#she lost everything that day and she never got it back

[ellecdc]

I come with wolfstar comfort thoughts <3

When you're sick remus is wonderful, he hates seeing you ill so he does everything he can to help: makes you tea, maybe some soup, gets you some meds and puts you on the sofa with a blanket and a pillow (sirius's chest)

Sirius on the other hand is less sure of what to do but he still wants to help so he let's remus tell him what to do, he's in charge of physical stuff like carrying you to the sofa (even if you're perfectly capable of walking) and being your human pillow while remus is busy in the kitchen, he's also tasked with moral support which mainly consists of stupid jokes and funny stories (he has many of james being a total drama queen when he got ill in the dorms)

I hope you feel better soon <3

-💫anon

poor Siri - I had a vision for this and now that it's written, I'm not sure I quite hit the mark, but let me know what you think! and thanks for your request <3

poly!wolfstar x sick!reader who they plan to nurse back to health

CW: fem!reader, cold/flu symptoms, brief passing mention of Sirius' childhood (no details), fluff

Sirius closed the door behind him and tossed his keys haphazardly into the dish that Remus insisted they go in, causing a loud clanging which echoed through the hallway. 

He realised only then how quiet the flat was in comparison which was rather unusual for this time of day as you and Remus always managed to beat Sirius home. 

Sirius felt some tension ease from his face (and body and soul) when he saw a familiar head of tawny curls over the back of the couch. 

His plans for a surprise upside-down Spiderman style kiss - to what he had assumed was a sleeping Moony having fallen asleep reading a book - was foiled when Sirius came around the top of the couch to see you - looking particularly pathetic - curled up and resting your head in Remus’ lap fast asleep. 

“Wha-?” Sirius asked dumbly, looking between Remus’ sad smile and your sleeping form - you seemed flushed and were breathing with your mouth open, likely because you couldn’t breathe from your nose.

“Hey Pads.” Remus offered quietly.

“What happened?”

Remus grimaced as he looked down at you and brushed some of your hair away from your face; you didn’t even stir. “I don’t think she ever made it to work today; I got home and found her on the couch.”

And Sirius could see that this was likely true, based on the vast amount of evidence that you’d been living on the sofa. 

You’d tried to contain your used tissues to a paper bag but there were a few stragglers from where you no doubt lacked the strength to put much effort into aiming anymore. A half empty waterbottle and a bowl of soup with a layer of film on the top sat dejectedly on the coffee table along with a packet of Benilyn with a few missing tablets.

“Poor babydoll.” Sirius cooed as he rubbed Remus’ shoulder. 

Remus turned to press a kiss to Sirius’ hand before gently lifting your head in order to stand.

“We’ll nurse her back to health in no time.”

Sirius felt his eyebrows furrowed as he watched Remus gently lower your head onto a throw pillow; still never managing to rouse you from your sleep. 

“How do we do that?” Sirius asked.

Remus hummed as he made for the kitchen and Sirius followed him much like a lost puppy. “Well she needs lots of rest, and we should try to get her to eat before we give her anything to bring down her fever; she hardly ate any of the soup she made earlier. Maybe some Chamomile too. But I want to start by bringing her fever down.” He said with finality as he started puttering in the kitchen. 

“What should I do?” Sirius asked like a child helping their parents in the kitchen; he felt worse than useless, he felt like he was in the way.

This is what happens when you don’t have a loving family; you don’t always know how to love - the verb to love, the action of loving someone. 

Sirius feels love, he knows that much. He just doesn’t always know what to do with all of that love.

Luckily for him, he had two of the loveliest partners in the world to help him on that end. 

Remus turned to smile softly at Sirius before leaning down to peck a kiss to his head. “Go change into some comfies and I’ll put you to work.”

And well, Sirius didn’t need to be told twice. 

Officially donned in his favourite pair of sweats and a long sleeve band tee, Sirius returned to find Remus knelt in front of you on the couch as he whispered. 

“I know, Dovey.” Sirius could hear Remus coo quietly as he approached. “Think you can try for me, though?”

You made a sound halfway between a groan and a sob as you pulled yourself into a seated position and accepted a cup of tea from Remus. 

“Too much honey.” You protested meekly without even taking a sip; Sirius was sure he could smell the honey from where he was standing.

“It’ll help your throat, love.” 

You groaned again but took a dutiful sip which earned you a beaming smile from Remus. 

“I feel horrid.” You croaked, and Remus - god love him - managed to not grimace at the sound; Sirius was thankful he was stationed behind the sofa where you couldn’t see him, because he was not as gracious as your other boyfriend. 

“I bet. When did you last take these?” Remus asked as he motioned towards the medication.

“It was early, I think around eleven.” 

Remus hummed in acknowledgement as he stood from his crouched position. “You should be okay to have more once you’ve got something in your stomach, then. I’ll make soup, okay? Here Pads.” He pointed towards Remus’ now vacated spot on the couch. 

Sirius offered you a sad smile as you turned to look at him. “When did you get home?” You queried.

Remus scoffed in response. “I’m surprised he didn’t wake you, sweet girl, the way he comes in and throws his shit everywhere.”

Sirius scoffed in faux offence. “I am very graceful, thank you very much.”

Whoever said laughter was the best medicine was a sodding liar, because though Sirius got what he had sort of wanted (which was to see you smile), your chuckle quickly turned into a coughing fit. 

“Alright, that’s it.” Remus chided jokingly. “Sirius, lay here please.”

Sirius dutifully followed Remus’ direction and laid back on the sofa with his head resting on the arm and his legs spread, welcoming you into his arms as Remus encouraged you to lay back down with your head resting on Sirius’ stomach. 

“Neither of you are to move until Y/N is better.” Remus ordered with severity no one truly believed. 

“I hope she never gets better then.” Sirius harrumphed as he burrowed further into the sofa beneath him and rubbed loving strokes up and down your back as you wormed your hands around Sirius’ middle. 

“That’s mean.” You pouted.

“I was just saying that to our tyrant, dolly; you get better but pretend you’re not so we can trick him into letting us stay like this forever, deal?” 

“Deal.” You agreed with a sniffling sigh, causing Sirius to tsk in sympathy. 

“My poor sweet girl, so poorly. S’breaking my heart.”

Sirius could feel the heat radiating from your forehead as you hid your face in his stomach.

“I feel a bit better now.” You barely got out without coughing. 

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you, babygirl.” Sirius said with a sad chuckle. 

“It’s true.” You insisted sleepily, turning your head again so that your cheek was pressed against Sirius as you looked up somewhat dopily at him. “It’s always better when you guys are here.” 

And you were likely a little loopy from your fever, feeling more than vulnerable in your current state, and sufficiently doted upon by both Remus and Sirius; but Sirius couldn’t help but admit you were certainly onto something.

Sirius always felt better when the two of you were around too.

[not-neverland06]

How About a Nuke?

Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V

The ghoul x fem!reader A/N: I just want to thank you all for the love, support, and wonderful messages you’ve been sending me because of this series. Summary: You’ll never survive if you don’t learn to depend on yourself. But this world is harsher and crueler than you’re prepared for. Still, you can’t let that hold you back, you need to try and live without Cooper.

He shot up at the sound of a gunshot. It echoed through the trees, closer than he was comfortable with. Instinctively, he reached out to shake her awake, prepared to tell her to grab her shit and run. His hand hit nothing but air and he sighed when he remembered the way she’d stalked off. 

He threw his bag over his shoulder and made his way towards her. He couldn’t see much until he rounded the tree, her bag was gone and so was she. Another shot rang out through the forest. He sighed and made his way back towards the fire. He grabbed a lit stick and used it to illuminate the forest floor to get a better look at the footprints around the area. 

As far as he could tell no one else had passed through here while he’d been sleeping. So where the fuck was she? Another shot went off followed by the sound of her scream. “Fuck,” he ripped the gun out of his holster and followed the tracks as best he could. 

The closer he got, the more it sounded like two wild animals fighting. She was cussing up a storm, screaming at whoever was trying to grab her. He still hadn’t managed to get a good luck at where she was. It seemed darker in this section of the forest, like it was purposefully trying to keep him from her. 

There was the thud of a body hitting the ground and then someone was running. He could hear them trampling through the undergrowth going right past him. Someone was whimpering in pain and he instantly thought of her on the ground bleeding out. Without much aim he shot in the general direction of whoever had run off, he heard a yelp but they didn’t stop. 

“You alright sweetheart?” He heard more than saw anything as she scrambled to her feet and ran off into the forest. “It’s only me!” He gave her a minute to realize she’d run from the wrong person before he figured that she knew exactly who she was running from. She must have still been pissed at him for what he'd said earlier. Rolling his eyes he tracked her limping gait through the steps in the mud. 

“Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuck,” you whimpered, teeth digging painfully into your lip while you peeled your clothes away from the wound on your side. You slowed down, unable to stay on your feet with how quickly the blood was oozing out of the hole near your ribs. You slumped over, letting yourself fall against a tree and stripped off the top half of your clothes. 

Your fingers pressed weakly against the hole and you let out a choked sob. Dammit, hurt like a fucking bitch. With shaking hands you dug blindly through the bag at your side. You’d lost most of your supplies in the fight but you were hoping the stimpak Cooper had given you earlier was still in here. 

You weren’t sure exactly how these worked but he’d told you it would heal nearly everything. Though, he’d said if a wound was bad enough even a stimpak couldn’t bring you back from the edge. You were praying that this would work, but after the past few days you didn’t have much faith in your luck.

The injector shook in your hands and you knew if you didn’t use it soon you weren’t going to make it. Taking in a deep breath you slid the needle into the skin, as close to the wound as you could get it. You could feel holes on your back and front, you were grateful at least that you didn’t have to worry about trying to dig a bullet out. 

You pressed down and let yourself sink back against the tree as medicine rushed through you. You ripped the injector once it felt like you’d gotten everything. 

With nothing to occupy them your hands fell limply to the ground. You needed to get up, try and reorient yourself and make it to Filly. But you were so tired. You barely noticed the way the wound continued to pulse, the slow dribble of blood leaking onto your hands. All you could see were the stars, so many more than you were used to. 

With no one left to pollute them, they were boundless. You let out a weak sigh and your eyes drifted shut. You thought of Cooper before it all went black. The way he was before, the way you were before. 

It was too dark to really track much but he was sure he was getting close. He could hear her whimpering in pain and figured she’d slow down soon enough. She shuffled around like a wounded animal, graceless and stumbling. 

He tried and justified this to himself, he needed her to deal with Ma June. Honestly, though, he knew he didn’t. He could just give up, set up camp again and wait for morning to come. She’s the one who decided she didn’t need him anymore. No fucking reason to keep going after her. She’d dug her own grave, it was time to let her lie in it. 

Still, he kept going. He ignored the nagging voice that pushed him to stop and turn back around. He pushed anything down that wasn’t useful in the moment. 

She should stop soon, she was just putting herself in more danger by continuing on like this. But, he figured she was pissed off and just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of needing his help. She had always been stubborn to a fault, he guesses even that hasn’t changed. 

Though, if she wanted to make it out here she was going to need tougher skin. It didn’t matter if what he said was true or not. You can’t afford attachments out here.

The sooner she learned that the better. 

There was a loud cry of pain and then he heard the sound of her keeling over against a tree. He grinned, ready to pounce on the opportunity to get on her about being so fucking stupid. “See, this is why you shouldn’t run!” He called out. 

Something lit up the path ahead and he ducked behind a tree instinctively. He peered around the trunk and marked the direction the torches were coming from. They weren’t close enough to be a problem, not yet at least. If he was lucky it would just be some travelers. He might even be able to get some supplies off of them. If he wasn’t, it would be raiders. 

Seeing as she seemed to be his own personal jinx, he figured they only had a few minutes until the raiders were on them. She wouldn’t be much use to him bleeding out. He strode over to her curled up form, she had a hand wrapped around her stomach and in the dark he could barely make out the blue of her uniform. “Come on, let’s go.” He nudged her with his boot but she didn’t move. She didn’t even make a sound. “Come on,” he tried again, kicking harder this time while he watched the torchlight get closer. 

Angry, he knelt down and rolled her over. But the face staring up at him wasn’t hers, it was some fucking raider. Must have been whoever she was fighting with. Shit, that meant he’d shot her. Cooper rubbed his forehead in irritation. Nothing could ever be easy with her could it?

Footsteps sounded closer and Cooper knew his time had run out. Whoever this woman on the ground belonged to had come to collect. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Cooper’s hand moved to his holster and he looked up at them, a grin on his face, “Gentlemen.”

“Grab her legs. Come on, hurry up, don’t have all day!” Hands wrapped around your ankles and you jolted awake. You kicked out, eyes blind to anything but the memory of the raiders from before. The old woman at your feet jumped away from your weak attack and frowned down at you. 

“Well, shit, she’s alive.”

An old man walked out from behind you. “What the fuck are you talking about?” He crouched down, groaning as his knees cracked in protest. He leaned towards you and you flinched back, eyes wide as you watched him reach out to you. His hand hovered your face and you braced yourself for an attack. He only poked you, though, frowning when you winced away from the prodding of your bruises. “I’ll be damned, she is.”

The old woman sighed and threw a bag over her shoulders. You watched in horror as she tucked a pack of surgical tools into the pocket of her large skirt. Were these people about to carve into you?

What the fuck was wrong with this goddamn place?

The old man held out his arm and she limped over to him, taking it and walking away from you. You glanced around, still confused on what the hell was going on. “Hey!” You croaked. Your hand wrapped around your waist, prodding the wound. You were shocked to find it healed over, only a dull ache left in its place. “Hey!” You shouted again. 

The woman turned around and glared at you. “What?” She screeched and you winced at the way it echoed through the trees. 

“Where’s Filly?”

She shared a look with the old man and they both stared at you like you were crazy. “Right behind you,” they walked off without another word, seeming sorely disappointed that they hadn’t been able to dig into you. 

You groped blindly through the dirt and grass around you until your fingers felt the handle of your bag. You curled your hand into a weak fist and tugged it towards you. You felt completely drained. But you couldn’t stay here, not unless you wanted to be turned into someone’s next meal. 

You groaned and forced yourself to your feet, head swimming with pain and nausea. You zipped your suit back up and winced at how it stuck to your skin. Your blood still hadn’t dried completely, you looked down and grimaced at the crimson stains covering you. No wonder it hadn’t dried, it looked like someone had dunked a bucket of red paint over you. How the hell were you still standing? 

You’re not sure what’s worse right now, that you’re not surprised you got shot or that you can’t figure out whether he shot you on purpose or not. 

He’d made it clear what exactly you were to him. A hole to fill, as he’d so eloquently told you. And you’re pretty sure you’d made it clear that you weren’t interested in filling that role for him ever again. At least you hoped you did, last night was an adrenaline fueled blur and you weren’t positive you were remembering everything properly. 

You can barely recall that raider jumping you, you just know you’d shot your gun off and made a run for it. The bullet hole hadn’t even caught up to you until you were about half a mile away. Maybe Cooper had shot you on purpose. It’s not like you contributed much and you doubted he really needed your help in Filly. 

Made you wonder why he bothered keeping you around for as long as he did. 

You could hear it now, Filly, you’re not sure how you didn’t before. You couldn’t see it yet, but you could hear people calling out their wares and haggling about prices. You hurried as much as you could, one leg dragging behind you slightly. You’re not sure when that got hurt, but you could barely work your right hip properly. 

Little houses were popping up around you. They were sparse and resembled shacks more than anything, but it was just another sign that you’re one step closer to not having to worry about getting shot at every five minutes. 

In front of one of the nicer homes was a clothesline. You slowly approached, eyes on the clean clothes that were beckoning you closer. You kept your hand on the handle of your gun just in case the owner of the home spotted you. What you really didn’t need was getting killed over a shirt. 

You glanced around, not seeing anyone watching you. Your gaze went back to the clothes and you frowned. If there was one thing Cooper taught you it was that no one asked in this world, they took. You ripped the clothes off the line and ducked behind a tree to change. 

Even with the blood still caked onto your skin, you felt cleaner than you had the whole time you’d been up here. Getting rid of that ridiculous suit was good for a few things. You’d blend in better with the people here in a tank top and ratty old brown pants. And you almost felt like you were getting rid of the memories attached to that suit.

It was as close as you could get without grating your skin off at least. 

You dumped your old outfit behind the house and near their clothesline. A transaction of sorts. They could have your blood soaked clothes and you could have their clean ones. Not a fair trade, but better than anything else they’d find up here. 

It didn’t take long to find the entrance to Filly, once you did you found yourself nearly cowering at the sight of all the people bustling through. Sure, it wasn’t a lot compared to California. But you’d been traveling with no one but Cooper for the past week through a barren desert. Not counting the raiders as human, you’d almost forgotten that other people existed. 

A man jumped at you and shoved a skewer of meat in your face. “Dogmeat, get your dogmeat!” You grimaced and backed away from him. So, not as civilized as you’d hoped, but you’d take what you could get. 

The biggest one nodded towards him, “Grab him.”

He grinned and shook his head, “I wouldn’t.”

The boy on the far left had his head blown off before he could even try and charge at him. He ripped the shotgun off his back and shot the other two in quick succession. He didn’t bother with them, seeing if they lived or died. He kicked at the woman at his feet again and she winced in pain. 

“The woman you fought. Where is she?”

She shook her head and curled further into herself. He sighed and grabbed her chin, wrenching it up to his and letting her get a good look at his disfigured face. She tried to shrink away from him but he tsked and shook her so hard he could hear what few remaining teeth she had rattle. 

“I don’t know,” she cried out, batting uselessly at his hands. 

“I really think you do.”

He reached down, groping over her torso and digging his fingers into the bullet hole on her side. She cried out in agony, writhing like an animal caught in a snare. “Filly, she was heading for Filly!”

He grinned and dropped her to the ground, her head thudding loudly against the large tree root. “Thank you kindly, ma’am.”

She looked up at him in fear, “You’ll let me go?”

He tilted his head, looking her over and taking in the sight of blood on her clothes. “Well, you did attack my friend,” he lifted his gun and she cowered away from him. “I don’t take well to others damaging what’s mine.”

Her brain splattered against the trunk and he stepped over her twitching body to follow the light he noticed further down the forest. He didn’t often find himself exploring these woods at night, he figured he was close enough to Filly but he needed her to confirm it. 

For a moment he lets himself doubt that she was really abandoning him in the middle of the night. Maybe she’d gotten up for a piss and been caught off guard. He dismisses the idea when he remembers that she’d taken her bag with her when she’d gone. 

He doesn’t let himself linger on it too long, pissed off that it’s bothering him at all. 

He’d seen the hope starting to form in her eyes when she’d look at him. She was getting a little loose with what she was calling him too. A little while longer together and he’s sure he’d be hearing his name again. Saying what he had was a favor to them both. Better to cut that off before anything came of it. 

Stupid fucking girl, he shouldn’t even be thinking about this anymore. He shouldn’t be looking for her, either. The confirmation that she’d left him was enough. Their time together was done, it should have ended a long time ago. He’s pretty sure he liked it better when he just thought she was a two-timing slut. 

Hate was easier than whatever the fuck this was. 

He spotted smoke through the trees and then the raiders camp. They were laughing at something and ripping into a roast that looked suspiciously like a human leg. He pulled his gun out and snuck behind them. He just needed a distraction, he’d be over this once he helped himself to their meals and their bedrolls. 

“What?” 

“Caps,” the girl’s voice was distorted by whatever metal oddity she had connected to her throat. She glanced at you, completely uninterested once she’d realized you didn’t have any payment for her. Not that you really understood the payment required. 

Who’d decided bottle caps were a good currency? 

“Well, do you know where I could get them?” She nodded towards a building adjacent to her stall and you frowned. 

The store she pointed to you clearly advertised, WE BUY TEETH. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Or,” you glanced at her with hope, “you go to that alley over there and get on your knees. You could probably get five caps off someone if you suck good enough.”

You glared at her and started walking away from her stall in anger. “I’d get more for my fucking teeth!” You shouted over your shoulder. She shrugged and went back to fiddling with the metal tools on her table. 

You stood in the middle of the marketplace, desperately trying to figure out where you should go. You almost missed Cooper right now, he might be a dick but at least he understood how this place worked. 

You felt an intense ache of betrayal and longing and immediately dismissed any thoughts of Cooper. He could go and get himself shot for all you cared. You loved him, and would have loved him no matter how he looked. It didn’t matter that he was changed, disfigured, you didn’t give a shit about any of that. You just wanted him. And all he cared about was having a pretty body warming his bed. 

You would do this without him. 

You glared against the bright sunlight, scanning each storefront and trying to find something that could help you. You’d already tried to talk to Ma June but she hadn’t been as pleasant as you had been hoping. She wasn’t looking for workers and apparently not charity cases either. 

You didn’t think you were a charity case but apparently having all your fingers and teeth made you an outsider here. You needed to get out of this sun, you didn’t want these clothes to start stinking with sweat so soon. You were trying to keep them as clean as possible for as long as you could. 

You spotted the bar and decided to try your luck there. Maybe you could be a waitress or something. If they still had whores they had to at least have servers here. 

Right?

Maybe you were a fucking charity case. You shook off the thought and ducked inside. You were never going to get far on your own if you kept doubting yourself. You might be a bit naive to how this world works but you’re a fast learner, you’ll catch on soon enough. 

You still wished someone was here to help you. 

He sat down on a log, ripping a piece of meat off the skewer and sinking back into his seat. He ate his food and picked at his teeth, bored while he surveyed the damage he’d done to the camp. She wasn’t exactly a heavy conversationalist, but at least she was something. 

It was startling just how quiet and still the night felt without her sitting across the fire with him. He loathed to admit it, but her company had at least provided him with some entertainment if nothing else. Now everything felt too quiet, too lonely. 

He sighed and shook his head, this was stupid. Two hundred years he’s been on his own. A few nights with her wasn’t going to change who he was. It wasn’t going to fix him and magically turn him into her Prince Charming again. 

Unbidden he thought of her face when he’d grabbed her from those raiders in the old neighborhood. It’s the first time anyone’s ever looked relieved to see him since he’d changed. He’d had to pry her off of him and even then she seemed like she barely wanted to let him go. 

He hadn’t made anyone feel safe in a very long time and he worried a bit for her sanity if she thought he was trustworthy. He was only doing more harm trying to go after her. But something in him couldn’t let go. It was like the love you used to share had been warped alongside him. 

He didn’t like the idea of anyone else getting their hands on her. She was his to fuck with and torment, anyone else would push too much. He felt confident, despite tonight’s incident, that he knew how to poke her without going too far. 

Once he was full he shoved a freshly killed raider off their bedroll and settled down to sleep. He figured he’d have better luck recognizing where he was once the sun came up. 

The next morning he went through the raiders’ pockets and bags, lucky enough to find some Radaway among their junk. Maybe he was right, maybe she was a bad luck charm. Maybe he was being stupid last night, thinking about what they used to be. There’s no point in dwelling in the past, he can never go back to that and neither can she. 

Still, he could leave her alone. Give her a chance to make it on her own without him there to torment her. 

He considered it for about two seconds before he dismissed the thought. You’d both had a deal and she had rescinded on that deal. He didn’t take to kindly to people screwing him over, he’d just have to teach her not to fuck with him. 

He tossed his bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the raider’s camp. He had a better idea of where he was now. It wouldn’t be much further until he reached Filly and found her again. He was intent on making sure she stayed with him this time. 

He’d leash her if he had to. 

“There’s nothing I could do for a few caps?”

“I could think of something darlin’,” a man hollered at you from across the makeshift bar. The building was in pretty good shape, though the alcohol looked questionable. The owner seemed nice enough, a wrinkled old man whose hands shook too hard for him to pour a drink without spilling it. 

“Don’t need any help.” The old man muttered under his breath, tottering over to the other side of the room to pour another cup. He ended up knocking it into the man’s lap and cussing as the alcohol poured across the floor. 

“Right,” you muttered. You let your head fall in your hands, rubbing your face in frustration while you tried to think of what to do. You’d made a deal with yourself that if you couldn’t find work by the end of the day, you would sell your teeth. 

You were hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but with the way your stomach was rumbling and how everyone seemed to keep turning you away it was seeming more and more likely. You slumped over the bar, trying to think of a solution or another idea. 

You’d been propositioned by enough men to know you could make plenty of caps in the back alley behind the bar. But everytime you even remotely considered it, you felt yourself shrinking up. Your adrenaline would spike like you were readying yourself for a fight. 

You figured it would be a while before you could even safely consider that. “You seem a might rundown, hun.”

You didn’t bother lifting your head. You knew it was the man who’d been staring at you since you walked in. You could smell him even with your head down. You did your best to ignore him but he didn’t seem to take too kindly to that. 

“Hey,” he shoved at your shoulder and the impact was enough to force your head up. “Are you fucking deaf?”

”No,” you muttered through gritted teeth. Your hand hovered behind your back, itching for the gun tucked in your pants. “I’m not fucking interested.”

He lifted his hand and muttered, “Bitch,” a loud smack followed and echoed through the bar. Your head whipped to the side so hard you worried it might fly off. You clutched your cheek, spitting blood onto the wood of the counter. 

Your hand was already on your gun when you heard the sound of a hammer being pulled back. “Oh,” you turned, shocked to find Cooper standing behind the man. His gun was leveled with the man’s face and he shook his head in disappointment. “I really wish you hadn’t done that.”

Men stood up from their tables and drew their guns, pointing all of them at Cooper. You’d seen the signs with the anti-ghoul symbols but you didn’t think they’d really follow through. Apparently it was the only law they obeyed around here. 

Cooper smiled as the men cocked their guns, eyes alight with a challenge. Then they landed on you and he frowned again. He raised his hands in surrender and tucked his gun back in his holster. He darted forward and grabbed you. He yanked you into his chest and you stumbled over your feet, scowling at him. He leaned next to your ear, gravelly voice sending chills down your back, “We’re leaving.”

He didn’t leave you much choice, dragging you despite the way you tried to fight against him. “The lady stays,” the man who’d hit you ordered. His friends took a step forward, blocking Cooper from the exit. He chuckled and glanced over at the man. 

“That was a mistake, friend.” Before you knew what was happening he was shoving you to the ground and shots were going off. Not willing to get shot again, you crawled on all fours towards the door. The sound of bullets whizzing over your head had you ducking every now and again, trying to protect yourself as much as you could. 

You could hear Cooper taunting them, and after every remark another body would hit the floor. You yelped and jumped back when one fell in front of you. A bullet embedded itself in the floor beside you, the wood splintering and exploding upward, just barely missing your face. 

You crawled over the dead bodies and threw yourself out the door, trying to outrun the sound of gunfire. But it was too late. The rest of Filly had heard the fight and those that were stupid enough to stay were starting to draw the fight out into the marketplace.

It was almost like a game, ducking under bullets and the spray of blood. Whatever Cooper was shooting them with was making them light up like the Fourth of July. By the time you’d managed to hide yourself behind a building, you looked like you’d been hosed down with blood. So much for keeping the clothes clean. 

Your head thudded against the side of the building and you clenched your eyes shut, breathing heavily through your open mouth. You could feel your heart pounding against your chest. But you didn’t feel like you were going to have a heart attack this time, maybe you were starting to adapt to all this. 

Feet scrambled across the sand and someone threw themselves down next to you. You tensed and opened your eyes, you didn’t relax much when you realized it was Cooper. He grinned at you and glanced over his shoulder, checking no one had seen him. 

The other’s didn’t seem to care that the man that had started the fight was no longer a part of it. You’re pretty sure they just needed an excuse to shoot each other. Cooper popped his gun open and reloaded the chamber. 

He glanced at your blood soaked form and scoffed, “You look like you’re doing well.”

You refused to look at him, “Yeah, no thanks to you.”

He didn’t take well to the way you were avoiding him. He darted forward, fingers digging into your chin and forcing you to look at him. “Sweetheart, who left who?”

You ripped your face out of his hand and glared at him. “Don’t try and pretend like you didn’t leave me a long time before I woke up. You wrote me off copper. You assumed the worst about me and you gave up.”

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something when a noise behind you interrupted him. He gave you a long look and got to his feet. “If you’re not here when I come back, I’ll shoot you. Understand me?”

You looked at him for a long moment, body tensed with rage before you nodded your head. “Understood.”

SERIES TAGLIST: @pixelatedprofilepic @o0mellowdramatic0o @bisasterbisexual @julianmarie @v3nix @coolrobloxkid28 @sunnexaltation @fiftyshadesofokay @ktdragonborn @ambivertdreamer @one-of-thewalkingdead @hellolettuce444 @ghcstvibess @qardasngan @foreverwing223 @leo4242564 @1-800shootmeplease @awkwardly-bucky @fallout-girl219 @the-faceless-bride @milk-ducts @dramaticpandabear @ladiadia @rockerchick05 @raviolisenpai @cupid-club @alastorsw1f3 @sarapaprikas-blog @sgt-barnesveins @weakling-grace

end. — I do not own the characters or the game/show Fallout, but this writing is my own all rights reserved © not-neverland06 2024. do not copy, repost, translate & recommend elsewhere.

[mrsparrasblog]

You're losing me pt 4.

prev part. part 1

TW: Drug use, mentioned rape, mention of violence, medic is the worst human on earth

Simon sat down next to Johnny on his bed, holding the Scotsman's hand while giving him a reassuring nod. "We have the whole day time."

"It's complicated."

"I will understand."

"Promise to believe me."

"Promise." Simon didn't know exactly what had happened or how Johnny got this way. He always admired Johnny for his confidence and the way he made everything seem so easy. Seeing his boyfriend like this broke his heart. He knew Johnny would never cheat on you; he loved you, everyone loved you. He remembered that one day Johnny got piss drunk on a mission and a bird approached him. He showed her pictures of you for 10 minutes, telling everyone he had the most beautiful lass on earth. This man wouldn’t cheat, especially not with her, definitely not his type.

Simon thought she had just gone into Johnny's bed at night, removing her clothes and gaslighting him that he cheated. But when Johnny told him everything about the drugs, about the rape, about the way she tried to blackmail him, he felt like he needed to throw up. He was too young to protect his mother from this. He couldn’t do anything when it happened to him. He didn’t know you when it happened to you. But this time, he was going to kill the rapist. "You’re a good man. Don’t let her manipulate you into something you aren’t."

"I feel like shit."

"This won’t go away easy, love."

"I don’t know what to do." And he really didn’t know. Everything seemed and felt so lost. Simon believed him, right? But what if she tells everyone he raped her? It will be over with his military career. After she pulled that stunt you wouldn’t believe him anymore. The look in your eyes almost broke him completely. This was wrong. It went too easy for her like she had done this many times before or had been planning this for years. It was too easy.

"Let me fix it for you, Johnny." He was determined to do this. Through his head already went 1000 ideas on how to kill her. But every way was too easy, too nice for her. Rip her head off. Sell her off to the black market so she will experience first-hand the crimes she did to others. Burn her alive. Many possibilities.

"Don’t kill her, Lieutenant."

"You know she will do it again. Not only to you but to others."

"Do you think she already did this?" Johnny fiddled with his wrist. The bracelet that you bought him to help with his ADHD was gone. It always calmed him. You told him how you searched through whole Etsy to find some gems that should calm him down. He didn’t believe this shit, but it indeed calmed him down since it reminded him of you. And right now, you were the only thing he needed. He needed you to tell him that he isn’t dirty, that he isn’t at fault, that he is a good man.

"Would explain why she was transferred so fast to us from her old unit."

"Fuck." This needed to stop. He couldn’t let that happen to more innocent people.

"Let’s talk to Price, then I’ll take care of her, and after that, we get our girl back." Simon missed you just as much as Johnny did. For a split second, he was afraid that you were mad and disappointed that he didn’t check on you. But that wasn’t the selfless girl he fell in love with. He knew you would understand if you only knew. He could already imagine how you would apologize even though you didn’t do anything wrong. You were different than the medic scum.

"Do you think she’ll take us back?"

"Yes, promise." He placed a small kiss on the shaved part of Johnny's mohawk, a small gesture that the Scot always loved. Simon always knew how to calm him down. With that, they left in the direction of Price's office.

-------------------------------

He woke up with an immense headache and the urge to throw up. John really drank too much the last few days, but this will end now. He will concentrate on you and the job again. You forgave him for lying, at least that was the last thing he remembered before you brought him to his bed. On his bedside table stood a glass of water and one of your self-made brownies with a small note. "Take care of yourself, bear." You always jokingly called him a bear because that was what he was to you. John was the big cuddly bear who always kept you safe.

He knew by the amount of alcohol he drank yesterday, he should probably head to the medical department for some meds. He would never tell anyone, though. He was a hypocrite sometimes, always letting the other hungover soldiers run miles to torture them for being so irresponsible to drink before training. But he could afford the luxury of taking meds against his hangover.

So John went to the medical. He was annoyed when he only saw her there.

"Hello, Captain." She smiled brightly, which made him almost throw up on the spot. There was always a difference between the real, sweet-like-a-cake, like his girl, and the artificial acting sweetness she faked. It was disgusting. "Is there another medic or nurse in here today?"

"No, sorry, Captain."

"I'll go then."

"Come on, Captain, be professional. What do you need?"

"Just something against my hangover." He can be professional and still respect you, right? You won’t be mad he talked to her.

"That was easy. I'll bring you something."

She came back, still with that creepy artificial sweet smile. In her hand was a glass of water with, judging by the displaced white particles, meds. "Just some pain meds against headache and dehydration. Drink up, Captain, and then stay here for 20 minutes for the next med."

John drank it up. After a few minutes of sitting in the chair, he felt his limbs tingle weirdly. This must be one of those side effects of the meds.

"How are you feeling, baby?" Weird name.

"Don’t call me that." He tried to leave, but it felt like his body didn’t do the things he wanted anymore like he was paralyzed.

"I wouldn’t do that, John."

"What was in there?" This can’t be fucking true. This is one of those weird drunk dreams.

"Oh, baby, just some mild paralyzer. Don’t worry, it only lasts three hours, and you can still talk. That’s great, isn’t it? Oh, and Viagra."

Fuck, this is true. This is how she got Johnny. She is fucking sick. "What do you want?"

"You know, I really tried to be nice, but you all only talk about her all the time, so I took matters into my own hands." She said as she slowly sat down on his lap. John tried hard to do anything, but he wasn’t able to move.

"Look, you’re a pretty girl. You don’t need us. There is someone who loves you." He tried to be nice, and use his words to come out of this situation, but she already removed his pants. He knew it was over there until he heard the sudden voices of Johnny and Simon. He knew she could never outsmart them, and she knew it too.

"Fuck, fuck," she screamed, gathering the remaining meds and her things. She ran out of the room the second she saw the door open.

"Fucking hell, Captain, you're okay?"

"That fucking cunt drugged me. Get a fucking nurse here." This all didn’t go like Simon's plan. It felt like she was always a step ahead of them.

----------------------------------------

Kyle didn't notice any of the drama going on in medical as he used his time in the gym. Well, more of texting you instead of being productive, until.

"Fucking hell."

------

Tag list: @littlechomper @ab12305 @darkangel4121

A/N: I know you are waiting for her downfall, it will come promise.

[chaengluva]

Don’t Be Fooled By The Pink

Regina George x Fem!Reader: 2.4k words.

Requested: No

Regina hasn’t laid eyes on you before but one day she noticed that you were feeling sad and she couldn’t help but feel bad for you, so Regina decided to he human for once.

WARNINGS: Slight mention of a bad life at home and bullying

You walked into class with your head down and your hoodie up. You tried your best to hide your face from the people that you knew would make fun of you for crying at school, but you couldn't help it. So much was going on in your life that you couldn't take it anymore.

You were so tired of being the second choice, in the eyes of everyone, everything you do is compared to what your sister does, if you get a B, you should do better but when you get an A, your parents blame you for cheating, but when its your sister, they treat her like she just found a cure to cancer.

Nothing like what happened this morning, it was the worst fight and your sister just let your parents attack you. Your mom went in to your room when you were sleeping, and being herself, she went threw all your stuff. She opened your note book, the one were you confessed your crush, on a girl.

You tried to tell her that you didn't like that girl anymore, and you told her that it was all just a phase (which is a lie), but you didn't want her to be mad at you.

It didn't work; she wasn't happy; she started yelling at you, which started you awake and made your father and sister rush in; they also yelled at you; and your sister just watched and smirked while it happened, which broke your heart.

Your mom told you to pack your stuff and not come home after school today, you felt so broken and you didn't know where do go, so that's why you were upset at school.

You look up for the first time, and you notice that Regina Geogre is staring at you. You sigh, looking away, knowing she is probally juding you for crying, when you look back you notice she is still looking at you, which makes you more embarssed.

You look away, then you feel a vibration on from your phone, you pull it out to check and you were really confused when it said that Regina had texted you through instagram.

@TheRegina_Geogre

Hey, I know we have never talked but why are you crying?

@Y/n.L/n_

Just personal reasons.

@TheRegina_Geogre

Do you want to talk about it?

Just leave the classroom; meet me in the janitors closet next to the classroom.

She didn't say anything else; she just got up and left. You were so confused about why Regina was being nice to you, but you didn't want to argue with her, so you just got up and followed her. You opened the door and saw Regina sitting down, doing her nails.

"Hey," you say, sitting down next to her. "So, why are you crying?" She asks, and you look down, saying, "Well, my parents kicked me out because..." You panicked, realising that she could also be homophobic, but you sighed, pretending not to care and saying, "I'm lesbian." You finish.

She pauses, looking at you. There was no shaking on her face; she was just quiet. "Oh." She said quietly, and you get up to leave, knowing she probably doesn't want to deal with you anymore, but she grabs your wrist and pulls you back down.

"Stay." She says, "Tell me more." You sigh, "Well I'm always second in my parents eyes, my sister can't do anything wrong, but I can't do anything right." She gives you an apologetic look, and pulling you in for a hug. "I get what your going through, I do."

You nod your head. The bell rings, meaning class is over, but none of you moved. It wasn't like your parents were going to do anything; you weren't going back.

You stayed the whole time in there until it was lunch time, and the two of you were hungry. You didn't think she wanted to eat lunch with you because of her reputation, so you quickly got up, not noticing that she tried to chase after you, but she lost you.

"Watch out, loser!" One of the jocks said he was throwing a football at you, making everyone around you laugh. You quickly tried to escape the sense, then you felt cold liquid drip down your body, and when you opened your eyes, you noticed people around you recording you and your sister pouring milk on you.

You left all your stuff and walked off. You shoved past people as they tried to trip you over and humiliate you even more. You walked until no one could see you, but you were still on campus.

Regina had been looking for you and was just deterred to go sit with her friends. As she walks to the table, she notices everyone's eyes on a phone, laughing at the video of you being bullied. This makes her mad.

She was about to sit down on the table, but Gretchen's voice stopped her. "I'm sorry, Regina. You can't sit with us." She says it loudly, and everyone looks up from their phones and puts their eye on the plastic table "What?" Regina asks with a small laugh. "You're wearing sweatpants. It's Thursday." Gretchen continues, and Regina rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Those rules aren't real."

"They were real that day I wore a vest." Karen says, and Regina rolls her eyes again. "Yeah, because that vest was disgusting!" Regina exclaims, and everyone goes quiet.

"You can't sit with us!" Gretchen yells. More silence. "These sweatpants are all that fit me right now." Regina whispers, not wanting many people to hear her.

"What do you think, Cady?" Gretchen asks Cady, and Regina looks at the strawberry blonde. She turns around with a smirk on her face and says, "Sorry, Regina. Rules are rules." She says it with a smirk in her voice. "Fine." She says this, turning away from the table. Everyone's eyes were on her, and she just rolled her eyes. "Take a picture, losers. It'll last longer." She says, walking away, throwing away her lunch as she goes.

She leaves the school, and she notices you sitting behind a tree, making her sigh. She walks up to you, kneeling down, pulling you in for a hug. "I'm sorry I wasn't there." Regina says she is picking you up and taking you back to her house.

The two of you did everything you could to distract you from what was going on in your life; you watched movies, talked, and she even showed you the burn book that she wrote about girls in the grade; you weren't in it, which you didn't know how to feel about.

"I told Gretchen not to put you in it, she wanted to." Regina says, You give her a confused look, "Why?" You ask, and she sighs, looking down and sighing, "Because I like you." Regina says, and you blush, not wanting to believe her if she is lying. She notices this and rolls her eyes, grabbing your neck and pulling you in for a kiss.

You kissed back, slowly changing your position on the bed so she was hovering over you, as you made out, you got lost, you forgot about everything and for once in your life you felt wanted. 

You opened your eyes, and you were shocked to feel Regina's arms around you. She was holding you close. You moved slightly, waking the girl up. She yawed before getting up and moving to her closest. She threw you some clothes to wear, not saying a word. "I need to get my status back." Regina says, nodding her head, "How come you only talked to me when you saw me crying?" You ask, making Regina sigh.

"I've always been so shy; I know that sounds stupid, me? Shy?" Regina says, giggling, making you smile back, and hugging her, "Thanks, Regina." You smile, letting go of Regina, grabbing the clothes she gave you, then changing, leaving Regina standing there with a stupid smile on her face.

When you finally got changed, you came out to see that Regina was now sitting on her bed, eating a kalteen bar, which made you confused. "Regina?" You ask, she hums, looking up and into your eyes. "You know those make you gain weight."

Her eyes go from really soft to angry. She spits the rest of the bar she was chewing out and grabs the burn book, putting Cady's name inside it. (You thought so.) "I'm kicking her out today." Regina says you just nod your head, not wanting to argue with her.

The two of you go to school and sit on the plastic table like nothing happened yesterday. Gretchen and Karen were happy that Regina finally told you about her feelings; her arm was wrapped around you possessively, and the two girls sat opposite you and started to talk.

Cady made her way to the table, and Regina looked at the girl with angry eyes. Cady had no idea that Regina knew about the scheme she pulled off, and she wasn't happy about it.

Cady was about to sit down, but Regina spoke up, "You're not allowed to sit here." Regina said, and Cady gasped, "Why not?" She asked with hurt in her voice. "Because I said so," Regina said, hoping that was enough for the strawberry blonde to get up and leave, but she didn't move.

"So you're replacing me with some sore loser?" Cady says, rolling her eyes. Gretchen and Karen's eyes go wide, and they tell Cady to run away with their hands, but she doesn't pick it up. Regina drops the cheese fry that she was holding in her hand, then stands up. "Excuse me?" Regina says, and the shorter girl smirks. "You heard me."

Regina chuckles, walking closer to the girl, showing the clear height difference between them, making Cady slightly regret what she said and backing away. "Y/N is not a loser." Regina says, and Cady nervously nods, making the blonde roll her eyes. "Y/N is prettier than you; she has a personality. You were nothing before you met me." Regina said, pushing down the girl.

The whole cafeteria was laughing at her, which made the blonde smirk and feel satisfied enough to sit back down. When she sat back down, she noticed you were eating her cheese fries. Usually she would be mad if someone ate her food, but now she felt worried. "Y/N?" Regina said, making you jump and quickly putting the fry down.

"Sorry for eating your food," you nervously say. The blonde giggles, shaking her head. "It's okay; you can have the rest of them." She smiles, and Gretchen and Karen stare at the girl in shock. Regina never shares her food, but she did with you.

She allows you to touch her hair and eat her food. Karen and Gretchen knew that she liked you, but you didn't expect the two of you to move this quickly.

"Regina?" Gretchen said, making the girl roll her eyes, and she looked over at Gretchen. "What?" She asked with bitterness in her voice. "I have to pee, do you?" Gretchen said, smirking, and Regina knew exactly what Gretchen was doing. She groaned, getting up and then following Gretchen into the bathroom.

"What do you want?" Regina asked, crossing her arms. Gretchen gulped. "Are you dating Y/N?" Gretchen asks, and Regina gasps, "Not yet." She smirks and then goes to leave, but Gretchen grabs her and says, "You should take her out tonight." Gretchen suits, and Regina stops in her tracks and turns back to face her.

"You know what? That's a really good idea." Regina smiles, leaving. Gretchen has a massive smile on her face. She finally feels seen by her best friend. Regina goes back to you, taking a deep breath. "Y/N," she said, grabbing your attention.

You looked up, with a smile on your face, asking, "Yes?" Regina takes a deep breath before asking, "Will you go out with me? On a date." You happily smile and nod quickly, and she smiles, pulling you in for a hug and then walking away.

The two of you girls went home later that day and got ready in different rooms. When you walked out and saw Regina, she looked amazing.

She took you out to this very fancy restaurant that was very expensive; you almost felt bad watching her pay. When the two of you got back home, you held each other close and watched movies.

When you woke up, Regina wasn't with you; she wasn't by your side, which made you confused. You asked her mum where she was, and she told you that Regina had gone to school already, which made you frown. You had to catch the bus.

When you got to school, it was insane. Every girl was attacking each other, and you didn't know why, but then people turned to look at you and started laughing. You were confused by what they were laughing about, but then you got a text from someone.

"Y/N is a slut who craves attention from girls because her parents don't give her any."

You felt tears come to your eyes, and you knew exactly who wrote this, and she told you that she wouldn't write your name in the book. You look up, and Regina is making eye contact with you. She is trying to say something, but you ignore it.

You rush into the bathroom and put your hands in your head, feeling the tears come through, thinking of how dumb you were to trust Regina George.

Just as you open the door, Regina comes in, and you look away. "Y/n." She says, You roll your eyes, "What?" Regina sighs deeply. "I didn't mean anything I wrote about you. I had to write it." Regina says, making you roll your eyes again. "What do you mean you had to?" You ask.

Regina looks down at the ground. "I didn't want you to get framed, so I wrote you and me in it," Regina confesses, and you look down. "Oh."

Regina pulls you in for a hug, praying that you will hug back, and thankfully, you do. "Let's skip the rest of the day." Regina asks, and you nod with a smile on your face.

[vivwritesfics]

Slow Down, You're Gonna Crash

Chapter Five

Summary: Being a Verstappen means realising that you'll never be as good as her brother. She knew it. That was why she ran away to California. Of course, she's gonna fall for the older, naval aviator. And, of course, it pisses her family off.

Bradley Bradshaw x F1!Driver Reader

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse (no description), throw up (bc i need that warning lmao)

2K

Series Masterlist

Bahrain. The season opener. And she had no idea. After her call with Logan she’d stayed away from all things racing. She’d have given anything to be driving the number fifty three car around that track and couldn’t face the fact that she wasn’t.

Max had tried to call her, but she ignored it. She was having far too much fun with Rooster and his friends to speak to her brother. 

She’d never had a beach day like this. It was the sort of environment she’d never been in before, where everyone was just friends. They weren’t insanely competitive (at least, not in the way she and the people she’d grown up with were), and there wasn’t the feeling of dread that one of your friends could have your career ripped away from you and placed into their own hands at any moment. 

No, the beach day with the Dagger Squad was actually fun. She hadn’t packed for her trip across the United States with the beach in mind, but Natasha had been kind enough to let her borrow something to wear. As the day got hotter she wore her old team hat, complete with her driver number. There wasn’t anything much more embarrassing than that.

If the Squad thought anything of it, they kept their opinions to themselves. No, she genuinely had fun.

Days like this with Jos Verstappen as your father were few and far between. Any spare moment growing up was spent racing or training. Even as the golden child, Max didn't get any reprieve. But Jos seemed to hate her more than anything.

(Maybe it was because he was stuck with her. She'd been taken from her mother who was deemed unfit to parent and left in his care. How he was considered good enough to look after two children, she'd never know).

(She and her mother had reconnected just before her first season, but they'd never gotten close).

When the Squad started a game of football, she'd shaken her head, insisting that she was happy watching. Besides, she didn't know how to play American football, her only experience was having footballs thrown at her before the race in Miami.

But they insisted. Bradley had taken her hands and pulled her to her feet, but she was quick to sit back down. And, when that happened, he threw her over his shoulder. She shrieked and pounded her fists against his back, but her uncontrollable laughter gave everything away.

He put her down between Bob, Nat, and Mickey. "You okay?" He asked, searching her face for any sign of discomfort.

But she was grinning ear to ear as she said, "Yeah, Roos. I'm okay."

He joined Jake, Javy and Rueben across from them, and the game began.

As it turns out, navy pilots are incredibly competitive. But that was good. Because she was, too. But they weren't competitive in the way that she was. It wasn't treated like life or death with them, not like it was growing up trying to get into racing. They wanted to beat each other but just because it was fun.

Not because they were afraid of what their dad would do if they lost.

To the Squad, the way she avoided the ball was hilarious. But then the ball landed in her hands. With wide eyes, she turned towards Bob. "What do I do?" She asked in a panic.

Bradley, Jake, Javy and Rueben were all racing towards her. This was maybe the most terrifying moment of her life (psych, it wasn't even close).

"Run!" Bob cried. So she did just that.

She tucked the football beneath her arm and ran. As it turns out, she was only fast on the racetrack. She didn't get very far, not before Bradley wrapped his strong arms around her middle and lifted her off the ground.

"Bradley!" She shrieked and tried to throw the ball to Nat.

The game was forgotten to the two of them as the others continued playing. "Not bad," he mused as she turned in his arms. That smirk played on his lips, the tantalising one that had drawn her in in the first place. "Are you sure your only sport is driving?"

"Racing," she corrected as she pushed at his chest. But she didn't put much effort into it, not quite ready to leave his arms. "Well, if my career doesn't get back on track, I'm sure I could try out for the New York Dolphins."

A groan left his lips and his head fell forward. "You're killing me here, baby," he mumbled and pressed his lips against her own.

A few beers later, as the sun set on a perfect day, Bradley led her back to the Bronco. "Can I drive?" She asked a sober Bradley, wearing a smile that was all too convincing.

"Three beers and you think you're ready for the Bronco? Someone needs to learn to handle their drink," he said, voice teasing as he pulled her around to the passenger side. Bradley kept a hold of her hand as she climbed in. As soon as she was sat, she swivelled in her seat to face him and pulled his aviators from his face.

He didn't look at her with annoyance, as she had been expected as she put the sunglasses on. No, the expression he wore was full of fondness. "You had a good day, kid?"

The nickname was affectionate, fort he times he was feeling soft with her. It was his favourite of the bunch, the one that had a dopey smile crossing her face. "Yeah," she said, leaning to the side and letting her head fall against the seat. "I like your friends."

He pushed her legs around so that she was facing forwards. "They like you too," he said, gently pulling the aviators from her face and placing them back on his own.

He climbed into the other side of the Bronco and began driving. As soon as they were on the road, heading back to his, she took the hand closest to her and put it on her thigh, a satisfied hum leaving her lips. "There," she mumbled, placing her hand on top of his own.

"You okay?" He asked again, and she nodded. He'd never seen her so quiet before. It was a new side of her, one he didn't exactly mind. But, then again, he so far loved all sides of her. "Jake said they're gonna keep the party going in The Hard Deck. D'you wanna join them?"

Again, she nodded. "Okay, kid," he said softly as he pulled into the driveway. "Let's get some food in you, first."

It was a pleasant evening with Bradley before they headed out to The Hard Deck. But, then again, most evenings with Bradley were pleasant. She showered and got changed while he stood in the kitchen, making her something to eat, dressed in nothing but his beach shorts.

it was a quick turn around, her getting showered and changed. As soon as she was dressed she silently padded into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him. The smell of the sea air lingered on his skin. Heaven.

It was a simple dinner, but Bradley made the portions larger than she thought possible. She couldn't finish it all, and that was okay. After he'd eaten, Bradley jumped in the shower and got dressed into one of his signature Hawaiian shirts.

"Feeling slightly more sober?" He had asked as he pulled her up from the couch. She nodded but Bradley shook his head. "Words, baby."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Roo. I promise you I'm feeling a lot more sober." She muttered something in a language he didn't understand, something that had her giggling. At her giggles, Bradley pinched her sides. But he took her hand and led her out to the Bronco.

Her first reminder of the opening race that she was missing came the moment they walked into The Hard Deck. She spotted four screens, one on every wall. It had to be some sort of joke.

"No way," said Bradley, pointing at the first screen he saw.

She said nothing as she sat at the bar and ordered a drink. She kept her eyes on the wood of the counter top as Bradley sat beside her. The rest of the Dagger Squad were gathered around the pool table, but she couldn't face them in that moment. She couldn't face anyone.

"Which one is your brother?" Bradley asked.

Penny placed her drink down in front of her and she finished it in one go. It wasn't glamorous. She slammed the glass down onto the counter top with enough force to break it. It was a miracle it didn't shatter. "The one in front," she spat, and he turned his attention back to the television.

It was a little jarring, hearing the commentary of David Croft in a place so far removed from racing. It went a shudder down her spine as she ordered another drink.

She didn't have much else after that. It didn't feel right to be ordering gin and tonics when she knew that was how her brother would be celebrating his win.

The naval officers in the bar threw questions her way, but they didn't seem to register just how much harm that was doing. This was fine, she tried to tell herself. It could be a whole lot worse.

Every time the number three car was mentioned, she couldn't help the anger she felt. That was the fucker that took her seat. And he wasn't even performing well. That had to be the biggest piss take of them all.

As hard as the Squad tried to get her to join them, she refused. Bradley joined them for a little bit, not before making sure she was okay. She stayed sitting at the bar, her only company Captain Pete Mitchell. And what company he was. He had asked more questions than anybody else and he wasn't shy about it.

They were maybe the slowest fifty seven laps of her life. But she was coping. Bradley joined her again, a welcome distraction from the race. If anybody could tell she was bothered, it was him. So, he spoke about anything but the race.

But then she looked up at the screen. For the first time since they'd arrived at The Hard Deck, for the first time since lights out, she looked up at one of the screens on the wall.

Her father had been a haunting presence ever since the start of her karting career. Well, he was the whole reason she had a career in the first place. Because of him, she knew nothing but racing. She had no life skills, barely had the ability to take care of herself because of him.

But that wasn't why she threw up on the floor of The Hard Deck. When you grow up the way she did, repressing memories becomes second nature when you see that person every day. But she hadn't seen Jos in months, not since the summer break in August.

It had been seven months since she'd last seen her father. All the memories, all the shit she'd suffered at his hands as a child, came back in one exhausting go.

That was why she threw up on the floor of The Hard Deck. "Shit," she whispered as she wiped at her mouth. She must have looked like a drunk idiot. "I'm so sorry, Penny, I..."

But what excuse did she have for this? "Fuck," Bradley whispered as he pulled her to stand straight. She'd expected to see sympathy on his face, but sympathy wasn't what she found.

Penny shook her head as she grabbed the mop and bucket from behind the bar. "It's okay," she said and turned her attention to Bradley. "Just make sure she gets home okay."

He said nothing as he took her out to the Bronco.

a/n: this might be my favourite chapter so far, i've got so much planned for these two (and if you've had to listen to my roo and [redacted] brainrot im sorry)

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[starlight-bread-blog]

It's Zutara Month 2024 So I'm Gonna Discuss (See: Fangirl) Them and Emotional Labor

Katara cooks, sews, but most of all: she gives unconditional emotional support for her brother, and later the rest of the Gaang.

Illustrated after Appa was stolen, the Gaang got stuck in a desert without much water, food or any means of transportation besides their legs. Katara gave everyone her bending water, without drinking any herself, responded to everyone with compassion, and by the end she helped bring Aang back to himself while he was out of control in the Avatar State.

Even after the episode is over, next episode and she helps delivering a baby, and still makes sure to look after Aang.

Sokka too testified that Katara did a lot of labor for him:

Sokka: Actually, in a way, I rely on [Katara's bossiness].

Toph: I don't understand.

Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara, she had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helpwd fill the void that was left by our mom.

Toph: I guess I never thought about that.

And appropriately, Katara is the one doing the vast majority of the emotional labor in her relationships. She takes care everyone, comfrots them, and protects them. Take "The Deserter" as an example: Aang was being extremely careless with his new found fire bending ability, to the point where he accidently burns Katara's hands.

Katara herself never express her anger at him, she ends up healing her own wounds. Sokka does the scolding. A\ang felt incredibly guilty, but still – by the end, Katara is the one comfroting Aang when he wants to give up on fire bending.

Katara takes care of everyone in the Gaang, making sure they're well, helping them heal their scars. Moreover, Katara often brings up her own grief to empthize with other people's loss. It's a pattern of sorts:

1) A character talks about their past with the Fire Nation

Haru: Yeah. Problem is ... [Close-up, earthbends two stones in a circle above his hand.] the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending. He taught me everything I know.

Jet: The Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever.

Hama: I'm sorry. It's too painful to talk about anymore.

2) Katara brings up her own grief, sympathizing with their loss

Katara (to Haru): See this necklace? My mother gave it to me.

Katara (to Jet): Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.

Katara (to Hama): We completely understand. We lost our mother in a raid.

A\ang is a bit of an exception, given that she brought up her grief to prepare him for the loss of his people. (Ad they all respond sympathetically). Still, she brings it up to sympathize and help. There is nothing wrong with that, of course. but here is how it went with Zuko:

1) A character talks about their past with the Fire Nation

Katara: You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.

2) Katara brings up her own grief, sympathizing with their loss

Zuko: I'm sorry. That's something we have in common.

It's Zuko who responds to her grief this time. It's him empathizing with her. It's him doing the emotional labor for her. And it's this sympathy is their first real civil conversation, establishing that in their relationship, Zuko will do some of the labor needed of him.

In The Southern Raiders, Katara opens up to Zuko, compleyely unprompted, while she is yet to forgive him, about the precise events that led to her mother's death.

A thing she has never done with anyone, and is doing now with someone she considers untrust worthy. Zuko responds with "your mother was a brave women". She, once again, is on the reciving end of the emotional labor – and in a way that is deeper than any other intance of her in the show.

In rest of the episode, Zuko is the one thinking of her and taking care of her.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Katara takes care of everyone, but it is with Zuko that she recives the help she deserves.

She put herself in danger to help A\ang, she helpped him after he'd burnt her, and she stepped up when her mother died. But with Zuko, he is the one reaching out. He's the one taking care of her needs.

[holylulusworld]

Every Breath You Take (2)

Summary: There is a shadow following you. He doesn’t know what he got himself into.

Pairing: Stalker!Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader, Bucky x Alpine (platonic)

Warnings: stalking, being stalked, loneliness, a man out of time, bitchy boss, secret admirer trope, voyeurism, violence, threats

A/N: We start slowly to get to know them and their backstory. In this part, we will get to know Y/N better.

A/N2: You all made me do it! Here’s the series to this random idea: Stalker Bucky & Crazy Reader

Catch up here: Every Breath You take (1)

Every Breath You Take Masterlist

Bucky smirks when the man raises his hands in surrender. He tried to be a good man, but he couldn’t let anyone hurt you. This man threatened to fire you and called you a dumb bimbo.

“What have I done to you?” Your boss begs while facing a beyond angry super-soldier. “Who are you? What do you want?”

Bucky tilts his head and smirks behind his stocking mask. “You know what you did.” He growls and points the tip of his knife at the man’s chest. “The question is, do you regret your sins?”

“Sins?” He nervously shifts from one foot to the other. Your boss glances around his office, wondering if he can make it past his attacker and through the door. “I don’t know what you are talking about! Do you want money? I can pay you.”

“Money?” Bucky snorts. “People like you believe they get away with everything only because they are wealthy. I won’t let you get away with your sins. If you ever hurt her again, I’ll cut you open.”

Your boss is shaking in fear. His legs are about to give when Bucky wraps his metal hand around your boss’s throat. 

Bucky slams him into the wall and leans closer to inhale the fear waving off your boss’s body deeply. He presses the tip of his favorite knife into your boss’s chest, a warning to not mess with him. 

“If you ever even look at her the wrong way, I’ll come back and finish what I started today,” Bucky whispers in your boss’s ear. “Y/N Y/L/N is off limits. You hurt her, I hurt you. You yell at her; I’ll make your ears bleed. You touch her…well you don’t want to know what happens if you ever put your hands on my girl.”

“Y/N?” Your boss splutters. “She … I didn’t … it was …a misunderstanding. I was stressed and maybe I lost my countenance…I’m sorry. It will never happen again.”

“Good.”

Bucky drops his hand from your boss’s throat. He steps away and looks at the man messing with you up and down. “Don’t make me come back.”

“I won’t,” your boss sniffs. He tugs at his now wet pants, ashamed that Bucky scared him so much that he wet himself. 

“If you tell her about tonight, you will die. Y/N can never know,” Bucky points his knife at your boss. “This is your first and final warning.”

Before your boss can reply, Bucky is gone. Like a shadow, or a nightmare you wake from. Your boss sinks to his knees and starts to cry. 

“Morning,” you chirp as you walk inside the building. You greet the receptionist and smile as they wave back. “How are you today, Rodney?”

Rodney and you fall into an easy conversation. You giggle at something he said but freeze when your boss walks toward you and Rodney. He looks a little pale this morning and you wonder if he’s sick. 

“Good morning,” your boss nods at you and forces a smile on his face. He clears his throat and drops his gaze. “I wanted to apologize for my behavior over the last weeks. I was stressed, but this is no excuse for what I said.”

“Oh, I—” You’re taken aback by your boss's sudden change in demeanor. What has gotten into him? This is so unlike him, and you wonder what caused his behavioral changes. “I…I should head to my desk. Have a good day.”

“You accept my apologies, right?” He wrings his hands and pleadingly looks at you. Maybe someone reported him to HR, and he is trying to make amends now. “Please, I need to hear it.”

“We all make mistakes sometimes,” you hastily reply. “I accept your apologies, Sir. It was very nice of you to admit your mistake. Again, have a good day.”

You walk away to start the day. There is no time to analyze your boss’s behavior. Whatever made him change, it must’ve been traumatic. He looked scared when he looked at you.

Bucky smiles. “She looks happier today, Alpine,” he explains to his cat. “I think her boss got the message and apologized. Good for him. I’d hate to pay him another visit and to bring more knives.”

Alpine looks up at his owner and meows loudly. “I know,” Bucky sighs and pats the cat’s head. “I didn’t like hurting that man. Though, it had to be done. He would’ve hurt our girl again. I had to stop him.”

While you snuggle into your favorite blanket and switch the TV on, Bucky leans back in his armchair and sighs happily. The cameras he installed in your home make things so much easier for him.

He can watch you in every room via the monitors hanging on his walls. Well, in almost every room. James Buchanan Barnes is not a creep. He didn’t install a camera in your bathroom. 

“Do you think we should send her some flowers?” He wonders. “Or is it too soon?” Bucky rubs his chin. “No. Flowers are nice. She’ll be over the moon knowing that there is someone out there, admiring her beauty and grace.”

Alpine stretches and purrs. He presses his paws into Bucky’s thighs before lying back down. “Food was good, huh?” Bucky looks down at his cat. The white furball purrs loudly. “Your belly is full, and now we can watch our girl.”

You yawn. It’s getting late, but you are too tired to get up from the sofa. Rolling to your side you decide to sleep on your couch.

Your eyes flutter shut, and you snuggle into your favorite pillow. Sleep consumes you soon after, and you dream of a more interesting life than the one you are living at the moment.

The annoying sound of your alarm wakes you from your dream. You blink your eyes open and sigh. Just one more day and then it’s weekend.

As you sit up on your bed you frown. Last night you fell asleep on your couch. You’re sure you didn’t get up and walk inside your bedroom. 

But here you are, tugged in bed and there is even a glass of water on your nightstand. You usually forget to put a glass on the nightstand, and you didn’t set the alarm last night either.

How can this be? Did you sleepwalk? Maybe you were so tired you forgot that you went to bed last night.

You shrug. It’s time to get up and start a new day. There is no time to waste to find out how you got into your bed last night…  

Tags in reblog.

[multi-fandom-imagines8]

A Song of Ice & Shadow

Part 4

You can read part one, two, three here.

Summary: Y/n is intrigued by a certain illyrian. They open up to one another one night, but she stops it from getting out of control. With Feyre’s return, things get more tense.

Warnings: some angst.

Word count: 2.95K

Like every day, today was no different. Y/n would wake up, stand in front of the mirror for five minutes, bottle up her feelings and go on about her day. 

“How’s Elain?” She asked Nesta, who was sitting in the same armchair as always, a book in her hand.

“Same as she’s been since she got turned” Nesta replied.

“How are you?” she asked, her tone serious and low.

“Never better. I’m free to do whatever I want”.

“Are you? All I’ve seen you do is sit in that armchair, reading books every day since we’ve gotten here”.

“I’m immortal now, what difference does it make if I sit here for one or twenty years? Not everyone wants to venture into the world like you”.

“You’re upset with me” Y/n observed.

“With you, with everyone” Nesta sighed.

“I understand. What can I do to help you?”.

“Nothing. No one can do anything about this”.

Y/n closed her hands into fists, clenching so hard she almost broke her bones “at least we’re all together” she tried to find words to comfort her sister, knowing she's suffered as much as she did, but these were the only words she found, the one she’d tell herself every time she’s about to break down “we’re all together, we made it” she repeated, to which Nesta only nodded.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Y/n plastered on a smile, masking the turmoil beneath before entering Elain’s room.

“Elain? How are you feeling today?”.

“I want to go home” Elain repeated, as she had been for the past couple of weeks.

“I know. I want to go home too. Let’s just wait until Feyre gets back” she stroked her sister’s hair and kissed the top of her head before leaving.

Luckily, no one was in the dining room when she entered. The house offered her food, which she ate very slowly.

“Are you alright?” a voice interrupting her trail of thoughts, catching her off guard.

“What?”.

“Are you alright?” Azriel repeated, concern evident in his voice.

“Yes, why?”.

“You’re holding your fork midair” he shifted his eyes to her hand, where was holding the fork.

“Oh, I was just lost in my thoughts” she explained, lowering the fork back onto her plate.

He slid a chair two seats away from her and sat down, a plate full of food appeared in front of him as he dug right in. Her eyes trailed him all the way.

She took another bite of her food, but with a lot on her mind, she had no appetite. She wanted to stand up and leave, but seeing he just got here, she didn’t want him to think she’s leaving because of him and she did not want to be rude. Since when do I care about what other people think? she thought to herself.

“You’re doing it again” Azriel remarked, emitting a soft chuckle.

She placed her fork back down “how’s spying going?” She inquired, distracting herself from her thoughts, but also out of curiosity, not that she’d admit it.

“‘The spying’ is going slow, but we’re making progress” a smile remained plastered on his face.

“Why are you smiling?”.

“No one has phrased that question like that before”.

“Well, there’s a first time for everything”.

As they sat in silence, Azriel hesitated before speaking again “how are you coping? I can only imagine how you must feel, it’s not easy becoming fae when you hate our kind” it wasn’t a confrontation, but acknowledgment of what he’d observed.

“No, it’s not. But as you can see, I’m doing well” she lied. Not wanting to push her further, he only nodded.

“Do you sleep upside down like bats?” she spontaneously asked, making him choke on his drink from the peculiar question.

“No. No, I do not. I sleep like normal people” his eyes furrowed with curiosity as he turned to face her.

“How would I know” she shrugged “you do have wings of a bat… I just thought you had other characteristics of a bat as well” she added.

“Like what?”.

“Do you bite- or drink blood?”.

“Only when asked to” a smile tugged at his lips “and no, I don’t drink blood. Any other clarification I can assist you with?.

“No, not at the moment” she struggled to hide her amusement.

“Oh, you poor thing! But don’t worry, I’ve come to rescue you” Cassian said to his brother, as he strode in, noticing the two of them sitting alone.

She rolled her eyes at him “I was just leaving”. “And just for the future, when you want to rescue someone, maybe do it before the end” she advised before walking out

Azriel kept a stern expression before standing up himself.

“Where are you going?” Cassian asked.

“I finished eating”.

“You’re just gonna leave me alone?”.

“You’ll do fine on your own” he patted his brother’s shoulders.

—-

Y/n had always had trouble sleeping at night, but ever since her new life at the Night Court, her nightmares increased. Unable to sleep, she went upstairs to the roof. This space had become her comfort place when she needed to escape the things that plagued her sleep. Seeing as Cassian trained in the morning and Azriel being away most of the time, she thought no one would be here at night time. Reaching the training ground, occupied by her thoughts, she paid no attention to who was there. Fiddling with the blue celestite necklace around her neck, she reached the edge and looked up at the sky. Three bright stars decorating the visibly huge mountain, Ramiel.

“What’s on your mind?” sleek like the shadows, Azriel approached, snapping her back to reality.

Blinking rapidly, she muttered “don’t you ever sleep? Even bats do” Y/n quipped, attempting to deflect.

“In the morning”.

“Are you referring to the bats or yourself?”.

“Both” he let out a soft chuckle.

“As I recall, you’re awake in the early mornings, so how many hours do you sleep?”.

“Enough to keep me going. What about you? You’re awake”.

“But I do sleep in the morning. In case you haven't noticed, I eat breakfast when you’re all having lunch or dinner” Y/n reminded.

“I have noticed... You still haven’t answered my question” Azriel persisted.

“What question?”.

“What’s on your mind?”.

“Nothing”.

“If that were true, you wouldn’t be staring into nothingness all day” he pointed out.

“I’m fine. It does not concern you”.

“Alright, how about I share something personal about me, and you can tell me what’s bothering you?” Azriel offered.

“And why would I want that?”.

“Out of curiosity. I’ve also noticed you like knowing things, especially when it concerns your sisters and yourself. So, go ahead, ask me anything you want? Anything you want to know”.

She contemplated for a while. “What happened to your hands?” she blurted out, one of her hands remained fiddling with the necklace.

He did not anticipate her question, but still, he answered “my brothers” he cleared his throat “my half-brothers thought it would be fun to see what’d happen when you mix oil and fire with our quick healing gifts” he explained, and shadows wrapped tighter around him.

“How old were you then?” she asked, her voice low and soft.

“Eight” a hint of darkness gleamed in his eyes.

“Were they punished?”.

“Eventually”.

“So, your father did nothing, as his flesh and blood was set on fire?” her tone shifted, her face contorted with anger.

“I am a bastard, while my half-brothers are his legitimate sons. In his eyes, they are his flesh and blood” he clarified.

“It makes no difference. You’re his son, nonetheless” she shook her head, tightening her grip on her necklace.

“It did to him”.

“What about your mother? Is she-”.

“That’s another personal question. We agreed on one. Now, it’s your turn”.

“What do you want to know?”.

“What’s been bothering you? And don’t say transitioning, you’re more concerned today”.

“I went to see Elain today. I know it takes time to heal, and I know I shouldn’t interfere with her healing process, but it- it ‘s so hard to just stand by and do nothing. I want to help her, and she doesn’t want my help. Even if she did, I don’t know what to do and how to help her. Her wedding was supposed to be in a few weeks” she sighed “ I worry about Nesta, too. Although she seems fine, I know she’s not. She used to tell me everything, and now she’s hiding from me” she opened up for the first time. Realizing that, she regretted it immediately and didn’t know why she agreed to that stupid deal. With the shadows whispering into his ears, Azriel discerned her discomfort “that necklace, do you always hold it when you’re feeling… a strong emotion?” Azriel asked, attempting to change the subject.

“I-” she looked down at her hand wrapped around the necklace ”I suppose. I never gave it a thought” she lowered her hand,releasing her grip on the necklace.

“That necklace, where did you get it from?” his eyes narrowed as he recognized the stone. She never took off that necklace, but today was the first time he'd spotted it. After all, it’s not polite to stare down at a lady’s chest, and being the gentleman he is, he never looked.

“It was a gift from my mother, why?”.

“It’s a rare stone, only found in certain places” he explained.

“You recognize it?”.

“I’ve seen something similar once or twice, but I could be mistaken”.

“I don’t think it’s from anywhere in Prythian. My mother hated your- our kind. She’d never take or gift me anything related to us” Y/n stated and his shadows danced around her.

“Why do you hate our kind so much?”.

“That is another personal question. We agreed on one” she repeated his words to him “and I’m not making another deal with you. I’ve already said way too much” Y/n retorted.

“What are you so afraid of?”.

“More questions” an amused smile crept onto her face.

“Fair enough” he raised his hands in surrender “don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about tonight”.

“Good night, shadowsinger” Y/n said, heading swiftly towards the stairs and his shadows slowly retracted.

“Good night, Y/n” he murmured in a subdued tone as he watched her leave. That night, for the first time in a very long time, Azriel slept peacefully. 

The following day, Y/n didn’t go out to eat breakfast or lunch but she went out for dinner. Upon arrival. She found Cassian seated in his usual spot. Ignoring his presence, she took a seat, hoping for a peaceful meal.

“No mean comments tonight?” Cassian quipped.

“I was literally minding my own business. What do you want, you brute bastard?” Y/n replied sharply.

“There we go” he smirked.

“Your brother won't be joining us?”.

“Which one?”.

“The somewhat civilized decent one”.

“I’m assuming you mean Az. He left early this morning. He’ll be gone for a while. Why do you ask?... Aw, don’t tell me you have a thing for my handsome brother” Cassian teased.

She huffed “you wish…without him here, a war would start and I’d rather not get my hands dirty” she retorted, taking her plate and heading for the exit.

“It’s cute that you think you can take me. Perhaps if you trained with me long enough, you’d be a worthy opponent, but still, even then I doubt you’d defeat me” he taunted, his smugness evident.

“Piss off” Y/n snapped.

“Did I hurt your feelings?” he mocked.

“It would take much more than that to do so, especially coming from you” Y/n replied dismissively.

“And why is that?”.

“You simply don’t matter enough to me, to even consider anything you say, good or bad” she shrugged before leaving.

“Ouch” he murmured.

—

Being aware that Feyre was returning today, Y/n went to check on Elain before her arrival. However, what she found when she got to her sister’s room left her in shock.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Y/n spat out, her voice seething with anger. Lucien was standing in the doorway as Feyre left Elain’s room and closed the door behind her.

“Y/n, wait. I can explain” Feyre interjected.

“You brought him here? To see Elain? The fucking monster who sold us out to Hybern” her words were laced with deep-seated hatred.

“It’s more complicated than that, and he is her mate” Feyre reminded.

“He’s no such thing to her”.

“I just wanted to see her” Lucien tried to clarify.

“You don’t get to speak” Y/n pointed her finger at him.

“Y/n, he’s our guest. He will be staying with us” Feyre declared.

“You would let the man who ruined our lives, who ruined our sister’s marriage stay here with us?” she took a deep breath, trying to control her rage.

“If you would calm down and let me explain, you’ll understand-” Feyre urged.

“I’ll calm down when he’s gone. Do not let him near Elain, if you want him to stay in one piece” she warned, shooting Lucien with a glare before storming out.

“I take it you weren’t thrilled to see your sister?” Cassian smirked as Y/n passed him.

“Not in the mood today for your bullshit, brute”.

—-

The next time Y/n saw Feyre was at dinner, attended by Rhy’s inner circle, her sisters if they desired, and Lucien. She was reluctant to go, but fearing Elain might attend and be in the same room as that monster, with no one seemingly having a problem with him, she decided to go. She had arrived slightly later than everyone else. Feyre was sat next to Nesta, Rhys on her other side, Amren across from her, Cassian next to Amren, Azriel beside him, Mor opposite of him and Lucien across from Nesta, leaving two seats vacant, one next to Az and the other next to Mor. They were talking about flying lessons when she entered, dressed in a long-sleeved black gown with silver glitter that exposed her collar bones and back. Only the metal part of her necklace was visible. The upper part of the dress embraced her curves, while the lower part flowed like liquid silk as it draped over her figure. Knowing her temper, everyone stopped talking, if only to see what she’s about to say or do or who she’d pick a fight with. To their surprise, she did neither as she glanced at Azriel and took a seat beside Mor.

“What happened to you?” Y/n asked Azriel, gesturing to the wine splattered across his chest and neck. He looked down, only noticing it when she pointed it out.

“Mor spewed her wine when she heard Feyre wanted to learn how to fly” Cassian explained with a  grin.

“You have wings?” a question directed at her sister.

“Yes, I can shape-shift”. At that, the conversation continued.

“I can teach you” Azriel offered, elaborating that the other two Illyrians had been trained at such a young age that they barely remember it. To which Cassian countered they still teach the younglings the basics, which ended with Azriel explaining that it’s not the same for older individuals, and that there are fears and mental blocks. Everyone fell silent and something inside of Y/n stirred. She wondered if he was talking about his experience, not forgetting the conversation they had where he told her about his past. She did not know a lot, but seeing as his own brothers burned his hands, they probably restricted him from flying or participating in anything that would give him any kind of power.

Feyre proceeded to ask her sisters for help against the king of Hybern. Explaining that with training they could potentially close the holes expanded by the cauldron. Amren offered to train the sisters, which Y/n refused, unwilling to take part in any of this. Despite the growing frustration among the others, Feyre was grateful that at least one of her sisters was willing to help. She explained that they might need their assistance during the meeting with the high lords and this time, both sisters rejected.

“People’s lives might depend on your accounts of it. The success of this meeting might depend upon it” Feyre clarified.

“Don’t talk down to me. My answer is no” Nesta asserted, while Y/n remained silent, watching the exchange between her sisters before Nesta stormed out. Now all eyes were on her.

“Y/n, please. We need your help” Feyre begged.

“Do you know what you're asking of me?” Y/n narrowed her eyes.

“I do. And I understand your hatred of our kind, but we-”.

“You understand nothing. All my life, I have helped you. I have dedicated my life to you, to Nesta, to Elain, and never have I once asked for anything in return. But helping you and your new found family is what got us into this mess. And now what? You expect us to go to that meeting that is full of entitled bastards who did nothing all these years, who don’t care about us, about mortals and beg them for help? I would rather see them all burn and their kingdoms or courts reduced to ashes” Y/n delivered the chilling words with an unsettling calmness, her voice devoid of any hint of emotion “and just as Nesta said, if you dare bring Elain into this, I’ll be the one delivering your throat to her” she glared at everyone in the room before leaving and slamming the door shut behind her.

Taglist: @st4r-girl-official @judig92 @5onedirection5 @nayaniasworld @blackgirlmagicforever @stained-glass-eyes0708 @slytherintaco @aehllitas-blog

[zoeyuniverse]

🎀GRUMPY🎀

Part 1 : first meeting

Part 2 : anguish

Exactly three weeks have passed since the young students joined the UCONN players.

Some have gotten used to each other's presence and vice versa. Friendships are being forged between the students, and... some relationships are a little more conflictual, like that of Susan and Paige, who can't go a minute without bickering.

@ SusandePonthieu

--> The match was long and the opponent tough, it's a new defeat that I face, but it's only a postponement. See you on the court very soon!🎾

Brie pushed open the door to the dorm and Susan followed.

In the living room, some of the team were playing Fortnite. KK at the controller while the others commented on the game.

- What's up? one of them asks.

Brie gestures that she shouldn't ask.

- I lost, again...

- Aaaannw baby...

The girls get up from the couch and surround the little brunette.

- Come and play with us, it'll take your mind off it! one of them shouted.

They were all crammed on the sofa, not an inch of space left.

Although she sometimes misses the peace and quiet of her old dorm, Susan loves the new family she has found here.

Here they support each other. They spend evenings together watching trashy films and playing video games. They talk about everything without embarrassment.

Susan is particularly uncomfortable with the fact that Edward, her boyfriend, spends all his Saturday afternoons in the dormitory, helping her with her homework and spending time with her, but the girls have shown her that it's OK and have made him feel welcome. And she feels she can never thank them enough for that.

Suddenly there was a noise at the front door and Susan got up from the sofa.

- I'm going to cook, not a word about my game to Paige! she exclaimed before disappearing into the kitchen.

The girls on the sofa looked at each other with amusement.

- Hey baby! Nika exclaimed as she dropped down onto Brie.

- Hey, are you okay?

The front door slammed shut and Paige walked in. She limped across the room and go into the kitchen.

- What happened? KK asked.

- She hurt herself Nika replied.

Everyone looked at each other, knowing exactly what to expect over the next few days.

- Not a word to Susan she added.

And everyone nodded.

-----------------------------------

- Hi, I'm making pasta with...

While the brunette seemed cheerful, she lost her good mood when she noticed that it was Paige who had entered the kitchen and that she had a closed face and drawn features.

- I don't care, Susan

- Bad training?

- Get off my back the blonde snapped.

- Have you finally realised that you suck at basketball? The shorter one joked.

- I don't want to play she said curtly.

- Hooo Paigyyyy teased Susan.

The taller one turned to face her interlocutor and looked down at her coldly.

- You're such a pain, and I know you missed your game again, didn't you?

Susan's heart clenched and her eyes, anchored in Paige's, grew moist.

She had managed to put her disappointment aside, but now that she knew that Paige knew about her game, it was as if she was experiencing defeat for the second time. She was so overcome with shame that she couldn't get the words out of her mouth.

In the end, it was the blonde who left the room first, sighing heavily, leaving the other to swallow her emotions and get back to cooking.

When everyone finally sat down to share the pasta. Susan slipped away, feeling oppressed by the presence of the others.

She sat in the bathroom waiting, as she did every night, for the girls to go to bed. The young girl is claustrophobic, and she happens to have inherited the room just under the roof. The walls, close to her face, make her feel trapped and unable to breathe. But she doesn't dare tell anyone, so every night she patiently waits for the other residents to go to bed and falls asleep under a blanket on the sofa.

But as the pressure mounted and her breathing became more difficult, she noticed that the living room was still on and the voices of her friends were still echoing.

Out of spite and because she needed comfort, she went into Paige's room and leaned against the door after closing it.

Paige stood up abruptly and tried to guess who had just walked in, the only light coming from her phone screen.

A long silence followed, during which Susan tried as best she could to control the thoughts racing through her head.

- What are you doing, Susan? Paige exclaimed.

- I'm...

And that was all it took for her crisis to explode. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her breathing ragged as she scratched frantically at the back of her hand.

- Sue? Sue, what's the matter? asks the blonde, approaching her gently.

Sue...Edward calls it that too, but when he says it it almost annoys her. Yet when Paige uses it, it resonates with her, makes her smile and softens her. She sees it as a sign of affection from her eldest.

- Is this about earlier? I'm sorry, I was angry, I didn't mean to hurt you.

But the brunette couldn't get her thoughts straight and continued to sink into her crisis, almost tearing the skin off her hands.

Paige sat down on the floor behind the brunette and pressed her torso to her back. She gently intertwined their fingers, preventing her from hurting herself, and laid her head on his shoulder.

- Can you feel my belly swelling against your back?

A shiver ran down Susan's spine and the red rose to her cheeks. Paige smelled good, her breath hitched in the hollow of her neck, her whole body warm but muscular enough to lean against, and her hands firm but gentle. It's strange this contradictory feeling that invades her, her heart still beating as fast, still as hard, but seems to be getting excited about something else altogether.

- Sue, hold my breath, you've got to calm down...

Bringing herself back down to earth, she struggled for several minutes to exaggerate her breathing in order to gradually bring her emotions down and regain control. Once this was done, Paige got up and invited her to sit with her on the edge of the bed.

- I'm sorry, I'm so ashamed. Ashamed of this, ashamed of my defeat this afternoon. My family hates me, Edward have lectured me again. But I promise I'm working...my dad said if I didn't win the next one he'd stop giving me money, and force me into medical school where I'd have to work to support myself. I know a lot of other students do it, but I don't want to go to medical school, I don't want my parents to see me as a disgrace anymore.

- It's all right, I understand. The world of sport is full of pressure and uncertainty. My parents worked hard to put me through university, and I'm also very afraid of disappointing them. That's why when I lose, I feel responsible, or like when I get injured. The last time that happened I was off for the whole season, and I can't allow it to happen a second time. But you mustn't put so much pressure on yourself. You have to do things for yourself, not for your parents. When you play, you have to enjoy yourself, and if you do, it'll show in the quality of your game.

Susan sted her head on Paige's shoulder and let the blonde's words echo in her mind one last time. She suddenly felt understood and safe.

- I saw about your ankle, I've hurt it there too. I've had an operation too. The best way is to do some underwater exercises, and I'll show you if you like.

- In exchange, I'll help you train for your next match says Paige.

A comforting silence fills the room. Susan, her eyes closed, took advantage of the calm to continue soothing herself, while Paige observed their thighs just a few centimetres apart. She begins to fight the almost irrepressible urge to bring them together. And although this desire is new and she doesn't know where it comes from, she'd give all to fulfill it right now, as if it were the only way to make her feel better.

- I'm going to...I'm going to go, we'll talk about that tomorrow, good night P.

The younger of the two was starting to get up when she was grabbed by the wrist.

- Stay, I need cheering up too," Paige said.

She let go of Susan and moved back to lie down in her bed, opening the comforter and beckoning the brunette to join her.

In complete silence, she snuggled up to the basketball player, who folded the comforter over both their bodies. She wrapped her arms around her to bring her closer and kissed her forehead before taking a long breath to soak up Suzy's perfume, who tried to calm her heartbeat, fearing that the blonde would notice.

----------------------------------------------

Reminder: English is not my first language , so you can correct me!

Thks for reading, good night everyone🤭🎀

[ultra-raging-ghost]

I REACHED POST LIMIT SO HERES MY POST FROM 9:20 ONWARD

"Goodbye my three little ones, your father has to go"

"Im sorry chat, i guess ill just speak from the heart. the way i lost dapper and pomme i dont think i really.. had time to process, so losing him like this feels like losing all three of them at the same time"

Visiting bagis... poor zeno fucking died to a rooster LMAO i missed bagis place so fucking bad

searching for pepito.... where is my baby.... where is my little pepito, there pepito is

Bad doesnt really know what to do with himself, hes still sad but richas is like. Officially gone. Which is a crazy thing to process. I was having a hard time dealing with it but i think richas' final goodbye made me feel a lot better about it,it doesnt feel like theres a nail in the back of my brain now, im a little more content with this at least. Wont really be happy about it, but more content with it

We're gonna go leave a richas flower (blue orchid) at bagi's old base <3 just like how we left a cornflower at a place special to pomme.

hehehe agent 18/panks_ is in chat and theyre tormenting bad for fun

Offering pepito the opportunity to visit one last place, bad plans on coming back and visiting a couple final places sometime soon, not tonight but soon. Probably gonna end after pepito picks where to go

pepito cant think of anywhere, bads picking one more place to go

PEPITO TIME AT THE OFFICIAL DAPPER TIME SPOT??? LETS GOOOOO

Pepitos gonna be temporarily dapper while in the official dapper time spot <333

bads back, i got so comfortable in the old house that i forgot we have to leave. Just a wave of sadness washed over me, it feels like leaving home all over again, it feels like we should be able to walk into the old spawn from dappers train station and see pierre and pomme and etoiles again

pomme in chat... assuring bad she and dapper wont be leaving any time soon. Bad promises us he has some really fun stuff hes been working on he thinks we'll enjoy, this journey isnt over

while waiting for pepito we're reminiscing on when he had to triangulate the Dont have Your Gun thing that was playing that he couldnt find LMAO

currently visiting the old subway bad was building with dapper underground.... the new terrain generation generated a FULL end city RIGHT next to it!!!!

gonna visit bobby fields another day, thats another day issue, but dapper wanted to go see it with him lol

Bad found out Lullah and Richas were leaving yesterday, sounds like he didnt know chay was leaving till today

BOOOOOOOO BOOOOOO BOO IS HERE!!!! HELLO BOO!!!!!!

Pepitos playing around in the balloons Boo left <33

Bad: Yeah i remember when pomme and dapper came in one of these end cities and scared the muffins out of me Pomme: ?????? Pomme: bro you were dead Bad: I STILL REMEMBER.......

We're gonna go play Wordlos (or however you spell it) one last time before leaving the old spawn <3 gonna see if we can get it to work!!!

kinda works!!! Kinda!!! It mostly works!!!! gonna play!!!!!

"I am so proud of your spanish uncle bad!!! its a great advance to know how to explain something, its the most important thing"

We're looking at the paintings, this is it for the day. Richas logged off with bads statue painting so hes probably never gonna see that again LMAO "thats why we get screenshots"

Pepitos saying a little goodnight to the ghosties <33 pepitos gonna eat all of us up because we're so cute. "I see everything, too. EVERYTHIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG". Pepitos telling us to rest, eat, and drink water, and do our favorite things. We deserve it, to remember not to be sad it ended but be happy it happened at all <3

Bads planning on streaming tomorrow, hes not 100% sure what we'll be doing but he isnt gonna let this crank his steam

Pepitos planning on getting on tomorrow! or whenever! pepito doesnt know when pepito gets on LMAO

Thats all for todays stream, ending at 10:15, goodnight bad, richas, pomme, and dapper <3

[maluondrugs]

Happy Mother's Day!

Alicent Headcanons with her children

This is the first time I write something like this so I hope you enjoy it. Also, english is def not my first language so forgive me for any mistakes.

Those are mostly about the book characters!!!!!

• When Aegon was a baby, Alicent was very proud of him and liked to boast him to everyone in court;

• As a little boy, Aemond used to pretend to be her protector and would follow her everywhere with a wooden sword on the waist, and she always complimented him for his strength and bravery;

• Alicent spends more time with Helaena than with the boys. She's her most religious child and they go to the sept together, do girly things together like walk in the gardens to pick flowers, embroidery and charity work;

• She likes to receive long letters from Daeron and read them multiple times;

• When the twins were born, Alicent withdrew from her court activities to teach Helaena how to be a mother. They dismissed a few of the maids and nurses and spent a lot of time with the children. They became even closer after that;

• Alicent can't have a good sleep when Aegon is out during the night. She waits for him and asks the guards to report her any news about him. Sometimes, she even walks through the hallways of the red keep, only waiting for him to show up;

• When Aemond lost his eye, he spent a week under the effect of the milk of the poppy, delirious, sleeping most of the time. She never left his side, not even for a moment;

• When Daeron left, she hold back her feelings and didn't cry in public, saying everything was alright and talking about the wonders of Oldtwon, but once she was alone in her chambers, Alicent cried for hours;

• Alicent wants Aemond to fall in love and find a wife, but he has no interest on it yet and she doesn't find any of the ladies good enough for him;

• Everyday she pray to the gods for forgiveness for marrying Aegon e Helaena;

• She gives many compliments to all her children and is very proud of all of them, even with all their flaws;

• She likes Helaena's hair to look like the Oldtwon fashion, just like she used to wear when she was a young girl;

• Daeron was her most loving and affectionate boy. She misses him everyday;

• Everytime Aegon enters the hall during an event he kisses her face; 

• She never forced her children to dress in green, but Aemond always likes to use it;

• Alicent loved to read stories for her babies;

• She always tells them about the old king Jaehaerys and the time she spent reading and taking care of him;

• Everytime Helaena shows up in a new dress or looks prettier than the usual, Alicent says she looks like a perfect queen;

• When Aegon was a child, she used to refer to him as “our future king”. When Rhaenyra's sons were born, she told him he was the legitimate heir to the throne and that he would be king one day;

• She always tells Aegon and Aemond how much she would like to see them as tournament champions;

• She's not very fond with animals but allowed Helaena to have as many pets (and bugs) as she wanted as a child;

• She wanted to have another girl to be Helaena's friend, but as it never happened, she is grateful for her daughter and they are best friends;

• When she got pregnant for the first time, she was afraid of not being able to love her children, but the moment she saw Aegon for the first time, she understood she would never love anything in the world the way she loved him. She would kill and die for him and for her children. They are everything for her.

Let me know if you like it! Happy mother's day!

[slayfics]

ive been thinking about a comfort story but instead of katsuki comforting the reader, she comforts him after a long day or struggling with something ❤️

You comfort Katsuki.

1k words

You prepared for an angry Katsuki to burst through the door any moment now. The new hero rankings had come out this afternoon and he had dropped rank, again.

It didn’t take much for you to imagine why. The week before the rankings Katsuki got rushed by reporters. Fresh out of a fight with a villain, adrenaline pumping, they spat out questions pushing for answers.

All the questions they knew would push The Great Lord Explosion Murder God Dynamite’s buttons.

“Dynamite, did you know it was the anniversary of the day you were attacked by the sludge villain?”

“Dynamite, how does it feel being behind Endeavor’s son in the hero charts?”

“Dynamite, can you make a statement about the damage you did to the city in your last fight?”

The list of draining questions went on, all captured on video, as Katsuki quickly lost his cool. Blurting out some colorful words for the reports to, not so politely fuck off.

You heard the keys in the latch and braced yourself for the sight of the angry blond. Yet, such a sight never came, instead, you met with a sight that was much more concerning.

Slumped shoulders, flat affect, vacant gaze. Katsuki sat on the couch silently working at taking off his boots. Not a word spoken to you. No sign of anger.

“Hey,” you greeted, testing the waters with him.

“Hey,” he mumbled without looking up as he tossed his boots aside. Head leaned back against the couch he closed his eyes.

"You want to talk about it?" you asked softly.

Katsuki inhaled sharply and shook his head no without opening his eyes. It was unusual to see him so defeated. Typical fiery ambition completely extinguished, lacking the energy to even be upset, he just sat.

You knew all too well how to extinguish the burning rage inside him, but this? This was new ground.

Your momentary paralysis gave Katsuki exactly what he needed. Space and quiet to just be. Slowly he opened up.

"You think it's because of how I responded to those damn reporters?" He asked.

"Possibly," you hummed. "You're human though Katsuki, all those pestering questions would have got under anyone's skin.

"Yeah but," he sighed before continuing. "You saw all the articles and viral edits. They didn't show the whole video, just the part of me losing my shit. A big majority of people think I blew up at some civilian reporters for no fucking reason," Katsuki huffed. "I don't give a damn about that though; people can think whatever the fuck they want... I'm I don't know," Katsuki paused and you gave him the air to finish processing his thought. "I'm fucking disappointed. All that damn therapy I went through- to still get so pissed at some dumb reporters, I should be way past that now. I'm still losing my temper like a goddamn child," he groaned, the displeasure in his voice weighing heavy.

"Katsuki," you cooed and moved closer to him bringing him into an embrace. Katsuki didn't fight you he welcomed your affection, finding solace from leaning into you. Head resting on your chest you combed your fingers through his hair. "Success isn't linear, and one mistake doesn't erase everything you've accomplished and worked for. It's a minor setback. It's tough but, it's nothing you can't come back on top of," you comforted him squeezing him with one arm and messaging his scalp with the other. Katsuki hummed into your chest taking in your words. You always knew what to say.

"I just fucking hate that I gave those reporters exactly what they wanted. They wanted me to blow up, gives them a good damn news story. Fucking vultures," he scowled.

"Mhm," you nodded. "You did, and you can't change that, but you can change how you're going to react moving forward because we know they aren't going to stop. Especially now that they've seen the effect they've had," you spoke problem-solving with him.

"Tch- yeah. I don't know what the fuck to do though. Walking away has been my go-to when I feel myself about to explode, but- in situations like that I'm rushed and cornered. Can't let out an explosion to fly away either because I'll hurt the fuckers. What's worse is I'm still workin' and trying to get back to the cops and agency to report what the fuck happened with the villain," he replied.

"Maybe you could say that... I'm working please move... or I'm working and cannot accept questions...," You suggested.

"Ha- I don't know about the please but... that's not such a bad idea... I'm goddamn working can't talk idiots," Katsuki huffed then relaxed more into your chest.

You giggled, "That does sound more authentic to Dynamite."

Katsuki nuzzled into your chest, his breaths becoming deeper, and the tension in his shoulders he had been carrying around all day finally easing up. "I shoulda called you right when I found out," he murmured.

"You know I'm always here whenever you're ready to talk... about anything," you answered. "I'm sorry I didn't call right away... sometimes I'm not sure when you need your space to process."

"You ain't got to apologize... I know my temperament isn't the easiest to read," he noted.

"I wouldn't have you any other way," you teased, pulling him up to press a kiss on his nose.

Katsuki clicked his tongue, "Cut that cheesy crap out," he complained the tips of his ears burning hot. "Besides, I still got dirt and shit all over me."

"I don't care," you remarked, giving him another kiss on his cheek.

Katsuki shifted in one swift motion pinning you down on the couch, "I said cut it out brat," he smirked, taking in the sight of you beneath him. "Why don't you come get cleaned up with me instead," he offered.

An offer you happily accepted.

sinners: @queenpiranhadon @unofficialmuilover @maddietries @fiannee @i-heart-carlisle @derangedmango @matchat3a @bakugouswaif @reneinii @zanarkandskylines @pastelbakugou @abadbitchblogs @deluluforcarlos55 @b134ch-m4h-ey3z @pinkpurpledreams @that-one-fangirl69

[starboybutler]

Lights up (Ch.2)

summary: gale goes on a coffee date with that sophomore boy.

word count: 4504

warnings: mentions of past abuse, alcoholism, kind of harassment from john, blowjobs (again)

notes: chapter two is here! kinda surprised with myself that i got it done so fast. dunno if i'll always be able to get a new chapter this quickly but i'll try! enjoy the chapter!

chaapter one | ao3 link

for as long as gale could remember, he was by his lonesome. at home, in class, in nature. he always found comfort in solitude– the way the silence would give him time to think about everything he had going on at the time. whether it was after a particularly hard day at school, or after his dad had yelled at him and called him words he would try not to repeat in his head. 

he grew up on a farm in wyoming, vast and beautiful. they had plenty of animals as he grew up– horses, cows, chickens, goats– and gale would spend countless hours caring for them like they were human children. he remembered him momma telling him when he was younger to not get too attached to them, but he would never listen. he named, groomed, fed, and loved every animal that he could before his father inevitably sold or killed them. 

it was like therapy for him. when it came to people, he was no good at communicating or getting along with them. he found making friends difficult compared to animals. people were complicated. they did things with no rhyme or reason and were needlessly cruel to fuel their own need to feel superior to others.gale was bullied- not too harshly, thankfully- but enough that he would sometimes tell his mom that he didn’t want to go to school that day. his mom, angel that she is, would let him stay at home, with the animals he loved so dearly.

his father was a brash man, to put it politely. he drank heavily and gambled more. ever since he was old enough to walk on his own, gale remembered seeing his dad stumble in through their front door, alcohol permeating the air around him as he exhaled heavily, angry at all the money he lost that night. his angry eyes would land on gale, burning holes into the boy as he clutched an empty beer bottle in his large fist, gritting his teeth and spitting out an intelligible swear. 

sometimes he'd go to bed. other times, gale wouldn't be so lucky.

he would constantly belittle and chastise gale for hiding in his room at home instead off telling the kids who were teasing him off- but gale wasn’t that type of person. he always avoided conflict, out of a deep-rooted fear of becoming like his father someday.

as he got older, gale discovered certain things about himself that his father didn't particularly like. he began isolating gale– becoming harsher and more physical than before towards him whenever he would try to be himself. his poor mother did her best to support him, but she could only do so much. one night after gale’s father had beaten him down both physically and emotionally– she had come into his room and begged him to try and be who his father wanted him to- at least until he could move away for college. 

his heart clenched that his own mother begged him for such a thing, but he knew it was the safest option. he didn't know if he could take many more beatings before his father decided to do something drastic.

he did what his mother said- became quiet and docile until his father was satisfied with what he saw. 

gale never really let go of the act. he kept quiet and timid– hiding himself- and he never really knew why. maybe it was out of a lingering fear that he would turn a corner and see his father standing there, just waiting to lay his hands on him. 

he sat in his math class, anxiously tap-tap-tapping his pen against the edge of the desk as the professor went over everything they spoke about for the day. he was filled with a nervous energy- and the fact that he could feel the reason for his nerves staring at the back of his head wasn't helping.

just why gale had agreed to go out to lunch with this random man in his class was beyond him– maybe it was because he reminded him of someone–, but there was no backing down now. it's not like he didn't want to– he was a handsome guy and all, but he would have liked to at least talk a bit more first. he knew nothing about him– other than his name. gale tried to soothe himself by saying they'd get to learn more about one another at their lunch ‘date’, but it didn't help much. 

class was dismissed and gale began to pack up, biting at his bottom lip. he felt on edge, like any little thing could send him running out that door.

“heya, gale,”

a large hand on his shoulder, calloused thumb brushing against his sensitive neck ever so gently– like a faint breeze. he jumped, instinctively backing away from the foreign touch clumsily- almost tripping over his own feet.

there stood john, the hand that was just touching gale’s shoulder held up in mock surrender as he looked at the blonde with wide eyes.

“whoa there, should i have given ya more of a warning?” he jokes, stepping forward to close the gap gale had put between them. “didn't know you were so easily startled.”

gale laughed uneasily, taking another micro-step backwards to put just a bit more space between the two of them. did he always have to be so close? “i’m not. just…i dunno. nervous.”

“aw, nervous for our date, gale?” he laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulder, leaning into him with his body weight and almost making gale stumble over with the suddenness of it. “that’s cute.”

he smelled like cheap cologne, smoke, and beer. the scents on him were all too familiar to his father stumbling into the living room after a night at the casino. 

“haha, yeah,” he mumbled, standing up and adjusting the strap on his shoulder, hiking his satchel back up to where it needed to be. “you ready to go?”

gale felt that unease in his stomach spreading out to the rest of his limbs like horrible black tendrils of smoke. john’s large hand was now grabbing at his slim waist as they walked out of the classroom, the other man babbling on and on about some party he went to last week, and how he drank some poor freshman under the table like it was nothing. 

then, like a ton of bricks, it hit him. why he was so nervous. why he was so compelled to say yes to this date– why he felt like he couldn’t say no to john. it wasn't just because he was handsome and somewhat charming. his stomach was sinking as he dug his teeth into the skin of his cheek almost painfully. 

john reminded him of his father. 

—---------------------

they arrived at a small, student-run cafe on campus that gale liked to visit often. he stopped by when he could, buying a coffee and a little snack and taking a window seat to finish up some schoolwork. 

they walked in, john still hanging off of him like a koala as they walked up to the counter, gale’s face pink, eyes affixed to the counter as he placed his usual order. he could feel different pairs of eyes on him as he stood there, the quiet blonde that only spoke to order his coffee suddenly with a loud-mouthed frat boy hanging off of him. he felt shame creeping up his spine like boiling water about to spill over the edge of a pot.

“what'dya recommend, gale?” john asked him, snapping him out of his spiraling thoughts. 

“ah, i usually get something with a lot of caffeine,” gale blurts out, nervous energy beginning to show in little fits and starts. “keeps me awake so i can study at night.”

“You’re pretty big on school, huh?” john comments passively, making gale flush in a mix of hot embarrassment and shame. The comment hit a little too close to home after growing up and hearing the same thing from countless assholes in school growing up. “i’ll just get whatever he got. make it easy on ya,”

he gave the barista a wink, and he smiled back at john softly. 

“alrighty then, that’ll be $10.59.”

gale pulled his wallet out of his pocket, handing it to the barista and glancing at john with a little anxious smile. god, he was really bad at trying to keep it together.

“you can go find a table for us. i’ll grab our drinks and meet you there.”

“you got it doll.” he crooned, giving him a wink and that million-dollar smile that made something bloom in gale’s stomach. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure if it was a good thing, yet, but he felt it, every time he saw those eyes crinkle up. 

he turned to the barista quickly, leaning in a bit to whisper in case john was still in earshot. “is crosby here?”

“right here, gale,” a familiar voice sounded, turning to face him with two obnoxiously large iced coffees in his hands. “what’s up?

“i’m on a date,” gale blurted out, putting his head in his hands and running long fingers through blonde locks. “I hardly know the guy, but he gave me my glasses after i left ‘em behind in class, and–”

“okay, okay-” croz said, hastily handing off the coffees to the two concerned-looking students beside him. “so did he– did he force you on this date? do you want me to tell him off?” he asked, tone suddenly very serious.

gale hesitated. he wasn’t forced on this date, not in the slightest, but he just couldn’t shake the sinking feeling he had about being here. john reminded him so much of his father– he just felt like his intentions were less than pure with each passing second. 

“no, don’t say anything,” he mumbled, rubbing at his temples. “jus’... keep an eye on us if you can? i just feel nervous about this whole thing. i’m not sure if i’m overthinking or if it’s actually the way he’s acting.” 

“alright.” crosby says, patting gale on the shoulder firmly. “you just let me know. i’ll hop over this counter and kick ass.”

“we both know i can handle myself,” gale hums with a smile. “besides, those eyebags tell me that if you made any sudden moves you’d probably pass out.”

“yeah, well.” he stutters for a second, before his coworker comes to his rescue and hands him two identical coffee cups. “here’s your coffee. i’ll keep an eye on your date for you.”

“stop pulling all-nighters, croz,” gale scolds as he takes the cups in his hands, walking into the open part of the lobby and scanning the cafe for the brown-haired boy he came with.

he spotted john near a table in the corner by a window, staring at the passer-bys as he waited for gale to bring their drinks. for a brief moment, gale’s worries were gone as he took in how pretty john really was. curly brown locks, a strong jaw, straight nose, blue eyes and long eyelashes. he felt that strange warmness in his stomach again as he approached, tensing a bit as john’s eyes landed on him as he sat down.”

“that was pretty quick,” he hummed, taking the cup gale handed to him and smiling crookedly. “i see why you like this place,”

“yeah, i’ve never had to wait too long for a drink here,” gale laughs softly, his nerves creeping back up as he scooted his chair forward. “i mean, most drinks on the menu are pretty simple, so…”

“you know a lot about coffee?” john asks, taking a tentative sip from his scalding hot cup, hissing as it goes down. “wanna be a barista someday?”

gale actually chuckles a little at that. “ah, no, just… have a friend that knows a bit about it. shares menu secrets so that i can make ‘em back at my dorm if i want. i’m more into math….animals…stuff like that.”

“never understood people that actually like math, y’know.” john laughs, thumbing at the small opening of the lid of his cup. “was always my worst subject. i mean- i was never much of a school kid, but math really did me in.”

“ah, well math was always kinda fun for me.” gale began, feeling a little more at ease with the casual conversation john was making. “it was hard, yes, but that's what made it fun, you know? it's like– when you finally solve that equation that's been bothering you, you feel so good. like you could conquer anything. it's why i took up physics– much harder, made you really use your brain.”

“issat what your major is?”

“yep. i’m well on my way to getting a degree in physics– minor in education.” gale explains, fingers tracing along the sleeve that hugged his warm coffee cup. “i’d love to be a teacher one day. i know a lot of kids are apprehensive about math and other hard subjects like physics, but i wanna be the teacher that makes them enjoy subjects like that. an enthusiastic teacher can change everything for a kid.”

“mhm. all my teachers were assholes. didn't like me. ‘s why i skipped class all the time.”

“don't say that,” gale laughed, leaning in to take a sip from his coffee, which was hot enough to fog up his glasses. “i’m sure they liked you. it’s just hard being a teacher, sometimes. kids are a handful, y’know. which is why i’ll probably teach an older grade.”

“...so like….what is physics?” john asks suddenly, leaning back in his chair, strong arms crossed over his chest. “i mean i know what it is but like…what's it the study of?”

“it's basically the study of the nature and properties of matter and energy. a lot to do with the mathematics of movement, different types of energy, that type of thing.” he explains, leaning forward in his chair. “like, we’ll study how atoms and soundwaves work, do the math for force and inertia, focus on the mathematics of atoms– its all really nerdy stuff, but i find it fascinating. dunno why– maybe it's the fact that someone out there figured all of this out and shared his teachings, only for them to get built upon to the point we are today… i just love things like that.”

midway through his spiel, he noticed that john wasn’t exactly looking him in the eyes, which was fine. gale had trouble with eye contact sometimes– it wasn’t something he was too concerned about. then he realized john’s eyes were scanning him, up and down like a predator ready to pounce on a helpless little animal it spotted in the swaying grass.

His gaze would go from his eyes, to his lips, then to his hands, which were beginning to grip his coffee cup so tightly that he thought it would explode, and then to his chest, which prompted gale to cross his arms over his upper body protectively.

“enough about that– i’m sure you don’t wanna hear about the math behind force and motion,” he laughed, clearing his throat. “what are you majoring in?” 

john blinked at him, eyes a little wide as a big hand scratched at the back of his neck. “well, shit. I guess i’m just majorin’ in general studies. i’m gonna be one hundred percent honest with you gale, i applied to college when i was high with my friend curt.”

gale paused. “really? and you got in?”

a soft laugh left bucky’s lips, eyes crinkling up as he took another small sip of his coffee. “yep. i was just as surprised as you. told my momma i’d apply just for the hell of it, not thinking i’d get in, but whaddya know?” a strand of hair fell into his face as he set his cup back onto the table, pink tongue darting out to lick at stray droplets of coffee that clung to his lips. gale felt his throat tighten, oddly.

“as for hobbies…i dunno. i drink, i party. typical frat boy stuff. i find just about any party on campus, head on in, drink until i can hardly recognize anyone– gets crazy. usually ends up at my dorm.”

gale flushes at the implications and grabs at his coffee cup as john continues.

“you ever been to a frat party?”

“no.” gale says simply, pressing his lips to the rim of his cup and worrying the plastic of the lid with his teeth. “never been much of a party person. i like when things are quiet.”

“i dunno, i feel like if you were at a party with someone you liked you’d really enjoy yourself. i know you said you don’t drink, but have you tried it at all?”

gale shifted in his seat, eyes affixed to the ground as that familiar, dark sinking feeling returned to the pit of his stomach. he didn’t like where this conversation was going at all. 

“i…. i have, once. didn’t like it.” he says against the plastic lid. “said i’d never drink again.”

john’s thumb is brushing against his lower lip, now, eyes lidded and affixed to the way gale’s anxiously mouthing at his coffee cup. predatory, gale thinks, trying to avoid john’s gaze as he begins to speak again.

“knew a guy like that a few months ago,” he starts, eyes flashing with something dangerous. “straight edge, hated beer. took him out to a party and man- i’ve never seen someone drink so much. got real loose. we ended up in a room together and the rest was a total fuckin’ blur. still comes to my room to drink every once and a while. or… just to hang out, you know.” 

their eyes met, blue-on-blue, dark and lustful on doe-ish and scared. gale suddenly very much wanted to be anywhere else but here, in this cafe. He should have went with his gut, trusted that little voice in his head telling him that this living embodiment of 2000s grunge was just trying to get into his pants. almost like he couldn’t stop himself, he shot up out of his seat, coffee in one hand and bag in the other, trying to hide the discomfort painted across his face.

he wasn't a prude– that's not what this was– he's just never positively thought about sex. mainly because he'd get weird compliments and looks as soon as he hit sixteen, which had kind of soured his whole idea of sex. he had always declined hookups and booty calls, leading to nasty words and nastier threats, but he did it for his safety. it was just the way it had to be.

he remembered his father’s words to him. no one wants to sleep with a goddamn–

“sorry, i have to go.” gale said firmly, tongue darting out to wet his dry lips. “i just remembered i have a test for another class tomorrow– you get it. we can reschedule.” 

he’s backing out towards the door as he rambles out excuses, back hitting the door roughly. “i had fun, really. sorry.”

before john could even try to chase after him, he turned on his heel and walked briskly out of the cafe, hissing as the sun's rays hit his eyes. he felt like the world was blending together- a mix of all kinds of sickening colors that passed his watery eyes in a blur as he bulldozed his way to his dorm. he felt bile rising in his throat, burning and bitter- making the tears in his eyes well up more. he found shelter in a small alleyway nestled between buildings, dark and quiet. he felt his breathing slow a little bit.

no, no. don’t you dare fucking cry, gale. not over this– over him. he scolded himself, lips parted as he let out little puffs of air, trying to regulate his frantic breaths. his eyes scrunched shut, trying to fight back tears like he was a little kid again, standing before his father with his head hung low, fists clenched.

“c’mon, damn it. hit me back! i didn’t raise a bitch!” 

and poor gale, he’d raise his fists again, not left with a choice, trembling like a leaf on an unsteady branch as he looked at his dad with tears running down his face. that same cheap beer smell was everywhere. 

“oh, you wanna cry, huh? i’ll give you somethin’ to fuckin’ cry about!”

gale hasn’t shed a tear since that night. a deep, deep-rooted fear that if he did, everyone around him would dig into him and eat him alive was instilled in him after that night. he hasn’t cried since then, and he won’t cry now, not over some dickhead in a slipknot shirt. 

he inhaled deeply, lungs expanding as he opened his eyes, hand running through his hair gently. his coffee had completely spilled onto the ground, puddling around his feet in a murky, dark brown pond. 

what a waste of five dollars.

—---------------------

john didn’t come to class the following day, much to gale’s relief. he was able to focus and get some good notes taken without feeling his gaze on the back of his skull. it was rainy outside today, the clouds completely overcast the sun and drizzling rain drops over the fresh earth outside. gale felt hypnotized watching the way the water dripped down the windows, amplifying his calm. 

his eyes remained affixed to the rain outside as he exited class, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather pants. he loved the rain. the smell, the clouds, the way it looked. 

“hey.”

he froze in his steps, eyes slowly moving to gaze at the man in front of him. gale really thought he wouldn’t have to deal with him today. maybe he was actually worried about him? god, who fucking knows.

“john,” gale said evenly, straightening his back. “you weren’t in class today. wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“had to come check up on you after yesterday,” he shrugged, leaning against the wall. “left me hangin’. what happened?”

gale set his jaw, taking deep, even breaths. keep it together. “had a test to study for, like i said. sorry if i seemed shaken up or anything, but it was a big test.”

“big test…” john repeated, tongue running across his lips. “yeah, i get it.” he shrugged, smiling crookedly. “must be tired from all that studying. you free tonight at all? you could come back to my dorm, hang out for a bit.”

gale flushed, partly out of anger, and partly because he was flustered. jesus, this guy just didn’t know when to fucking quit, huh?

“nah, i’ve got plans tonight, actually.” gale mutters, averting his gaze. “work.”

“you work on campus?”

“off campus, actually,” he said curtly, checking his watch. “actually gotta get going soon, or i’ll be late. maybe another time.”

he didn’t even wait for a response, because it would probably just be john asking when he was off, or if he was free tomorrow– and he didn’t feel like dealing with it. all of his anxieties towards him were starting to turn into annoyance. he still felt uneasy around him, but seeing as he hasn’t actually tried to harm and/or force himself onto gale, he felt like he had a bit more wiggle room to talk back. And if he did try something, then…

whatever. he didn’t need to think about him right now.

—---------------------

“he’s bein’ so fucking difficult, curt.” john huffs, pacing between their beds like a caged animal. “he’s got mood swings like a goddamn chick– i don’t know what the fuck i’m doing wrong!”

john kicks a stray can of beer across the room, before flopping onto curt’s bed like a kid having a tantrum. “he makes me feel like a goddamn creep. like– whenever i get close, he steps back- or when i touch him he looks for an excuse to get away from me.”

“maybe he jus’ doesn’t like being touched,” curt shrugs, laying down by john’s head and playing with a few strands of his loose hair. “you literally told me that you might have to play it slow with him- why’re you gettin’ all impatient?”

“what was it you said? you wanna devour him? that’s why.” he sighs. “thought i’d be able to control myself to play it slow, but goddamn, curt, he’s gorgeous. absolutely beautiful. i jus’ don’t get why he has to be so uptight and shit.”

“damn, maybe you are a creep.” the shorter man teases, making john groan and press his palms to his eyes. “i’m just jokin’, bucky, jesus!” he sighs, fingers tangling in his hair.

“i’m jus’ over it at this point, curtie. why can’t i just get my dick wet with a cute blonde? and what do i do? back off? come on stronger? why’s it so hard to get laid nowadays?”

amid his self-pitying rant, curt had sunk to his knees between john’s legs, small hands on large thighs as he laid his cheek against the warm skin.

“i know. life is soooo hard for such a pretty boy like you, isn’t it,” he teases, hand tracing upwards until it meets with the semi-hardness of bucky’s cock. “why don’t i help you feel better, hm?”

john hissed at the touch, hips rising into the warmth of curt’s palm as his other free hand pulled him from the confines of his shorts. “fuck. you always know how to cheer me up.”

curt just smiled, full of dimples, before taking john in his mouth with practiced ease. he knew bucky and his cock all too well– so it wasn’t hard to get him going. he ran his tongue along the bottom, savoring the salty-musky taste of precum on his tongue as he swallowed him down with eagerness. it wasn’t long before john’s loud grunts picked up in volume, becoming breathier as he reached his peak, spilling down curt’s throat for the second time that week.

curt pulled off, giving him one last cruel lick before standing and smoothing out the wrinkles of his shirt. “okay, now get up. we’ve got a party to go to.”

“goddamn, gimmie a minute to catch my breath,” john huffed, sitting up and tucking himself back into his shorts. “you just sucked my soul out. can’t we just stay in?”

“as much as i’d love to give you your post-blowjob cuddles, this party is literally in the next building over and has this dude from history there that i’ve got my eye on. get your ass up.”

bucky sighed deeply, standing on wobbly legs and placing a large hand in curt’s already messy hair. “you’re a pain in my ass. you’re soooo lucky i love you.”

john swears he sees curt go a little pink at that- but he ignores it as the shorter man leads them out of the door.”

“yeah, i know.”

taglist: @mooodyblue @lauvmyself @kaiistheguy @slowsweetlove

[lieutenantabrudas]

ngl lads i told myself i'd finish this for mother's day and then immediately forgot and just happened to finish it now anyway because i wanted to close the canvas and do something else. anyway hello good morning can i interest you all in a lawful neutral/evil navy milf

this is nautilea victrilianus, turian imperial navy. she's a vice admiral at the time of canon and a very highly-decorated shanxi veteran, as well as the wife of tibero quentius, turian chief ambassador (and possible councilor if cnclr sparatus dies, depending on timeline). born on rocam in 2094 terran, she met tibero during their mandatory services when they were briefly sharing a ship and the travels were interrupted by a solar storm, and they fell for each other instantly. they have four children together - atticus, valeria, and the twins bellicus and salvius - and now that tibero has switched from the army to xenopolitics, when she isn't out with the fleet (on the dreadnought Enninion, usually, under her own command) she usually resides on the citadel with him or at their beachfront home on his homeworld of parnithas around holidays. the two of them are also good friends with councilor sparatus and his wife aediteia, and frequently hang out together as a group; tibero is also known to spend time with the sparatuses by himself when nauti is away and he's lonely, with her blessing, because she hates it when he's lonely look at his face he's so sad :(

you can read about her mainly so far in these two fics: "a luncheon most foul" [AO3], her actual character introduction feat. teia and other tower spouses, and "a contest of titans" [AO3], from hackett's pov both during shanxi and many years later.

also she has the bird version of a yorkshire accent. for fun. and kinda because she was inspired by jason isaacs as zhukov in the death of stalin. more rambling under the cut i have so many Thoughts about this one horrible terror-bird

during shanxi, nautilea was a lieutenant-commander, and after her unit boarded a human ship and took several humans prisoner, she was placed in charge of their keep and interrogation. one of said prisoners was then-lieutenant-commander steven hackett. they both proceeded to be utterly abhorrent to each other, they both sucked, nauti was mean and violent and taking out her own emotional distress on hackett who had nothing to do with it, hackett was just as nasty and cruel back, neither one of them was a good person in this instance don't get it twisted. nautilea was worried about her husband and son atticus, both with the army (atticus being 21 and only a sergeant at the time, while tippi was a major) down on the ground on shanxi, and took it out on hackett, seeing it as humanity's fault that her loved ones were in danger while she was stuck up in orbit unable to do anything. it got worse when she lost contact with tibero, which would later turn out to be because he had been captured and taken prisoner, and then when atticus was med-evaced to her ship because he'd been grievously wounded and wouldn't speak to anyone, just cried for his mummy. his squadmates came forward and vouched that the humans who'd ambushed them had started to take them hostage, but needed "mama" to be translated for them as parental terms hadn't been translated yet, and then retreated once they learned what atticus was saying and how old he was, uncomfortable with the knowledge of what they'd done to someone so young. unfortunately, nautilea didn't care, and took out her rage on the humans in her charge. she calmed down significantly once atticus recovered enough to talk to her, and formally requested being taken off prisoner duty so she could focus on her son. hackett would never learn why she disappeared.

later on, hackett would continue to hold a grudge well into the future, while nautilea mostly put everything behind her and stopped caring, because her husband and chicks were safe and that was all that ever mattered to her. in the current period, she generally doesn't care about humans and leaves dealing with aliens (the ones who aren't actively shooting at her men, anyway) to her husband once he switches to xenopolitics. she cares about her people, and her duty to them, and that's what she focuses on. if tippi asks for her input, she'll give it, but for the most part she keeps work and home separate. it helps that when she comes home to tibero, her main line of thought is just about how happy she is to be home where she gets to be cuddled and cooked for and given shinies and not have to wear real people clothes if she doesn't want to, everything outside their apartment be damned. she does still think it's funny that she lives rent-free in hackett's head, especially after tibero is made chief ambassador under sparatus and hackett complains in the news about her. it's whatever. that was the old her. she's moved on.

... except in my "bad end" timeline, where the destiny ascension is left to die under shepard and hackett's orders, and she and tibero lose a very close friend. as hackett was in command of the fifth fleet and made the call to hang back and let the ascension burn, all those bad memories come roaring back, and nautilea goes on the warpath. when the alliance make a move to try and get more of their own ships defending the citadel, the council shoots them down and lets the turians take command instead, and nautilea is put right at the head of the fleet. hackett is not happy about this. nautilea is not happy about hackett killing her friend. the alliance's betrayal is taken as proof that they should have crushed the humans at shanxi, and while tibero tries to counsel peace, nautilea spirals, and becomes determined that what happened to ierian sparatus will not happen to her tippi. things get bad, they almost divorce, the series is about dealing with tragedy nobody's having a good time okay but it works out tippi insists on therapy because he recognizes she's grieving and cracking under the strain of trying to be the strong one

and, just for fun, her character inspo:

his intro with the slowmo and dramatic music is exactly what you should be thinking of when she arrives in luncheon most foul btw. as a treat. that's her that's nautilea. wife <3

[vivwritesfics]

Howl At The Moon (And I'll Howl Back)

Chapter One

Summary: A sweet scent filled his nose. Honey and lemon. But he doesn't know who the scent belongs to. Why is the owner of that scent attacking the Pack Omega? Why is she, an Omega herself, without a pack? Why does Bradley want to take her home?

Bradley is the one she's supposed to be with. She knows it. He knows it. The entire pack knows it. Then why does she attach herself to Bob? And why doesn't Bradley mind?

Rooster X Reader X Bob

1.5K

TGM Werewolf AU

He could smell it in the air before he could see her. Sweet, like honey and lemon. The scent had to belong to somebody special, he just knew it. He lifted his nose and breathed in, trying to inhale the scent, to locate where it was coming from.

That was until the smell of Jakes barbecue got in the way. A growl was pulled from his lips, one that had Bob and Natasha laughing at him. One glare in Bob's direction and he was quiet. Natasha, though, she wasn't so afraid of him.

He returned his nose to the air and began sniffing again. But the scent, and therefore the person it belonged to, had gone. Bradley couldn't help but sulk.

He hadn't met the person, didn't know who the scent was coming from, but he wanted to know more. He'd heard Mav talk about it, how he'd met this one girl and he knew she was the one because of how sweet she was. But, because he was Maverick, he lost her in a day.

There were emotions Bradley didn't know how to handle. Of course, he'd heard the stories about his parents and how his dad knew before his mom even walked into the room. But his parents weren't here now to guide him through.

Neither did the only family Bradley had left. After his mother died, there was only one person for him to turn to. But Pete (or Maverick, as everybody else called him) had long since run off to try and make it on his own.

(Spoiler alert, Mav didn't make it on his own. It was after he had lost that girl that smelled so sweet. Ice had tried to talk him out of it, but Mav needed to feel something again, so he ran. He ran for the hills, to never return. But, when Ice Man needed him, he answered the call and returned to the pack).

"What's up, kid?" Maverick asked as he sat down beside Bradley, placing an opened bottle of beer in front of him.

Bradley grumbled out a half hearted response. He still hadn't gotten used to having Maverick around as some sort of, what, mentor. Bradley had grown up without any sort of guidance from a pack. After his father died, he thought he'd always have his uncle Maverick there to help. But Maverick took off and Bradley was left to learn everything by himself.

"Ah," said Maverick. He said it in a way that had Bradley glaring up at him. "I know that grumble."

"You do?" Bob suddenly called from where he sat beside Nat. Bob was so smart, but there wasn't a lot he knew about Alpha's. He'd never been around one until he'd joined the Dagger pack. Jake was the first Alpha he had ever submitted to.

Maverick nodded his head. "Oh yeah," he began. "Rooster's picked up the scent."

"The scent?" Natasha echoed.

It was easy for Maverick to forget how much younger his packmates were than him. They hadn't yet experienced the full range of emotions seen by most wolves.

"Have you guys ever heard of True Mates?"

A dry laugh left Jakes lips. "It's a myth," he muttered as he began plating up the meat. "If it was true, I would have her by now."

As soon as it was on the table, most of the other wolves crowded around the plate and snatched off what they could get. Bob held back; he knew with his pack Omega status would mean he didn’t stand a chance. But his pack would always take care of him.

And that was proven hand Natasha handed him half of her share. He sat on the floor, watching as the pack Alpha commanded the attention of the pack.

"True mates are real, trust me," said the pack Alpha. "Rooster's parents were true mates. I met mine once upon a time."

Bradley couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes at Maverick.

But he wasn't the one that said anything, instead sinking his teeth into his food. "Yeah, yeah, Mav," Jake muttered. "We all know the story. You met her and immediately fell in love. But, because she was human, she couldn't feel the bond like you could and she couldn't feel how much it hurt when she left."

Maverick always told the same story when he got drunk. The pack knew it off by heart by this point. The only one really affected by it was Bob.

The thing about a scent like that was that it was addicting. Bradley desperately wanted to smell it again. For the next few days, everywhere he went, he'd suck in a deep breath, try to pick up the scent of lemon and honey.

But, no matter where he went, Bradley didn't pick up the scent again. Maybe he wouldn't smell it again. But it had only been a few days, and he wasn't ready to give up.

In his desperation to search for the scent, Bradley began taking Bob everywhere. Being the pack Omega, somebody went with him wherever he went, just to keep him safe and to give the rest of the pack piece of mind.

"Wanna go and get coffee?" Bradley asked as he sat down at the rather large kitchen table with Bob and Mickey (before Bob became the pack Omega, they all thought it was either going to be him or Mickey).

Bob's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "You sure you're not busy, Rooster?" He asked, but he was unable to hide his excitement.

Bradley shook his head. "I've got time," he answered. Plus, the coffee shop was one of the only places he hadn't yet searched for the honey and lemon scent. But he'd never tell Bob that.

The thing with their pack was that the dynamic was mismatched. They weren't like most packs, made up of families working together. No, none of them had family, and that was how they found each other.

Bob was more than happy to climb into the Bronco as Bradley drove him to the town. He was practically preening under the attention of one of his packmates.

The thing is, their pack dynamic wasn't like most. Other packs were families that came together, to work together and protect each other. Most packs were ever growing, constantly welcoming new members when mates were found.

But their pack wasn't like that. None of them had family that they were particularly close to. Some of them had no family at all. But they'd come together and formed a pack.

Ice Man had been the one to bring them together. But when he got sick, he called Maverick to take the place of pack Alpha. It was uncomfortable between Bradley and Maverick at first. Bradley hated Maverick for abandoning him all of those years ago and Maverick knew he didn't deserve forgiveness.

But that was over a year ago and the two had come along way. The rest of the pack didn't know much about their relationship so, whenever Bob got a moment alone with Bradley, he asked.

That was what he did on the drive to the café. There was a lot of it that Bradley didn't like to talk about, especially when it came to his parents. But he couldn't just say nothing to Bob.

Bradley parked outside of the café. "Are you coming?" Bob asked, moving to climb out of the Bronco.

He looked towards the café. They weren't the kind of places Bob liked to step foot in. The lights were too bright, the smell of coffee too strong and the music too annoying. But Bob liked his coffee, and Bradley was happy to drive him there.

He shook his head and Bob climbed out of the Bronco. Bradley watched as Bob walked into the café. It always fucked with his senses, and he could barely smell Bob. But it didn't stress Bradley out. That distressed smell didn't fill the air, he had no reason to march into the café with a panic.

Suddenly, there was that scent again. Lemon and honey filled the air. Bradley sucked in a deep breath, searching through the faces of the people walking past the café. Which person was it? Bradley couldn't work it out from his place in the Bronco.

But then, the smell disappeared again. Well, it didn't disappear, but it was masked by something much stronger. Distress. Bob's distress.

Immediately, Bradley was out of the Bronco and marching towards the café. He ripped the door open with such ferocity, he almost pulled it off his hinges.

His eyes quickly scanned everybody in the café. Bob wasn't there. Where the fuck was he? He breathed in deep and followed the smell of his pack Omega's distress out of the cafes back door. Nobody stopped him.

When Bradley threw open the door and walked out into the alley behind the café, his heart stopped.

There Bob was. He himself might have been six foot tall, but he submitted to the woman who was holding him captive, arm around his neck, teeth bared. Bradley breathed in, and a mix of scents filled his nose. Bob's distress, along with honey and lemon.

Fuck.

a/n: this is cringe but the cringe is gonna be worth it I sweeeaaar

[revserrayyu]

2.2 Penacony thoughts [part 5]

**Major story spoilers** as we’re finished the main story here. Going to be chatting even more about Acheron and our time in the Horizon of Existence, the real final boss, as well as all cutscenes that follow, so if you haven’t finished the whole story yet, I encourage you to come back and read this all later if you wish to do so after you experience everything for yourself first.

I gotta start off by saying that I absolutely love how this scene looks. Yeah it’s upsetting to learn that Acheron’s companion here is actually dead, but all the rain falling upon that red glow is just really nice to look at. Of course Acheron is slaying as usual too. I even dig the shadowy look of this man despite his circumstances.

Is Acheron kinda of like a grim reaper of sorts? At least that’s the feeling I’m getting when she says she’s guiding lost souls. And correct me if I’m wrong, but he is the one who wanted flowers on his grave, right? He just doesn’t remember I assume? It also seems that “Acheron” is just a river and I vaguely remember Acheron mentioning one during her conversation with the “Dreammaster” inside the park.

So I guess this is what all that red text meant? It wasn’t something we should have feared but a way to guide us forward, onto the right path? That’s how I’m interpreting it. Anyways, name drop reveals that this man was actually one of the Nameless buried at Dream Flux Reef.

Soon enough we arrived at the Horizon of Existence with Acheron and I’m like 99% sure this set of questions she asks us are close to the same exact ones she spoke of when we met her inside that first dream. I wish I remembered my choices to her questions from back then, because with the game only giving us one option to choose for each question, I wonder if it’s giving us the same option we picked when we first answered her because that would be amazing.

SHE. SAID. THE. THING!!! Acheron real name confirmed!!! Even though it’s pretty much what we all expected from the very beginning, it’s great for it to finally be true and not be a total secret.

A big ol’ cutscene begins and it reminds me of how little we actually received about Boothill, like yeah he shoots that fancy relic bullet up into the sky because he’s the only Galaxy Ranger around who can do so, but he didn’t do much else? I mean I absolutely enjoyed seeing him interact with Dan Heng and everyone else but to not even get the chance to fight a battle with him seems weird after 2.1 gave us the chance to really use both Acheron and Aventurine and test our their gameplay whenever we switched to their perspectives. Same thing happened with Robin too. We walked around as her and Boothill for brief moments but that was pretty much it, making the switch seem kinda pointless to me.

I got no words for this. It’s just an incredibly beautiful screenshot of her. I’ll never get tired of seeing all that red whenever this monochrome world takes over. Makes me regret skipping her every day but next time I’ll pull her for sure.

Yet another line she told us during our first encounter with her. Also, if this is the last time we see her in the story, I’m gonna be sad.

The crew!!!! I’ll admit it does look a little silly that we’re only armed with a hat while everyone else has a reasonable weapon, but I love each one of us so much!! It felt perfect for me to have Himeko in my team during the upcoming fight too.

While I figured we were gonna be blessed with Robin’s appearance and one of her songs during the fight, can I just say that I was not expecting the assist mechanic to be the mother-forking Express?? I had joked somewhere sometime ago that if Pom-Pom were to ever become playable, that their ultimate would be running the enemy over with the train and color me surprised, because that’s pretty much what happens!!

So the final battle itself went pretty well. Took a bit more damage than before but still an easier fight overall than how Aventurine’s went for me. I knew I didn’t have to bring in our dear gambler in since the fight itself granted us shields, but his helped me just fine along with all those follow up attacks.

I think my Trailblazer managed to do pretty well too? I stressed so hard to break that 145 on speed to access that secondary buff of the Talia planar ornaments, so that’s why other stats may be a bit lacking. At least I have break effect at 197%.. is that reasonable?

Anyways, as much as I adore Serval, I had to use the train to deliver the final hit.

Pfft, ain’t no way. Sunday is really over.

Look at us protecting March, aww!

Trailblazer pulls off some last minute talk-no-jutsu to get through to Sunday’s head and with a heartfelt embrace from Robin, I think it’s time to start crying.

C’mon, look at how gorgeous this is!! Such a beautiful sunrise to witness after all the chaos is over.

Surprisingly, the credits roll again only this time it actually feels like a proper ending to the story. It even lists Acheron’s true name, yet March still remains a mystery. When will we ever learn? Who knows.

Final cutscene of the patch begins and what do you mean Argenti saved Aventurine??? When and how and why didn’t we get to witness such a moment with two of Star Rail’s most beautiful men!

Aventurine betting his own life once again.. oh dear, you never learn. Then again, it seems you never lose either so, go ahead sweetie. Go get that promotion you so rightfully deserve!

This scene also bums me out a little because I was really hoping we would actually get to see Jade arrive in game this time around, but it seems we’ll have to wait even longer. Cutting it a bit close to her release with it being in the same patch but at least she’s phase two. I’m pulling for her day one though. I don’t care what happens in the story, it won’t change my mind about her! (to be fair, I’ve seen some leaks about her gameplay and, oh my god..)

Boothill unexpectedly enters the room after knocking out the two IPC guards outside the door and we’re left with yet another cliffhanger. Definitely not as strong as a final scene as the previous two versions but no way a random name drop could match a sudden surprise death either.

And finally, that’s all for now. Penacony remains to be a story full of mysterious twists and there’s plenty more to see.. hopefully. We still have no clear idea what happened to Firefly, then there’s all those bombs Sparkle was handing out to everyone, we still have to officially meet Jade and see what she and Topaz have planned. Sunday and Robin were last seen falling from the sky so they gotta land safely and I haven’t a clue if we’ll even see Acheron again. Here’s hoping 2.3 ties up all loose ends and gives Penacony the finale it deserves!