#she deserves to blow things up and commit a few murders

[birlwrites]

my brain says you have enough wips my heart says lily-centric gen megafic in which she kills voldemort with the help of marlene, dorcas, and professor mcgonagall

[dont-look-behind]

Could you do an angst oneshot for Kit Walker inside Briarcliff pls? <3

hope | kit walker

warnings: angst, fluff, swearing, torture, blood, cigarettes, violence, sharp objects (let me know if i missed anything).

word count: 1,610

note: thx for the request, i really hope you like it. english is not my first language but i did my best <3

It was a typical day at Briarcliff. The rain poured outside, an old lady hit her head against the piano, and the same song played over and over again.

No shit people never get better here, you thought. It was almost impossible not to go insane when you kept living the same day every day. The words of the song echoed so hard through your head that you wished you could break the vinyl in two.

But seeing Kit Walker enter the common room washed that thought away. In a place like that, it was unusual to have someone you could trust, but he was the only thing keeping you sane and hopeful. And like yourself, he was locked up for a crime he didn’t commit.

You were the first one to talk to him when he first arrived, and the first to hear and believe his story. He wasn’t supposed to be there, you knew a sane person when you saw one.

“Morning, sunshine.” He smiled and sat next to you on the couch, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you closer to him, to which you replied with a smile.

Soon after, Lana Winters walks in. She watched you from afar, cigarette in her hand, and the curious look she always carried in her eyes

“Hey, don’t let her get to ya.” Kit caressed your arm soothingly. “There’s gotta be another way out besides that tunnel. And we'll find it, just-”

A few days ago, Lana had snitched you two for trying to escape the hell Briarcliff is, which led you and Kit to Jude's office - and everybody knows what happens there. And you weren’t a violent person, but God knows how much she got on your nerves.

Now, believing in Santa Claus seemed more plausible than believing you’d make it out of the asylum.

“Can I have a word with you?” Lana’s voice interrupted Kit and made you look up at her. After letting out a sarcastic laugh, you gathered the breath to tell her to fuck off.

But when Kit suggested you’d see what she wanted in order to not raise anyone's attention towards her insistence, you reluctantly followed her to the corner where the vinyl was placed. The annoying song muffled your voices enough that the people around couldn’t hear a word that came out of your mouth.

“If you wanna tell me Kit’s a killer and I’m making the wrong choice, I don’t wanna hear it.” You hoped the conversation wouldn’t last long, especially with her blowing the smoke of that cheap cigarette on your face.

“I’m giving you one last chance of escaping Briarcliff.” Lana says, as if it was some kind of reward that only the kids that have been good get.

“Kit deserves that chance as much as we do.” I shake my head in disbelief.

“He’s a murderer who needs to stay and pay for his crimes.” Lana’s voice was almost muffled by the stupid song that repeated for the fifth time this morning as you turned your back on her. “But you and I… we’re innocent. I’m giving you the chance of a free, normal life.”

“You’re unbelievable!” You mumble to yourself, starting to make your way back to the couch. “I knew this was a mistake.”

“You know… It’s only a matter of time before you end up like his wife.” Her words cut through you like a knife, making you freeze halfway. She could insult you all she wanted, but you knew that the last thing that would cross Kit’s mind was hurting you. That was the last straw. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The room went quiet, and all the eyes were on you as you angrily grabbed the vinyl from the record player and broke it in half. Pepper clapped her hands, clearly grateful that the song had stopped.

Fuck this shit.

Your heavy steps being the only audible thing in the room as you chased Lana, the broken record meeting the skin of her face and leaving a cut, making her scream from the sting it caused. She fell to the floor as she tripped on the carpet - a failed attempt to get away from you.

“If you’re that violent, maybe your place is here after all.” She covered her face to stop the blood from dripping. A strong hand grabbed your arm before you could proceed to stab the woman with it, dragging you away from her. The anger slowly disappeared from your eyes as you realized what you’ve done.

Kit Walker, taking the vinyl from your hand before the guards slammed the door open. Kit Walker, taking the blame for something you did. Shit, that wasn’t supposed to happen.

“I did it. It’s my fault!” You yelled and desperately tried to stop them from taking him, but all you got was one of the guards hitting your head and throwing to the floor.

“Hey, stay away from her! She didn’t do anything.” Kit uselessly screamed and fought against the man before being knocked out too.

Your eyes opened slightly, blinking a few times as they tried to get used to the white lighting in the room. The pulsing sensation on your head only got worse as the voices got louder. You were pulled up by the same guard that hit you.

As you took a look around the room your eyes met Kit’s - he was tied to a table like a lab experiment, a metal device connected to his temples and his mouth was covered. The desperation and powerlessness taking over the both of you.

“Finally! You’re just in time for the show.” The disgust you felt made your stomach turn from seeing the joy in Doctor Arden’s face as he exclaimed. “Come on, I’ll let you do the honors.”

He gestured for the guard to bring you closer as the dizziness kept you from being able to carry yourself. Your hand was forcefully placed on a button as Arden encouraged you to turn it on. Shaking your head no as you sobbed, and begging him to release Kit were non-acceptable answers.

“Don’t be shy.” Arden harshly placed his hand over yours, making you turn the button and causing the first wave of electricity to hit Kit. He struggled and squirmed with the pain, fighting against the straps that held him, but it was useless.

The brief relief on his face as the button was turned off and his body relaxed before another wave hit. “What if we turn it a little higher now?” Arden suggested over the muffled screams that echoed through the room.

“Please, that’s enough!” You supplicated as if it was gonna change anything. “He learned his lesson, let him go!”

But the only thing it made Ardon do was signal to the guard to take you away and you were locked up in your cell for the rest of the morning.

You presented yourself to the kitchen to bake bread for the next day like you always did every evening. Except this time, Kit wasn’t there. He’ll come soon, you thought to yourself, watching every other patient walk in.

People around Briarcliff were used to the schedule, and you’ve learned that receiving punishments was not a good reason to skip your chores. And even though you’d spent the whole day crying and blaming yourself, you still had a few tears to drop.

“You weren’t productive enough today,” said Sister Jude. So you had to stay after everyone left to make up for it. Punching the bread dough didn’t help to ease your feelings, though.

Lana Winters went to the hospital wing with a bleeding face, and although you weren’t exactly proud of your actions, you knew she wouldn’t dare to disrespect you or Kit again. She mostly stares, like she does with everyone else but it wasn't enough to bother you.

“I wouldn’t wanna be that bread.” The familiar voice was music to your ears and you saw him entering the kitchen. You quickly wipe your tears before turning to look at him.

“Kit!” He instinctively wrapped his arms around your waist as you ran to hug him. “I was so worried, I-”

Your fingers ran through his temples, noticing they were a little purple, and his tired eyes couldn’t lie. You swallowed hard at the thought of the pain he went through because of you. How long did they keep him there?

“I’m so sorry.” You hide your face in your hands after he nods. “I got mad… If I hadn’t been so stupid-”

“Hey,” He gently grabbed your hands, taking them away from your face and placing a kiss on their back. “I’m alright, see?”

“It’s all my fault.” You look down guilty. It was the truth. His hands were still shaking from the shocks, the damage was visible.

“Sugar, look at me.” He tilted your chin up and caressed your cheek, his brown eyes finally meeting yours. “I’m glad it was me. I wouldn’t handle the thought of you hurting because I did nothing to protect you. I need you sane, so we can get out of this place together. I can handle a little pain for you.”

“If we get out.” It's not every day a patient makes it out - most people spend the rest of their lives here, innocent or not. And the ones who arrived here sane are no longer in sanity. It's what this place does to you.

“No, don’t say that. We’ll get out and have a life together like you told me you wanted, alright? I promise. Just try and stay safe, alright? For me.”

You nodded. For him.

[eg-writtenthoughts]

Review: The Family Next Door by John Glatt

Like most true crime cases, ‘The Family Next Door’ is a dark story. Anyone easily triggered by discussions of child abuse and neglect, I urge you not to read this book. 

This review, as most of mine, are a compilation of my thoughts and unofficially educated opinions from the case. I take the decades of true crime observations and make potentially obvious connections to the facts put forward. I agree it’s a jumble but helpful if you’re considering this book or want a peek into the case if you’re unfamiliar.

‘The Family Next Door’ is about the horrible abuses that 13 children faced behind closed doors, inflicted by their parents, Louise and David Turpin. From the beginning, rang bells of similarity to Gabriel Fernandez and his murder. Like the eight-year-old child, the growing thirteen Turpin children were kept away from the public but there were multiple chances for them to be saved if only people took their heads out of the sand. For neighbors, watching a dozen children pacing their house throughout the entire night, every night: What the hell did you think they were doing? You had enough brain cells to know those were children. You knew enough to go “huh that’s weird”.For the few teachers that Jennifer (the eldest child) had, a very dirty child was in your presence every day: Why weren’t there phone calls to the police? Where was your natural desire to give a shit for a child that obviously needed it? Unlike Gabriel’s case, no one died, but years of abuse could’ve been stopped. For anyone reading this who sees something suspicious or concerning repeatedly with children: it’s okay to call the police. The worst that could happen is you inconvenience them. The best is that you save a child.

The term “House of Horrors” is used to discuss this case. It’s not an original term and maybe it’s because I’ve seen it in other cases that I hate it’s been reused here. The most notable was for the 2013 case of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus, who were held captive for eleven years. I won’t name their abuser. He doesn’t deserve it. But through some of the worst abuse I’ve ever heard and for all three of them to survive, “House of Horrors” fits. Maybe it has to do with my natural need to rank things in my brain.

I was familiar with this case. I was a teenager when the news broke. I couldn’t remember the details that were released. The abuse of thirteen children (ranging from 2 to 29 at the time of rescue) was senseless and uncomfortable. We’re used to hearing about sexual abuse and more vicious physical abuse. Yes, the Turpin children were physically abused and I take nothing away from their ability to survive. To build an image, it was repetitive “small” abuses that left children scared of their parents, probably waiting for someone to blow their gasket. Like when Louise Turpin (the main perpetrator of abuse in California) blew up, choking her daughter, Jordan and threatened her life for watching a Justin Bieber video.

If you’re familiar with what can lead to people committing crime, there are moments in a personal history where you can almost pinpoint the brain trauma or what leads to their future path. Louise Turpin, the children’s mother, was sexually abused by her maternal grandfather, John, her entire young life. She kept herself acting as his main target, shielding her younger sisters. It’s said that Louise had maternal behaviour with her younger sisters. Her mother, Phillis, was given money by her father for allowing the assaults. The girls knew their mother was being paid, being prostituted to their grandfather. When Louise was 14, her grandmother walked in during the abuse and in anger, delivered a blow to her husband’s head with a frying pan. This leads to the pair divorcing but you have to look at the situation with a question mark. It’s a logical assumption that her husband had abused their own daughters. So was she that naive to have never noticed or did she just ignore it? 

Transitioning from the sexual abuse, Louise was groomed from the age of ten by David Turpin, eight years her junior. He admits to first being attracted to her at that age. Just to make it blunt, David was eighteen. At her age of fifteen, they ran away and eloped. The couple wouldn’t return to their hometown until her parents promised not to press charges against David. Louise’s father, originally against the idea of his daughter dating a man, gave her up without a fight. Louise was repeatedly thrown to the wolves in her childhood. What made it worse was those wolves were supposed to be her protectors. It’s no wonder her concept of love was warped from such a young age.

The childhood of David Turpin was unremarkable other than his odd haircut, choice of clothing, and his extreme intellect that led to well paying jobs. His family was generational high within the church and that influence showed in how David raised his children. His brother became a reverend, writing a book about the importance of fasting to a relationship with god. It’s suggested David used this book as a loose foundation for his ideals of raising his kids.

When Louise and David had their first children Jennifer and Joshua, it was like a switch flipped inside of Louise. It was as if she realized she’d spent her childhood taking care of her sisters and now she had to do it again with her children. This time, she didn’t want to. Yes, Jennifer attended school until the third grade, but she was never clean or truly taken care of. 

In my personal opinion, I think with the unresolved childhood trauma and David’s religious manipulation, Louise dealt with postpartum psychosis. The more children the couple had, the worse her mental condition got. When they eventually got to trial (because, spoiler, they got caught), she was diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder. She perfectly fits the symptoms, but it makes me wonder if it evolved from PPP as her hypersexuality didn’t manifest until she turned forty. John Glatt, the author of the book, called it a “midlife crisis” which I don’t agree with. 

However, this is absolutely no excuse for the decades of abuse she inflicted on her children. 

During the preliminary trial in June of 2018, David Turpin’s defense lawyers did the obvious and tried to separate him from the abuse conducted by Louise. Their biggest argument was pointing out David was at work for most of the day. During the children’s police interviews, they were asked and said he didn’t inflict abuse while in California. It was noted by the prosecution that the children were just as terrified of their father as they were of their mother. Both Louise’s and David’s attorneys tried to get any evidence that was carried over from the family living in Texas dismissed. They claimed it was irrelevant, happening in a different state. From a nonbias perspective, it makes sense for the defense to try and get that evidence thrown out. Without that history, their clients, especially David, have a better chance at lesser sentences. Because let’s be honest, there was no way they were getting let go without punishment.

The only charge I thought had potential of being dropped was the lewd act committed by David Turpin against his daughter, Jordan. There was a very definitive story of what happened (other than if her pants were pulled down once or twice) but the defense made a compelling argument regarding unknowing what David’s intention was. We all know what his intention was, especially when remembering Jordan was the same age Louise was when they got married, but if the defense could put a question mark in the minds of the judge and a future jury, it would risk that verdict.

Reading the sections where the children had the ability to go on the internet made me wonder what kind of life they would’ve had if this case happened 35 years ago. Without the support of the internet friends she’d made, would Jordan have mustered the courage to call the police?

“The Family Next Door” is not a book I’d read again. Yes, it’s well researched with a lot of information coming from the preliminary trial and witnesses. I noticed information, like the ninth child James desiring to kill small animals, was talked about in the chronological timeline but  then repeated word for word during the prelim. I assume Glatt took the description from the witness statement and I wouldn’t ask him to change that, but something to make it a gentle reminder as opposed to how blunt it felt.

Most of the book reads like a script for a Youtube video. It’s on the dull side of learning facts. If there was another option to learn about this case, I’d take it. John Glatt is a notable true crime writer. I’ve never read anything else of his and I’m tempted to now, just to see if it’s similar. Is this one written in such a way because it’s a new case with little surrounding details. Would older cases feel less cold?

[eligaxy]

Wind

☆ℜ𝔢𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔭 : Venti x gn!Reader

☆𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰 : near death experience, you’re confused asf about everything, bad writing cause i suck, spoilers for the we will be reunited quest!! And also for venti’s backstory, venti is serious for once (yes it’s a legitimate warning🤚)

☆𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔯𝔢 : Some angst, some fluff? Idk bye🤨

☆𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶 : "It's okay, it's over now" he kneeled to be at your level, his arms still wrapped around you, and you didn't have the energy to fight your urge of nuzzling into him. "I'll always be here for you, wherever there is wind, remember I'm here too. You only need to ask." (2.8k words)

♪𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔰 : i’m an idiot simp, i did this in one sitting and half asleep, english isnt my first language BLA BLA IM SORRY FOR MY POOR WRITING BUT HAVE THIS

basically you don’t know if you can trust venti or not, head says no, heart screams yes

Also, I was listening to stormterror’s lair ost while writing it, just because its fucking amazing, you might wanna listen to it too

I’m nervous to post this?/&:! This is the second fic i’ve ever finished in my whole life

i love venti and he’s hot in his god outfit i don’t make the rules

KAY ENJOY <3

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

"Please, anybody... Just help me."

Saying you were exhausted would have been an understatement. After reuniting with your sibling, you had been frantically searching for clues about khaenri'ah and ways to Inazuma. With no luck, you couldn't find any traces of Dainsleif or of your twin. The ruins had been sealed and you had no idea what happened to the inverted statue or the corpse you had found there. Desperately, you clung into every little information you had, you would have turned every rock on this archon damned continent if you had to, which is what led you into those ruins near Guilli plains.

Walking along the destroyed buildings your eyes caught sight of a dandelion and you froze. You missed them so much, why couldn't they go back home with you? All you ever wanted was to be by their side why, why were they running away from you?

You remembered your travels, the moments you shared together, their protectiveness over you, the fondness in their eyes when you smiled at them. You remember the times you got hurt and healed one another with your now missing powers. You remember sleeping by their side and being grateful to the universe to let you keep your ray of sunshine everywhere with you. How ironic.

What had they meant 'once you reach the end of your journey' ? What does that even mean? Stupid twin, if they knew you were here the whole time, why hadn't they come to you? Why were they always leaving just when they were within your grasp? Why? Did they know how much you missed them and how much your heart broke when you finally saw them? Did they?

You only realized you were crying when a small gust of wind had your wet cheek react to the cold, breaking your train of thought. Wind.

The wind is everywhere, you think, free as a bird, always accompanying every citizen of this world, never truly alone. With this in mind, you resumed your exploring, slower this time.

A sigh escaped your mouth. You didn't want to admit it, but the wind did comfort you a little. Almost as if he was here. God of freedom and of the breeze, he was more a singer than a protector and you couldn't bear to think about him. Was it true? What Dain said... Did he destroy this nation? Was he the cause of the scenery that still haunted your nightmares up until 500 years later? Your brain simply couldn't accept that Venti, your Venti, you catch yourself thinking, could have made such an act of wrath. He was the epitome of freedom, why would he take the very thing he based all of his existence on from mere mortals? Barbatos simply couldn't be afraid of being overpowered, he didn't even care about power. All he wanted was freedom and happiness for his people. Surley this couldn't be right?

But then again, who were you to deny the wipe out of an entire nation? The gods did it. They were afraid that Celestia would be overthrown by the pride of humankind, the destruction of khaenri'ah by divine beings was a fact. There was no misunderstanding about this. That was the one thing you were sure of. So why did you feel like crying even more now?

The mere thought of a gentle soul such as Venti committing innocent people to an eternity of suffering didn't sit right with you. Even when his dearest friend Dvalin had turned against him, he didn't try to stop him, didn't even ask the dragon to save him. He healed and helped him, gave him a choice.

'What is freedom if demanded of you by a god?' was the same person that asked this question the same one who committed mass murder? Genocide?

Did the little wine-lover bard you had grown fond of destroy all hopes and light your kin had?

You remember that night when he freed Stanley from his burden, freed his and his friends' spirits. You had marveled at his action, in that instant he was a god, and he definitely hadn't struck you as a murderer. You remember that look of silent pain and grief in his eyes when he sang the tales of the nameless bard he had taken the appearance of. You knew he trusted you enough to share his story, something so personal, you could almost feel the war that took down the tyrant of Mond. Oh how much you cherished that evening, treating him to some well deserved dandelion wine afterwards, his favorite, and asking him to sing you more about the time where was nothing but the spirit of a breeze.

Your heart broke a little, remembering his rosy cheeks and drunk smile, you wish you could talk to him, ask him what happened. What did he do, was he really as dangerous as you had been told? If so, then why did you feel so good around him? Why did you feel like you could give hi-

You stopped walking upon seeing a ruin guard up ahead in the distance. You're so stupid, you think. Feeling this way is not gonna get you anywhere, especially with how the bard had been missing for a few weeks now. Ever since you had last seen your sibling.

Where was he, where was he wandering off to? You walk towards the disabled ruin guard, not really paying any mind to it, still thinking about the god you longed to meet with. If you could see him, what would you even say? Would he even answer your questions? Why did your stomach feel so light and funny when you thought about seeing him, why aren't you angrier?

You're almost at the killing machine's level now, so lost in your thought you don't notice the five other similar robots hidden behind a wall next to it. You notice them only when it's too late and you've already turned them on while thinking about examining them and collecting their serial numbers. When you hear the familiar tick of the mechanism turning on, you internally panic and think about running away only to calm down moments later and think to yourself that you can simply beat it and take what you came here for. Even if you are emotionally and physically tired, you can manage, you think.

That was before hearing five other consecutive ticks right after it, and all around you.

Turning around, your gaze falls upon the small army of field tillers. Fuck.

Paimon wasn't with you today, you had asked for some time alone which she hesitantly accepted, so you couldn't ask her to go fetch help. You would have been worried if you had all your capacities but with the state you were in, you were wondering how you were going to survive this fight. You were alone, none of your companions with you, and deeply weakened by the busy day you had and the few hours of sleep you had managed to steal away from the night. Was it today you would meet your doom, with all your questions and uncertainties unanswered?

You tried your best to fight with the strength you had left, but quickly grew desperate after what felt like hours of efforts to swing your blade and being able to only take one monster down out of the six. It didn't help that you got injured along the way, their blows becoming harder and harder to dodge. After being thrown on the grown for the third time, you understood you had at least two broken ribs and that your shaking legs would soon fail you as well.

Fear crept upon you, you would die here today, alone. Alone. You couldn't talk to your sibling after all, couldn't understand. You didn't even get to talk to him one last time. Him... You would die without the knowledge of the truth about your bard. You would die alone. You didn't want that, you couldn't look death straight in the eye.

"Please, anybody... Just help me."

-

In Mondstadt, there was a musician, a weird singer everyone had heard about at least once. He lived off of his songs and was mostly known for having a great story-telling and being an alcoholic.

The number of people who knew the true nature of his identity were few and he was perfectly content with that. He didn't wish to be a god anymore, his gnosis had been taken away anyway and it's not like he had any power over the city of wind nowadays. Even if his people still worshipped him as Barbatos, it didn't sit right with him to be called a god anymore. It actually never did, he thinks to himself with a smile, he never really took any responsibilities that came with the divine title which is why he was so weak today. But it didn't matter to him, his smile turns into a soft giggle.

Sitting on a mill that was once born from his steps he looks fondly over the city he founded. Even if they were godless, the citizens were still thriving and free. He cared oh so very deeply about the place even if he rarely, if not never, showed the affection within his heart. He remembers the day he grew strong enough to dispel the storms over his actual Mondstadt, and made the weather gentle enough so that there was no need for fireplaces. Nowadays, he loves watching birds nest into the chimney tops and seeing them found their own home. It gave him a sense of belonging like no other, not above his people, but walking among them and watching them nest into this cocoon he created. He was proud of what happened to his land and would do it all over again if he had to.

Especially since it led to him meeting you. This thought doesn't catch him off guard, you often roamed around in his mind after all, and it's not like he didn't write at least three songs about you and your feat, your smile, your courage...

Ah there he goes again, rambling about you in a whisper. He turns around to the statue of him his people erected in his honor, chuckling at how they never made the connection with his signature braids. His, but not really his, since he had stolen this form from someone who was much more deserving of this power than him. Seeing his friend being honored with the statues of the seven around the land made him happy, he hoped that it was a good enough thank you gift in return for everything that the bard whom he couldn't even remember the name of anymore did for him.

Upon gazing at the statue, he remembered telling you of his long gone friend. It was the first time he had talked about him to someone else, he didn't even mention it to Venessa, she who made him believe in himself again. He could ask himself why, but he simply knew that you had something different, more than meets the eye. Perhaps it was because you weren't from Teyvat, or perhaps it was just you being as simple as your natural self but he was simply and utterly captivated by your being. You inspired him to no end, at first he thought it was because he had never met someone like you and he loved new things! But as time grew and he got to know you, he understood quickly the meaning and depth of his passions. He thought of it with a light chuckle, content with your presence alone. He really did need and want you around.

So why did he purposely avoid you like the plague?

The wind had brought to his ears that you had met with Dainsleif.

And your twin.

His first reaction was to search for you, talk to you, he wanted to be here to know what happened! You had searched so long, he couldn't contain himself, still listening to what the wind told him, he started running with excitement but... But wait, Dainsleif was... He told you what?

Oh.

So you heard about Khaenri'ah. He had stopped dead in his tracks and turned back, only sending a warm current of wind your way, hugging you from afar.

He wasn't ready to talk about this yet, not ready to face you and absolutely not ready to answer your questions. He was a coward, he thought, running away like that but what else could he do, really. It was only natural for him to be as uncatchable as air.

A sorry excuse to avoid the fact that even if his past had marvelous story like the one of the nameless bard, it also had its share of darkness, something he wasn't ready to dive back into. Especially not now when your arrival has been shaking this world up like it hasn't been since at least 500 years.

But oh, how he longed to see your face or to hear your voice. So he asked a breeze to report to him what you were up to, and where you were. Just in case! he tells himself, what if you needed help ehe? But he knows you're competent and you won't need the help of a weakling coward like him anytime soon. Or so he thought.

Because when the breeze only gives him a few words back, his blood runs cold.

"Please, anybody... Just help me."

-

As you murmured these words in your desperate state, not really for anyone but yourself as a last resort, a prayer of some sort, you tried to stand by leaning yourself on your sword and failing miserably. You didn't dare look up as you heard the loud footsteps of the metal giants coming your way. It was over, and you barely managed to accept it.

As you rested your forehead against the cold handle of your sword, you closed your eyes, tears starting to make their ways out of your closed eyelids. All you could feel was remorse.

A soft breeze moved your hair slightly and your chest felt like a black hole had taken place where your heart used to be, regretting to not have been able to meet him under the tree at Windrise one last time.

The breeze quickly grew stronger, until it felt unnatural and you looked up from the ground, only to close your eyes again immediately when you realized the wind was too powerful for you to keep them open. If you had struggled to see though, you would have been blinded by the white light that soon illuminated the whole ruins. You didn't have enough time to register the situation when you felt a hand being laid atop your shoulder, snaking around your collarbones and pulling you back into... nothing? Another arm circled your weak form and a voice you immediately recognized said

"I've dealt with things worse than you, now crumble."

You realized that if you couldn't feel a chest behind you while still being embraced by his arms, it was because he was floating above you, and not standing behind you. A look in his direction confirmed your suspicions but what stunned you wasn't the fact that he was flying, but the attire he wore. Barely covering his body, a white set made of materials that seemed like clouds and liquid gold contrasted perfectly with his regular green clothes. His hair was glowing green and his eyes that were focused on the ruin guards up ahead had a marvelous shine that you had never seen before. He had that same aura he did the night he freed Stanley, but there was also something different about the way his hands gripped you a little too tightly or the way his voice sounded.

"Venti.." You muttered his name, relief and affection flooding you all at once, in his presence you felt as if nothing bad could happen to you. How foolish could you be, just a few hours ago you were speculating wether or not he had wiped out an entire civilisation and now here you were, being saved by him and feeling safer than you had in months.

"Close your eyes, I don't want give you a headache" he said, slowly floating legs first towards the ground. His unusually serious voice surprised you (and him) but you did as he told you. Letting go of your sword and leaning back into him, you let him deal with the monsters ahead of you.

"It's okay, it's over now" he kneeled to be at your level, his arms still wrapped around you, and you didn't have the energy to fight your urge of nuzzling into him. "I'll always be here for you, wherever there is wind, remember I'm here too. You only need to ask."

Being protected by a god really didn't feel that bad. Especially when you were in love with said god.

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Thank you so much for reading whatever this is until the end :’)

Don’t hesitate to comment or reblog, tysm <3

Ps: venti loves u and so do i do pls take care of urself mwah

[sourwolf-sterek32]

Young Love

Summary: After getting sent away by your father nearly two years ago, you return to your hometown, Outer Banks.

You reunite with your friends and twin brother, John B, and help them find the lost gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo. But, during it all, you find yourself falling in love with your brothers blue-eyed best friend without realising it.

Pairings: JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Language, violence

Last Chapter

Chapter 11-

Pope, JJ and Kie, stayed the night at the shack with you and John B while Sarah stayed with her family and Topper back on Figure 8 after what had happened.

None of you really talked about it when you got back. You weren't sure there were words to even describe what happened. You were still trying to process it if you were being honest. It's not every day you see a man commit suicide by an exploding boat.

"He deserved it, right?" JJ asked quietly from where he was leaning against the railing of the docks, fishing rod in his hands.

You glanced over at him, his eyes were down, focused on the lure he was reeling in slowly, but you could see the worry etched into his expression.

"Of course, he deserved it." You agreed as JJ tilted his head towards you, his bright blue eyes locking with yours. "Ward murdered my father, framed my brother for the murder of the Sheriff and nearly had him killed in jail. He deserved it."

JJ nodded as he reeled his lure in before casting it back out and you leant against the railing beside him. Pope and Kie were sitting on the edge with their legs dangling in the water while your brother laid on his stomach in the boat that was tied to the docks.

"Never seen anyone blow themselves up like that." Pope said.

"Cross that off the bucket list." JJ commented causing you to whack his shoulder.

"JJ!" Kie warned, shaking her head before she walked over to the boat and sat down beside your brother. "Are you okay?"

"It's not me I'm worried about." John B answered truthfully.

He was worried about, Sarah.

You all knew it. After watching her father die like that... it would be hard. Topper was there to comfort her, not your brother and you knew that was getting to him, but he never said it out loud.

-

A few days later, Sarah finally showed up... but, everyone's joy and relief seeing her quickly turned to sadness when she broke up with John B.

You were devastated for your twin. You had never seen him so down before, so the rest of you bought some beer and food to try and cheer him up.

It probably wasn't the best idea you've had. The group of you were up late, drinking, smoking and just talking, at the time it was great, but they all had to be up early for school in the morning.

Your brother was still enrolled for the year, the fees already paid by your father before he died, so he could still go. You on the other hand, you couldn't, but you didn't mind. School fucking sucked anyway.

While the others all got up and ready for school, you stayed in your pyjamas and waved them goodbye. JJ was practically asleep in the back of the van when they left, and you knew he had one hell of a hangover.

By the time they got home from school, you had cleaned the entire shack. There wasn’t much else to do, and you got sick of fishing off the docks, so you figured cleaning would be a good way to pass the time.

The second the others walked through the door, you knew something had happened.

Apparently, their history teacher had given Pope, Denmark Tannings diary. You had no idea how their teacher had gotten it or knew to give it to Pope. The group of you sat out under the porch while Pope read it aloud.

"Guys, this is from Denmark's diary. 'August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame. And we could hear the screams of men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared about only one thing, his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold. Once the cargo was on board, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not let any of the Spanish crew on board. He robbed them and left them to die.'"

"So, it didn't go down off Bermuda." JJ said, processing the information.

"This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were on the Royal Merchant." Pope explained, but you frowned in confusion.

"Then why didn't we find it in the water well then?"

"Exactly!" JJ agreed on the couch beside you. "I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like, bedazzled cross off of the Merchant to shore, why didn't he just hide it with the gold?"

"Because it was too big." John B said, speaking up for the first time.

"You're right." Pope nodded. "He had to hide it someplace else. Right before he was hung, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the angel."

"Wait, I thought this was about the key." JJ said in confusion.

"Right. So what's the connection?" Kie asked.

Pope pulled the key out his pocket, staring at it. "'The path to the tomb begins in the island room'."

"What is the island room?" You asked, but Pope shrugged his shoulders.

Everybody was silent for a moment, trying to figure it out, but none of you could.

"You know what helps me figure shit out?" JJ suddenly asked, standing up from the couch.

"Oh boy. Here we go." John B mumbled.

"Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me. If we just sit here and try to figure this out, we're gonna get nowhere. But, if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we get somewhere."

You couldn't fault his logic, despite how strange it sounded. You didn't have any other ideas, so why not?

"Well, I just got disowned by my parents, and I'm an official member of the I-have-nothing-to-lose club." Kie responded.

"Pope?" JJ asked, looking over at him.

He shook his head. "We're so close."

"Look, look, think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest." JJ explained with a grin.

"His logic is flawless." You commented in amusement.

Pope thought about it for a moment before he nodded, and you all cheered in excitement.

-

The bonfire had started out nice. You hung around JJ most the night, shot gunning beers until you started to feel the alcohol kicking in before you swapped to soda, but that didn't stop JJ from still drinking.

It didn't end well though. Sarah was at the bonfire with Topper and shit hit the fan very quickly.

You and JJ ended up having to pull John B away from a fight with a bunch of Kooks and split. You didn't hang around to see what would happen next and ended up having your own small campfire back at the shack.

The group of you sat around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and drinking.

"Shit, we're out of marshmallows." Pope said, holding up the empty bag in disappointment.

"We got another bag inside." Your brother quickly said, jumping to his feet before jogging to the shack.

"I think I cooked mine for a little too long." JJ mumbled.

You glanced over at his stick to find the marshmallow on the end completely black and engulfed in flames. Pope and Kie started to laugh as you shook your head.

"You no longer get to have the title of 'genius' anymore. Just idiot." You teased causing him to look over at you, with a pretend hurt expression.

"Oh, really?" He asked, pointing his burning marshmallow towards you.

Quickly, you got to your feet and took a few steps away eying the marshmallow cautiously as JJ slowly got to his feet, stepping towards you.

"Don't you dare." You warned between fits of laughter.

"Do I get the 'genius' title back?"

"For that weak excuse of a roasted marshmallow? Hell no."

Pope and Kie lost it laughing as JJ's face broke out in a grin before the threw the stick into the campfire and took a step towards you. You were vaguely aware of the fact that Pope and Kie were watching, but in the moment, you didn't care.

Lifting his hand, JJ cupped the side of your face before he leant forward and captured your lips with his, kissing you.

"How about now?" He whispered against your lips.

"Kiss me again and find out."

JJ smiled before pressing his lips to yours as you started to kiss him back. His free hand rested against your hip, pulling you closer, deepening the kiss.

"What the fuck?!" Your brothers voice suddenly shouted.

In an instant, JJ jumped away from you, moving faster than you thought possible. You looked towards the shack to find your brother standing at the door, the packet of marshmallows slipping from his fingers and falling to the ground.

"Oh shit." Pope whispered from the campfire.

"John B, relax." You quickly said, holding your hand up towards him.

"Relax? Relax?" Your brother question as an almost hysterical chuckle escaped his lips and you knew he was angry.

"Yes. It's not a big deal-" You began to say before he cut you off.

"My best friend is kissing my sister! How the fuck is that not a big deal?!"

You watched as he started to march towards you and you quickly stepped in front of JJ who hadn't moved, seeming frozen in shock.

"Calm down, I can kiss whoever I want to. It's none of your business."

"No. Not JJ. That's not going to happen!" He shouted, grabbing your arm and pushing you out the way before he grabbed JJ by the collar of his shirt. "Why the fuck were you kissing my sister?!"

"John B!" Kie and Pope both shouted, getting to their feet.

You grabbed your brother’s shoulder, but he easily shrugged your grip off and shoved JJ into a tree, his back pressed against the bark as John B pinned him there.

JJ didn't even try to fight back or yell. He just stared at John B, unmoving, not knowing what to do.

"Bro, let him go." You said, but you might as well be talking to a brick wall because he wasn't listening. "John B!"

"She's her own person, man." JJ started to say, his eyes flashing over to you before looking back at John B. "You can't control her life forever."

"She's my little sister!"

"I'm not the same little girl who you're used to, John B. I've changed during my years away. I'm not the little girl you remember. And you're only 12 minutes older than me, so shut up."

"You're still my little sister! You'll always be my little sister!" He shouted, glancing over at you, but making no indication that he was going to let JJ go.

"Listen to me-"

"And you should know better." John B said, cutting you off as his eyes narrowed in JJ’s direction. “She's my fucking sister, man! What the hell were you thinking?!"

Suddenly, JJ shoved your brother back, catching John B by surprise as he staggered back a few steps.

"I was thinking that I fucking love her, dude!" JJ shouted, throwing his arms in the air as he spoke.

Wait.

Did you just hear him correctly?

JJ said he loved you... JJ Maybank said he fucking loved you. Holy shit.

John B seemed to be as shocked as you were. His mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, but no words came out as he stared at his best friend.

"Yeah, I love your sister, man. You want to take a swing at me for it, then go ahead. But, it won't change how I feel."

Your brother looked like he was about to actually take a swing at him for it, but he never got the chance to before something rustled amongst the trees in the distance.

You all froze, looking over at the trees in the dark before the chickens suddenly started to cluck loudly, something waking them up.

"Somebody's here." John B whispered, quickly letting go of JJ.

"Do you have your gun?" Kie asked quietly, looking over at JJ.

"Oh, now she wants the gun."

"Oh, now you don't have the gun? Don't you guys have two now anyway?" She questioned.

"Yeah, in the shack. I wasn't going to let him bring one to the bonfire earlier." You replied before Pope hushed you both.

"Hey, who's out there?!" John B shouted bravely.

JJ picked up a metal rod from the ground and you pulled your pocketknife out from your pocket and flicked the blade out.

"Who's there?" JJ shouted when nobody answered and a second later, a man emerged from behind the trees.

It was the creepy dude who worked for Limbrey. What the hell was he doing here?

"How y'all doing?" He greeted, raising his hands above his head. "Lovely evening we're having."

Your fingers tightened around the steel grip of your knife as you watched the man cautiously.

"Look, I don't hold a grudge with any of y'all, alright? But this can go hard, or this can go easy. You know what I'm here for." He continued to say, lifting up his jacket to show that he didn't have any weapons concealed on him. "Let me give you a little demonstration. You see that swing?"

You glanced over at the swing hanging from the tree before turning your attention back to the man.

"I got the best bow hunters in the Army Rangers with me. Hidden."

Suddenly, an arrow flew through the air past your face, cutting the rope of the swing before hitting a tree in the distance.

Shit.

"Now, they're out there. They'll stick you just as soon as I say so." He continued to say as JJ stepped towards him raising the metal pipe before an arrow suddenly slammed into the ground by his feet. "Uh, uh, uh. We clear?"

The creepy dude looked at JJ as he spoke, and he reluctantly lowered the metal rod. Your fingers started to turn white from your vice like grip on your knife, but you didn't dare try and use it.

"Now, I'm not gonna give you a countdown or any bullshit like that. I'm just gonna whistle and my archer will fire." The man said, turning his attention to Pope who sighed and pulled the key from his pocket.

"This key belongs to my family."

"I'm losing my patience with you, Pope."

Reluctantly, Pope held the key towards him, and he grinned, taking it.

"You did the right thing, kid. Knowing when you don't have a choice is an underappreciated talent. You be safe. Y'all have a good night." He said, nodding at you all before he turned around and walked off.

Nobody moved or said anything as you looked over at Pope who was breathing heavily, glaring in the direction the man had walked off in.

"I'm so sick of this shit." Was all Pope said before storming off back to the shack.

Kie sighed and followed after him before you glanced between JJ and your brother who were now looking at each other.

"John B, are we good?" JJ asked cautiously.

You looked over at your brother, unsure of how this was going to go before John B sighed and nodded.

"Just... just know that if you hurt her, I will hurt you so much worse."

"Goes without saying, man. I would never hurt her, you know that." JJ replied and John B nodded seeming happy with that answer before you walked back to the shack.

-

MASTERLIST

Next Chapter

-

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[anarcho-smarmyism]

How would prison abolition deal with murderers, serial killers, paedophiles, torturers,kkk members,neo-Nazis and terrorists? Some people are a legit danger and cannot be allowed to roam society.

So I didn’t answer this at the time, because the anon who sent it is almost definitely the racist troll sending me shit I’m not going to publish (so like uhhh bear that in mind lmao), but I’ve blocked them now and it’s been a few days, so hopefully they’ve fucked off by now. Plus, I’ve been thinking about this question a LOT since before I received it. It’s a question that I think most people have about the concept of prison abolition and reparative justice, and not everyone with these concerns is asking in bad faith. Besides which, with the recent attempted coup and the way it looks like people who participated are actually going to face legal consequences for it (which alone was somewhat surprising to me tbh), I’ve been seeing a lot of leftists discoursing over whether it’s morally okay and intellectually consistent to be happy about cops beating up, killing, and arresting KKK members and Neo-Nazis, so it is now actually topical! Under the cut due to long response~

So the first thing I want to point out, is that literally every single one of the groups of “legit dangers who cannot be allowed to roam society”, are already out there right now. In our current “justice” system, it’s common knowledge that monsters often get off on a technicality, or because they just have the money to throw lawyer after lawyer at the charges, or because they outright bribe someone, or countless other ways to get around the law. You can look on my own literal tumblr blog and watch me argue with grown ass adults who will bold faced admit to consuming child porn with half-assed excuses, and you’ll find more open pedophiles on sites like twitter, reddit, or 4chan, or porn sites where “teen” is usually one of the most popular categories. Besides which, have you ever looked at the average sentences for convicted rapists, wife beaters, or pedophiles, as compared with the sentences for getting caught selling drugs? In middle school I had to walk a mile or two to get to school through a neighborhood we’d been warned had a convicted pedophile in it, who had just been released after less than 15 years. In that same city, I heard a story about a woman shooting and killing her rapist, and prosecutors were discussing giving her the death penalty for it (she was bragging and laughing about it on video, it was definitely premeditated, but still). Have you ever looked at the statistics of how many rapists and abusers aren’t reported, or if they are reported aren’t prosecuted, or if they are are prosecuted with a slap on the wrist (remember Brock Turner????) Also I notice how you didn’t even mention domestic abusers or rapists in your list of people who need to be locked up lolololol shows where your priorities vis a vis “public safety are I’m sorry, but the system just does not work the way you think it does, the we are taught it does.

People who make this argument always act like the systems we have now are efficient and nigh on flawless when it comes to “not letting dangerous people roam society”, but it isn’t and it can’t be and it never will be. That very fact ought to be enough to shake your faith in the idea that society will become a nonstop Purge of indiscriminate violence if everyone who’s committed a sufficiently despicable act of violence isn’t locked up for the rest of their lives -but you might say, “okay, but those are flukes, the system still works because most of the people who are “a danger to society” are usually locked up.” I’m not completely sold that that’s even true (have you ever heard of the opportunities cops had to bring in serial killers and murderers, who just didn’t care enough to try? Jeffrey Dahmer is a good example of this), but I’ll assume it is to move on to my next point.

Even if we assumed that the system as we have it, worked flawlessly as designed, that doesn’t change the fact that a lot of the categories mentioned here are people that are actively running the very systems that this rhetoric is defending. It’s well-documented that American white supremacists of various stripes have infiltrated law enforcement and the military for the express purpose of not just “roaming free”, but getting to exert the power of the State over people of color. Cops and soldiers kill people all the time, and not only are they not penalized, they’re celebrated for it. Agents of the State fucking torture people all the time, and I don’t just mean Guantanamo Bay or war crimes by soldiers; cops have been caught on camera spraying protesters with pepper spray and beating them once they’ve already been handcuffed or while they’re chained to trees or whatever -not because they think they “need” to, because they want to, and they know they’ll get away with it. Cops also systematically torture people in prison with solitary confinement. Heads of state drop bombs on civilians for “politically motivated reasons”, they do all kinds of shit that would be called “terrorism” if anybody but a State did it; and people might disapprove, but they don’t (generally) claim that the politicians and generals who made that call are “a danger to society” that need to get life in prison. If you genuinely believe that whether these acts of violence are “legal” or not changes whether they’re okay, or that a person who engages in illegal violence is “dangerous” but people who engage in legal violence aren’t... I’m honestly not even going to try to refute that here lol, prison abolition is level 5 shit and you’re at level -1, study how authoritarianism in general works before trying to understand prison abolition (not trying to be a dick here, it’s what i would tell my younger self when I believed the same thing). 

It simply does not hold up to rational scrutiny to believe that society will collapse into an orgy of violence and mayhem if we abolish prison (or that we’ll have to resort to medieval punishments instead??? lol funny take i remember from some racist troll or other over the years), when those dangers are already present (and in some cases widely celebrated as “heroes” and given the power to indiscriminately brutalize “acceptable targets” with the State’s monopoly on violence) under the current system.

The next thing people need to understand is that contrary to popular belief and despite how counterintuitive it sounds, even the brutality of our current prison system is not an effective deterrent to crime (linked a Guardian article that looks like it has some good info on this, but I recommend a book called Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice by Adam Benforado for more information). Let me say that again: the threat of prison has been empirically shown to be INEFFECTIVE as a deterrent to crime. Do you really think that a serial killer or someone who wants to blow up a building full of people is going to be more likely to follow the law for fear of prison, than regular people doing regular people crimes like selling drugs or getting into drunk fights that go too far? 

I don’t think anyone is actually willing to argue that prison “rehabilitates” anyone, or does anything besides make regular criminals into angrier, more antisocial, more desperate criminals with more criminal connections and less options for any kind of a legitimate living, so I’m just going to point out that having such a large prison population arguably creates more people who have shitty lives of poverty and are surrounded by people who are in and out of prison. It’s not like that “makes” anybody into a serial killer, but I feel like you’d have to willfully ignorant to act like it’s not a factor in increasing violent crime in affected community.

So, I’ve so far argued that prison is an ineffective solution to the problems it claims to exist in order to solve, and that in many cases, it actually makes the problems that lead to these sorts of dangerous people (”regular” murderers and the radicalization of Neo-Nazis and KKK members in particular, I think) becoming dangerous, or at least more dangerous, in the first place. What I haven’t done, is talk about what I believe is the real core of the issue when it comes to prison abolition: nobody wants to fucking peacefully rehabilitate these people. I am arguing for a system that would handle these people basically as gently as possible, with the goal of releasing them back into society eventually, and I still believe these things mostly intellectually, not emotionally. I don’t want the men who sexually assaulted me and/or my loved ones to get off scot free (they did, of course, but that’s beside the point), much less serial killers or Nazis, and I’m not about to get on my high horse about wanting revenge on people who’ve committed these kinds of atrocities. The reason I’m a prison abolitionist in spite of these feelings is that I do not believe the desire for revenge, for punishment for punishment’s own sake, is an impulse we should indulge when creating social and political infrastructures that have ultimate power over millions of lives. In the words of someone talking about abolishing the death penalty, the question isn’t “do they deserve to die”, the question is “do we deserve to kill”; and here, the question is not “does anyone deserve to be imprisoned in this system”, the question is “do we deserve to brutalize people in this way for virtually zero practical benefits to our society”. What any person “deserves” is a subjective moral and philosophical question, one that no conceivable human justice system could ever actually answer. We as a society need to build alternatives to prison (and police!) that can actually address these problems, actually prevent the conditions that create and enable monsters, and actually rehabilitate (to whatever extent that is possible) criminals -even the ones we, personally, despise. Any long-term incarceration that may end up being 100% required should be designed to reduce the suffering of the person in it, no matter how despicable of a person they are. Trying to solve “the problem of evil” instead of trying to create a more functional and just society is a fool’s errand that can only lead to more evil existing, in the end.

At the end of the day, the “irredeemable” people you listed off as justifications for the continuing existence of prison, are only a tiny fraction of the people in prison, even the ones with life sentences. A full understanding of the horror and oppression the prison industrial complex enacts on the people in it and their communities (and how the system is designed to make a profit off of human suffering and death) is something you’ll have to read some actual books about in order to acquire. However, I don’t think it’s controversial to say that any horror we as a society deem “acceptable” to do to the worst of the worst, will also be done to regular criminals, as well as to innocent people who are wrongly imprisoned. Any brutality you design with a serial killer in mind WILL eventually be a punishment for a petty thief or drug dealer or sex worker, or a person who didn’t commit the crime they were incarcerated for. Is it really worth it? Is it really, really worth all the misery and oppression prison causes, to satiate our sense of justice? I don’t believe that it is. I believe that we have a responsibility both to the incarcerated and to their communities to base our policies and institutions on actually solving these societal problems however we can, and leaving our “eye for an eye” mentality in the dark ages where it belongs.

If you are interested in prison abolition as a concept, I can recommend some good books on it. You also need to understand that concept of “reparative justice”, which I’ve alluded to here but not really explained because OH MY GOD THIS POST IS TOO LONG ALREADY. Short explanation of it is that it aims to repair the harm done by the crime and rehabilitate the criminal through through therapy and trying to get them to actually understand what they’ve done and empathize with who they’ve hurt, while also providing therapy and resources to the victim of the crime (when it’s something violent and the reparation can’t just be “give them their money back plus extra for damages” or something). The point is not to satiate anybody’s sense of justice or revenge, but to proactively try to solve the problem the crime has caused and prevent the offender from doing it again. It would need to work in conjunction with the abolition of police (and replacement with better infrastructure for the few things cops do that we actually need done) and various other social programs and measures to prevent the circumstances that lead to crime. This sounds like a long shot because it is, but just because it hasn’t been done on a wide scale before doesn’t mean it can’t be, and just because it will be difficult doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing.

[boycrazy-fanfic]

Our Love Is God

Fandom: Heathers

Word Count: 687

Pairing: Jason Dean x Male Reader

“You’re insane,” I said, kissing his soft lips. When JD told me he was going to blow up the school tomorrow, I was kinda skeptical. Sure, he’s gotten away with killing Heather C., Ram, and Kurt, but this is an entire new level. Blowing up an entire school, along with its entire population is definitely not something I expected JD to be capable of. He certainly is a terrible influence on me, but I’m not complaining.

“So are you,” He responded. Maybe I am insane. I’m certainly not a nice person, but I wouldn’t say that I’m a mean person. I suppose I’m just right. If assholes deserve to die, then they should die. I’m not saying everyone that goes to Westerburg High is awful, just most of them. We’ll have to find a way to make sure the few friends I have make it out alive, and poor Martha Dumptruck. She doesn’t deserve to die. Everyone else can rot in hell for all I care.

“Y’know, not everyone in that school deserves to die, maybe you could find a way to just blow up the bad kids. For me?” I asked. “Just figure out a way to get them to not show up to the pep rally tonight.”

“No promises, but I’ll see what I can do,” he answered. “You really are a good person Y/N. I don’t know what you see in me.” He puts his arm around my shoulder and goes back to the movie we were watching. We’d told our parents that we were just gonna spend the day together at JD’s house so we had an excuse to not be at the pep rally.

“I’m most certainly not a good person JD. If I was, I wouldn’t be letting you go through with the whole mass murder thing.” I leaned on his shoulder and tried to forget about the fact that my boyfriend was about to commit a heinous crime in a few hours. I wasn’t going to stop him, but it was still disturbing to think about.

An hour before the pep rally, JD got up from our nap and tried his best to leave the bed without my noticing. I’m a light sleeper so of course it didn’t work.

“Wouldn’t it be better to kill the bad kids individually? Besides, there are gonna be teachers there, and they haven’t done anything wrong.” I tried to reason with him. I don’t know why, but the whole killing the school thing wasn’t sitting right with me anymore.

“I would enjoy watching them drop like flies… But this’ll be so much better Y/N, you’ll see.” His devilish eyes looked at me and for the first time in our relationship, I was scared of him.

“Well did you at least get the few good people to not show up tonight?” I wanted to make sure that no one dies tonight that doesn’t deserve to.

“Of course I did. If you ask me to do something, it’ll get done Y/N.” He gave me a quick kiss before putting his t-shirt back on and getting ready to leave. He made sure his dad wasn’t home tonight because he knows how uncomfortable I get when I’m alone with him. He just gives me the creeps. “Tonight our school is Vietnam, baby!” His voice echoes through the house and chills me to my core. I just want this to be over already so we can go back to normal. Hopefully this puts JD’s killing spree to rest. I don’t know how much more I can take.

Almost an hour later, JD returns with dinner and another movie for us to watch. He put on the movie and began eating as if this was a normal date night.

“It’s all ready… I wouldn’t worry about that essay due Monday if I were you.” He seemed so calm. Too calm. Like what he’d done wasn’t completely and utterly insane. 

“You’re lucky I love you so much…” I said, turning to the tv, hoping the movie would drown out the impending boom that was steadily approaching.

“I know.”

[that-one-weeb-but-it-transformer]

𝔻𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾 𝕌𝕃𝕋ℝ𝔸 𝕄𝔸𝔾ℕ𝕌𝕊 𝕎/ ℍ𝕌𝕄𝔸ℕ ℙ𝔸ℝ𝕋ℕ𝔼ℝ (𝕋𝔽ℙ)

Hes one of my favorites not sorry

-guess who got spotted? Ultra Magnus

-well we're taking you back to the base

-he found you extremely childish and it annoyed him to a T

-And of course Optimus appointed him as your partner

-yay for him-

-Once he actually- finally- for god saken- took the time to actually get to know you, he didnt find you as annoying

-you were being bullied one day outside the school and the bulky threw you into the side of Magnus' alt mode- the door suddenly went flying open must've been a bad bolt

-Not to long after the same group of bullies keyed Magnus' alt form:

"Aw shes gonna cry!" One of the boys teased.

"Why? Did your sugar daddy tell you if you wreck it you'll actually have to do something for them." Another spoke.

"Aw. I knew she was a-"

The thrid boy was grabbed by the throat as his hands clawed at the wrist of the teen who held him, causing the other two to back up slightly.

"Touch any of my shit again and I'll bury you myself."

She threw him to the side, catching himself on his feet he held his neck with a hand, gritting his teeth he glared at her.

"Who do you think your talking to!?" He argued, catching the attention of kids near by.

She turned to look at him just to be punched in the face falling to the floor from the sudden force that knocked her off her balance.

"Dude! The hell! Your gonna get us in trouble!" One of the boys shouted.

The teen ignored him toppling over Y/n straddling her stomach, as he delivered brutal puches to her face. Kids started to gather cheering on the male as Y/n pushed him off her and return the favor, causing and either louder up roar."

"I told you!" She shouted punching him in the face.

"Don't!"

A broken nose

"Touch!"

A black eye

"My!"

A busted lip

"Shit!"

Her final blow was stopped when teachers pulled them apart.

"You broke my nose!" The teen cried.

"Well then go cry to your mom who I fucked last night!"

-Did Magnus just see what he thought? The seemingly innocent cheerful girl looking more scarrier than a decepticon out with a bloodlust

-he waited until you were able to come out- even though the kids had informed him via comn link she'd go home with her parents- you came out alone, him being the only thing there:

"I don't want to go with you today Magnus."

"I'd prefer if you did come with me." Magnus stated

Y/n frowned as she looked at the deep key job.

"Im not allowed back for a week."

"I figured so."

The door opened as Y/n only followed as she hopped in.

-did he- did he just be n i c e?!

-Instead of taking you to the street corner as usual he took you. He drove you around, mindlessly

-you ended up falling asleep so he took you back to base, unknowing of what to do with you, he he held your small form in his large servo, luckily nurse June had showed up sometime before to help with something and she was able to lay you down on the couch.

-Optimus has asked what happened as you were littered with brusies and cuts, Magnus explained and took full blame but Miko backed him up

-Magnus said one of the humans should contact Y/n's parents- Nurse June looked worried as she knew you were lacking in the depart of family.

-so she advised to keep her in base saying , "well if they didnt even bother to pick her up why worry right?

-Everyone found that extremely off as a cover June said: "well you like her right? She'll tell you whats wrong?"

-Arcee choked at that sentence, Ratchet actually laughed, wheeljsck was given ammo to fuel is annoyingness, Bulkhead was extremely uncomfortable, the two youngsters were like "hold up" and Optimus like a proud dad- brother- figure thing- smiled to himself

-Magnus was completely embarssed but kept it under wraps.

-miko was completely shocked when she figured it out

-"Magnus go scout" "thank you sir"

-you woke up to a dark room looking around you seemed to be on a cot, and Ultra Magnus was sleeping in the berth above you- wait- WHERE YOU IN HIS ROOM?!

-He woke up as soon as he heard you wake up.

-it was only silence at first, but he ended up thanking you in a way, saying it was arrogant but brave of you

-you thanked him for helping you as well

-cue the speaking at the same time

-confession was kinda werid tbh:

"So..." y/n spoke.

"Suppose you know about me then? All of it?" Y/n asked, "Im sure Nurse Darby told you."

"No, nothing was said about you." Magnus spoke.

"Oh...good...good."

It was silent for a few mintues the air thick and the only thing used as a light source was Magnus' bright optics.

"If you wish you can tell me." Magnus informed.

"Right..." y/n breathed in, "My uh mother...she died while I was being born....my dad commited a murder-suicide, he said it was my fault in his will."

"I am sorry." Magnus spoke softly then paused for a long second, "How do you do it?"

Y/n looked up at him, "do what?"

"Your as enetergic and as arrogant as Rodimus, your sparks would be one in the same." Magnus told, "but your well rounded as if you were a high ranking assistant to Alpha Trion. Then you deal with what would take most well trainned mechs off the feild."

Y/n shrugged, "I suppose..." y/n paused, "I dont want anyone else to leave me, it's tiring being alone."

Magnus answered awfully quick, "I would never leave you, you have too much meaning in my life."

-Woah wait! He didn't but did mean that!

-you ended up asking who Rodimus was and you both talked through the night.

-you guys were closer than ever after that

-he attempted to tell you out more straight forward but failed for a while

-when he finally told you- you were all like: Oh I know

-cue dating??????? Poor man hes so confused

-nothing changed much he loved being with you either way- with dating he just became more and more worried for each other

-Acree has extreme suspicions of you two

-you guys were going good, open with one another and honest, it was a pretty loving relationship

-that "Im Lutenit" shit dont slide with you

-you guys like driving in the rain, he especially like it if you've calmed down from a hetic week and fell asleep getting the resr you deserve

-when he lost his hand in combat and had it replaced with a new one you went to a tattoo shop and asked for stitching as if someone has stiched your fingers back together, you proceeded to go up to Magnus afterwards and tell him you guys were just alike now

-He got angery you hurt yourself- well he thought you hurt yourself- he couldn't stay mad at you

-Guess who squared up on the predaking? You and this is how it happened:

Magnus had been knocked to the side with the two wreckers. You who had came our from behind a Boulder shouted at the dino-mechanism

"Hey You!"

The giant beast looked towards you, "yeah you!"

Rushing its way over it screeched in Y/n's face, "Oh blow it out your ass!"

The schreeching stopped as Y/ns arms crossed

"How dare you!-" and you raged ON.

-The predaking is now warry of the autobots

-Wheeljack was given even more ammo to mess with Ultra Magnus now knowing you two were dating

-except Ultra Magnus to see you in a whole knew light of being a strong hooman and finding it absolutely memorizing and beautiful

[djemsostylist]

The Great Dizi List, Part 3b (The Alperen Dizis)

Okay, so allow me to start by saying that I've finished Son Yaz, and as as result I may have fallen the tiniest bit in love with Alperen Duymaz and thus have embarked on the journey of watching all his dizis. He has this sad, earnest puppy vibe combined with an incredible amount of BDE in all his roles, plus he's just so damn pretty. Anyway. And by all I mean just two others bc I like him beardy and his teen one is a little young for me.

Son Yaz

This one will actually get its own post, because it deserves its own post. Tbqh it deserves sonnets written to its beauty, bc this is one of those shows that I watched all the way through in like, 3 days, and then immediately wanted to go back and watch again. It was that good. The main quartet are a delight, and honestly I haven't loved a ship like AkMur in far too long. (okay technically Edser but that ended in disaster and in retrospect I kind of think they were awful and I'm not even really sure what I loved about them tbh they kind of sucked.) They are one of those ships you can believe in, where you know they are going to work out no matter what and you want them to. The way they are together--they make my heart happy.

Zemheri

This show I actually started to watch back in September of last year, when I had just started watching Turkish dizis. Back then I was entirely on my own and I got about 40 min in and then freaked out. I read some reviews, freaked out some more and bailed. But I'm a dizi pro now, and with this being a combined Alperen AND Ayça dizi I basically couldn't resist. It helped that it was only 10 episodes and that meant it couldn't get too crazy. Both Alperen and Ayça were amazing, of course, and they are just so damn beautiful together. Their chemistry was electric and since they spent about 90% of this dizi crying at each other (and let me tell you that these two may be the best dizi criers I've seen) it was incredibly well done. They are so pretty when they cry. There is one story line which didn't make a whole ton of sense and kind of pissed me off, but honestly it gets so little screen time as to render it easy to dismiss or headcanon. (Hint: It should have been a hysterical pregnancy). But the acting was great, the ending was intensely satisfying, and honestly if you want to watch Alperen with curls and turtlenecks and peacoats (his curls, btw, may or may not have caused a few minor breakdownsif they give Akgun curls I won't make it) cry at Ayça beautifully while she cries beautifully back for 20 hours or so, then I highly recommend.

Çarpişma

Okay, so I've watched several mafia/crime dizis. They're probably my favorite kind tbh. Usually they feature super smart main characters who are always a step ahead (you think they are in trouble but they always had a plan) and a bad guy with infuriating but understandable motives who usually lives too long, and at least one minor henchman guy who gets what he deserves. And usually our mains live happily ever after. Usually.

This show was not that. I should preface this by saying that my brand of humor is what you might call "dark"--I laughed more at the Americans than I ever have a comedy, lets put it that way. Anyway, this show featured 4 of the stupidest people ever to exist in a tv show, and I do mean that, and was also technically I guess kind of horrible what with the death and killing but tbh I laughed a lot. Now, I should say that the cast was excellent, and the acting was excellent and I loved every single one of those stupid idiots. But they were, in fact, extraordinarily stupid. These people got kidnapped like, and I'm not joking, at least once an episode. Sometimes twice. There actually came a point where they were getting kidnapped from their kidnappers by other kidnappers. And then literally every episode they'd get saved (and by they I mean the women, the two dudes never got kidnapped really) and then literally like, go right back to life as normal. Neither dude ever made sure their respective girlfriend got back in the house at night, neither girl ever believed in calling their respective boyfriend to, idk, buddy walk anywhere, they never checked before opening doors, they drove away without looking, got in cars without looking. It may sound like I'm exaggerating but I swear I'm not. And mind you, this dizi started with the main characters family getting blown up, and the other one being kidnapped and forced to shoot her husband in the face to save her kidnapped daughter. Spoilers I guess. So you'd think they'd be a little cautious but nope. Not even a little. Just out there, living their lives. The main villain of the first half of the dizi actually got redeemed and tbh by the final episode I was rooting for him to live his best life an co-parent with Kadir. At least he had a reasonable motivation, and he also did try and make up for the atrocities he committed. And really, what's a little murder now and again. The other bad guy's motivation was, and I swear this is true, "my son hates me for blowing up his family bc I didn't know it was his family, so bc he hates me I'm going to kill the rest of his family." That was literally it. The thing is, while the constant dying and torture would make you say "Djem, wtf is wrong with you, how did you get glee out of this show?" let me tell you that by the 945th kidnapping, you too will be like "can't even feel sorry for you really" and the just settle into this state of low level amusement and glee. Like, literally 90% of these kidnappings and deaths could have been prevented by like, idk, actually having police protection, or staying inside the house, or not opening the door for strangers, or watching to make sure the love of your life got inside safely, or not walking alone at night, or not GOING TO THE PARK TWO DAYS AFTER YOUR BESTIE WAS KIDNAPPED AND HAD A BOMB STRAPPED TO HER. So like, I mean, not to victim blame. But. Let's say by the end, while I loved the fuck outta the mains, I honestly was more emotional over Veli. Bc they were just so fucking stupid. Like, kidnapped, from a kidnapper. You really can't make it up. They make Akgun and Soner look like geniuses. And that's saying something. Anyway it was great and if you ff through most of the boring shit, I highly recommend. The acting is superb, the foursome is hilarious, and tbh Veli is a great villain that I loved. It was the stupidest dizi I've seen (that's a lie I watched parts of two Ayşe dizis) but tbh it was enjoyable as hell, so that's saying something I guess.

And that is BITTI for the Alperen dizis. For now. Son Yaz will be back soon and I can't wait!

Next up is Kuzey Guney, bc I made promises.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

[mhathotfic]

I just hit another bout of no writing motivation so here’s another repost of head canons about how these boys would react to their best friend finding out that they got cheated on I did a little while ago

Warnings: swearing

Pairings: Mirio Togata x reader, Eijirou Kirishima x reader, Katsuki Bakugou x reader

Mirio

- I think he’d be the type to fall for her but not say anything because he didn’t want things to change

- So, when she starts dating them, he’s a bit hurt but respects her relationship and supports them

- He was just happy that she was happy

- Then she came over one day

- It was normal for her to come over and gush about how much fun she had on her dates, so he hadn’t thought much of it at first until he noticed she had been crying

- Her makeup was ruined from tears and her clothes wrinkled form her pulling at them

- She didn’t need to say anything he just pulled her into a hug

- He lent her some old clothes and bought her some take out insisting on her staying over so she could get her mind off it

- If she wants to talk about what happened though he’s all ears

- Is beyond mad when he learns what happened

- “I just wanted to be a good girlfriend, you know? I thought he would like it if I surprised him but he wasn’t there, so I went to check his place and he was with his ex. He tried to tell me that it wasn’t what it looked like, but she was all over him”

- His heart would brake if she started putting herself down for it

- “Don’t say that! You didn’t deserve what he did! You’re a wonderful and amazing person and if he couldn’t see that then it’s his fault not yours!”

- She’s genuinely surprised at how upset he seems by this

- He even offered to talk to him for her

- She has a moment where it clicks that he’s literally always there for her and he’s always the one she runs to for everything and vice versa

- That’s what being in love is actually like isn’t it?

- That doesn’t sound so bad

- And that’s how she realized she might be in love with her best friend

- Won’t act right away, she still needs time to process everything after all

Kirishima

- She almost never cries in front of others so when she came to him with tears still streaming down her face, he knows something’s wrong

- He wasn’t expecting what she told him though

- “I caught with some other girl, he said that I shouldn’t be upset because he knows I’ve been cheating to. Can you believe him?! I’ve never cheated on him! Why would he even think that about me?”

- Legit has to remind himself that murder is not only illegal but might upset her more

- She’s like his little sister so of course he’s protective

- No, it doesn’t matter that she’s the same age

- He’s pretty much adopted her as his little sister so there’s no point in arguing

- She’s really upset for a few days

- He can’t stand seeing her mopping around, so he takes her out to cheer her up

- Makes sure to avoid things that might remind her of him

- If she does start talking about him then he’s quick to remind her that she doesn’t need him

- “He was an idiot to hurt you like that you know, you’re a great person and he just wasn’t man enough for you”

- At some point when she was starting to cheer up, she happened to see her ex

- He noticed them and started harassing her for ‘moving on so quickly’

- Kiri was ready to deck him but she beat him to it

- “Are you kidding me?! You have the nerve to cheat on me and then act like this?! You really are something, Eijirou is like my brother dumbass if I wanted to date him I would’ve already. You messed everything up because you weren’t man enough to tell me how you felt and went and fucked around behind my back instead and you really think you still have the right to act like you’re my boyfriend?”

- He actually had to drag her away from them because she was this close to killing him

- The rest of the day was spent making fun of him and Kirishima trying to convince her to call him her older brother

- “Come on!” “No” “Please?” “Ei, we’re the same age, don’t you think it’s a little odd” “… Just once?” “I need a new best friend” “Hey! That’s cruel (Yn)!”

Bakugou

- He can tell something’s wrong right away

- She’d try to hide it from at first since she knows how he’ll react but he knows her to well for that to work

- He’d confront her about her strange behavior expecting it to be something stupid like she lost something or something like that

- He is fucking livid when she explains

- “He invited me out just to humiliate me. He’d been seeing some other girl for like a month and decided that was the best way to tell me. God, I feel like such an idiot for trusting him!”

- Fuck I guess murder is legal now

- Rip her ex because he legit just might kill him

- “I’ll be right back” “Katsuki, no” “I just want to talk to him” “Bullshit! I know you! You’re not gonna talk you’re gonna blow him up!” “Why shouldn’t I?! What kind of asshole thinks shit like that is funny?! You didn’t deserve that and I’m gonna beat the shit out of him for it!” “Tsuki, don’t, he’s not worth it”

- It takes a lot of convincing that murder is definitely illegal for him to agree not to go on a man hunt

- Instead they watch cheesy action films until one of them passes out

- He’s willing to brake his 8 o'clock bedtime just this once for her because that’s what friends do for each other or whatever

- He absolutely steals her phone and sends threatening messages to her ex while she sleeps

- Just because he promised not to commit murder doesn’t mean he can’t threaten it

[carllisle]

How do you think Esme argued with Rosalie, Emmett or Edward? How is she dealing with their shenanigans? Could you imagine first argument between her and Edward?

sorry it’s taken so long for me to get to this ask! thank you for asking, it means a lot that you have asked my opinion! i hope you're having a lovely day/evening/night

so in midnight sun we get a glimpse of how understanding and patient Esme is on the day of the baseball game when Edward notes that Esme had been trying to talk to Rosalie all afternoon about Bella and the Bella/Edward situation and even that they were holding hands when they were talking abt it on the baseball field. Edward also notes earlier that when Rosalie was first turned, Esme had a great deal of patience with Rosalie. Now, let’s be real, no one has an endless amount of patience, not even a vampire and there must have been something that would make her crack. I think that Esme was a willing ear when Rosalie mourned the human life she lost and how much she hates immortality and resents Carlisle for giving it to her. She probably encouraged Rosalie to talk to Carlisle about it to get it all out in the open and move past it as best as she could, but after a few years of still being resentful to Carlisle and calling him all the names under the sun Esme probably snaps. This would probably be because she saw how much Carlisle was hurting from Rosalie’s words and how much that added to his self-loathing. I think she argued with Rosalie and pointed out as sensitively as she could that without Carlisle, Rosalie would be dead and wouldn’t have any kind of life, and isn’t this half-life better than nothing? Would she really prefer death over life with Emmett? And that Carlisle thought he was doing the right thing by saving her! he deserves forgiveness and understanding, just as she deserves patience and compassion. I think Rosalie scoffed and said she never asked to be saved but after Esme put it like that she perhaps did some reflection and came to forgive him somewhat because after all he did give her some kind of life, and he gave her Emmett. 

Clearly Esme and Rosalie are very close but I think Rosalie’s stubbornness is perhaps a point of contention for them. Esme is also kind and compassionate and I think someone like Rosalie would find that annoying sometimes, because sometimes she just wants to rant and rave and be angry without someone trying to fix it, you know? Sometimes she just needs to have a good bitch about something and not have Esme try to fix it or ‘look on the bright side’. 

As Emmett is fairly easy-going and so is Esme, I can’t think of anything specific that they would argue about. Probably just small little tiffs here and there that are to be expected between adults that live in the same household - dirty shoes in the house, being messy/not doing his share of the household chores, getting irritated at her nagging, just common stuff. Given her past, when Edward and Emmett were rough-housing after his transformation I’m not sure she would have the courage to ask them to be more careful right away and maybe Carlisle asked them on her behalf. Later on in their relationship, I’m sure it became more of a reminder than an argument. Maybe she found his cavalier attitude about slip-ups upsetting, as Emmett seems to find slip-ups as an unavoidable part of their nature, whereas I imagine Esme to be deeply affected by each life she takes. Perhaps when he is trying to comfort her after she kills someone he makes an off-hand remark about how these things happen, it’s alright, and she blows up at him because she is so upset and she drills into him how it’s not alright. I’m not sure it would be an argument, though, because Emmett would likely apologise and so would she for misdirecting her anger at him. 

God with Edward it’s so hard to know because SMeyer is criminal in writing Esme’s devotion to her son. We’re supposed to believe that she was happy to leave Bella in New Moon, because of Edward’s remarks in Midnight Sun that Esme didn’t care about anything except his happiness, but I call bull. SMeyer writes her so 2-dimensionally. Esme is such a kind and loving person and over the summer between Twilight and New Moon we can only assume that Bella spent a huge amount of time with the Cullens and that her relationship with them all developed immensely. In my head, this means especially Alice, Emmett, and Esme. Look how devastated she was when they left, and in New Moon it’s explicitly clear that it’s not just because Edward left, but because they all did! Now would Esme be happy about Edward deciding to leave her instead of turn her? Absolutely not. Would she try to put her foot down and convince him to stay? Yes. When he argued back and refused to be swayed by her, would she ultimately follow his wishes? Unfortunately yes. I imagine there was still an argument between the two of them as Esme could easily put herself in Bella’s shoes and imagine what it would do to her. 

Esme joined Carlisle and Edward during Edward’s early years as a vampire and perhaps there were remarks made when Edward accidentally heard her thoughts and she resented that (even though she knew it was not his fault). She likes Tanya a lot and probably tried to get Edward to reciprocate Tanya’s affections or at least give her a chance and Edward firmly answered why he didn’t want Tanya in that way. Similar to her arguments with Rosalie, I think Esme argued with Edward about their nature as vampires. In my head, Esme is in touch with her faith as a Christian, always working to make sure her faith evolves with the world and always working on her relationship with God, scripture, and those she loves. I think she fundamentally disagrees with Edward about their souls and argues that they are not damned, they are not soulless, and they are not evil. She argues that Edward is not evil despite his countless murders nor is he damned for them, at which point Edward replies that he doesn’t regret his murders and he is not sorry, therefore he cannot ask forgiveness and he cannot be absolved, and he is doomed to the fiery pits below. Esme huffs but can’t fault his logic. So I imagine they have theological debates that can stray into passionate arguments. Carlisle is left on the sidelines and once again is stuck between the beliefs of his son, and the beliefs of his wife, still not knowing which argument he agrees with more. 

In terms of their first argument, I think it was about Charles. I’ve explored it in my long fic This New Life (ch 12 if ur interested teehee) where Edward is so enraged by the memories of him that Esme has that he wants to hunt him down. At this point in time Edward has never killed a person and despite the built up rage he had for Charles, Esme didn’t want him to go after him because she couldn’t bear for Edward to kill a person - even a person like that - in her name. I think she argued passionately for him to let Charles live because she couldn’t have lived with the guilt if Edward had killed him. She feared that it would be a mark on Edward’s soul and she would look at Edward and see the sin and see the man she hated. I think this argument was pretty passionate. Once Carlisle knew the extent of what Charles had done I believe he sided reluctantly with Edward for a while and agreed that Charles did not deserve to live, although deep down Carlisle wanted to exact revenge for the horrors committed against the woman he loved. After Esme pointed out (passionately, emotionally) that they were trying to control her and make decisions for her just like Charles had done, Carlisle backed off and allowed his mind to be changed and he joined Esme in asking Edward not to go against her wishes. 

Once he got back from his travels as feminist vigilante legend, a trip during which Charles was his first ever victim, I think Esme was so overwhelmed to have him home that she didn’t even care about Charles. Edward justified himself pretty quickly by saying that he would have gone on this spree anyway and committed all these murders, so he was just one in many, and that was good enough for Esme tbf, and it allowed her to move on finally. 

Sorry, this got really long and rambly but I hope it made sense! Thank you again for asking! 

[transmissionsfromthebattlefield]

A Few Words On The Celebrity Gossip Machine

It blows my mind that there are people who don’t believe others deserve the basic right to privacy. So many people in media authority make immense profits off of the most useless and manufactured celebrity gossip. Glutting mainstream newshubs with this empty information tells the masses that world conflicts and political corruption are of no concern when baby scares and wedding fiascos exist. It commodifies the human experience to a systematic extent—how are we supposed to escape it? It’s a bafflingly cynical line of work.

While heinous acts of terror and rape deserve to be dealt with accordingly, celebrity gossip culture places all forms of human fallacy—from murder to making fun of another grown human person with a fully developed brain on the internet—under the same umbrella. The real problems hold the same magnitude as adolescent he-said-she-said. It only promotes a crippling twenty-first century hypersensitivity and, at times, viciously targets people who, in the grand scheme of things, never actually hurt anyone. Getting distracted by these meaningless items only allows the real offenders to scurry away scot-free in the meantime.

For the people receiving the feed, keeping up on such “news” can become an addiction. As human beings, we are all faced with varying levels of insecurity regarding our inherently selfish and prideful nature. Seeing a person in power who has done a supposedly “bad thing,” no matter the magnitude, tears down the curated, perfect image that stood so prominently before. The true, flawed nature of man is put on full display. It elicits almost a sense of pride in the lowly observer, who now feels superior than the persona-person for having not committed the same crime—or, in the most likely case, not getting caught doing the same thing. With enough repetition, the hypocrisy becomes commonplace and irremovable. As long as the happy buttons in the brain are being pressed in time with those on the “volume up” control, all is good from the armchair. Nothing of actual substance gets done, and the world keeps on disintegrating as usual. What the observer fails to realize is that no-one is inherently better than another, for we are all sitting here waiting for the earth to be consumed by the sun, preaching the gospel while whipping ourselves for our sins behind closed doors.

[pepperf]

For the director's commentary thing, slight curveball: Just the entirety of "Everything Is Peaches But The Cream". It's not even 500 words and I always really enjoy it when I read it back but I'm also like "What went down here?" There is of course a danger that you don't know either XD

Either way, thanks for any insight!

Oh lord, now you're asking…! Okay, first reaction is that I have absolutely no clue what's going on and I basically stole the premise for this from one of my favourite songs, 'Handcuffed To A Fence In Mississippi' by Jim White:

I'm handcuffed to a fence in Mississippi. My girlfriend blows a boozy good-bye kiss. I see flying squirrels and nightmares of stigmata. Then awakening to find my Trans-Am gone. Still, I'm feeling pretty good about the future. Yeah, everything is peaches but the cream. I'm handcuffed to a fence in Mississippi, where things is always better than they seem. Things is always better than they seem.

It goes on, but basically this guy is in a shitty situation, there's a mysterious bloodstain and sirens in the distance…but it's still kind of cheery and optimistic. He's letting go of the idea that you have to be having fun or be happy all the time. Sometimes things are dark, and that's okay too.

And that kind of fitted my image of Diego and Lila's relationship: they argue a lot, and they do some objectively bad stuff to one another, and their lives are kind of awful, a lot of the time—but that doesn't mean they have to be sad about it, or let it get them down, if that's simply not how they feel. They can enjoy the challenge of it, they can trust in themselves to find a way out of it, they can even love each other when they're still doing bad stuff. Just that kind of cheerful view of, like, 'oops, looks like I'm about to be framed for murder…better do something about that.'

I did have some scattered thoughts in my head about what had happened. This is a post-s2 scenario where Lila has been doing some appearing and disappearing from Diego's life, because she's not yet reached a point where she feels safe or comfortable committing to him or to a fixed point in time. But she's drawn back to him, she's crazy in love with him—she's just not settled in herself yet. And he's kind of accepting of that.

Diego shook off the last of the dizziness as he watched the red taillights bouncing off down the uneven road. He could hear an excited whoop drift back to him, over the roar of the engine.

Dammit. He’d really liked that car, too.

I am a simple soul, I like cars and hot people. I liked Diego's scrappy old car in s1, it pinged the part of my brain that wants a Ford Mustang (and it's green, like Steve McQueen's—I'm not sure, but I'm thinking they deliberately did that, bc the shape is about right, too…I wouldn't be surprised if Diego was a fan of the movie Bullitt). Also, I figure that Lila has either drugged him or knocked him on the head. I am cool with that. Diego is cool with that. It's a minor inconvenience in his life. :D

He tugged experimentally at the handcuffs that shackled him to the chain-link fence. They were pink and fluffy on the outside, and absolutely professional underneath.

Lila has waylaid him to a seedy motel with the prospect of hot sex, obv. She has some reason of her own to want to be there, possibly an assignment from the Commission, or some personal loose end she wants to tie up. She just wanted some company, and to make Diego's life more exciting.

Still, they wouldn’t be an obstacle - if he had anything to pick the lock. But all he could see were rocks and scrubby twigs, and Lila’d taken all his remaining knives, along with his wallet, keys, and boots. He poked at the ground with his bare toes, failing to unearth anything useful, like a soda can tab or a fully-equipped lockpicking kit.

Remember back in the day when every corner of every street was liberally littered with soda can ring pulls? I feel like the TUA universe also still has those, as well as no internet. I don't know why. It's the 90s-ness of it, I guess.

Also, Lila is more thorough than almost anyone who's restrained Diego before. He's finding her a challenge—but maybe not in a bad way. He strikes me as a guy who doesn't like to rest on his current skillset, and is always seeking ways to push himself further. So he's simultaneously annoyed, impressed, challenged, and kinda turned on.

Sinking down into a crouch, he gazed up at the night sky, looming magnificently over the ugly motel. There was a good view of the stars out here in deepest Mississippi, and if he’d ever followed that line of studies, back at the Academy, maybe he’d be able to name a few constellations.

I get the impression from what little we see in s1 that the kids were able to choose, like…study modules, like how Vanya chose to learn the violin. It's the one freedom they seem to have had (well, obviously some of it was still prescriptive, like their combat training and so on). I imagine Luther went for the astronomy parts, flight, that sort of thing, judging by his room décor. Diego…maybe went for additional combat training? And in his limited free time, just read whatever he got his hands on? I'm not sure.

It was peaceful now that all the shouting and violence was over. He could hear the sounds of wildlife, insects and shit. There was a gentle breeze. It might even be nice, if he wasn’t handcuffed to a fucking fence.

The recurring motif. The chorus, if you will. :) I think all the shouting and violence happened outside of his view, he maybe caught the start of it before he ended up unconscious through whatever means. She probably drugged him, or he'd be talking about a headache about now.

He noticed three things at the same time: the distant wail of approaching police sirens, his boots tucked neatly under a nearby bush, and the massive bloodstain on the floor outside the room they’d rented.

Lila left him the boots. (Probably someone else called the cops, after all the shouting and violence.) She's playing 'nice' and giving him what she considers an advantage. She's expecting him to get out of the handcuffs, and escape the police, but it's just a little more pleasant not to have to do that barefoot. Also, she left him fully clothed! She was basically going totally easy on him, in her mind, because she's sweet on him.

It was shaped like an arrow, and it pointed helpfully - from the point of view of a rural police department looking for a person of color to blame - straight at him.

A tribute to the Umbrella Academy title sequence for Lila, and a coincidence in-universe. She's not murdered someone in a way that purposefully ends in a bloodstained arrow. Probably. Also the person totally deserved murdering, idk why, but they did.

Diego sighed, and rose smoothly to his feet.

Time to play Which Will Break First: Cuffs, Fence, or Wrist?

See, he's had a nice rest, and now he's ready to play! This is a relatively low-stakes operation, whatever is happening, it's something that he'll get out of, at some inconvenience to himself, and get back home, and then later on she'll show up again and he can grump at her for leaving him handcuffed to a fucking fence, what the hell, Lila?! to his heart's content.

(ETA: Also...he’s handcuffed to a fence. It’s probably wooden, or if not, rusty. Of course that is going to break first. He just needs to twist or kick right.)

I think that's all I've got! Aside from the fact that, weirdly enough, today I am wearing a T-shirt that says 'Just Peachy', which I mainly like bc it reminds me of that song…

[merakiui]

please bless us more about the assassin au

Thank you for enabling me, anon!!! <3 In this AU, I imagine it to be a slow burn romance between Scaramouche and his target with angst and one-sided pining before actual love/romance. I absolutely adore assassin AUs, which is why I ended up rambling a lot about this AU. ;;; I’ll be very happy if you read it to the end!

(cw: assassin, murder, description of blood/gore, brief mention of violence)

Before I begin, let’s establish Scaramouche’s life as an assassin and as a normal, everyday guy. As your everyday citizen, he’s respectful and diligent. He works a few boring side jobs and lives in a boring house with a boring routine. Everything is safe, stable, and easy. He doesn’t have any friends and he’s cut all ties with his family, having moved away as soon as he entered the assassin business. Scaramouche doesn’t have any long-lasting relationships, as he isn’t one to pursue those sorts of things due to his secret identity. Although he will find someone every now and then and if he’s in the mood, who is he to deny himself pleasure? Surely he deserves it for all of his hard work. 

Now as an assassin (code name Balladeer), he’s secretive (as one should be), sneakily covert, and he doesn’t let emotions get in the way of his work. All of his targets, who he usually sees as mere practice dummies and not actual people, are killed swiftly and smoothly. Some are sniped in the comfort of their own home, others are poisoned as they ingest what will be their very last meal, and some are killed in messy ways (vicious stabbings that lack a clear motive or blunt force trauma that cracks bones, tears into tissue, and oozes organ matter and blood). Scaramouche prefers cleaner methods, though there are times where he’s forced to endure hand-to-hand combat when the target fights back. You can’t blame him when it becomes a deadly brawl between life and death, where anything counts as a weapon so long as it can deliver that killing blow. 

But it doesn’t exactly matter what method he uses because it always ends in the same way, with his target dead and his bank account filling with the monetary reward. The authorities can have a field day mulling over evidence and whatnot, but they’ll never find any coherent leads that convict him. He’s very good at getting rid of important evidence or throwing someone else under the bus if it’ll save his skin. His own identity is a mystery, as he never uses his real name. So maybe they discover his DNA but can’t compare it to any existing DNA samples because it doesn’t exist in a database. He gets off scot-free each time. As a normal citizen, Scaramouche is free of any charges and has never committed a crime so there’s no need for his DNA to be in a police database. He’s prideful in that regard because he knows he can get away with anything as an assassin. 

Perhaps he first meets his target in his real life. Maybe they come across each other at a bar or a museum. Maybe he has a loveless one-night stand with them, not knowing that they’ll soon become his target. Either way, he’s met them before and has no clue that they’re on a hit list. Maybe they know too much about something they shouldn’t have seen and are therefore at risk or maybe they’re part of a stingy bureaucracy. Whatever the case may be, Scaramouche is given his new assignment: silence this person at any cost. It’s the same as it was before; all he has to do is find and kill them. It’ll be easy.

That’s what he originally thought, but things get complicated when he witnesses them at their most vulnerable. The first time he had them in the crosshairs of his rifle’s sight was when they were going to some hotel in a shady part of the city, as his intelligence had told him. (If there’s anyone he can trust with secret information, it’s the team that manages all sorts of facts about his targets.) He was in the best position, too: on a floor in a building that faced the side of the hotel they were staying at. He had a view of the bedroom and could easily snipe them as soon as they walked in. But then there’s another person—someone else who gets in his way and ruins his chances. Scaramouche watches as this person forces themself upon his target and they’re unable to escape, fighting desperately against grabbing hands and a leering expression. 

Without thinking, he switches his aim and pulls the trigger: silencing not his target, but the person they were seeing. It’s a messy sight for his target, who winds up covered in the blood spatter as the person bleeds out on the ground. Scaramouche is too angry at himself to waste another bullet on his target, who is visibly distressed as they look around in shock and fear. He figures another week won’t hurt; he’ll kill them after he’s recovered from this thoughtless blunder. The time limit is a month, which is far more generous than some of the other deadlines he's had in the past. 

A week passes and Scaramouche hasn’t been able to track his target down. He has no idea where they’ve gone and it’s frustrating to know that they’ve slipped through his fingers. He really should’ve killed them when he had the chance. The longer they stay alive, the more pressure he’ll be under to complete this mission. And if it goes on any longer his boss will get suspicious. So he decides that he’ll kill them as soon as he sees them. 

But then he runs into them at the clothing store he works at. What are the odds that they find him in customer service, wanting to return a shirt that was gifted to them in the wrong size? He’s glaring daggers at them when they finally walk up to him, handing him the shirt and explaining the issue. It’s incredibly hard to focus because this is the person he’s meant to kill. This is the person he had a one-night stand with in the murky darkness of a cheap hotel room. But he can’t kill them in broad daylight. At least they don’t recognize him; that’s the only silver lining to this troublesome situation. 

Scaramouche stops relying on the intelligence team altogether, opting to gather information on his own. Even though it’s not his job to handle information—he’s usually just given the task of carrying out the assassination itself—he’s determined to do everything on his own. His stubborn pride refuses to accept help from anyone else, even if they have all of the resources required to dig up all sorts of information on his target.

As the weeks tick by and his deadline draws near, he’s practically memorized all sorts of stupid facts about his target. He feels as if he’s known them his whole life because of how much he’s learned. They’re actually not that bad of a person and he finds them to be an attractive enigma full of unique secrets. Sure, they have a few stains on their record, but it’s nothing as harrowing as murder. Nevertheless, he swears he’s going to kill them now that he knows their daily schedule by heart. 

But just when he’s ready to wrap up this mission, his boss demands to speak with him. And when he meets with her to lie about explain the situation and how it’s going to be finished by tomorrow night, she simply shakes her head. Someone else has been given the mission due to Scaramouche’s incompetence and failure to work quickly. He’s no longer needed for this mission. 

For the first time in many years, Scaramouche feels the need to protect someone other than himself, and when he realizes that his now ex-target is actually going to die it feels like his selfish world has been swallowed up in even more darkness. 

[adamwatchesmovies]

Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004)

Of the three Ginger Snaps films, Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning is easily the weakest. That doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. For fans of the previous entries, it’s worth taking and look. In fact, I wish more filmmakers would take note of what it does well. This “sequel” has some great ideas.

Set in the Canadian wilderness in 1815, sisters Brigitte (Emily Perkins) and Ginger Fitzgerald (Katharine Isabelle) take refuge in a fort besieged by werewolves. Their only hope for survival is in an enigmatic warning given to them to “Kill the boy so that both may live”.

Ginger Snaps Back doesn’t have the budget for elaborate transformation sequences (none of the three films do) and makes up for this with some good additions to the mythology. By now, we know morphing into a wolf-life creature isn't tied to the full moon. It’s more of a transformation that concludes itself in a month’s time. In this story, we’re given the “cure”: if you manage to deliver the final blow to the werewolf that infected you, you’ll be ok. I love it. It adds tension. Everyone wants to kill werewolves, but you have to be the one to kill this specific one, meaning your “enemies” are now the lycanthropes and anyone hunting them or defending themselves from an attack. The film also finds a novel way for people to detect the curse. If you strive to make a good werewolf movie, check this one out. Either copy it or do something along the same lines.

Some of the picture's flaws are obvious, making them feel like oversights on the part of the writer. Several murders are committed without any repercussions at all. I’m not talking about a situation where “well, he/she MIGHT have been infected” sort of thing. I mean that someone guns another, and the dead body is never addressed. Then, there are the side characters, which Stephen Massicotte and Christina Ray should've also put some additional work into. It makes sense for there to be threats inside the fort as well as out. It’s done all the time in zombie films, but there’s no reason why J.R. Bourne’s character or the fort’s “The End is Nigh!” reverend (played by Hugh Dillon) wouldn’t have met “accidental” death just a few days into the siege. They’re more trouble than they’re worth and anyone should be able to tell.

Although the film is ok, it's nowhere near as good as the first two. Ginger Snaps: The Beginning isn't as innovative or memorable, making it a letdown. One notable aspect deserves a lot of praise, however. It's the way it fits in with the first two Ginger Snaps. Many films struggle with their sequels and that goes double for horror. The majority of the protagonists you’ve come to love have been butchered or mentally broken. Your solution is to either bring in a new batch of victims or do a bunch of retcons. In this series' case, what drew us in was the relationship between Brigitte and Ginger and seeing them figure out the werewolf situation. This film replicates this sensation by casting Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins in a spiritual sequel instead of an actual follow-up. I wish more films would do this.

Ginger Snaps 3: Beginning / Ginger Snaps Back: Beginning is surprisingly good for a direct-to-DVD werewolf movie, even if it’s easily the worst of the three films in the series. Despite the drop in quality, it’s still very much worth seeing, particularly if you like stories about lycanthropy or enjoyed the first two. (On DVD, May 13, 2016)

[yzkhr]

For the entirety of his 20 years of existence, Kudo Shinichi finds himself in one of the most difficult situations.

Everything was going so smoothly. He already had enough clues to figure out who the suspect was. All he needed was evidence to prove his surmises. It was all according to his plans.

Not until the suspect kidnapped Ran.

He should have seen that coming. After all, when the Conan incident ended with his name plastered all over Japanese Television for defeating one of the most notorious criminal organizations in the world, stuff like this happened afterwards.

If they can't target him to shut him up, they'll target the ones he care for. It happened more than once already, but everyone Shinichi knows can defend themselves(he's actually the easiest one to attack).

Hattori Heiji is a fellow detective who can swing a sword really well, Tooyama Kazuha knows Aikido, Masumi Sera is a Jeet Kune Do specialist, his parents are out of the question—or out of the country—, professor Agasa has his inventions, Ai with her scary scientific knowledge, the detective boys' unbeatable luck, Suzuki Sonoko with her boyfriend being the world's strongest security, the FBI and first division are a no go, and even the british detective Hakuba Saguru and phantom thief Kaito Kid can easily fend attackers off.

But the one who's always been the primary victim would be his girlfriend, Mouri Ran. Most of time, he doesn't worry one bit. After all, he knew more than anyone else just how much impact she can do with her karate—the Conan aftermath was proof of his girlfriend's ridiculous strength— and would even be afraid for the criminal, feeling sorry for their battered bodies afterwards. But today was a different matter. Ran was sick and couldn't possibly defend herself in her bad condition.

He believed himself to be a forgiving and understanding man. Being Edogawa Conan taught him a lot of things, including little compassion and sympathy towards even to the most horrible of culprits.

But this man was different. Not only did he involved Ran who had no idea of what's going on, he didn't hesitate, even after knowing she was sick and defenseless.

Shinichi was a kind man through and through, but concerning his innocent and ill girlfriend was a different matter.

Now, he stood on the rooftop of the criminal's twenty floor apartment building, anger barely contained. The man was grinning in that deranged way of his, while holding his girlfriend with a small but clearly sharp knife at her neck. What makes matters worse, was that they're at the very edge, one wrong move and both of them could be flat at the ground, bones broken.

Just from that alone, Shinichi was itching to shoot the man with his pistol but restrained himself. What almost pushed him to doing so however was his girlfriend's tired and pained expression, from her fever and the current predicament.

With the wind blowing furiously, it doesn't take a genius to know that Ran was freezing, specially with her condition.

He blocked out his primitive reaction of shooting the man for now, and willed himself to finish the issue faster, for Ran's sake.

"Listen, you can still go back from this! Just drop the knife and walk away from the edge!"

He shouted, taking two steps towards the two of them. The man only grinned even wider, as if finding something funny about his words.

"Why would I go back there? To just go in jail!? I'd rather die!"

'If you wanna die, then die. Don't take my girl with you!', were the words he wanted to say but decided against it.

Instead, he treaded nearer, trying to look as innocent as possible to not alarm his target.

"You knew what you did was wrong! You'll just have to repent it in prison for a few years! You can't go back from dying!"

The man wasn't having it. He gripped tighter against Ran's neck with his knife getting dangerously close. Shinichi's initial thought was to sprint, but managed to catch himself on time.

"That bitch deserved it you know! She cheated on me when I gave her my everything! I only did what was right for her! What she deserved!"

The man was going crazier by the second. Not that Shinichi could blame him. For all he knew, the suspect was a respectable man who loved his wife very much but it turned out she was cheating on him with another man.

Shinichi couldn't even imagine that happening to him. Even back then as Conan, Ran's faithfulness was so strong that something like cheating or attraction to other men didn't even cross his mind(except with Araide's case, Okita's case and many others).

Still, murder is murder. The husband could have dealt with it in a more rational way but he didn't, causing him to spiral downwards to madness.

Well, Shinichi will most likely go towards the same path as well if he would be unable to save Ran.

"You shouldn't have killed her! She was wrong! Cheating on your partner is stupid and unforgivable! But what you're doing right now is the same! You're only commiting murder! So please, turn yourself in. You can still change."

It seemed to have worked, with the culprit's grin dissipating and his hold on Ran loosening. Shinichi fasten his pace, while the man was still contemplating. But before he can even reach his end goal, the suspect looked at him with vicious but hurt eyes, tears forming.

"You're right. I shouldn't have done something so terrible. But I can't go back now. I can't go to jail."

All the detective could do was to stand there, disheartened by this man's irrationality. He was so close, just a few more steps and it would had been over.

Seeing as the suspect's humanity slipping away, Shinichi tried to take one tentative step at a time.

Before he can even put his right foot in front of him, the man violently shakes Ran, causing Shinichi to froze at his spot.

All his girlfriend could do was slightly whimper, still weak from her fever. The wind wasn't getting any calmer and it was bad for Ran.

"Stop this! Please! Give Ran back to me!"

The desperation was leaking but he didn't care. He was too worried for her to even think of something like pride right now. It wasn't helping that the man was slightly getting unstable from their spot at the edge.

"I'll give your girlfriend back to you in one condition."

The man eyed Shinichi with determined eyes and he didn't like it one bit.

"Call the police right now and tell them that the culprit is my wife's other man."

The detective thought he didn't hear him correctly but the expression on the culprit's face was telling him otherwise.

"Why would I even do that? I'm a detective, my job is to reveal the truth!"

The suspect laughed and the tip of his weapon was now touching his girlfriend's neck. Ran tried to wiggle out from the pain but the man kept her still. Shinichi couldn't do anything but widen his eyes and tried to run at her, only to be stopped by their culprit's daring looks.

"Don't come any closer or I'll slit your girl's throat!"

Seeing his pursuer's conflicted reaction, the suspect's smile was back, even more disturbing than before, lacking of any human compassion he might have had left of him.

"If you know the truth, then you can easily twist it right? You're the great detective Kudo Shinichi! Everyone will believe you!"

"I can't possibly do that!"

Hearing his resolute answer, the culprit slowly averted his eyes towards Ran.

"Not even for you lover?"

He couldn't answer. Because how could he? Choosing between the truth he valued and his most precious person was impossible.

Seconds passed but Shinichi didn't let a word out. He only stared at his girlfriend, with contrast beliefs and emotions swirling in them. The man was getting impatient but before he could speak, a new voice entered.

"Don't do it."

For the first time, Ran spoke. Her voice was hoarse and guttural, but she made sur eit can be heard.

Everything in her body hurts. From her legs that's been almost dangling down the edge, her arms weakly flailing on her side, her stomach wanting to throw up, her entire being physically burning and being cold at the same time. She felt horrible and wanted nothing but to karate chop her kidnapper.

But right now, her focus was on Shinichi, like it has always been whenever they were together. He looked tired, running all the way here from her house where he found out about her disappearance.

He was in deep thought and his eyes were conflicted on what to choose. She knew just how important she was to him, specially after knowing the lengths he had gone through as Conan to protect her. But, she's also aware of his morals and love for the truth.

Ever since they were kids, being a the greatest detective in the world like his idol, Sherlock Holmes had always been Shinichi's biggest dream. It started off as something silly but as they grew older, his dream didn't looked so far away. From all his struggles and successes, Ran was there. She knew all the hard work he put in his job just so he can achieved his childhood wish. She was present in all the steps he took to be this great. To be the Sherlock Holmes of the modern era.

Now, that dream was on the danger of being crushed. If he were to do what the culprit wanted, Shinichi would also lose his chance to achieve his goal. And Ran didn't want that.

"Don't do it."

She said, line more vivid than before.

He didn't know what to say. He wanted to asked her if she was fine, but she clearly wasn't.

"Ran, I-"

"Don't. Please, Shinichi."

He wanted to apologize, because he'll disappoint her with his answer. Yet, he wasn't able to, with Ran not letting him.

She wanted him to choose his morals, but he would lose her. He don't want to—can't—lose her.

However, her next words were what really made his decisions clear.

"Don't lose your dream for me. Please."

Ran wanted to cry but held it in. She needed all her energy for her last move and crying won't save her or anyone.

The man was getting more and more impatient. He waved the knife around blindly, making Shinichi stepped back a little.

Ran wished from the bottom of her heart a distraction could come for her plan to work. But since she didn't have any time, she'll just make one herself.

"You're trying to kill someone innocent. You're not right about anything at all. You're just a killer."

The culprit's attention went to her almost in an instant, fury present in his eyes.

"Silence, woman! Girls like you are all the same with your pretty faces thinking you can get any man! Not being contented with one man who would give his all! Vile! That's what women are! They're vile!"

She wanted to protest, because she's not the same. She'll never be the same. Just the thought of cheating on her lover already makes her want to puke. She would never cheat. After all, Shinichi was enough.

But she had to pretend he wasn't.

"That's right! We're cheaters! Vile people! We never cared about you men at all!"

'What is she doing?'

Shinichi was extremely confused. Ran was obviously lying, trying to provoke the man holding her at a knife point.

'Why would she even try to make someone aggressive when they're in the literal--'

As his mind reached it's conclusion, Shinichi didn't waste any time to move. However, it was a little too late.

The man was already losing his balance himself, making him vulnerable. Ran, with her remaining strength, wished to all gods her plan would work.

Albeit her left arm was tired, she steeled it with everything she got, elbowing the man's stomach and making him instinctively let go of her.

He stumbled forward, while she inevitably stumbled on the opposite direction. Down.

She closed her eyes, succumbing herself to the fall. However, a familiar presence force it to open, and she did.

There, falling with her was the love of her life, who was supposed to be at the rooftop arresting the man. Instead, he was reaching out to her, ready to die.

Suddenly feeling all the pain and tiredness, against her mental protest, she blacked out.

-

It was a good thing Hattori was there when he went back at the office temporarily. His best friend noticed his strange actions and decided to follow him.

Knowing that they were in a pretty tight spot and seeing Ran and the culprit at the edge, the Osakan detective dashed to find a trampoline, in case of the worst case scenario. Fortunately, he managed to hugged Ran's unconscious form and guide her through the unexpected trampoline while falling down.

Shinichi truly owed Hattori this time.

As they walked out the police station hand in hand, Ran looked uneasy. She managed to regain conciousness when they were already at the station, making a witness report. He didn't wanna do it in Ran's condition but he knew he caused enough trouble at them already.

He squeezed her hand, letting her look at his direction.

"Is there something wrong? Don't worry we'll get home soon and you can get some rest."

Ran's eyes slightly widened at his words. She then smiled, but it was strained.

Worry taking over him, he put his forehead on hers, feeling her hot one.

Ran instinctively blushed and tried to pushed him away. However, being stubborn had always been Shinichi's strongest points, so he didn't backed down. Instead, he asked.

"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

With such a soft and gentle way of questioning, Ran couldn't help but give in and let her hands go to both sides of his handsome face,feeling his skin under her warm—felt cold to her—fingertips. Then, she breathed heavily before speaking.

"What you did was reckless. You shouldn't have jumped after me."

Shinichi regarded her a confused look.

"What wouldn't I? I didn't know Hattori was there. So I thought you would really--"

"Still, you shouldn't have done that. What if Hattori-kun wasn't there?"

"Then we would both die."

He spoke in such a calm and nonchalant manner making Ran annoyed at him not getting her point. She bunped him lightly,making Shinichi backed a little bit away.

"Ouch! What did you that for?"

"Because you were being dumb! You could have died back there Shinichi!"

He returned his forehead against her, leaning again. He closed his eyes this time, looking peaceful, like they weren't in the brink of death just a while ago.

"I could have. But so were you."

His voice was laced with pain, specially at the last part. Tears gathered around her violet irises but she willed for them not fall.

"You have a dream Shinichi. You had it since you were little."

He nodded at her words, still looking unbothered even with the confirmation. Frustrated, she continued on.

"You would have killed yourself back there. Why didn't you listen to me? I told you didn't I? Don't give up your dream for me."

He smiled, catching her off guard. It was so sincere and bright that Ran wanted to step away. When she was about to do so however, he encircled his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as much as possible.

She opened her mouth, ready to reason out but was beaten by his answer.

"You told me to not give up my dream for you but,"

His next words left her breathless, tears finally cascading down her soft cheek.

"You are my dream, Ran."

-

I wrote this instead of sleeping, forgive me for its lameness.