddenly attacked and covered by them.]

M.B.: "Not only would you be a delicious snack, but you'd also be their new home. Soon your fresh corpse will be filled to the brim with them! Just think of all the games they'll play inside your ribcage and your intestines and your brain.... every nook and cranny.... until there's nothing left. And just think, your life will have finally made its purpose."

Brenda: *crying hysterically* "STOP! STOP IT! PLEASE STOP IT! OH MY GOD, PLEASE STOP!"

[Brenda opens her eyes. Silence. She finds herself on the ground and looks around.. No maggots. No wall of flesh. No gremlins. No bat wings. Nothing but her and M.B., face to face, within a dark corridor. M.B. slowly approaches her; Brenda scrambles back and up against the brick wall, flinching at its texture.]

M.B.: "If you ever hurt M.J., Geek, or anyone else again..." *leans down over Brenda* "I will show you what Hell truly looks like."

[Her eyes filled with tears, Brenda's whole body shakes in fear. Hesitantly, she inches herself away from her, still looking up at her, waiting for the next abomination to appear. M.B. backs away, allowing Brenda to run away and never turn back. M.B. sighs, examining her cheek with a touch. It still stings.]

M.B.: "Ah..! F*ck, it hurts... f*cking b*tch..."

[M.B. turns around to leave the corridor. There stands in front of her a shocked M.J., staring at her with large wide eyes.]

M.B.: "Oh, sh*t! Uh... I-uh...." *takes in a deep breath* "Oh... God... uh...." *clicks tongue and puts her hands together* "I... I can explain."

[noxshade]

Day 30 & 31: Showdown and Anticlimax

“Why don’t you show yourself, ‘Mistress’?”

Reimu Hakurei looked around, trying to find the mastermind of this plot.  The moon had risen by this late hour; not that you could see it clearly, just a pale red glow behind the scarlet fog.  There was a great rumbling in the air, and a cloud of bats flew past Reimu, converging in a swarming mass.  From this writhing, a figure emerged.  

A slender young girl, her skin a bloodless, pallid shade.  She was clad in soft pinks and vibrant reds in an aristocratic, gothic, western style, two leathery bat wings, black as night against the red mist, spouted from her back, lazily flapping far too slowly to support her, but still she hung in the air before her.  She brushed a lock of her wavy, powder-blue hair behind one pointed ear and looked down at Reimu.

“Ah, just one?  I was told there were two human intruders,” she said in a vaguely western accent.  

An outsider then, Reimu guessed, based on her voice. “Sorry to disappoint, but it’s just me for now.  The other one is dealing with your pet wizard,” she said.  She and Marisa had been ambushed by the maid and the librarian, and they had split up to deal with them.

“Oh, so that’s how it all worked out.  I look forward to seeing the book Patchy will bind with her skin.”  The looks of quiet amusement as she said this betrayed her age, thought Reimu.  The hint of bemused malice in her child’s voice and the shadow of sadism that crossed her too-young face told Reimu that whatever this thing was, it was nowhere near as young as it appeared.

“And I assume you’re looking to do something similar to me, yeah?” Reimu asked.  She shifted her grip on her gohei purification rod and stared back into those blood-red, slit-pupiled eyes.  “Something cruel and unspeakable?”

“It’s not polite to assume things, especially about your host,” the girl responded.  She folded her hands in front of her, like they were making polite conversation.  “I’m rather thinking of asking you to leave my manor for this behavior.  You’ve harassed my staff, disrupted their work, annoyed my friend and if you don’t leave soon you may disturb my dear sister.”

“Well, remove the red fog from Gensokyo, and you might make it back to your dear sister in one piece,” Reimu said, drawing a handful of ofuda talismans.

“If you think this is a game, priestess, you’re sadly mistaken,” the girl said.  She flicked her hand and a massive, intricately ornate winged spear flew into her outstretched palm, too fast for Reimu to tell where it had come from.  “This is all too real.”  They both smiled tightly.

“Looks like it's going to be a long night.”

“Looks like it's going to be a fun night.”

~~~

Reimu Hakurei awoke from another dream, again anxious, disappointed and confused.  These dreams of a fantasy land were always so exciting, but when she awoke it all turned back to crushing disappointment as she remembered her real life.

She rolled checked her bedside clock, and despite wanting to stay in bed another hour, she judged that it was time to start her day.  She rolled off her futon and began her morning routine.  Boil a kettle for tea, brush hair, toast bread, find clothes.  As she spread a tiny amount of jam on her toast, she tried to remember what her dream had been about.  Another of her many heroic fantasies, like all dreams they faded almost as soon as she woke up.  But this one had been so intense, was she fighting a vampire with a spear?

She finished her toast, and found some clean clothes.  A once-bright red hoodie, now a deeper, faded color, and an equally old pair of khaki cargo pants, now devoid of almost all color except the dull smear of age.  She slipped into her pair of beat-up sneakers and tied up her hair into a loose bun, tied with one of her keepsakes from her mother, a red, frilled ribbon.  The locals had always talked about her with such admiration, Reimu felt a private shame that she couldn’t remember much of anything about her, but the ribbon and the two red fabric tubes she wore on her long sidelocks felt familiar in a way nothing else did.

Finally dressed, she slid her front door up, and stepped out into the mid-morning fog of Gensokyo, Tokyo.  Tucked away between Shinkaji and Shimokitazawa, the neighborhood was oft-forgotten by the authorities, filled equally with retirees and hipsters.  Reimu grabbed her broom from inside the Hakurei Shrine, and closed the door.  She checked her donation box on her way down the stairs, and pocketed the spare coins; judging them enough for a sandwich lunch from the corner store later in the day.  She set to sweeping the path between the torii and the shrine, trying to keep this tiny corner of nature wedged between urban sprawl clean.

“Um, hello?” came a voice from behind her.  Reimu turned to see a pale salaryman, sick mask over his face, looking around nervously as he stood on the threshold beneath the torii gate.  She turned and answered him.

“Hello, what are you looking for?” she said, leaning on her broom.

“Are you…the manager of this shrine?” he asked, looking around.

“No, but I would be if shrines had managers,” Reimu responded, wondering what this could possibly be about.  Another real estate stooge trying to buy up the shrine?

“Oh well, um,” he stumbled over his words before continuing. “I’ve got a bit of a weird problem, and I was given this flyer about it…” he produced a slip of paper and offered it to Reimu and she took it.  It read in white lettering outlined in red: “Exorcisms and Spiritual Exterminations: Hakurei Shrine Services” with a picture of the shrine and the address.  Marisa had made these for her months ago, and little had come from putting them all over the neighborhood except for one near-signed old woman trying to get Reimu to handle her tatami mite infestation.  Did Marisa print more of them without telling her?

“Where did you get this?” Reimu asked.   

The man looked even more nervous.  “Well, I was out drinking after work a few nights ago, and I may have started complaining about how…” he paused, looking embarrassed.  Reimu gestured for him to continue, and he collected himself.  “About how the apartment above mine is haunted.  One of the other regulars at the bar said that she knew a great exorcist who could settle the spirit, and she gave me that flyer.  Is that you?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Reimu said to try and calm his obvious nerves. “Do you know this regular?”

“Um, I don’t know her name.” Reimu gestured for him to continue again, and the man explained: “Tall, middle aged, blond hair, dressed in a dark purple business suit.  The bartender says she’s a night owl: stays until dawn, then leaves.”  Despite the right hair color, that didn’t sound anything like Marisa.  After thinking it over for a moment and coming up with nothing, she returned her attention to the salaryman.

“So, a haunted apartment above yours?” she asked.

“Yes, I’ve spoken to the building manager, but she doesn’t believe me.  She walked me through the apartment when I lodged a noise complaint, she said it’s empty because of some kind of rot in the floorboards that she can’t find anyone to fix, but…”

“What kind of noises are you hearing?”

“Moaning, scratching, and loud thumps at the floor,” he said.  “At first, it thought it must be someone that was kidnapped, or held against their will, but since she showed me that it’s empty and she keeps the door locked, I’m convinced it’s haunted.  It’s happened every night for two months now, and I can’t get any sleep.”

Reimu mulled the problem over.  She needed cash, but a locked apartment might not be so easy.  She wondered if Marisa still had her lockpicking kit from her B&E days - who was she kidding? Of course Marisa still had it, the girl never threw anything away.  Reimu checked her watch, and tried to remember when Marisa would be out of her classes; not until 5 pm at the latest, which left them plenty of time for a nighttime ritual and exorcism.

“Alright, if you can pay, I can remove this spirit for you,” Reimu said, shifting her tone of voice to her saleswoman pitch.  “Base fee is thirty thousand yen, with additional fees if the spirit is troublesome and takes longer, and a down payment of five thousand yen for materials.”

The man swallowed behind his mask.  “So, you can do it soon, then?” he said as he removed several bills from his wallet.

“Yes, we can do it tonight.  I’ll need my associate, who should be free tonight.” She accepted the five bills with a bow. “And besides, exorcisms are best performed when the spirit is active, so we’d have to wait regardless.”  She pocketed the cash, and directed the man into the shrine to get his address and take stock of her supplies.

While she may not have been as fearless as the other Reimu in her dreams, she was still an exterminator of spirits, and a keeper of Gensokyo’s balance.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29772798/chapters/74911179

(I guess this is as good a place to start an AU.  Focused on an urban fantasy feel, and majorly inspired by this picture, look for stories in this universe here and on my AO3.)

[jalapeno-princess]

Through His Eyes

(Y’all, look at the deep v-neck in the suit might as well take it off Tuan)

Mark Tuan X Reader

Word Count: 2.6k

Genre: Adorable fluff (tiny bit of angst and insecurities) oh and a couple mentions of body praise (and a couple descriptions of sex but very few)

Summary: Mark being the most supportive, patient, understanding and golden-hearted boyfriend we all deserve.

A/N: So, I wrote this in less than twenty minutes. I was on instagram and I began scrolling through my explore page and stumbled across a few girls who I think are so pretty and I began picking apart my entire being and I started to think so low about myself and I hate degrading myself so much because of what I see on social media so I ended up writing a quick little imagine based on what I just went through and ugh, what I would do to have a boyfriend like Mark in this story (or just like Mark in general I can feel it in my ass that he’s like this towards the lucky person who ends up receiving his love @ God...When? Hahahaha) anyways, I just want to let you all know that you are all beautiful in your own ways and the right person will love you just the way you are! I need to keep reminding that to myself. Enjoy!

“Hey Mark?”

After a hectic week of work with both of your schedules colliding, you and your boyfriend Mark finally had a day off where you could spend your time together doing whatever it is your hearts desired. Today, since you were both exhausted from the many hours of overtime you completed, Mark suggested that you’d just laze around your shared apartment doing your own things while basking in each other’s presence.

You were currently propped up on your bed, leaning against the headboard scrolling through your social media accounts while he was sat in between your legs, his head was heavy against your chest while he played the latest installment of call of duty, but it didn’t matter. You loved having him so close to you and your heart fluttered each time he looked up at you and nonverbally hinted towards wanting a kiss.

Although a small part of you wanted to do something a little more romantic like go to the beach and watch the sunset or dress up for a night on the town, you loved being in an environment where you could be yourself without having to worry about what others thought about you. You also enjoyed the alone time with your boyfriend. Even if the two of you live together, you hardly got to see him other than right before you went to bed.

He hummed gently in curiosity at your sudden call of his name, but continued to flick at the controller angrily. A small giggle fell from your lips at his tiny little grunt when he got killed in the game. For someone who was extremely soft spoken and gentle, he was a completely different person while playing video games. It’s as if the only time Mark would ever get mad was whenever he had a game console in his hands. You took a deep breath, afraid of his reaction after past experience of being in a situation like this and finally placed your phone in front of him.

“Do you think she’s pretty?”

You may not have been able to see him since the position the two of you were sitting in prevented you from doing so, but you’ve been dating Mark for long enough to know that he probably took a quick glance because he did not stop shooting at the bad guys at all.

“Hmm—She’s alright.”

He continued to play the game as if you didn’t just ask him what he thought about another girl and you couldn’t help but grow curious. You thought this girl was extremely pretty, and by the many comments she got on the photo, you knew many people agreed with you. However, hearing that Mark didn’t think much of her to even bat an eye at her photo made your cheeks warm.

From time to time, you’d find yourself wondering if Mark ever regretted getting in to a relationship with you. When he first asked you to be his girlfriend almost three years ago, you thought he was just playing around with you. But he made it painfully obvious that he harbored feelings for you and reminded you every single day that he loved you with his entire being.

No matter how many times he would compliment you not only on your beauty, but on your personality, intelligence and your heart, you still felt extremely insecure and always compared yourself to the girls you’d see on Instagram. At one point, Mark took away your phone to get you to stop obsessing over other woman you’d see on social media because he hated that you thought so low of yourself. It was hard for him as your boyfriend hearing you degrade yourself because he thought the world of you.

He tried his best to be patient with you and he knew that insecurities were normal because there were a couple of things he wished he could change about himself too. Yet, it always upset him hearing that you wish you could look like these girls whom he was sure heavily edited their photos before posting them and he had a feeling they didn’t look like that in real life. A few minutes later, you returned your phone back in to his face and asked about a different girl.

“What about her? What do you think about her?” He released a sigh before shrugging. Mark tried his best to not get angry on you or take out his frustrations on you nor did the two of you ever really have any arguments in the duration of your relationship; but if you did ever disagree it was on the topic of how you looked.

Sometimes Mark would blame your insecurities on himself; was he not complementing you enough? Was he not showing love to your body the right way while the two of you would have sex? Did he say something to make you feel like you weren’t pretty? He could never put his finger on it. All he could do was sit there and listen to you complain about things he knew weren’t true because he didn’t want fights to break out for something so minuscule and not worth fighting for.

“I don’t think about her. Now, this level is going to need all my attention babe, so give me a few minutes without any interruptions please?”

You nodded in agreement; but you felt bad for doing this to him. You couldn’t help it. It wasn’t like you enjoyed doing this. Who wanted to hear what their boyfriend had to say about other women? What girl in their right minds would continue to pester their boyfriend about whether or not he thought another girl was pretty? Deep down, you wished you weren’t so insecure; you wish you could look at another girl and think “Hey, she’s pretty. But so am I.”

But you couldn’t. That wasn’t who you were. If a girl had a nice body, you’d find reasons to hate on yours. Every time you’d look at a model, you wondered if they had a body Mark would prefer his significant other to have. If she had nicely shaped brows, you wondered if Mark disliked your thick, bushy ones. If she had a petite frame, you’d beat yourself up in thinking that Mark would rather have a girlfriend who was smaller than your busty and more voluptuous body.

It took you a while to come to the conclusion, but you had a mental illness and you despised yourself for allowing society to make you feel as if you weren’t beautiful. When you realized Mark succeeded and moved on to the next level, you tapped his shoulder gently and waited for him to turn around.

“Okay, last one I promise. Don’t you think she’s extremely pretty?”

Your boyfriend’s eye roll didn’t go unnoticed to you and you couldn’t stop the scoff that emerged from the back of your throat.

“Mark, I think you need to get your eyes checked. Every girl that I showed you are practically goddesses. You know, you don’t have to lie for my sake. I would rather you tell me the truth so I can work on myself and change for the better—“

“But that’s the thing y/n, you don’t have to change at all. I’m not lying for your sake. I’d be lying if I said I found any of those girls relatively pretty and you wanna know why? I completely desensitized myself towards any other girl the day I met you. You are the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen and no—I know what you are going to say. I’m not just saying that because you’re my girlfriend, I’m saying it because it’s the truth. You are so fucking beautiful y/n. Some nights I’ll stay up just looking at you in awe of how beautiful you are. Everything you claim to hate about yourself, I love profusely. Your smile could light up an entire room with how bright and contagious it is. Your nose is so cute, your dimples are so pretty, your brows; you always talk about how much you hate them but baby so many girls would kill to have them. Your cheekbones are so well defined, your eyes have this sparkle in them especially when you talk about the things that you love and don’t even get me started on your lips.”

He turned his body completely and was sitting on your lap at this point. His high pitched laughter filled the room as soon as he saw a tear fall from your cheek. One thing about Mark, although he was a man of little words but of many actions is that when he did speak, each and every word pulled on your heartstrings in the most captivating way. He placed a gentle kiss on your forehead before cupping both of your cheeks in his hands.

“Your heart must be so big, that there wasn’t enough room to fit it in your beautiful body that God had to put some of it in your lips. Your lips are the perfect shade of pink and they’re so soft and I love how they feel against mine. Whenever we kiss, I’m telling you, I feel butterflies swarming in my stomach every single time—look at what you’ve done to me baby. I’m a fucking ball of cheese when it comes to you but it’s because I love you so much and I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. I um—I also particularly enjoy the way your lips look and feel when they’re wrapped around my cock—what? You said to be honest here y/n it’s the truth. Fine, but I’m serious.”

His lips softly ghosted over yours before he finally stole a few fleeting kisses. No matter how many times the two of you would kiss, you were never able to pull away. You would proudly admit with no hesitation that you were addicted to Mark’s lips and you loved how they were always so sweet and melded perfectly with yours; like honey.

“Fuck, and your body was perfectly crafted. You always say you hate how thick your thighs are, but if I’m being honest, I love how thick they are baby. I think they are so luscious and they feel so good wrapped around my waist as I bottom in to you or when I eat out this pretty little pussy of yours, they’re like my own personal ear muffs. You have the most insane curves that every single thing you wear looks amazing on you. You could be wearing one of my baggy shirts or one of my hoodies that practically swallow you whole and I will always want to rip it off of you. You have the prettiest titties; they’re so huge, so plump and so perky. Loving on them is one of my favorite parts of sex: I particularly like gliding my dick in and out of them, but I also like seeing your nipples harden whenever I pinch and twist at them or when I bring one of your breasts in my mouth. And shit, whenever you wear low cut tops, I have to prevent myself from fucking you senseless no matter where we are. Oh, and your ass is a masterpiece. I love how it bounces against by cock whenever I take you from the back, I enjoy slapping them when you’re naughty and fuck, massaging both your cheeks is a dream. Wow, I’m surprised you didn’t hit me like you normally would whenever I talk about how fucking sexy your body is—and I spoke too soon.” He rubbed the part of his shoulder where you shoved him all but gently and took your hands in his.

“Not only are you beautiful on the outside, but you are exceedingly beautiful on the inside to and a girl like that is rare to find. I’m sorry if I don’t remind you enough of how perfect I think you are or how much I love you, but I think the entire world of you baby. You’re it for me. You’re my person, my soulmate y/n. You’re the only girl I ever look at and want to look at for the rest of my life. So stop showing me these random women you find on twitter or instagram because you’re going to get the same response out of me every single time—wait. There is a girl I find very attractive. Give me your phone.”

You furrowed your brows and didn’t even try to hide your disappointment at his sudden change of heart. He literally just told you you’re the only girl in the world to him yet he says there’s someone else he thinks is good looking. Right as you’re about to make a comment, he hands you back your phone and you playfully roll your eyes when you see your profile.

“Damn, she’s a beauty isn’t she? Now that’s a fucking goddess, I just got hard looking at her. You think she’d respond to me if I sent her a DM?” You were quick to shove him off of you but you pushed him down on the bed and hovered over him.

“I’m sorry for always bothering you about these things Mark. I’ll try my best to stop comparing myself to other people. But I hope you know that I’m extremely grateful for all that you do and say to try and get me to learn to love myself. Don’t think you don’t compliment me enough, in fact I think you are too generous with your sweet words. I’m the stubborn one who refuses to accept it but I’ll work on it. I love you Mark, so much. I really don’t deserve you.” You stole a chaste kiss from his lips before he pulled you down so that you were chest to chest with him and snaked his arms around your waist.

“Don’t say that, you deserved the entire universe babe, and I plan on giving it to you. Now that I told you just how beautiful you are, what do you think about getting a physical demonstration? And then maybe later, you could show me just how grateful you are for me while on your knees as I shove this dick down your throat—oh, you’re gonna pay for that. I never understand why you aren’t this physical when we make love. Get back over here y/n! I’m going to make sure you can’t walk for the rest of the week once I’m done with you.”

[multifandomfanficss]

My Babysitter’s a Vampire

Benny x Reader Oneshot

Love Positions Don’t Work On Me

Prompt: The Reader has a crush on Benny. When Benny cooks up a love potion for him and Ethan to get girlfriends he doesn’t understand why it doesn’t work on the reader.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock the loud clock droned on as you waited for your class to end. It was almost your favorite time of day. Lunch. Lunch was the time when you got to hang out with your friends and talk to the boy you liked. He was in your friend group, but you could never tell him you liked him. You were afraid to ruin what you had and plus that crap destroys friend groups. You just had to keep it a secret. It wasn’t a very well kept secret. It seemed like everyone knew you had a crush on Benny except for Benny. I guess it was kinda like Ethan’s whole thing with Sarah. He was always so incredibly obvious, but she didn’t notice or maybe she just didn’t care. No matter how hard you try you feel like you’re being too obvious. At least that’s what Erica and Sarah tell you. RING the ring of the bell ripped you from your thoughts as you grabbed your books and headed to your locker to see Benny. Your lockers were right next to each other. You stopped dead in your tracks when you got close enough to see Benny and Ethan at Benny’s locker with Sarah and Erica. Sarah was strangely hanging off of Ethan and to make things even stranger Erica was kissing Benny. You were furious. How could she do this to you?! She was supposed to be one of your best friends. You ran to the bathroom and proceeded to lock yourself in a stall and try to hold in the sobs. You knew you weren’t Benny’s type and that he could never possibly like you back, but you were furious at Erica for hurting you like that. She knew how much you liked him. Plus she could have any guy in school. She always goes for the jocks and the populars. What was she doing kissing this idiot? My idiot. Then the confusion set in. Why was she kissing Benny? Why was she even talking to him in public. Then the realization set in. That idiot! He used magic to get Sarah and Erica to date him and Ethan. You were pissed. You had to find them. You rushed out of the bathroom and ran into Rory. “Hey (Y/N)! How’s it hanging?” He asked. “I’m sorry Rory I don’t have time to talk right now” You apologize. “Do you know what Benny and Ethan did to get all of those bodacious babes to follow them around school? I tried to ask them, but Benny just said they had mad skills and-“ “Wait what do you ALL THOSE bodacious babes?! Are you saying it’s more girls than just Erica and Sarah?!” You ask. “Yeah! I didn’t believe it either. I saw them in the cafeteria. They had girls swarming them” He said in surprise. The anger bubbled inside of you. “I’m going to kill him” You say rather calmly as you walked away from Rory and head into the direction of Benny’s next class. Lunch was over now so you had to find him in the middle of English class. “So I’ll catch you later?!” Rory yelled down the hall at you with a voice crack. You didn’t respond. You were too angry. Dating somebody else? That would be one thing. But using magic to take away the free will of every girl in school to get them all to fall in love with you? He was so dead. They were both dead. I have no doubt that Ethan was part of this idiot scheme too.

When you got to his class you saw Erica making kissy face through the window on the door. She was obviously trying to get Benny out of class so they could fool around in the bathroom. When he didn’t come out she gave a pouty face and walked away. That was surprising. You walked up to the window next. You sent him a text saying CODE BLUE: Meet me outside now! “I really need to go to the bathroom. It’s kind of an emergency.” Benny said to his teacher who obviously didn’t want him leaving class. She sighed. “Fine. Hurry” His teacher said in an aggravated tone. Benny left the classroom to meet you in the hallway and you pulled him to the side. “What’s wrong is everything oka-“ You cut him off by punching him in the arm. “Ow! Hey! What did I do to deserve that?!” He yelled in a sort of hushed tone. “You’re such an idiot.” You say in a stern voice. “I thought you were in trouble. You said ‘code blue” He questioned you. “Yeah. Code red is trouble. Code blue is for BENNY IS A DUMBASS.” You yell at him. “I can’t believe you used your magic to get every single girl in school to fall in love with you! How could you do that?! How could you be that ridiculously irresponsible and rude?! Think about what you did to all of those girls!” You lecture him. “HeyHey Hey- I was just trying to help Ethan okay. You know he’s liked Sarah for-like-ever” He tries to reason. “First of all I love Ethan, but Sarah should have her own free will to decide on her own who she wants to date and secondly that doesn’t mean you should have forced every girl in school to fall in love with both of you!” You continue to lecture. “I dropped the bottle I didn’t mean to-“ He stopped talking and you could see the wheels turning. “Wait a second. If every girl in school is in love with me, why aren’t you? It even worked on Erica, but you’re just mad at me” He asked. The wheels were turning and sooner or later he was going to figure it out. “(Y/N)....are you...” he trailed off for a second. Oh no. He knows I like him. “A lesbian?” He asked. That is not what I was expecting. “I mean it would explain a lot considering you’ve never had a boyfriend and-“ You cut him off again. “Will you shut up! I’m not a lesbian and even if I was that shouldn’t even matter” You say not knowing what else to say. You weren’t a lesbian, although you were an ally. “You can tell me. It’s okay. I’m your best friend” Benny said sincerely as he put his hand on your shoulder. You could feel your heartbeat in your throat as you looked up at him with his perfect smile and his stupid brown hair. “You have to get back to class. I have to go...” You trailed off as you turned away from Benny and walked down the hall. “(Y/N)! Wait!” He started after you. “I just can’t do this right now” you said quietly as you walked away. A single tear slipped down your face, but he couldn’t see it because your back was to him.

RING the last bell of the day rang and you were out for the day. You just wanted to go home and forget anything ever happened. You stood at your locker packing up your things when you heard your name being called “Hey, (Y/N)! Wait up!” You heard Ethan’s voice through the crowd of students. “What do you want Ethan?” You were still mad, but you were angrier with Benny considering he was the one who actually created the spell. It was probably his idea too. “I just wanted to say that I totally respect you and whatever you’re going through. Ya know I have a cousin who’s gay” He said trying to be supportive. “For the last time I’m not a lesbian!” You exclaim, shutting your locker and walking out of the school. This had all gone way too far. You knew what you had to do. It was time to pull out the big guns.

You stood in front of Benny’s front door. You pressed the button and heard the doorbell. The door opened to see the sweet face of Benny’s grandmother, a sweet old woman with magic powers, totally capable of kicking anyone and everyone’s ass. “(Y/N)? What are you doing here? Benny is supposed to be at Ethan’s. I thought you three would be hanging out there” She questioned me. “Benny is at Ethan’s, but Benny is also being an idiot so that’s why I’m here” You explain. “When isn’t he my dear?” She joked. You laugh a little. “Come on in. I’ll make you a snack” She offered. You gladly accept and sit down in the living room. She brings you a sandwich and a glass of lemonade. “Thanks Grandma” You smile. You loved Benny’s grandmother. Your own grandparents lived out of state so you were never close with them. “So what have the boys gotten themselves into this time?” She asked, obviously a little tired of their bullshit. “Benny made a love potion and now every girl in school is in love with them” You sigh. She gave me a sad look. She knew. Grandmas always do. “Don’t worry my dear. They’ll get their’s” She smiled. “What do you mean?” You ask. “The Earth must stay in balance. When you knock it out of balance, it will knock back. As much as those girls loved them, they’ll hate them just as much” She laughs. “Oh my god” You grow to have a horrified look on your face. “What’s wrong my dear? Don’t you want them to pay for what they did?” She asks. “Erica kissed Benny! Like she KISSED HIM! She barely even likes him on a normal day! She’s gonna kill him” You explain with worry. “I gotta go!” You say rushing out of the house and over to Ethan’s.

When you arrived at Ethan’s house you saw angry girls all over his lawn. The martial arts club had baseball bats and hockey sticks. You start to fight some of them off. “I am so sorry that I told Ethan you were a lesbian! Please don’t kill me!” You hear Benny scream. “I’m not a lesbian!” You exclaim putting your fist out, punching and successfully knocking out the president of the martial arts club. That’s when Erica and Sarah drop down. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! You two just had to magically seduce the two strongest beings at our high school, didn’t you?!” You yell at them. “Nobody is killing Benny, but me!” Erica argues. “And nobody is killing Ethan, but me!” Sarah adds. “Well too bad because neither of you will be killing anyone” You inform them. You then pull out the UV lightsaber the boys made to fend off the girls. They won’t go anywhere near the light and as long as they stay away nobody gets hurt. It’s like a bug zapper for vampires. Sarah and Erica started hissing and you knew you needed a plan quickly. “I have an idea!” Ethan says almost on que. “Well I’d love to hear it!” You and Benny both yell at the same time. You get a little blushy, but the boys can’t see because they’re standing behind you. Next thing you know you’re being pulled into some cage that Ethan bought online from some movie or something. “Are you sure this will work?” You ask. “The eternity cage is impenetrable!” Ethan exclaims. “And so is the prop...I hope...” Benny adds. The three of you migrate to the center of the cage where Sarah and Erica won’t be able to touch you and you decide to wait it out in close quarters. Benny and Ethan were pretty close, but Benny was on top of you. He had one arm wrapped around you. You don’t even think he noticed. It seemed like second nature to him, but you didn’t mind. “How long do you think this is gonna last?” You ask. “Well they loved us for 6 hours so I’m guessing they’ll hate us for about 5 more” Ethan guesses. “Awesome” You state as more girls flock to the cage. You press close into Benny as you leave one arm extended with the UV lightsaber. He wraps his arm tighter around you. “I’m sorry” He says quietly. “For what? Telling Ethan I’m a lesbian? Even when I’m not even a lesbian?” You ask him. “Well no, but I’m sorry for that too” He apologies. “What I meant was I’m sorry for getting you into this” He adds. “It’s okay. You didn’t mean to drop the bottle” You acknowledge. “Why are you in this?” Ethan asks. “What do you mean? I care about you guys” You tell him. “No, I mean why are you in THIS? Why weren’t you loving us in school and now hating us on the other side of these bars?” Ethan asks. You know the answer, but you just don’t feel like explaining. You’ve gone through all of this with Benny. You can’t lose him now. “I don’t know. Maybe I just spend so much time with you guys that Benny’s magic just doesn’t effect me like that” You spill out some stupid answer that you know isn’t true. Thankfully the boys believe it. Eventually you dose off in the cage in Benny’s arms while Ethan mans the UV lightsaber.

You wake up the next morning to see Sarah and Erica in front of the cage with Benny’s Grandmother a key...the key to the cage. You forgot you were locked in. You watched the boys beg to get out and eventually the girls let them out on one condition.

You were sitting on Benny’s front porch with Sarah and Erica while Benny’s Grandma was in the front yard with a lawn chair. You were drinking lemonade as the boys washed Benny’s Grandma’s car. The four of you were taking full advantage of the boys as payback and it was kinda funny although you did feel a little bad for them. They spent the night in a cage with girls wanting to tear them limb from limb surrounding them. You thought they’d had enough. “Hey, Benny I think we’re out of lemonade. Why don’t you come inside and help me make some more” I offer. “Yeah, sure” He puts down the sponge and heads inside with you. The kitchen is a little quiet until Benny breaks the silence. “So why didn’t my spell work on you?” He asks. “And don’t say you’re immune to my magic because that’s not how it works” He adds. You knew you had to tell him. No lie in the world could get you out of this. “Benny...” He looked at you with interest. “Love potions don’t work on me...because you can’t make somebody fall for you...who already likes you...” You tell him. You start to sweat and your blush becomes uncontrollable. “Wait you-“ “Yeah” You cut him off. “How long?” He asks. “Since like forever...” You tell him. “Since we met in middle school...” You add. He begins to smile. “Why didn’t you say anything?” He asks. “Well you were always all over other prettier girls and-“ He cuts me off. “(Y/N), no one is prettier than you” He tells me. “What?” You ask. “(Y/N) you are the funniest, smartest, bravest, most beautiful girl I have ever met” He confesses. “Really?” You ask. “Yes” He smiles and leans down to kiss you. You smile into the kiss. You pull away. “Benny! Where’s my lemonade with extra plasma?!” We hear Erica yell. We separate and laugh. We then get back to making the lemonade.

[the-septic-maniac]

Kenshiro and Sakura's Execution: Demons Vs The Warrior Cousins!

Thi is an execution for Sakura Ogami and her boyfriend/captive, Kenshiro. This is also going to include a couple of my fan kids. Happy Despairing!

Sakura and Kenshiro both woke up in a Killiesum with loud cheers of children. They looked around to see what seemed to be hundreds of kids, all wearing some sort of helmet that looked like a monokuma head. Soon, the entire room went dark and everyone went silent. A voice that sounded like a typical announcer at a fight. “Boys and Girls! Welcome to the Killiseum! Where Demons come to die! Tonight’s a special fight as it will be Demons against Demons! So let me introduce who's going to be fighting!” A light shone above them. “First, we have two of the strongest fighters, presumably known to demon kind! And they just so happen to be lovers! I welcome: Sakura Ogami and Kenshiro!” Boos came from the crowd with few cheers inbetween. “And for the ones fights on our side let me introduce you to the iconic duo, the ones who could possibly even out rank these two who their fighting. The ones who have fought of many a monokuma and joined our ranks as fighters and are semi demons! It would be my honor to introduce you to The Warrior Cousins: Evan Kuwata and Santa Nakajima!” Soon two figures emerged from the shadows. One had long hair that went from a sakura pink to white and had his hair in a messy ponytail. He had a sly, cocky look on his face. He wore a pink and green green gi with his hands having bandages on them. The other one had a green bow in her hair with it being in a ponytail as well. Her hair was dark green to a chestnut brown.The also wore a gi with the same colors but reversed. She had more of a neutral, focused look on her. Both had a strange device attached on their face like a lens that had the signature monokuma eye.

“Now that we have introduced our fighters, let us explain the rules! This is to the death! Which means that whoever loses, will be dead! There will be weapons available! Use those to your advantage, you four! Now without further a do, let the fight begun!”

A bell echoed throughout the room, signifying that their battle with the cousins had begun. They came at Sakura and Kenshiro at quick speed. They tried to move away so that they could avoid the two but Evan had appeared behind Sakura and whispered in her ear, “Hello Mother.” What? I don’t remember having a kid? Especially not with leon. Sakura’s mind swarmed with thoughts but she needed to focus at the task at hand. She begun to throw punches and kicks at Evan but very few were able to hit him. But several hits her. He was quick. If it was to really be believed than this could be her kid, but her life at the moment was at risk. Sakura and Evan danced around each other. Sakura had gained several bruises and was starting to tire out. Soon enough Evan had a familiar-looking katana in his hands. It looked to still have blood on it from when it was used to break a classmate's wrist. But it looked like it was actually sharpened instead of dull based on the fact that a lot of the gold foil was missing. “You seem to recognize this blade. It was just a blunt weapon when I found it. But now its my weapon of choice!” He struck it against Sakura’s knee and loud cracking noise echoed through out the Killiseum. Blood started to drip from her leg as he drew the blade across her leg. She stumbled and she tried to get back up again and searched for a weapon but she saw nothing good. “Going somewhere mom?” He struck again but this time on the other leg and he sliced at the knee, cutting in deep. A seering pain went up her leg as she tried to stand back up but she couldnt. “Its weird killing you but with my Father dead in a batting cage, and my aunt Kanon nowhere to be found ive gained a slight grudge against you and the rest of the survivors of that damned killing game. And santa agrees with me that we must do what we must. NOW DIE!” He drove the katana into Sakura’s chest, killing her. He digged around in her chest and pulled out her heart and showed it of to the crowd. He then crushed it inbetween his hands and went after Kenshiro who his cousin was fighting.

Kenshiro was struggling to fight aganstthe small spry girl that he stood up against. She was fast and even with little to no things to hid behind, she was sneaky as all get out. He heard her knuckles crack from behind him, and was punched at the back of his hand he stumbled but was still able to stand up. Tho his sickness was starting to get to him. Then, Evan joined the fight, with his katana on hand. Soon he was fighting alone with his partner dead on the ground, he tried to use that as motivation. But soon his sickness caught up with him and he fell to the ground, unable to get up. “I’ll let you handle this one my dear cousin” Evan said with a maniacal look on his face. “It would be my honor” santa gained a smirk unlike he’s ever seen. She soon got on top of Kenshiro and begun to strangle him with her bare hands. Kenshiro tried to push her off him but Evan sliced his elbows and knees to prevent him from thrusting his limbs around so much. Soon with a combination of his sickness and Santa strangling him he died. Santa asked for Evan’s katana. She cut open Kenshiro’s corpse and grabbed his heart and did the same thing that Evan did to it. Cheers erupted from the crowd. “Thats the end of the battle! The Warrior Cousins have won!” Evan and Santa waved to the crowd. Smirks on their face, they walked towards the exit.

Captives Execution Masterlist Execution Masterlists

[whumpbby]

P1 Saw your Wolves of Gotham and raise you Treasured Omega of Crime Alley, everyone including low ranked criminals love and protect the sole omega who lost everything but continues to give his all for everyone else, sharing food he's stolen or dubiously obtained, giving extra cash to the criminals who are just working with what the got and trying to feed their own families. The Omega is the first to step into confrontations if it means saving the pups and younglings of the alley. All adore him.

P2 The Omega who will offer clothes for alphas whose rut is painful without the scent of an omega to ease it. Who with sit with the sick that are dying in the street, just so they know they’re not alone. People want to claim him, the police want to bring him in for questioning as he’s often seen on the arms of suspicious persons, Batfam wants the Omega to have a home and pack but. Crime Alley will not let them take away the brightest soul of their hell hole and they will fight to protect Jason. 

***************************

This is, Jay didn’t start out strongly, he started out as a terrified child that was suddenly motherless, with the landlord knocking on the doors and debt collectors closing in. He was taken in by the social services at first - but social services, when it came to omegas, were gunning for getting him an alpha asap to get him out of the system - the orphanages in the bad parts of the city were called omega mills for a reason, the foster families that got kids form them weren’t there to help poor kids… Jason escaped as soon as a foster parent tried to scruff him for the first time. Fuck that.

But that landed him on the streets, with no support and no idea how to survive. He made do. He stole and lied and pretended to be an alpha when necessary, because that was what worked - omegas on the streets didn’t live long. So, he crushed all of his budding soft instincts and carried on. 

And then, when he was fourteen, he saw a group of punks picking on a homeless kid, and stepped in - and that was the end. He was beaten to death and there was no Robin with a finny quip, there was no Batman to stop it from happening, there was only freezing pavement underneath and trash heaping all around, and the darkness slowly closing in… 

He comes back, though. He wakes up with a gasp, cold and pained, and he’s breathing again, he drags himself to his hideout and… It’s been two days an no one found his body - not surprising in Gotham. He doesn’t know hat to make of it. He could swear that he died… he knows what survivable pain feels like and this was way above it…

And there’s this thing inside of him now, this burning feeling warming him… this anger… this rage, unbidden, raising with every moment of remembering how he got there, with every memory of his crap life and this crap city ad he’s so angry!

He’s so done. Gotham killed him, so he has no more qualms about letting it get away with anything. 

He finds the punks that killed him - a pack of young bucks, alphas and betas that want to be alphas, juvie material that hunted poorest corners for omegas to use. And they seem - fine. They seem normal, acting like nothing, like they didn’t just beat a kid to death a few days ago in a dingy alleyway… If he saw regret in them, he might have reconsidered, the good parts of him might have stopped, but there is no regret. 

He gets his revenge - he’s not stronger than them, but if he catches them one on one, his rage wins. The old gas-pipe is the only thing he could find to use as a weapon and it turns out to be a fairly effective, so he keeps it. Killing doesn’t make him feel good, quite on the contrary, but it makes that burning inside of him settle somewhat, the knowledge that no one else will be hurt by these lowlifes gives him peace for a time. 

But it doesn’t last long before he’s faced with another atrocity - a kid omega, barely older than seven, and two adult alphas carrying it away, firmly scruffed, towards a nearby car.And maybe back in the day Jason would have turned his face away, knowing that he won;t be able to stop two adults, that he is too weak - but not now. He knows that he isn’t weak enough to let it happen, that burning inside roars into flames, he picks up his pipe and starts running. The first alpha doesn’t have a chance to turn around before Jason boosts himself on the fallen trashcan and the pipe swings, hits the man in the side of the head, the bent part on the end crushing his temple. He drops down like a wet rag. The other alpha shouts, turns, he drops the kid and his hand goes to his pocket to reach for a knife, but Jay is already standing on the top of the car swings. Headshot. Blood sprays into the air - he knows that head wounds bleed like hell, he knows… 

The baby (he’s just a baby, he’s so small, so thin, so bruised and smells of blood and terror) comes back to himself and, seeing the situation - the boy doesn’t run, doesn’t wail, he scrambles for the dropped knife and plunges it into the fallen alpha’s abdomen. And then again. And again. Whining and crying, frantic, he does what every omega in his place would do (that he presented this young makes disgust curl in Jay’s belly).

But the street is not safe, he knows that, soon enough someone will smell blood. He jumps down from the car and wrestles the knife from the kid’s hands, coaxes him to b quiet and get up, the little shaky legs barely hold him up. They need to run. Blood is blooming around, the two alphas will never be a danger to them, but the cops that arrive soon will. They need to go, they need to hide. 

Jay leads them into the tangle of streets, into the heart of abandonment, instincts pushing at him to go lower, to the ground, lower, out of the freezing air, dig, bunker down, nest where they won;t be able to find them. 

They end up going down - into the ruins of Old Gotham, a spiderweb of corridors and passages half crumbled and dark, but dry, safe from prying eyes, safe from the cops. They hunker down and nest, just the two of them. Jason patches the kid up as best as he can, washes him down with what little water he had, gives him his threadbare clothes that are dirty, but at least don’t smell like alpha spunk. 

He has no idea what to do now - the fired has died down, the power it gave him is dropping, he feels sick and scared, he’s just a kid, the kid is just a baby, they both have blood on their hands now, no one will take them in… they can’t hide in the tunnels forever, can they?

Can they?

*

Two days later Jason emerges from the tunnels into a snowy landscape of Gotham proper. His gas-pipe on the back, half hidden by his ratty backpack. He goes back to the streets he knows and put his ear to the ground, and there are whispers about two alphas snuffed out like nothing, left a bloody mess on the frozen pavement. Fingers point to Batman, but Batman doesn’t kill, does he? There’s no other vigilante in Gotham who would… and the alphas were traffickers, no great loss, is it? Cops wouldn’t touch them, and they were too small of fries for Batman, so really, it’s almost community service at this point. 

Sometime settles in Jay’s belly that day, the burning and the rage, the knowledge that if he didn’t do anything, the baby would be dead - that no one else was going to do anything to protect the kids on the streets… if he doesn’t do it, no one will. Who were they going to rely on, Robin? The little useless alpha running behind the Bat and throwing jokes as if it wasn’t serious, as if the lives the overlooked weren’t important, as if the victims were nothing!

If he doesn’t do anything, they will keep dying, being trafficked, being hurt… 

He has o do something.

*

Two years later, Batman is at the end of his rope. He can’t be more than sixteen, that kid, can he? He’s tall for his age, but malnutrition made his body awkward, all of it is lean muscle, poised and tense to strike at any moment, all of the energy stored for fighting, for running, for the gas-pipe seemingly welded to his hand. All of it poised to strike without warning at the barest provocation. 

It’s heartbreaking, to see what the city did to that child, what Gotham turned him into. For an omega to be - this. This coiled snake, this wild dog hungry for flesh of whoever crossed him - it’s unsettling, it’s wrong. His scent makes Batman’s stomach curl, harsh and heavy, and unfriendly. The kid makes no attempt at hiding it, it hangs heavy over the Old Gotham, a widening circle of LEAVE, GET OUT OR DIE. A scent of a monstrous omega underlined with a chorus of others, not as acute, but just as determined, just as dangerous - a hidden city of omegas circling like ants around their queen, a nest of hornets ready to swarm any perceived threat until it stops moving. 

He tried to crack it, he tried to - he tried to help them. Early on and even now, he will never stop trying to help them - but they made it clear that they don’t want his help. That Batman isn’t their savior. 

(“A sign of hope, my fuckin’ ass!” The girl couldn’t be more than fourteen and Bruce’s ears burn from hearing her casually swearing. She was scruffy and thin, smelled to be close to her cycle, she should be in a cosy family nest with her mother, not on the street with a bat in her hands, sneering at Robin with open contempt over a moaning man that used to be a prominent john at her feet and a group of more kids behind her back… “You appear and we do headcount, means enough people were murdered for the freaks to come out!“ 

It hurts to understand her point of view, but it’s not less true only because he wishes it wasn’t. 

They tried to take her in, take them all in, help them, put them somewhere where they could be taken care of… and learned the hard way that usual ways of dealing with omegas won’t work - Dick tried to come close, hoping that his own youth will be enough, that his calming alpha scent will be enough, that his friendly and open attitude will break the ice - he returned home with a broken wrist and a bruise on his face, taunts and sneers ringing in both of their ears.)

He tried many times since then, they both tried to crack the wall surrounding Old Gotham, but with no success. Every time they managed to get one child out, it wasn’t a week before it was taken back - until social services stopped accepting them, the damage caused by the rescuers too acute to be worth it. Ma Gunn’s school burning down was a loud and clear message. 

(He saw the boy for the first time then, framed by a wall of flames, and somehow still the brightest part of that image were his eyes - green and haunting. The wind and fire howled to the sky and the boy had to be waiting for them to show up, it was no coincidence. 

“Why?” Batman asked. It was an escalation of violence he didn’t expect, he didn’t think they’d move outside of the Old City…

“You ever check up on the kids you put here?” the boy asked, voice rougher than expected. “Or are you a part pimping them out, rich boy?”

The last stopped him for a second, fear griping him for a moment that he was found out, that… and the boy disappeared, washed out into the night like he was never there.)  

No, he never followed up on the orphans he left with the Ma, did he? He should, but he trusted the old omega. Later, he learned that he shouldn’t. That the kids that disappeared out of her ‘school’ were traded out. The guilt settled hard on his shoulders, one more error made in good stupidly faith that innocents paid for. One more reason for the children to resist his attempts at help - after that, how could they trust his help? 

Gotham learns quickly that the Old City is out of bounds for the criminal element - there were attempts to control it, of course, different mobs trying their hands at wrestling the power for themselves, gangs determined enough to ignore the blood-curling scent of danger hanging over the place. There was a time when bodies hung from the lamp-posts in the warehouse district, a message more than clear. 

Gordon stops sending out people to the Old City - too costly, no one wants to go, there’s no point. “May as well try to catch wind.” But Bruce feels that in truth, the Commissioner may be silently agreeing with the idea…

(“As long as no one interferes, they’re self-contained,” he says. “These kids are safer there then anywhere else, right now.”

“It won’t last,” Batman says. “These things never do. It will end badly.” And he can’t allow that.

“Well, then, better make sure no kids end up on the streets, right? They didn’t come form nothing, kid, there is a reason the Old City exists.”  Gordon’s eyes are pained and harsh as they look at him, straight into Bruce’s ones, as if the mas wasn’t there at all. “This isn’t an issue you solve by stuffing them back into a broken system that is the reason they’re there in the first place.”)

Leslie was even harder, her eyes pitiless as she stared Batman down one night in her office, after she came back form a house-visit, the harsh scent of the Old City still clinic to her clothes.  

(“They need help, Leslie.”

“They needed that help years ago, and that’s when we failed them.” Her voice is harsh, but hushed, her hands tremble as she unpacks her bag. There’s not much left in it. “Not every kid gets a manor and a butler to help them get through a tragedy, some get a flea-bitten mattress and a pimp that maybe won’t beat them too much!”

Se rears back, the words hitting him like a fist, the lack of remorse on her face startling, the child inside of him flinching at the remembered pain. How dare she.

“How dare you try and barge your way in there to ‘save them’!” She rounds on him, five feet five and harder than stone. “How dare you when it’s that ‘saving’ that got them there! They don’t need Batman, Bruce, they need an alpha that gives a damn about more than his own morals. An alpha to show them that the world outside won’t try to tear them to pieces!”

“I tried!” It was a weak defense to his own ears, but he had nothing else.

“Yes, you tried, and I had to preform six abortions on kids younger than Dick!”)

That silenced him. The reason for her anger, for her unflinching disregard for his own pain. He stepped back, left, mind grinding overtime to come up with a solution, with a way to fix this - because that’s what he always did, he fixed things. hat’s what he always wanted to do - to save people, to… to use his means to help others. So no more kids would be standing on a bloodied pavement, staring blankly into the night.

“We have to leave them alone.” These words form Dick were the least he expected. His partner, his Robin, wings clipped by the realization that there were people beyond his reach. “We have to stop trying to catch him. If we take him away, the place will crumble, the gangs will move in and the children will become easy pickings for any two-penny thug before we can even round them up. We can’t… I can’t let that happen. I can’t be a part of that, Bruce.” His son, bright eyes shaded with regret. “No matter how many people we can punch in the face, this isn’t what they need. We aren’t what they need.”

“I can’t let it go, Dick.” He was so tired. “They barely scrape by, I can’t…” A city of children - omega children - living off scraps, held together by a boy younger than his son, every winter grips his heart with terror for their lives.

“Then-then let’s help them. Let’s help them like that, make sure they have food and clothes, that someone out there cares enough…”

*

That’s how he comes to the moment.

Standing on the border of the Old City opposite the young wolf guarding its gates, a filthy street between them, dozens of eyes pinning him in place from windows and doors of the crumbling buildings.  He can’t see them, but he knows they’re there, a small army ready to tear him apart if he as much as breathes wrong at their pack leader. He never knew that ninjas would be easier to fight than enraged omegas barely taller than his waist.

“What do you want?” the boy’s voice carries well, he sounds like an alpha.

He grew since Bruce last saw him, a couple inches, maybe he’s even Dick’s height now. His face is sharp and jaw square, the only pretence of an omega being the barely noticeable width of the hips. The coiled strength is still there, but the violent light in his eyes is subdued, they’re filled with cold calculation instead. Nothing about him tells Bruce he considers Batman to be a threat – but everything speaks of wariness and willingness to do what needs to be done.

He’s an omega, but Bruce has never stood opposite a pack leader as evenly matched in will to him as that. Ra’s al Ghul was close, but he had an advantage of age and experience, while this was…

There were rumours The Omega couldn’t die thrown around. That The Omega got up every time. Rival gang threw him into the harbour. Three days later they were all gone and he was back. He was shot by a hitman hired by the Black Mask. Three days later the hitman was found dead and 3 of Roman’s warehouses were set aflame. Bullets and beatings, men and women trying to get a hit. Five years of violence and he was still standing, and they were not. Three days. Always three days.

Bruce doesn’t know if it’s truth or fabrication, but there is something to it, must be, because the last time he saw him, the boy’s eyes weren’t this bright.

“What do you want, rich boy?” The Omega repeats and this time Bruce can feel his voice in the soles of his feet.

A meta? Mystical? Something else? How has he never noticed before?

The tension in the air rises, the anticipation from the unseen observers grows.

God, if Ra’s ever hears about this, he will take the boy – rumour about immortality will be enough for him to chase. The League will ransack this place, leaving nothing behind.  

“For the last time, what do you want?”

Bruce has only one card to play here and it’s not as strong as he’d like it to be. One chance to get a foot in and hope they’ll accept his help. To show them that the world wasn’t going to tear them apart if they dare to trust it. It might be too late, but he has to hope it isn’t.

“What do you need?”

The questions barely stops the Omega from leaving. Angled away, distrust clear as day on his face and in the set of his body, he eyes the Batman with naked suspicion.

Bruce takes it as a chance it is. “What do you need? Food? Clothes? I can get you a steady supply of both.” Bargaining isn’t his forte, he grew so used to demanding.

A hiss sounds across the street, dozen small throats growling in warning. It’s humbling – he’s not a saviour here, he’s a potential threat and needs to step carefully.

“What for?” The Omega asks. “What do you want back, rich boy?”

Nothing -pushes at his lips, but he stops it. It will only ever be a lie to them, after so many alphas promised help and… He rethinks, recalibrates. Frankly, he didn’t expect to get that far.

“I want you to give Leslie health reports,” he says instead. “Monthly. Injuries, pregnancies, births. Deaths. She will keep it in confidentiality, as she did until now, I have no insight into them.” And he barely greed to that, but Leslie was unbent. “She will get the funds to help you more. Medication and vaccines, and pre-natal care…”

He wants to say more, he wants to tell them about the schooling he has planned, about possible stipends to get the kids out of the grip of poverty if they want to leave, of wanting to help this place become liveable and safe for them if they want to stay. But he’s aware this is already too much, that these are the most important things they lack (that an omega in charge of pups will instinctively respond to), that he has to move slow, that this all has a chance to blow up in his face.

The Omega is considering him now, aggression tuned down into barely distrust, but there’s a spark of interest there, a shade of the youth that should have been had the life not tried to squash it.

Bruce would give everything in that moment to know the boy’s name.

“That’s all?” It’s almost mocking, but not entirely.

“I want you to stop killing.” The next part is hard to voice, he has to force it, because Leslie was right, not everyone got a chance to cultivate unshaken morality after their life went up in flames. “Or don’t let them kill… if you have to.” He will work on it. He will try to help them overcome that, teach them how to keep their hands clean – hopefully, in time.

“And you will keep us safe from the lowlifes?” This time it’s a mockery. “We will shine a light in the sky and the Bat and his birdie will swoop down conveniently too late to save anyone, but the villain and the pretty, clean omega crying nicely for the reporters?”

He was right, this was too far, too much and too early. He has to backtrack. Fast.

“No, you have to defend yourself.” God, it’s hard to admit. “But the little ones…”

“Are always in danger.”

The Omega turns, fists clenched, steps off the sidewalk and crosses the street, and Bruce almost backs away, because the alleyway fills with growls and hisses, with danger, and he doesn’t want to set them off.

“We don’t go out to kill,” the Omega hisses, “they keep coming here to be killed. I made it clear, where the borders are, I made it simple.” He barely reaches Bruce’s chin, but it’s not important. “They come here armed, to murder children, to take them away to be sold, not one of them deserves to leave.”

The situation deteriorated, but at least now Bruce can scent him, can feel him up close, and underneath the tension and rage, there’s weariness and hunger, and underneath that there’s… something strange. Acrid and bitter, and alien, and hurt.

“How old were you?” He asks, maybe stupidly, but the alpha in him tears at the walls of restrain.

“When Gotham killed me for the first time?”  

He wasn’t asking about that, he thought… he hoped it was a metaphor, just rumours. The deadly shine in the green eyes told him otherwise.

“Fourteen. On the corner of Park Row. Went to bust some rims and got my head busted instead.”

Impossible. It was too much of a coincidence…

“I will think about your offer, Batman. Leslie will pass on the decision and I don’t want to see you here anymore.”

He turns away and leaves, washes out into the shadows and with him the presence of the pack watching Bruce try to gather himself back together.        

It was a small victory, but still one.  

[quixotic-writer]

Right Through the Very Heart of it

A request sent in by: the lovely @birdgirl1772 !

Summary: A girl’s trip to New York is not what you had in mind for a girl’s trip, a trip to the clubs was also not what you had in mind for your second night in the city. When things begin to spiral out of control, the compassion of two strangers named Joe and Q will change your mind just a bit.

———————————————————

The city that never sleeps: New York, New York. This is the destination of our girl’s trip vote and one I think i’ll probably hate the most. I was the only one that voted against it wanting instead to go to Seattle and just have a relaxing, calm, slow paced trip. Here I am now, shuffling desperately through my luggage to find a dress to wear for a trip to the clubs tonight trying to buy myself more time to mentally prepare myself for this evening’s antics. I tried protesting that as well. I insisted we could opt for something more my speed like a broadway show instead, but Ari and Bella just wouldn’t budge and that I HAVE to go. Clubbing it was for tonight’s activity then I guess. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t just my trip, they deserve their share of activities too.

“Come on girlll, pick a dress so we can gooo!” Bella calls from the couch of the hotel room, already dolled up in her midnight blue skin tight dress, raven black hair curled up in loose waves. Her legs dangled off the arm of the couch and she scrolled through her phone.

“Is it a las vegas extravaganza sparkly red night, or is it a sleek black dress kinda night?” I ask over to Ari who is busy looking at herself in the bathroom mirror. She adjusts her wine red dress and teases at her blond hair. She makes her way over to me and peers over my shoulder as she looks at the two lovely dresses I had in each hand. Her eyes narrow as her gears go in her head.

“Black dress, always made you look super hot. Simple is nice y’know, guys like simple especially in a place where everything is complicated.” I wasn’t really looking to get lucky tonight, just mingle and see if anyone sticks out. I shove the red dress back into my luggage and bring out the black spaghetti strap ruched dress holding it up to get a good look at it. I don’t think I ever got a chance to wear this at home, maybe tonight is a night of trying to be an upgraded version of myself. Ari made a good decision, this was probably more New York speed than the other one. “Now don’t be too long getting ready, the fun is waiting for you!” I roll my eyes and step into the bathroom to get myself all gussied up.

When I finally emerged from the bathroom, feeling clean and collected, Ari and Bella’s eyes widen and so did their smiles. I give them a whole 360 spin to show off all the goods I got going. I lacked self confidence, but the energy they had buzzing was enough to get me going.

“Look at you baby girl. If I was a lesbian or a guy, i’d eat you up that’s how good you look.” Bella exclaims.

“Girl I would not want to leave the club without getting your number if I saw you. You look HOT!” Ari chimes in. I feel my confidence soar and I felt a lot better than I did earlier.

“Well, let’s head out then ladies!” The girls hoot and holler as we get our shoes on for the night. Despite the good vibes we had going, deep inside I feel a sense of unease in the pit of my stomach, but I play it off as nerves. It’s been a while since i’ve been able to have fun so i’m determined to have fun tonight, dance with my girls, meet someone, get a little loose. I’ve been so uptight all the time that maybe decompressing and letting go is what my spirit craves and needs.

We walk down the crowded streets of times square, the lights of the signs are so bright it almost seems like it’s still daytime. The streets are packed with people who have somewhere to be, zany street performers doing their thing with swarms of people around them, cars that never stop honking, and people never stop shouting. People kept bumping into me, cat calling after me, and staring. It’s all starting to get a little overwhelming and I feel a sense of dread rising deep in the lowest part of my abdomen and my chest. It all slowly started building and nearly becoming too much for my senses and I tried to ignore the instinct to run back to the hotel room and hide under the covers for the rest of the night.

“Guys? How much farther? Getting a little cramped and anxious here.” I ask as we keep our stride down the side walk, men yelling obscenities to us with a hunger for exotic attention.

“Just another block and around the corner. Don’t get yourself so wound up already, our night is only beginning!” Ari grabs my arm and links it with hers, my feet stumble trying to keep up, but I push forward anyway. Just one good night is all I want.

We finally find the place Ari had been raving about this morning and we stepped inside. Loud music flooded my ears, dim lighting was a change from outside, the seats at the bar are half full, and there are people everywhere chattering away. It seemed like an average bar to me, not sure what there is to rave about like Ari had.

“I need a drink.” I say as I start making a straight shot to the bar. Maybe a drink and a small buzz will help ease my nerves, get me going for the night and keep whatever energy in me alive.

“There’s the party girl we’ve been searching for!” The girls follow me to the bar and we all take a seat, a bar tender with glasses and of seemingly Puerto Rican decent smiles and comes over to get our drinks.

“Back so soon Ari? And I see you brought some friends as well!” He greets us warmly and is already preparing a drink in front of us.

“Of course, last night was fun and I knew I had to bring my girls. Ladies, this is Sal! He runs this ship and sure knows how to make a hell of a drink.” We both smile and introduce ourselves as he slides Ari her drink. “You remembered the drink I got last night? This guy is fucking incredible.” He look proud of himself as he raises his eyebrows and smiles.

“So what can I get for you ladies?”

“Long island iced tea please.” I shoot out immediately, both Ari and Bella turn to look at me shocked. I’m not really one for drinks, let alone some of the stronger ones.

“Damn girl, you’re just diving in aren’t you? If that’s the pace for the night: can I get a screwdriver please.” Sal nods and begins making our drinks. In the meantime I look to others around the bar and I notice Ari had peeled away and wandered off to talk to a guy at the end of the bar with her drink in hand. She has her flirty face on, guess I won’t bother her for the rest of the night.

Sal places my drink in front of me and I take a long sip hoping that the alcohol in this drink will kick in soon. It warms my esophagus as it goes down and I already feel that I might regret this drink later. I sit at the bar and watch silently as Sal and Bella chat away. I was off in my own head trying to block out any bothersome and intrusive negative thoughts. Any thought that came to mind, I took another sip of my drink until I had either drowned the thought out or had nothing else in my glass. I eventually reached a point where I started eating the ice in my glass to sop up whatever alcohol was hiding in there.

“C’mon! Let’s go dance!” Bella grabs me by my arm almost making me bump my empty glass off the counter top. We shuffle over to the open space that was occupied by fellow drunk patrons moving to the music and Bella starts grooving immediately, swaying her hips in smooth motions feeling the rhythm and matching tempo to the tunes that poured into the room. I, on the other hand, tried dancing but I moved in stiff awkward motions, feeling uncomfortable and scared to accidentally bump into anyone around me for fear of it turning into a confrontation.

Before I knew it, Bella had managed to slowly peel away just as Ari had and was off dancing with some other guy and we started drifting away further, and further from each other until I was virtually on my own. I felt sense of regret and dread pounding at my lungs like someone had punched me straight in my sternum and bruised my ribs.

“I don’t belong here.” I say quietly to myself as I stood completely still feeling isolated from the social circle around me. Everything felt like a blur around me, faces seemed like smeared oil paintings, the lights felt brighter than the sun, and the room felt like it was spinning. My lungs felt as though they had stopped working and I was beginning to drown in the warm air of body heat.

“Hey there hottie.” I see a guy start approaching me, already I felt uncomfortable around him. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I wanted space, I wanted to be alone, I wanted out of here. I have a glazed over look in my eyes and he just ignores all signals to shut him down and keeps on pursuing me. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing all alone?” He tries to grab for my hips to dance and make a move, but I quickly bat his hands off of me back away.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” I say defensively and my fight or flight kicks in as I slightly raise my arms should I need to defend myself. My nerve endings feel like they’re on fire and shame washes over me as I realize tonight was a wash and that I just want to go back to the hotel more than anything. I kept denying myself my own comfort and here I am now in a situation I feel as though I can’t escape. A confrontation I feared in a place i’ve never been to began unravelling before me.

“What’s you’re deal psycho? Can’t a guy just dance with a girl?” He raises his voice and steps a little closer to me. I immediately mentally shut down and I felt as though I was dissociating and off on a whole different plane of existence.

“Hey buddy, back off and leave her alone. She’s obviously not interested.” An older looking guy with spiked up gray and white hair steps in and chases the guy off. He turns to me and rolls his eyes. “The nerve of some people. Are you okay? You looked a little anxious and I wanted to make sure you felt safe. Name’s Joe by the way!” He asks with concern riddling his face. I couldn’t speak, my voice felt trapped in my throat and everything around me began overloading all my senses until my legs gave out and I was left on the floor shaking feeling helpless.

Immediately Joe sprung into action dropping to his knees next to me and supporting me up so I didn’t fall back any more. He looks around to the oblivious crowd that felt like walls closing in on me.

“Hey! Hey! Give her some space, back up!” He waves his hands gathering everyone’s attention. The crowd turns to me and immediately part to create a circle of space and safety around me. I hugged all my limbs in tight close to me, I looked around frightened as tears tracked down my face. I felt mortified, I was making a huge scene. “Okay, take a moment breathe, I know someone who can help. Q! get your ass over here, got a situation!” He rests his hands on my shoulder to stable me and it felt warm and I felt solace in it.

l had sealed my eyes shut trying to block out the overwhelming number of faces and eyes on me. When I opened them and looked up again, another guy with short salt and pepper hair, a scruffy beard and mustache, and sleepy looking eyes steps into the ring. I assume he’s Q. He kneels down next to Joe and in front of me. They start talking to each other and I can’t quite make out what they’re saying, but they both occasionally look over to me so I assume Joe is filling him in on my unfortunate circumstance. Once they’re done talking, they both redirect their attention back to me.

“It’s okay, he was a firefighter, he knows how to help.”

“Hey, not trying to be a wise ass but you’re having an anxiety attack right now. What we need to try first is steady your breathing, okay? Take in a slow deep breath through your nostrils, hold it for a couple of seconds, then slowly exhale through your mouth. Let’s do it together.” He removes his jacket and places it on me as he speaks in a calm tone, his eyes never leaving mine. He begins the exercise and I follow as he does, I felt tension inside me slowly begin to release. Joe never left my side through the whole process, he speaks calmly repeating over and over “steady, steady. you’re doing great.” and other sweet messages as he lightly rubs up and down my back providing father like comfort to me.

“Okay, now that you’re breathing is a little more steady, let’s get you grounded. Tell me some of your favorite things, anything. A place, colors, flowers, just keep going okay. It’ll help distract your mind.” I nod as I was finally able to catch my breath.

“Carnations are my favorite flower... I love spring time... Royal blue is my favorite color with lavender being right under it... My favorite animal is a jellyfish because they look pretty...” I continue listing things and it helps take my mind off of everything that just happened as I try and think of the next thing to add to my list. Soon the sense of panic that was pounding in my chest eased away. The moment I feel 100% better again, I finish off my list. Q smiles to me and so does Joe.

“You did great. Are you feeling well enough to get back up on your feet?” He outstretches his hand and I take his hand. He lifts me back up to my feet and he walks me over to the bar. Everyone else around us went about their business as though I didn’t freak out at all. “Maybe stay away from alcohol for the rest of the night, stick to water. Sal! A water for the pretty lady!” Joe slides a small stack of napkins to me.

“I’m not trying to be rude sweetie, you just cried a bit and I want you to be able to touch yourself up.” He gives a soft smile. I take the napkins and wipe up underneath my eyes. When I look at the napkins I see all my makeup wiped up on it, most of which was some mascara that seemed to stream off my eyes. Sal places a glass of water in front of me and looks me in my eyes with the same look of concern Joe and Q had given me during my break down.

“Where’d your friends go? You doing okay?” He asked leaning over the bar.

“Don’t know where they are, but I think I made some new ones.” I say smiling to the men that surrounded me. “Thanks for helping me out, I don’t even know what happened.”

“It was the right thing to do, I wasn’t gonna let some random guy harass a woman who was clearly not comfortable with him. I’d be pissed if someone did that to my wife or daughter.” Joe says with a slight twinge of anger in that last sentence.

“You needed help, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We all need a little help sometimes.” Q says raising his own glass of water to his statement. I smile and awkwardly chuckle as I raise my glass with him.

The rest of my night was spent with Joe, Q, and Sal (when he wasn’t serving drinks). We talked the whole night away about why I ended up on a trip to New York, I talked about my home town and they talked about Staten Island being theirs, and childhood stories and tales from adulthood were shared as well. It was simple, sober, clean fun. It was all I really wanted from tonight.

Joe eventually left to go home, I bid him farewell and gave him a great big hug. Q and I were left at the bar to continue chatting away, and I gotta say, he was really charming and dare I say kind of cute. We laughed together for what felt like forever and I didn’t want it to end. To think, just an hour or so ago, I just wanted to be in the hotel bed watching shitty movies by myself. All good things must come to an end though, as it started getting a little late, my eyes grew a bit heavy. It eventually became too much to ignore and it wasn’t in my agenda to fall asleep in a bar I just had an anxiety attack in.

“I think I should head back to my hotel room and call it a night. That anxiety attack really wiped me out.” I let out a small yawn.

“Let me drive you back then, I don’t want you taking a cab alone or walking the streets this late at night.”

“You’re not like an axe murderer are you?” I joke with him.

“No I am not. I’m too stupid to get away with murder anyway.” He retorts back.

“Well I just don’t want you going out of your way...” I felt bad, I had burdened him enough with having to deal with my anxiety debacle.

“It’s no problem, let’s get you the hell out of here.” We both say our good bye’s too Sal and head out to find Q’s car. We finally stumble upon the cherry red jeep and I feel surprised to see it. “Are you judging my vehicle choice?” He cocks his eyebrows and smiles.

“It’s just such a loud color for such a seemingly calm and soft guy.” I tease. We hop in and headed out on the road. It was a short ride but it also felt long because of how tired I was. I leaned against the frame of the window, resting my head feeling the sleepiness slowly starting to take more and more control. Q tried helping me out by blasting some up beat music and giving me a special performance by singing along to all the tracks. He was just too cute.

When we reached the hotel, he parked the car and hopped out with me and took his time to walk me all the way back to my room. It’s small gestures that mean the world to me and that show that someone cares, and Q was clearly someone who cares. It felt crazy and in my head all I wanted to spend more time with him. We reach the front of my door and I turn to him and smile as I rub the sleep from my eyes trying to stay coherent for just a little longer.

“I can’t thank you enough for tonight.” I say bashfully as I hug my arms around my body. It was then I remembered something: “Oh my god, i’m sorry I still have your jacket!” I start frantically removing it but he stops me.

“Keep it for now, gives me an excuse to see you again. Which, speaking of...” He brings his phone out from his pocket and hands it to me. “If you don’t mind, i’d love to get to talk to you more and maybe see you again while you’re here. I had a great time tonight.” I gladly take his phone and input all my information. I see as he watches with a big grin on his face. I hand him back his phone and unlock my room door.

“Thank you again, Q.” I say softly. I caress his face and bring it in placing a tiny kiss on his cheek.

“Not even on the lips?” He jokes.

“Give’s you something to look forward to.” I wink at him and I see his face tint pink. “Get home safely.” I say as I begin to retreat into the room.

“I’ll message you tomorrow. Good night!” We both smile to each other and I head inside. I cover my face with my hands, smiling into them as my heart explodes with joy. I throw myself onto the bed and stare at the ceiling as fireworks go off in my head. For such a shitty night, it was the best i’ve had in a while.

[bluebirdwrites]

falcon; dg

> story of her i*

warnings; language? i think that’s it. fem!reader too, if that's a warning

authors note; had to rewrite this after tumblr glitched out lol, hopefully you enjoy (; btw, check my prompt lists, and maybe send some requests if you’d be so kind haha <3 — birdie

Life was a knife’s edge. A precarious tittering balancing act of ‘will we, wont we’ for the little people that could. Life was invigorating and maddening all in one. Your life was sprawling. Distant memories from a past life like a constant pull on your brain, whilst others consumed you wholly and solely until you knew of nothing else but flight.

Life and Flight were much the same in the sense of the feeling of exhilaration whilst there were no barriers, no social constructs. Nothing and everything all at once. It anchored you to consciousness and it anchored you to awareness. But flight was, after all, finite.

The incessance of nagging however, seemed to be beyond the comprehension of infinite, in your household anyway. With or without your agreement it only seemed to get worse with every new person, death, close call or injury. As the oldest it was your job to worry about everyone, sometimes it just didn't occur to you how much that they worried in return.

“Falcon, do you have eyes on the shipment?” She took a deep breath, sucking the air between clenched teeth.

“Affirmative Agent A,” she shifted from foot to foot, readying herself “Ill see you on the other side. Before you even say it, yes I know my chances. I know this is fuckin’ suicidal, but it needs to be done. Don’t tell anyone until I give the signal. Please. I’d like to keep the injuries to just me on this one. Falcon out.”

A reluctant confirmation was heard before the commlink was muted. 

She was a wild thing, she knew that. She was overprotective too, that she would also gladly admit. With reluctance, she would also admit that she was reckless at times. Stubborn and self-sacrificing. She was an angry creature too. It constantly licked at her conscience, it powered her wilful and it made her strong.

She shimmied through the hole that she’d created in the top of the shipping container, landing silently on the shoulders of a guard below. He struggled for a minute before he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

“Hell, maybe take me out for dinner first before putting your head between my thighs, it would have worked better,” she rolled her eyes, sucking in her cheeks. Now that one was knocked out she’d have to work quickly. She had her work cut out for her. 

She soon found herself surrounded by swarms of thugs with knives, fists, guns and tasers; anything that they could get their hands on really. She considered calling her family, she really did. But where was the fun in that.

She took them down in droves, but they kept on coming. For every one she knocked down, two more seemed to come in their place. By the time she called for backup, she had a gash down her side that was bleeding pretty heavy, and she had many more holes in her skin that weren’t supposed to be there.

“I wonder if he’ll try and ground me this time,” she kicked a thugs gun away and slammed him into a wall. “What the fuck possesses me to be such a basket case?” 

When her side decided that it would make her dizzy, she retreated to the high ground. Pulling out her comm and pressing the button three times, she wrapped her side and prepared to jump back into the fray.

After another ten minutes there were around five thugs left, they managed to finally incapacitate her. Two guys held her up whilst the other three questioned her. 

“You look pretty bloodied up there sweetheart. I hear you’re quite the looker, shame we had to mess up that pretty face of yours.” The thug stuck his finger into her wounded side.

“Wow, nice to know I have your approval,” she spat in the thugs face, smirking as blood and spit splattered on his cheeks and dripped down her chin. “Do your worst buddy, I’m a big girl I can take it.”

One minute, she was getting kicked on the ground, the next she was seeing flashes of bats, birds and gunslingers. The last guy to go down went down with a thud, hitting the ground probably harder than he should have. It hurt to breathe but she couldn't let them see how hurt she really was, although the gash in her side said otherwise.

Forcing herself upwards she looked toward the bat with a wince. She was in so much trouble.

“Good job guys,” She took a deep breath holding her side. “You really helped me out there. Now, if it’s no trouble, I’m just going to head back to my apartment. Okay? Okay.”

She was immediately stopped by a flash of green grabbing her arm as she attempted to stand. With a glare identical to his fathers, Damien tugged her arm over his shoulder immediately tugging her to stand.

“Grayson, I am aware that you have a death wish, but this is not the time. You are coming back to the cave, stop being idiotic.” He motioned to Jason and Dick to take his place whilst himself and Tim dealt with the clean-up job. Jason sauntered over, slinging her arm over his shoulder whilst Dick jerkily did the same on the other side.

They were both worried, how she hadn't bled out and died they were shocked. But neither questioned it as they hurried to get their sister safely back to the cave, alive preferably.

Now that she was back at the cave she let Alfred take care of her whilst Dick hovered. The gash in her side required many stitches, so did the two bullet holes. She was off duty for a few months, and everyone knew she would only keep going this way. 

“Don’t glare at me Richard. And before you start getting all mushy on me, go upstairs and distract Jason before he comes down here to frog march me,” she scowled meaningfully puffing our a breath of air. “I love you too and I’m just wound up, I’ll be up soon okay?”

He nodded and began walking upstairs, knowing he and their brothers would tag team her later. That- and Tim was waiting to speak to her, so he’d leave them alone sibling to sibling. And they’d have their own conversation when they’d both calmed later.

“You keep making us think that we’ll lose you. God, you’re reckless,” he tugged at the roots of his hair before marching towards her and squeezing her tight. “Please don’t be so reckless, we kind of need you. All of us.”

“Sure thing Timmy,” she pulled back from the hug when he was ready. “It’s weird seeing you all so worried about me. Go on upstairs, I’ll be up soon. Do me a favour and tell Dick not to worry so much either, I get the whole ‘you’re my only biological family left’ thing, but it gets smothering.” 

After a reluctant nod he too left to wait for her upstairs. She ran her hand through her hair before squinting in the darkness. She frowned, before letting out a low chuckle.

“Come out Bruce,” she licked her lips, cracked and itchy. “I know you, always hiding in the shadows. Pessimistic shit you are.”

He emerged from the darkness with a grimace, words burning on the tip of his tongue. He paused, staring at her for a moment. He looked older, seemingly having aged years in a few hours. He walked closer, sinking down close beside her, uncharacteristically open.

“You could have died,” he stared at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in a rare moment of fatherly affection. “Tell me one thing, why didn't you call for back-up?”

“Because,” she said leaning her head on his shoulder, and listening to Jason scream he was coming down to her. “I don't want he others to get hurt. God knows you’re worse than I am Dad. I do it because in my own way, I’m keeping you safe by putting myself through hell. If that's all you wanted to know, can you help me upstairs before Jason comes down to carry me up?”

They made their was upstairs, towards the rest of the family. She was the anchor, but like all anchors, she still needed a ship to guide her.